B I R 



B I R 



who incurs a debt wliich he cannot pay, becomes the pro- 

 perty of the creditor, who may claim him as a fljve, and ob- 

 lige him to perform menial lervice until he liquiJates the 

 debt. His immediate relations are alfo liable to be attached ; 

 and innocent vomen are often dragged frora domelHc com- 

 fort, and are fold to the licenfed fuperintendant of the tack- 

 ally, who, if they poffefs attraftions, pays a high price for 

 them, and reimbiirfcs himftlf by the wages of their proRitxi- 

 tioi). On the banks of a fmall creek, between the town of 

 Maindu and Biifuen, is a villdsre called Mima-Sliun-Riia, or 

 the village of p'oftitutes, wliich is inh?.bittd altogether by 

 women of this defcription. liirniaii wives are faid to be in 

 general challe and faithful ; their fediilcus employment af- 

 fording no leiUire for the corrnption of their n:inds. A wo- 

 man of the highcft rank fcldoni fits in idlenefs at home ; her 

 female ferviinls, urdcr her direction and fnperinttndance, 

 like thofe of the Grecian dames of antiquity, ply the various 

 labours of the loom. Weaving is chiefly a female occupa- 

 tion ; and moll Birman families manufadture all the cotton 

 and filk that are required tor their domeftic confumption. 

 The women in this country manaa;e alfo the moll important 

 mercantile concerns of their hulbands, and attend to their 

 interefts in all out-door manufaftures ; they are to the great- 

 ell degree indnllrious, and are faid to be good mothers ; 

 and they therefore merit a higher rank than that which is 

 alligned them, and better treatment than they experience. 

 The Birmans, in fome refpcfts, particularly towards their 

 enemies and invaders, difplay the feverity of barbarians, but 

 in others, all the humanity and tendernefs of polifhed life. 

 At home they manifeft an amiable benevolence, adminilkr- 

 ing aid to the infirm, the aged, and the fick ; filial piety is 

 inculcated as a facred precept, and its duties are rchgioufly 

 obfervcd. A common beggar is no where to be feen ; every 

 individual is certain of receiving affi (lance, which, if he is 

 unable to procure it by his own labour, is provided for him 

 by others. 



Among the Birmans, marriages are not contrafted till the 

 parties attain the age of puberty ; the contrail is purely ci- 

 vil ; and the ecclefiaflical jurifdiftion has no concern with it. 

 The law prohibits polygamy, and recognizes only one wife; 

 however, concubinage is admitted to an unlimited extent. 

 Concubines, who live in the fame houfe with the legitimate 

 wife, are obliged by law to perform menial fervices for her; 

 and when the hufband dies, they become the property of 

 the furvivmg widow, unlefs he Ihall have emancipated them 

 by a fpccitic att previous to his deceafe. When a young 

 man is defirous of efpoufiug a girl, his mother, or nearell fe- 

 male relation, firll makes the propofal in private; if the fuit 

 be well received, a party of his friends proceed to the houfe 

 of the parents of the young woman, with whom they adjuft 

 the dotal portion. On the morning of the bridal day, the 

 bridegroom fends to the maiden three loongues, or lower 

 garments ; three tubbeeks, or falhes ; and three pieces of 

 white muflin ; fuch jewels alfo, ear rings, and bracelets, as 

 his circumilances will admit : a feall is prepared by the pa- 

 rents of the bride, and formal writings are executed : the 

 new-married couple eat out of the fame dilh : the bridegroom 

 prefents the bride with fome laepack, or pickled tea, which 

 fhe accepts, and returns the compliment ; and thus the cere- 

 mony ends. 



When a man dies inteftate, three-fourths of his property 

 go to his children born in wedlock ; and one fourth to the 

 widow, who is the guardian both of the property and the 

 children, until the latter attain the age of maturity. A Bir- 

 man funeral is folemnized with much religious parade and 

 externa! demoullration of grief ; befides the mourning rtla- 

 tioas, the attendants, who follow th« corpfc, which is car- 



ried on a bier, are women hired for the occafion, who pre- 

 cede the body, and chant a dirge-like-air. The Birmans 

 burn their dead ; but as the ceremony of burning is cxpen- 

 five, the bodies of paupers are either buried or call into the 

 river. The mode of burning is as follows : the bier is placed 

 on a funeral pile fix or eight feet high, made of billets of 

 dried wood laid over one another, with intervals for admit- 

 ting a free circulation of air, fo as to increafe the flame. The 

 Rhahaans walk round the ode, reciting prayers to Gaiidma, 

 untd tlce fire reaches the body, when the whole is quickly 

 reduced to afhes, which' arc gathered and depofited in a 

 grave. Perfons of high dilliiictlon are embalmed, and tluir 

 bodies are prclerved in fome kioum, or religious building, 

 fix or eight weeks before they are committed to the funeral 

 pile. Honey is laid to be the principal ingredient uftd for 

 preferviuT- the body from putrttaftion. 



As to their food, the Birmans, compared with the Indians, 

 are grofs and uncleanly. Although J^heir religion forbids the 

 (laughter of animals in general, yet they apply the interdic- 

 tion only to thofe that are domefticated. All game is ea- 

 gerly fought after, and in many places publicly fold ; rep- 

 tiles alfo, fuch as lizards, guanas, and fuakes, conltitute a 

 part of the fe.bfiilcnce of the lower clafies. They are alfo 

 extremely fond of vegetables. 



Among the vegetable produftions of this country we 

 may enumerate the white fandal-tree, and the aloexylum ve- 

 rum, much valued for the grateful odour of tlieir fmoke ; 

 the teak-tree (teftonatheca) already mentioned ; the cbe- 

 noxylum venun, producing the true jet black ebony woed ; 

 the fycamore fig, Indian fig, and banyan tree ; the bigno- 

 nia indica, nauclea orientalis, cor)'pha feribus, one of the 

 loftieft of the palm-trees, and excoecaria Cochinchinenfis, re- 

 markable for the crimfon under-furfacc of its leave?. To the 

 clafs of plants nfed in medicine and the arts, we may refer 

 the ginger and cardamum, found wild on the fides of rivers, 

 and cultivated in great abundance ; the turmeric, ufed by the 

 natives of the coaft to tinge and flavour their rice and other 

 food ; the betel pepper, fagaria piperita, and 3 or 4 kinds 

 of capficum ; the jullicia tinftoria, yielding a beautiful 

 green tinge ; morinda umbellata, gamboge, and carthamus, 

 furnifliing yellow dyes ; the red wood of the lawfonia fpinofa, 

 and Cifalpina fapan, and the indigo. The bark of the ne- 

 rium antid)fentcricuni, called codagapala, and that of the 

 laurus cuiilavan, the fruit of the flrychnos nux vomica, the 

 cafha fiftula, the tamarind, and the croton tiglinm, the in- 

 ipiflated juice of the aloe, the refin of the camphor-tree> 

 and the oil of the ricinus, are occafionally imported from 

 this country for the European difpenfaries. The cinnamon 

 laurel, fometimes accompanied by the nutmeg, the fugar.' 

 cane, bamboo, and fpikenard, are found throughout the 

 whole country ; the laft on dry hills ; and the bamboo and 

 fugar cane in rich fwamps. The fweet potatoe, ipomsea tu- 

 berofa, mad-apple and love-apple (folanum melongena and 

 lycoperficon), nymphcea nelumbo, gourds, melons, water- 

 melons and various other efculent plants, enrich, by cultiva- 

 tion, this country ; and the plantain, cocoa-nut, and fago 

 palm, are produced more fpontaneoufly. The vine grows 

 wild in the forells, but its fruit is much inferior for want of 

 cultivation, and through cxccfs of heat, to that of the fouth 

 of Europe ; but this country is amply fupplied with the 

 mango, pine-apple, fapindus edulis, mangolteen plum, aver- 

 rhoa carambola, cullard-apple, papaw-fig, orange, lemon,, 

 and lime, and many other exquifite fruits. ' The animals of 

 the Birman empire correfpond with thofe of Hmdoftan. 

 The wild elephants of Pegu are very numerous ; and allured 

 by the early crops of rice, commit great devattation among 

 the plantations (hat are expofed to thur rarages. The king 



