LITtRATURE OF THE BURMAS. 171 



I saw in the eiiTpire could read Sanscrit, and all 

 tlieir books were in the common dialect of Bengal. 



The 1st of October 1795, was at Amarapura 

 Kiasabada the \9\\\o? Sadeengiut, in the year of the 

 Burma nsra 1157; so that the reckoning, at that 

 place at least, agreed ver}^ well with the solar year : 

 hnt 1 observed tliat the Burmas in general, if not 

 ahvclys, antedated by one day the four phases of the 

 moon, which are their common holidays. I did not 

 liowevcr learn, whether this proceeded from their 

 being unable to ascertain the true time of the clvinge 

 of the moon, or if it was only an occasional circum- 

 stance, arising from some farther contrivance used 

 to bring the solar and lunar years to coincide. In 

 the common reckoning of time the Burmas divide 

 the moon into two parts, the light and the dark 

 moon : the first containing the days during which 

 the moon is on the increase, and the second, those 

 in which she is in the wane. Thus for instance, 

 the 1 4th of Sadeengiut is called the 14th of the light 

 moon Sadeengiut : but the I6'th is called the 1st of 

 the dark moon Sadeengiut. 



Whence the Burmas date their s^ra I could not 

 from them learn. Joaxnes Moses, Akamvun or 

 collector of the land tax for the province of Pegu, 

 the most intelligent man with whom we conversed, 

 did not seem to know. He said tliat whenever the 

 king tlipugbt the years of the sera too many, he 

 clianged it. The fact however, 1 believe, is, that 

 this lera commencing in our year 63S is that used 

 by the abtrononiers of Siam, and from them, as a 

 more polished nation, it has passed to the Burmas, 

 whose pride hinderecl them from acknowledging the 

 truth*. 



Having mentioned the fondness of these people 

 for divination, I think no place will suit better than 

 ^his, to introduce M'hat I observed among thera on 



that 



* Loubere du Reyaumc de Siam II. 102, 



