THE BURMESE.
Locality.—Valley of the Irawaddi. Conterminous, save so far as interrupted by mountain-tribes, with Assam, China, Siam, and Pegu.
Divisions.—1. The Myamma, or Burmese of Ava. 2. The Rhukheng, or people of Arakan.
Religion.—Buddhist.
Alphabet.—Of Indian origin, a rounded form of the Pali.
Physical appearance.—More beard, more prominent features, and darker complexions than the Siamese, Anamese, and Chinese. Beard also more abundant. The darkness of complexion increasing towards the confines of Bengal.
THE MÔN.
Locality.—The Delta of the Irawaddi; Pegu.
Alphabet.—Burmese.
The notices hitherto given have applied only to the great political divisions of the variety speaking monosyllabic languages; and have referred to nations of a known and similar degree of civilization. It would be an error, however, to suppose that they supply a complete enumeration. Hardly an empire mentioned will not exhibit some instance of a new series of phenomena standing over for investigation. The Chinese, the Burmese, and the Siamese, represent merely the dominant tribes of their several areas; those whereof the civilization and territorial power have given their possessors a certain degree of prominence in the history of the world. The intermixed tribes, sometimes imperfectly subdued, always imperfectly civilized, inhabiting barren tracts or mountain fastnesses, have a value in ethnology which they cannot command in history. In these we see the original substratum of the different national characters, as it may be supposed to have shown itself, before it was modified by foreign influences. In a more advanced stage of our knowledge, these tribes will probably be brought under one of the sub-divisions already noticed. At present, even when in some cases they may be so placed, it is best to take them in detail; premising that, the list does not pretend to be exhaustive, that, from the fluctuations of the geographical nomenclature, the same tribe may be mentioned twice over, and, lastly, that partly from imperfect knowledge, and partly from changes of locality, arising from migrations of the tribes themselves, the geographical position is, in many cases, difficult to fix.