528 



BIRMAN EMPIRE. 



Birman On the morning of the bridal day, the bridegroom 

 Empire. sclK l s t], e maiden three lower garments, three sashes, 

 and three pieces of white muslin, with such jewels, 



ear-rings, and bracelets, as his circumstances will af- 

 ford. The parents of the bride prepare a feast, and 

 fctrmal writings are executed. The young couple eat 

 out of the same dish, and the bridegroom presents the 

 bride with some laspack, or pickled tea, which she 

 accepts, and returns the compliment, which ends the 

 ceremony. The law prohibits polygamy, and re- 

 cognises only one wife ; but concubinage is admitted 

 to an unlimited extent. The concubines reside ! 

 same house with the legitimate wife, anl are obliged 

 by law to perform the menial services of the family ; 

 and when she goes abroad, they attend her, bearing 

 her water flaggon, betel box, fan, &c. When the 

 man dies, his concubines, if bound in servitude to him, 

 become the property of the surviving widow, unless 

 he has emancipated them by a specific act previous 

 to his decease. 

 Proititu- In the Birman empire, prostitution is admitted, 



t'ton. and is often attended with circumstances of peculiar 



wretchedness. Many who follow this course of life 

 are not at their own disposal, nor do they receive the 

 earnings of their unhappy profession. According to 

 the Birman laws, if a person contracts a debt which 

 he is unable to pay, he becomes the property of his 

 creditor, who may claim the insolvent debtor as his 

 slave, and oblige him to perform menial service until 

 be liquidates the debt ; nor does the unhappy man 

 suffer in his own person only, for his immediate rela- 

 tions are often included in the bond, and are liable to 

 be attached and sold to discharge the obligation. In 

 consequence of this inhuman law, whole families are 

 often plunged into misery and ruin. Innocent wo- 

 men are dragged from the comforts of domestic life, 

 and, on account of the folly or misfortune of the 

 master of the family, are sold to the superintendant 

 of the Jackally, who, if they possess particular at- 

 traction, pays a valuable consideration for them, and 

 reimburses himself by the wages of their prostitution. 

 Indeed, the lower classes of the Birmans make no 

 scruple of selling their daughters, or even their wives, 

 to foreigners who coine to pass a temporary residence 

 among them : this, however, reflects no disgrace on 

 any of the parties, and even the woman is not disho- 

 noured by the connection. But when a man leaves 

 the country, he is not at liberty to carry his tempo- 

 rary wife along with him ; and even female children, 

 born of a Birman mother, are not allowed to be taken 

 away. Men may emigrate from tiie country ; but 

 the Birman8 think, that the expatriation of women 

 would impoverish the state, by diminishing the sources 

 of population. On this point the law is extremely 

 rigorous. Before a ship receives clearance, it is care- 

 fully searched by the officers of the customhouse ; 

 and even if their vigilance should be eluded, the wo- 

 man would quickly be missed, and should the vessel 

 ever return to a Birman port, the property would be 

 confiscated, and the master subjected to fine and im- 

 prisonment. 

 State of the The Birmans do not shut up their women in the 

 women. walls of a haram, or surround them with guards, like 

 most other nations of the East. Such low jealousy 

 forms no part of the character of this extraordinary 



people. They do not conceal their wives or daugh- Birm 

 ters from the eyes of men, but allow them to have as Empire. 

 free intercourse with the world as the rules of Euro- > 



pean society admit of. Infidelity, however, is not 

 common among the Birman women. Indeed, they 

 have in general too much employment to allow time 

 for the corruption of their minds, for even women of 

 the highest rank seldom sit in idleness at home. The 

 female servants, like those of the Grecian dames of 

 antiquity, ply the various labours of the loom, whilst 

 the mistress of the house superintends and directs 

 their industry. Col. Symcs mentions, that, on oc- 

 casion of a forma! visit to the mother of the present 

 queen, they observed, in one of the galleries of his 

 palace, three or Fodf looms working by the damsels of 

 his household. Indeed, weaving is chiefly a female 

 occupation, and most females make all the cotton and 

 silk cloth that is necessary for domestic consumption. 

 In some respects, however, women are treated as if 

 they did not hold the same place in the scale of crea- 

 tion as the men. The evidence of a female is not 

 received as of equal weight with that of a man, and 

 they are not allowed to ascend the steps of a court of 

 justice, but are obliged to deliver their testimony ob 

 the outside of the roof. 



Among the public amusements of the Birmans, ^ mus< ., 

 are boxing matches, fireworks, processions, exhibi- menfs. 

 tions of dancing, puppet shows. They are particu- 

 larly fond of dramatic entertainments. At Pegu 

 there is a theatre, in an open court, which is splen- 

 didly illuminated by lamps and torches when theatri- 

 cal performances are exhibited. Indeed, at all festi- 

 vals they have dramatic entertainments, consisting of 

 music, dancing, and action, with a dialogue in recita- 

 tion. The higher ranks are likewise particularly 

 fond of chess. The board which they use in this 

 game is exactly similar to ours, containing 6-4 squares, 

 and the number of troops the same, sixteen on each 

 side ; but the names, the power, and the disposal of 

 them, differ essentially. On the last day of the year 

 a curious custom prevails throughout the Birman 

 empire. To wash away the impurities of the past, 

 and N commence the new year free from stain, wo- 

 men on this day are accustomed to throw water 

 on every man they meet, and the men have the privi- 

 lege of retaliating. This licence gives rise to a great 

 deal of harmless merriment, particularly among the 

 young women, who, armed with large syringes and 

 flaggons, endeavour to wet every man that goes along 

 the streets ; and, in their turn, receive the same com- 

 pliment with perfect good humour. Dirty water, 

 however, is never employed ; nor is a man allowed to 

 lay hold of a woman, but lie may cast as much water 

 over her as he pleases, provided she has been the 

 aggressor ; but if a woman warns a man that she 

 does not mean to join in the diversion, it is consider- 

 ed as an avowal of pregnancy, and she passes without 

 molestation. 



In the Birman empire, funerals are solemnized with Funerals, 

 great parade, and various external demonstrations of 

 grief. The corpse is placed on a bier, and carried 

 on men's shoulders; the procession mov-s slowdy 

 along ; the relations attend in mourning ; and wo- 

 men, hired for the occasion, precede the b >dy, and 

 chauut a dirge-like air. The Birmans burn their 



