178' On the religion an0 



?c 



«« 



and on this account the great ocean is dividetJ 

 into four seas ; the ^hite, the green, the yelloNv, 

 and the brown. 



*' V. Thk Biirmas do not suppose the ocean to be 

 every where of the same depth. The sea, lying 

 between each of the large islands and its depend- 

 ing small ones, has little depth, and is so smooth 

 as to be passable with convenience in ships : but 

 the seas interposed between the gyeat islands, and 

 also those which He on one hand between ]\1icnm& 

 and the great islands, and on the other between 

 them and Zetc]uuvul&, have the enormous depth of 

 ^^jOOOjuzana. In these seas the waves rise to th^- 

 height of sixty or %t\ ^nty jazana ; i.n them there 

 are frequent and dreadful whirlpools, capable of 

 SM^allowing up the largest ships ; and monstrous 

 and enormous fishes, oOO nay even a 1000 ju- 

 zana in length. When these fishes simply move, 

 the}^ cause the water as it were to boil : but when 

 they leap up with their whole bodies, they raise 

 " tempests extending from iOO to 80ti^*?<;:fl;2«. These 

 *' seas are therefore inaccessible to ships*. It is 

 '* related in the Jtwnwtf writings, t\\3it di Kula ( Eu- 

 ** ropcan) ship, having ventured to penetrate into 

 '* them, had been swallowed up : and hence it is 

 ** concluded, that there can be no communication 

 '* between the fourgreat islands^ The Burmas there- 

 *• fore suppose, that the ships which arrive from 

 •' Europe, in their kingdom, come from some of 

 ** the small islands belonging to the great isle Zft- 

 **' budiba : and thence X\\g Europea7is 2j:t commonly 

 " called the inhabitants of the small islands." Al- 

 though religion and ignorance induced the Burmas, 

 on their first acquaintance with Europeans, to form 

 biich mean opinions af them ; yet better iuformatiou 

 has corrected their error, and 1 always at Auiarapura 

 heard Britain mentioned by the name of Pyet-gye, 

 or tlic great kingdom. 



OF 



* In the Cosynogon'ia Ind'uo.'T'ibetaTiay given us by Paulinus, we 

 have a rude imitation of a ship passing between Zahudiba and one of 

 its dependent small islands, in order, I suppose, to shew the interven- 

 ing part of the sta to be navigable. 1 wonder that the vigilance of 

 the good father did not discover it tob; Noah's ark. 



