204 Dr Hamilton's Account of the Frontier 



with the principal officers of the place, especially with Aung- 

 hiose, who managed the country on the Edgong river. 



The people of this central tribe are often called Reekrisah, 

 or sons of the sweet water, as they name the Sunkar river. 

 The chief whom I visited was called Pomang Kaungla Pru. 

 Po-mang, is his title, and signifies Captain ; Kaungla was his 

 proper name, and Pru (white) was his family name. By 

 three women he had six sons and six daughters, of whom, 

 all of the daughters and three of the sons were married. He 

 had about twenty Hindu servants, and still more Muham- 

 medans, his Dewan or minister being of that religion. The 

 domestic who had charge of his table, or steward, was a per- 

 son of the family of the Chaksah chief. The whole of his 

 sons, married and single, lived in his house. Besides this 

 numerous family, he had a great number of Marama slaves ; 

 that is, persons of his own tribe, who incur debt, go to him, 

 and say, if you will discharge our debt we will become your 

 slaves. On the master advancing the money, the slave must 

 perform his work from six in the morning till ten in the fore- 

 noon, and from four in the afternoon till sun-set. The month- 

 ly allowance made to the slave by the master is one piece of 

 coarse cotton-cloth, and one basket of unhusked rice, which is 

 said to weigh 82 pounds avoirdupois ; but one, which I mea- 

 sured, contained very nearly two Winchester bushels (jf|), 

 being a cylinder of three feet long, and one in diameter. He 

 seldom allows salt, or any other seasoning. The master can- 

 not sell the slave, but must give him his liberty, if ever he is 

 able to repay the money originally advanced ; and, of course, 

 the slave may change masters, if he can find any person who 

 will advance the price of his head. This manner of treating 

 debtors would perhaps be more rational, than that prescribed 

 by the law of England, where the debtor may be condemned 

 to perpetual imprisonment, without the possibility of being of 

 advantage to his creditors, to himself, or to the public ; but, 

 among these eastern nations, this practice is attended by an 

 abominable circumstance — the wife is often reduced to slavery 

 for the debts of her husband ; and, what is still worse, chil- 

 dren are made slaves for the debt of their parent. The nu- 



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