£88 
€ox'& Burmhan Empire. 
country mu sic fans and dancers, two 
files, said to be 500 each of common 
people, with little earthern-pots and 
sprigs of trees in theni, closed by the 
officers of the prince’s household, in 
their court-dresses and on horseback. 
They went down to the river, filled 
their pots with water, and returned in 
the same order* This ceremonial of 
washing the prince’s head occurs twice 
a year, when all the great men pay 
their court, and prisoners for trivial 
offences are liberated. In the evening 
the Enga Tekaing’s house-steward 
came, to ask me for a bottle of brandy 
for his master; as I was doubtful of his 
authority, and the use of all intoxicat¬ 
ing liquors or drugs being strictly pro¬ 
hibited, I declined giving it, until I 
had consulted the Enga Tekaing’s 
whoon. 
May 10. This being the day of full- 
moon. several processions paraded the 
streets with votive offerings to the 
Burmhan deities: and I had a long 
visit from two distant relations of the 
royal family. In the morning I sent to 
ask the enga’s whoon about the brandy 
business, and, with his advice, sent a 
bottle immediately. It is intended, I 
am told, to make a lotion, the virtues 
of which are such, that whoever washes 
with ft becomes i?ivulnerable. This 
magical liquor is dispensed by the En¬ 
ga Tekaing to his particular favourites. 
HOLYDAY FESTIVAL. 
May 25. This being the day of the 
moon’s change, is a holyday with the 
Burmhans; when they go to pay their 
devotions, and make offerings at the 
shrine of their divinities. Since the 
10th of April I have regularly distri¬ 
buted alms every morning to 150 
poonghees, according to the Burmhan 
custom ; and at every full and change 
of the moon have had twenty-one 
poonghees to partake, as it is called, of 
a charitable feast. This morning as 
usual, the appointed number came, my 
great hall was carpetfed, and wooden 
trays arranged the whole length of the 
room, four for each poonghee; the first 
contained fried fish, ballehoug, turtle 
eggs, curries, &c., dressed after the 
Burmhan style, made up in little plates 
of leaves; the second pancakes, and 
Burmhan sweetmeats; the third, man¬ 
goes and other sweetmeats; the fourth 
bunches of plaintains, a green cocoa- 
nut, betel leaves and nut, tobacco, 
eh mam, &c. &c. After the poonghees 
had been seated a few minutes, their 
servants- and scholars brought in the 
bowls which they carry in making their 
daily collections of rice, &c.; these they 
placed before them ; the mewjerry, whcr 
is my master of the ceremonies, then 
presented to the head poonghee, who 
was seated in the centre, two cups of 
water. Out of the first he took water 
to wash his mouth and drink. He then 
puts the points of his fingers in the 
other, and prayed over it in a low 
voice; the mewjerry then took away 
the water, and my Burmhan attendants 
put the contents of the first row of trays 
into their bowls, which signified their 
acceptance of the feast. Their servants 
and scholars then took away the bowls, 
and the remainder of the trays to the 
outer verandah, to put the contents in 
baskets, and carry them away; the 
mewjerry, &c., then presented to the 
chief poonghee three trays, one with a 
pyramid of boiled rice on it, the other 
with fruit, and the third with betel, 
&c.; these he touched with the points 
of his fingers, and appeared to bless 
them ; in turn they were presented ts* 
each of the poonghees, who performed 
the same ceremony; they were then put 
apart as consecrated, to be exposed near 
a temple, on an open altar, for the be=- 
nefit of the crows and pian dogs; (-this 
is one of the usages which his majesty 
ridicules and condemns.) On these* 
occasions the neighbours assist at the 
house where the feast is made. Several 
men and women were assembled at my 
house; these now advanced and kneeled 
in two groups before the line of poon- 
ghees, the women to the right of the 
men: the mewjerry gave a few grains* 
of parched paddy to each, which they 
held in their hands closed, with the- 
palms together a little elevated, in a 
supplicating posture; they then re¬ 
peated a prayer after the chief poonghee, 
in the manner of part of our service £ 
the chief poonghee then prayed, the 
other poonghees placing their fans of 
palm-leaves before their faces, accom¬ 
panying him ; after this prayer was 
finished, the chief poonghee delivered 
a kind of lecture in an audible tone of 
voice—a lesson I suppose from some of 
their books of divinity, and, if I might 
judge from the chanting tone, was a? 
kind of meter. This lasted about ten 
or fifteen minutes, when they arose and 
walked off without ceremony. 
ALCHEMY. 
June I. In the evening the king’s 
jewel merchant visited me, his errand 
was to obtain some information respect¬ 
ing alchemy, in which the royal fa- 
\ mily. 
