444 SYSTEMS OF CONSANGUINITY AND AFFINITY 



a special notation for the Karen schedule filled by him, with appropriate characters 

 to indicate the high, low, and middle! sounds of the vowels, but it was deemed 

 advisable to reduce it to the notation adopted in the schedule, for the sake of 

 uniformity. 



It is now proposed to take up the Karen system of relationship, and pass through 

 the several lines for the purpose of comparing it with other forms. 



The lineal line in the descending series is distinguished, as to its members, in much 

 the same manner as the Burmese. The whole series, beginning with grandfather, 

 and ending with great-great-grandchild, is as follows : phu, pa, -pho, le, Id, and Id. 



" 2. Additional Letters. 



6, as o in note. au and ay, as pronounced in English. 



n, as pronounced on the continent. kh, like the German ch, or the Scotch in 



eu, " " " loch. 



ei t as pronounced in German. gh, like the Northumberland r. 



" 3. Terms of Consanguinity. 

 " The only independent terms which distinguish difference of sex are 



Father, Pa. Mother, Mo. Son-in-law, Ma. 



Grandfather, Phu. Grandmother, Pine. Daughter-in-law, Day. 



Uncle, Fha,-tie. Aunt, Mu-g/ia. 



The other primitive terms are 



Ph6, a child, male or female. Way, an elder brother or sister. 



Lie, a grandchild, male or female. Pu, a younger brother or sister. 



LO, a great-grandchild, male or female. Mue-pglm, a father or .mother-in-law. 



La, a great-great-grandchild, male or female. Ta-khwa, or Dan-ta-khwa, cousin. 



" Cousins are distinguished, as first, second, third, as in English. 



"Words of common gender are made masculine or feminine by affixes. P6-khwa, or khwa, mascu- 

 line -, po-mu, or mu, feminine. Dan denotes relationship, and is prefixed to some of the compound 

 terms. For instance, as in the Indian languages, there are independent words for elder brother and 

 younger brother, but none for brother or sister; so the words for elder and younger are inverted, 

 ddn prefixed, and the compound is used for brother or sister. Thus, way, elder brother or sister, 

 becomes dan-pu-way, a brother or sister younger or older. 



" 4. Karen Tribes. 



" The Karens are broken up into many tribes, but nothing like the tribal organization of the Ame- 

 rican Indians is known among them. The names of some of the principal tribes are 



S au - Mop-gha. Sho. Ka, or Kay. 



Pa - ku - Klm-hxa. Bghai. Hash-wie. 



" It is remarkable that no satisfactory signification of any one of these names can be given. 



" 5. Marriage Customs. 



' In the matter of marriages the rule among the Karens is diametrically opposite to that among 



:an Indians. Marriages must always, among the Karens, be contracted by relations. First 



rry, but that is deemed undesirably near. Second cousins are considered the most suit- 



third cousins may marry without impropriety, though that is considered undesir- 



Beyond third cousins marriages are forbidden. 



These rules arc not carried out very strictly, but sufficiently so to produce a weakly people, 

 owing to the intermarriages of near relations." 



