530 



BIRMAN EMPIRE. 



Birman mercury in the cure of the venereal disease; but the 

 Empire, m^Mf i n which they employ it is neither safe nor 

 certain. They make a candle of cinnabar and some 



other materials, and, setting fire to it, the patient 

 inhales the fumes with his nostrils ; but he is seldom 

 able to persevere long in this course, as it always 

 produces a want of appetite, and extreme languor. 

 Of the animal kingdom, mummy is a favourite me- 

 dicine ; but the greater part of the Birman remedies 

 are taken from the vegetable creation, especially 

 those of an aromatic nature. They are well ac- 

 quainted with the plants of the country ; and for a 

 great number of them have appropriate names. On 

 the whole, however, the practice of their physicians 

 is almost entirely empirical ; and, accordingly, they 

 are not held in high estimation among their country- 

 men. There is a curious custom, mentioned by Dr 

 Buchanan, with regard to this class of men. If a 

 young woman appears to be dangerously ill, the 

 physician and her parents frequently enter into an 

 agreement, by which he undertakes to cure her. If 

 the doctor is successful in this, he takes her as his 

 property ; but if she dies, he pays a certain sum for 

 her to the parents : for in the Birman empire no pa- 

 rent gives away his daughter, either as a wife or con- 

 Surgery, cubine, without some valuable consideration. In sur- 

 gery, the skill of the Birmans extends only to the 

 dressing of wounds and setting of bones. Of late, 

 indeed, they have introduced from Arracan the art 

 of inoculation for the small-pox. The practice, how- 

 ever, does not appear to have become general, as 

 a very great proportion of the people are marked 

 by that disease. The Baptists, who have for some 

 years laboured with so much success in propagating 

 Christianity in Bengal, have lately sent a mission to 

 the Birman empire ; and, in 1808, one of the mis- 

 sionaries, Mr Felix Carey, introduced the vaccine 

 inoculation into the city of Rangoon. He perform- 

 ed the operation on a considerable number of people, 

 and, among others, the family of the governor, so 

 that we fondly hope, this inestimable discovery will 

 soon extend through the empire, and prevent the 

 I.*w. future ravages of the natural pox. On laxo the Bir- 



mans have many treatises, particularly the Institutes 

 of Menu, and copious commentaries upon them. The 

 code in common use is said to have suffered seve- 

 ral alterations and additions by the decrees of various 

 princes. The king whosat on the throne when the Bri- 

 tish embassy was sent tothiscountry, was a very intel- 

 ligent prince, and had caused the Institutes of Menu 

 to be translated from the English of Sir W. Jones. He 

 must therefore have heard of what is pursued among 

 the Europeans, at least in oriental literature ; and 

 we may hope that some more useful books may at- 

 tract his notice, and promote the diffusion of know- 

 ledge among his people. The Birmans are extreme- 

 ly fond of poetiy and music. They have epic as 

 well as religious poems, of high celebrity ; and they 

 are fond of reciting, in heroic numbers, the exploits 

 of their kings and generals. It is said, that the 

 prowess of the great Alompra, the deliverer of his 

 country, is celebrated in verses not unworthy of his 

 courage and his fortune. The members of the Bri- 

 tish embassy saw one of their dramatic representa- 

 tions at Pegu, and gave it considerable praise. The 

 dialogue was spirited, without rant ; the action ajii- 



Music. 



V".:ry. 



mated without being extravagant ; and the dresses Birman. 

 of the principal performers were showy, yet becom- Era P lrt '- 

 ing. Music is a science which is also held in consi- 

 derable estimation throughout the Birman empire, 

 and is cultivated more generally than in India. 



The manner in which the Birmans divide time, is Division of 

 at once a proof of the progress and the defect of timc> 

 their knowledge. The space in which the finger can 

 be raised and depressed, is called charazi ; ten of 

 them make one jnann ; and six piaans one pizana, or 

 about a minute. The day commences at noon, and 

 is divided into eight portions, of about three hours 

 each. Their divisions of time are ascertained by a 

 machine resembling the hour-glass, and sometimes 

 by a perforated pan placed in a tub of water. They 

 are announced by a stroke on an oblong drum, which 

 is always placed near the dwelling of the chief ma- 

 gistrate of the town or village. It is commonly 

 raised on a high bamboo stage, with a roof of mats 

 to protect it from the weather. The edifice at the 

 royal palace in the capital is of masonry, and is very 

 lofty ; so that the sound is said to be distinctly con- 

 veyed to the remotest parts of the city. The Bir- 

 man year is divided into twelve months, which con- 

 sist alternately of 29 and 30 days ; so that an ordi- 

 nary year consists only of 354 days. In order, 

 therefore, to complete a solar revolution, they inter- 

 calate every third year a month of 30 days ; and in 

 that year they add other three days to certain of the 

 months : but, as every fourth year will still occasion 

 the difference of a day, as in our bissextile year, 

 their style has been frequently altered by arbitrary 

 authority. His present Birman majesty, however, 

 is so desirous to ascertain and establish, by accurate 

 tables, a permanent and invariable measurement of 

 time, that he made application to the governor-ge- 

 neral of India to send to his capital a Bramin skilled 

 in astronomy, to assist the deliberations of his coun- 

 cil of professors, among whom his majesty always 

 presides in person ; and he is said to be no inconsi- 

 derable proficient in the science of astronomy. The 

 manner in which the Birman month is subdivided, is 

 probably peculiar to this nation. Instead of reckon- 

 ing the days progressively, from the commencement 

 to the close of the month, they advance no farther 

 than the full moon ; from which they recede, by re- 

 trogressive enumeration, until the end of the month. 

 The month is also subdivided into four weeks, of 

 seven days each ; and the eighth day of the increas- 

 ing moon, the fifteenth or full moon ; the eighth of 

 the decreasing moon, and the last day of the moon, 

 are set apart by the Birmans as sacred festivals. On 

 these hebdominal holidays no public business is trans- 

 acted, and mercantile engagements are suspended ; 

 and the strict observers ot them take no sustenance 

 between the rising and the setting of the sun : but the 

 latter instance of self denial is not very common, and 

 is rarely practised, except in the metropolis, when 

 the appearance of sanctity is sometimes assumed by 

 the crafty as the means of attaining promotion. The 

 sovereign himself is a great favourer of the austeri- 

 ties of the Birman religion ; and his chief minister 

 has for many years, on the Birman Sabbath, abstain- 

 ed from food, so long as the sun appeared above the 

 horizon. 



With regard to religion, the Birmans are worship- Religion. 



