102 



THE LIVING RACES OF MANKIND 



take a trip to the left bank of the Me Kong in order to hunt down the Khas. It seems 

 that when times are bad the Lao mandarins organise these expeditions against the savages. 

 Under some slight pretext a favourable camping-ground is selected, whence forays are made 

 against the surrounding villages. When a sufficient number of all ages and both sexes have 

 been captured, they are bound together, and led to Bassac, Sienpang, and Attopeu. Here they 

 are purchased by native, Chinese, and especially Malay traders, who form them into gangs, 

 and forward them chiefly to Bangkok, Korat, and Pnompenh, the capital of Cambodia." But 

 this slave-hunting has now ceased. 



The traditions of the Northern Shans tell of an ancient and great kingdom held by 

 them in the north of Burma. They all speak the same language, but there are many dialects. 

 In the Tai or Shan language there are, according to Mr. J. G. Scott, four different characters 

 in use. The AVestern Shans use letters very much like those of the Burmese; the Siamese 

 have a writing of their own, very much like Pali; the Shans called Lii have theirs, and the 

 Lao Shans use another. The Western Shans differ somewhat from their eastern neighbours 

 both in their dress and in their architecture. The men's dress, usually white, consists of a 

 short jacket and full trousers, but on festive occasions coloured silk and velvet trousers are 

 much worn, and the most fashionable shape is that which most nearly approaches a sack with 

 holes at the corners for the feet and arms to pass through. The women wear variegated 

 turbans and striped petticoats, made like a sack, open at both ends, and fastened over the 

 breasts and under the arms. A small jacket is worn over this. The Shans are a law-abiding 

 people, and loyal to the families of their rulers. A Shan of good birth is very proud of 

 his family. 



Among the Western Shans marriage is a very simple affair. As a rule, the young people 

 merely eat rice together out of the same dish in the presence of their relatives and the 

 village elders, and the bridegroom then declares that he marries the girl and will support 



her. Among the Eastern Shans, however, 

 there is more ceremony on the wedding 

 day. A feast is held, to which all the rela- 

 tives and many friends are invited. Liquor 

 flows freely on these occasions. Early in 

 the afternoon the bridegroom is taken to 

 the bride's house, accompanied by the 

 relatives and friends. As the procession 

 advances it finds its way obstructed at 

 various points by ropes, at each of which 

 the bridegroom has to pay toll. When 

 the governor of a district of Reng Tung 

 married the Sawbwa's aunt, he had to pass 

 twenty of these ropes in the distance of 

 half a mile. The Sawbwa himself had a 

 rope, and so had each of the royal ladies, 

 the bridegroom on this occasion being 

 mulcted of about seventy rupees. The 

 Sawbwa's sister demanded twenty rupees for 

 permission to pass, but eventually accepted 

 fifteen. Arrived at the bride's house, the 

 bridegroom takes his seat beside her, and 

 their hands are tied together, with a piece 

 of string; they eat together and an old 

 man pronounces them to be man and wife. 

 Meanwhile, the guests amuse themselves by 

 throwing balls of rice at each other and at 

 SIAMESE STREET-SINGERS. the happy couple. 



