Burmah and the Burmese

by Kenneth R. H. Mackenzie

The floors are elevated a few feet from the earth, which makes them more comfortable than the houses of Bengal, and to render them clean, and secure ventilation, they are made of split cane. Unfortunately, the crevices between the cane often invite carelessness, and dirty liquids are allowed to run through, and not unfrequently the space becomes filled with mud and vermin, particularly among the poorer classes. The doors and windows are merely of matting in bamboo frames; when not closed, they are propped up so as to form a shade. There are of course no chimneys. They cook in a sort of square box of earth. A house does not cost more than from sixty to a hundred rupees; many not nearly so much, and they may be put up in about three days. The houses have only one story. In some of the large towns the houses of the rich are built of wood with plank floors, and panelled doors and shutters, but neither lath, plaster, nor glass. The houses are infested with insects of various descriptions, also with lizards, but they are useful in destroying the former.

The buildings not being of brick, the utmost precaution is taken against fire. The roofs of the houses are loosely thatched, and a long pile of bamboo, with a hook at the end, is provided in every dwelling to pull down the thatch, while another pole is placed ready with a grating at the end of it to put out the flame by means of pressure.

But it is not only in houses and pagodas that the architectural skill of the Burmans displays itself. The nation, like the ancient Peruvians, also constructs tanks, which are of immense utility in fertilizing the country. One of these, at Montzoboo, the birthplace of Alompra, is a very handsome work. They have also a few bridges, one of which, at Ava, is very long, and which Malcom emphatically says, “I have not seen surpassed in India, and scarcely in Europe.”[160] The arrangement of the palace at Ava, it may not be inapposite to remark, is not unlike that of the ancient palaces of Nineveh, as brought to light by Mr. Layard, and restored by Mr. Ferguson.

The Burmese dress is very simple. That of the men consists of a long piece of striped cotton or silk, folded round the middle, and flowing down to the feet. When they are not at work, this is loosed, and is thrown partly over the shoulder, covering the body in no ungraceful manner. It very closely resembles the modern Nubian dress. The higher classes add to this a jacket with sleeves, called ingee, of white muslin, or, occasionally, broadcloth or velvet, buttoning at the neck. The turban or gounboung, of muslin, is worn by every one. Their shoes or sandals are of wood, or cowhide covered with cloth and strapped on. These are only worn abroad.

The women wear a te-mine, or petticoat, of cotton or silk. It is open in front; so that in walking the legs and a part of the thigh are exposed. But in the street, they wear a jacket like that of the men, and a mantle over it.

Both sexes wear cylinders of gold, silver, horn-wood, marble, or paper in their ears. The fashionable diameter of the ear-hole is one inch. At the boring of a boy’s ears, a great festival is generally held, as it is considered equal to the assumption of the toga virilis among the ancient Romans; yet, the period of youth and dandyism gone by, they care no more for such a decoration, and usually use the ear-hole as a cigar-rack, or flower-stand. The hair is always well taken care of, and is anointed every day with sessamum oil. The men gather it in a bunch on the top of the head, like the North American Indians, while the women tie it into a knot behind. The use of betel, which at one time was very general, is now no longer so much consumed, and the practice of staining the teeth is not so universal.

“The men of this nation,” says a good authority,[161] “have a singular custom of tattooing their thighs, which is done by wounding the skin, and then filling the wound with the juice of certain plants, which has the property of producing a black stain. Some, besides both their thighs, will also stain their legs of the same colours, and others paint them all over with representations of tigers, cats, and other animals. The origin of this custom, as well as of the immodest dress of the women, is said to have been the policy of a certain queen; who, observing that the men were deserting their wives, and giving themselves up to abominable vices, persuaded her husband to establish these customs by a royal order; that thus by disfiguring the men, and setting off the beauty of the women, the latter might regain the affections of their husbands.”

In speaking of the military institutions of the Burmese, I quoted from Sangermano a passage in which the food of the soldiers was mentioned.[162] To the account then given, I have little to add here. The food of the people is mean and bad indeed; in fact, as they eat all kinds of reptiles and insects, we may very well agree with Malcom,[163] and call them omnivorous. They make two meals in a day, one at about nine in the morning, and the other at sunset. The rice, or whatever the dish may be, is placed on a wooden plate, raised upon a foot, and the eaters squat round it on the bare ground, or perchance on a few mats, using their fingers in the feast. Their usual beverage is water.

The bed consists of a simple mat spread on the ground, and a small pillow, or piece of wood, precisely in the manner of the Polynesians. The rich occasionally have a low wooden bedstead and mattresses.