I was born at No - The MAN & Other Families

34I may here say a word about the Burmese people. They are on the whole a very happyand carefree people. They have been called the Irish of the East as they never botherabout tomorrow and are quite contented if they have enough for today. For this reasonthere are very few rich people among the Burmese, all the trade and commerce being inthe hands of the natives of India; Hindus, Mohammedans, Parsees, and also Chinese.They are very fond of sport; horse and boat racing, cockfighting and gambling and tugsof war in which whole villages including women and children compete against eachother. They are also very fond of theatrical performances, "Pwes" as they are called.These are held in the open air and generally last all night.The men are very lazy and avoid any strenuous manual work, and that is why all thecoolie labour is imported from India. The work the Burmese like best is driving abullock-gharry (cart) or steering a boat or some such easy work. The educated class ofBurmese are mostly employed as "Keranees" (clerks) in Government or Mercantileoffices. They are too proud and independent to enter domestic service, so all the servantsare Madrasses or Bengalese.Both men and women are very gaily dressed. The men have long black hair gathered intoa large knot at the top of their heads and decorated with a colored silk handkerchief.Their dress consists of a short, white, loose linen jacket and a gaily colored silk “putso” asort of kilt. Their legs are tattooed up to the waist. The women have also long black hairgathered into a knot, well greased with cocoanut oil, and generally wear flowers in theirhair. They also wear a short white linen jacket and a gaily colored silk loongye down tothe ankles. They wear a colored silk scarf over their shoulders and generally carry acolored paper parasol over their shoulders. Both men and women smoke huge Burmesecheroots. When not actually smoking they carry it behind their ear and it is no uncommonsight to see mere children smoking these huge cheroots.Many of the Burmese women are very pretty and try to add to their beauty by smearingtheir faces with a white powder which I suppose is meant to make them resemble theirwhite sisters.On feast days, or weddings or funerals it is a great and colorful sight to see the gailydressed throng of both men and women in their many colored dresses and they enjoythemselves like children. They are very hospitable and any European traveller arriving ata Burmese village is made very welcome and will cheerfully be given a night's lodging.The country all over is dotted with pagodas both large and small, the gifts of piousBurmese who think by erecting these pagodas they will gain merit in the next world.The Burmese are very skilful wood-carvers and silversmiths and good specimens of theirwood carving may be seen in the shrines on the platform extending for several acres atthe base of the great Shoay Dagon Pagoda in Rangoon and in the numerous "Hpongee-Kyoing" monasteries scattered throughout the country. Their religion has been describedas Superstition with a veneer of Buddhism. They believe in the presence of "Hats" or evilspirits which have to be propitiated with offerings.