690 Account of Arakan. [No. 117. 



960 villages. Each of these circles is placed under an officer, designa- 

 ted kywn-aop,^ or khyoung-aop, according to the locality of his charge. 

 The duties of a kywn-aop are to collect the revenue, to preserve order 

 in his circle, and to assist the police in the apprehension of criminals ; 

 through him are made all statistical inquiries, and to him are referred 

 many disputes concerning land ; he is paid 1 5 per cent, upon his collec- 

 tions. In each circle there are from 3 or 4 to 15 or 20 villages ; the 

 revenue collected by the different kywn-aops varies from 200 to 10,000 

 rupees : this great difference results from the rapid increase within a 

 few years of some circles, compared with others, consequent on superi- 

 or fertility of soil, more convenient locality for exporting grain, and 

 other causes. 



The office of kywn-aop is not hereditary, but the son of any man 

 who has rendered essential services, generally succeeds on his father's 

 demise. 



Next to the kywn-aop is the rawa-goung, or village head. This 

 officer is elected by the villagers themselves ; if there are two or more 

 candidates for the appointment, the villagers meet and sign their 

 names to a document containing the name of him they vote for ; these 

 lists are then forwarded by the kywn-aop to the officer in charge 

 of the district, (called myo-woon,) who appoints him that has the 

 majority of votes, unless indeed there be some good reason for reject- 

 ing him. The people generally make a good choice ; for the last 

 three and half years T do not recollect more than one instance of such 

 an election being disapproved. The rawa-goung collects the re- 

 venue of his village, and delivers it to the kywn-aop, who carries it to 

 the government treasury. He is paid four per cent, on his collections. 

 A village of thirty houses is entitled to a rawa-goung, that is, to 

 a stipendiary one ; if a village have a less than that number of houses, 

 they pay their tax to a neighbouring goung, but if the villagers, as fre- 

 quently happens, dislike this arrangement, and elect a goung of their 

 own, the proceeding is confirmed, but they must pay him themselves. 

 Their object then is to induce settlers to come among them, whereby 

 their village may be raised to the privileged standard of thirty houses. 



Under the orders of the rawa-goung is the rawa-tsa-re rawa-tsa- 

 gan, or village scribe. He is paid two per cent, on the village 



* This is pronounced as one syllable, Kyok, 



