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has frequently been altered by arbitrary authority. The 

 manner in which the Birman month is fubdivided is pecnhar 

 to tlitir nation. Inllead of reckoning tlic clays progrL-ffivcly 

 from the commencement to the clofe of the month, tliey ad- 

 vance no farther than the full moon, from which '.'"iV '■^" 

 cede bv retrograde enumeration until the month is (inilhtd. 

 The Uirmin month is divided into 4 weeks of 7 days each. 

 The 8th day of the incitanng moon, the 15th or full moon, 

 the 8th of the dicreafing moon, and the lall day of the full 

 moon, are religioufly obfcrved by the Birmans as facred fef- 

 tivals. On thefe hebdominal holidays no public bufinefs is 

 tranfafted in the Rhoom ; mercantile dealings are fufpended ; 

 handicraft is forbidden ; and the llrifxly pious take no fuile- 

 na'ice between the riling and the fetting of the fun. The 

 Birman a::-a is faid to commence in our year 63S, and it is 

 that which is ufed by the philofophers at Siam ; and from 

 them, as a more polilhcd nation, it has palfed to the 

 Birmans. 



The Birmans are very fond of poetry and mufic ; the for- 

 mer they call ytddoo ; when repeated by a fcholar, it flows 

 foft and meafured to the ear ; fometimes in fucceffivc, and 

 often in alternate rhymes. They have epic as well as reli- 

 gious poems of high celebrity, and they are fond of writ- 

 ing in heroic numbers the exploits of their kings and ge- 

 nerals. 



Mufic is a fcience which is held in confiderable eftimation 

 throughout the Birman tmpire ; and the royal library of 

 Ummerapoora is faid to contain many valuable treatifes on 

 the art. Some of the profedional muficians difplay confiCer- 

 able (kill and execution, and the fofter airs are pleafing even to 

 an ear nnaccullomed to fuch melody. The principal inllru- 

 ments arc a foum, or harp, made of light wood, hollowed 

 and varnilhcd, refembling a canoe with a deck ; at the ex- 

 tremity a piece of hard wood is neatly faflened, which tapers 

 to the end, and rifes in a kind of curvature over the body of 

 the harp ; from this curvature, the ftrinj^s, ufually made of 

 wire, are extended to a bridge on the belly of the inftru- 

 ment ; it has two founding holts, one on each iide of the 

 bridge. The fize of the foum varies from two to five feet in 

 length. The turr rcfembles our viohn ; it has only three 

 ftrings, and is played on with a bow. It is faid to be an 

 original inilrument of the country. The pullaway is a com- 

 mon flageolet. The kyzzoup i<! a collection of cymbals, 

 fufpended in a bamboo frame. The patola, or guitar, is a 

 curious inftrument, of the form of a crocodile in miniature ; 

 the body is hollow, with founding holes on the back ; three 

 ftrings of wire extend from the (liouldcr to the tail, and are 

 fnpportcd on bridges at each extremity ; the llrings are tuned 

 by means of pegs in the tail, to which they are faUencd ; it 

 is played on by the finger, and is generally ufed to accom- 

 "jpany the voice. The boundaw is a collection of drums, of 

 oblong form and different fize, which are fufpended perpendi- 

 cularly in a Vooden frame by leathern thongs. The whole 

 machine in about five feet in diameter, and four feet high. 

 The performer ilands in the centre, and beats on the drums 

 with a fmall Hick. This inftrument is always introduced in 

 a full band, and much ufed in proceffions. The heem is 

 the pipe of Pan, formed of feveral reeds neatly joined and 

 founded by a common mouth-piece, and producing, when 

 flcilfuUy pl.iyed on, a veiy plaintive melody. The Birmans 

 are fond of finging and dancing ; and the three laft days of 

 the folar year are commonly devoted to mirth and fellivity. 

 At Pegu they h:ive a theatre, which is an open court, fplen- 

 didly illuminated by lamps and torches, and in which drama- 

 tic perfonnances are exhibited. Indeed, at all feftivals they 

 have dramatic entertainments, confilling of mufic, dancing, 

 and action, with a dialogue in recitative. The fubjed is 



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generally taken from the legends of their heroes, efpecially 

 of Rama. The beft aftors are faid to be natives of Siam ; 

 and in one of thefe we are told that the dialogue was fpirited 

 without cant, and the aftion animated without being extra- 

 vao-ant ; the dreffes of the principal performers were alfo 

 fhavy and becoming. By way of interlude between the 

 aCis, a clownilh bufloon entertained the audience with a re- 

 cital of different padages, and by grimace and frequent alte- 

 rations of tone and countenance, extorted iond peals of 

 laughter from the fpeftators. Tlie Birmans dehjjht in mi- 

 micking, and are very expert in the piatlice, pofl'cfling un- 

 common verfatility of countenance. By pantomimic looks 

 a:i'l i;ellures, they exhibit a mafterly dilplay of the pafiions, 

 m;'.king fudden ti-anfitions trom pain to plcaiure, from joy to 

 defpair, from rage to mildnefs, from laughter to tears, and 

 of varying the cxprcfTion of terror and of idiotifm, with 

 furprifing effe&. On the lad day of the Birman year, the 

 lytli of April, there is a kind of fport that is univerfally 

 praftifed throughout the Birman dominions, to wafh away 

 the impurities of the pad year, and to commence the new 

 year free from fcain. Women on this day are accuftomed to 

 throw water on every man they meet, which the men have 

 the privilege of returning. This paftime is condufted with, 

 great decorum ; and a woman who declines taking a part in 

 it, is coufiJered as avowing her pregnancy, and palfes with- 

 out molellation. At the clofe of Lent, or during the whole 

 feventh month, called Sadeen-guit, there are illuminations ; 

 every houfe has erefted by it a kind of maft, from which are 

 fufpended one or more lamps. In the royal palace, a py- 

 ramid of lamps, at lealf 150 feet high, is fupported by a. 

 bamboo fcaffolding. At this time the nobles from all parts 

 of the empire refort to court to pay their homage to the 

 king. During the principal days and nights of ihife fefti- 

 vals, there is almoil a conilant fuccefllou of wreftling, danc- 

 ing, mufic, proceffions, fire-works, and theatrical enter- 

 tainments. 



The Birman alphabet confifts of 3^5 characters, having as 

 many diftinft founds, exclufive oi various marks and con- 

 tractions, that fupply tlie place of long and fhort vowels, 

 diphthongs, &c. like the other alphabets of the Hindoo 

 claf-. It has no reprcfentation of the vowel correfpondmg 

 with our fhort a ; this is nevtrthclcfs to be pronounced after 

 every fimple found or confonaut not fupplied*\v!th another 

 vowel, unlefs it be forbid'den by a mark of tlifion placed 

 over the letter, or excluded by the junftion of two or more 

 confonants. The Birmans write from left to right; and 

 though they have no diftinguilliing interval between their 

 words, they mark the paufcs of a fentence and the full ftops. 

 Their letters are diftinft, and their I)ISS. are in general very 

 beautiful. It has been the opinion of fome of the mod en- 

 lightened writers on the languages of the eall, that the 

 " Pali," or facred lanj^uage of the priefts of Boodh, is 

 nearly allied to the Shanfcrit of the Bramins. The cha- 

 racter in common ufe throughout Ava and Pegu is a round 

 Nagari, derived from the fquare Pali, or religious text ; it 

 is formed of circles and fegments of circles, varioufly dif- 

 pofed and combined, whilft the Pali, wlrich is folely applied 

 to purpofes of religion, is a fquare letter, chiefly confill- 

 ing of right angles. Their common books, like thofe of 

 the Hindoos in the fouthern parts of India, are compofed 

 of the palmyra leaf, on which the letters are engraved with 

 a ftylus. In their more elegant books, the Birmans write on 

 flieets of ivory, or on very fine white palmyra leaves. The 

 ivory is dained black, and the margins are ornamented with 

 gilding, while the charafters are enamelled or gilded. On 

 the palmyra leaves the charaftcrs are in general of black ena- 

 mel j and the ends of the leaves, and the margins, are 



painted 



