1863. | Notes on the Tribes of the Eastern Frontier. 405 
of the lower part of the body: occasionally they wear a chang as a 
cloak to cover the body. ‘The dress of the females consists of a dark 
blue cotton gown, fastened at the neck and descending to the knees. 
The faces of the women are all tattooed, and it gives them asingularly 
hideous appearance: the tattooing commences with a circle in the 
forehead and a straight line bisects it, extending to the nose: curved 
lines are made along each cheek, converging towards the chin, where 
they end in a circle: the outer line forms a curious edging asif the face 
was covered with amask. Figures of animals are sometimes tattooed 
as ornaments; these marks and figures are made by pressizg sharp 
points into the flesh, and filling the punctures with a liquid, prepared 
from the juice of a tree fourd in the forests. The operation is so 
painiul, that young girls of 8 or 10 years are obliged to be tied down, 
their faces remaim swollen for a fortnight afterwards. From 5 to 30 
Rs. is generally paid for disfiguring the faces of young females. 
Mroo Kuyerns.—The most northern village, occupied by the Mroo 
Khyens paying revenue, is Sikcharoa, situated 14 miles north of the 
junction of the Saeng Kheong with the Lemroo river. The Mroo Khyens 
occupy the valleys of the Wah Kheong, Saeng Kheong, Mau Kheong 
and that part of the valley of the Lemroo between Peng Kheong and 
Saeng Kheong. They number 4,020 souls, of whom 387 cultivators 
pay an aunual revenue of Rs. 111. This small revenue is chiefly 
derived from the sale of bamboos, which are floated down in rafts of 
10,000 or more, and sold in the plains at 1 Rupee the hundred. The 
village of Anoongroa is a refuge for deformed, maimed, and all sick 
persons labouring under palsy, ulcers, leprosy and other incurable 
diseases. Some who recover, cultivate for themselves, but in general 
they are supported by their relatives, who consider them outcasts: 
they are not allowed to beg, and would on no account receive shelter 
in any other villages. 
The inhabitants of Hytweegree and the villages on the heights near 
the Mau Kheong pass,* situated several miles within our frontier, 
would not render me any assistance or receive presents, being afraid 
of the barbarous and czuel punishments inflicted by the Burmese. 
A Burmese official resides at Loong-shai-mroo, 2 days’ journey on the 
Ava side of the boundary range. He collects annually from each of 
these villages, one male or female slave valued from 50 to 100 Rs. and 
* Kangto, Thonoo, Atareepoong, Okreepoong. 
