A

BU ŃESE WONDERLAND
Tale of Trazel in
fŚouer and Ugyer Burma

BY

M a j r C. M. E N R 1 Q U E Z› F.R.G.S.
łTHEOP HI LUS)

3-70tk Kachin Rifles : Divisional Rectuiting Oflicer, Bur rna• )

Author od
” A B urmese €ncfiontrnent ” i ” A Burmese L onefiness, ”
etc.

Ob Nat ! Observe the strenity of mind that good uien posstss,

\ t Ob Nat I I mprint ugoa tby bcart the tbirty-eight prccegts.

GALCUTTA AND SIMLA’

A C K E R , S P I N K &- C O
1922
 To
The P •• RfR: OF B noma
This Be of is
Affectionatel y Dedicated
 PREFACE

YsszenDxr, while I was planning the arrangement of

these pages, the relics in the Arakan Pagoda were seen
.o 8y up towards the spire, and hang there, glittering
about the crown. The omen is surely propitious.
This morning a Burmese friend of mine, while
bathing in the Irrawaddy, was seized round the waist
by a be Bifti, or lVater God, which mould have dragged
him away, had not the neighbours rushed in and driven
o8 the River Nat. 3Iaung Gyi himself has since
confirmed the story. “ fly Word has correctly heard the
facts, except that the be Bilu also went o8 with my
foci* leaving me ' a modcst man to reach home in
extreme confusion.”
There are two Burmas. There is one with Diarchy
which is dull enough, but a8ords sport to quite a number
of people. The other is half esoteric. It is just a
Wonderland. Like Alice, you can follow a White Rabbit
dee into it with the pleasurable assurance of exciting
adventures. Not long ago a little bird suddenly began
to bet ; and a giant mushroom, tar larger than Alice’s,
caused a thrill of excitement. About the same time
 PRRF&CE.

twin banyan trees, which had groxvn into each other,

began shedding leaves in pairs, and so continued till
their owner, infuriated at having his crops trampled by
sight-seers, cut them down. Shortly afterwards the
Chind River u as observed to $9 backwards, and
a man o1 impeccable sobriety saw two moons rise
together in Shwebo.
It is easy enough to overlook this magic land. In
a fretful age of materialism, you may live for years
amongst a people, and never know them. Cute, clever
people cannot see enchantments. Jonderlands are only
revealed to the simple-hearted . Peter Pan, you remem-
ber, never grew up to doubt the reality of t.he Arter
?'e»er Land. People rightly tuned to their surrc undinga
discover strange and hidden things, more wonderful than
those mentions d above. They see birds that flash in
*lie sun, and tiny 8owers that spangle the grass. They
road delicious meaning in words and hear melc dies
floating on the air. You and I, dear Reader, being
initiated, will do all this ; and draw romance frcm the
stores of hist‹ ry. T\"e vñ 11 revive frs m the obscurity of
legend brave men o1 ancient days and make them Eve
aq•ain, and cultivate in them friendships that shall last
for ever.
To do so in these restless times is more than ever
soothing, but also more than ever di8lcult. To-day there
are so many distractions. So many details claim
attention. Our sense of appreciation is dulled by
twenticth-century shocks and excitements ; and the
restfu mosphere essential to philosophy is entirely
wanting. j All of us—British and Burmese—are a little
out of tune, a little too engrossed with bickerings :
so that we hax'e drifted apart out of the old happy
association.
It is not easy, all at once, to adjust ourselves to
the new world that has opened before us, in which men
are more practical, perhaps, more efficient : but also more
material. The hard facts of wor have cut across our
lives, giving bus new standards, new ideals. Our work
and opportunities are not those v hich develop humanity
and sentiment. There are social claims on our leisure.
\Ye are hedp•ed about n5th barriers of conventicn, and
worked to the pcint of exhaustion. Modem like, with
its motors, clubs, o8ices and so on, robe us o1 little
educations and little intimacies. All these, and a
hundred othgr trifles, tend to alienate us, and prevent
us from acquiring that insight. and personal s) mpathy
essential to understanding. Lastly, as the cumulative
result of all (his, languages are neglected.
Intimate speech is the essence of friendship. But
to be intimate, intercourse must be easy and free from
strain. Sympathy is only possible where there is an
exchange of ideas. Only thus are motives, thought9
and sentiments understood. \Vithout these conditions,
individuality disappears, and with it initiative. Men
work by rule, ot by heart : and soon they cease to
care. The hu n element is lost, the mechanica 1
substituted acers degenerate into mere clerks,
viii PBEPAGE.

rrhose personality is crushed by deadly routine : while

quill-driving becomes the main object, instead o1
remaining, as it should, subordinate to all othera. In
this artificial atmosphere men may reside twenty
years in the East, ufithoiit ever having tired
there.
In these days we are, no doubt, in a state oi
transition. The old order has gone, the new W
not yet developed. Ozs is an Era of change in w1lich
precedents and institutions crumble. Nothing is '
stable, and dangers threaten which we seem too
greedy, selfish and callous to avert. The nations,
Burma included, are deaf to advice, and blind to
example. They deny histor y, and hurry down a
road which, if history means anything, leads to rank
ruin and revolution. It is however our imperative
duty to do what we can. Nor should the value of
individual efiort be underestimated. We can all
exert an in8uence for good, for harmony, for unity
of purpose, and for the calming o1 asperities. Here in
Burma a basis of good-will exists, and that is half the
battle. Burmese and British have assuredly fallen
apart, but not from ill-will. 'the estrangement is due
to ignorance of language, thought and customs ; to pre-
occupations, transfers and over-work arising out of the
war. All this has interrupted personal friendships and
hindered those studies which alone can awaken mutual
sympathy. the should nov• set ourselvm urgently to
repair the damege.
 T nly true appeal is to the heart. The only suc-
cessful ivities are those achieved without drudgery.
The culti ation of mutual regard and sympathy is a
work in hich every soul in Burma can and should eo-
opeiat by strengthening one present happy rela- tions,
by teaching moderation on both sides, and by stopping,
if possible, that drifting apart of aims and interests
which all thinking men know has set in. Individually
we can e8ect little. But collectively we can do a great
deal to calm the acerbity and restivenesa o1 our times.
Incidentally we may perhaps add a little to the
happiness of others and of ourselves, for, in Barrie’s
immortal words, “ Those who bring sunshine cannot
keep it from them6elves.”
Man#éc 3s1 /auori, 1922.
 I.-LOWER Bozma,

River

r .. 3T

II.—UPPER THR2dE.

79
87
93
tone. Kyanzittha .. 112
.. t93
’n.............................................................140
esterdays..................................................147
Burmese Soldier..................................163
’litary Venture.................................173
dlii m................................................191
otism.....................................................201
alay.......................................................212
’ew.........................................................22t
s............................................................229
r........................................................236
Etare meet in the Hilky
*’
 ILL USTRAT1O NS.

Prontisyiece.
I MY . H' LE CANOE ..

ÖALIVEE RivER .. •• 39
IWE-GA-BIN . . .• •. 40
Tøz GzwDziv-POLIN—Proc .. 93
Ż£tE ÂNANDA—ÖñQOłł .. .. 94
NTlE Be Pu vz—P J9an .. 104
knowa B DAUNG 135
163
 lODEsN Bo US
l
BuRMESE 182
TłlE EOao or z Go«c . . . 191
Ž AWADEINTBA .. .. 201
PaooDa LioNg 219
ßY LOVE İNSPIRED .. .. 229
TEE lPaY o NEIBBa? .. 234
DBE PicNi . .. .. 2tT
 BOOKOME:-LOWERBURMA.
CHA 'TER I.

Be Roxn xND RIVER.

Tunes years of recruiting in Burma bas a8orded “
very special opportunities for travel, and has brought
me into contact with all manner o1 people—Jrom courtly,
polished Burmese, to the uucultured folk o1 the frontier
hills. The material collected is too exten6ive for one
volume. It falls naturally into several parts, of which
one, relating to t.he Buririese, Karens and Talaings of
hower and Upper Burma, is dealt with here. Another
part, concerning Kachins of the frontier is treated
separately in d Pui’inese &rcar/y and will appear
. iltaneously.
Burma is a large country. It is bigger than France,
Even bigger than Germany was before the \Va.r. An
M+ so extensive, stretching as it does from latitude 28°
% w5thin a few degrees of the Equator, is naturally
erae in character. In Upper Burma there are great
zones of scrub, and wet-zones of luxuriant forest,
’vated plains, and a wilderness o1 frontier hills.
Lower Burma is largely 8aMa rich land of paddy.
there is the delta—a labyrinth of water-v’ays :
,s w “ 1
 & BU RMESS V'ON DERLAND.

while Tenasserim on the eastern side is hilly and remark-

able for its beautiiul scenery. Over all this there is as-
atmosphere—a something undefuied which has appealed
irresistibly to all who have fallen under its in8uence.
The appeal lies no doubt in the happy gaiety of the
people, the kindly tolerance of their customs and
institutions, the colour, the monuments, and the grace.
And in addition, h’ature has endowed this land with
water-falls, rapids, whirlpools, hot-springs and volcanoes.
There are mountains, gigantic caves, and stately,
i rresistible rivers. Upon these has fallen the mantle
of romance. The country is saturated with history.
Legend broods over it. A kindly indolence lingers
amidst the fretful restlessness of our age. Here L’ats!
maintain an undisputed sovereignty : and heroes o1 long
ago survive in the names of places. They spirits haunt
the scene of former exploits. Imaginative names
inspire the least significant objects. And if nothing
else occurs there are alxt'ays pagodas, beautiful in them-
selves, beautiM in meaning, and pictmesque and original
in situation.
On the whole, communications are bad. To enjoy
Burma we must work. IVe must leave the beaten
track, sleep in simple village sheds, travel in bullock-
carts and country-boats, rest at noon beneath tamarinds,
and quench our thirst at way-side water pots, which
pious women fill for merit. II'e must climb mountains •

Codlings.
 A BUBI1ESE \YON DER LAN D.

and dusty roads, and reach those remote and

holy shrines which are dearest to the heart of the people.
Here, indeed, we shall find a II'oiidez/ond n•hich will
charm and bewitch us witfi its allurements.
In Lower Burma we have to deal zñ tfi a confused
population. The country was originally 'I'a1aing, but
Talaings have now almost disappeared. Talaings,
Burmese, Karens, Chinese and Arakanese fiave been
swept in by victory, defeat and migration, and are now
scattered about xrithout system. They are attractive
people—gay, humorous and often intellectual. 'they
themselves have suggested to my inind much of what is
here written, and I am glad oi this opportunity of acknow-
ledging it. 'they are little spoiled by the abominable
spirit or our times. This book has been mitteu amidst
all the unhappy querulousness, ingratitude and
childishness of the years succeeding the war. I confess
to many bitter disappointments. Political agitators,
by their nicked Indian doctrine, have sadly damaged
Btirma’s reputation for tolerance and sense. It would
be absurd to deny it. The Burmese have been the
weak victims of a deliberate conspiracy, arid the most
disturbinp• feature has been the ease with which tfie
moderate majorities have pernfitted themselves to be
bullied . \Ve must however in fairness consider all the
surrounding circumstances, and allow tfiat they were
pushed and poked most reluctantly into the mud of
politics. Fortunately, good sense is inherent in these
people. The gld friendship between us, which enemies
 A BUBNESE \9ONDERI›A D.

have deJiberately sought to undermine, has been proof

against the assault. As in the past, so now, there is
mutual respecWand sometimes affection. We are here
amongst enlightened, quick, generous folk—gay and
spendthrift to a fault. They have many weaknesses,
and these we will expose remorselessly iii another place :
but here we will only confess that their wickedness, no
less than their x irtue, often appeals to our own instinct.
And the children—how fascinating they are !—
Little *an Pe and San Kwa who plague me u’hen I
write, remove my pencils, and frankly prefer tea with
me to dinner with they mother—well, it would be a
flinty old bosom that could resist San Rwa.
Let, btit very far from least., there are the u omen,
so dainty, so dangerous. At least, I suppose they are
dangerous, though a determined bachelor like in}'self
cannot really know. Still, with that figure, those
manners, those bright eyes and dashing jewels : with a
scarf blowing about her shoulders in the breeze, and
sunshine beating amber through a paper parasol, she
must be dangerous. The Burmese themselves certainly
find her so, and have all been on the verge of suicide
at least once or txvice. Oh Fla Bed a, were you ically
no very simple ?
 CHAPTER II.

Kuala-HTI- YO.
( il Ia p Aqua re D- II. )
BY far the most extraordinary place in Buriua, and
therefore the most sacred in Buddhist eyes, is the R)-aik-
hti yo Pngoda—a siua)1 shrine built upon a wonderfully
balanced rock. This pagoda has a side reputation, and is
an object of pilgrimage from all parts of the country.
Unfortunately the only opportunity I had of visiting it
mas at the height of the rains. The nine-mile tnarch from
the railway at kyaikto to the foot of the hills at Kin-
muu Zahkaii is, at that season, a trying experience. A
road hardly exists. In August the country is
inundated, iind all the bridges are in a
state of collapse. And as iI angry at our defiance, the
Heavens growled and rained upon us with incredible
fury. On reaching the Zay‹it, ot pilgrim-sheil, at Kin-
iniin Zahkan late in the afternoon it was at once obvious
that the baggage carts could never reach us. The
Tbugyi,! a karen, rose to the occasion nobly. \I’e were
soon warm and dr) before a cheerful fire, and replete
smith a full meal of rice and bamboo-tops, which the
2’liitgtJi hinuell helped to cook. I have seldom enjo) ed
Headman.
6 A BURV ESE WO DERLA ID.

a weal and a pipe more : and since a journey to kyaik- bti-

yO is an important and propitious pilgrimage for every
Burinan, the buoyant spirit of picnic could not be
quenched by any amount of misfortune. As a matter
of fact the Raren villagers brought in all the baggage
before moFoing from where the carts had stranded, and
even carried a meal to my Kachin orderlys who were
sticking nobly to rear-guard duties in a smother o1 rain.
A R’at has his shrine by the rest-shed where the
sharp ascent began nezt morning. His attributes, a
tiger and a demon, sufficiently denote his vindictive
character. Pilgrims are careful to shiko himbefore
starting. This is not a. formality to neglect. As it n as,
we met a gigantic black scorpion on the road, and on
the night of our return a tiger pulled one o1 our men out
of the shed, though the fellow let out such an unearthly
yell that the poor tiger dropped him and fled The iYaf
was clearly a8ronted by the fact that this man had
surreptitiously killed and eaten a fowl near the shrine.
The weather now relented. \Ve should even have
got up the hill dry but ter a spiteful squall during the
last hall mile. The clouds as they lifted unveiled a
lovely view over the estuary of the Sittang River where
it widens into a broad arm of the sea.
Alter the first steep climb we followed the hill-
crest all the way, with charming scenery on either side.
The seven-mile ascent is long, but nowhere steep or
difficult, though leeches were troublesome. The frequent
ruins o1 bamboo sheds marked places where, at the
 A BURA1ESE \VOXDEELâND. 7

prom season, pilgrims rest and refresh themselx es at way-

side stalls. This meritorious ascent is divided into stations or
stages, some o1 whose names are suggested by the
features of the way, such as—bloke oJ Ihe Great forest :
T'orked Mangoe 'Ti’ee : and Looking up hill.
Other stages are called alter the trials o1 the climb,
such as :—Hill oJ Painful Brmlliinq : and Hill u:hei’e
I Jte fifd il5on /urited back.° Poor old man ! I wonder
who he was, and what the reason of his unsuccessful
pilgrimage. The vicissitudes of this journey are often
a severe trial to many of the pilgrims who are old men
or tender women. One cannot but reflect upon the fact
that Ryaik-hti-yo is the object of the most important
pilgrimage in Burma, that it is visited yearly by tens
of thousands of people of all ages, that the foot of the
hill is but 9 miles from the railway over flat country,
and thaMwell, there is no road !
Gleams of welcome sunshine on the rich green
foliage were extremely cheering. I could not help
remarking the e8ect of climate on human nature, and
contrasting our present gay mood with yesterday, when
in rain and mud I seriously weighed the advisability of
turning back as we struggled like Christian in a éilaupA
o] Despond.
There are several balancing rocks in the vicinity of
Kyaik-hti-yo. All are crowned with Pagodas. The
' 3faha z11 yoin9 Zahka n : Th yet- pin q wa i and f/tnyato dam

’ iShe:e Yin Tanup : and LIpo Byan Ta it .

8

p•.de3ta1 of the first is a squarish boulder, slashed across

twice both ways by the sword of Bhagya liii.' These
cleavages are extremely clean, accurate and complete.
Resting upon this cleft boulder is another, with
apparently nothing to prevent it toppling over : and on
its{summit a little pagoda. Zhere are two more balancing
rocks a little further on, and of course again at kvaik-hti-
yo itself.
The Ryaik-hti-yo legend, like so man3' others whete '
little authentic history• survives, is practically a fairy
story. It appears hon ever to assign the foundation of
the pagoda to Saga lVeiza, a Talaing King of Thatcn,
who married a princess called Shwe bTan Kyiu found
on the hill. She was born from an egg, lived unhappily
at Thaton, was sent home, woe chased b) a tiger, and
died of might and fatigue. A realistic group of figures
near the pap•oda shows her dead on the ground with her
foster parents beside her. The story records that the foster-
father Hpo Baw Luk n'as so enrag‹x1 at tier treatment that
he summoned the neighbouring Rareas to pull don'n the
pagoda with ropes. 'the Earens however were turned
into monkeys, their cries—Ohio Rwe K yo lsbawk (Coil
the rope on the other hancl) being to this day like the
cries o1 men.
The legend o1 the foundation of the pagoda is
mixed up with the above tale, and is better separated.

' f'frupya 3iin is the lying of Hearen. See A Bi rtnesr lone-

liness : Pages 27 and 28.
 JBURMESE T7ONDERLäND. 9

It s what Teik-tha Yathe, the Hermit o1 the hill,

invit the flapyo iUiii (The King of Heaven) to find
a stone shaped like his (the hermit’s) head, which should
be ba)artced by magic as il on the shoulders of a man
leuning lorward. I'arious stones u ere brought, but
were elll rejected by the 7fiuyya 3Jiu, who cleft them
u'ith fris sword as already described. Eventually the
Tliagya Min brought a stone himself which lie lound
Coating on the sea, and this by his dix ine power he
poised upon the edge of the c1i8. It did not in tact
touch the ground until the Karens tried to pidl it down,
and a very small part of it rests on the earth even now.
Upon this niiraciilously balanced rock the 'TliayiJa. Min
and the King of Thaton between them, built the pagoda,
enshrining therein hairs of Biiddha. They called it kyak-i-
thi-ro which is the Talaing for C'orried on the Golden
Heriiiil’s Head. The Btirinese bowever have corrupted
the words into Eyaik-hti-yo.
Th•. sit.uation of Kyaik-hti-yo is truly remarkable.
The hill-top is open and grassy, › itli boiilders strcwu
about, and splendid 'iews ou either side. The scene
must be attractive during a Festival, when neen and
women cr‹›wd up in bright sunshine in all their pretty
silks. There are several shetls for the use of pilgrims,
and a sign board, apparently in German, n’hich reads—
Us tin:jshoesa tumbrellaai eslricllyprohibile‹I. I don’t know
what it means, but I siippose something or other in
Vetbolen. Some one has hard doen a tiled pavement
which ends with railings and a precipice ; and beyond
10 .1 BURMESE ivoxnEnrAND.

that is the famous pagoda—Coating, as it were, in

space.
Gn the edge o1 the c1i8—in fact over the edge as it
seems—is balanced a vast boulder, round like a football,
and said t.o be 100 feet in circumference. It is entirely
overlaid with gold-leaf, and the small golden pagoda
of Byaik-hti-yo rests upon it. The boulder is round
underneath, and sits upon its pedestal as an egg sits on
a table. In this incredible position it has stood poised
over an abyss, I suppose for hundreds of thousands
of years, and it is impossible to imagine what
freakish law keeps it from plunging two thousand feet
into the valleys below. The boulder is easily rocked by
applying the shoulder to it. The extent o1 motion is
clearly indicated by the bending and straightening or a
bamboo stick wedged under it. I had personally dis-
believed that a stone so great and so perilously situated
could rock, and was seized with panic lest we should be
responsible for over-setting it altogether.
\Vonderful all this is ; and almost equally so the
view that evening, when the mind tore away the mists,
revealing on one side exquisite hill scenery washed with
deep, rich colours ; and on the other more hills, banks
of cloud, and wet blue plains stretching away till they
met a sky as wet and as wonderful.
 ' CHAPTER HL

T+iATON.

THATON is inhabited by Rarens, Bmmese, Taungthus

and Talaings, but oJ these Barens are a large majority.
The railway from Pegu to lfartaban runs through pretty
country with wooded hills on one side, and rice field s
spreading to the sea on the other. In the rains the
paddy land is inundated, and the people seem to live
in boats. Many of the houses, and the tiny Nat shrines
belonging to them, are built up out of the water. At
one station as we passed, an over-loaded boat sank,
leaving the women in it shouting with laughter, and
submerg‹xl to their chins. The bright colouring of the
crowds as they streamed away from the train was
reflected in the 8ood. All this, seen in the. warm glow
of evening sunshine, was extremely attractive.
The rain in Lower Burma during the monsoon is
truly wonderful. July and August are the worst
months, sometimes the one, sometimes the other being
the wettest. The heaviest rainfall for Thaton during
the last seven years occurred in 1913. The total fall
war 2ñ 7 inches, of which 153 inches fell in July and
August. n 1919, when I was recruiting in ñ loulmein,
12 A BDRWESE IVONDERLAND.

l4‘28 inches tell in a single day ! \Vhile tnuring in

Thaton in lily 1930 we saw only one gleain of sun.Chine
diiring the month, and the hall for July alone was 69
inches. It is warm, steady, day-and-night rain, with
lreqiient smothers for the delight of amphibious frogs,
bufÏaloes and rice-cultivators. hTevertheless there is a
softness of tone in the grey light, for a time at lent
infinitely restful. The climats is cool. The forests are
rich and dripping. 2lists enshroud the hills : and pale-
green rice stands in nurseries in the wet paddy fields.
ho one in Los er Burma takes the slightest notice of
a rain-storm more or less. The people protect themselves
under vast bamboo hats : and the children keep their
clothes dry by leaving them at home. Fer' children ne
more delightful than the babies of Biirina—charming
Burmese, Karen and Talaing frogs, in nothing but a
hat and their own tight, yel1o›•-brouei skins : so fa.t,
fa.ir, round, and wholly lovable.
Chubby ba bies, gru b by babies,
bloon-faced bebies, deep in pla3’ :
Laughing ba bies, solemn babies,
3Jnli ttq San ñ u'n and z8JaIt Son Pe.
Hatted babies, bn ppy be bies,
Naked ’ neath a rain •swept sky.
Shy-struck ba biea, thumb-sue bed babies,
\Yhen the 2'fte/in passes by.

A fen' stations beyond Thatou there is a delightful

village called Zingyaik remarkable for its waterfalls,
and for a pagoda perched high on a pinnacle of the hills
 A BURBIESE WOW DEB LAN D.

wire fihis season, it is only v isible when the clouds

are torn momentarily apart. For a few Meeting seconds
the Zingyaik Fago‹1a appears high over head, borne on
the hurrying mists.
01 the v-aterfalls one is high and the other broad.
Both are imposing as they come leaping over smooth
slopes of rock. The stately forests, through v•hich rain-
mists drift from the higher hills, stand back here from
naked faces of darkly-weathered granite. The broader
fall, probably at its maximum after ten days heavy rain
when I visited it in July (1920), pours over a cli8 in
three cascades. The uatera break into foam as they
fall, and then slip like festoons of lace down steep
surfaces of rock, one hundred feet into the stream below.
There is something very iinpres.sive in this out-pouring
of white waters over the brown rock. Their roar
pervades the whole village. 3Vhere the torrent gathers
for its leap at the head of the falls, there is a boulder
in mid-stream, with a n'hite pagoda upon it.
The path to the Zingyaik Paged a climbs close
beside the taller fall, or whose distracted waters a near
view is obtained as we come abreast of them at an angle
of the road. Our guide was 3Jaung Mya, the delightful
young Talaing 2’â 0yyi' of Zingyaik ; and later on, when
we rested in a shed, several Za-laing wood-cutters joined us
—handsome lads, naked and all wet with rain, their
poreriul limbs and cheery faces very pleasant to look
' Headman.
l4 A BURMESE ]YONDERLAND.

upon. Long flights of rough granite steps lead on

the hill. The waterfalls, the mist laden hills, the grant
steps, and the yellow people with their paper umbrellas
are altogether strongly reminiscent o1 Japan—say of
some charming rural suburb of old Kyoto.
The Zingyaik Pagoda is mythically ascribed
King Thirima Thawka (Asoka), and is said to have be
repaired by the ill-dated 2Ianu1ia in the el•.venth cen6ur
An old legend has grown up about the place to the efte
that a Pipe, or fabulous demon, laid an egg on the Jiil
As in the story of Kyaik-htm-yo, a fair maiden as born
from the egg, and was brought up by the old Rishi of
the hill. 'the fling o1 Thafon married this girl, had
two sons by her, but put her away when he discovery
her NOga origin. She returned to her Rislii, but her to
sons went o8 to newly emerged land now called Pegu,
and there buried a store o1 peas. Burmese and ot
claimed the land, but the Talaing brothers proved there
prior claim by digging up their cache of peas. Hence
the name Pégo (or Pegu), derived from be-2o-dix—nine
baskets o1 peas. Such is the myth o1 Zingyaik Pagodq.
Several legends in Burma refer to the laying or eg6s.
Captain Forbes points out that they are all of Mon-
Anam origin, and suggests the Nnga in such stories
represents the aboriginee, while the person who weds
the being hatched from the egg signifies Mon invaders—
be they l Va, Palaung, or (as in this case) Talaing.
'the last part of the climb is cleverly arranged to
avoid dizziness. An iron rail is put up where the she
 A BURMESE W0 N DERLAND. 15

are p ticularly steep. The pagoda itself occupies the

extre e summit o1 the r eak, and from the low wa4ls of
its co t we looked down on all sides into an abyss o1
clouds. How far the hills fall away I cannot say : but
from below, even in the glimpses I had of it, it was
eisdent that the pagoda crowns a pinnacle. It is a
massive structure. There are three bells in the court,
of which one is large and very sweet in tone. The
little corrugated rest-house with iron posts cost the
villagers filteen hundred rupees. The fact when men-
tioned by my Talaing companions reminded me that
this shrine with all its accessories ditl not come to the
mountain-top by itself. The expense must have been
considerable. Then I remembered all those granite
steps. This is the fruit of centuries of a8ectionate
labour.
In the little rest-shed we found a shop-keeper from
Ryaikto spending a week of fasting and meditation up
there. \Vhat a wonderful custom : and how excellent
if we adopted it. A week of quiet rejection, introspec-
tion, and plain food once a day before noon, would, I
am sure, enlighten us upon many subjects that really
matter, and for which we have no time amidst our
worldly preoccupations.
 CHAPTER IV.

Taz history of Lower Burma is largely the history of

three races—Buruiese, Pyu and Talaing. At the end
of the l8th century the splendour of the Talaing court
at Pegu astonished European travellers. To-day the
Talaing have alinost disappeared ! In Amherst and
Noulmein, a fugitive remnant of a great nation lingers,
and there alone their laiitiiage is spoken. In Thaton,
Pegu and Rangoon their speech is alniost dead and t•he
people (though they actually survive in large nunibers)
have Jaeen absorbcd into the Bttrinese population with
that obliterating swiftness of wbich Burina a8ords so
many exaniples.
The story of the 'l’alaings is obscure. they are
undoubtedly au extremely ancient race, v•ho once lix-ed
in some undefined part of South-West China, south of
the Shans of Nan-chao, by whoin they were pushe‹1
down into Burina and Cambodia, just as later the Sha.ns
themselves were pushed by the û longolo-Chinese o1
kublai Khan. According• to Duroiselle ' their archaic
name u a fitnett, ehanged in mediæval times to fi

* Report, Archæological Su rvey. March, 1020. Para• 3fl.

 8 BU 1ESE WONDERLAND.

late to JJoii. From this word, no doubt, is derivcd

the ace territorial name of Tlamanya. The Talaing
speak o emselves now as Mon, and they belong to
the Mon-Khmer group (Talaing, \Va, Palaung, Pale, and
Annainitc) whose descent on Burma was the first o1 a
series ot waves of immigration v-hereby Burma was
populated by its present mongolian races. The main
line of the Mon-iihmer immigration was down the
Vekong Valley, whence the inva.sion spread laterally,
and thinly over-ran Burma'. Later, at the beginning
of our era, the wave of Tibeto-Burman races moving
down the Irrawaddy Valley drove the scattered ñ on-
Bhiiiers south till they consolidated in force round
Pronie, and there began a conflict between the ancestors
of Talaings and Burmese which continued to deluge the
country in blood up to our own day. The first stroke
was to the Talaings, who drove the Pyu (Tibeto-Buroians)
north. So far our story is legendary, but at this point
the incidents become historical. The Tibeto-Burman
tribes consolidated at Pagan, and during the 9th and 11 th
centuries amalgamated into the nation no»• called Bur-
mese. Pegu was a Talaing capital from 573 to 781 A.D. :
but in 1057 the Government was located at Tliaton.

Thaton is one of the gates—not the only one—-

through which, at a very early date, and before the dawn
of authentic history, Burma receii ed her literature,
*Census Rrt,l9ll. Not.lX,PaxI, Page ?M.
E,BW
16 & BDRMESE WONDERLAND.

architecture, and pure Southern Buddhism. ’1’haten,

now 20 miles from the sea, was then a part of a country
known as Ramanya. Ramanya included Thaton,
Hanthawaddy, 3luttama (Martaban), and Kuthein (the
modern Pathein, or Bassein). It is popularly believed
that Asoka sent the missionaries Sona and Outtara to
Thaton in B.G. 30G to establish Buddhism. There is,
however, no proof at all that Buddhism was introduced
so early, or until the beginning of our era. The accept-
ance of this myth by authoritative writers illustrates the
danger ot trusting even the best authors without
criticism. On this subject it is extremely difficult to
judge what may or may not be accepted. The mission
to Burma or Suvannabhumi (which term by the way
embraces the whole coast born Hanoi and i alay to
Bassein) is indeed mentioned in 37nRtansa, the Sin-
ghalese Chronicle,' in about 500 A.D., and on that
venerable authority accepted by men like Bigandet and
Forchhammer. But the Singhalese of those days could
not read Asoka’s edicts : and those edicts, so precise
and exact in detail, are now found to contain no reference
whatever to the supposed mission to Burma. It is even
doubtful whether there were two missionaries Sona end
Outtara, or only one Sona-outtara. 4\’e may however
accept the fact that the missionary or missionaries came
at some early period, and probably from Ceylon, but
not till long after Asoka’s time.

' Chapter OIL

 A BUR BESE UPON DER UND. 19

hem Buddhism is supposed to have been

intrcdu ed orally, the written text being secured from
Ceylon in 400 A.D. by Buddhagcsa. But even Buddha-
gosa is no»' eaploded. In any case the Lopburi inscrip-
tions show that Talaings wrote, and used Pali and
Sanskrit words, in the Gth and 7th centuries A.D. : and
it is established beyond doubt that their scriPt w£ts
derived from the 5'engi or Palava of southern India.
The Cambodians received letters from the same source.
Burmese, as we shall see later, was not n ritten until
after Anawratta’s conquest of Thaton in 3 057.

In the begin iirl6 f our era the Talaings were faced

with another problem when ad venturous and aggressive
colonists swarmed across the Bay from southern India
and established settlements all along the coast, notably
at Bassein, Rangoon and Thaton. Their importance
cannot be exaggerated, since they Jarofoundly in8uenced
both Talaings and Pyu, and through them, at a later
date, the Burmese. These Indian colonies no doubt
were the x'ehic1e of law, letters, religion and architecture
to Burma. Forchhammer says' :—“ Talaing letters,
and the architectural style of their religious buildings,
are of south Indian origin ; and their old records evince
an intimate acquaintance with the Buddhist literature
of Eastern Dekkan up to the 10th century.”
tJ ' la rJ ine Essay. Pa3e 27.
20 A BE RM ESE ISO N DER h AN D.

At the same time, though the Indians of those days

dispensed unintentional blessings upon the peoples of
Burma, they were a serious menace. Hinduism trium-
phed over Buddhism in Cambcdis, though the Talaings
successfully resisted this influence. There resulted also
considerable mixing of blood, and some confusion as to
the true origin of the Talaings : and there st.ill survive
all sorts of conBicting legends v hich obscure their real
llongolian origin. float is the true national name, and
Talaing is merely a foreign appellation referring to the
Indian strain which, by long association, has entered
into their composition. Jo/rtiiiy is derived front Talin-
gana, a country still shown on Burmese maps of India
to the south o1 the river Gcdavari *.
It was very likely the gron•th and aggression of
Indian Colonies that induced Anawratta’s descent on
Lo»'er Burma in 1057 A.D. He ‘ drove the Balas into
the sea ’ : and the smashing of the Pyu at Proine, and
of the Talaing at Thaton may have been incidental.
Before Anawratta's campaign the neighbouring kingdom
of Cambodia, itself largely Hinduised, had probably
spread its influence to the Talaing country for a long
period. Forchhammer points ont° that these events are
su&cient to account for the blank of five centuries (Gth
to llth) in the political history- of the Talaings : and in
the l Ith century tiiey only emerge in order to receive
another crushing blow in 1057 A.D.
' See also Phayre’s history of Biirina. Page 2S.
• J‹i rdin E.isaiJ. Page z*ñ.
 A BURM ESE \VON DERLA N D. 21

e raid of Ana» rat.ta, King of Pagan, on Thaton,

is so well knonn that › e need not dwell on it, nor
repeat here the pathetic caPtivity of King â laiuiha, nor
describe in detail hour the Burmese carried off Talaing
priests, savants, architects, and 30 elephant loads of
inanuscriPts. The result of these incidents was the
i mmediate and amazing growth of Burmese civilization
under Talaing guidance, which made Pagan in tu o
centuries one of the wonders of the \Vorld. History
contains few bett.er examples of the intellectual triumph
of a x•anquished people over their conquerors. Talaing
influence from Thaton upon the moulding of Burmese
civilization at Pagan u as clearly tremendous—but we
must not overlook the part r dyed by t.he Pyu at Prome
»'1io had developed a culture and a writing of their own,
deriving them also from southern Intlia.

The Talaings, though utterly smashed at Thaton,

made a fairly rapid recovery. The)• had lived hitherto
in ad versit)-. Their greatness was still before them.
In 1261 A.D. a petty Talaing State arose at 3fartaban
under an adventurer called \Vagaru. He formed an
alJiance nñ th the Burmese rebel governor of Pegu.
I3etween them they beat the Pagan army. Then
\Vagaru turned on his ally, rent /iiin, established himself
at Pep•u, and restored the whole Talaing country (less
Bassein) to independence. \Vagarii has become cele-
bratetl for the II’aqni’it Dlinin »ia.ll iat , the oldest Law
book in Bu•!° a (13th century).
 A DUItJIESE WiON DERLAND.

The Talaings were now a powerful nation (with

disastrous intervals) from the 13th to the l8th cen-
turies. TheiT capital was once more at Pegu, and they
are often referred to as Peguans by early European
writers. To them we owe many of the finest
monuments in Lower Burma, particularly at Rangoon,
Pegu and Thaton. These Talaings were now once again
serious, and often successhil, rivals o1 the Burmese.
Under Yazadayit (1385-1423) they invaded Ava. The
name of Tabin Shweti stands out in history as that of
a great soldier-king. His equally famous successor
Bureng h’aung was the magnificent prince known to
Portuguese writers as Branginoko. He united during
his reign Talaings and Burmese under one rule, tool
Ava in 1551, and in 1ñ 56 even overran the Shan States
of ñ lomeik, Hsipaw and 3Iogaung'. Turning his atten-
tion then to Siam, he took Ayuthia in 1564, and captured
the Siamese King. After a pericd of disorder the
Talaings in 1752 A.D., under B3*innya Dala, once more
invaded Upper Burma, captured Ava, and carried o8 the
Burmese King. It was in fact this invasion that brought
Alaungpra to the fore as a Burmese national leader.
The collapse of the Talaings and the final rise of the
Burmese is one o1 the dramatic episodes in the history'
of this country'. The early French and English settle-
ments at S riam and Negrais were dragged into this
last contest with disastrous consequences to themselves.

' iteport, Archmological Survey : ñlarch 1917. Para. 38 VI.

 23

en the Talaings took Ava in l /52, Alaungpra was

a pet village official of Shwebo, then [known as
ilokso In that capacity he was confirmcd by the
invaders. \\’hen Byinnya Dala returned to Pegu,
Aiaunp•pra destroyed the Talaing garrison of Shwebo,
and defeated the piinitive force sent, to chastise him.
Thereafter, he gathered a force which was sB8iciently
menacing to induce the Ta1ainp• Governor to vacate
Ava. Alaungpra occupied Ava, but himself returned to
Shwebo to complete his preparations. In January
l "ñ 4 the Talaing Army arrived to restore order. Find-
ing Ava strongly occupied, they passed on up to Eyauk
Myaung, the river port of Shwebo, and were there
severely defeated iii a river battle. Alaungpra pursued
them to Hsiubyu Gyun, but returned resolutely to
Shwebo to consoli‹late iris position. He was now
master of Upper Burma, but required to crush the
people of llanipur.
Encouraged by these events the Burmese of Lori er
Burma revolted, but were driven into the fort of Prome
where Alaungpra came to their relief in the en‹i of l7ñ 4,
and won another ri -er battle. Tn February 1755 he
occupied Bassein. The Talaing Hing 8ed to his capital
at Pegu, but considerable creek fighting continued in
the Delta. The situation of the French and English
settlers at Spam and fiegrais was highly perpleaing.
Unable to foresee what was going to happen, and at
bitter rivaky between themselves, they both came to
utter grief through vacillation. In the meanwhile
 A BU RSIESE 1\’ON DEBLAN D.

Alaungpra occur ied Dagon, and renamed it Yan-gon

(Rangoon)—Victory ficâ igt'ed. Here the ’Talaings
attacked twice, the French helping them. In the first
action the English ships remained neutral ; but in the
second, after negotiating w5th both sides to the last
moment, they ftred on the Burmese, apparently in Bat
contradiction to instructions ITOm the resident at
Negrais. The situation of those in charge was no doubt
extremely difficult, but their conduct is not edifying.
However, a well-timed fire-raft su•ept them all iqnomini-
ously front the scene of bottle. It seems then that
there was at least sorue ji:stification for the dreadfid
retribution subsequently inflicted by Alaiin•r ra. ’the
Burmese Ring himself at this time had been recalled to
Shwebo, but on his return resu med the offensive. He
turned first on the French at Syriam where, a ship
havinp• stranded at high tide, he destroyed her, and
seized the settlement. A French relief boat from India
arrived two days later, and, unaware of the turn of events,
nsas captured. Her papers showed that her supplies
were for the Talaings, and Alaungpra mas so exasperated
that all the Frenchmen in his hands were immediately
executed. isome months later the British half aban-
doned Negrais. The remnant left in charge o1 t.he
factory were treacherously taken, and murdered almost
to a man. This incident z•as proved later to have been
instigated by Portuguese interpreters.
From Syriam Alaungpra made a forced march on
Pegu which he reached in four days, and opened the siege
in uary 1757. The age-long conBict was now
d ra ving to its end. Four months later Byinnya Dala
capitulated. Alaungpra ’s success »•as now complete.
Before lie died near ñ lartaban in 1760 he had utterly
destroyed the Talaings. He and his successors sup-
pressed the Talaing language, and in a comparatively
short time t.he Talaings have ceased to exist as a separate
peolale in Pegu and the Delta. The story of that
destruction, of the suppression of subsequent risings
in the reigns of Alaungpra’s tiro successors, and of the
needless execution of the unfortunate Talaing Kings
after 20 years of imprisonment in 1773, is touch ingly
described by major Symes on pages 83 and 85 of his
E»ibassy to Ana*.
In 1814 thirty thousand harassed Talaings emigrated
to Simm. In 1826 sixteen thousand u’ere carried off as
slaves by Shans. Throughout tire First Burmese \Var
the Talaings steadily refused all otters of European
a.11iance. They » ere not franlily pro-British like t)ie
Karens, and thereby lost t.heir last chance of indepen-
dence.° The work of destruction continued after we
had retired from Pegu at the conclusion of the First
Burmese War. However Tcnasserini became British
territory in 1827, and there these unhappy people at
last found refuge. The bulk of the population in
Amherst is still 'l’alaing, and there alone Talaing

' This book written in 1800 gix'es an excellent account of the

early reigns oi Alaungpra’s dynasty.
• Snodgrass : The fiiirine•e h"nr. Pages 17, 8il, 64, and $7.
 A BURMESE WONDERLAND.

nationality and language are preserved to any

appreciable extent.
01 the 80,000 Talaings now found in Thaton, only
31,000 speak their own language.
There appear to be four groups of Talaings, each
with language peculiarities of their own. The flea
Dutiq are round in Rangoon, Dala, Bassein, and Pegu.
The ill on Deik occur in Amherst, south of the Salween.
The 37oii iYya like between the Sittang and Salween
Rivers : and the 3ton Duk, who are now mixed up
with harem, hve at Paan, and east of the kalamadaung

Talaings, as such, rarely enlist in our army : but

numbers of them are recruited in Lower Burma under
the name of Burmese. Hany o1 the leading members
of Burmese Society in Rangoon are really Talaings.
A well-lniown Talaing, U Shwe Le, non-o8icia1
member ot the Legislative Council, speaks as follows
of his countrymen :—
“ Numerically we are inferior to the Burmese ; and
I notice with deep regret and concern that the hon
are slowly d@ng• out. Their language is becoming
obsolete and their literature is neglected. In such
circumstances the question, of course, arises as to when
Mons are Ekely to become extinct. Personally, I don’t
think that extinction can be postponed very long.
Shans, Rarens, Kachins and other indigenous races of
Bima have more vitality and preserve their indivi-
duality ; but the Talaings, I regret to say, are becoming
 A BUBbIESE \YONDERLAND.
mer is n
are v in the mass of the Burmese, and the race name
Ta4aing-ü Iyanma (Talaing-Burman). 3Iy people
y simple ; and like all simple races they abound
in the domestic virtues. If you understand them you
will find them the best of good-fellows, eager to plea*e
and generous to a fault."
I1*e can easily understand the regret a Talaing
must feel at the obliteratiou of his race. Their absorp-
tion, however, into a strong, virile nation like the
Burmese will be as beneficial in the end as the fusion
of Briton and h’orman was in our own history. The
coinjiarison is not without interest. In the case of
Norman and Briton it was the conquered race that
benefited most in the educational sense. But with
Burmese and Talaings, it was the subjugated who
triumphcd morally. Und if Talaing literature is decay-
ing, at least it has been the basis of Burmese literature,
though, a.› I have shown, it is po*sible that both the
Burmese a•ad Talaing alphabets are deeply influenced
by that of the Pyu, who also based theirs on some
south Indian script. The Burmese in 1057 A.D.
received their southern Buddhism bom Thaton. Talaing
architects and artists produced the wonderful
Pagodas at Pä gan, where extensive Talaiug Inscrip-
tions (notably on 400 plaques in the Ananda Pagoda,
on the bell in the Swezigon Pagoda, and on the face o1
the Jlyazedi Pillar) have, in recent years, greatly helped
to illucidate the early history o1 Burma. Fox these
seasons Talaing, though moribund, is regarded by
?8 A BUR?IESE TIONDE RLA2iD.

scholars as one of the important languages in Indo-

China. It is also one of the oldest. 'the Talaings, like
the Pyu before them, are not now being violently
destroyed. ’they are merely undergoing that process of
amalgamation so wide-spread in Burma. Unit‹xl, the
Burmese, 'falaiiip•s and other )fonp•o1ian races stand
together stronger ; and apart from personal sentiment,
one cannot but recognize that the racial and linguistic
di8erences amongst the indigenous r eople of Burma is
a cause of weakness, not of strength.
 €’HAPTER l'.

kAREfis are found scattered throug•hout the Delta;

Pegu and Tenasserim. They occur in Siam. They also
occupy the hills of eastern Burma from Leiktho, Karen-
ni and the Shan States in the north, right down to
Tavoy and ñ Ierg•ui in the south.
Their situation is altogether peculiar. They are by
no means a war-like race, and are indeed remarkable
for a certain shyness. In Buriiiese times they were
heavily taxed, but were never called upon for military
service. To-day they have u on a share in the Burmese
units, but not as extensix ely as was hoped. In 1920
they lost a unique opportunity of capturing half the
• Burmese regiments for their own. The hill-people are
still too reserved to recruit Ireely, a nd the race has
never produce d leaders except of the Pastor type.
It is di8icult even now to find N. C. 0s.
These traits are hereditary, and are noticeable in
their first immigration front Central Asia n hence they
entered Burma (probably in the neig•libourliood of Karen-
ni) and spread into territories now occupied, unobtrusively,
and with the least possible contact with
 30 A BURMESE T7ONDERL&ND,

the other migrating nations. Aloofness and reserve are

marked characteristics. They now number about
1,102,000, as compared v5th roughly 8,000,000 Burmese.
Their former condition was deplorable, and, but for the
advent of the British, they would probably have dis-
appeared like the 'I'a1aings. As it is, they are now a
greatly Nourishing race, passionately loyal to the British
Government.
In the Census Report for 1911, Karens are shown
as belonging to the Tai-Chinese group. This classifica-
tion is now generally accepted. They are considered
both by Air. Taw Sein ko and ñ lonsieur Durioselle to
be of Chinese origin, Their present situation in Burma,
and their own traditions, support the theory. Duroiselle
believes they should be classed linguistically with
Chinese and Shans (Tai). They are or course closely
related to the 'faungfhu, and themselves claim kinship
with the Lahu (ñ luhso). Taw Sein to in his report
argues their connection with the 3Iiao'. He places their
early home in kansu in Northern China, “ lYh ence,”
he says, “ in their southward advance, they crossed the•
Desert of Gobi, which their tribal traditions quaintly
call the liter oJ lsand.” ! Duroiselle says, “ The Karens
are supposed to be Chinese tribes driven southw•ard by
the pressure of the Tai (Shans).”

' Report : Archmological Survey : ñ larch 1917. Paras. 51 é 52.

• It i8 interesting to note tbat the ka chin legend refers to a
£nifiru Whet› or Sandy Pass. See N Burinece AzcADU.
Ghapter VT_
 A BURA1ESE WONDERLAND. 31

is new thesis, ascribing a Chinese origin to the

karens, is the most convincing yet offered, and is bound
to be extremely gratifying to the Karens themselves,
who woult} prefer to be almost anything rather than
Tibeto-Burmans.
There are several kinds of Karens—the two most
important divisions being the Pwo and Sgaw. Pwo
Rarens are sometimes called Talaing-Rarens, since they
• have settled further south and mixed with the now
disappearing Talaings, from whom it is said they received
Buddhism. The harem have been the 3lissionaries’
one great success in Burma. Indeed, if they have
two faults, they are too much Christianity, aud too
little dumour. It seems that early Missionaries
found amongst Karen traditions traces of what
appeared to be Christianity, and which they believed
to be of Nestorian origin. However that may be, the
Sgaw Karens especially, have adopted Christianity
extensively. Owing to ñ lissionary activities, Eaiens,
though by nature less intelligent, are often better edu-
cated than Burmese, and they have been taught to co-
operate and to cultivate their racial individuality. In
this they need little encouragement. Indeed, it would
be better il i.hey associated more freely with Burmans.
Their outside a8ections, how ever, are reserved entirely
f‹›r the British. They have no delusions about honte
rule. The more anti-British the Burmese become, the
more passionately loyal are the Karens.
32 A BURHESE 3\’ 0 NDERLAN D.

karens are sometimes classified as Plain Karens

and Hill Karens. The Plain Ilarens are a highly civil-
ized people, intelligent, and yell educated. It ia
sometimes stated that Hill Karens make the best
soldiers. l very much doubt it. They are extremely
reserved and suspicious, and are not naturally courage-
ous, though their courage can be cultivated. These
wild Karens run from stranger-•, especially from Bur-
mans, for whom they retain the old hereditary rear.
Obviously it will be a long time before we can do
extensive recruiting w5th men of this type, especially
when, as is often the case, the local Gvil O&cials are
mostly Burmese. Hill I'iarens purposely locate their
villages in deep jungle, and as far as possible from roads
and rivers. They often iiiove away if roads are made
near them, so determined is their isolation. Village
sites are frequently* shifted after consulting the iYnfs by
means of chicken bones. The Hill Rarens of the
Dawna Hills and Taungyin River, that is on the Siamese
border of Thaton and Moulmein, are especially isolated.
They hold practically no communication with the out-
side world, and usually settle their a8airs and disputes
amonp•st themselves. They are addicted to the ñ 'o.I
superstition, and though some are Buddhists and Nat-
IVorshippers combined, others are almost entirely Nu?-
IYorshippers. On the other hand they are eatremely
hospitable. Strangers can, and do, enter the houses
and help themselves to food without asking permission.
The villagers are so honest that the rice is left in bin.s
 A R 5E IYOKDERLAWD. 33

out in th fie1dg dar away from the houses. These

IInren,s ar of splendid physique, Wireless walkera, and
been sports whenever they have guns.
karens include Karen-ni (Red Karens), Karen-net
(Blark Karens), Karen-byu (\Yhite Karens), Bre, Yim-
biiw, Geikho, Shaivkho, 3Iano, Sinsin, Zayein, Padaung
and Taungthu.
The Red Karens, of course, live in Karen-nt, soutli
o1 the Shan States. Bre, Pä daung, Yimbaw and
Zayein occupy IIaren-ni and the hills of Leiktho and
Thandaung (east of Taungoo). This tangle of hills is
of great ethnological interest. 3Iopwa occur at Thai-
daung : Geikho at Kosaplo : Pä daung and Yinibaw at
Yado : and Bre and Sha vkho on the Taungoo-Karen-ni
border. The name Shawkho, or Sokho, is said to mean
People Jiving above the Rocks.’As a whole, these
hill Karens are suspicious, morose and gloomy. There
are uiany niissions in the Leiktho Hills, and wherever
the people are Christian they are fierce observers of the
Sabbath, so that it is iiupossible to travel amongst them
on Sunday.
The Pä daungs, of course, are the people who.se
women by wearing high metal collars have developed
long necks, and thus successfully delormed themselves.
The men are sturdy, induotrious and cheery, and impress
one inost favourably. Three lads I once met on the
Leiktho road stopped me. sliook hands, and passed on
without speaking. It was a curious incident, and very
taking.
E,BW
34 A BUB2'tESE IYONDEBLAND.

The lang•uages of the various karen tribes vacy

considerably. Sgaw is the most widely spoken. The
Taungthu language is allied to Pwo. Bre and PM
appear to be branches or Sp•aw. The Sgaw are most
numerous in Bassein. Sgaw and Pwo are Burn
terms. Sgaw Rarens call themselves Po-to-nym:
while Pwo Barens call themselves Ra-}o-Ion.
According
to Ba Te of the A. B. ?tI. the word Rareu is derived from

'I’aungthus are less obviously Raren, and seem to

have little in common with other divisions o1 that race.
Their classification as Rarens is, however, Probably
correct. They call themselves Pa-0 a corruption of the
Raren Pro : and their language is said to be atlied to
Pwo. Their home in the Southern Shan States is ct Hsa-
htung after Thaton.
There were once Taungthu Rings at Thaton, of
whom Thit Tñ baung 3fingyi is still spoken o1. After
the fall of the dynasty, the people appear to have been
widely disper6ed itlld their numbers were no doubt
reduced, though there are still 46,000 Taungthus in the
Thaton District. The present distribution of the
Taungthus is curious. They are round as far northm
Taunggyi in the Shan States ; and there are colonies at
'I’oungoo, Pegu, Thaton (their original home), Paa ,
Naunglon, Tilon, and even as far south as kawkareik R
 35

Moulmei 1 They are probably most numerous round

Paan on tU Salween, where there are at least 21 Taung-
thu villages. There is considerable coming and going
between these widely separated settlements. The
northern Taungthus, now found in the Shan States, are
hardy plateau-men. They wear Shan dress and speak
Shan, and are known as Shan-Taungthus, though
they call themselves Thaton Pan Yin. They are said
to have migrated to Hsa-htung in 1781 A.D., Stud
there occupy the plateau land just like Shans all ox er
Loilem, Mong Nai, Nam Hkok, Yawnghwe and OIyel at.
The Hsa-htung ill you is a Taungthu, and the popula-
tion is almost exclusively of that race. Their women,
who are quite remarkably pretty, retain their national
costume—a black, sack-like coat, black turban, and
silx er ornaments.The tribal divisions there given are
Nang Hke, Ta Tok, Bun Loang, Tan Sang and Hkai.
But in Thaton the divisions given me were
Nang Hke, Ta Tok, Hpai Along, Li Tong and Pan Yin.
The Taungthus in Paan, and elsewhere south of
the Salween, must have been British subjects for close
on a hundred years. They are remarkable for their
manliness and independence, and are not in the least
reserved or unsociable like their liaren cousins. Yet,
as far as I could ascertain, none have ever entered the
Army, or even the local police. 'J’1ieir neglect is but
another example of good material wasted in this country.

' flap Squares D.k. : D.L. : D.3f.

36 A BUR ?1ESE \V ON DER LAN D.

In l9â z° we made great eflorts to recruit Taung•thus in

the Shan States. Everywhere they have a reputation
for solidity. Dacoits, who are rather numerous in
Paan, leave Taungthu villages strictly alone ; and
these facts confirm the impression the Taungthus
give of being a hardy, independent race. Their
manners are certainly attractive. They drink to a
certain extent, but are not addicted to opium. They
continue to appoint Lubyo-ga utiys, or Captains of be
young men’ who, in fact, have rather too much autho-
rity , but might be useful recruiting agents. The
Taungthus are Buddhists. They retain the Nut super-
stition to the same extent as do the Burmese, but much
less so than Hill BaTens. zA'u/ s orship is limited to
household offerings.
The Taungthus, as already mentioned, call them-
selves Pa-0. “ Taungthu ” is simply their Burmese
name, and means Southerners because in Thaton
they live to the south of the Burmans.
 CHAPTER VI.

SAL\\’Ee R HER.

TiiE pago s of i›Joulmein, lit nith stars of electric

light, are fi I seen at dusl: from 3Iartaban across the
waters of ' e sal eeii River. They occupy a long
range of hi s behind ñloulmeiu. In the river below, a
number o picturesque u ooden ships lie of the t.on n,
and others e building on the shore.
The gr shrine of ñloulmcin, the Ryaik Tlianlan,
is }arobab1y ipling’s Old ñloulmein Pagoda.’ The
name mean ’ The pagod a of the ox erthrow of the
Siamese.’ ccording to tradition, a Shan and a
Siamese qy v settled their quarrel here by a race in
pagoda buil ing. The Shans made theirs of paper and
i›ainboo and so finished first, and by this ruse won the
competition q t! the war. Hardly less naive than this
legend i a ea1 historical ineid ent. After the First
Burmese the Salween became the Frontier
between Briti aild Brtrmese territories. A doubt
then arose to which arm of the river was the
main channe Gonsiderable territory was in dispute.
Eventually tw cocoanufs were solemnly flouted down
the stream, a the frontier”deterinined b}* their course.
38 A BURHESE W OÜDEBL&ND.

The view from the heights above Moulmein in

really wonderful. Three 8ooded rivers, the Salween,
Gyaing and Ataran, spread over the country, which
glistens with the over8ow ol many waters. Abrupt
rocks rise sharp and lonely from the paddy plains,
giving a distinctive character to the scenery.
The Gyaing and Ataran Rivers enter the Salween
a little above 3Ioulmein. Of the two, the Gyaiug i»
the largest-a broad water-way floiving through forest
and paddy land.' Its quiet beauty accentuates the
ruggedness of those curious hills whose abrupt outlines
are spread along the horizon. The river-side villages
are inhabited by Talaings, light-hearted people v ho in
October go out in boats to the lestiYal ol a little pagcda
called the Dhainma That. This pagoda, like so many
in the neighbourhood, stands on a sharp pinnacle of
rock above the river.
There is a daily steamer service up the Gyaing
River as tar as Kyondo. This is the terminus of as
important trade-route to Siam. Two dilapidated
motors, each held together more or less suceessfully
with string, run as far as Rawkareik.-’ Thence the
road deteriorates. It crosses the Daarna hills, which
are inhabited by sturdy Barens, to JIya-iYaddy on the
Siamese bord er. 'the name Dawna mesns Hill o]
féifes, derived bom the Talaing words ‹fatr hill, art
zon kite. The Thaung•j River is here the bontier

klap Square E.N. ‘ * Stap Square E.N.

 A BUR2IESE W ONDERPAND . 39

between rma and Siam. Its valley is little known

except to w lew traders and forest officers. It is said
that the birds and animals ol both Burma and Malay
mingle there There are remarkable caves at Kyauk-
ket : and lower down at Kä inau Kä la-hat the river
8ows through iinposing gorges before passing in a
succession of rapids to its junction with the Salween.
The Ataran River is even more beautiful than the
Gyaing. It is a much narrower stream, and the banks
are thickly wooded. Here, Karens appear to de
more numerous than Talaings. Loug ranges of lime-
stone hills present new and extraordinary outlines at
every bend. Their sharp peaks, precipices and over-
leaning bastions add a strange and wild beauty to the
otherwise quiet scenery. In one place you can pass in
a boat right through the range by a tunnel. At this
point these high ridges are only about 40 yards thick
at their base ! They are, no doubt, the wreck of some
great geological strata. Not long ago they were prob-
ably beaten upon by the sea : but alluvial matter is
fast deposited by the rivers, and non these hills ai’e
surrounded by green paddy fields. Here and there
pagodas on pinnacles ol rock rise high above the river
against the white clouds. The Ataraii 8ows for miles
along the base of these weird ranges, eating into their
lime-stone feet. i
The same kind of scenery, but on a brander scale,
occurs on the Salween where it passes through extra-
ordinary hills whose bold outlines of c1i8 and peak
40 A BUR JIESE DVO N DER LAN D.

appear as if cut out with a knife. Sometimes

pinnacles rise all by themselves from the paddy 1
Sometimes queer ranges, half veiled by storms,
strung across the country. One unusually wild
called Iñn e-ga-bin dominates the landscape. Its pr
pices are almost appalling, and on the aerie summit is
a pap•oda, more brax•ely situated even than that
Zingyaik.
The Burmese name Zive-ga-bin is probably derived•
from the Sgaw Earen name litre-l'o-bats, or the Pub
karen Iiwe-L-a-be n, n hich both mean iJJocr’iiiq place o]
ships '“—get another indication of rapid land formation
in areas n-hich not long ago were under the sea. In
Thaton anchors are sometimes dug up far inland.
Through such peculiar scenery the irresi.stible
Salween, now in July brim full, 8ows past Paan, p
snñltly by headlands and islands. At Paan the rd
house is fine13' situated on a promontory overlooking tt›r
river. Tne Salween is only navigable for ordinary
ferry steamers for another 30 miles to Shwegun. Above
that, I was told . the scenery becomes grander than
ever, and even sinister u here the Salween passes through
deep gorges. At one point, near the junction of the
Thaungyin River, it is only 30 yards broad ! Tremend-
ous whirlpools set up in the rains near Yinbaing. W
boats are alloy ed to proceed above 2leizeik on scout
of the danp•erous character of the water halon' the
appalling cataracts »'hich have earned one place the
name o1 ñIatha-Taga—the ' tile oJ Death.’ 'timber
rafts enterin s are flUng‘ Site. Here ,
at any e •k ' the Biirmese
Neil-inc :lJ . Qeniendous is
the force o nt tliatNm single logs split
in pieces. erou.s nature of the Sahveen in
this part rna ued from the fact that the bodies
of tigers, and ! es of elephants, are washecl
The Paar b division is >-upp1ied vrith 48 uailes of
exzellent liter’ e roads tp Üaunglon, Hlainpbde and
Shweguu, whic are setz üliabout a dozen motors.
There is litt N tra ffic, and the Burniesc drivers are
free to charge alÜng at 40 niiles an hour n'hich is the
onl3• pace f is liicli a Burinaii has an)• use.
The ten rmle drive to Na unglon is through one of
the finest landscapes in Lower Burma. The road u-ind.s
through ßood and eultivatioti, and skirts the Gold Clißs
of Zz e-ga-bin a other extraordinary hills, u hich give
this neighbourh d a Character of its ov*n. The scenery
would compare f«rourably iyith more fa,mous bqpjtty
spots in many Arts of the u ‹'rld.
Travelling, owever, becomes troublesome the
inonient you lqqave the high road, and indeed would be
almost inipossible ti.e rains but for eeurteous officials
who sniooth äivay ifficulties. I soon recognised t.his
at h’aunglon x'henc ve had to proceed 7 miles across
flooded country to recruit at the Karen village of Paing-
nyan. Luckily t' msbip Officer •*eeiired me a
large, conifortable his we ptoceeded
creek where the ei usuntil
42 A BURMESE W0NDEP.LAND.

we turned out of it across n•hat at this season is a

shallow lake stretching to the very base of the hills.
These hills present the usual bold lines, though their
abruptness is somewhat softened by luxurious jungle
growth. It wouId be tedious to mention the beauty of
each new and striking aspect of the scenery, but the
fantastic and abrupt shapes o1 the hills belong to each
and all.
lYe reached Paing-man after dark, but the
shallowness of the water prevented a near approach.
4\’e therefore slept in the boat, and next morning woke
to find ourselves in a lake with the peaks of Zwe-ga-bin
risings majestically behind the village. A small boat
took us o8. The village is practically a swamp, with
its houses and paddy field s spreadinp• out into the
shallows. It may be all right as a residence for Harens
dressed for it in rain-proof hats, and no boots to sit
about in soaked : but for any one else the sopping
nature of the country makes movement difficult. This
is a Pwo Karen Christian village. The Christian
community (American Baptist) is smaller than I
supposed, and is in fact limited to 4 or 5 villages ; but
as Christian Karens are more enlightened than others,
one naturally recruits where the people are most open
to persuasion. 4Ve held a meeting in a fine wooden
chapel. The proceedñ ig began and ended with God
sove the limp , and was varied at intervals with hymns
sung as part songs, with vocal tenor accompaniments.
The Karens are fond o1 singing and practise a grew.I
 ' A BU@NJES2 \¥ONDEBLAN D. 48

deal. ‘ singing is more pleasing, more melodious,

and more ambitious than that of many a village choir
in England. They are the only 0rientaIs who can
sing hymns without looking foolish—and indeed one
is quite carried away with the warm harmonies they
iutrcduce. The handsome lads and pretty girls are as
pleasing to hear as they certainly are to look upon—
and the fat, jolly children, whom I always encourage to
attend recruit meetings all over the country, were in
this case more than usually fascinating. As a social
a8air the meeting was a success. I could only hope
that it would bear fruit later in the recruiting sense.
Hills so peculiar as those in this area might be
expected to be as wonderful inside as they are outside :
and this is actually the case. There are magnificent
caves near Voulmein, at Shwegun, and at other places.
The caves near Paing-man are more remote, and
therefore less known, but I have rarely seen any so
imposing. They traverse the whole width of the range.
\Ve found there a P fioo•9i who had taken up his
residence at the entrance, and who took us a little way
in. he said that further on there was water and a
strong draught of air, and that in certain places obstacles
had to be surmounted by ladders. I fancy it would be
unsafe to penetrate far into caves so little known,
though natives flare passed from end to end. lVe only
went far enough to allow my inquisitive companion
ñ laung llya about ten chances- of committing suicide.
sitter lighting torches we entered vast, lofty caverns
44 A BURME3E WONDERLAND.

with uneven, slippery floors. I\’ater dripped from the

-ooh in many places, and I have never before seen such
wonderf ul stalactites and stalagmites in all stages of
development. Soiaie hed joined up fornung pillars, r›r
resembling I.rees and foliage. Others again seemed to
pour from the roof like gigant.ie petrified cataracts,
sv)iich indeed they were. St.and rug water tends to for ni
deposit-s along it.s edges, creating t hereby terra ees of
shallow water rising one alcove tb-e other, and each
contained by a we vy• wall of rock about 6 inches high.
This is a very peculiar formation.
According to legend , these caverns were the home
or the Embryo Buddha in his incarnation as Sadda n
Hsin Clin, the Ele lahant Kings ; and t.he cax-es are Lnow n
as Sar/r/Gz Hsia this Qtr. The fable is well known in
Burma, and relates that one day the Elephant King
gave a flou er to his wife iSuIa-the - yalti. There we u
bee in the flower which string her, and she criecl Iretfully
to her lord “ I’ll score oR you.” In a future life she
was reborn a princess, and desiring an ivory ornament
she sent out a hunter n'lio aP proached the Elephant
Ring brit was caught by him. Hearing what the hunter
wanted, a.nd by whom he was sent, the Elephant Ining
tried I.o saw olt the tip or his tiisl‹. Failing in that, he
sent the whole tusk, and the Princess, recognizing it
as that of her lord in her elephant life, grieved to death
when she recalled those pettish words ' I’ll score of1 you
which she had used in a tormer existence. Needless to say
many a stalactite in these caves suggests some part of
 A BUR?1ESE 1 'ONDEBLAN D. 45

the le —here the hunter’s hat, there the c•aiv, and

so on. had to discourage a full recital z‘hich only
excited ' E ung hiya’s dangerous zeal for exploration.
It v-as a together a memorable expedition, though I
confess there is something raw and revolting about the
bowels of the earth, as about the bon•els o1 s1aughtere‹l
animals. h'or was there any great temptation to
y›enetrate far, since the great dim caverns at the entrance
art sufficiently inspiring. Truly, they are su laerb : and
the effect is heightened by s gold pagoda in the centre
of the floor, and several Buddha images along the v alls,
or in natural niches in the roof. A good flight of brick
steps leads up front the water-way outside : but so
little are the wonders of this laud heeded, that » e hall
passed by, the first time, ithout realizing the stu tend-
ons nature of these caves. Now. on the return journey,
we visited them, and as u-e were in (act homeless in a
fiocded land, and distressed by a perfect deluge or rain,
»-e decided to spend the night comfortably in the cave
in company with the PllOOt !9’tJ! Sci’ such a
purpose some one had built a brick platform under a diy
ex}›anse o1 roof. There were no bats, though I found
that a Rlue Burme.•e \Vhistling-Thrush haunted the
place. As night fell, our tiny points- of light only
intensifie‹l the deep blackness of the cavern. A rush of
distant
cascades whispered through the dome. The process
wrought through ages by drops of water, the stupendous
lapses of time employed by Nature, presented themselves
to the imagination with oppressive reality. Truly
46 A BURMESE 3VONDERLAN D.

our caravaii but rested ' its hour or two.’ The

mountains, dispersed in broken fragments over the
•niintrv, are after all the skeleton, the scattered bones,
of what was once a mighty strata. )\loment by momee
through this night, disintegration continued, wtrose
prog•ress is not appreciable in one life or in ten. The
single water-drop that fell on my face in the darkness,
fall again—when ? In consideration o1 these matters,
and because my Kachin Overly Sau Yaw deemed the
place distinctly a likely abode for i8’ats, we were careful
to keep candles burning before the lonely pagoda until
far into the night.

From Paan we motored 24 miles through charming

woodland scenery to Hlaingbze township, holding
meetings at the karen village of Yebu 4 miles o8 the
road, and at Tilon, a Taungthu village. Hlaingbwe
derives its appropriate name Lake o1 the Rains from
the Talaing words ft/a(itq a lake, and 6it'e rain. Here
I passed into the friend ly charge of the Township
O8icer 3Iaunp• San Tiin, a delightful young Arakanese,
who gave me a great deal of information, particularly
regarding the )farens in his charge. San 'Run however
v. as oppressed with fears lest his family should grow
faster than his income, and we discussed every means
by which incomes may be legitimately' increased, or
families curbed. I learned something in this of the
temptations to which o8icials on small salaries are
exposed, and the strength of character it requires to
 RJ’8 D.

keep clean in of c ption more insi-

dious, more eä éy, than one would ever imagine. I was
mucli impressed by San Tun. I hope Ranq•oon Collegae
o(ten turiis out clean, eneigetic lads ol that toe. I
doubt liowever i1 the Provincial Service will keep them.
We oiirselves are plcdders, ready enough to jog along
tor 30 years with a bare financial margin. 'the Burman
is not like that. He asks—“ Is it worth it ” ? and decides
“ No.” \Ve charge him with want ol application, with-
out appreciating that perhaps he is only showing a very
proper spirit of ambition.
The caves five miles up the <*alween above Shwepun
are called IVe-byan ader the hill in which they are
located. The name, u hich means Hovering Tlight,
appears to be suggested by the overhanging precipice-s
in the vicinity. ’these cases are distinctly attractive,
and are the site of an important festival at Fèyoo.
They are approached by steps, the 8oor is neatly paved,
and the main cavern richly adorned by a host of Buddha
images, soine of which are beautiful. There are also
frescoes and other sigus ol a loriner scheme of decoration
which are believed to be two centuries old, and are
ascribcd to Shan-Talaings. 'the caves are said to reach
far back into the hill, but even the main ’ hall ’ at the
entrance cannot compare with the splendid spaciousness
or the less kmown caves of Saddan Hsin 21in which I
have already ‹lescribed.
Shwegun is au important timber depö t. ?1uch
teak is 8oated doen the Salween. Some of it comes
 A BUR ñ lESE Y•'Ofi DE ltLAND.

from higher up in karen-ni and has to pass through the

cataracts where, it is said, the logs are sucked down as
the)• enter the rapids, and do not rise again till shot
out at the lower end. The body of an unfortunate
timber agent, who was drop ned some years ago a bove
the rapids, was recovered somewhere near Shwegu-u.
Shwegun is the terminus for ferry steamers. Private
launches however go a good deal higher, and in fn4
the remote district of Papun, or Salween, is usually
reached from this direction. As if the races and creeds
of this bit of country were not already sufficiently
confused, there must needs be a colony of Se›'enth Day
Adventists about l5 miles above Shwegun.
At Pagat there is a small cave which is occupied
by millions oJ bats. Three thousand rupees is }›eid
3 early for the right to remove their clroppings. I have
seldom seen a more disgusting, festering hole. The
stench is appalling. The Boor is not only buried deep
in iuanure, but is crawling with vermine and cockroaches.
A tall ladder stands in the centre of the cave by means
of which an upper chamber is reached. The issue of
bats at dusk is an extraordinary sight. The) roll fort•h
like clouds of smoke for more than an hour.
\\"e noW returned over-laud to Thaton, spending a
night en i’otife on lIr. Find lay’s rubber estate at Durjiu-
zeik. The fine house with its teak fittings, polished
8oors, baths and electricity, and the gardens and
immaculate laxvns, are a revelation of the luxury that
energy and foresight can provide even in a jungle.
 CHAPTER VII.

TENASSERIlI.

C OUTD Of Moulmein, Burmese territory dr'ind1es to a

long, thin strip of sea-coast, and shares with <<iam the
narrow peninsula which stretches away down towards
the Malay States. Finally Burma ends in Victoria Point
and all the beautiful islands of the 6lergui Archipelago.
6Ioulinein itself is only 40 miles wide in parts.
Tavoy, at its widest, is only 60 miles across : and in
places ñlergui is but 10 or l5 miles wide, though its
“ townships ” extend far out to sea to include the 80
islands of the Archipelago.
These three areas—âloulmein, Tavoy and ñlergui'
once had a geographical importance which they no
longer possess. 3Ioulmein, of course, was originally the
capital of British Burma. For many centuries beiore
that, Tenasserini (48 miles up the Tenasserim River), and
its seaport of ñlergui, ere the western termini of a
great trade route from China and Siain. The Tenas-
seriin route, while avoiding the pirate perils oJ the
Straits of ñlalacca, gave Siam safe and easy access to
the lndian Ocean : and on account of their coiiiniercial
iin}aortance Tenasseriiu and ñlergui received a great deal

' flap Squared E.iI. ; E.N. i and E.O.

D0 A BE BKBSE WON DEBLAN D.

of attention from earl) merchants and advent

Indeed, bTicola de ”Conti, the first European to
6fergui, arrived there at least fifty years before
de Gama discovered the passage round the Cape of
Hope in 1497. ' Tenasserim is referred to in T
in Ghinese records of the Liang dynasty (â 03 drift
During most of its history, Mergui has
province of Siam. Zhe Burmese who now inh
are not indip•enous to the soil, but are descended
Burmese armies z•hich invaded and acquired
country in 1759 under Alaungpra, and in 1775
Sinbyu Shin.* Those two invasions, and the
which followed them, did much to destroy the proc
of these areas. The population was seriously reds
Ayuthia™ on the Alenam' River, which was the
capital for 400 years, and whose situation gave
aerim and 2lergui their significance, was besieg ,
the Burmese in 1739, and finally destroyed in 1
It was indeed a case of killing the goose of the g
egg. The capital of Siam was moved to Bangkok : M
Tenasserim immediately dwindled from a grew to
to a miserable vi1lap•e of a hundred houses. The o
road to Siam, though it can still be traced , is a
and it is now hard to believe that sleepy, dull Ten
can ever have been a place or importance.

' Anderson’s English Intercom roe with Siam. Page 27.

• The Burmese also invaded Sism under Baan Naung in IQ
• Hap Square F. N.
• The word Action mesns “ Mother of wstera.”
 E KOXDERLSKD. 51

Noul y 3fi&iMgui now form art of the

Tenasserim Di ion of Burma. Together with Arakan,
they were , red b\' the Britisli in 1826, after the
First Burmes . But though they have been a
British posses o or n9arly a hundred years, they are
perhaps the ost lxtekward areas in Burma, and are
in tact moië remete, inaccessible and undeveloped than
even sonio OÏ the newly acquired frontier districts of
Burma. The fact is that they have now entirely
lost that geographical pre-eminence which once they
enjoyed. Nothing can infuse life into them again
unless the niineral wealth which undoubtedly they
possess can be worked and developed profitably. 3Iou1-
mein still has a large rice trade : but its export of
timbei has dwindled, and steamships visit it less and
less every year. 3Ioulmein ceased to be of importance
after the Second Buruiese \\ far, sinee when Rangoon has
slowly assumed its present magnifieence.
Big ships cannot enter the 'I’avoy river, but small
vessels ascend for a considerable distanee. Tavoy is
rich in tin and wolfram, which gave it a special signi-
ficante during the war. In that crisis Government said
“ Let there be roads ”—and there » ere roads : and
Tavoy burst into renee ed activity. In 1915 there n’erp
ten miles of road and two motor cars in the district.
In 1920 there were sixt}• miles of road and quite two
hnndr+d car9. Small wolfram mines had t‹› close donn
etter the war when prices fell, but the larger wolfram
companies and th tin minos nre like to suriäve and
52 A BUR.31ESE \9ON DE RLAN D.

prosper. It is also probable that vast cinchona p1 ta-

tions will be laid out on behalf o1 Government, and all
these ai'e reasons for hoping that Tavoy at least mill
not relapse again into insignificance.

(ERGUL
In â lergui, however , conditions are apparendy
hopeless. The district is rich in tin, wolfram, coa! and
rubber , but the country remains entirely undeveloped .
'there are probably not more than 20 miles of nietalled
road ii the whole district.
The country, however, is exceedingly pretty.
ñ lergui town lies at the mouth of the Tenasserim
River where it enters the sea amongst several islands.
From the blu8, upon which the Circuit House and other
buildings are situated, there is a charming view over
the town, the harbour, and the fishing boats. All day
long a fresh breeze blows, and the sea changes colour
from deep blue in the morning to tender green in the
after-noon when the water is tinged nith patches o1
yellow and purple : while ‹lim shadowy islands of the
distant Archipelago are strung along the horizoii.
Nevertheless I should hesitate to call the harbour
ideal. On re-embarking the waves v ere Fig enough to
necessitate climbing over tire steamer’s stern. The
sampan bounces at a dangling ladder, and falls away ;
leaving you clutching in mid -air, with green seas at
your heels, and at the mercy of the sampan-wsllah who
stands by to continue an argument about his fare. _
 .5 BU USE W 0 -N DE H UAE D.

The i Ie i Archipelago is famous for its beauty.

Most of e islancls are wooded. They vary in size
froiri big islands like King Island, to mere rocks risiog
abruptly from the sea. The Archipelago is the resort
of a curious sea-folk called Salons, ' »-ho live almost'
entirely or the water, and only set up temporar y huts
on the beach for short periods during the ñfonsoon.
These people have achieved only a low standard of
civilisation, and live mainly by fishing and hunting.
Burmese occupy the country round Mergui and
Tehasserim. Karens are numerous round Piilaw in the
north, and in the hills to the east. Elsewhere Siamese
and Chinese occur. The population is, however, thin,
and there are few villages. Houses, instead of being
grouped together, are usually scattered about with wide
intervals between them. The dialects of both Burmese
and karens in Mergui and Tavoy are hardl) intelligible
to other natives of Burma.
Tenasserim village is 48 miles up the Tenasserim
River from 3lergui. A stone pillar, and the remains of
a moat, or ditch, still exist, but there are no other
traces of former grandeur. 'the beauty of the Tenasserini
River is enhanced by another river—the Little
Tenasserim—which joins it at this point.

The Burmans of Tavoy are more or less limited to

the valley of the Tavoy River, the hilly parts of the
' 3Isp Squares E.0. and E.P. • trap Square E.N.
54 3 BBRME9E WOXDERL&XD.

district being thinly populated by Barens. Like the

Burmese of Nergui, many Tavoyans have Siamese blood
in them, and it is probable that numbers of Siames•.
return themselves as Burmans when a census is taken.
The history of Tax-oy, like that of ñ lergui, is one o1
disastrous struggles between Burma and Siam.
Tavoy is quite as beautiful as Nergui, and with
its roads and motor cars far more accessible. One of
' the most
delightful expeditions is to the Indo-Burma Tin Corporation’s
estate at Taung Thonlon, ' n hich I was
able to fisit through the kind hospitality of Qtr. Perry,
the llanager. The early morning motor drive of 28
miles along the Siamese Road through bold and splendid
forests already aflame with the blossom o1 the Silk Cotton
Tree, and the rush back again to Tavoy in the evening -
when the quiet twilight adds a soft charm to the scenery,
is by no means the least enjoyable part of the day.
The mine lies in a valley which was probably once
a lake bed. The alluvial soil has been impregnated for
centuries xvith tin washed down from the surrounding
hills. In the dry season, at any rate, no site could
appear less promising for dredgers than this parched
valley. Yet this is the home of a huge dredger which
8oats in a pool no larger than a ‹tuck-pond. It sucks
up soil in front and passes it out again behind, thus
never en1arginp• the tank in which it works. And here, |
wonderful to relate, each in an insignificant puddle of
ite own, n’ere being fitted together those two now
' bfap Square N.E.
famous dre h, at itkyina in more a mbitious
but unprofitable days, rede the docds of the Upper
Irra.waddy, .and dredged its bed for gold. These two
machines will always be associated v ith that Irrawaddy
El Dorado, where they deserved better success, and where
so long they waged a brave but hopeless fight. It is a
surprising feat, and a wonderful instance of resource azid
enterprise, to have cut up these immense dredgers in
uppermost Burma, and to have conveyecl them hundreds
of miles by rail, steamer, lorry and bullock-cart to a new
field of activity amongst the remote bills of Tavoy.
Tavoy has an absolutely ideal seaside resort in a
place called ñ laung Lagan.' It is really faultles.•.
â laung llñ gan is a wide bay with distant hills running
out to sea on either hancl, and v ith a few islands on
the horizon of a brilliantly blue *ea. The coast is
fringed with a kind of taniarisk, amongst which a
number of bungalows, for week-end use, face the sea.
At high tide the u-aves wash close up to the verandah
steps, inviting frequent baths. IN is a place for shirt,
shorts and bare feet, and for shameless abandonment to
bathing and paddling, and the joy of li unting for
pretty shells, n hich are soon discarded for prettier ones.
I found no less than fifty different kinds oi shells in an
hour. They were mostly small ones ; but enormous
nautili, cowries and other shells are cast up by the
great waves of the ñ lonsoon, and can usually be bought
from the villagers. The largest cow ries are 3} inchea
J ' flap Square D. N.
SG A BDRMESE WONDERLAND.

long. A lairly complete collection of 61 species consisted

mostly o1 3folluscs including 31 Gasleropoda (snail ,
courtes, liinpets, etc.), and 26 Lainelli6ranchiala (bivalves
fille cockles, mussels and oysters). Flany of thèse
Alolluscs are very beautiful. I shoiild be afraid to say
how many shells and what treasures of sea creek iny
Burmese and Machins collected. This was the first
time Ko Myit or Sau Nan fiad ever seen a sea beach,
and it certainly added much to my on n pleasure to watch
theirs’. Incidentally there were fortunes lying on the
sand. A large cowry is worth Rs. 5 in the Bachin Hills,
or was, until a kachin company, stationed in the Anda-
mans for a lew weeks in 1920, brought back a ship-load.
Presently the tide ebbs an incredible distance,
exposing reels of rock, and leaving• bare those wonderfiil
stretches of wet, firm sand which have made iHaung
Alä gan lamous. No sands could be more perfect, and
never since my boyhood have I spent sucb wet, naked,
hungry and utterly happy days. At nip•ht a full moon
sheds her brilliance upon the waters. The incoming
tide singe a soft lullaby along the shore. The day ends
with a dish of pomfret, four oysters (alas onl) four !),
and an appa11inp• sunburn.
 OTaixc co d be more lazy and delightful than the
:•hort, sunny oyages morn Rangoon to the x•arious ports
of Tenasseriiu and Arakan. In winter the seas are blue
and calm, ifit§ hardly a ripple on their glassy srtrface.
In the Monsoon they are said to be very much otherwise
but, God w5lling•. I am determined to forego the expe-
rience. I am content with only a memory of balmy
breezes, 8ying-fish, and replete days, when the whole
duty of man is to digest one heavy meal in time for
the neat.
Arakan ie a 1onp• strip of sea-coast completely cut
o8 from land communication n'ith the rest of Burma
by ranges of high hills called the Yomas. There are
“ three possible passes across the Yomas, but at present
the roads are not sufficiently good to encourage com-
merce betn een Arakan and the Irran•addy Valley. On
the other hand communications betn•een Arakan and
India are fairly good. Akyab reads Indian and not
Burmese newspapers. It has four mails a week from
Calcutta, and only one from Burma. Calcutta is more
accessible than Rangoon, and will be very much more
so in a few years n'hen the Indian railway is extended
from Cbittagon« (its present terminus) to .¥kyab.
58 A BU it?tESE WOF D ERIIAND.

Besides all this, the Arakanese, though apprehensive

about the steady invasion of their country by horde6
oi Chitfagonians, are still more resentful o1 their race-
brothers the Burmese, who in 1784, in the reign of
Bodaw Paya, annexed their territory, treated them with
terrible harslmess, and committed the unforgivable
crime of removing to ñ landalay the ñ lahamuni Buddha,
an image round which the religious and polit.ical history

•
or Arakan centered from remote ages. hursing theae
old wrongs, the Arakanese have no desire to break
down the political and geographical barriers which
separate them from the rest of Burma. They are keen ,
Buddhists, their origin is identical with that of the
Burmese, and their language in not x-ery different.
But, like the Karens, they hold themselves aloof, brood
over their inj uries, and gladly accentuate their isolation.
It. is a curious attitude, though one may sympathiae
with, and understand it. But it is none the less
unfortunate for the future of Arakan. The only scien-
tific way of destroying these prejudices is by improving
land communications with Burma, and thus encouraging
trade and intercourse.
The Arakanese possess most of the characteristics
of the Burmese without perhaps inheriting their
peculiar charm. They are, however, even more intelli-
gent, and most of the leading “ Burmans ” in Rangoon
are really of Arakanese descent. One very remarkable
result of Indian in8uence is the seclusion in which the
Arakanese keep their women. The streets of Akyab
 E WONDERLSND. 59

are empt men, who are in fact “ pur‹fa.” No-

thing strike so Jorcibly as this alter Burma, where
the Burmese oinan, with all her charm of dress an‹l
manner, is s tremendously in evidence.
In the rt rth-east portion of Akyab, in the Buthi-
daung Sub-di i ion, the popu1at.ion now consists chiefly
of permanent Chittagonian settlers. Large numbers'&
Chittagonians also spread over the country temporarily
for the ploughing and reaping seasons. )’he Arakanese
now tend to co entrate in the Sub-division of Kyauktaw .'
Some people think they mußt necessarily be ub-
merged in tiine. Others believe that they will hold
their own. Fortunately they do not interinarry much
«fith Chittagonians : and though rather an indolent
race, have yet brains enougb to be fairly prosperous,
and in a few Individual cases even rich.
Besides Arakanese, form other indigenoug races
occupy the bills, particularly in the Arakan Hill ’I’racts
along the upper reaches of the Kaladan River. These
are all quite wild hill people, namely, Cbins, Daingnets,
Taungthas (who are said to be descended from Talaing
invaders) and Ithamis. The Khamis have villages in
the plains opposite Kyauktaw and eleewhere, but they
are a timid, naked people, and the population 8ed from
the only village I entered as soon as they saw me.
Khami women n'ear only a very short skirt and a
triangular bit of cloth over the left breast—the breast
specially dedicatjed to the husband. The men ivear
' Kap Square B. Kt
60 A BUR lIESE WONDE RLAN D.

nothing but a quite inadequate waistband of v

narrow cloth, and are said to regard nakedness a
sip•n of manhood. The ends of the loin-cloth h
doen before and bebind like tails, and for thi9 re
the Arakanese have eorrupted the name filter into fee-
nti (Dog’s tail)
Arakan is divided. into four areas—Sam,
Eyaukpyu, Akyab and the Arakan Hill Tracts. T
are certain wild districts near the Chin Hills which
still unadmiiiistered , though not likely to reinain so.
Four large rivers 8ow through Akyab—the Naai,
kéladan and Lemro : brit the Akyab district is
completely intersected with waterv•ays which are deep,
navigable and tidal, and aftord a perfect system of
communications. The Arakan Flotilla Company re
an extensive service up these creeks, but trade, ex
in paddy, is not large. The climate of Araka is
equable. The average maximum temperatiire ie %°;
and the minimum 74°. The average rainfall is
inches. The summer heat is teinpered by sea breed
and in winter Arakan, like Burma, enjoys iinbr
biilliant sunshine.
Akyab lies on the kfiladan River whose the
estuary makes a splendid harbour. The entranm k
guarded on one side by reefs on »•hicli stands a lix
house, and on the other by a promontory called t &
“ Point ” which is a favourite place for morning al
evening walks. From an old tower on the “ Points’
' Ma p Square B. R.
 A BUR USE \YONDEP•LAND.

there are ‘de views of the harbour on one hand, and

of sandy c ast on the other, upon which the sea rolls
in long w ’te waves. The “ Point ” has a never-
ending fascination, whether seen in morning sunshine,
or at sunset, or at night when the harbour is flooded
with moonlight.
The Kä ladan River narrov s a little higher up, and
gives access to the network of inland waterways.
One of these creeks, the Ba» 3ljnt, or “ Sil der River,”
)eads to Myohaung, which is 45 miles Jrom Akyab by
launch. The scenery is pretty. The river bauks are
fringed with Dhanni palrus which the villagers use tor
roofing their houses. On the horizon Be-nga-ya Daung
(“ Hills of o00 Ducks ”) and Aga Daung (“ Sky Hill ”) are
conspicuous landmarks. The golden spire of t.he Urrit
Taung Pagoda is seen to advantage on the loiv hills of
Poonagyun (“ Brahmin’s Island ’), where, according to
legend , the Buddha lived his existence as a Brahmin.
Since the loss of the 3fahamuni inlage, and the destruc-
tion o1 the once famous shrine of llahati in the First
fiurmese U'ar, Urrit Taung has becoine the most
popular pagoda in AraI‹an. It was originally a simple
s/upu, and is clainied to be one of those shrines in
which Asoka buried relics o1 the Buddha. But it u•as
added to in the 16th century by Ring Min Palauiig.
This king was, in lact, born on the islaud n liile his
father was watching a battle between Arakanese and
Fortuguese ships in the river below. He took his naiiie
from these eveuts—Min Pä laung (“ king of Foreigners ”).
 A BURMESE B’ONDERL5ND.

ñ fyohaung is really worth visiting on account of

its curious and even splendid pagodas. It was the
capital of Arakan trom 1430 to l?82 .1.D. It lies in a
low range of hills which form natural ramparts for the
protection of the city. Only a few connecting bastions
were necessary to perfect the fortifications. At least
six ancient capitals of Arakan u-ere built in x ariows
places along these hills. The custom of frequently
changing the capital is common to Burma and Arakan,
and is based on a belief that cities, like nations and
indixñ duals, retain their i5ta1ity for only a limited time.
The elaborate ceremonials employed at each founding
v•ere meant to ensure a long and prosperous li*e for
the city by all the arts o1 Astrology and l"odnya.
Ya.daya is the science of averting evil by mystic sigpe,
and may, in fact, be described as the art of getting
something for nothing. bTor is it entirely futile. For
instance, if a cabalistic inscription was 6et up, a6 it
was in 2Jyohaung, to exorcise mosquitoes, and if the
mosquitoes nere exorcised (there is no evidence
that they were) then 1’adaya fulfilled its purpose.
Or again, i1 the king built a pagoda on the north side
or the city to ward o8 aHacks born the north, and if
on that account the enemy carefull) refrained from
attacking from the north, as they did refrain, then the
monument as a work of Yodayo justifies its existence.
In old days this science was ca-refully studied. Bells
’ere often inscribed with mathematical figures arranged
in squares. Yodoyo was an important branch of
 1 V'ONDERL5ED. 63

mcient 6 fa , o&iy •n•pset by the baMrous disregard

of Europea recedent.
Ryoha Ct.y ”) is called by the Arakanese
Mrauk U (“ irst Accomplishment ”), because it is said
that an invading army of Pyus was destroyed there
in about 964 A.D., by an Arakanese prince called Pai
Pyu. The rince o8ered himself as a guide to tote
enemy. He arranged for them to cr0iSs the Leinro
River in small parties, and slew them secretly and in
detail as soon as they landed on the far bank. There
was subsequent ly a successful Pyu ink-asioii under Let- ya-
min-nan in 1118 A.D. On that occasion the Pyus damaged
the back and right leg of the llahamuni image, but were
unable to remove it. 'I’here v as an unsuccessful Burmese
invasion in 1426. 'l’hese early z are are now a matter
o1 legend. There is no positive record or them in the
inscriptions, except in the Buddha Gaya inscription
referred to elsewhere. This is not, however, su8icient
ground for discreditinp• the tradition of several invasions,
because, apart front epigraphica.l inscriptions, no history
of Burma was attempted until the 15th century. 'the
finnH R“an itself is based on old records, but was only
nzitten in 1819 A.D.
In 1784 the Burmese conquered Arakan and
administered it from Myohaunp• until E ritisli annexa-
tion. After the Burmese conquest of 1784, the Ara-
kanese ceased to exist as a separate nation. But Arakau
has had tritunphs in its time. Tn the 15-l6th century
it included paEt of Bassein and Cliittagong. In fact
 A BURMESE BORDERLAND.

the Arakanese are said to have founded Chittagong.

The king having been persuaded not to ravage tU
country, called the new city foil rail (i»a) éaunp (" Not
good to fight ') from n•hich is derived the modem name
of Chittagong. Arakanese pirates were the terror o1
Indian coastal towns, where the flu.s are said to be
their descendants. Perhaps this accounts for the pro-
verbial r•r acity of Vug cooks !
But before the Bioinese conquest of 1784 things
had obviously gone very wrong in Arak-an. The
throne was actually auctioned by the palace guards for
short-term reigns. A Chittagonian bombarded the
palace, and forced the king to take refuge in the <<hit-
taung Pagoda. Ring Bodaw Paya of Burma’ was, in
fact, ininted b3' Arakanese patriots to restore order.
His army came, but unfortunately declined to withdraw.
'Thousands or Arakanese were massacred. Thousands
more fled the country to India and Chittagong. Some
returned after British annexation, but others never did,
and there is no doubt but that the population was
seriously reduced. Arakan was added to Burma, and—
worst tragedy of all—the precious ñ lahamiini image
was carried away. ,
But the acquisition of Arakan brought the Burmese
into conflict with the BTitiSh, and the First Burmese ,
\\’ar resulted in 18-°4. There was an action at Ma6ati
where the sacred shrine was destroyed by artillery fire.
A second and final action, in the earl)' stages of which
the British were repulsed, took place at blyohaung.
 -I B ESE IV ORDER LA2iD. 65

'the Burn , are defeated ancl ceasecl to rest.•t, and

the countr - r ceded to the British in 182G. fly-o-
haung proc e unhealthy (in spite of cabalistic inscrip-
tions), ancl was gi -en ti}i in favour of Akyab by the sea.
Akyab was (then only a little fishing villag•e. The
Burmese name *or it is Sit-twe, which means “ l\*ar
Base.” The word Akyab is derivecl from a pagode
en fled Akyat-flaw. '
In our attack on ñ lyohaung we u ere helpe‹l not
only by the Arakanese who so hated the Burmese, but
also by the A’ofs, one of whom, i3Iya-thwin, s as formally
married before the action to Robertson, the Gvil Officer
with the forces. Four great R’als preside over Ara kau.
They are ñ lya-tliirin, ñ I3•auk U, Kyauk-seik and \\’i:nti.
Of these, the i3'ci Wunti once rendered great service
to the country by causing the Heath o1 Bayin
Naung, Eing of Pegu, who v as preparing to invade
Arakan.
The terraces and u alls of the old Arakanese p‹tlace
at ñ lyohaung still exist, together with a subterranean
passage which 2ormerly gave secret access to the river.
Until recent.1y, the palace site was overgro Ayn. It has
now been cleared and is occupied by toGunship building.•.
Three rough and very ill-proportioned statues of lying
Pasa Clin-’ still exist. In his reign Shah Suja was driven
from Delhi by his brother Aurangzebe (1661 A.D.). and
fled to Arakan were he was murdered. Eing Pasa
' Fytcbe. Bu rnia Past ord Present. Page 6S.
• The full title of tbi E in g z as Mott do flu DJ oiitina fora.

E, W 5
66 A BDRXRSE WONDERL&ND.

fin built five large pagodas at ô lyohaupg, son

which have been repaired by the villagers.
The rich have lavished large fortunes on
the pagodas o1 Flyohaung. The poor have
all they can tocards the preservation of thN d
monuments. Every man helps to cul awsy tR
once a year from the favourite pagodas. yeha
6econd in archæological importance only to
_ But owinp to the isolated
situation of the t
acientific archæological study and conservation de
yet been started. Duroiselle, who visited Lyon G
year after I did, was the ô rst archæologist to q
Arakan since the days o1 Forchhaœmer.ñ It
poor villagers who have iepaired a lew or thèse w
Bhrines out of their small savings, and preserved
by recent inscriptions on stones and belle. O
primate students like San Shwe Bu have alterne R
unravel the details of Arakanese history.
ÎH5Criptions haYe yet to be translated. Iægends, were
havo grown up round the monuments, have to W
examined. Coins, in which Arakan (unlike Bd k
ïlCh, have to be collected and arranged. There is
excavation to be done, and o1 course the deeay of lnRÿ
important buildings may be arrested by judy
conservation. This last is a work which should M Æ
left to untrained hands. There are restora
damaging than neglect.
San Shwe Bu, an Arakanese who has taken a
interest in the history of his country, accomp

m
 SE ÂOAÔERLAéD.

H my tour ra . ’Ny facts 'are largely

Jfied by hi ' Though ddubtless faulty ih minor
they arwpro ally Nrrect in the main essentials,
de they are o älm-leaf manuscripte Cf which
San 8hwe Bu has made an exhaustive study. What
Jds historical research lacka in accuracy of detail is.
compensated by the genuine a8ection and sympath
With which he has treated his subject.
It is absolutely impossible here to mention more
than three of the most aurions pagodas of 2Iyohaung—
namely, the Andaw Thein, the Shittaung, and the
Dlikban Thein. But thèse must be described in some
detail since they are traversed by peculiar galleries, or
vaulted passages, and have no known prototype either
in India or Bur_ma. The pagodas of 3lyohaung have
four peculiarities. Firstly, they are built of solid stone
snd to have been imported from Byaukpyu. Thia at
once distinguishes them from Btirmese pagodas, which
(with one or two exceptions) are all of brick. The
stone is cell dressed, and in some cases the blocks are
fiM toget.her with great accuracy. Such exterior
ornament as exists, as well as all the intricate decora-
tions of the interiors, are carved out of the stone, and
not ieoidd ed in plaster as they are in Burma. Secondly,
th•e Hyohaung pagodas are fortresses, intended as
places of refuge and defence. Thirdly, they are tra-
versed by galleries. There are probably vaults under
moss of the pagodas:› Such vaults were found under
the Zhat-cha 3fänaung and other monuments dring
68 A BURAIESE VVON DER LAN D.

repairs. 'fhe vaults are eutered by passa 6ec• z•h

exits are brickerl up and hidden under the Bucld
images seated on the altars of adjoiiuug pavilions
IIus. Fourthly, Hind u influence is strongly mark
in frescoes and carvings.
The Anclaw Thein (l6th century) is smaller
than the others, but for beauty ol desigu and delica
ol execution is second to none. The central champ
is siipporte‹1 in the rnidd le by ‹i massive pillar ufith
niches in which Buddhas are seated back to back.
The rich rnural cai'vings inclucle figures of the Garuda,
Siva’s trideut, and Gaiiesh, the Elephant-headecl Goclling
ol the Hindus. fievertheless. the pagoda is essentiaily
duddhist, and, as its name “ Hall ol the Rc›ya1 T'coth
implies, it enshrined a tooth of duddha of one or other
ol his many existeuces. An iig13• hole in the central
pillar betrays the ruthlms •anda1ism of treasure-
hunters. In this iiistaiice the relic was recovered,
though stripped of its gold casing.It is nom kept in
a local monastery. Almost every shrine has been
similarly desecrated. On one occasion a treasure-
hunter was squashed to death by the caviug in of the stone-
work in the hole he had made. Next day oiily his legs
v’ere seen sticlfing out of the tunnel. Unfort u- nately
this kind of justice does not always overtake such
vandals.
The beautilul arched roof ol the Audax’ Thein
is all of solid stone. There is an outer passt
running rouud the central chamber, but it has tallen
 .I BE ESE \4'ON DE liLAND. 69

in places. he builders of these stone structures,

thoup•h obvio sly highly skilled, yet misunderstood the
s•a1ue of a k$ stone. The key stones, instead
massive, are u ually quite thin, so that they easily slip
out of position, thus involving the ruin of the v•hole
building. This is noticeable everywhere, particularly,
in the And aw Tliein, and in a stone “ Ordination Hall ” '
attached to the Rattana ñ lanaiuig.
The Shittaung, or “ iihrine of Eig•hty-thousand
Buddhas, ” is a much larger monument. It was built
in the I Gth century by Eiug Clin Ba to commemorate
his victory over the Portuguese. This is a fortress-
Pagoda, intended as a refugee for the Ring and Court
in times of trouble. Its massive walls must have made
it ab>-o1utely impregnable. Tv-o passages, an inner and
an outer, run round the inside of the 1›uild tag, and within
these again is a central shrine, or chamber. The walls
‹at the tauter passage are elaborately carved n ith aili ljjal
figures such as birds, deer, lions, ele}ihants and rhino-
ceroses. A number of mythical animals are also repre-
•-ented, and include the R'‹‹’y ‹i, Belu, G ‹’iruder, 3/alara, lée-
iiJya and 4/fiiio//ii-fia y›iii-/i›ii/-Inca. The inner passage is
fined with seated Butld has, irhole rows of which are
headless, while other row s are intact, suggest- ing that
icoiioclasts had » earicd of their impious v•ork o(
mutilation. these passages are quite dark, and it is
necessary to enter with lain1•s and torches. Bats
are numerous, though mercifully there are ilo tigers or
snakes as one mi ht expect. Still, it is as well to
70 & BDRDESE BONDERLAND,

examine the ground carefully with a torch for

reptiles. On entering, one is immediately inn
with the perfect ventilation which ensures a free
of fresh air.
’the central chamber is roofed with very hne bait
A colossal Buddha is seated on the throne.
exterior of this remarkable building is now a she
mass of ruin. It was once covered with Buddha
from which the shrine derived its name. SP th
monument is subject to 250 inches of rain in
years, it is not surprising that, alter all these c ,
water has penetrated. Many of the interior care
are badly water-worn. In the vicinity is an inst
pillar : also a solid stone stupa in which NQ ,
the royal founder of this unique pagoda, is b .
So far, nothing has been done to preserve any 9f
the shrines of this type. Their conservation is ink
beyond the financial capacity o1 villagers, and steps
now being taken to prepare proper estimates. The '
uprooting of jungle growth, and the thorough cement
of the exterior, would greatly prolong the e of
monuments. The Dukhan Thein, or “ Shrine of Son,”
is also a fortified paged a similar in type to those alrWy
mentioned, yet suJfieiently di8erent to merit set
description.
The slope of the outer walls, and the hop-
holes with which they are provided, denote piaieily
the defensive nature of the pagoda, which was, in fK,
a refuge for moaks, just as the Shittaung was a r
 MESE WORDEBIAID. 'fl

for the Bing *and Court. The unadorned simplicity

of the entrance. .recalls the niches of Gandhara, which
in turn suggest a Babylonian prototype. In this
pageda the " passages are arranged quite diaerently.
Instead of an inner and outer passage, a single corridor
wind.• round and round the interior o1 the building in
a gently ascending spñ al and leads to a chamber in the
extreme summit of the monument. As an engineering
feat it is remarkable. The walls are at least 7 or 8 feet
thick. The ventilation is again perfect, though the
interior is quite dark. The passages are lined with seated
Buddhas, their heads slightly bent forward to fit the
curve of the arch. Many are mutilated. At intervals
the corridor narrows, apparently for purposes o1 defence,
and in other places widens out into spacious vaulted
hatls. These were formerly protected by doora whose
iron staples still remain. Grotesque dwarf figures Dwa
Pals j armed with clubs are carved on the jambs,
apparently to guard the doorways by their mystic
in8uence.
The final chamber at the top of the pagoda
ia imposing, Its stairs and arches recall the vaults of
the Tower o1 London. The room is lit by a wide
window, and shafts of evening sunshine beat in through
the loopholes.
The outside of the Duklian Thein is less dilapidated
than that of the Shittaung, but in this case brick work
has been interspersed through the stone, and has proved
a source of weakness. The pagcda was built by King
 A BURSIESE WONDERLAN D.

liIiu Sakkya, a grand son of Clin Ba, the founder of the

Shittauug. On the steps leading iqu to it a hgure of
the Einp« of Pegu, up.side down, has been carved where
every one may tread couteinptuously over ida reiniuder
of that bitter hatred of the Arakauese for Burir.a whicli
survives to this day. 'thèse three shrines, as I have
explained, have no kmoiim prototj r e. They appear to
be unique in India or Burma.
IVe now contiinied our pilgriinage t.o ù lahainNni,
pa5sing out of the ruins of ù lyohaung by a r-aterway
where, I v as told, the Burinese drove large numbers
of Arakaiiese into cages and droumed them. The
memory of every such massacre is zealously preserved
even after 135 years.
The distance from 3lyohaung to ù lahamuni by
water is about 3ù miles. The river into whicli we
turned bocomes increasiugly beautiful. The Dhanni
palm of the lon er reaclies, n'hich iS "P to be
inonotonoiis, gives place to a more varied growth. The
country is covered with paddy fields. Fm•ther along
the same range of hills as that in wliich Ilyohaung lies v-
e passed the Thingyit Da»• Pagcda, rc}auted to contain the
frontal bone of Budd£a. Img Anaivratta of Pñ gaai
attempted to remove it, but » as prevented from doing
so. linmediately below this shrine lies IVethali, or
Vesali, the oldest kuown capital of Arakan. lt v as
also the capital at various other periods. Its history
is obscure, but accordiiig to San Shwe Bu, l'esali was
built in 789 A.D., and flourished till the 10th cent»iry.
 A BURIIE SE IYON DERL‹\N D. T3

There is a ommon belief that vast wealth o-as l›uried

at Vesali byeorder of .some king whose }ieople u’ere so
rich that all n anted to buy and none to sell. To adjust
the balance and restore trade, all surplus u ealtli was
buried. As far as is known the massive blocks of stone
u hich are supposed to cover the treasure iii a ruin
called Sh» e-daring has e tiil no» defied all attempts to
move them. Excavations, started by a schoolmaster,
with one hundred coolies, three years ago, failed.
Steaming on, use passed a Carrions racing boat which
lay in a shed. It is 9G feet long, and is said to seat
S0 rowers. A 13’a/ has his shrine close by, and the boat,
which has u on many races, is never launched without
offerings and a 6reat deal of ceremony. The -Arakanese
are fond of boat-racing, though it is said they do not
bet about it like the Burmese. Their great festival is
the \Vater Fate of Tv yoo.
And so we ’câ me”to the pagoda wllich once enshrined
the 3Ialiarnuni image, and here we must cast back
hundreds and hundreds of years to inythica i times
before the dawn of history, to which dine age belongs
the 3ilagiri Legend. At that time (010 B.C. i) tfie
blessed Buddha, accornpanie‹l by his favourite disciple
.¥nanda and a host of folloiTers, flew to Arakan and alight-
ed on the Silagiri hill about 5 tniles from the present
agoda of ñ lahamuni, which v as then the site of a
great city called Dinnya-caddy Land of Paddy. ” The
Burmese never use the n'ord Arakan, but speali of the
country to this day, as Yal’aiiip P yr, or Dinny‹i-u:add J.
74 A BURMESE W ONDERLAND.

The Kinp• hearings of the Buddha’s arrival, went

out to meet Him with his whole court and army.
Buddha now recognized the country as the site of
several of his own past existences, and prophesied
where in time commemorative pagodas would be buik.
Then the Bing humbly begged to be allowed to cut a
brass image in the exact likeness of the Master. Into
this image Buddha breathed, and upon it transferred
the obligation of expiating certain of his former
still potent, such as the breaking of a man’s leg, and
the cutting o1 a man’s back. It will be remembenml
that centuries later the leg and back of the image were
mutilated by Pyu invaders. Thus fiortrto is fulfilled—
“ tomorrow, or after many days.”
Treasure was poured out for the casting of this '
wonderful image of Mahamuni, n'hich from that day
was the centre of religious and political life in Arakan,
the pride of the people, and the envy ot their neigh-
bours, whose many invasions were merely attempts to
possess themselves of ñlahamuni. At last in 1785
the image was carried o8 by the Burmese to Naodalay
where, protected by splendid gates, half buried in gold
leaf, it sits to this day in a blaze of electric light upon
its flower-laden altar in the Arakan Pagoda.
The extraordinary antiquity ascribed to the Rance-
muni must, of eoune, be accepted with reserve. I•onge
images were not cast in India until the 5th centmy
A.D. : and in Burma proper no images at all were ma4'e
before the llth century. There in no reference to
 RMESE OÑDERL&ND. 75

Qahamuni En a § inscription. Its perfect fines, its well

developed ñ longolian countenance, are evidence against
the suprême antiquité claimed for it.
The original pagoda in which 3lahamuni was
eashrined is lœown to have been repaired in 789 A.D.,
md again in 810. For the next nine centuries the
image passed through many vicissitudes, its shrine
being destroyed and rebuilt at least seven times.
Burmese, Talaing and Pyu invaders oiten attempted to
remox-e it, and besides this the wild folk of the adjacent
hills looted and burnt the wealthy pagoda whenever
rtrong enough to do so. In 1118 A.D. (as akeady
mentioned) an Army of Pyus and Talaings was ment by
Alaung-Sithu, Hing of Pà gä n, to restore a fugit.ive King
of Arakan. In part-payment of his obligation, this
Bing repaired the temple at Buddha Gaya ou behall of
Alaung-Sithu, and recorded the Fact there by an inscrip-
tion in Burmese. This Pyu army is the one which,
after iestoring the rightful k g, despoiled 2lahamuni
aad mutilated the image. The invaders were, however,
still unable to remove it. The country must have now
iatlen into great disorder. The pagoda became a ruin,
wc overgrown, and actually lost for fifty years, until
King Datha Raza made a search for it in the 12th
century. The image was found buried to the neck in
debris. It was then removed to Dinnya-waddy, a place
less open to attack from the hill tribes. The original
site being again lorgotten, remains uô known to this
day. The leg and back of the image were restored.
76 5 BURMESE VONDERLSND.*

In 1731 Bodaw Pave' conquered Arakan“ and in

the following yeaT removed the image to Amarapiira
(ñ landalay). It was floated on a raft doom the quiet
waterways of Arakan, then out to sea, and was even-
tually transported across the Yomas by way of the
Taiinp• Up Pass. ivliicli v’as •recially prepared for its
passag•e. The successful transportation o1 the
to Burma was no doubt a remarkable feat.
xrretched liiiig of Arakan was carried o8 also, together
with a number of pag•oda slaves whose descendants-are
found in ñ laudalay still*.
The shrine of Datha Raza at Dinnya-waddy he
been ruined many times. Portions of the original stoae
gates remain. lt has long been the custom for people
to rub their fuip•ers on the walls an‹1 then pass t•h
over au)• part of the body u hich aches.The walls art
now pitted iritli holes made by the rubbing of p•enern
tions of fingers. The same habit suriñ ves in Mandated
in connection vfith certain bronze figures which me
transported along n4th ñ lahamuui. 'the custom as
iuidoubtedly derived front Arakan.
The pagod a at Dinnya-v add y (now called Maha-
muni) was restored in the last generation, and a replica
' Bodaw Peya (1751-1619 A.ii.) was the Sixth king of the•
Alaungpra dyns,ty. See N Duriti eve Enchanl tin' nt, pap•e -*2i.
The descendants of several espti re colonies survive. Amazo-
pura is la rgely Manipuri. Arakanese were settled by Bodaw Paya
at ñIenda1a3•, end Portuguese by Dayin Maung at ñlonywa. Ttf•
letter have clung to their names and t-heir lait h, and Cat how
Burmans called Pet ro and Don Fernandez are fairly numemM
round the Cathed ra1 in ñlandslay.
 A BU B 1ESE HO2iDE RLA N D.

of the ‘ q} image set up. The shrine—a dreadful

affair’ of ' —has no artistic merit, except that its fine
teak pills and the splendour o1 the Budclha's throne
lend a certain magnificence to the interior. The image
itself is not a good copy. But all this is the pious v‘ork
of coinpar tively poor peor le, who had not at t)ieir
disposal t e resources o1 kings. They cast. a beautiful
bell at the same time, and inscriberl upon it in stately
1anguap•e the story of filahamuni. Referring to the loss
ef the image, this record simFly states that ’ the
life of the IIJu_•doui of .Takan having come to an en‹t,
the Burmese took the country ancl reiuovecl tJae image
together with the Kind and Court to Amarapura, n here
the image is .suitably enshrined. Anc1 the life of the
Burmese Illngdoiu having also come to its appointetl
completion, the British superseclcd it. But this holy
site ii ith all its sacred associations must surely bring
tears to the eJ es of all v‘ho behold it. ”
 BOOK TWO :—-UPPER BUR IA.

CHAPTER IX.
SawE ZET Duw.
(kap iSquare C!.R . ).

IN the month of 2’obauiip (2Iarch) crowds ol pilgr

mom all parts of Burma gather at the Shwe-zet Dan
Pegoda. Thousands more are deterred ö:om attendiag
the festival by the hardships ol the journey. For thou
Shwe-zet Daw is only 32 miles bom the Irrawaddy &
bfinbu, and 48 at Salin, and is moreover one of the
most sacred shrines in Burma, the roads are so awful
that many old people are afraid to travel by them. It
is remarkable that the two most important shrines in
the country—Byaik-hti-yo and Shwe-zet Daw—are
without first-class cart and motor roads, though both
are within easy reach of rail or river, and are vi-ited
yearly by thousands of people. In spite o1 this, and
though Shwe-zet Daw has no architectuial beauties, and
is situated in ugh country, the pilgrimage is worth
maling on account ol its eatreme importance in the
eyes of the Burmese. It must, however, be conlessed
that for once they have made a inistake. Kyauk
Bä daung across the river, which we shall visit presently,
 &’.:8DRMESE WONDERL&WD. 79

u )d, with quaint pagoda-crowned cli8s, end with

It. Popa in the background, have been a much more
nttractive site for a great festival.
We approached Shwe-zet Daw from Minbu, where
the mail steamer cast ua out on a burning bank at
midday, leaving us to trudge across a mile of sand.
At the end, however, we were lucky to secure a motor
!orry as far as Sagu. buy party was formidable. Every
Burman remotely connected claimed to travel with me.
Their wives and children claimed the same right : and
several old mothers and attractive nieces joined uninvited
en route az stowaways. We therefore reached ñ linbu
21 strong, with an appalling pile of luggage. I trembled
for the P. W. D. bridges as the lorry thundered over
them. Our driver was the usual skilful but highly
recites.s Burman, who took everything at full tilt, in
spite of the fact that my bicycle was tied across the
bomiet of the car with bootlaces. It is always useful
to take a bike about in Burma. In summer there is
mually a footpath, or at any rate a cart-rut to follow,
aad the terrors of such a ride are at least less vivid and
prolonged than those of a bullock-cart.
Next day we travelled in a cloud of dust by what
were said to be inter-village tracks. Later we reached
a canal, and here the going was comparatively good as
caets were conbned to one side of the road by rows of
posts. The canal also changed the aspect o1 the country
wiiieh wae here green and wooded : but this festival
of the Dry Zone occurs at the dryest and dustiest season
80

of the year. \\*e now joined the main stream o1 pilgrims

Irony Salin whose bullock-carts streamed ouwarcl all
day. anal for many t1as•s.
Two exquisite birds enrich this unpromising bit of
coiurtry. These are the Paradise Flycatcher anal the
b“mall ñlinivet. Roth are rare, or at anv rate extremely
limited in range, brit as it happened I saw each from
the verantlali of the rest-house. respectively at ñlinbu
and Shwe-zet Day . The Burmese Paraclise Flycatcher
is orclinarily an inconspicuous chestnut bircl, with a
black head. But in the breeding season the acliilt cock
is pure silvery v hite, v itli a blue-black hea‹l. anal a
tracery of dart: lines over the back. The tv o central
tail leathers are then extraordinarily lengthen.ed. and
float bebinrl the bird like »‘hite ribbons. The Small
ñlinivet deserves a better same. It has a dark slate-
blue heart, neck anal throat, whitish under-parts, and
a bright scarlet breast anal riunp. 'fire female is dove-
grey instead of slate, and lacks red or the bremt.
These tu-o birds, which I have not met elsev’here, are
as lovely as any found in I3urnia. Among.‹t other
interesting birds the <<tork-billed Kingfisher and an
immense Horned 0; 1 occur : and where the canal over-
flows I\1 ite lb is and \5"hite-necked Storks collected in
small numbers.
The last iiiarch of S nfiles from Sedaw to Hume-zet
Daw is over low. .sterile hills. At this season, only the
HTzsAc c. Bix gives s touch of green. All the other
trees are leafless. The journey, like that to Kyaik-
r
(“ Si u o] tle ”j. At kk-se Chaung pilgrims
search the sg ow little white pebbles because here
81

Z*hkan

Buddha rinsed$ rice from his mouth. Hence the little

white pebbles, and the name “ ńIouth-Rinsing Stream.”
None of the little girls strenuously digging had found›
aiiythinp, and I fear mos+ o1 the desirable pebbles have
beeu removed long ago. At each of these stations there
are sheds where pilgrinis rest and buy refreshment.
The charitab1e-it,ud there are always hundreds in a
Barmese crou-d—buy water-jars, and pay lor them to
be kept filled. ( Over each is a slip of paper, with a
notice such as :—Than-jo-yon Quarter, of ńJagwe,
Haung żlya, his wiłe, sons and ńaughters, dedicate
this water-jar. Let Nats and ńlen cry “ Thadu. ” \\'ater
is brought bom a distance in carts. At Shv e-zet
Daw itself there are taps. Ftirther, the Bttrmese
prefer condensed inilk to fresh, and for all these
reasons serious epideiuies seldom ocCur at the
feetival.
On this last stage the road is abominable. The
dust billows up, and hangs like a łog over the slow
moving carts. At last Shwe-zet Daw comes in sight—
a low range o1 hill9 With the principal shrine halfz'ay
np, gold amongst the amber trees. Zhere are other
shrines- on the hilltop, and mam covered stafiways :
and at a distance a white pagoda on Yathe Taung
Hermit ffiif). This is the best a9pect of Shwe-zet Daw
for on closer inspection it is found that none of the
6

Ś
82 A BURMESE WONDERfiAND.

buildings are o1 any artistic merit. The main shrine,

which we may believe was really beautiful, was burnt
doom four years ago, together with many throng
(pavilions) around it. Every e8ort is being made to
repair t.he damage, but funds are not unlimited, and
the place will not resiime its former splendour for some
time. Just now mounds o1 brick lie at the loot o1 the
hill which pilgrims carry up for merit, or pay for
being carried up ; and the brick-heaps growing on the
hill do not of course improve its beauty. But in spite
of this, I thoroughly enjoyed the five days we
spent here—perhaps because my Burmans were so
pleased, and so touchingly expressed their gratitude
at being brought on a pilgrimage of such extraordinary
merit.
The chief interest in the festival lies in the people
themselves, of whom ten thousand were campetl in the
shingle bed of a clear stream at the foot of the hill.
This stream almost encircles the shrine, and loops ba,ik
three times towards it, being loath (so the Burmans
say) to leave the sacred spot. The festival continues
for a whole month. Besides Burmans from all paints
o1 the country, it is the resort of Shans and Arakanese,
and oi Chins from the adjacent 4’omas. These Chins
are shy folk, dressed almost entirely in brick-red gar-
ments. Their bags and blankets are pretty. Some of
the lads are o1 fine physique. The girls are often
pretty, but many have blackened the lace with tatty
marks, a disfigurement *aid to have been intended
 A BURA1ESE WONDERLAND. 8S

‹originally iscourage Burmans. All these cro ds are

boused in s ds spreading along the river bed for nearly
two nñ les. ' ome o1 the sheds are built by the pagoda
trustees, others by stall-holders, and others I:y p•olt1-
1e3f sellers • fivlio retail gold leaf to the pilgrims.This
temporary is an important market, crowded by
day anal brilliant.1y lit by night : and there are endless
stalls, eating-shops, yes, merry-go-rounds, and other
delightful amusements. The crov‘d is in holiday moocl,
but of course (being Burman) is subject at inter-
vals to sudden and violent disturbances. However,
u’hile we uere there, I think only one person u as
killed.
The sanctity o1 Sliwe-zet Dan arises from the fact
that the Buddha alighted here on his legendary visit to
Burma. The spot is marked by a little gold pagoda in
the river bed. In this ravine lived a demon, Panama
Saga Min ; and on the hill above a hunter, Tbit-sa- ban-da-
ra ñ lokso (“ The Faithftil”). Both were converted, and
besought Buddha to leave a mark (set). The Golden
Iloyal Marks (6ñi‹'e Tel Dawn which the Buddha made
are two footprints, one in the river bed, and the other
halfway up the hill. Both marks are now enshrined and
thickly coated with golcl leaf which pilgrims lavish upon
them. Such in brief is the legentl. It has many
ramifications. For instance, the hunter shot a deer
front the top of the mill. There is a dent in the rock
where he knelt, and you will specially marvel at this.
There s a shrine to Kathapa Buddha, and
84 & BURA1ESE WONDERL&ND.

one to the Thagp«ya Min : and a heavy stone that you

can only lift by invoking the power of the pagoda. If
you measure a stick with your arm and rub it on a
certain stone, the stick will be lengthened or shortened
as desired. We found all these things perfectly correct,
and indeed spent a most inqenuous and happy evening
on the hill. From the sumJnit there is a fine view of
the encircling river, and of the booths along ito bad.
The ravine below is packed with gaily dressed people.
Already lamps and hres glitter here and there in the
dusk. The air is laden with the melody of gongs, nhile
night lays a soft mantle upon the nakedness of the
surrounding hills.

Tait rig nyo ya hmain. .

Z'lii-da hku:e to tha
Yr pat ie u›aing.

Deep shades surround the hill

Against the twilight gloaminp.
Across the plain below
A shining river roaming.

At Shove-zet Daw I drst met the child-Nat Va

Nemi, and promptly made her my own, marvelling
at her story, and at my blindness in not seeing
her before. Ma Nemi is about us everywhere in
Not shrines all over Burma. She was being rocked
in a cradle by an old Burmese lady who kept a
whole shed-full of Nat images. I begged an intro-
duction.
 p BURHEgE v0NDERLàND. 85

. Nemi,” said the old lady, “ is a nièce of

Flaung ’nt De.” Tim De was a blacksinith of Tù -
gaung, o was cruelly executed with his sisters, and is
now en rined on Mt. Popa. bla Nemi is the little
daughtê oi the youngest sister Thon-ban-bla. Her
father came from Pegu, so she is sometimes spoken of
as the Pegu Nat.’ Being left an orphan, she was
called Nemi (“ Little f riend less ”). Very soon she died and
became a Nat, and besought king Anawratta of Pñ gan
to provide her with a refuge. The King seeing her
1onelinegs, asaigned her a li ome in the cradles of babies.
This legend, as its Tä gaung origin shows, is one o1 the
oldest in Burma. From a remote age there survivea
the tragic figure of a forlorn little maid playing with
dolls and cradles. She still occupiez cradles, and makes
the babies laugh. And when they are bungry, or if
offerings are not made to her, she makes them cry.
In ñ 'oi shrines you will usually see her swinging in
cradles such as are used by babies in this country—
and people o8er her dolls, bangles, tiny shoes and other
toys to play with. Her story is as moving as that o1
5izo, the guardian o1 dead babies, at whose shrine at
Eujo-mizu (kyoto) the stricken mothers of Japan o8er
little garments, pebbles, toys and oranges. Even in
this material age none will deny the autbenticity of
bla Nemi, or question the authority of her touching
legend. II you meet her, dear reader, give her a doll
or a rupee to buy one with. Life will be richer if you
firiuly behevQ
8C A BDRMESE TVONDERLANDf

MA NENI.

There’s a homely little maiden

Who has watched the babies play
Down the never-ending ages,
While the \Yorld is gmwing grey.

A pathetic little figure,

i3lotherless and all alone,
\Vho has claimed and has adopted
Every mother for her own.

Still enchanted with her dollies

Babies 1aup•h with 3fo 3’emi›

_ And will 8hare with her their cradles

In the ages yet to be.
 CHAPTER X.
DBE Pi<.
IN a previous chapter we discussed the 'Talaings, a race
well on the way to extinction, or rather absorption.
Let us now collect from various sources the story of
the Pyu, u hose civilization and greatness was contem-
porary, but who have passed away altogether : mysteri-
ously vanished from the Earth, leaiâng behind only a
name, a misty legend, and a few inscriptions. I The
important reciprocal influence of Pyu and Talaing upon
each other, and of both upon the Burmese, has only
been recognized during the last few years. .It an early
date the Pyu had a miting• of their omi, derived front
some south Indian sc* •t, and v•hich in turn helped to
ex-olve the alphabets o1 both Burmese and Talaing-.
Certainly the Pyu have left a more extensive lithic
literature than was supl aosed, though much of it has
vet ro be discovered. It njll throw new light on the
early histor) of Burma, and hes already helped to
‹lctermine some important dates. This new line of
es idence has been deveioPed by 3Ir. C. O. Blagden, u ho
has succeeded in translating several inscriptions. Pyu
inscriptions are usually brieJ records on funeral urns,

' I am inde bted tor my facts to the learned authors ul the

He[›orLs fzoru 191 G to 1920 o( L he Arcbm!o Nicol Su rvey. Burraa.
E8 A BDRMESE WORDERL&ND.

but others occur, notably one on the famous quadra-

lingual Aha-zedi pillar found by Forchhammer. This
monument was erected ab Pä gan in 1112 A.D., and is
written in Burmese, Pali, Talaing and Pfui. The Pyu
Mace was deciphered by Mr. Blagden who in this iTay
rediscovered an extinct languaq•e. The Aha-zedi pillar
ia the Rosetta Stone o1 the Pyu,' and is of further
value in that it establishes dates connected with Kyan-
zittha (l08Wl112 A.D.), one of the greatest kinp«s or
Burma. These dates are corroborated by an inscription
in Prome, and are thus definitely fixed.
The Pyu were one of the several Tibeto-Burman
tribes who, shortly before our era, descended through
Ssuch’uan and Yü nnan into Burma° where, between
the 9th and llth centuries, they gradually amalgamated
with kindred races and formed what are now Burmans.
This Tibeto-Burman invasion was the second great wave
of iminigration to enter Burma born Central Asia.°
They had been preceded by Klon-Rhmers (Talaing,
Palaung, Pale, )Va and Annamites) who, as we have
seen, had previously moved down the Nekong Valley,
and by a lateral movement overrun Burina, spreading
across it very thinly '. They o8ered at Erst little
obstruction to the Tibeto-Burmans until they had been
driven together in the vicinity of Prome in sufficient

' See my Pdqan. Page 27.

• See Taw Sein ho’s Btrrwe Skelcliec. Pape 5. •
• See A Bewe Ancxnr, Preface.
• Census Report, 1911, Vol IX. Part I. Pa.•e 251.
 A BDRDESE WONDERLAND. 89

numbers esiat. Reund Prome there began, in the

ea,rly part our era, that age-long struggle between
Burmans an Talaings which continued with varied
lortunes until the l8th century, when Alaungpra delivered
the coup de grace L:oio which there v ill be no recovery.
In the lst century A.D., the Pyti established a
capital at Hmawza, six miles from Prome, and gradually
fell under the in8uence of a powerful Indian colony.
Their capital at Prome was a centre of cultBre,
which, as alread y indicated, had an important influence
upon the development of the Talaings in the south,
and of the Burmese tribes slowl3• concentrating at
Pigan in the north. Their pagodas, the Baw-Baw-Gyi,
Pä ya Gyi and Paya Via, cylindrical, and still wouder-
fully preserved, are amongst the oldest in Burma. and
are believed to be one o( the direct links between the
Indian stupa and the Burmese pa god a. They are
probably 6th or 7th century. A large Pyu inscription
has been found on the Baw-Baw-Gyi, but is not legible.
The four lower terraces of this pagoda have not yet
been cleared of debris. I\"hen excavated, they nell no
doubt reveal something. A large number of Pyu
inscriptions, it is feared, have gone as ballast into the
Prome railn ay track.
In the 1st century A.D., the Pyu are mentioned as
associated v ith two other tribes, the Thet and the
Kanran. According to Pha e, ' the Pyu were attacked

' Pha r.e’a ffistory o/ Burma , Po.pe 16.

90 & BDRMESE WONDERLAND.

near Prome by Talaings, and after thirteen years

wandeling and dghting, a section of them were duiven
north into what is now 'fhayetmyo, and thence to
Pä gau, where they lounded a settlement. Taw Sein
Ko believes the word Pdgan is derived from Pu Pyu j
and Gerda, the “ Village of the Pyu.”' In certain
inscriptious Pä gau is written Pugain : and in the
Shwe Sandaw inscriptiou, Pokania. In an inscription set
up at Buddha Gaya in 1295 A.D., by an Arakanese
Prince, the Binp« of Burma is spoken of as Pa-la-fbëirt
Min (' Lord ol a Hundred-thousand Pyu ”).
After the occupation of Pä gan the early Tibeto-
Burman tribes are not spoken of separately, but the
collective word 3fran›;èa creeps in, showing the gradual
growth and consoiidation of bitherto insignificant
Burmese coinrruinities. Neighbouring countries, however,
still associated Burma with the Pyu for a long time. The
name 3lyen (Burmese) does not appear in Chinese
records till the l2ih century. Till then the inhabita.Dis
ol Burma are still spoken of as P’iao, that is I’yu.
There are non lniown to have been Pyu settlements
st Taungdwingyi (blagwe). In Yamethin legenda
regarding them still exist. They occurred far iiway
. north at Hlaingyi in the Alu Valley, and at She ebo.
At Powin Taung, near 3lonywa, the village of 3tinzu
(P iinces’ Renden- Vous ) is so called from the reputed
meeting of Pyu hlin and Pyon 3Iin—Pyu and Pyon
heing two etlinic names.
21. Dq rpiaelle no lonp•er sccepts thia deri vxtion.
 A BURJIESE \VON DE RLAN D.

At tÖ e Burinese for a long time oecu pied

inerely a Quarter of the toan, Still knOBVH XS Ü lJn
(or 31yen) Pä ' an. Their ainalgamation was, however ,
e8ected by yinbya, the thirty-third king of Pä gan,
who lived i the 9th century A.D. That amalganiation
was couiplete and einbraced also the Pyu at the time of
Anaivratta, So, in 1057 A.D., snept dovm, as we have
seen, upon t Talaings at Thaton, pau.ging on his v ay
to give the lingeriug in Prome t.heir death-blov•.
Pyu supreiuacy n•as gone. But they reniained
still a numerous and important comrnunity, living
apparently p good terms with the Burmese. In 1118
A.D., a P arrny invaded . Arakan under orders of Alaung-
Sithu..
In about 128 i a bi-lingual inscription in Pyu and
Chinese was set up at Pä gan, presuinably by the Chinese
('fartars), to cominemorate their inva.sion of Burma. l
That the Pyu language should 1iax•e been used, shows
that it was still of literary and political importance in

After ‘that the Pyu vanish.

The phenomenon causes litt.Ie surprise in this
country. There nsas no catastrophe, merely an absorp-
tion : whereby the Burmese added to their own import-
ance and strength. The process is going on still all
over Burma, where in the south large communities of
3’alaings and Rarens, and in the north Shans, liaehins,
' Bepor t : Arc ological Sur vey : Burma, 1918 (Para. 51), and
' 1817 (Para. 66).
92 A BURMESE WONDERLAND.

Radus, )1alins, Tamans, Chins and many others, aae

being rapidly Burmanised. The traneition is wonder-
fully ea8y. These people adopt new' speech, religion,
dress and customs, and sometimes without intermarry-
ing, become Burmane in two or three generations, with
hardly a legend to remind them that they were ever
anything else. So it was with the Pyu.
Not long ago in Yamethin I was told that there
still exist families who claim to be o1 Pyu origin, and
that they have certain funeral customs, such aS burying
the dead in vaults in their own paddy fields. 'these
are said to be Pyu customs. '

' Taw Sein Ko’a Be imese IS ketche+. Page 6.

 CHAPTER XI.

P GEN.

Pn‹sm was the capital of Burma at the height of

its glory.' Few places are more inspiring. It is saturated
with old associations. History lurks amongst its ruins.
The very soil is brick-dust. The greatest Rings o1
Burma are connected with it, and the shrines they built
so lavishly rise before me as I write on the terrace of
the Gawdaw-Palin. I believe firmly in seizing impres-
sions in the field while they are still fresh and warm ;
and the monuments spread thickly over the surrounding
country could scarcely fail to make a deep appeal.
Far away gleams the golden dome of the Shwezigou
Pagoda, begun by Anamatta (l0t4-77 A.D.), and
completed by his equally great successor, Ryanzittha.
Kyanzittha’s own masterpiece, the Anand a, lies white
and dazzling in the foreground—a dream pagoda, the
most lovely shrine in Burma, and one of the most
sacred. The Gawdaw-Palin (“ Buddha’s Throne ”), upon
whose upper terrace I rest, is a massive stracture higher
than St. Paul’s, so perfectly proportioned that, from
the Irraz addy, its grey and white gates and spires seem
to 8oat hke a niira-ge above the river mists.

' flap Square C. H .

94 é BURMESE WONDERLAXD.

Thatbyinnyu (“ The Omniscent ”), another soaring

vision, is almost as ethereal. About these giante lie small-
er buildings like the Bidagat Tike built to receive the
sacred manuscripts seized at Thaton in 1057 A.D. It
was repaired by Bodaw Paya in 1783. The 2Ianuha md
han Paya were raised by the unfortunate Talaing Ring
during his captivity. The Patho-tha-mya (“ Mother o1
man} sons ”), whose name suggests its antiquity, i6
believed to be one of the earliest pagodas, and is indeed
associated with the Ari. The 2faha Bodi is a replica
o1 the temple at Buddha Gaya : and the dumpy Bu Paya
is senior by full two hundred years to all these other
llth and 12th century buildings. Five hundred yards
away lies the Shwe -ku Gyi, built by Alaung-Sithu (A.D.
1112 to 1187). That ancient king, in the 75th year of
his reign, at the age of 101, was here brutally smothered
by his son. To expiate this nicked crime yonder ruin,
the Dhamma-yan Gyi, was raised. It is one of the mos4
solid and splendid, though now sadly decayed pagoda.
The estimates for its repair are heavy, but it is hoped to
save it if I can screw Duroiselle to the point. Through
glasses you can akeady see workmen swarming over the
Tilo-ñ linlo, for whose preservation Rs. 20,000 have bun
allotted. kilo-1Vinio means “ Umbrella-want Kingdom-
want.” The ambition of its founder is indicated by this,
and by his own name, Nan-Taun-mya, (" Much aakinp
for palace "). Near by, an exquisite little hall, the U Pali
Thein is called after the great theologian, U Pam, a
contemporary of Buddha, who expounded law to the
 A BPRBESE UONDERLàND. 95

First Council. And so on. There is something to learn of

inany a shrine, while the remaining three or four thousand
are nameless ruins of red brick, in emery stage of
collapse. People say they are all much the same to
look at, and so they may be to the uninitiated.
Information is not readily accessible. Visitors are
left to wander ainilessly aniidsr ploughed fields, andy
extrenaely treacherous lanes ; and to thread a lab inth
of pagodas which ha› e a habit of moving away and
round each otber in a uiost perplexing fashion. But
all the greaterJ ones, at any rate, have a distinct
character ancl individualité , arising as much perhaps
from their romances and tragedies, as from the arehi-
teetmal nature or their types.
There is a great deal to be said about tliese types,
md of the influences of Thaton, Prome, Ceylon, Inclia
and Cambodia, wliich conspired together in their crea-
tion. Pä gan is a tremendous subject to dismiss in a
lew pages, as we must dismiss it here. In 1914 I ivrote
a small booklet on the subject, ' so ue must confine
ourselves now strictly to generalities, and to certain
new facts lately brought to light by the diligent research
of archæologists é d epigraphists. In several direc-
Sens it is necessary to inodily theories which ha ve long
been ept+d as true. In this connection I au indebtecl
for information to Taw *etc ko and FJ. Duroiselle,
the distinguished authoes of the Reports for 1916-1920,
on the Archæological Survey of Burnia.
• PJgan, llhnthawadd y Press, IMngooa.
96 A BDRME9E W0NDERL&ND.

To Dnroiselle in particular I owe not only a mass

of solid fact, but inspiration too, from the romance he
can infuse—with two whiskys—into the dry bones of
antiquity. It is, however, with the utmost caution that
I venture upon any discussion of history earlier than
the I lth century. I have submitted all such matter
to the highest archmological experts, and Duroiselle he '
mutilated my manuscript again and again with devas-
tating blue pencil. \Ve are, however, groping through
a maze of error, into a darkness in which few points
are fixed, and upon which history has not yet shed its
light. Research is cutting the ground mom under us.
The accepted, oft-repeated theories are now open to
doubt. Many are completely wrong. 'the rash
surmises of the 18th century—and they cover much of
the available literature—are misleading : and the
Archmological Reports themselves are tull of pitfalls
for the student.
Burmese historians are accused or romancing, but
their records on the whole are more accurate than any
others (except Chinese) in the Far East. They have a
fatal weakness for Indian genealogies, which they trace if
possible to 528 generations pre-Buddha ! They gloss over
unpleasant incidents, and describe the indemnity of
the First Burmese War as a charitable dole to help the
beaten enemy to retire. That, however, is the extent
of there deception. Events, even defeats, are recorded.
The Tartar invasions are accurately described, except
that the expeditions to Tagaung in 1284, and to Pagan
 USE WONDERLSND. 9'f

in 1287, treated as one bviously a misunder-

standing. e Burmese, moreover, are one o1 the few
races who ve kept historical records, and, though
these are 1 s remarkable in bulk and antiquity than
those of the, Chinese, they are still important. The
dates are pre ise, and their general authenticity has
been proved again and again by comparison with the
records of China, ’libel and Ceylon. The earliest
histories are 15th century : but from the llth century
there are inscriptions. These merely record foundations
and dedications, but their incidental references to
persons and events make them extremely valuable
and suggestive. There is no doubt but that one day
the lost history of Burma will be restored and
written. '
Pagan, we have seen, was originally a Pyu settle-
ment at a remote pericd when the Burmese or blranma,
were still scattered, insignificant communities. The
amalgamation of Burmese tribes was only begun by
Pyinbya, the 33rd King of Pagan, in the 9th century.
Under him it was probably limited to Burmese clans
alone. The Pyu v ere brought nithin its scope later,
perhaps by conquest, by Anawratta. The Pyu of
course were also Tibeto-Burmans. \Ve have seen that
there earliest capital was at Hmawza near Prome, that
they had wri 6 • t an earl}’ date, and that they have
left n larger lithic literature than was suspected. much
of this has yet to be discovered, but Pyu inscriptions,
together Cth those 0( the Talaings, are already playing
E BW
98 A BURMESE 1¥0NDERL&ED.

an important part in fixing precisely the dates of

events in the early history of Biuma.
The amalgamation of the Burmese begun at P “
by Pj bya in the 9th century, was completed
Anawratta in about 1057, when he suddenly s
down and destroyed the Pyu at Prome, and the ’IQ
at Thaton. The last event resulted in a tre
impetus to religion, art, architecture and literature,
is the immediate cause or the architectural and
tual splendour of Pagan. But it is impossible nowt
maintain that the Burmese in 1057 were savages.
had before then a corrupt form of Nahayana Buddy.
'Ihey had achieved the arts of war and gove .
In short, though the Burmese received a highly deve-
loped civilization from the Talaing, it is no l
possible to igpore the in8uence of the Pyu. The great-
ness or Pagan, hon'ever, began with the fall of The
Before then, the Burmese language, it appears, was not
written. In spite of the dry climate no single inscrip-
tion of earlier date has been found, though neue
xrritings in Pyu and Talaing of far greater antic
have siiiviYed the heavy mains of Lowcr Burma. 'then,
in the llth and following centuries, Upper Burma waa
suddenly littered with lithic inscriptions in Burmse,
showing that one result of Anaxvratta’s conquest
the invention, or rather adoption, of writing for t8e
vulgar tongue. During the succeeding two and a bad
centuries thousands of pagodas were built, whose
cover a great area, whose survix•ors are still m
 A DURfiESE WONDERLAND. 09

preserie and which then, and henceforth, became

the wonder and admiration of every generation. Pä gan
became the acknowledged nietropolis of Buddhism.
Fortunately the dryness of the climate, and the absence
of all jungle except cactus, have ensured the preserva-
tion oi these monuments. Glen and earthquakes are
their only eneniies : ancl of these, Plan has displajed
an unbelievable perseverance in breaking into the
iinages and relic chambers of almost every one of the
reputed 5,000 shrines.

A peculiar coincidence of dates and events between

Burmese and English history helps to fix this period
clearly in the mind. The Thaton Conquest occurrœl in
l0o7 : the Norman Conquest in 1066 : and both had
the same intellectual significance. In both countries
there was a simultaneous development in art and
letters. Winchester Cathedral was built in 1079, the
Ananda Pagoda in 1090. Curiously enough, while Henri
Beauclerc was translating &sop’s tables in England,
kyanzittha was inouldinp them in plaques at Pä gan.
To follow the coincidence a step further IVilliam Rufus
and Ananuatta both met mysterious deaths out hunting,
the one in 1087, the other in 1077.

The early history or Buddhism in Burma is obscure.

Pure Southern Budclhism, we have seen, was introduced
at Thaton probably at the beginning of the Christian
era, but missions were not sent in Asoka’s time, as is
100 A BÖ BNESE WONDERLAND.

popularly supposed. At least we have no prooi ol it.

Southern Buddhism was estab1ish«1 at Pägan by
Anawratta in 1057 A.D., but we are now positively
able to assert that there akeady existed at Pagan a vilb
Norm of Northern or 3Iahayana Buddhism. The exist-
ance of Mahayana in Burma, long the subject of coutro-
versy, is now settled by evidence furnished by pagod in
lately discovered at Min-nan-thu, three miles bom
Pagan. In these, the frescoes, which are beautifully
preserved, are " distinctly 6Iahayanist and Tantric in
character.” At 31in-nan-thu there survive the ruins of
many remarkable monasteries u hith were the home of
those notorious and licentious Buddhist priests called
Ari. 'these buildings belong to the llth and 13th
centuries, and are well preserved. Many are two-
storey, and handsome plaster mouldings still remain.
Their interest, however, is centered in the frescoes of
two small pagodas called Paya-thon-zu and Nanda-

The frescoes of the Paya-thon-zu are amongst the

best in Pagan, and are quite unlike an others. In
fact “ they represent that phase of religion, so abhorred
later, oi which the priests were the Ari.” The Paya- thon-
zu is undated, but it belongs to the same period as the
Nandaminya, in which there is an inscription, and which
wa9 built between HU and 1130 A.D. 'the bescoes of
the andaminya are grossly obscene and erotic, and
strongly confirm the tradition regarding the immorality of
the Ari.
 A BURQESE ;V0NDERLAND. 101

The cure story ol t.he Ari has been admirably

described by II. Duroiselle in a monograph (now out
of print) called the Ari o] Burma and Tammy Buddhism,
from which is taken the fol1on•ing abstract :—The Ari-
were a Buddhist sect, but were at the same time
Shamans and Saktas, addicted to the grossest immoral-
it.ies. Their evil practices u ere derived from Northern
India or Bengal in about the Gth century, at a time when
Buddhism there was seriously coriupted. The pre-
Buddhist cult was in tact “ a mixture of Nat IVOïShip,
Ta.ntric Buddhism, and Hinduism.” ' This is confirmed
by the frescoes referred to, and also by a Tibetan
manuscript. They practiced sorcery and alchemy, and
held animal sacrifices. They drank heavily, indulged
in immoralitics, were by no means celibate, and finally
claimed the right of jus priiiiae moeite, or violating
brides. It n'as this that probably brought about their
fall, and so deeply incensed Anawratta. In 1057, as
we have seen, Anawratta introduced pure Southern
Buddhism. He failed , however, completely to stamp
out the Ari, as the chronicles would have us suppose.
His persecution of the licentious priests in fact tended
to disperse them over a wider area, notably in the
adjacent Shan States, where niany phoonyyis to this
day are not celibate. Even in Pä gan they survived ,
and in this connection an inscription in the Nandaminya,
dated 1248 A.D., is of special interest. From this

Duroiselle. £erjetidn ri ifisfor¿/ off PFqau,

102 A BUBIIESE IV ON DE RLAND.

record it is clear that the shrine and adjacent monastery

were built by a minister v5th the encourap•ement o1
Bing Alaung-Sithu (Narapati-Sithu), showing that
royal patronage of the Ari (previously withdran•n, as we
have seen, by Ananzatta), still continued. There is also
mention o1 revenue for supplying the priests with
meat and spirit twice a day, morning and evening,
in direct defiance of the monastic rules o1 Southern
Buddhism. The Ari in fact appear to have suflered no
further check until the religious movement under King
Dhaminacheti in the l5th century ; and until, a century
later still, Sinbyushin prohibited intoxicating offerings
and bloody sacrifices. The last direct mention of the
Ari occurs in the 14th century when at Pinya (Ava)
they are represented as soldier-priests.
But even later “ Boxing-monks ” are referred to as
Ar(-ypi-do-ari/iaoy— (Descendants of the great Ari).'
Such priests u’ere nrtmerous at Ava aud Sagaing, where
they boxed, drank, womanised, bred and sold horses,
and dabbled in alchemy and amulets. In the 18t1i
century a thousand militant monks set out from Ava
to fight the Talaings.* No further references occur, but
no doubt the old turbulent Ari spirit, which so shocked
Anav•ratta, still survives. Stories are whispered now
of monks “ turning men ” at night in ñ landalay. Shan
pRonqy3s in IIenp• Tunp« openly keep yeomen (ride my
A B «wnese £oiie/ixess, page 8G). In the restless days in
 A BUR ‹\IESE FROM DERLAND. 103

which we now have the misfortune to live, the pâ oonyyis

have at once thrust theirselves into politics with
unseemly passion. Some openly repudiate their rules.
Some have ceased to observe Lent.They attend
political meetinp•s in 8at defiance of the f/io//ianobniny
(Arch Bishop), and hotly resent the re-appointment of
a /ifa£odan Item (Ecclesiastical Censor). These things
appear very strange, and indeed are indefensible in
Southern Buddhism, until we recognize in them the
old Ari spirit which has asserted itself down the centuries
whenever opportunity offered. This sanctioned liber-
tinism in a section of the Order has rendered the
laity insensible. There is no in‹lignant outcry against
the p/tooityJis, because the .Sri spirit is as old as
Time. The people support all monks without
enquiry. It is meritorious to feed them, and it is
su8icient that a nieudicant wears the sacred yellow robe.
Antiquarian research teaches far more than mere
history. Rightly appliul, it becomes a guiding principle
because it illuminates the past, exposes the root of
things, and unveils the causes from which conditions
arise. The thoughts, sentiments and aspirations of a
people are only perceived by examining their source
anal origin, and the steps ot their development.The
history of Buddhism explains every peculiarity of the
Burmese character. History dictates their attitude to
modern a8airs. The Ari of old direct the disgraceful
riots of phoongyis, and live still in the honoured monks
of Amyaiik-biJin who beg at damn, and return at dusk
104 A B UBMESE WONDEB UND.

to their tives and children. The key of the “

prehensible ” (and practically all that occurs h
that), lies in the pa,st.

Another set o1 instructive lrescoes occurs at Pä

a shrine called ßyanzittha Onhmin. These r
Tartar soldiers, and also a design of crosses. T
irresistibly suggest Christian origin. That Ch
(long knoxvn in 3Jadras) may have been lamiliar
Indian artists employed at Pä gan is not at all imp
The Tartar soldiers, for such they appear
are shown with helinets, plumes and neck-guarR
archer with his bow and arrows, and an offieer s
on a camp-stool, with a hawk on his weist. These
be pictures of the so-called “ Chinese ” who are pop
supposed to have ravaged Upper Burma and de
Pä gan in the 13th century.
The inßuence of China at work to-day in Bur is
immense. H*ithout ostentaticn the Chinese ceere,
marry and eonquer ; and their absorbing power on a
ü longol race like the Burmese is remarkable. The
completeness of their peaceful victory is hardly recogniaed
until it is accoinplished. In this lies salvation for
Burma. The silent work of these Chinamen is v
more dar-reaching than that o1 Indians. They hat
associated themselves intimately with the people. Thejf
are in harmony with the sentiment and religicn or
country. Their Family and political loyalty is a
example : and they have built up v ealth and credit
 DflßE TNO>DERLAED. 105

honest tiad The Cliipayiqp with his singleuess o1

purpose, his geuce, Und his t ift, supplies those
very qualities’ h the Burman lacks. But that direct
Chinese in8uen e could have been brought to bear at
a very early date, as some assert, is impossible.
True, the population of Burma originates from s0iö e
region near the Yangtsi and Eoang-Ho basins, but
their occupation of those territorieg preceded by many
c+nturies the arriYal there of the Chinese. There cannot
at that period have been any extensive Communication :
and later, when the Tibeto Burman tribes shifted to
Burma, China was still separated from them for hundieds
of years by Yü nnan, which only became a thoroughly
Chinese province two centuries ago. The so-called
“ Chinese” army which took Pä gan in 1287 A.D. was
probably composed o1 Shans, Lolo, Iluhso and other
indigenous races of Yü nnan, officered perhaps by
Tartars, and commanded ceitainly by kublai Khan’s
own Brother.
The Tartars, however, weie themselves foreigneis who
svere later absorbed in the north of China, as Shans wehe in
the south, into the nondescript mass now knoxrn as
Chinese.
Yü nnan, at e period o1 which we are speaking,
was largely Shari. The Shari Ifingdoin of hTan Chao,
which occupied the regions of Tali and Yü nnan Fu, was
only overthron n by the Tartars in 1253 A.D. That
was a peiiod of Tartar activity. They overran Burma
as lar as Tä gauug in 1284 : destroyed Pä gan in 1287 :
106 A BUP.XESE ÜONDEHLSND.

and re-appeared at Byaukse in 1300. Their

however, was uncertain, and indeed was not eure
in Yünnan until the Panthay rebellion of the
century. l The Chinese population of Yiinnau is
proportionately small, though their well-known proc
of absorbing indig•enous races Shan, Lolo, Myau-tsu,
etc.—is now progressing rapidly, as also it is progr g
*n the same lines in Burma too. But that the Chip
could have inßuenced Burma from ancient times is
physically impossible. The way was blocked and
barred ; and the interveninp• provlnees, now part of
China, were not Chinese until quite recent times.

The history of Burma for some centuiies after the

Tartar invasions o1 1300, and indeed until the rise of
Alaungpra in l7ü3, is extremely confused. It was a
period o1 plots and petty states. I\’hen the Tarbars
took Pägan in 1257, Tayok Pkt Min was already dead.
He had ßed for refuqe to his son the Governor of Prome,
who poisoned him. His successor Byawzwa, »•ith the
help of Chinese” Comforters, ” still managed to maintain
Ümself at Pägan for some years.
The country to the north was, hou ever, in the hands
of Shan Princes, uotably three brothers who had es-
tablished their respective Kapitals at ülekaya, Hinzaing

' There were subsequent 'fartar or Chinese invasions in 1444,

1443, l 7G7 and l 7G9. See Pha3're’s history of Burma, Page l 9G :
and Syme’s ñ mbossy lo A va, Page '70 : and A rchmotoyical Report,
bfarch 1918, Para. 49.
 A B U Ri\ID8E WO NDE R LAN D. 107

and Piny near Ryaukse. Anasvratta had built

extensive canals at kyaukse wherewith to provide
grain for the then large population o1 Pag•an. It is
curious to note that after the fall of Pagan all future
capitals mere grouped close to the irrigated areas of
Kyaukse—at 2Iekaya, 3Iinzaing, Pinya, Sagaing, Ava,
Amarapura ancl 3Iandalay. ñlekaya is 5 miles from the
rai1»•ay station of Singaing—a pleasant place for week-
end picnics. Its ruined pagodas survive, but are o*
little note, and are much overgrown with brambles.
The Ilyitnge River 8ows placidly by, and Ava can be
r•.ached by boat, in a few hours.
The Shan Brothers had helped the Tartars to
destroy Pagan. A few' years later they forced I?yan•zn a
to enter a monastery at ñliuzaing. The unfortunate
King appealed to the Chinese, who sent the army of
1300 A.D., to his relief. The Shan Brothers, hov•ever,
beheaded liyawzwa, and bribed the Tartars to retire.
The latter were probably not sorry to find the quarrel
summarily composed. As a proof of their good-will
they laid aside their arms and helped build the Chantha-
y°. Fagotla, which can still be seen at ñlinzaing, about
I› miles mom Byaukse. So endecl the House of Anaw-
ratta. The Pagan dynast)• nsas gone.
The Shan Brothers and their descenrlauts bought
and assassinated each other till one, Atthcnkaya,
excelled, and founded the first capital at Sap•aiug in
132a*. A later prince founrled the first capital at Ava
in 1364. Its further history will be related hereafter .
108 A DURMESE %OhDERLAND.

A centry later we find a Burmese dynasty at Av

and kinp• Narapadi involved once more in a T
invasion. The Tartars marching on Sagaing
repulsed in 1444 A.D., but triumphed in the follo
year. The unfinished stump of the Thupa-yon Pag
at Sagaing, whose construction by Narapadi
interrupted by the invasion, is a silent witness of IQ
events.

3Ve will now attempt to revive two or three of the

arresting characters who, at this distante o1 time, move
like ghosts across the stage of Pà gan. Their indistinct
figures are already illuminated with a little clearer
light. One day they will live again. Therein
the romance or scientific research. And dead kings
somehow always more condescending than live oiies.
Asoka, Babar, Byanzittha, hoo intimate, how lovabte,
they are become !
Anamatta (1044-77 A.D.), is still not very accessible.
His ró le is that ot soldier and religious reformar.
The material at our disposal is meagre, and indeed we
can only see him at all through a inist of legend the
has lastened upon him. He is certainly Buima’s
greatest king. He lived in a critical age, and had t
cit and strength to use circumstances for his own, md
his people’s, advantage. I\*e see him most clearly m
a soldier —strong, energetic and unscrupulous, yet n
unkind, except in moments of ungox•ernable lury.
treatment of Ryanzittha, as we shall see la-ter, W
 A BURRESE V'ONDERLSND. 109

harsh. utstanding feature of his reign is the

introduction o Southern Buddhism and of letters which
so profoundly influenced the destinies of Burma. Yet,
though he did this, Anan ratta himself failed to grasp
the true benevolence of the new religion. He was in
fact a pious fanatic, a fierce oppressor of the u icked,
a dreai er o1 miracles, who, if nde may believe the
legends, ransacked Pegu, Yünnan and Ceylon for relics,
His niilitary expeditions were frankly pedatory. His
descend on Arakan was a shameless attempt to possess
himself of the llahamuni Image. 3Ve are not aware of
any provocation on the part of the Talaings justifying
the war with Thaton. Siniply, Thaton ras at the
time invitingly weak : and Anawratta’s yearoing for
holy books, which was the ostensible excuse for the
raid, may be accepted at its face value. lt is, howex-er,
possible that the Talaing and Pyu v ere a minor consi-
deration, and that the real object of his expedition was
to crush aggressive Indian colonies. The result in any
' case was the ama1g•amation of Burina, perhaps for the
first time, under one strong government.
With Anawratta is associated the pathetic figure of
his victim, âlanuha, ming of Thaton, who lived many
years a captive at Pàgan. Anawratta appears at
first to have treated him generously, though later
the unfortunate prisoner u as subjected to some indig-
nity, and was, in fact, dedieated as a slave to
the Shwezigon Pagod a. However, in 1069 tte was
in a position to build two beautiful shrines at Pägan,
110 A BDRXESE WONDERLAND.

the ?Ianuha and hwan Paya. Both are well pre-

served, and the former is remarkable for the
jugglery z•hereby no less than hour stupendous images
(one is 100 feet long) have been fitted into quite a
small building. N'e witness in poor llanuha a spirit of
dignity and fortitude. Drag•ged from his throne at the
head o1 the highest civilization then 1 iown to Burma,
he patiently devoted his hopeless captivity to works of
art which, by reason of their Indian style, wem destined
proloundly to inßuence the architecture of the country.
Before leaving Anawratta, we must notice another
remarkable personality o1 his etifoiit'aqe—Shin Arahan,
the patron of religion, the apostle of Southern Bud -
dhism to Upper Burma. He was a Talaing, and appears
as a young man of about 18, at. Pä g•an shortly before
the invasion of Thaton. Indeed, his presence may well
have roused the seed of cupidity in the mind of Anaw-
ratta. At any rate Shin Arahan was pure in heart.
lie taught a new and beautiful law. He strenuously
exposed the vicious Ari priests, the scandal of whose
lives is remembere‹i still. His expression was sweet
and calm. \Ve can see him kneeling still in the Ananda
Pagoda, with folded hands. His statue, by a contem-
porary artist, is one of the only two o1 its kind in Pä g ,
and is no doubt a good likeness. The later acts or his
like are o8icially recorded in several inscriptions on
stone. In 1086 A.D., he assisted at the coronation of
kyanzit*ha. In 1090 he attended the dedication o1
the Ananda. He lived on into hour reigns, and died
 A BDRVESE BOXDERLAXD. 11 l

full of y and honour in the days of Alaung-Sithu

in about 1 8 A.D., aged 81.
Some ystery attaches to Anawratta’s death. He
was killed out hunting by a iA’ot in the loom o1 a 3Vhite
Bu8alo. ñlodern pictures show him on his elephant
hghting for his life. They say his body was never
recox ered. Very likely the secret cause of Anawratta’s
huntinp• accident is the same as that which brought
about the death of \9i11iam Rufus ten years later.
He was succeeded by his eldest son Sawlu (1077-
J084), an unworthy heir, whose foolishness soon brought
him to grief, and cleared the way for the great Hyanzit-
tha. Kyanzittha is one of the most attractive figures
in Burmese history, and ‹Reserves a short chapter to
himself.
 CHAPTER XII.

A STORY Ir STONE.

Byanzittha.
KYANZITTaa is one of the most arresting figures in
Burmese history. -His reigo lollowed that of Anaw-
ratta, with only the short one of Sawlu intervening.
The days ol Anawratta and kyanzittha are remembered
still as the most magnificent in the story of this
country. kyanzittha was contemporary with Henry
I of England. He reigned for 28 years at Pä gan from
1084 to 1112 A.D. : and his dynastie title is ’I'ri-Bu Vana-
dityo Dliamma Rata (Eacellent King of the
Three Orders of tien).
There are two sources from which the romantic
story of Byanzittha may be restored. First there are
a lew stone inscriptions whiCh are authoritative and
suggestive, but of course limited in scope. And
secondly, there are legenda which are extravagant and
fanciiul, but which, in spite or 8@ng priests, fairy
horses, dreams and divine manifestations, no doubt
contain a certain amount of truth. Their very extra-
vagauce suggests that the story of Ryanzittha has made
8 Strong appeal to the love and admiration of his people.
The character of I£yanzittha, as represented by
tradition and by inscriptions, is almost an ideal. No
 BL MESE WONDERLSND. 113

doubt he hilts, but they are not revealed ; aH‹l

we are hardl justified in inventing them. As history
depicts him' o only must he be described. Ilyanzittha
is an intensely human and lovable figure, unstained by
those bloody crimes which marked his predecessors, and
which, for several centuries alter his time, became the
normal routine of each reign. There is no act of
treachery, selfishness or cruelty told o1 him, with the
single excelation of a table that he killed the architcct
of the Anand a Pagoda lest he should produce another
monument as wonderful. Such tales are told of wany
famous buildings, and, although they cannot be entirely
disNilssecl, they must not be acccpterl without reserve.
Such an act is foreign to Kyauzittha’s nature, and on
the contrary many stories survive of his kindness and
generosity. The vicissitudes of his youth anal childhood
seem to have softened and humanized his disposition.
By birth he was illegitimate, and was therefore regarded
with special disfavour by Anawratta, his mother’s
husband. Purther, Auawratta was frightened by dreams
that liyanzittha would succeed him : and later on when
the child grew to be a man, the king no doulat
had cause to fear his evident popularity and ability.
There are legends o1 three separate massacres of
women and children that were organized for Eyanzittha’s
destruction. Froin these incidents, it is thought he
derived his name, Ryanzittha or Ryanyittha, from
Kyait, remaining, Yin, to be left behind, anrl I/to, a son.
The massacres themselves are probably exaggerated
E, BW 8
III A BURfi£RSE SYONDRRLAND.

to make them nval Pali stories. Burmese St

have a fatal habit of creating parallels with
higtory. It is, however, possible that atte
made on Kyanzïttha's life. 'His mother was b
of Vesali sent over to Aiiawratta, and bis
the minister who escorted lier. Ryanzittha
Anawratta’a, and illegitimacy is »ü dely
coinforting suggestion has been put North latel$
princess came from Vesali of Arakan and not ol
to accept this we must disregard all the early
in iavour of a recent one, and further ignore
that Vesali of Arakan was destroyed in 1018 AB.,
had ceased to be a capital before Ryanzit
Bud whatever his birth, kyanzittha lives ifi
in the imagination ol the people.
At the time of the last massacre, Ky
akeady grown up to boyhood. His iuother
him to Pä gan itself, thinking that that woal
last place where S'earch would be made, and
grew a little bigger she entered him as a noch
of the monasteries. Later on Anawratta di
presence and became for a time more or less re
to him, and eren tools him into the palace.
As B.yaiizittha reached manhood he de
personal beauty and strength. He must Ida
possessed a charm of manner which won him
popularity. Anawratta, couscious ol hia st
kept him in a state of poverty, so that the bo
mainly on allowances and giks from the
 H*

ssessed ma Wv .tâ !M
, but w that he used to graze 'them
3farvello ' rie are Titans told of his deeds
gth, and hot urled his tamous spear across
lrrawad d The pläce where he stood, and where
pear landed, are still marked by monuinents. In tig
like days of Anawratta his military qualities found
ural vent, and he became a noted general associated
‘th three others—Nyaung U, a yeah swimmer,
ga-lon-la-hpay, a great climber, and Nga-twe-jur, a
t plougher. Their exploits and feats, and the
uder of their magic horses, are still the theme of
niany romantic legends. The assoeiation of Ryanzit-
Qc’s name with the legend ot Shwe Byin Gyi and
Mn’e Byiu h"ge suggests that he took a leading part in
wratta’s expedition to Yü nnan, if, indeed, there
er was such an expedition.
He also accompanied Anaivratta on his expedition
to Prome and Pegu, and appears to have given the King
iisiderable provocation by paying attentions to the
Hä ng princess whom Anawratta was bringing home
himself. Anawratfa swallowed his anger at the
e, but recalled it later chen his jealou6y was again
amed. Anamatta was a man aubject to fierce
s of passion. According to legend it was only
intercession of the aintly Shin Arahan that
Kyanzittha’s life on this occasioii. The king
him, but secretly sem assassins after him, and
this incident atise a crop of marvellous
 A BUBN ESE V’OU DERL.5nD.

adventures, from s hich o1 course Ilyanzitth

safely.
' h‹r country is still animated with the I
his exploits. Sometimes tte was a fugitive, s
a cowherd. The name of Pedauup• in the
township meaus Ask for lentils ” because lee
food there. The villagers told htm de inight
Pägu (' Pick up leutils” ). He ate them raw with
consequences at Shwe-yin-na (“ Stomach-ache
but recovered at Shwe-jin-ma (“ Stoma-eh
Anawratta sent cavalry to watch him, and
(“ CommandeE or Horse ") derives its name
incident.
In one of thèse distressfu) periods romance
kyanzittha’s life al the village of Htilaing near C
byu, where tte tell in love with Thanbhula, the da
a small official. Thanbhula iiursed htm through
illness, and by her gentleness yeon fiis heart. Bel
child v-as born King Auawratta died (in 1077
Sawlu having suceeeded, kJ-anzittlia was
Rya-nzittha, however, never lorgot Thaubhula. de
retained a deep tenderness for her, and her sweet
continued its in8uence upon him throughout his file.
Sawlu was a well-intentioned man, and a br
but u eak and vaci11atinp•. He soon exiled Ey
again, and again recalled him. The legends
to this period are biisj- nith omens portend‘
hero’s speedy elevation to the throne of Pi
one occasion. it is said, a great cobra spread i
 E ?fTNDERLA3D. 117

over him a @ sleep on the ground in the suburbs

of Pagau. On that site lie afterwards bnilt the Nagayon
Pagoda, which still well preserved. His sweetheart,
Thanbhula, when she brought him food, was petrified
with horror at the sighf of his dang•er, and on the 6pot
where she stood he subsequently raised the Thanbhula
Pagoda in her honour. This shrine also still exists,
und is remarkable for the beauty of its frescoes.
San•1u’s reign lastcd only six years, and its tragic
iiicidents all tend to confirm a favourable opinion of
Ilyanzittha, n-hich opinion is indeed forced on us. The
immediate cause of Sawlu's death was a quarrel vrith
bis on n foster-brother, hTga-ya-man, over a game o1
dice. h’ga-ya-man was governol' of Pegu. Alter the
quarrel he withdrew to his province, eollected a Talaing
arm) , and inarched on Pägan. Ryauzittha was sem
to oppose him und found the enemy occupying an alinost
iinpregnable position, 8anked by water, and protected in
front by a treacherous marsh at Pjfi Tha’L un. 4Vell
knowing that Nga-ya-man could not collect supplies
there, he declined to attack under such unfavourable
conditions. The impetuous, brainless Sawlu commanded
instant attack. E)•anzittha refused. Sawlu accused him
bitterly of coivardice, assumed command himself, and
dmhed at the enemy. His army became inextricably
bogged, and the day ended in complete disaster.
Sawlu n as captured, and Ryanzittha cscaped to
Pägan, where the ministcrs olfered iiim the throne.
There cnn be no doubt but that at this time Kyanzittha
118 -'Y BURMESE W OF DE It LAND.

alone possessed the confidence of the nation

longUbeen a favourite with the court and' tH
Nevertheless he remained loyal to his mask
personally led a spirited expedition to rescue
The enemy camp was penetrated and Sawlu found.
unhappy Bing, however, appears to have box fl
Remembering his ill-treatment of Ryanzittha',
harshness of Anawratta before him, he preferred• top
himself to the enemy—who was after all his lost+rd
Heresisted rescue, and was cut down by the TJ
Byanzittha’s path was now clear. He h M
longer. Collecting his scattered and broken )@
once more gave battle. His geniua ensured victory.
Talaings were driven from Pagan, Nga-ya-
and at the invitation of the Government, Ky
assnmed the throne. He was crowned with
magpificence two years later in 1086. One of the
acts of his reign was to proclaim Sawlu’s it
his own heir, for, said he, “ it is right that the dNfi
line of Anam•atta should inherit. ” That chill
subsequently known as Alaung-Sithu, and reigned W
75 years at Pap•an.
Kyanzittha built himself a splendid pale m
Pkgan to the west of that of Ana ratta, and wee ink
with much ceremony. The venerable Shin Art M
know wae present. From Chinese sources it ie
that the Rings of Pagan held their court in the
early morning, and that it was the custom In
mioieters to present maeses of 8owers of which a•
 placed lpd;et nd thief dbtttsd
the pagodas And monasteries› The palace waa a
men structure almost exactly like the one which
‘eves in Nandalay, ;ind nhich resembles in every
the traditional ”palaces of Mongol princes aince
before the days of Rublai Rhan. It is therefore not
cult to picture the scene as it must have been.
In a splendid hall the ministers knelt before the throne.
Outside, guards stood at the palace gate. Things were so,
when one day there was a disturbance, and it was reported
that a woman insisted on seeing the king, and refused
to go away. She was admitted, a sturdy little boy of
eight clinging shyly to her skirt. Thus she stood
comely and simple before Ryanzittha, and he recog-
nized her instantly as Thanbhula, whom he had not seen
for years. His lo her in the days of his distress, ahe
hed heard of his fortune and come to him. Descending,
he took her hand and led her to his throne, and,
turning to his Court he said—“ Behold, the Queen
of my Heart.” In the 2Iyazedi inscription Than-
i›hula is spoken of as “ The most Beloved, Darling
life.”
The reunion so happy, so romantic, was not without
pathos. Ryauzittha had lately appointed another boy
i& heir. He now took his own son upon his lap and
him. Tears glistened on his cheeks as he said
“ 0ae’a own blood is the most beloved.”
The name oi Byanzittha’a son is not lmown, but
to title (an Indian one) was tiaja kuinar. He was
 A BE P•$tESE \Y O DERL.AND.

about eight years old when Eyanzit;tha first saw

and it is evident from the 3lyazedi inscription that
on a passionate a8ection existed between this fa
and son. The history of Bmina lies no parallel to
devotion whereby* Kyanzittha educated his ohm
to regard the baby Alauiig-Sithu as the heir. Consider-
ing his time, the vicissitudes of his youth, and ab
all the ill-treatment of Auawratta, kyanzittha’s loy
to Anawratta’s baby grandson is amazing.
A Chinese author, writings a century later in l3s
A.D., has thrown some light on the civilization of
Pagan. It was then a great. city, and the population
of the capital and suburbs was probably not less than
100,000. The people, use are told, wore the hair coils
on the forehead, anal bound v-ith silk. The Chins pile
the hair forward in the same way still. The King
wore a peaked hat such as may be seen in the std
of Ryanzittha in the Auancla Pagoda. The now empty'
v astes of Pagan were then thronged with people ; and
1oreip•n ships froin India, Ceylon and ñ lalav lay in the
Irrawaddy below the Lawkananda Pagoda. Pagan M
the centre of the Buclrlhist world, but the majority of
its pag«od s had not then been built. There was no
Gawdaw-Palin, and no Thatb@nnyu in those days. TJ
Shwe-Sandaw, Paleik, Bu Paya, Patho-tha-mya, at
Lawkaiianda exist.ed. Kyanzittha himself completed W
Shwezigon begun b)• ’Aiiawratta, and added unique
splendour to his capital in 1090 A.D., by erectinp•
incomparable Ananda. He also built the hTagayon a
 Thanbhula 'odas, whose curious legend has already
been told.
Raja K ar became Governor of Arakan, but is
better kmovrn as founder of the ñlyazedi Pagoda at tyin-
kaba, one mile from „Pigau. The quadraliugual inscription
in that monument in Pyu, Pali, Talaing aux Burmese has
become famous as the Rosetta Stone o“f the Pyu. It was
inscribed by Raja Ilumar in 1112 A.D., while Byanzittha
lay dying, and is also important in that it places the
dates of Ryanzittha’s reign (l08t- 1112) beyond dispute,
and thereby fixes many other dates as well.
Raja Kumar was probably 34 years olcl ivfieu his
father died, but Alaung-Sithu—declared heir before
kyauzittha knew he had a son of his or—ascended
the throne of his ancestors without dis}aute. The
history of Burma contains no finer example of devotion
and restraint.
The closing scene is described on the 3Iyazedi
pillar, which gives us one more human picture of
Kyanzittha and his son. Raja Kumar had inherited
the jewels of his mother, who was already dead. He
atso acquired her revenues and privileges. With the
jewels he made a superb image of Buddha for the
HJ•azedi Pagoda, and with the revenues provided for
its maintenance. He brought the image to his father’s
bedside, and bep•ged him to dedicate it. “ Play the
iuerit of my gift benefit Your âlajesty,” he said.
Eyanzittha, infinitely touched, rose up from lit- bed
152 -I BE BIASE WONDBRLAND.

sprinkled water on the imaq•e, and 8did “ Zfaur

Raung hlei rt ! ” Those formal words * Good,
urely mean far, far more. Rather they express
the dying lips “ My Son ! Oh Ny Son ! ” Never
cold stone breathe more §eart1elt love than t ,
husband for wife, father for son, and son for far.
We see in Kyanzittha a man of energy apd
interests. His extraordinary personality endears
to his people, who recall him still with pride aoA
tion. Few kings o1 antiquity are rems
vividly. His name brings brightness to any
face to-day.
His statue, a pair to that of Shin Arahan, sts iii
the Ananda. IYe see him crowned, handsome, debo
and every inch a king. The face is open and h
the jaw strong, the lips full. The expression is
and humorous. These, as far as we know, ay
characteristics which distinguished Kyanzitt
have endeared him for 800 year8 IO his people.
The Shwe-Sandaw inscription of Prome
bequeathed us another picture oJ kyanzittha
there is no reaaon to discredit :—
“ Great. . . . . . . . . . pious in alms-giving, posts
of armies, of immense wealth. In majesty . . .q,
glorious : in self-restraint and kingly duties diligent
discerning, . . . . . . . . . .devotedly attached to the
jewels, beloved of and pleasing to the Gods. Of
gentle . .. . . . . .. .in the strong abode, the excellent
of Pokama, called Arimaddana.
 CILIPTER XIII.

Monxr Pore.

You.rr Popa' has left with vie the happiest memories.

I ahall not forget daya apent in leisurely travel by
bullock-cart born the river at Pakkan-Age to Mount
Popa, and then back again nil Taung Sin (“ Descent from
the mountain ”) to the river at Pagan, a distance of 60
miles. Nights passed in friendly wayside Nyafs, or rest
Bheds, where my wants were hospitably supplied by
kindly Burmans ; meals taken under splendid tamarind
trees ; and sometimes whole days passed in their grateful
shade, have altogether made an unusually p1easinp•
impression. These were picnic days, and sometimes the
simplest picnics are the best, because pleasure is most
illusive the more elaborately it is sought.
Mount Popa rises behind Pagan to a height of
abcut 5,000 feet out of the middle of Upper Burma.
It ia visible from both railway and river : but, being
very far away, is not conspicuous, and is not often visited.
Nevertheless it is the combined Olympus and Fuji or
Burma. The 37 greater Nets have their godly residence
upon thia mountain ; and like Fuji, Popa is of volcanic
origin. It has the aame perfect fan-shaped cone as
, ' flap Squere C.R.
 A BUBIIESE V’ONDERLAND.

Fuji, and like Fuji it stands out a lone mountain al

by itself. And though Popa does not occupy a popul
place in the art of its country as Fuji does, it is never-
theless revered and loved by the people, and is th
subject of endless legends and fairy stories.
The Burmese are unaware that Popa is a volcano.
There are no hot springs in its vicinity, and the mountain
has certainly not erupted in the memory of man, or
at any rate not since the Burmese have occupied Burma.
But there is a legend relating to three of the dale now
residing on the mountain which, I would suggest, may
possibly refer to a prehistoric disturbance. Th• scene
is first laid in Tagaung, ' which simply means that the
thing occurred before the dawn o1 authentic history.
Tagaung, of which the ruins still exist, is the first
known capital of Burma. Nothing is certain about it,
though many legends relate to it. It is possible that
Tagaiuig was the capital of very early Shan invaders,
and, if so, perhaps the volcanic disturbance, u’hich I
thinlt is referred to in the 1ep•end of ñlaung Tint De,
occurretl before the Burmese came down from China,
and so could only be frown to them by hearsay.
Maung Tint De was a handsome young blacksmith
who lived, perhaps fifteen hundred years ago, near the
palace of Sein Taya Gyi, Binp• o1 Tagaung.- He was
so strong that he could wield a hammer weighing 25 viss

' flap Squiire C.J.

• Tint De’s Who Yo, or city xrall, is still pointed out in II
jungle about 10 miles from Tiigaung.
 125

with his and, anrl one »'eip•liing 30 viss with his

right, and when he worked he shook the very palace
of Sein Taya Gyi. This enraged the king, who ordered
Tim De to be killed. Tint De escaped, but the king
married both his sisters, and by this ruEe, and by
promising pardon and piomotiou, indiiced the blac
smith to return. Then Tint De n'as seized, tied to a
tree and burnt, ancl his sisters perished with him. The
tree which had been used as a stake was thrown into
the Irrawaddy, an‹l eveutually stranded at Plgan.
The Ring ot Pagan learned in a dream that the ghosts
ol the blacksniith and his sisters were on the tree, and
that they were now i3'o/s, and in need of help. So he
made them a home on mount Popa, where they live to
this day, and where the t.ree may st.ill be seen in their
slirine. Tint De and Iris elder sister, Shwe 31ye-hna
(“ Sister Golden Face ”) have bccoine the famous 115aunp-
‹Ktr and Hiiaiiia-dom (Brother and Sister) i3’ois of PoJaa,
svhose oraele was frequently sought in olden days.
Their images to this day guard the ruins of an old gate
at Pä gan, the earliest brick ruim there, which was huilt
by Pyinbya, the thirty-third Ifing of Pä gan, iii the
9th century.
Maung Tint De’s family furiiishes a highly poJsular
gi'ouy of hale wbose ioïages are oHen fotind Ïa WaI-
shrines. His wife, Shwe Nä be Thekin-ma, vears :a
dragon hat. His two sons Taung-min-gyi ( Southcrn
Lord ”), and Jlyauk-min-shin-byu (“ h’orthern \Vhite
Lord ”), are six-arnied, and carry weapons in their han‹l*.
126 A BUR ' IS E U O2'tD LAND.

Eis youngest 8lStfir, the mother ol Sla Nemi, is

hla (“ Three kinds of Beauty ”).
It seems worth considering whether the h
the shaking of the palace, the burning, and
en9hrining ol the blacksmith’s Not on a volcano,
not indicate some disturbance at 3lount Popa af
very remote age.
Further, it is related in a Shan legend that c
sidence which created the Inlé lake coincided with
uprising of mount Popa. This again may
some convulsion of which no other humsn record e
(The Indawgyi Lake near Flogaung is popularly aug
to have been formed by an earthquake').
Pakkan Nge, where the journey to Count Pp
begins, is a pretty little riverside village. Its
are after the style of t.hose at Pagan. The Sheet
Baung is attributed to Asoka (2’fiiyi Dham -
Ra öfin) which simply means that it is very oil. G
sense or antiquity is often conveyed in Burmeoe 1
by attributing an event or a monument, of which W
history is lost, to Asoka or to the Tägaung period : ot•,
if not 90 Old as that, to Anawratta and the Pagan period.
The Su-Taung Byi Pagoda at Popa is also aecribed t-o
Asoka. This little old shrine at Pakkan Nge, with iW
gilded carving, its ancient shikara roof, its
pavement of pretty tilea, and the tamarinds surro
it, is very attractive. Near it is another ruin,
Pägan Hmyaw Päya (" the Pägan hope-to-e
' Upper Burma zctteer. Pa.rt L Vol. I. Poge 16.
 Pagoda ”). This' a” built ebellio o (prëstim-
My Ari) who fled front Pä gan, and endowed the ahrine
'Eh a menace to tBe king. But in bont ol it now
ds the Shin-b5yin Ian Si (" the Royal Cave to
Present ”), which the king caused to be built in order to
& ;ative the magic of the monks.
Several local legends relate to Ring Anawiatta,
who is said to have dug the lake at Yea Kan Aing. The
•rrame means ” Water Dry Pond ” because water never
lies in it for long. This is the result of the curse ol a
queen who was condemned to death by Anawratta for
being late at the ceremony ol dedicating the lake. The
place of her death is called 2'aiuy ffinire Cfiouk Y u a
(“ Place where she lent on a stafl ”) : and the village
where the king enquired if she was dead, and they told
him “ Yes, Sire,” in to this day called Hman-ba- Ywa
(“ Yes Village* ” ).
ling Anawratta hinisell was killed while hunting
near Pä gan by a A'af in the guise ol a white bii8alo.
What scraps of history, I wonder, are preserved or
distorted in legenda such as these, which have fastened
themselves about the memory of pagodas and villages,
kings and peasants. Here and there a name is indis-
criminately chosen to live through the ages. The rest
go down into oblivion. Oriental legend is a curious
t&ng. Ignored by the people in their youth, it appeara
to develop in them automatically in old age, when, by
ome myaterious process, they acquire the atory of their
' Hma u-bn means ' Yes .’
128 S BDRXESE WOXDERLAXD.

forefathers without apparent e8ort, and pass it on.

is inherent only in the sons of the soil. Ask an i
grant the legend of his adopted village, and he reply
—“ I don't how. I have only been here t years. '
There is no proper road to â lount Popa front t
side. 1\’e simply travelled by inter-village trams. I
is the custom here for bullock-carts to go only from or
village to another, where, a messenger having been
sent ahead, the next relay is standing ready. This
I believe, the system in Burmese times, and it certainly
works well. The bullocks are always fresh, and it was
only occasionally that we were kept waiting for new one.
The country traversed is typical oi the “ Dry Zone.”
It is rather sterile, and supports only a thin scrub-
jungle with a low fine tamarind s at intervals. TJ
truly splendid trees are all the more welcome Tor ti+err
comparative rarity. Their deep shadow invites a halt ;
and the time wasted in their shade will not be giudged,
though you pay for it in sweat afterwards. Bees hive
near by, and butter8ies and birds visit the glows
foliage overhead : u hile on the ground lives a little
scarlet insect, which, I suppose, is a sort of spider, and
which the Burmese call ñ ’of-Clio-Citi Zfoii Du:e G
the “ dairy Bezel-Spit."
The soil of these plains is gravelly, and probably
belongs to the ñ liocene age. The w reek of what must
once have been wonderful Jn pyi-n' forests lie pet-rid&1
'Aporosa bfacrophylla.
 129

‹'vcrywhere. ’lhese r etrified trees are inure nunicrous

thon the hving onea, and supply the neighbourhood
its only useful stone and road metal. The leur
rolls immediately bordering the Irrawaddy opposite
andalay are also 3fiocene. The higher hills beyond,
which exteud tocards Sagaing, are probably Devonian
(erystalline limestone). Mount Popa is Tertiary. iâ lay-
inyo is Tertiary and trilobite-be ring, and the inountains
of the Salween in the Southern bhan States are Palæo-
voie. Thus the greater part of Upper Biirma oppeara
to be Palæozoic, with beds o1 lliocene intersperæd.
-tt the time when thèse llioceue beds l’ère laid down
it is probable that the Delta of the Irran addy had not
advaaced much beyond Mandalay. lt is quite certain
that dense iiyytii lorests then covered the country.
'the Îossilized bones and teeth of bison, crocorliles and
inastodon (or at any rate of some ancient elephants
iucluding Elplios slegaedon ) are found opposite ü landalay
in considerable qiiantitie,s. hymne stegaedon Ä ou
e)ephant midWay betiTeen the mastodon and the
iuainmoth. Eight varieties of prehistoric e1epl:ant-
have lieen found in Burma.
But to return to the base of ù lount Posa. The
fields and inter-village lanes are proteeted by hedges of
cactus and iibin,' whose lormirlable prickles e8ectivcl)•
present one from straying far. But thoil6 the ground
is so bari’en, more 8owers exist than one would suspect :
:ind I gathered 20 different kinds in an )iour, One of
 &’BURMESE W0NDEAL&ND.

the prettiest is a sort of foxglove (Se Alton Bin j, in

called from a fancied resemblance of its mouth to Units
oi the mythical bird Ziñ foii. Another pretty fix
is the scarlet to-ifli-datr. It is a popular table decora-
tion, but is poisonoris, and is, in fact, sometimes use
for destro@ng dogs. The Burmese hax•e something to
asy o1, or some use for, nearly every plant, and a fen'
days devoted to Burmese Botany in t.hese parts would
be most entertaininp•.
The names of the different kinds of cactus all begin
with the word t‹iznuitp. Tñ mtinps are the highly
carved halls, or pavilions with diminishing roofs, which
stand in front of every pagoda. The branching arms
of the cactus suggest such a pavilion to the Burmese.
After careful observation the idea is found to be not
too fanciful. The “ column cactus ” (Enpho7kia anH
guor ii›n } , which the Bmiuese call t,rzcunp pyattliat
(pavilion roof), was now, in September, in full bloom.
'these astonishingly beautiful flowers are not unlike
pure irhite lotus. The throat, where hang iruiumerable
pollen bags, i- delicate yellow. These flowers are
visited by huinining moths. The3* open at 10 P.H.
and c1o.•e up tight again at siui-rise, so that their nightly
splendour is rarely noticed. lii the dawn and moon-
light the ugly cactus limbs are thus glorified with
luminous star-clusters. The " buah)• cactus ” is called
ta”znunp qyi (the great pavilion). The popular zifipi-
bin tree is plentiful. Its berries are rather like q•oose-
berries, and though son, are quenching to the t1iir.•t.
 t BUEI1ESE GONDkflLtWD. 131

The Burmese are fond of hu»ers. ’lhe} do not

garden in our sense of the wortl, but nearly always grow
hibiscus, antigmon, roses and crotons iii pots, or keep
orchids, or train a pink creeper called Init pan over
a trekis roof, just as wistaria is gron'n in Japan. I
hare seen a irhite variety of lord pair in ñ lagwe. There
must be something in people who love flow ers and pay
high prices for them. Picnic parties are often seen
returning laden with 8oral spoil.
3I'e slept the first night at 'l’aung Tha in a men
zñyat, of which the teak beams had been imported
from a great distance. fly journey being unpremeditated,
I had no camp furniture, but here, and at every other
village, the yfiooiipyis* lent me tables and easy-chairs. I
was impressed many times with the lavish charity with
n hich rest-houses are so thoughtfully provided for
travellers. Seats, sheds and drinking-n'ater are set
out under many a wayside tree. One is inchned to
take for granted these gilts, which so materially add
to the pleasure and comfort of travel in Burma, without
considering xvhat they cost, or that they are provident
by somebody’s generosity and forethought.
The spontaneous hospitality met with on auch
occasions is quite di8erent from the welcome invoked
(or shall I say provoked,) when small, fussy officials have
you in hand. You are then skilfully surrounded by a
cordon of galloping thugyis, who eventually head you
o8 into e z ye/, or sheet, adorr.ed with hideous pots
 13* t BUB*1SSE WONDERLAND.

and atuñ y curtains. ’l’he villagers are kept

:ibout laying mate, raising dust, and suppl
supposed craving for cocoanut juice. Wh
rluties are all done and overdone, they stare
irritatingly in your comlortless if splendid isol
is quite essential, if human sympathy is to be
to break from such tyranny, and amume a more
able and less ceremoiiious seat under a tamariad
the travelled on all nezt day obtaining f
carts as we went, and comparing the various
tions with which successive drivers addres
bullocks. The formula is nearly always the sq
consists of the n'ord nun (cow), spoken aa i
animal’s incredible laziness astonished the driver.
is followed by the word Oh, uttered as i1 th
berating laziness n'as a things Jaast endurance. )
every traveller in Burma is famiEar with the
Oh u•ith which the bullock is iuged into o
The bullock cart is truly the symbol of
protest. Its occupants abanclon tliemsclim
naturedly to tobacco and talk. The bullocirs
but only w)ien urged : and the u'hee19 whine anal
in the loose sand, but not unmelorliously. or wi4h
fiope of redress.
I was interestedthis day to see a now
Burmese gate by pulling out the bars
suppose everyone has read the argument that
animals work by instinct and without re
Surcl3• such a view is opposed to the ‹laily ei5
 A -\\’O:YDEBL.Añ 11 • •›

our eye , tU• the lesson of Science that all our

powers merely developed from those possesse‹l
@ lonely an iptors. In the first instance a Burmese
could 0 ly have learnt by reasoning, and not by
’diet, top ull a bar sidev’a) s. Animals have far’
we sense, reason and memorj- than ne suppose,
s, Bigg-thither, whose power over mild 8 816 i-
All known, made some remarkable experiments in th‹•
ltengoon Zoo with panthers she had left there two
years previously . Though unable to see her when she
c4tled, they undoubtedl} recognized her voice, risin{:
up immediately a nd showing the greatest pleasure anrJ
excitement. Alter the \\’ar my own dog Salim (now
.hxs gone west) recognized me instantly after an l8
months’ absence. diy present dog Darby understands
utmost anything .said to him in Machin or Burmese.
Ski this journey to Popa I acquired another dog who
apparently left the steamer with us and adopted u..
11i6 friendliness earned him the Burmese name of H pair
(Companion). He proved to be a quiet but verb
valiant little fellow who. though lie never sought battle.
i on eel insnlting• “ pies ” o1 tytrjce his size bJ' the very
4eii of his attack. The local bullies who met us iii
each village, anal who had hitherto had it all their o»-ii
vv /, now received a surprise most pleasing to behold.
hionastery dog- are nasty noisy brutes. I questio:i
W truth of the Burmese belief flint ‹loga which hou’l
‘n•hen the q•ongs begin to sound are those which
v ill s‹•on be rehorn as men. €’iirioun. these qusint
134 A BUR ME SE WON DEBLA N D.

superstitions ! \Yhy, I wonder, are Sunday, Tuesday

and Saturday lucky days for cutting the hair, and why
will Burmese u•omen never sew a garment run Saturday,
lest it be burnt ?

It n'ng eveuinp• n'hen we reached Shya Bin and Gwe

Gyo—two charming villages which lie beneath a range
or pagoda-cron ned hills. The 2’fiuqyi' had put chaira
under a tree. Here we had tea, enjoyed the ealm of the
evening, and listened to the deep note of a gong that
someone o as beating. At dusk ne ruoved on through
toddy-palms, meeting the village cattle ou their way
home. It was late before we reached Ryauk Bä daung.
The Great Bear and Scorpio had set, and before dinner
was served Taurus and the Pleiades had risen in the
n'est, loreriinners of winter. 3Ye had also another
proinise of winter this day (14th September) in the first
appearance of the wagtails. I had watched them stream
away in countless thousands on their summer migration
on the 12th of ?Iarch. Now their adi•ance guards had
begun to return.
kyauk Bä daung° is a pretty, shade‹l village of
exceptional interest. A series of rocks end crags rise
to a heiglit of G0 or 70 feel out of the plain in a curious
fashion, and I suppose suggest the Burmeee name of
tha village which means Stone Aale.’ At any rate no
Boddhiat could reasonably be expected to resiat the
' lleadman.
• Af»p Square C.K.
 .'¥ BUR?1ES E WON DEItEAN D. 135

temptation of building pagodas on such eligible

pinnacles, cli8s and overhung rocks. In such works
of merit the inhabitants have indulged freely. The
blya Shwe ku (“ Emerald Cave ”), and the Shwe Daung
U ( End of the Golden Hill ”), are the most important
shrines of a big group. If they were less remote, these
pagodas would become celebrated. I have never seen
anything more quaint than their situation, even in
Tibet. Steps have been built up into what would
otherv‘ise be inaccessible pinnacles. leith perfect taste,
just the right shrine of just the right proportions has
been poised on each picturesque height, and these
symbols, so suggestive or calm an‹1 meditation, are
thus brought into striking contrast with the ufiJness
of their smroundings.
â lount Popa, »-ith its gracefully up-sweeping lines,
is now only nine miles distant. Sometimes it stand a
cloudless, its regular cone clearly seen. Sometimes a
close-fitting blanket of mist entirely hides it. And
sometimes vast masses o1 white cloud are piled up
above it to am immense height. From the west two
peaks are visible. From the north, whence it more
closely resembles Fuji, only one peak is seen : but from
all directions the easy lines of its upward eweep are
characteristic.
As we approached, the country became more fertile,
and toddy-palms more plentiful. Soon we entered the
foot-hills, passed a curious pillar of rock called ’I’aung
K6la, and so reached Popa Village. This village liea
lou dou•n on the motmtain, on easy, un‹iulatiiig
A little paddJ and much Indian corn is
Extensive cultivation is also carried high up on to
mountain, where guava. and bananas are raised,
where the i5llagers live and sleep iii little liuts
harvest time in Jainiary. .Above these a+eas o1 eul‘
tion is a belt of juiigle, and above that again
grassy slopes sweep upwartl to the suininit. VfiIA
are numerous. A few boa-eonstrictors and
hamadryads inhabit the junp•1e zones. I have
written about hamadryads in Chapter IX of A
E nctianlumnt, and xvill not repeat myself here. TS
terrible snakes are often caugJit by snake-charmm
'they do not tlnive in captivit)•, and so consiile
numbers are let loose again on Fo}ia every yi
The villaopers recop•nize them as dangerous, but
that the} r‹irel¿' attack a ny one without -
cation.
'the 2’£iiyyi of Popa, ü lauiig Sau Gö u, is a typio•d
Buriuau of the best type. He is 64 years old, and
been Oft uyyi for 8.1 years. At amiexation he tot
active part on our behalf ap•ainst the dacoits W›
infeste‹1 this area. ancl who made 3lount Popa
retreat. He was »-ouiided in one of these engag
but it is wonderful that an)- o1 his people .survived• m
all. Before that, he was an official at the couN A
both I£tindon Elin and Thibaw. He has now hour
eervinp• in the ariny, and worked vigorously to
men and money during the wer. T went to hi» h
 o meet his n ife, and to see the silver
him b) our on ii Government, xml b)•
roduced me to one of the daeoit
who fought us front Popa, but who non
with the l-76t1i Burma Rifles in

to the sunHnit of Bupa is not difficult'.

eteer ly, anal never once gives away an
ii has gained. IYit.h a « ••r 1e of guitle:•
rly start. be passerl a few iA'n/ images
c shrines. Thence, climbing through
aone, anal on up through the forest
reached the last grassy slopes, where
lie scattered about, ”and at the top›
rtrt oureelves looking clown into—the

closure of the ci'ater is really- dramatic.

@n that anything so stupendous existecl
that 3tt. Popa is hollow'. iuitil I gaaetl
wtonisliuient into its abysmal depths.
I peaks o1 Popa are only the highest
hr s of this cent,ra1 cavit)‘, into
Yes the mountain plunges away in
md precipices, in complete con-
y outer slopes uv which we hall
o1 the crater has beeii }iartly
ly by an explosion in the Tertiary
Popa, w4t›h the sea then clue to
'i'here is nothing to shou’ that it
t38 A DDEM1S1 TYOXDERLAXD.

haa erupted since. The crater, I suppose, is a nñ le

a half across, and perhaps tv o or three thousa.nd fee
deep : and that solitude is said to be the home
millions of butter8ies. Far below, the crater floor
seen to be covered with trees, and trees also climb
spurs and gullies wherever they can find footing.
mountain top was now bathed in bright morning sun-
shine, but dawn still linp•ered in t.he awful deg
below.
On the highest peak, which the Burmese cut
Sâ babon Daung, we lay and rested on the rich turf•,
brealdasting, smoking, talking, and pitying the poor
devils in the world below starting the routine or one
more monotonous day. A wonderhil view spread below
us horn the Arakan Yomas in the west to the
Hills in the ea8t. All the tons of A-Eddle Burma
scattered beneath us.
Free days like this on the mountain tops remain
like landmarks. he look back to them gratefully.
Stretched on the turf, we gaze up into the wonderful
sky, hear the bees, scent the 8owers, and feel the
delicious caress o1 mountain wind. Light and shado•n
sweep alternately across the grassy slopes. Cloud
billows, which lay at daxrn like ioamy seas low' over
the plain, slowly rise and pile themselves overhead.
For a moment everything is obliterated by hurry
iniet. Then all clears once more, until white vapour
come pouring up out of the crater, as if Popa eru
again as of old.
 A BURMESE IVONDERLMWD. J 39
LEGEND.
A Codling dwella on mountain top:
And silent. is the Blackamit.h’e ahop
Nor ahaken with hi8 blow8.
The fires of hia forg•e are dead :
For amohe, a whiap of cloud inetead
From out the crater flows.
On auch a peak a Vol may dwell
And apin the lore that old men tell
Inf governments o’ertbrown :
And play about with queens and kings
And weave a legend out of things
F"o r kingdoms of his osvri.

He gives the dead immortal facie :

He giveB the villages their name :
And hill, and peak, and atream.
The loveB of old he renders new
Of einperor, and peasant too,
And wea vea them in bia scheme.

And with the magic of bra hand

He oasta enchantments on the land
Where memories are dim :
And takes from half forgotten dreams
And drawa frojii pld historic themes
• Whate ver pleased him.
 \\’E njll now examine a typical " Dry Zone " dix
in Upper Burma, choosing Eov’er Chindwin because •
one o1 the best recruiting arens, and because there
s‹›ine curious things to see there. It ice poor count
u‘itli a1ternatinq• gravel antl black-cotton soil, produñ@
only’ teams, maize, cotton and p•rountl-nitts. 11'atar is
scarce. anal though charitable people have dug may’
ii‘ells and tanks, the tariffs, at any rate. are iiiostly
by Marcm. -A good deal o1 toddy is dra» n from pa4+ie.
only large trees are tainarintls. which are more or
let- confhie‹l to the vil1ag•es ; but wherever one of
u •‹i“Ja!. oz rest-hut, is r laced beneath it.
The Chindwin, whose upper reaches n e e• r ••
.4 ñiiriiiese ñncfieiq»ziif, is here a broa‹l river, M
approaching its junction u ith the Irrawaclcly. Gen'.
‹luck aii‹1 plover haunt the swamps anal r onrls it leaves
behintl in u’inter. Amongst the crou i1 of u aders fih
collect in t1iec‹e shallow s (anal also on the la-ke at N
I have occasionally seen the a Monet ii’Jiicli liars not 3 e0
been reported from Rurnia. Finn says it does
occur. The plumage is white, wit h black cap,
anal w in*-ti{›s. but the bircl is easiest recogani*et1
 its long bl- beak, which is cuived strougly up-
ward8, and is waved through the water from side to *ide.
The Chindivin sandbanks are the home ol tiie
great black-winged tern, which 1ay their spotted drab-
.and-brown egg6 on the open sand in Jlarch. You may
Ii£id their chicks, and those of the yratiiicole, sprau'Ied
inotionlesa on the grouiid, where, indeed, they are vei'y
hard to see. 'Phe Burmese have a pretf y verse about the

Above the silx‘er sand

A tem in circles aweepiug.
Like nie, he seeka his mate :
Like me, ie softly wesping.
'lhe lleadquarters of Lower Chind in are ‹it
-fionyv•a. This town was originally a mere collectioii
of hiits where boatmen on the Chindwin B iver boiight
bread. Hence the name ?1onywa, or bread village.
Lon'er Chindivin has, liappily for its 'nhabitants,
no histoiy. Brit while the people, w'ho are exclusively
Burmese, lived at home more or less in peace, they
have alnays nifiuenced the destinies of Burm:i, huid
have supplied some ol its leading characters. .Wan•ratta
and Alaungpra who foun‹led the two greatest d)'nastie,s,
»‘eie both natives ol Shwebo ; while the Burmese
General Bandula (bom in Tapä yin Village), the states-
inz Ein-\Yun-Hingj5 (bom in .3Iindaingbin Yillage),
and the present great Burmese exponent of Buddhism
theology, the Ledi b“ä yadaw, all came from Lower
(ihindwin. In Burmese times the army wan largely
recriiited from Shwebo an‹l Monywa. .¥t the presents
142 A BURMESE ;YOKDERLAND.

day youths enlist freely in our army. I got 75 recr

during one of my tours, and 50 more came in later on.
The villages are full of men returned from war ser
in India, bfesopotamia and France—men whose I
lather8 no doubt followed Alaungpra to Siam, and Body
Paya's generals to Arakan. There exists, in fact, a well-
established military tradition.
While recruiting in these parts I was able to vi
a most interesting group of cave-shrines hem out of
aoft plutonic rock in a hill called Powin Taung, aboN
7 miles eaat of Yinmabin.' The surrounding country is
comparatively well-wooded ; and Minzu Village, near
the root of the hill, is ,quite delightfull) shaded. Hinzu
derives it9 name “ Rendezvous of Kings ” from the
meetings that took place there o1 Pyu and Pyon. These
appear to be ethnic names, and their connection n'ith
Powin 'Maung is interesting as indicating the wide
distribution of the now extinct race of Pyu. But
though the earliest shrines are of great antiquity, the
group as a whole is the accumulated eflort o1 centuries.
Additions have been constantly made down to the
present day, and include a few of those choice vulgarities
with which modern Burmans now love to disfigure their
country.
The Powin Taunp• cave-pagodas cannot, of course,
be compared with the ceve-temples of Ellora. They are
' bIr. Morro w Campbell, the geologist, to whom I Bu bmitted a
sample of rock from Powin Zaung, found it much weathered
di ffioult to identify. £fa considered it to be plutonio rather th
lava. At any rate it wan ot igneous origin.
 A B UR EIESE WON DERLAND.

neithcr so spacious nor so exquisitely fini9hed. But

they are none the less extensive and attractive. The
bare limbs of fñ yo£ «Jpa trees forming a tracery o1
branches acroaa the sky, and crowed with inaeses of
white blossom, give the rocky hill a peculiar charm.
Barking-deer are seen near the caves, and the little
monkeys which clamber about the rocks are tame
enough to claim their share of picnic feasts. The
numerous caves are cut out of the hill-side in terraces.
.\(any are small, simple cells, containin6 one or more
images of the Buddha. Others wind in and out through
the rock without apparent design, and with unexpected
chapels and recesses here and there. Such a one is
appropriately called the Wingaba, or “ maze.” Others
.again, like the Ko-sin-taing (“ Nine Steps ”), and the Shwe-
tha-lyaung, are altogether more lo*ty, spacious and
elaborate. The Ko-sin-taing, which is reputed to be
one of the oltlest caves, measures 36 feet by 20. It ins
about 20 feet high. The vaulted roof is supported by
two massive octagonal pillars hewn out of the solid
rock. A colossal hewn figure of a seated Buddha
occupies the altar ; and four large Betus. or Demou9,
uf grotesque and iuicommon design, guard the entrances.
Throughout this system or caves the doors are
1ii¿•1ily ornamented with the scroll-like design so typical
of Burma. In many shrines the interiors are lavishly
decorated with painted frescoes and glass mosaics of

' The meaning of the word II' in gala is explainnd on pgge 21

o( m;’ .4 Ri rune.se £onelirrBss.
great Jaeaut) . The face of a ca e called 'laung - li1.uiiit-
ta (.S«tert Ranges) is richly carved with columns of
foEage representing inoimtaius, with seas or rise
/aet een. The whole frescoe is meant to illustrate
-\Ieru, the Buddhist Paradise.
The human figures which stand beside the dIoors
the various taves are often dressed in beautiful Be
costumes. Many of these “ door-keepers ”, however, are
k"ats or Bil us of unusual design. Some have hoes.
Other- are covered with scales. These grow
culptures are unlike anything know n elsewhere, and
may possibly be P) ii :A'u/s. .Amongst other figures.
occurs one of the Ponñ n Taung .A"w/, the Goddess or the
Hill, riding a tiger : and elsewhere a bullock, ago a
k’ it,. to n'hich visitors make o8erings of grass and lees.
The great leogri8 at the entrance o1 the K.o-sin-
tainp• is iiiscribed on the breast with the date 1298 A.D.
’this in the only ancient inscription known to exist, and
the history o1 these can es is therefore a matter of
conjecture. There is a tradition that the earliest caves
»’ere made by the Pyii, and though there is no direct
evidence to support this, the legend cannot be entirel)
ignored. From the style of the sculptures ?lL Duroieelle
believes the oldestqcaves magic be 9t1i or 10th century.

.lbout 12 miles north of Yiumabin there are

‹urious depressions or ‘ craters “ near the village
ct Lesh4 and Twin, »'hich are popularly auppon&l
to be volcanic but which u’ere inost likely formed
 WOW DBELAND. 145

subsidence. une of the rock samples irhich I

‘tted to flT. Morrow-Campbell, the geologist, weTe
volcanic origin. Some were quartz, and others
redoute silica. One was a piece of flint. The two
r indicate deposition from hydrothermal solutions
comparatively low temperature. Thèse curious
pressions lie in low country. The one at Leshé is
mile long, and three-quarters of a mile wide. It is
ore than 100 feet deep, the walls all round being steep
d well-defined. The 8oor of the depressiou is dry
d 8at, and now full of palm trees.
A still more interesting depression of eaactly the
me nature occurs at Twin, where I had breakfast and
ssed the day very pleasantly under a great tamarind.
his depression at Tarn is about the same size a9 that
Leshé, but a good deal deeper, and its ftoor is now
upied by a beautiful lake, whose jade-green waters
e fring•ec1 with groves of cocoanut and palmyza palms.
ere are several villages roiuid about. The whole
kes a pretty pictare as you look down into it front
vü lage. The lake is slightly bitter, but less sO
n I had been led to suppose. The wind blowing off
has a heavy, stagnant smell, though of course the
ke is much too large to allow of real stagnation. There
no exil, and the water is no doubt strongly irnpreg-
d with chemicals. The natives fay great strees
n its properties for whitening clothes washed in it.
in spite of thèse qualities the lake is full of animal
, such ac larvæ. There are no fish, but in the rains
146 .1 B UltSIESE WONDERLAND.

a sirial1 shrimp-like creature which the people eat make

its appearance. This supposed shrimp proved, or
reference to the Zoological Survey o1 India, to be the
Larva of a Garniv orotis Dytiscid beetle (£unectes
 C}LNTER XV.
FORGOTTEX YESTERD&YS.
Is these crowded days the past recedes rapidly. The
Alaung•pra dynasty which came to an end at Thibaw’s
abdication in 1885 has almost reached the legendary
staple, though Thibaz• himself is but lately dead, and
Queen Supayalat still survives. humbers of hfinisters
and Plaids-of-Honour are yet alive, and crowds of
royal personages, inc1udinp• at least two Queens of
X'indon Clin. The dynasty , however, is a thing of the
long-ago past. Its true history is told in the Upper
Burma Gazetteer, but in men’s niiuds it is seen as r›
Golden Age it was very far froin being. The timber
palace in Mandalay is held together now, with dilficulty.
The buildings- and stockades that surrounded if are
vanished, and the Royal City has a depressing and
moribund appearance. The previous capitals, crowded
close together in Sagaing, Ava and Amarapura, anal
abandoned iu quick succession, are overgrown with
burgle, and their s} lendid but rotten monuments are
crumbling to bits. Yet llandalay, the last o1 them,
as only finished in l8>o9 ! Ava and Amarapura with
eir ruins and avenues of iuapiuficeut tamarinds arc.
u the quietest corner of Burma. In ñfan‹la1ay the
en have not yet had tiine to iron-. Burmese Hings
ched much importance to trees. l\teu 3Iindo::
 A B

enquired of a returmd a or
compared with London-myo and 'axis-
mat wisely replied :—“ Your 8Iajesty,
have not one single tamarind ”—Dflji

Anothm typical story is totd of

The King saw the Prench Ambassador
anal asked “ \Vho is that mam” A
“ It isn’t a man, it is a foreigner.” 6
 A BU RRESE 3VO2iDE RLA2'iD. 149
to
of Ava ove to it. The royal order was carried out
Gith extreme rigour. ho words can express the
erings, the fatigues, the exactions, and the oppres-
Rons which were brought about by this change o1
Capital.” The Italian priest describes the Jfing as a
monster of cruelty, pride and inercilessness. His
ambition led him to aspire to the actual rank of Buddha-
hood, and when the monks refused to acknowledge him
as such, he oppressed them until the Order had no longer
any ostensible existence'.
The arrogance of Ba-gyi-daw (1819-3/) resulted in
the First Burmese \Var. His successor Tharrawadrly
(1831-46) was in the habit of testing his rifles by ftring°
at his subjects as they passed his palace. Fytche °
mentions that “ in his paroxysins of rage he would
shoot anlt stab his ministers with his own hand.” It
is lucky for the Legislative Council that the L. G. does
not now lash out as Tharrawadd3' did only 75 years ago.
But, nind you, I am not criticising Tharrawad‹1y.
On the contrary, I wish to Heaven he n as back on
the throne. I can quite believe that the Y. II. B. A.,
who loom back longingly to his glorious reign, would
Rav.• no fault to find with him, and if they had, they
would only find it once.
Still, I personally prefer 2Iiudon Clin (1853-73)—
a great sovereig•n, whose memory is justly recalled with
pride and affection. He is spoken of as “ genial,
' l’ytche. Page i 9.
° Fytohe. Page 118.
150 5 BURMESE WONDERLAND.

amiable and passionately anxious for peace.”'

imperious in manner, and easily led, but yet had
sense of his responsibilities. It is significant
predecessor outlived him ! ° In this reign u•e
factories, inintinp•, famine relief$ 3 and the introd
o1 regular taxes (fñat/uiniufn) in place of the old
system. Such benevolence however did not save
o8icials from being “ spread-eagled in the sun near
Police Gourt ” when one day the palace took fire.
spite of this lapse we leave ñfindon with regret,
his body hardly cold, turn to the tragic open&g
Thibaw’s reign. The events are too recent to
description. There are many alive who remember t ,
including at least one oi the principal actors. .1
trench was dug to accommodate the late Ring’s r N
There are said to have been 76 victims. flay
tossed in half alive, only stunned by the clubs of
executioners. Two days later the very earth rose
protest, and the “ palace elephants were sent to t
it level again.” No less tragic is the fate or TI&ew’s
unfortunate lover Eli Tllñ n Gyi, who was lightly s
to the Queen’s jealousy.
A less celebrated incident of Thibaw’s reign is
prison massacre of 1884 when all the prisons
\1anda1ay were murdered, and those surviving b
alive in their chains within the gaol.

' Gazetteer of Ui°P•* Bu riiia hart I , \’ol. I, Pages 2°9 and 61

° Gazetteer of IJpper Burma, Part I. Vol. I, Pages 3(i and 81
° Gazetteer of Upper Burma, Part I, Voi I, Page i3.
 A BUR2i ESE 1VO?iD ERI›AN D. 15I

Such wholesale misery was not confined to the

inmates of the palace. The public at large suBered
indiscriminately. \Ve cannot mo more here than
recall the total extinction of the Talaing nation, the
subjection of the Ilarens, the deciuiation of Arakan and
Tavoy, and the ruin of the Shan States which to this
day have a }iopu1ation of only *3 to the square

It can hardly be cloubted brit that a streak of

madness tan in the House of Alaungpra, accentuated
perhaps by the rrnirriage of half-brothers and half-
sisters. Ba-gyi-daw was a complete lunatic for the
last 6 or 7 years of his life. Thariawaddy Min was
noted in youth for his charming iiianuers, till later in
life he turned ferocious. Supayalat herself has been
mad, and her mother, who was responsible for the
massacre, was of such a character that r’e can scarcely
regard her as sane.
Apart from jealousy, Supayalat had many redeem-
ing points. She was find, and even generous. her
manner could be charming. She drew people to her,
and she was a good Triend. But supreme authority,
and complete ignorance of any pou‘er beyond her own,
unbalanced her ; while tear lest any woman should
tamper with Thibaw, whom she passionately loved,
induced a ferocity that knew no limits.
The history of the Denegris throws an interesting
side-light on the Court like of Thibaw and Supayalat.
Old Monsieur Denegri was a silk weaver. It was he
1ñ2 A BURJIESE DVO DERLAN D.

who taught the Burmese how to make velvet.

in file he brought his son Louis and his daughter lfM
to ñIandalay, where I\l1le. Denegri, now 84 years
still survives. Louis, who died some years ago, was M
Adviser to the Queen for whose Court he paraded
costumes, 8owers and ornaments, and executed the
orders in France. One of these transactions produced
serious trouble when a draft for 50,000 francs was loot
in a bank smash. Thibaw was furious, and Louis’ lit
was certainly in danq•er till 3laria and the Lady Superior
o1 the convent pleaded with Supayalat. 2laria was a
great favourite with the Queen who was taken with
her transparent honesty. She often laughed at her
critical comments sayinp• :—“ 0h 3laria ! you really
mustn’t speak to Us so straip•ht. Your talk must be
mund about.” An amusing incident occurred at a
certain padrio when ñtaria, like everyone else, attended
with a gift. Her present was sausages. h’ow the
offering of food, with its possibilities of poison, wee
absol@e1y forbidden, and mig•ht easily have resulted
in her beinp• cut down. Fortunately, the contents of
her silver bo r1 n'ere only discovered at the gate where
Tiiibaw and Supayalat could intervene from their Lily
Throne, when llaria was seized by the guard. After
considerable commotion, in which 2laria vehement
resented the insinuation, and loudly proclaimed the
perfection of her sausages, the Bing and Queen ea
ate half a one on their throne, and then pres
2laria Denegri with two rings worth Rs. fi,000. Thi
 A BH nblESE \\’O DERLA D. 153

had temptation never come, would no doubt nave lived

a good fellow.
• *
The 8orid style of the architecture of the Alaiing•pra
dynasty is not without merit. It expressed itself in large
shrines like the Patho-dan -gyi (Pagan I\lin l8fi0) and
the Byauk-daw-gyi at Ainarapura, and the OF Ryaung
(Ba-gyi-daw 2fin 1819) at Ava. It displays a certain
noble extravagance in wide courts, deep colonnades and
splendid gates. Its structure however is rotten. Bad
bricks, bad mortar, and shoddy work, have brought
these monuments to ruin long before the llth and 15th
century buildings of Pagan. Vast masses of masonry
are stupidly supportecl on timber beams. Stoi:t walls
are found sometimes to consist of woocl with a layer
of brick sailed on / A litter of ruin bespeaks an
inherent decadence : and the dreadful zFiyals, or halls,
which continue still to be crowded into the }aagoda
courts, show that to-day not even a sense of fitness
or proportion survives.
European influence is strongly evident in the 19th
century monuments of Ainarapura where, in the east
entrance of the Eyauk-daw-gyi, there are tu o u inged
angels with a harp in the painted frescoe of the arch.
These lightly draped figures have European hair and
somen•hat heavy Italian faces, and were certainly
desig•ned by some foreign resident at the Burmese
capital. The draped runs and floral ornaments on many
beautiful bui1ding•s are borrowed froin British cenieterie6.
164 A BIJR?dESE W OF DERLA2i D.

when cemeteries were at their worst. There are wi gad

cherubs over the door o1 the Paya Ni, and the won
gate itself is carved with stags and eagles straight fro +
an heraldic plate. h’eed1ess to say these things, how-
ever fine, are utterly inappropriate.
The most curious experiment of all at Amarapura is a
true lion at the base of one of the pagodas in place ei I&e
usual stylized câ inlé. It is the only one I have ever se&i
in Burma. One cannot but connect it with the c
lion, that wa-s sent to the capital in 1824 by the In
of ñ luscat, and which no doubt served as a model.
That lion, whose extraordinary story is told on page -2
of A B urnwse JiicJiatifiiien/, is not the only beast to take
its place in the history of this period. A little earlier,
in l’i95, the Emperor of China expressed extreme
curiosity to see a rhinoceros and an alligator. A requmt
for a consig•nment thereof created considerable excite-
ment in Burma. The exhortations of Bodaw Paya
and his whole Government could not charm a rhinoceros
to board a vessel, but a boat-load of alligators waa
duly shipped. I
Amarapura with its splendid trees, quiet page
and enchan’tuig views across the Taungthainao LM,
is one of those iascinating nooks unspoiled as )'et by
the disturbing in8uence of our age. flail trains re
past to Rangoon and Mandalsy, but eternal re
pervades the court oi the Patho-daw-gyi, where
spend quiet Sundays picnicing beneath the tarn
* Symes. Embassy to Aca. Page 2i."1.
 A BIJ RltESE U’OÜ DERLAÜ D. 155

Amaiapura belongs to a period starting with Bodaw

Paya (1 ï8l A.D.), extending through the reigns ol Ba-gyi-
daw (1819) ; Tharran-addy min (1837) and Pä gan tin
(1846), and ending with the transfer to ü landalay by
Hindon 31in in 1857. Swift decay has overtaken this
capital. Lizards bask on the palace walls ol Kings, a+td
cattle rest at noon in their tombs. I have little sentti’vent
tor those princes. The golden halls ol Handalay, where
now owls chuckle in the eaves at dusk, are Jiaunted for
nie by unutterable hates and wickedness. hevertheless,
my antiquarian sense is outraged by the jaggery mill that,
in defiance of the protective law, invaded the palace
grounds of Amara-
pura in 1921. Thousands of bricks trom the city wall
have been ground up to make roads for a distillery.
To nie it is sacrilege, for the sanctity of ruins is a matter
ol real importance. The past is dead and gone, but heaps
of rubbish may yet restore it with maivellous detail,
and stones may n'ring a heart-beat from the very dust.
The coolies from the mill had even broken into
Tharrawaddy’s toinb. The jungle they had cut was
still fresh »•hen I saw it, and a hole gaped in the base of
the monument.
Hindon whose grave is in 2Iaudalay, and Alaungpra
wbose remains were brought back to Shwebo,* are
probably the only Bings who were buried. The rest
were burnt, and their ashes thrown into the Irrawaddy.
Theo ao-called tombs are merely monuments to mark
 A BUBlf ESE \Y OSD ER LAND.

The kaung Hmu Daw (good Royal Deed } lies out

in quiet country, G miles from Sagaing a swelling
white dome rising high above the surrounding trees.
Elsewhere I have done it injustice in calling it the
least beautiful Pagoda in Burma. I have since chosen
ir for several week-end pie-nics, and pleasaiit associa-
tions and closer acquaintance have changed my views.
In itself, it is simply a vast but shapely hemisphere,
slightly elongated, and without spire. But this gigantic
swelling globe is but the culinina’ting point o1 Cripple
enclosures, small lions and low, slender gates, whose
restraint and lightness set oft the main building to great
advantage. Its beauty grows. Of the outer gates, only
the two on the east lace remain. They, and the curious
row of tall stone lanterns which encircle the shrine, are
certainly derived froin Anarudapura (Ceylon), and
throi:gh that from the gates and rails of ancient Bud-
dhist stupas in India. Looked at mom its base, the
belling he%sphere of mottled plaster in strongly
suggestive of a photo of the moon.
Amongst its marble curiosities are some grotesque
statuettes near the monastery at the wext entrance, a
fine standing Buddha in a xitin outéde the north-east
corner of the walls, and an inscription about 7 feel
high covered with beautiful archaic letters—the most
remarkable tablet I have seen, both as regards execution
er.d preservation. The Kaung Hmu Daw was built in
1636 A,D., by Thado Dhamma Yaza to commemorate the
re-establishment of the capital at Ava. The inscription
 A BUR3IESE \V ON DERLAND.

records the extent of the Burmese Kingdom of

those days, and includes, besides Burma proper,—Zimmâ9
the Shan States of Yaivnghwe, âloné, and Keng 'hung,
and Taungthub in Chindwin. The Burmese coiled
attention to this stone When Taungthut came under
discussion at the Treaty of Yandabo.

The seductive lines or the Ok Kyaung at Ava invite

another landing. The OF: ffyaurtp, as its name implies,
is a brick monastery—a thing in itself somewhat rare.
It is also a wooden type producecl in brick, and in this
style the Burmese excel. The monument is a perfect
matvel o1 graceful curves, up-thron n gables, and
splendid stairs. 01 its kin‹l, it is one o1 the most
beautiful gems in Burma. This exquisite monastery was
built in 1818-19 by hTan-iuadaw 6lenu, the fierce queen
ot Ba-Ayr-daw, and restored alter the earthquake o1
1838-39 by her even more sinister daughter Hsin-byu-
rna-shin who perpetrated the â landalay massacre. Hsin-
byu-rna-shin was the mother of Supayalaf, and mother-in-
law of 'I’hibau'.
.Eva was Io:inded in 1364 during the confuseil
period of Shan principalities, but was soon abandoned. It
ap«ain became the capital in 1G36, when Thado Dhainma
Yaza built the Hating Hmu Daw Pagoda at Sagaing to
commemorate the event. l In 1760, after Alaunp•pra’s
death, the succession of hTaung-daiv-gyi was disputed
by one of the late Kinp•'s generals, h’uftoon, who bras
' Upper Eurma Gaz etteer , Part II. Vol. I, Page 339.
 & BURMESE TYONDERLAND.

besiep•ed in Ava for 7 months before his rebellion was

crushed. h'aung-daw-p•yi moved the capital from
Shwebo to Sagaing•, but died in 1763. His infant son
and heir f1aung ñ laung was hustled into a monastery,
and the late King’s brother Sin-byu-shin succeeded and
moved the capital first back to Shwebo, and then to At-
a. The o1r1 cit) was then in ruins, being much damaged
by the late siege. It was now rebuilt, streng- thened, and
adorned with many pagodas and monas- teries. Sin-byu-
shin was a man of austere character, who made several
efforts to stop animal slaughter and the use of spirits.
His son Sinp•u Min who succeeded in 1775 was the very
reverse—a drunken profligate, whose brief reign of six
years has fastened tragedy upon Ava which I cannot but
recall each time I visit the stately trees which now mark the
palace site. Singii Clin had married a girl “ endowed u•ith
virtue, beauty and accomplishments,” but with whom he
lived in constant discord. One day iii a passion the
King accused her of inficlelity—and what happened may
be told in major Syme’s own » ords which were written in
1800, oiily trrenty years after the event. '
“ The trembling and innocent victim was dragged
froin the palace, and enclosed in a sack of scarlet cloth
richl)• ornamented. Thus confined, she was J›ut on
board a boat, when the sack beings suspenrled betn•eei1
the narrow necks of In o earthen jars, the whole was
sun1‹ iti the deepest part of the Irrawaddy. “ihis
180 .\ BURMESE \YONDEBLAND.

diabolical act was perpetrated in open day

t.housands o1 spectators, amongst whom were
her friends and relations. Eer a8licted father,
whelmed with anguish, retired in despair to the
of CbagaiJtg ” (Sag%).
Such horrors resulted in a plot to bring p
3laung ñ laung from his monastery, though it ie
that Bodaw Paya, who was a party to it, ever
the boy to succeed. AT any rate the palace was
while Singu Min was away at a festival, and
flaring installed. It is an old Burmese super
that whoever holds the palace is King, and cv
this case proved its accuracy. Singu Clin returned to
Sagaing, but found himself deserted. A curious
now occurred. Sagaing and Ava are close tog
lacing each other across the Irrawaddy. Early ia
motâwg Singu Clin entered a boat with only
servants and rowed across to his lost capital at
The sentries, astounded by his appearance, let
pass ; and crowds of curious people made way for his.
There is no saying what this audacity might not
achieved, had not Singu Min had the misfortune
meet his father-in-law at the palace gate. This is t
unfortunate man of whose anguish we have read as
saw his daughter drowned before his eyes. Se’
sword he struck Singu Min down. Bodaw Paya n
threw aside all disguise and assumed the throne.
2laung was also sunk between two jars in the river,
closing his tragic reign of eleven daya. This was in 1
 & BURJIESE 3Y ONDERLAND. 1<»l

Bodaw Paya transferred the capital to Amarapura.

t he have alre y seen Father Sangermano ’s account o1
the “ fatigues, exactions and oppressions ” entailed.
However it must be notetl that â lajor Synies describing
@marapura says that it became in a short time “ one
of the most Nourishing and well built cities o1 the
east. ”
Yandabo, where the treaty was aigned in 1826
after the First Burmese War, is some miles below Ava.
1\’e had difficulty in locating it, and the ffiuqyi Maung
Po â laung appeared to be the only man who knew where
the treaty was made. \Ye found that the peepul tree,
beneath which the signatures took place, had been
burnt does many years ago. No trace remains of it,
but its site was pointecl out at 6 paces from the steps
in the outer wall of the Paw-daw-mu Pagoda, and on
the north-west face o1 it. A few yards away, near
the north-east wall o1 the Pagoda, the Thugyi showed
us a place where there had once been an inscribed
atone, presumably a record o1 the treaty. The stone
has now disappeared, but the Thupyi himself remem-
bered seeing it as a boy. It stood beside what was
formerly a road, but the site is now enclosed nnthin
the fence ot a monastery. 'I'he Pagoda wall has since
been moved out a few paces, and it is probable that the
stone, now suak into the ground, lies eisher just outside
the wall, or under the pavement of the court within.
An excavation made as the result o1 my visit wa8
unsuccessful.
BW Il
16z* A BURUE@E TVONDERLAND.

As we waited here on the bank a man landed from

a ampan, and immediately fell among thieves. be
robber was a atrong, handsome, humorous Burn,
who seized half the goods that the traveller had gone 6o
purchase. A long struggle ensued with furious protests
on one side, and increasing wit and laughter on the
other. Somehow we all sympathized with the funny
thief whose dacoity was elected with perfect good-will.
Though his jokes only incensed his victim, he lifted
half his property in the nicest way imaginable ; the
trader loaing our last grain of sympathy by his ungra-
ciou acceptance of the other’s thanks, and hie refusal
to allow him to help carry away what was left o1 the
goods.
ARMOU ft OF U A II :t BA •'fD OL.Ł.
 GHAPTER XXI.
&ANDIILA—A BURMESE SOLDIER.

THE ia.iaing of Burmese Unita during the Great 1\"ar

has naturally led to much interesting speculation as to
the value of the Burman as a soldier. Except on
one occasion, when the Burma Sappers and Miners
distinguished themselves at the Tigria Crossing, the
late war unfortunately a8ords no opportunities for
judging them in the actual crisis of battle. The student
of history cannot, however, be in doubt aa to the courage
and élan which for centuries have won the Burmese pie-
eminence in the ludo-Chinese penin8lllit. But the
public memory in r• verbially ahort. It ia almost
forgotten that formerly the Burmese were regarded
as born soldiers, that they lived in an atmoaphere"”of
constant warfare, and that they usually won. The
collapse of the Army in 188b, without striking a blow,
and the failure of half-hearted attempts at various
timea to form units, have raised double which the
general characteristics or the face aggravate. In the
paat the Burman has alway8 been a tough soldier in
spite of bad pay, bad equipment and abominable
leadership. ’their military officers were chie8y notable
for offensive arrogance and swagger ; and the soldier
himself appears to have left his virtues at home, and
in war spread terror not only amongst the enemy, but
 5 BURWESE WONDERLAND.

ainongst his own countrymen upon whom, in d

he turned as a marauder. These, however,
matters of discipline. They are the laults of all s
civilized soldiery : and they do not necessarily r
on the fighting qualities o1 the race.
Let us therefore attempt to revive the person
of a greaf Burmese soldier whose history is now
siderably obscured, but whose name is still unit
remembered and cherished throughout the cot
ülaung Yit, or as he is popularly called Bandule,
born at the village of Tapäyin in Power Chind
district which eyes supplied Burmese Governm
with their best soldiers. Of his early history nee
few details. II'e see him plainly only at the close o4
his career. His reputation was already made in A
and Arakan, nor did final disaster completely d
it. A grateful Rinp•—and Rings are not
grateful to deleated generals—raised a pagoda in
inemory. His armour is still exhibite‹l in the Bm
Bluse um : and in 1918, ninety-three years aller bis
death, a subscription was raised, and the site of
fall marked by a stone pillar inscribed :— ?fahab n
Hin was struck by a piece of shell (boii•-aii ) ou lst
182ü,- and was mortally injured dying al
iminediately.
.St the outbreak of the First Burniese fi’ar,
coinmanded the Burmese .Army in Arakan w
contemplated the invasion of Bengal, and ca
small anxiety in Calcutta. The uneapected appl
 ¥ AY0NDERL&ND.

of be Britis Force at Rangoon under Sir Archibald

I mpbell destroyed all hope of an invasion of Bengal.
The position of the British, however, was critical.
Burmese levies attacked and invested them with
quenchable energy, and General alter General came
from Ava to spoil his reputation. The rains had
broken. Stores, cattle and boats were removed, anal
the civil population driven off with such remorseless
consistency that the British lay isolated and immobiliz-
ed round the Shwe Dagon Pagoda from the 10th
May, 1824, to the 13th February, l8L*ñ , without moving
out of it. The sickness amongst our troops was
appalling. In the first year 3l per cent. of the ineu
were kill.•d in action, and 4o per cent. perished of
disease ! The total losses during the war amounted
to H} per cent. of the troo}›s eng•aged. Finally, the
I Home Government was getting distinctly peevish.'
At this moment Bandula was transferred to
command the Burmese .Army before Rangoon. His
withdrawal from Arakan nsas so swift and secret that
our posts matching hint there were unaware of his
departure. He removed all his sick, and left no trace
of his route. In spite of the season, his troops marched
rapidly by many di8erent roads through E-•inbyu
Gyun and Piome to a rendezvous with Bandula at
Danubyu where, with the levies already engaged with
the British, he had an Army of 60,000 men, o1 whoiii,
it ie estimated, 35,000 had muskets. Swiftness, fore-
' Fytche. ii nun Past ‹oN Present. Pegea 81 and 82.
l0G A BURMESE W0NDERL&ND.

thought and energy marked all his ineaBures, ill 9h

contrast to the leisurely methods of his astrologer-
ridden predecessors. From this point we will let MJ
Snodgrass, blilitary Secretary to the Expeditim,
speak, and record in the words of an actual eye-witnese•
the character of Burmese soldiers in general, and o{
Bandula in particular . On the 30th November
(l8ii4), Bandula’s Army closed in on the British position
round the Shwe Dagon Pagoda. The country was tbnn
covered with jungle, and Remmendine nsas the preli-
iuinary key to the British position from which not only
could the Pagoda be assaulted, but fire-rafts !et loo8e
on the 8eet with certainty of success. The faces of the
Pagoda were closely invested, and the river iront on
the Dalla side held. Thus on the 1st or December,
says blajor Snodgrass, “ we found ourselves completely
surrounded with only the limited space within our
lines that we could still call our own. The line of
circunivallation taken up by the enemy, obviously
extended a very considerable distance, and divided
as it was by the river, injudiciously weakened his
means of assailing us on any particular point ; but as
far as celerity, order and regularity are concerned,
the style in which the di8erent corps took up their
stations in the line, rejected much credit on the arrange-
ment of the Burmese Commander. \Vhen this singular
and presumptuous formation was completed, the
eoldiers of the left columns laying aside their spears an
' Yarrotirc of hoc Bur maa« fPar. Snodgrass. Pages 90 to 177
 OR BOWDERL&ND, UT

muskets, commenced operations with their entrenching

Vols, with a activity and good-will, that in the
Course of couple o1 hours their line had wholly
disappeared, and could only be traced by a parapet
of new earth gradually increasing in height. The
moving masses, which had so very lately attracted our
anxious attention, had sunk into the ground ; and by
one who had not witnessed the whole scene, the exis-
tence of these subterranean legions would not have been
credited—and to us who had watched, it seemed the
» ork of magic and enchantment.”
The Military Secretary to the British Expedition
is clearly astonished at these tactics. When it is
remembered that Bandula was faced with a strongly
r osted enemy, whose only superiority lay in its arms
and artillery, the genius of the man is—to us twentieth
century beings—obvious. Bandula, who as we ahall
see, used Jt ight]u lness, and skilful propaganda, nsas
evidently well in advance of his day. \Ve can easily
imderstand why Burma of those days extended from
Assam and Maoipur to Siam.
At this juncture, however, the British paid a visit
to these excavations. “ The trenches were found to be
a succession of holes, capable of containing two men
each, and excavated, so as to a8ord shelter, both from
the weather and the fire of the enemy : even a shell
lighting in the trench could at most but kill two inen.
As it is not the Burmese system to relieve their troop8
in making these approaches, each hole contained a
165 t BURMESE AOEDERLAND.

su8icient suppl)• o1 rice, water, and even fuel for its

inmates : and under the excavated back a bed of strm
or brushwood was prepared, in which one man cot
sleep while his comrade watched. When one line of
trench is completed, its occupiers, taking advantage
of the night, push forward to where the second is to be
opened, their place being immediately taken up by
fresh troops born the rear, and so on progressively.'
ñ leanwhile herce assaults were delivered on Kemnien-
dine again and again throughout the day. At night. the
Brtrmese attack wa.s resumed. “ Suddenly the heavens
and the whole surrounding country became brilliantly
illuminated by the Barnes of several tremendous fire-
rafts, Coating down the river towards Rangoon ; and
scarcely had the blaze appeared, than incessant rolls of
muslietry and peals of cannon were heard from Hemmen-
dine. The enemy hall launched their fire-rafts into
the stream with the fir-st of the ebb tide : and they were
followed up by 4Var-boats ready to take advantage
of the confusion which might ensue, should any o1 the
ships be set on fire.” Our sailors immediately took to
their boats and grap}i1ed n'ith the framing rafts, conduct-
ing them safely past. “ The situation of the x essels ”
eras, however, “ extremely perilous. The cruiser
2’ tiinou/ñ caught fire and was xvith di&cidty extin-
guished.” These raits were “ made o1 bamboo firmly
wrought together, between every two or three rows of
which a line of earthen jars filled with petroleum, or earth-
oil and cotton, were secured......................................The
 ost uuextin$uishable fierceness oi the flames proceed-
mom them can scarcely be imagined. Many of
rafts weib 200 feet in length and divided b3• long
es, so arranged that when they caught upon the
of any ship, the force of the current should carry
ends o1 the raft completely round her and envelop
in 8anies front the deck to her main-topmast head.
ith the possession of keminendine the euem} could
'e launched these rafts from a point where the3'
st have reached our shippings.”
The Burmese attack continued through the 2nd,
, and 4th o1 December. The fighting was desperate.
“ It Bemmendine peace was selclom maintained above
hours at any time.” The Burmese were now
se in round the position. On the 3th the British
’vexed their first telhng counter attack on the Burmese
towards Pazundaung. Bandula spent the Gtb
’ g his left., but on the 7th a second, final, and
hing stroke was delivered north of the Pagoda :
on the same night the force across the river at
was smitten. The Burmese, under this quick
ession of blows, brok with the inevitable couse-
nces. “ Numerous desertions, and even the disper-
of entire corps followed. On the 9th Bandula
a remnant of 2ii,000 v as retiring on Danubyu”
his own tore-thought had provided a fortifiecl
n and reinforcements. To delay pursuit, lie
d an Envoy from Ava who in fact never
With the returoing• popidation he introduced
170 A BURMESE W ONDERLAND.

his own agents into Rangoon, who, on the l2th December

managed to burn down hall the town. The 3laga
were only saved by luck. \Yith a trifle of torts
Bandula might well have equalized his loeses.
The British, however, were in no position to follow.
Bandula kept them starved and isolated. On the l34h
of February the British transport crawled forth at the
rate of four, five and six miles a day. “ Too much
credit cannot be given to Bandula and his chiefs, for
the secrecy they maintained and enforced, relative
to their plans, arrangements and movements at the
present juncture. The state of espionage and terror
under which the peasantry are kept renders them
extremely circumspect. . . . . . . . . . . The desertion or the
towns and villages in our route was obviously a syste-
inatical arrangement of the Burman chieie. . . . . . .
The Prince of Sarrawaddy, burning and laying waste the
village8 in their route, drove thousands of helpless,
harmless people from t.heir homes to the wooda. . . . . .
Even Russia, in her memorable resistance to the armies
of Napoleon, ‹lid not o8er the invading host such
a continued scene of desolation. Neither man nor beast
escaped the retiring columns : and heaps of ashes, with
groups o1 hungry, howling dogs, alone indicated where
villager had been.”
The Flotilla’s attack on the stockades at Danubyu
failed. The land-column turned to it, arriving befo
the position on about 25th March. The sto
» as strong, but Bandula’a army iva8 probably not
 #’ BPR51ESE 3¥ONDERL&ND.

than 15,000. The bombardment began on the lst

April, when a stray shot killed Bandula as he was
inspecting the works. The aoldiers could be induced
to serve under no other Creneral, and in the night melted
away. The drama then shiftetl up the river to
Prome, and so to Pä gan and Yandabo, where the
Buriuese Court was at last obliged to sipn the
treaty.
Of Bandula’s personality n’e how little. That
he wielded an almost magical in8uence over his men is
beyond dispute. His mere presence inspired confidence,
and u as worth a corps. At his fall the brave army he
had handled so skilfully in the face or European science,
vanished. No doubt he was ruthless and ferocious in
anger. lVhen some gunners refused to serve their
guns, he stepped dom-n and personally cut off their
heads. Fytche' mentions that on one occasion Bandula
ordered an oftending General to be “ sawn csunder
between two planks.” By auch means alone could an
arruy like his be managed, or at least it is charitable to
think so. The Burman has a streak of Tartar cruelty
in his nature. On the other hand Bandula was normally
generous and brave. He possessed the genius of a
soldier. He was greatly beloved. His memory is
cherished to this day, and recalled with pride. That the
confidence he inspired was justified is obvious from the
reinarkable accuracy, detail and precision of his moves
end dispositions. His troops reached their positions
• Burma Post onä PrTaenl. Page 80
 A BURMESE WONDERL&ND.

punctually, and were there supplied with such tool.s,

enq•iues, necessities and comforts as were possible.
Until 18a*1, Bandula had been uniformly an
- fu1. He was summoned to Rangoon in an
hour of dire calamity.
There, for the first time, he net European troops,
and there seems to be little doubt but that he recognized
the hopelessness of his task d
that disastrous week before the Shwe Dagon. The
iron of defeat and disg•race had entered his soul, though
he showed once more a brax•e front at Danubyu.
There, it appears, he deliberately courted dea•th.
Be refused to shelter born bombardment, or to lower
his state umbrella : for, said he :—“ If I die, the enemy
will attribute their victory to that. They cannot say
our soldiers are not brax•e.”
 PTER XVII.

URIIESE MILI’I’ARY 1ENTL'RE.

BE iVill v examine the modern llurniese soldier,

' and mark th steps of iris progress since his recent
entry into our Army. The nation is roughly eight
núllion stroó : a highly sensitive » ayward people.
who require more careful handling than any of the other
races of Burma. Their language is extremely difficult,
and their enroluient as soldiers began late in the war
by which time most of the Burmese-speaking Europeans
n'ho rnight have o8icered them were scattered over the
world. Alter beinp• neglected as soldiers for thiity
years since annexafion, Burmans nere raised hurriedly
in 1917 and at a critical moment. These were facts
that made the venture a little difficult at fJrst.
A perfect recruitiug systeni cannot be set up alI
at once iii the confusion of a » ar. Burmese recruiting
u as unfortunate at the outset. Bad characters were
pushed wholesale out of tou ns and villages into the
Army. This, in Burniese times, was a recognized way
of recruit.ing. Now there is no one more incorrigible
than a bad Burman, and no one more ready to turn
the weak points of a situation to his owo advantage.
The desertious and general nïisbehaviour of these
scaliwags gare people who hatl always depreeated local
E74 A BURMESE %OEDERLAND.

recruiting, a stick with which to beat the Burm n.

They beat him with it still, though he has long airier
proved himself a soldier of high quality. It is therefor
only fair to state clearly the ‹n;uel difficulties of Burmem
recruiting at the outseMdifficulties for which the
Burmese themselves were largely reaponaible, but
which arose from their excessive zeal ae recruiter8.
Their desire to recruit, and at the same time to rid the
Districts o1 rilfra8, resulted in bad characters being even
iaced with the option of enlist rent or prosecution for
ancient crimes. Many a jail-bird was thus disposed
or, who, when he had pocketed his bonus, deserts.
The most pernicious growth of all, and one which had
the worst in8uence upon recruiting, was a system o1
secret purchase devised and encouraged by these same
desertere. It arose from the competition of one District
with another. To ensure exemption, villagers subscribed
to buy substitutes. A bad character could sell himself
for Rs. 300. Prices paid are aaid to have been based
on the old Burmese scale of compensation for killing—
on the assumption, I suppose, that a soldier ie aa good
as dead. The victim, however, had no such delusion.
Teach the crocodile how to swim ! By deserting and
repeatedly reselling himself elsewhere, he could live in
blissful eaae and af8uenee. Sue'! an organization is
secret, difficult to detect or prove, and still more difficult
to erañ ieatu, especially in a country like Burma where
there is little public opinion to condemn and expose
such proceedings.
 â NESE WOXDERL&MD. 17b

s of this aort of thing may be imagined.

judge the Burmese soldier of to-day by
s* results of a bad start, in which he alone
various indigenous races was a victim.
end and Shans were all much better
The Rarens had their Missionaries, as web
t men of their own race like the Hon’b1e
o, and U. Vyat Nyen (President of the Bassein
the Raren h’ational Association) to look
The Shans ere raised by the eBort8 Of
g and Mr. Grose through the agency of
or Chiefs. The Rachins came through the
olice and were, of cour8e, supported by
d his Bhamo Hills.
1 with which many Burmans recruited for
during the war is not to be generally con-
t because sometimes it was misdirected, or
me were mere Scalp hunters (at Rs. 10 per
urmans, obscure and eminent, worked hard
y were filled with a great desire to create a
y. The whole project would undoubtedly
but for their sustained and earnest co-
ey realized that the non-existence of
era was a national disgrace (though one
hey were not responsible) : that without
ncy the country could not hope for
They were out for numbers, but
Armies are no longer drawn from the
hon. Speeches were made exhorting
I7fi

the undesirable to take thi3 opportunity of

themselves elsewhere. The mistake, in a p
the idea of voluntary recruit-ing, was natu
In Burmese times the procedure was somewhat
There was conscription, and petty officiate ’
double the number of men demanded, all
one-half to buy their discharge”'.
When we see, as we do now, better class
putting their sons into the Army, it means that s
is better understood. The e&ort as a whole
indicates the awakening of pubEc spirit, and
of a Burmese enlightenment. We have p
period of initial mistakes, though there is yet ro
improvement in the class o1 recruit enliste4r
can best be elected by recruiting less in the Fig
mid more in the country. Town recruiting
have been justified in a crisis like that in
Burmese Battalions were raise‹i. .Apart mo
other consideration, more than two-thirds of
population is agricultural.
After the Armistice, when I assumed d’
recruiting passed through a stage of transition from
wholesale methods o1 war to the more deliberate
of peace. Even then ne»• units had still to be
—such as âlotor Transport Companies for serf
Afghanistan. Large reinforcements were requi &
3lesopotamia, and men originally enlisted on
engagement had to be replaced by men on a p
' Snodgrass. f'?re B ar»mse lPnr. Page 200.
 BUB2IESE N DERLAND.

tour-year engagement. Jhi# waa a work second in

’tude only to 4he initial raising. It will be
e time yet before ordinary recruiting by Parties can
W relied on. That is a slow method, but of course it
overwhelming advantages. By recruiting through
•&reir own men, units are able to build up a territorial
connection, and can be certain of prociuing a good
class of reciuit. Burmese 08icers and N. G. 0s. can
only be exacted to control their companies and sections
if they have had a voice in their recruiting. But it is
impossible for units to recruit for themselves so long as
their requirements are enormous. At first, recruiting
-6y parties »'as not successful ; but the difficulties are
rectifying themselves, though there are special obstacles
to surmount in a country v here soldiering is a new
experiment. For one thing parties, unless frequently
met, are apt to lose their recruits, and the sta8 i8 riot
ou8iciently large for a country which is bigger than
France, and whose population is only 45 to the square
aoiJe. Burma has an area of about 238,700 square miles
md is therefore greater by thirty thousand square miles
even the German Empire before the war. In spite
its agricultural, forest and mineral wealth, it haa a
er average population than any part of India
pt the deserts of Baluchistan ! \Ve have to recruit
aft over thi6 wide and thinly populated area, Com-

_ munications are bad. For instance, important districts

°yinmana and hlagwe have respectively oaly
and 6 mile8 of metalled roads. The remaining mads
178 A BIHtNT'sSE WONDERLAND.

are mere inter-village tracks. Existing roads

disrepair, and will probably take some years R
order. 2Jotor roads occur, but they are
unconnected. Railways average only one mile
to every 144 square miles of country ! (In
there is one mile of line to each 35 square miles).
are conditions that e8ect recruiting profoundly
not only is it. di&cidt to get about, but a large
the population remains is0lated, ignorant and shy
For all these reasons recruiting of Burmese
depends largely for success upon the good-will of
local officials, and in the case of the Earens
Missionaries and karen Elders. \Vithout
encouragement simple villagers, who are of cour
very type we wish to get at, will not come fo Non-
commissioned O8icers and men have little with
petty officials, and consequently recruit
In8uential Burmese and Karen o8icers however
more weight, and are therefore better recruiters than ,
rank and file. This is unsatisfactory, but we shall
to recognize it until recruiting is better unders
and until the demand for men becomes normal.
thinga will rectify themsdves automatically.
conditions refer only to Burmese and Karens. K
Chins and Shans all recruit satisfactorily I
recruiting parties : but theirs’ is another story
which we are not concerned here. s
A separate recruiting method is necess
y almoat every district in Burma. Authority in
 1T9

8erent clasa, according to the varied

eople. Amongst independent Kachins
ted in no one at all. The Duwa in a
the 6afanp, only of local importance.
ates the ›Sautnras, or local Princes, are
mongst the Burmese, who are slow I
er passes exclusively into the handa
I O8icials : while amongst Karens, who
racial co-operation to an art, ofhciala
onsequence, and real power lies zfith
ries and Elders, who have a solid
em, of whose interests they are intensely
system of administration must be
’c to cope with these various circum-
conditions have to be carefully and
studied, and procedure adjusted to

easons for recruiting also vary in different

country. In the Rachin and Chin Hilla
possible to travel in the rains. In
people plough from June to August,
Demmber tn February. There is a
le for recruiting, born September
a season ot merry festivals from
he fact that ploughers and planters
t.i1 alter the reaping h£t8, however, to

especially districts like Shwebo,

, has always supplied the material
180 A BURMESE KONDERL&ND.

ior Burmese Armies.' The inhabitants or

Burma are supposed to make the best soldiers,
as a matter of fact those of Lower Burma are
spirited. They are also better educated, and ed
counts for a good deal in these days. Beédm
the grandfathers of many recruits from Thar
and the Delta were themselves natives of Upper
who, because they had eaceptional grit and e
migrated into British territory in Burmese
Lower Burma being better educated, recruits
freely. Consequently more recruiting is done in
than in Upper Burma. This will be rectified no d
when times become normal.
In Upper Burma the Burmese are more or
unmixed. That is the real home of the race. tar
Delta, Rangoon, Pegu and Aloulmein they ace
with Carews anal Talaings. The divisions are i+o
well-defined, because the population has flow
Longer Burma as conquerors or immigrants, or has
driven there after disastrous wars.
Both Karens and Burmese enlist in large n
in Rangoon, Tharrawaddy, Prome and B
Henza‹la is now the most thickly-populated ar
Burma. The Biumans in these districts are
turbulent ; and Tharrawaddy, Henzada and P
compete with each other for the first place in the
statistics of the Empire. It is however clatter,

_ ' I\fap Square. G.J.

• I¥ftp Squared G.L, and G.bI.
 A £ff I ESD WOND DRL.AND. 181.

bly wi truth, that Burma’s unenviable record in

respect Would appear less abnormal if crime waa
rted ’ as rigorously in other countries. Recruiting
made during the war are already bearing fruit.
wisely encoiuaged then are recruiting freely now.
are is all the difference in the world between yresswe
perstiastoii. \Ve require all the persuasion possible :
•4or we must believe that discipline and restraint taught
in the Arim will not be without effect upon the Burmese
character, which needs cultivation in those very qualities.
The characteristics of the Burmese have, naturally,
a very important bearinp« on their service. They are
an impulsive, light-hearted, but passionate people,
fond of amusements, plays, games and dress. They
e routiue, but are nevertheless capable of sustained
Art iI they ‹tin see any necessity for it. II there is no
parent use in a work of drudgery, they simply » on’t
•d•o it. They are modest in some ways, and insuflerably
wolf-satisfied in others. They are inclined to treat other
nations with aloofness, and consequently stand apart
their Karen, Kachin and Arakanese neighbours,
Use languages they seldom bother to learn. The
nude of In in‹i fiooi be : A‹ifa fie is inherent. They
cheery, witty and friendly, but liable to sudden gusts
anger ; and Satan Hurds plenty for them to do when
In youth the)• have oats to sow, and sow them
rally : but after all a flash of wickedness in a boy
aot wholly undesirable, especially if he settles down—
nd Burmese usually do—to dignity later in life. The
182

Burmese pass through four distinct stages. Ae c

they are utterly lovable. They are treated
kindness and indulgence. There are no sepa
and schooling is got through v5thout tears and
much discipline. Their early training and
childhood have undoubtedly helped to cultivate
peculiar characteristics. At 17 they are insu
bumptious and conceited. They group up late, but
manhood acquire that commonsense, judgment, breed’
manner and soraiz Juice which distinguish them.
old age they take to religion and o-orks o1 merit, a
modify their tastes and dress, as befitting men for wh
the vanities of life have no more attraction.
Un1ucl‹ily for him, the Burman with his
standard of living cannot compete ea-sily, even in
own country, with aliens. He and his wife must d
in ailk, have a neat, clean little house, and spend
certain amount of money on cheroots and amusement
Nor does it seem desirable, especially in these democrat’
times, that he ahould do otherwise. That he shoul
learn to compete with other people is obvious, oi cou
But it must be remembered that he is not protected
immigration laws. Under this disability the Burm
must always labour, until they have establi
themselves more extensively in those professions
which, in their own country, they would seem to h
an overwhelming right of entry. Still, e&ciency
intimately connected with wages. The best men o1
nations are only attracted by suitable pay.
 MESE WONDERLANE. 183
As soldiers, the Burmese have plenty oi initiative
and readily develop powers of command. They have a
proper pride of race, an intense love for their country,
and are not given to aping foreign ways and dres8.
A Prussian discipline which ignores individuality is aa
intolerable to them as it is to us. As soldiers they are
keen on world, and excel at anything mechanical such
as Bombing, Lewis Gunning, and Signa,11ing. They
made a great reputation in 3Ïesopotamia for skilful
motor driving. They are not so good at marching
and shooting which are dull work and require more
application. By nature they are penerous and debonair,
incorrigible spendthrifts, reckless gamblers, and bad
losers both in gambling and games. The Burmese
character is a strange mixture of virtue.s and vicee.
Their virtues make them very lovable. Their iaults are
those of impulsive, but rather interesting, children,
and are easily lorgiven.Fen orienta1.s have such good
friends and such violent enemies. Fec are discussed
as of ten, and lew are as di&cult to understancl. They
reveal themselves to people they like, but make no
e8ort whatever to hide their very vorst side from
people they feel are unsympathetic. This, I suppose,
is why such totally divergent opinions are held about
them.
It S9 Obvious that a people so wayirard and high-
spirited require special handling, but well repay the
trouble of cultivating. Thot has been our experience
in the Army. Ae the imperative necessity o1 routine
184 & BDRMIME WONDERL&RD.

and discipline has become recognized, they have

more and more amenable. It only req
indefinable genius and enthiisiasm ol suitable
to turn them into first class soldiers.
The statement, olten made, that the
have no military tradition, discloses the most
ignorance of history. Taking the last dyna•*Y
there were wars with Talaings in 1752, 73 an
with the Chinese in 1767 : with .4rakanese in
with Manipuris in 1753, 65, 74, and 1819 : with
in 1760, 65, 7l, 8ü and 91 : and with the Brit
1824, 52 and 85. These are only major wara e
the despatch of large forces. They do not i
rebellions and palace tiBs which, though they frequ
upset Governments, did not seriously disturb
people. In most of these great wars the Bu
were succesaiul, and in many they were the aggr
It is in tact these bequent and remorseless s
which (together with a high rate of infant m
account tor the thinness of the population to-
a land whose fertility, richness and climate rend
one of the most desirable in the world. It is
Pas Brilanica which has given the country a chan
recuperate. In Lower Burma the population
doubled and trebled itself since British occu
Between 1901 and 1911 the population of the
as a whole increased by one-and-a-half millions.
There ia in tact an all too long and tragic
tradition, but the memoT y Of it has grown Paint d
 RWES NBERL&ND.

one or mor ations eince annexation. \Ve have -

Inned now to regret our non-military policy in Burma,
W)dch has tended to degrade the people in their own eyes,
and in the eyes of others. Nor must we forget the moral
domage au8ered by conquered nations such as those
of Burma. The point is not su8iciently recognized.
The Burmese especially, have lost their pride, their
ideals, their initiative by the downfall of their native
dynasty. They have only now begun to recover
themselves. Recent military service has done much
to rouse them, and I believe their national spirit and
their interest in life will develop rapidly. The old
stories st.ir them again. It is instructive to note I.he
renewed interest of a Burmese cron•d at recruit meetings
when they are reminded or the deeds o1 Anawratta,
Alaungpra, Bodaw Paya, Hsin Byu Shin, Tabin-Shweti,
Bayin Naung, and Bandula.
The public memory is notoriously short. It is
well to recall the opinions of those who knew the
Burmese soldier as an almost irresistible power in his
native element. Writing in 1800, Major Symes says :—
“ The Burmans may be called a nation of soldiers, every
wan being liable for military service. \Var is deemed
the most honourable occupation.” In 1824 major
Snodgrass aays : “ Born a soldier, the Burman is
accuetonied from hia earliest years to consider war and
foreign conquest as hia trade, and the plunder of
countries he invades as the fair and legitimate ren'ard
of 1& toil.” The saine writer describes him as arrogant
186 â BURMESE WONDERL&ND.

bold, daring , tireless and rapid in h’s movements. In

defeat, Burmese soldiers scattered, turned into marau•
dera, and soon became a menace to their own peoplr.'
The Burmese evidently had well defined ids
abotlt strategy. U'e have little information on t1&s
subject : but the o8ensive campaigns of 1765 and
1783 against Siam and .Arakan, and the defensive
War o1 1767 against China, all display the same strategic
conception, namely, to overwhelm the enemy by a well-
timed and unexpected concentration of two or more
armies. In each of these three campaigns there was s
amall decoy force to engage the enemy, and x large
one to smash him after he n'a8 thoroughly committed.
This division of strength has obvious disadvantages,
but a sustained run of luck confirmed the Burmese
leaders in their policy. In Arakan the enemy was
broken before a junction was elected. In Siam the
concentration was slow, but in the end successful.
Against the Chinese in 1767 three Burmese armiea
concentrated to perfection after the Chinese were
already engaged with one. The invaders, who were
50,000 strong, were utterly destroyecl, anal a moat
serious menace was removed.
Of their tactics we have said something in the
last chapter.
The Burmese Army 120 years ago, in the t.ime of
Bodaw Paya, consisted of three arms :—Infantry,
Cavalry (recruited in 2lanipur), and V'ar Boata. Of
' Snodgra•s.. 2'fie Burtnwe her. P«gea 204, 206, end %1
 RflE#E %ONDERLAND. 18T

these, t e V’a:i Boots iTere the most efficient. They

were maintained by villages all ur ancl down a thousand
miles of ri,ver, and Bodan• Paya could command 500 at
short notice. The boats were S0 to 100 feet long,
and sometimes carried six or nine founder guns.
Alaiuigpra won his throne by two furious river battles
at kyauk ñ 13 auug and Prome.
Major Syiues sa» about 2,000 Infantry at a review
at Amarapura in 1800. Large standing forces were not
maintained. Armies could however be speedily raised,
and in 1824 Bandula is estimated to have had 60,000
men in his attack on the British position at Shwe
Dagon.
The recruitment and discir line, if crude and harsh,
were at any rate effective. A proportional levy was
made by districts. Every three or four houses supplied
one recruit, or paid a fine of about £40 instead.* The
recruit received arms and rations, but no pay : and
his family was held responsible for his behaviour.
“ In cases of desertion, or treachery, the innocent wife,
children or parents were dtagged to execution without
remorse or pity. ” *
This system hardly preP ared the Burman for
' voluntary service. Half-hearted attempts were made
at intervals after annexation to raise various units,
but the difficulty has always been to find British 08icers
with experience of the people, and knowledge of some
' Symee’ €iitbas8y f› Ana. Page 317.
. • Symes’ E mbasey to Ava. Page 318.
188 A BTJRA£E5E WORDERL 42tD.

o1 the half-dozen new languages involved. US

1917, there was no necessity for Army Olficers to take ilp
Burmese languages, except as a hobby. Even OF
of the Burma 3filitary Police had had very little to &›
with natives of the country. Had indigenous regimen
been persevered with after annexation, as they sho+Rd
have been, we should not have come all unpreporetl
to this undertaking at a critical moment of the war.
The languase question was, and is, a serious oire.
Burmese cannot be acquired in a few months. It ta)zes
years to learn properly : and though English-speaking
Burmese Officers can bridge the difficulty for a ,
it is nevertheless impossible for British Officers to take
a sympathetic interest in their men, or to understan‹i
their needs and wants, without knowing their language.
What the Burmese have lately achieved in the lace
of all these difficulties is perfectly wonderful. It will
be a pride and pleasure to all who have been associ 4a
with it. Burmese problems have been more serious
than those of other indigenous races because they
worked on a bigger scale. But in spite of all, they hwve
lounrl their feet. They have shown high qualitim,
and at one step have achieved a large military establish-
ment, much o1 which will remain permanent. d
great Tiger is knou:n by his tracks. There were dump
the war four Battalions of 70th Burma Ri8es ›ai y
composed o1 Burmese and Karens which served in
India, Egypt and Alesopotamia. There were aevm
Companies of Burma ñ lechanical Transport, and a
 Kachin Company in the 88th Burota
a41 served iii filesopotamia. Three com-
acliins and one of Ghins were for a time
§s a separate Battalion. A Ghin and Burmese
j;pa served in France. Lastly there were
’es of Sappers and miners o1 which see
ed itself at the Tigris Cros.ring. There has
any of Burmese Sappers and Miners since
otherwise all the formations are new. It is no
for a country which before the war supplied
to soldiers at all.
e post-war organisation a Burman (Group has
nently retained composed of one Battalion
s and Karens, one of Burmans and Shans,
hins, and one of Ghins. In addition
a Training Battalion, and one company o1

is razed now that all this was not attempted

The truth is that, through no fault of his
n has not in the past received that
t, training and attention to n•hich his
’the him. The fact that he lives in the
rs silk, has encouraged a supposition
and effete. A greater mistake was
! 0n the contrary he is distinctly a
’tion. Where there is a row he will be
W it, with the polings, or what r
4& hand : nd at rating, ed fi
ent, a rear ddt tomb of disk.
190 A BDAMEBE WONDERL&ND.

He is essentially a man, though a wayward or,

is capable of a high sense oi duty and e
It is all a matter of taking him up and culti

A great deal depends still upon Burmese and

leaders and elders. A great responsibility rests
them, and there are many n ho recognize it.
e8ort must be sustained. 7’fie I'7uitar shrimp i
neither tense nor sick. Patriotism and love of md
ture cannot make the same appeal to youth in
as they do in war. The country therefore needs
encouragement until a military tradition and a taste too
military employment have had time to grow strong
and self-supporting. further, a change oi at
towards military crime—particularly desertion—ñ
desirable. Either from motives o1 pity, or because
they fear that the infliction oi pain will react on them-
selves through ffouno, the Burmese public does not
assist in bringing o8enders to account. It is to be
feared that crime of all kinds carries little stigma, and
public opinion has not sufficient weight behind it to
act as a deterrent. The Burmese are not unsta&ie,
but they lack direction, au4 direction in such matter6
must come from within, and maoi(est itself in strong
public opinion than at present eaists.
Fortunately educated Burmese thoroughly appre-
ciate their responsibilities. They have everywhme
ahown themselves eager to eo-operate, and may
relied upon to continue to do ao.
 ER VIM.

OT lS . mHXi ddhism that nothing lasts for evt

not even Buddh self. The founder of this great
Religion, foresee‘ e development of man, considered
that his teaching w d su8ice only 5,000 years, after
which a new Buddy d re-state tbe k6w tot its
relation to modern onditions. \I'e have moved now
through half thP" eriod. We have entered upon a
croz•ded, mechani at age of materialism ; but we find
the Law still true in every detail. Its foundation is
perfect logic. It still meets the needs of man. nan,
however, is morally weakened by the in8uences of the
age. He ia less able to appreciate Truth, less inclined
to follow an austere path. Therefore we see Buddhism,
and other Religions, decay and decline. Religion
throughout the world has ceased to reach the clouded
intellect ol man.
The Buddhism Law itsell, as now presented, is a
tangle of legend and formulas with which priests, politi-
cians, commentators Rd translators have obscured it for
2,000 years. The boo would heap up into a consider-
able mountain ; and em all,the ott-despised £@/tl
OJ Sein is probably oat truly Buddhist in apirit.
Anyone who wants y o1 Buddhist PsychologiJ may
have mine with ple ure. Buddhism n'as a serenely
192 A BURMESE AONDERL&ND.

simple philosophy as it left the lips of its founder

parables. Otherwise it could not have bred the ima
tion of the world. Something o1 its beauty,
logic, its tenderness is still visible through a fog
corruption.
In Burmese times the King, whatever his
(and they were usually shocLñng), was Deiender o6
Faith. His 31a,esty’s patronage and generosity
Buddhism official support. The Vehicle of
svas the 5oiiyo, or Priestly Order, whose members
strictly supervised, and for whose discipline and
tion a proper machinery existed. 'the PLoongJs ,
as they still are sometimes, austere, good mv,
renunciation of the world was complete and real. M
have now travelled tar from those days.
the collapse oi the Burmese Government, the
was left without control. Its discipline and auth
declined, and with it the Religion of which it is M
organ.
Burma is now at one o1 those cross-roa6a
divergent paths lead to widely di8erent ends.
sign posts point to Buddhism’ and Material.’
It is important to take the high-way to happy ,
success, and not the apparently more invitñig
ending in rocks of disappointment and disillusi
There are always selfi8h, unscrupulous peopie
inexperience tempts them along the easy z•ay :
because they are clamorous and insistent, as
very foolish, their will is apt to prevail. FJ,
 RDIESEV ERLdND. 193

learned I o strategic value of concealing purely

1, selfish Mr vindictive aims under the cloak of
Nothing could be more damaging to the
. It i.s time that true Buddhists resisted the
titution ot the Dhauuna for personal, political, and
rly paltry ends, which are in themselves subversive
W Buddhism. lVe will not go into the Shoe question, anti-
drink, boycott, unity, and other religious disguises of
purely political agitation. -4t the moment they are dull,
futile and palpably insincere. Later they u'ill be
forgotten as if they had never been. They serve however
as n'arniugs of the unscrupulous use to which
religion is put by essentially irreligious

Militant PM oongyisni and Shoe hTotices are birds

'tif ill-omen which mill return to roost. The Shoe
estion in particular has raised a host of enemies for
rma. It is a vindictive move to humiliate Europeans,
r exclude them froin pagodas. But most Europeans
Never visit Pagodas, and the few n'ho do are Burma ’s
•tree friends, whom it n'ould surely have been wise
R encourage. But \\’isdom has flown away, and the
Oeert.ese moderates, though they strongly rlisapprox-e,
Ave allowed themselves to be cowed into silence by
Yhreat8 Of violence. In the meanwhile Europeans
'fiave boycotted the city pagodas. The Cro» n Prince
at Siam, himself a Buddhist, refused to remove his
—and all the world laughed. The Shoe fanatics
have covered themselves with ridicule. The tolerance,
E, BE 13
194 & BURMESE 3VONDERLAKD.

of which they are so proud, is voted a fraud, and

have outraged a principle of Buddhism. A ca
so futile, so petty, is bound to fizzle out, unless, i
BuddhiSm REALLY abandons its traditional
mindedness.
Fanaticism has always mrs-used religion.
Inquisitors applied the acrew in the name of Chat,
Ghazis etab the hrst infidel to vindicate the faith,
Burman fanatics set up Shoe Notices to prove
traditional aense, and the tolerance of Budd
“\Ve are Buddhists, ” they say, “ and therefore H
inmf be tolerant n'hatever we do, and hon•ever bigot
narrow and material our behaviour is.” The pity is
that auch utterly paltry qne ti ons, whiCh are
passinp• koth, and petty post-war peevishness, st
be allowed to prejudice for a moment the spl
nobility of Buddhism.
The present unbalanced character of the young
generation arises from a neglect of their native litera-
ture, institutions and religion. 'the Burman-Buddhist
is still a Burman, but no longer a Buddhist in and
but name. He is still proud of that tolerance, comes-
sense and broadinindedne s which won him
respect end admiration in the past. But the Y
Burman, › ho boast loudest of these quo,
does not in fact now possess them. There are W
attributes of Buddhism, and it must not be i
that the attribilt 3 Of Buddha’s Law can be ink
without following its precepts.
196 A BUR N1¥iSE \\’ONDERLAND.

At fifty he puts on a white robe and a lonp• lace, Annie

a pious deportmeut and a rosary, and prepnM M
Neikban, confident that the Law is as complacent on M
other side of the grave as it is on this. 'Amis depleraM
type is certainly a minority, but it is gro» ing : at&l
only cure is a return to Buddhism. If the
are to avoid moral and national ruin, they tn«s/ red
con scientiously the faith of their lathers.
Religion has lost its grip in Europe because dog
have ceased to meet our needs. In Burma r
has decayed only because it is no longer taught. Tha
Rurruese are in no way shaken in their conviction of
the Dhainina, but for a long period of years they have
neglected it. Now they know very little about it.
Their Buddhism is an empty show—impregnat#eg it
is true their thoughts and speech front lorce o1 habit.
but still meaningless ; an a8air of show y charities t‹1
festivals which are partly formal, partly amusitip•, Al
partly ostentatious, but wholly devoid of rleep feeling.
All can gabble the precepts, bi:I they conve3•
nothing, and in fact have lost their force by thoughtless
and frequent repetitions. It is easy to quote, or
rnisquote, a Jalan.a for political ends. But AuJmj‹arti
i!1eikla the law of keeping good company : lSon‹4d-Guild
desirelessne8s : Baya-Gadi fearlessness : D! aw!hb- Hi
passionlessness : and Mawha-Gadi laivfulness, Are
rarely put to practical application. They are not
qualities to be acquired by parrot-like repetition. Set
us recall Buddha’s last speech to Ananda a › lie lay
” A BUR MESE IVONDERLAND.

ding :—’ No one is in Iollou’er, or Iulfills the Law'

by x ain and outn arcl homage. Only //iei/ are oi¿/
_foKeets who I i-uliJ oliserâe lbe L uiv.’
'fee average Burman, especially in Lou’er Burma,
does not study the La»•. As a child, he assumed the
robe and entered the monastery not for some years
as his lathers did, but just for a 1e»• days as a formality.
He has consequently received no religious instruction
in his life. His native literature is a closed boom.
He has therefore no moral stability, no real conviction,
no depth of character. As a necessary re8ult he is
utterly material. The hot, sensitive man is flung into
surroundings o1 special temptation, without a single
principle to restrain his passion. It is sometimes
I.he subject of jest that the highest recorcl of crime
in the Empire 1›clongs to the Barman Buddhist. But.
this is by no means the case. ’I’he distinction lielongs to
†hat modern anomaly—ffie Buriiian trip/torts Buddlii‘siii.
To this iiioral lassitude may be at.tribnted the
significant change Eliot has corrie over the national
character. The people lia •e become a ship z ithout
ruclder. At one moment they are listless : at another
rushing bliiidlv before any gust of i -iiid—volatile,
• unprincipled, easily leacl astray. The thoughtful
' student can see these eccentricities at wor1‹ in the
political controversies of the day.
The inevitable result of the decline of Biiddliisiii
• must be the decline and impoverishment of the P/iooit-
' .yrs or Religious Orrler . since ol›vious1 y the Orrler is
198 A BUeiEgE oXDERLAN .

‹lependent on the Faith. The Order has already

SO low as to deserve the contempt of many Bu
h’ow the Order or ›$ooyo, is the greatest social
tion in Burma. It is, or was from B.C. 500
1920, essentially non-political. It has, by this
aloofness front worldly a8airs, survived cou
disturbances and revolutions. The deliberate enco
went of Phoongyis Lo mix in politics, in defiance of
Tkatlianabaing’s orders, is deplorable, and might
result in a serious split in the Church. It is the
unwise step taken by a rash, irresponsible party,
one deeply resented by earnest Buddhist. 'the
is the vehicle oJ leariiing, religion and literature, whose
members are required first and foremost to iria
all passion from their hearts. h’ow the ›Soi
certainly in danger. The old checks and safeguards
gone. There is no discipline. Lazy persons, cri
and noisy politicians can enter it unquestioned—
so. The Sacred Robe may screen 3¥o1f Priests to
carry daggers, attack people in Pagodas, promote
preach hatred and sedition, and in short outr e
essential laws oi Buddhism. IVe have seen already
the licentious spirit of the Ari has persisted doc
‹ige8, ever ready to assert itse!f when opportunity o
It is absolutely necessary ior the social w’elfa
Burma to restore the Sango to that holiness, me
and learning which has distinguished it for two th
yeara. It is to objects such as these that Bur
ahould turn their attention. 'they have a thousa
 A BUR)IE¥E W0NDERL&ND.
and-one vital thñ igs to put in order besides the constitu-
tion. And the paths to follow are right speech,
right thought, right resolve, right living.
Fortunat.ely, the character of nations is not changed
in a day. The broad-mind edness and commonsense
for which the Burmese have been distinguished cannot
be subverted so easily. A good solid element of w5sdom
has carried Burma through the world ’s post-war
crisis with considerable success, if » e bear in mind all
the surrounding circumstances. AT all times there has
been a majority of level-minded people who were at
first amazed, and then cowed, by the excitement and
heresy introduced from outside. But as the folly,
selfi9hness and hypocrisy of those movements became
evident, so public feeling set and congealed into
disapproval. In time, when opinion consolidated, it
all seek real and healthy reform , as opposed to frenzies
which merely disintegrate character, law and religion.
A people traditionally deiiiocratic will not patiently
endure mob intimidation. There have been lamentable
capitulations by public risen to agitators, and even to
cocky little school boys : but on the other hand there
are those who made a brave stand, and passed un-
scathed through what is, after all, only hot air. The
peril threatening Buddhism is clearly understood by
hundreds o1 earnest and intellectual Burmans, who are
even now striving to counteract the poisons at n ork.
Perhaps the new kind o1 Government will enable
the Burmese themselves to eJfect a reform in these
e
pline.

Theos no reasqp wLy o

not ret to the

some cool. Out ot

rtile in the city o1 TU
. no room kir
friction. Go
to t§e preggrMioR i
iuoqgq@es,,Juany of w

and

l
ae•Jei
li,tera
At
also a
 n th of llandalay there is fayin@@,g
Tau ”n and ñladaya l . It
requires,
, usual rtitude to lace the railway
araa, with its iñ1 s,
trees, is known only to the
tiny train c1ran'n up near the
out on its reckless run of l(i miles
wallowing along the smelliest drains
, beyond Obo, it pa.sses reluctant.1y
try, and folloWs the bank of a snow
s of people use this Canal ii1 August
by boat to the festival at Taung-Byc›n,
’n, and bet on their chances of
’ y grid }iretty scene ; anal the
heed with Hfaoaunq Bi'n trees,
eg limbs are so typical of Upper
the rms the white Paq«odas stand
‹I Mohar. Rice fields, anal the
dy, stretch array into the

’vJ it, ’{aung-Byun is a great

owls , atelcorne interMle of
' Squa re D. J.
*0*

.tnimism in the rigors of the Buddhiat Int. Y

cmwds 8ock to it, bent on pleaaure : and the i
themselves suddenly wake to tremendous activity,
especially the brothers ›Sfiire Byin i ancl lshue
iYqe in whose honour the festival i8 held. Their wivea,
who are 2lediums or stal-Gadau:s, assemble from all
parts of Biuma.
There are in Burma thousands and thousands of
iYots. Every locality has tia oen, but of theae only thirty-
seven have wide popularity. For instance th‹r
River Nat enshrined in the Bu Paya at Pä gan, to whom
fisher-folk offer prayers, is unknown beyond the limik
ol his own area.
The legend of the brothers Thee Byin Gy i and
›3hu›e Byin Nge Ä long. The facts may, however, de
brieä y summarised aa follows :—In the time of Bing
?Ianuha (eleventh century) two Indian brothers Byat
Ui and Byat Ta 8oated to Thaton on trays, and were
adopted by a priest. Having killed and eaten a fabu-
lous bea9t, they became eudowed with supernatural
powers. Byat Wi inessed about with the intended
bride ol Bing ü lanuha, was killed, and became the guar-
‹lian Not of Thaton. But Byat Ta went to Anawratt-s,
Ring of Pagan, and by his magic enabled AnawraM
to sack Thaton (in J0ü 7 A.D.) and carry o8 *he sacred
Buddhist books. At P5gan, Byat Ta waa appointed to
bring fresh flowers daily from Alt. Popa for the palece ;
and on these expedition8 he met a Belu-3'1a, now knomi
as Amé Tot (Great ü fother), by whom he had two soim,
 A BUBXE WOWDERL&ND.

doe B, yt ri i and lShtt'e &N ' •*9e. These are the

Udividuals with whom we are nov concerned.
Their father Byat Ta being regarded with jealousy›
xs killed on the pretext that he was late With his
towers ; and no doubt he tras late, since the maid oi the
mountain was fair. Fortunately, his two sons inherited
his magic. Anawratta adopted them, and gave each a
golden vase (Byin}. Hence their name.• Shwe Byin Gyi
and Shwe Byin Nge, B ’p and little Worden Vases. They
are now probably the most powerful R’ate in Burma.
Certainly their festival is the greatest, and their votaries
the most numerous. In inemory of their Indian origin
they are still sa/aoiiisd, and not stijl.
Later on they became generals ; and when Anao -
ratta invaded China they helped hiin (by their mifacu-
lous poe ers) to secure a sacred tooth of Buddha jealouely
g•uarded by the Chinese Emperor. 3\'hate er elements
of history there may be about these bmthers, the
successlul invasion of China is certainly an invention.
@yanzittha, we knoiv, aent a friendly ü lission to the
Emperor 6ome years later. It haa been 6uggested th8t
the ZaiJok, ot Taruk-Taret, of early history were really
Shsns, or Tai, who then occupied Tali Fu, and that the
u ord ?'oyo2 was transferred to the Chinese later when
they conquered Y ü nnan! . Probably .\nawratte’e
alleged expedition was against the Shans of Nan-chao
(Tali Fu). Anyhow, that does not matter. boft
are not historians. 3\’e must permit them considerable
' U pp er B» rma tia-•eilter. Part I. Vol., I. Pab•-s 153 and l9G.
 A BUB21ESE IVONDER LAliD.

license, and pass over side discrepancies in chronol

to enable them to associate themselves with the gold
age of Anawratta.
'the Buddha-tooth was taken to Pagan, and the
placed on a mythical beast which halted with it at Taiuig-
Byö n. So at this spot it was enshrined in II Su-
daung-byi (I'he Pagoda o] the V'“ ish-]ulfilled ). Prince
Kyanzittha, the future Hero Ifing•, was responsible for
building the shrine, and ordered that every one shouhl
bring one brick. Shwe Byin Gyi and Shwe Byin hTge
lailed to contribute, but played at beaus instead-—
v hich beans (three large slabs of stone) can still be
seen ; while to this day, there are two bricks missing
from the interior of the Pagoda. King Anawratta chen
he came and B8\r the gap n'as annoyed, and oidered the
execi@ion of the brothers. The phases of their aares4,
which at first they resisted, are imiuortalized in the
names of several villages such as Luu Taung [Ask ]‹n’
Rope› : Dok Yaik (Hij Sliep) : and IVayin Dok
(Bamboo Click).
Later they submitted and were killed in a savage
inanner. lVhen Anaivratt re-embarked for Pä gan, iii-*
barq•e was prevented from moving. Seeking the
reason, it was lound that the spirits of the Brothers
were holding it back. Being sumnioned, they told the
I p• they had become A'‹r/s, and had nowhere to live.
So he assignecl a place for them near the Relic Pagoda.
where their Palace ' Was built, and still stande.
They are always represented as two-seated figures with
 ' BUOY ]VCMRDERLSND.

doped ” horde. The King further dedicated to their

service the Princess obtainerl in his late Chinese expedi-
tion, whose descendants, it is claimed, still attend the
shrine aher eight centuries.
While all kinds of women, and a few men too,
become mediums, the service of these iYo/s is mainly
hereditary. The guardians of the shrine, the musicians,
the bearers who carry the images and their parapher-
nalia at the festival, and the attendants who ride with
then in their palanquin, are all hereditary o8icers whose
right to perform these duties ha5 descended in their
families for hundreds of years. The Nat-Gadaws
(mediums) are outside this hierarchy, and are simply
women who feel inspired, and who devote themselves
to one or otfier of the brothers, to whom they are formally
married. The four Chief Queens, or Eli-Bayas, are
ladies of great importance. The lesser ufives are
often mere witches. As already mentioned, these
iromen attend the festival annually born all parts of
Burma. 0n the first evening they report their arrival
by dancing with swords and flowers before the images
of their spiritual husbands. The scene is curious anal
lavish. The status of these,ivomen given- them consider-
able in8uence. Many are wealthy, and their fingers are
covered nith jewels, while on their heads are tied
curious shimmering baskets of 8owers. This ceremony
is a sort of seance. The niediuins are violently shaken
and agitated, and often appear to swoon. Their
trembling resembles that of llihtois aL Kachin zYot
 s, th
bt a sur
ction of
the apparent
hier hy
ancient cull. ‘ke CA
Tibst, and 9hinto ip IQ,
has successfully survived centu
Buddhism. The two are cleverly ha
rivalry. Thus we see these date
Burma’a hero King, and actively e
II ddtñ st books and relics. Neither
is much in8uenced by the other ; an
fdlowed by the seise people, ie di
in every essential detail. To those co
sliirit and policy of BuddhisD1, thia star
kowever, very surprising. It is aimpl
and let live, and a recognition of the
ethics and logic o1 Buddhism are r
comprehension of the masses.
Later in the evening various lbs
by dnnces : which dances are slightly
Each I’m has ita own real muaic.
is, as far as pmsible, acted. The Pâ
reasons to be explained later, is a
The Ghild-M, bR is
and 8owers, and holding the c
in her teeth. lt a
themes to see this _
 A B U JOE \VONDERLA2iD . 207

a belt m e of double ron’s of sovereigns. His late

master won d, I am sure, have been amazed at his
butler’s antics, and not a little shocked at the fabulous
value of his belt.
h’ext mornings, to the fearf u1 agitation of the i3'af-
Gddou›s, the images of the two brothers are removed to a
distance of two miles, first in a palanquin, and then in
boats, to a certain tree, where they are wa,shed in the
Irrawaddy, and brought back.
'the greatest crowds gather at the conclusion of
these preliminaries. There is s fair w5th restaurants,
flower shops, silk shops, toy shops, and all manner
of side-shows to charm money from the pocket. Night
is devoted to the Circua and the Ptt'e. The gay, bright-
coloured, kindly crowd is Burmese. Therefore it has
four qualities—daintiness, cheeriness, quiet speech, and
a capacity for sudden g•ust of passion. In short, it is
essentially human. Ite mood restores one’s confidence
after all this blather about politics. The Orator may
hold the Burmese Stage a while z'ith new Indian patter,
but the 3finf/innii will return to her own again.
In the centre of the fair, and round the Naiulai
or Palace of Shwe Bye Gyi and Shwe Byin Nge,
hundreds of sheda are put up to accommodate the
Nat Gâdau!s (Mediums) and the collections of R'af
figures which they bring together troin all parts of
Burma. In each shed is a row of Nats, lavishly at I
in jewels, tinsel, ecarves and ailk turbans, according
to their several traite. Some ere splendidly nez ,
208 .4 BIJRMESE LYONDERLAÜ D.

others antique ; but all are spirited and very hung.

All chats have lived, and all have died violently, M
have reached the peculiar honour of God-hood @
reason of their heroic or pathetic stories, and the try
rnnnner of their deaths. The figures here asseinbled
give a good general idea of the Wofs of Burma, U
legends, and their several deg•rees of popularity. Lil&r
3fo i37eiiii, for instance, the Child-iYoi who we met at
Shwe-zet Daar, is one of the most popular on accoimt
of her pathetic history. This shy Ettle maid is olsen
slioivn with a finger held coyly in the corner ol Er
rrlouth, ancl I doubt if there was ever a row ol hals
in which she is not represen ted. 5fyauI-je Aodt‹ T/iel?ii-
ina,, »•hose child lies in her lap playing with its toes,
is another populaz deity. \Vomen approach her who
want babies, and mothers consult her. She is generally
concerned in keeping children happy, and may be
regarded as their Patron Saint. Surely, she is
successiul with those who survive. No babies are
so ruerry oud faseiuating as those of Burma. .klas !
that forty J›er cent. die young. This A’o/, as 1t'er
name indicates, is a Eädu iA'of from Chindwin. Her
draperies are usually black : and so also are those
of her neighbour N iiiF fiyi Ye- Yiii-GiJotr who is much
like in appearance, brit olten rides a tiger, and carries
a sword instead of a baby. She is the mother of the iY‹it-
Brothers n'hose Festival we have come to celebrate.
No collection I have ever seen is complete Ah all
the chief 37 Na!s, but certain favourites are always
 ' E \V ON D ERLAN D.
209

xhibited. are, in the sheds o1 Taung-byón,

scores of Ma Nét is and Pàkan 2Iius, but only one
re of U ¥i Gyi the famous Nau of Lower Burma
ose festival is held at Ma-u-bin, and who was stolen
amay by Nymphs by reason of his exquisite playing.
He alwa3s carried a harp, and is sometimes mounted
on a crocodile. 'then Anowralla and II yanziltha, the two
favourite Burmese Kings are deified, as also ’I'abin
Súzc 2'i the 'falaing King, but their images are rarely
seen. I have never ye*. found a figure of Anawratta,
wfiose symbol is a polo-stick, though I once saw a
picture of him in a Burmese book. Other important
Nats, not often seen, but each popular in their own parb
of Burma, are to- fyo- Yin of Ryaukse ; loo-Po-Tu
(on a tiger) from the Shan country ; Awa-34'is-Gaunp
(on an elephant) a deified Talaing soldier-Ring mom
; and Nguie-Dautiy-Thu irom the Yan' country.
It is worth being acquainted with a few of the
favourite Nats, whose exploits have cast a net-work of
romance over the country*. They are autocrat ,
relentless and exacting ; but the people submit gladly
to this divine despotism. These are benevolent Beinga
to long as you pay your dues, and are polite and
respectful. It would be foolish to inCuE their wrath.
As the superstitious old lady said, when ahe bowed
to the Devil in Church :—“ Politenees costs nothing,
and besides you never know.”
Another very popular iYa1 with whom we are
already familiar is Slang 2’inf De, the blacksmith of
n, n\v 14
210 & BURMESE WONDERLAND.

Tä gaung. He is also known as Ain-dwin-Miti -

G‹syi. Associated with him is his irife blue iY
2’heksa tja, whose Belu origin is indicated by a dr
hat. Alaung Tint De’s eldest sister is the Nat
3fye-/in‹s (Golden Face). His youngest sister
Bas Ella (Three Binds of Beauty), as already note3, is
the mother of little Sla Nemi.
Bti-Byu-Eaung is the Hermit Nat, recognized by
his rosary, yellow robe, and priestly hat. He is said
to have been the father of Anawratta, and to have
been driven bom his throne by the Byi-Zo Sokadé
Princes and made to live in a monastery as a
Heruut.
In most Nat-Shrines there are two fig res on horse-
back. Of these, one with a Burmese helmet and a
sword, is II yin-Byu This the Dry Zone Nat, whose
story I have akeady related on page 219 of A Bus’nnse
Encliontmenl.’ The other is Pakaii lVin, also known
as é/ i4firt klas, whose damning emblems are fighting-
cocks and two bottles ol wine slung to his saddle.
The 3Iü £o Giro informs us that Pä kan 3fin was a son of
Thein Kwin, Ring of Pä kan, that he was exiled and
built Pä kan, then called Bookhan, and that he made a
canal. In prooi thereof, tiiere still exists a village
called Myaunq• Tu Ywa (Naam D’p F(/laye). This is
all very edilying ; but
On the tomb-stone will be seen,
Not what he was :
Cut what he should have been.
 n son
rmsi move like
evidently chosen to immor-
ortsman, and a Bon-V**eur.

and fillets. ‘
 CHAPTER XX.
BEYOND MANDAL&Y.

2IAnAvA, the terminus of the toy railway, is a wo

garden of betel and cocoanut palms. The c
is fertile and irrigated, but unhealthy. Canals
all directions through palm groves, where 8
jewelled v.sngs of king-fishers. Beyond the
d plantations there is openjungle, where
white- atorks build on the tree-tops
in March. June, weaver-birds, their
heads now crowned gold, hurry to and fro
building their am nests.
During my visit a cert.ain yellon bird called H
Yin IVa Hgnet, or Yefier Notice, caused a sensqtjon in
one of the villages by suddenly assuming a new
The Burmese are quick enough to note any such p
niena, which appeals strongly to their ima
A thrill of this sort is a1n'ays agitating the my
loving Burmese. A few weeks before, a golden i
had made its appearance in another village, where i
visible to some people but not to others. Such ma
tations, and the appearance of fire-balls and 9o on
a pagoda, are due to the ponder of relics, but
considered fortunate signs.
 A B EJB iYONDERL&ND. 213

Elsewhe , a man dug up treasure which he remem-

bered having buried in a previous life. These intereat-
ifig events are, of course, topics of delightful specula-
tion. I cannot identify the fellow Source of the present
occasion, but its unseemly conduct may perhaps be
ascribed to the power of niiinicry which some birds
possess. For a short period this otherwise sober little
bird suddenly broke out with a whistle which soundecl
distinctly like :—
f'a.se pe me. Yu -rite-la .'

R yok- po ta -se.
which means—I with qire you fen. IPt/f you fa2e it i
? u›iff tive you ten. Te» to inc too. I can only suggest
that this depraved Petion› Notice was the reincarnation
of a Bookie, or perhaps of an Ari monk.
Thirty-three miles of bad road connect 3ladaya
with Singu on the Irrawaddy.I The journey is an
easy one o1 3 marches, through pretty country where
forest alternates pleasantly with pasture. The Fran-
colin cells cheerfully from the thicket, and barking-deer
we frequently seen and heard. In June the first
eein-storms have washed the distant hills with blue.
The foliage is fresh, and the ground covered as by
@e with a carpet of turk. Each village is buried in
' This waa formerly one o1 the recognized route8 between Amnrs-
pura and Shwebo. Swindon Nin used it on his flight to raise his
• Mccee&al rebellion in I Sñ 2. A most delightful and entertaining
RGGOunt Of tha›t incident, and of the su b8equent atory of 2landalay.
* 8 given in the £/pper Burma (fozelleer, Part I, Vol. I, Chapter Il.
214 A BURMESE IY ONDER L AND.

tamarinds whose tender greenery casts pools of s

over the country, where the people live their q
lives in cool shadows. Pagodas and lions stand
and there—some new, some old, and some engaged
their death-struggle with the destroying peepuL
solitary marble hill called Sagydn Taung rises in I
west, n•hence come the marble Buddhas of Bur
\Ve passed several blocks of stone being can
into Mandalay, n'here they are finished o8 in
the neighbourhood o1 the Arakan Pagoda. The
quarries are the monopoly of a few hereditary
workers.
The country through which we are passing has a
military tradition, though that tradition is now nearly
forgotten. In these happier days, when the Burmese
have once more found their feet as soldiers, it is to be
hoped the old spirit will revive. 2ladaya, Y‹»iatha
and Singu were all military posts whose fortifica6ions,
though now overgrown by jungle, can still be traced.
The name bfadaya is derived from flat-Who, meaning
a hundred Oliie)s. Outside Yenatha is an out-post
called Rin Ywa, or ›Sen/r§ Village. These forgotten
posts no doubt influenced profoundly the lives of th•e
ancestors o1 the present generation. HaU way betwM
Yenatha and Shwepyi is a marble slab ling in a ,
or shed, which records that the shed and adjacent tank
were repaired 24 years ago, and that, according to
legend, a grandson o1 K.yanzittha came here with aft
army and a thousand officers.
 A BIJRAIESE WONDERLAND. 2t5

This tour, like so many others, was directed at

spreading Burmese recruiting into rural districts with a
view to securing country-folk instead of town-bred
lads. 2landalay itself was entirely ignored. Under
t;he tamarind and peepul trees we held meetings to
which people came from all the surrounding villages.
The elclers, upon whose attitude so much depends,
seemed impressed. the got nearly one hundred recruits
in a fortnight, an achievement which, in an area hitherto
unexploited, argues well for the future.
The country round Shwepyi is intimately associated
with the unsavoury tragedy of Htilat. The incident has
'em names to a dozen villages and streams. Etilat
lived at Nyauugwun, and earned celebrity by disem-
boweling his wife Ma Po U, a native of Shwe Bon Taing,
in order to procure her son as a charm for invisibility,
Some say the Htilat pagoda in this neighbourhood was
built by Htilat himself. Others say it was built by his
father, n•ho, however, left the shrine without a crown
until his son’s time. Hence the name Htilat Paya—
P‹iyoda uiithout (/wt›reffa. Htilat received his dreadful
idea from a Nat whose memory is preserved in the
names of two streams, U Clin Ghaung (S/reaei oJ Prince
U), and Nat Min Ghaung (6/re‹iin OJ I R L'ai Prince j . The
instructions of the Nat were written on a yaraboi2, or
folding book, which Htilat found in the mouth of
a crocodile at Chaung Thon Gwa (T/it'ee Rivers1 : and
he thought the whole matter over at Chyin Hnaing
Chaung• ( f ñ iiiñ iuq obey Streoiii). The deed waa
216 A BURMESE WONDERLAND.

committed at The Hpauk Gon (›Son ›S/ah Zfilf) :

the pitiful charm iva9 laid out on the ground at
Kin Chaung (leaves spread Nook ).
So much for the deed. The strange part i9 th
does not appear in the least revolting to the Bur
Htilat lived for a time by robbery, and according
one account built the pagoda out of the pro
Eventually he was arrested and brought before the
of Ava who was so charmed with his delightful mms
that he appointed Htilat 3linister o1 the Trems
The legend records that Htilat died full of honoar,
apparently no moral lesson is intended. Unab!e to
appreciate the indigenous belief in charms and omens,
the European mind is entirely incapable of follow’
the train of Burmese thought into such situpti
This is a subject however to which I shall revcrt in
later chapter. It is quite certain that Burmese
buried people alive under the foundations of pa
palaces and embankments, selecting victims
fortunate names like Aung, PiJu and ñ (Victoria
IYhite and Cool). And this in a Buddhist c
The persistence o1 i3'ot worship must not, howex•er, R
overlooked. Again, the behaviour of U’ethandpya
giving away his wife and children appears to us
strous, wherea9 the Burmese regard it as the h
expression of charity and unselfishness. The s4U • of
Htilat, beside giving names to a number of river
villages, i9 often represented in wood-carvings,
the subject of plays. A dozen year9 ago the h’
 ’ARMED V'ONDERLAN D. 217

deed was pe d by a man in Lower Burma, wb

had seen the’ y acted. But instead of being promoted
to a Treasury, he was hanged.
A shallow lake near Shwepyi affords good duck and
snipe shooting in winter. By June the duck are gone,
but great crowds of large water-birds remain. I have
seldom seen such quantities o1 plover, cormorants,
heron and storks together. Enormous adjutants
assemble in scores, and jabiru, or black-necked storms,
also resort here. It is quite fascinating to watch the
antics of these large birds. They talie little notice of
the villagers who drag the shallows with nets. Painted
storks march across the lake methodically in quick
step, like a regiment in close order. It is wonderful
that any fish at all survive the activities of so many
expert fishermen.
Singu, with its white pagodas by the Irrawaddy i3,
of course, known by sight to river travellers. But mail
steamers sweep contemptuously by without touching.
It is an old little place, full of ruined shrines and lions
and big trees, and is said to have been founded in the
6th century B.E. Singu derives its name from the
outlaw Nga Sin who, as the word “ ku ” denotes, swam the
Irrawaddy at this point. In fact he swam it twice, the
feat being commemorated by the villages of Ma-hkauk
and Ma-la on the opposite bank. These names are
corruptions of dii(i-ftñ auñ and Half-fa which mean
respectively In:ice poinp and /uice eotniiiy. Wild charac-
ters like Nga Sin are a8ectiouately rememberecl in
218 & BDRMESE WOFDERLAND.

Burma, and their memory cherished much as t

Robin Hood. b1any were outlaws only tempo
Probably they were really political leaders who
the people's sympathy, and sometimes, as in this
they came into favour later on with Bings who
formerly hunted them. Several river-side villa
this section of the Irrawaddy record the pursuit of
Sin by Ring Ryanzittha in the llth century.
village, now called Shagwe, hga Sin took refuge
hollow cutch tree [lsha Bin ) which Kyanzittha•
with his spear. Hence the name Shagwe—C
Cle]t. The place where hTga Sin turned and \
at his pursuer is called I'lga Ye : and where t’ he g
got a clear view of the fugitive is called Tat Ywa—
Fiif‹rge. At last Byanzittha thought he had got
Sin, and that place is now called Sheinmaga—a cap-
tion of ishi Mn pa—WKH he be ther e ? Findly
Sin was captured at Singaing—his CoupJit.
followed reconciliation, and hga Sin helped Bymzit
in his wars. I am indebted to U Shein, Towns
Offieer o1 Singu, and to i3laung I\’e Le, Grele Pole
Inspector, for many of these stories. Legend W
obscured incidents and names. The names the
are corrupt—sometimes beyond recognition. Yet
contain the germ of history, and preserve brave deeds
and brave men from oblivion. They hand doc li
personalities through the centuries. Legend c
Cth whimsical disregard of merit ita heroes for
brance, without much discrimination of mode
 A BURHESE \VONDEBLAND . 219

moials. ome are worthy, some are not—but fearless

men of every* age have claimed the sympathy ol their
fellows and the a8ection of posterity, and to such is
given immortality in the speech ol the people.
On the lower slopes of the hills, seven miles east of
<ing•u, lies an old pagoda called 2Iä lö Paya—obscure
and remote, but endowed locally with great sanctity.
From the quiet, shaded village ol 3Iä 1é , a handsome
causeway, massive and simple in design, ascends
the hill to the shrine. The bell-sha}ied pagoda and
its fine /Jcoonq, or pavilion, stand in a wide court
as yet uuspoiled by modern lriglitfuluess. It breathes
the atruosphere ol old Burma ; and lrom the paved court-
yard a splendid view is obtainecl of the wooded C01lHtF}’
itC£OSr› n•hiCh lies the road from Singu. Accord- ing to
the legend—and it is all set forth al length on an
inscribed stone—the Saint, or As’altan, Shin Jlä lé
obtained relics from the Thagya Ifin' twenty-nine years
after the death of Buddha, and enshrined them here.
Coming to something more authentic, it is recorded
that Alaiuig-Sithu, fifth Ring of the Pä gan dynasty, (A.D.
1112 to 1187)* visited the pagoda, repaired it, and
dedicated land for its iiiainte- nance. The modern village
of Ryauk Taing (Glorie Pillar ) was one of the
boundaries of the consecrated area. The pagoda still
enjoys this revenue which amounts to 2000 baskets of
paddy a yeal‘, worth about
' The Thagya hfin is the greatest of all the R“ats.
’ See my Pâ'gan. pap•es 8 and 14.
220 A BURHESE W ON DETtLAND.

Ra. 2,000. The fund is administered by the Head

of Nat-taung village. The descendants of
s1
dedicated to the Mñ lé Pagoda by King Alaung-Sith
still (after 700 years) occupy the surrounding vil
Alaung-Sithu’a prayer is preÆrved to this day. “ la
King- and Governments who in future days re
this shrine, share my ku!ho,” he said, “ and n
those who destroy my work of inerit. sucer hell, a
never see the future Buddha.”
The dedication of land for the up-keep of je
Nä lé Pagoda has been confirmed twice since Alaimg-
Sithu’s day—first in 918 B.E. b3• Hsin Byu Shin (not the
Hein Byu Shin of the Alaungpra dynasty), and agfin
in 9ù ñ B.E. by ñ laha Dhamma Yaza, Bïng or
Hanthawaddy. .4laung-Sithu’s elephant play6
important part in the legend, and indeed coulé
the issue by his wayward ness. When aware of W
sacredness of the site he lainted with surprise,
eventually recovered, bolted, returned, and died, les
a track of naixies in his wake such as Hsin-pyu-
( IPhile Elephant got buck), and IIsin-the-Chi

hutioqan, or dedicated land, is now comparatix•ely

rare. Alter annexation, Government was obliged tm
restrict the alienation of property, and to prohibit R
altogether for private individuals. Only dedic
made by Burmese Kings are recognized, but apps
they had made none for the last three or four centuries.
' ñIetñt•
Indpeed . ' ’ng• -H restera his revenue,
withdrev• man KR8iraGö n stones. The collection at
Ainarapura oies existence to this fact, and not,
m some hp al. Biy supposed, to Bodaw Paya’s
interest in epigraphy. ' It is a pity, howexer, that
lands are not now dedieated afresh for the maintenance
of some of the more important monuments of Burma,
especially pagodas of historic or archæological value
which have no lestivals or other means o1 revenue. For
instance, magaificent old monuments like the Tilo-
minlo and Dhamma-yan Gyi Pagodas at Pä gan, now
falling to pieces with neglect, oiight be pre9erved
indefinitely by a grant of IFuffayaii land. Experience
shows that such dedications are highly popnlar. There
are known cases of inisuse, or appropriation of funds in
time9 of financial stress, as when Bodaw Paya cancelled
many grants. Dedications No not however usually
lapse. Rather they tend to snrvive the vicissitudes of
Governinents, and provide a means of maintenance for
all time. Regular repaire are possible when a building
Iras a small income of its ooo, and such provision is
rriore effective than niggardly grants from the Archæo-
log•ical Department when decay is already far advanced.
In the case of Pä gan it appear that dedications o1 land
inentioned in the inscriptions ftore lapsed, except
in the cause of the Ananda and Shwezigon Pagodas. The-
e have acsigned to them respectively 75 acrea and
461 acres, but since they are in daily uae, they are
' Report, Archæological Survey, 1921 . Page 2o.
222 A BURMESE AYONDERLAND.

less in need of endowments than any of the other

monuments. The estimated cost of conserving• the Tilo-
minlo and Dhamina-yan Gyi Pagodas is Rs. 27.0fD, but
even that sum only covers the most urgent repairs. The
permanent preservation of these unique and splendid
monuments can only be ensured by providing them with
small, but steady, incomes.
Riverine villages in the 3landalay district are
coixiparatively poor. This tour, in June 1920, was the
first effort to recruit in such areas, and on the whole the
result was promising. Most of the crops depend for
success upon rain alone. Others rely on 8oodinp•,
which may easily be too much or too little. Island
property is constantly disappearing in one place and
building up in another, but fresh silt is often covered
with sand for the first few years. Nevertheless, e8orts
are being made to encourag•e island cultivation. It is
at any rase less precarious for the pioneer than the
opening up of virgin jungle, where he usually succumbs
physically or financially to Never, failure or tree-stumps,
leaving those who succeed him to benefit by his labours.
Jungle clearings has been up-hill work in Batha and
ñ logaung. In Pegu it was found that no single pioneer
who had cleared jungle in 1902 was in possession of the
paddy land that was bearing valuable crops in 1912.
Even their successors had failed, and it was the third
generation that reaped the harvest.
At Singu I was met by Qtr. C. F. Grant, I.G.s.,
Deputy Commissioner of 3landalay, who had served
 A BURMESE KONDERLAND. 233

with me in the 85th Burma Ri8es during the war.

His energy and sympathetic interest in Burmese
recruiting has done much to encourage the right spirit
in this area. Returning to ñ landalay in his launch
we were able to hold meetings at several small riverine
villages. One of these was katthin, where the Buddha
was born in his bu&alo incarnation. According to the
legend, he fought a great battle with his father, and the
words If fiat-this, from which the village derives its
name, means Buffalo learning Io fight. Another village
visited was Landaw Gyun—Royal Palace 14/uud—where
King Bodaw Paya established a temporary residence
while erecting his 3lingun Pagoda. The vast wreck of
that unfinished and ill-faded monument, still the largest
masonry building ii the world, now rent by earthquakes,
lies on the opposite bank of the Lrawaddy, rising above
the free-tops like a mountain of brick.
 CHAPTER XXI.

TRE curious legend of Htilat has been told in the 1

chapter. Its interest lies chiefly in the light thru
upon the Burmese attitude towards crime. HP
n as a robber who murdered his nife in order to of
her unborn child as a charm. He was subsequ
promoted to the charge of the Bing’s Treasury, and
became, locally at any rate, a heroic figure. To us lits
crimes appear horrible, and hi9 promotion to placed and
favour inexplicable.
The Oriental attitude towards this and sit
crimes was explained to me as follows by Taw Sein Bo,
the well-known Chinese philosopher, to z horn I sub-
mitted the legend for analysis. Physical phenomem,
he said, a•e overwhelming and terrible in the Ext.
Rivers and mountains are large and sinister, and
storms violent and devastating. In the face of these
threatening aspects of nature, the Oriental turns
instinctively froin the study or natural phenomem,
which he regards as beyond the pale of human compre-
hension, and concentrates instead upon mental pheno-
mena. Gonsequently, the marvellous and the super-
natural receive his special attention, while to the
ignorant, charms and omen6 as8ume an overivheliniag
 225

importan The East has produced the philosophiea

and religions of the world. The test, not confronted
with the steiner aspect8 01 Nature, has inclined to the
study of natural phenomena, which tenda to devel op
msterialism, especially in cold climates where there ia
keen struggle for existence. The attitude towarda life,
of Emet and 3Yest, is consequently essentially di8erent.
One wonders if those who gaily force European
civilisation upon Orientale really appreciate the supreme
stupidité of their work. The European has become a
cold, calculating scientist : the Oriental a dreamer,
a pbilosopher, a student of the marvellous and auper-
naturel. The East has evolved its own civilisation—
more democratic, more humane than we suapecWin
which the people live at least more happily than wc do
ourselves.
The aaperstitious motive actuating Htilat’s crime
is -thereJore comprehensible to the Burman. IVith its
moralité* tte i6 not eoncerned, and here enters a religioua
issue. Htilat by his murder and robbery becomes aito-
matically involved in the Buddhist Lan of fïorma—the
Law of Cause and EflecMthe Law of moral Retribution,
just and sire, not sn'eiving a hair’s breadth, and absœ
lutely inexorable. Htilat’s punishment—admittedly tte
deseives punishment—is assured in this file or another,
and neither king nor people are called upon to hasten
it. And to-day n'e are laced with the 6ame attitude.
The deseiter is pitied for hia miafortune. Zhe murderer
ia admired for bis pluck. The criminal is not exposed.
E, BW lfi
226 A BU P•J1ESE DVO DETtLAND.

I\'itnesses hold aloof. A just retribution will overtake

sin irithout human aid, and it is no one’s business
to interfere. It is impossible for us to follow
these subtle arguments without a close ineiglit into
Buddhism, which ie a pure, magnificent truth, yet
too lofty perhaps for practical application by the
descendants of apes, whose beaathood is alter all hardly
veiled, even in the best of us, by a thin screen“of,law,
fear and convention.
Social laws in Buddhist countries do not attempt
to su r lement Rarmo. The earliest law-book known in
Burma is the lF‹a§orti Dhammathat, ascribed to Wagaru
who, as we have seen, founded a Talaing kingdom at
hlartaban in the l3th century. Forchhammer describes
it as a civii code." It appears to be the first attempt to
separate religion froin Hindu Law. Water on, of course,
the law became a vehicle of Buddhist principles, and
of these forms, the inexorable rule of ' Cause and
E8ect,’ is an important principle whereby punishment
comes automatically. Under Burmese regime, crime
was considered only in its aspect as n civil wronp•, for
which the injured party must be compensated. This
at least was the theory. murder was punished by a
fine of Rs. 300, to be paid to relatives of the deceased.
It was the price or blood, anal the same price, as we
have seen, was paid during the late war for recruits,
who, by enlisting, were of course going straight to
glorious death, though it was usually periuissible for
lard in e Easy y. Psq°e 59.
 A BUR31ESE TION DER LAWS D. 227
mar
the r to sell himself again tu o or three times
eit route. The idea of compensation pervades simple
codes like the present Rachin Hills Regulations,
which ar merely am embodiment of tribal fines and
valuers. ’
Burmese Bings had fen soldiers and police to
support their authority. Poor fellows, they had no
Leg•islative Councils : and the Y. â I. B. A. did not then
venture its valuable opinions. 'the Autocrat ruled
(theoretically) by 5Jyif/a or love, by persuasion—in
fact by expediency. In other words, he did what he
dainne‹l well liked. An experienced collector of wealth
like the robber Htilat was obviously the right person to
appoint as p•uardian of the King’s treasury. Hence his
appointment.
However we may regard these views, they must be
accepted as the basis of Oriental reasoning. One more
illustration will su8lce. In 1886, shortly alter the British
annexation, the dacoit Bo Swe was supreme in 2linbu,
where he had a large following. He tendered his surrender
to Sir Gharles Bernard on condition of appointment
(n*.Shout exam) to the post of Eatra Assistant Commis-
sioner. Sir Charles was astonished at what he consid-
ered the man’s e8rontery. But a Burmese Bing
would certainly have accepted the o8er in order to
enlist Bo Swe’s g•enius on tche right side. Instead of
r.onducting• a. further bloody campaign in llinbu, Bo
Sire, with hi.s personal experience of crime, would, no
doubt, have maple a model o8icer. Openly taking
228 A BURMESE WOFDERLAND.

bribes from both parties with charming impartiality,

he would have returned that of the unsuccessful liti
He would have administered cheap, intelligent justice :
and the people individually, by avoiding him on d}
possible ocosaions, would have been as free as IQ
ever will be with Home Rule.
 3 BURMESE AYONDERLAND.

(Country• of the Duck). 7’/torratoddp is possibly

derived mom the Sanskrit Ora»asti.
Others again are commemorative like iV yo had
(Old Gty) : and Ytra T#i/ (h’ew Village). Another
whole series is derived mom the names o1 trees like
6ñ ice-iYyaiinq-bin (Golden Peepul Tree) : A pin-Ande
(Twenty Trees) : or Ita-sets-2’ounp (Hill o1 the Green
Bamboo). It is a subject of infinite charm and variety.
Names are sometimes so corrupt that one has
to search closely ior a derivation. For instance
Yamethin is a corruption o1 A'tro we ia-his (A herd of
black cattle). Pyaubu:e means Pleasant Ficnic : and
lleiklila, is named after the Indian city of ñ lithila.
There can be little doubt but that history and
geography have been transported wholesale from India
to Burma in the feverish attempt to link this country
with classic and scriptural incidents. The word
Jrrotrad‹ip is .«imply dia-Kali. The classic name of
the 3fpitnqe ditzr is fiuf//ta. The derivation oT the
word ›Sol ecu is more difficult. In Burmese, where
double L occurs in the middle of a n'ord, the second
L is apt to become nasal. A fin 1 L has the some
na8al tendency. Thus the Burmese pronounce the
English word s/yh as so-time. So the Indian River
Sallavati has probably been transferred to Burma,
shortened, and changed to f/tati-init, Or TO-IO-Eli.
fftoreñ iioya (Old Prome) means field of gold.
Many ancient legends cling to the Hill of Mandalay.
’the word 5londufay is probably derived from )f‹rhdore
 8 LBRXESE APOlDERLAKD. 231

the m uutain o1 Hindu cosmology, with which the

primeval seas u ere churned.
In Lower Burma quite another difficulty arises.
There, the names ware originally Talaing, Karen oz
Taungthu. Their old significance is lost, and not only
has their sound been Burinanised, but the new Burman
names liave been so twisted as to give them an entirely
new meaning. For instance the old Talaing village
of Dagon when captured in 1755 -4. D. by the Burmese
under A!aiingpra was called by them fair-gon, which
sounds something like the original, but has a quite
new meaning—i.e., IVhete the I I’aI dated. This word
was further corrupted when the British em 7ed
.Arakanese interpreteFs who always use ra for go, and
made lan-pon, Rangoon. The original Talaing name
survives in the title of the Shwe Dagon Pagoda. A
still better illustration of this transformation of names
occurs in the case of the present Burmese village o1 Byet-
hpa biwe-zaung (lock’s fiti e) which was originally a
Talaing Village called Kyaili-pa llwe-zon (Pagodn tPith
IMO tff races }.
The English names of places in Power Burma
often di8er widely from the Burmese names, as in the
case of :Uott1»teiit, Bassein and PtomR' iThich the Burmese
call 111auta-unjain9 , P a lhein and Pye. But there is no
doubt but that (thanks to the Talaing interpreters
used at occupation after the Second Burmese War)
the present English names are more correct than the
Burmese ones. For instance trouts (in Burmese Pye }
 A BI7R91ES'51 W OA DE R L.AND.

wa:s, in its original Talaing torni, called Toom

(Gty of Proom). Taw Set Ko spells it Book,
suggests that the word means Blah-m or B
since in Pali, Burma was spoken of as &b/
A much more probable derivation is from
name or a Pyu clan. The Burmese torm Py
come from ' PQ, country. Bassein (Burmese P
is, according to Fytche, ñ otr-sotiti in Talaing,
Hoyal hound.’
The word i4foulrseiii affords a perfect ex
the Burmese’ shameless habit of transforming
It is often spelt ñ laulmein and has been
oomforting Pam oriein lrom M ora a peaeo ,
Jlyaitiq a forest—t.e., Peacock Forest. As a
fact, the word, so Duroiselle tells me, is pure T
iVol-to-buyout, meaning one eye destroyed.’
fartaboti is possibly a Portuguese corruptto
Burmese corriiption (with indecent 1eg•end), of
Talaing. Its derivation is from the Talaing
march, meaning Rocky Point.
The same process has occurred in many
n•ords. Eli-Phil is obviously derived from ,
but it has now a distinct Burmese meaning, n
fire-strike. Similarly they borrowed the word C
turnings it into Palo-on with the new meaninp• I
›Sicñness. Plap•iie has become Po/eii: in Bu
meaning sickness mmich éria§s trouble unlh the
We ourselves have treated the name for Gold
Tree in just the same way, completely all
 A BURMESE WONDERLAND.

origin Indian meaning of Rose-Peacock Tree (9ui

Mor ).
The Burmese language is often absurdly acquisitive.
The, term otte-sa-trios, to clap or applaud, is from the
English J once more.’ The word fw-lis, often used
for a pestle and mortar, is a graceful acknowledgment
to Curtis, our provincial chemist.
Most of the Burmese capitals had classic Pali names
ending with per or fora, besides popular Burmese
nsmes. Thus Ana, or In-ma, was called oificially
Rattanapura (Jewel City). The classic name for
lsagaing was Jaya-pura (Yictoiious Guy) : Ainarapuia
means Indestructible Gty. Proud hope ! Now
A marapura is a ruin where in winter I go for picnics
under the tamarind trees. Dead centuries sleep amongst
the wreck of Amarapura. The ruins have absorbed an
atmosphere of repose from the passage of time. The old
lions, the crumbling pagodas, the decayed monasteries,
have gathered mature stateliness from the passing years.
The Blue Rock-Thrush haunts the old brickwork, and
Ferdi/cr Qty-cafclws hunt for insects in the palace of the
 6H.tPTER XXIII.

DEBIT AND JIORTA R.

“ IT w8S built, ” said he, “ by U Po Kin.”

l looked up at a dreadful brick-building painted
green and yellow. The wisdoms were closely barred
with iron rods, and the culprit’s name, with the date
1921, was written across the structure in English
characters. This vulgar sriJof, or rest house, occupied
an ostentatious site above the river, and with others of
its kind encumbered what was once the wide court of a
beautiful pagoda. The inhabitants, no doubt, cried
Tha4it ! Tliadu ! at its dedication.
“ It was built by U Po Rin.”
“ And was he sent to jail ?” I enquired.
“ To Jail ! to, why ?”
“ For building that vulgarity. Don’t you think it
vulgar ?”
fly Bmnlese companion eyed the zñ yo/ doubtfully.
I fear he contemplates a like atrocity himself, and
that in his heart he admire9 it.
The crude in8uence oJ this new fashion in brick is
evident also in monasteries and private houses. It is
considered original, whereas in fact it is nothing but a
pitiful travesty of a Parsee’g shop. Take Dadhibhoy’s
store, splaah it n•ith excruciating colours, stick a clock
TdE ìY3Y OE NEłKD&ï.
 t BURMESE WOXDERLSXD.

iii rte face, and bar ité windows like a jail. Paint the
niortar with imitation bricks, call it “ Golden Tieasure
of the Law,” put up a notice “ Remox'e your boots,
6igned Deputy Commissioner ”—and there you have a
inodern Burmese Pagoda : a slap-dash, jerry-built
hoiror, shockingly ooti*eati ricfic, and completely lackinp
inspiration. The P. IV. D. could have done it better.
All nations experience periods ot decadence in art.
The Victoria Block Tower in û landalay marks the
lowest depth o1 our om. In Burœa the high-water
mark was reached in the llth and 12th centuries, in the
splendid days o) Pà gan. Those monuments will ever
command admiration. The decline lollowecl as a
natural consequence oi the hall or Pà gan (1286 A. D.).
There were revivals, but the first high level was never
reached again. Nor is it possible that the Burmese
tlieinselves could have built such superb edifices without
the help oi Indians and Talaings. lVhen the Govern-
ment tell after the Tartar invasion, at once, within
13 yeais, the Burmese mere unable to build monuments
of the Orissan type. They still excel in wooden buildingsi
and in btick buildings like the Ok Ryaung which are
copies of tim ber work ; but the pointed arch, so
typical of Pä gan, was lost for ever.
Nothing administers a g•ieater shock to national
vitality than conqiiest, and in Burnia there have been
many conquests. In the days of Kyanzittho, architec-
ture rose to inspiied heights, expiessing in every line
the ideals of Buddhisai. The present phase of decay
236 A BURME3E W0XDERL&ND.

dates from the period of Pä gan fin (1846-53) in whose

reign Pegu was finally lost. The country wee
impoverished : literature, religion and art languished :
a new materialism undermined the æsthetic sense of the
people, while loreign occupation wounded them in
their pride. But it took more even than all that to
achieve U Po Kin’s Nyof.
The cause of the degradation is simply this. The
Burmese have not been true to their ou tradition.
They have not developed their own inherited inclinations.
They have copied from loreigners. T/tcir biiitdtnp lo-
day is mot inspired bœause it is trot Burmese.
Indian models are as unsuitable to bfongolian
Burmese as frock-coats to Japanese, or English
idioms to BengaEs. Mimicry is never dignified.
The disastrous Results or copying are plainly
visible in the monuments of Amarapura. Round
French windows, ghastly draped urne from English
cemeterie , Italien angels, heialdic symbols, are there
thiust upon Burmese architecture as a cadis-worm
adds refuse to her house. Decoration lost all stiuctural
meaning. lt n'as just stuck on for e8ect. Pillars
and arches lulfilled no purpose. Nasses o1 brick-work
were piled on n'ooden supports. Their stiuctuial
stupidité has brought thèse buildings to early ruin. An
architecture so depraved has since seized upon corrugat-
ed iron as a God-send. lt could not resist it. So the
pititul hall was complete—a hall from the Ananda, tin
Gawdaw-Pafin, to U Po Bin’s dreadful zû ynt.
 A BURMESE fONDERLAli D. 237
s Ange thing is that even educated Burmans to-
day* not realize the harm that is being done : otheiirise
they could not permit the desecration o1 pagoda copts by
a crowd o1 utterly super8uous buildings. Giticism
perhaps is cruel—but a clitic may still be one who
cares. As for myself it grieves me deeply to see
Burma’s beautiful old monuments crowded round and
spoiled.
Were the Burmese to revert, even now, to purely
indigenous models, I believe they could ithout
difficulty recover their lost skill. But direction must
come from within. The inspiration must ii fact be
Burmese. On indigenous lines they might yet evolTe
a beautiful and dignified style of architecture suitable
to modern requirements.
 GHAPTER XXII'.

LBERE FiO0N AND STARSDIEETIN TBE LILBY #’&Y.

REAL poetry is the expression of sentiment. h'o mere
creation or rhyme is poetical unless it conveys a sugges-
tion. The examples of Burmese poetry given here,
though still popular, are of considerable antiquity.
According to Forchhainmer (Jardine £ss‹tiJ . Page 66)
the first poetry in the Burmese idiom was irritten by
Theda Silavauisa (3laung Nyo) in the year 1453 A. D.
modern productions are decadent, not to say vulgar .
Poetry necessarily belongs to a simple, undeveloped age
irhen men, not yet too practical aud calculating, are
still imaginative, and abandon themselves readily to the
charm of the unreal. Nations, like individuals, in their
infancy are fanciful. Hence the quaint superstitions
and fables met with on all sides in this country, whose
Jaeople are still romantic. If they do not believe, at
least they have not yet argued themselves into positive
‹lisbelief. Burma is still content to accept without
question the supremacy of heroes and A’ots like Tint
De, Ma h’emi, Nga Sin, Sitnam, Clin Byu Shin, and U
Yin Gyi, wb.o have established a dominion, hall pleasing,
half dreadful, over hill and vale. Their strange stories
are told to-day with a simplicity that n’e should be the
last to dist.urb. Disillusionment comes soon enough,
 a ’n
ir faith i

the last dyn .

cha

an t i
e pros often
d. T . ’e ayy, r
ured an tiresome. Every
e1y mentioned, and the charac-
Nothing is left to the imagine-
, on the other hand, suggests far
s. It sketches a mere outline ¿
’ly fills in Jor itself. 'thus :—
rous ret.urn p
nd of Silver Tern.

ncy, Burma owes all its charm.

egend are imaginative. Some-
y bird. Every mountain,
, every shrine and village its
haiitment, hidden from some,
velopnieut by all who ur-
cep ‘ ith siinpl
 240 A BURMESE WONDERS&ND.

long ago by U Clin, a Court poet. In twelve verses he

describes th8 Season8 with considerable charm. The
following examples refer to the months of ' âbodwe
Tñbaung and Z too.
TABODWE.
NoW atars and moon on Puqen ahed their light.
Now daily thriee the dew-drops glitter bright.
And people in the shrines on the bended knee
Rold in their handa the golden Claraphee.
And riot a in the leaflets treea begin
When scarlet blaze the Pank and bedpan Bin.
TABAUNG.
This is the time when climbing high,
Orion glitters in the sky ,
And shining with the moon at night
âfingles with her’e hie yellow light.
• The aweet acent of the f'âarnpRe
And faint smell of the Padau k tres
la wafted from the misty treee
Upon a gently coughing breeze.
About the aand•banks of the atream
The white arms of a river glesm.
I hear the clamorous return
Of U'ild-duck and of Silver Tern.

TAGU.
The New Year in ita graciouanesa
¥Vith fragrance everywhere
Haa touched the arid nakedneaa
Where leafless treea are bare.
The gentle passage of the breeze
has s¢ott.ered blooas of Dott9oto trees,
The ailror moon is riding hlgh )
As Yup‹t›t mountain in the sky j
And etare out-shining atars thet be
Engaged in radiant ri vn1ry
 TVONDERL&ND.

favourite theme with Burmese

es elsewhere :—
erald Palace of the night
o Star has lent a Silver ray
force the gentle moon-beama’ light,
bfoon and Stars meet in the htilky Way.

poetry aflords a wonderful field for

as not yet been explored. The rhyme
p1easinp• and musical, though these are
anslating. Their handling needs special
cry quality of suggestion forbids too
ing. Certain latitude of expression is
bring out their meaning clearly in a
e. For instance the literal translation
olved verse is confused, and reads

o?ne yellow, 8oIHe bed, 4oOe SffZlet, they

lovable. which might perhaps be

d buda, like tiny cups

flow, Scarlet blow.

e successful needs tfie collaboration

can translate accurately into English
Englishman capable of putting the
This plan has been attempted
to many Burmese scholars, but
a Nyo of Dedaye.
242 A BDRMESE WONDERLAND.

The love themes expose the violent passions or

Burmese youths who, during call-love, usually contem-
plate suicide once or twice at least in their desperate
but passing a8airs. It fickle, at any rate love burns
fiercely while it lasts :—
Vast as äfount bleru, its islanda and seas
More boundlesa and deathless my love ia than theae.
Such passion will sweep away the most serious §
obstacles :—
Out of your path I will hurl
Even blount Aleru a-fsr.
What do you leer dearest girlt
Only a poor little etar !

The maiden waiting the end of her lover’s novice-

hood (all Burmese boys assume the Yellow Robe for a
time) is more patient :—

In my garden one or two

Shrubs there are of Sat-th II pu
On to which the parrots flew.
Do not perch on them my dears.
When my sweetheart cornea to me
then he quits the monastery,
Bloom I need, to d.eck his ears.
Here are a lew examples ol lullabiea with which
Burmese mothers aing their babies to aleep ; they are all
in common use.

Fetch me a frog fmm the bfeik-hti•la Int:e :

BHogmeaWogformy h£de tDy's seke.
Fro ee wih eoo€be bam wAen ever &e cüee-
Ot Mokl sttlüe üAy1mg% big stanng eye.
 * BURME9E WOEDERL8ND.
243

aby darling do not ery.

We’ll catcb pigeons, you und I.
ellow ones, and blacB, and white :
! it’9 har£t to catch them quite.

this ungrateful Poll behold

With its plumage gleaming gold.
As a fledgling led was be
By Ma Le most tenderly.
Now he’8 big, he eing8 a song
Showing he would fain be gone.
Bob-tailed nat who steals the meat,
Pussy with the dreamy eyes
Bfte this naughty boy who cries.

Bi-le-ho l cradle Oh !
Aontie’a horned bull will go
Grazing our garden, oh !

Pleasing as many ol ihesc verses are, none are more

‹lelightful than this last one :—
Upon the surface of the moon
Crouches a golden here.
An ancient man ia pounding rice,
And he is alao clear.
Or are they but illuaions that
Are east in ehad.ows by the Nat
Who points the twilight of 4he 8iries
To charm the tears from the babies ayes t
 CONOL USION.
COUNTRY-SlDE &ND TOWN.

IP/ten the ittnrc/2 o) fiitie is measured by i/te lfeasons

TaE hot, dust-laden months or 3Iarch, April and ilajr

in the Dry 3one are truly abominable. The re8t
of the year is pleasant, and winter is delightful. Taken
as a whole, Burma has a good climate, in spite of the
variations which must occur in a country spreading
from near the equator to the 28th parallel. The
northern and southern parts receive s od rain-fall which
ensures loir temperatures as soon as the 2tousoous
break, and then even the climate of the ’ Dry Zone
is tempered by cool breezes. 0n the north-east Frontier,
and amonp•st the hills, winter is something more than
merely delightful.’ It is a brilliant season of bri8k
cold, blue sky and sparklinp• sunshine. The Burmese
year is divided into five seasons—winter, sprins summer,
mains and then summer again.
Four large trees fill Upper Burma with masses of
Scarlet bloom in January and February. These are
Pa uh Bin, ffatâit Bin,-’ the Oorat .Tree and the

Butea Jrondoso.
° An Eryhina.
 5 BURMESE WONDERL&ND.

Silk-Col wn free.* Thousands or birds, attracted by

the nectar, flocl to these flowering but leafless trees.
There is a Burmese idiom :—“ Noisy aa M ynahs on
the Gif/r-borrow 2’ree,” which is used of people who are
quarrelling. The birds, now in their greatest number
and fullest vivacity, are busy courting and nesting, for
in the Dry Zone (o1 which I write specially) the
brief Winter has gone, and February is Spring. Water ,
when wind blows down clouds o1 Buff from the cotton
trees, tailor birds use it to line their wonderful nests,
and the country-folk etu8 quilts and pilloW8 with it.
The seasoue change rapidly at this time of year.
A hateful summer rushes upon us, and the heat increases
through Maroh. The Burmese say “ every note of
the cuckoo brings a spoonful of flies ” (0-aw la finn :
his ie stun). A haze of dust gathers, anal hangs over
the country ; and the sky loses its wonderful blue.
Only the birds enjoy this period. The little magpie
robins suddenly burst into song. Next to the shama,
and to the larks of Japan and ñ lesopotamia, the magpie
robin ia the finest songster in the East. I cannot
imagine how it has got about that the birds o1 Burma
are sougless. Any one, even lrom his bed, may hear
innumerable birds whistling, calling and trilling at dawn
at this season. And few birds are more beautiful
than our Burmese sun-birds, 8y-catchers, bee-eaters,
minivets and orioles. Even modest b/tue Pyi-Rio, the
Jora, discards his dull-green plumage and assumes an
' Bomber 0fofo6Oricum, called L elPon Bin in Burmese.
 A BUR 6IESE \YONDERLAND.

amazing coat of black and gold. But Burma is now

on the point of loaing ma.ny of its most charming birde.
On the 12th o1 hlarch wagtails may be seen Bying west
in millions. This appears to be a prelinfinary migra-
tion, though I have not 3 et made up my mind about it.
A few individual wagtaila certainly remain till the end
of Flay. I have seen the forest wagtail on the 10th of
2(ay. The return migration begins to arrive on the
14th September, or perhaps a New days earlier.
The first Dry Zone Summer combines the dis-
comforts of a hot weather n ith the desolation of
Autumn. The trees are leafless, gaunt and dusty until
tango Showers’ clear the atmosphere temporarily
during the aecond week of April. On the 20th, alter an
intense heat-spell, I once saw hail-stones one inch in
diameter : and a dangerous thing it is to be caught in
aiioh a bombardment. Then, all at once, the Gold
Mohi:rs break into frames of scarlet blossom. Pew sights
are more delightful. lie have nothing in Burma to
compare with the exquisite beauty of an English copse
of blue-bella, a bank of primroses, a meadow of cowslips
and daffodils, or a hedge of summer roses. All those
have sacred associations with the home-land and its
incomparable Spring. Still, we have beautiful 8owers
here too, round which new associations may be woven.
There are lotus, and Unit-yen (a dainty pink creeper),
and z'hite masses of T y !-••“9•’ on leafless boughs, and
P?idei tip-npo which, as the name suggests, make the
• Plu aria .4ciili/oxic.
 .4 BURSIESE WONDERLAND.

\Veep with envy at the frail beauty he

Up in the hills there are wonderful
ds, ground orchids, and a host of other
Higher still, cheery, plum, bauhinia,
rhododendron have their season o1
w pictures are more lovely than a carpet of
blue buttercups, on the highest grassy or
s of the frontier.' And as for blossoms
ave admired the crowded water-hyacinth,
did pageant of gold and scarlet when
gold mohur 8ower together

April the once naked peepul and cotton

ng th foliage. are the
whose quaintly twisted limbs, reminis-
are so typical of Upper Burma. It
tender leaves cast a sott, green haze
branches o1 liigyin, tainarind and

re now lay the dust temporarily, enough

e owlet chuckling ; and Zuckloo, the
ongingly to ? be fa? (I it
d i). But the rains do not break
lay until the 25th of Alay. At this
rs hold sports and tugs-of-war which
involve rain. This is the Burmese
I the full-moon of 7’Jqoo the \Yater
ace at which water is thrown about.
848 A BtlRMB'SE WONDRRLAND.

The origin of this custom is obscure, but it w

doubt intended formerly as an invocation. '
elpless pubEe on gang-ways and landing stages
the mercy of small boys with squirts. Formerly
the Zñ elios° were soused, but they can usuak
now by looking very atern and solemn.
signi6cance in such small changes in a country
British and Burmese are drifting apart. T
intimacy is no longer possible in these mate
days. So sympathy and understanding are
and the boys withhold their squirts at 'L'âgo
regretfully. Two years ago my flannels were
in a watery combat with an unknown but dis
Burmese maid. Honours were about equal. Lack
I got a whole bucket o1 water to mysell thr
carriage windoir. This year they coaxed me—
my Lord deign to come out into the garden i” “
I replied. “ Go away. I’m busy : ” and as
went down stairs—* s my revenge !
There is something very imposing in the first
of the year. Li ghtning flickers through the bla
of clouds. Thunder rumbles back and forth,
little eddies of hot, rain-scented wind skim over
dusty ground, until presently gust attei gust sm
trees. At least one hundred big trees were sna
uprooted in this season’s first storm at i-
where l happe.ned to be. A calf was killed by
' See A Burmest £otiefiiiesâ . Page 27.
• Europeans.
 A BWBMESE \NONDERLAND. 249

The spire o1 two wooden shrines were wrecked, and a

large Eâlon, ot human-bird, which stood on a }ai11ar
fifty feet high, was blown down. With it tell a snake,
which we found dead besides the fallen II tion. A
cast off skin was wound about the image, leading one to
suppose that the snake lived uP on top of the pillar
fifty feet from the ground, v here, I suppose, it caught
small hinds.
The wind bloxvs steadily from the south during the
rains. In places like ñleiktila it amounts almost to a
gale. The sky of the Dry done is overcast. Little
rain falls, though the hills and foirer Burma are
drenched unceasingly. The tainarinds now finally
assume their delicate green foliage. Nothing is so fresh
and inviting as the tender green of y oung rice and
young tamarind leaves.

Look all ! look all ! at the white-stsred bare

Traverse the plot. i\nd the maidens there,
Close to the treea where the ahadowa sleep.
Ah ! And the flood in the fields is deep ?
lie ! tor a boat
A long, slim boat.
£te ! for a tonvq that ss iftly slips
Cleaving the rice aea’s diamond tips.
( Buruies 8 loop).

So the irionths pass. Zest-pos blossoms on the

house again. The Second Summer blazes up for a
ahort while. But the wagtaila return with their
message that Winter is at hand once more.
 & BURMESE WONDERL&ND.

Once again the festive season opens in October

with illuminations at the full moon o1 7’fiadinq t.

The time when Lotus open radiantly :

W hen candles light the hill of bfandalay.
Like dferus’ ñfount it glitters brilliantly
This festirxl ot lights, when people pay
Their homag•e, bowing thrioe before the shrines
Where ancestors bowed down in ancient times.
(Burmese T'erae, by the Poet IN Min. )

It is the season for tours and camps, the season of

clean atmosphere, the season of picnics when play
Burmese parties, the sunshine beating down upon their
silks through luminous umbrellas, set out in boats and
carts to spend the day beneath the trees of some favourite
pap•oda.
Burma, our Burma, the real Burma, is most truly a
Wonderland, replete with marvels and mysteries of which
the people are half incredulous, yet not willing to be
wholly disillusioned. And why rob legend of romance ?
W›hy ezpose our Nats to the merciless light of reason ?
lYe are not prepared to sacrifice imagination and fancy
to a mere vulgar thirst for truth ; nor strip a 20th
century fairy-land of its gauze-wings and gold-dust.
God knows, our world is material enough to warrant a
little indulgence. In this preserve the Nato shall
survive, and tiny houses inns/ be built for their accom-
modation. Here wonderful tales really are true—every
bit o1 them. Scientific research explodes a p«ood
many myths, but reveals n8w wonders undreamed
 oL & BURbIEgE WOWDERLAND . 251
tender
" our research then be scientific, and very
Nemi, the Ghild-riat who lives in babiea’
cradle and makes them laugh. Any formula which
does not accept Sta Nemi as fundamental is unscientific.
It csn have no place in our philosophy.
 INDEX

& An . 100, IN, 198

'efable BoxingNonlcc . 102
. . 99 dispersion of . . 101
. 07,60 Encouragement of . 102
‘ g of neme . Immorality o1 . . 101
Militancy of . 102, 198
66 Survival of . 102,103
isupprosion of . 102
ioD of 'T' eoy • 60 Architecture, eee under Burmese
oS..........................22, 23 Asoka . 18, 99, 1 26
bof..........................155 Ataraa Rieer . . 38, 39
Djroaetg It 162 Attheakaya, fling . 107
•Sithu 102, ll8y
121
a . 154; 165, 233 Aurangzebe . . . 65
P odb . 110 Ava . . *2, 23,108, 233
King— Poundeéi . 107, 158
erof . . 108 I-fistop of . . t59
I 99,111, 127 'I'ragédjz of . . 1ég
ionof . 209 Ayutbia . . . 22, 50
nt on Thaton .
B
20
connecting 127, Ba-gyi-daw, King 148, 161, 156
204 Bandula 141, l8W172
. 66 Armourof . . 164
. 67, 68 Birth-place of . 164
” 132 Genius of . l8M167
206 Rooumentol . 16t
n ryearoh . 103 PeroeLtyol . 171 Baw-
67-77 Bow-Gyi Pagoda . 8g
. 63, 64 Beetle............................................146
. 60
Of . . 63, 6t Birds—
@'PO0Bt' . . 1t0
pf 6t, 72, 181 ' Oormorant . . 217
 J3awna 38
186 Dedioation of land9 219, 220
134 Denegri 151 162
I6A168 Depressions of ground 146
I Bnrote8e)
Derivation of names 229—233
Dinnya-waddy 78
Dog8

19, 98 244
50 Dilkhan Thein . 67, 70
, If.izig 22, 23, 25
se 96
48
19
106,107,
147 Earthquake . 158
38, 43, 47, 48 End esiaat Genso 103
18 Elphaa ategndon . 129
4, 12
95
140 Fairy Betel Spit 128
Findlay 48
104, 203 246
f 104, 106, 106, l2fl, 130, 246
107, 108 129
. 69, 82
63
64
66 Ga wdaiv-Palin Pagoda . 93
76 33
137, 144 Geology 128, 140
I, 190, 196, 222
197 GyamgRive*

246, 248
69 136
166, 170 Hamadryads
 INDEX.

Hman Non Tiiatory . 63 Kya zittha—

TTsa-htung . . . 35 Coronation of .
£f8in-byu-ma-shin, Queen 158 Death of . .
TTtilat, legend of . 215 to 217 Detfiea tion of
Friends of .

IOOh0O1B B . . . I egends ooncer

09,9# bleaning of his n
India colonies . . Pcrsecution or
19 Irrewa Romance of .
ddy, meaning of . 2â0 Statue of .
Titles o1
kyauk Badaung .
Ka4adan Rieer . . J9, 60 hyawzwa, King .
larene. . . 2Sto36 kyondo
Distribution of . 29, 53 L
Divisions o1 . 31, 32, S3
Law books
Hill . . . 32
Ledi Sayadaw
Languages of . . 34
Legend .
Legendsof . . 30
Of Egg . .
Loyalty of • • 31
l1ig•rationof.............................29 0i Titilat .
Originof..................................30 Of Katthin .
Religionol............................31 Of bloulmein .
Shyness of........................29, 32 Of llount Popa .
Of baddan Hain
Tribal names of . ii4
lt+ung ilmu Daw.......................1fi7
Kawkareik..........................................38 Of Shwe-Zet Daw
Of Silagir' .
kemmendine . 165, 159
Of Taung-byjn
Khamis.............................................59
Of Tint De .
•
Lsiktho .
Lemro River .
Leahé . . .
Journey to . . 6
LionatAmarapuza
Legeodof...........8
Loto . . .
Pagoda of............................l0
LopbuflIosclpGoA
Kyanzittha 98, l1M122, 204,
Lubyo-gauogp .
214
Gharaoter of . . 113 Ludo . . . .
 7
53
. 72
. . 129

erivation of name . 17

ogen
 ÍNDEX.

XatB (liet of)—

Pzksn tía
Naff River . . . Shce Bgía Gai
60 NanGhao .
. . 106 Shwe’$Iye•hna
Nan-madaw Menu, Queen 158 Shwe Nabé
Namea of Placea . 22s—233
NatDanees . . . 206 Tabin Shwe Ti
Fiat Gadaw8 202, 205, 207 Taung-mín-p•yi
fat \Vorship . . 20G Thon-Ban-illa
Nats {Various) 5, G9, 202 U Yin Gyi
Ilouseaof . . 11 Negrais .
Of Arakan . . Neatorian influence
85 Of Popa Nga Sin, eaploita of
123, 12Wl 26, Nga-ya-man, Gener
lS7
Of Powin Taung . 144
OfPyu. . . 144 Oriental resaoning
Of Taung-Byò n 201-211 Outfara . . .

NaM(üsto1)— Pasn . .
Am8Gyi . 202,208, P*daung .
Anawratta . . 508 Paddy fields
Aw Ritu-C aung ےyi . 200 Pitgan . . .I
Byat Wi and Byat Architecture of
Ta . . 202 Coinoidonce of de
Hti-Byu-Saung . 210 Ko- End of djmaaty
Nyo-Yin . . 209 Ko- Freecoea of
Po-Tu . . 209 Pagodsa of
Kyanzittha . . 208 Rueol.
Pla Netoi 8A8C, 206, 208 8 kedbyG6í
bfaung-Daw ifnama- UJ0B8 OÍ Ç
influenoe
blaung Tint De 124, 126, Pàgat€avw .
209 Pngodaa (General)—
Myauk-min -shin-barri I2íí Andow Thein
bIyaulr-pe Ké du Bu Paya
Thekin-ma . . 2fi8 Dhamma Thm
bfyin-Byu Shin . 210
. NgweDaunpT6u . 208
 259

Pagodas er
Pinya . . 107
Diikhan 70
POlitieal agitatore . 3
Gadsw-P•l 9il
Powin Taung 145—144
Kaung Hm aw 57, 158
Pt•Om8, derivation of
Kyaik-hti o .
name 231
o
Kyaik T anlan . 37 Pyawbwe, ‹derivation
kynuk-daw gyi . 153 name . 230
Maha B di..94 Mahati..81 Pyon .
u 17, 19, 87—92, 97
Conquest of Arnkan b“3
blingun ..2S3 Diaappearance of . 91
Nanda-flinys . 100 Diatribution of 90, 142
Ok kyanng . I63,l68 Patho- lnfiuenceof . . 87
daw-gyi . 163 Patho- Literature of . . 87
tha mya . 84 PayaNi . Pagodaaof . . 89
. 154 Paya thon- . Storyof . • S8
100 Shittaung . . gi, se Survivalof . . 92
Shwe-zet Daw .75-86
Shwezigon . . 93 R
Thupa-yon . . 108
Tilo-Minlo . . 84 Racingboat . . 73
IJrrit Taung . . 61 Rainfall . . . 11
Zingyaik . . 13 Raininvooation . . 248
Paing-man Village . 4l, 42 Raja Kumar . 119, 12
PakkanNge. . . 126 Ramanya . • .
Panthay Rebel ’on . l0(i Rangoon, meaning ot 24, 231
Pa-O . . 34,36 Fightingat . . 188
Papun . . . 48 Recruiting 1, 141, 142, 173—
178, l7 8-181, 216
Pasa Min, King . Rest Houses 131
65 . Riverine Villages 222
Pâ yaGyi . 88
Paya Ni . . i64
Pegu, meaning of name . 14, 17
Saok of 24 Saddan Hein Clin . . 44
Phoongyis 197, Sagaing 108, 156-168, 179
200 Sa1z’eenRiver . . 37
Phoongyisin, militant . 102 Derivation of name. 230
Picnic daya ; . . 123 Nature of . . 40
 26d

<<a2oeen River— o
Soeneryof . .
Saada.
...................................... TabioS6¥efl .
DOD 07
W
Banga. . . 192 8 T . .
Sangermano, da4Aer . kg
San Shae Bu o6, 67, 7c* TskPho .
SauNan
............................................................ Comluesta of •
56 Deriva4i'on of
*au aw •..............................46 Divisions of .
Sa rlu, I Jztg 111, 116, 117 Bistory of .
SeaSltels..................................56 Influence of .
Sedition . . 3, 192 Inscriptions of
Settlements, Early hangup of .
European..................2P, 23, 24 Name of
OlCapUee........76 O btiteration of
Shans...........................................loo Origin of .
Shan dynasties . l0fi, 107 Taruk -Taret .
Shin Ar han . 110, li8 Tartar isee u
Hhittaung................................6'7, 69 Taung-Byfin .
ShoeQuestion.............................193 Fntival of . Ta-
Shrimp...........................................l4G ung Thonlon .
Shwedaung....................................73 Taungthus . . .
Shwegun.........................................47 Distribution of .
Shwe-Sandaw.............................122 Divisi‹me of .
Shwe-zet Daw.....................7W86 Tavoy . . .
Legendof................................83 Tayok Pyi Hin .
Silagiri Legend.............................73 Tenaesecim . .
Sin-bye shin, King . 169 Thanbhala . .
Singu...................................21M217 Tharrawaddy, Bing
i5ingu Clin, King . . 159
Fateof . . . 160 Thathameda Tax .
Sinsin(lfarens) . . 33 Thathanabai g 103,
Sona . . . . 18 Thaungyin River . .
Storms . . . 248 Thibaw, King . .
Sula-thu patti . . 44
Summer.........................................246
Suvnnnabhumi.............................18
Sym¿•ithy.....................................VII
Syiam.............................................22
 2C1

TmNüAes .
TmtDe 54 War8 . . Ses under Burmese
Tree— See un8er Nat WarBoats . . . 186
Waterfalls . . . 12
Cactus . . . 130 \¥ebyan cave . . 47
Goral Tree . . 244 \Yethali . . See Pcinli
Gold Mohur . I 5fi, 201, \Yhirlpools . . . 40
232 lVonderland . . V, 3
Tltanaiing Bin 80, 201, 247 TPuttagaa . . . 220
Ingy in . . . 128
kathit Bin . . 244
Pauk Bin . . 24-1
Silk Cotton Tree . 24a käpok Vaday• . . • 62
zägs E43, 156, 246 Yakaing Pyi • . 73
Zibin . . 159, 130 lundebo158, 161 TazadajriL,
Tuc&bo, LWard . . 247 f£ïng........................................22
Twin Village . . . 143 Ye Bilu...................................III

Yimbaw..........................................33
Yinmabin.....................................144
UPahTheD . . 9é Yomas.....................................57
Urrit Taung Pagods . 61 Young Burma 194, 195
U Yin gyi . Nee under dat Yünnan..................................10c
Y. K B.A......................149, 237

Veeali . . 72, 73, 114

Vibart, Commander . 156
VictoriaPoint . . 49 Zayein...................................33
Zingyaik..................................12
Legendof..........................14
Tagaro . . . 2j Pagodaof........................13
TPagaru Dhammathat 21, 226 Zwe-ga bin........................40, 41
A Burmes
tive features
is the genuine plea
ita people. Books have
which have struck the note o
neaa, but which leave a a
introduced more as a pa
real quality of the country. re
o1 that with a book by Capt
has lived in the try Qr
ma;de a. first haf£d•study of ,al
It ifi iplQO6Sible for the reader
that the author has foued o•
Burma, a convication which is
matter of fact and humorous way
of the desCFiptions we given. . .
of concise description Are c
Graphic touches are Ttume
author has up
interesting iteim of inloima
extends to the wild file of
lively and eng•s ng
The illustr n8 are ho
a‹l are well c .
 8 BY TBE NAME AUTBOR. 263

To m readers, especially tho8e who knOW Burma

wel already, the most interesting part of the
bo it• wJ e the account o1 the north-eastern
frontier the political situation there, the people,
and the life of the Military Police in theae
out nama o1 empire. His deBcription is the best
yet ubliahed in the sense of being the moat
ea8il accessible, the most up-to-date, rind
the ' moat generally informative. ”—Rangoon
t7nnfe.
DBA OKBR, PINK. & CO., CALGUTTA . Pnce, Rs. 6.

A' Burmese Eonelineis..—“ Captain Enriquez’a new

book On Burma repreBents the fruit of his wide
knoo’ledge of the land of the Pagoda and its peoples.
His almost native sympathy and insight at once
atampa A Bwmese loneliness ’ with the Fielding-
Hall mark of Bupei-excellence.”—&npooii

” Born ct solitude, the book be8rB Beveial marka of

that inward eye ’ which ia the bliss o1 solitude.”—
Rangoon Gazette.
" The reTerences to bird like are made the
inors interesting by the author’s wny of relating the
Burmese, 8han or ChiH88e legend about them and
their cries. Almoat every bird has some story
attached to it, and aome strongljr resemble thoae in
0vid’a 6letamorphoaia.”—Rnyoon ‹'?aseffe.
 c.—“ Full o
of Ba aad
who have fat
u
tilul Province. It i

iANTB&W&DDY PRES9 R&«GOOT.

taal Yfinoanese.—Being a
4he Yiinna ese language as sp
Burmese lrontier. 'there is
book on Yünnanese in print
tionese ” teacher the languag
and simple.
TBcBER, SziNK # ÜO„ SinL#

symbol of the

tas
3 9424 02222 8685