164 
JOURNAL OF AN EMBASSY 
to be in perpetuity, but are, in fact, revocable, like 
any other, although, from their insignificance, pos¬ 
sessing, virtually, more permanence and stability 
than larger grants or assignments. The holder of 
these becomes the Myo-thu-gyi, or Thu-gyi; and 
on this account, as well as perhaps from conveni¬ 
ence and usage, these offices are often hereditary. 
The grantees, in such cases, may even alienate 
their rights by gift or sale; and a translation of 
the registry of such a transaction will be found 
in the Appendix. The grants now alluded to 
are often given on very capricious grounds, and 
for very unworthy purposes. I have mentioned 
in the Journal, one case, in which a buffoon was 
the person rewarded; and Captain Alves, in his 
inquiries in the province of Bassein, found a vil¬ 
lage which had been granted in perpetuity to a 
Karyen peasant, educated by a Burmese robber, 
on account of the peculiar skill he displayed as 
a boxer before the King. The condition of the 
grant in this last case was, that the grantee should 
instruct the village youth in the noble science of 
pugilism. 
There are no descriptions of charity land except 
a few attached to some temples of celebrity. The 
grants for these are in perpetuity, and the sacred¬ 
ness of the object for which they are given gene¬ 
rally secures them. The cultivators attached to 
such lands are declared to be perpetual slaves of 
the temples, as already described. Except in this 
