3. The Avans.—Avan is a more convenient term than Burmese, inasmuch as it is more definite; the Burmese Empire containing not only very distant members of the great Burmese family, but also populations which belong to other groups. Ava, on the other hand, is the centre of the dominant division.
Whether the Môn, or a family yet to be mentioned, represent the aborigines of Maulmein, it is certain that the Avans of that country are of comparatively recent introduction.
Again, whether the Tha'y, or a family yet to be mentioned, represent the aborigines of Tenasserim, it is certain that the Avans of that country are of comparatively recent origin.
Nevertheless, there are Avans in each; and in Maulmein, although the Môn preponderate in number, they all are able to speak the language of their conquerors. I say conquerors, because the Avans are for all the parts south of 18° North lat., an intrusive population: the end of the eighteenth century being the date, when, under Alompra, an Avan or Umerapúra dynasty broke up and subjected, in different degrees, the Môn and Tha'y populations to the south, as well as several others more akin to itself on the east, west, and north.[100]
The kingdom of Ava, next to those of China and Siam, best represents the civilization of those families whose tongue is monosyllabic. This implies that it has an organized polity, a lettered language, and a Buddhist creed; in other words that the influences of either China or India have acted on it. Of these two nations it is the latter which has most modified the Indianized members of the great Burmese stock. In strong contrast with these is the fourth and last branch of the continental population for the provinces in question, the
4. Karien.—The Kariens are partially independent; chiefly pagan; and their language, belonging to the same class with the Avan, is unlettered. They are the first of a long list.
Their geographical distribution is remarkable, like that of the Tha'y. Its direction is north and south; its dimensions linear, rather than broad; and it bears nearly the same relation to the water-system of the Salwín that that of the Siamese does to the river Menam. There are Kariens as far south as 11° North lat. and there are Kariens as far north as 25° North lat. Hence we have them in Maulmein, and in Tenasserim, and in the intermediate provinces of Ye and Tavoy as well. All these, like the Môn, have been eased by the transfer from Avan oppression to British rule; though this says but little. Hence, with one exception,[101] the other members of their family are decreasing; the exception being the so-called Red Karien.
This epithet indicates a change in physiognomy; and, indeed, the physical conformation of the Burmese tribes requires attention. It is Mongolian in the way that the Siamese is Mongolian; but changes have set in. The beard increases; the hair becomes crisper; and the complexion darkens. The Kyo,[24] the isolated occupants of a single village on the river Koladyng, are so much darker than their neighbours as to have been considered half Bengali; and, as a general rule, the nearer we approach India, the deeper becomes the complexion. The Môn, too, of Pegu, are very dark. What is this the effect of? Certainly not of latitude, since we are moving northward. Of intermarriage? There is no proof of this. The greater amount of low alluvial soils, like those of the Ganges and Irawaddi, is, in my mind, the truer reason. But this is too general a question to be allowed to delay us. The Red Kariens are instances of an Asiatic tribe with an American colour; just as the Red Fulahs were in Africa. Such are the occupants of the continent.
5. The Silong.—In the islands of the Mergui Archipelago, there is another variety; but whether[102] it form a class itself, or belong to any of the previous ones, is uncertain. Their language is said to be peculiar;[25] but of this we have no specimen. As it is probably that of the oldest inhabitants of the continent opposite, this is to be regretted.
They are called Silong, are a sort of sea-gipsy; and amount to about one thousand. Of all the creeds of either India or the Indo-Chinese peninsula theirs is the most primitive; so primitive as to be characterized by little except its negative characters. They believe that the land, air, trees, and waters are inhabited by Nat, or spirits, who direct the phenomena of Nature. How far they affect that of man, except indirectly, is unascertained. "We do not think about that," was the invariable answer, when any one was questioned about a future state. Too vague for monotheism, the Silong creed is also said to be too vague for idolatry, too vague for sacrifices.