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JOURNAL OF AN EMBASSY 
thousand resided in the town of Ava Proper,—a 
fact ascertained on the occasion of largesses being 
made to them, when an account must of necessity 
be taken of their numbers. Along with the priests 
may be classed the nuns, or priestesses, known in 
the Bur man. language by the name of Thi-la- 
shen. These, although far less numerous than the 
priests, appear to me to be a good deal more fre¬ 
quent than in Siam. The greater part of them are 
old women; but there are also some young ones, 
who, however, forsake the sisterhood as soon as 
they can procure husbands. The Burmese nuns 
shave the head, and wear a garment of a particu¬ 
lar form, generally of a white colour, and never 
yellow, which they have no more right to than the 
laity. They live in humble dwellings close to the 
monasteries, and make a vow of chastity as long 
as they continue in the sisterhood; but they may 
quit it whenever they please. Any breach of this 
vow is punished by their secular chief. The pro¬ 
fession of a nun is not much respected by the peo¬ 
ple, and in general may be looked upon as little 
better than a more reputable mode of begging. A 
P’hun-gyi, or priest, never begs ; he only 44 expects 
charity. 55 The nuns, on the contrary, go about beg¬ 
ging from house to house, and are to be seen in 
the public markets openly asking for alms. There 
are, however, a few of a more respectable class, 
commonly, I was told, widows, who enter the sis¬ 
terhood from sincere religious motives. These 
