BURMA 



kept so for a few years. In the north the eldest boy is given part of the name of the 

 ]>;iternal grandfather, and the eldest daughter part of that of the maternal grandmother; 

 but in the south the names are chosen independently of any rule. 



When a Chin dies, his body rests sitting in. state, dressed and fully armed, whilst his 

 relations and friends dance and drink round the corpse, firing off their guns and singing songs 

 which set forth the number of raids in which the deceased has successfully taken a part, 

 the number of slaves he captured, and the number of heads which he took. The body is then 

 taken to an outhouse, and placed on a board, under which fires are lighted and kept burning 

 until the corpse dries up and becomes practically a mummy. It is afterwards rolled up in 

 rags and placed on a shelf in the house, awaiting the funeral feast, which is sometimes 

 delayed for two years. In the north the Chin people erect rude memorials to their departed 

 chiefs. These are simply thick planks of wood, with the head of a man carved at the top, to 



THREE BURMKKK OIBLS. 



represent the dead chief; underneath they carve men, women, and children, all sorts of 

 animals, gongs, beads, guns, etc. The figures represent the chiefs wife and family, the 

 enemies and animals he killed, and the slaves and booty captured. The departed hero is often 

 represented, as shooting an elephant or a tiger. But nowadays the Chins are ceasing to set 

 up these interesting memorials. "We can no longer take heads and raid slaves." they say; 

 " therefore the history of our lives is not worth handing down to posterity." 



Those who are well acquainted with the Chins say they are all liars and thieves, and that the 

 most, accomplished thieves in all this district of the Chin Hills are the tribe known as Siyins, 

 who may in this respect be classed as criminals. The Haka people and others are also great 

 thieves, and, like the Siyins. will work in gangs, some distracting attention, whilst o'thers carry 

 off the booty, llakas, as well as Siyins, we are sorry to say, have been known to accept a 

 present, and then deliberately steal from the benefactor! The Falam chiefs, too, although they 

 are so particular in their outward conduct, and pretend that they are superior to all other Chins, 



