a i R 



441 



B 1 R 



many of them have settled in the valleys on the west of the 

 Irawaddi ; they are a peaceful industrious tribe, who cul- 

 tivate the ground and weave cloth of cotton and silk. The 

 men and women tattoo their faces all over, in lines mostly 

 describing segments of circles. The Karens or Karians 

 live partly intermixed" with the Peguans in the Delta of the 

 Irawaddi, where they call themselves Play, and are the most 

 industrious cultivators of the soil. They occupy also the 

 hilly and mountainous country on the upper branches 

 of the Setaing, near Tongo, where, according to the state- 

 ment of Sangermano, they have preserved their inde- 

 pendence. Other Karens are found on the banks of the 

 Saluen north of Martaban, as far as the mouth of the 

 Junzalaen. 



The Peguans, who at no distant time formed an inde- 

 pendent and powerful nation, seem at present not to be very 

 numerous. They are called Talains by the Birmans, and 

 By themselves Moan : they occupy nearly exclusively the 

 low country between the Delta of the Irawaddi and the 

 Saluen river. In the Delta itself they are mingled with 

 the Karens, but form the greater part of the population. 



The Shans are the most numerous nation of the penin- 

 sula beyond the Ganges ; they call themselves Tay. This 

 nation is dispersed over nearly one half of the Birman 

 empire, and all the tribes inhabiting the kingdom of Siam 

 and Lao belong to it. In Birma four tribes of Shan are 

 distinguished : the Lowa Shan occupy Upper Lao, the 

 Tay-yay, called by the Birmans Mrelap-shan (pronounced 

 Myclapshan), live on the western banks of the Saluen, 

 and extend north of Amarapoora to the hanks of the Ira- 

 waddi, and even on the country to the west of that river. 

 Their country is called Ko-Shan-pri (pronounced Ko-sang- 

 pyi), or the nine provinces of Shan. The country to the 

 north of them is inhabited by the Tay-Loong, called by the 

 Birmans Casi-Shan ; the Bor Khamti, visited by Wilcox, are 

 only a smaller tribe of these Casi-Shan. Another numerous 

 tribe of the Shan extends on both sides of the Kyan- 

 Duayn up to the boundary of Munipoore, and the inhabit- 

 ants of the last named country are likewise Shans. The 

 Shans inhabiting the country along the Kyan-Duayn are 

 called by the Birmans Kathu or Casi. 



In the northern parts of the empire the tribes of the Shan 

 appear to occupy only the plains and larger valleys. The 

 mountains and the upper valleys are in possession of two 

 numerous races of mountaineers, the Singfos and the Naga. 

 The Singfos inhabit the mountains which skirt the Irawaddi 

 on both sides and extend northward to the vale of the 

 Brahmapootra in Asam. The Naga tribes are dispersed 

 over the extensive mountain.-districts between the upper 

 branches of the Kyan-Duayn, and as far as the boundary 

 of Asarn. They seem to belong to the same nation which, 

 under the name of Kookis, occupies the country between 

 Munipoore and Chittagong. The Singfos and the Naga 

 live in a state of independence. 



The Birmans are greatly inferior to the Hindoos in civili- 

 zation, and still more so to the Chinese. Like the Talains 

 or Peguans, they tattoo or stain the skin with an indelible 

 tint, but this practice is confined to the men. Not to be 

 tattooed is considered a sign of effeminacy, and there is no 

 one who is not tattooed more or less. They bore the lobe of 

 the ear, making a very large and unseemly aperture, into 

 which a gold or silver ornament is put, or a piece of wood, 

 or roll of paper. If the aperture is not occupied, a man 

 or woman, after smoking half a cigar, thrusts the re- 

 mainder into the ear for future use. They consume large 

 quantities of tobacco in the form of cigars ; and also much 

 betel, which they mix with the areca nut, lime, and a little 

 tobacco. 



Their dress, though upon the whole not unbecoming, is 

 much less so than the flowing and graceful garments of the 

 western nations of India. Too much of the body is left 

 naked, and the fabrics worn are comparatively coarse and 

 homely. Umbrellas, which are in general use among all 

 rlasses, are among the principal insignia of rank or office. 

 The colour of the dress of the priests i* yellow, and it would 

 be deemed nothing less than sacrilege in any one else to 

 use this colour. 



The Birmans are very uncleanly in their food. They eat 

 all kinds of reptiles, lizards, iguanas, and snakes ; and, as 

 their religion forbids them killing animals for food, they 

 generally eat those which have died of disease. Venison is 

 the only meat permitted to be sold in the markets. The 

 killing of a cow is punished with peculiar severity. 



The Birmans are of a gay character, and fond of amuse- 

 ments, which are principally chess, music, the exhibition of 

 fire-works, and some kinds of dramatic representations. 



Their progress in the useful arts has not been great. All 

 their cotton fabrics are coarse and high priced, and 

 British piece-goods are imported in considerable quantity. 

 Silk articles are coarse and high-priced, but durable. 

 All the colours given to these fabrics are fugitive, espe- 

 cially those of the cottons. Coarse and unglazed earth- 

 enware is of very good quality, and cheap. Those known 

 in India under the name of Pegu jars often contain 

 180 gallons; but the Birmans are unacquainted witli the 

 art of making any kind of porcelain. Their iron manu- 

 factures, which are always coarse and rude, consist of 

 swords, spears, knives, scissors, and carpenters' tools. 

 Muskets, or rather matchlocks, are made at Ava, and the 

 best tempered swords are imported from the country of the 

 Shans. Brass ware is not much used, lacquered ware 

 being chiefly substituted for it. The manufacture of this 

 ware is very much extended, and in this the Birmans display 

 invention and taste, but the best description is imported 

 from Lao. Gold and silver ornaments are manufactured 

 at the capital : some are good, but in general the jewellery 

 is clumsy and rude, and inferior to that of India. 



In Birma, as among other nations which have embraced 

 the religion of Buddha, education is in some degree attended 

 to. It is a kind of religious duty in the priests to instruct 

 youth. The monasteries are the only schools, and the 

 priests generally the only teachers. Education is entirely 

 eleemosynary : the children even live a.i the kyaongs, and 

 the parents only make occasional presents to the priests. 

 The children are instructed for about six hours in the day 

 in reading, writing, and the four common rules of arithmetic. 

 There are few persons who do not know how to read, and 

 not many who do not write. The girls are instructed by 

 the nuns, or female priestesses, in reading, and some also in 

 writing, but that is less general. 



Like the other Hindu-Chinese nations the Birmans have 

 two languages and two alphabets, the vernacular and the 

 foreign, or Pali. In the Birman language all the words not 

 derived from the Pali are monosyllables, and even the poly- 

 syllabic words derived from this source are pronounced 

 as if each syllable were a distinct word. There is no in- 

 flexion of any part of speech. Relation, number, mode, and 

 time are all expressed by prefixing or affixing certain par- 

 ticles. Some roots of this language may be converted into 

 nouns, verbs, or adjectives by a similar simple contrivance. 

 The Pali alphabet is very little used, even in their religious 

 writings, for which they have recourse to the vernacular 

 alphabet 



The literature of the Birmans consists of songs, religious 

 romances, and chronological histories, of which the second 

 class occupies the principal rank. The Budd'hist religion, 

 as it exists among the Birmans, does not appear to differ 

 materially from that practised in Ceylon, Siam, and Kam- 

 tioja. Among the Birmans neither the Christian nor the 

 Mohammedan religion has made any progress. 



In Birma there is no census of the population, and ac- 

 cordingly there are no exact data for ascertaining the 

 amount. There is consequently a great difference in esti- 

 mating the number of inhabitants. Symes carried it to 

 upwards of fourteen millions, which Cox reduced to from six 

 to seven millions ; and Crawfurd, who has been at great 

 pains in collecting information on this subject, docs not 

 rate the population of the Birman empire higher than 

 four millions, or about twenty-two inhabitants to a square 

 mile. 



The sovereign of Birma, who is called Boa, is lord of the 

 life and property of all his subjects. The country and people 

 are at his entire disposal, and the chief object of government 

 is his personal honour and aggrandizement. No class of 

 inhabitants possesses hereditary rights except the Taubwas, 

 or Saubwas, who are the tributary princes of some of the 

 subdued nations. Among the Birmans themselves there is 

 no hereditary nobility. The first officers are appointed and 

 dismissed at a nod, and neither their titles, rank, nor offices, 

 and very often not even their property, can descend to their 

 children. Any subject can aspire to the first office in the 

 state, and such offices in reality are often held by persons 

 of very mean origin. 



In Birma there is no vizier or prime minister; but t 

 king has two councils, a public and a privy one, through 

 which the royal order* are issued. The first is called the 



NO. 260. 



[THE PENNY CYCLOPEDIA.] 



VOL. IV. 8 L 



