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i
GAZETTEE R
OF
UPPER BURMA
AND THE
SHAN STATES.
IN FIVE VOLUMES.
COMPILED FROM OFFICIAL PAPERS BY
J. GEORGE SCOTT,
BARRISTER-AT-LAW, C.I.E^" M.R.A.S., F.R.G.S., "
ASSISTED BY
]. P. HARDIMAN. I.C.S.
PART I.-VOL. I. :::
RANGOON!
PRINTED BV THB SUPERINTENDENT, GOVERNMENT PRINTING, &URMA.
1900.
•V
[ PART I, VOLS. I d 11,-PRICE : Rs. 12-0-0 =Aftt.^
110580
ILLUSTRATIONS.
PART I: VOLUME I.
The Salwcen at Ta Hs.-ing 1^ — Frontispiece.
King Thibaw and Supayalat {Photo. Sftssrs. Watt ond Sketn) ,
Sattbvia of Loi Ldng Tawnjj Peng and wives . . . . ,
Tlie Salween at Mong Hawm ferry
The UyotauH o( Mand.il.iy in C^ourt dress {Photo. Signor Beato and
Company)
Shar Sawbvia in Court dress {Photo. StgiKr Etaio t nd Company) .
A Wa bridije, side view
A Wa bridge, end view
A Shan trader {Photo. .Messrs. Watts and Skeen) . , . .
Kachins {Photo. Messrs. Watts and Sheen)
Siyin Chiefs {Chin GoBetteer)
Wa headmen in Pet Ken
AUha women . , ,
Karen-ni women {Photo. Captain W. N, Campbell)
Rumai or Palaung wroman {Photo. Signor Beato and Company)
Mftng or Miaotzu men and women . , ,
Shoulder bags or wallets
Paqs.
PART I: VOLUME IL -;:-
Map a{ Upper Burma and Shan Stain— Frontispieeg. •"-';";■
XVII. Trans-Salween Sax^bvia and wife in full dress . •,.^* '.,.'
Cliarms of invulnerability ..... ".Vf .. ^••.
KVIW. Tingpan Vao V.'.t; .V^;
XIX. Siyin mode of coiflure (Chin Gatetteer) , -C*. *I:«1
XX. Vimbao Karen men (Photo. Captain W. M Cantpf'eli): ''4 ■
XXL Karen Military policeman and recruit {Photo. Caft,.tn Wttf
bell] . ■
Plan of Mandalay Palace and buiUlings ....
XXIL Vimbao Karen women {Photo. Captain W. N, Campbtll) .
XXIU. Chin women's pipes {Chin GaMttteer)
XXIV. Kachin women iPkoto. Signor Beato and Company) .' \ ,
XXV. Sawku Karen girl {Photo. Captain W. N. Campbell) -•;•'
XXVI. Shan women of Num Hkam in Shan-Chineie dress {Pkiie.
Beato and Company) .■.•-,.
XXVI 1. Chjnbik women {Photo. Signor Beato and Company) :';\
XXVin. Wa in full dress (Kig. i). Group of Wa girls (Fig. 3) -'''z
XXIX. Akhamen
Instruments used >n spinning and weaving , ,
CatKp~
( 2 )
PL4TB. Page.
Cotton garments made in Shan States 370
XXX. Kachins {Photo. Signer Beato and Company) 390
Representative pottery of Lower Burma 400
Papun pottery ib.
Fancy pottery of Pyinmana 401
Toys of Shwebo ib.
XXXI. Ming or .Miaotzu men 413
XXXll. Knn I^ng ferry iniSpi ' . 45a
XXXUI. A Wa dance 469
XXXIV. A Yenangyaung oil well (Photo. Messrs. Watts and Skeen) . . 514
XXXV. A Kachin house (Photo. Messrs. Watts and Skun) .... 528
XXXVi. Hui Hui or Panihes 540
XXXVII. A Shan ^awtoo in open durbar ....... 553
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PART I: VOLUME !.
Chaptir I.— Physical Geography i
Chaitir II.— History.— The rdgns of King Minddn and King Thibaw from
Burmese sources 29
Cbaptw III.— Histort.— The causes which led to the Third Burmese War
and the Annexation of Upper Burma 97
Cbaptbr IV.— The firstlyear after the Annexation 117
Cbaptir V. — Final pacification 147
Cbaftbr VI.— The Shan States and the Tai 187
Cbattbr VII.— The Kachin Hills and the Chingpaw 331
Craftir VIII.— The Chin Hills and the Chin Tnbea 441
Cbaptir IX.— Ethnology with Vocabularies 475
ERRATA.
VOLUME I.
Page 3, line 17, for 'west' rtad "east.'
4 '7. M 2o, „ 'about' „ 'above/
" 43* >• 9* deh'hy.'
» *^ » 34. /or 'choragos' read 'choragus.*
» 7ft f. 6, „ 'Bayingyan' „ 'Bayingan/
». 8». » 2. „ 'lead' „ 'led/
f* 83, „ a8, „ * Governor ' „ ' Convenor/
H 85, „ 2$, &/#• again/
M 86( „ 33, /or 'Nammada' r«ad 'Nammadaw/
n 87, „ 3, „ ' Nammada ' „ ' Nammadaw.'
" SA >• 5 from bottom, for ' were * reorf ' was.'
" 107» M I4i /or ' Bomby ' read ' Bombay/
» 109. „ II and 13 from bottom, insert ' to/
n \ii» „ I, /or 'enquires' rvflt/' enquiries/
•* "I. .. S» .. *i895' „ '1885.*
,1 126» » 10, 9t. seq. for 'Myinthfe' read ' Myinthi/
w '33. M 2| for ' Yetagyo * reai/ * Yesagyo/
» 133, „ 14, ti ' Sameikkyon ' „ ' SameikkAn/
>• i59. M ». M 'was' „ 'were'
M 185, „ 3, read ' Chinese ' Shan States.
„ 188, „ 9 from bottom, /fff ' 1895 '.raorf ' »835.'
„ 194. « 9 » » 'is* .. 'were/
..203, „ 15, /or ' Bein-kawngi * rwrf ' Bein Kawng/
„ 207, „ 11 from bottom, for 'as' read 'as is/
„ 209, in the Mandarin dialect the names are more properly—
5A«, the rat ; A^im, theox; /^«, the tiger ; Tu, the hare; Lung, the
dragon; She, the snake; Afa, the horse; Yang, theeoat; tiou.iha
monkey ; CAi, the cock ; Ch'iian, the dog; Chu, the pig.
„ 225, line 13 from bottom, for ' Hke ' read ' Hk&/
,,239, „ 9, t^e/tf first 'him.'
„ 229, „ '4 from bottom, /or 'get* read 'got.'
» 242, „ 3, „ „ ' Emperer * „ ' Emperor.'
M 25s, „ 18, for 'L6ng' read ' Ldng/
„ 270, „ 21, „ 'found' „ * lormed/
,,284, „ 15 and 18, /or 'flank' read 'plank/
>. 308, .» S. » 'rules* „ 'rulers/
» 3»4. » »3» » ' Mong Si' „ ' M6ng Sit.'
>i 329, « 9 and 23, „ ' Htamfing ' „ * Htamflng/
,. 340, „ 33, ,. ' 1888 • „ ' 1889/
H 367. M 9» » 'stamped' „ 'stampeded/
m 39Si IW line^ » ' peope * „ ' people.'
( » )
Page 408, line 35, dtU ' a.*
M 430. n 33»for 'calaxrutitea'read 'calamities.'
» 475. » 18. « • professer ' „ ' professor/
» 4^1 » 3 from bottom, /or 'sides' read 'side.'
». 499* » 8, /or ' billard * reotf 'billiard.'
„ 500, „ 16, „ 'warder' „ 'wander.*
» 505f » "» » * trough-like,, ' trough, like.'
I) 544* 1. 3 fro™ bottom, /or ' Yawng-tung' read 'Sawng-tiJng.'
*i 57f . » I4» Z*"" * peluMve, read ' delusive.'
m 586> n i<> from bottom, /or 'occassion' r«a^ ' occasion.'
n 59<S» *. 9» /<"' * 3t Lxjti ' read ' a Lot^'
M 597i >i 3 fro™ bottom, /or 'the' read 'that.'
.* 6ao. „ a „ M 'whatveer' r«ad 'whatever.
THE
UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER.
CHAPTER I.
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY.
Thk northern and north-eastern boundaries of Upper Burma
have not yet been finally demarcated. In f^eneral terms it may be
said that Upper Burma lies between the 2oih and 27(h parallels of
north latitude and between the 92nd and looth parallels' of east
longitude. The greatest distance from east to west is about 500
miles ; from north to south about 450 miles. The area of the Upper
Province is estimated at 83,473 square miles and that of the Shan
States, Northern and Southern, at a little over 40,000 square miles.
On the north the boundaries are : the dependent State of Manipur,
the Naga and Chin^paw hills, and the Chinese province of Yunnan ;
on the east the Chinese province of Yunnan, the Chinese Shan
States, the French province of Indo-China, and the Siamese Tai (or
Lao) States ; on the south Lower Burma ; and on the west Arakan
and Chittagong.
Within these boundaries, but administered as semi-dependent
States, are the Northern and Southern Shan States, described
separately ; the Sta'e of Mong Mit (Momeik) with its dependency,
Mong Lang (Mohlaing), under the supervision of the Commissioner,
Mandalav Division j the State of Hkamti Lung^, which with the
Kachin Hills north of the confluence of the upper branches of the
Irrawaddy is only indirectly under administration; the States of
Hsawng Hsup {Thaungthut) and Singkalins: Hkamtt (Zinglein
Kanti) in the Upper Chindwin district ; and the Chin Hills under a
Political Officer.
Upper Burma is portioned out into natural divisions by its more
important rivers. The Irrawaddy rises beyond its confines in the
unexplored regions where India, Tibet, and China meet and runs due
southwards, dividing Upper Burma roughly into two equal parts,
east and west. After completing about two-thirds of its course
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTKER. [ CHAP. I.
through the upper province, it is joined from the west by the Chind-
win, the largest and most imporlani of its tributaries, which flows
into it a few miles above the town of PakOkku. The Chindwin
may be said to divide the northern portion of Upper Burma west of
the Irrawaddy into two halves. South of the fork the country,
which is for the most part dry and sandy, stretches away from the
western bank of the Irrawaddy to the easlem slopes of the Arakan
Yomas and the Southern Chin Hills. This tract comprises the dis-
tricts of Minbu and Pakokku. From the junction of the Irrawaddy
and Chindwin northwards the nature of the country lo the west of
the latter river changes completely. From the right bank of the
Chindwin the Chin Hills rise abruptly to merge themselves with the
Lushai and Naga Hills in the wide tract of mountainous countryi
which forms the whole of the north-western frontier of the Province.
On the left bank of the Chindwin the land is comparatively level and
stretches for the most part over low ranges of hills to the Irrawaddy
valley, but farther north these ranges increase in height, until the
whole tract between the two rivers becomes a mass of hill country
intersected by mountain streams and inhabited by semi-barbarous
communities, whose country extends acToss the main stream of the
Irrawaddy to the eastern border of the Bhamo district and as far
down on the eastern side of the river as the State of Mong Mit
(Momelk), where it joins the northern extremity of the Shan Hills.
The country to the east of the Irrawaddy immediately above the
frontier of the lower province corresponds very closely with that on
the west of the river in the same latitude. It comprises the districts
of the Mciktila division and the Magwe district of the Minbu division.
It is comparatively dry and arid, is intersected by forest-clad ridges,
and is bounded on the east by the rampart of the Shan plateau, which
runs almost parallel to the Irrawaddy till about the level of the town
of Mandalay. Here the bend of the river brings it close to the Shan
Hills, and from this point northwards the space between the stream
and the hills becomes gradually narrower and more confined.
Upper Burma is encircled on three sides by a wall of mountain
. ranges. The Shan and Karen Hills which run h
ountains. parallel ridges fur the most part almost duenorth^
and south form the eastern boundary. In the Mandalay district the
Shan Hills approach the Irrawaddy. The hilly parts of this district,
which form the greater portion of its area, may be divided into two
tracts, the northern and the eastern. Ihe northern consists of
parallel ridges descending from the Ruby Mines district, with
peaks of from 2,000 to 3,600 feet ; the eastern consists of the
Pyinulwin subdivision and forms a plateau of 3,500 feet above
mean sea-level. Both of these tracts geographically form part of
'•]
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY,
the high-Jands known as the great Shan plateau, as does the
Ruby Mines district, which, with ihe CNception of the riverain
portion, is intersected by high ranges of hills with points here and
there of over 7,000 feet in height. In the west of this district the
hill ranges run north and south, but in the interior their course is
approximately east and west. In the Bhamo and Myitkyina dis-
tricts there are four main ranges of hills, the Eastern fCachin Hills
running northward from the State of Mong Mil (Momeik) to join
the plateau which divides the bjisins of the Irrawaddy and the Sal-
ween ; the ICum6n range extending from the llkamti L6ng country
east of Assam to a point north of Mogaung ; the Kaukkwc hills,
which start from Mogaung and run in a southerly direction to the
plains in the west of the Irrawaddy valley, and the Jade Mines
tract lying to the west of (ho Upper Mogaung stream and extend-
ing across the watershed of the Uyu river as far as the Hukawng
valley. The Chin Hills form the western boundary of the Upper
Province, as do the Kachin, Shan, and Karon Hills on the west.
These Chin Hills form a continuation of the Naga Hills which con-
stitute the eastern boundary of Assam, and southwards they are
known as the Arakan Yoma. The Pegu Yoma rises in the uplands
of Kyauks^ and Meiktila districts and, running parallel to the Shan
Hills, divides the basin of the Irrawaddy from that of the Sittang.
The Paunglaung range rises in the highlands of the Shan plateau
and divides the basin of the Sittang from that of the Salween. This
range, unlike the Pegu Yoma, which is insignificant, ranging between
800 and I J 200 feet, has peaks of considerable height, one at least
reaching nearly 8,000 feet. This range sinks down into the plain of
Thaton. The easternmost range, which divides the basin of the
Salween from the Mfekhong, also runs north and south and In its
southerly portion divides British territory from the neighbouring
kingdom of Siam and farther south still forms the ridge of the Malay
Peninsula. In the extreme north all these ranges take their origin,
or lose themselves, in the Tibetan plateau.
Burma may therefore be divided conveniently, but with no great
precision, into, first. Northern Burma, including the Chin and Kachin
Hills with a thin and miscellaneous alien population ; second, Burma
Proper, which is practically the valley of the Irrawaddy after it ceases
to be a gorge ; and, third, the Shan tributary States. Burma Proper
is practically one great plain ; the hills are comparatively mere
undulations, and the one considerable peak, P6ppa, is volcanic. Still
it is very different from the vast levels that stretch from the base
of the Himalayas. It is rather a rolling upland interspersed with
alluvial basins and sudden ridges of hills. The other two divisions
are described separately below.
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. I.
Rivers.
Irra-waddy, — Of the rivers by far ihe most important is the Irra-
waddy, for long the only great highway of the
country. It is described at some length in the
British Burma Gasetteer of 1880, as far as it was then known, that
is to sav, to the third or upper defile. Since then much has been
learnt, out there is still considerable uncertainty as 10 the true source
of the Irrawaddy, and the adventurous journey of Prince Henri
d'Orleans is merely tantalizing in so far that it proves practically
notiiing, except that the conjectures of Britisli ofTuers were right in
a particular spot and may therefore be correct throughout. But the
actual sources are as uncertaFn as ever. The Irrawaddy is formed by
the confluence of two rivers, the Mali and the 'Nmai (the kha which
is usually added to these is simply the Kachin word for river and is
better omitted, because it leads to such tautologies as the Mali kha
river). They join about latitude 25° 45' at a distance by land from
Bhamo of about 150 miles. Up to this point the river is navigable
in the rains for steamers, though the Manst rapid just below Lapfe,
the Tangp^ rapid immediately below the confluence, and the third
defile, offer constant difficulties. For over 900 miles, however, as
far as Bhamo, the river is navigable throughout the year.
In Kachin Mali X7/fl means big river, and the Burmese call it
Myit-gyi. The eastern branch, the 'Nmai kka, means bad river,
and the Burmese call it Myit-ngt:, the small river. But, from the
data given below, it would appear that the Mali or \vesicrn branch
has really the smaller volume of water, and that the 'Nmai river is the
true Upper Irrawaddy. The native opinion is merely the familiar
oriental theory that a navigable river is a big river, and that
along which boats cannot ply a small one. The Mali can be navi-
gated by country bnats all the year round as far as Sawan, whereas
m consequence of the rapids, impracticable even for dug-outs, the
'Nmai cannot be navigated at any time. The Mali river ts now
approximately all known — its tributaries, the villages and marches
along its banks — and it is indisputably the same as the Nam Kiu
(the Shan name for the Irrawaddy) surveyed by the late General
Woodthorpe in his trip to the Hkamti country in 1884-85,
There is an absence of all accurate information about the 'Nmai
river. It has been mapped as far as 'Nsentaru, where the channel
makes a sudden turn to the west after flowing from the north.
Above 'Nsentaru the general direction of the 'Nmai as it comes
down from the north is known, but the river itself is shortly lost
behind high mountains, and as to the course north of this no trust-
worthy information is to be had. "Nobody goes there" is the
extent of native information, and the mountains seem to be as wild
and unengaging as the inhabitants. Captain L. E. Eliott says:
CHAP. I.]
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY.
" There does not appear to be any trade at all, and the 'Nmai kha
" north of 'Nsentaru probably degenerates into a furions mountain
" torrent, dashing through profound gorges and quite impracticable
" even for rafts of the lightest kind." There appears not even to be
a track along its banks.
The old idea was that the river bifurcated some way farther up
and that one of its branches flowed from the Naungsa lake lying to
the east. This was the version given by the native explorer Alaga,
who was sent up in ihu year 1880 to endeavour to determine the
sources of the Irrawaddy. He, however, only got a very few days
inland in the country between the two rivers and was then turned
back by the Kachins. It is significant that no Chinaman or
Kachin seems ever to have seen or even heard of this lake, and the
march of Prince Henri d'Orleans, corroborated by the researches
lower down. of Lieutenant Pottinger, finally disprove the existence of
any lake, or, at any rate, of any considerable lake. Considerable
doubt seems now also to be thrown on the assumption that the 'Nmai
had its source farther north than the Mali and drained a country with
a heavier snowfall. In support of this theory Lieutenant A. Blewitt
of the King's Royal Rifles instanced the fact that at the confluence
the water of the 'Nmai is 6 degrees colder than that of the Mali.
This, however, may well be due, as it is in iheSalween, lo the narrow-
ness of the valley through which the 'Nmai flows, which prevents
the sun from shining on the river for more than a few hours daily.
Lieutenant Blewitt took the following measurements of depths and
velocities at the confluence in January 1891 : —
The Irrawaddy main river in a straight reach of water about
3 miles below Mawkan rapid. Breadth of actual water, 4.20 yards.
Eight soundings taken in as straight a line as the boatmen can
manage — ■
r
1
13ft
■44'
3
3
64°
4
5
6
7
8
Soundings in feet
Angles to position
41**
a6|
74^"
3U
79''
^7k
77"
II
76*
From the above it was evident that either the boat had not kept
a straight course, or that the angles were incorrectly taken, since
the last three are an impossibility. The angles were unfortunately
taken by a native surveyor with a prismatic compass instead of a
plane-table. The current at the right bank was practically nii and
became gradually swifter towards the left bank. The rate of the
whole was little under 2 miles an hour. The sectional area of the
river-bed was roughly 20,160 square feet.
6 THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. I.
Measurements of the ' Nmai kba or Myit-nge^ the eastern branch of the
Irrawaddyt taken about i mile above the confluence.
Breadth of water ... ... 165 yards.
Temperature ... ... ... 56°
Pace of current ... ... 3J miles an hour.
Sectional area of river-bed ... 6,600 square feet.
Estimated volume ... ■•• 32,257 cubic feet per second.
Six soundings in a straight line were in feet —
First.
Second.
Third.
Fourth.
Fifth.
Sixth.
6i
lU
15
i8i
19
Hi
True data were very difficult to get owing to the swiftness of the
current under the left bank. The last sounding of 14 feet was
taken close under the bank.
Measurements of the Mali kha, or Myit-gyt\ the western branch of the
Irraviaddy, taken about i mile above the confluence.
Breadth of water ... ... 150 yards.
Temperature ... ... 61"
Pace of current ... ... 3} miles an hour.
Sectional area of river-bed ... 4,000 square feet.
Estimated volume ... ... 23,108 cubic feet per second.
Five soundings in a straight line were in feet —
First. 1 Second.
Third.
Fourth
Fifth.
3
5i
10
17
Hi
Lieutenant Blewitt thinks the rate of the current may have been
a little over-estimated in both cases, and the difficulty in keeping
the rope taut naturally was against accuracy. Nevertheless, the
figures seem to prove that the 'Nmai river is the larger of the two.
The two volumes taken together give a total of 55,000 cubic feet
per second at the confluence, and the late Sir Henry Yule, in his
introduction to Captain Gill's River of Golden Sand, gives the esti-
mated volume of the Irrawaddy at Amarapura as 35,000 cubic feet
per second. From what measurements this was deduced is not
stated, nor is the time of year given, so that a comparison of the
two sets of figures is impossible. The natives of Hkamti L6ng refer
to two rivers east of their country called the Nam Tisan and the
Phungmai, The Nam Tisan is described as three days' journey
from the Hkamti country, from which it is separated by the Tchet
Pum, and five days' more marching to the east brings the traveller
CHAP. I,]
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY,
to the Noikon range, from which silver Is extracted, and to the east
of it flows the Nam Dumai or Phun^mai. The Hkamti Shans are
said to call this expressly the eastern branch of the Irrawaddy, and
the general similarity of the names Dumai, Phungmai, and 'Nmai, as
used by Shans, Khunnongs, and Kachins, tend to show the identity.
The depth given by the TlkamtJ Shans would also correspond with
the probable depth of the 'Nmai river in that latitude. They de-
scribe it as not deep, but not fordable. or somewhat deeperthan the
Mall kha about the same latitude, which was ascertained by Wood-
thorpe to be 5 feet. Besides this, as Captain Eliott continues, the
distance from the Hkamti country east to the Phungmai, about 45
miles in a straight line, would approximately correspond vvitli where
the 'Nmai kha valley must be, for the river cannot come farther
from the east, since the position of the Lu kiang^ or Salween, is
known In the latitude of^ B6nga, and also lower down between
Bhamo and Tali-fu. The Hkamti Shans said there were two more
big rivers to be crossed before reaching China, and these would be
the Lu kiang^ or Salween, and the Lan Ts'an kiattg, or M6-
khong. No doubt can remain now that the Lu kiang is identi-
cal with the Salween. Yule states that the chief ground for dis-
crediting the length of course ascrit^ed to the Salween and its
Tibetan origin is its comparatively small body of water, and adds
that this may be due to its restricted basin, which is certainly no
longer a disputable fact. As far as is known, all the water up to
witnin a few miles of the actual Salween falls into the Irrawaddy
drainage. It Is the vast drainage of the latter river, combining the
Mali kha, 'Nmai kha, and ChJndwin areas, that makes it develope
so rapidly into a noble river, at^d the same reasoning will tend to
make us look not very far for the sources of the river. It is now
nearly certain that the 'Nmai river, or main stream of the Irrawaddy
has its source not higher than 28° 30'. Yule calls the east branch
of the Irrawaddy in the Introductory essay above referred to the
Tchitom, Scheie, Ku-ts'kiang, and Khiu-shi Ho. These will pro*
bably prove to be the local Tibetan and Chinese names for the
'Nmaiof the Kachins, or for the streams which unite to form it. It is
at any rate definitely settled that the Irrawaddy has no connection
with the Sanpu, either by anastomosis, or in any more obvious way.
Prince Henri d'Orleans' account of his journey rrom Tonkin to India
may be quoted here, since he says it is " by the sources of the
Irrawaddy." His journey commands admiration for his courage,
his endurance, and the high spirits which he maintained throughout,
but his account of it, both in his lecture before the Royal Geogra-
phical Society and in From Tonkin to India, is most irritating in
Its inconclusiyeness. It is characteristic of the Prince to beirrltat-
8
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. I.
ing in the most varied way. It is impossible to determine from his
narrative what can be considered as the main stream of the Irra-
waddy, and it may be permitted to doubt whether the Prince brmed
any idea of the kind himself. What is certain is that he confirms
the information and the conjectures of British explorers, that a
number of considerable streams early join together and form two
great rivers, destined to become the Irrawaddy lower down. But
which of these streams is the main branch cannot be ascertMned
from the Prince's book. All that is certain is that the 'Nmai and
all its affluents are savage torrents, while the Mali early becomes
what may more justly be called a river.
The following items are pieced together from the Prince's book, —
** A range with a pass of 3,600 mdlres ( 1 1 ,8 1 2 feet) rose between the
" Salween and an affluent to the right of it." which seemsto be the
Pula Haw, though it is not expressly so stated. This was a little
south of latitude 28^ "The two following days were employed in
" surmounting a crest of 10,725 feet • • • When we exchanged
"this vegetation (thick bamboo brake) it was for barer heights,
" among which often gleamed little grey, blue lochs (any one of which
"may have been the Naung Sa;, a scenery not unlike some parts of
" the Pyrenees. • • * In the bottom of the valley we sighted
'* the Kiu-kiang, running over a shingle-bed, blue as the Aar
"The inhabitants were of a gentle limid race, Kiu-tses, so named
" from the Kiu kiang, though they styled themselves Turong orTu-
"long and the river Tulong-Remai." The Prince crossed the river
[whose 'name the Kiu kiang may be compared with the Ku-ts
kiang and the Khiu-shi ho (kiang and ho both meaning river)
as well as with the Nam Kiu, the Shan name for the Irrawaddy]
over a bamboo bridge made for him by the Turongs, " The
'* river at this point was about 50 yards broad, with traces of a
" rise of 40 feet in flood. This valley of the Kiu kiang, which
"we had now been threading for several days, wllh many more to
" follow (Ironi iollrt0 3oth October), gave an Impression of greater
"size than that of iheM^khong, since, though narrow at the bottom,
" it was bounded by mountains of receding gradients, each with its
" own forest species, from palms below to ilex and rhododendrons
" above." The march seems to have been much what it is along
the Salween in the Shan States ; stretches along the bank with
more shingle and bare rock than sand ; climbs up sleep banks
to avoid gorges; descents to torrent affluents — the Tatei, Madu-
madon, Geling, and Tukiu-mu are mentioned, mostly spanned by
liana bridges, which do not exist on the Salween aflluents — with
camps alternaieiy on small beaches and steep hillsides. The Prince
marched 45 miles in the 20 days between leaving and returning to
CHAP. i.
I'HYSICAL GEOGRAPHY.
the Kiu kiang, which when he finally marched west "was a broad
" sheet of water, swift but noiseless and wonderfully clear. On the
" 30th October we reached at nightfall another confluence of two
" torrents. One was the Lublu, the other was the Neydu, or Telo
'* — the great river of which we had heard so much, its silent tide
"and tranquil depth. • * 'It was a wretched disap-
" pointment. Instead of level fields, hills and impenetrable forest as
" before ; instead of houses, crags as savage as any in the valley of
" the Kiu kiang,*. • • • We had attained one of the
'* principal feeders of the Irrawaddy. Like the Kiu kiang, it did not
"come from far, but it brought a considerable body of water, and it
" is the great number of these large tributaries that accounts for a
" river of the size of the Irrawaddy in Burma. * • • j^e
" Dublu crossed (it was 32 yards wide), we proceeded up the
" left bank of the big river * • • transferred ourselves to the
" other (right) side of the river on rudely improvised bamboo rafts ;
" the water was quiet, deep, and of a grey-blue colour. For the
" two succeeding days we climbed a steep and rugged track,
"catching sight through openings in the woods of an amphitheatre
"of snow-covered mountains. In the west a high white range run-
" ning north-east and south-west was identified by us as the Alps
" of Dzayul (Zayul, the land of the earthen pots), on the other
'* side of which lies the basin of the Upper Brahmaputra in Tibet."
Much of the travelling was in actual torrent-beds, a form of high-
way familiar to most travellers who have crossed the Salween in
the Shan Slates and most destructive 16 boot-leather. Thus they
climbed over into the basin of the Mali kha. Various cols are
mentioned with no heights given. The highest pass between the
Salween and the Hkamti L6ng valley was 3,600 mHres (11,812
feet). The first tributary of the Mali kha, or Nam Kiu, reached
was the Reunnam. " We forded a broad and shallow river, the
"Reunnam ; and it was hard to believe ourselves at the base of
" the lofty mountain chains of Tibet." After this " a diversified
" woodland march ended for the day in a real village. Five houses,
"each 90 feet long, placed parallel to one another, testified, with the
" barking of dogs and grunting of pigs, to an approach of compara-
"tive civilization. On the loth November we debouched upon a
"fine sandy beach, ideal camping-ground, by the shores of a con-
" siderable river, the Nam Tsam. The stream was 40 yards in width
" and expanded into a small lake at the foot of a sounding cataract."
The Reunnam seems ro join the Nam Tsam about 27** 15' and the
united streams apparently enter the Nam Kiu or Mali in about lati-
tude 27°. The Nam Tsam was crossed by a fish-dam, erected by
Kiu-tses (Turongs). " Mountain rice culture began to be visible
to
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. I.
" in clearings of the woods, and felled trees laid horizontally here and
*' there assisted the path • • *. As we drew near to habitations,
"averting emblems reappeared, and we noticed a fenced elliptical
tomb." This seems to indicate that the Turongs are Chingpaw,
or at least closely allied to the Kachins, and indeed the photo-
graph which the Prince gives of a Kiu-tse might be taken for a
Kachin both with regard to features, method of wearing the hair,
dress, and, above all, the linkin dha. After crossing a number of
streams, the Pandam, the Nam Lian, the Nam^Chow, all appa-
rently easily fordable, and staying for a night at Melekeu, "com-
posed of pile-houses sometimes 130 feet long, not unlike the Moi
dwellings in Annam,'* the Prince at last enlere<i the level plain of
Hkamti Long, which the Lissus or Lesus call Apnn (apparently
their name for theShans generally, which recalls the Manipuri name
of the kingdom of Pong) and the Kiu-tses and Lutses and other
Turongs call Moam. " A wide expanse of apparent inundation,
"enveloping lagoons of land, but what to our eyes seemed swamps,
"were no doubt paddy-ficlds. The Nam Kiu.or Meli-remai of the
" Kiu-tses, the western branch of the Irrawaddy * • was about
" 160 yards in width and 12 feet deep; water clear and sluggish.
" We crossed without delay in five or six pirogues."
Here the Prince had reached country known through the jour-
neys of the late General Woodthorpe and Mr. Errol Grey. His
journey shows that the sources of tne Irrawaddy certainly do not
lie farther north than latitude 28° 30' ; that the Mali kha or Nam
Kiu is more of a river and 'that the 'Nmai kha is more of a torrent
and in its upper courses is frayed out into a mass of streams very
much like a chowrie or a cow's tail. Unhappily, however, we still
do not know which is the greater stream. Probably the Mall river
will come to be looked upon as the main river, because it is both
navigable and accessible. There is an analogy for the smaller stream
usurping the name in the Red River, the Songkoi of Tongking,
which at Hung Hwa, where the Black River joins it, is the lesser
of the two.
Tributaries of the Irra'waddy. — Below the confluence the most
important tributaries of the Irrawaddy are the Nam Kawng or
Mogaung river, the Moife, and the Taping. The first flows in on
the right bank and, with its affluent, the Indaw river, is navigable
for small steamers, during the rainSj for some distance from its mouth.
The other two are left bank affluents and are unnavigable to any
distance. Farther south the Shweli, or Nam Mao, flows in from
the Shan States and China and the M6za comes in on the right
bank. At Amarapura the Mylt-ngfe or Nam Tu comes in from the
Northern Shan Sutes, but is not navigable for any great distance.
CHAP. I.]
PHySlCAI. GEOCRAPHV.
II
Below this at Myinmu the Mu river comes in on the right bank.
The main tributary, the Chindwin, with its affluents, the Uyu, the
Yu, and the Myittha, joins the Irrawaddy some little distance above
the town of Fakokku. It is navigable as far as Homalin near the
mouth of the Uyu at all times of the year. The only other tributary
of any note is the M6n, which joins on the right bank about 12
miles above the station of Minbu.
Sittang. — The Sittang river rises in the hills on the fringe of the
Shan plateau, runs into the Meiktila division, and does not attain
any size until it reaches the Lower Province. In its upper course
it is known as the Paunglaung.
Saiween. — The Salween is probably unequalled for wild and mag-
nificent scenery by any river in the world, but it is, for the present,
unnavigated except in broken reaches above the Thaung Yin rapids
in the Lower Province. It is probably an actually longer river than
the Irrawaddy, but it is characteristic, not only tor the narrowness
of its valley, which is little more than a ditch with banks varying in
British territory from 3,000 to 6,000 feet high, but also for the limited
width of the area which it drains. Unlilit reaches Lower Burma the
basin does not anywhere reach two parallels of longitude in breadth.
So far as is known, it receives no affluent northofTCokang, which is
longer than a mountain torrent, rising in the ranges on either side
which form its water-shed, cramped between the Irrawaddy and the
Mfckhong.
Yet, or rather because of this restriction of its basin, it is repre-
sented on old maps as rising far up in the Tibetan steppes to the
north-west of Lhassa ; and since it is now certain that the Salween,
the Nam Kong of the Shans, is the Lu jkiang of China and Tibet,
there is no reason to believe that these maps are wrong. In his intro-
duction to Gill's /^iver of Golden Sand, Yule says : "Every one who
" has looked at a map of Asia with his eyes open must nave been
"struck by the remarkable aspect of the country between Assam
" and Chinaj as represented, where a number of great rivers rush
" southward in parallel courses, within a very narrow span of longi-
" tude, their dehneation on the map recalling the /asc is of thunder-
" bolts in the clutch of Jove, or (let us say, less poetically) the
" aggregation of parallel railway lines at Clapham junction." Of
these rivers — the Brahmaputra, the Irrawaddy, the Salween, the
M^khong, the Yang-tze, the Hwang Ho, besides their numerous
considerable early feeders — the Salween yields to none in the extreme
northerly position of its source ; and its size, in latitudes where it is
so crushed in that it can have no tributaries larger than hill streams
a mile or two in length, seems to prove that these old maps arc
correct.
u
THE UPPER BURMA GAZKTTliKR. [CHAP. I.
These Jesuit maps call it Nou Kian (Lu kiano\ and it is the Lu-ts*
kiang of Bishop desMazurcs. "The French Missionaries who
"were for some years stationed near the \.yi kian^^ about latitude
" 28^ 20', speak of it as a great river. Abbo Durand, June 1863,
" describing a society of heretical Lamas, who had invited his in-
*' structions» and who were willing to consign the paraphernalia of
" their worship to the waters, writes: ' What will become of it all ?
'* ' The great river, whose waves roll to Martaban, is not more than
*' * two hundred or three hundred paces distant.' ... A river so
" spoken of in latituide 28' 20' or thereabouts may easily have come
*' from a remote Tibetan source. It is hard to say more as yet, amid
" the uncertainties of the geography of Tibetan sf^ppes, and the
" difficulty of discerning between the tributaries of this river and
" that of the next ; but the Lu kiang, or a main branch of it, under
" the name of Suk-chu, appears to be crossed by a bridge on the
" high road between Ssu-Ch'wan and Lhassa, four stations west of
" Tsiamdo on the Lan Ts'ang (the Mtikhong.)" The iron suspen-
sion bridge in about latitude 25° N. on the road from Bhamo to
Tali has been often described by travellers. It is in two spans of
altogether 600 feet in length. One span over the main channel is
270 feet wide ; the other over a portion of the bed exposed in the
dry season is 330 feet wide. Colborne Baber thus described it :
" The floor of this valley lies at the surprisingly low level of 2,670 feet
" above the sea. The river is some 340 feet lower, running between
'* steep banks of a regular slope much resembling a huge railway
" cutting. It sweeps down a short rapid under the bridge ; but farther
"down it was evidently of considerable depth, by no means swift,
" with a breadth of 90 yards or more, and navigable for boats of large
" size ; but not a punt or shallop was to be seen." This character
it preserves till it reaches Lower Burma. Here and there the hills
are lower, in a few places there are even some acres of flat land, but
almost the whole way it preserves this appearance of a mammoth
railway cutting. Prince Henri d'Orleans visited and marched along
the Salween for a short distance about latitude 26° and again about
latitude 28*^. At the former spot, west of Fey-Iong-klao, and almost
due west of Tali " we dropped down into the Salween basin between^
"wooded hills that sheltered rare hamlets * • • the gradients
*' of the sides being less steep than those of the Mckhong. The
"Cheloung kiang [this " nine dragons' stream " is the name given
" near Ta-ya-keo in Mong Lem to the M^khong], the Lu kiang, or
" Salween, as it is variously called, flows at its base in an average
"breadth of 120 yards. Its waters are easily distinguished from
" those of the Lan-tsang X-mw^, for, while the latter are reddish brown,
" the Salween's are a dirty grey. At the point where we struck it
CHAP. I.]
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY.
<3
" the current seemed less rapid than the Mfekhong ; the lemptTature
" of the water was 66^ Kahr. The level of the SaUveen is only
" 3.087 feet, or 1,625 lower than the Mfekhon^. Without admitting
"a shallower depth than is the case, it Isdifncult to believe that so
*' great a body of water can issue from so short a course as that
" indicated by the latest English map of Tibet, published in 1894.
" The impression we derived was of a large river coming from far."
When a short distance farther north the Prince marched back to the
Mfekhong, "coming so recently from the Salween, it seemed small,
" and its valley more confined and less green than the latter."
From Tsekou in latitude a8^ Prince Henri aeain crossed the
Mfekhong- Salween watershed. The pass was hign, 3,800 meifes
(12,467 feet). The descent was through bamboo and high grass
jungle. " We ferried over in skiffs about 16 feet long, hollowed out
" of trunks of trees. From two to four men manoeuvred them
"with small oars ; the crossing was an easy matter compared with
" that of the Mekhong at Halo ; there Avere no real rapids here, and
" counter-currents could be taken advantage of; the temperature of
" the water was much the same as that of the Mfekhong at the same
" height, being 60^^ Fahr. ; but a neighbouring tributary from the
" mountains registered nearly 6" higher. »
" On the right bank we received a messenger from the Lamaserai
" of Tchamou-tong, distant now only a few miles, who announced
•' that the superior had under him 76 Lamas (Red-hats). On the
" 23rd and 24th September we continued down ihe Salween by a good
" road. As is the case lower, the valley is greener tlian that of the
" Mfekhong, with flora almost approaching that of warm counlries.
" The trees were literally decked with tufts of orchids, whose yellow
"and brown-spotted blooms hung in odoriferous clusters/'
From the Salween over to the Irrawaddy the road proved to
be impracticable for mules. " We did not mount, we did not descend,
" we simply gave ourselves over to gymnastics." The Salween has
evidently as troublesome banks there as in parts of ihe Northern
and Southern Shan States, where picturesque descriptive language
is also employed.
The Salween enters British territory in the Shan State of North
Hsenwi, runs through the Shan States north and south, and emerges
from Karenni into Lower Burma. It varies very greatly in breadth.
Where it enters Kokang it is about 80 yards wide ; at the Kun
Long ferry it is about 200 feet, but its lowest width is below
the mouth of the Thaungyin, where it measures no more than 30
yards. The main tributaries on the left bank are the Nam Hkaand
the Nam Hsim, both considerable streams, navigable locally for
14
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTIiER. [CHAP. I.
countr)' boats, and both rising in British territory. The Nam
Ting rising in Chinese territory and joining the Salween some miles
below the Kun Long ferry, where it forms the island which gives
the ferry its name, is considerably smaller, as is the Nam Ma of the
Wa country. On the right bank the chit-f affluents are the Nam
Pang (Bin chnung) and the Nam Teng (Tein chaung), both rising
in the Northern Shan States, flowing parallel to and at no great
distance from one another and the Salween, and entering it in the
Southern Shan Stales ; the Nam Pang in Keng Hkam ; and the Nam
Teng in Mawk Mai. Both are navigable locally in reaches for native
boats. Farther south the Nam Pawn with its tributaries, the anas-
tomosing Nam Pilu and the Nam Tu (or Tu c/iautig), joins the
Salween where Karenni and Lower Burma meet.
The Mtrkhong, called tht Lan Ts'an iiaug in its upper reaches
by the Chinese, forms the boundary between the Shan States and
the French province of Indo-China for a distance of between 50
and roo miles. It hardly therefore calls for detailed description
in an Upper Burma Gazetteer. It may, however, be said that,
like the Salween, it rises far north in Tibet and rivals even the
Yang-lze in length. The town of Tsiamdo, capital of the province
of Khary, which stands between the two main branches that form
the Mekhong, in about latitude 30** 45', was visited by Hue and
Gabet on their return under arrest from Lhassa ; but, as Yule says,
"whatever ^MOji-geographical i>articulars Hue gives seem to have
" been taken, after the manner of travellers of his sort, from the
'* Chinese itineraries published in Klaproth's Description dti Tubet,*'
Kiepert in his map of 1864 calmly implied that he did not believe
Hue. Bishop desMazures and Abbe Desgodins, who followed the
course of the Lan-ts'ang at no great distance, visited Tsiamdo in
1866 (they call it Tcha-Mouto), and thus the Mekhong may be said
to be known to this point. In the same latltLidc?; it is about the
same si;!e as the Salween, but soon after leaving China its basin
opens out and there are fairU- extensive plains on its banks in many
parts both of Keng Hung ((Theli) and Keng Tong, and it is far from
being so picturesque a river as the Salween. As a navigable stream
it is neither better nor worse than the Salween, but French pluck
and enterprise have done much more for it than has been attempted
on the British river. It cannot, however, be called a water-way for
commerce. Its chief tributaries in British territory are the Nam
Lwi, which rises in the Chinese prefecture of Ch^npien and forms
for a great portion of its course the boundary between Chinese and
British territory and the Nam Hkok which rises in KengTOng State
and enters the Mfekhong not far below Chieng Hsen in Siamese
territory. The Nam Hok (M^ Huak in Siamese), which is con-
JHAP. I.]
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY.
siderably smaller than either of these, forms the boundary between
Siamese and British territory and joins the Mtkhong some miles
above Chiengbsen.
The largest lake in Upper Burma is the Indawgyi in the Myit-
Lakes kyina district. It measures i6 miles by 6 and is
bordered on the south-cast and west by two low
ranges of hills, and has one outlet in the north-east, which forms
the Indaw river discharging into the Nam Kawng or Mogaung river.
Tradition says that this lake was formed by an earthquake and
submerged a Shan town. The Iiidaw in the Kalha district is also
a natural lake, and covers 60 square miles. The Meiktila lake and
the Aungpinle lake near Mandalay are artificial reser\'oirs. The
Indein lawe, near Yawng Hwe in the Southern Shan States, is the
last of the lakes which no doubt in prehistoric times filled all the
Shan valleys. It is nearly as large as the Indawgyi, but has greatly
diminished in size within comparatively recent times. The lake or
lakes at Mong Nai have shrunk to comparatively insignificant pro-
portions, though the southern lake is much deeper than that at
Yawng Hwe. Such other lakes as exist in various parts are chiefly
marshes formed after the fall of the floods and they are usually
wholly or partially dried up in the hot season. The only other lake
worthy of special notice is Nawng Hkeo, which is situated on the
top of a hill, some miles north of Mong Hkain the heart of the Wa
States. It is surrounded by heavy jungles, is said to be very deep,
and to have no fish in it. It forms the subject of a number of
traditions and wild beliefs among the Wa and the Shans, and, as is
pointed out elsewhere, may be the Chiamay lake of seventeenth
century wxiters.
Immediately above the frontier between Upper and Lower Burma
begins the dry zone which extends from the aoth to the 22nd
degrees of latitude and includes roughly speaking the whole of
the Minbu and Meiktila divisions. Here the country rises from
the Irrawaddy in long slopes and rolling ridges. The vegetation
rapidly loses its rich tropical character and the uplands are merely
dotted with sparse and stunted trees and bushes, which led to the
old idea that the country was a mere " despohlado (uninhabited
waste) of dry rolling hills dotted with thin bushes and euphorbias."
But the uplands sink at pretty regular intervals into decided valleys,
running at right angles to the Irrawaddy and the Sittang, into which
they discharge the drainage of the interior by broad, shallow, sandy
channels, always dry, except immediately after heavj' rain. North
of Pagan this upland still exists, but it is less elevated and less bare
and barren and is separated from the river by a greater or less
i6
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP, I.
extent of fruitful soil. The idea formed of the country varies
greatly according to the time of year at which it is seen, before or
after the rainy season. The same general character is reproduced
on the right bank of the Irrawaddy, but extending over a much
more restricted area. In the dry zone the annual rainfall averages
as low as 20 or 30 inches only. North of this dry belt there is a
much more marked rainy season and the annual rainfall seems to
average about 70 or 80 inches. The temperature varies as much
as the rainfall. Except in the dense forest tracts and the remoter
portions of some of the outlying districts, where malarial fever is
prevalent, the Upper Province is by no means unhealthy either for
the natives of the country or for Europeans.
The districts which have the smallest rainfall are Kyaiiksfe, 23*7
inches ; Pakokku, 23* 18 inches; Myingyan 23"9 inches ; and Minbu
24'134 inches, which is the average over a period of five years.
Those with the highest are Ruby Mines, 8388 inches ; Upper
Chindwin, 73587 inches; Bhamo, 7o'io6 inches ; and Kalha 4697
inches over the same period. These are all mountainous or sub-
Alpine districts.
The Chin Hills were not declared an integral part of Burma
Th cv Hil ""^'^ '^^^' ^"* ^^^y "**^ ^^^"^ ^ scheduled district.
The following account of their general features is
condensed from the Gazetteer of Messrs. Carey and Tuck and from
the reports of Intelligence Officers, — The Chin Hills lie between
latitude 24" and 21° 45' and longitude 93° 20' and 94° 5'. They
thus form a parallelogram about 250 miles long and from 100 to
1 50 and miles broad. There are no plains or table-lands, nothing but
a series of ridges separated by deep valleys. The approach irom
the Myiuha valluy is by rugged steep spurs covered with dense
jungle and divided by deep narrow ravines. These hills are sparsely
if at all inhabited and lead up to the first ridge, which runs parallel
to the Myittha river and about 50 miles west of it, with an ave-
rage height of about 7,000 feet above sea-level. Beyond this lie
range upon range of almost bare hills, their sides dotted with villages
and scored with terraced fields, which have taken the place of the
thin virgin forest. The main ranges run generally north and south
and vary in height from ^,000 .to 9,000 feet. The most important
is the Letha or Tang, which is the watershed between the Chindwin
and the Manipur rivers ; the Imbukklang, which forms the divide
for the waters of Upper Burma and Arakan; and the Rongklang,
which occupies the same position for the southern hills, discharging
on one side into the Myittha and on the other into the Boinu. The
highest peak appears to be the Liklang some 70 miles south of Haka,
CHAP. I.]
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY.
'7
which rises to nearly 10,000 feet. Others are Lunglen, the western
point of the Chin Manipur boundary, 6,531 feel; Katong, 7,837
feet, on the same frontier; Noakuvum, 8,500 feet; and Kul, 8,860
feet, which is known as Kennedy Peak. In the southern hills the
chief are Rumklao, 8,231 ; Rongklang, 8,000 feet ; Boipa, 8,Soo;
and many others ranging about 8,000 feet.
There are several rivers of fair size. The Manipur river issues
from the Lontak lake, flows aln^ost due south from Shuganu to
Molbein, where it curves to the east, passes below Falam, and
enters the Myittha a mile below Sihaung. The Boinu rises in the
Yahow country, flows south and then west, and eventually south
again into Arakan, where it enters the sea under the name of the
Kuladan. Its affluent, the Tyao, issues from a lake north of
Tattun. The Tuivai is the largest tributary of the Barak river in
Assam, All these rivers are fordable, except the Manipur river,
which can seldom be crossed below Kwaiiglui, and never before the
month of February even as far north as Tunzan.
The climate of the Chin Hills judged at an altitude of between
2^500 and 6,500 feet is temperate. In the shade and off the ground
the thermometer rarely rises about 80° or falls below 25^ Fahr. In the
hot season and in the sun as much as 150'^ Fahr. is registered and on
ihe grass in the cold weather 10 degrees of frost are not uncommon.
During the first five years of iheir occupation snow has only been
seen once in the Chin Hills, on the Tang or Letha range, in 1893,
and it only lay for two days. The Chins speak of it as happening
only occasionally. In June the rains commence definitely and last
till about the middle of November. During the rest of the year
there are occasional showers, but no prolonged rain. Registration
shows that the rainfall varies considerably in different parts of the
hills, and at Kennedy Peak, Fort White, the Imbukklang, and Haka,
where there is heavy forest, the rainfall is greater than at Tiddim,
Dimlo, and Falam. where pine trees are found and the undergrowth
is neither thick nor rank. At Haka and Fort White the rainfall
is very similar and is heavier than at any of our other posts. The
rainfall registered at Haka was 1 1 ro3 inches in 1893 and 92*26
inches in 1894. and at Fort White ii was estimated at the same. Ap-
proximately one-third less fell at Falam and one-half at Tiddim.
Owing to the great number of tribes, sub-tribes, and clans of the
Tu tf »,■ ijti Kachins, the part of the Kachin Hills which
The Kachin Hills. , , ' ,^ , j • • ^ ^- • ..
has been taken under administration m the
Bhamo and Myitkyina districts has been divided into 40 tracts.
Beyond these tracts there are many Kachins in Kaiha, Mong Mit,
and the Northern Shan States, but though they are often the pre-
ponderating, they are not the exclusive population, and they are
i8
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER, [CHAP. I.
comparatively recent settlers. The country within these 40 tracts
may be considered the Kachin Hills proper and it h'es between 23**
30' and 26*^ 30' north latitude and 96"^ and 98° east longitude.
The area of the country thus enclosed may be roughly estimated
at 19177 square miles, and it consists of a series of ranges, for
the most part running north and south, and intersected here and
there by valleys, all leading tnwards the Irrawaddy, which drains
the country. The Irrawaddy is navigable for steamers as far as
Myitkyina, 73 miles above Senbo ; beyond this, as has been noted
above, two difficult rapids prevent their passage, except in the
height of the floods. Myitkyina was the most northerly point to
which Burmese jurisdiction extended, and beyond this the whole
country remains Kachin.
From Senbo to Myitkyina the country may be briefly described
as a well-watered plam, with an occasional isolated low hill rising out
of jungle more or less dense. The Shans and Burmese-Shans who
used to cultivate it were driven away by Kachin raids and are only
now beginning to return. The land is very fertile and is capable of
supporting a very large population. From Myitkyina to the con-
fluence the country becomes gradually wilder and the jungle more
dense. Above the confluence of the Mali and 'Nmai kha the appear-
ance of the country changes entirely. No more flat ground is met
with, and as far as Hkamti Long there stretches a mass of low hills,
formed into valleys by high parallel ranges of mountains bearing
generally north-north-east and south-south-west. Lieut. Blewitl,
who accompanied Captain L. E. Eliott on an expedition to the
reaches of the Irrawaddy, says : —
" Our march was practically along one of these ranges, not more than
3,000 to 4,000 feet high, and varying from 3 to 4 miles west of t)ie Mali
kha. It was not a continuous range, being intersected by deep gorges,
through which flow the diflerent tributaries of the Mali kha. This range
apparently terminated at Pumluni Hum, and, standing on this peak at a
height of 3,500 feet above sea level, the general appf^arance of thecoualry,
turning to the different points of the compass, is as follows : —
'' Due north as far as one could see, thp hills were all of lower elevation,
looking west was a large valley 30 or 40 miles across, backed by a high
range of hills, the continuation of the Shwedaung-gyi and called the Kam6n
taung. The average height of this range througboul, judging from a dis-
tance, appeared to be from 5,000 to 6,000 feet, and in it, .ilmost due west
of Pamtum Pum, was a noticerfble break or gap, through which is perhaps
the road to the Hnkawng valley, but unfortunately we could not get this
confirmed.
"Turning to the east, looking across the Mali .(y&d, the space between
it and the 'Ntnai kha was Filleil with high bills, and beyond these again rose
high parallel ranges, eventually ending in snow-peaks in the far north-north-
east The valley to the west, the low hilts to the north, and the spat
CHAP. I.]
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY.
>9
betwocnthc two branches of the Irrawaddy were, for Kachin-hnd, densely
populatcci, and it may be said lo be the heart of the Kachin country."
vStill further to the north, between latitudes 2^'' and 28" or 28''
30' lies the Hkamti Long country, which has as its eastern neigh-
bour the land of the Khunnongs, which extends to the watershed
between the eastern branch of the Irrawaddy and the Salween.
Farther east than longitude 98*^ and farther north than latitude 28^*
the country is unexplored, except for the passage of Prince Henri
d'Orleans, which was very dashing, but none the less disappoint-
ing as far as information is concerned. The Hkamti I-6ng country
is practically the valley of the Nam Kiu (the Shan name for the
Irrawaddy generally, but here meaning the Mali river). To the east
and north of this rise hills, increasing in height as Mr. Errol Grey
says :■ —
''Successive ranges uf forcst-clad hills, spreading out like the lingers of
the op^n hand to the south and converging to the north until massed in the
high snows of the Tibetan ranges, which arm, stretching southwards and
covered deep with snow, limited the vision to the east."
This snow-clad range would appear to be the watershed between
the eastern branch of the Irrawaddy, the 'Nniai, locally called
Tamai, and the Salween. The whole of fhe country west of this is
drained by the Nam Kiu, or Mali, the western branch of the Irra-
waddy, and its chief tributary, the N;im Tisan, or Nam Tesang,
which joins it on the left bank. Both the Nam Kiu and the Nam
Tisan run from north-west to south-east, and the latter takes its rise
in a range rising to about 1 1,000 feet above sea-level. This range
connects the ridge which separates the 'Nmai (or Tamai) from
the Tisan with that which divides the Nam Tisan from the Nam
Kiu, or Mali i'ha, and is situated in latitude 27^ 50'. The average
height of these ranges is from 5,000 to 7,000 feet. The snow water
which swells the Irrawaddy in the early months of the year must
therefore come down the 'Nmai kka. East of 97^ 45 the hills
abound in iron, which is worked by the Khunnongs. They used also
to mine silver, but are said latterly to have given it up.
The country to the immediate north and north-east of Bhamo,
that is to say, between the 'Nmai river on the north and the Taping
on the south, is a rugged mass of hills, except for the tract of low-
lying country immediately to the east of the upper defile and the
Hat lands along the Irrawaddy above this on its left bank. These
hills range from 1,000 to 13,000 feet above sea-level and reach their
highest point to the east and north-east of Sad6n, falling away
towards the Irrawaddy. The main ranges run from north to south
and, except where they have been cleared for cultivation, are covered
with dense forest with a tangled undergrowth of cane and small
AO
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. I.
bush. They are very sieep and the soil is poor. Deep valleys
separate the spurs, and at the bottom of these arc rocky streams
with excellent water. Towards the hill-tops water is very scarce,
though many of the villages are situated there. No metals seem to
be found.
West of the Irrawaddy traversed by one of the high roads from
Assam to the Irrawaddy lies the Hukawng valley, lying between
latitude 26'' 15' and ab'* 45' and longitude 96° 15' and 97". It is
about 54 miles in length by 35 in breadth and in Shape somewhat
resembles an egg-cup. Low hills converge to form its southern
boundary. The.se run as sub-features from the Mong Hkawn
(Maing Hkwan) hills bounding the west of the valley, and from the
6,000 feet range of Shwedaunggyi which bounds it on the east, and
meet at a point about 18 miles south-sonth-west of Mong Hkawn.
The northern boundary is a lofty rani^c of about 8,000 feet, a pro-
longation of the Khallak hills. The valley ilseU is absolutely flat
throughout, clothed with dense forest, mostly impenetrable, inter-
sected by numerous beautiful streams and with a considerabJe
population. Like most of the similar valleys in the Shan Stales,
the Hukawng valley formed at no very remote era the bed of an
Alpine lake, which, like that of the Manipur valley, has been gra-
dually raised to its present level by long continued alluvial deposits
and detritus from the hills which encircle it on every side, These
deposits raised the level of the water and facilitated its drainage,
until it became so shallow that evaporation completed the process
and rendered the soil fit for habitation. This process is by slow
degrees being carried out in the Yawng Hwe lake.
The Hukawng valley drains into the Tanai river, which when it
loaves the valley takes the name of the Chindwin. The Tanai kha,
called in its upper reaches the Tanai Ivu (the head or source), rises
in the hills south-west of Thama, in latitude 25^ 30' and longitude
97**, and flows almost due north until it enters the south-east corner
of the Hukawng valley, when it turns north-west and continues in
that direction, cutting the valley into two almost equal parts,
until it reaches the north-west verge, when it turns almost du
south. It is a swift clear river ranging from 50 to 300 yards in^
w^idth and is fed on both sides by numerous streams, the largest of
which, the Tarong, comes from the north. Except the Tawan, also
coming from the north, the other tributaries are small, ranging from
5 to 40 yards in breadth. They run swift and clear, over gravel or
pebble bottoms with high dry banks. In the valley they are very
tortuous and form deep pools here and there.
Of other rivers the chief on the left bank is the Taping, which
the Kachins call Myun kha. It rises in China about latitude 27**.
CHAP. I.]
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY.
21
I
At the point where the Nampaung joins it it is a raging torrent,
with huge boulders and foaming rapids, and is perfectly impassable
for men, mules, or boats. In the cold weather it is about 75 yards
broad, but is double this in the rains. Boats of a large size can go
up the Taping as far as Myothit. Small dug-outs can go another
2 miles up to the mouth of the Nantabet, which rises in the south
and is itself navigable as far as Kazu. Here the river is in places
only 15 to 20 yards wide, with a current of 6 miles an hour and a bed
full of rocks both concealed and above water. Myothit is at the
mouth of the defile and the Taping is 180 yards wide here with a
depth of 9 feet in the centre in the cold weather and a current of 3
miles an hour. After this point it winds about through the plains
and joins the Irrawaddy a mile and a half above Bhamo.
The Nampaung is a rocky torrent rising near Alaw Pum. It is
about 30 yards wide at its mouth and easily fordable all through its
course, the latter part of which is between impassable hills. Its
chief importance is that it forms the boundary line with China.
North of the Taping on the left bank is the Molfe, which the
Kachins call Manii kba. It joins the Irrawaddy about 5 miles above
Bhamo close to Kyungyi after a very tortuous course through the
plains and is navigable for large country-boats as far as Hnget-
pyadaw. Above this it is a rocky torrent, though it is fordable in
many places coming out of the Kadon, Wach6n, and Khwikhaw hills.
Below Khwikhaw it is only a foot deep with a breadth of 15 yards.
The Nam Sang kha rises to the west of Bumra Shikong and enters
the Irrawaddy opposite Hotha about 5 miles south of Ayeindama.
1 1 appears to be navigable as far as Pantong for small boats. At
Ka-u in January the stream is 40 yards broad and 2 feet deep, with
sandy gravelly bottom, free from stones, and a ver)' sluggish current.
The Namien kba rises in Namien Ku Pum. In the hills it is a
rocky torrent full of boulders and deep holes. I1 is fordable, but not
without difficulty. At Loisaw in the plains west of Hop6ng it
begins to be navigableand enters the Irrawaddy near VVaingmaw,
not far below Myilkyina. Other streams on the left bank are all
torrents and unnavigable.
On the right bank the Mogaung river is the chief tributary of
the Irrawaddy, which it enters in 34° 53'. It rises in the north-
west of the Hukawng valley above latitude 26^ and flows south-east.
As far as Kamaing it retains its old Shan name of Nam Kawng. It
is navigable for steam-launches as far as Laban, up to which point
it is never less than 50 yards wide and usually averages 70. Be-
tween Kamaing and Laban the channel is apt to shift, and sandbanks
studded with snags impede free navigation. The Mogaung river
fla
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. I.
in its lower reaches is tortuous and the country on cither side is
mostly jungle-covered, while low hills shut the river in.
The only other tributary of any importance on the right bank of
the Irrawaady is the Nam Kwi This rises to the north in the lati-
tude of the confluence and runs southward parallel to the Irrawaddy
until it enters that river 5 miles south of H^chetn. It is 60 yards
wide and 2i feel deep with a good sound bottom.
Little is known of the streams in the Kachin Hills north of the
confluence, but none appear to be navigable and they are all very
much alike with deep rocky gorges and precipitous Banks covered
with deep jungle. Bridges arc unknown, but, except in the rains, the
rivers seem to be all fordable. Most of the drainage of the country
between the Mali and the'Nmal flows eastwards into the latter river.
In the mass of hills there are three main ranges. The western-
most of these is the water-parting between the Chindwin and
the Irrawaddy. Under the name of the Patkoi or Pikoi range it
runs east and west across the north of the Hukawng valley and
then, under the name of Jaumong Pum, turns south and forms the
eastern limit of the same valley. Farther south still it is known as
the Kam6n range and a little north of Mogaung a large spur goes off
dividing the Tanai from the Mogaung river. So far as is known, its
highest peak lies to the north-east of the Hukawng valley and rises
to a height of over 10,000 feet, tast of this range lies the water-
shed between the Mali and the 'Nmai l-ha, the heart of the Kachin
country. This is but little known beyond its southern extremity.
East of this again is the water-parting between the Irrawaddy and
the Salween. This splits into two before arriving at the known part
of the Kachin country, one branch dividing the Irrawaddy from the
Taping, and the other separating the Taping from the Nam Mao or
Shweli. The highest peak in the more northerly branch is Bumra
Shikong, 8,523 feet. The southern branch rises to a height of about
7,000 feel west of Loisao to the south-west of Nam Ilkam. In the
early morning in December the lowlying hills and plains are covered
with a dense raw fog and there are very heavy dews later. In the
higher country from the end of November until the end of March
there is a cool breeze during the day and frosts at night. In Janu-
ary the sun in the middle of the day is hot and a haze begins which
gradually thickens till it is laid by the rains. The rainfall during
the wet season is heavy, but has not been registered.
Only a very small portion of the northern and eastern frontiers of
Tk^ci,. uii t^*-* S^^" Stales have been as yet defined. The
area, however, may be estimated at between
40,000 and 50,000 square miles, and broadly speaking they may
be said to lie between the I9lh and 24th parallels of latitude and
the 96tli and 102nd of longitude. It must, however, be understood
that their shape is roughly that of a triangle, with its base on the
plains of Burma and its apex on the M^khong river, so that to the
eastward the superficial area rapidly diminishes.
The ranges which run fan-wise (roni tliehigh steppes of Tibet are
at first almost as sharply defined as the deep gorges in which the
rivers run. But as the ribs of a leaf fade away into the texture, so,
as space is gained, the ridges spread out and fall away. The Irra-
waddy and the Mfekhong gain space for their basins at the expense
of the Salween, so that not only is this river crushed up in its bed,
but its watershed on either side is so compressed that, though it falls
away, there is not room to form a plain. This is what causes what
is called the Shan plateau. The original Satween-Irrawaddy water-
shed is disturbed in its continuity by the Taping and the Shweli,
which split it into two and then comes a geological fault, where the
Namtu or Myit-ngfe takes its rise at no great distance from the Sal-
wet-n and runs east and west across the map into the Inawaddy.
This completely breaks up the first well marked water-parting and
leaves the table-land of the Shan States, which is roughened by
ridges of its own, all of them still in favour of the Irrawaddy. On
the eastern side the water-parting between the Salween and the
Mekhong keeps up its continuity much further south, and if the
Salween has the advantage in the Namting. the Mfekhong " comes
me cranking in " with the Namlwi and cuts a monstrous cantleout.
Before, however, there is room for a table-land to form, the Mfekhong
makes its huge sweep from Chieng Usen to ihe east and leaves
space for the various streams which form the Mtnam to continue
the constriction of the last stages of the Salween basin.
The Shan plateau is therefore properly only the coimtry between
the Salween and the Irrawaddy. On the west it is abruptly mark-
ed by the long line of hills, which begin about Bhamo and run
ithwards till they sink into the plains of Lower Burma. On the
ist it is no less sharply marked by the deep narrow rift of the Sal-
ween, the most uncompromising natural boundary in the world.
The average height of the plateau is between 2,000 and .1,000
feet, but it is seamed and ribbed by mountain ranges which split
up and run into one another, though they still preserve the original
north and south direction, and leave here and there space for broad
rolling downs and sometimes only for flat-bottomed valleys. On
the north the Shan States are barred across by the east and west
ranges which follow the line of the Namtu. The huge mass of
Loi Ling, 8,842 feet, projects southward from this and from either
«4
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. t.
side of it and to the southward extends the wide billowy plain
which forms the most important part of the Shan Slates and ex-
tends down to Mong Nai. The ascent from the plains of Burma
leads to a similar series of downs, a sort of shelf which overlooks the
valley of the Irrawaddy until it breaks into a confused mass of peaks
and ridges in the Karen hills. Elsewhere the spaces between the
hills are either Ions; riband-lines of cultivation in a river valley, or
circular plains bounded by entering and re-entering spurs. In the
Northern Shan States, south of the Namtu, the watershed between
the Irrawaddy and the Salween is a mere undulation of the ground,
and then through broken country it trends westward, until in the
Myelat it reaches the edge of the plateau which overlooks the plains
of Burma.
The highest peaks are in the north and the south. Loi Ling
mentioned above is the highest point west of the Salween, and in
Kokang and other parts of North Hsenwi there are many peaks
above 7,000 feet, and the same heights are nearly reached in the
hills of the Karen country. The majority of the inierniediate
parallel ranges have an average of between 4,cx}o and 5,000 feet
with peaks rising to over 6,000.
The country beyond the Salween is much less open and more
hilly, that is to say, instead of a rolling plateau there is a mass of
broken hills. It presents no clearly defined range of mountains,
but rather a confused and intricate mass of hills, where the several
drainage systems may be said to overlap each other, and, beyond
a few narrow valleys and some insignificant plains, no open space
is seen until Keng Tung ^w'li*^^ 's in the basin of the Miikhong)
is reached. Except in the north, as is the case west of the Sal-
ween, the hills are clad with dense forest. In the south towards the
M6nam they range from 2,000 to 3,000 feet, while in the north
towards the \Va States they average from 5,000 to 7,000. Several
peaks rise to 8,oco feel, such as Loi Maw. 8,102, and the abrupt-
ness of the slopes, especially in the north, is very marked.
The Salween and the Mfekhong have been generally described
above. The main tributaries of ihe Irrawaddy are the Nam Tu
(Myit-ng^) and the Zaw-gyi. The Nam Tu rises in a hill swamp
some distance east of Hsen VVi town, runs west into Tawng Peng,
I-oi Long, south ihrough mountain gorges into the Hsi Paw valley,
and then through the narrow Pyaun^ Shu gorge down to Amarapura.
It is navigable only to the fi>ot of the hills, but dug-outs ply on
many reaches of the upper river and it is unfordable after it enters
Tawng Peng. The Zaw-gyi rises in Lawk Sawk State and has a
most extraordinarily tortuous course until it descends to the plains
CHAP. I.]
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY.
»S
through Maw. Us waters and those of the Myittha are utiliaed
for the Kyauks6 irrigation canals.
The main tnbutaries of the Salween on the right bank are the
Nam Pang, the Nam Teng, and the Nam Pawn. The Nam Pang
rises in the hills north of Loi L6ng at no great distance from the
Salween and runs parallel to that river until it enters it some dis-
tance south of the Kaw ferrj^. It flows partly through plain coun-
try and partly between low jungle-covered hills, but everywhere it
is noted for its rocky bottom, which appears in reefs and ruptures
producing cataracts throughout its entire course, and it finally enters
the Salween in a foaming descent several hundred yards long. At
Keng Hkam, 15 miles above this, it is quarter of a mile wide
with numerous islands. It is unfordable south of Mong Hkao in
West Mang Lonand boats ply upon it locally, but as a stream it is
unnavigable. The Nam Teng rises in the hills to the west of Mong
Kiing on the watershed range and flows through Kehsi Man Hsam,
Lai Hka, and Mong Nawng into KOng Tawng and enters the Sal-
ween at Ta Hsup Teng on the border of Mawk Mai and Karenni.
Like the Nam Pang it is full of rocks and boulders in its upper
course, but in the plains of Lai Hka and Keng Tawng it becomes
comparatively sluggish and clay-buttonicd. In its lower course it
enters among the hills, and the last few miles are little better than
a lasher. It is therefore unnavigable, but far up Into Lai Hka there
are boats on it which serve ferries and move about locally.
Unlike ihese two the Nam Pawn is shut in between hills through-
out its entire course, with only occasional breaks of narrow plain
land. It rises on the borders of Lai Hka and Mong Pawn and south-
ward of the capital of the latter State is fordable only in a few
places and indeed runs for miles through narrow gorges. It enters
the Salween in Karenni at Pa/aung. The Nam Pawn receives the
waters of the Nam Pilu, which issues as a considerable stream from
the Yawng Hwe lake and is navigable for 70 miles to Loi Kaw in
Karenni. A few miles below that place it sinks into the ground
and so joins the Nam Pawn at the foot of the hills some miles away.
A little lower the Nam Tu, rising in the hilts of ihe Brfe Karens,
enters the Nam Pawn not far from its mouth. Its course is of the
same hilly character as that of the Nam Pawn and like it it is un-
navigable.
On the left bank of the Salween the chief tributaries are the Nam
Ting, the Nam Hka, and the Nam Hsim. The Nam Ting rises in
the Chinese Shan States to the north-west of Shunning-fu and,
flowing nearly due west, enters the Salween some miles below
Kun L6ng ferry, where it forms the boundary between North Hsen
d6
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. I.
Wi and S6n Mu States. In its upper course it is shut in by hills,
but near its mouth it has a fairly wide flat valley, which affords
abundance of room for the terminus of the Mandalay-Kun LAng
Railway. The Nam Hka appears to have its chief source in the
mountain lake of Nawng Hkeo. It receives a number of affluents
from the well-watered VVa country and is increased in volume by the
Nam Ping flowing northwards out of Keng Tong State. As far as
is known, it is unnavigable at its mouth as it is for most parts of
its course, though it is unfordable in most parts far up in the \Va
States. It is shut in by hills, except in a very few places, the chief
ofwhich is Pang Hseng opposite Mong Ngaw in Mong Lem ter-
ritory. The Nam Hsim is also a river of considerable size and
rises in the range to the north-west of Keng Tang. Throughout
it has a very rapid current and in its lower reaches it seems to be
little better than a torrent. It is only fordablein dry weather on the
southern of the two routes to Keng Tong. In addition to these
there are great numbers of shorter affluents, sometimes with a con-
siderable volume of water, but with only a short course and useful
only as means of floating out timber, or as roads down to the Sal-
ween.
The climate of the Shan States varies very considerably. From
December to February or March it is cool everywhere and on the
open downs sometimes as much as lo degrees of frost are experi-
enced. In most parts during the hot weather the shade temperature
does not exceed from 80° to 90** Fahr., but in the narrow vallevs
and especially in the Salween valley the shade maximum reaches
over 1 00° regularly for several weeks about April. Even on the
highest peaks of the north snow seems to fall but very rarelv.
White frosts are, however, nearly universal in the paddy valleys,
where condensation greatly reduces the temperature and greater
cold is experienced than on the ridges several ihou.sand feet above.
The rains begin about the end of April or the beginning of May,
but they are not continuous until August, which appears always to
be the wettest month. The rainfall varies greatly, but seems to
range from about 60 inches in the broader valleys to about too on
the higher mountains.
The fauna of Upper Burma does not greatly differ from that of
P the Lower Province, particulars of which will be
found in the British Burma Gasetteer, or in the
more elaborate works edited by Dr. Blanford. The hilly country
naturally contains other species, but the subject is not one that can
be condensed, and as yet no one has had the leisure to carry on
systematic scientific research, or to record the results he may nave
CHAP. I.J
PHYSICAL GKOGRAPHY.
27
obtained which would be new to specialists. In general terms it
may be said that the birds and beasts. of the Chin, Kachin, and Shan
hills seem to be much the same. The elephant is to be found near
any of the plains where water is plentiful and the herds are occasion-
ally large in the Shan States. Bison {Gavteus gaurus) are to be
found in the same localities. Rhinosceros^ both the Sumatrensis
and the Sondaicus, are found both on the Irrawaddy and the Sal-
wecn, and near them are usually saing {Gavceus Sondaicus). Ail
kinds of deer (sambhur, hog-deer, barking-deer, and brow-anllered
deer) are met with almost in all parts, and the ghural and the serow
{/Vemorhtedus Bulfah'na) are ionnd on the more secluded and jungly
slopes, as are some of the Capridie. The tiger and the panther
are almost too common in many parts of the hills, and man-eaters
of both species were for a time numerous in the Shan States.
All of the Felidm, indeed, are abundant, as well as the Viverridcs
and paradoxures or tree-cats. The common and the small-clawed
otter haunt most streams and both the Malayan sun-bear and the
Himalayan black bear do much harm to hill cultivation and fre-
quently maul the cultivators. The wild dog hunts in packs, and
it is confidently asserted that the jackal also Has been seen, though
the belief was thai he docs not exist in Burma. Badgers and
porcupines are widely distributed, and monkeys and apes (Afacacus
and Semuopithecus) exist in great variety, as do squirrels, some with
very handsome furs. Hares are common wherever there is pasture
for them. Wild boar are very abundant, but never in country where
they can bo coursed, and the pangolin, or armadillo as he is usually
called, finds abundance of ants to eat, though he is not often seen
himself. Bats and the various kinds of Muridce, as well as voles,
are particularly numerous in their species.
The birds of Burma have been specially dealt with by Mr. Eugene
Oates. Several rare varieties of pheasant have been found in the
Shan States and the argus and silver pheasants are to be got with
reasonable certainty by those who seek for them. The number of tree
partridges is considerable and the painted quail has been shot.
Woodcock arc extensively found, but not in such numbers as to
deprive the succefssful shot of complacency. The Anatidtesxe found
in very great variety. Nearly 20 varieties have been shot on the
Aungplnle water near Mandalay, and the number of species obtained
on the Yawng Hwe and smaller remote lakes greatly exceeds this.
The Columhid(e are very numerous from the great imperial pigeon
to the smallest variety of the green pigeon. Birds of prey are abund-
ant, but seem to be of the usual species. They cover very wide
tracts of country. The English cuckoci {Cucttlus canorus) occurs,
but the black cuckoo of India is far more common. It begins to
38 THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. I.
call in the Shan States towards the end of March. The lark ap-
pears to be the same as the European species and sings as sweetly.
Both the sarus {Grus antigone) and the demoiselle crane are found
in the Shan States, but the former is the commoner. The Bncerotidoe^
or hombills, are found in great variety wherever there is much forest,
and the PicidcB^ or woodpeckers, are still more numerous in species
and in brilliance of plumage. Singing birds are more common in
the hills than in the plains, and many of the Turdidis are as mellow
in their note as those of home gardens. Of the smaller birds at high
altitudes many are no doubt new to science.
So far as is known, the reptilian fauna of Upper Burma differs in
no way from that of the Lower Province. The Chapter by Mr.
Theobald in the British Burma Gazetteer may be consulted, as well
as that on ichthyology in the same work.
Cobras are rare in the hills. In some places the necklace snake,
the Tic polonga or Russel's viper, is particularly common, as for
example at MInbu. The BungaruSy or Krait, on the contrary is
rare.
In all the hill streams the niahseer and the carp in several varie-
ties are very common. The former have been caught with the rod
in the Nam Teng and other rivers up to 28 pounds.
CHAP. II.]
HISTORY.
39
CHAPTER II.
HISTORY.
TH£ RSIGNS OF KING MINDON AND KING TBIBAW FROM
BURMESE SOURCES.
In the British Burma Gase/ieer, published in 1880, the history
of Burma is brought down to the end of the second Burmese war,
that is to say, to the year 1853. The end of the war was practical-
ly coincident with the fall of Pagan Min and the ascent of the
throne by Mindon Min. In the papers of the Hlutdaw was found
a sort of Annual Register, a chronicle in Burmese, of the events of
the King's reign, and from this the following disjointed narrative of
events is translated, with notes by foreign servants of the King
added here and there. The history is singularly parochial. Little
notice is taken of what passed outside of Burma, very little indeed
of events outside of the capital. But since it furnishes an example
of the way in which the Burmese thought history should be record-
ed, it seems a document worth preserving, and it is given exactly as
the annalist wrote it down with the margmal notes added by a later
scribe. It gives a remarkably good picture of the King, one nf
the best Kings Burma ever had. He was for ever engaged in pious
and meritorious works, and these are sedulously chronicled. He was
genial and amiable and passionately anxious for peace ; he was
imperious In his manner ; he was very easily led, and yet he had a
high sense of his responsibilities ; he was vain and proud of his
Buddhistic learning, yet he was eager for knowledge and anxious
to keep himself informed of the progress of events in foreign
counlries. All this is naively brought out by the Burman historian.
This history of King Mindon is followed by details from native
sources of the accession of King Thibaw and of the chief events in
his short reign.
In the month of November 1852 there was a dacoity in the
Danun quarter of Amarapura, at the house of Ma Th^, the sister of
Ma Ywe, the Pagan King's nurse. The dacoity took place at one
in the morning and the same day Pagan Min ordered the Myowun,
who was Governor of the city, to arrest the dacoils. The MyoTvun
immediately sent for Shwe Hnya and Nga Lat, two notoriously bad
characters, and told them they must Bnd the dacoits. Upon this
3°
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. II.
these two men said that a few days before the dacoity they saw
the Kanaung Min's men, Nga Yan Gale, Nga Thdn Byin, and Nga
Shwe Waing, come oui of Ma Thfe's house. These men were
arrested and examined, but nothing was found against ihem. They
were, however, delained because they were the Kanaung Min's men,
and shortly afterwards they were again exanrjned before the Taung'
dve Bo, Maung Tok, and the Ponna U'utj, Maung Kala, inside the
Palace, but still noihing came out about the dacoits. The Myintal
Bo, Maung Po, then represented to Pagan Min that, besides these
three men, there were others from Shwcbo living in the houses of
Mind6n Min and Knnaung Min. He gave the names of the fol-
lowing men, — Maung Kh^, Maung Net Pya, Maung Shwe Eik,
Maung Shwe Thalk, Maung Shwe Tha, and Maung Thu Yin.
Upon this Mindon Min's Akytsaye, Maung Pa, the Kanaung A/i/f
tka's Akyisaye, Maung Yfe, Maung Hnin, and the Kunyagaung,
Maung Shwe Aung, were thrown into prison and ordered to deliver
up these men. The Kanaung Mintha and Mindon Min's chief
Akyidan\ Maung Yan We, then went logether to Mind6n Min's
house and set the matter before him. They pointed out how these
men had been falsely imprisoned and that there was a regular plot
to misrepresent the matter to Pagan Min and to secure the punish-
ment of these men contrary to justice. They therefore advised
Mindon Min for his own sake to leave the place. At first Mindon
Min objected and said that after the death of his father he looki
upon Pagan Min, his elder brother, as having taken the place of"
his father, and respected him accordingly. Pagan Min, moreover,
had given both him and the Kanaung Min a greater number of
cities for their portion and therefore it was right that he should ex-
pect submission. This he repeated three or four times. The
Kanaung Mintha pointed out again that it was the Ministers who
were falsely representing the matter to the King, and that even if he
and Mindon Min did rot leave the city, they ought to allow their
servants to do so, in order that they at least might escape punish-
ment. Then at last Mindon Min sent for his chief followers and
pointed out that the enquiry into the dacoity case was being carried
on in a very unusual way. The investigation was not held in the
lilutdav) as it ought to have been, or at least In the Bybiaik^ or the
police courts, but was being conducted in the south garden of the
palace by the Taungdive Boy Maung Tok, and the Ponna Wun,
Maung Kala, who were thus able to do what they pleased. Min-
d6n Min also added that he had heard from some of the queens
that the object was to prove that he and the Kanaung Mintha had
instigated the dacoity and so to get them into trouble ; he therefore
wished to know what his people thought of the matter. The Kan-
CHAP. U.]
HISTORY.
3«
I
I
I
I
I
aung Aftntha said that it was clear to him that there was an orga-
nized plot to bring them into disgrace with the King and ultimately
to secure their downfall. He then went on to remind them what his
and Mindon Min's mother had often related: how a few days be-
fore Mind6n Min was bom in 1814 a vast multitude of people had
come to worship at the Ratanamyazu pagoda at Myedi to the
north of Amarapura. This she always maintained foretold a high
destiny for Mindon, who was to become head of the religion and pro-
tector of the people. Another omen also there was : a banyan tree
in front of their residence in Amarapura, opposite the Shwe Linbin
Pagoda, burst into flower, which is against the law of nature. Many
people from all parts of the country came to see and worship before
this tree, and from that time all the people loved and respected
Mindon Min. The Kanaung Mintha was therefore of opinion that
they should all immediately leave the city and make for a safe place,
where they could consider what was to be done, and put themselves
in communication with their friends, the i'A"-Madaya 7vun, Maung
On Sa, the ^A-Kyaiikhmo myowun, Maung Nun Bon, the ex-
Yabat Myintat Bo, Maung Kyi, the Kyaukmyaung Myook, Maung
Yi, the f;v-Myedu Myowun, Maung Hlaing, Maung Nyat Pya,
Maung Pa, Maung Thaing, Maung Shwe Ut, Maung Shwe Ba,
Maung Shwe Thct, Maung Gyi, Maung W'alng, Maung Kyi, Maung
Thel Pyin, Maung Shwe Tha, Maung Tu Yin, Maung Taung Ni,
Maung Tha Dun, Maung A Ka, and their relations and followers
in Madaya, Singu, Kyaukmyaung, Shwebo, Myi:du, Tabayin, Pyin-
sali, Thontabin, and other places in the north of the kingdom. When
they had consulted with these people some plan might be formed
for the future. Mind6n Min then said that while he was keeping
fast at the time when his father was living in the temporary palace at
Myedi, a pickle of radishes was made in a jar and the next day the
radishes sprouted. Also while he was living in his former house, a
gardener of Myingun brought a branch of a (lowering tree which was
planted in the garden and burst into blossom only a day or two
afterwards, both of which events were looked upon as fortunate
omens and treasured up in the memory of his mother. Again, one
day when Mindon Min was getting into his carriage to go to the
palace, a small bird called Shive-pyt-so settled on his shoulder, and
this was generally interpreted to mean that one day he would be
King of the Golden City.
Upon this the Prince's following declared that there was evidently
a conspiracy against them. The dacoily had been really commit-
ted by Ma Ywe's men, Nga Hlaing, Maung Shwe Thu, Maung
Tok Tu, and others, but it was now sought to throw the blame of
it on the Prince's men. They were therefore unanimously of
3a
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. ri.
Opinion that they should leave Amarapura, and all promised to serve
Miiidun Mill iaithfuily and devote their lives to his service.
Mind6n Min upon this yielded and he, with all his family and fol-
lowing, to the number of 300, left his house in Amarapura on the
8ih/fl5fl«of Pyatho (i8th December) 185a at about seven o'clock at
night. When they reached the north-eastern gate called Lagyun
they found the door closed. The gatekeeper Nga Po Gaung re-
fused to open it and was killed by one of the Kanaung AfintHa's
men. They then went on to the Arakan pagoda, where they over-
powered the guard and seized their arms and ammunition. Beyond
this al the Yaliaing bazaar an unknown man presented Mindon Min
with a large white pony, which the Prince mounted and rode always
after this. The party camped for the night at Madaya.
The Pomia iVutt, Maung Kala, was the first to report the flight of
the Princes to King Pagan, who immediately sent a Tkanda-sjsin to
see whether it was true. He then ordered the Taungdwe Bo,
Maha-minhla-kyawdin, and the Ponna Wun Mingyi, Maha-min-
kyaw-tazaung, with 500 men to follow and seize them. They with
the Madaya IVun's forces attacked the two Princes on the 19th
December, but were defeated. The Taung Winhmu, Thado-min-
kyaw-maha-mjngaung-yazalhu, with 1,000 men then came and took
over command from the Taungdwe Bo and the Ponna Wun. The
Wundauk Mittgyi, Maha-minkyaw-mindin, the Myauk Tayangase
Bo, Maha-minhla-tazaung, the Yabat Myintai Bo, Maha-mindin-
mingaung, also sent up 500 men by river.
When they arrived at Sagyintaung the Kanaung Afiniha made
his brother Mindon, with the women and children and servants, go
on to Singu, while he remained behind to attack the pursuers. When
the Taungdzve Bo, the Ponna Wun, and the Madaya Wun reached
Sagyin with 1,000 troops the Kanaung Mintha met them with 60
men stationed in the centre of the valley, 60 men under Maung Shwe
Thet on the eastern side, and 60 men under Maung Mo on the west-
ern side of the valley. The King's forces attacked, but were beaten
off and then the Kanaung Mintha followed his brother over lo
Singu. At Shweg6ndaing a number of Shans with arms and
ammunition joined them and at Segyet and other villages along the
line of march people flocked in to support them or ^ive them
weapons. At Singu Mindon Min with the women ana children
crossed the river first and then the Kanaung Mintha made the
Myook a prisoner, crossed over, and destroyed all the boats. The
parly then made for !"Cyaukmyaung, where 130 men were picked out
and hidden on the bank of the rivec near Makaukmala. When the
Taung Winhmu with the Taungd-we Bo and the Ponna Wun with
CHAP, ir.]
H [STORY.
33
their men came up this party suddenly attacked ihem from their
ambush and killed a great number and so checked the pursuit.
Meanwhile Mindon Min held a conference as to what point he should
ft make for and suggested Shwebo. The Ngamyo VtvadJ:, Maung
' T6k Gyl, was against this. Shwebo he said was well defended ana
beyond their strength, and he therefore advised a march to Manipur.
The Yindaw WmigyCs son, Maung Po Hlaing, however, pointed out
that hitherto in all their skirmishes they had been victorious against
the King's troops and reminded ihem that the Shwebo IVun was so
hated by the people that they would not fight for him. A retreat
Ion Manipur he said would alienate all ihe people who had declared
for them, while the capture of Shweb i would gain over a still larger
number. Maung So, who afterwards became Yenangyaung Mingyi
and other officials united in supporting this advice and a party of
about 1,000 men was sent to attack Shwebo. A few men went
on in front to set fire to some houses, and during the confusion the
rest rushed into the town. The Shwebo Wun, who had 3,000 men
with him, was routed and fled for his life. Mindon Min immediate-
ly afterwards marched into the town and look up his quarters in the
kAVmis house preparatory to building himself a palace. This was
on the lath /rfjffn of Pyatho (the aand December) of the same
year. Immediate preparations were made for the defence of the
place. Maung Shwo Bvin, the Myintai Bo of Hladawgyi, with all his
lamily, relations, and following, to the number of 100 with 100
ponies, came in and was appointed a chief Bo with a force of 500
men stationed at I lalin to the south of Shwebo. Maung Shwe Thcl
also with a command of 500 men was stationed at Kauk and Ta-6n
to the east of the city, and Maung Hlaing had the defence of the
north with headquarters at Pyinzala, Thontabin, and Myedu. After
this a number of Saivb-was came in and gave their allegiance lo Min-
don Min and were confirmed in their titles and appointments.
VVhen Pagan Min heard of the defeat of his troops and the loss
of Shwebo he appointed his vounger brother, Hlaing Min Thiri-
dhammayaza, to the command of 1 ,000 men and gave him as assist-
ants the Daing Wundauk, Myank Taya-ngasd Bo, and the Amyauk
IVun and despatched them to operate by way of Sagaing. He also
gave the Mohnyin Prince, Thiridhammayaza, and his son, the Hlaing-
det Prince, Thadominyfe Kyawdin, 500 men and sent them up by
way of Alon.
Meanwhile the force commanded by the Taung IVinhmu, the
Taungdwe Bo,^x\&x\\G Ponna J fun again advanced to the attack at
Ta-6n and were met by Mindon-Min's leaders Bo Thet, Bo Maung
Gyi, Bo Be, Bo Waing, and Bo Kyh. The King's troops were again
~ defeated and fled with the enemy in hot pursuit across the river to
34
THE UPPER BURMA GAZErfEER. [CHAP. il.
Singu, and at a villajE^e, Khulaing, in that circle the Taung li'inhmu
and the Tonngdwe Bo were captured togeiher with their elephants,
gold cups, swords, and umbrellas and other insignia by Bo Waing and
a Shan trader and handed over lo Mindon Min's people at Ta-dn.
The Ponna IVun, however, escaped. At Halin also, to the south of
Shwebo Mind6n's troops were equally successful. The royal forces
commanded by (he Paunjr IVunfinuk, Maung Kini, and the Yabai
Myiniat 80, Maung Po, were completely rcuted by Bo Byin and Bo
Hpa, and the Myauk-faya-ngasd Bo committed suicide m a sayat.
Bo Byin thtn marched south to Saqain^; with 1,000 men and on his
way, at Samun, came upon Hlaing Min, who fought most deter-
minedly, but in the end was beaten back with great loss of arms and
amniunit-Dn. which were sent to Shwebo. Mindon Min now appoint-
ed the She Winhmu, Tharawun Mingyi Mahamingaung, to the cnn»*
mand of the forces on the east of the river with the Yaukmyaung
Bo, Mahamingyaw, the Thetchobin Bo^ Minhlaiazaung, the Singu
Afyo-wnn, Mingyaw, and the Madaya Bo as his lieutenants. Tnc
lauug Winhmtt Afittgyi, Mahaiayabyaw, was at about the same
lime despatched to Al6n to fight the Mohnyin Prince, whom he
defeated. Upon this the That6n iVnngyi, Mahayazathugyaw, was
appointed Commander-in-Chief of all the forces and marched for
Amarapura by way of Sagaing.
Pagan Min now called an assembly of all the chief f>ongyis and
ficdesiasiics and officials in Amarapura and explained the situation
to them. The troops which he had sent against the revolted
princes had all been beaten, and on account of the constant drain of
men to the lower country to fight the British there were no more
fighting men left. He did not wish the people to be oppressed, or
burdened on his account and he was therefore willing to abdicate in
favour of Mindon Min and wished the assemblage to authorize
representatives to go and inform Mindon Min of this decision.
Accordingly the Ma?we IVundttuk Mingyi. Maha-minhla-sithu-
amahayanemyo-sithu, Than dang an Tat Pau. Ameindawya Maung
Po, with the Chief Gaivgoks, were sent off 10 Mind6n Min. At
Saya village in Sagaing, however, they met the Talok ^^'wtgyi, who
refused to allow them to go on to Shwebo, so they had to return to
Amarapura again, whither also all the troops sent out by Pagan Min
returned. The Zal6n Wungyi, Maha-yaza-thukyaw, thereupon took
possession of Sagaing and Mind»^n Min sent some representatives to
the British troops, asking them, In consideration of former friend-
ship, to delay their advance for the present.
Pagan Min meanwhile held another conference in the palace and
said that, since his peaceable overtures had not only not been receiv-
ed, but the messengers ^f peace had actually been turned back, there
I
CHAP. II.]
HISTORY.
35
remained nothing bul lo fortify the city, shut the gates, and mount
all the guns on the walls, so as to make the best possible defence.
The Kyiwun Mingy! , Thadomingyi Mahathetdawshe, was appointed
to command the norih wall, Meyinzaya Athonnun, Thadomingyi
Mahamingaungmindin, to command on the east, Myana;ng Aihdn-
wutt, Thadoming)'i-maha-minhla-minkyaw, on the south. The
Hlaing Prince, wiih the title of Eingshemitiy Thiri-mahadhamma-
yaza, commanded on the western side of the city. Tlie Pagan Min
came out of the palace in a State carriage and made an inspection
of t!ie troops all round the walls and returned to the palace again.
When the Zalon Wiiugyi heard of these arrangements for the
defence he put Bo Hai in command of alt the forces on the east side
t)i the city, sent the Taungbo Myifignung, Maha-mingaung-thuya,
forward with 4,000 men on the south, and gave the Papai AthouTvun
and Uladawgyi Bo Byin 2,000 men each 10 attack on the west and
north sides of the city. The troops, however, when they reached the
suburbs surrounded the city, but instead of fighting they plundered
the country, dug up treasure, and burned and sacked in a way which
had never been known in Burma before. Meanwhili? Mindon Min,
seeing that the city was very strongand well supplied with provisions,
and that it was necessary to have a man in command who was well
acquainted with the country, appointed his brother Commander-in-
Chief of all the forces with the title of Eingshemin (heir-apparent)
and sent him with 5,000 men from Shwebo. The Eingshemin left
Shwebo on the 1 1 th January v853andarrivedat Sagaingon the 18th,
He dug up two cannon which were buried in Ava and conmenced to
bombard the town with them. These cannon were 5 cubits 4 inches
long, 2 J cubits in circumference, with a bore of 1 span. The followers
ot the Mohnyin Prince and his son, the HIaingdet Prince, who had
been defeated at Alon, gradualfy deserted and dwindled away and the
two leaders with a few' followers were seized by the Governor of Myin-
gyan at Pun-ngo ami handed over as prisoners 10 the Eingshemin at
Sagaing. Shortly after this a number of the Pagan Min :» troops, who
had been sent to light the British in Lower Burma, retuined and joined
the Eingshemin. Notwithstanding these successes, Mindon Min
lost patience with the slow progress o[ the siege and sent orders to
push matters on. Delay, he said, would be punished with the ex-
ecution of the Zalon Afzngyi and all the other officials. The fight-
ing then became very severe and many fell on both sidtrs. Of the
Pagan Min's supporters the Afyaukdawebo Maha-mylnaung yaza and
the AmyaukTvun Mingyi Maha-mlndin-mingaung were killetf, but still
no definite advantage was gained. The main body of the troops
sent by Pagan Min to fight the British under the Kyaukpadaung
Wungyi Thado-Lhudharania-niaba-mingaung and the Sittaung Wun-
3«
^
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. II.
^_V; Thado-minyfc-mingaung now returned and, when they met Min-
don Mill's troops, ihey all deseiled and handed over their leaders to
the Eingshemin al Sagaint;. The iw o generals were placed in palan-
quins and carried round the city walls of Amarapura to dishearten
the garrison and were made to call out, " Give up all hope for we
have been captured." Upon this a large body of the King's truops
deserted with their arms. These were taken and sent to Sagaing
and the men were allowed lo go to their villages. The HIaing
Prince, however, made a sally and overthrew Mmdon's troops and
drove them back to the river. He then camped with a thousand
men at Parani, opposite the Nandamu gate, to the south-west of
the city. This was on the i8th February, but on the same day the
Kyaukhmu IVungyi^ who had been keeping up a correspondence
with the Crown Prince at Sagaing and had secretly won over the
troops, suddenly arrested the Kyi-wun Mitifryi Maung Pyaw, Afhiht
-wuti Maung Po, Siti-athomvun Maung Pauk Si, WuttJau/: Maung
Than Ni, Wutidauk Maung Shwe Yi, and other influential oflicials
immediately after a meeting of the Hint. Mind6n Min's troops
were then admitted into the city and overran it all. When the
HIaing Prince heard the uproar he returned with a few troops, but
was almost Immediately overpowered and killed.
The same night the Eingshemin came over from Sagaing and
stayed at the Yenarttia'd\ or water palace, and moved next day into
the Illut after having put guards over the 13 gates of the city and
the four gates of the palace. All the arms in the city were collect-
ed and stored in the Hlutda-x and the Pagan Min's ofFlcials were
all arrested, while the crown and the royal robes and insignia were
sent to Shwebo. Mlndon Min sent strict orders that Pagan Min
was to be treated with every consideration and to be allowed to
live in the AUnandaia (the central palace) with all his queens.
He was bom on the second lasan of Waso 181 1, ascended the
throne at the age of 35, and reigned for six years and three months
until the i8th of February 1853, at 9 o'clock in the morning (as
the Burman chronicles remark with great exactitude). He was
then 41 years and eight months of age and died of small-pox in
Mandalay in 1881.
Mind6n Min had already at Shwebo received the allegiance of
many of the Shan Saubwas. He now sent to summon in the rest
lo make their submission and ordered all fA-oflicials to come in also.
The Tawngpeng Sawbwa Thiha-pappa-yaza was the first to appear
and brought presents of gold, silver, ponies, gongs, and iegfiet (pick-
led tea), and received in return a gold saM studded with emer-
alds, a diamond and a ruby ring, pasos, and other gifts. He return-
ed to his State almost immediately. In accordance with the advice
CHAP. II.]
HISTORY.
37
of the astrologers and wise men the beating of ihe palace bells
and drums was stopped on the ^.yth February and nothing was
beaten but the gong until the time of the coronation.
Pagan Min's mother, sister, aunt, and Bag)idaw*s daughter and
three daughters of Tharrawaddi Min were sent to Shwebo and were
established there in a temporary palace, specially built for them.
On the 4lh waning of Tagu at " one in the morning,*' yi'wg Tharra-
waddi's eldest daughter, the sister of the Pagan Min, was brought
from the palace with great pomp and ceremony to the place where
Mindon Min was. He received her with equal ceremony and state
at the Afyenatty the main building of the palace, and the marriage
service according to Burmese royal custom was carried out with
great rejoicings and feastings. She was appointed chief Queen,
Bagyidaw's daughter was nominated Ald-nammadnwy or middle
Queen, Mind6n Min's former wife became Myatik-nammada-w, or
northern Queen, while a younger daughter of Tharrawaddi was named
Queen of the west, Anank-nammadaic. Oihcr former wives were
appointed queens according to their rank, or the favour they met
with from the King.
Shortly afterwards Mindon Min sent the Kyaukmyosa Mingyi to
Prome to confer with thu English about the Pegu provinces, but
nothing came of the mission and the Mingyi soon returned. The
Saga Myosa, Thaungbansa Mahazaya Wunthuyaza, presented his
sister, a girl of seventeen years of a2;e, to the K ing and she was placed
in the palace apartments. Shortly afterwards the Nyaungywe
(Yawng Mwe) Sawbwa also sent his sister. Pagan Min was sent
in a State barge, called the Udaung Paungda'v.\ with all his queens
to Shwebo, and in another barge, the Karaivatk Paungdaw, the
Eingskemitt accompanied bim They were hospitably received and
well treated by Mindon Min. Before the end of the year an Embas-
sy arrived from the Emperor of China with presents and a con-
gratulatory letter. The Ambassador was detained at Bhamo and
the letter and presents were taken on to Shwebo. King Mind6n in
his turn sent a friendly letter and presents with an Embassy to
Peking and the party went back with the Chinese emissaries. The
Burmese Embassy, however, got no further than Minsin. It was
stopped there by the Mahomedan rebellion in Yunnan. The pre-
sents and letter were sent on to Peking and the Nw/ingfi seni an
answer and further presents in acknowledgment, which were taken
to .^marapura by the Burmese mission on its return. King Min-
d6n also went in State to the Mahanantja lake, where a temporary
palace had been erected. The Eingshemin and al! the Ministers
accompanied him and the whole party ploughed the fields for paddy
cultivation. The King then assigned to the Crown Prince the
3»
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. U.
revenues of Tabayin, Taungdwingyi, Pyinzala, and Salfe, logether
with various gardens nnd paddy- lielils and the title of Mah&thu-
dhammayaza. with a complete retinue of oUciala, Eittgske WuMt
Eingshe .it/iutfu'itft, U^urihmu, Anaukivun, Nakkan, Sayegyt,
Thunsaitig, Thungit. and S'l forth. The Eingshemtn then married
hisslep-si^ler^tfie lllaing Uinthami, a daughter of Tharawaddi Min
by the Anauk-na'/imadav). Mindon Min also ordered the fhado
Xfingyi, Mahaminh'a Kyawthu, to repair the irrigation works on
the l^e^ of Mahananda, Yinhu, Gyogya, Sin:>ul, Kadu, and Pa-
laing. He also sent orders to have the palace at Amarapura repair-
ed and to build new quarters for the Eifigshemin and the Pagan
Min, and, when these were finished, he left Shwebo with all his
queens, officials, and retainers on the 5th labyi^yaw of Tasaung-
mon (November) 1853 and came down by boat to the capital. He
slept two nights on the way, at Kyaukmyaung and Myingun, and
entered the palace without any particular ceremony. Very soon
afterwards the King, with his queens, Ministers and a great follow-
ing, went to see his tild house near the Shwe Kungye-6k pagoda,
north east of Amarapura, and spent some time lookmg it all over.
In Kebruiry 1854 the Ale-nammada-w was delivered of a daughter.
About this time a large ruby, 12 inches in circumference, 4
inches in height, and 23 ticah in weight (equal lo the weight of
Rs. 51) was presented to the King by the Suii-biva of Keng Hting
I Kyaingyongyi), Zodinagara Mahathiha-pawaya Thudhammayaza,
and was broui^ht into the palace with great pomp and ceremony.
The colour of this ruby was that of the ripe ihabye-thi, the fruit
of the Eugenia, it was brought down by the Nga Thinwibwa Sikk^
and the iJaivbaya or Keng HQng Council of Stale.
The Siamese at that time were encroaching on the borders of
K^ng Tong and Keng Hung and the King despatched ihc Kyun-
daung Mivtha Thjri-yalhu-maha-dhammayaza, with a force of 3^000
men, to expel them. In the meantime, however, the Keng HOng
Sawbwa, together with the Saivbwas of Keng TOng and Mong Pu^
combined with the Mong Nai (Mont) Saivb%HX and others and de.
fealed the Siamese. The chief Siamese generals were captured,
together with a vast quantity of arms, ammunition, elephants, and
ornaments. Over a thousand men were killed and wounded and
the rest fled to their o^vn country. This was in the month of May,
and two months later the King received the thanks of the ^a-mbiaas^
according to custom, for the magnificence and power which had
enabled them to defeat tl\eir enemies. The messengers were re-
ceived with great ceremony in the Hall of Audience and the King
afterwards made a great distribution of alms \o pongyts, Brahmins,
and poor people. During the month of TawihaUn Nga ICy^, the
CtiAP. II.] HISTORY. 39
brother of one of the queens, named Ka\vngt6n, presented a large
pearl williin the shell, weighing 25J ficals.
In the same year the Burmese Embassy headed by the Namma-
daw ffw«, Mingyi Maha-mingaung-yaza (named U Pathi and for-
merly Governor of Dalla, opposite Rangoon), with numerous other
high officials, among them Mr. Mackertich, the Kaiawun, was
despatched to Lord Dalhousie at Calcutta with a royal letter and
presents. On thpir arrival they met with a brilliant reception on
the t ith of December at Government House, and were shown all
the sights of the city. At the final interview on the 23rd Decem-
ber the question of the restitution of Pegu was brought up, but (he
Viceroy was Inexorable and the mission returned unsuccessful to
Amarapura, much to the King's chagrin. About this time Mingan
Ngathul6n yaza. SA^-Myoza of Lawk Sawk (Yatsauk), came in and
presented a magic spear to the King.
In 1855 ^ return complimentary mission was sent to Amarapura
by Lord Dalhousie, with Major Arthur Phayre and a staff of jc
gentlemen. They left Rangoon on the \^\. Augusi and reached
the capital on the ist of the following month. The I'Vungyis and
Ainin-nuins gave them a hearty reception at the Residency on tlie
i-^thof September and they were most cordially received by the
King and Queen at the Hall of Audience. The Governor-General's
letter was read with a loud voice by the Thanda'xgan and the list
of presents to the King and Queen was also read. After some
gracious enquiries by the King as 10 the health of the party and
remarks on the weather, the linvoy was presented by the King
with a sahv^ of nine strings, a silver cup embossed with the signs
of the zodiac, two Hne rings, one set with rubies and the other with
sapphires and topazes, and some waist-cloths. After a final inter-
view with the King the party left Amarapura on the 2rs' October
with a letter from the King to the Goverimr-Gencral.
[ Such is the way in which the Burmese chronicle recounts the
attempt to conclude a commercial treaty.]
During this month of October there were 554 people who kept
rigorous fast. Four of these were headmen, and to them the
King gave Rs. 10 each The others were presented with Rs. 5.
Mindon Min also gave alms and robes to 6,457 ^«Wjpy'i belong-
ing to 66 different monasteries, and gave charity to Rs. 6,270 neces-
sitous old men and women.
(n this year a shipowner, named Owen, bought a steamer for
Rs. 1,22,900 and presented it to ihe King. It measured 60 cubits
along the keel and 10 cubits beam and 5 cubits down to the bottom
of the hold.
40
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CH.\P. If,
On the 28th February 1856 an Embassy was sent to Paris, with
a royal letter and presents to the Emperor of the French. The
Embassy was delayed in Cairo by the illness of the Nakkandaw, one
of the party, and did not reach Paris until the 27th September.
They were received by Count Walewski, the Minister of Foreign Af-
fairs, in October and shortly aftens-ards were presented to the Em-
peror and Empress in the Palace of St. Cloud. They were honour-^
ably received in the presence of a number of high officials and Iadi<
and the King's letter to the following purport was read : " In for-
" mer times great friendship existed between these two great coun-
" tries, but these relations have been long interrupted and therefore
** to renew now this ancient friendship, and to add to the advantage
•' and prosperity of both countries, as well as for the welfare and hap-
"piness of the subjects of each, I have sent Nakhan, Mindinyaza-
" thiriyathu, Ahmuy^, Mindin-minhla-sithu, and J. S. Manook, Esq.,
"with a letter and presents, to your great Court with a view to
"cement the former Iriendship. I beg that your Imperial Majesty
"will accept the letter and presents which they bring you, and that
"you will vouchsafe them an audience."
The presents for the Emperor and Empress were one fine gold
sword studded with valuable rubies, one large ruby ring, one
sapphire ring, one large gold cup, weighing about a viss, studded
with precious stones, and a number of fine silk pasos. His Majesty
received the Ambassadors well, thanked them for their presents, and
expressed his desire to keep on friendly terms with the King of.
Burma. A few days aftenvards the party was invited to lunch by
Prince Napoleon and by the Princess Mathllde in their palaces. They
saw all the sights of Paris during their long stay and had a final in-
terview with the Kmperor on the 3rd January 1857 at the Tuileries,
when he presented a fine gun to the Nal'haniiaw, a fine sword to the
Ahtn.Hyi\ and a pair of revolvers to Mr. J. S. Manook. Three days
afterwards the Ambassadors left for Amarapura. In this year
His Majesty's purveyor, Kaswa, brought from India for presentation
a very fine conch shell, with colours like mother-o'-pearl, The
volutes were all turned to the right and it was presented with great
formalities.
King Minddn wished to change the site of the capital from
Amarapura, which had always been unhealthy, so he called to-
gether the chief SayadaTos, the Crown Prince, the Ministers, and
astrologers and consulted ihem. The King suggested the neigh-
bourhood of Mandalay bill and this was unani?nously approved.
The hill had long been noted as a pleasant and well-omened place,
and the wise men now declared that, if the King built a new city
there, he would meet with all kinds of success ; his power would be
CHAP. II.]
HISTORY.
41
increased ; he would live long himself ; and the throne would be se-
cured to his descendants for many generations, while the people
would be happy and prosperous ; his dominions would be extend-
ed ; and peace and tranquillity would be insured.
The following tradition was produced from old chronicles. The
Great Biuldha, when he overcame the five Mara and was able to
see into futurity, prophesied regarding Mandalay hill as follows :
" This hill, which was known in the time of the Buddha Kakusan-
" dho (Kawkathan) as Khinasavopuram ; in the time of the Buddha
"Konii Gomano (Gawnagon) as Wilawa Pura ; in the time of the
** Buddha Kassapo (Kalhapa) as Padatha-Puram ; and in subse-
" quent times as Mandalay was my abode in many former existences
"as an elephant, as a lion, as a stag, a quail, an iguano, and as a
"hunter, this spot, so fair in its formation, possesses every quality
" that is good and is fit only for the abode of Kings." Thus spake
the Lord Buddha when he visited the place with his disciple Anan-"
da. A female biln heard him as he spake and worshipped his coun-
tenace, which shone like the moon at the full. In her ardour she cut
off one of her breasts and laid it as an offering at the foot of
the Lord Buddha, who then prophesied as follows: "In the two
"thousand four hundredth year after the establishment of my religion,
"this place known as Mandalay will become avast city under the
" name of Ratnapuram (Yatanabon) and thou," addressing the
ogress, " as a descendent of the great Mahasammato (Mahathama-
"da), shalt be the king of that city and shall have the means of great-
" ly promoting my religion." Thus the Great Buddha, who had over-
come the five Mara and possessed intuitive knowledge, like unto
Sakko [Indra or Thi(n)gyaJ foresaw the royal city with its moat,
palace, pagodas, temples, and monasteries. Thus did Mindon, the
possessor of numerous while elephants and celestial weapons, endow-
ed with all the virtues and accomplishments of a king, and moreover
the subject of five distinct prophecies, became the founder of the
city of Mandalay.
While he was still a Prince, Mindon Min had many dreams, all
of which pointed to Mandalay hill. He dreamt that he was on a high,
many-tiered tower, almost reaching to the clouds and there took to
his bosom a holy monk, who was a diligent propagator of religion.
Also that he took two women by the hand, named Baw and Ma,
one on each side, and mounted a white elephant of tlie colour of
molten silver. Also on Friday, the second waning of the moon of
Tasaungman 1218, at 3 o'clock in the morning, he dreamed that he
went to Mandalay hill and saw there the house of a woman, named
Mi Htun Aung, far advanced with child. He entered her house
6
4a
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. U.
and from it saw hov fair vere the Yankintaung luU and the KuUa-
pyog6n, and he saw that Mandalav hill was all overgrown with
sweet-scented gra£s. Some of this scented sx^ss a man nai
Nga Tin plucked and gave to him and said thai, if the myat^
elephants and horses were fed on this grass, they would be free from
disease and all other evils.
When the Ministers heard these dreams, whic-h were told to ihem
informal audience, they said that in consequence of the great power
and might of His Majesty the nais had seni him these dreams to
show that Mandalay was a fit site for building a new capital, and
that the lime for doing so had arrived.
The Prime Minister, the Pakhangyi Myoza^ held numerous con-
ferences with Sadaws, PonnaSt the heir-apparent, and the chief
Queen, and it was eventually decided that ancient records, the Bud-
dha's prophecy, the Nga Hmangan-gnvompadi, the sayings of
rishts, sakkos {nats), and the Ceylon puroms, all pointed to this
spot as one whereon a king born on a day of the week represented
by a lion (Tuesday, Maung I, win's birthday^ should reign, and to
the year, the two thousand four hundredth of the s&sanam (the
religious era), as the fitting time.
Just about this time certain doggerel verses were put about,
which all indicated that the choice of site and time for a new city
were favourable and the sanis taken were interpreted by the Sava-
daws as full of good omen. [To seek signs by sanis a few persons
are selected who have to sanctify themselves by incarnation and
prayer. They are then sent out by night in different directions to
certain parts of the town, usually to the south. When (hey arrive
at fixed places, under a house, at a street comer, or in the middle
of the road, thev wait until they hear some one speak. Whatever
is said is carefully written down and taken to the person who sent
them out. All the utterances thus recorded are considered together
and experts decide whether their import is favourable or not. J
The King therefore finally decided on this site and gave orders
for the calculation of the measurements and the determination of a
lucky day for the foundation of the city. The Council, after long
consultation, fixed all the dimensions and selected Friday, the 5th
iabyigyaw of Tabodw^ 1218 B. E. (13th February 1857) as the aus-
picious day to commence the building of the city and palace. The
following officials were told off to superintend the works and were
sent to Mandalay, — the Myedaung Myoza Tlumat IVungyi Thado
mingyi-maha-minhla-kyawthu, the Pakhan Wungyi Thado-ming)"!-
maha-minhla-sithu, ihe Dai ng Wundaui' Maha-minhla-lhirithunow
fjK-Khampat IVungyi}, the Thittaw ii^un Minkyaw-minhla-sithu,
43
the Namkfe IVun Minhla-mindin Kyawthu, the Sayegyi Minhla-mln-
din-yaza, the Atwinsaye Minhla-mindin-kyaw, the Atwinsaye Min-
hla-thiri-yaza (nuwtf;r-Kinwun Mingyi) and the Ahmya Minhla-thin-
I khaya. Mandalay hill was fixed upon as the point from which
to start the site of the city and town which were mapped out as
follows : the boundaries were, on the soulh the Zaunggalaw bank,
measuring on that side 500 tas ; on the west the river Irrawaddy
wiihin a space of 1,600 tas so much land as was level was to be
taken up ; on the east by the Aungbinlfe tank , and on the north
the Mahananda tank. In the month of April the King advanced
money, bullocks, seed-grain, and all other requisites to the owners of
land between Avaand Mandalay and Mandalay and Madaya, whether
Government servants, officials, soldiers, or ancestral possessors, to
enable them to cultivate the soil, and in the same month, on the
auspicious day, thi: King and Queen received a formal blessing
from the sayadaws, as had been done when his great-grandfather
Bodaw founded Amarapura in 1 145 B.E. {1783 A.D.) and when his
uncle Bagyidaw founded Ava for the fourth time in 1185 B.E.
(1834), and Tharrawaddi, his father, rc-foundcd Amarapura in 1203
B.E. (1841). The King took the title of ThiniJawaya-wizeya-nan-
daya-thapandita Mahadhammayazadiyaza and the chief Queen took
the title of Thlripawaya-mahayaxeinda-dipati-yatana Dewi.
The following month the white elephant called Hnitpa-pyitsaya
Nagayaza died. The body was kept three days and was then placed
in a large white open cart covered with while umbrellas. All its
harness, adornments, and utensils were solemnly carried in front of
it and proceeded from the west gale of the palace to the Alawigate
of the city and thence to the burial-ground and was there burnt with
great ceremony, according to custom. The bones were collected
and placed in large jars, which were buried between the walls of the
Mahawezayanthi Pagoda, and over them a tomb was erected.
The image of the elephant also was carved and placed in a building
with a spire and the title was written up over the doorway, in order
to preserve the memory of the royal animal. This noted white
elephant was brought to the capital in the reign of Bodawpaya, the
King's great-grandfather, and was highly esteemed and respected
and worshipped by the Burmese.
In June 1857 the King, the chief Queen, and the whole Court
moved in great procession from Amarapura to Mandalay- On the
way, at a halt, a fire broke out in the carap of the Eingshemin and
to shelter huts were burnt before it was put out. The fire began
in the hut of*Ma Paw, one of the minor wives, and the astrologers
declared that it was a good omen in order to please the King, The
people, however, thought otherwise, for the removal had caused great
44
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. U.
distress and discontent. They were forced lo leave their houses,
gardens, and lands in order to settle in the city and no one dared
utter a word of complaint for fear of punishment.
At Mandalay the King established himself in a temporary palace
until the large building now existing should be built and went out
frequently on the female elephant called Tein-u Layaung to inspect
the works round the city and to assign lo the various olricials sites
for their houses. When the temporary kyaungs were built, the Tha-
thanahaing, sayadaws and pongyis, to the number of about 500,
also marched in great procession, with the images of Gautama and
i)\Q pitakas from Amarapura lo Mandalay, and settled in their new
establishments. The images and pitakas (the Buddhist scriptures)
were placed on platforms and carried on the shoulders of men, the
images under the shadeof eight golden umbrellas, the/iVajta^ under
the shadow of six. The chief sadaw had four white umbrellas
and each of the $00 rahaus two. The King and Queen, the Royal
mother, the heir-apparent, and all the Princes and Ministers received
them at the Ywe-daw-yu gate. The bahoyin or campanile was soon
finished and Mindon Mln then asked the monks whether it would be
fitting before the completion of the palace to hang up the large
drum and bell according to custom, so as to give the time to tne
city. The Archbishop agreed and a bell and drum were therefore
immediately hung up.
In April 1858 a mission arrived from America with a letter from
the President of the United States to the King, expressing a desire
lo cultivate friendly relations with Burma, and some of the officials
of the Hlutdaw were sent to receive them and to conduct them to
the Residency set apart for such visitors. The party was well re-
ceived by the King.
In May the walls of the palace and the palace itself were complet-
ed and on Friday, Kmon Lahyigya-m 5lh (May ist) at 11 in the
morning, there was a violent thunderstorm and the palace spire was
struck by lightning. The pyathat had been built under the per-
sonal superintendence of the Myadaung Wungyi and the Kinp
addressed him and other Ministers assembled in the Hall of Audience
and stated that this was a good omen and that he would be \\c'
torious over all his enemies. Among the poorer classes, however,
it was looked on as a portent of evil and increased the discontent.
When the palace and the walls were completed the King and the
chief Queen, according to ancient custom, proceeded from the tempo-
rary palace in a Yatana Than^in, or State palanquin, in formal
procession to the new golden palace and ascended to the Myenan,
QT Hall of Audience by the great eastern stairs. When he had
CHAP.
HISTORY.
thus formally taken possession, he made a number of presents to
old men and women who had been in ihe royal service and gave them
permission to take as much money as they could lift with their two
hands from a heap of rupees poured out for the purpose. He also
made considerable offerings To potigyis and to poor people.
A fine white elephant was caught by the Thaungthwut Saivhva,
Maha-mawreri Wuntha-thiha-dhammayaza, at a place called Thaya-
gon-Paukbin Aing-u, near Thfc-6n, on the eastern bank of the
Tholawadi (the Cliindwin river) in the Kyiwun district. The King
sent the Myothit IVuudauk to bring the elephant with befitting
ceremony to Mandalay. It was shipped on a large barge and on its
arrival at Amarapura the Crown Prince and the chief Ministers and
officials were sent to escort it to Mandalay On its arrival at the
city, it was received with great pTsl's and Tejolcings and the whole
population turned out to receive the elephant as they did in the
time of Bodawpaya. When it arrived at the north side of the palace
the King himself came out to meet it and conferred on the elephant
the title of Moyeya-pyilsaya Nagayaza, and cities, villages, gold, and
silver utensils, attendants, and officials were assigned to the beast's
service according to ancient custom The Thaungthwut Chief was
promoted to the first rank of Saivbiva and received many presents
and privileges, and great rewards' were conierred on all the men who
had helped to capture the elephant.
In January 1859 the Mal6n Prince Thiri-mahadhammayaza, the
eldest son of the King by the Myauk-saungdaw Queen, married the
Salin^ryl Princess, the eldest daughter of the Eingshemin. The
ceremony was conducted with great splendour and the couple were
assigned apartments in the north-west quarter of the palace.
The King sent a number of offerings to the potigyis in Ceylon
and in return they presented to him a sii-^dau^ or tooth of Gautama,
dattaw, trnvedaiv, relics and hairs of the Buddha, images, models
of banyan trees, monasteries, pagodas, caves, and religious buildings.
The Yenangyaung Ativimi^un was sent to receive these on their
arrival at Malun and they were brought up in royal boats. On their
arrival at Sagaing they were kept there for about a month and four
days at Amarapura to enable the people to worship them. They were
then brought on with great pomp and ceremony to Mandalay. The
King himself waited at the eastern gate of the palace and carried
the sw^datu and the dattaiv with his own hands to a highly deco-
rated building which had been erected specially for their reception
to the west of the hahoyin, or campanile ; the remaining sacred
things were carried in by the Princes and were deposited in the
palace. The King personally superintended ami only retired when
everything had been properly set up.
46 THE UPPER BURMA (lAZKTTEER, [CHAP. H.
On the 13th December of that year (1859) Nattaw iabyigytiw,
4ih, lilt: AJcnaminadav: Queen gave birth to a daughter Supayalat^
ifcrrwards the wife of King Thibaw.
In January i860 the King and the chief Queen paid a State visit
X*s Kangaung to the east of Mandalay. where a temporary palace
had betn erected. At the same time the Queen Dottas;er went to
worship at the Arakan pagoda.
In the same monih ihe Zaion Wungyi, who was Mindon Min's
Commander-in-Chief in 1853, died and was buried with great pomp.
In April the King and the chief Queen paid a visit to the Manaw
Yamun garden. [These movements are chronicled because the King
so seldom left the palace. J On his return he ordered the Myadaung
IKkw^^'; to build a large tectum with a spire on Mandalay HilU
Under this tasaung was set up a huge image called Shwe Yat-taw, in
the shape and stature of Gautama Buddha, fashioned of wood and
gilt all over. The Fluddha stands erect, pointing with his finger to-
wards the city of Mandalay and at his feel kneels his disciple,
Ananda, as one who should ask " Where is the most convenient and
pleasant place 10 build a city ?" The Buddha in reply points to the
palace and signifies that it shall last for ever, from generation to
generation. [This figure was burnt down in 1892.] A covered way
01 saungdan was built from the foot of the hill up to these fig^ures
and was carried on to the pagoda called Myat-saw Nyinaung on the
summit. The construction was superintended by the Magwe tf'«w
gyif ihe Myadaung /K««^^!, and the Pakhan IVungyi. Asaungtfan
was also built on the western side of the hill.
In June, at the beginning of Lent, 60 candidates for ordination
were examined in the MyenaUy or Hall of Audience, by the Tha-
ihannbaing and the saiiau's in the presence of the King, the chief
Queen, and the whole body of Ministers. Immediately afterwards
the King's sons, the Sagu Prince, the Makon Prince, the .Vyaung-
yan, Monnyin, MyingonHaing, and N^ayane Princes, with 60 attend-
ants, were admitted as neophytes in the sacred order of the yellow
robe, in a large building which had been erected for the purpose in
front of the Afyetjiitt. The investiture was marked with great cere-
mony and rejoicings and the King presented a nniltitude of offer-
ings to the monks. Again, at the end of Lent, in October, 350
postulants from Mandalay, Amarapura, and Sagaing were assem-
bled and examined in the same place by ihe Arc-nbishopin the pre-
sence of the King and Queen as before.
In May 1861, after a short stay with all his queens at the tem-
porary palace to the north-east of the city, the King specially ap-
pointed four officers — The Maha-minhla-mingaung-thihathuforthe
CHAP. II.]
HISTORY.
4i7
I
I
I
I
I
I
east, the Maha-minc'.in-kyaw for the south, the Maha-thiy&-ihinkaya
for the west, and ihe Thittaw IVun for the north to be Collectors or
Revenue Officers for ihe receipt of the thathameda-X.7i:^. This vas a
new institution. Previous to King Mindon all the rulers of Burma
had assigned districts, towns, or villages to the Queens, Princes,
Princesses, and officials for their support and according to their rank
and services. They drew the whole revenue for themselves. Un-
der the new regulation, with tht; exception of the Shan States and
the tracts assigned to the Eingshemm, the thnthameda^ or ro per
cent, capitation -tax, was the only cess authorized, and the revenue
collectors were especially enjoined not to oppress the people, or to
collect any sums beyond this thathameda. The money was paid
into the treasury and disbursed in the shape of monthly salaries to
the Queens. Princes, Princesses, officials, body-servants, and troops.
The cliief Queen was excepted from this system of monthly pay,
like the Eingshemiftt but otherwise the system of general taxation
and regular monthly salaries was regularly established.
In July a thein, a sacred kiosk or pavilion, and a row of sayats,
or rest-houses, were built under Mandalay hill and were consecrated
by the King in person. At the same time he gave presents to 850
Brahmins.
About this time disturbances broke out on the borders of the Shan
Slates, created by the Tawng Pen'j;(Taungbaing) Saivbwa^ who had
been the first of the Saivhwas to make his submission to the King
in 1853 at Shwebo. The Yivalatywebo was sent to repress them
with 50 men. The Tawng Peng i'rtTi'^rt-fl was shot and the troubles
then came to an end. At the same time the Kachins, who had been
causing much mischief in the Mong Mit (Momeik) State, were sup-
pressed by the Myauk'tvinhmu^ who was despatched with 600 men
for the purpose.
In July also there was a great ear-boring- feast in honour of the
piercing of the ears of the Eingshemtn's daughter, the Sampenago
Princess Thinkinsana-dc-wi, the Taunghnyo Princess Thiripada-dewi
and other children, the daughters of minor wives. This was held
with great pomp at the residence of the Crown Prince, and the King
dedicated a pagoda at the foot of Mandalay Hill. This was called
Mahalawkamazin and the foundation had been laid when the city of
Mandalay was begun. In this pagoda were desposited 14 small
gold pagodas, studded with precious stones, one mo-gyo pagoda
{mO'gyo is an alloy of gold and brass), six small plain gold pagodas,
four silver pagodas, 32 relics of Gautama, two teeth of the Buddha
in a shell box, and a silver box filled with banyan leaves. On its
dedication, according to custom, the King placed a golden A/j', or
4«
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. f CHAP. It.
umt>relU, on the summit and there were great popular festivities after
the Cf^rcmony.
In May 1862 the Th6nzt- Prince, Mahathu-thiridhammayaza was
married to the Yanaun<(myin Princess Thiriseiktawadi, a daughter
of the Eingshemittt and there was much popular rejoicing on the oc-
casion.
In the latter part of the year Major Arthur Phayre came to Man-
dalay to conclude a treaty. He was honourably received and on the
ronclusinn of the treaty the King presented him with a gold sal^ce
of 1 2 strings, and also gave a saiiri of nine strings to Mr. Edwards,
the Collector of Customs, besides presents to the other oflficers of
the mission.
In March 1863 the sflifixa' Sandiraa-bhi-thiri-tazu-pawara-maha-
dama-yazadiyaza-guru, who had been the King's teacher died in
the celebrated San kyaung, at the foot of Mandilay hill. The King
undertook his obsequies, which were conducted on a very splendid
scale. The sadn-x was burnt on a funeral pyre erected in the en-
closure of the San kyaung in the presence of the King, the chief
Queen, and the whole of the Royal Family, together with the Officers
of Stale. The San kyaung was then handed ov-er to the Pyi sada-x.
the Myauknandaw Queen's sadaic.
The King's canal, the Yatana-nadi, was finished about this time.
It lies to the north-east of Mandalay and receives its waters from the
Nfeda lake, which is fed from Singu through Madaya. The moat
and the canals within the palace walls were supplied from this Yata*
na-nadi canal, and on its banks the King had a lemporary palace
built, whither he often made pleasure trips in the royal boats with
his queens, the royal children, and the State officials. The King also
ordered many of the Ministers and town ofTicers to enclose gardens
and make plantations on the waste land to the east of this canal.
This was accordingly done and the fruit and other produce was re-
gularly given to the monks of Mandalay. \A list of these gardens
is given elsewhere.]
In March 1863 the King's son, the Th6nzfe Prince, without any
previous notice, rode off from Mandalay to Tauntj-ngu with only
10 attendants. On his arrival at Taung-ngu he was sent on by the
Deputy Commissioner to Rangoon. The Prince's escapade was not
heard of for four days, but even then it was not known whither he
had gone from Mandalay. When the King heard that he was in
Rangoon, he sent a special steamer for him with officials to persuade
him to return. The Th6nz^ Prince afier some time agreed to coroe
back and, on his return, was placed under the surveillance of the
Eirtgshemin. This Prince was the eldest of those put to death by
CHAP.
King Thibaw in 1879. [It does not appear what the Burman
chronicle means by the " handing over" of the Prince to the Eing-
skemin, but apparently he was only watched, not imprisoned-]
In April at the time of the water festival, the Burmese New Year,
the King and chief Queen had their heads washed according toancicnt
custom, but with more than ordinary ceremonial. They went out in
solemn procession to the southern garden and there gave alms to 216
aged poor, Rs. 20 to each person. On their return the King and the
chief Queen breakfasted in state on I he throne, Bamnyathana, the
white umbrella called Mananhaya being throughout the meal held
over their heads. After this ceremonial repast the whole of the
Royal Family, the Ministers of State, and subordinate officials were
feasted in the //;«(7««a«rf23£' (the crystal reception-room). [This
new year's breakfast was, however, an annual feast.]
In May, an exceedingly fine ruby, weighing 1 tical, was presented
to the King by the Myo6k of Mong Mit and MOnglang (Momcik
and Mohlaing) and was carried in state to the palace. At the same
time the Myelat Wun presented from the Shan States three fine
elephants named Seingale, Naungthaing, and Mcnangu. Other
eli'phants were also presented by Ngwedaung, Kayingale, Ncmyo-
thilon-yanaung. These elephants were named Maunggale, Sitepan,
Ngwepong. Shwe Chein, Seiktingale, Hpumaung, and Mt:nanywe.
About this time there was a disturbance at Yawng Hwe (Ny-
aungywe) in the Shan Slates, which was suppressed by the Myothit
Wundaukt the Monfe Taibohmu, Mingyi Mahamindin-Setnu, to
whom the King despatched 1,200 men for the purpose.
In November the Mekkhara Prince, Thiri-mahathudhammayaza,
married the Pin Princess, Thiri-thukatha-dewi, with great ceremonial.
Both the Prince and the Princess were children of the King, but they
were half-brother and sister. The Mekkhara Prince was one of
those killed in 1879 by King Thibaw.
In February of the following year (1864) the King's daughter,
the Kanni Princess, Thiri-thusarida-dewi, was married to the eldest
son of the Eingshemin, the Padeln Prince Maha-lhiridhammayaza.
In March 1864 the King inaugurated ten hospitals built at his
expense for old and sick people. To each of these hospitals, or
alms-houses, three Burmese doctors were attached ; another hospi-
tal was also built by the Kin^ to the south-east of the palace, which
was put under the charge of Doctor Marfels, a German Physician
in the employment of His Majesty.
In July Mr. William Wallace came to Mandalay and presented
the King with a golden telescope studded with 542 small diamonds.
The King gave him i.ioo teak logs as a return present.
50
THR UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER.
[chap. II.
In August the M.igwu and Myadaung IVungyis were re-called
from Sagyintanng, whither thcv had been sent to excavate a lar^
block of marble for an image of Gautama, They had extracted the
block, but were unable to convey it to Mandalay. The King there-
fore sent the Laungshe Wungyi, ihe Hkamhpat U'undauk, the
Pab6 Wuu, the Padeing IVnn, and the Tautigdive Bo to arrange for
its removal. Two flats with the steamer AUrtan Sekkya were taken
to the spot. The loading was effected and the block was towed up
al the height of the rains. When the marble had reached Mon-
ywa, the King sent a number of sudavs, pongyis, and officials on
board of the flats to receive it. The flats were towed by steamers,
on board of which were numerous bands of music. When the
marble block reached EngOn, a gun was fired and the flat was
lowed along the recently constructed channel of the Shweta chaung.
It was finally loaded on a huge car. which was dragged by 10,000
men in 13 days to the foot of Mandalay hill, under the supervision
of the Eingshcmin, the If'ungyis, and all the chief officials. There
it was hewn by the sculptors working night and day under a spe-
cially built tectum, and pTtrs and festival dances were carried on
without Intermission until it was set up in the building constructed
for its reception. The King and the Royal household paid several
visits during the progress of the work and, at the final ceremony,
stayed in the temporary palace called Nammepontha at the foot of
Mandalay hill. The sculptors were royally rewarded and fed
throughout At the King's cost. Near the gigantic ima^e were built
33 sayats, or rest-houses, for the accommodation of tfie pious, the
work being superintended by the Royal ofllicials. The King also
paid a visit to the Maha Lawkamazin pagoda, decked it with lights,
and fed 600 necessitous persons, men and women. During his stay
at the temporary palace the King sent every morning to the Maha
Lawkamazin pagoda and to the marble image quantities of tbc
food called 7'hinbukto-x (the food of Shin Gautama). This was
carried regularly in procession with bands of music and Royal offi-
cials accompanying it. The rejoicings over the setting up of the
great image lasted many days.
In November of the same year the Shwepyi Bo was sent with a
force of 1,000 men, under the command of the Mong Nai ^Moni)
Sikke, Ming\*i Mahanawrata, to suppress disturbances on the Hsen
Wi (Theinni) borders. About the same time the Mawk Mai
(Maukmt:) Saiebwa (the so-called Kolnn or nine-fathom StJtrb7cii\
and the Ming6n Paleiksa escaped from Mandalay and made their
way to the Mawk Mai Stale, where they raised a rebellion and
marched as far as Mong Nai with a large body of men. They did
a great deal of mischiel and the King sent the Myothit li^undaui
CHAP. 11.]
HISTORY.
to take charge of Mong Nai as Tatbohnm and march thence with
a force of 2,100 men. The P6ndawpyit ^t?, the Kindat Bo^ and
the Lelwi Kyaun^/?(?, with 2,300 men and 20 elephants, were also
sent to the Shan Stales to carr)- the artillery and ammunition. This
force was under the command of the Ashe Winhmu, Thirivawun,
and started from Mandalay. The Mawk MaJ Saivbwa and Ming6n
Paleiksa, however, could make no stand against such a force and
fled with all their relatives and following beyond the Salween to
Mong Mali.
In Februar)' 1865 the King, the chief Queen, and the whole
Court again went to the Namniep6ntha temporary palace at the foot
of Mandalay hill to watch the chiselling of the face of the great
marble image, which had only been commenced after the setting up
of the block. The work look some time and, while it was being
carried on, the King had fresh copies made of the Bitagat-thonbon
(the Three Baskets of the Law), the old books having somewhat fal-
len into decay. There were upwards of 200 fasciculi of palm-leaves,
and each of these was placed separately in a box and conveyed
with great ceremony from the Royal Palace to the Bitagattaik, or
theological library, a building which had been specially prepared for
them near the King's temporary residence at the foot ol Mandalay
hill. At the same time the King ordered the repair of the Mu river
canal from Myinkwa taung In Myedu district to the Mahananda
lake at Shwebo. This had been first dug by the orders of the
King's great grandfather Alaungpaya, and that monarch had gone
by boat along it on his return from the conquest of Manipur, King
Mindon, besides repairing this work, ordered the people of Shwebo
Myedu, Hkanthani, Ngayane, Thontabin, Pylnsala, and Tabayin to
dig a canal from the Mahananda lake as far as the Sagaing district.
This labour was placed under the supervision of the Magwe Wun'
gyi, the Myauk It'un/tmu, the P6ppa IVundauk, the Shwebo IVun,
and the local officials. The Eingshcmin built two large brick rest-
houses on the banks of this canal, near Silhu, and 3 miles apart the
one from the other.
Meanwhile the King with his own hands planted a number of
Ba-Qidihin, or banian trees, within the enclosure of the large marble
image. These trees had been specially brought from Ceylon and
many other countries. The planting of trees was carried on amidst
the clash of bands and the firing of artillery. At last in May the
King went in solemn procession to the place where the image was
and showed the sculptors himself what alterations were to be made
In the expression of ihe face. Ten guns were fired on this occasion
and there was a great feast and many offerings were made to the
monks of all grades and the sculptors and masons were richly re-
53 THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. 11.
warded. After the ceremony the King returned again to the royal
palace.
The following month His Majesty went out to the temporary
palace in the Mingala garden and, according to ancient custom,
there ploughed the fields under a salute of three guns. After the
Kin^ had ploughed, the Crown Prince, the Ministry, and all the other
officials also ploughed a few furrows. The ceremony terminated
with an elaborate feast.
In this same month of June 1865, a number of the Princes
took a formal oath of allegiance to the King in the Byitaik. The
Eingshemin was present with the King and the words of the oath
were spoken before the image of Gautama, the Princes repeating
them after a thandawstn. They were to the effect that they would
neither do nor support anything against the welfare of the King,
that they would drink no intoxicating liquor, or palm-toddy, and
that they would eat no beef. The Princes who took the oath were
the Malon, the Myingon, the Sagu, the Mekkhara, the Padein, the
Myingondalng, the Wuntho, the Chabin, the Pinlfe, the Katha, the
Thfelin, Shwegu, and Maington Minthas. After this ceremony the
King and the chief Queen, in the Hall of Audience, admitted 53
young men into the Sacred Order, presenting them with the pre-
scribed yellow robes. This was done in the presence of 13
sadaws^ At the same time 216 />(?fl«jj (Brahmins) received pre-
sents of money and clothing (216 is twice the sacred number of
beads on the rosary, no doubt one for each bead on the rosaries of
the King and Queen). The King Had been keeping fast up to
this time in preparation for Lent and his fast had been shared by
1,245 officials and palace servants. These were now presented
with articles of dress. On the conclusion of the ceremonial the
King once more returned within the city walls.
In October 1865, a salute of three guns was fired in honour of
the striking of the first Burmese coin in the royal mint, and a pro-
clamation was issued directing the use of these coins throughout
the King's dominions. The mint stood within the palace stockade,
immediately to the north of the bahosin, the central campanile.
In November the Sinlin Princess had her ears bored. She was
the King's daughter by the Linbin Queen and had been adopted
as her daughter by the Myauknandaw Queen. She was looked
upon as the King's mother, re-born upon earth again. For this
reason she was called Tabindaing, a title given by Buddhist Kings
to those whom they loved most, and implying that the bearer is the
first favourite. Her title was Thuthiya-myatswa-yatana. The ear-
boring was conducted with the utmost magnificence in the Hman"
nandaw, the crystal palace, amidst general feasting and rejoicing.
CHAP. II.]
HISTORY.
S3
At the same time the following Royal Princesses had their ears bored,
— the Taungiha, Kyuiuiaung, Hkutywa, Kyannyat, Hlihlaing, Saw-
hla, Momeik.and Hini;aiiaw A/iiUha7f)is,as \\'t:\\ ss ihc /^^r'ngshemtn' s
daughter, the Ailazayathein Princess, each according to their rank
and dignity. The King and the chief Queen viere present, dress-
ed in their royal robes and seated on a gnlden couch of sttile, and
near them, seated on a gilded couch, were the Queen Dowager
and the anni of the King and Queen. When the fortunate hour
had arrived, a gun was fired and at the same moment all the while
umbrellas were opened out. The Hmannandaw was specially
fitted on this occasion with the ancient royal furniture, called Min-
gundato, made of gold studded with jewels, and the roi^m was richly
decorated for the ceremony. Pwes were carried on all day and all
night through. Not only were offerings made to the Thathatiabaing,
the sadawSt and all the pongyis of the royal city, but all the
Queens, Princes, Princesses, olTicials, foreigners, Chinese, Maho-
metans, Brahmins, and chief residents of the city received pre-
sents in honour of the occasion.
In February 1866 the King with all his queens and establishment
went to the temporary palace at the foot of Mandalay hill and
worshipped at the Mahakamazin pagoda before the great image
which had been brought from Sagyin taung. At this time the
Thathanahaing Sada7vgyi died and was buried with great honours.
As the remains passed by to the funeral pyre, the King and Queen
came out in state from the temporary palace to do them honour,
and the Eingshetniji, the Princes, and the Ministers of State fol-
lowed the train to the place of burning. At the Burmese new year
the King, according to his regular custom, went to the Mingala gar-
den palace and ploughed the fields with all his Court.
In April a great fire broke out in the west of the town in the
Tulukyanaung quarter in the house of Maung Lat, one of the
King's servants Before it had burnt itself out the Kyunhtektan,
the Moat road, the Thfetan, the Byincinggyitan, the Sagaingtan,
or Merchant street, and the Watan up to the Thayfe bazaar were
completely destroyed and upwards of 3,800 houses were burnt, with
great loss of property.
At the beginning of Lent the KJng entertained the people who
had kept fast with him at the Maha Lawkamazin Pagoda and the
great marble image and ordered his Ministers and officials and
rich people of the town also to entertain them each in his
turn. This was, however, put a sudden end to by the rebeih'on in
the city. The Myingon and Mying6ndaing Princes had conceived
the idea that their uncle, the Eittgj/iemtn, had treated thp/rj ill and
54
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER, [ CHAP. II.
they resolved to put him to death. They consulted astrologers to
determine a favourable day for the crime and arranged to fire a cer-
tain pan of the town as a signal to one another and to their fol-
lowers to make a sudden attack on the palace. On the 5lh
labyigy-i' of Nayon 1228 B. E. (i6lh June 1866) the sky became
as red as hlood and there was a violent storm and several houses
were struck by lightning in the north-east of the city. Two days
later the Princes set about their work.. At noon the Eingshemin was
deliberating with a number of the Ministers in an open building near
the Hluida-w about this very plot. He had been informed of the
conspiracy some lime before, but had taken no immediate notice of
the warning. Now, just at the moment when it was being debated
whether the two conspirators should be arrested or not, the signal
fire was kindled in the HawgOn quarter, and the Myingon and
Myingdndaing Princes with their following, all armed with guns and
drawn swords, rushed into the palace, the one through the eastern
gate the other by the southern. The Mying6ndaing rushed towards
the Council Hall crying " Save me, Save me, " and behind him came
the Myingon. This was part of the plot. The idea was to sug-
gest that they had quarrelled and that the Myingondaing was seek-
mg the protection of the Etugsfiemin, In this way they hoped to
prevent the Crown Prince from taking to flight on the first alarm.
The Myadaung Wungyi was the first man met. He was greatly
alarmed at the sight of men with naked swords within the palace
limits, a thing that had never been known before, and still more to
see them headed by two Princes of the blood. He advanced to en-
quire the cause of the uproar and was immediately cut down by one
of the Princes' followers. The Eingshemin saw this and fled from
the zayat towards the IHiUdaw for protection. Just as he reached
the steps, however, he was killed by Hpadi, one of the Princes*
followers. At his heels came the Myineondaing, who cut oflf his
uncle's head, and rushed with it to the Myingon shouting Aung'
dawmoopyi — " We've conquered, we've done it." The Laungshe
IVungyi, the Myauk IVinhmtt, the Le Wun^ the Taung JVun, the
Nakhan P^a-agyihrnu, the Ngayani and Hkawthonni Myooks, and
other officials were cut down and left for dead. The Pakhan IVun-
gyi, the Myothil IVundatik, the P6ppa Wundauk, the Kyauk-ve
IVundauk, the Thittaw Afyorvun, the Myotha Myowun, the Kve
IVuHy the Sin IVun and some others succeeded in effecting their
escape. The Malon Prince and his brother, the Pyinsi, as well
as the Sagu Prince, had already been seized and murdered at the
south gate of the palace.
The rebels then made for the temporary palace to kill the King
also. Fortunately the uproar hrfd been heard and the Ashe Win-
CHAP. U.]
HISTORY.
55
hmu, the Kin IVun^ and Taungd-xe Bo
out with a few
\mu, me ivin ivun, ana launga-xe uo came out witn a tew men
and met the rebels face to face. The Kin Wun iinmedialeiy seized
the Myingondaing and there was a violent struggle, but the IVuu
was stabbed from behind. '1 he others also fought vigorously,
but they were outnumbered and the whole of the royal party were
killed. This diversion, however, gave the King lime to escape, with
his family and attendants, 50 in all. Thuv leit the temporary palace
by the western gate and itiade for the city. Outside the gate the
King came upon the Shwcdasw6 Bo> Maung Paik Ku who had
been specially posted there by the Myin^on prince with orders to
kill the King. Of this the King knew nothing. He recognized him
however, and said " Nga Paik Ku carry me to the palace." The
Bo came forward and as he did so the Mckkhara and Chinbin
Princes saw a da in his hands and took it from hiiu. The King then
climbed on his back and they set out to the palace. The chief
Queen was carried by Kalabyo-thinnyut Saya, Maung Chaung, and
the Princes and the household followed close behind. On their way
they came upon a pony belonging to the Anauk IVun, Maung Tattu,
the brother of the Tadaingshe Queen, who was the mother of the
Nyaung Van and NyaungOk Princes. This the King mounted and
ihe party reached the palace in safety.
The Myingfin Prince came with the Eingshemtn^s head to the
temporary palace and sent for the Yenangyaung Aiwimvun, who
was brought before him surrounded by men with drawn das. The
Myingon held up his uncle's head and said : " Look at this ; this is
the head of the man you thought would be kins^." The AtTvinwun
was afraid and said : " Are you going to kill me also ? The Myingon
Prince said : *' No, not if you will swear allegiance to me." This the
Yenangyaung AtTvintvun accordins^ly did, swearing by the Kutho-
daw Pagoda, which the King had recently built near the temporary
palace.
Meanwhile the Mying6ndaing Prince, after killing the three
officials mentioned above, had been searching for the King in the
inner apartments and now burst into the main room, with a sword
in each hand, shouting " the King is nowhere to be found; he has
escaped us." The Myingon forthwith placed the Yenangyaung
A/Tvitfuutn in charge of the temporary palace and, picking out 40
of his most trusted adherents, set out with his brother to the palace.
They entered the city by the eastern gate and made their way to
the Hiutdaiv, where they tried to force open the Taga-ni by firing
repeated volleys at it. In this attempt, however, they were soon
checked by the Mekkhara Prince and a party of officials who opened
fire on them from the top of the steps of the Myenan, or Hall of
Audience. The Myingondaing then suggested to his brother that
56
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. II.
they should smear the ///utdun' vrhh earth-oil and set fire to it.
The fire could not fail to spread to the palace and the King would
have to fly for his life and would be sure to fall into iheir hands.
The Myingon Prince, however, refused to allow this, because their
mother was in the palace and might be injured in the scuflle. Short-
ly after, the Taungshweya Queen, by order of His Majesty, appeared
at the top of the stockade, surrounded by guards, and endeavoured
to persuade her suns lo retire. They stubbornly refused to listen
to her entreaties and continued firing into the palace.
In the meantime the Crown Prince's troops to the number of 200
marched on the temporary palace in search of their master. The
Myingon's men in charge of the place immediately took to flight
without resistance and followed the Princes to the palace. The
^j'«^5/ii?/«/H'j men after a fruitless search followed up and entered
the city by the northern gate and soon came upon the two Princes
close to the lllutdaiv. They opened fire and killed several of the
rebel Bos and the Myingon and MyingondaJng after a short resis-
tance retired to the west of the palace to the Afiaukydn^ or
women's court. From this point as night fell they again began to
fire upon the palace. The Shwedasw6 Bo^ Maung Paik Ku (who
had carried the King into the palace), now came out and made his
way to the Myingon Prince at the Tuwya pagoda, near the AnanJiydrt.
The Prince asked him whether he had seen the King and, when he
heard what had happened, killed the Bo on the spot for disobe-
dience of orders. Firing went on all night, but in the morning the
King's troops had collected in such numbers that the Anaukyon
was nearly surrounded, and the rebels fell back on the river. They
found the King's steamer, the Yenan Sekkya, there and took posses-
sion, got up steam, and went down the river to Myingyan. There
they seized the \Vu7i and his officers and collected all the arms and
ammunition they could tind. They also laid hands on a qunntity of
tkathameda money which was ready for despatch 10 Mandalay, and,
after having taken on a number of fighting men, weighed anchor and
went on to Ycnangyaung. They made a prisoner of the Yenan-
gyaung Myoihugyi, who was a son of the Atmniouut and having seiz-
ed money and arms as before, steamed on to MalOn, where they did
the same thing. Afttr staying at Mal6nafew days t hey returned to
Myingyan and stayed there for about a month plundering the river*
side and other villages. The King mf-anwhile put the Yenangyaung
AiwittTi'un in command of the iroups who were collected to operate
against the rebels. The AlTvinwun first of all made his way to
Salin and Sinbyugyun, where he concerted measures for the arrest
of the Princes and then proceeded to attack Myingyan. The
Myingon Prince put the Afyof/tugyi in the bows of his steamer and
CHAP. II.]
HISTORY.
57
bade him call out that he would be the first to fall if fire was opened
on the steamer. Soon after the rebels' steamer started down the
river, whicli had not been expected. The Atwimvun pursued, but
the Yenan Sskkya was too fast for him, and all he could do was to
pursue her to the frontier and force the Princes to take refuge in
British lerritory, where they were interned at Rangoon.
The Taungshweya Queen was now thrown into prison by the
King on suspicion of having had a knowledge of the projects of her
sons and remained there for a long time.
After remaining some time in Rangoon, the Mying6n Prince
made his way to Kyetbogyi in Karenni and thence made raids on
the Durmese frontier. The Lamaing Wundauk was sent against
him with a force of 3,600 men, and before long the Mylngon had
as^ain to take to flight. He returned to Rangoon and was there put
under restraint by the British Government.
On the day of the Crown Prince's murder, his son the Padeing
Prince fled with about 70 men from Mandalay to Shwebo. There
he was soon joined by the men of Tabayin, Pyinsala, and Tanta-
bin, all of which were towns which belonged to the Eiugshemin.
Fighting men from a number of other towns and villages also joined
the Padeing Prince, who soon collected in this way quite a formid-
able body of men. When the King got news of this he sent the late
Crown Prince's Afmntvnus Maung Pi!: and Maung Hman, besides
his own olhcers, the Kyiicun and the Thitta7vicuni^v\^ a number of
pongyis to the Padeing Prince at Shwebo to persuade him to come
back to Mandalay. The King promised to protect him and 10 look
upnn him exactly as he had hitherto done. The Prince, however,
refused to listen to them and the party came back unsuccessful to
Mandalay. The Prince on his side organized his troops and put the
Tabayin H'/zw, Maung Hman, an official in whom the Eingshemin
had had great confidence, in command of them. He also appointed
as chief /^t?.j the Pyinsala Wun, Maung Aung Myat, the Tabayiw
Sikke^ Maung On, and Maung Hpo Maung, a noted fighting man.
Before long, Maung Hman marched his force from Shwebo and
camped at Sheinmaga. Maung Aung Myat with another party
crossed the river and advanced as far as Madaya, Taungykyun, and
Kapaing, 6 miles north of Mandalay. Maung On with his party
camped at Mingun, while Maung Hpo Maung, with his troops,
made his way to Sagalng and Ava. A further contingent from
Taungdwingyi, Pagan, and Sale towns, which had also belonged to
the Crown Prince, came and joined him and marched as far as Palcik,
9 miles south of Mandalay. The King's forces were at first driven
back and the city was nearly surrounded by the rebels. The King
8
5«
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. II.
«a& both disheartened and alarmed and privately suggested lo the
chief Quren that it would be better to surrender the throne volun-
tarily (o the Padeing Prince and leave the palace with all his fumilVr
ratho- than be compelhjd to do so by force of arms. The Que'^n,
however, was strongly ag.itnst this and urged him to fight on. She
was considered the most skilful astrologtrin the Royal Family and
maintalr>ed that her calculations proved that the King would neither
be disgraced nur dethroned, but would overcome his enemies, if <nily
he persuaded his officers tn attack the Padeing Prince energetically.
The Altnandaw, the Myauknandaw. and Ihe Anauknandaw Queen-i
united their learii and supplications to those of the chief Queen until
His Majesty gave way and sent his son, the Thfinze Prince, lo Ava,
the Mefckhara Prince to Paleik.and the Nyaung Yan Prince to take
command on the nver-bank near Sagamg. The Yenang:y*auug
Ahvinwun was appointed Wungyi and despatched by steamer with
a thousand men to the upper provinces, while the Shwebo IVttn Bo
Pym was appointed Ashtrwinhmu and sent to Madaya. and the
Paungdawpyet Bo, known a** 80 Ma Nga, with the title of xWvaui-
Tvinhmu, was sent to assist the Nyaung Yan Prince in the ntlack on
Sagaing. The arrangements proved sulficlcnt. The Padeings
men at first fought well, bui were everywhere defeated They were
short of arms and ammunition, they haled their leaders who had
been very strict in their discipline, and before long they commenced
to desert in large numbers. In a short lime the Padeing Prince
was left almost alone and wandered about from place to place.
practically without a following ; eventually he was captured by a party
under the Myadaung IVumX Thaputdaw Chaukywa in the Sagaing
district and handed over to the Nyaung Yan Prince who commanded
in Sagaing. The Nyaung Yan Prince treated him well and sent
him to Mandalay as a Slate prisoner. On the conclusion of hostili-
rit^s the King named Ava Anngniyctlmsi (the pleasant ground of
victorv) to conimeii'.orate th<- chief success of the civil war.
♦ The Padeing Prince was kept in confinement for some months
and was then put to death by the Hlutdaw, without the knowledge
of the King, as it was said he was concerting a new rising with his
sister, the Yanaungmyin Princess.
Two days after the murder of the Eingshrmin and the three
Princes, his nephews, their remains were embalmed and laid out in
slate. The body of the Crown Prince was placed in the main room
of the temporary palace and was canopied by four white umbrellas.
His insignia and Court dresses were also laid out beside the corpse.
The remains of the MalAn Prince and his brother, the Pyinsi Prince,
lay in the house of their mother, the Myauksaungdaw Queen.
The Sagu Prince's body was placed in the house of his mother, the
i
.. 1 1.1
HISTORY.
^59
Taimgsaungdaw, in the compound of the temporary palace. The
body nf each Prince lay bent ath two white umbrellas And their
State dresses and badges of rank were also displayed, according to
ancient rites and custom. After the bodies had lain thus (or nearly
a year, the temporary palace and its amiexures were pulled down
and the four prince^i were buried on the site of the main chamber
of the temporary palace. A large mausoleum was built over their
graves and an image called Sanlamuni nas brought Irom Amara-
pura and set up hard by, and the whole was surrounded by brick
walls. An inscription was also added on the 22nd June 1867 (6th
lahyigyaw of Nayon 1229 B.E.).
In November 1866 the British Envoy, Colonel Phayre, again came
up to Mandalay to negotiate a commercial treaty. He was kindly
received by the Kmg, but His Majtsty would not agree to any
treaty on account of the unsettled slate of the country. Colonel
Phayre therefore soon left Mandalay, as the Burmnn chronicler
says, " with much dissatisfaction."
In the same month all the arms in the country from every town
and village were collected and sent to the Hlutdaw. There they
were numbered and the quantities necessary for the defence of towns
and districts were made up and issued to the U'unS and other local
officials who were made responsible for them.
In April 1867, a fire broke out north of the S-weditiosm the
building in which the sacred tooth of Buddah was kept. The fire
was quite close 10 the palace and the King was greatly alarmed.
It was, however, soon extinguished by the troops and officials who
hurried to the spot. All those officials who had not reported them-
selves at the palace on the occasion of this fire were spread-eagled
in the sun near the Civil and Police Courts, according to the custom
in such cases. [This was due to the fact that a rebellion was usually
signalled by a fire and all persons of importance were required to
prove their loyalty by going immediately to the palace. The result
usually was that fires which inl.i^ht have btvn readily got under if
taken in time were often neglected until they become quite un-
manageable.]
In July the Mahadan IVun, N'cmyoyazathiba, and the Yenatha
Myook, Minhla-mindin-kyawgaung, were sent to Singu to explore
some mines, said to have been discovered there. They were suc-
cessful in finding at Sagylntaung in the Singu district 86 very fine
rubies and fifty "of the ordinary colour" (possibly spinel or balas-
rubies). These were taken to Mandalay and the King was greatly
pleased with them. Experts valued them as quite equal to those
of Mogok. The explorers and the men who dug out the rubies
6o
THK UPPER BURMA GAZRTTKER. [ CHAP. 11.
were liberally rewarded and rejOJl^r niin'mtj was thenceforward
carried on by men locally hired for the purpose. Sagyintaun^ was
now re-named by the King Baddamyataung (the ruby hill).
In the same month the Chfcbin Prince, Thadopyinyagyan ; the
Pinle Prince, Thadominsaw ; ihe Shwegu Prince. Pyinyalaw ; the
Mainglon Prince, Thadorai^ycmin^aupg ; the Yenaung Prince Thado-
pyinyalaw; the Katha Prince, Thadominbya; and the Htilin Prince,
Minyfethu, entered the sacred order as postulants, and plentiful
offerings were given to the sadatcs and nmnks, and numerous
^wds were given according to custom.
In March a letter had been received from the Governor-General
of India regarding the conclusion of a commercial treaty. This was
treated with the most notable regard by the King and shortly after-
wards the envoys appointed left Rangoon. These were Colonel
Albert Fytche, the Chief Commissioner, Captain Duncan, Inspector-
General of Police, Mr. Edwards, Collector of Customs, and the
Reverend H. W. Crofton, together with a number of officers in charge
of the escort. They left Rangoon on the 20th September 1867 by
the steamers Nemesis and Colo7iel Phayre-And the King despatched
iVundauk U Pe, the Singu /f ««, and the Padein IVun to Minhia to
meet them and to procure whatever supplies they might want on
the way up. The mission reached Minhia on the syih September
and was received with suitable honours. The journey was resumed
next day and at all the halting places on the way up p-wh were
given for their entertainment. On the 7th October Captain Sladen,
the Political Agent at Mandalay, with Mr. Manook, the Kala-amity
and the Hpaung Wun, went down with a number of war-boats and
met the Nemesis at Kyauktalon and went on board of her, and at
3 o'clock the same afternoon the whole parly reached Mandalay.
The following day a deputation from the King, the Yenangyaung
Wungyit the Kintvundauk^ and other officials went on board the
steamer and formally welcomed the mission to Mandalay. On the
9th the Envoy was conducted in procession from the steamer to the
Residency, and on his arrival there the Yenangyaung iVungyi and
a number of other officials paid a ceremonial visit. At teno' clock on
the morning of the 1 1 th, according to arrangement, the Envoy and his
suit proceeded to the palace, riding on elephants and escorted by nu-
merous officials. They dismounted at the eastern gate of the palace
and walked to the flluidau\ or Supreme Court, where they were met
by the Pakhan and Yenangyaung Wungyis, with whom they shook
hands, and were then led to the Myenan, the Hall of Audience.
Thence they went on to the Zadawun Saung reception room,
where the King met them in state and sealed himself on a golden
HISTORY.
6i
couch; near him sat his sons the Thonzfe, Mekkhara, and Nyaung
Van Princes, besides a nuniber of the younger Minihas and the
whole body of the Minislers of Slate. The King opened the conver-
salidn in ihe customary way by enquiring afler the health of the
Envoy and his party and the details of the voyage. Then the list
of presents from the Viceroy to the King was read aloud and after
A httle conversation the Envoy was invested with a gold salwi' of
the highest grade. Colonel Fytche made a suitable reply and the
King then retired. A number of cakes and sweetmeats were then
handed round and after a short lime the parly left.
On the I4lh October Mrs. Kytche and Mrs. Lloyd had an
interview with the Nammadawpaya, the chief Queen, the Alenan-
daw, the Myauknandaw, and the Anauknandaw Queens in their
rooms in the palace.
On the 19th of the month Colonel Kytche, accomi^anled by
Captain Sladen, Captain Duncan, and Mr. Edwards, had a private
audience. They were received by the King in a sumnter-house in
the southern garden and there were present the Yaw Aiwinieun
the P6ppa Wundauk, Atroiwwundauk^ and the Kaiauuin, After
some general conversation the King retired, and the Chief Com-
missioner, CaplHin Diincan, and Mr. Edwards visited the IVnttgyts
in succession : first the Laungshe Wungyi, then the Venangyaung
(Fmh^^i, and then the Pakhan Wungyi. On I he 2 1st October Colonel
Fytche, Captain Sladen, Captain Duncan and Mr. Edwards again
visited the Pakhan IVuttgyi ior the purpose of discussing the clauses
of the treatv. The Kin Wundauk, the KaiaicuH. Mr. Manook,
and minor officers were present to take notes of the discussion. Next
day the Pakhan Wungyi and the Kin Wundaak visited the Chief
Commissioner and on the 23rd the entire mission visited the palace
on the invitation of the King to see a sort of amateur ballet, per-
formed by the young ladies of the households attached to the
different queens. The performance was considered to be one of the
best ever seen in the palace. When the King left, the mission was
served with fruit and sweetmeats in an arbour in the garden and
then paid a visit to the royal white elephant. They then went on
to see the stone masons busily engaged in engraving on stone the
whole body of the Bitaghat, the Three Baskets of the Law. The
mint was next visited and then the bulk of the party returned to
the Agency-, while Colonel Fytche, Captains Sladen and Duncan,
and Mr. Edwards again went to the Pakhan Wungyi's to settle
points in the treaty.
Finally, on the 251 h October, the entire mission went in formal
procession to pay a farewell visit to the King, The order and
62
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. 11,
arrangements were the same as on the first occasion The party
\sas nitt at liie Hiiifdaiv by ihu F-'akhan Wuugyi, the Nemmgyaung
IVungyi, the Kin IVumiaHk, the Kalawnn, Mr. Manook, and numer-
ous other officials and secretaries. The treaty in English and
Burmese was productd and read aloud by the Padeing \\ un and
was then signed and sealed by Colonel Fytche on the one part and
the Pakhan Wungyi on ihe other. After the signing of the treaty
ihe mission party was conducted into ihe palace and received in
the same room as on the first interview. The King had some
conversation with the Envoy and then made presents to the entire
pariy, valuable ruby rings, gold cups, and other mementoes. When
the King retired the Envoy and the officers of his suite went to the
Royal garden and were ihiare regaled with sweetmeats and then
went on to lunch al the liouse of Mr. Manook, ilic Kalaiaun^ Mr.
Manook had been most energetic in his attention to the comfort
of the mission during its stay. In recognition of this Colonel
Fytche afterwards presented him, through Captain Sladen, the
Resident in Mandalay, with a gold watch, on which was an inscrip-
tion recognizing the services rendered by Mr. Manook during the
negotiation of the treaty, with the date 25th October 1867.
On the 28th Oclober the Ministers came in a body to say good-
bye to Colonel Fytche. and the same afternoon the whole mission
embarked and the steamers proceeded next morning down the
river. The P6ppa Wundatik and other officials accompanied the
party to the frontier to attend to their wants. The Chief Com-
missioner expressed himself to these officers as much pleased with
*'the magnificent and honourable reception accorded to him."
The following December Mr. McCall, the managcrof the firm of
Messrs. Todd, Findlay and Company, came up to Mandalay and
presented the King with a number of articles of value. He was
well received by the King and got as return presents some fine
ruby rings, a gold cup filled with gold coins, and some silk pasos.
His Majesty also gave prestnls to the foresters or thitgaungs who
accompanied Mr. McCall.
In January 1868 Major E. B. Sladen, the British Resident at
Mandalay, was desp.itched on a mission to Wt-slern China and
during his absence the British Residency in Mandalay was under
ihe efiarge of the Kalawun, Mr. Manook, and all correspondence
with the Chief Commissioner parsed through his hand. Mr.
Manook was afterwards formally thanked far his valuable services
al the Agency. When Major Sladen arrived at a small Kachin
village, called Ponleng, on the way from Bhamo to Momien, a pri-
vate order, said to be issued by the IVun of Bhamo, was received
CHAP. It.]
HISTORY.
63
by the headman of Ponleng, This order was written on a short
palm-leaf and simply stated that the Ktilas were not tD be allowed
to return to Burma. This ducuinent was handed to Maung Mo,
Captain Sladen's Kachin interpreter, who read it to the mission
party and then returned it 10 the Kachin headman. Major Sladen
wrote privately to Mr. Manook, the Kalawun, and asked him to lay
the matter before the King, which Mr. Manook accordingly did,
notwithstanding the risk which he thus ran. The King; was much
annoyed at thts unexpected announcement and said he would recall
the IVun and have the matter investigated on the return of the
mission. When Major Sladen returned, the Wnn wa^ in f.ict
recalled and Mr. Manook was sent by the Kinij to ihe Knglish
officer to enquire whether he would rather have the Wun intenogat-
ed by the IVungyis at the Hintdaia in his presence or would prefer to
investigate the matter hims*^lt at the Residency. Mpjof Sladen
bluntly replied that he would neither attend any investigation at the
Hlutdato nor would he interrogate the Wun himself, for he was
sure that that functionary would not tell the truth. Mr. Manook
reported this reply to the King and so the matter ended. The
Bhamo Wun was dismissed from oihce, but five or six montlis later
he was appointed Governor of Salin.
In February there was another grand ear-boring ceremony.
The Royal Princesses whose ears were bored were Supayagyi, Thiri-
thuyatana-iTiingala Dewi, and Supayalat, Thlri-thupapi>a-yatana
Dewi, daughters of the Alenandaw Queen ; the Mingin Pnncess,
Thiri-thuyatana Dewi, daughter of the Magwe Queen ; the Mainglon
Princess, Thuthiriyatana Dewi, daughter of the .Sapwadaung
Queen; the Maingkaing Princess, Thuthiri-pappawa Dewi, an elder
sister of King Thibaw, daughter of the Laungshe Queen; the
Padeing Princess, Thiriihu-pappaw Dewi, daughter of the Kohnitywa
Queen ; the Sinyin Princess, Thirithu-raingala Dewi, daughter of
the Myauksaungdaw Queen ; the Maingnaung Princess, Thuthiri-
mingala Dewi, daughter of the Magvipinsauk Queen, and the
Taungpyungyi Pnncess, Thuihiripappa Dewi, daughter of the Let-
pansin Queen. Besides these, fourteen princesses, daughters of the
late Ein^sheminy also had their ears bored. The ceremony was
carried out in the Hmattnandaw and was conducted with the usual
pomp and customary regard for the respective rank and dignity of
the ladies. Large offerings were as usual made to the monks, and
the King himself a month before the event made presents to the
Queens, Princes, Princesses, Ministers, subordinate officials, and
the people of the capital in general, as he had done two years
before on the occasion of the ear-boring of his favourite daughter,
the Salin Princess.
%
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. II.
Copies of the Biloghat had been preserved in the Bitaghat tnik
at the foot of the Mandnlay hill some time before, on the occasion
of the setting up of thu great marbles Buddha. Since then stone
carvers had been at work engraving the text of the books of the Law
contained in (he Suftam ifinaya and Abkidhatmna on 7;^o marble
slabs, and these were now mounted round the Maha Lawkamasin
(Loka Marazin) pagoda, each slab in a shrine or grotto of its own.
This Avas in December i86S. The King had expressed his desire
of ensuring the maintenance of the Buddhist religion during the
next 5,000 years, and this meritorious work, the like of which no
King had ever before attempted, was his mode of securing an exact
text of the law. The marble slabs had been br(mght from the same
Sagyintaung quarry where the block for the huge image was hewn
out. Fifty sculptors were employed in copying the text, and the
accuracy of this was certified by tlie most learned sudrnvs and of-
ficials in the royal city. The work had extended over a period of five
years. [The Maha I-awka Marazuin pagoda is noiv populariy known
as the Kulhodaw, the Royal Merit pagoda,] In accordance with
the treaty of 1867 the Mixed Court was established and opened on
the 1st August 1868. Major, afterwards Sir Edward Boscawen
Sladen, on the part of the British Government and Mr. Manook,
the Kaia-wun, on the part of the King, were appointed the fiist Judges
of this Court, and on the departure of Major Sladen on furlough his
place was taken by Captain Strover, who ofiiciaied as Political Agent
until the arrival of Major R. A. Macmahon in November, when
Captain Strover left for Bhamo as the first Political Agent in that
town. He was accompanied by Major Macmahon and they as-
cended the river in a small steamer, the Colonel Fytche^ connnand-
ed by Captain Bacon. This was the first steamer to make the
passage from Mandalay to Bhamo. Mr. Manook accompanied the
party. Major Macmahon returned to Mandalay after a stay of
only a few days, but Mr. Maiiook remained with Captain Strover.
The Governor of Bhamo at first obstructed and opposed all lh«
views of the Political .Assistant, bm he was checked and warned by
Mr. Manook, who was afterwards warmly thanked for his services.
[Mr. Manook would appear to have been a personal friend of the
Burnian annalist from the frequent laudatory references made to
him.]
In 1870 a telegraphic line from Mandalay to the British frontier
was nearly finished.
In June of that year, by order of the King, the Daing Wnn^ Maha-
mingyaung-ihinhkaya, repaired the Shweta chaung as far as Nan-
dakan, a quarter in the royal city.
CHAP. M.]
HISTORY.
65
In July four large buildings were erected in the palace to serve
as offices for the Public Works, Police, Agricultural, and Financial
Departments, The chief of the Public Works Department was
the Khampat li'^un^yi\ Thadomingyi-thirimaha-mingyaung-uzana.
Under him were the Poppa Wundauky Mingyi-mahaminhla-min-
gyaung, the Bhamo Wundauk, Mingyi-mahamingyaung-kyawswa,
and the Thandawzin Minhla-ihinkaya. The Police office was in
charge of the Myotha Afyawun, Mingyi-mahamingyaung.ih6nyain|j,
with the Kinwundnuk, Min^yi-mahasithu, and the Thandawzin
Kathc Myinwan, MahaminJinyaza. The Department of Agri-
culture was put in the hands of the Kani Af'tvinivun, Mingyi-maha-
mingyaung-lhinkaya, with theTHeinni ff'w«(/(7«^, Mingyi-mahamin-
gyaung-kyawdin. The portfolio of finance was given to the Pagan
I'Vundauk, Mingyi-mahayaza-thinyin, with the Thandawzin Min-
gala Myivnun, Maha-minhla-sithu. The whole control of each
department was placed in the hands of these officers.
In SKptember the chief Queen of King Tharrawaddi, the motlier
of the Pagan Min, died and there was an enormons concourse of
people at her cremation within the precincts of the palace. The
tuneral pyre was erected on the glacis north of the Hlulda-w;
numerous officials attended until the incineration was completed*
The bones were then gathered and washed with cocoanut-waier,
rose-water, and other sweet-smelling essences and were placed in a
golden pot, held by a specially selected man. The golden urn
was then deposited in a State palanquin, and this was carried in state,
shaded by four white umbrellas, to the Irrawaddy, where the cine-
rary urn was thrown into the river, according to the rites proper
for the occasion. A cenotaph was erected over the site of the
funeral pyre, which exists to the present day.
The Magwe Queen had always been on bad terms with the
Al^nandaw Queen and quarrels were constant between them. At
last in October of this year the Magwe Queen addressed the King
and said that she feared the Alfenandaw Queen would poison His
Majesty's mind against her and bring about her ruin. She there-
fore begged that she might be allowed to leave the place and live
with a man whom she loved, rather than remain in the place and be
constantly nagged at and abused, The King was very angry at
first, but he controlled his temper and gave permission to the
Queen to leave the place and go to live with the rival in his affec-
tions. All the. Queen's property, however, was seized and given to
her two daughters, the Mingin Princess and the Taungdwingyaung
Princess. When the Myotha Myoivun, who was Governor of
Mandalay, heard of this, he seized the Queen's leman, and would
66
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. II.
have put him to death, but the King interfered and said the matter
concerned him alone. He had forbome and forgiven and it was for
no one else to judge the matter. The two therefore lived together
undisturbed.
In 1871, commencing from the month of April, a great meeting
was convened in the Myenan numbering 2.400 learned s/tyadtitcs
and pdngyis. Under the presidency of the King they recited and
rehearsed the Bifaghat Thonhoji, thn Three Baskets of the Law, the
communications of the Lord Buddha. The rehearsal occupied
nearly five months and His Majesty feasted the holy men all this
time. For this reason Mlndon Min was henceforward called
Pyinsama Thinktiya-naiin {or thin), the fifih King who rehearsed
the I-aw of the Buddha, the Convenor of the Fifth Great Synod.
He was the only King in modern times who observed this pious cere-
mony, and there were only four Kings before him. since the death of
Shin Gautama, who had gone through this edifying and devout rite.
The King's four predecissor.s were —
(i) Aratathat, the King of Yazagyo, who was the first who
convened such a synod. Four months after the death
of Shin Gautama, he with the chief rahav, Shin
Mahakaihapa, and 500 rahans read over the holy books
at the mouth of a cave called Sayapinyaukyahlaing
Ku. The King therefore received the title of Patama
Thinkava-naihin.
(2) The next was Kalathawka. Lord of Wethali. The
chief rahan, Maharaiha, with 700 rahans, performed
the same ceremony throughout a period of eight months
at the Walokarama kyamig, 100 years after the death
of the Buddha. This King is therefore known as
Dutt'va Thinkaya-nathin, the convenor of the Second
Great Synod.
(3) The great King Thiridhammathawka, ruler of Patalipok,
was the Tatiyt Thinkaya-nathin. (/'ne thousand ra-
hans, with Shin Maukkalan as their choragos, during a
period of nine months intoned the sacred precepts at
Atthaw Karama kyaung. This was 336 years after
Gautama had entered into rest.
{4) The fourth was Wattaltamani, King of Thiho (Ceylon).
The chief rahon, Shin Maheinda, with 500 monks,
his companions, chaunted the volumes of the tiUaghat
455 years after the Buddha had attained Neikban.
This King therefore is known as Sadotta Thinkaya'
nathin.
CHAP. 11, J
HISTORV.
There was then no repetition of the pious rile until the time of
King Miiidon, foumler of Ratanapong (ihe Royal City of Gems)
and the number of holy men who attended the synod was nearly
equal to the congregations of his four predecessors taken together,
There had b«en no such function for nearly 2,000 years, for His
Majesty's synod was held in the year of religion 2414. He is there-
fore worthy of greater esteem than any of those that went before
him.
In November the King sent the Yaw Aiwinwun, Mingyl Minhla-
mahasithu, to Salin to repair an old pagoda there, which had been
erected by Kyawswa Min, the King of Pagan, in former days. He
had no sooner left Mandalay than his enemies calumniated him to
the King. They said the At-u'tn-wnn was in the habit of saying
openly that he saw no harm in drinkin:^ liquor, and that he actually
did drink himself and often spoke against the King in his cups.
The King was very angry and sent off the Amyauhvun, Mahamin-
gaung Nawrata, to arrest the Aiwinwitu. This was done at Myin-
gyan and the Atinittjijun was brought back to Mandalay as a
prisoner. The King, without any enquiry or investigation what-
ever, dismissed the Atwimviitt from his offices and confined him
in .-Vmarapura for a long time Eventually he relented, or was
persuaded that the charges were not iruc, and appointed the un-
fortunate official to his former rank as Shwepyi Atmnivun. [This
olTicial, however, seems to have been very unguarded in what he
said, for there is a note to the effect that in 1878, on the accession
of King Thibaw, the Shwt-pyi At7vtnwun became Magwe Mingyi
with the presidency of a sort of council, which was supposed to ad-
minister the country in " European fashion," and in particular held
charge of the treasury. The King received money on his note of
hand, but he sent so often that one day the Magwe Mingyi (he is
mysteriously called the " witty " minister) told the man, who came
with a large demand for His NIa'jeity, that the young King was very
extravagant and should remember that nimicy was not to be ob-
tained for nothing, but was wrung out of hardworking cultivators,
and should not be squandered as if it were sand or stones. (There
seems more morality and sense in this than "wit," cm: wisdom
either, considering the circumstances). The lale was carried lo the
King and Supayalat, and the Wungyi^^s deprived of all office only
four months after his accession to rank. The Yenangyaung Wiin-
gyi was dismissed on the same day and the two were imprisoned
in the south garden of the palace. Curiously enoui^h these two
men Maung Po Hlaing (Magwe) and Maung So (Yenangyaung)
were the two who persuaded Mindon Mln, when he was at Shwebo,
not to retreat on Manipur, but lo fight where he was. Maung Po
68
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. U,
HIaing's father was Yindaw Wungyi in Klni; Tharrawaddi's lime,
and was noted as a learned and able minister. He was a great
Sanskrit scholar and was much liked by the foreigners who came
to Tharrawaddi's Court.]
In March 1872, an Embassy was despatched to the Court of St.
James's with letters and presents to the Queen. The members
were the Kin IVundauk, now appointed iVungyt, Mingyi Maha-
siihu, and chief of the Embassy, the Patin Wun, Mahamingaung-
sithu, and the Pangyet iVun, Mahazeyananda Kyawtin, with equal
powers under him and now created IVundauk, and Sayegyi, Ma-
haminhlazeyathu, as Secretary to the Mission. The King had
been ill-advised by his Ministers and had not given formal notice
of his intention of'^ sending such - party to the Political Agent or
to the English Government. In consequence of this irregularity,
the Envoy was afraid that he might not be properly received m
London and therefore first of all visited the Courts of Italy and
France. They were honourably received in both countries and
then went on to London, where they were magnificently received
by Her Majesty the Queen and the Court. The Embassy after
presenting their letters and gifts visited many places of interest in
England and then returned with much joy and satisfaction and
went back by way of Paris. There a commercial treaty was con-
cluded, according to the terms of which French subjects were
granted permission to work mines for minerals and precious stones
in Burma without let or hindrance. The Embassy then returned
to Mandalay and the Kinwun Mingyi recounted what had been
done. The King was much displeased with the clause of the
treaty authorizing the working of mines for precious stones by the
French, and said the Ambassador had no authority to agree to any
such concession. His Majesty held up in his hand one of the
most valued of the crown jewels, a ruby ring known as Nga Mauk,
and asked the assembled courtiers what its value might be. They
bowed their heads to the ground and said no such jewel could be
found anywhere in the world. No value could therefore be set on
it. It was priceless, inestimable, inimitable. The King then,
holding the jewel aloft, said; "If this one ruby be so inestimable
" how many such priceless stones are there to be found in our ruby
" mines ! Moreover, there is no country in all the world which pro-
" duces rubies such as ours. Are we then to resign our pride in
" this possession and let foreigners work our mines ? The treaty is
" not ratified."
[The ruby ring, Nga Mauk, was only worn by the Kings of Bur-
ma on ceremonial occasions, such as the reception of Ambassadors
from foreign countries, or at great festivals.]
CHAP. II.]
HISTORY.
69
About this time a Shan Amat of Theinni (Hsen Wi) named
Shin He (Hsan^ Hai) left Hsen Wi tow^l and gathered under him
a number of wild Kachins and committed many depredations on
the Theinni frontier. The Bhaino IVnm/auk, Mingyi Maha-min-
faung-zeyathu, was despatched with 3,000 troops to suppress him.
here was a fight and Hsang Hai and his Kachins took to flight.
[Hsang Hai, however, gave a great deal of trouble afterwards and
led to the break up of the Hsen Wi State with disturbances which
lasted until the country was occupied by British troops.]
On the 1 8th of April there was an exceedingly violent storm in
Mandalay, with thunder and lightning, heavy rain, and fierce gusts
of wind. Four persons were struck by lightning and killed. The
like had never been known in the royal city before. I hree men
were killed by lightning in the Natso-lfetvvt; quarter on the north of
the city and one in the Dawe quarter to the south of the palace.
On the 24th of the same month letters from Her Majesty the
Queen of England, the Prime Minister, and the Viceroy of India
were brought np to Mandalay by Colonel Horace Browne, the
Deputy Commissioner of Thayetmyo.and most honourably received
by the King in full audience. The letters were read aloud by a
Tkandawsin^ and the King, according to custom, had some con-
versation with the officers of Colonel Horace Browne's party and
expressed himself highly pleased with the letters. After he had
retired the British Officers had refreshments of the usual kind
served up to them and then returned to the Residency.
The Myauknandaw Queen after her return from a visit to
worship at the Arakan pagoda was seized with an attack of in-
fluenza and, though she was attended by the most skilful of the
Court physicans, failed to recover and died on the 3rd May. Hers
was the lirst case of influenza known in Mandalay, or rather the
first fatal case. This Queen was the daughter of a Myothitgyi
and was taken by King Mind6n as his first wife, while vet he was
only a Prince. She h;id very great influence over the King and
continued to rank as his second wife after his marriage with the
chief Queen, the Nammadawpaya, who according to rule was of
the royal house (she was Mindcm's half-sister). Before her death
the Myauknandaw specially requested that her remains might be
buried instead of being burnt according to custom. A grave was
therefore prepared for her in the north garden of the palace and
she was entombed with great ceremony and a mausoleum with a
spire was erected over the spot. This, however, was pulled down
and utterly destroyed when King Thibaw ascended the throne, and
the Queen's remains were carried away and thrown into the com-
70
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTKER. [ CHAP. II.
mon burying-ground. This desecration was said to be due to
Queen SupayalHt,who declared thai ihe Myauknandaw Queen was
nol of royal blood and tlierefore nnt wortliy to be buried wiihin the
limits of the palace. The true reason, however, was probably the
hatred which Supayalat's mother, the Al^nandaw Queen, bore to
the deceased, her superior In the palace, tliough her inferior in
birth.
In the same month of May 1S72 the Mckkhara Prince, Thado-
tliudhamma mahadhammayaza, was appi'inlt_d to the charge of the
engineering works and factories in Mandalay, with a number of
officials under his orders.
In July five Princes, the sons of the King, and 15 Princes, the
sons of the late £ingshemin, assumed the yellow robe and remain-
ed throughout Lent in the monastery of tlie Tkathanabaing^ the
Superior of the Order. His kyaung lay to the east of the city.
From the ist December of this year the King commenced
a monthly dole to the heads of every monastery in Mandalay.
The offerings seni were a basket of the best rice, five parabaiks
(note-books), five pencils (of steatite for writing in these black
scroll-books), 1 viss of ghee, 1 viss of honey, i viss of oil, and 1
viss of molas?es, to each siidav.' or pongyi who officiated as abbot.
The heads of kyauvgs sent in return their benedictions formally
written out on palm-leaves. These bemsons were all formally
rpcited by the Thandawsin every evening before the audience
which was held daily.
About the end of the year an Italian Envoy came to Mandalay
and \ras honourably received and the treaty, which had been nego-
ciated nearly two years before, was formally ratified.
At neariy the same time a portrait of Her Majesty the Queen
was delivered to Mind6n Min and was treated with the greatest
possible honour and respect.
In April 1873 the Kyabin Prince, son of the Limban Queen was
marriea to the Kulywa Minthami, daughter of the Samakon
Queen. He went mad shortly after liis marriage, but this calamity,
otherwise to be deplored, was the means of saving his life in 1879,
when Kin^ Thibaw put the other Princes and Princesses to death.
In June 1873 a Chinaman named Li-si-tal, who styled himself
an imperial officer, came to Mandalay and had an interview with
the King. He represented that the Panthays {Huitsu) had rebelled
against the Udibu^a and had destroyed much of the country in
\\estern China. Li-si-tai said that he had spent all that he
possessed in warring against these rebels, and added that it would
be a gracious token of His Majesty's affection for, and alliance with
CHAP. II.]
HISTORY.
71
the Emperor of China if some 20,000 or 30,000 viss of cotton then
lying at Bhamo were presented to him, Li-si-tai, to enable him to
resume the struggle against the marauding Panthays. The King
was fully persuaded that Li-si-tai was in reality a Mandarin of the
Middle Kingdom and gave him 20,000 viss of the royal cotton
stored at Bhamo. Li-si-tai was in actual fact "an audacious and
arrogant robber chief," who made a living by plundering caravans
between Bhamo and Moniein (T'^ng-yiieh). This present from iho
King, however, apparently improved his mode of life. He joined
the Chinese army, really did fight the Panthays, and in the end was
decorated by the Chinese authoriiies. [Li-si-tai was the man who
is believed to have been the chief agent in the murder ol Augustus
Raymond Margary]
In June also some sayadaws and pongyis, tired of the re-
straints of the monastic life, put off their yi'llow robi*s and became
laymen. The King had them assembled together and appointed
Ihem to posts in different districts and towns according In their
abilities. Each man had a fixed salary and ihey were styled
Lupyandaw on account of the interest the King had taken in them,
instead of the usual opprobrious lutwet.
In November 1873, the Pakhan fKM«^;vi*Thadomingyi-minh*a-
sithu, the Chief Minister of the Council and the signatdry nn the
part of Burma of the Commercial Treaty of 1867, died much
regretted by both the King and every one who had known him.
In December a man named Maung Ye, who had been a salt-
boiler in Pegu, came up to Mandalay and attempted to make his
way into the palace through the Tttga ni, ihe main gate. The
officer in charge of the i^ate seized hold of him, for the Tnga-ni
could only be used by the Royal hamily, the Ministers of State, and
Foreign Ambassadors. Maung Ye, however, boldly ani.ounced to
the Bo that he came by the orders of the iVaga Afin, the Dragon
King, who had heard of the piety and power of the Burmese
King and wished to come and serve him. Tne A'agn Min, however,
was a sea dragon and could not live on dry land. He had therefore
despatched Maung Ye as his forerunner to charge the King to
build a large tank and fill it with water so that the Naga Min might
have a dwelling-place. The Naga Min^ Maung Ye said, would
make his appearance in Mandalay in a month's time. The Taga-tti
Bo reported all this to King Mindon, who ordered ihat Maung Ye
should be brought before him immediately. Maung Ye's petition
was formally read to His Majesty and after a few questions the King
loaded the impostor with presents and gave orders for tlie construc-
tion of a large tank at the foot of Mandalay hill with a plentiful
73
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. II.
supply of water for the Naga Min. When the tank was finished
the shameless Maung Ye announced that the vapourous outline of
the Naga Min would be seen hovering over the Mycnanpyathat
(the main spire of the palace) and tiic residence of the chief Queen.
Accordinijly one night the watchers declared ihey saw a brilliant
glow on these buildings, it was believed that Maung Ye had really
produced some illusion by black arts, or by some trick learnt in his
trade of panning out salt. However that may be, he lost none of his
audacity and had the effrontery to address another petition to the
King to the effect that, if His Majesty wished to inteniew or make
use of the Naga Min, he had only to go to the tank and stamp ihrice
on the ground with his royal reet and say " Naga, come forth."
This, however, Mindon Min refused to do and probably began to
suspect the deceit that had been put upon him. Nevertheless, he
allowed the mysterious legend to be put aboul among his subjects,
so that they might be led (o believe that he was like the great and
glorious kings of old, of whom it is fabled that their power was so
world compelling that even the Nagas were unable to stay in their
own places, but were forced to come and do the royal behests.
This, he thought, would in after years be told of him also and his
name be made famous in history.
On the ist January 1874 an Envoy from the French Re}mblic,
who had arrived a few days before, was received in audience by the
King. After the usual complimentary conversation the Envoy said
he had come to obtain the ratification of the treaty concluded by
the Kinicun Mingyi in Paris on behalf of the Burmese Government.
The King said he could not sign that treaty and in his turn called
upon the French Envoy to sign the amended treaty drawn up in
Mandalay, which omitted the right granted to French subjects to
work the ruby mines in Burma. The Envoy said that he could
not do this, for he was only empowered by his Government to sign
the treaty as it was drawn up in Paris. Not many days afterwards
he left Mandalay "with great disappointment."
The Kin-mun Mingyi followed him before long to Paris with the
treaty as amended by the King. The French Government, however,
were no less unwilling to give way than His Majesty and after a
short time the Kitiivun Mingyi was informed that the Government
of France had much business on hand and could not enter upon
a new treaty. So the Mingyi returned to Mandalay without effect-
ing anything.
In June the King and the chief Queen in their State robes pro-
ceeded to make the circuit of the moat round the city walls seated
in a State barge, called Karawaik Paungdaw. They were followed
CHAP. U.
HISTORY.
73
by all the Queens. Princes, and Princesses and the entire body of
officials in a procession of boats. In this way the King took pos-
session of the now completed city of Ratanapong (the Royal City
of Gems)j or Mandalay, and the city was formally blessed by the
ponnaz (Brahmins) according to ancient custom. The King and
the chief Queen assumed new titles, and new titles were also
conferred upon all the Queens, Princes, Princesses, and officials.
After the Myingon Prince's rebellion in 1866 the King had issued
an order that no officials whatsoever should serve or visit any of the
Royal Princes without special permission, under penalty of the
royal displeasure. About this lime, however, a man named Maung
Gyl, Amyin Myook, went to the Mekkhara Prince's residence and
received from him as presents some waist-cloths and turbans.
Maung Gyi afterwards showed these with great pride to his father-
in-law the Alon Wun, MIngyi-mahathaman-nayan. The Wun was
very far from being pleased and said that, if it were known that
Maung Gyi had accepted these gifts from the Prince, he, the Wun
himself, would also get into serious trouble. He therefore carried
\.\\^ pasQs and gaungbaungs straight off to the King and told him
the whole story. The King praised him for his fidelity and loyalty
and conferred a higher title upon him. that of Afingyi Mahathet-
da-<vsht', which is especially reserved for the officials in whom the
King has complete confidence. The title carries with it a guarantee
that its bearer shall never be put to death, no matter what crime
he may cominil. As for Maung Gyi, he was sent a prisoner to
Mogaun^ (the Burmese Siberia, like the Chinese Mongolia or
Turkestan) . The Mekkhara Prince's fault was overlooked on
account of the signal services which he had rendered in the 1866
rebellion.
In August of this year there was a scarcity of food in the north-
ern district about Thtnkadaw and Sampenago, and the people were
reduced to live on roots and jungle herbs. The King sent two
steamers loaded with rice to their relief. Part of the rice was sold
at a merely nominal rate and much was given away gratuitously to
those who had no money to buy it.
On the 6th February 1875 a mission composed of the U'undauk
Mingyi-mahaminhla-yazathu, ih^. Sayegyi Nemyo-mintin-sithu, and
the Akmaya Nemyo-mintin-kvawgaung was despatched to the
Viceroy and Governor-General of India to discuss the settlement of
the Karenni boundary, and the question was finally settled in Man-
dalay between the Burmese Government and Sir Douglas Forsyth,
the emissary of the Viceroy, " and the Karenni were secured against
foreign aggression."
10
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. II.
About this time the King noted that the inscriptions set up at
the most famous pagodas in the country were being effaced by age
and exposure lo the weather. He therefore ordered copies to be
engraved on marble slabs so that they might last for ever. These
marble slabs were then stored in a chamber built of brick at the
Arakan pagoda. They were ^i in number.
In December there was another great ear-boring festival, held in
the Hmannandaw. The Princes and Princesses, children of the
King, whose ears were bored were the following: Supayagale, Thiri-
thu-lheinkha-yatana Oewi, the younger sister of Supayalat, King
Thibaw's queen ; the Pyinsi Princess, Thupaha Dewi ; the Pyaung
Pyi Princess, Thirithu yuza Dewi, younger sister of King Thibaw ;
the Mohnyin Princess. Thirikinzana Dewi ; the Kyaukyit Princess,
Thirinanda Dewi ; the Natmauk Princess Thiripama Dewi ; the Ma-
daya Princess, Thirithcinkha Dewi ; the Yinkhe Princess, Thirithu-
seitta Dewi ; the Myothit Princess, Thirithuwunna Dewi ; the Hinga-
maw Princess, Thirithuthama Dewi ; and the Princes Panya Min,
Thadominyfe-kyawdin, Taungniyaw Min, Thadumlnyft-kyaw, the
Kawlin Prince, Thadnminye-kyawgaung. the Maing Sin Prince,
Thadominyfe-yannaing, and the Maingpyin Prince, Thadominyfe-
thihathu. Besides the?e there were 14 daughters of the late
Eingshemin and nine granddaughters and three grandsons of the
King. On this occasion all the Courts were closed and many pri-
soners were released from the jails, both civil debtors and criminals
by order of the King.
During the ceremony, while the King and the chief Queen were
sitting together on the throne in the Hmannnntiaw looking on, the
Alfenandaw Queen without any warning went up to the throne and
sat down beside them. The whole Court was astounded at her
boldness, for no queens were allowed to sit on the throne with the
King, except the chief Queen. The N'ammadaw Paya was very in-
dignant, but she restrained her anger in the presence Chamber.
When the ceremonial was over, however, she went strais^hl off to her
suite of apartments and wept for shame. The King heard of this
and went to speak to her, but she attacked him, saying that it could
only be owing to his encouragement that the Alfenandaw Queen
would dare to do such a thing, absolutely unparalleled as it was in
its defiance of Court etiqueUe. The King assured her that so far
from having given any encouragement he had been as much surpris-
ed as she could have been at the Irregularity, and added that he
proposed to reprimand and chastise the froward Alfenandaw.
The Al^nandaw Queen was noted as much for her wiliness as for
her haughty demeanour. It appears that she contended that she, as
:hap. u.]
HISTORV.
a daughter of King Bao^yidaw. had a perfect right to sit on the
throne with the King and the senior wife at a festival in honour of the
ear-boring of her own daughter. She would not stoop to ask for
permission, but boldly asserted her right by doing the thing itself.
In February 1876 it was brought to the King's notice that the
water of the S'ane, Tapin, and VVinyohan streams from the Taung-
pyu district north of Mandalay was dispersed and not utilized as it
might be. He therefore ordered the Yenangyaung Wungyi, Tha-
diimingyi-mahaminkyaw-minkhaung, to dig out and repair these
chnungi so that the people might be able to utilize the water for
the cultivation of iheir fields The distance over which the labour
extended was 3,000 fa. 3 tai*igs, from 7 to S miles.
In addition to this the King at the same time gave orders for the
embanking of the Irrawaddy. During the floods the river used to
rise every year as far as the Shweta chaung and caused a good
deal of inconvenience and sickness. Accordingly the King issued
an order in the month of May to all officials that the river was to be
banked up. The bund was to extend from Obo on the north of
Mandalay to Amarapura on the south, and each officer had a section
assigned to him which he was to complete with all convenient
despatch. The height and breadth of the embankment were given
and the earth of which it was built was to be piled upon a basis of
rocks and stones.
On the 23rd October of this year the Nammadawpaya, the chief
Queen, fell ill of fever and, notwithstanding the care of all the most
skilled physicians of the Court, daily became worse. According-
ly th(r King, as a last resource, set free a number of prisoners from
jail, 65 in number, one for each year uf the lite of Her Majesty
Thiripawayaialawka-yatana-niingala Dewi. Among them were
Nga Pyaw, Nga Hpo Ka, Nga Thaung. Nga San E^ and Nga Tha
Aung, five dacoils who were under seulcnce of death. This
pious act, however, proved of as little avail as the drugs of the medi-
cal men, and on the 12th Nuvember the Queen died. She was
burled wi'h great pomp in the north garden of the palace and the
Kmg and the whole Royal Family with the Ministers of State attend-
ded the funeral robed in white mourning garments, and remained in
mourning for seven days. \ tomb with a spire was erected over
her grave. Her loss greatly affected the King, who had frequently
sought her advice on matters of State. The amiability of the
Nammadawpaya and her conspicuous benevolence and piety had
also greatly endeared her to the people at large, and she was uru-
versally regretted. She was a daughter of King Tharrawaddi by his
chief Queen and full sister of the Pagan King, Mind6n Min never
75
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. II.
got over his grief for her loss and wore a white paso until the day
of his death m mourning for her. He paid frequent visits to her
grave — so often, that eventually he had a small summer palace built
close by, where he frequently lived for several weeks at a time.
After the death of the good Queen it was rumoured in the palace
that the Alfenandaw, who was also a King's daughter and a great
favourite with the King, would be nominated chief Queen in the
room of the deceased. When this got about, all the influential
queens and many of the others went to the King privately and asked
him with tears in their eyes whether the rumour was true. If it were
true, they said that haughty and irritable lady would soon make the
palace unbearable for them and they would all have to beg permis-
sion to leave His Majesty and retire from the palace. The King
was very gentle and solemnly assured Ihem that he had given a
promise to the late Queen that no one should be appointed to fill
her place.
A few months later, however, the .Menandaw Queen formally pe-
titioned the King that she, a daughter of King Bag)'idaw by his
chief Queen, had a right to the title of Minddn's chief Queen
and maintained that the retention of the title of Al^nandaw
was a direct slight to her. The poor King compromised ihe
matter by allowing her to use a while umbrella and gave her a
white cow elephant, which had been sent from 'I'avoy, to ride on.
She thus obtained the title of Sinpyumashin (Mistress of the
White Elephant). At the same time, to soothe the other queens,
His Majesty privately told them that the white umbrella had been
given to the Al^nandaw by the chief Queen just before her death
and that he had nothing to do with it. The King only wanted
peace, but so imperious and domineering was the Alfenandaw that
she would undoubtedly have gained her end and would have been
formally nominated chief Queen, if His Majesty had only lived a
few years longer. She was his favourite, though she was so brazen
and pushing.
In December 1876 King Mind6n resolved to build a pagoda which
should surpass every pagoda in existence in size and magnificence.
The site he selected was at the foot of Yankin taung, a hill to the
east of Mandalay, and the shrine was to be built of stone. The
plan sketched shows that the pagoda would have been vastly
greater than any building on earth. The work was pushed on with
the greatest energy. Many people died of sickness and great
numbers of cattle employed to carry material died of fatigue. The
King's mind was set on completing the work and officials were sent
out to report the daily progress, each Minister taking the duty in
CHAP. 11.]
HISTORY.
77
turn. Mind6n Min one day asked one of his royal Italian en-
gineers when he thought the pagnda would b»; finished. Thai i)fficer
callously replied : " It will take about 40 years, Your Majesty."
The Ring was almost more annoyed than displeased, for he was
determined to finish it before he died. As a matter of fact the
structure had only risen about 3 feet above the ground at his death.
In 1S77 the King had a canal dug from the north of the palace
to the moat to the east of the city, running through the north-east
gate of the city called Thonk^. He proposed thus to go to the
pagodas and kyaungs to the north east of the city by water, and in
November, on the completion of the Aiumashi kytiung (the incom-
parable), actually did go with the whole Court in a procession of
State barges. He returned again on the same day to the palace.
At the end of the year it was maliciously reported to the King
that the officials of the late Eingshemin were meditating treason.
They were accordingly all arrested and sent as prisoners to the
Shan States. There was no real ground for the charge, but the
King was afraid that disturbances might be created in the country.
On the loth of May 1S78 the Atumashi kyaung was consecrated
and the King went out with the entire Court and Royal Family, again
by water, intending to stay at a temporary palace which had been
built for the occasion close to the kyaung, where also a great feast
was prepared and all the people of Mandalay, foreigners {i.e., Euro-
peans), Chinese, natives {i.e., Natives of India), and Burmese were
entertained at His Majesty's expense. On this day, however, there
occurred two portents which greatly affected the programme. While
the Kara-maik Hpauvgdaw was passing along the moat, laden with
the Pitaka, or collections of the canonical books, to be deposited in
the monastery about to be coiisecraied^ the boat struck a post and
the spire over the Ilpaungdaiv was violently wrenched and nearly
broken short off. Again after the kyaung had been formally con-
secrated, the King went up to ptay before an image in the interior
of the building. H<: had to go up some steps and as he went
he stumbled and would have fallen had it not been that one of
the Princesses was close by him, whose shoulder he seized and so
recovered himself. The King was a good deal shaken and seriously
frightened and returned to the palace the same evening instead of
staying in the temporary building as had been arranged. The
story of the two accidents got about and they were looked upon by
the people as bad omens. The King himself apparently had the
same idea, shut himself up in his palace, and went nowhere.
In June the yearly examination of fongyis and shins^ candidates
for the full grade of monk and probationers of the order, took place
78
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. II.
at the Thudhamma aayat and the Patan sayat, at the fool of
Mandalay hill. The King;, instead of going himself, sent the Minis-
ters in turn to entertain the sayadaus and potJgyis who conducted
the examination, and to report progress every day. In previous
years he had always made a point of being present himself at this
Patamapyan as the examination for orders was called.
In July the King really fell ill and, notwithstanding the efforts of
his medical advisers, daily became weaker, so that he was not able
to hold the ordinary audiences A rumour ^oon flew all over the
country thai His Majesty was actually dead and embalmed, and
there was much anxiety throughout his dominions. To restore
confidence and quiet the minds of the people, the King by a great
effort made his appearance in the Hall of Audience and remained
there for a short time. It was tno much for his strength, however,
and he gradually became worse, and on the lath September all the
Princes received an order to attend in the palace by command of
the King. The Nvaung Yan Prince, who as the most pious of his
sons, had by the King's command been in daily attendance on His
Majesty with the physicians and knew the nearly hopeless slate of
his father, and moreover received a private warning from his mother,
instead of going to the palace, took refuge at the British Resi-
dency, and persuaded his brother the Nyaung Ok to go with htm.
The other Princes, however, obeyed the citation without suspicion
and went direct to the palace. They were arrested in a body and im-
prisoned in a building to the south of the HlutdaTv. Two days later
they were removed to a building north of the Bahositt, the clock
turret, and there w^ere loaded with chains.
The mothers of the unfortunate Princes made their way to the
King and begged for their release, and on the I9lh September the
King issued an order that they should be immediately set free and
brought before him, at the same time adding that their arrest had
been made without his knowledge, or permission.
The Princes were accordingly set free and brought inside the
palace, but the Mekkhara Prince alone was allowed to go to the
King's bedside. He told his father how matters stood, and MindAn
Min realized the danger they were in while he remained bedridden
and that they would be in still greater peril if he were to die. He
therefore hit upon a plan which he thought would free ihem from
the snares which had been set about them, and would enable them
lo protect themselves. This was to appoint several of them Ba-
yingan^ or Regents. Accordingly he dictated an order appointing the
Thonzfe Prince Dayittgnn of all the country from Shwebo to Bhamo,
with a sayedaivgyi of the liluldawas a subordinate, and with one of
CHAP. II.]
HISVORV.
79
ihe royal steamers at his disposal ; the lands from Kyauksfe as far as
Taungngu frontier were assigned to the Mekkhara Prince as Regent,
also with a HiuiduTi' clerk and a steamer for the Prince's use; and
the tract between Tal6kmyo (Myin^yan) and Myedn, with another
sayedawgyi and a royat steamer, was assigned to the Nyaung Yan
Prince as the third Bayingynn. Each Prince was to rule over his
territory independently and the younger Princes and their relations
were allowed to attach themselves to whichever of the three they
'preferred. A further order was issued to the treasury to advance
what sums might be necessary for the expenses of the Bayingans.
The King also expressly warned the Mekkhara Prince tl at neither
he nor any of the other Princes wore to return to the palace, unless
under an order signed by his own royal hand, which he siid they
would all be able easily to recognize. He then gave his son his
(blessing and stretched himself out on his couch with his feet to-
(Wards the Prince. The Mekkhara knelt down, brushed the royal
feet with his hair and kissed them and humbly thanked the Kmg
for the honour and favour which he had shown him and the other
Princes, his sons, and retired from the presence.
He rejoined the other Princes and went down with them to the
north garden of the palace, where they met their mothers, the
various queens, and their sisters, who had gone there by the King's
orders to bid them farewell. While they were conversing an armed
party rushed upon them and arrested them all and they were all
again lodged in their prison-house after only a few hours' freedom.,
The thanda'wsin who had taken down the King's order for a triple
regency read it aloud before the Ministers. Bui the Kin Wun
Mingyi and other prominent functionaries who were interested in
the plot in favour of the Thibaw Prince prevented the decree from
being issued by the Hlutda-w. They knew that the King wa-^ in a
dying state and that ihe chance of their punishment was slight. It
was they therefore who issued the order for the re-arrest of the
Princes.
The hapless queens and princesses, when they saw their dear ones
thus seized before their eyes and some of them cruellv beaten and
ill-treated, fled to ihe palace weeping and beating ihcir breasts to
relate what had happened to the King and to entreat him to exer-
cise his authority. This, however, had been foreseen bv the
Alfenandaw Queen, who was the originator of the plot, and she met
them on the way and relentlessly bade them hold their peace in
the Palace. They all feared the Alfenandaw and were fain to retire,
and immediately afterwards found themselves made prisoners in
their own apartments. There was Iherefflre no one to tell the
Bo
THE UPPER BURMa GAZETTEER. [CHAP. II.
King what had happened and he believed that the Princes were set
free and said to h mseU on his sick bed : Now they have got to
the steamers. Now thfy have started. Now they are going full of
joy and gratitude to assume their new duties." But the Princes
lay loaded with chains in their crowded cell and the King knew
nought of it.
He died on Tuesday, the rst October, in the golden palace at the
moment when the second hour was struck and thence his remains
were humbly carried by the Ministers to the crystal palace, the
Hmannandaiv, and there laid on a golden couch of state all set with
precious stones. His body was decked out in the royal robes ;
his face, hands and feet were covered deep with the finest gold
leaf ; a white canopy embroidered with gold leaves was set overhead ;
and the eight white umbrellas, four on each side, were unfolded over
him. On either side were laid out his crowns, his robes of state,
and the royal insignia and badges of authority. The whole cham-
ber was hung with fine white cloth and all in the palace were dress-
ed in pure white as a sign of mourning. The gates of the palace
were thrown open to all who might wish to come and pay homage
to what remained of their Sovereign, and people from all tnc country
round, from the city, and from far distant places, came lo mourn at
the bier of the good King.
After a few days he was buried in great state, attended by the
Pagan Min, his brother, the queens, the princes-ses and all the
dignitaries of state clad in pure white. The catafalque with its
white ropes was drawn by the queens, the princesses, and others of
the Royal Family to the north-east of the Hlutdaw to a spot close
to the grave of the late Queen Dowager, the wife of King Tharra-
waddi, and there he was buried with great honour and solemnity
according to the prescribed royal rites. King Thibaw was present
at the funeral, and it was particularly noticed that he and his follow-
ers were dressed in their ordinary garb and not in white like all the
others present. He came, not on foot, but in a State palanquin,
and when it halted near the burial place he did not alight, hut
gave the necessary order for burial from his palanquin, extended
at full length. The officer in charge of the obsequies set fire to the
funeral trappings as a signal for the interment to go on and Thibaw
then immediately retired. The rest remained till the sepulture was
completed, A fine monument was afterwards erected over the
grave.
The King died of dysentery after an illness of two months. His
loss was felt with profound regret in every part of his dominions.
He was equally loved, esteemed, and respected by his people, who
CHAP, n.] HISTORY. 8l
admired him for his learning, his intelligence, and his kind-hearted-
ness. He was occasionally lead by evil advice to do harsh things,
but when he discovered that wrong had been done he made prompt
and frank amends to the victim. He loved peace above all things
and was willing to sacrifice almost anything to secure it. He was
very religious and eajger to learn anything new in science, knowledge,
or literature. On the representation of the English Missionary, the
Reverend Doctor Marks, he built a beautiful church and a school
for the teaching of the Christian religion, and to this missionary
school he sent several of his sons, King Thibaw being one of them.
But the King was above all zealous to advance and foster the
Buddhist religion. He erected numberless kyaungs, pagodas,
sayats, and other meritorious works. His name is the most nota-
ble in the Alaungpaya dynasty.
He was bom on Tuesday, the 6th increase of Waso 1176 B.E.
(3rd July 1814), and died on the 1st October 1878, at the age of 64,
after a prosperous reign of 26 years. He took his title of Minddn
from the fact that, while a prince, he drew the revenues of the
Minddn township, west of Thayetmyo, within a few miles of the
foot of the Arakan Hills. His birth name was Maung Lwin.
This ends the chronicle of King Minddn's reign.
The following domestic palace details have been collected from a
variety of Burmese sources : —
The chief Queen was the only one of the queens who had the
power to petition the King direct in favour of a candidate for office,
or to interpose in behalf of a prisoner or any one sentenced to
death.
The other Queens and ladies of the palace had no recognized
authority, but many of them had a good deal of personal influence
with the King in the privacy of his chamber, and therefore great
court was paid to them by minor and district officials and even
by Ministers of State in the hope that promotion or protection in
times of trouble might thus be secured for them. Friendship with
these ladies was also useful in another way. They could report
what passed or was talked of in the palace and so do a friend a
good turn. The queens' chambers were therefore thronged with
the wives and daughters, alike of officials and aspirants for office,
and occasionally a very kind-hearted lady of the Court would send
a special warning message to a suitor or a delinquent. After his
establishment of the salary system King Mindon banded over some
of the queens to the care of various Ministers and district officials
and ordered them to be regarded as daughters and to be looked
after and provided for accordingly. These ladies naturally had an
II
83
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. U.
eye to the interests of their guardians and gave secret information
for their advantage. Feminine Influence was thus even more para-
mount at the Burmese Court than it is elsewhere in Burma.
The situation therefore when King Mindon fell seriously ill was
sufHciently complicated. There was no rule extant that the eldest
Prince should succeed, and no one iiad been nominated Eingshemitt
or heir-apparent b^ the King as successor to the Pnnce, his
brother, murdered m the rebellion of 1866. In 1869 Colonel (then
Captain) Sladen had urged the King to nominate one of his sons to
be his successor, on the ground that this would secure the peace of
the country. But the King had argued that, on the contrary, this
would be the surest way to create disturbances. He had so many
sons of an age fit to govern the country that the appointment of
any one of them as Etngshcmin would be practically signing his
death-warrant. The matter therefore was postponed until the
lingering and debilitating illness of the King left him without the
energy or the influence sufficient to settle the question himself.
As matters stood it was hardly possible that there could be ai
peaceable and bloodless succession. The three most prominent and
elderly Princes were the Mekkhara, Thonz^, and Nyaung Yan
Minthas. They were all loyal ; they had rendered equally good
service in the rebellion of 1866; they were much of an age and, as
far as their mothers were concerned, according to Burmese notions,
they were on an equality. The Th6nz£ Prince had perhaps a slight
advantage in the rank of his mother ; the Mekkhara Prince was the
bravest and perhaps the most prominent ; the Nyaung Yan Prince
was the most pious and well-read and therefore possibly the most
likely to find favour in the eyes nf the Governor of the I*^ifth Great
Synod. The King himself hesitated, as is evident from his division
of the Regency among them. Possibly he thought he would re-
cover from his sickness and would have time to settle ihe succes-
sion ; possibly he was too weak to arrive at any decision ; most likely
he was confused by the startling arrest of all the Princes without
his orders. His love of peace and the absence of any one to guide
his decision probably determined him to leave matters to settle
themselves. In any case he made no definite nomination.
The Al&nandaw Queen saw her opportunity in this. She knew
that she was hated by all the Queens and indeed by most of the
Royal Family. She knew that each Queen would intrigue for her son
with the aid of whatever officials could be won. She knew that the
Thibaw Prince was in love with her daughter Supayalat, and she
determined that through them she would continue to exercise the
same influence at Court as she possessed in Minddn's time. She
CHAP. II.]
HISTORY.
83
carried out her plot with equal energy and daring. While the King
was ill, the only persons, besides the physicians, allowed to come
near him were ihe Alt-nandaw Queen herself, the Taungsaingdaw,
the Thanatsin and Letpansin Queens, and U Hka Gyi, the chief
eunuch. She still further isolated him by ordering that no ponies
or carriages were to pass near the palace and that no one was to
speak above a whisper throughout the whole building, or to come
near the sick chamber. It was by her orders that the Princes were
first summoned to the palace and arrested, and it almost seems as
if she had obtained the King's approval of this siep on the ground
that the safety and peace of the kingdom called for it, but this latter
point is very obscure. At any rale she persuaded the King to stipu-
late that all the Princes should leavej Mandalay with the three
Bayingans, Mekkhara, Th6nz6, and Nyaung Yan, except theThibaw,
Maington, and Thagaya Princes.
Meanwhile she had further developed her plot. She sent for the
Ktn IVun Mingyi and her particular ally, the Myaukdwe Bo, a mili-
tiiry officer and father of the Yanaung Mintha, and informed them
that the Kin^ had appointed the three Princes to be Bayingans, and
that the inevitable result of this must be disturbances, risings among
the people, and the overthrow of the Ministers themselves. She
therefore suggested (hat it would be well for the peace of the coun-
try not to let any of them leave Mandalay and said all should be
confined by order of the //lutdaw. At the same time she hinted that
the King had expressed a wish that Thibaw should marry Supaya-
lat and should be nominated Eingskemin. Whatever the Min-
isters may have thought of the last proposition, they were thoroughly
alive to the dangers hinted at by the Alenandaw, and the Kin IVun
Mingyi easily persuaded the Hkampat, Yenangyaung, and Shwe
Pyi IVutigyis to agree to the Queen's proposition. An order of the
Hlutdaiv was therefore issued for the re-arrest of all the Princes and
this was promptly carried out in the north garden of the palace as
related by the Burmese chronicler. A few of the minor Princes
escaped during the scuffle which occurred. The Mekkhara and
Thonz^ Princes resisted violently. The former was cut over the
head and the Thonzfe Prince was also injured by a fall off the palace
wall, which he was trying to scale. In order to divert suspicion
and to persuade tlie people that the arrest was made really for the
sake of the country, to ensure its tranquillity, the Thibaw Prince was
arrested among the others, by the express desire of the Alfenandaw
Queen. He was, however, very soon liberated on the pretext that
the King wanted him to give him his medicine.
The King was now more isolated than ever and the Alenandaw
Queen further developed her plot. While the Ministers were sitting
84
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER.. [ CHAP. II.
in Council near the southern palace there was brought to them by
an eunuch from the Alfenandaw a parabaik, a black official note-
book. It contained a list of the Princes' names, and the Ministers
were requested to put a mark asjalnst the name of the one ihey
thought best fitted and worthiest to be appointed Eingshemin, the
successor to the throne. The parabaik was first handed to the
Hkampat Wungyi, who at that time was looked upon as President
of the Council. Ho looked over the list and passed it on, without a
word and without making any remark to the Kin Wun Mingyi. This
officer had now been completely won over by the Al^nandaw, and
without a moment's hesitation he placed his mark against the name
of the Thibaw Prince. The other Ministers thereupon, whether in
the plot or not, all followed his example and voted for Thibaw.
They thought that this Prince, who had no established party of his
own and no powerful relations in the Court to outward seeming,
would be more easily managed than the more elderly Princes, all
whose favourites and likings were known.
Tht parabaik was then taken back by the eunuch to the Alfe-
nandaw and after a day or two she laid it before the King and
pointed out to him the unanimous vote of his Ministers. The
Ring simply looked at it and laid the book down by his bed with-
out a sign or a word. .Ml this lime he knew nothing of the arrest
of the Princes and during a slight revival of his strength the Min-
isters were in great alarm and were with difficulty kept from releas-
ing the prisoners by the .M^nantlaw. The amendment of the King's
health was, however, only temporary. A relapse set in and within
ten days he was dead.
He lay in state for seven days, and the day after the funeral
Thibaw was proclaimed King. The Ministers established a kind
of Council which was to administer the affairs of the country on
what was called a constitutional system. No order was to be issued
and no appointments were to be made without the consent and
approval of this Council. This was not at all, however, what the
Alfenandaw or King Thibaw and his consort wanted and the Coun-
cil came to an end in three months' time. That body had endea-
voured to keep a control of the treasury, and the Shwe Pyi Wungyi
in its name ventured to protest against the royal extravagance.
The immediate answer to this attempt to cut the privy purse was
the dismissal of the plain-spoken Shwe Pyi IVmtgyi and of the
Yenangyaung IVuvgyi, who was reported to have spoken favourably
of the Mekkhara Prince. Such autocratic action was too much
for the Council and no more was heard of the attempt at " consti-
tutional Government." King Thibaw ruled supreme.
CHAP. n.
HISTORY.
85
Immediately after the coronation ceremony the Myaukshweyi
Queen, the mother of the Nyaung Yan and Nyaung Qk Princes, and
her daughters were arrested and imprisoned. At the same time
there were thrown into jail the Kunywa Queen, the mother of the
Th6nze Prince, and her daughters, the Mekkhara Prince's mother,
the Myauksaungdaw Queen and her daughters, the Pagan Queen
and her daughters, the Limhan Queen, the Thekpan Queen, and the
Saingdon Queen, witli their daughters, besides many others. They
were all confined in the palace enclosure near the western gate
and remained closely guarded until the occupation of Mandalay by
the British troops.
At first the King*s intention was simply to keep the Prim:es, his
brothers, in confinement. A large jail for their accommodation
• was therefore commenced on the western side of the palace, but
before long the Alfenandaw Queen, her daughter Supayalat, and
'their confidential advisers arrived at the conclusion tfiat the death
of the Princes was the easiest way of preventing them from giving
trouble. King Thibaw required little persuasion and the massacre
took place in February 1879. A huge trench was dug to receive
them all and many were tossed in half alive or only stunned by
the clubs of the executioners. The Hlethin Attvinwun was Myowun
of Mandalay at the time, and he with the Yanaung MinlUa and
their Letihdndaws, their personal attendants, were sent to verify the
dragonnade and see that none escaped. The huge grave was
covered with earth, which was trampled down by the feet of the
executioners, but after a day or two it began gradually to rise and
the King sent all the palace elephants to trample it level again.
After some time the trench was opened again and the bodies were
taken out and removed to the common burial-ground and interred
there.
The most prominent among those murdered were I he Myauk-
saungdaw Queen with her daughters, the Kani and Kgap& Afin-
ihamis and her son, the Mekkhara. Prince ; the Kyanhnyat and
Thinkyfe Princesses; the Thonzt Prince and his brother the Pintha
Mint ha ; the Kothani, theShwegu, Mohlaing, Taungnyo, Yenaung,
Maingt6n, Kawlin, Kotha, Thagaya, Thilin, and Tantabin Princes,
besides many others, sons of the King and of the Ei7igskemin who
was murdered in t866. Other notable persons killed were the Tabfe
Mintha, Mind6n Min's cousin, the Yenatha Mintha, the Limban
Queen's brother, the Bhamo Aiivinwun, uncle of the Thonzfe Mintha,
Maung Yauk, formerly Governor of Rangoon in Burmese times,
and his brother, the MyinBugyhcun, the Madaya IVun, who was
uncle of the Nyaung Yan Prince, and a number of other ofiBcials and
86
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. II.
relatives of the Princes. The victims numbered in all between 70
and 80 souls. Both the Court and the country were horrified, but
none dared to murmur, A spirit of lawlessness, howi^ver, spread
throughout ihe kingdom and dacoits and robbers soon infested
every part of the country.
Immediately after the massacre Supayalat distributed among her
favourite malds-of-honour the cities and titles assigned to the mur-
dered queens and Princesses, and King Thibaw in the same way
named his most trusted letthondaws successors of the deceased
Princes. The titles therefore all survived in different individuals.
King Thibaw married Supayalat immediately upon his succes-
sion to the throne. He had been in love wuh her for some con-
siderable time. His mother, the Laungshe Afibuya (who was
seventh in rank among the Queens), the Alfenandaw, and the Minis-
ters, however, decided among themselves that he should also
marry Supayagyi, the elder sister of Supayalat, and that Supayagyi,
as the eldest daughter of the Alenandaw, should have the title of
chief Queen, Nammada^v Mibuya Kaunggyt, while Supayalat
was to be styled Myauk Nandaw Mibuya^ or northern Queen. It
was assumed that Thibaw, like all Kings of Burma, would have
four principal queens and a number of minor spouses according to
fancy. However, to begin witlij he married the two sisters in the
presence of the entire Court at the time of his coronation, and they
sat on the throne to the right and left of him. Both of them were
allowed to use white umbrellas and Supayagyi moved into the apart-
ments which had been inhabited by Mindon's chief Queen. Supa-
yalat, however, established herself in the King's own rooms and kept
a close eye on him, so that he was never able to go anvAvhere
without her. The King therefore saw nothing of Supayagyi at all.
This, however, did not satisfy Supayalat, who was determined
to be sole mistress. Before long Supayagyi fell sick and her
favourite nurse, Ma Pwa, lighted some candles and placed them in a
row in the Nammadapaya's rooms as an offering to the spirits for
the Queen's recovery. Supayalat heard of this and immediately
told King Thibaw that Supayagyi and her nurse were working
spells against his health and power and were conspiring to bring
about the return of the Nyaung Yan Prince as King. She there-
fore persuaded the King to send messengers to see what was going
on and he was duly told that candles were indeed burning in a
row, but what it was for the spies could not say. Thibaw was
gradually worked into alarm and Indignation by Supayalat and
had several hot altercations with the Alenandaw, who took the
part of her elder daughter. In the end Thibaw ordered the nurse
to be put to death. When the Alenandaw heard this she thought
CHAP. II.]
HISTORY.
87
Supayagyi was also in danger and caused her to be removed from
the Nammadapaya^s rooms and brought under her own immediate
care again. This was the very thing which Supayalat had been
scheming for. She hated the notion of any one staying in the
chief Queen's suite except herself.
Supayagyi was very fond of her nurse and worked herself into
such a state of misery over her sentence to death that the Alfenan-
daw was fain to stifle her pride and went to King Thibaw and beg-
ged him to spare Ma Pwa. He recalled the death sentence, but
Supayalat would not allow her to be released and Ma Pwa, with
her three sons and her aged mother, were kept confined in the
women's prison for some considerable time. Supayalal, with or
without grounds, believed that Ma Pwa had been scheming to in-
troduce the King into Supayagyi's chamber and this was more than
her jealousy could stand. Her hatred was implacable. After a
few months Ma Pwa was removed to a prison in Sagaing and she
had not long been there when a private order arrived that the nurse
was to be starved to death, which was duly carried out.
Jealousy was Supayalat's chief characteristic, and to it she united
the imperiousness and cruelty which she had inherited from her
mother. She kept the King completely under her control and
effectually prevented him from indulging in amours. When her
first child, a daughter, was born, all the daughters of the officials
were ordered to come to the palace to pay homage to the infant
Princess and to do her homage. Among those who came was Mi
Hkingyi, a grand-daughter of the Hkampat IVufiffvi and niece of
the Pagan At-wintvun. Mi Hkingyi was very good-looking and
very gentle in her manner. She was therefore chosen among
those to attend on the infant, and King Thibaw saw her often
when he came to see the child and soon took a fancy to her.
He therefore sent the Taingda Afivinii'un's grandson, a lad of
fourteen, to express hislove for her. Mi Hkingyi dutifully told the
messenger to ask her uncle and aunt, the Pagan Ahvinumn
and his wife. The King then privately sent the S'auaung Afin-
tka, a special favourite of his, to the Atwinwun, to say that he
wanted to marry the girl. The Atwinzvun and his wife express-
ed their sense of the honour intended, but said ihat they were
afraid of Supayalat, who would take revenge not only on the girl,
but on all her relations. The King ihcn summoned them to meet
him in a suite of apartments close to the letthondaw's quarters,
where Supayalat very seldom went and showed the preparations
he had made there for Mi Hkingyi, and declared by his royal
honour that he would see that neither the girl herself nor her
relations should suffer from Supayalat's indignation. He also
88
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP, II.
promised to tell Supayalat the whole circumstances of the case
after her second confinement which was expected, and assured
them that he would reconcile her to the situation, appoint Supaya-
lat Nammadnwpaya and Mi Hkingyi to the dignity of Myauknan-
daw, and that thus everything would be satisfactorily arranged.
There is something almost ludicrous in all this to-do about a mere
chit of a girl, when even the Princes of Burma, to say nothing of the
King, were in the habit of making alliances as they would have
bought a new pony. The fuss made, however, shows how com-
pletely Supayalat ruled the palace, so that not merely the Minis-
ters, but even the Kin^f himself hesitated about doing anything
without her consent and approval.
The girl was brought into the palace and established in the
quarters prepared for her, and King Thibaw, da in hand, himself
threatened Supayalat's attendants with immediate death if they told
her anything about his new connection. He informed Supayalat
that he was to receive a solemn beithet, a blessing with consecrat-
ed water from the pdnnas, and that it was necessary for him to
keep solemn and solitary fast for seven days in preparation for
the ceremony. Two small temporary palaces were therefore built
in the southern garden of the palace and in one of them Supayalat
kept a genuine fast so as to be worthy to receive the betthei with
the King. Thibaw himself kept a sort of honeymoon with Mi Hkin-
gyi and held high revelry with his favourite leifhondaiosy the Ya-
naung A/infha. the Pintha Prince, the Taungtaman-Iesa, and the
Ekkahabat Myiwaun. The Queen was very proud of her asceti-
cism and bragged about it freely to her attendants, adding that
even the austere Mindon Min had never submitted himself to such
mortification on an occasion of the kind as the young and lusty Thi-
baw had now done. She was confined of her second child 15 days
later and King Thibaw then told her of his alliance with Mi Hkin-
ey\. The Queen's indignation at the new connection was worked
mto fury when she thought of the trick that had been played on her
and the way she liad been fooled before her attendants. She de-
manded that Mi Hkingyi should be surrendered to her at once, but
Thibaw had gathered courage from his lefthondaws and flatly re-
fused. He, however, thought it well to move Mi Hkingyi into
a safe place in the southern garden of the palace, and thence she
used to visit him dressed in men's clothes and guarded on the way
by the Yenaung Prince and other confidants of the King.
Supayalat then realized that high-handed demands were not
likely to prove successful and changed her plan. She affected to
be reconciled to the division of the King's affections and argued
that it would be more seemly that the new Queen should live in the
CHAP. II.] HISTORY. 89
palace in the usual way. She gave a solemn promise that she
would do Mi Hkingyi no harm and for a short time did really treat
ber kindly. Before long, however, she began to bully and ill-treat
the girl, who complained to the King. Thibaw consulted with his
confidential friends, the Yenaung and Pintha Princes, the Taungta-
man-lfesa, and the Ekkabat AfytttTVun, who bluntly said that it was
a woman's duty to obey her husband, that the King might have
as many wives as he pleased and that he was justifiea in thrashing
or threatening Supayalat into compliance if mere argument failed.
On the next occasion of a remonstrance with Supayjilat about her
treatment of Mi Hkingyi therefore, the King seized a spear and
rushed at his wife. Supayalat fled to her mother Al^nandaw's
apartments and got there before the King could catch her. The
maid s-of- honour scattered in dismay and were not to be found,
though the letthdndaws were sent to look for them. The whole
palace was in a state of commotion and the gates were shut lest
the consternation should spread outside.
Late at night Thibaw repented of his hastiness and went and
made it up with Supayalat, but she had now taken her measure of
him and returned to the palace determined not to give way. Quar-
rels between her and Thibaw were frequent and almost as violent
as this had been, but Supayalat now never gave way, and what be-
tween fear of her and love for Mi Hkingyi, Thibaw got into such
an excited and bewildered state, that rumours spread into the city
that the King was going mad.
The Queen therefore resolved to put an end to the cause of
quarrel in a summary way. She knew that the Yenaung and other
letthondaws were the King's great supporters and were bound for
their own safety to thwart her plans. She determined therefore
to get them out of the way and took the Taingda Atwinwufi into
her councils.
King Thibaw had never gone round the city moat and she per-
suaded him that in order to take formal possession of the city
.it was necessary that he should do so. She also reminded him
that it was customary on such occasions to set up four golden
boxes, one on each side of the city, into which any one who had a
petition to make, or grievances to unfold, might drop his letter and
so secure the royal attention without danger or expense to himself.
The King agreed and, with the Queen and the letthdndaws^ made
the four-mile circuit in the royal barges in stately and pompous
fashion. They returned at night and the four boxes were brought
into Supayalat's apartments and opened bv the King himself.
There were a number of petitions and most of these from all four
boxes were anonymous letters directed against the Yanaung and
[2
90
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. 11.
Pmtha Princes, the Pagan Atn^inwun, the Taungtaman-I^sa, the
Ekkhabai Myimvuti, and others of the /eithondaws, charging them
with treasonous conspiracy against the King and his Government
and correspondence with the Nyaung Yan and Nyaung Ok Princes.
These letters had all been concocted by the Queen herself and
deposited by her ally, the Taingda At-wimeun, in the golden
boxes.
The Queen herself insinuated her suspicions, and King Thibaw,
who lived in constant fear of such plots, was easily persuaded to
order the arrest of the accused and to entrust the duty to the
Taingda Atmn-a>uv and the Shwehlan Myowun, both of them in the
Queen's confidence. The next morning the Yananng Prince was
;irrested as he entered the palace gates in the ordinary course of
his duties and immediately after, the Pagan Ahcin-wun, the Pintha
Prince, the Taungtaman-Ifesa, the Ekkhabat Afyinwuti, the Hkam-
f)at Wungyi, the ICaunghan !/*««, the Ng^vckun If 'hw, with all their
amilies and retainers, were arrested in their own houses and lodged
in jail without any form of trial or investigation.
They remained thus In confinement for 20 days and then Supa-
yalat began to be afraid that the King would relent and set free
the prisoners, most of whom had been his closest friends. She
therefore took counsel with the Taingda and Shwehlan Wuns again
and persuaded them to go and tell the King that the Yanaung
Mintka was ratting in his cell and had declared that he would
rather kill himself than submit to be put to death by the King's
order, and had actually tried to commit suicide by cutting his throat
with a pair of scissors.
Thibaw when he heard this fell nto a rage and ordered the Ya-
naung Mxntha out for immediate execution and this was carried
out on the spot A few days later the Pagan Atmnviun and the
Ekkhabat Myivwun were put to death in jail. Of the rest, some re-
mained in confinement and some were exiled to Mogaung. .Among
the latter was the Taungtaman-lfesa, who was killed on the way
there by the secret orders of Supayalat.
The whole story of the conspiracy was a pure invention of the
Queen's, but it served her purpose and got rid of the King's allies
and advisers. He now became a mere puppet in the Queen's
hands, and she so arranged that Thibaw could never see Mi Hkin-
gyi except in public. Shi* also told the girl that she would accuse
her and her aunt, the Pagan Atwinwun^s wife, of attempting magic-
al arts again-st the King, if she ventured to go near Thibaw, or to
say anything to him but what Supayalat mstructed her tu sa
The girl's spirit was broken and she was daily nagged at and
treated by the maids- of- honour and by Supayalat herself.
7-
ill-
CHAP. II.]
HISTORY,
9}
Thibaw gradually forgot the i^irl whom he was never allowed to
sec and Supayalat placed Ml flkingyi in charge of ihe Taingda,
who had now been appointed i^Vuttgyi. She was kept a close pri-
soner in his compound, but one day Supayalat heard from tlie
Wungyi's grand-daughter that the girl was kindly treated and al-
lowed to see pTi'i's in the compound. She got in a great rage over
this, threatened the Taujgda with dismissal, and spoke to the King
about it. Thibaw had quite got over his fancy, lie wanted
peace in his household above all things. He sent for the Taingda
and asked if Mi Hkingyi was still alive and added that he wanted
to hear no more about her. The ^Fm«^^'/ took the hint and had
the girl killed. Supayalat sent a eunuch to make certain of the
fact.
The whole matter was much discussed in Mandalay and through-
out Burma and ruined the coniidence of the people in the King.
The lawlessness in the palace provoked lawlessness in the country
[,and legalized dacoit gangs pruyed over whole districts.
The following notes on the reign of King Thibaw are supplied
by Maung Po Ni, of Mandalay: —
King Thibaw assumed the title of Thiripawara Ditya Lawka
Dhipadi Pandita Maha Dhamma Rajadhiraja. He was the son of
the last King, Mindon Min. by the Liungshe Queen, Princess
Nanda Dewi, and was born on the morning of Saturday, the 12th
waning of ihe moon of Nattmv 1220 (isl January 1859), so that he
was twenty years of age when he ascended the throne.
When he was sixteen years of age he entered a monastery on
his novitiate and, after a stay of three years, passed in the first
class at the annual Sudhamma examination.
On his return to the palace after his father's funeral, he found
that the Princess Saliii Supayagyi, one of His late Majesty's
daughters, and kept Tnhindamg, had shaved her head along with
her three maids-of-homHir, and had put on the dress of a nun.
This somewhat annoyed King Thibaw, fnr he had intended to marry
her. He consoled himself, hnwevcr, by marrying her two remain-
ing sisters, the Princess Maingiiaung MyozaThuthiri Ralana Min-
gala Dewi and her younger sister, the Princess Myadaung Myoza
Thuthlri Pabha Raiana Dewi, daughters of King Mind6n by the
Sinbyumashin Queen.
In the month of Tahodwd 1240 (February 1879), for the safely
and v^elfare of the country, the King's elder brother, the Princes
Th6nze, Mekkhara, Shwcgu, and a number of others, in all up-
wards of 40 persons, were made over to the Ministers and put 10
^3
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. II.
In the following month His Majesty's uncle, the ex-King Pagan
Min, died and was buried with the usual pomp and cererronies.
At the same time King Thibaw's infant son died of sma!I-pox in
the palace, and the King therefore could not attend his unde*s
funeral, but it was nevertheless very grand.
During the month of A'ayon (May) 1879 the King caused a
pagoda to be built in a garden 10 the south-east of the city, known
as the Thin Hemanum garden. This pagoda was known as the
Ma-an-aung Yatana and King Thibaw was thereafter sometimes
known as the Ma-an-aung Yatana Dayaka, or founder of the pa-
goda of that name.
In the month of Tabodwd (January) 1880 a large white house
was built for the King's mother, who had become a nun. She
took possession of this, but died in the following year.
In the month of IVaso (June) 1880 a mission was sent to
effect a treaty of friendship with the Brinsh Government, but after
it had been delayed for eight months at Thayetmyo, it had to re-
turn without effecting anything.
In August of the same year the chief Queen gave birth to a
daughter.
In the following month the Yaw Myosa Wungyi was given Rs.
5,000 and sent to quell a disturbance which had broken out at Mong
Nai (Mon£) and to take charge of thai part of the Shan States.
In the month of Kason 1243 (April 1881), as it was the fourth
year of His Majesty's reign, it became necessary, in accordance
with ancient custom, to again perform the ceremony of coronation.
Highly ornamental sheds were therefore erected on the space in
front of the Palace, and the King and the chief Queen, seated on a
thrune, went through the ceremony of Beii-tkeit ; consecrated water
was poured on their heads from three conch shells. They then
proceeded to the city moat and entered a barge, in which they were
rowed round the city, both banks of the moat being lined with
troops all the while. The significance of this ceremony was that
the King took possession of the city. Special effect was lent to
the function by the circumstance that the moon was under eclipse
at the time.
In July 1881 the chief Queen gave birth to another daughter.
In the month of Tagu (March) 1882 the Atwimvun Kyauk-
myaung Myoza, was appointed chief envoy to proceed to Simla and
London with friendly letters and presents. The Embassy was in-
tended to negotiate a commercial treaty and to secure other ad-
vantages for the country. A draft treaty was sent to .Mandalay
by the British Government, but the King thought it one-sided and
ejected it. Moreover, he particularly desired that any treaty he
CHAP. II.J HISTORY. 53
might make should be witli the Queen-Empress and not with the
Viceroy of India.
In the month of Tahodwe 1244 (February 1882), when the King:
was 34 years of ag^e, all hereditary officials in charge of towns and
villages (myothugyis and thugyis), whose names were registered
in the lists or Sittans of the years 1 145 B.E. (1784) and 1 164 B.E.
(1803), were required to submit fresh papers, showing the reality
of their hereditary rights and the time they had endured. These
lists were submitted to the HiutdaTv, which had the power of con-
firmation or rejection.
In the month of Tabaung (March) of the same year pagodas
were erected to note the days of the week on which His Majesty
and the chief Queen were born. That to the King was put up in
the Salin Myet-thin quarter, south-east of the city, and was named
the Lawka Yan-naing pagoda. Two others in honour of the chief
Queen were erected in the Abyaw-san garden, east of Mandalay hill.
In the same months titles were bestowed upon the monks, the
Mala Lingaya and the Shwegyin sadrnvs. The former received
that of Sasaaa Dhaja Dhamma Siri Dhipadi Maha Dhamma Raja-
dhiraja Guru and the latter that of jaganahi Dhaja Sasana Pala
Dhamma SenApati Maha Dhamma Rajadhiraja Guru. These titles
were bestowed in the Thudhamma temple, where a large number
of holy men weie assembled and the usual gifts and offerings were
made to them, .^fle^ the titles had been formally conferred, royal
orders were read aloud, declaring that these two sada-ws were speci-
ally charged with the propagation of the Buddhist religion.
In the same month offerings were ordered to be prepared, which
consisted of a white umbrella for the Mahamuni image (at the
Arakan Pagoda; on behalf of the chief Queen, and two other white
umbrellas for the shrine of the Lawka Marazein (the Kutho-daw,
where the books of the law are engraved on marble slabs), one for
the King and the other for the chief Queen. These umbrellas
were made and ornamented in the mirror room, on the north side of
the palace. The adornments consisted of lace borders and fringes
and handle tips encrusted with gold, silver, diamonds, pearls, rubies,
and coral. The value of each umbrella was estimated at upwards of
Rs. 80,000. When they were finished the umbrellas were conveyed
to their destination in solemn procession by the Ministers of State
and were opened out over the two images.
During the same month, as the King was desirous of entering
into a treaty of friendship with the French Government, suitable
presents for the President of the Republic were prepared and the
Ahtsin-wun Myothit Myoza, VVunt^yi, Mahazaya Thingyan, was ap-
pointed chief of the mission, whilst the Wundauk Thangyet, Wun,
94
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. II.
Mingyi Minhla Maha Sithu Kyaw, and the chief writer, Maha
Minhla Thinkaya, were appointed Assistant Envoys, and all left for
Paris.
Also in the same month the Myowun Shwehlanbo Kawlin Myoza
Mingyxt Maiia Mingauiig Nawra-hia, who was placed in Mong Nai
(Mon6) on account of the disl<^yalty of Nga Kyi Ngfe, cx-Saubwa
of Mong Nai, and of Nga Htun, «.x-Myoza of Mong Nawng, Nga
VVaing, exSaTubwa of Lawk Sawk (Yatsauk), and Nga Pe, ex-
Myoza of Mong Ping, having rclurncd to the capital, his place was
taken by the IVimdauk Kutywa Myoza, Mingyi Mingaiing Sithu
Kyaw, who received command of a force of 1,000 men and went to
take charge of Mong Nai and to restore peace in the Shan States.
During this month also 225 ticals of gold were set apart to be
made into four alms-bowls When these, with stands and covers
complete, were finishwl, they were conveyed by ihe Ministers of
the Court to Pakhangyi, where they were deposited as royal offerings
before the sacred images.
During the month of 2nd IVaso 1245 (July 1883), when King
Thibaw was 25 years of age, he called for an eniyneration of
the slaves in the city, both male and female, and required that
all slave-owners should produce their bonds before the Hlutdaw,
showing for what amount of debt each person had been enslaved,
and how much had been paid towards the liquidation of the debt.
The owners of the slaves, the slaves themselves, and the persons
who sold them were summoned and each case was separately en-
quired into by the judges and specially appointed onicers. The
King then paid upwards of Rs. 40,000 towards the emancipation
of a large number of them. Two hundred and forty of these
became rahans and 1,154 entered monasteries as novices, making a
total of 1,394 who assumed the yellow robe. To all of these the
King gave presents of robes and money. Two hundred monks of
all degrees were then invited to the Thudhamma temple and
suitable offerings were made to them, and for three days the Princes
and Ministers of the Court were employed in carrying out the
necessary details of the ordination ceremony.
During the month ui March of this year, Maung Hpon, a son of
the late Eingshemin, who had become a rahan, but was neverthe-
less watched by a body of 100 men appointed for that purpose,
conspired with some of these guards to raise a rebellion. Some
of them, however, betrayed him. An enquiry was held, and Maung
Hp6n confessed. His monkish robe was then stripped off him and
he and all who supported him were thrown into prison.
About the same time, to promote the peace, contentment, pro-
sperity and happiness of all classes of his subjects, as well as of the
CHAP', ti.]
HISTORY.
^S
monastic order, the King ordained that the country should be divid-
ed into ten divisions or knyaifjgs, each division being placed under
a Kayaing IVttn, or Commissioner. These Commissioners were to
be chosen with care and were periodically to visit everypart of their
jurisdiction.
In the month of Tabaung (March) 1883 both of His Majesty's
infant daughters died of small-pox, within a few days of each other.
They were buried in the north garden and monuments were put up
over their graves.
The following month a fire broke out in the house of a man
named Nga To, in the Katna Bumi quarter in the west of the town.
The lire travelled southwards towards the Kulhinayon pagoda, burn-
ing the whole series of kyaungs which surrounded it, besides a
number of others, and then swept on to the temple of the Maha
Muni (the Arakan pagoda). There it burnt down the temple and
all the surrounding religious buildings, including the sheds leading
up to the temple on all four sidts.
His Majesty paid out Rs. 18,360 to re-build the temple and the
approach(-s. The work was commended to the care of the Minis-
ters of the nhitdato and they were instructed to use the utmost
expedition.
In the year 1884 there was a most wanton massacre. It was
thought thai the Myingun Prince, who was then in Pondicherry,
had designs on the throne of Burma and that he had supporters
among certain officials in Mandalay. A number of these, who were
supposed to have sunt messengt rs to him, or to have visited him
personally, were thrown into prison, where it was hoped they would
give information against others in order to save themselves. But
this scheme was elaborated on. There were at the time very many
men imprisoned on political charges, especially in the ^aol near the
palace. Secret orders were sent 10 the gaolor to release some of
the prisoners. While these men were making their way out, an
alarm of a gaol outbreak was started, shots were fired, and the
King's troops rushed into the gaol and cut down every one they
came across. To save trouble with those locked up, the gaol itself
was set on fire, and this also was a preconcerted signal to the two
gaols in the town, where all the prisoners were promptly massacred.
Great numbers of perfectly innocent persons thus lost their lives,
for no enquiries were made and none were spared.
During the month of December in the same year the great brazen
image known as tne Thibya Thiha at Amarapurawas brought from
there to Mandalay. The conveyance of this image cost tne King
Rs. 30,000. Its weight in brass was estimated at 3o,ooo vlss. It
is now in a temple in the Aungnan Yeit-tha quarter of the town.
96
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. 11.
Early In the next year a white elephant was brought from Taung-
ngu. When it reached the capital the streets all the way to the
palace through which the animal passed were lined with troops,
and there were great rejoicings alt over the town. On the first
IVaso (June) 1885 M. Haas came to Mandalay as French
Consul.
King Thibaw had now become very unpopular among his sub-
jects. The massacre of 1884 especially had horrified many of
them. The establishment of the royal lotteries moreover had im-
poverished and demoralized the people and the royal exchequer
was nearly empty. The chief Queen sent the Taingda Afingyi a
simple order to fill it for her. The Taingda Mingyi hit upon the
plan of accusing the Bombay Burma Trading Corporation of having
committed a breach of contract in regard to the working of certain
teak forests, and fined them arbitrarily the sum of Rs. 23,00,000.
The Corporation appealed to the Government of India and a remon-
strance was sent to the King, with the suggestion that the question
should be referred to arbitration. King Thibaw. however, ignored
this remonstrance and proceeded to levy the fine by the confiscation
of timber, elephants, and other property of the CorpocAion. Upon
this an ultimatum was sent to the King, embodying the following
provisions: —
(i) The dispute between the Burmese Government and the
Bombay Burma Trading Corporation to be settled
by arbitration, conducted by a British officer and a
responsible Burmese official.
(2) The reception at the BuiTnese Court of a British Resi-
dent under suitable conditions.
(3) '^^^ foreign relations of the Burmese Government to be
under the control of the British Government.
The King sent an unsatisfactory reply and the result was the
advance of the British troops on Upper Burma. There was some
fighting at Sinbaungwc, Kanmyo, and Minhla, and the expedition
arrived before Mandalay on the 28th November 1885. The troops
disembarked at half past one, marched through the town and sur-
rounded the city walls. General Prendergast and Colonel Sladen
entered the palace by the eastern gate and had an interview with the
King, who surrendered unconditionally. He, with his two queens
and his infant daughter, the Teit Supaya, were taken to the steamer
Thooreah and conveyed to Rangoon and thence to India, where
latterly he has been detained at Ratnagiri. The Taingda Mingyi
was deported to Cuttack , but was allowed after some years to come to
Rangoon, where he died in 1 896.
CHAP. III.]
HISTORY.
97
CHAPTER III.
HISTORY.
THE CAUSES WHICH LED TO THE THIRD BURMESE WAR AND
THE ANNEXATION OF UPPER BURMA.
Thibaw Min, the last King of Burma, was the eleventh of the
Alaiinqpaya dynasty. The founder, Aung Zeya, began life as a
farmer, developed into a dacoit, and died Kini;, with his frontier at
the farthest limits that Burma ever had. The subjoined table
shows the succession of the Kings of Burma from the time of
Alaungpaya to the time of the downfall of his dynasty.
(i) Alaungpaya (1 753— 1 7<k)).
(3) Sinbyuyin MinUysgyi
[1763— 1776}.
(4) Singu Mincnyagvi
{1776-1781). ■
(6] Bodawpya
(1781— 1819).
Eingshtmin
(died before his father).
(3] Naungdaw MinUyagyi
0 760— 1763).
{5) Paungga Min
(reigned seven days in 1781.)
ii) Bagyidawpaya
{1819—1838).
(8) Shweba Min (Kin? Tharrawaddi}
(1838—1846).
(9) Pagan Min
(i846-i85»).
(10) Minddn Min
(1852—1878).
(11) Thibaw Min
(1878-1885).
The early history of Burma is related in the British Burma
Gazetteer published in 1880. It is sufficient here to recall that
the first war between England and Burma occurred in the reign of
Bagyidawpaya, the seventh King of the dynasty, and was termi-
nated in 1826 by the treaty of Yandabo. The provinces of Arakan
and Tenasserim were then ceded to the British. Pagan Min, the
«3
SB
THB UPPBR BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. III.
ninth King and the nephew of Bagjridaw, was the ruler at the
time of the second Burmese war. This was terminated in Decem-
ber 1852 by a proclamation of Lord Dalhousie's, which annexed
the province of Pegu to the Indian Empire and fixed the frontier
at the parallel of latitude 6 miles north of the fort of Myedi, thus
cutting off the kingdom of Bumvi entirely from ihe sea, and con-
verting the name of the independent country into Upper Burma,
as distmguished from British Burnra.
Almost immediately after the end of the second war, Pagan
Min was deposed by his brother Mindon Min. Mindon Min was
above all things anxious for peace, though he did not by any means
love the British. He was very learned in the literature of his
country and he was enlightened enough to seek to introduce western
civilization into his kingdom. He sent Envoy3 to Europe to study
the arts and manufactures of European nations, and the sons of many
of the chief Court officials were sent to England, France, and Italy
to be educated in the languages and acquirements of those countries.
He also bought a fleet of steamers to ply on the river and built
numerous factories and workshops in his capital. In this way, and
having no wars on his hands, he did much to increase the revenue
and promote the commercial prosperity of the countn.'. The mairt
facts of his reign are chroniclea in the translation from a Bur-
mese annalist which appears in the previous chapter.
The event of chief importance in his reign was the treaty con-
cluded at Mandalay in 1867 between the British and Burmese
Governments. This provided for the mutual extradition of cri-
minals, the free intercourse of traders, the restriction of the royal
monopolies to earth-oil, timber, and precious stones, and the estab-
hshment of permanent diplomatic relations between the two coun-
tries. Under this treaty a British Resident was established in the Up-
per Burmese capital, with certain civil jurisdiction over cases concem-
mg British subjects, and a P-^litical Agent subordinate to the Resi-
dent was stationed at Bhamo. So long as Mindon Min lived, not-
withstanding that he clung to the obsolete ceremonials to which
he was accustomed, and thus debarred thr British Resident at Man-
dalay in his later years from access to his presence, nothing arose
which gave any reason to apprehend a breach in the good relations
between England and Burma-
Mind6n Min died on the ist October 1878, of dysentery, after
an illness of two months. He was succeeded by the Thibaw
Prince, his son by the Laungshe Queen, the seventh in rank of the
queens. The Prince's ng^ nami, or personal name, was Maung Pu.
He was also called Maung Nyo Sin among his playmates in the palace
on account of the lightness of his complexion {nyo). The succes-
CHAP, in.]
HISTORY.
sion was due to an intrigue, details of which from Burmese sources
are given in Chapter II, and wasentirdy unexpeclod in the country^
though as a matter of fact the main details of the plot were car-
ried out nearly three weeks before the old King died. Of the six
principal sons of the King, resident in Mandalay at the time, t^o,
the Nyaung Yan and tliK Nyaiing Ok, got wind of the conspiracy
and took refuge in the British Residency and the other three were
close prisoners in the palace for a fortnight before Mindon Min
died. There seems a probability that the old King knew of the
cabal wht-n it was too late, and was possibly even induced in his
weak state of body and mind to acquiesce in it. He seems always
to have been aFraid to thwart the imperious Alfenandaw Queen,
who was set on having her dauglitcr's lover, the Thibaw Prince,
seated on the throne. At the time of his accession the Prince
was barely 20 years of age, and little was known of him, except
that he had studied English letters at Doctor Marks' Missionary
schnul in Mandalay, and had in addition passed creditably as
patama-pyan in the Buddhist scriptural examination.
The new King succeeded to the throne perhaps at an unfortu-
nate time. A revision of the commercial treaty of 1867 had long
been desired and overtures had actually been made with that ob-
ject by the Government of India to King Mindon in 1877 and
1878, but without result. The King had throughout been in the
habit of evading the object and substantial obligations of the
treaty without any positive infraction qf the letter. Although no
articles besides earth oil, teak, and precious stones were declared
to be royal monopolie?, and although ihe King used lo assert that
every trader was at liberty to buy whatever he wanted, the real
fact was that all purchases had to be made from the King himself
or from his authorized agents.
The King was by far the largest dealer in produce in his do-
minions, and, until his dealings were concluded, none of his subjects
were in a position to transact business with private traders ; more-
over, an attempt was made to force all dealers in imports to sell
their goods to the royal brokers, from whom alone, it was pretend-
ed, the King's subjects were at liberty to purchase what ihey re-
quired. The merchants of Rangoon compUined frequently and
strenuously against the persistent and syslen\atic disregard of the
terms of the treaty by the King, and strong remonstrances upon
the evasion of its clauses were left as a legacy with the kingdom
to the young King.
There had also been several violent outrages committed on
British subjects in Mandalay during the last few months of King
lOO
THE UPPER BL'RMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. Ill,
Mindon's reign. An aeronaut, Colonel Wyndhani, who was pre-
paring a balloon (or a show ascent in Mandalay, was barbarously
ill-treated ; two dhobies, British subjects, were arrested for going
about at night without a lantern, and put in the stocks, which were
afterwards raised so that the victims had to support the whole
weight of their bodies on iheJr hands placed behind their backs to
avoid dislocation of their ankles ; a captain of one of the Irrawaddy
Flotilla steamers was put in the stocks for two hours in the rain,
because he had inadvertently walked across a part of the river
embankment which was considered sacred; finally, in the first
month of the King's reign 30 passengers were forcibly removed
from one of the Flotilla Company's steamers without any WTitten
authority shown.
The Indian Government thought the accession of a new king, a
young king, one whose position might be supposed to be so un-
stable at home as to make him anxious to be on the most ami-
cable terms with foreign governments, a favourable opportunity to
urge a re-adjustment of relations. Accordingly the Resident was
instructed to adopt a firm attitude and to state plainly that the
British Government would be prepared to act for the protection of
British rights and subjects with entire disregard for the inleresls of
the new Government of Burma. Mr. Shaw, the Resident, accor-
dingly acted with vigour. He pressed for redress and intimated to
the Ministers that the general recognition and support of the new
King by the Government of India would be proportioned in degree
to his adoption of a new and friendly policy, and especially to the
degree of access which was allowed to Her Majesty's representative,
and to the consideration of his position and influence. He met with
a certain measure of success. The torturers of the dhobies were
sentenced 10 ten stripes each and to the restitution of twice the
sum extorted from their luckless victims. The captain of the
Gateway, who had put Captain Doyle in the stocks, was degraded
from his post and sentenced to imprisonment, and a notice was
set up at the Criminal Court that the pohce were not to ill-treat
Europeans who were subjects of a friendly government. Nothing,
however, was done in the matter of the " Royal-money-bought
servants " forcibly taken from the steamer Yankeenfaung,
Possibly the King may have been led to believe that the British
Government favoured the Nyaung Yan Prince, then a refugee in
Calcutta. He may have thought that the Indian Government
wsihed to provoke a rupture, and for this reason he may have
thought it well to remove all possible chances of conspiracy within
his own dominions. However that may be, he suddenly resolved
IHAP. 111.]
tlSTORY.
to do what he could to put an end to chances of civil war. A
special prison was in process of construction for the captive mem-
bers of the Royal Family and was well on towards complelion, when
suddenly, and apparently without the knowledge of the majority
of the Ministers, the Royal prisoners to the number of 80 were
brutally put to death inside the palace on the 15th, i6th, and 17th
February 1879. Details of the massacre from Burmese sources
are given in the previous chapter. The whole was carried out
by the personal followers of the King, and the alarm among the
officials and the people of Mandalay was to the full as great as the
horror excited in Burma and India. The public and forcible re-
monstrance of the British Resident against the barbarous execution
of his own relatives by the King seems, notwithstanding Thibaw's
English education, to have taken him by surprise. Such executions
were the usual accompaniments of a change of sovereignty in
Burma, and especially so when the number of Royal Princes was
large and the succession had not been previously arranged. In
a semi-civilized country like Burma the measure at one time was
absolutely necessary for the peace of the country, and the murder-
ing of a number of Princes was thought no more of than ihe
thinning out of a litter of puppies or kittens. King Mind6n left
30 sons behind him. Thibaw was the youngest practicable suc-
cessor, and there was probably much more real fear than defiance
in the massacres. Jealousy was the Queen Supayalai's chief
characteristic, and her suspicions and fancies were probably more
responsible for the murder of the Queens and Princesses than any
idea of public policy.
Until King Thibaw's accession there had been no European Resi-
dent in the Burmese capital at the time of a change of kings. Com-
munications in the old limes had been slow and difficult and those
fmt out of the way, as no doubt some always were had been much
ess numerous. When King Thibaw succeeded there was a tele-
graph line between Mandalay and Rangoon; trading steamers
came and left several limes in each week, and King Mindon's sons
were numerous beyond precedent. The outburst of horror and
indignation which the massacres caus "d, very probably therefore
astonished the King as much as it alarmed him. This is shown
by his answer to Mr. Shaw's remonstrance in a letter sent by the
Kinivun Mhigyi under the King's instructions to explain '* ihe
and imprisoning),
pointed outj " was taicen m consideration of
the past and the future, only when there should exist a cause for
disturbance."
clearing and keeping by matter" (the kdling
which action, it was pointed out, " was taken ii
103
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP< Ul.
The Kin-xun MingyVs letter, dated the 20th Febiuary 1879,
to the Resident at Mandalay ran as Follows : —
" Having rrcchrrd and carefully perasrd Rrsidcnt's letter, dafd igth
Krbrtiary 1879, llif Miniftrr intimates thai the royal domininns of fturma
h«iiig governed by a distinct independent crowned head, should there be
reason tu fear a disturbance in the country, it is usual for it lo perform
such acts as, according to it:> uwo views as to advantages or evils in c;oo-
nexion with church and State iuteresls, it has ;i right to perform according
to the custom of th^r State.
"Should there be a matter which witt bring on a disturbance in the
country, it is not proper to pay attention to whether the action to be taken
thereon will be the subject of c^nsurr and blame, but it is proper to act
only according to the interests of charch and State.
" For the above two reasons, having in mind only the interests of church
and State, this business has been done according to custom, lliis is
intimated in conformity with the Oraod Friendship, for Resident to note."
lndi:?nation among Englishmen at the state of affairs in Manda-
lay and fear, as well as resentment, in the minds of the King and
his courtiers combined to render imminent a breach of the friendly
relations betwetrn the two countries, and a considerable military and
naval force assembled in Rangoon in the spring of 1879, while the
Kins^ made a show of warlike preparations and held several " re\-iews"
of his troops, in the shape of marches round the city walls. Seven
of the Shan Chiefs were called on to supply levies, guns were
mounted in the Sa^aing and Shwegyetyet forts, new officers were
appointed to the army, and the whole force received a month's pay
in advance. All this, however, was merely due to the excitement of
the King at his own barbarities, and his alarm at the possible con-
sequences of his disregard of the remonstrances of the British
Government, and as time passed on immediate apprehension of war
gradually passed away. Neverlhless, the tension continued ; attacks
lyere made by coolies and others on Irrawaddy Flotilla Company's
steamers i a Madrassi merchant was practically flogged to death
in prifjon and the personnel of the British Residency was insulted
on several occasions. Mr. Shaw died of heart-disease in June 1879
and, after his appointment had been Blled for a short time by an
officiating Resident, the ^^hole British Agency, staff and establish-
ment, was formally withdrawn from Mandalay early in October 1879.
The Indian Government notified its right to appoint another Resi-
dent at Mandalay whenever it saw 61 to do so, but as lon^ as the
Burmese Government continued to exist no fresh agent was ap-
pointed.
The King almost immediately despatched the Myaunghia Wu«-
daitk as an Ambassader with a letter and presents to the Governor-
General of India, but as this Envoy was not accredited with any
CHAP. III.]
HISTORY.
103
powers he M'as not permitted to proceed beyond Thayetmyo. He
was in fact merely the bearer of a letter complaining of the removal
of the British Agency from Mandalay and expressing vaguely a
desire that friendship should be maintained and that commerce
should continue. A translation of the letter is given as a sample
of the style of the royal correspondence, (t is dated the seventh
of the waxing moon of Tasaungmon 1241 B.E. {21st October 1879,
about a forinighl after the withdrawal of the Political Agency).
" The Burmese Sovereign of the Rising Sun, who rules over the country
of Ibunaparanta and tU'' country of Tambadefja (Thunapar.-»nta — the
Atirea rcgio of Ptolemy — 'all countries to the north of Ava;' Tamba-
deepa = 'all countries to the south of Ava't, with all the other great
dumin-ons and countries and all the umbrella-bearing Chiefs of the cast,
whose glory is exceeding great and excellciU. the Master of tb« King Ele-
phant Saddan, the Lord of many white elephants, the Lord of life, the emi-
uenlly just ruler, writes, O excellent MngHsh Viceroy, who rulcst over th«
many great countries and nations of India t
" Writes—
"At a time when in accordance with the firm and established Grand
Roval Friendship, which has continuously existed between these two great
dominions and countries, the Burmese and Knglish Empires, from royal
faihiT to sno, from royal grandfather to royal grandson, and from royal
great-grandfather to royal great-grandsou, for a very long period of time,
the merchants and L-ommon people were buying and selling, trading and
tiafliclcing, and coming and going 'i peace and quietness, the English
Political Officer at the Royal Gem City of Mandalay, and three other Offi-
cers with their escort and establishment, without any special reason,
suddenly and precipitately quitted the Royal Gem City of Mandalay, ahd
in consequence the merchants and common people who live within both
Kinpires have becotne uneasy in ilieir hearts and minds, and their trading
and trAlTicking have been interrupted and ruined.
'•Therefore, as a testimony to make nianifest the excellent royal desire
that instead of this inlerru]>ti<>n and ruin of the buyiuj^ and selling, trading
and trafficking of the iiiercluints an') common peof)lc living in both Km-
pires, the merchants and common people: without injury to iheir profit
or business, and with contented and happy hearts and minds mav con-
tinue to trade, and go and come, as they have always traded and gone
and come in times past, and that betw'^n the two great dominions aud
countries the State of Royal Grand Friendship may by friendly and
peaceable means be especially strengthened and cstabUs-hed, the H'undauk
Myoza of Myaunghia, Thiriinahagyawdinra'p, has b^en appointed first
Ambassador; the Secretary, Mintintheiddir.ija, second Ambassador; the
Assistanr Secretary, Nemyoniintinraja, third Ambassador, and they have
been sent and despatched with a Royal Letter and Gifts.
"When the Royal Ambassadors and officials arrive it will be manifest
that the King is particularly anxious to maintain, by friendly and peaceable
means, continuous Royal Grand Friendship between the Burmese Empire
and the Empire of the English Ruler, Inose two great dominions and
countries.
I04
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. III.
"The Sovereign of the Rising Sun, the excellent Burmese Ruler, believes
and expects that, in the same way as he himself desires tliat the mer-
chants and common people of both Empires should be especially happy and
prosperous, so the Viceroy will have regard to the interests and the busi-
ness of merchants and common people, and will well and duly receive the
Ambassadors and officials who are sent."
There was reason to believe that the Wundauk was sent as much
as a spy as in any more creditable capacity. He never got beyond
Thayetmyo, though in February 1880 he submitted a draft outline
of a new treaty, which was, however, negatived without discussion,
and he took back an answer to the effect that the Viceroy had been
seriously dissatisfied with the position and treatment of the British
Resident at Mandalay, which had been altogether inconsistent
with professions of friendship and with the exchang^e of diplomatic
courtesies. In such circumstances, it appeared incongruous and
premature to send a complimentary mission to Calcutta, or to
assume, as the King did, tnat the mission could be received in a
friendly and honourable manner in Calcutta by the Government of
India, whose representative had been treated with habitual dis-
courtesy in Mandalay.
The Wundauk, who had a fancied resemblance to the Pope and
was therefore known in British Burma as Pio l^ono, returned with
this message to his master, was disgraced, and shortly afterwards
died.
An embassy visited Simla in 1882, but the attempt to re-establish
cordial relations did not even result in a semblance of a return to
a satisfactory footing. The King abruptly recalled his envoy while
negotiations were going on, and there was no real restoration of
confidence or good feeling as long as Thibaw remained King.
There were scuffles on board the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company's
steamers ; a mail steamer from Mandalay had its starting gear
taken away and was detained for the greater part of a day, while
the Captain was confined on the plea that the safety of the
steamer might be endangered by an abortive attempt which the
Nyaung 6k Prince, escaped from Calcutta, made to start a rising
against the King on the Thayetmyo borders. The Nyaung Ok
Prince's escapade was a very awkward circumstance, and the
Burmese undoubtedly firmly believed that we were to blame for his
proceedings. A forma] request was actually made by the Mandalay
Ministers for the extradition of the Prince and bis followers on a
charge of dacoity. This was refused on the ground that inter-
national law and custom forbade the delivery of political offenders.
A claim for compensation for damage done to the extent of Rs.
55,800 was also made, but was rejected, and the Burmese Govern-
ment was referred to the Civil Courts. It was seriously considered
CHAP, ml]
HISTORY.
»oS
whether the British Goveniment should not formally withdraw from
the Treaties of 1862 and 1867, and this course was only not re-
sorted to because the Government of India was loatl> to precipi-
tate the crisis which was inevitable. Matters gradually drifted from
bad to worse. British subjects, travellers and traders from Lower
Burma, were subjected to insolence and violence by local officials
in Upper Burma. Representations made to the King's Govern-
ment were often absolutely without result as far as redress was
concerned, and what redress was obtained was always unsatisfactory.
In contravention of the express terms of the Treaty of 1867 mono-
polies were created to the detriment of the trade of both England
and Burma, with great resulting derangement of the commerce and
revenue of British Burma. In Upper Burma the weakness and
corruption of the Government resulted in the complete disorganiz-
ing of the country. Bands of dacoits preyed at will on the people.
There were risings in the Shan States and raids on the King's
lowland territories north of Mandalay. The elements of disorder
on the Lower Burma frontier steadily increased and became a
standing menace to the peace of ihe British provinces. The
Taingda AtivifiTvun and the Shwetaik Mingyi were admittedly in
collusion with bands of dacoits, shared their profits, and prevented
their arrest. A force of about 1,500 men ravaged almost undis-
turbed north of Mandalay- The Sagalng district was so infested
with dacoits, and these marauders were so bold, that they sent a
formal challenge to the King's troops to come to fight at Myinrau.
The Wun of Sale wa? attacked in his own Court in broad daylight
by dacoits and narrowly escaped with his life. Magwe was plundered
and set fire to, and the myothugyi murdered. Bhamo was cap-
tured and held by a handful of Chinese marauders. The Shan
States were involved in a confused civil war, which did not cease
till after the British occupation. At the same rime the Burmese
showed a marked and persistent anxiety to enter into alliances
with foreign powers, in such a manner and to such an extent as to
give ground for apprehension that grave political trouble might be
the ultimate consequence.
The Indian Government was unrepresented at Mandalay, but
representatives of Italy and France were welcomed, while the King's
Government contested the demarcation of Manipur and threatened
to pull down the boundary pillars and a stockade erected by
Colonel Johnston. Two separate Burmese Embassies were sent
to Europe, one under the guise of a merely commercial mission for
the purpose of contracting new and, if possible, close alliances with
sundry European powers. Neither of these missions visited
England or showed any desire to win the friendship of the repre-
14
io6
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. Ill,
sentatives of the British Government residing at the Courts to
which the Burmese Envoys were accredited. Monsieur Ferry
admitted to Lord Lyons that it was quite true that the Burmese
desired to throw themselves into the arms of France, but said iha.t
the Republic had no intention of forming an alliance, offensive and
defensive, with Burma, or any alliance whatever of a special
character. The Burmese had asked for a secret treaty and par-
ticularly had demanded facilities for procuring arms, but to all such
requests the French Government had turned a deaf ear.
Meanwhile another massacre in Mandalay, disguised under the
name of a jail outbreak, roused the horror of all and the fears of the
Rangoon merchants that trade would be ruined. The term jail
outbreak seems to have been a concession to European sentimen-
tality. The massacre was really due to fears of a supposed intrigue
carried on in the interests of the Myingun Prince, who had escaped
from his place of detention at Benares and made his way first to
Chandemagore and then to Pondicherry. To get rid of the few
remaining members of the Royal Family and to scare conspirators,
a pretended escape from jail was arranged and between 200 and
300 persons, including two Princes and many women and children
of rank^ were shot and cut down with das, and the details of the
massacre were as horrible in every way as those of 1879.
Early in the following year the King pushed still farther his
negociations with France. Two heads of agreement were formally
drawn up. The first provided for the construction of a railway
between Mandalay and the British frontier at Toungoo at the joint
expense of the French Government and a company to be formed
for the purpose.
The capital was to be two and a half millions sterling, the line
was to be completed in seven years, and the concession was to last
for seventy, at the end of which period the railway was to become
the property of the Burmese Government. Interest was fixed at
the high rate of 90 per cent, per annum and its payment was
secured by the hypothecation of the river customs and earth-oil
dues of the kingdom.
The second document gave the terms for the establishment by
the French Government and a company of a bank with a capital
of two and a half crores of rupees. Loans were to be made to the
Burmese King at the rate of i 2 per cent, per annum, and other
loans at 18 per cent. The bank was to issue notes, and to have
the management of the ruby mines and the monopoly of pickled
tea, and was to be administered by a Syndicate of French and
Burmese ofEcIals.
CHAP. III.]
HISTORY.
107
Both these agreements are believed to have been actually con-
cluded and signed in Mandalay and were *o*be laken by the
Thangyet IVundauk, who spoke French fluently, to Paris for com-
pletion there. If they had been ratified, the French Government or
a Syndicate, on which the French Government would have been
represented, must have acquired full control over the principal
sources of revenue of Upper Burma, the river-borne trade, the only
railway line in the King's dominions, and the only route open for
traffic from British ports to Western China.
These consequences must have been disastrous to British in-
terests in Lower Burma, and a strong remonstrance was in course
of preparation by the Government of India, when a still more direct
cause of complaint arose in the treatment by the Burmese Govern-
ment of the Bomby Burma Trading Corporation, a company of
merchants, chiefly British subjects, who had extensive dealings in
Upper Burma. The Corporation had been working the Ningyan
teak forests under three separate contracts : the contract of 1880,
by which the Corporation undertook to pay the King for all timber
extracted from the forests at fixed rates per log ; the contract of
1882^ by which the Corporation undertook to pay a lump-sum of one
lakh annually for the right to extract the inferior and undersized
timber (*.*?., unsound timber and timber under 4^ feet in girth and
18 feet in length), which they were entitled to reject under the lease
of 1 88 1 ; and, thirdly, the contract of 1883, by which the Corpor-
ation undertook to pay a lump-sum of 3^ lakhs annually from Octo-
ber 1 884 for all superior timber, and one lakh annually for all inferior
timber, extracted from the forests. The Burmese Government
confused the contracts together, counted thousands of logs twice
over, accused the Corporation of bribing the Governor of Ningyan
(now Pyinmana), endeavoured to persuade the Corporation's forest-
ers to come to give false evidence in Mandalay, tried the case with-
out giving the Corporation proper opportunities for defence, issued
judgment ordering the Corporation to pay to the King, by way of
duly and fine, sums aggregating over 23 lakhs of rupees, and to
the foresters sums aggregatmg about five lakhs of rupees, and pro-
fessed to have based their decision entirely on figures obtained from
the British Forest office in Toungoo. All logs contained in these
lists were considered to be full-sized, no account was taken of the
lump-sum contracts, and the money totals were wrongly added up to
the extent of Rs. 60,000 in the King's favour. The King was
asked by the Chief Commissioner to refer the matter to impartial
adjudication and to refrain in the meantime from taking final action
against the Corporation. A letter was sent in reply refusing to
entertain any proposal for arbitration and stating indirectly that on
fo8
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. 111.
no account whatever would there be suspension of the order passed
in the case. At the same time it appeared that the French Consul
in Mandalay had offered to take up the contracts for the Ningyan
forests. It may be specially emphasized that the British Govern-
ment was careful not to assert that the fine imposed was unjust.
There is little doubt that the Burmese had some causes of complaint
against the Bombay Burma Trading Corporation, but these were not
commensurate with the fine imposed. The rupture occurred be-
cause the Burmese refused to allow any enquiry as to the justness
of the fine.
Under these circumstances, the Government of India resolved to
take this opportunity to place future relations with King Thibaw
upon a more satisfactory basis. Accordingly the Chief Commis-
sioner was instructed to send to the King ol Burma an ultimatum
containing three demands, which were briefly as follows: —
*'(i) That an Envoy from the Viceroy and Governor-General
should be suitably received at Mandalay and that the dispute with
the Bombay Burma Corporation should be settled in communi-
cation ^-ith him.
" (2) That all action against the Trading Corporation should be
suspended until the Envoy arrived.
" (3) That for the future a diplomatic agent from the Viceroy
should be allowed to reside at Mandalay, with proper securities for
his safety, and should receive becoming treatment at the hands of
the Burmese Government."
Failing the acceptance of these demands, it was announced that
the British Government would take the settlement of the matter
into its own hands, without any further attempt to prolong fruitless
negotiations, and it was added that the Burmese Government would
in future be required to regulace the external relations of the country
in accordance with the advice of the Government of India and to
afford facilities for opening up British trade with China. These
latter demands did not, however, form an essential part of the ulti-
matum, but were left to be explained by the British Agent after his
arrival in Mandalay. Nothing more than a general acquiescence in
the principle of these two requirements was asked for.
A letter embodying these terms was despatched by special
steamer to Mandalay on the 22nd October 1885, the Burmese Gov-
ernment was Informed that a reply must be received not later than
the loth November and that, unless the three conditions laid down
were accepted without reserve, the Indian Government would deal
with the matter as it thought fit. In view of the possible refusal by
the Burmese Government of the terms offered, preparations were
CHAP. HI.]
HISTORY.
109
made for the despatch to Rangoon of a military force of 10,000
men. On the 9th November a reply amounting to anuncondltiona!
refusal of the terms was received in Rangoon. It ran as follows :—
" Minister (for Foreign Affairs] has received the teller, dated the 22nd
October 1885, corresponding with 14th waxing Thadingyut 1247, sent by
the Chief Commissioner's Secretary, Symes The cnntents of the letter
have been considered by the Ministers and nobles constituting the Burmese
Government in full Council, and this is their reply to the several points
contained in it —
*' (:) The judgment passed against the Bombay Burma Company decreeing
the payment of a fine in connexion with their forest case was not passed
by the Burmese Government in an arbitrary mannrr. In consideration of
the fact that they (the defendants) were of Knglish race, the records of an
English Forest office were taken as a basis and the judgment was passed
in accordance with the laws of the State on the merits of the case. This
has already been intimated in previous letters to the Chief Commissioner.
2. "His Majesty (titles) was informed that under a judgment passed in
this manner against the Bombay Burma Company a sum of 23 lakhs and
upwards, including the punishment for excess exportation of timber, had to
be levied from them and paid into the Royal Treasury, and His Majesty
was pleased to say that, although the judgment was one passed in confor-
mity with the laws of the State, yet, taking iuto consideration the fact that
the Bombay Burma Company bad served for many years working the
Toungoo forests and paying revenue, and that they would continue to
serve hereafter for the mutual benefit of both countries ; that if the Bombay
Burma Company presented a petition on the subject of the money decreed
in the judgment against them, he would be pleased to look after and assist
foreign merchants so that they should not suffer any hardships. Therefore,
with reference to the first and second points of letter No. 438, regarding
the Bombay Burma Company's forest case, the need for discussion or nC'
gotiation between ihc two Governments is at an end.
" 3. With reference to the appointment of a Diplomatic Agent, the
Burmese Government, through their wish to maintain friendly relations
between the twn countries, did not act in such a way as to restrict or put
to hardship the British Agent formerly stationed at Mandalay, and yet he
left of his own accord, and there has been no Agent since. If the British
Government wish in future to re-establish an Agent, he will be permitted
reside and come in and go out as in former times. With reference to the
second point in the fifth paragraph of the letter, respecting assistance be
given for the promotion of British trade with China, the friendly relations
between two countries arc based on assistance to be rendered for the
Increase of trade and of exports and imports from one country to the
other. If, therefore, merchants and traders, whether of English or other
race, ask the Burmese Government to endeavour to facilitate trade and
the increase of exports and imports with China, they will be assisted in
conformity with the customs of the land.
"4. With reference to the first point in the fifth paragraph of the letter
about the future regulation of the foreign relations of Burma, the Chief
Commissioner is informed that the internal and external affairs of an iade-
no
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. III.
pendent separate State are regulated and controlled in accordance with
the customs and laws of that State. Friendly relations with France, Italy,
and other States have been, are being, and will be maintained. Therefore,
in determining the question whetlier or not It is proper that one Govern-
ment alone should make any such claim, the Burmese Governmeat can follow
the joint decision of the three States, France, Germany, and Italy, who arc
friends of both Governments, and Minister is confident that the Britlsji
Government will be of the same mind au the Burmese Government on this
point."
This letter was unconditional enough in its refusal of the terms
of the ultimatum and it was followed by open defiance. On the
7th November, three days after the Burmese Minister's letter had
been written, and two days before it had been received by the Chief
Commissioner, King Thibaw issued the following proclamation : —
" To all town and village thugyis, Heads of cavalry, Heads of the
daings. Shield-bearers, Heads of jails, Heads of gold and silver revenues,
Mine-workers, Settlement (Officers, Heads of forests, and to all Royal sub-
jects and inhabitants of the Koyal Empire.
''Those heretics, the English kala barbarians, having most harshly
m'adc demands calculated to bring about the injury and destruction of our
religion, the violation of our national traditions and customs, and the
degradation of our race, are making a show and preparation as if about to
wage war with our State. They have been replied to in conformity with
the usages of great nations and in words which are just and regular. If,
notwithstanding, these heretic kalas should come and in any way attempt
to molest or disturb the State, His Majesty, who is watchful that the inter-
ests of our religion and our State shall not safTcr, will himself march forth
with his Generals, Captains, and Ueutenants, with large forces of in-
fantry, artillery, elcphanterie, and cavalry, by land and by water, and with
the might bf his army will efface these heretic kalas and conquer and
annex their country. All Royal subjects, the people of the country, are
enjoined that they are not to be alarmed or disturbed on account of the
hostility of these heretic kalas, and they are not to avoid them by quit-
ting the country.
'* They are to continue to carry on their occupations as usual in a peace-
ful and ordinary manner ; the local oRicial;; are to be watchful, each in his
own town or village, that it is free from thefts, dacoitics, and other crime;
the Royal troops to hv sent forth will not be collected and banded to-
gether as formerly by forcibly pressing into service all such as can be
obtained, but the Royal troops who are now already handed into reg^i-
ments in Mandalay will be sent forth to attack, destroy, and annex. The
local officials shall not forcibly impress into service any one who may not
wish lo serve. To uphold the religion, to uphold the national honour,
to uphold the country's interests, will bring about threefold good : good
of our religion, good of our master, and good of ourselves, and will gain
for us the notable result of placing us in the path to the celestial regions
and to nehban, the eternal rest. Whoever, therefore, is willing to join
and serve zealously will be assisted by His Majesty with royal rewards
and royal money, and be made to serve in the capacity for which he may
CHAP, ni.]
HISTORY.
Ill
be fit, Loyal officials are to make enquires for volunteers and others who
may wish to serve, and are to submit lists of them to their respective Pro-
vincial Governments.
" Order of the Ministers of the Hlutiiaw (names follow). On the 7th
November 1895, Burmese date recorded by the Wetmasut IVunduttk-daw.
Issued by Secretary Mahamintin-minhla-sithu."
On the 3rd December King Thibaw, the queens, and the Queen
mother with their retinue left Mandalay prisoners on board the
steamer Thooriali, and on the loth of the same month the King
left Rangoon for Madras, whence he was sent to Ranipet, and
afterwards to the old Portuguese fort of Ralnagiri on the Western
Coast of India. The march on Mandalay hardly deserved the
name of a \var. The pace of the expeditionary force was deter-
mined rather by the question of transport than by the resistance
or evolulioiis of the enemy. The frontier was crossed on the 14th
November 1 885. There was a slight brush when Minhia was captur-
ed on the 1 7th ; Pagan on the 23rd and Myingyan on the 25th were
occupied by force of arriving there, and before Ava was reached
an Envoy from the Burmese Court came down the river and, after
some negotiation, the unconditional surrender of the capital and of
the Royal Family was arranged. The collapse of thekmgdom and
dynasty was dramatic in its suddenness.
Our losses were very slight: at the taking of Minhia Lieutenant
R, A. T. Drury and three sepoys were killed and Major MacNeill
and Lieutenants Young, Wilkinson, and Sillery were wounded,
besides' 23 sepoys. At Myingyan much firing on the part of the
Burmese resulted in the wounding of two men of the Naval Brigade.
From the military point of view the scheme, so far as the cap-
ture of Mandalay and the deportation of King Thibaw were con-
cerned, was an unqualified success. The normal state of the
Burmese was one of utter unpreparedness and their army at the
time of the invasion probably did not exceed 15,000. Immediate
vigorous action was therefore as certain of success as the event
proved. The only rapid line of advance was up the river over a
distance of 300 miles. The river was easily defensible by smalt
numbers, on comparatively short notice, if the right course were
adopted. The channel could have been obstructed and the river
barred to the advance of the fleet and, if this had been done, there
would have been a complete check, and arrangements for land
transport would have implied weeks and perhaps months of delay.
The Burmese knew this and had made some preparations to block
the river, both close to the frontier and at Ava, but they were loo
late. The British Military preparations were complete and the
coup was brought off with the most absolute success. National
I1B
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. III.
resistance was utterly paralysed and, if the deportation of King
Thibaw had been followed up at once by the disarmament of the
Burmese army and the occupation of the country, so as to secure
law and order, it is probable that the last Burmese war would have
been as cheap in money, expense, and in expense of human life as
its beginning promised. Bui two causes prevented this. In the
first place ihe expeditionary force was much too small to occupy
Upper Burma and, secondly, the question of the future of the
country was not decided on for some considerable time. The
result was that local resistance had time to be organized. The
Burmese army was left practically intact both in numbers and in
armament, but it had no one to guide it and, worse still, no means
of support. Consequently the several detachments scattered over
the country were left to shift for themselves and commenced sup-
porting themselves at the expense of the inhabitants of their
immediate neighbourhood. That was the ordinary course of things
with a Burmese army and it naturally in the end led to professional
dacoity.
General Prendergast's flotilla reached Mandalay on the morning
of the 28th November, the 14th day after the crossing of the
frontier. Great numbers of people lined the bank to gaze on the
arrival of the British force, but no Minister, or official of any kind,
made his appearance. The Ktnwttfi Afitigyi was sent for, but had
not arrived up to half past one o'clock, so the troops, who had been
disembarked in the meantime, set out for the palace, 4 miles
distant. With bands playing and colours flying they marched
through the suburbs and surrounded the city walls. Colonel
Sladen and General Prendergast, with an escort, rode in at the
Eastern gate of the palace, and the Political Officer sought out the
King and received his complete submission. Thibaw surrendered
everything — his country, his treasures, himself — to the British, and
only begged that his life might be spared, and that he might be
allowed to live in Mandalay, which was the only place in the world
that he knew, for he had probably never been 5 miles beyond its
limits in all his life.
This formal surrender was made in the presence of the military
force in a summer-house (afterwards converted into the Mandalay
Gymkhana) in the palace gardens, outside the ffmannandav.
He sat on a carpet in the verandah, dressed in a plain white jacket
and wearing a waisl-clolh and turban chequered white and pink.
The whole body of Ministers crouched on the ground to his right.
The British Officers with the British flag were in a group to his
left — the place of honour with the Chinese and Indo-Chinese — but
CHAP. III.]
HISTORY.
J>3
also on the ground. Twenty paces in front were drawn up the
long: line of British soldiers. The queens and a few servants were
stationed behind the King. The sun was low in the sky as Colonel
Sladen and the General went up to the King. General Prendergast
shook hands with His Majesty, the first person who had ever gone
through such a ceremony with a Burmese monarch. The King was
asked whether he was ready to leave the palace, and said that he
was. He begged that he might have a steamer to himself and
that Colonel Sladen would accompany him. The steamer was
ready for him, though the Political Officer's company was an im-
possibility, but how to get King Thibawto the steamer was a more
immediate question. An elephant was likely to be scared by the
troops ; three miles walk was a thing the King had never under-
taken in all his life. Finally a dhooli was suggested and accepted
by the King in ignorance of what such a conveyance might be. He,
however, showed no signs of being in a hurry td go and asked for
ten minutes to prepare himself for departure. He asked who
would follow him and the Taingda Mingyi immediately volunteered
to go and so did another ofTiclal. The Kinwun Mtngyi said he
would also go, when he was directly asked by the King, but showed
no great pleasure at being asked Still the King lingered, and it
was not till Colonel Sladen and \wo Staff Officers entered the
summer-house and stood over him that he rose from his carpet.
Colonel Sladen helped the ladies down and the two Staff Officers
placed themselves one on each side of the King, a new experience
which urged him into going down the steps. A procession was then
formed, headed by the General, behind whom came the British
flags and the Staff. The Taingda Mingyi followed in their wake
and then under four white umbrellas, clasping (he hands of his two
wives, one on either side, came the deposed King. The Queen-
mother followed and then came a mass of attendants carrying the
royal baggage, followed up by the British troops.
At the Hall of Audience a short halt was made and then the
party descended the broad steps lined by troops and passed across
the esplanade to the taga-ni. At this gate, once open only to the
Royal Family and lo the highest Ministers of State, now thrown
wide to all the world, King 'Ihibaw paused and took his last look at
the palace spire paling in the last rays of ihe setting sun. The
next moment he was confronted by the dhooli prepared for him.
Into this he point blank refused to get and eventually was jolted
down in a bullock cariiage. Two regiments of Native Infantry led.
Then came a screw gun battery, followed by the King shaded by
white umbrellas and guarded by fixed bayonets and succeeded by
a European regiment. Bands clashed, regimental colours fluttered
^5
CHAP. IV.] FIRST YEAR AFTER ANNEXATION.
117
CHAPTER IV.
THE FIRST YEAR AFTER THE ANNEXATION.
The instructions to the Upper Burma Field Force were to occupy
Mandalay and to dethrone King Thibaw. The expedition was there-
fore not a regular invasion of the country and nothing was settled
as to the future administration of the kingdom. Provisionally, ad-
ministrative and executive powers were given to General Prendergast
as commanding the army of occupation ; in other words, the country
was under martial law, as a temporary measure, after we liad actu-
ally taken over the government of the country. Unfortunately, the
changes of Ministry at home in 1885 and 1886 and the unsettled slate
of politics prevented the Home Government from at once entering
into the subject and deciding the future of Upper Burma without
delay. Mr. (afterwards Sir Charles) Bernard, the Chief Commis-
sioner of Lower Burma, arrived in Mandalay on the J5th December
1885, and one step in advance was made when he took over the ad-
ministration of the country from General Prendergast. From that
date, in name at all events, the whole country ceased to be admi-
nistered by martial law. Consequent on the Chief Commissioner's
arrival in Mandalay, the following proclamation was issued at Cal-
cutta by order of the Viceroy on the ist January 1886: —
" By command of the Queen-Empress, it is hereby notiHed that the ter-
ritories formerly governed by King Thibaw will no longer be under his rule,
but have become part of Her Majesty's dominions, and will, during Her
Majesty's pleasure, be administered by such officers as the Viceroy and
Governor-General may from time to time appoint."
Civilians were thus ordered to assist in the pacification of the coun-
tr)', but still the final form in which it was to be administered was not
decided on. There were four methods possible for the re-establish-
ment of order and government in the kingdom of Burma. It might
have been declared a buffer State. Under this arrangement the
Alaungpaya dynasty would have remained on the throne ; the ruling
Prince like the Amir of Afghainstan, would have been perfectly in-
dependent in matters of internal administration, and all that we should
have required would have been the right to supervise his external re-
lations. In fact, he would have become what King Thibaw would
have remained if he had accepted our original proposals, an autocratic
«i8
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IV,
though confederated sovereign. The shadowy claims of other na-
tions, however, rendered this a contrivance of more than doubtful
utility. The next alternative was that of maintaining Upper Bunna
as a fully protected State, with a native dynasty and native officials,
but under a British Resident, who should exercise a certain control
over the internal administration, as well as over its relations with
foreign powers. Upper Burma would thus have assumed the status
of many of the Native States in India Proper. But the character of
Burmese Princes, with their lofty conceptions of supenority to all
created beings, would have made it necessar)- to maintain siKh a ruler
as a mere puppet. A puppet king of the Burmese type would have
proved a very expensive, troublesome, and contumacious fiction.
Moreover, there were only two Princes of the Royal House who
were available. The Nyaung Olc, who was in Bengal, was unpo-
pular in Burma and was of a character unsatisfactory in ever)* way.
He would have been a most refractory puppet. The other was the
Myingun Prince, then in Pondicherry. He fulfilled all the condi-
tions of royal descent in both father and mother and his abilities
were at any rate respectable. Bui the chief event of his life, while
he was at large, was that he tried to kill his father, Mindon Min,
and succeeded in killing his uncle, the Eingshemin.
The only remaining alternative to annexation was to set up a
grandson of King Mindon, such as a minor son of the late Nyaung
Yan Prince, with British Officers to administer the Slate in his name
and on his behalf, until he should come of age, perhaps 15 years
later ; but it was at once apparent that this would have imposed all
the trouble, anxiety, and cost of a British occupation, without secur-
ing any corresponding advantages in the present, while we should
have committed ourselves in the future to a probable disappoint-
ment.
Consequently nothing but annexation remained. It was the only
course which could secure the peace and prosperity of Upper Burma
and of our own imperial and commercial interests. From the isl
of March therefore Upper Burma was incorporated in British India
by command of Her Majesty and, with the exception of the Shan
States, was constituted a scheduled district under Statute XXXiU
Victoria, Cap. 3.
For over three months therefore the government of the country
remained purely provisional and was vested first in General Prender-
gast, then in Mr. Bernard, and then in Lord Dufferin up to the i st of
March 1886. During this time our efforts were directed rather to
check the prevailing and increasing lawlessness than to stamp it
out, and in any case General Prendergast's force, which numbered
CHAP. IV.] FIRST YEAR AFTER ANNEXATION.
119
about 10,500 men only, was quite inadequate to occupy a country
covering 75,000 square miles. Experience had proved that it was
not enough to attack and disperse the dacoit bands ; if ihey were
to be prevented from re-assembling, the affected country had to be
closely occupied. It was evident therefore that large reinforce*
ments were necessary, but by this time the season in which exten-
sive operations could be undertaken was nearly over. Two months
of hot weather, April and May, remained ; after that the rains com-
menced and that was no time to commence active operations with
new troops in a country where a great part was impenetrable jungle,
and even in the more thickly populated districts no proper roads or
bridges existed, and the numerous rivers and streams overflowed and
flooded large tracts for weeks at a time. There was no regular
organized enemy in the field against whom operations could be
directed, and therefore there was no particular object in requiring
the concentration of large masses of troops, but the country gen-
erally was overrun by armed bands. Practically throughout the
rains of 1886 the dacoits were not sought out and attacked by us,
but were only being driven off when their attitude was threatening.
The extension of British influence and the reduction to order of
parts of districts remote from headquarters were therefore only
gradually effected. The very suddenness of the overthrow of the
Burmese King militated against the peace of the country. Bands
of men ordered out for the defence of the kingdom had hardly
been raised before the King himself was deported. These bands
became rebels almost as soon as they fancied themselves to be
soldiers. They had assembled to fight for their King, but before
they could fight there was no king left to fight for, and their very
gaihermg together consiitutcd them, according to their notions,
rebels, and already liable to punishment by the new Government.
In the greater part of the country there was no one to disarm them ;
those met at Ava and Mandalay were unfortunately not di.sarmed
and formally disbanded. The ahmudany equally with the levies,
therefore, readily gathered round malcontent Princes, or persons
calling themselves Prince.% such as the Myinzalng Prince; the so-
called Chaunggwa Princes, Saw Van Naing (or Teik Tin D6k) and
Saw Yan Paing; Maung (or Teik Tin) Hmat, a cousin of King
Thibaw's; the Limbin Prince in the Shan States; the Kyun Nyo
Mimha, a pretender who was very soon killed by another armed
band in Sagaing ; the Kyimyindaing Prince, an Upper Burma im-
postor; the Shwegyobyu Prince, who had been a vaccinator in
Lower Burma ; and charlatans and adventurers who went by the
names of Buddha Yaza, Thinka Yaza, Dhamma Yaza, or Setkya
Mintha.
120
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAR. IV.
£'x-officials who fancied they were defending their country met
with an equally easily securtid following, such as Hkan Hlalng, for-
mer Myoza of Mohlaing ; Kyaw Gaung. ex-fr«K of Tal6k*myo ; ihe
Zt' IVun of Yam^thin ; the Theingon Thugyi ; the Windawhfnu U
Paung ; Maung Gyi ; Myal Umon ; Bo Swfe and Shwe Yan ; and
many others whose names (or a time made a stir. Monks too, who
claimed to be defending the national faith, were no less successful ;
such were U Oktama, U Parama, the Mayanchaung pongyi, and
a long list of p6ngyi bos. By far the greater number, however, f
joined the dacoit leaders who were already at the head of bands and "
had been preying on the country for years before King Thibaw's fall.
Of these leaders, who eventually drew lo them all the n.en in amis,
and converted what were at first rebels or fancied patriots into
dacoits, who were enemies of the public peace and of the country at
large, rather than directly of the British Government, the most
prominent were Hla U, who persistently eluded attack and held his
own on the borders of Ye-u, Sagalng, Shwebo, and the C hind win
districts ; Bo Po T6k, who had been the Taingda Mingy^s jackal
and freebooter in Ava and for long paid him a handsome revenue ;
Maung Cho in the Pagan neighbourhood ; Nga To and Nga Yaing
in the islands of the Irrrawaddy above Mandalay and Nga Zeya in
the hilly country north of the capital; Kyaw Zaw in the Kyauks6
district and the outskirts of the Shan States; Yan Nyun, who had
been a Myingaung in the Myingyan district; and many others of
more or less note. In addition to the bands already assembled
when the news of the annexation arrived and all semblance of
obedience to headquarters disappeared, whether to the Hhttdaw
during the interregnum, or, from ist January 1886, to the British
Government, every little group of villages elected its own bo to
protect it from its neighbours, or to attack them. The greater
number acted quite independently of each other in resistance to the
British, They preyed <.n villages which had submitted to us and
on rival iw' villages wlih perfect impartiality and, except some
few, who made speedy submission, became the perpetually renewed
dacoit leaders, whom it took three years to suppress.
A connected history of the operations is an impossibility, but
some sort of record seems due to those who lost their lives in the
settlement of the country. It cannot be anything but disjointed
and it must be taken year by year and district by district. ■
Upper Burma, exclusive of the Shan States, may be regarded as
consisting of four parts, which roughly correspond with the present _
administrative divisions The first is the valley of the Irrawaddy ■
above its junction with the Chindwin ; the second is the basin of the
Chindwin ; the third is the valley of the Sittang with the uplands of
I
I
FrssT Till itm.
fTER ANNEXATION.
tdl
urth the basin of the Irrawaddy
^..u»,,i to the boundary with Lower
4fei« the same dacolt bands operated
therefore a certain amonnt of con-
- this as far as possible in the nar-
ates, which proved the eventual re-
lied, will be treated of separately.
ims first notice. Immediately after
,on, the town, with as much of the
imfi district as could be controlled from
charge of the late Mr. T. F. Fforde,
f Police, assisted in the administra-
■ Myowuns (U He Si, now a C.I.E.,
i ii)i(iank) who had long been connected
nment of Maiidalay, and from the first
ii Officers under whom they were placed,
^late Council under Colonel Sladen's presi-
1 over the Mandalay otTicials. But towards
er 1885 the capital and adjacent districts were
harge of the lilutdaw and placed directly under
l.arly in January Colonel C. H. E. Adamson as-
'I (he whole district. The introduction of order in
wn was no lie;ht task. Under the Royal Govcrn-
lalion of the city and much of the population of the
1 of ofhcials, hangers-on of the Court, and soldiers,
ority of these were thrown out of employment by
. ihe form of the administration, and, as a natural
»ce, many elements of disorder existed and much intrigue
■A\ carried on. Dacoities and robberies, which had been
lu the time of the Burmese Government, continued to be
led. But by degrees the police of the town were able to
and break up many gangs of robbers and to reduce the
- order. The hot months of March and April were marked
' occurrence of destructive fires in the town and in the walled
now called Koit Uufferin. Some of these, no doubt, were the
ik of incendiaries, but many were certainly accidental, and
indalay was always noied for its great firesj which was not sur-
ising in a t<'wn almost entirely built of mat-houses with thatch
nofs. About 8co houses out of a total of 5,^00 within the city
walls were burnt in 1S86, and between 2,000 and ^,500 out of a
total of 34,000 in the town outside. In April occurred the only
attempt at an organized outbreak. Some 30 or 40 persons, who
professed to be adherents of the Mylngun Prince, were concerned
in it. In the early morning they rushed a police-station, cut down
16
122
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IV.
two or three of the policemen, killed a harmless European Apothe-
cary who was walking to the hospital, and set fire to some houses
in the city, while confederates fired others outside the city wall.
The dacoits fled immediately before the troops and poUce. and it
was only later that some of the ringleaders were caught and pun-
ished. Apart from the destruction of property, which was con-
siderable, and the loss of life, the affair was only noteworthy as
showing the daring of the dacoits, for Mandalay at the time
was held by some 1,000 troops with several outlying detachments.
The early fall of rain at the end of April stopped fires, and from
that time the town was steadily reduced to a state of order. This
was tested severely by a disaster in August. The Irrawaddy rose
to a height greater than had been known for 60 years and burst
through the embankment which had been built by King Mind6n.
All the lowlying parts of the town were flooded and some lives
were lost, while many people were rendered absolutely destitute.
Nevertheless, there were no disturbances, and relief distributions
and relief works did much to secure the good-will nf the population.
Responsible headmen were appointed over small sections of the
town and did much to ensure the maintenance of order and a de-
tailed sur\'ey of the town was begun, as well as the improvement
of the roads. Nevertheless, beyond the limits of the town and
suburbs Mandalay district was almost entirely in the hands of
three or four dacoit leaders, who had large followings and acted to
some extent in concert. The territnrial limits of each leader's ju-
risdiction were defined and respected the one by the other. The
villages were made to pay black-mail, and disobedience of orders,
or attempts to help the Government, were severely punished.
These leaders professed to be acting under the authority of the
Myingun Prince (then a refugee in the French settlement of Pondi-
cherry), and were kept together by a relative of that Prince, a
person who styled himself the Bayiitgan or viceroy, and went from
one to the other, giving them information and arranging combi-
nations between them. Early in January Messrs. Walker, Calo-
greedy, and Mabert, gentleman employed in the forests, determined
to return to their work. They were attacked at Paleik. 24 miles
from Mandalay and after four hours' resistance were killed. Mr.
Grey of the Bombay Hurma Corporation, who was with them,
was taken prisoner to the Myinzaing Prince's camp at Zibingyi.
This was found deserted on the loth January, and near the camp
Mr. Grey's mutilated body was found. On the march to Zibingyi
Captain Lloyd, R.E., and two men of the Hampshireswere severely
wounded at Ht6nbo,
CHAP. IV.] FIRST YEAR AFTER ANNEXATION.
In June the Lamaing post commanded by Captain J, E. Preston
was attacked by a party of Shan dacoits, a few of whom got in-
side the post, killed a jemadar and a sepoy, and wounded Captain
Preston. They were driven out by the camp followers.
Bhamo was occupied without opposition in December 1885 and
g. the civil administration was at once organized.
Trade soon began to revive and the Kachins of
the nearer hills tendered their submission. A small force marched
to Mogaung in the northern part of the district in February 1886.
It met with no opposition, and the people received the party with
professions of loyalty and remained quiet after the (roops were \vith-
drawn. It was hold by the Burman Myo6k, who had enlisted men
of his own and had defended himself against attacks made on him
by the Wuntho Saxcbwa. He collected the revenue nominally for
the British Government, but represented that most of It was requir-
ed for the maintenance of his forces. The only signs of future
trouble were some dacoities by the Kachins of Katran on \nllages in
the plain and an attack on Bhamo itself in November by a band of
dacoits. The latter attack was easily defeated, but before the as-
sailants fled they had killed three men and burnt some buildings
near the town gale. The Kachins were not so easily settled with.
Two punitive expeditions were sent against Katran. The first met
with stubborn resistance and returned without reaching Katran at all.
The second, despatched in May, was withdrawn before reaching the
village of the Chief, by the advice of the Political Officer, who con-
sidered that sufficient punishment had been inflicted and was de-
sirous of not being drawn too near the Chinese frontier, the line of
which was not then known.
The Katha district, which comes next to Bhamo, was established
with headquarters at first at Tigyalng, but soon
moved to Katha. A considerable portion of the
year was directed to the maintenance of peace in the immediate
neighbourhood of the postj but some of the local officials, the IVuns
of Myadaung, Mnda, and the Shweashegyaung, early gave in their
adherence and did good service. The district was, however, less
disturbed by organized bands of dacoits than most, and the chief
.source of disorder was the Wuntho Sa-wbwa, whose attitude was ex-
tremely doubtful, if not hostile. His State occupied the high country
between the Upper Irrawaddy and Upper Chindwin and command-
ed the districts adjacent to both these rivers. The Saivbwa and his
father known as the Mogaung IVun, and one of the most faithful
servants of Mindon Min, refused to come in, and a number of raids
took place on the border, the result of feuds between the Sa-wbwa
■34
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER- [ CHAP. IV.
and the local dKaah oC the tovndnps aod cirele« adjaixiii^ Wantlu>.
In this way he haiasied the omtrii^ area at the Slivcixsliegyaung
and bomt the town of Mairnaing. Bat k vas thoaght these were
persooal matters rather than <£rected agaiim the Brinsh Gorem-
ment. The efforts of Goremmcnt were directed to conciliate the
Sa-xbwa and treat faioi as a friend. He vas to be left in undisturb-
ed possession of all the rights and priril^es he had hitherto enjoy-
ed and to be allowed to carry on the internal ad mi nisi ration of his
State without any change. Nevertheless, he did ooi respond to
these advances, be declined to meet the Deputy Commissioner or
lo pay the revenue as formerly demanded by the Burmese Govern-
Dcot, and was inclined to treat the Deputy Commissioner's letters
with very scant coartesy.
Mong Leng (Mohlaing), Mong Mit (Momcik), and the Ruby
R bv M' Mines were practically left to themsdves as far
■by IBS. ^^ ^^^ attempt at occupation was concerned until
December 1886, when a column under General Stewart marched up
to Mog6k. Some slight oppo^tion was met with from persons who
had been formerly interested in the ruby trade, but it was easily
overcome and the district was not afterwards disturbed. There were
rival claimants for the ^'ov^aships of Mong Len^ (Mohlaing) and
Mong Mit, ^jMifi-Shan States with very few Shans in them. Hkam
Leng (or Kan HIaing) had a fair title to the chieftainship of Mong
Leng. Shortly after the annexation he visited a British oBScer, who
somewhat hastily addressed him as Chief of both States. Hkam
Leng accepted this as settling the question, and went to Mong Mit
to assume the SawbTcashy^. The people would have nothing to do
with him and drove him out. He then applied to British officers
to place him in power and, when this was not done, commenced to
make raids on Mong Mit territory and gradually drifted into open
hostility to the British troops.
Shwebo was noted in Burmese history' for the wariike character
Shwebo ^^ '*^ inhabitants and as the starting place of
many insurrectionary movements. It was here
that Alaungpaya was born and with the aid of the Shnebo people
\\c established his dynasty. King Mindftn also began the rebellion
which placed him on the thrdne from Shwebo, and the rising of the
Padein Prince against him took its beginning here, though not with
the same success. The nature of the country, which extends from
the Irrawaddy to the Mu river was very favourable to the movements
of robber-gangs ; vast tracts of uncultivated forest afforded secure
hiding places, from which the bands could issue to attack unprotect-
ed villages. The establishment of the district began with a rising.
CHAP. IV.
FIRST YEAR AFTER ANNEXATION.
I2S
Early in December 1885, Teiktin Hniat and Teiktin Them, cousins
of King Thibaw, effected their escape from Mandalay and raised a
party of rebels at Shwebo. A column was sent against them and
before the end of the month a permanent post was established in
Shwebo town, which was taken by assault from the rebels. The
wiiole country was swarming with hostile bands and the whole year
was taken up with action against strong coalitions of them. The
former Burmese Commissioner, Bo Byin, the Kayaing-^vun and his
son, Mating Tun, from the first readily submitted and raised com-
panies of loyal villasfers to co-operate with the troopi^. On the other
side, besides the royal pretenders who died within the year, were the
noted dacoit leaders, Hla U who maintained himself persistently on
the southern border, Pyan Gyi, Nga Yaing, and Aung Myat. All of
these were brought to action several Times and suffered considerable
loss, but were by no means done with. In Ye-u» now a subdivision
of Shwebo, but at that time a separate district, the same conditions
prevailed and practically the same bands had 10 be contended with.
In an action at Sabfenatha nearTantabin, on the 9th November 1886,
Lieutenant Balfour of the South Yorkshires was killed and Mr. Rcy,
Assistant Superintendent of Police, was severely wounded before the
dacoits were driven off. The establishment of posts at Tantabin,
Nabeikgyi, and Myagon did a good deal to extend the settled area
and to encourage the people to refuse support to the dacoits. But
the disarmament of the country which was begun in May was much
more effectual.
The fort at Sagaing was occupied as early as the 14th December
. 1885, but regular administration was not intro-
^*'"^' duced till some time later. It remained for over
two years one of the most turbulent districts in the province.
Before the end of December the dacoits established themselves in
some strength in a pagoda no great distance from the fort, and in
the taking of this on the 2Sth December Lieutenant Cockeram
was killed and Lieuttnant Lye wounded. On the 9th January
Surgeon Heath was shot dead and Lieutenant Armstrong of the
Hanipshires was mortally wounded wliile they were walking from
the Sagaing fort to the steamer, a distance of less than a mile.
Parties from the fort and the steamer hastened up and four dacoits
were killed, but the remainder, some of whom were mounted, made
good their escape. Throughout January 188O military operations
were continued, and it was not till February that the district was
formally constituted. The principal dacoit leader was Ilia U, who
in March dominated the country round Myinmu lo the south of
Sagaing at the mouth of the Mu river. Active operations were
parried on all through that month and indeed throughout the rains;
126
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IV.
but though the dacoits were more than once defeated with some
loss, no notable leaders were captured and the defeated bands col-
lected again as soon as the attacking party withdrew. At the end
of April Myinmu itself was attacked, but the assailants were beaten
off withnul difficulty, though Captain Badgeley, R.E.. was severely
wounded. Besides HIa U the chief leaders were Min O and Tha
Pwe. The last named was killed at Pethugyi pae^-oda in August,
but Sagaing district, beyond thi: posts at Sagaingand Myinmu and
at Samon, Mag)'izauk, and Ondaw, remained practically in the
hands of the robber bands. The leaders here were mostly old
established dacoits and they instituted a very effective system of
terrorism. Village headmen who refused obedience and neglected
to pay blackmail, and especially those who had submitted to the
British Government, were ruthlessly murdered.
Ava, which was then a separate district, was equally harassed
by dacoits, but the establishment of a number of
posts strong enough to hold their own and to
send out columns when required, did much to bring it into hand
and to establish a satisfactory process of settlement. British
troops marched through it in December, and in January 1886 the
late Mr. R. H. Pilcher took chaige as Deputy Commissioner. The
central parts of the district were then much disturbed by bands,
who professed to be under the leadership of the "Chaunggwa
Princes** and of the KyimyindaJng.
These Chaunggwa Princes, Teikyin Van Naing and Teit-tin
Yan Baing, are grand-children of the Mekkhara Prince and so of
the royal blood. The Ryimyindaing was a mere impostor and
had been flogged in Burmese times for misdemeanours. He soon
moved south to Meiktila and Yamfethin, but the fighting leader of
the Chaunggwa Princes, Shwe Yan, gave a good deal of trouble.
He seems to have been a professional robber-chief. Towards the
end of January a post was eslablished at Myotha on the road from
Ava to Myingyan and operations were carried on with some effect
during February and March, when a military post was placed at
Myinthe between Myotha and Ava. Myinthfe in December had
forced a cavalry detachment to retire. In January it was burnt, but
Captain Clements, of the South Wales Borderers, was wounded
close by a few days later, while the telegraph line was being re-
paired. In April ineffective attacks were made by the dacoits on the
posts at Myotha and Myinthe, some villages were burnt, and a
bridge partly destroyed in the immediate neighbourhood of the
post at Ava. immediate active operations had the best results.
A post of Gurkhas was established at Chaunggwa and Shwe Yan
WAS compelled to retire to the jungles on the borders of the Pan-
CHAP- IV.] FIRST YEAR AFTER ANNEXATION.
127
laung stream and afterwards ceased to be formidable. Later in
the year the Myinth^ post was taken over by the military police
and the troops were moved to Ngazun in the south-west of Ava,
which had continued to be disturbed. The effect of the establish-
ment of this post and of expeditions undertaken against dacoit
villagers between Ngazun and Myotha and in conjunction with
troops from Myingyan against dacoits on the borders of the two
districts was apparent in the improvement of that part of the
country. A combined expedition was also undertaken from Ava
and Kyauks^ posts against Shwe Yan. The dacoits succeeded in
escaping, but a combination which was being attempted was broken
up and Shwe Yan was confined to the wild country in the valleys of
the Sam6n and Panlaung rivers, which formed a safe shelter, the
more so because it was a place where the boundaries of districts
and the divisions of civil and mihtary commands rendered opera-
tions against them resultless without previous airangement, which,
at that period, in the defective state of communications, required
some considerable time. From this centre many raids were made
in all directions, but nevertheless revenue amounting to over ^^3,700
was collected in 1886 in the Ava district.
The Myinzaing Prince was the only active rebel of the Burmese
itsfc Royal Family who was of any real importance.
^ He was a son of Mind6n Min and had escaped
massacre by King Thibaw, partly on account nf his tender years
and partly because, as the son or one of the minor queens, he was
sufficiently inconspicuous to be easily hidden away by his friends.
At the time of the annexation he was 17 years of age. He was no
doubt led into opposition to the British Government by the hopes
of some Influential fx-ofitcials of the Burmt-se Government, most
prominent among whom perhaps was the Anauk IVindawhmu, U
Paunpf. The record of the Kjauksfe district during ihe early part
of 1886 is a history of the gradual suppression of the Myinzaing
Prince's rebellion. He fled to this district, probably the richest in
Upper Burma, when he was driven out of Zibingyi to the east of
Mandalay in January. He was soon followed up to Kyauks^ and
then moved on to Yakhainggyi some 23 miles to the south-east.
A permanent post was established at Kyauks^ early In February
and immediately afterwards the Prince was driven from Yak-
hainggyi, In March Mr. R. H. Pilcher came from Ava to take
charge of the Kyauksfe district and remained there till his death in
October. When he arrived the situation was as bad as it was
even in Sagaing. It had been for three months the prey of dacoits
and rebels, who held their own even within a few miles of the
post at Kyauksfe. The first measure was to keep open and protect
128
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP, IV.
ihe coinmunlcations with Mandalay along the road to the Myit-ng^.
This was done by the esiablishment of posts at Paleik and Ta-
loksu. In May a post was formed at Yewun, south of Kyauks6,
with the effect of pacifying the whole of the intervening country
and two months later the process of settlement was extended by
the esiablishment of another post at Kum^ to the south of Yewun,
where a lance-corporal and Captain Wilbraham of the Somerset-
shires were killed and seven were wounded. These onward move-
ments had had the effect some time before of forcing the Myin-
zaing Prince to retire to Ywangan, one of the small Myelai States
at the head of the Natteik pass. Here the Prince died of fever in
August. His persona! following had for some months been great-
ly reduced, but in various parts of the country rebel and dacoit
leaders professed to be fighting in his name and for his interests.
Although he al no time headed anything like a national movement,
yet the fact that he w:is really a legitimate member of Ihe house of
Alaungpaya must have rendered him always an important potential
centre of disaffection. His death therefore removed a possible
source of future danger and it broke up the most powerful com-
bination in this part of the province. As soon as the Prince died,
his followers quarrelled over the division of the pri*perty, killed
the Ngwegttnhmu (a short lime before made titular Myoza) of
Ywangan, who had afforded them an asylum, and dispersed.
Those who were rebels^ as distintjuished from mere robbers, scat-
tered themselves over the Shan States, and the dacoit portion of
the gang joined themselves on to the various marauding gangs in
the plains. The main portion uf the Kyauksi plain was, however,
quieted by the establishment of the post of Wundwin in the Meik-
tila district on the ist of September. This completed the chain
of posts from Mandalay to Pyinmana and confined the daroits lo
the foot hills of the Shan plateau and to the jungles along the
Sam6n and Panlaung rivers, where, however, they maintained them-
selves for some considerable time, and made periodical raids on
peaceful villages.
Chindwin, as it at first existed as a single district, was an enor-"
mous charge. It included the whole of the
valley on both sides of the Chindwin river and
extended northwards for 500 or 600 miles until it was lost in the
ranges of hills separaring Burma from Assam, over-lapping the
territories of the petty Western Shan potentates, the Sawbwa of
Kale and the Saivhiva of Hsawng Hsup (Th.iung-thut). In No-
vember 1885, the Burmese authorities of the Chindwin had made
prisoners of seven English gentlemen, who were residing there in
the employ of the Bombay Burma Trading Corporation. Of these,
Chap. IV. ] first year after annexation.
139
three (Messrs. Robert Allen, Roberts, and Moncur) were mur-
dered on the launch Ckimiwin by a ihandan'sin as soon as the
news of the occupation of Mandalay arrive<l. Two others, Messrs.
C. Outram and G. Calogreedy, arrived safely in Mandalay, while
Messrs. Hill, Ross, Bates, and O. Ruckstahl were protected by the
Pl'utt of Mingyin and sent by him to Mandalay. The IVim was re-
warded at the time and afterwards rendered loyal service to the
British Government. Other Europeans Messrs. Morgan, Bretto, and
T. Ruckstahl, were also held captive at Kindat, farther up the river.
Towards the end of December a force was despatched from Man-
dalay to rescue these Kindat captives. But the prompt action of
Colonel Johnstone, C.S.I., Political Agent at Manipur, who marched
on Kindat with 50 sepoys and a Manipuri contingent, and arrived
thereon Christmas day, forestalled the arrival of the Mandalay co-
lumn. The troops returned to Mandalay, and it was at first proposed
to divide the Chindwin valley into two districts, placing the Manipur
Agent in charge of the upper part, with headquarters at Kindat,
and constituting the Lower Chindwin area a district under a sepa-
rate Deputy Commissioner, with headquarters at Ai6n. The plan,
however, was found to be impracticable. Colonel Johnstone went
back to Manipur by way of Tammu, which is 64 miles from Mani-
pur, over jungle-clad hills rising to 5,000 feet, but on the outbreak
of disturbances between Tammu and Kindat he returned. He
attacked a body of rebels in a strong position at Pantha, about
18 miles from Tammu, and drove them out, but was himself
severely wounded. He was succeeded as Agent and as Deputy
Commissioner of the Upper Chindwin by Major Trotter. In May
1886, Major Trotter attempted to march from Tammu to Kin-
dat to effect a junction with a force which was to come up the
river from Al6n. He was attacked at Pantha near Tammu and
received a wound, from the effects of which he after^vards died.
He was succeeded for a time by Major Haiies, who command-
ed at Tammu and was severely wounded in an action on the
19th June at Chany6n, 3 miles from Tammu. In July the whole
of the Chindwin country was placed under the control of a De-
puty Commissioner whose headquarters were at Al6n. Meanwhile,
early in February, when it was thought the Manipur Political
Agent could control the upper portion, arrangements had been
made for administering Lower Chindwin district and a Deputy
Commissioner was established at Alon. His attention was for some
lime devoted to the settlement of the country in the neighbour-
hood of that post. In April the garrison intended for the oc-
cupation of the whole district arrived and preparations were made
for an advance on Mingin and Kindat in order to meet the Tarn-
«7
13©
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IV,
mu force at the latter place in the middle of May. Mingin was
occupitjcl on he 20th April, but difficulties of transport delayed
the advance to Kindat, which was not occupied till the loth June.
No resistance was met with at Kindat, but the force had a trifling
skirmish with dacoits at Balet on the river-bank. The advance
from Tammu was for the time abandoned, and the country between
the Chindwin and Manipur was left untouched till towards the
end of the rains. The Tammu force, which had been considerably
strengthened, then took the field and gained signal successes over
strong bodies of dacoits, notably on the loth October, when Captain
Stevens attacked and drove the enemy from their strongly stockaded
position at Chanyfin, where Major Hailes had been wounded. The
whole of the Kubo valley was thus reduced to order. As regards
the part of the district adjacent to the Chindwin river the following
results had been attained by the end of August. The Chindwin
Military police levy, over 500 strong, arrived in July and was
soon distributed in posts in the Alon subdivision, which included
the part of the district towards the mouth of the river. The part
on the east bank of the river was in fairly good order, though Hla
U gave much trouble and occupied the country to the norrh-east
of the police posts. On the west of the river the Pagyi township
was still uncontrolled and much of it was in the hands of a pretend-
er known as the Shwegyobyu Prince. North of Alon, but little
progress had been made m the settlement of the country, except in
the immediate neighbourhood of the river. The feudatory Stale of
Kale, on the right bank below Kindat, was disturbed by internal
dissensions, but showed no signs of hostility to the British Govern-
ment. North of Kindat, the Deputy Commissioner, who steamed
up and explored the river for 150 miles above Kindat, visited the'
Sawbwa of Hsawng Hsup and was well received. The SaTcb-h'a had
his Stale in good order and required no assistance. Although hi
was allied with and akin to the Sffa'bTua of Wuniho, he did not adopt'
the attitude of that Chief. The Deputy Commissioner also received
the submission of a Burmese JVun of the country lying betwefn the
Chindwin river and Mogaung. No posts, however, were established
north of Kindat, where the country was thinly inhabited and did
not promise much revenue. Nevertheless, except along the river andJ
in the Alon subdivision, little was effected in the way of settlement'
and the Al6n force was continually employed in the pursuit of Hla
U and his followers. In October Mr. Gleeson, Assistant Com-
missioner at Mingin, was treacherously killed at a village some
miles above his headquarters, where he had gone with a small
escort to instal a new headman, and not long afterwards the Wun
of Kanni, who had given many proofs of loyailty, was also murder-
CHAP. IV.] FIRST YEAR AFTER ANNEXATION.
'31
ed by dacoits at Myogyi, whither he had gone with five men to
persuade them to disperse. The brother of the JFun was appoint-
ed in his place and punitive expeditions dispersed the gangs who
had murdered the H''uu and Mr. Gleeson, but the countrj" round
Mlngin and Mawkadaw remained in a very disturbed state, and
a pretender, who called himself Buddha Yaza, attacked one of our
posts and gathered round him various leaders from Yaw and
Alon. just as the troops were advancing against him, the pre-
tender fell into the hands of the Kale SawbToa, who arrested him
and sent him to the Deputy Commissioner, Colonel F. D. Raikes.
The Kale Sawbwa himself had, however, not yet made formal sub-
mission, but much was hoped from the mark of distinction which
was conferred on the Sawbwa of HsaM'na^ Hsup on the occasion of
Her Majesty's Jubilee. In the Lower Chindwin the Pagyi and
Pakhangyi tracts were much disturbed and the character of the
country (inaccessible forests with consequent malaria) made it
difficult to reduce. Bo To, the younger brother of the murdered
Kanni IVun, did much ^ood work in the country to the south of Min-
gin, but was defeated by a band at Kale. Trade went on on the
nver, but boats were obliged to take a guard, or to go under convoy
of a steam-launch.
On the opposite side of the Irrawaddy river the Myingyan dis-
„ . ^ trict had been constituted as the expeditionary
yingy»n. forcc moved up the river to Mandalay. The
old Burmese administrative divisions were at first adopted and
Myingyan and Pagan, which for some time was a separate district,
tended in somewhat haphazard fashion for a great way across
the river.
Bolh have greatly changed in their composition since then and
continued to do so until Pagan became a subdivision of Myingyan
and the new district of Pakokku was formed out of the portions of
Myingyan and Pagan on the right bank of the river. At first
Myingyan included part of the present district of Meiktila and
also Pakokku, which was early transferred to Pagan. In Myingyan,
or Talokmyo as [he Burmese very frequently called it, the local
officials soon submitted and the selllement of the country in the
immediate neighbourhood was speedily accomplished. Early in
January 1886, the Kayatngicun, the Burmese local Governor, gave
in his adhesion lo the British Government and continued to serve
for about six months. He then absconded and joined a rebel
soi-disant Prince, the Shwegyobyu, in Pahkangyi on the west of
the Irrawaddy. A column marched through this part of the coun-
try with temporary success and civil officials were established in
Pahkangyi, and for a time there seemed reason to hope that the
1^5
THE UPPER BURMA OAZKTTEER. [CHAP. IV.
Pagan.
township would become settled. But the small posts at Pakokku
and Yet^yo were during the rainy season unable to act in the in-
terior. Tne military post at Myaing gave some protection to the
country, but the Shwegyobyu pretender still had a great following
and really dominated Pahkangyi and Pagyi to ihe exclusion of civil
administration. He did not, however, act much on the offensive.
It was not till a post was established at Palikan^yi itself thai the
Shwegyobyu's power was broken and then he himself suddenly dis-
appeared. On the eastern bank daccit leaders, partizans o( Saw
Yan Naingand his brother, for some lime disturbed the peace of the
eastern and northern parts of the district and the local official in
charge of the Welaung tract southwards towards Pagan held out
throughout the whole of 1886. The early establishment of posts
in Sameikkyon and Nalogyi contributed a great deal to the settle-
ment of the northern and eastern parts of the district, and a com-
bined movement from Myingyan and Ava put an end to the oper-
ations of a leader who called himself Thiiikayaza. Along the river
trade went on undisturbed and arrangements were made for the
building of bazaars at Myingyan and Pak6kku.
The Pagan district as it was constituted in November 1886, on
the passage of the expeditionary force to Man-
dalay, included on the left bank of the river, the
whole countiy from the Myingyan district on the norlh to the
limits of the faungdwingyi subdivision on the south, taking in the
Pin and Mahlaing townships on the south and south-east. It
nominally also included the whole of the Yaw country on the right
bank of the river, stretching beyond Gangaw up to the hills which
separate Burma from Chittagong.
Subsequently Mahlaing and the country to the east and south-
east were made over to the later formed district of Meiktilaand later
still in the year the Pin township was made over to Taungdwingyi,
now the Magwe district. The great asylum of the dacoits of this
neighbourhood was the P6ppa hill, whence they made raids on the
Myingyan, Pagan, and Meiktila districts. It is a remarkable, iso-
lated peak about 4,500 feet high and is believed to be an exiinrt
volcano. The hill itself is abrupt and conical in shape, but it throws
out spurs in all directions and is thickly covered with forest growth
while the sub-features are a tangle of scrub-jungle and ravines.
In the hollows, however, there is a good deal of cultivated land
which escapes the eye of a person merely travelling through. This
region for long remained a favourite haunt of dacoits, and most of
the villages were inhabited by cattle-lifters and receivers of stolen
property, who naturally would furnish no information. The cattle
were kept in large pens, or enclosures, in the jungle and were only
CHAP. IV.] FIRST YKAU AFTER ANNEXATION.
'33
let oui to be watered, and that only when they could be carefully
guarded so that they should not stray back lo their former owners.
At least one prominent dacoit leader remained at large in this neigh-
bourhood till ten years after the annexation.
The Pagan local officials submitted early to Major (now Lieut-
enant-Colonel) Eyre, the Deputy Commissioner, but before long
dacoits under a leader named Maung Cho in the east of the district
near Sb, and under the Kyimyindaing Prince and his adherents in
the south-east near Mahlaing, began to give trouble. Active steps
were taken to break up these gatherings. In January Maun^ Cho
was successfully attacked, but not subdued. In February a post
was established at Kyaukpadaung south of Pagan for the purpose
of supporting the local Burmese official who then and later did
conspicuously good service. A considerable dacoit gathering in
the neighbourhood was at the same time dispersed. The following
month a force marched from Pagan south-east through Mahlaing,
Meiktila, and Yindaw to Yamfethin, encountering the followers of
the Kyimyindaing Prince on the way and scattering tliem with
some loss. A Civil Officer was posted at Mahlaing and a mili-
tary post was left at Meiktila, which was made over to Yam^lhin
district. In June the formation of a post at Sfc, to the south-east
of Pagan, in the country where Maung Cho had again ealhered
his followers, served to diminish his influence, but everywhere the
result was much the same. The area disturbed was gradually re-
stricted, but the leaders remained at large and their bands dis-
persed before the troops, only to gather again on their departure.
Early in July an attack was made on Pin, which had been suc-
cessfully held till then by the loyal thugj'i without assistance from
Government. A force was sent to drive out the dacoits and their
leaders surrendered without resistance. A great deal had thus
been done towards reducing the left bank to order, and this part
of the district was thus somewhat more in hand than many others,
but on the west bank of the river little could be effected. There
only a narrow strip of country was held in the immediate vicinity of
the posts at Myiigyi and Pakokku. Beyond that the country was
practically uncontrolled. Early in the year (he Deputy Commis-
sioner had entered into communications with the local officials of
the Yaw country, an extensive inland tract peopled partly by Bur-
mese and partly by indigenous tribes. In the time of the Burmese
Government the people of Yaw seem to have enjoyed some approach
to local autonomy under their own officials. The leading men pro-
posed to submit, but it was impossible to establish posts, so the des-
patch of a force was postponed, though communications were kept
up with the chief local men throughout the year. The whole of
134
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IV-
Mtnbu.
this wild Iracl therefore remained open lo the dacoits and rebels
until early in 1887.
The Minbu district at first consisted of the country on the north
of the old frontier line on both sides of the lira-
waddy between the Arakan hills and the conti-
nuation of the Pegu Yonia. It extended on the north to the bor-
ders of the Yaw country and on the left bank of the river as far
as the Pin township of Pagan. The Taungdwingyi subdivision,
which later became a separate district and later still changed its
name to Magwe, comprised the whole of the eastern part of the
Minbu district. The Deputy Commissioner of Minbu, however,
never had time to exercise any control over this subdivision,
and it practically from the beginning was separately administered-
The Minbu (at lirsl called Minhla) district was constituted under
the charge of the late Mr- R. Phayre immediately after the occu-
pation of the town of MJnhla in November 1S85. The Deputy
Commissioner at once began to invite the submission of the local
officials and succeedtid in inducing many of them to take service
under the new Government. By the 15th December almost all the
officials on the right bank had submitted and there was every pro-
mise of a speedy settlement of the district. Outposts were estab-
lished at various suitable places and small columns were sent out as
occasion demanded to break up dacoit gatherings. The garrison
left at Minhla was supported b^ a small force from Thayetmyo,
which was operating in Taungzm, the western part of the Minbu
district bordering on the Arakan hills. Enquiries concerning rev-
enue matters were at once instituted by the Deputy Commissioner,
and within a month from the date of the occupation of Minhla
j^i,ooo of revenue were paid in. The carlh-oil wells at Yenan-
gyaung, which had yielded a considerable revenue lo the royal
Government, were held to be within the Minbu district, and early in
January arrangements were made for the resumption of work and
the realizalion of revenue. In spite of the peaceful appearance of
the greater part of the district, there were, however, indications of
future trouble. Maung Swfe, the hereditary thugyi of Mindat, had
declined to submit and was holding out In the Taungzin township.
This man, who afterwards became very notorious as Bo Swe, had
long been known to the authorities of the Lower Province district of
Thayetmyo. For many years he had been a constant source of
annoyance owing to the support and encouragement afforded by
him to dacoits on the hrontier. More than once he had been recall-
ed to Mandalay at the representation of the British Government,
but had again and again been permitted to return. Al the time
of the outbreak of hostilities he was sent down by the Mandalay
CHAP. IV. ] FIRST VKAR AFTIiR ANNEXATION.
'35
authorities to his former jurisdiction on account of his known hos-
tility to the Eni^lish. Karly in the year, and as long as the Tha-
yetmyo frontier force occupied posts in I'auni^zin, Maung Sw6,
though at times giving indications of hostile intentions, was com-
paratively powerless. It was not till after the withdrawal of the
Thayetmyo troops that he made head and gathered a formidable
following.
In the latter part of February an insurrection broke out In the
Legaing township on the Mon creek and the post of Sagu was
attacked and burnt. This rising was promptly suppressed by the
military authorities and the dacoits were driven to the hills. The
leader of the rising was found to be 3l pongyi named Okiama, who
Ifsoon became as much noted as5/» Swfe and gave to the full as much
serious trouble. In March U Okiama fomented serious disturb-
ances in Salin and Sale, but the rebels were again dispersed by the
troops acting in conjunction with Mr. Phayre. About this time the
headquarters of the district were transferred from Minhla to Minbu.
Revenue continued to come in steadily notwithstanding these dis-
turbances, and in the first fortnight of April as much as ;^2,ooo
were realized. Early in the same month the transfer of part of
the Minbu district to Thayetmyo was provisionally effected. The
transfer was made for the sake of administrative convenience and
with the view of obliterating the old border line between Upper and
Lower Burma. The final transfer under legislative sanction was
obtained later.
At the close of April Bo Swfe occupied much of the country to
the west of Minbu and Minhla. He was attacked in the middle of
May and forced to retreat to Ngapt!.-, a strong position due west of
Minbu, commanding the An pass over the Arakan htlU. But at the
close of the same month the whole western part of the district was
in a ferment and dacoit bands were active un the Salin and M6n
creeks and in the Sale and Yenangyaung townships. Early in
June great encouragement was given to the disaffected by the death
of Mr. Phayre, who was killed in action near Padtin. south of
Ngapfe. At the time when Mr. Phayre was killed Rs. 1,000 had been
offered for the capture of Bo Sw^, who in turn had offered Rs. 500
for the head of Mr. Phayre. Out of this he made great capital
with his adherents. Mr. Phayre had arrived at Padein on the 7th
June and found the dacoits in a strong position inside a walled
pagoda. He established himself in another pao;oda 200 yards dis-
tant and was fired at all night, during which time the dacoits received
large reinforcements. On the 8th Mr. Phayre, with ten sepoys and
ten police, attempted to carry the dacoits' position by direct attack.
136 THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IV.
They were within 20 yards of the pagoda when Mr. Phayre fell
struck by three bullets. The number of the dac<Mts was estimated
at 700. The dacoits were encountered in strength at Salin, where
Captain Dunsford was killed on the 1 2th June, and at Ngape, where
a stubbornly contested action was fought on the 19th of the same
month, when we had six killed and 23 wounded, among them Lieu-
tenant E, P. Williams of the Liverpools. Ngap6 was then occupied
in strength, but the extreme unhealthiness of the climate necessi-
tated ihe withdrawal of the garrison at the end of July. At the
same time Salin was attacked by Oktama. The dacoits were re-
pulsed and finally driven off by reinforcements under Captain Atldn-
son, who however was killed just as the engagement ended. Ngap^
was re-occupied by Bo Swe as soon as it was evacuated by the
garrison, and by the end of August the whole of the western part of
the district was in the hands of the rebels and nothing remained to
us but a narrow strip along the river-bank. The rains and the
deadly season which succeeds them in the water-logged country at
the foot of the Yoma, reeking with malaria, which is fatal to those
who have not inherited constitutions fitted to resist it, prevented
extended operations being undertaken before the end of the year.
A contingent of the Naval Brigade kept the river-bank clear and
suppressed the river pirates, and the An Pass, which is almost the
only practicable route through the hills into Arakan was held by a
detachment of Gurkha police. But in the later months of 1886
U Oktama practically held the whole of the north of Minbu, while
Bo Swfe was supremie in the south. These two had the strong-
est organization and the most systematic method of pillaging the
country of any of the dacoit leaders, but their success was greatly
aided by the dense jungle, which could only be threaded by narrow
forest paths, and by the pestilential airs. The names of Tainda,
Myothit, Ngapfe, and Sidoktaya became evilly notorious from the
deaths which occurred there. The robber-chiefs knew this well.
Their headquarters were secure at the foot of the hills, and raids and
incursions thence were easy lo places far beyond the jungle tract.
U Oktama in fact established his authority right up to the river-
bank. But eariy in 1887 Bo Sw&, though he was still formidable,
ceased to be a danger, at any rare to established posts. Captain
Golightly, with his mounted infantry, hunted him with untiring zeal,
and more than once, especially when a party of Gurkha police join-
ed in the chase, he barely escaped with his life. Nevertheless, his
orders were acknowledged and his gangs were fed and recruited
secretly by the villagers of the Myothit and Minhla townships. U
Oktama was not pressed nearly so hard, and his authority not only
remained but actually continued to grow. Nevertheless, the revenue
CHAP. I V.J FIRST YEAR AFTER ANNEXATION.
J37
collected in Minbu up to the end of August 1886 amounted to
about ;^ 1 2,500.
Soon aher the Expeditionaiy Force crossed the frontier and the
„ ... Minhla or Minbu district was formed, it was
Taungdwineyi. , , r .i_ . • e i
found necessary tor the protection of the east-
ern part of the Thayctmyo district to advance a column towards
Taungdwingyi, an important town north of the Myedfe subdi-
vision and the nominal headquarters of the subdivision. On the
30th November 1885 it encountered a considerable body of the
enemy al Thiik6!i-kwin and on the 2nd December inflicted a
decisive defeat on them at Nyadaw- Taungdwingyi itself was oc-
cupied without further opposition ten days laier and Captain {now
Lieutenant-Colonclj Raikes, Deputy Commissioner of Thayetmyo,
who had accompanied the column, at once set to wo^k to organize
the civil administration. Soon afterwards he returned to Thayet-
myo, leaving Taungdwingyi in charge of an Assistant Commis-
sioner. Later in the year the Pin township was taken from Pagan
and, with this addition, Taungdwingyi was created a district and is
now known by the name of Magwe. Arrangements were made to
carry on the administration with the aid of local officials who had
submitted and to raise and tiain a force of local police. The severe
loss infliicled on the insurgents in December kept the district quiet
for some time, but later disturbances broke out in several places,
though I hey were rather in the nature of raids than of risings. Never-
theless, Lieutenant Parsons, the Assistant Commissioner, was severe-
ly wounded in the Myedfc township and Lieutenant Churchill of
the Royal Scots Fusiliers at the assault on Thaikyansan. The
Myobin Thugyi who created trouble in February was promptly
dealt with, but later there were sporadic dacoities, and in August a
few houses were burnt in Taungdwingyi itself. The chief leader
was Min Yaung, who had a large follow Ing and could boast of ponies
and elephants. He kept the country somew hat disturbed, but most
of his raids were directed to the south and extended occasionally a
lopg way into the Thayetmyo district. The Magwe township, later
the headquarters, which lies on the river-bank, alone enjoyed com-
plete peace. This was due to the influence of the Burman official,
who had accepted service under us and for a time apparently loyally
tulBlled his engagement,
A column started from Toungoo to occupy Nyingyan on the
-, . 24th November 188:5. The country was found
ma somewhat unsettled condition, but no orga-
nized opposition was encountered and the town of Ningyan was
reached during the first week in December. This place and the
district, throughout 1886, were known by the name of Ningyan,
t8
138
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IV.
but later the old Burmese name of Pyinmana was adopted and has
been finally retaioed even since the district has become a subdivi-
sion of Yamfelhin. Villages near Pyinmana were early occupied
and at the end of 1885 the district was believed to be rapidly set-
tling down. But the peacefulncss was only the deceiiful quiet of
indecision. Early iti January 1886 the country towards the north
began to be disturbed by the Le Wun and the Theingon thugyi,
f,v-officials from the Yamfethin neighbourhood, and their counsels
eventually prevailed. From the first many of the local Wuns did
not submit and were replaced by Myooks, who raised and drilled
local police. In February the limits of the district were roughlv
defined, and it was separated from the Vamfethin district on the
north. Towards the end of April, however, large bands of dacoils
gathered together and soon controlled all the country except in
the neighbourhood of our posts. The chief leaders, besides the
Li JVun, were the pretended Princes Buddha and Thiha Yaza and
the Kyimyindaing. Throughout the rains, in spile of frequent
military movements and the establishment of numerous posts on
the chief lines of communication, the,^e gangs remained unbroken
enough to undertake the offensive. Communications were con-
stantly interrupted, launches on the river between Sinthewa near
Pyinmana and Tonngoo were attacked and dacoities were com-
mitted and houses burnt not only in outlying villages, but even in
the town of Pyinmana itself, part of which was actually for a time
in the hands of the rebels. Lieutenant Shubrick of the Somerset-
shires was killed in the village of Kwingyi near Thayagon, 6 miles
from Pyinmana, while breakfasting after having destroyed some sur-
rounding villages. The garrison of the dt'^lrict was much weakened
by sickness, and the nature of (he country under the Shan hills and
the climate, which are practically the same as the Minbu terai
under the Arakan Yoma, entirely prevented the undertaking of any
sustained military opcr.itions and the towi] was threatened on all
aides. Large reinforcements at the end of the year and the ener-
getic guidance of General Lockharl broke up the control of the
leaders and kept the various gangs alw.iys on the move leaving
them no rest, night or day. The most successful of the expeditions
was on :he 12th November 1886, when the camp of the Kyimyin-
daing Prince was surprised at dawn. The so-called Prince himself
narrowly escaped capture and his wife was unfortunately shot dead
in the first volley. On our side Lieutenant Eckersley of the Somer-
sets was killed. This action at once reduced the pressure on Pyin-
mana, but the danger of the Yamfethin road had greatly increased.
The dense bamboo and kaing grass jungles at Kanhla greatly
favoured the dacoits. In October they captured a convoy of 17
CHAP. IV.] FIRST YEAR AFTER ANNEXATION.
39
carts and on the 1.5th November attacked a party of Madras troops
under Lieutenant-Colonel Anderson, who was severely wounded in
the neck, besides which there were 1 1 other casualties. On the 1 7th
of the same month, however, a column drove them from their rifle-
pits at Kanhla, but with the lo>s <if Lieutenant Greenwood of the
16th Madras Infantry killed. Buddha Yaza's camp was broken up
shortly afterwards by Colonel Beale of the Queen's, the dacoit leader
barely escaping on an dephanl and losing several jingals. Other
actions soon cleared (he trunk road and ensured the safety of
convoys from the dacoits. But the hills afforded them a temporary
refuge and there were still large bands to be dealt wiih, Buddha
Yaza in particular giving much trouble. As might be expected,
little revenue was collected ; the total realizations up to the end of
August amounted to not quite ;f 2,000.
The Yameihin district at first included Meiktila and extended as
,, . . . far as the borders cf Kyauksfe, but in October
Vainctnm, ■«« -i m rr r ■. i ■ i
Meiktila was cut oft from it and with some
parts of Pagan and Myingyan districts became a separate charge.
Yaraithin town was occupied by a force from Pyinmana after
some opposition on the i8th February 1886. From the first the
greater part of the district was in a disturbed state, the prin-
cipal gatherings being those under the adventurers Buddha and
Thiha Yaza, the Kyimylndaing soi-disant Prince, the U IVun
the TheingOn thugyi, and the Mylnzalng Prince's leaders, U Paung
and Maung Gyi. The posts at Meiktila, Mahlaing, Ytndaw, and
Wundwin introduced order in their immediate neighbourhood and
to some extent on the roads between them, though in April Lieu-
tenant Forbes of the nth Bengal Infantry in charge of a stores
escort was killed not far from where Thazi station now is, but the
record of the greater part of the year was merely an account of
dacoities and of expeditions, more or less temporarily successful,
but never decisively so, on account of the elusive character of the
dacoits who sometimes even ventured to attack the smaller posts
such as Yindaw, At the end of the rains the garrison was strongly
reinforced and undertook active operations with considerable suc-
cess against the more important bands. The amount of revenue
collected up to the end of November was over ;f 3,500.
The history of Meiktila for 1886 was practically that of Yamfe-
thin. The garrison was engaged with the Ya-
"" ^' ^' mfethtn dacoits on the one side and with those
of Kyauks6 on the other, while particular leaders, such as Myat
Hmon, Maung Gyi, and Maung Lat, were the local troublers of the
peace. These men had been adherents of the Myinzaing till his
death and afterwards fought for their own hand. Over and over
140
THE UPPhR BURMA GAZETTEKR. [.CHAP. IV-
again they collected their men in the Hmaw-alng foot hills east of
W uiidwiii to be as often driven out. They look refutje in the hills
of Yengan and La\vk>awk when hard pressed and came down again
when our troops had retired. But the district was more in Itand
than any of its neighbours, except Ava and Wesrern Myingyan,
and Hlun E, a former Burmese cavalry officer, rendered valuable
service with a strong force of horse and foot which he raLsed and
maintained at his own expense.
The whole of t886 was thus devoted to the gradual extension of
British influence by means of military operations. T he plan on
which these were conducted was the gradual advancement of out-
posts, the dispersing of the large bands of dacoits, and the pacifi-
cation of the country covered by military stations. In this process
1 80 or more encounters, of more or less importance, were fought.
In few of these did the dacoits offer any strenuous resistance and
in hardly any did our troops fait in accomplishing their immediate
purpose. The total number of those killed in action, ur who died
of their wounds from the 17th November 1885 to the 31st October
1886 was officers i i, men 80: total 91.
The average number of troops employed in Upper Burma during
.,.,. , ., the vear was about 14,000. In December 1886
Military details. 1 ' 1 1 » • 1. .i_
the number had risen to 25,000. It was the
dense nature of the jungle through which they had often to pass,
the want of roads and facilities of communication, the unfavourable
and in many places, the deadly nature of the cUmate, which ren-
dered this number of men necessary and prevented them from
accomplishing more. Whtre loss of Hfe occurred it was usually in
bush-fighting, where the dacoits had the immense advantage of an
intimau: knowledgt: of the country. The climate was more deadly
than the dacoits' bullets. From the 17th November 1885 to the
31st October 1886 the regimental returns showed —
Invalided.
Officers
Men (HritUh and sepoys)...
Total
Died front
disease.
11
. 930
2.03a
The total number of posts held in Upper Burma on the 1st Decem-
ber 1 886 by British troops was 99, and at the same time there were
in almost every district moveable columns operating separately or
in combinalion.
The command of the Expeditionary Force sent against Mandalay
was entrusted to Major-General (now Sir Harrj) Prendergast, V,C.,
CHAP. IV.] FIRST YEAR AFTER ANNF.XATION.
141
under whom were Brigadier General White, V.C.,C.B., Brigadier-
General Norman. c.B., and Brigadier-General Forde. On the ist
April 1886 Sir Harry Prendergast vacated the command of the
Upper Burma Field Force and was succeeded by Major-General
(now Sir George) White, V.c. In September His Fxcdlency Sir
Herbert Macpherson, V.C, Commander-in-Chief of the Madras
Army, assumed command of the forces in Burma, but died very
shortly after his arrival. Early in November His Excellency Sir
Frederick Roberts, Commander-in-Chief of the Army ifi India,
arrived in Burma and established his headquarters Jn Mandalay.
With the opening of the year 1887 energetic action began and the
tide be^an to turn. The number of posts held by troops was
rapidly mcreased to 141. The Officers Commanding these posts
and the parlies In the field had acquired a knowledge of the coun-
try ui which they were working. The constant pursuit by cavalry
and mounted infantry was beginning to tell and the dacoils, both
leaders and followers, were beginning to find themselves safe no-
where. Nevertheless, of police there were as yet hardly any, and
District Officers were dependent on military escorts and were not
able to move about their districts freely.
The necessity of supplementing the work done by the troops and
providing perm;inently for the civil administrations engaged the at-
tention of Sir Charles Bernard as soon as annexation was deter-
mined on. In February 1886 proposals were framed and submitted
to the Government of India for the enlistment of two military police
levies each to consist of 561 officers and men, and of 2,200 military
police to be recruited in NorlhtTn India. In addition to these it
was proposed to raise a small force of Burmese police for detective
and purely police work. The two levies were speedily formed and
consisted of men who had already received military training. Both
were in the province by the beginning of July. One was told off for
service in the Mandalay district, with the intention that it should
eventually take up the pnsis required for the protection of the Shan
border ; the other was sent for service in the Chindwin valley. The
military police began to arrive somewhat later and were for the most
part untrained men. These had all to be drilled and disciplined at
Mandalay and other headquarter stations before being sent to out-
posts, or on active service. The local police were raised by Dis-
trict Officers as occasion required and as circumstances permitted,
and received such training as the local oflicers could supply. The
men of the levies did good service in the Mandalay, Sagalng, and
Chindwin districts ; but the Mandalay levy suffered severely from
the effects of the climate of Kywet-hnapa, an outpost on the Myit-
143
THE UPPKR BURMA GAZETTKER. [ CHAP. IV.
ngfe in the Mandalay dislricl;. The rest of the military police hardly
became ready for aciive service during the year.
As the situation and the circumstances o{ ihe province became
more thoroughly realized, and as the extent of territory under admin~
istration increased, it became evident that the numbers of the police
force would have to be considerably augmented. Two fresh levies
therefore were raised in the end of the year. One of these, from
Northern India, was devoted to the protection of (he railway line
from Toungoo to Mandalay, during and after its construction. The
other which was recruited from Gurkhas and other hill-tribesmen
was sent to Bhamo for service about Mogaung. Finally it was de-
termined to enlist a total police force of 16,000, of which 9,000 were
to be recruited from India and 7,000 from Burma, with the inten-
tion that in lime the foreign and local police were each to consist
of 8,000 men. The whole of the force was subjected to military
drill and discipline and was enrolled for service for three years.
For each district a separate battalion was to be formed consisting
of a fixed numl>er of foreign and local police, under the command
of a military officer for the purposes of training and discipline, and
under the ordtrs of the local Police olficers for ordinary police work.
Perhaps the most important step for the permanent pacification
of the province was the disarmament of the
people. Orders were issued for the disarma-
ment of the whole population, but practically what was required
was a re-distribution of arms under proper safeguards. Firearms
were collected and branded with distinctive marks and numbers.
In the case oi dacoit leaders and their followers, or of rebel vil-
lages, the surrender of a certain number of firearms was made a
condition of the gram of pardon. Persons of proved loyalty were
allowed to retain their arms, after they had been numbered, under
the special license of the Deputy Commissioner, subject to the
condition that the holders lived in a village which was defensible
and possessed a fixed minimum number oi arms, so as to be capable
of self-protection. It was found that the possession by a village
of one or two muskets only was a source of danger and a tempta-
tion to dacoits, whereas the possession by loyal house-holders of a
moderately large supply afforded ihem means of self-defence. Ex-
cept in special cases, such as that of foresters working in parties of
some strength, in remote parts of the country, licenses to carry
firearms were not granted. The hcenses issued only authorized the
holders to possess arms for self-protection.
The process was begun in the Taungdwingyi, Myingyan, and
Shwebo districts, and then extended to Ye-u and Sagaing, and in
the end of 1886 was prescribed for general adoption.
CHAP. IV.] FIRST YEAR AFTER ANNEXATION.
(43
I
I
Although I his policy of disarmament was thus early begun and
was soon extended to Lower Burma as well as to the new province,
the process was a slow one and the final form of the license to
possess arms and ammunition was not determined till May 1888,
after many alterations. Licenses were granted under the Indian
Arms Act of 1878 and covered only the persons and arms named
in them, unless it was specially certified to cover retainers of the
holder. The license is voided every 31st of March and extends
only to the particular district or place named. No one is allowed
to own firearms or ammunition who does not live in a village which
contains at least 50 houses and has at least nine other license-
holders. The village itself must be well fenced or stockaded, so
as to prevent its being rushed and the ground without the fence
is to be kept clear of jungle or cover for the space of 50 yards.
Each license-holder engages to act as a special constable, and to
resist dacoits whenever the village is attaclced and to pursue them
when called upon by a competent autfiorily, such as the headman
of the village, or Civil, Police, or Military Officers not under the
rank of a Myo6k or head constable. The license- holder cannot
carry his firearm beyond the boundaries of his own village, unless
in the pursuit of dacoits, and, if he leaves his village for the night,
has to deposit his gun with the village headman until his return.
When actini^ under authority beyond the boundaries of his own
village the license-holder wears a uniform or badge supplied to him
at cost price by the District Superintendent of pLilice. The gun
must be produced for inspection whenever required by an officer
not under the rank of a Myouk or head constable, or a Jemadar of
Military Police. The amount of ammunition alliwed and to be ex-
hibited on requisition is J lb. of powder, 50 caps, and a proportionate
quantity of bullets or buckshot, and this ammunition is procured
only from the District Superintendent of Police, If the license-
holder lends, loses, or in any way parts with his gun, his license
and those of all other license-holders in his village are cancelled
and the arms are confiscated. These licenses are liable to be with-
drawn at any time at the discretion of the Government. Further,
the number of licenses in each district was fixed by the Chief Com-
missioner and could not be increased without his sanction.
The policy adopted was thus not that of depriving loyal and cou-
rageous people of their means of protection, if they had shown
themselves able and willing to use their arms in their own defence.
It was a measure for depriving dacoits and outlaws of the means of
obtaining arms and for concentrating in defensible positions the
weapons which were allowed to remam in the hands of the people.
The wisdom of the policy was abundantly proved by its results.
t44
THE UPPER BURMA r.AZETTRER. [CHAP, CV.
Whenever a district was disarmed, dacoit bands either disappeared
or surrendered and the people settled down to peace and ordnr. In
some places Ihe wildne^s of the country or other local causes
delayed the process, but everywhere eventually the result was the
same, and the people by degrees grew to understand that they would
be held responsible and would be punished for failure to assist the
authorities in keeping the peace.
Ye-u was one of the districts in which disarmament was earliest
introduced and the results there are typical of what came about
later in all the districts. Already in 1887 the number of guns col-
lected was 1,088, including Hve Jin^a/s, of which 148 were cap-
tured in action. The greater number of ihcse were destroyed, only
the beiter-class arms being retained to be re-issued to friendly and
well-disposed villages. One hundred and ninety-two licenses to pos-
sess guns had been granted and the minimum then allowed to vil*
lagts was five and the only village which was allowed 20 was that
of Madinbin, the native village of Maung Aung Gyi, the Nab^kgyi
Myook. who was loyal from the very first. There was no instance
in which licensed guns fell into the hands of dacoits, and in seve-
ral instances villagers used their weapons with good effect against
dacoits. The result was apparent in the list of dacoit has and da-
coits who surrtMidered or were captured. These belonged chiefly
to the gangs of Hla U, Nga Mya, and Nga Mye Gyi. The num-
ber of leaders who surrendered was 96 and of ordinary dacoits 474 ;
those who were captured were rg leaders and 197 of their followers.
Of those who surrendered more than half were branded as profes-
sional dacoits in Burmese limes. Tliose who surrendered were
released on bail, the bos on Rs, 500 and the ordinary dacoits on
from Rs. 400 to Rs. 200, according to their importance. Some of
these were men of con-iiderable prominence, notably the Ngaya Bo,
Hpo \Va, who was one of Hla U's two senior chiefs, and Nga
Maing, his first cousin. Other bogyoks were Nga Te, Nga Thaw,
Tha Aung, Nga Thfe, and Nfi^a Teit. Many of them and of their
followers took office under the British Governmenl as thugyis, th^oe-
fhaukgyis, gaufigs, and the like, and most served with zeal and fi-
dehly, whik- a few endangered life and property in the British service.
Tha Aung in parlicubr was murdered by his former companions.
Twenty-six of those who surrendered were^^, the paid bravoes ft'ho
formed Ilia U's body-guard and were the most daring in their at-
tacks. Of ihecaptufL'd hos, only three were executed— Nga Taw, the
head of the Kawthandi gang ; Nga .Mya Mya, the head of the north-
ern Tabayin gang ; and Nga Teit, one of Hla U's most prominent
lieutenants. The rest were sentenced tu terms of imprisonment
Tanging up to transportation for life The Deputy Commissioner's
CHAP. IV.] FIRST YEAR AFTER ANNEXATION. I45
report ends as follows : " The general result of our action, military
" and civil, against dacolts is that there is not a single dacoit leader
" of the first class left to oppose us. Nga Mya was captured by the
" friendlies, sentenced, and shot ; Hla U killed by his own confeder-
"ates; Hantha shot in action by the 3rd Hyderabad Contingent
" Cavalry ; and Nga Mye Gyi killed while resisting his arrest by the
" Burman police under Myook Po Thein. All the remaining import-
" ant leaders have been captured and punished, or have surrendered,
" and are now on bail leading peaceful and quiet lives, and in many in-
" stances furthering the interests of that very Government which
*' they so determinedly opposed. The few leaders that are still out
" are men of no influence and have no following. The country is
" being thoroughly scoured by Burman mounted police under the
" guidance of the several Myooks, and captures of individual and of
" entire gangs of dacoits are almost of daily occurrence. The dis-
" trict is perfectly quiet from end to end, and old Burmans who know
"the country admit that they have never known it so free from
" crime and life and property more secure."
«9
CHAP, v.]
FINAL PACIFICATION,
147'
CHAPTER V.
FINAL PACIFICATION.
In 1887 the Military force available was about 32,000 men, with
two Major-Generals Commanding; Divisions and six Brigadier-Gen-
erals, in addition to the fairly drilled and disciplined Military Police.
With this force it was possible to carry out vigorous and combined
offensive operations with a number of small flying columns. Sir
Herbert Macpherson, the Commander-in-Chief of the Madras Army,
was to have commanded the whole of the Upper Burma Field Force,
but he died within a short time of his arrival in the country and
almost before the season's operations had commenced. Sir Freder*
ick Roberts, the Commander-in Chief of the Troops in India, took his
place. The plan adopted was that special operations were to be
undertaken against the more formidable bands of dacoits and the
general occupation of the country was to radiate from the already
established posts. Whenever police were available, they were to
relieve the troops in the occupation of the intermediate posts, with
well kept up communications between them all and constant and
systematic patrols. Outside these lines of posts the chief military
operations were undertaken, and inside them the Civil Officers, sup-
ported by the troops and police, directed their attention to the
settlement of the country.
This had very immediate results. At first the organized bands
had been numbered by hundreds and even thousands, and in |886
regularly organized columns went out against these. It was seldom
possible to bring them to an engagement, and all that could ordi-
narily be done was to disperse them and drive them off. This pro-
cess was now repeated with the addition that the gangs were allow-
ed to settle nowhere. Generally speaking, it may be said that during
1886 the struggle was with large and powerful gangs that occasion-
ally made a stand, or were so numerous that they could not all get
off the ground before the British column fell on them. The sym-
pathy of the people was ihen largely with them and Government
had little authority outside its posts, or beyond the neighbourhood
of its columns, while as soon as these retired the dacoits gathered
together again.
During 1887 the large bands were broken up and their place was
taken by smaller gangs. These had still a strong hold on certain
148
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. V.
villages, but many other Ullages had beguTi to submit. In these the
dacoit leaders tried to maintain their influence by terrorism, plain
brigandage, torture, and murder. It was a year in most districts of
hardly any open fighting, of many violent crimes, of endless pursuit
of ever -concealed outlaws. To say the truth the outlaws with their
means of getting early intelligence of the movement of troops and
their system of terrorism maintained thcmselveslittle, if atall reduc-
ed in numbers. But sustained action and dogged persistence in
spite of disappointments had their inevitable result in the end. The
leaders were one by one killed, captured, driven into isolation, and
flight beyond the frontier, or were forced to surrender. The gangs
steadily decreased in number and strength ; they received less and
less accession of men, and consequently less support and protection
from the villagers, as their numbers became reduced to the original
nucleus of confirmed bad characters, and public feeling became
more and more enlisted on the side of law and order. Within
two years a great part of Upper Burma was as free from trouble
as the Lower Provmces. Some districts, where wide tracts of un-
cultivated forest, miles of water-logged country, reeking with mala-
ria, or confused tangles of scrub-jungle and ravines offered the
dacoits safe retreats, were not reduced to order for a year or two
longer, but the result was the same everywhere and, when the armed
bands were done with, there was actually much less crime in Upper
than in Lower Burma.
But this was not effected without very great toil and consider-
able loss of life. The advance on and the taking of Mandalay were
the merest trifle, little more than an object lesson in militar)' move-
ments and instructive manoeuvres for the subsidiary departments,
compared with the work of the pacification. That was a perpetual
record of acts of gallantry which passed unnoticed because they
were so constant ; of endless marches by night and by day, through
dense jungle, where paths could hardly be traced, over paths which
were so deep in mud that men could hardly march over them and
animals stuck fast, over stretches where no water was to be found andj
nothing grew but thorn-bushes, over hills where there were no paths at
all ; and with all this but rarely the chance of an engagement to cheer
the men, stockades found empty, villages deserted, camps evacuated,
endless disappointments, and yet everywhere the probability of an
ambuscade in every clump of trees, at any turn of the road, from each
stream bed, line of rocks, or ravine. The difficulties were also greatly
increased by the fact that by far the greater portion of the country
was absolutely unknown and that for long it was difficult to get
competent guides, in some cases owing to the want of goodwill on
the part of the inhabitants, but far too often because of the treat-
CHAP, v.]
FINAL PACIFICATION.
149
ment the guides afterwards met with at the hands of the dacoits
or their friends. Many were murdered, others had their ears
cropped off, the more lucky only had their cattle stolen and their
houses burnt. It is impossible to give a connected history of such
a campaign, because it consisted of entirely disconnected incidents
and yet it called for constant individual courage and unflagging
endurance with no such cheering incidents as the charge of a Zulu
impi, or the storming of a position stubbornly held. It is the
fashion to call the Burman a coward, but the accusation is not fair.
He would have been a fool if he had accepted battle with flintlocks
and Brown Besses to oppose against case shot and machine guns.
The character of the country made it impossible to launch masses
armed with da and spear against British companies, and the only
alternative to this was ambushes. TIic dacoit fired off his gun and
(hen ran to some place a couple of miles off where He could 6nd
time to load it again without being disturbed. This was undoubted-
ly his proper course, but it made operations very arduous. Moreover,
it is hardly an exaggeration to say that the whole population was
in sympathy, in one way or another," with the dacoits, though this
did not necessarily imply any personal aversion to British authority.
The Burman, though he cannot be described as warlike in the ordi-
nary sense of the term, has a traditional and deep-rooied love of
desultory fighting, raiding, gang-robbery, and similar kinds of excite-
ment. Villages had long-standing feuds with villages, and many
young peasants, otherwise respectable, spent a season or two as
dacoits without in any way losing their reputation with their fellow-
villagers. If there were any under native rule who had scruples
about engaging in daooity pure and simple, they had always plenty
of opportunity tor leading a very similar mode of life as partisans of
one of the numerous pretenders to the throne, one or more of whom
were every now and again In open revolt against the de facto sove-
reign. As the monarchy was hereditary only in the sense of being
confined to the members of the Alaungpaya family, each scion of the
royal line considered himself justified in raising the banner n( in-
surrection if he imagined that he had a fair chance of success, and he
could generally plead in justification of his conduct that his success-
ful rival on the throne had endeavoured to put him and all his near
male relations to death. These various elements of anarchy no
king of Burma, not even King Mind6n, who was generally loved and
respected, was ever .ible to suppress. Sometimes a sovereign of un-
usual energy obtained comparative tranquillity for a short period by
executing or imprisoning all his more formidable rivals, and by em-
ploying energetic leaders who could break up the larger gangs of
dacoits, but such periods of tranquillity seldom lasted long, be-
>5o
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. V.
cause the efforts to organize a regular army and an efficient police
were always neutralized by the incapacity of the officials and the
obstinate repugnance of the people to ail kinds of discipline. This
had been the ordinary state of the country, and in King Thibaw's
time these ordinary evils were rather more pronounced than usual.
In his reign the authority of the Government latterly did not
extend much beyond the district of Mandalay and the immediate
neighbourhood of the main routes of communication, and, even
within this limited area, there was an increasing amount of anarchy
and niatadministralion. Not a few of the Ministers were in league
with the dacoii leaders, who roamed about Thibaw's dominions
and occasionally, like Bo Shwe, disturbed the peace of the British
frontier districts. All this existed before Mandalav was taken, and
the situation was aggravated by our easy and rapid success in the
advance on the capital, and still more by the delay which followed
in determining what was to be done with the country. The history
of the pacification of Pegu was much the same. It was less than
quarter the area and with less than one-third of the population of
Upper Burma, excluding the Shan States ; it was far more accessible
and, although our efforts were supported by a very large military
force, by local levies, and by gun-boats which could operate in the
net-work of tidal streams, forming the Irrawaddy delta, yet at the
end of the first year of the occupation broad districts were still in
the hands of insurgents and robber chiefs. At the end of the second
year large bands of robbers and rebels were still at large and great
tracts remained into which British influence had not extended.
During the third year parts of the country were still much disturbed
and British officers could not move about without an escort; occa-
sional reverses befell our troops and large rewards for tlie apprehen-
sion of robber leaders were offered in vain. One notable guerilla
chief, for whose capture a reward of over Rs. 20,000 was offered,
dominated and harried the Tharrawaddy district for several years and
finally retired to Mandalay, where his descendants liow live in
prosperity. It was not until 1861, or eight years after the annexa-
tion, that the province entered fairly on peace and contentment.
With greater difficulties and fewer advantages, Upper Burma was
pacified in half that time.
The situation which met us when annexation had been determin-
ed on was this — When the local authorities beyond the reach of our
earlier posts found ihat I hey were not supported or controlled by
any central authority from Mandalay, ihey either commenced to
rule their districts themselves, or they were frightened off by local
dacolt leaders or rivals and made the best of their way to the near-
est British station. There was naturally a good deal of compe-
CHAP, v.]
FINAL PACIFICATION.
J5«
tition among the upstart rulers, and each one set about strength-
ening his position and extending his influence as far as he could.
Professional dacoits naturally formed a strong nucleus of such
bands and, when we came in contact with them, compromised the
character of all the rest. The usual plan adopted was to send
round orders to different villages to provide a certain number of
guns and a certain number of men who were to rendezvous at a
named spot. This order was generally accompanied by a demand
for money. In this way in populous districts huge bands were
collected in a very short time and the villages that had refused to
comply with the orders were promptly attacked, for even later it
was very seldom that the dacoits attacked our troops. It often
happened that one dacoit bo would summon a village that had
supplied men or arms to another bo, and such incidents establislied
a feud between the two bands. It was very rarely that two neigh-
bouring dacoit bands were on friendly terms with each other, but
this was in no sense an assistance to our troops. These were re-
garded at first certainly as opposition bands starting opposition
bos in their districts. To starve one another and our troops out
they exercised a complete terrorism. The village that refused to
help them or the village that assisted any other band, whether
British or Burmese, was burned and plundered on the first oppor-
tunity ; and they maintained their authority against that of the
British by exerting this terrorism on the country, rather than by
fighting the troops. A band of from a couple of hundred to per-
haps 4,000 would collect with a certain object. When that was
accomplished they dispersed. If they were attacked by our troops,
they almost invariably melted away. They had no intention of
fighting us and never stood unless they were forced to. If they
were lucky and killed one or two soldiers, their prestige increased ;
if they were unlucky and lost some men themselves, these victims
were considered fools for not getting out of the way of the soldiers
and the remainder re-assembled the next time they were summoned,
not in the least degree demoralized. The villagers for long would
give our troops not the very least assistance or information for a
variety of reasons. At first undoubtedly they did not care to do
it ; as often as not they would not, because the bands opposed to
us were composed of themselves, their friends, and their relatives;
and again they had no particular desire to be rid of their local
leader. They knew him and they knew the lengths he would go,
and many of these bos ruled with discretion and moderation where
they were supported and not thwarted. Moreover, it was found
that assistance could not with justice be accepted, even If profler-
red from villagers who did not live under the immediate protection,
»5a
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. V.
err witliin ea^ str&mg distance, of an esubfished miUuiy pose
Unless ihcf were afterwards protected, pmtfbinent by the dacohs
was certain to follow aid or information given to oar colainns
The general procedure of a band of dacoits was to approadi the
village to be dacoited soon after dark. WTien they got dose tbey
began to fire ofl their guns. Usually the villagers bolted and then
the dacoits ransacked the houses and burnt them when they left.
If the dacoit fire was replied to, they made off, unless their band
was large, or they set the viUage on fire by throwing disks of burn-
ing oiled rope on the thatch roofs. The people then seized their
V2Uuables and made off with them and were looted br the dacoits
as they went. As a rule dacoits did not attadc villages which
they found alert and awake ; hence it was a very comnwn custom
for the villagers to fire off their guns in the air from lime to time
during the night, and, when there was any disturbance in a village
at night, all the inhabitants rattled their bamboos to show that
they were awake.
Every village surrounded itself with impenetrable hedges of prickly-
pear, or with matted lines of dry brambles and thorns which coiud
not be rushed and were very dimcult to cut a way through. Behind
this hedge there often stood a sort of mtrad&rs, look-out posts, or
crow's nests, placed at inten'als all round. Any village that was
thriving, or that was worth dacoiting, could be told at once by the
appearance of its defences; but this was no guide in the early years
of the occupation as to its character, since for a long time the most
thriving villages were the headquarters of the different gangs of
dacoits, and later they often supplied food to the robber bands
camped in the jungle near at hand. A favourite site for a camp,
when our flying columns had rendered the villages no longer safe,
was in the dry bed of a nullah, or in a dense expanse of kain^ grass.
In such places when a fire was kindled, they fanned it with a circu-
lar piece of wicker-work called a ban, in order to prevent the smoke
from ascending. This was not so necessarj' in forest jungle.
As regards the atrocities committed by the dacoits, they were
very seldom wanton. There were many instances of the most
barbarous and inhumane practices, but these were exceptional cases
for the extortion of evidence, or to find where treasure was buried ;
on such occasions they spared neither age nor sex. The cases of
crucifixion, of which so much was heard, were not what we under-
stand by the term. A man was tied to the frame-work to be killed
occasionally, but usually he was killed before he was crucified. Any
man who was killed while out dacoiting was tied up on a crucifix by
the villagers, and so were thieves who had been executed and any
CHAP, v.]
FINAL PACIFICATION.
'53
objectionable person who met his death by violence. The body was
always ripped up after death, which gave the appearance of cruelty.
What torture there was, assumed the form of spread-eagling the vic-
tim in the sun, crushing the limbs between bamboos, or suspension
head downwards in the stocks ; and to that the villagers were accus-
tomed for non-payment of revenue. Crucified persons were not
buried, and in consequence crucifixes, old and new, occupied and un-
occupied, were seen all over the country and were constantly met
with, for they were usually set up in conspicuous places, at cross-
roads or outside villages. But they were by no means always or
indeed usually traceable to the dacoits.
The inordinate national vanity, which forms so prominent a trait
in the Burmese character, leads them to the deepest admiration
for a person of royal blood, and thus the survivors of the palace
massacres had followers almost thrust upon themj while adventurers
found it very easy to gull the population, which they did all the more
easily because the strictest Court ceremonies were maintained in
their bands ; ministers were appointed ; royal orders were issued,
scratched in proper form on tapering palmyra leaves ; proclamations
were issued stamped with lion, or rabbit, or peacock seals; huts in
which the leaders lived were called temporary palaces and the bands
royal armies. If there was no gold and silver plate, then they ate off
plantain leaves, for royalty alone should eat off such a leaf.
The country in which these bands were hunted down was by no
means easy and it had, broadly speaking, three different characteris-
tics, each of which had special difficulties. These physical features
were the lowlying alluvial tracts^ the sandy and comparatively
speaking dry tracts, and the hilly and jungly tracts. The alluvial
tracts, of wHich the country round Mandalay or Kyauksfe is typical,
are extensively irrigated and almost exclusively under rice crops.
From February lo May they are hard and dry and are traversable
in any direction ; for the rest of the year they are either under culti-
vation, or they become swamps and are only just practicable for
transport animals, so that rapid movements are out of the question
Trees and patches of jungle everywhere confined the view to a few
hundred yards. Except in the dry season, mounted men could not
operate and infantry last sight and touch of the flying enemy in a
very short time. It was in this sort of country that the largest
dacoit bands collected, numbering in the earlier days as many as
3,000 or 4,000. The temporary auxiliaries easily vanished, when
attacked, into the numerous villages and the nucleus of professional
robbers had retreats in dense jungle, the locality of which was only
learnt after repeated disappointments.
ao
'54
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER.
[ CHAP. V.
TTie sandy tracts are found in the country between the Panlang
and the Irrawaddy and generally midway between the greater rivers —
the Irrawaddy, the Chindwin.and the Mu. Inside these there were
always stretches of swarapy cuUivation^ but except for these the
country was practicable all the year round. The water, however, is
often brackish for miles at a stretch ; the vegetation is thorny scrub
jungle in bushes or patches, with no shelter for the greater part of the
day, and maize and millet and palmyra palm sugar were what the
bulk of the people lived on and were the only supplies available.
In such tracts the gangs seldom numbered more than 200 or 300,
but the one band ranjjed over a very wide area.
The hilly and jungly tracts were those in which the dacoits held
out longest. Such were the country between Minbu and Thayet-
myo and the teraial the foot of Ihe Shan Hills and the Arakanand
Cnin Hills. Here pursuit was impossible. The tracts are narrow
and tortuous and admirably adapted for ambuscades. Except by
the regular paths, there were hardly any means of approach ; the
jungle malaria was fatal to our troops; a column could only pene-
trate the jungle and move on. The villages are small and far between ;
they are generally compact and surrounded by dense impenetrable
jungle. The paths were either just broad enough for a cart, or very
narrow, and, where they led through jungle, were overhung with
brambles and thorny creepers. A good deal of the dry grass and
undenvood is burned in March, but as soon as the rains commence
the whole once more becomes impassable.
Unmade cart tracks were found almost everywhere. In the sandy
tracts they were open all the year round, but in the alluvial districts
carts could not ply from June till November. None of the roads
were anything but lines cleared of tree growth. They were never
made and rarely tended and the wheels of the country carts cut
ruts a foot and eighteen inches deep and that ordinarily only
on one side of the road at a time, so that no wheeled con-
veyances, except country carts, could go over them. Columns
could never advance along cart tracks on a broader front than
infantry fours and along pack tracks only in single file. It was
not surprising therefore that the earlier columns were compared
by the Burmese to a buffalo forcing his way through elephant
grass. The reeds (and the dacoits) closed up again immediately
after the passage. Unless a gang was come up with before it
dispersed, it was quite impossible to do anything, and in a populous
or jungly district the biggest band would completely rnelt away
in 20 minutes. As the dacoits so rarely stood and when at-
tacked disappeared so quickly, columns composed entirely of in-
CHAP, v.]
FINAL PAClFiqATlPN.
»5S
fantr)' operated at a great disadvantage. They would have to
march for five or six hours» pushing on as fasl as they could and
making a circuit over unfrequented paths and in the end had to go
in straight for the position, for if they halted a moment the dacoits
would have vanished. To follow them up for long was impossible,
for the gang spread in every direction ; ihey were slightly clad, fresh,
knew the country, and could keep out of sight in patches of jungle
and villages ; therefore in the second year's operalioiis great use was
made of cavalry and mounted infantry. They could surprise the
bands by their rapid movements, they could outstrip spies and
when they came upon a gang they kept them in sight and in touch
so that some punishment was always inHicted and the dispersal
was the more complete and alarming. It was only in the hills and
in dense jungle that the mounted infantry could not operate, and it
was only there that serious opposition existed after the cold weather
of 1S87. Even in such places they were able to effect much by
the distances which they could cover.
At the beginning of 1887 the administration of the Upper and
Lower Provinces was practically distinct, although both were nomi-
nally under the Chief Commissioner. A special Commissioner, Mr.
Hodgkinson, was stationed in Rangoon and controlled the lower
prowce, while the Chief Commissioner remained almost entirely
in Mandalay. The Secretariat for Upper Burma was located in
Mandalay and was distinct from that of Lower Burma. After the
spring of 1887 great changes for the better took place and much
progress was made in the introduction of order and settled adminis-
tration. In May therefore, when Mr. Hodgkinson's services were
requited elsewhere, the Chief Commissioner assumed the immediate
control of both parts of the province. For a time it was found
necessary to continue the system of administering Upper Burma
with a Secretariat in Mandalay and Lower Burma with a Secretariat
in Rangoon. But as soon as possible this arrangement, which had
many inconveniences, was abandoned, and from the latter part of
1887 the combined Secretariat establishment was stationed at the
headquarters of Government in Rangoon. At the beginning of the
year the Upper and Lower Burma Medical establishments were
amalgamated and somewhat later a similar reform was introduced
in Public Works administration. A later administrative change of
much importance was the appointment of a Financial Commissioner
and later still the Police Departments of Upper and Lower Burma
were united under one Inspector-General, so that all branches of the
public service in both divisions of the province were united under
the several departmental heads.
tS6
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. V.
This was made possible by the systematic operations which have
been outlined above. The Mandalay district
iritts'tn^iS'-sa' ^^ ^'^* reduced to order with conspicuous success.
The dacoit leaders who throughout 1886, and
for some time during the year 1S87, practically administered large
parts of the district, were either captured, driven out, or had sur-
rendered. The town of Mandalay itself, which
necessarily was the centre of any political intrigue
or discontent that might exist, remained undisturbed by any serious
outbreak after April 1S86. Since the beginning of 1S87 it has
been as free from serious crime as any town in India. A Munici-
pality was established, and the Committee, which comprised re-
presentatives of all classes of the community, set vigorously to
work. Many good roads were made, the principal quarters were
well lighted, and a very large number of substantial masonry houses
were erected. In the beginning of 1887 the condirion of the district
was very far from being as satisfactory as that of the town. The
south-eastern portion about Pylnulwin was troubled by the Setkya
pretender, who was reported in August 18S7 to have a permanent
following of 200 men and to be able to call out 300 more when
requirecT In an attack on one of his positions Lieutenant Darrah,
As.sistant Commissioner at Maymyo, was killed, Nga ToandJ^ga
Yaing held the islands of the Irrawaddy and were harbourea and
supported by the villages near the river-bank on the borders of
Mandalay, Shwebo, and Sagaing. Nga To was especially active
and in 1888 burnt a village almost under the walls of Mandalay.
Nga Zeya held the tract o7 country known as Yegi-Kyabin to the
north and north-east of the district. Among many minor leaders
may be mentioned Nga Pan Gaing, Nga Lan, Nga Thein, Nga
Tha Aung, Nga Tha Slaung, Nga Aung Min, and Nga Lu. The
whole district outside the walls of Mandalay was more or less under
the influence of these leaders, who levied contributions on the villages
in the tracts which they dominated. By steady perseverance, and
without demanding more than occasional assistance from the troops,
the district was freed from all these leaders. Three were killed,
seven were captured, and 25 surrendered. The Setkya pretender
was driven first into Kyauksfe district and then into the Shan States.
He was captured there and sent to Kyauksfe, where he was tried
and executed. Nga Yaing's gang was dispersed and he himself
was captured and executed at Shwebo. Nga Zeya, at one time the
most formidable of all, was drivenoutof the district and, afteriaking
refuge for some time on the borders of Tawng Peng and Mong
Mit, moved into Chinese territory. Nga To, the last of the leaders
who gave serious trouble, was hotly pursued in the early months of
CHAP, v.]
FINAL PACIFICATION.
"57
1889 and every member of his gang was either killed, captured, or
compelled to surrender, though Nga To himself escaped. The
only source of trouble who remained was Kyaw Zaw, one of the
Setkya pretender's lieutenants, who hung about in the hills on the
borders of the Pyinulwm subdvivision and Kyaukse. What crimes
there were were the acts of local criminals and not of standing
bands. Survey operations were begun and regular methods of
administration everjwhere introduced. In the open season thou-
sands of pack-bullocks and pedlars carrying loads began to come
down from the Shan States and from China. The Municipal re-
turns showed that the trade by the Hsipaw route had doubled. In
1887-88, 13,300 pack-bullocks with merchandise valued at Rs.
4,56,518 entered Mantlalay. In 1888-89 ^^^ number of laden bul-
locks was 27,170, and the value of the goods Rs. 7,30,279. The
town and district of Mandalay had not been so peaceful and secure
since the time of Mlndon Min, and dacoity and cattle-lifting had
never been so rare. In some instances dacoit leaders of note ac-
cepted service under Government and did good work in assisting to
maintain order. The revenue collections in 1887-88 amounted lo
^83,326 as compared with ^39,072 in the previous year.
The Bhamo district remained fairly quiet and in fact was only dis-
g. turbed, except in the Mogaung subdi\ision, by
occasional raids of Kachins from the hills. Oper-
ations against the Kachin tribesmen are dealt with separately. It
is therefore only necessary to say here that in some instances re-
prisals were inflicted by punitive expeditions sent to destroy the
mountain fastnesses of the raiders, while in others negotiations for
the purpose of obtaining satisfaction were successfully conducted.
In one case mounted infantry from Bhamo, under Captain Couch-
man, pursued the marauders, came up with them before they reach-
ed the hills, and inflicted signal chastisement. It was believed
that most of these raids were planned or suggested by the adherents
of Saw Yan Naing, the son of the Metkaya Prince, and by Hkam
Leng, the claimant of M6ng Leng and Mong Mit, who escaped
from custody at Katha. Possibly they also were responsible for
the appearance on the Mole stream, north-east of Bhamo, of a band
chiefly composed of deserters from the Chinese army and Chinese
outlaws generally. These were, however, very promptly dispersed.
The Ponkan Kachins, who defied our authority successfully in
1886, and afterwards raided within a few miles of Bhamo itself, also
it is supposed, in collusion with Hkam Leng, were punished and
compelled lo make terms, and this was accomplished almost without
opposition. A militar)' force under General Wolseley occupied the
principal village of the tribe and remained there long enough to
*S8
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. V.
make it evident that the Government intended to compel complete
submission. The Kachins complied with the terms imposed upon
them, which included the restoration of captives, the payment of a
moderate indemnity, and the sunender of a number of guns.
The Mogai:ng subdivision had been \'isiied, but it practically
remained beyond the limits of our control until December 1889,
when ^ strong force of troops and military police marched up from
a point on the right bank of the Irrawaddy, a little above Bhamo.
The Jade Mines lie to the north-west of Mogaung and are a valu-
able source of revenue, besides affordinoj occupation to many
Chinese and other traders. A strong police post was established
in Mogaung and the mines and the great lake (Indawgyi) to the
south-west of the Jade Mines were visited. The tact and good
management of Major Adamson, who was the Ci\41 Officer in charge
of the expedition, induced the Kachin Sa-ivbwas, who dominate the
tract in which the jade mines are situated, to tender their submis-
sion. But for the treachery of the Burmese Myook, Maung Po
Saw, who had been in charge of Mogaung since the annexation, but
fled when the town was occupied by the military police, the expedi-
tion would have attained its object without meeting opposition.
But Maung Po Saw succeeded in inspiring some of the Kachin
tribes with distrust and the column was fired on several times on its
march back to Mogaung. The troops returned to Bhamo and the
Gurkha Military Police levy had so much trouble with the Kachin
tribesmen that, though they maintained all their positions and inflict-
ed two severe defeats on Maung Po Saw and his chief lieutenant
Bo Ti, notably when in May 188S they made a determined attack
on the town and stockade of Mogaung, a mixed force of police and
troops marched up again in the spring of 1889. They operated in
the hills from February to May, with the result that about 100
Kachin villages tendered their submission and entered on friendly
relations with the local officers, while posts were established at
important points. The ^x- Myook Po Saw and his lieutenant
J^o Ti disappeared, and a military police post was established at
Kamaing on the principal route to the Jade Mines, with the result
that traders could move about with perfect freedom. No pains were
spared to conciliate the Kachins and to show them that, while we
would not pass over without punishment any outrages committed
by them, we had no intention of interfering with their customs or
subjecting them to needless restraint. The Chinese, who are an
important element of the community in the town of Bhamo, and are
the chief traders in the district^ throughout behaved well. The
trade routes to China, which had been practically closed for ten
years owing to disputes with the Kachins, who had to be propitiated
CHAP, v.]
FINAL PACIFICATION.
'59
before a caravan could pass, was now opened under an agreement
concluded with the traders and Kachins and the former serious im-
pediments were believed to have disappeared. In 1887-88 the
bhamo revenue amounted to £g,2^i as compared with £^,^97
in the previous year.
In the Katha district (still at that time called Myadaung) progress
was made in district administration and in the
maintenance of order. There were only a few
sporadic dacoities of a not very serious type in the south of the district.
This part of the country had been sparsely populated since the rebel-
lion of the Padein Prince in 1 866 and had from that time borne a bad
reputation. In 1887 it was disarmed and the establishment of police
posts in suitable positions did much to restore confidence. The
revenue of the district rose from £3,1^0 in 1886-87 ^^ ;^*9.5*4 "^
the following year. The neighbouring so-called Shan State of
Wuniho caused some anxiety. Early in the year 1887, after being
pressed by a force which occupied the capital of the State, and after
prolonged negotiations, the Saw Sti' a tendered his submission, agreed
to pay the revenue demanded, and accepted the essential clauses of
the terms offered to him. On the whole he acted up to the terms
of his agreement, but, though he furnished escorts to Hritish officers
travelling for long distances through his territory, he would not
receive them himself in a befitting manner and, though he complied
with orders sent to him by the Deputy Commissioner, he would not
go to visit him. The result was a good deal of trouble in the Kawlin
subdivision. While the Wuntho people were allowed to possess
arms practically without restraint, it was difficult to insist on the
complete disarmament of Kawlin. In consequence of this, dacoity
by organized bands did not altogether cease. Moreover, gangs from
Wuntho occasionally raided in Katha. The Sawb-wa on demand
either gave up the raiders or made compensation for injuries inflicted
by them, and once or twice he co-operated with officers of the
Katha district in dealing with dacoit gangs on the borders and was
even said to have punished local officials who were in the habit of
harbouring dacoits. His attitude was therefore not wholly unsatis-
factory and a survey party carried a reconnaisance for the Mu
Valley Railway right through the State of Wuntho in 18S8 and
was assisted by the local officials under the Sawbwa's orders.
Nevertheless, in the latter part of 18S9 special operations had to be
undertaken for the thorough settling of the Kawlin subdivision and
the adjacent parts of the Shwebo district, where Bo Nga Thalng
remained at large. Every effort was made to induce Kham Leng,
the pretender to the Sa^vb-waship of the joint territories of Mong
Leng and Mong Mit, to submit peacefully to British supremacy.
i6o
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. V.
Shwebo.
He was told that his claim to Mong Leng would be acknowledged
and that his past hostility would be forgotten, but he preferred
to remain irreconcileable. He was therefore expelled and the
Mong Leng territory was partitioned between Mong Mit and
Bhamo district. Hkam Leng then threw in his lot with the rebel
PrinceSaw Yan Nalng. In 1887 Katha was enlarged by the addition
of some of the riverain circles of the Ruby Mines district and so
became conterminous on the left bank of the Irrawaddy with the
Shan State of Mong Mit. Notwithstanding the post at Mabeln on
the Shweli river, the followers of Saw Yan Naing and Hkam Len^,
who were established in the hills to the east of Mong Mit, made
a series of Inroads on this part of the district, but these were annoying
rather than serious.
The Shwebo district had always been noted for the turbulence
and lawlessness of its inhabitants and for the
first year or more the struggle remained one with
bands of dacoits of formidable numbers and many of them dating from
King Thibaw's time. The nature of the country was very favour-
able to their movements and wide jungle tracts afforded them safe
retreats, while they were troublesome even along the river, where
Lieutenant C. B. Macdonald of H. M. S. Ranger was killed in attack-
ing some dacoits at the village of Shagwe above Sheinmaga in Jan-
uary 1 887. There had been an exodus from the district dating from
1 882 and it did not cease until the end of 1887. After that, however,
families began to come back from Lower Burma. Gradually these
bands were broken up and most of the formidable leaders were either
killed or captured. Nga Yaing and Nga To, who had also given
trouble in the Mandalay district, haunted the south of Shwebo. Nga
Yaing was arrested by a local Burmese official, but Nga To managed
to escape arrest. The bands of both were completely destroyed
and this completed the pacification o\ the south of the district,
where the people now ventured to defend themselves and to trust
the District Officers when they had news of dacoit movements. The
leaders, Nga Aga and Nga Th6n, were driven from the centre to
the north of the district, where also was the Bo, Kyauk Lon. There
they found safety in the dense forests, but their power of offence
had almost completely gone. Over ;f 20,000 was collected as rev-
enue in Shwebo in 1887-88, more than double the amount obtained
in the previous year.
The Ruby Mines district remained quiet and undisturbed for
about two years after its first occupation. Then
troubles fell upon it from outside, the result of
the vigorous action of thp troops in the plains which drove the
robber leaders into the hills. Towards the end of 1888 it was
CHAP, v.]
FINAL PACIFICATION.
l6l
reported that the capital of Mong Mit was threatened by a large
gathering under Saw Yan Naing, who had established his head-
quarters at Man Pon, three days* march to the north-east. In
consequence of these reports a small detachment of troops was
stationf;d at Mong Mit ; and after an unfortunate encounter in
which, owing to insufficient information, a handful of troops suffer-
ed a reverse a considerable body of dacoits which had advanced
towards M6ng Mit was attacked and defeated with heavy loss.
These disturbances, however, affected the rest of Mong Mit and
the Ruby Mines district, the garrison of which had been weakened
by the withdrawal of part of a Gurkha regiment for the Chin
expedition. Twinngfe is an important village of 300 houses on
the bank of the Irrawaddy, at that time included in the State of
Mong Mit ; it was attacked and burned by a gang under Nga Maung
of Twinngfe, one of the lieutenants of Hkam Leng noticed above.
Another man of the same name, known as Heng Nga Maung of
Mong Long, for[nerly in charge of the southern portion of that
State, and other minor dacoits from the same neighbourhood
threatened the district and caused a strong feeling of insecurity.
On the Tawng Peng border Nga 2eya, the noted robber chief who
had been driven out of the Mandalay district, was reported to have
a considerable following. A good many dacoities were commit-
ted in the district and the road from Thabeikkyin to Mog6k became
very unsafe, during the rains, when it was haunted by the two Nga
Maungs and one Paw Kwe, an fjv-official of Mog6k and a man of
great local influence.
The military garrison was therefore strengthened and the com-
mand of all the troops and police was placed in the hands of Colo-
nel Cochrane of the Hampshire Regiment, Under his orders an
attack was made on Saw Yan Naing's stronghold at Man P6n and
his gathering was dispersed. At the same time steps were taken
to strike at the root of the evil by improving the administration of
the neighbouring States. The Saxvhwa of Hsipaw was ordered to
reform the administration of Mong Long, a more competent ruler
was established in Mong Mit, and the Sa-wbwa of Tawng Peng was
enjoined to keep order on his border. The military garrison was
strengthened by the substitution of Gurkha for Madras troops, and
the result was that the disturbances were reduced to sporadic petty
dacouies. The commencement of operations by the Ruby Mines
Company no doubt had excited the apprehensions and the ill-will
of the resident miners, who had hitherto held a monopoly of the
working of the mines.
Ye-u at this time was a separate district and on the whole was
fairly quiet, though there were occasional recru-
descences of crime when dacoit leaders were
31
Ye-u.
16a
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER, [CHAP. V.
driven from neighbouring turbulent districts to take shelter in the
extensive forests which cover many parts of it. in July 1887 a
somewhat serious rising took place in the Hmaw forest, an ex-
tensive tract which was a traditional gathering place of dacoits
and other outlaws. The movement was headed by two pretender
Princes, variously called the Lfegaing Princes, the Umedat and
Padaing Princes, Maung Maun^ Te and Min 0. The gathering
was promptly dispersed by a combined movement of troops from
the Chindwin and Ye-u districts. One of the leaders died of
fever and the other disappeared for a time, to be arrested about
a year later in the Lower Chindwin district, where he was trying
to foment a rising, and was executed as a rebel. Later in the
year 1887 an outbreak of dacoity, of a less serious nature, un-
der Nyo U, one of HIa U's lieutenants, was also satisfactorily
dealt with. Notwithstanding these disturbances, the revenue in-
creased largely and various minor irrigation works were taken in
hand with excellent results. Confidence in our rule was especially
shown by the re-establishment of the ancient town of Tabayin, which
had been burnt shortly after our occupaiion of Mandalay, and was
now re-built under the superintendence of some loyal monks, who
among other improvements arranged for the construction of a
police-station at the expense of the new settlers. The civil police
in Ye-u were almost entirely recruited in the district itself and did
very good work under a locally appointed Myo6k, Maung Aung
Gyi. In the end of 1888 only four dacoit leaders were known to be
at large and eight had been killed. The neighbourhood of Wuntho
on the north was in Ye-u, as in Katha, the cause of what dacoity
still existed. The revenue, which in 1886-87 had been i^6,875,
rose in the following year to £i6,$8i.
In the beginning of 1887 Sagaing and Ava, which were then
. separate districts but were amalgamated within
gfl'ng. jj^^ j,g^j.^ ^,gj.^ practically held bv dacoit bands,
who levied contributions on the villages and kept the country side
in submission to them by terrorism. Most vigorous efforts were
made to capture Hla U. Four columns operated in the triangle
between the Irrawaddy and the Chindwin. Several camps were
surprised and Hla U was pursued for miles by mounted parlies, but
always escaped and always re-appeared. Eventually he was killed
by one of his own followers, Bo Ton Baing. Bo Ton Baing dis-
turbed the Chief's slumber by a gambling wrangle and Hla U fired
his rifle over the head of the disputants. Ton Baing resented
this interference with his pleasures and murdered the despotic
robber chief in his sleep. This was in April 1887.
This seemed to promise the breaking up of the band, but his
lieutenants, among whom the chief were Nyo U, Nyo Pu, and MinO,
CHAP. V,]
FINAL PACIFICATION.
163
, remained and aftera sVipht appearance of calm, and notwithstanding
ihal numerous bodies oi troops were in continual pursuit of them,
they steadily gathered strength and the people remained as little
inclined as ever to put their trust in us. On iheAvaside the coun-
try was more disburbed than it had been since the beginning of 1886-
One leader, Shwc Yan, sallied out of the difficult country on the
borders of Ava and Kyaukseand defied the efforts of the local offi-
cials and in one engagement killed two of our officers, Lieutenant
Williamson and Mr. O'Dowda, Assistant Superintendent of Police.
Another leader, Bo T6kj was equally troublesome on the borders
of Myingyan and Ava, and another, Shwe Yan, disturbed the south-
west of the district. Throughout all 1887 there was little Improve-
ment on the state of affairs in 1886. Special measures were there-
fore begun in the early months of 1888 for the systematic reduc-
tion of the district by Colonel (now Brigadier-General) Symons,
assisted by Mr. Fforde, Mr. G. M. S. Carter (both now dead),
Lieutenant Browning, and other Civil Officers. It had been found
impossible to make any way by the methods employed up to then.
The troops marched for days and never saw thedacoits, who never-
theless continued to levy taxes from the villagers and to murder
village officials and whoever was suspected of aiding the Govern-
ment. The boldness of these gangs is exemplified by the fact that
Myinmu, where there was a military and police garrison, was twice
attacked and partly burnt in April and May 1888. Full use was
therefore made of the Village Regulation. Villages which fed the
gangs were removed or fined. The relatives of the dacoits, who
arranged supplies for them and furnished them with information,
both as to the movements of our parties and as to who were friends
of the Government and therefore to be assassinated, were removed
until the dacoits surrendered or were captured. The process was
slow, but it was effectual.
The dacoits had no rest in the forests and no refuge in the
villages, while clemency was freely extended to all except the most
heinous offenders.
By the end of 188S, 26 leaders, among whom the chief were
Nvo U, Nyo Pu, Shwe Yan, and Bo Tok had been killed and 26,
including Min O and Nga Sawbwa, captured, one of them so far
afield as the Pegu district, and seven surrendered. Most of the
followers of these hos also surrendered and almost all of these were
allowed to return to their homes on furnishing security for their
good behaviour. The whole district was at the same time
thoroughly disarmed and the result was that both Ava and Sagaing
were for the first time for many years at peace, and what dacoit
leaders remained at large were engaged rather in endeavouring to
164
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. V.
save themselves than in planning crimes. Since then the district*
has given no trouble.
Throughout 1887 the valley of the Chindwin continued to be ad-
. ■ ministered as one district. But it had from the
'*'"' first been intended to divide this vast tract into
two jurisdictions and this was carried into effect in January 1888. The
Lower Chindwin remained quiet until October 1887, when a serious
outbreak occurred in Pagyi, the south-western portion of the district
bordering on the Yaw country. The rising was headed by the so-
called Shwegyobyu Prince. This man, who at the lime of the annex-
ation was employed as a vaccinator in the Thayetmyo district of
Lower Burma, held during 1886 a position at Kanlfe, between the
Pagan, Myingyan, and Chindwin districts. He remained here un-
disturbed for some time and, when he was driven out, corrupted •
Maung Tha Gyiand other honorary head constables in Pagyi. Mr.
Morrison, the Deputy Commissioner, was wounded in an attempt to
capture Maung Tha Gyl, and a few days afterwards an attack was
made on the Shwegyobyu at Chinbyitj 1 2 miles north of Mintaingbin.
The dacoit outposts fired off their guns to announce the approach
of the British force, and Major Kennedy of the Hyderabad Contin-
gent, with Captain Revtlle, the Assistant Commissioner, galloped
on 3 miles to the kyaungs, where the main body was, with
30 mounted infantry. There was a stubborn fight and both
Major Kennedy and Captain Beville were killed, while two sepoys
were wounded. The dacoits, however, left 40 dead and Maung
Tha Gyi and several bos were killed. This effectually put an end
to disturbances for nearly a year, but the elements of mischief
were not entirely removed. The country is exceedingly malarious,
and it was not thought right to maintain police posts in the Shit-
ywagyaung tract, which is the part of the Western Pagyi town-
ship adjacent to Yaw, where the disturbances occurred. Towards
the end of 1888, as a consequence, another attempt was made to
excite a rising, but the ring-leader, a pseudo-^unce, was arrested,
tried, and executed. Military police were sent to Shitywagyaung,
and the dacoits and disaffected persons moved westward towards
Gangaw and caused serious disorder in the Yaw country. The
rising was not promptly and effectually dealt with by the troops at
Gangaw and the adjacent posts, and reinforcements had to be sent.
The Yaw country was then settled without much difficulty, and the
great majority of the persons who liad taken part in the rising
were allowed to return to their homes. But some of the Pagyi
dacoits, under the leadership of a noted local robber called Saga,
had been driven back to the Lower Chindwin district and immedi-
ately began to give trouble. A military police post was therefore
CHAP, v.]
FINAL PACIFICATION.
■65
established at Seiktaung in the Shityawgyaung country and a
special officer was deputed to bring this tract into ordnr. The
result was as satisfactory here as in Sagaing. The operations
resulted in the death of Bo Saga, who was hunted down by a party
under the Myook of Western Pagyi, Maung Po O, a nephew of the
Kinwun Mingyi. Upon this most of the gang surrendered and
gave up iheir guns. Fifty dacoiis leaders had been killed or cap-
tured, or had surrendered in eighteen months and the five who
remained were reported as equally troubling Sagaing and Ye-u, a
sufficient proof that they had no definite headquarters and had
therefore ceased to be a serious danger.
A great part of the Upper Chindwin district still remained
practically unknown and unvisited. The district itself was not
much disturbed by ordinary dacoity. There was an outbreak in
the Mingin subdivision caused by the gang of iSo Saga mentioned
above, but they were defeated and dispersed. The Kale Saivb-wa
submitted to the Deputy Commissioner and, though he did not
show much zeal or intelligence, yet he obeyed orders. In [887 the
Chins began to give trouble. A large body of them descended on
Kale from the hills and carried the Sawdn^a off as a prisoner, but
afterwards allowed him to return when he had promised to support
the Shwcgyobyu pretender. The Chins disappeared before our
troops could reach them, and, though military and police posts were
established in Kale to guard against further dislurbante, serious
raids were committed by Chins of the Siyin and Sagyilain tribes on
the Kabaw Valley and on other villages in the Kale .State. The
Siyins and Kanhaws were severely punished during the open season
1888-89, but this was not permanently effective and further action
was necessary which is described in a later chapter.
On the east of the Chindwin river a dacoit leader named Bo Lfe
continued to hold out, though in 1889 he was attacked and his
camp destroyed. This was partly due to the fact that the country
between the Chindwin river and the jade mines of Mogaung still re-
mained unvisited, while Wuntho remained a comparatively safe
retreat and there Bo Le took refuge. The revenue of the Upper
Chindwin, which in 1886-87 was ^^ 1,497, ^^^ '" ^^hc following year
increased to ^£^7,586.
After the death of the Myinzaing Mintha the Kyauksfe district
was for many months comparatively free from
^^" * ' internal disturbance, but in the early part of 1887
it was subject to incursions from dacoits. who found a refuge in
the small Shan State of Maw on the south-east border of the
district. In April 1887 a military expedition visited Maw and dis-
i66
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. V.
ttme
He
persed ihe dacoits, who, however, united again for a short
under a leader, who plagiarized the title of Buddha Yaza.
was, however, very soon put down. In the end of 1887 a more
troublesome person appeared in Maw in the shape of a pretender,
who culled himself the Setkya Mintha. He came from the
Mandalay district and gathered most of the scattered dacoits
round him in Maw. Troops were sent against him and ihcy were
loyally supported by the Ngwegunhmu of the small State, who
bore the Burmese title of Sinvednbo (colonel of an infantry regi-
ment). The Setkya Mimha disappeared into the hills to the east
and remained in obscurity for some lime, but in the latter part
of the rains of 1888 he again collected a following and committed
serious dacoities in the Kyauks^ district. He made a stand in a,
strong position in the hills and was not driven out without diffi-
culty and some loss to the police, but, when he fled into the hills
to the east, he was captured and handed over by the loyal
Sawifiia of Lawk Sawk and after trial was executed. Another
noted leader, Myat Ilmon. who, with Maung Gyi, had surrendered
and afLorwards absconded in 1887, again surrendered with his
followers towards the end of 1888 and, after furnishing security,
was allowed to go and live quietly in his own village. The only
dacoit leader left was Kyaw Zaw, one of the Setkya pretender's
lieutenants, who haunted for a time the difficult and wild hills to
the north-east, on the borders of Kyauksfe and Mandalay, but had
soon to move northwards through the Northern Shan States and
eventually joined the small party which collected round the dis-
affected Prince Saw Yan Namg. .Xlreatly in 1889 It was found
fjossible to effect a considerable reduction in the military police
orce of the district, a sure sign of tranquillity.
The Myingyan district was disturbed mostly on its borders
during; 1887: towards Ava by SoTdV. and to-
wards Pagan by Bo Cho. The part of the dis-
trict towards Mciktila was also not free from trouble until Lieu-
tenant Tinley of the 2nd Bombay Lancers killed T6k Gyaw in
May between Ylndaw and Meiktila. In other parts of the district
the dacoities were of a comparatively unimportant nature. A
rising, which might have been formidable, was suppressed at the
outset by the capture of the leader, a real or pretended member of
the Burmese Royal Family. Bo Tok was killed early in 18S8 by
a detachment o( the Rifle Brigade under Major Sir Bartlc Frere,
and his death relieved the northern part of the district. But Bo
Cho remained at large and another leader, Yan Nyun, a man of
much local influence and an ex-official^ also infested the western
part of the district and committed dacoities attended with circum-
Myingyan.
CHAP, v.] FINAL PACIFICATION. 167
Stances of much atrocity. Captain Hastings carried out a very
successful series of operations, and full use was made of the Village
Regulation, but the very difficult country in the neighbourhood of
Poppa hill enabled 14 leaders to escape arrest, though their gangs
were reduced to altogether insignificant numbers. Between 1887
and 1889, 17 dacoit chiefs were killed inaction, 16 were captured,
and 18 surrendered. In 1887-88 the revenue of the district rose to
jf4i,887, compared with ^^27,388 in the previous year.
The Pagan district ceased to exist under that name in i888'
P kflkk The boundaries with Myingyan were revised, with
the result that Myingyan took all the country
to the east, while Pagan, under the name of Pakokku, lay exclu-
sively west of the Irrawaddy. During 1887 the P6ppa hill jungles
gave much trouble and a police post was attacked by dacoits,
with the result that a special officer was put on duty for its settle-
ment. A partial settlement of the Yaw country was effected
early in 1887, but the country was not thoroughly explored and
opened up, and in the end of the year the Shwegyobyu's adherents,
Ya Kut, one of the most influential of the local officials, and a
dacoit leader named Tha Do, who came from Minbu in the
south, ovenan this tract. In the following open season energetic
measures were taken. Tha Do was killed and Ya Kut arrested
by loyal villagers, tried, and shot, and a local militia was raised
among the people to undertake their own protection. The Chins
on the hills above Yaw threatened to give trouble and attempts
were made to secure their submission, but with no more success
than was experienced in the Chindwin district. The rest of the
district was disturbed a good deal by local dacoities, but none of
the gangs were of any strength, and the military police, who here,
as elsewhere, were beginning to learn their work, were quite able
to deal with them, the more so since the people began to give re-
gular information and themselves on more than one occasion beat
off dacoits. In Pagan the revenue, which for the first year had
been only ^^10,835, rose in the following year to ;^42,o95.
In Minbu at the beginning of 1887 Bo Swfe held the south and
the pongyi Oktama the north. The former was
the more dangerous and aggressive and, as soon
as the weather permitted, a general advance was made on him
from the river. The different columns met with the slightest
possible opposition, though in skirmishes with outposts and rear-
guards Lieutenant Radclyffe of the Rifle Brigade and Lieu-
tenant Poole of the Liverpools were wounded, but the large bands
were thus finally broken up and the dacoits were forced out of
the villages under the eastern slopes of the Arakan hills which
i68
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. V.
had been their headquarters up till then. The upper portions of
the M6n, the Ki, and the Man rivers were cleared and ihe bands
were driven, some into the slopes of the Arakan Yoma, and others,
broken up imo bands of lo or 20, into the central and lower ranges
of hills. These bands were then hunted without cessation by the
mounted infantry and cavalry under Captain Golightly, Lieutenants
Wesllake and Armytage, and others. They were safe neither in the
jungle, nor high up on the Arakan hills. Their camps were sur-
prised, guns, ponies, and arms seized, and the leaders were soon
fugitives, with none but their personal attendants. Bo Sw6 was
hunted from the district altogether and in October 1887 was killed
with 10 of his men near Milang6n in the Thayetmyo district by a
party under Major Harvey of the South Wales Borderers. The
south of the district was thus got into hand and remained fairly
peaceful after April 1887. But there were other leaders, ByaingGyi,
Nga Hmaw, Tha Do, Tha Tu, besides 6ktama and Okiaya, another
monk, his principal heutenant. These had not been left at peace
by the troops, but in the north the influence of (!)ktama was deeply
rooted, the people through fear or sympathy were entirely on his
side, and for months but little impression was made on his position.
In April, Salin and Sinbyugyun were attacked, and throughout the
rains of 1887 the Salin subdivision was disturbed by constant da-
coilies. Captain Rendle of the 8th Madras Infantry was killed in
an attack made on Sid6ktaya in September 1887. The active ope-
rations of the following open season were not much more successful,
and in April 1888, therefore, a resolute effort was made lo break
Oktama's power. He and his leading followers were formally pro-
claimed as rebels and declared beyond the hope of pardon, while a
promise of amnesty was held out to all minor offenders who surren-
dered with their arms by a fixed date. At the same time military
and police operations were actively pressed, the Village Regulation
was enforced for the punishment of passive sympathisers with the
rebels, and people who displayed courage and loyalty were reward-
ed for their services. One thousand two hundred and four persons
took advantage of the promise of amnesty and surrendered on the
terms offered to them and Oktama's power seemed to be finally
broken. But there were still spasmodic efforts made, and in the
end of 1888 the Burman police post at Sagu was vigorously at-
tacked. Gradually, however, systematic vigilance and pursuit pre-
vailed. Tun Zan was killed by his own followers in December 1888,
Nga Hmaw was killed in January 1889 and most of his follow-
ers surrendered, and Tha Tu was captured in April. In June 1889
Oktama was captured by a Burman Myook. He had no more than
one follower with him. His chief leader, Oktaya, had been taken
CHAP, v.]
FINAL PACIFICATION.
169
only a few days before and Byaing GyJ, a leader who had given
much trouble, was given up by his own men about the same lime.
The list of dacoit leaders killed, captured, or surrendered after April
1887 in the Minbu district made up a total of 106. At the end
of 1889 only eight were known to be unaccounted for and they
were all in hiding in the juntjles along the old British border.
The district had been almost the most troublesome in Upper
Burma and much credit was due to the sustained efforts of the
Deputy Commissioner, Mr. Hartnoll, and his Assistants, Mr. Col-
lins and Mr. Hertz. Assistance was given to villagers in repairing
the weirs and water-channels on which the prosperity of part of the
district depends, and advances were given for seed-grain and work
provided for surrendered dacoits and others on the district roads.
The revenue of Minbu in 1887-88 amounted to £61,4^4^^ a sum
larger than that collected in any district, except Mandalay and
much larger than the sum j^36,4i[ collected in 1886-87, which
was the largest for that year. On the left bank of the river, the
Yenangyaung subdivision, which until 1888 formed part of Minbu,
but was then transferred to Magwe, was somewhat disturbed, and
more than one attack was made on the village of Yenangyaung
itself, but one at least of these seems to have been of the old
style of private warfare prevalent in Burmese times, rather than of
disaffection to the British Government.
In 1887 Taungdwingyi, or Magwe as it was named after Yenan-
gyaung was added in 1888, was much troubled
* " by the influential rebel Min Yaung, who held the
hilly tract between Taungdwingyi and Pyinmana. After a series of
encounters he was at last come up with and killed in May 1887.
After him Tok Gyi disturbed the district from the same convenient
shelter to the east and he was not captured till April 1888. The
hilly character of some part of the country made it no doubt some-
what difficult to pacify, but the military police battalion of this
district, which had been recruited in Bombay, was far below the
efficiency of those in other parts of the country. As a consequence
dacoit bands were allowed to gather strength and escaped un-
punished, and in 1889 Magwe was the only district where dacoities
on a large scale were of almost daily occurrence.
There were seven separate dacoit gangs under Nga Lfe, Shwe Daik,
Tin Baw, B6k Yaw, Pago Bo, Paw Din, Na Ya, besides other less
prominent leaders. In August 1888 a plan for a rising on behalf
of a pretender styling himself the Shwe Km Yo Prince was concerted
on the borders of the Magwe township. Bo Lfe and other leaders
from Magwe, besides some of the Natmauk and Taungdwingyi
23
170
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. V-
Chiefs, were concerned in this. The first overt act was committed
in November, and almost immediately afterwards the dacoits receiv-
ed encouragement from their success in an encounter with a party
of military police, which they repulsed with loss. After this the
combined bands separated, some going to Yenangyaung, some to
Pin, some to Taungdwingyi, and some to Natmauk, while somi
joined the bands of Tinbaw and Shwc Daik. In January the combin-
ed bands of these last two and Nga Lh successfully surprised a party
of sepoys of the Myingvan military police, but were soon after-
wards encountered and for a time dispersed by mounted infantry
from Magwc, Desultory encounters, with varying fortunes, follow-
ed through March and April 1889, and in May Nga Le was killed^
and his band destroyed by the mounted infantry. Meanwhile there
were constant dacoities in Taungdwlngvisubdivision, where the Vil-
lage Regulation was injudiciously applied and the local native oHi-
cers were unpopular.
In April a gang of over 100 dacoits attacked the village of Myo-
ihit and burnt the police post there. In May a large band under
the leadership of Buddha Yaza assembled in the Pin township;
gangs from all parts joined him and did much mischief before It
was dispersed after repeated encounters. On the ist June Mr.
Dyson, Assistant Comm'issiontTj was killed by a small body of
dacoits, whom he attacked with police. The leader, Thaya, was
afterwards killed and his band surrendered. The General Command-
ing the Myingyan district therefore Soon after this assumed full
control of the operations with the Civil and Police officers under his
orders. Genera! Symons strengthened the force of troops and mili-
tary police and an offer of indemnity was made to all dacoits, ex-
cept one or two specified leaders, who had not been actually con-
cerned in murder. More than 150 men, principally in the Pm and
Yenangyaung townships, availed themselves of the amnesty and
surrendered. The offer of pardon oriijinally made in June for one
month was extended up to the end of September. Nevertheless, at
the end nf September the most disturbed portion of the district
was the Taungdwingyi subdivision, where, except for the capture of
Shwe Aung and his gang, but little headway had been made, while
the Yomas, the hill country between the Eastern and Southern di-
visions, had not been touched, and in this remote and unknown tract
various dacoit leaders had found a refuge. At the end of 1889
therefore Magwe remained a year behind the other districts of the
upper province. Nevertheless, the revenue increased largely during
1887-88. It was :£"5»4g7 in 1887 and £•26,'} i6 in the following
year. The headquarters were moved at the end of the year from
Taungdwingyi to Magwe.
CHAP, v.] FINAL PACIFICATION. 171
In the early months of 1887 Meiktila district continued to be dis-
.. turbed by a formidable combination of dacoits,
who held a strong position at Hmaw-aing, and
on the west by the powerful leader T6k Gyaw. Combined oper-
ations against the Hmaw-aing dacoits were undertaken from
Kyauksfe and Meiktila, in which Lieutenant Reid of the 27th
Punjab Infantry was wounded and severe loss was inflicted on the
dacoits then and in a subsequent attack. As a result some of
the principal leaders surrendered In May 1887, and in the same
month Tok Gyaw and many of his followers were killed by our
troops. One of the Hmaw-aing Chiefs took service and after-
wards did good work as a police officer, while of two others who
took to flight after they had submitted, Myat Hm6n again sub-
mitted at Kyauksfe and the other Maung Kala died of cholera,
and the northern part of the district remained undisturbed. The
south-west, however, bordering on Pagan, was constantly harassed
by dacoits, who carried off large numbers of cattle. Many of these
gangs were tracked and punished and in the district itself no large
gangs and no leaders remained as early as the end of 1887. What
dacoities occurred were of an entirely petty kind and the robbers
usually came from the Poppa and WMaung fastnesses. The re-
results of effective disarmament were very conspicuous in Meiktila.
The revenue, which was £^^,1 14 in 1886-87, ^^^^ *o £^1i^4S ^^ ^^e
lollowing year.
Yam6thin was in an equally satisfactory condition. It was only
,, , . . disturbed by broken bands from neighbouring
districts and the dacoities were not 01 a serious
type. Crime of this kind could not be put down till the Poppa,
Pin, and Yoma bands were finally broken up. From £^,481 in
1886-87 ^he revenue increased to ^f 22,080 in the following year,
and in 1889 the strength of the military police force was consider-
ably reduced, with no loss of security to the people.
In Pyinmana great activity was displayed in 1887 by the troops
and the police in thoroughly exploring the forests and clearing
them of dacoits. The disarmament of the district was at the
same time vigorously enforced and men of local influence greatly
assisted our officers in the process. With the rains there was a
partial recrudescence of disorder. Some troublesome gangs collect-
ed in the hills on the east of the Sittang river under the protection
of the Karen Chief of Ethataung and of other local men. From
these hills they committed raids on the plains and carried off ele-
phants and buffaloes from the forests. In April i888aBurman
police post, 6 miles from Pyinmana. was attacked and burned by
a gang of 50 dacoits and in May a similar but outlying post at
17a
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER.
CHAP. V.
Seikpyudaung was destroyed by a large gang. Between March
and bepteraSer large gangs of dacoics on three occasions at-
ucked Karen guards in the forests, and in the 6rst seven
months of the year 143 violent crimes were reported. At the
end of October 18S8 there were in the district four large gangs
of dacoils under Nga HIauk aiid Tok Gyi, Tha Hlaing, Nga
Nan, and San Pe. In the banning of 1889 the Village Re-
gulation was enforced and villages which were known or rea-
sonably believed to harbour dacoits were removed to the neigh-
bourhood of police posts. At the end of February the combin-
ed bands of Tha Hlaing and San Pe were attacked and had
broken up. The leaders retired to the petty Karen State of Bawgata
in the hills and thence raided on the plains. The Deputy Commis-
sioner followed ihem up with a party of military police. The Chief
of Bawgata submitted and the dacoits fled east to the Mong Pai
hills and ceased to be a danger. The other robber gangs were
equally disposed of. From January to September 1889 17 dacoits
were killed and 62 arrested, while 17 surrendered unconditionally.
None remained at large, except those who were professional dacoits
from Burmese times, or who had made clemency impossible by their
crimes. The Bombay Burma Trading Corporation was able to ex-
tend its operations and increase its establishments far beyond any
previously attempted area or strength.
By the end of the rains of 1889 all the large gangs of rebels that
Situation at the end had SO long opposed our troops m the plains had
*>* »88g. been completely broken up. The utter hope-
lessness of resistance in the open was realized and the establish-
ment of a series of posts had driven the remnants of once powerful
bands to take refuge in the inaccessible broken tracts which form
so marked a feature of Upper Burma, in such places were now
fathered the dacoit leaders from many districts. Buddha Yaza,
'hiha Yaza, Shwe Daik, Tin Saw, Lugale Gyi, and Aungbaw were
crowded into the hilly country of the Yomas lying between Magwe,
Pyinmana, and Yam^thin. The wild country round Poppa hill af-
forded shelter to Bo Cho, Shwe Hmok, Thagyaw, Kangyi, Nga
Hm6n, Nga Thaw, and Yan Nyun. What remained of the follow-
ers of the Setkya Mintha rallied round Kyaw Zaw in the jungles
on the banks of the Myit-ng6. Saw Yan Naing, the last of King
Mind6n's grandsons who held out against us, had retired to the
Kachin hills lying between Mong Mit, Tawng Peng, and Hsen Wi.
With him were now Hkam Leng, the pretender to the Mong Leng
State, and bo Zeya, the notorious Shan freebooter, who so long dis-
turbed the Mandalay district. West of the Irrawaddy the situation
_ was similar. In Minbu the sons of Bo Swfe, Saw Uj and Saw Pu
CHAP, v.]
FINAL PACIFICATION,
173
were wandering with a small following in the dense jungle at the
foot of the Arakan Yonia, on the old frontier line. Further north
the Shwegj'obyu pretender, with Po Hini and Nj^a The Kyi, the
leaders of the Yaw rebellion, were fugitives in the Chin Hills, In
Shwebo, Katha, and Ye-u the remnants of the scattered gangs of
rebels had found refuge in the rugged country which adjoins the
Wuntho State and, when hotly pursued, fled into Wuntho itself.
This altered condition of things changed the character of the oper-
ations in the plains. Large columns of troops were no longer required
to scour the country and attack strong bands of rebels. The mili-
tary garrison was considerably reduced at the same lime that nu-
merous military posts, which were before necessary to overawe the
plain country, were withdrawn. The police posts had also been re-
duced. On the 1st April 1890 there were 173 military police posts
against 192 on the same date in the preceding year. The police force
thus set free was able to pursue the broken remnants of the different
gangs and make a vigorous effort to stamp them out completely.
The troops in Upper Burma had ceased to be on the footing of
a field force on the 1st April 1888 and the number of brigades was
reduced from four to three, composed as follows : —
First Brigade — Headquarters, Mandalay, including the Ava
and Sagaing commands.
Second Brigade — Headquarters, Myingyan, including the
Pakfikku, Pagan, and Minbu commands.
Third Brigade. — Headquarters, Meiktila, including the Ya-
mfethin and Pyinmana commands and the Northern and
Southern Shan States columns.
In addition to these three brigades there were the following sepa-
rate commands : —
Bhamo, with headquarters at Bhamo.
Ruby Mines, with headquarters at Bernardmyo.
Chindwin, with headquarters at Alon.
Shwebo, with headquarters at Shwebo.
The aggregate strength of this force was 13,250 men. It was un-
der the command of Sir George White, V.C., K.C.B. throughout the
year. The strength of the Upper Burma garrison at the close of
March 1889 was 11,335 "■^^"' ^^ ^.ll arms.
On the 1st April 1889 the entire force in both Upper and Lower
Burma was formed into the Burma District Command under Ma-
jor-General B. L. Gordon, C-B.^ R.A., and distributed as follows : —
Mandalay district — Headquarters, Mandalay.
Bhamo Command — Headquarters, Bhamo.
»74
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAi*. V.
Ruby Mines Command — Headquarters, Bernardmyo.
Shwebo Command — Headquarters, Shwebo.
Myinffvan district — Headquarters, Myingyan.
Chin Field Force— Northern Division.
Chin Field Force — Southern Division.
Chindwin Command — Headquarters, Alon.
The Meiktila Command was in the Rangoon district.
The constitution and organization of the military police force
j^ .. remained unchanged, but the strength was large-
II ary poice. |^ increased. At the end of 1887 the sanctioned
strength of all ranks was 17,515 and the actual strength 13,244.
At the end of 1888 the sanctioned strength was 19,177 and the
actual strength i 7,880. The increase in the responsibilities falling
on the force and in the area of the country brought under protec-
tion more than kept pace with the increase in strength. Five com-
panies were added to the Mogaung Levy, which hitherto had only
been strong enough to hold Mogaung itself and the communi-
cations with the Irrawaddy. Two levies, each of six companies,
were raised for the Chin frontier and for the Shan States. The Chin
frontier and the Yaw country had not up till then been held at all,
while the small garrison in the Shan States was pro\-ided by the
regular troops. As in the previous year, the force was distributed
in battalions, one for each district in Upper Burma, one for the
Kabaw Valley on the borders of Manipur, and one for the protection
of the railway under construction from Toungoo to Mandalay. The
number of officers was largely increased, so that there might be a
Second-in-Command for every battalionj with a lew Extra Assistant
Commandants in the more arduous districts. In every district a
moveable column was maintained and no new posts were permitted
without the sanction of the Chief Commissioner. The minimum
strength of a post was fixed at 40 rifles and the country patrols
never consisted of less than 10 men. Thus every party was able to
take effective action when opportunity offered. The conduct of
the military police was good. In action they behaved uniformly
well, and instances of special gallantry were as common as among
the regular troops. The force lost in 18S8-89 46 men killed in
action and 76 wounded. In the entire force only 84 men were
prosecuted on criminal charges, and some of these were cases of
negligently allowing prisoners to escape.
Fair progress was made in the raising of civil police, but their
regular organization was far from complete. They were recruited
almost entirely from Upper Burmans, who had been unaccustomed
to the discipline of a regular force, and the number of resignations,
desertions, and punishments was in some places startlingly large.
CHAP, v.]
FINAL PACIFICATION.
•
I
In 1889-90 therefore the pacification of Upper Burma was finally
completed and the last remnants of dacoit bands were disposed of.
In the Mandalay district special operations completely broke up
Kyaw Zaw's gang. Most of his followers surrendered and he
himself joined Saw Yan Naing on the northern frontier of the Shan
States, where a retreat into Chinese territory was always open.
Nga To, the dacoit leader who had escaped capture in previous
years, was taken by the police in the Sagaing district and District
Officers were at last able to visit all pans of their charge without
escorts.
In the Mogaung subdivision of Bhamo the attitude of the Kachins
_. was quite satisfactory. The road remained
secure and, but for the local quarrels among
the jade-mine and other traders themselves, there would have
been no serious crime. The establishment of a military police post
at Indawgyi, which was effected in May 1890, extended the area
under our direct control, and in the same month the country to
the west was explored for the first time and the Assistant Com-
missioners of Mogaung and Paungbyin met at Shwedwin on the
Uyu river. East of the Irrawaddy the so-called Mintha Buddha
Yaza, was caplurc^d by Bharao villagers and died in prison. Hkam
Leng caused some trouble. The village of Lwesaing was burnt
and other villagers were fined for having liarboured him and
thus most of the Upper Slnkan Kachins made submission. The
only local dacoit leader of importance, Nga Hlaw Gyaw, who
troubled the Shwegu subdivision early in the year, was killed by
villagers. In October 1889 a serious dacolty was committed in the
town of Bhamo llsdf, and for some months afterwards the country
to the south-east was disturbed by a gang of dacoits, which was
harboured by the Kachins and Palaungs of a village, Kyusaing, east
of Bhamo. The burning of Kyusalng In May iSgo put an end to
this, and other offending villages were fined. The efforts made to
re-open the Ambassador's route to China were not attended with
immediate success. The northern trade route, by way of the Ta-
ping river and Manaung, was not free from disturbance, and the Ka-
chins made several attacks on caravans, but trade continued never-
theless.
Katha remained open to raids by dacoit gangs from Wuntho and
J. Mong Mit, but special operations under Lieut-
enant Macnabb, Assistant Commissioner, were
completely successful in settling the troublesome subdivision of
Kawlin, where Nga Kyauk L6n, Nga Thaing, and Nga Aga had
remained at large. Nine leaders and over 200 of the rank and
file surrendered, or were killed or captured. The patience with
fjS
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. V.
which the Sau^hua of Wuntho had been treated seemed at last to
have had a result. He established, in compliance with orders,
pohce posts on his borders ; he made some efiforts to arrest
criminals ; he met the Deputy Commissioner of Katha at Wuntho ;
and he sent his wife and son to Mandalay to pay a visit to the
Commissioner. But he failed to arrest Nga Hmat, who in Feb-
ruary attacked and burnt the village of I^ainggyi near the Wuntho
boraer, and Kainggyi had to be occupied by the military police,
who kept Nga Hmat inside Wuntho, to which State he belonged.
Two dacoilies were committed in the district from Mong Mit
also, but in both cases the dacoits were seized and convicted, and,
though there were no military or police posts along this frontier,
these were the only disturbances on the eastern side of Katha.
The district itself was thus completely brought into order. Wuntho
alone remained as a danger.
The Ruby Mines district was a good deal troubled by gangs of
robbers, which found a secure asylum in the
y '"«»■ waste tracts along its borders with Mong Mit
and Mong Long, louring the year a large tract of country,
formerly part of Mong Mit, was added to ihe Ruby Mines
district, with the result that there was for a lime an apparent
large increase in the number of violent crimes. Many of these,
however, were robberies on traders travelling on the main road
from Mog6k la Thabeltkyin, which runs close along the borders of
the district with Mong Long. The maintenance of patrols on the
road and the establishment of a military police post at Kin checked
these, which were rather gang robberies than dacoitics. Notwith-
standing this, there was a great increase in the trade of the district
and in the number of new settlers at Mogok.
Special operations in Shwebo were undertaken at the same time
as in Katha with entirely successful results.
Nga Kan Baw was driven west and captured
by the Kanni U'uti in the Lower Chindwin in February 1890. All
the members of his gang surrendered and he himself was tried
and sentenced to death. Nga I^yauk LAn was killed by one of
his own lieutenants in May 1890^ and almost all his band there-
upon surrendered. Nga Th6n, after suffering considerable loss,
was eventually compelled to surrender with his gang and was
sentenced to transportation in March 1890, and Nga Aga later
gave himself up in the Ye-u district. Since then dacoity has
entirely ceased in this turbulent district and the steady enforcement
of the track law has done much to reduce the number of cattle-
thefts and other minor offences, which always tended to increase
with the suppression of violent crime. Sagaing had been finally
CHAP, v.]
FINAL PACIFICATION.
'77
quieted in 1889 and in the succeeding year the number of offences
classed as violent crimes did not reach a score and were of an in-
significant character. Several noted leaders who had disappeared
in previous years were brought tojusiice, some of them having been
arrested in other districts.
Ye-u profited by the operations in Shwebo and Katha and the
last two leaders of note^ Van Gyi Aung and Nga Aga, surrendered
through the intermediation of the principal pongyt in the district.
All the rank and file of the dacoit gangs were permitted to live at
large on security and under surveillance and, though the number of
those who had formally surrendered was twelve hundred, the num-
ber of violent crimes was reduced to a merely nominal figure. In
the year 1889 the number of violent crimes was 1 16. In 1890 this
had been reduced to ten.
It was only in 1889 that steps were taken to extend effective
. control over the interior of the Upper Chindwin
district on the left bank of the Chindwin river.
The existence of dacoit gangs in the wide tract of country between
the Chindwin and the State of Wuntho and Ye-u was scarcely re-
cognized because the country was not really under our adminis-
tration. Nga Lfe and other leaders lived there unmolested until
now, when their bands were dispersed and they themselves found
safety in Wuntho.
In the Lower Chindwin also the townsfiip of Kanni, which com-
prised about two-thirds of the whole district, was still administered
by the IVnn of Kanni, who maintained order with a force of irregu-
lar police. The obligations of the IVun to administer the town-
ship in accordance with the principles of Government adopted in
other parts of the province were gradually made more strict, and the
Deputy Commissioner's supervision more effective, and eventually
the irregular force was replaced by regular police without disturbing
the peacefulness of the administration. Except for cattle-theft, the
district was always entirely free from crime and great progress was
made towards final disarmament.
It was not till June 1890, after seven or eight months of active
operations, that the country round P6ppa hill
was finally pacified. In that period nine
leaders, including the notorious Shwe Hm6k,
were killed ; eleven including Yan Bye were captured ; and forty-
three, among whom were HIa Gyaw, Nga Nwfe, and Yan Nyun, sur-
rendered. The surrender of Yan Nyun at the end of May may be
said to have completed the pacification of the district. He was an
official in Burmese times and commanded very great influence in
as
M V I n t; y a n
PakOkku.
and
178
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP, V.
Ma^we
mana.
and Pyin-
this part of the country, both on account of his rank and by his
relentless terrorism. His surrender, trial, and sentence put an end
to aU the gan^. Bo Cho was not captured and remained at large
for six years longer, but he entirely gave up dacoity and indeed
had no more than six men with him.
Pak6kku, notwithstanding its neighbourhood to the Chin Hills,
was undisturbed, and so was Minbu, where the special opera-
tions under Lieutenant Green were most successful. Saw U, son
of Bo Swe, was killed, and his brother, Saw Pa, was captured. The
only leaders of any name who remained at large were Tauk Ta and
Kyetkvi. and thev only escaped by discardinv their following, most
of whom surrendered and were allowed to return to their homes.
Yamfcthin, Meiktila, and Kyauksd were altogether free from distur-
bance, except for the raids of a few bad characters from the Shan
Hills, who seldom went beyond cattle-lifting and belonged to no or-
ganized gang.
The Magwe, Pyinmana, and Yamfethin police under the general
control of Mr. Porter, Deputy Commissioner of
Pyinmana, acted on a systematic plan against
the Yoma gangs and drove them from hiding-
place to hiding-place. In order to block the roads and prevent
the escape of the dacoits, temporary military police posts were
established in the immediate neighbourhood of the Yomas, four in
Magwe and six in Pyinmana- The posts already existing in the
Toungoo and Thayetmyo districts were strengthened and roads
and tracks connecting the Pyinmana and Magwe districts were
made. The policy of permitting the surrender of all but those who
had been guilty of specially atrocious crimes was consistently
pursued, and in three mnnth*? 79 dacoits, of whom i 7 were leaders
of more or less importance, had U-en killed, or captured, or had
surrendered. A large number of firearms had been seized, and
at the end of May the Yomas had been brought under complete
control. Meanwhile Mr. Todd-Naylor, the Deputy Commissioner
of Magwe, had been engaged in the north of the dislrict against
the dacoit leaders Shwe Daik and Tin Baw, and he and Mr. Collins,
Assistant Commissioner, succeeded in disposing of eight of their
gang of 16 and in driving the rest out of the district to places where
they had no influence. The result of these measures was that not
only was Magwe freed from disorder, but also all its neighbours.
The well-known leader, Lu Gale Gyi, was arrested as far away as
Prome and the organized action taken against dacoits was perha|
more conspicuously successful in Magwe than anywhere else in tin
same period of time.
CHAP, v.]
FINAL PACIFICATION,
179
During the year the six separate military commands were a-
bolishcd and the troops were distributed among the three districts
of Rangoon, Mandalay, and Myingyan. At the end of March r88g,
the whole force, including the Chin-Lushai Expeditionary Force,
numbered 15,608.
On the 1st January i8go the actual strength of the military
police was 18.618, and the Karen battalion, which had now grown
to four companies, did very good work, especially in the Minbu and
Magwe districts.
From 18S7 to 1889 the military posts in the interior of Upper
Burma had been gradually replaced bv military
Miliury police. ^^y^^^ ^^^^^^^ ^^^^^ beginning of 1887 there
were 142 posts held by troops and 56 held by military police;
at the end of thai year the numbers were 84 and 17^ respectively ;
and at the beginning of 18S9 the numbers were 41 posts held by
troops and 192 by military police. Towards the end of 1889, when
organized resistance to the Government had entirely collapsed, it
was found possible to reduce the number of military police posts
and 10 hold the posts still retained with smaller garrisons. A com-
mencement was made of the system of concentrating at least half
the strength ot each battalion at headquarters, and reductions were
made in several battalions. The Minbu, Pakokku, Pyinmana, Ya-
mfethin, and ICyaukst di-^tricts were all in such a satisfactory state
towards the end of 1889 that they were able to afford considerable
reductions in their battalions. It was decided to utilize the com-
panies made available by these reductions in the formation of a
strong and highly trained reserve. Another change in the organi-
zation of the military police was the amalgamation of two or more
battalions with the object of reducing the strength and cost of the
aggregate force. The first experiment was made in the Eastern
or Meiklila division. The Kyauksii, Meiktila, and YamMhin bat-
talions, which aggregated 19 companies, were formed into a single
joint battalion of 15 companies, and three of these companies were
added to the Reserve battalion, while the fourth was struck off the
the strength.
The number, conduct, and the permanency of the Upper Burma
Civil Police greatly improved during; this, practically, the second year
of their existence.
In i8go, which was the last year of Sir Charles Crosthwaite's
g administration of Burma, it may be said that
Final estahiishmeni order was finally established in Upper Burma
ol order. ^nd the construction of the administrative sys-
tem firmly set up. The Toungoo-Mandalay section of the railway
i8o
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. V.
was opened to traffic and the passenger traflRc was immediately
very heavy. The Mu Valley railway was under construction. A
cart-road was made from the plains to the Southern Shan States
plateau, and another to the Northern Shan States, while a carl -road
from Thabeikkyin on the Irrawaddy to the Ruby Mines was sUso
opened. The irrigation system, which had fallen into great disre-
pair in King Thlbaw's time, was carefully examined with a view to
the repair of old works and the construction of new channels on a
definite plan.
The only tract in the Irrawaddy Valley which caused anxiety
-,, . . ,„ was the State of Wuniho. It was classed as a
Wuntho rebellion. o i_ c . i_ . . ■ ^i.
bhan State, but was never at any time on the
same footing as the true Shan States and only escap*;d becoming
an integral part of the Burmese Empire, like the neighbouring dis-
tricts, through Burmese want of system. It had an area of about
2,400 square miles with 150,000 inhabitants, and lay midwav be-
tween the Irrawaddy and Chindwin livers. The Sazvbwa, Maung
Aung Myat, had succeeded his father as Chief in 1881, when the
old man of his own accord gave up the direct administration. The
ex'Sawinta lived in the north of the Stale and was consistently ill-
disposed to British authority. His son maintained an exasperating
attitude of reserve and distrust and, while promising 10 arrest da-
coits and maintain order within and on the borders of his territory,
virtually allowed it to become a standing refuge for rebels and
dacoit leaders. The steady advance of the railway and the fact
that a census had been ordered, doubtless brought matters to a
crisis, and, though the rising came as a rude surprise, it was no
doubt well-planned, probably in correspondence with Manipur. In
January 1891 a small column left Kaiha to account for Nga Mmat
and Po Thein, two dacoits who had been giving trouble. Nga Hmat
surrendered with 40 followers ; but to get at Po Thein it was ne-
cessary to go through the northern portion of Wuniho, which was
directly ruled by the old Sawbtva. The road to Po Thein's retreat
at Mangyaung was blocked. Mounted orderlies were shot at and
Banmauk fired into, and on the 15th February an attack was made
on that post and, after some hours' resistance, the District Super-
intendent of Police and his party were forced to retire to Kainggyi.
On the morning of the next day, at 3 A.M., the rebels on the
south of the State broke into the military police stockade of Kaw-
lin and set fire to various buildings to the north and west. Three
of the military police and the compounder were killed immediate-
ly, but. by the light of the blazing buildings of the Subdivisional
headquarters, the Subadar drove the enemy out of the stockade.
At the same time the police post of Kyaukpintha was attacked
CHAP, v.]
FINAL PACIFtCATION.
l8t
and both places were beleaguered for several days, while a number
of frontier villages were burnt and looted. The railway buildings
at Kyungon to th(j south were burnt, the civil police station at
Sing6n lo the enst was destroyed, and a similar post at Okkan,
towards Ye-u on the west, was also seized and burni. The sud-
denness of the rising showed that it was concerted, and for a time
it appeared as if the reinforcements hurried from all sides would
not be in time. On the i9ih February, however. Lieutenant Nis-
bei, with loo of the 20th Madras Native Infantry from Kaiha, and
Captain H. D'U. Keary, with Subadar Prakasa Roya and 39 sow-
ars from Shwebo, arrived at Kawlin and at once turned the defence
into an attack. Captain Keary charged the centre of the rebels
and cleared them from the plain and drove the remnant of them up
a stockaded hill. This hill, with his dismounted sowars and the
Madras Infantry, he proceeded to attack from different sides.
Both parties failed at the first attempt, but just at nightfall the
dismounted sowars, under Prakasa Roya, after a severe hand-to-
hand fight, carried the position and killed every man in it. Three
sepoys were killed and six wounded in the attack on this position,
which was inside a pagoda, flanked at the corners by rifle-pits and
situated on the top of a very steep rocky hill, covered with thick
undergrowth, except round the pagoda. On the following day Cap-
tain Keary and Mr Kenny with the mounted men cleared the sur-
rounding country of the enemy, destroying Pegfin, the rallying point
Jorthe rebels on the borders of Wiintho. On the aist the troops
^ved from Shwebo and a detachment of the Duke of Cornwall's
Ijght Infantry under Captain Custance from Tigyaing. That tvt-
"Jng news came that the Sawbwa had stockaded himself at the
Kyaingkwintaunt; on the road to Wuntho town. This the troops
and military police under command of Captain T. A. H. Davies of the
Devonshire Regiment proceeded to attack on the 22nd February.
The stockade was in a kyauug in a strong position on a hill com-
manding the ford of the Daung-yu river, about half-way between
Kawlin and Wuntho, which are some 9 miles apart. The Devon-
shires crossed the river under the fire of the enemy at about 200
vards range and attacked the hill from the south, while the mounted
infantry under Captains Kear^* and Custance moved along the east
bank to cut off the retreat. The position was carried by assault
after an hour's fighting and the troopers cut off the enemy's retreat,
killed 50, and wounded a large number, notwithstanding that the
ground was full of irons- de-loup, dug as traps for them. The Saw
Jtra'j pony was taken in the stockade. Our loss was three men of
the Devonshires killed and 10 wounded and five sepoys wounded.
On the same day the military police from Ye-u came upon the
enemy strongly stockaded at the Monan kyaung near Okkan.
i&a
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. V.
After an engagement lasting several hours, the rebels were dislodg-
ed and driven off with a loss of 27 killed. Captain Hutchinson,
the Commandant of the: Ye-u battalion, received a severe wound,
of which he died a few days afterwards, and one sepoy was killed
and seven wounded.
These two actions practically crushed the rebellion. The rebels
lost their best men, mostly pure Shans, in the engagements at and
round Kawlin, and were thoroughly beaten and cowed and this in
about a week from the beginning of the outbreak. The result was
the somewhat unique feature that the expedition was completely
successful before the expeditionary force had been regularly orga-
nized. VVuntho town was occupied witliout opposition on the 24th
February. General Wolseley, C.B.. Commanding the Mandalay dis-
trict, had been appointed to the chief military and political charge
of the operations and arrived in the town on the 26th February.
An advance was then made across the hills to Pinltbu, the Sotv-
bwd's place of residence, 33 miles off. Their final position on the
Mankin pass was turned on the 25th February and the stockaded
village of Mankin was then shelled and the enemy fled and all arm-
ed resistance in Southern Wuntho came to an end.
The Sawdn'a wrote offering to pay any reasonable fine the Gen-
eral might impose, and informing him that he had forbidden his
people to offer any further resistance to our troops, but was told
that until he surrendered in person no terms could be offered beyond
the promise of his personal safety and the protection of his family
and private property. The mounted force was sent northwards to
cut off his retreat in that direction, but in the meantime the military
police from Ye-u had pushed on from Okkan and the Satvbwa in-
conuncnily took to flight on the 27th Februarv, leaving his palace
and stockade burnt behind him. Captain Hodges and Captain
Proud occupied the very strongly situated position at Pinl^bu the
same afternoon, and General Wolseley found him in possession
when he arrived on the morning of the ist March. No trustworthy
information was available as to the Saivbwa's line of retreat, but in
any case want of transport and rations prevented an immediate pur-
suit.
While these events were taking place in the south a column had
also been organized in the north under Colonel Macgregor, D.S.O.,
of the 1st Burma Regiment (loth Madras Infantry), with Mr.
Martini, District Superintendent of Police, as Political Assistant.
They marched from Katha against the old Saiobwa at Mansi,
Before it advanced the military police of Katha at Ivainggyi and
elsewhere had had several encounters uith the rebels, who had bro-
ken into tlie district in various places, plundering and burning vil-
CHAP, v.]
FINAL PACIFICATION.
iSl
and both places were beleaguered for several days, while a number
of frontier villages were burnt and looted. The railway buildings
at Kyungon to the south were burnt, the civil police station at
Singon to the east was destroyed, and a similar post at Okkan,
towards Ye-u on the west, was also seized and burnt. The sud-
denness of the rising showed that it was concerted, and for a time
it appeared as if the reinforcements hurried from all sides would
not be in time. On the 19th February, however, Lifutenant Nis-
bet, with 100 of the 20th Madras Native Infantry from Kaiha, and
Captain H. D'U. Keary, with Subadar Prakasa Roya and 29 sow-
ars from Shwebo, arrived at Kawlin and at once turned the defence
into an attack. Captain Keary charged the centre of the rebels
and cleared them from the plain and drove the remnant of them up
a stockaded hill. This hill, with his dismounted sowars and the
Madras Infantry, he proceeded to attack from different sides.
Both parties failed at the first attempt, but just at nightfall the
dismounted sowars, under Prakasa Roya, after a severe hand-to-
hand fight, carried the position and killed every man in it. Three
sepoys were killed and six wounded in the attack on this position,
which was inside a pagoda, flanked at the corners by rifle-pits and
situated on the top of a very steep rocky hill, covered with thick
undergrowth, except round the pagoda. On the following day Cap-
tain Keary and Mr- Kenny with the mounted men cleared the sur-
rounding country of the enemy, destroying f^egon, the rallying point
for the rebels on the borders of Wuntho. On the 21 si the troops
arrived from Shwebo and a detachment of the Duke of Cornwall's
Light Infantry under Captain Custance from Tigyain^. That eve-
ning news came that the Satvbwa had stockaded himself at the
Kyaingkwintaun^ on the road to Wuntho town. This the troops
and military police under command of Captain T. A. H. Davies of the
Devonshire Regiment proceeded to attack on the 22nd February.
The stockade was in a kyautig in a strong position on a hil! com-
manding the ford of the Daung-yu river, about half-way between
Kawlin and Wuntho, which arc some 9 miles apart. The Devon-
shires crossed the river under the fire of the enemy at about 200
yards range and attacked the hill from the south, while the mounted
mfantry under Captains Keary and Custance moved along the east
bank to cut off the retreat. The position was carried by assault
after an hour's fighting and the troopers cut off the enemy's retreat,
killed 50, and wounded a large number, notwithstanding that the
ground was full of trous-de'loup, dug as traps for them. The Saw'
hva's pony was taken in the stockade. Our loss was three men of
the Devonshires killed and 10 wounded and five sepoys wounded.
On the same day the military police from Ye-u came upon the
enemy strongly stockaded at the Monan kyaung near Okkan.
r84
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. V.
The Jade Mines were reached on the 15th .April ; but there was
no o{>po«ition, and the people welcomed the force, it was deto--
mined to establish a post there, and Captain CVDonn^ was left in
command with four other British Officers, 132 n6es of the Mo-
gun^ Levy, and a section of the 6th Bombay Mount^n Battery.
The Wuntho Sav6va it was found had succeeded in escaping by
the northern road through the amber mines inio China. With the
establishment of the Jade mines post the military operations may
be said to have closed.
A few days after the beginning of the rebellion, and as soon as
it became clear that the Savb-xa himself was really engaged in ii,
the orders of ihe Government of India were obtamcd for his de-
position, and a proclamation was issued declaring that he wotild
never be given authority in Wuntho again, and tendering pardon to
all who should make their submission and surrender their arms in a
fortnight. There was no hesitation in accepting these terms, and
from the verj' first the people readily came in with their arms. Al-
though the rebels had burned hundreds of houses, carried off hund-
reds of cattle, and destroyed an immense amount of property be-
longing to unoffending people, no retaliatory measures whatever
were taken, and, excepting the burning of a few houses at first,
where there was resistance, no damage of any kind was done. The
consequence of this policy was that the country quietly settled down
and the people were both friendly and helpful to our officers and
troops. About 3,000 arms were given in, practically all there were,
except those in the hands of the Immediate followers of the Sazo^
b-wa. The members of the Sawhwa's family, including his cousin,
the Kemmong, or heir apparent, and numerous prominent officials
were pardoned and allowed to remain in Wuntho, and the best of
the old local officials were given employment in the new adminis-
tration of the territory, which was incorporated in the neighbouring
districts of Katha and Ye-u.
No sooner was Kawlin relieved than arrangements were made to
)nd a staff of Engineers into Wuntho and Katha to make roads
and build posts, to extend the telegraph and establish postal com-
munications, and much was accomplished before the end of the
open season. At the same time work on the railway was pushed
on both from Wuntho to the pass into Katha and from Katha to
the same pass. Wuntho has enjoyed perfect peace ever since the
sudden revolt of the Sambma.
Nga Lfe and the ^iy^-Sawhwa of Wuntho made their appearance
in the following year, i8gi, and committed a number of dacoities
in the Legayaing subdivision of the Upper Chindwin. Nga Lfe,
however, was shot and the ey.-Sa7vb-afa was driven off. He appears
CHAP, v.]
PINAL PACIFICATION.
i8S
since to have attached himself to the small band of the disaffected
and robber chiefs who find a refuge with Saw Yan Naing in the
Chinese States. Some of the Wuntho nest of dacoits, notably
Nga Hmat, Kya Yit, and Kya Zi, disturbed Katha district for a
time, but all the members of their gangs were accounted for in
1894. Tauk Ta, who was still at large in the Minbu district in
1893 with a band of 27 men with 10 guns, was captured with all
his men in that year. The last of all the dacoit leaders to be taken
was Nga Cho. After remaining concealed for several years, he
suddenly re-appeared in the P6ppa hill neighbourhood with a small
but troublesome^ f?''^"g ^^^ g^^'^ ^^ much trouble in the Mylngyan
district that special measures were taken for his capture. He was
captured with the principal members of his gang and brought to
justice in 1896, the last of the hundreds who had troubled the upper
province.
But already in 1890 the progress towards the complete estab-
Conversion of the hshment of order was SO great that considerable
military piiice inio reduction was Dossible in the strength of the mili-
regiments. ^^^y police. This was effected by the transfer
of frontier levies to the regular army in pursuance of a scheme for
garrisoning the Southern Shan States and the Chin Hills by troops
instead of police. In this way, with the Mogaung levy, the first three
Burma regiments were formed, taking the place of disbanded Madras
Native Infantry regiments. At the close of 1891 the six battalions
employed in the Mytiigyan, Pak6kku, Minbu, Magwe, Lower
Chmdwin, and Sagalng districts were amalgamated into three.
The reduction thereby effected of ten and a half companies enabled
the 4th Burma Regiment to be formed. There was then a pause
for a year owing to the necessity for increasing the force m the
Ruby Mines district, which then included Mong Mit for police pur-
poses, and in the Bhamo, Katha, and Upper Chindwin districts,
where much previously unexplored country was brought under con-
trol. In 1892, however, 16 companies were transferred to the
Native Army and formed the nucleus of the 5th and 6th Burma Re-
giments, and in the beginning of 1893 ^ further reduction of eight
companies resulted in the formation of the 7th Burma Regiment.
In 1894 the Mandalay battalion of seven companies was abolished
and a reduction of one company in the Southern Division battalion
and of two rompanies in the Katha battalion was effected. The
Yam^thin battalion was increased by two companies and the North-
ern Chin Hills battalion of six companies was formed, which set
free one of the regiments employed there for service elsewhere, In
this way the strength of the Upper Burma military police was
reduced to 12,091. The cost of the military police, which in 1889
H
l86
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. V.
had been Rs. 67.74,810 was in 1895 reduced to Rs. 32,10,905.
Latterly the military police force in Lower Burma, in consequence
of additional calls, has been increased at the expense of reductions
in Upper Burma.
At the same time the civil police have been decreased in numbers,
while they have increased in efficiency. This is largely due to the
institution of training schools and of beat-patrols, while the estab-
lishment of I o-house^rtMrt^j, according to the old Burmese system,
greatly improved the cRiciency of the rural police. Under this
system a village is divided into a number of blocks, each of which
is under a lo-house gaung. All the iD-house^i7tt«^^ in their turn
are suburdinale to the vlllai;e headman The system was familiar
to the people and is in itself a good on'*. Its adoption has done
?nuch to render easier the detection of crime. In the Pakokku
district a number of Chins have been enlisted in the police with
most satisfactory results. The recruiting of Kachins in the Bharao
and Myitkyina districts has aUo been begun, but their efBciency is
a matter on which their officers so far are not in agreement. A
company of Kachin military police, however, behaved very credit-
ably under fire on the occasion of the taking of some Chinese
stockades in the Kachin Hills In April 1898.
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
187
CHAPTER VI.
THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
It seems probable that the Tai, or Shan, race will furnish in the
„. ^ , unravelment of its histon' an explanalion, or,
The Tal race. . . . , , ' . ' . '
at any rate, a clue to many obscure points in
the history not only of Indo-China but of the Chinese Empire it-
self. The Tai race, in its different branches, is beyond all ques-
tion the most widely spread oi any in the Indo-Chinese Peninsula
and even in parts beyond the peninsula, and it is certainly the most
numerous, It is quite certain that Tai are found from Assam to
far into the Chinese province of Kwang-si and Irom Bangkok
to the interior of Yunnan, it seems possible that they may be
traced even farther. Monsieur Bons d'Anty, the Consul for France
in Canton, who had many opporiunities of studying the race not
merely in Ssu-mao, but previously in Lung-Chao, Nan-ning, and
Wu-chao, found not only that Shan was practically the language
of the country from Lung-chao to Pe-se, the limit of navigation on
the West river (Hsi Kiang), but is inclined to think that the Hak-
kas of south China, if not Tai, have a very strong infusion of Tai
blood. This is prima facie extremely probable, though it does not
yet admit of direct proof, but beyond this Monsieur Bons d'Anty
believes that the Li, the inhabitants of the interior of Hainan, are
pure Tai. Very little is known about them, and the question is loo
controversial to be treated in a gazetteer, but it may be mentioned
that both men and women wear their hair knotted like the Shans,
that the Shang Li or wild Li women have their faces tattooed when
they marry, and that there is a Li written character, which has not
yet been critically examined, but is characterized by a Chinese
writer as being "like the wriggling of worms,'* a picturesque de-
scription which might be applied to the Shan alphabet. It may be
added that the coast belt of Hainan is inhabited chiefly by Hakkas.
The difference of name proves nothing either way, for the branch-
es which are indisputably Tai are known by a bewildering variety
of names, which serve to conceal their identity, such as Tai, Htai,
Pai-i, Moi, Muong, Tho or Do, Hkamti, with a very much greater
number of local names, assumed by themselves or given them by
their neighbours, such as Lao, Law, Hkiin, Lii. Tal-long, Tai-noi,
Tai-mao, Tai-nO, Tai-man, Tai-hk^, Tal-loi, Pu-tai, Pu-nong (or
Wung), Pu-man, Pu-jii, Pu-chei, Pu-en, Pu-yiei, Pu-shui, p'o* Pa,
1 88
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VI.
Shui Han, or Hua Pai-i, Pai-jfrn. T'u-jen. P'u-man. Pal, Hei or
Hwa T'u-lao, Nung or Lung-jen, Sha-jen, Hel or Pai Sha-jdn, Min-
chia, Shui-chia, Chung-chia. and many more still more purely local.
As if this were not enoujjh, they have six di^tlnct forms of written
character — the Siamese, ihe Lao or Siamese Shan, ihe Lii, and H kun
which might be called frans-Salween Shan, the Cis-Salween Shan
which with the Hkun might be called British Shan, the Tai Mao
which is Chinese Shan, and the Hkamti Shan of the settlements
west of the Irrawaddy.
The spoken languages are to a great extent mutually incompre-
hensible; the written characters are no less of a reciprocal puzzle,
most exasperating of all, the tones of the various dialects do not
correspond. Yet to a student in the Rriiish Museum there is not a
doubt as to the common origin and in many cases the identity of
the various forms. Siamese gentlemen have found that with pa-
tience they can understand their farthest relatives, the Hkamti
Shans, but they cannot carry on a conversation with their nearest
neighbours, the Lao, and the written character of Slam and of the
Hkamti Shans is the most divergent of any. It might naturally
be supposed that Siam, which is the only Independent Tai State in
existence, and is and has boon for long the most civilized and ad-
vanced, would supply us with the best history of the race, but it is
precisely Siam which furnishes no information whatever on the
subject. Bishop Pallegoix places the commencement of the Shan
Kingdom of Siam in .\.D. 1350, and previous to this date no infor-
mation whatever exists, except strange hyperbolical stories and
fabulous tales, which have not even the merit of corresponding with
those of their northern brethren.
As if the multitude of Shan tribe names and State names were
not bewildering and kaleidoscopic enough, some strange fatality
created two phantasms which attracted the attention of enquirers
to the exclusion and obscuring of less elusive facts in Shan history.
These were the * Kingdom of Pong ' and the Ko-shan-pyi, the nine
Shan States. The ' Kingdom of Pong' appears in the translation
of a Shan chronicle (the manuscript is now lost) obtained in Mani-
pur by Captain Pemberton in 1895. The same kingdom is men-
tioned in the list of his conquests by Anawra-hta, King of Pagan.
The name, however, is unknown to the Shans and much ingenuity
has been wasted in trying to identify it. Sir Arthur Phayre said
it was Mogaung. The late Mr. Ney Ellas was convinced that it
was Mong Mao. Mr. E. H. Parker, by dint of Chinese learning,
proves it to be Luh-ch'wan. Since, however, he admits that this
IS a purely Chinese title, that the State no longer exists, and that its
limits were not clearly defined when it did exist, the solution Is the
CHAP. VI.
THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
189
less gratifying. The frivolous might say that the Kingdom of
P6ng was ^^^s. Harris. Since the origin of the name SJtati for the
Tai race itself is a puzzle, the Kingdom of Pong may be put on
the shelf beside it, till we have fuller information. AH that is pos-
sible is to prove that there was an ancient Shan Kingdom, but
there is nothing to show that it was called the Kingdom of Pong
or that that name was ever known to the Tai race.
The term Ko-shan-pyi or nine Shan States is more easily ex-
plained. The various Shan chronicles which so far have been con-
sulted, while they give their own local name as that of the para-
mount kingdom, unite in adding the classical or Buddhistical
name of Kawsampi. This may very probably have been borrowed
from Kaw-sambi, one of the most celebrated cities of ancient India,
but the Burman official, with the ear of a hippopotamus and the
arrogance of a self-made man, could not bring himself to admit
that a Shan Kingdom had any right to a classical title, if indeed he
knew that Kawsampi was classical. He therefore transformed
Kawsampi into Ko-shan-pyi. It is possible that it may have
been assumed that there were at some time nine co-existent
Shan States, but the fact seems as doubtful as it is certain that
the seven Kingdoms of the Saxon Heptarchy never flourished at the
same time. Such Shan chronicles as are known do not support any
assertion of the kind, and the Burmese, so far from giving any list,
had a very clear conviction that at whatever period they had deal-
ings with the Shans, there were always very many more than nine
Shan States. They therefore amused themselves with fancy
variants, such as the Ko Maing, Ko Kyaing, the " nine Mongs, and
" the nine Kengs or Chiengs,"or the" ninety-nine Shan Sawbwas"
whom sundry rulers claim to have defeated in expeditions to the
hills, or from whom they profess to have received tribute on
homage days.
The name and the implied fact of the Ko-shan-pyi was intro-
duced to Western readers by Buchanan-Hamilton m the Edin-
burgh Philosophical Journal, X, 246, and as a result Ritter,
Bumey, Hannay, and many others have given conflicting lists which
strove to fix these nine Shan States.
The late Mr. Ney Elias detected the confusion and says : " Ku-
" sambi is merely the classical or adopted name for Mung Mau,
" which was, it so happens, at some period composed of nine
" Maings or provinces, though usually of ten. It has been mis-
" construed into a Burmese combination of Ko-shan-pri and inter-
" preted to mean nine Shan States." Instead of recognizing that
the term was merely a fancy and not a fact, Mr. Elias, howeveri
THE UPPER BURMA GAZKTTEKR, [CHAP. VI.
unfortunatdy persisted in endeavouring to identify nine of the small
Slates, usually known as the Chinese Shan Slates, as the Ko-shan-
pyi. It is much simpler to recognize that Ko-shaii-pyj is Kavv-
sampi and is the Shan name for the dominant Slate, which the
Manipuris called the Kingdom of Pong and the Chinese, as the
painstaking researches o( Mr. E. H. Parker prove, the Kingdom of
Ai-Iao or Nanchao.
It is most unfortunate that few Shan histories have survived the
civil wars and that the texts so far recovered and translated are
very corrupt and ascribe to each particular modem State llie pre-
dominance over the others in the past, that is to say, they all claim
lo be KawsampI or tlie Kingdom of P6ng. Moreover, none of the
texts are really old, and appear to have been drawn up from memory
or tradition in almost evi ry case. The confusion of dates caused
by an imperfect knowledge among the later writer^ of the ancient
Tai system of counting by cycles, explained below, also makes
comparison very difficult.
Until comparatively recently our knowledge of the Shans was de-
rived entirely from Burmese history, or from the information con-
densed from the journals ol Dr. Richardson and Captain Macleod,
by Colonel Yule in the thirteenth chapter of his Narrative of the
Mission to the Court of Avain 1855. The Burmese history was con-
fused, fragmentary, and biassed; the details of the explorers are
very valuable in giving us details of intermediate history, but hardly
help us to determine when the dispersion and segregation of the
Shan race began and what their position was before these events
look place.
The late Mr. Ney Elias made a commencement of getting Shan
history from the Shans. He had a number of Shan chronicles trans-
lated for him and had them compared with Burmese translations
of Shan books and combined the information in his Introductory
Sketch of the History of the Shafts, published in Calcutta in 1S76-
The result is very valuable, but it seems to unduly exalt the Shans
of MongMao. The whole of the Nam Mao or Shweli valley has ob-
viously been cultivated and highly populated for a very long time,
but it remains to be proved that the term Mao Shans is a political
rather than a racial term. The same criticism may be applied to the
chronicle of Hsen Wi, now first translated and given below. To this
have been added details from other chronicles, which seem to amend
or elucidate it- It may, however, be said of these chronicles, as Colo-
nel Yule said of the fiistory of Burma, that " the desire to carry
*' back to a remoter epoch the existence of the Empire as a great
"monarchy has led to the representation of what was really the
CHAP. VI.] THE SMAN STATES AND THE TAI.
191
" history of various petty principalities, attaining probably an alter-
" nate preponderance of dominion, as the history of one dynasty of
" monarchs in various successive seats."
The chronicles are local, but there is sufficient correspondence in
their details to point to a common Shan history. They are, how-
ever, too fragmentary as yet to warrant more than corrections of
existing information.
On such existing history Mr. Parker's translations from Chinese
annals throw much lighi. He is a little too intolerant of confusion
of date and fact, arising from the intermingling of the Shan cycle
system and the ordinary Buddhist era, but the piecing together of
various confirmatory items of information give us for the present a
better idea of the history of the Shans, and, with the discovery of
new chronicles, will enable an orderly history to be written. There
is not enough material to furnish this yet, but there is enough to
show that "during the ninth century of our era Burma, whatever
" i\R size may have been, was at least, so far as its northern portion
" was concerned, inferior in power to the Shan Kingdom of Tali-fu,
" which at one time came very near overthrowing the Chinese T'ang
" dynasty " and that " the first Emperor of the Sung dynasty in the
" middle of the tenth century drew a line beyond which he w^s de-
" termined to have no political concern, and the Nanchao State, now
'* first called the Kingdom of Ta-li, was quite independent up to the
"time of the Mongol inroad under Prince Kublai, afterwards
" Kublai Khan."
The Reverend J. N. Cushing, D.D., is the only real authority on
the Shans. 1 le furnished a monograph on their history and ethno-
graphy for Mr. H. L. Ealcs's Report on the Census of Burma, 1892.
From this what follows is collated and adapted as an introduction
to the fragmentary historical details derived from the Shan chro-
nicles.
South-western China was the original home of the Tai people, or
rather was the region where they attained to a marked separate de-
velopment as a people. There are many indications that they had
anciently a close connection with the Chinese before setthng in
Sz-ch*wan and the country south of the Yang-tzu river. Dim tra-
ditions of such a connection still exist among them. One of the most
striking discoveries of modern research, due in great part to the
late M- Terrien de Lacouperie, is the comparative youth of the
Chinese as a great homogeneous and powerful people. Immense
regions inside China proper were non-Chinese, and the Sons of
Heaven had no more power than was necessary to keep a check
upon these internal and inveterate foes, always ready to break the
tga
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. Vf.
net which from time to time was spread over them. It was not
before the first quarter of the third century B.C. that the Chinese
political power permitted it to cross the 'Yangtzu-kiang, which
nearly separates the country Into two halves, north and south. .And
as a i'act Chinese authority was so far from bcin^ established that
about 566 AD. the Emperor Wu-ti of the Northern Chao dynasty
was obliged to protect the passages of the Yang-izu, west of 1-chang,
with ramparts in order to prevent the raids of barbarians. In the
latter part of the fifth century of our era, the chief of the Pan-hu
race was recognized by the Chinese Emperor as King of Siang-
yang (llupeh) and Governor of King Chao. His realm contain-
mg 80,000 villages, covered the provinces of Central Ciiina and ex-
tended north to near the Yellow river. In the IweUlh century they
still occupied the eastern half of Sz-ch'wan and Kuei-chao, Hupeh,
and Munan provinces Knowledge of this is necessary to under-
stand the formation and evolution of the Chinese nation. There is
a broad distinction to be drawn between the extension of the
Chinese dominion politically so called and that of their influence.
The indigenous Chiefs were recognized as Chinese ofiioials by the
addition of Chinese titles of office to their own native dignity. Such
native States entirely enclosed in Chinese territory lasted for many
centuries and the broken tribes srill in existence in the southern
provinces of China are fragments of their population. " Segmen-
" tation, intermingling, and transfer from one place to another have
" happened on so extensive a scale that hybridity Is much more to
" be met with than purity in any degree^ yet of those who migrated
" southwards, and were progressively driven outside the modern
"Chinese frontiers, there are in Indo-China not a few remnant
" tribes, or reconstituted nations, representative, in a decayed or in
" an improved state of culture, of former communities, or important
" races and States which once were located in Central and Southern
" China." A study of all the documents available led Monsieur
Terrien to the definite pronouncement that " the cradle of the Shan
" race was in the Kiu'lung mountains north of Sz-ch'wan and south
" of Shensi in China proper." Whe'her this is final may be doubted,
but at any rate there can be little doubt that the Tai race, whether
they are pure Ngu, Pa, Lao, or Ngai-lao (the Ailao of Mr. Parker),
or an inextricable imbroglio of hybrid communities, formed the domi-
nating power in Yunnan for many centuries. Mr. Parker's re-
searches given below prove this conclusively.
Burman historj- tells us of two great military expeditions from
Yunnan into Burma by Taydks ; one not long before the Christian
era and the other about A.D. 241. These Tay6k3 could not have
been the Chinese^ for the Chinese were shut off from contact with
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
ig;
the Burmese until after the conquest of Yunnan by Kublai Khan in
A.O. 1253, when he put an end to the Nan-chao Kingdom. It
seems clear that these Tayoks must have been the Shans prior to
their dispersal, and their kingdom Ai-lao or Nan-chao may oe pre-
sumed to be the Kingdom o7p6ng and the Kawsampi of latter-day
histories. This may also explain why the Hurmcse speak of the
Mongol armies as consisting of two races, the Tar6ks (or Tayoks)
and the Tarets. Sir Arthur Phayre says the Manchus are called
Taret by the Burmese, but Mr. Parker doubts the fact and demands
his authority. The fact that Taruk and Taret mean " six and seven "
in Manipuri is without doubt very extraordinary and suggests that
the enquiry is at sixes and sevens, but it in no other way affords a
solution. It may be permitted tosuggest that the Teru State, of
which M.Terrien writes, seems to supply a clue. It developed about
the eleventh century B C, " grew progressively to an enormous ex-
" tent, equal to, if not more important than, all the other States of the
" Chinese confederation put together," but the Teru or Tero were
eventually expelled from China in 77S A.D. by the King of Nan-
chau when he destroyed the western part of the Tsuan State in
North Kwangsj. M. Terrien detects in them the antecedents of
the Karen tribes. Dr. Gushing urges convincingly that the great
homogeneity of the different divisions of the Tai race can be ac-
counted for only by the existence of one or more strong Tai States
in South-western China for a considerable time before the first
historical notice of Nan-chao early in the seventh century. Mr.
Parker indicates that there was this powerful Slate in the earlier
kingdom of Ai-lao, and everything down to the existence at the
present day of the Pai-i, the Min-ch'iang, and other tribes of un-
doubted Tai race in the south and west of Yunnan, stranded on the
borders of the ancient home of their race, combine to prove the same
thing.
Monsieur Terrien is an additional witness when he \\Tites of
the Ngai-lao . " They appear again in A. D. 47, making raids on the
" Chinese territory, descending the Han and Yangtsz rivers on
" bamboo rafis. In the year 69 Liu Mao, their General-King, sub-
"mittedtothe empire with seventy seven chiefs of communities
'* and 51,890 families, comprising 553,71 1 persons. As they had
*' extended over the whole western part of Sz-ch'wan and somh-
" wardsj they were officially recognized by the Chinese Government
"in the east of Yunnan. In A, D. 78, having rebelled against the
" Chinese officials appointed to represent the suzerainty of China,
" their king, Lei-Iao, was defeated in a great battle, which caused
" many of their tribes to migrate into the present country of the
" Northern Shan Slates. They soon recovered from this blow
35
^94
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. Vl.
" and they developed and formed the agglomerations which became
" in A. D. 629 the great State of Nan-chao, which afterwards ex-
" tended in all directions." There Is throughout a suggestion of
the fatal want of coherence which appears always to have charac-
terized the Tai, but the evidence seems complete of a united and
powerful State which lasted long enough and had traditions glorious
enough to impress its paternity upon its most distant descendants,
no matter how widely separated and how greatly influenced by alien
races and diverse political connections.
Dr. Gushing says the migrations of the Tai into Burma probably
began about two thousand years ago, although Shan and Burman
tradition place the irruption several centuries earlier. What we
can gather from Chinese history would seem to point to the same
date. Probably the first swarms were small and were due rather to
the restlessness of character, which has always characterized the
Tai, than to exterior force. Some of the migrations may have been
warlike expeditions, such as that which destroyed the ancient
Tagaung Empire. The inference is irresistible that the invaders
were not Chinese but Tai or Tero Shans or Karens^ and almost
certainly not the latter.
Later, however, larger and more important migrations were un-
doubtedly due to the pressure of Chinese invasion and conquest.
Most Northern Shan Chronicles begin with the legend that in
the middle of the sixth century of our era two brothers descended
from heaven and took up their abode in Hsen \Vi, or in the valley
of the Shweli, or of the Irrawaddy, or wherever local pride requires
the settlement. There they found a population which immediately
accepts them as kings. This is probably the folks-myth fashion
of stating a historical fact. A great wave of Tai migration de-
scended in the sixth century of the Christian era from the mountains
of Southern Yunnan into the Nam Mao or Shweli valley and the
adjacent regions, and through it that valley became the centre of
Shan political power. Tradition and the statement of all the
hitherto discovered chronicles assert that the Nam Mao or Shweli
valley and its neighbourhood, Bhamo, Mong Mil, Hsen Wi, is
the first home of the Shans In Upper Burma, It seems most
probable that this wave of migration followed the path already
traversed by earlier Tai colonists, who had sought a home in these
parts, but had attained no political importance. From the Nam Mao
the Shans spread south-east over the present Shan Stales, north
into the present Hkamti region, and west of the Irrawaddy river into
all the country lying between it, the Chiiidwin, and Assam. Centu-
ries later they overran and conquered Wesali-LOng, Assam itself.
Chap, vi.] the shan states and the tai.
J95
Not only does tradition assert that these Shans of Upper Burma are
ihe oldest branch of the Tai family, but they are always spoken of by
other branches as the Tai L&ttg^ or Great Shans, while the other
branches call themselves Tai Noi, or Little Shans. The name Tai
Mao referring to the Shweli river is also freauently used, Even the
Siamese use the term, though they misapply it. They call them-
selves Hlai Noi or Little Htai, and the Lao Shans, from whom they
say they are sprung, they call Htai Yai, the Great Htai. But the
Lao in their turn call themselves Tai Noi and acknowledge the
Northern Shans of Burma to be the Tai Long. The Shan-Chinese,
whose States Indicate the line followed by Shan migration into
Burma, also share this title of Tai LOng. No doubt the name is
due to the fact that the earliest political centre was established by
the northern branch of tlie family as well as to the probability that
it was I he strongest when the kingdom of Nan-chaocame toan end.
These earliest settlers and other parties from Yunnan gradually
pressed southwards, but the process was slow. It was not' until the
fourteenth centur)' that the Siamese Tai established themselves in
the great delta of the Mfenam, between Cambodia and the MGn
country. It seems probable enough that this latest movement,
which must also have been made in the greatest strength, was the
direct result of the conquest of the Shan kingdom of Ta-H-fu by
Prince Kublai in A. D. 1253.
The early history of the Shans in Burma is very obscure. There
is little doubt that a powerful Shan kingdom called Mong Mao L6ng
grew up in the north in the neighbourhood of the Shweli river.
The late Mr. Ney Elias identified the capital as the modern Mong
Mao, but there can be no doubt that he was wrong. That place
was not adopted as capital until long after the kingdom had reach-
ed its period of greatest power. Everything points to the fact, how-
ever, that the kingdom was that of the Mao Shans, the Shans who
settled along the Shweli river. New kin^s verj- often chose new sites
for their capitals. These were always near the Nam Mao, and
the site which was most often adopted was that of Cheila according
to Ney Elias' manuscript. There can be scarcely any doubt that
this was the modern SJ; I.an, about 13 mileseast of Nam Hkam and
close to the frontier, which here is the Shweli river or Nam Mao,
beyond which at no very great distance is the modern Mong Mao.
The modern Sfe Lan is a village of no great size. It stands
on the highest point of an irregular four-sided plateau, which
rises to a height of 200 or 300 feet above the valley level and
is about a square mile in area. This plateau is completely sur-
rounded by an entrenched ditch, which is in many places 40 or
50 feet deep. There no doubt was once also a wall, but this has
\^
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VI.
completely mouldered away. A few miles off is Pang Hkam, also
an old Mao capital, and also with the remains of an earthen para-
pel and ditch enclosing an even larger area. In the neighbour-
hood are a number of bare detached hills surrounded by formid-
able entrenchments. The local people ascribe the construction of
these cities and works to the Chinese, but they are very ancient,
have a great resemblance to the other ancient cities found in all
parts of the Shan States, and there can be very little doubt are old
capitals of the Mao Shans. If Nan-chao was not Kawsampi and
the Kingdom of P6ng, then we may take it for granted that this
Mao Shan kingdom was.
The silence of Burman histor\' with reference to this kingdom
is strange and is only to be explamed on the assumption that what
they then knew as Tayoks were really the Shans and that the trans-
ference of the name centuries aftenvards to the Chinese was accom-
plished without the recognition of the fact that they knew nothing
of the real Chinese until the Shan kingdom of Nan-chao was over-
thrown. Tai chronicles indicate that the Mao Kingdom began in
the seventh centurj' of our era and maintained itself with varying
degrees of prosperity until the rise of Anawra-hta, the King of Pagan,
This monarch gained ascendency in much of the plain country^
which up till then the Shans had held. It is for this reason that
Mr. Parker looks upon Anawra-hta Mengsaw as the first definite
King of Burmese history and thinks that his famous visit to China,
in quest of the Buddha's Tooth, took him no further than the in-
dependent State of Nan-chao, then called the Tayok country.
On his return Anawra-hta married a daughter of the Mao Shan
King. Ney Ellas says that the Mong Mao chronicle states that
that Chief "g.ive his daughter to the Pagan monarch, though it is
"also staled that he never went to the Pagan Court as a true vassal
" must have done.** But whether he became a real vassal of Anaw-
ra-hta or not, it is quite clear that when that King's reign came to
an end in 1052 A. D. the Sanobwas of the Mao Kingdom remained
independent. In 12 10 A. D. there was some sort of change in the
succession, indicated in the Hsen \Vi Chronicle by a fairy tale and
the reign of a Princess Yi Kang llkam, and in the Mong Mao
chronicle, by what Ney Ellas calls ' a third influx of Kun Lung's pos-
" terity in the person of Chau*ainio-kam-neng, of the race of Kunsu
" of Maing-kaing Maing-nyaung." Whatever the facts may have
been, there followed two brothers, who extended the limits of the Mao
Kingdom to the farthest point they ever reached. These were Sao
(or Hso) Hkan Hpa and bam L6ng Hpa. The HsenWi Chronicle,
it may be remarked, gives more credit to Hso Hkan Hpa than is
allowed him in the story of Mong Mao. However that may be, the
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
197
younger brother (they were twins according to the Hsen VVi ver-
sion), Sam Lung Hpa, hocSLme Sawb7va oi Mogaung, where he built
a new ciiy and established a new line of powerful princes tributary
to Mong Mao, five years before Hsd Hkan Hpa succeeded to the
throne of the Mao Shans in 1235. Four campaigns were under-
taken and the dominion of the Mao Shans was enormously extended.
The suzerainty of Hsu Hkan Hpa was caused lo be acknowledged
as far south as Moulmcin and to KCng Hong on the east. His
dominions were extended westwards by the over-running of Arakan,
the destruction of its capital, and the invasion of Manipur. Assam
was subjugated in 1229 A. D. and pa-ssod under the rule of the
Shans, who were henceforth styled Ahom in that country. It is
claimed that even the Tai Kingdom of Ta-li [it may be noted that
the name of Nan-chao is quite unknown to the Shan chroniclers.
It is a purely Chinese term and means Southern Prince] acknow-
ledged allegiance to the Mao King before its fall under the attack
of Kublai Khan in 1253 A. D. In fact it may have been the ag-
gressiveness of the Mao Shans which brought down the Mongolian
army. Dr. Gushing thinks it more likely, however, that ihe relation
of Ta-li was one of alliance rather than subordination. For nearly
thirty years after the conquest of Yunnan by the Mongol-Chinese
army, the Chinese hung about the frontier, and then in 1 2S4 A. D. a
Mongolian force, we are told, swept down on Pagan and overthrew
the Burman monarchy. This expedition seems in no way to have
harmed the Mao Kingdom. It could hardly have passed through
without doing so if the Mao King had been hostile. The presump-
tion therefore has been that there was some sort of agreement if not
a direct alliance, and indeed this is indicated by the legends of
the Hsen \Vi history. It is from this conjunction perhaps that the
Burmese jingle, Tar6k Taret, takes its beginning. Just at this
period a new capital called Man Maw was established in A. D.
1285, near the site of the present town of Bhamo, and this suggests
a revival of Shan power in the plains where Auawra-hla had curbed
or destroyed it. Moreover, the weakening of the power of Burma
by the overthrow of Pagan was favourable to the Mao Kingdom,
for it is claimed that the Mao territories were increased by the con-
quest of the Mfenam valley to Ayuthia and of Yunzalin and Tavoy.
This we know was rather the commencement of the present King-
dom of Siam than its conquest by an army of Mao Shans and
conversion into an integral part of the Mao realm. Following as
it did on the overthrow of the Kingdom of Nan-chao or Ta-li, it seems
safe to say that the destruction of Pagan was the result of this in-
vasion of the Mongolians, but that it was not the Chinese at all
who effected it, but the Shans diiven from their old independent
198
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VI.
kingdom. The whole question requires much more elucidation
than Is at present possible, but it may be pointed out that Mr.
Parker hints at the same thing when he says: " We may there-
" fore reject the whole story of the Mongols ever having reached the
"then capital of New Pagan, though it is quite possible that Shan
" auxiliaries may have taken the opportunity to sack or loot it,"
The inference seems all the more certain when we find the Shans
immediately afterwards partitioning Burma among them on the
death of Kyawzwa, the last King of the Anawra-hta dynasty. It
may be parenthetically added that the three Shan brothers who
divided the empire seem lo be alluded to in the history of On Bawng
Hsi Paw. Sir Arthur Phayrc says they came from the small Shan
State of Binnaka. which has always been rather a problem. These
chronicles, now first translated, seem to prove that Binnaka is Peng
Naga, a man, and not a small State, and that his three sons, or more
probably descendants, were the rulers of Sagaing, Panya, and Myin-
zaing.
Up to this period there is a considerable correspondence in
the details of the various Shan chronicles. From this time on
they diverge and become more local and parochial. The pro-
sperity of the Mao Kingdom, we are told, "began to wane soon
"after it had attained its greatest area of territory." About the
same time the Kingdom of Nan-chao fell. The opinion may
therefore be hazarded thai all refer to the original independent
Shan kingdom and that Nan-chao, Kawsampi, and the Kingdom
of Pong are the same place. Probably all the Shan Sawhvas
rendered tribute lo a dominant Sawhwa at Ta-li. When he was
overthrown the race split up into a number of unconnected princi-
palities and has remained disunited ever since.
Whether this is the case or not there is no doubt as to the steady
decadence. The Siamese and Lao dependencies became a sepa-
rate kingdom under the suzerainty of Ayuthia, the old capital of
Siam. Wars with Burma and China were frequent and the in-
vasions of the Chinese caused great loss. On one occasion a
king, who may be either of the brothers Sao Ngan Mpa of Mong
Mao, or Sao Kawn Hpa of Mogaung, fled to Ava, was pursued by
the Chinese, and took poison and died there. This was in 1445
A. D., and the circumstance that the Chinese dried his body and
carried it back to their own country with them enables us to com-
pare systems of transliteration as well as to settle dates. This
unlucky monarch is the Thohan-bwa of Burmese history, the Sun-
gampha of Manipur, and the Sz-j^n-fah of Chinese annals. His
gruesome end makes him a landmark and gives him a celebrity
[AP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
t99
that nothing else connected with his history would seem to war-
rant.
It seems most probable that there was no central Shan power,
but, if there were, constant wars weakened it, and the various princi-
palities gained a semi-independence. Of these, Mong Kawng
(Mogaung) was the farthest from China and seems lo have been
the most powerful. Ney Elias' Mong Mao chronicle alleges that
Sao Horn Hpa, the last Mao Sa-wdwa, reigned for eighty-eight years
and died in 1604 A. D. and that his kingdom attained a prosperity
never before realized. This is obviously the mere desire for a
happy bnding which characterizes healthy story-tellers, for it is
certain thai Bayinnaung, the ambitious and successful King of
Pegu, conquered the Mao territory in A. D. 1562 Subsequent
Chinese invasions in A. D. 1582 and in 1604 put a final end to the
Mao Shan dynasty. Although Mong Kawiig maintained a semi-
independence until its final conquest by Alaungpaya a centurj' and
a half later, it may be said that from 1604 A. D. Shan history
merges in Burmese history, and the .Shan principalities, though
they were always restive and given to frequent rebellions and
intestine wars, never threw off the yoke of the Burmans.
It is from this period that the Tai became gradually separated
into groups. The nature of their country made this easy, as no
doubt it also helps to explain their want of coherence; the influence
of neighbouring nations did the rest. Some of these were conquer-
ing, some were absorbent ; all of them were greedy and combative.
Dr. Cushing divides the Tai into three groups— the northern, the
intermediate, and the southern — and he considers the Lu of Keng
Hun^ (the Cheli of the Chinese and the Hsip Hsawng Panna or
XU Panna of many neighbours) and the Hkiin of Keng TQng the
intermediate group. But this seems hardly sufficient to cover such
radical dilTerencesasare marked by distinctive alphabets. A division
which would indicate political influences and would group the Tai
as influenced by Burma, by China, and by the ancient Khmer King-
dom has its attractions, but it certainly would not be adequate.
Physical characteristics and the affinities of language connect the
Tai indisputably with the Chinese. Not one of the written alpha-
bets, however, has the least trace of Chinese influence. A better
classification seems that proposed by the late Mr. Pilcher. He
suggested the consideration of the Tai under four sections — (i) the
north-western, (ii) the north-eastern, (iii) the eastern, and (iv) the
southern. Among the eastern he grouped the Shans of the Cis-
Salween States, which in the light of our later knowledge is not
satisfactory, and with the Siamese he grouped the Lao, who would
more naturally fall under the head of the eastern section. Still the
200
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VI.
arrane^ment is the most convenient for discussion from the Burma
point of view and this may suggest a belter scheme.
In the north-western branch may be included all the Shans
and Shan Burmese who are spread over the north of Burma proper
from Manipur and Assam to Bhamo. Mong Kawng fMogaung)
and Mong Yang (Mohnyin) were both of them capitals of independ-
ent Shan States of some importance, and Mong Kawng, as we have
seen, outlasted the kingdom of the Mao Shans, of which it was
claimed to be a province, for something like a century and a half. It
is somewhat significant that the time of the greatest extension
claimed for Mong Kawng, as will be seen by a reference to its
chronicles elsewhere in this work, is precisely the time of the greatest
power of the Mao Shans and that Sara L6ng Hpa, the first Mo-
faung Sarvbwa, is spoken of as the General Commanding the
lao troops. It is claimed that Sam L6ng Hpa had ninety-
nine Sawhwas under him spread over the provinces of Hkamti,
Singkaling Hkamti on the Chindwin river, Hukawng, Mong
Kung (Maingkaing on the Chindwin j, Mong Yawng, Mong
Yang (Mohnyin), Hsawng Hsup (known as Samjok or Thaung-
thut), Kale, the Yaw country, and Motshobo or Shwebo. Whether
this extensive area was ever controlled from Mogaung at one time
may be doubted, but as to the fact of the supremacy of the Shans
throughout its limits at one time or another there is no dispute.
Kven Burmese history admits this and only claims the establish-
ment of Burmese authority from the year 1442. This subjugation,
however, if it is admitted at all, was only temporary, for in 1526
the Shans of Mogaung had not only shaken off the Burmese voke,
but had conquered Ava, where the Sawhwa of Mohnyin establish-
ed himself as king and was succeeded by the Chief of "Unbaung,"
that is to say, the modern HsiPaw or Thibaw. The Shans there-
fore, whether of Mogaung or Mohnyin, independently, or acting
under the authority and with the support of the Mao Shans, held
Ava for 30 years.
As to the power of the Shans in this part of the country, there
can therefore be no doubt ; what is doubtful is, whether there was
only one kingdom, with Mogaung and Mohnyin and other sites as
alternate capitals, or whether^ as sefms more likely, there were a
number of semi-indejendent States which only united for common
action under a Miiiig Kawng chief of particular energy, or in cases
of national emergency. What details we have will be found else-
where. Here it is only necessary to say that the town of Mogaung
bears every appearance of having once been a large and ver)' thriv.
ing centre. Its area is considerably larger than that of Bhamo and
it contains several miles of paved streets. But it suffered greatly
CHAP. Vr.J THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
in wars with Burma in the i 7th and [8th centuries, and its sack by
the Kachins in 18S3 would have brought permanent ruin had it
not been for the British annexation. Mogaung had for long been
looked upon as a sort of Botany Bay of Upper Burma. Nevertheless,
nothing is more evident than that the country all round has been a
fertile and constantly cultivated rice plain, extending southwards to
Mohnyin, north to Kamaing, and west to Indawgyi. There are
traces of well-used roads, there are ruins of substantial bridges.
But the country is a waste. The Kachins did much to ruin it after
the Burmese had broken the Shan power, and the punishment of the
Kachins bv the Wuntho Sawdwa (it may be noted that in the times of
Shan domination there never was any such Sa-wbwa] resulted In prac-
tical depopulation. Of the villaices nothing remains but temples and
pagodas ; clumps of fruit trees, cotton plants, and gardens run wild.
These are, however, quite enough to prove that the Shans had a pro-
sperous and populous kingdom here and that Mogaung was ordi-
narily, if not always, its capital. North of Katha it cannot be said
that there is any real Burmese population. The people, whether
they are called Shan-Burmese, Kadu, Pwon (or f^pon), are proba-
bly mestizos and have certainly more of the Tai than of the
Burman about them. The Kachins would have finished what the
Burmese began if it had not been for the British annexation and the
North-western Shans would have as completely disappeared as the
Ahom in Assam.
Shans are found for a hundred miles northward of Mogaung,
but the villages are very few even in the Hukawng or Tanai valley,
which river is possibly the main source of the Chindwin. This
valley was formerly all Shan, but the Tai have mostly fled before
Burman oppression and Kachin invasion. Little is known about
the Hkamti Shans, whose country is still practically unexplored, but
the Burmans occasionally enforced their claims and the Kachins
have not altogether displaced them. British influence has not yet
been directly established. The smaller Slate of Singkaling Hkamti
is situated about 60 miles above the junction of the Uyu and Chind-
win rivers and still retains its Sar^'dTva, but the rulers were always
tributary to the power thai held Mogaung, and it cannot be said that
the population retains more direct Tai characteristics than their
Mogaung and Mohnyin neighbours. The same may be said of
Hsawng Hsup, the Thaungthut of the Burmese, and the Sumjok of
old histories. They are mere interesting relics of a great princi-
)ality just as the Moi and Muong cantons in Kwang-si and Tong-
[ing are, and of no greater political independent mterest. The
technical Shan States of Wuntho and Kale, as also of Mong Leng
(Mohlaing) east of the Irrawaddy, were merely nominally so
?6
303
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VI.
before the annexation and since then the persons in charge of them,
called Sawbuas from force of habit, have finally ceased to exist and
their territories are as much incorporated in Upper Burma as Mo-
gaung and Mohnyin are. It is more by chance than because of
any difference of status that Hsawng Hsup and Sin^kaltng
Hkamti have survived them. They have not, for somethmg like
two centuries, had any political connection or affinity with the East-
em or Shan Slates proper, and the probability is that they will be-
come more and more Burmanized, ]ust as the old Shan State of
Dhamo has become so Burmanized as hardly to recognize that it
ever was a distinct Shan State.
Briefly it may be said of the North-western or Western Shans that
they were completely subjugated by the Burmese and have become
largely assimilated to them. Even their country has for years been
considered as a part of Burma Proper. They have long been debar-
red from any sympathy or connection with the majn bulk of their
race. Even their women have adopted the Burmese dress, language,
and habits. It is only the extraordinary tenacity of Tai tradition
which has prevented them from becoming indistinguishable from
their conquerors many years ago. The opening of the Mogaung
railway will shortly obliterate what traces of Tai speech and custom
remain. Their written character is becoming less and less used and
known and is likely very soon to disappear everywhere but in Hkamti
L6ng in the extreme north.
The Western Shans have the following account of the foundation
of their States. There was many years ago an Emperor (Udibwa)
of China, whose queen, Keinnaya Dewi Maha-hti, gave birth to a
daughter who was blind. When the Princess, who was named Saw
Hla, had reached the age of twelve, and it was clear that she would
never have the use of her eyes, she was sent adrift on a Nagata
raft, which was stocked, presumably by the mother, with food for a
long journey. One version says the raft was set afloat on the Ta-li
lake and thence got into the Nawngsfe river and so into the Irra-
waddy. Others say simply that it was launched on the Irrawaddy.
Down that river it floated as far as Tagaung, or more precisely
" the shoal at the mouth of the Chaung-bauk above Sab^nago.
There the raft grounded, or was caught by the branch of a tree and
the blind Princess landed. Before very long she met with a tiger
(a white tiger according to the Mansi story-teller), who had been
her husband in a previous existence and now wooed and won her,
and they had four sons. These were named Tho-kaw-bwa, Tho-
ngan-bwa, Tho-kyan-bwa, and Tho-hon-bwa. These are Burma-
nized forms of the Shan Hso Hkaw Hpa, &c., and Hso in Shan
means tiger. When the four boys had grown up, their mother
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
203
Saw HIa fi^avc them a priceless ring, by which they might prove their
identity, and sent them off to iheir father, the Sao W6ng-ti, and told
them to tell her story. The Emperor heard the story, recognized
the ring, and acknowledged the four youths as his grandsons. They
stayed for three years in China, learning statecraft, arid liien re-
turned to the Irrawaddy country. Their grandfatherj the Emperor,
gave to the eldest a gong^ to the second a dagger, to the third a
heron or egret, and the youngest he told to demand towns and
countries from his father, the tiger. The others he said would find
their territories determined for them. Accordingly they returned
to their own country by separate routes. The eldest came to where
Mogaung now is and, when he arrived there, his gong began to
sound of its own accord. By this token he knew that the country
was to be his and he built a city and took charge of all the country
round about. The people called the city first of all Bein-kawn^
because the gong had sounded there, and this was changed in the
course of time to Mong ICawng or Mogaung. The word Bein
appears to be a Western Shan form of the ordinary Man or Wan,
meaning a village, which in Siamese takes the form Ban.
The second brother journeyed on until one day his dagger stood
upright on the ground. Here he founded his capital and it was
called Bcin-mit, the town of the dagger, and in the present day it is
known as Mong Mil or Momeik.
The third marched with his egret until he came to a paddy plain,
where the bird screamed aloud. Here he built his capital and
founded his State and it was called at first Bein-yang, the town of
the egret, and this later became Mong Yang or Mohnyin.
The fourth son came to his father, the tiger, who made no trouble
about marking out a State for him, and it was called at first Bein-hso,
the town of the tiger, and in later times this was changed to Wying
Hso or Wuntho.
Tims the four sons of Saw HIa were all provided for, and their
descendants ruled over the Slates for many generations. The years
300, 301, 302, and 303 of the Burmese era (938 A.D. ei seq.) are
given for the foundation of these States.
Divested of its legeiidary form, the story points to the occupation
of the country immediately round the Irrawaddv by Shans from the
State of Nan-chao before its conquest by kublai Khan. The
name Hso (tiger) is found steadily throughout the Hsen Wi chronicle
and the names given to the four sons are common Shan dynastic
titles. The references to the Ta-li lake and to the Nawngsfe ^the
lake of Si or Yiinnansen) are significant, and the Udibwa or H wang-ti
■was doubtless the ruler not of China but of the Yunnan country.
304
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VI.
The North-eastern Shans of Pilcher's classification are what are
generally known as Shan-tay6ks or Chinese Shans. They occupy
that part of Yunnan which bulges westwards towards the Irratvaddy.
The bulk of them are now Chinese subjects, but there are many of
them in Namhkam and Sfelan and all along our Northern Shan
States frontier.
This frontier line undoubtedly practically bisects the old Mao
Shan Kingdom and the various capitals of that kingdom appear to
have been generally situated close to the frontier line, which for some
distance is the Nam Mao, a river better known as the Shweli. The
majority of them would seem to have been on the British side, but
curiously enough the name of Ko-shan-pyi or Kawsampi has clung
with the greatest tenacity to the Chinese States, and the late Mr.
Pilcher struggled unsuccessfully to identify them. There is very little
doubt that they are the true lai Long or Great Tai, and that with
them (though they are not called Shan-Chinese) should be classed
the Shans of Hsen \V1 and Hsi Paw, in fact of our Northern Shan
States together with what Shans there are in Mong Mit. Geo-
graphically Mong Lcng (Mohlaing) would also be included, but,
as has been stated, the population of that extinct State is as
completely Burmanized as the Shans west of the Irrawaddy. There
is indisputably a dialectic difference between the Shan spoken in
the Northern and of the Southern Shan States more distinguish-
able than that between the Shans of Hsen Wi and the true Tai
HVh or Shan-Chinese. Ethnologicaliy, as well as historically, there-
fore these Tai would seem to fall into the same class. The whole
country formerly often changed hands between the Chinese and
Burmese and the present frontier line fairly represents the measure
of their respective success after the Tai themselves ceased to be
the predommating power. Nevertheless there is very little that is
Chinese about the Shan-Chinamen, and their written character
has no sort of resemblance either in form or complexity to that
of China. Undoubtedly they got it from the Burmese, and it is
merely an angular and crabbed form of the character which rightly
or wrongly (most probably wrongly) we look upon as the typical
Tai character. The dress of the Shan-Chinamen is certainly dis-
tinctive, but it is so rather in colour than in fashion or type. The
British Shan dresses almost invariably in white ; the Chinese Shan
in indigo blue. The women's dress is even more distinctive, but it
is so only in pattern, a panel variation in adornment of the identical
seductive garment which doubtless was invented by the Burmese
coquette. None of the Tai-hkfe women wear the crurum non enar-
rabile iegmen oi the celestial belle. Apart from mere differences
of colour and pattern, which are common enough locally, but are
CHAP. VI.] THF. SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
ao5
mere fashionable whims, the chief difference is in the turhan. That
worn by the women of the Southern Shan "States is ordinarily tJie
Burmese women's scarf worn round the head as a turban. The
Shan-Chinese women oftenest wear dark-blue turbans, and these
are very large, approaching the size o( that worn by the Sikh.
In Nantien, Slong Wan, Kan-ngai, and the neighbouring Slates it
broadens to the top and stands a foot high. East of the Salween
it broadens to the sides and has the ends standing up like horns.
East of the M^khong it becomes merely round again and is not so
bulky. Very broad silver bracelets in various patterns are also
characteristic. The Shan-Chinese Chiefs all speak Chinese, but
the mass of the population remains distinctively Tai. There has
been no such assimilation as exists west of the Irrawaddy or in the
Shan States of the south nearest to Burma,
The Eastern Tai is that section of the race which is most directly
known to us as the Shan race ; whence the name Shan came is an
unsolved riddle. We have seen that the Burmese almost certainly
first knew the Tai as Taroks or Tarcts. Is it possible that when
afterwards they heard of the 'Han Jen, the Chinese name for them-
selves, they transferred 'Han into Shan, and made a further ethno-
logical error? The idea is a mere conjecture^ but no other expla-
nation of the name so far as appears is obtainable.
The name Siam is no help, for whether it is "a barbarous Angli-
" cism derived from the Portuguese or Italian word Sctam," or is
derived from the Malay Sayam, which means brown, it can hardly
be said to be a national wordj though it is still used in official docu-
ments and treaties. No doubt it came to appear there through the
foreign contracting parties and not because it was ever used in the
country itself, which seems always to have been called MongThai.
It is quite as much a puzzle as the fact that the Siamese and Lao
call the British Shans Ngio. Mr. Taw Sein Ko thinks it is derived
from Chiampa, Champanagara, y.rf., the country of the Chams or
Siams.
Pilcher grouped together as Eastern Shans all those between the
Irrawaddy and the M^khong. This is convenient from a political
and geographical point of view, but it is not so satisfactory as far as
racial or rather dialectical affinities are concerned. As far east as
the Salween the various States have been under more or less active
Burmese suzerainty for very many years and perhaps centuries. And
the influence exerted, though very far from being anything like so
great as west of the Irrawaddy, except in the States on the edge of
the plateau, has been very considerable. Beyond the Salween Bur-
man control, though it was maintained, was very much less continu-
2o6
THE UPPKR BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VI.
ously or vigorously exerted. Conseqiiently both in rftalecl and in
ttriuen character ihe difference between the Tai east and west of the
Salween is very marked, much more so ihan between the Southern
and the Northern Shans of the Irrawaddy basin. When, if ever,
a clearer history of the original independent Shan States is ob-
tained, it may be possible to determine which of the present sec-
tions of the Tai race has been least affected by outside influences.
!f the theory of the independent Tai Kingdom of Ta-h be correct,
then the Hkiin and the Lu of Kcng Tung and Keng Hung should
occupy that position. In dialect and written character they are
nearer to the Lao than the Tai west of the Salween, but unlike the
Lao they have been very little, if at all, affected by Khmer or Cam-
bodian influence, either directly or through the Siamese. The
traces left by Burmese supremacy are so slight as to be hardly
noticeable. The Chinese have affected them just as little. The
Hkiin appear to be much less numerous than was at one time sup-
posed and, so far from being the inhabitants of the whole great
State of Keng Tong, seem to be merely the inhabitants of the Targe
plain in which the capital is situated. The rest of the Tai popu-
lation calls itself Lii. The Hkiin dialect appears to have been a
good deal Influenced by the Lawa or Wa, who were at onetime the
owners of the whole country down to Chiengmai, where in Mc-
Leod's lime there were " about six villages of them to tiic northward,
" besides those near MuangNiong. The rest have fled to the moun-
" tains round Klang Tung, which country, however, is said also for-
" merly to have belonged to them." This is remembered in the
curious coronation ceremonies at Keng Tong (y. v.) in which two
(f^fl always figure. The Hkiin may therefore be looked upon as
merely a branch of the Lu, and the fact that Keng Tung annals
supply practically no hints whatever as to Tai history and have no
connection with other Tai chronicles, is the less disappointing.
We are therefore thrown back on the Lii, but unfortunately no Lii
chronicles are yet available. The Lii differ so considerably from
the Tai L6ng type and also, though in a less degree, from the Cis-
Salween Shans, that it seems that it is there we must seek for the
true history of the race. They seem to be nearer to the Pai-i and
Min-ch'iang and what not of Yiinnan and to the Moi, Do, and Muong
of Tongking and Kwangsi, so far as information is available about
these Tai types, than to the Shans on the hither side of the Sal-
ween. Yet they disown all connection with the Tai, as they call the
people west of the Salween, and with the Tai Hk6, Chinese-Shans,
many of whom are settled among them, live in distinct villages, and
also disown all relationship. It is precisely these intermediate
groups, as Dr. Gushing calls them, wno insist most firmly on their
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
307
local names of Lii, Hkiin, and Lern and apply ihe name Tai only
to those of the race whom we know to have been most affected by
the Burmese. The Lem, according to their tradilioiiSj are un-
doubtedly fugitives or emigrants from the Nam Mao region. They
use the " diamond " or Mao Shan character perhaps most frequent-
ly, though the Lii alphabet is also used. There is also not a little
confusion caused by the fact that some considerable Lao settlements
have been made in iheir midst, and retain in their religious books
the Lao, or Siamese Shan character, though Siamese armies never
came near either Keng Hung or Mong Lem. It is precisely because
these Tai are intermediate or rather central, removed from Chi-
nese, Cambodian, and Barman influence, that they might be expect-
ed to retain the original race name. It is characteristic of the
puzzle that it is they who disown it most stoutly.
W ho were the first inhabitants of the country which we now call
the Southern Shan Stales is very uncertain, but it is indisputable
that the Tai came there much later than they did to the northern
portion. The Burmese also extended their influence here very
much earlier, and it would almost seem as if the Tai first came only
after the disruption of the Kingdom of Nan Chao, that is to say,
about tfie same time that the Kingdom of Siani came into exis-
tence. The chronicles of Lawk Sawk and Lai Hka are the only
Southern Shan histories of any length which it has been possible to
obtain. They are written entirely from a Burman point of view,
yet they seem to show that the Southern States only became im-
portant and began to have a history when the Mao bhans became
prominent and overran northern Burma.
Of the southern group it is not necessary 10 say much. From
an abstract point of view it would probably be better to class the
Lao or Siamese Shans with the Lii and likiin, but politically
the two sections are not and never have been connected. Whe-
ther the Lao are the ancestors of the Siamese, and have yielded
to them as the wealthier and more powerful possessors of the
Mtjnam valley, or whether, as more likely, the Siamese established
themselves separately and, when they gained strength and prosperity
on the sea-board, began to extend their authority backwards on
their line ol immigration, is a question of some interest, but it does
not concern a Gazetteer of British possessions. The identity of the
Siamese with the Lao as a race is undoubted, though they differ
from them and the others more than the latter do from each other.
The Pai-y, the Tho, thePhou-tay, Moi, and the Muoiig may con-
tribute something to the history of the race, but so far we have little
information about them. About Ssu-mao the whole country is re*
ally governed by Tai Chiefs. The Chinese are found only in the
3o8
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VI.
towns and only in the chief of these. They divide the Tai into the
Han Pai-y, those who live on firm ground or uplands ; and the Shui
Pai-y, riverain or wet-bottom Tai, accordingly as they live on the
hills or in the valleys. They also drag herrings across the trail by
speaking of ' H6 Pai-y, black Shans, and Hoa Pai-y, streaky, parti-
coloured, or speckled Shans, which names arise from differences of
dress. Frenchmen have recorded that the Pai-y of Ssu-mao under-
stand the Tho dialect of Lung-chao. It is also certam that they
understand the Lu of Keng Hong. They have a written charac-
ter, but whether this resembles more the Lu or the Mao, or is again
different, there is nothing on record to determine. Neither, so far as
the compiler knows, has any one made known what character the
Tho and Muong use. In a note on the Tho of the province of
Hung Hao in Tongking, we are told incidentally that they have
36 letters in their alphabet and that " /fs /nots composes de sylla-
" bes s'ecn'veni comme Ckriture europSenne mats verticaUmenf de
haul en bas." At the same time the few words given are undoubt-
edly Tai, approximating to the Lao form, thus: —
Bo-my = Parents.
Kin ngai = To eat rice.
Kin nam = To drink water.
Aft dau mi pha bo mi phau = There is betel and arecanut,
but no lime.
Mi p hue mi i>ha bo micaunon — There are mats and blan-
kets, but tnere is no one sleeping.
We have thus obtained a view of the Tai race as a whole and
may proceed to a consideration of their histories and traditions as
shown in such of their chronicles as are available. Before doing
90, however, it will be well to consider their system of counting
time, which is indeed not a little significant as to their origin.
The Shans of British territory have adopted the Burmese era,
both religious and civil, but this was not always
^SUn cycle nr Hpfc the case. Formerly, like the Chinese Cam-
bodians, Annamese, and, to a certain extent, the
Siamese of the present day, they counted their time by cycles.
Of these there are two : the small cycle and the great cycle. The
former includes twelve years and the great cycle is made up of
five small cycles and covers sixty years. Though this system has
fallen out of general use and is quite unknown by many Shans, still
it is frequently made use of in historical documents, and tho con-
fusing of it with the era adopted from Burma leads to (he errors
in dates, which are conspicuous in what Shan histories are avail-
able.
HAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAl.
The Shans and the other Indo-Chinese races may be assumed
to have learnt the system from the Chinese, who date the com-
inencemenl of the sexagenary cycle from B. C. 2637 in the sixty-
first year of Hwang-ti's reign. This Luh-shih-liwa Kia Tsu seems
to have been perfectly arbitrary in every way, for no explanation
now exists of the reasons which induced its inventor, Hwang-ti,
or his minister, Nao the Great, to select this number. Dr. Williams
in his book the Middle Kingdom thinks that it was not derived from
the cycle of Jupiter of tlie Hindus, but that both Hindus and Chi-
nese got it from the Chaldeans. The similarities are so striking as
to indicate a common origin, but this is so remote that its genesis is
a complete mystery, particularly since Prinsep (Indian Antiquities
II, Useful Tables, page 159 et seg) thinks that the introduction of
the system into India is of comparatively recent date, or about
the year 965 A. D. In the Chmcse scheme there are ten so-
called " stems " {Shih kan) and twelve *' branches " (Shih-erh chi),
which are five times repeated. The twelve branches have the names
of as many animals and the stems are combined in couplets to form
multipliers to these. These two sets of horary characters are also
applied to minutes and seconds, hours, days, and months, signs of
the zodiac, points of the compass, and are also made to play an
important part in divination and astrology. In the Cambodian, Lao,
Annamese, and Siamese schemes the twelve branches are named,
according to Gamier (\'oyage d' Exploration, I, page 93 and page
466), after animals in the same way as the Chinese, but the animals
are not all precisely the same, nor do they come in the same order.
A comparative list stands thus: —
Shan.
Chinese.
Lno and
Annamese.
Cambodian.
Siamese.
Nu
Hii. Rat
Rat
Ox
Rat, Ch'uat.
Kwai wo ...
Niu, Ox
Ox
Tiger ...
Ox. Ch'alu.
Hsa
Wei, Tieer
Tiger
Hare
Tiger, KSn.
Pang-tai ...
Fang, Hare
Hare
Dragon .'...
Hare, Tao,
Ng6k
Ngu
Ma
Kioh, Dr.-igon ...
Yih. Snake
Sing, Horse
Dragun ...
Snake
Horse
Snake
Hor«e
Goat
Grcal dragon, Marfing.
LiUle dragon. Maseng.
Horse, Mamia.
Pe
Ling
Kwei, Goal ...
Tsui, Monkey
Mao, Cock
Goat
Monkey ,.,
Cock
Monkey ...
Cock
Dog
Goal, Marai.
Monkey, Wawk.
Cock, Rika.
Ma
Sang mu ...
L.eu, Dog
Shih, Bear
Dog
Pig
Pig
Rat
Dog. Chao.
Pig. Kun.
37
2IO
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VI.
But Gamier does not show \n what way the twelve names are
classified or multiplied in order to form a cycle with each of the
sixty years bearing a separate name. Sir John Bowring, however,
speaks of the Siamese cycle as composed of a fivefold repetition
of the twelve names arranged in decades, the first commencing with
the rat and ending with the cocJ^, the second beginning with the
dog and ending with the goal, and so on regularly to the sixth
decade.
This is shown in the following syn
optical table
: —
Year of the rat ...
1'
3^
s
Q
7"
i
Year of the ox
Year of the tiger
s
3
il
4
5
n
6
7
■a
■T3
8
9
a u
C
r
u.
Year of the hare
4
1
6
.■c
8
•a
to
X
2
^
•o
X
Year of the great dragon ...
5
■■u
;
c
9
r-
il
3
Year of the little dragon ...
6
2
8
V)
10.
a
4
li
1
u
Year of ihe horse
7
bl
9
r
3
5
Year of the goal
8
io-
a
4
4
«
6
Year of the monkey
Year of the cock
Year of the dog
9
k-o ^
1"
2
3
■•0
3
4
S
u
V
r
1
5
6
7
t3
■ «
•a
X
7
8
9
el's
Year of the pig
aJw-S
4^
^
6,
8.
10^
The present year 1897 is the year of the cock, the fortieth year
of the fortieth cycle of the P'uti'a Sakarat, the sacred era, and the
fifty-eighth year of the twentieth cycle of the Chula Sakarat, the
civl] era. It may be added that ihe modern Siamese use the
Bangkok era, in which 1897 is the year 115.
The Chinese date for the same year is the thirty-third year of the
seventy-sixth cycle, or the four thousand five hundred and thirty-
third since its institution. Ney Elias, in his Sketch 0/ the History
of t e Shans, gives the following table, but omits to say whether
it was supplied to him in this form. He says: "it is noteworthy
" also that the names used for the animals are nearly entirely the
'* Laotian names and not those of their own (the Northern Shan)
" language." He does not give his authority for this statement,
which as a matter of fact is incorrect. The names given are, with
allowances for double interpretation and running the ordeal of two
ears, practically identical with those of the table commonly used
in the Shan States, which is given below.
CHAP- VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
2ll
Table ybr naming the years of the Shan cycle when the number is given,
or numbering them when the name is given.
Saw.
Flaw-
NgJ.
Mail.
Si.
Sm.
Singa.
Mut.
San.
Raw.
Mil,
Kiu.
Kap
I
5»
41
31
21
1 1
Dap
a
52
43
32
22
la
Rai
>3
3
53
43
33
23
Mung
H
4
51
44
34
24
Plelt
=5
>5 1
S
55
45
35
Kat
36
16
6
56
46
36
Khut
37
27
17
7
57
47
Rung
49
38
2a
18
8
58
4B
Taw
39
29
19
9
59
Kaa
50
40
30
20
lo
60
'* The system," Ney Elias continues, " is doubtless the same as the
Indian cycle of sixty or the ' Jovian cycle,' though this is not
arranged in twelves and tens, but in a continuous list of sixty
single appellations. Under the name of Vrihaspati Chakra this
has been discussed and tabulated by Prinsep in the second volume
of Indian Antiquities. Though he points out, what is obvious,
that the small cycle of twelve — the so-called ' branches' of the
Chinese — is in fact the true cycle of Jupiter (one revolution of
Jupiter is really only about eleven years and ten months), he gives
no explanation of the origin of ten ' stems' or multipliers. In
his comparative table, the first year of the Indian list corresponds
with the fourth of the Chinese,. and this Prinsep believes goes far
to disprove the connection of the two systems ; but it is curious
that some Brahmin astrologers at Mandalay, who were applied to
for an explanation of the above Shan scheme, at once connected
it with the Indian cycle by producing the following table, or
transfer of the Shan into the Hindu cycle in every day use in
India." The Sanskrit names as transliterated for Elias are almost
3t3
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VI.
identical with those given by Prinsep. The Shan names are not
those of Ney Elias. but of the common Shan table.
No.
Shan
name.
Hindu name.
1
Kap Sau
■
Prabhava.
3
Lap Pao
■••
. . .
Bibhava.
3
Hai Yi
...
...
Sukla.
4
M6ng Mao
>..
• ..
PromudhaL
5
P5k Hsi
...
...
Projaputi.
6
Kat Hsad
...
...
Angira.
7
Hkat Hsa-Dga
••.
. • -
Srimukha.
8
Hfing Mat
...
Bbava.
9
Tao Hsan
..t
...
Juba.
lO
KaHao
•••
...
Dhattri.
11
Kap Mit
•••
...
Iswara.
12
Lap Kau
...
.*■
Bohudhanja.
13
Hai Sau
• ••
...
Promatbi.
14
M5ng Pao
...
...
Vikrama.
<5
PakYi
...
...
Brisha.
i6
Kat Mao
.••
■••
Chitrabhanu.
«7
HkQt Hsi
...
...
Subhann.
i8
Hdng Hsaii
■ ..
...
Tarooa.
»9
Tao Hsa-nga
•■.
.. ■
Partbiba.
20
KaMat
■ •.
•••
Byaya.
21
Kap Hsan
...
...
Sarajit.
22
Lap Hao
...
...
Sarvadhari.
23
Hai Mtt
...
Virudhi.
24
Mdng Kau
...
...
Bikrita.
25
P6k Sau
...
• •■
Khora.
26
Kat Pao
. . ■
...
Nongdona.
27
HkQt Yi
...
...
Vijaya.
28
HOng Mao
...
...
Jaya.
29
Tao Hsi
• .•
...
Munmutha.
30
Ka Hsaii
...
...
Durmukha.
3<
Kap Hsa-nga
...
...
Himalongba.
32
Lap Mot
■ t.
...
Bilongba.
33
Hai Hsan
...
...
Vikari.
34
Mdng Hao
■ • •
• . •
Sarbari.
35
F5k Mit
...
...
Plava.
36
Kat Kad
...
• * .
Subha-krita.
37
HkQt Sad
> >.
...
Subhana.
3«
Hang Pao
■*•
■ • .
Krudhi.
39
Tao Yi
• *.
. • ■
Bisvabasu.
40
Ka Mao
.* •
...
Porabhava.
4»
Kap Hsi
■•p
...
Plabanga.
4a
Lap Hsau
«*«
...
Kiloka.
43
Hai Hsa-nga
■■«
...
Saumya.
^m CHAP. Vt.] THE SHAN STATES AND THF TAl. 213 I
^^K
Shan name.
Hindu name. ^^H
Mong Mut
Pok Hsan
Kat Haa
Hkot Mit
Hung Kau
Tao tJau
Ka Pao
Kap Yi
Lap Mao
Hai Hsi
M5ng Hsaii
Pok Hsa-nga
Kat Mut
Hkut Hsan
Hong Hao
Tar> Mit
Ka Kau
Sadharona. ^^^M
Virudhi-Krita. ^^^|
Paridharbi. ^^H
Promnrthi. ^^H
Anangda. ^^H
Rak-Kliyosa. ^^H
Pinga)a. ^^^^
Kalyukla. ^^H
Sidharthi. ^^M
Rudra. ^H
Dundhubhi. ^^H
Rudhirud'Gari. ^^H
Kaktak-kha. ^^H
Krudhana. ^^H
Akhyaya. ^^^|
^1 No trace of a serial numbering of the sexagenary periods seems
^M to have been found in Chinese writings any more than a reason why
^B the period of sixty years was selected. U is therefore toe much to
^M expect that the Shan books should be more methodical. If the
^H number of the cycle and the name of any particular year were given,
^M it would be an easy matter 10 identify the date, but the omission of
^B both leaves a wide margin for conjecture and has led to the errors
^M in chronology and the repetition ol the same historical fact in suc-
^H cessive centuries which Mr. Parker has detected in Sir Arthur
^H Phayre's History of Burma. Before a date can be (ixed from the
^B Shan annals it is necessary to determine some starting: point which
^H will fit the cycle chronology into our calendar. Fortunately this is
^B possible in several instances. The particular event chosen by Ney
^H tlias as sufficiently well-marked for his purpose is singularly enough
^B the very story seized upon by Mr. Parker to prove that "the Mani-
^H " pur chronicle is exactly a century wrong," and that Sir Arthur
^H Pnayre repeats the same story at intervals of a century, the later
^H date being correct. This is the flight of the Chau Ngan-phaKing
^H of Mong Mao according to Ney Elias; Tho-ngan-bwa, Sawbiva
^B of Mogaung according to Sir Arthur Phayre ; Sz-jt-n-fah, Sawbwa
^H of Luh-ch'wan according to Mr. Parker. The Shan form would be
^B Sao Ngan Hpa. This chieftain fought with the Chinese and was
^H defeated. He then fled to Ava and was followed by the Chinese,
^H who demanded his surrender from the King of Burma. Before he
^H could be given up^ the SawOwa poisoned himself and his body was
414
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VI.
given to the Chinese General, who dried it in the sun and carried
it back to Yunnan. Now this story is told first in Elias' Shan
History of Mong Mao, where the date of Chau-ngan-pha*s death
is placed in a certain year of a certain unnamed and unnumbered
cycle ; secondly, the Burmese annals chronicle the circumstance
under the year 1 444 A D. ; thirdly, in Dcmailla's History of China
precisely the same event is recorded as having occurred in 1448
A. D. i and finally Mr. Parker translates it from the Momien annals,
but does not give any definite year farther than that " the whole
story belongs to the period 1432 — M5*^*"
From this coincidence of independent annals it is possible to fix
the cycle of the Shan year named and the number in that cycle.
Thus a starting point is obtained. It is not a little singular that
the same incident should furnish us with the means of comparing
Chinese and Burmese forms of transliterating Shan names and
should also demonstrate that the term " Kingdom of Pong," which
has been so long an unsolved riddle, is apparently a generic rather
than a particular name and was applied, or was applicable, to
whatever Shan principality happened for the time to be most power-
ful or most prominent, no matter what its special name might be.
Ney EHas confirms this determination of date by reference to
the conquest of Wehsali, or Upper Assam, by the Samlung-pha
mentioned in his histories of Mong Mao and Mogaung. This
person is the Hkun Sam Long of the Hsen Wi chronicle, and was
brother of the Sawbwa Hso Hkan Hpa, who is Elias' Chau-kwam-
pha and Pemberton's Soogampha. The cycle date for Sara LOng's
conquest of Assam is given in the Shan chronicles. P'our or five
years later a relative named Chau-ka-pha (Sao Ka) was Establish-
ed as first Sawbzaa of the newly conquered territory. " And we
" know from independent modern .'\ssamese sources that the date of
" Chau-ka-pha's accession is 1 229 A,l).j and that it is probably cor-
"rect or nearly so to within a year or two. The event is not only
'* one of the most conspicuous in the history of Mong Mao and of its
" dependency, Mogaung, but with the Assamese it holds a corre-
" sponding position to the Norman conquest in the History o( Eng-
" land, and serves the purely Ahom race m Assam as a starting point
" from which to date their entire history ; for these people first mi-
" grated to that country at the time of Sam-lung- pha's invasion.
" (The fact that they have since entirely disappeared or have
" coalesced with the conquered Hindu population does not affect the
'* history.) Until the reign of King Gaurinath Singh{ 1 780 to 1 795)
" the Assamese annals had been very impei fectly kept, but that king
" caused a commission of Nora astronomers and other learned per-
" sons to be deputed to Mogaung to examine the histories of their
CHAK VI.] THE SHAf^TATES AND THE TAI.
"race in possession of the Shan Buddhist priests of that place, and
" to verify the books (or traditions) brought into the country by
" Chau-ka-pha. The examination completed, this commission re-
"wToie the Ahom history in Assamese, and extended it backwards
"from Sam-lung-pha's conquest of Assam to the founding of the
" first Shan capital on ihe Shweli river, and, in doing so, happily
" made two statements, either of which, like the above story of Chau-
" ngan-pha, would in itself be sufficient to identify a cycle as a start-
" ing point. The first statement is that they, the astronomers and
" others, having calculated (he dales, &c., fmd that eleven TaoNso'
" ngas (so the cycle is called) elapsed between the descent from
" heaven of the founders of the city on the Shweli to the accession
" of Chau-ka-pha as King of Upper Assam ; the second is an inci-
" dental remark that ihe Burmese commenced their national era with
" the reign of the Mao King Ai-dyep-that-pha Now, if eleven
" Tiiohsa-ngas, or six hundred and sixty years, be subtracted from
" the date, r2 29 A. D.. the year of Chau-ka-pha*s accession, we arrive
"at 569 A. D., or within one year of the dale that would be shown by
"subtracting theaggregate of the reigns from the date of Chau-
" ngan-pha's death. Again, the reign of Ai-dyep-that-pha is stated
" by the Shans to have commenced in the seventieth year after the
" foundation of Mung-ri-niunT-ram (the Mong Hi and Mong Ham
" on the M^khong of the Hsen \Vi Chronicle), which would give 56S
" -f 70 or 638 A.D. as the year usually assumed for the commence-
" ment of the Burmese national era."
When the starting point U thus obtained, the dales can easily be
fixed, for the length of each Sawbtva's reign is carefully preserved
and forms the main basis for reckoning the dates. Comparison wiih
the Burmese calendar is also an assistance, as are the Chinese
dates, though the former is uncertain owing to the interference
with the calendar of various kings for superstitious or ambitious
reasons ; and the latter because of the arrogant Chinese fashion of
ignoring Burmese and Shan titles and using surnames which they
mangled, or inventing family names such as never have existed
either among Burmans or Shans. The Chinese Emperors, whose
real names were also tabooed, and who used reign styles just as the
Popes do, always affected to believe that the writers of letters from
tributary States — and they considered all the world tributaries —
used only their family and personal names. When they knew
these they used them. Thus Sin-byu-shln is known as Miing Yiin,
that is to say, Maung Waing, and Tharrawaddi is referred to as
Meng K'eng, Maung Hkin. When they did not know tliem, they
devised wild travesties which stood for " family names,"
2l6
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VI.
The Tat cycle calendar, or Hp^ IVan, is no longer used in any
part of the British Shan States. It appears in old histories of
Hsen \Vi and the Northern Shan Stales, but is never used in the
southern chronicles. The Shan-Chinese may use it, but this is not
known for a fact. As a means of calculating lucky days, working
out horo-copes, and divination generally, it is, however, the text-
book of Shan diviners, as it is ^^•ith the Chinese. Details of it in
this form are given in a later chapter.
The late Mr. Ney Ellas, in his Introductory Sketch of the
J. History of the Shans, was the first to gather
'^ °^' together details about the country which is
now definitely known as the Shan States. He had the advantage
of visiting the northern part of the country, that of the Tai Lung, the
great Shans, before the perpetual civil war of the latter days of
Burmese rule had destroyed practically every ancient record in
every part of the British Shan States. He compared the manu-
scripts he obtained wiih what earlier information was available from
Major Boileau Pcmberion's account of the Kingdom of Pong de-
rived front a Manipur Shan Chronicle {Report on the Eastern Fron-
tier of British India, Calcutta, 1835) and with this he collated
details noted by Dr. Richardson, Colonel Hannay, Dr. Anderson,
and others in various scattered journals and papers.
Unfortunately Elias's notes were collected for him by "a well-
read Hindu moonshee," whose capacity for catching Shan names
and committing them to paper afterwards was not on the same level
with his reading. It does not appear that Ellas obtained actual
possession of the manuscripts, but in any case what he gives in his
pamphlet is compiled from the moonshee 's notes. He describes
the process as follows : —
"I engaged him to give me verbal rxtracis of historical notes con-
cerning the Shaos id Englisli, omitting the fabulous portions, and also to
fill up the many voids they then contained, hy cousuhing the Shan priests
resident at Mandalay and others who had a knowledge of ih^ir books. In
this way not only were several Shan histories put under contribution, but
a number of Byrmese translations of Siian books were examined and their
contents made available either as criginal material, or as Lhc means of
rectifying uncertain [joints derived from the more direct sources, while
native Burmese and Assamrse works were also utilized for reconciling
doubtful dales, or events with well-ascertained historical facts in the an-
nals of those conntries. Thus the story is not a translatiou of any par-
ticular work, but an outline sketched from a variety of sources,"
It is greatly to be regretted that Elias did not give the trans-
lations separately, so that the different sources of information might
be ascertained, h Is ai any rale certain that the various names
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AKD THE TAI.
aiy
were a good deal tortured from the Shan form both by the Bur-
mese translators and by the moonshee. In the following extract
therefore the names have been restored, wherever it is possible, to
their Shan form. In what Ellas calls " the story of Mung-mau " he
believes that he has identified that now-a-days insignificant Shan-
Chlnese State with Kawsampi and the Kingdom of P6ng. As we
have seen, this appears more than doubtful.
Though the Mao Shans trace their existence as a nation to
the fabulous and comparatively recent source of the heaven-
descended Kings Hkun Lu and Hkun Lai, as will be seen below, still
as a race they appear from the Burmese books to have a legend
assigning their origin to the earliest period of Burmese history and
indeed to a common parentage with the latter people. That this
is not an original tradition of their race, but one imported in the
course of Buddhist teachings, there can be little doubt ; but it is re-
markable that no other appears to exist either in their own or Burmese
writings (the researches of Mr. E. H. Parker given below supply
much from the Chinese). The legend is probably the one briefly
referred to in the opening lines of Cap. II of Vule's Afission to Ava
and of which the author jusUy remarks that it is one *' of equal
'* value and like invention to that which deduced the Romans from
" the migrations of the pious JEneas, the ancient Britons from Brut,
" the Trojan, and the Gael from Scota, daughter of Pharoah."
The following epitome is from the Burmese Tagaung Yasa*
win.
"About three hundred years before the birth of Gautama, or 923 B.C.,
and 1491 years before the descent of Hkun Lu and Hkun Lai, a Sakya
prince called A!'hi Rajah arrived from Kapilavastu by way of Arakan
and foundt:d the city of Pagan, called Chindwe in some accounts, on the
left bank of the Irrawaddy. He had two sons whose Burmese names are
Kangyi and Kanng6, and at his death the forriier retired to Arakan and
became king of that country, whilst Kanngfe succeeded his father at Pagan,
and in his turn was succeeded by thirty-one of his lineal descendants,
whose names are given in the Burmese record, but no dates. The last of
these, nr the thirty^-third from Abhi kaia, was one Beinaka (the Shan
Peng Naka of the Ong Pawcig Hsi Paw Chronicle, given elsewhere in this
work) which may be consulted as a variant), who reigned roughly speaking
about the commencement of the religious era, or partly during Gaudama's
lifetime. In the course of Beioaka's reign a Chinese army (as we have
seen. It seems practically certain that this army was Tai, not Chinese)
invaded his country, captured Pagan, destroyed it, and obliged him to take
refuge at Male on the right bank of the Irrawaddy and nearly opposite
the present ruins of Lower Sabiinago (Champa Nagara). Here hcshortly
afterwards died and his people became broken up into three divisions.
One of these remained at Male under Beioaka's Queen, Naga S£ng, a
second wandered towards the south and was absorbed by the Pyu, a sec-
2!8
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VI.
tion of the Burmese proper (the name is of Chinese origin), while the third
migrated eastward and became Shans, forming the nineteen original Shan
districts or States.
*' Of these districts or States, no names are given, and probably the
number is an imaginative one; but it is remarkable that the legend of
the Pwons (of whom some, under the name of Hp6n, still live in the third
or upper defile of the Irrawaddy), derived from an eniirely different and
original source, carries us back to this same evcnt^ — the first fall of Old
Pagan. These people pretend that they arc desceudauts of the elephant
drivers, whom the Chinese (? Tai) conquerors pressed into their service to
conduct the elephants captured In the city back to China ; that they escap-
ed thence and wandered westward to the third defile {Kyaukdmn) of the
Irrawaddy, where they are still settled.
" After the Chinese had retired from Pagan, one Dhaja Raja, another
prince of Kapilavastu, came from India, married the widow Naga Seng, and
rebuilt the capital immediately beyond the north wail of the old city. This
was the Tagaung of the Burmese and the lungKungof the Shans, and
the date of Us foundation given by the Burmese is the twentieth year of
the year of religion (523 B.C.) and by the Shans the twenty-fourth year
(519 B.C). After this there are no dates, or numbers of generations, re-
corded with any certainty, but Uhaja Raja's dynasty appears to have
ruled at Tagaung until Hkun Lu displaced it and put his son Ai llkun Lu
on the throne at some date probably within one generation posterior to the
year 568A.D,, if indeed it occurred at all."
It seems very probable that all this has been taken by the
Shan chronicle from the Burmese Afaha Yasawi^i. Elias con-
tinues : —
" It is, however, with the Mao Shans rather than with Tagaung thit
we are concerned, so let ns pass on at once to their earliest national
legend, which is told in alt the Shan histories with apparently little vari-
ation, thus —
"In the year of Religion 1 1 1 1, or 568A.D,, two sons of the gods, named
Hkun Lu and Hkun Lai, descended from heaven by a golden ladder and
alighted in the valley of the Shweli river. They were accompanied by
two ministers Hkun Tun and Hkun Hpun, one of whom was descended
from the sun and the other from the moon ; they were also attended by an
astrologer descended from the family of Jupiter and by a number of
other mythical personages. On arriving at the earth they found men
who immediately submitted to them as rulers sent from the gods, while
one of the mortals callea Laun-gu (this suggests the Chinese name
Laongu or Lao Wu) or Sao Tikan offered to become the servant of the two
brothers. Before leaving heaven, the god Tiing Hkam had given tlicm a
cock and a knife and had enjoined them, immediately on arriving on the
earth, to kill the cock with the knife and to offer up prayers to him at the
same time ; when the ceremony %vas over, they were to eat the head of the
bird themselves and give the body to their ministers and attendants. It
was found, however, that by some mistake the cnck and the knife had beea
left behind and Laun-gu was sent to heaven to bring them down. He went
and returned with both, but reported that the god Tijng Hkam, being augry
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAr.
219
with the brothers for their carelessness in leaving these things behind,
had sent a message that after duly sacrificing the cock, the brothers were
to eat a portion of the body only and give the rest to their attendants.
In this way Laun-gu managed to secure for himself the head. He then
asked the brothers to confer upon him some reward for the service he had
rendered in regaining the sacrificial objects from heaven, and they gave
him the country of Mithila to govern. (This is the Pali or classical name
for Mong Hk&, which is properly speaking Yimnati only and not all China.
VVideharit or Vidcha, a name alsi? given to Yunnan, is another title for the
ancient Mithila or Mcitilla.) Having eaten the head of the cock, he became
a wise and powerful Chinese ruler> while the heaven-descended brothers,
having eaten of the body, remained ignorant Mao Shans.
" Laun-gu, on arriving in Mithila. founded the capital Mting Ky&
(this is no doubt Miing S& LAng, which is the name by which the Shans
know Yunnan-sen, thf. residence of the modern viceroy, or Governor-
General of Yiin-kuei, t,e., the two provinces of Yilnnan and Kuei-chao) and
commenced his rule in 568A.D. He died after sixty years reign in 628 and
was succeeded by his son Sao Pu, wlio also reigned sixty years and was
followed in his turn by his son Hsak-ka in 688 (the term of sixty years
appears so often in these traditionary writings that it suggests the idea of
being merely indicative of a considerable length of time and of meaning
about a cycle). This last with his lineal descendants, it is stated, ruled
for two hundred years, when a relation (of the same race} named Fwei-No-
Ngan-Maing (it is difhcult to make anything of tins name) succeeded to
the throne and. together with his descendants, retained it for one hundred
and fifty years, or to A. D. 1038. Farther than this the Shan records do
not follow Laun-gti rth'as Sao Ti Kan. (It may be noted that this is roughly
speaking the time of .\nawra-hta, the conquering king of Pagan.)
*' Shortly after their descent to earth Hkun I^u and Hkun Lai qaarrelled
on the subject of precedence and the former determined to abandon his
claim to the kingdom in the Shweli valley and to found a new one for him-
self. With this view he packed the two images of his ancestors, one male
called Sung and one female called Seng, into a box, and started towards
the west, carrying the box upon his htad. He crossed the Irrawaddy and
shortly afterwards arrived at a place near the Uyu river, a tributary of the
Chindwin, where he established himself and founded a city called Mdng
KOiig Moug-Yawiig (this is no doubt the disLrict of, and round about, the
present Singkaling Hk:unti) whence he sent forth his sons or. relations to
become rulers of neighbouring States. Of these there appear to have been
seven, but whether sons or not is uncertain : however, it is of little impor-
tance, as from the following list it will be seen that this part of the record
has hardly yet emerged from the domain of fable. (With this may be
compared the story of the Hsen Wi chronicle, which i? given below, of the
five brothers who came from the Mfehkong from Mflng Hi, M6ng Ham,
which appear to be Elias's Mung-ri Mung-ram.)
Distribution of Hkun Lu's posterity {i.e., his seven sons or descendants).
I. Ai Hkun Lung ... King of Tung Kung or Tagaung.
3. Hkun Hpa ... King of Mong Yar.g (Mohnyin). He paid a tribute
of a large number ('* ten lakhs") of horses.
220
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEKR. [CHAP. VI-
3, Hkun Ngu ,,. King of Lamung-Tai, i.e., La B6Qg near Chicng-
niai. He paid a yearly tribute of three hund-
red elephants
4. Hkun Kawt Hpa ... King of Vnn LAn or Mting Yawng (probably
Garnier's MSng Yong, the former capital of Keog
Cheng, the Cis-jM&khong portion of which is now
annexed to Keng Tung). Yearly tribute, a
(juantity of gold,
g. Hkun La ... King of Mong Kala or Kale on the right bank of
(he Chindwin above Mingin. Tribute, water
from the Chindwin river.
6. Hkun Hsa ... King of Ava [sic), but probably Mfing Mit is
meant, since a ruby mine is said to have exist-
ed at his capital. Tribute 2 viss (about 7 pounds
weight) of rubies yearly.
7. Hkun Su ... King of MOng Yawng on or near the Uyu river,
where bis father Hkun Lu had also reigned.
Hkun Su reigned for 25 ycirs from 6o3 to 633 A. D.
Sao Hsen Sau, .1 son, reigrvcd for ig years from 633 to 652 A. D.
Sao Hkun Kyaw, a «>n, reig^ned for 15 jears ironi 653 to 667 A. D.
Sao Hkun Kyun. a son, reigned for 1 1 years from 667 to 6;8 A. D.
" During the reign of this last, his son Hkam Pdng Hpa went to reside
at Mong Ri NfSng Ram, and afterwards reigned there as king of Mcing
Mao. [The M^'Jng Ham, wliich this would appear to be, is still one of the
XII Fauna of Keng Hung (ChSIi.)]
"Thus Hkun Lu and his posterity reigned at Mong K6ng MBng Yawng
for one hundred and ten years, and meanwhile Hkun Lai had founded a
capital called Mong Ri Mong Ram at a short distance from the left bank
of the Shwcli, and supposed to be some 8 or 9 miles to the eastward of
the present city of Mcing Mao, [Here Ney Elias was probably misled.
See the Hsen Wi Chronicle below.] Here lie reigned for seventy years
and was succeeded by his son Ai Hlep Htat Hpa, who ruled for forty
years, but who died without issue in 67S A. D. and consequently in the
fortieth year of the Burmese era. The son of Sao Hkun Kyun, mentioned
in the above list, was then created king, and in his person Hkun Lu's line
became supreme among the Mao. The length of his reign is not known,
hut he was followed by his son, during whose rule the capitil Miing Ri Mong
Ram declined and became of secondary importance to the town of Ma-
Kao Mong LAng, which was situated on the right bank of the river and
believed to be some 6 or 7 miles west of the capital. This king was
succeeded by hJs younger brother, Hkam Hsip Hpa, who ascended the
throne in 703 A. D. and established his court at Ma-kao M5ng L6ng, thus
finally abandoning Mong Ri Mong Ram. [Un this Elias has the following
note: — *' See Hannay {Sketch 0/ Singphos, &.C., 1847, page 54), where the
name of Kai Khao Mau Loung, the great and splendid city, is given as the
capital of the PAng kingdom on the Shweli. The name Mau is significant,
though my informants make it Mung. At page 55 Hannav gives Moong
Khao Loung as the old name for the present Mogaung ; in both these khao
probably means city." Want of knowledge of Shan led to this error. Ktto
means old ; M. Kao, M. L6ng means simply " the old (or former) city, the
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
asi
great city." U is unwise to make definite assertions, but it may be sug-
gested that " the old capital " may be either the Hsen S6 Man S6 of the
Hscn Wi Chronicle or Ta-H Fu, the capital of Nanchao^
" During the. next Ihrec hundred and thirty-two years Hkam Hsip Hpa
and his descendants appear to have reigned in regular succession, while
nothing worth recording is to be found during the whole of this period.
The succession, however, was broken at the death of Sao I,ep Hpa in 1035,
and a relation of the race of Tai F6ng of Y6n L6n [vide suprn) was placed
on the throne in that year. He was called Hktin Kawt Hpa and signalized
the change in the accession by establisliing a new capital, called Cheila
(the modern S& Lan), on the left bank of the Shweli and immediately op-
posite ' Ma-kau Mong L6ng.' He is also said to have incorporated Bhaino
with his dominions.
" At this time the dominant power in all these regions was that of the
king of New Pagan, Anawra-hta, and in the history of MOng Mao it is
recorded that Hkun Kawt Hpa's son and successor gave his daughter in
marriage to the Pagan monarch, thus almost inipiying that he acknowledged
him as liege lord, though it is also stated that he never went to the Pagan
court as a true vassal must have done. But, however this may have been
during Aiiawra-hta's lifetimej certainly the succeeding kings of Mao were
entirely independent, and they appear to have reigned in peace and on-
broken succession until the death of (Pam) Yao PAag in A. I). 1210, when
a third influx of Hkun Lu's posterity occurred in the person of Sao (Ai-
mo) Hkam N«--ng, of the race of Hknn Su of Miing Kong Mong Yawng.
And it is remarkable that this new influx took place while Yao Pong's
younger brother was actually in power in the neighbouring State of M6ng
Mit, where he had just previously founded the capital and commenced an
almost independent reign.
*' Sao Hkam Neng reigned for ten years and had two sonSj Sao Hkan
Hpa (the Sookampha of Pemberton) and Sam l>6ng Kycm-moiig, or Sam
L6ng Hpa, the latter perhaps the most remarkable personage in the Mao
history. The first succeeded to the throne oE .Mong Mao at the death of
his father in 1220 A. D., but Sam L6ng Hpa had already five years previ-
ously become Satvbva of Mftng Kawng or Mogaung, where he had es-
tablished a city on the banks of the Nam Kawng, and had laid the foun-
dation of a new line of Sawhvsas, tributary only to the kingvj of Mao. He
apptars to have been essentially a soldier and to have undertaken a series
of campaigns under his brother's direction, or perhaps as Commander-in-
Chief of his army (this is the position given hira in the Hsen Wi Chronicle).
The first of these campaigns began by an expedition into Mithila, when he
conquered Mong Ti (Nan Tien), Momien iT^ng-Yiieh), and Wan Chang
(Yung-chang), and from thence extended his operations towards the south,
Kong Ma, Mong Mting, Keng Hung (Chclij, Keng Tung, and other smaller
States, each in turn falling under the Mao yoke. With Hsen Wi an amic-
able arrangement was come to, in virtue of which the Sawdwa of that State
became so far a vassal as to engage to send a princess periodically to the
harem of the Mao king.
" Immediately on Sam L6ng Hpa's return to Mong Mao he was ordered
away on a second expedition to the west, and on this occasion crossed the
Cbindwia river and overran a great portion of Arakan, laying the capital
222
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VI.
in ruins and establishing his brother's supremacy in a number of towns on
and beyond the right bank of the Chtndwtn.
'*A third expedition was then undertaken to Manipur with similar suc-
cess to the two last, and ai;ain a fourth to Upper Assam, where he con-
2uercd the greater portion of the territory then under the sway of the
'hutya or Sutya kings.
" While on his return frnm this rxpedition Sao Hkan Hpa, being jealous
or fearful of his brother's influence, decided to put him to death, and with
this end in view left his capital on the Shweli and proceeded to meet him
at Mong Pel Hkam on the Taping river (which Elias identities with
Mentha near Old Hhamo]. A great ovation was given to the successful
general, but after the lapse of some time, according to the most trust-
worthy account, liis brother succeeded in poisoning him, or, according to
another account, he failed in the attempt, and San Long Hpa made good
his escape to China.
" This was probably the period of greatest extension reached by the
Mao Kingdom, and certainly, if their own account be accepted, their
country now formed a very respectable dominion. The following is the list
fiven by the Shan hisloriaus of the States under the sovereignty of the
lao Kings immediately subsequent to Sam Long Hpa's conquests, but a
mere glance at the name of some of them, such as Arakaii, Tali, &c., will
show it to be greatly exaggerated, though it is possible that at one time or
another some portion of all the places named may have fallen under their
power :— -
(i) M5Dg Mit, comprising seven mongs, namely, Bhamo, MoUi,
(this suggests the Mol6 river, or it may be Mdng Lai), Mong
L6ng, Ong Pawng llsipaw [these are the same place), Hsum
Hsai, Sung-ko (Singu), fagaung.
Mong Kawng or NIogaung, comprising ninety-nine Mdngs,
among which the following were the most important,— Mdng
L6ng (Assam), Kahse (Manipur). part of Arakan, the Yaw
country, Kale, Hsawng Hsup, Mong Kong M5ng Yawng;
MQng Kawn (in the Hukawng valley), Singkaling Hkamti,
M5ng Li (Hkamli Long), Mong Yang (Mohnyin), M6t Sho
Bo (Shwebo), Kunung-Kumun (the Mishmi country), Hkang
S6 (the Naga country), &c.
Hsen Wi comprising forty-nine mongs.
(4} Miing Nai.
(5) Kfing Ma.
(6) Keng Hsen, the present Siamese province of Chicng Hsen on
the AU-kbong.
(7) Lan Sang (the Burmese Linzin). This is no doubt the princi-
pal ity which had at different periods Wing Chan (Viengchan) and
Luang Prabang for its capital : the Chinese Lan-tsiang.
Pagan.
YAn (Chiengmai and neighbouring States).
(10) Keng Lfing, probably Keng Hung, the XII Panna, called by the
Chinese Ch'fih.
(11) Keng Lawng, said to be the country north of Ayuthia, where
there are many ruined capitals.
(3]
(3)
(8)
(9)
CHAP, VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
333
(12) Mdng Lem.
(13) Tai Lai, possibly Ta-H Fu.
(141 Wan Chang (Yung-cbang).
(15) The Palaunjj country Tawng Peng Loi Ldng.
(lO) Sang-Iipo (the Kachin country).
(r;) The Karen country.
(18) Lawaik.
(19) Lapyit.
(20) Lamu, which are not easily to be identified.
(21) Lahkeng (Arakan, meaning probably that portion not under
Mong Kawng, Mogaung).
(22) Lang-sap (?).
(23) Ayuthia (Siam).
{24) Htawc (Tavoy).
■ {25) Yunsaleng.
[This may be compared with the list in the Hsen Wi Chronicle, where
the claims are even more extensive].
" During the two reigns following that of Sao Hkan Hpa, the capital of
Mong Mao remained ai Sfe Lan, or at the opposite town of * Ma-kau Mung
Lung' {vide suf>ra), hut \n i285one Sao Wak Hpa became king and, though
apparently of unbroken lineal descent, a new capital was founded called
simply by the name of the country Mong Mao and situated, so far as can
be ascertained, on the site of the present town of MOng Mao — certainly
this is the last chang»". of capital recorded.
" Sao Wak Hpa died after a reign of thirty years in 131 5, and for nine
years subsequently the throne of MOng Mao was vacant. Eventually, how-
ever, a natural son named Ai Puk was elected to fill it, but he proved pro-
fligate and incompetent to discharge the duties of a ruler, and after six
years was deposed by the mintsterb, when a second period of nine years
eusued, during which no king could be found to assume the direction of
aJTairs. (The Hscn Wi Chronicle covers thr same ground and gives a clearer
idea of the transitory nature of the hegemony of any single Shan State.)
"Eventually in 1339 a relative of Sao Wak Hpa named Sao Ki Hpa,
otherwise known as Tai r*6ng (there is almost certainly some confusion
here, which cannot be unravelled since Eiias does not discriminate Bur-
mese details from Stian, or manuscript information from that obtained by
word of mouth) was crowned, and with him an era of wars with China ap-
pears to have commenced, which was destined finally to end in the fall of the
Mao Kings as independent sovereigns (the Chinese had now consolidated
their power in Ta-H and were pressing westwards).
"The first record of Chinese invasion is an unimportant one and merely
states that in the fifth year of Sao Ki Hpa's reign {Pok Hsa-nga 55 = 705
B. E. = 1343A. D.) au army arrived in Mao territory from Mithila for the
purpose of reconuoitring, but that no fighting ensued. The next occasion
was just fifty years subsequently, during the reign of Sao Ki Hpa's son Tai
Long, when a Chinese force appeared and attempted the conquest of the
country ; it was defeated, however, by the Sbaus and returued after suffer-
ing great losses.
" Tai LAng, after a reign of fifty yea.rs, was succeeded by his son Sao Tit
Hpa, or Tao Loi^ as be was also called^ who appears to have carried od
224
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VI.
certain negotiations with the Chinese during the early part of his reign, and
in the sixteeuth year of it {Hai-yi 3 = 773B. E. = 141 1 A. D.) to have
gone on a visit to the fiovernor of Yunnan. The Shan history indeed
chronicles that he went to Mong Hke, the capita) of Mithila, to consult with
the Emperor and that during au interview with the latter, Jn which he was
accompanied by his son Sao Xgan Hpa, he was given a cup of spirit to
drink, which so completely intoxicated him that the Emperor, at the insti-
gation of a minister named Maw Pi, obtained from him the royal seal and
thus rendered his country tributary. (The capital referred to was no doubt
yiinnan-SFn and the \V6ng Ti. the Governor*General of che Province, not
the Emperor, who then lived in Nan-King.) in Piik-hsi ^,ot two ye.irs
after this event. S-io Tit Hpa returned to Mong Mao, and in the next year
a party of 130 mules came down from China. Each mule was loaded with
silver cut into small pieces, and on arriving in the neighbourhood of the
capital, those in charge led them into the bamboo jungle that surrounded
the city, and scattered the silver among the trues. The party then return-
ed to China, and the inhabitants of Mciag Mao cut down the jungle 10 order
to find the silver. The sequel of this story is not given, but the inference
is that the ruse was practised by the Chinese to clear the environs of the
city of the jungle in order to attack it tlie more easily.
" In the following year Sao Tit Hpa died and was succeeded by his son
Sao Ngan Hpa, the events attending the latter part of whose reign are well
known from Burmese history. He bad two brothers named Sao Hsi Hpa
and Sao Hung Hpa, with whose assistance he invaded and subdued the
Shan States to the cast aud south-east of his country and then marched on
to Tai Lai, which State he also conquered. Here he was reinforced by
the armies of all the Chiefs he had subdued so far and decided with this
enormous host [it was tallied by each man dropping ono. ywe seed {Abrus
precatorius) into a basket and four baskets full were gathered up] to at-
tempt the conquest of Mithila. He started accojdingly from Tai Lai, but
was met by a Chinese force under the walls of the capital, MongSfe (Yunnan-
sen), and was defeated; he then fell back first on Tai Lai, afterwards on
Wan-Chang (Yung-chan^), aud eventually retired into Mao territory, fol-
lowed by the inhabitants of all the places he had subdued, who preferred
to cast in their lot with his, rather than endure the vengeance of the
Cbineae. Ou arriving near his capital, he found the inhabitants panic-
stricken and flying to Ayuthia and in many other directions; his army
broke up and joined in the flight, wliilst he himself, accompanied by his
brother Sao Hsi Hpa (Sao Hiing Hpa had died just previously) sought
an asylum at Ava. 'J'he Chinese tollowcd, however, took up a position
north of the city of Ava, and demanded the surrender of Sao Ngan Hpa from
the Burmese King. The latter replied that one of his nobles called Min
Ngfe Kyaw Dwin was in rebellion at Yamfithin and thai, if the Chinese
commander would first subdue aud bring this rebellious noble to the capital,
he would deliver to him the Mao King. The Chinese general consented
and despatched a portion of his army to Yamelhiti. 'I he place was sur-
rounded and Min Ngfi Kyaw Du-in captured and brought into Ava, but on
hearing of his arrival Sao Ngan Hpa, finding his end inevitable, took poi-
son and died. His body nevertheless was given up to the Chinese Com-
mander, who had it disembowelled and dried in the sun, and immediately
afterwards returned with it to Yunnan (B. E. 807 = 1445 A. D.). [This story
is discussed later id the tight of Mr. Parker's Chinese researches.]
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI,
aaS
" Sao Hsi Hpa was then placed on the throne of Miing Kawng and Sao
Ngan Hpa's qneen went at the same time tn Hkamti with her two child-
ren, Sao Hung aged ten and Sao Hup aged two. On arriva! there a third,
named Sao Put, was born, and one of these three became Saicbwa of Hkara-
ti.
"For three years after Sao Ngan Hpa's death Mong Mao was again
without a king, but at the end of that time an uncle, or the descendant of
an uncle of Sao VVak Hpa, called Sao Lam KAn Hkani Hpa, and nearest
remaining relative to Sao Ngan Hpa, was placed on the throne [Hai-saii
40=1448). In the fourth year of his reign a large force from China in-
vaded his country, defeated his troopn* and compelled him to take flight or
seek a refuge with the Burmese at Ava. After five years of exile he re-
turned to his country and died in Hai-kii 53 = 1461 A. D. He was suc-
ceeded ID the same year by his son Sao H6ni Hpa, who was assailed almost
immediately on his accession by a Chinese army of great strength, which,
however, he defeated and drove back within the border of their country
after 18 days of continued fighting. But al a later period of his reign
(about 1479 '^' ^■) 'he Chinese returned and this time routed the Mao
Shans, and Sao Horn Hpa, like his predecessor, fled to Ava for protection.
After four years he returned to his capital and seven years later died there.
His death, however, did not terminate the wars with China, for in the sixth
year of the reign of his son and successor Sao Ka Hpa (1495 A. D.) the
enemy again came down in force and invaded the Mao territory. Some
fighting occurred, of which no particulars are given further than that it
proved adverse to the Shans, though not absolutely disastrous, but still
sufficiently humiliating to the pride of Sao Ka Hpa to cause him to abdi-
cate and make over the government to his son Sao Pem Hpa, while he
himself retired to Ai Hkam, the northern division of Hkamti, and after-
wards to Mogaung, of which State he became Sawbwa.
•' Sao Pem Hpa appears to have been permitted by the Chinese to re-
main in peace for 20 ycars^ when a force from Yunnan under a general
named Li Sang Pa attempted an invasion of the country, but was repulsed.
Li Sang Pa (the name cannot be traced in Mr. Parker's translations), how-
ever, retired only to a short distance within his own border, and shortly
afterwards conceived the idea of taking Mong Mao by means of a ruse.
He constructed a number of rafts, placed a goat on each, and set them
floating down the Shweli ; the Shans, on seeing the goats approaching from
the side of China, exclaimed iike Pot Pe Afa^ ' the Chinese arc sending
goats down, ' a cry that quickly spread through the town as * the Chinese
are coming floating down ' and caused a general panic. The citizens, to-
gether with the army, fled in all directions and Sao Pem Hpa, who was ill
at the time and unable to move, died as the enemy entered his city.
"The causes of these wars are never mentconed, and it is almost impos-
sible to believe that the Chinese were always the aggressors, unless some
provocation had been previously given by the Shans. Still the next and
last two Chinese wars are described by the Shan chroniclers to be, like
all the previous ones, purely unprovoked movements on the part of the
enemy. Before these took place, however, the Maos were destined to ex-
perience what 1 believe was their first and only war with the Burmese.'*
[Elias thinks that the previous wars with the Burmese did not extend
39
226
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VL
beyond Mong Yang and Mong Kawng — Mohnyin and )l<^&nng, which,
however, outlasted the Eastern 5han States.]
•'SaoPpin Hpa was followed in 1516 by his son Sao Horn HpA, who reigned
for the extraordinary period of 88 years and administered his country so
successfully that it enjoyed a state of prosperity it bad never before at-
tained. Whether it was that this contUtion of pmsperity excited the cu-
pidity of the Peg-u King, or w helher he attacked Mdnc; Mao in the course of
a general plan of conquest of the Shan States, it is inipossiblc to say. bat
probably some cause oiherthan that assigned by the Burmese chroniclers
IS to be looked for. These pretend that shortly before 1560 the Maos had
seized some villages within the borders of Mong .Mit, and that the Savhwa
of the latter place bad appealed to the Burmese for aid, but as MOng Mit
bad up to within a year or two of this time been a part of the dominion of
the Mao KiDgii, and the Burmese had been steadily advancing their con-
quest of the Shan States from south to north, it is scarcely necessary to
look for any special cause for quarrel. In any case, during the year
9J4 B. E. = l56i A. 0., the King of Pegu is reported to have sent an
army to Mdog Mao, numbering two hundred thousand men, under the
command of his son, the heir- apparent, and three of his younger brotlicrs,
rulers respectively of l^rome. Toungoo, and Ava. They appear to have
commenced the campaign with an incursion into the Northern Saahva-
ships and to have burned Santa, M5ng La, and other neighbouring towns,
and afterwards to have descended on the capital, where alter Utile or no
fighting they compelled Sao H6m Hpa to acknowledge himself a vassal
of tiie Pegu King, and to send him a princess in t^ken of homage. When
the Burmese army retired the city was spared, and teachers of Buddhism
were left there to in.struct the Shan priests in ihe worship of Gaudama
and to convert the rulers and people.
"Some twenty years after these events (namely, in i/tf«£/^ww'* 34=944
B. £.= 1582 A. D.) and apparently during a time of peace between
Chl<-a and Burma, the Maos were again attacked by a Chinese army num-
bered, in the usual inflated style, at three hundred thousand men. Three
great battles were fought, none of which were decided in favour of either
party, but eventually the Chinese sued for p< ace, and, when this was ac-
corded by Sao H6m Hpa. their army retired to Yiinnan. Aiiolhef twenty
years of tranquillity ihen ensued, but in Kai Mao i'*> = g66 B. £.= 1604
A. D. a Chinese general name Wang Sang-su with a considerable force
made a descent on the borders of Mong Mao. and Sao H6m Hpa being
old and feeble decided to make over the government of his country
to his son Sao Borgng. then the reigning Sawbwa of Hsen VVi. He had
scarcely done so when he died, and at the same time the Chinese army
commented its march on the capital. The Shaiis appear to have made but
a feeble resistance, if indeed any at all, for Sao Boreng, a few days after
his accession to the throne, abdicated and Red, on the Chinese being rc-
purted to have arrived at the crossing of a certain tributary of the Shweli,
a few miles above the capital. He made for Mogaung with a party of
Chinese pursuing him, and reached Kat Kyo Wing Maw, on the left bank
of the Nam Kio (the Irrawaddy), where his followers mutinied, and in
despair he drowned himself in the river. The Kat Kyo Wing Maw Paw
Mvtig recovered his body and buried it, subdued the mutinous followers,
and sent them to Ava, where they petitioned the king to grant the
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
aa^
Hsen
etc.
Wi Chroiii-
gramlson and oniy remaining descendant of Sao H6m Hpo a territory to
reign over, as Mung M;io was now in llie permanent occupation of the
Chinese. Tliia prince was called Sao Tit Hpa and he was relegated to
Mogaung, where a certain line of Sawdwas had just then btcomc ex-
tinct."
With this summary by Mr. Ney Ellas may be compared the follow-
ing history of Hsen Wi now first translated. It is pieced together
from two manuscripts, one furnished by the Northern Hsen Wi
State, the other by the Southern, a division which dates from the
British occupation. Both chronicles are modem compilations.
The chronological history of the ancient governors (Mahathama-
da Min) of the Shan States from the beginning of
the four cycles of time when fire, water, and wind
separated and formed the earth and the four
Dais] from the coming into existence of this world called Badda ;
from the commencement of the reign of Hkun Lu and Hkun La
(called in Mr. Elias' history Kun Lai) to the present day.
In former days the golden town of Hsen-sfe Man-sfe Mfe-mong,
mother of countries, had no fifovernors and was administered by
four Pare Mongs or elders. These were —
Htao-Mong Htao-Ltk of Ho-tu
Htao-Mong Htao-kang of Mong Ton
Htao-Mong Htao-Kang-Hawp of Hsen-sfe
Htao-Mong Htao-Kang-Hawp of Htu-mo.
These elders ruled over the country in harmony with one another
and laid the foundations of the history of the Shan States.
The Hsen Wi Hsi-hso^ Hsen Wi Hso-pa-tu, Hsu-an-hpu, Hs6-
an-wu, Hso-mo (That is to say, the " Four Tiger country." What
difference there is between Pa-tu, An-hpu, An-wu, and Mo tigers
is a refinement which appears to have been now lost.), Kawsampi,
the country of white blossoms, may be briefly described as follows.
The country of while blossoms and large leaves was the name
given to Mong Kawsampi, the country which lies near the golden
Hpaw-di (the Ficus religiosa) in the Myltsima country, where the
Buddha was bom.
In Mong Kawsampi there lived a queen named Ekka-Mahehsi
Dewi, who was great with child, and one day she lay wrapped in a
red shawl in the sunshine on the terrace of the palace. There a
monstrous bird, the Tilanka, saw her and took the red shawl for a
piece of raw flesh. He stooped down and carried her off beyond the
reach of mortals into the depths of the Hema Wunta, the centre of
the 3,000 forests. There he settled on a great Mai Nyu tree and
would have devoured her, but the Dewi cried aloud and the Tilan-
338
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VI.
ka was afraid and flew au-ay. The queen was then delivered of a
male child on the tree and ihe cries of (he infant attracted the at-
tention of a Rafhi, a holy man who lived in the wilds and was at
the lime repealing his doxologies. He came to the tree ; the
queen told how she had been carried of from Mong Kawsampi and
he made a ladder for her and helped her down and she and the child
went and lived with him in his retreat.
When the boy was 1 4 or 15 years of age the Thagyas came down
from the skies and presented nim with a harp, whose strains sub-
dued all the elephants of the forests, and the boy was then known
by the name of Hkun HsCng U Ting from the word ting a harp.
Then Hkun HsOng U Ting gathered together all the elephants
of the forests ^vith the sounds of his harp and marched to the
country ol Kawsampi. There he found that his father, the king,
was dead, and he succeeded him on the throne and went back to
the place where his mother was, and there he built a city called U
Ting, afterwards known as Mong Ting, on the spot where the Tka-
gyas gave him the harp. The spot where the queen had lain in
the sun and had felt the wind raised by the wings of the Tiianka
was called Mong Mao from the word moo (to be dizzy), and it re-
tains that name to the present day, and the country of the 3,000
forests, the Hema Wunta, was known from the time of the ancient
monarchs as Hsen Wi Hsi-hs6, the Hso-pa-tu, the Hs6-an-wu,
the Hso-an-hpu, the Hs6-mo, also called the country of white
blossoms, the province of Siri-wilata Maha Kambawsa Scngni Kaw-
sampi, even to the present day.
In the year 1274 after Buddha's nirvana, corresponding to 92
B. E. (A. D. 730), there lived in Man S6, a country near Mong Mao,
an aged couple on the banks of a lake called Nawng Put, They
had a son named Hkun Ai, who used to go out diuly with the
others to guard the cattle as they grazed near the Nawng Put lake
to the north of the town of Man S^. Hkun Ai was 16 years of
age, and one day a Naga Princess came to him in the shape of a
human being and entered into conversation with him. The conv«--
sation ended in love and they went together to the country of the
naga dragons. The princess made Hkun Ai stay outside the town
till she had explained the situation to her father, the King of the
Dragons. In consideration of his son-in-law's feelings, the king
ordered all the nagas to assume human form and the princess and
her husband then lived very happily together in the palace which
the Dragon King assigned to them. In eight or nine months' time,
however, came the annual water festival of the nagas and the
king bade his daughter tell Hkun Ai that the naga must then as-
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
229
sume their kraken form and disport themselves in the lakes of the
country. She told her husband to stay at home during the festi-
val days and she hfrsoU went and joined the rest of the itagas in
their festive gambols. Hkun Ai climbed on to the roof of the pa-
lace and was disconiposnd to find the whole of the country and the
lakes round filled with hu^e sportive riaga dragons. In the even-
ing they all assumed human form and went home again. The
princess found Hkun Ai very downcast when she came back and
abruptly asked him what was the matter with him. He replied
that he was home-sick and wanted to see his old father and mother
again. Accordingly they went back to the country of men and
arrived at the Kawng Put lake. There the A^aga Princess told him
she would lay an egg from which a child would be hatched,
and this he was to feed with the milk which would ooze from his
little finger whenever he thougl^t of her. If ever he or the child
were in danger, he was to strike the ground three times with his
hand and she would come to his aid. Then she laid the egg and
went home to the country of the nagas. Hkun Ai covered over
the egg with hay and dead leaves on the brink of the Nawng Put
lake and then went home to his parents, to whom he related all his
adventures, but told them nothing about the egg, of which he was
very much ashamed. They were in great joy at his return, but
they noticed that every day after his meals he went away to the
lake. So one day they followed him secretly and found him nurs-
ing a child in his lap on the brink of the lake. Then he told them
that this was his son by the naga Princess and how he had hatch-
ed the egg under dry leaves (fiing). So they called the child
Hkun Tung Hkam and took him home with them and brought him
up. From the day when the child entered their house they throve
and prospered and they became great people in Man Sh,
When Hkun Tiing Hkam was 15 or i6^ears old, Sao Wong-Ti
was King of Meiktila [Mithila is the classical name for Mong Ch6,
which to the Shan means rather Yunnan than the whole of China.
The Meiktila here referred to, notwithstanding the title Sao WOng-
Ti (Hwang-ti, the Emperor of China), is evidently Yunnan-sen and
not either Peking or the Meiktila of Upper Burma], and he had a
daughter, the Princess Pappawadi, of 14 or 15 years of age, who
was very famous for her beauty. There were so many suitors for
her hand from all the countries of the earth that the king had a
golden palace built for her in the middle of the lake near the town
and hung up in it a gong. He then announced that whoever get to
the palace dry-shod without the use of bridges, boats, or rafts and
struck the signal gong should have the princess to wife. Hkun
Tiing Hkam heard the news and marched from Mong Mao with a
3^0
THE UPPKR BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VI.
large following. He found the lake surrounded with the camps of
kings and princes who had come to sue for Princess Pappawadi and
were holding jjjreat revelry, but had not devised means of gelling lo
the golden palace Hkun J iing Hkam went to the edge of the lake
in the evening and. struck ihe ground three times with his hand.
His mother, the naga Princess, appeared and made a bridge across
the lake with her body, over which he walked and appeared before
the princess Pappawadi. She was greatly struck with his bearing
and they immediately fell in love nith one another and struck the
signal gong. Sao Wcng-Ti had ihem brought to his own palace
and there asked Hkun Tung Hkam who he was and whence he
came. When he was told that the mother of the suitor was a
daughter of the King of nagas and his father a descendant of the
ruling house of Hsen VVi Kawsampi, the countr\- of white blossoms,
he was much gratified and the marriage ceremony was carried out
immediately.
Then Sao Wong-Ti, with all his ministers, marched back with
the newly married couple and built a great palace for them to live in
in Mong Mao, and the town where the palace was built was called
Tiing Hkaw. In the year 125 B. E. (763 A. D.) Hkun Tung Hkaoi
and the Princess Pappawadi became governors of the country and
they had a son named Hkun Lu, who was elected king (Thamada
Min) upon the death of his father, Hkun Tung Kham, in the year
197B. E., after a reign of 72 years. Hkun Lu reigned 80 years and
was succeeded by his son Hkun Lai as Thamada Min in the year
»77B. E. (915A. D.). Hkun Lai reigned for 36 years and died at the
age of 87 in the year 313B. E. (951 A. D.).
The name Hsen \Vi is derived from w«, the bunches of plantains
grown in the garden of the two aged cultivators of Man Se near
the Nawng Put, the parents of Tiing Hkam, and has been in use
ever since in the form Hsen VVi Hsi Hs6, Hsen Wi Hs6-an-wu, Hs6-
an-hpu, Hsopatu, Hsomo, Kawsampi, the country of white blossoms
in the province of .Siriwilaia Maha Kambawsa SCngni Kawsampi
After the death of Hkun Lai the country was left without a ruler
for five or six years and all the eight Slian Slates agreed to be
bound and governed by the decisions of the ciders of the ruling
family who remained. These were the four iltao-rn'Ongs : Hiao*
mijng Htao Lek of Ho Tu, who was elder brother of I/tao-mdng
Htao-kang of Mong Ton and Hiao-mong Kang-hawp of Hsen Sfe,
who was uncie-of Iltao-inong Kang-hawp of Wing Tu.
To these four the people rendered their homage with presents of
gold and silver and other precious articles every two or three years.
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAl. 231
The names of these eight Shan States under the four HtaO'
mongs were :—
On the East,
Mong Mao.
MOng Na.
Mong Hon.
Mong Hkattra Sfe Hpang.
On the West.
Mong Leng. I
Mong Kiing Kwai.
Mung Kawng. I
Mong Wan.
Miing Ti.
Mong Yang.
Mong Kawn.
Mong Yantare.
Lam pal am.
Man Maw-
On the South,
Mong Hsi Paw.
Lai Hka.
Keng Hkam.
Mawk Mai.
Mong Pawn,
Yawng Hwe.
Sam Ka.
Mong Kung.
KSng Tawng.
Mong Nai.
Mong Sit.
Nawng VVawn.
Hsi Kip.
Mong Pai,
On the North.
Mong Ting. Kiing Ma.
Mong Ching. Mong Mcing.
Mong Leni. Mong Him.
Mong Lon.
All these States rendered homage to the four Htaomdngs.
In the time of the first Maha Thamadamins, Hkun Lu and Hkun
Lai, ihe boundaries extended to Mong La, Mong Hi, and Mong
Ham on the banks of the Mfekhong. There was there a chief
named Hkun Lu Hkam, who had many sons who governed under
him in the province of Keng Mai.
The four Htao-ynongs found the burden of affairs very great and
therefore, on the eighth waning of the fourth month (March), in
the year 316 B.E. (954 A.D.), they went, with representatives of the
people, to the Chief of Mong Hi and Mong Ham, on the frontier
of Mong La In the province of Keng Mai, on the banks of the
Mfekhong, with presents of twenty-one viss of silver and three viss
of gold and other valuable articles, to ask Hkun Lu Hkam to give
them his sons for their governors. The Chief consented and gave
his five sons, Hkun Tai Hkam, Ai Hawm, Hkun Hkam Sen, Tao
Hkun Wen, and Hkun Hkam Haen, together with eight others of
different parents, Hkun Hkam Pawng Hpa, Hkun Hsfing Pawng,
332
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VL
Hkun Tao Hseng Hkara, Hkun Tao Ao Kwa, Hkun Tao Nga Rung,
Hkun lIpaWunTon, Ilkun Tao Lu Lo, and Hkun Pan Hso L6ng,
all of them descendants gf the house of Hkun Lu and Hkun Lai,
to go with the Htao-mongs and to be rulers over the Cis-Salween
States. Accordingly they all returned together and arrived at Mong
Tu in Hsen Wi on the day of the full moon of the seventh month
(June) of 317 B.E. (955A.D.).
In the following year the four Hiao-mongs summoned all the
people together to receive their respective rulers and then they and
Sao Hkun Tai Hkam appointed them as follows : —
Hkun Tao Ao Kwa was appointed Sa-wbwa of Mong Nai,
Keng Hkam, Keng Tawng, and Mawkmai, as far as the
Siamese borders.
Hkun Tao Hseng Hkam was appointed Sawbwa of Yawng
HwCj Mong Pawn, Hsi Hkip, Hsa Tflng, Maw La
Myeng, Nawng VVawn, Lai Sak Sam Ka, Van Kung,
and Miing Pai.
Hkun Tao Nga Rung received Miing Mao, Mong Na, Sfe
Hpang, Mong Wan, Mong Ti, Mong Hko, and Mong
Kawn.
Hkun Hpa Wun TOn received Mijng Ting, Miing Ching,
Kiing Ma, and Miing Mong.
Hkun Tao Lu Li> received Mong Ham, Mong Yawng, and
Mong Hkattra.
Hkun Pawng Hpa received Wing Hso.
Hkun Hseng Pawng received Mong Kun Kwoi and Lam-
palam.
Hkun Pan Psii Long received Mong Kut, Mong L6ng, and
Hsum Hsai.
Hkun Hkam Hsen received Keng Lao, Man Maw, Keng
Leng, Mong Yang, and Miing Kawng.
Tao Hkun Wen became Sawhwa of Mong Yuk, Mong Yin,
Miing Maw, Mong Tai, and Miing Ham.
In the year 319 BE. (957 A.D.) Sao Hkun Mai Hkam appoint-
ed his son Hkun Ai Hawm to be the governor of Mong Tu, with
his headquarters in Hsen Wi town, and in the same year Sao Hkun
Tai Hkam and his son Sao Hkun Hkam Hsen Hpa proceeded to
establish the city of Hsnn Sii, which was lo be the capitalof all the
Shan States, where State affairs were to be settled.
The newly appointed chiefs then left Hsen Wi Hsi-hso, Hsen
W'i Hs6-an-wu, Hso-an-pu, Hs6-pa-tu, Hsii-mo, the country of white
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
233
blossoms, in the province of Siriwilata Maha Kambawsa Kawsampi
and went to their respective States, where they built towns and
palaces.
Mong Sang,
Mong Lon,
Mong Mong,
Mong Kiing,
Lai Hka,
Mong Hsi Paw,
Mong Hko,
Mong Lao,
Lawk Sawk,
Mong Nawng,
Mong Peng,
Mong Hsu,
Mong Hu, and
Mong Pat
were declared to be under the direct control of Sao Hkun Tai
Hkain of Hscn Se.
Man Sfe Mfemong,
Mong Yaw,
Mong Htara,
Mong Ya,
Mong Hka,
Ko Kang,
Mong Paw,
Mong Lawng
Mong Ko,
Mong Wan,
Mong Kek,
Mong Si,
were placed under the direct control of Hkun Ai Hawm of Mong
Tu in Hsen Wi.
Mong Yuk, Mong Tat, Mong Mao, and Mong Noi were placed
under the direct control of Tao Hkun Wen of Wing Nan Mong Yin.
Tao Hkun Wen of Mong Yin had a son nanied Hkun Tao Pa
Pawng and Hkun Tao Pa Pawng had a son named Hkun Tai Pawng.
Hkun Tao Pa Pawng died during the reign of his father.
The history of Mong Mir, Keng Lao, is as follows: — The Saw
bwa Hkun Hkam Hken Hpa had three sons Ta Ka, Hkun Yi Awng,
and Hkun Sam Hso. Hkun Hkam Hken Hpa appointed the middle
son to be governor of Mong Yang (Mohnyin), Mong Kawng {Mo-
gaung), and Man Maw (Bhamo).
Hkun Hkam Pawng Hpa of Kare Wing Hso died without issue
and consequently his ministers applied to Sao Hkun Tai Hkam of
HsenSfefora ruler and Hkun Sam Hso, the youngest son of Sao
Hkun Hkam Hken Hpa, was appointed.
Hkun Sam Hso also died, but left a son Hkun Ting, who suc-
ceeded him.
In the year 429 B.E. (1068 A.D.) "Hkun Hkam Hken Hpa of
Mong Mit and Keng Lao died and his eldest son Sao Hkun Ta Ra
succeeded him as Sa-wbwa and in the following year removed his
capital from Keng-lao to Sung Ko (Singu). He had a son, Hkun
Kom, who succeeded him on his death in 547 B.E. (1185A.D.).
Hkun Kom had one hundred wives, but none of them bore him a
child. He therefore ordered them to pray (.0 the naisior the gift of
a son. One night a ?iat appeared to him and told him to hold pm^s
for seven days and seven nights on the banks of the Nam Kiu (the
Irrawaddy) with all his wives and all his people. Gold dust would
30
234
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VI.
come floating down the river and, if one of the queens swallowed this,
she would bear a son. Hkun K6m told his dream and made
arrangements for the holding of the seven days feast. But a very
violent storm burst and the river rose in flood and Hkun Kom and
his queens returned to the town without seeing any £;old dust. One
queen with a few attendants remained behind and kept a careful
watch. Her servants found a strange fruit floating on the river and
she ate it and went back to the palace. In a few months time she
was delivered of a child, but the other queens were jealous and
dropped the baby over the palace wall and told the mother that it
was still-born. The baby did not die of the fall, so the queens had
it placed In the middle of the road where the cattle were daily
driven past. Next day when the cattle were lei out, a large spotted
cow protected the child, took it up in her mouth, and carried it with
her to the grazing-ground, where she fed it with her own milk and
look it back with her every night to the cattle-pen. This went on
for eighteen months and then the queens discovered that the child
was not dead, but went to the fields every day and when any man
came near, hid itself in the mouth of a large spotted cow. They
therefore resolved to have all the spotted cows in the country kill-
ed and persuaded the doctors to tell the Sa^vbwa that it was neces-
sary to sacrifice them to the nats, in order that he might have a son.
The spotted cows were all slaughtered, but the protector of the
little prince had handed him over to the care of a cow buffalo, with
whom he now stayed. When the queens heard this they determined
to kill all the cow-buffaloes, but the one who watched over the
prince fled to Kare Wong Hs6 and joined the herd that belonged
to the Princess I Pawm, the daughter of the Sa-mbwa of Kare Wong
Hso. The princess heard of it, questioned the boy, and was told
everything. She went and told her father, .Sao Hkun Ting, who
said that the Sawbtoa of Sung Ko (Singu) was of the true line of
the Maha Thamadamin and that therefore, since the little prince
had come riding on a buffalo, he must be called Hkun Yi Kwai
Hkam and must come and stay in the Ha-so with him.
The news soon came to the ears of Sao Hkun K6m of Sung Ko
and he sent his ministers to bring back his son, whom he received
with great delight and acknowledged as his heir. Soon after the
Golden Buffalo Prince married the I^incess 1 Pawm and the Thagyas
came down from the skies and presented him with a double-edged
sword.
Tales about the prince spread abroad and reached the ears of
Sao W6ng-ti {^Htvang-ti is the title of the Emperor of China, as
used in Treaties and in reference to deceased sovereigns, like the
Latin /?«?«5), who sent an Embassy to invite him to the Gem Palace
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
335
in China. Therefore the prince went there with a great retinue in
the year 663B.E. (1302A.D.). The Emperor received HkunYiKwai
Hkani with great honour and proposed that he should go as an
emissary to Hsihapadi, the King 01 Pukam Pawk Kan (Pagan), to
demand the payment of the tribute of four elephants, eight viss of
gold, and eighty %'iss of silver which had been paid by his ancestors
every three years or every nine years. One hundred Chinese there-
fore accompanied Hkun Yi Kwai Hkam on his return. Fifty of
these stayed with him in Sung Ko and fifty went on to King Hsiha-
padi of Pukam Pawk Kan. The King of Pagan refused to pay the
tribute, put forty of the Chinamen to death, and sent back the re-
maining ten to tell the Sao W6ng-ti that he was prepared for war.
Upon this the Emperor of China sent an army and asked for sup-
port from Sung Ko under the command of Hkun Yi Kwai Hkam.
Contingents came from S^ Hpang, Mong Hko, Mong Hkam, Mong
Yang, Mijng Na, Santa, MongTi, and Mong Wan, and all the other
Shan States under the chief Sawhwa, Sao Tai POng, and placed
themselves under the leadership of Hkun Yi Kwai Hkam. It was
in 639 B.E. (1277 A.D.; there is a mistake of twenty-one years)
that Sao W6ng-ti declared war against Hsihapadi, King of Pu Kam
Pawk Kan. The Chinese forces with the Shan army invaded Pagan
and drove the King and his son Hsiri Kyawzwa to Pyama Mong
Myen. {Ser Marco Polo's Kingdom of Mien. Male was the place,
according to the Burmese histories.) This was in the year 641 B.E.
(1279 A.D.) and in thefoUowing year Hkun Yi Kwai Hkam carried
the head of Hsiri Kyawzwa to the Chinese Emperor, and the troops
returned to their own country.
In those days Sao Tai P6ng governed the whole of the Shan
States except Mong MJt, Mong Yang (Mohnyin)j Kare Wong Hs6,
Mong Kiing Kwai Lam, Mong Kawng (Mogaung), and Man Maw
(Bhamo), which were independent of him and were governed by
Sao Hkun Kdm of Sung Ko.
In the year 318 B.E. Sao Tao Nga Run left Hsen Wi and began
to develope Mong Nam and Mong No and lived in the town of
Wing M6n of Mong Mao as the Sawbtva of these States. Sao
Nga Run had a son named Hkun Tum, who was chosen by the
people as their Sawbwa after the death of his father and subse-
quently took the name of Sao H6m-mong. He had a daughter
named Sao Mon La and a son named Sao Kaw Leng. In the year
419B.E. (1057A.D.) the King Nawrahta Mangsaw of Pagan went
up to Mong Wong in search of the five relics of Buddha, and on his
way back he stayed at Mong Mao and Mong Nan and met the
Sao H6m-ni6ng there and married his daughter Sao M6n La.
aa^
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VI.
The descendants of Sao Hkun Nga Run failed in 457B.E. (1095
A.D.) and Mong Mao was left without a ruler for some time, but
the ministers went to the Saivifp^a, Sao Tai Pong of Hsen Sb, and
asked him to appoint some one. He accordin^^ly sent them his
youngest son, Hkun Hpang Hkam, who left Hsen \Vi in 458B.E-
(1096A.D.) and went to Mong Mao, where he built himself a capital
at the town of Wing Wai. Ir was during his reign that one of the
younger daughters of the Sao Wong-li of the Gem Palace in China
was killed in her own chamber by a huge tiger. The Chinese follow-
ed up the tiger's tracks and sent notices to the Sawhwas of the Shan
country on both banks of the Nam K6ng. The tiger measured
twelve cubits high and travelled so fast that he passed through
three vinngs in the day and seven nidngs in the night. He
crossed the Chinese frontier and came to Mo Kang Hs6 in
Mong Lon territory. The Saivbwa of Mong Lon then ordered the
people of Hsen Lem, Mong Keng, Man Niu, Pang Kwang, Sonmu,
Kang Hsd, M6t Hai, Maw H pa, and Hsai Mong to hang iron
chain traps along the banks of the Nam Kiu (the Irrawaddy ; evi-
dently the Salween is meant). The tiger was thus caught in an
attempt to jump across the river at a place which has ever since
been known as Ta Wut Kiu-hso-wen, from the tiger's leap. The
people took the tiger (in the South Hsenwi Chronicle it is said to
be a white tiger) to the Sawbwa of Samparalit in Mong Lon, and
he sent it across the Nam Kiu to his cousin, the Sawiwa Hkun
Hpang Hkam. They went by way of Man Kat, Mong Pat, Ho
Ya, and Mong Sit and called at Kalo, Man Sh, La Ilseo, Ho Pok,
and Loi Kyu and so arrived at Mong Li (these places are all in
Hsen \Vi, so that the Nam Kong, the Salween, and not the Nam Kiu,
the Irrawaddy, is meant). Hkun Hpang Hkam had heard of the
coming of the tiger and sent his ministers to meet it at Mong Li
and bring it to Wing Wai. Hkun Hpang Hkam took it himself
from his capital to the Sao W6ng-ti, who was greatly pleased and
presented Flkun Hpang Hkam with a State Seal and also with a
Passport Seal, which authorized him to tax all who passed through
his country, and he also conferred on Hkun Hpang Hkam the title
of Governor of Mo Pong Hsfe Pong (this is no doubt the name Mu
Pang by which Hsen Wi is known to the Chinese and an allusion
to the Chinese Seal, which was used by the Sa^i'b-xas of Hsen Wi).
The South Hsen Wi version says that nine Hsat-hte (publicans)
came with the seals and established nine loUs at different places in
Hsen Wi and collected duties, a portion of which were sent to the
Sawbwa of Mang Lon because he caught the tiger. Hkun Hpang
Hkam, on his return from China in47oB.E. (1108 A.D.), moved his
_ capital from Wing Wai to Nani Paw, south of Hpang Hkam in the
PI-ATB VT.
SUA^ SAWBWA Ul CX>aftT DAKS.
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THK TAl.
237
country of Mong Mao, and there he built a large town and made it
the capital of all his Slates (this is no doubt the ruined city of Hpang
Hkam near Si Lan on the Nam Haw). Hkun Hpang Hkam ruled
over Mong Mao, MOng Wan, Mong Na, San Ta, Mong Ti, Mong
Ham^ Si: Hpang, Mong Kwan, Mong Ya, and MOng Hkat-ta-ra.
He had four daughters named Nang Ye Hkam Long, Nang Ye Hkam
Leng, Nang Ye Hseng, and Nang Am Aw, but he was growing old
and he had no son to succeed him. He therefore prayed daily to
the Y6k-ka-so nat that he might have a son. One day he entered
the chamber of his youngest queen, who was so discomposed by
his sudden arrival that his suspicions were aroused. Accordingly
a watch was set on the queen's chambers and one night the guard
announced that the Y6k-ka-so nal was with her. An attempt
was made to capture him, but the h/z/ settled on the palace roof
and told the Sawbioa that he was the spirit of the last Sawbwa, Sao
Hom-mong, and would give Hpang Hkam a son, but only if he
fell down and worshipped him in the shape of the shoe which he
threw down. Instead of worshipping the shoe, Hkun Hpang Hkam
turned the queen out of the palace and she wandered about begging
her food from door to door until one day she gave birth to uiree
sons on the banks of the Nam Paw, at the foot of a hill.
They were named Hkun Ai Ngam Mong, Hkun Yi Kang Hkam,
and Hkun Sam Long. The first of these died in his infancy and,
when the Sawhwa died, Hkun Yi Kang Hkam was too young to
succeed. There was some doubt as to the appointment of a suc-
cessor, but a vision appeared to the Chief Minister in the night and
revealed to him that the second Princess should be chosen, since
her elder sister was betrothed to Sao Wong Kiang, who lived at
Keng La O in China. Accordingly in the year 489 H. K. (1127
A. D.) Princess Ye Hkam Leng was appointed ruler and built a city,
which was called Wing Nam I Mi of Nam Paw, the Paw river.
Meanwhile in Sung Ko the Sa-ivhwa San Hkun Kom was dead
and was succeeded by his son Hkun Yi Kwai Hkam, who died
leaving no issue in the year 670 B. E. (1308 A. D.). The ministers
therefore went to Hsen Si to ask for a ruler and the Sawb'ioa Sao
Long Tai L6ng gave them Sao Hkun Hpy Hsang Kang to rule
over Mong Mit Sung Ko. He had four sons Hkun Tai Hkon,
Hkun Tai Hkai, Hkun Tai Tao, and Hkun Sam Awn. Sao Hpo
Hsang Kang only reigned two years and Hkun Tai Hk6n was
elected by the people as his successor. He had a daughter and a
son named Nang Ye Hkon and Ai Pu Hkam.
When Sao Long Tai Pong, the Sawbioa of Hsen Si, had appoint-
ed Hkun Hpang Hkam, his youngest soHj to be Saivb-wa of Mong
Mao in 458 B. E. (1096 A. D.), he himself gave up the Sawb-wa-
238
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VI.
ship to his second son Sao Hkun Tai Long and went into retire-
ment. He lived sometimes in MongMit Sung Ko. sometimes with
his son Hkun Hpang Hkam in Mong Mao, and sometimes with Sao
Hkun Tai Long in Hsen Se. He died in Mong Mit Sung Ko at
the age of one hundred and twenty in 468 B. E. (i 106 A. D.).
During the reign of Sao Hkun Tai Long, Mong Nan, and Mong
Yin were annexed to the State of Hsen St*, which was then the
chief of all the eight Shan States. These were at this time —
Hsen Wi. Mong Nai. Yawng Hwe.
Tung Lao. Mong Him. Sam Ka.
Lai Hka. Kung Ma. Van K6ng,
Keng Hkam. MOng Mong. Pu Kam.
Wang Kawk. Hsi Paw. Mong Lijn,
Nawng Wawn. Mong Kiing. Mong Ting.
Hsi Hklp. Keng Tawng. Mong Ching.
Hsa Tung. Hpa-hsa Tawng.
Maw La Myeng. Mawk Mai.
Sao Long Tai Long appointed Sao Tai Paw to the charge of
Wing Nan and MOng Yin. Tai Paw had three sons, Tao Noi
Chii, Tao Noi Myen, and Sau Pan Noi.
Sao Hkun Tai L6ng reigned for one hundred and twenty-three
years and died In the year 670 B. E. {1308 A. D.).
His grandson Tao Noi Chfe was chosen as his successor by the
people and reigned for forty-two years and died at the age of seven-
ty-three. Sao Hkun Loi Hsan Hpa, a son of Sao Pan Noi, was
then elected by the people to be Sawbiua of Hsen S^.
In Mong Mao, while Princess Yi^ Hkam Leng was ruler of the
State, the two children Hkun Yi Kang Hkam and Hkun Sam Long
lived with their mother at a village Kai Maw at the foot of Loi
Lao and grew up as cultivators. One night the Y6k-ka-so nat
appeared to Hkun Yi Kang Hkam and told him that, if he wished
to prosper, he should go and remove a large stone which he would
find to the north of his farm. Below it there was a seal which he
was to take home with him and treat with reverence. Hkun Yi
Kang Hkam told his brother, and the next day they went and found
the seal, which they took home with them and gave it to their
mother for safe keeping. From that day they prospered and be-
came wealthy.
Nang Ye Hkam Leng reigned for sixteen years and died in 514
B. E. (i 152 A. D.) and the ministers then chose Hkun Yi Kang
Hkam to be Sawbwa of the Mong Mao country. He assumed
the title of Hso Hkan Hpa because one day a tiger had tried to
bite him, but was driven away by the sound of his voice. He first
CHAP. VI,] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI,
239
built the town of Wing S^ Hai, but in 516 B. E. (1154 A. D.) he
moved from ihere and buiU the town of Sb Ran (no doubt the pre-
sent S^ Lan, the Cheila of Mr. Elias) and fortified it with strong
walls and deep moats. When he had established himself there he
summoned Hkun Tai Paw of Mong Yin, Tao Noi Chi^ of Hsen Si:,
and all the rulers of the Hsen \Vi States to make their submission
to him. They flatly refused, so he gathered together an army and
invaded Wing Nan, Mong Yin, and drove out Hkun Tai Paw and
his three sons. They fled to Wing Ta Pck in Hsi Paw and from
there made terms with Hs6 Hkan Hpa and gave him the Princess
Nang Ai Hkam Hpawng in marriage.
In 517 B. E. (1155 A. D.) flkun Kang Hkam Hs6 Hkan Hpa
summoned the brothers Sao Tai Hkbn, Sao Tai Hkai, Sao Tai
Tao, Sao Tai Ting, and Sao Hkam Awn of Mong Mit, Keng Lao,
and Sung Ko to submit, but they killed seven of his messengers
and sent back the other three to bid him defiance. Hs5 Hkan
Hpa therefore attacked them with a large army and defeated them.
Sao Tai Hk6n refused to surrender and was executed at Sung Ko.
The others submitted and Sao Tao Hkal was appointed Saivbwa by
Hso Hkan Hpa, first of Sung Ko and afterwards of Mong Mit also.
Hso Hkam Hpa carried off Sao Tai Hkdn's wife Nang Am
Hkawng, with her daughter Nang Ye Hkung and her son Ai Pu
Hkanij to Mong Mao and proposed to marry her, but his mother
forbade it, because they were cousins. Hs6 Hkan Hpa therefore
gave her to a Paw Mong, Tao KangMon, who had been prominent
in the war.
In the year 530 B. E. (1 158 A. D.) Sao Hso Hkan Hpa gather-
ed a large army and marched against the Sfe Sung-Tu of China.
(The South Hsenwi Chronicle says that the Chinese had attacked
Sfe Ran, but were driven back.) While he was away his ministers
invaded Kiing Ma, where they captured the Satobwa and put him to
death at Tima. Hso Hkan Hpa conquered the Sfe Sung-Tu and
advanced to Mong St; Long (this is the Shan name of Yunnan-
sen : Sung-tu is no doubt the Tsung-tuh or Governor-General
of Yun-Kuei) with a force of four hundred thousand men. There-
upon the Sao W6ng Ti enquired what he wanted and surrendered
Mong Sfe Yung, Sang Mu, and Aw Pu Kat, and this ended the war
with China in 521 B. E. (i 159 A. D.). As soon as he reached S6
Ran the Sawb^va raised another army and invaded Lan Sang, Keng
Hsen, Keng Hung, Keng TOng, La S6ng, La Pong, La Hkong.
Mong Hawng, and Hpahsa Tawng, east of Keng Mai, and conquered
them all, and demanded an annual tribute of twenty-four viss ol gold,
three-hundred viss of silver, and twenty-two elephants, which was
agreed to. He then marched up to the Hsip Hsawng Panna of
240
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VI.
Mong Yon, which submlued without resistance, and then he return-
ed to Mong Mao, where he heard that his Chief Minister Tao Kang
Mon was dead. He appointed Hkun Pu Hkam in his place and
gave him the llllc of Tao Kang Mong and made him Sawbioa of
Mong Tu. About the same time the Sa-wbua Sao Tai Paw sent
a present of gold and silver and asked for the hand of Nang Ye
Hkon for his son Hkun Saii Pan Noi. They were married and had
a son and daughter named Noi Hsan Hpa and Nang Horn Mong.
After this Hso Hkan Hpa ordered an army of nine hundred
thousand men to march against Mong Wehsali I-6ng (Assam)
under the command of his brother Hkun Sam Long (this is the Sam-
I.ung Pha of Elias )and the ministers Tao Hso Han Kai and Tao
Hso Y6n. When they reached Wehsali Long, some cowherds re-
ported the arrival of the army from Kawsampi, the country of white
blossoms and large leaves, and the ministers submitted without
resistance and promised to make annual payment of twenty-five
ponies, seven elephants, twenty-four viss of gold, and two hundred
viss of silver every three years. Hkun Sam Long accepted these
terms and commenced his march back. The two other generals,
Tao Hso Yen and Tao Hso Han Kai, sent on messengers to Hso
Hkan Hpa with a story that Hkun Sam Long had obtained the
easy submission of Wehsali L6ng by conspiring with the King of that
place to dethrone Hso Hkan Hpa, The Snwhca believed the
story and sent poisoned food to his brother, which Hkun Sam Long
ate at Mong Kong (Mogaun^), where he died and was transformed
into a nai.
About the same time Nang Hkan Hkam Hsaii, the wife of Hso
Hkan Hpa and daughter of the Sav}b-ii:a of Mong Leng, left him
owing to some quarrel and went to China, where she gave birth to
a son named Ai Pu Hkam, who married and had a son named Ai
Pu.
In 562 B. E. (1200 A.D.) Hso Hkan Hpa ordered another ex-
pedition against Mi'mg Man (Burma) and gave the command to his
two sons Sao Saii Pyem Hpa and Sao Ngok Ky 0 H pa, together with
the generals Tao Hso Yen, Tao Hso Han Kai, and Tao Hpa Prao.
They invaded the country and first of all captured Wing Takawrg
(Tagaung). The ruler of Takawng fled to Wing Hsaching (Sa-
gaing) and put himself under the protection of Sao Yun, who was
called also Hsato Ming-Pyu. The Shan army advanced on Sa-
faing and Hsato Min-Pyu fled immediately and was followed by
ao Hsihapadi of Takawng, whom he put to death. The Shan
troops then crossed the Nam Kiu (the Irrawaddy) and took Pin
Ya and its ruler called Nalasu, whom they carried off prisoner 10
Mong Mao, where he was afterwards called Mawpaming. It was
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
Ht
in the year 563 B.E. (1201 A.D.) that Hs6 Hkan Hpa's army con-
quered Burma. (The dates and facts are hopelessly wrong here.)
Two years after this a Chinese fortune-teller came and settled
in Wing Sferan and became notorious, Hso Hkan Hpa sent for
him and asked him to show his wisdom. The fortune-teller said
the capital was to be moved from S^ran to a place about three
miles north of the Nam Mao (the Shweli), where a capital would be
found built on gold and silver fields. Accordingly Hso Hkan Hpa
began building; a new capital at a place -called Ta Hsup-u in the
year 566 B.E. (1204 A.D,), and whiU; it was being built many
gold and silver pots were found therCj where they had been placed
by the fortune-teller.
[This new capital was no doubt the present Mong Mao. The
manuscript is not at all clear, but the meaning seems to be that the
desire was to persuade the Sawhwa to move tne capital to the Chi-
nese side of the river. According to Ney Elias's version the
Chinese sent down a party of 130 mules loaded with silver. This
was scattered about among trees which surrounded the site of Mong
Mao. The sequel of the story is not given in this case cither, but
the inference is that the Chinese wanted the people to cut down
the jungles round Mong Mao, so that they might attack it the more
easily].
Sao Hs6 Hkan Hpa was a very powerful ruler and he obtained
the submission of the following States and received tribute from
them to the end of his days : —
Mong Se-yung, Hsang Mu-kwa Hsi-pa Tu-hso (query : the
Chinese I'u-ssu), Mong Hkon, Meung Yawn, Kawi Yotara, Hpa-
hsa Tawng, Labon, Lakawn, Lang Sang [this is what the Burmese
called Leng Zeng and is no doubt I he Chinese t.an-tsiang ; it was
probably Wing-chanij^ (Vienchan) or Luang Prabang, whichever was
for the time the dominant State of the Lao. Luang Prabang has
outlasted Wir.g Chang as capital], Wang Kawk, Mawk Mai, Hsip
Hsawng Panna, Keng Hung, Chieng Hai, Chieng Hsen, Chieng Mai,
Pai-ko fPegu), Pang-ya (Pinya), Eng-wa lAva), HsaTung, Yan-
kong, Maw Lamyeng, besides Hsa-ching (Sagaing), and Wehsali
L6ng (which is almost certainly Assam, whose Buddhisiical name
is Welsali). He reigned for fifty-ihrte years and died at the age
of seventy-three in the year 567 B.E. (1205 A,D.) and was suc-
ceeded by his son Sao Pern Hpa, who assumed the title of Sao
Hso Pern H pa and reigned for two years and was succeeded by his
son Hkun Tai Pern Hpa, who assumed the title of Sao Hso Wan
Hpa. He was a tyrant and was put to death by his people for his
cruelty and oppression.
3»
24-2
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VI.
Hkun Ng6k Chyo Hpa was then brought, up from M6ng Ang-wa
(Ava) and became Sawhwa under the title of Sao Hso Sung Hpa,
but died Insane in about six months' time, in the year 571 B.E.
(1209 A.D.).
The country then remained for a time under the administration
of the ministers Tao HsO Yen, Tao Hpa Prao, and Tao Hs6 Han
Kai, while enquiry was made as to what had become of Nang Kang
Hkam Hsaii, Hso Hkan Hpa's queen, who had quarrelled WMth him
and gone to live in China; while great with child. The deputation
reached Mong Sfc Yung-song (probably Yung Ch'angi and found
that the queen was dead, but had left a son named Hkun Pu
Hkam, who had a son Hkun Pu Kaw (called Ai Pu above).
Hkun Pu Hkam was offered the SawbwasWip, but he refused it and
suggested his son Hkun Pu Kaw, who was accordingly elected and
on his accession in the yt-ar 636 B.E. (1274 A.O^) assumed the
name of Sao Hso H6m Hpa and took up his abode at Wing Ta
Hsup U (the modern Mong Mao).
In the following year the new Sa-wbwa summoned all the tributary
chiefs to his capital, but they refused to come. An army therefore
was despatched under the command of Tao Hso Yen, Tao Hpa
Prao, and Tao Hso Han Kai and it overcame the States of Man
Maw, Mong Yang, Mong Hkong, Mong Kung Kwai, Lampalam,
Kare Wong Hso, and Mong Yang. A garrison under Tao Hpa
Prao was established at Mong Yang and another under Tao Hso
Han Kai at Mong Hkong.
While these things were happening, Sao Hso H6m Hpa, the
SaTi'bwa, ravished several women in the town and seduced the wife
of the minister Tao Hpa Prao. Upon this the Smvbzva Tao Kang
Mong of Mong Tu, with a force under the command of Tao Hpa
Prao, marched on Wing Ta Hsup U and drove Sao Hso H6m Hpa
out of the country and he fled 10 Mong Nan in Mong Sfe (Yun-
nan) and put himself under the protection of the Sao Wong Ti-
This was in the year 638 B.E. (1276 A.D.), and at (he same time
the Smvbwa Tao Kang Mong appointed his son Sao Hso Yep Hpa
to be Sawbwa of Mdng Mao.
At this time (it was really more than two centuries earlier)
Nawrahta Mong Saw of Pu Hkam went to China in search of the five
relics of the Buddha, and on his return journey he visited the S6ng-
Tu of Mong St (the Governor-General of Yunnan). By the ad-
vice of the S6ng-Tu, Sao Hso H6m Hpa told his story to Naw
rahta and was referred to the Emperer of China. Accordingly he
went to the Sao W6ng-Ti with a present of four elephants, tour-
viss of gold, and forty viss of silver, and petitioned to be reinstated
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
343
in Mong Mao. The Emperor thereupon sent five hundred thou-
sand men, with reinforcements of tnree hundred thousand from
Mong Sfe, under the command of ihe General Wang Song-ping to
reinstate Sao Hso H6m Hpa in Mong Mao. Tao Kang Mong
offered to submit and made a present of eight elephants, eight viss
of gold, and forty viss of silver, which was accepted, but shortly
afterwards Sao Hsb H6m Hpa with a party of Chinese soldiers
surprised him while he was smoking opium and put him to death.
Upon this his son, Sao Hkuii Hkam Tep Hpa, with all his men,
fled to Man Kang in Mong Kyit and Hso Horn Hpa became
Sa-jL'b%'a again in 641 B.E, (1279 A.D.). Hkun Ham Tep Hpa re-
treated before the Chinese and settled at KengPa in Keng Tawng,
near the mouth of the Nam Tcng, which is a tributary of the Nam
KOng (the Salween). The Chinese, however, pursued him here
also, so he collected a number of men and attacked them and
drove them back as far as Mong Tu, where there was considerable
fighting. The Chinese asked for reinforcements and the Sao
\V6ng-Ti sent them, but afterwards, when he was informed that the
Nam Mao (the Shweli) was the boundary between Mong Mao and
Hsen Wi, he ordered hostilities to be stopped and in 645 B.E.
(1283 A.D.) recalled the General Wang SOng-ping to China. Sao
Hso Horn Hpa remained as Sa-xbwa in Mong Mao and Sao Hkun
Tep Hpa rcturiied to Hsen Wi and removed his capital in the year
648 B.E (1286 A.D.) from Hsen Wi to Loi Sang Mong Kiing,
where he stayed for a year and then moved to Loi Long Pawng Nang.
In 650 B.E. he moved again to Wing Ta Puk in Hsi Paw and built
a large town there and assumed authority over all the Shan Stales,
including Hsa Tung, Van K6ng, Maw La Myeng, Wang Kawk,
Hpa Hsa Tawng, Hsip Hsawng Panna, and Mong Pai. His queen
was a daughter of the Saivhva Sao Saii Pan Noi and of Nang Ye
Hkfin and he had five sons, Hkun Ai Long, Hkun Hkam Pern,
Hkuu Hkam P6t, Hkun Hkam Hom, and Hkun Hkam Wat and a
daughter Nang Hpa Long Horn Mong. He appointed his eldest
son Hkun Ai L6ng to be Sa^wbT^:a of Mong Yaw during his life
time, and after a reign of fifteen years died in the year 765B.E.
(1403A.D,), His son Hkun Hkam Pern Hpa succeeded him as
Saivbwa. He removed to Mong Hko and remained there for two
years and then shifted his capital to Mong Kcng, where he died in
the year 767B.E. (1405A.D.) without leaving issue. His brother,
Sao Hkun Hkam Pot, succeeded him as Sa-wb-iva of Hsen Wi. He
had two sons, Hkun Nkam Hung and Hkun Hkam Wat, and died
after a reign of two years and was succeeded, by his elder son, who
took the title of Sao Long Hkam Hkai Hpa, and in the year 770
B.E. (i4o8)A,D.) moved his capital from Mong Keng to Wing
344
THE UPPF.R BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VI.
Hkam Kai north of Sh U. In the year 771B. E. (1409 A. D.)
Mong Pu Hkam (the king of Pagan) raised an army and in-
vaded Hsen VVi. In the same year Meng Kyawzwa became the
King of Ava and joined Meng Pu Hkam in the attack on Wing
Hham Hkai Lai. In the year 780B.E. (141SA.D.) the two coun-
tries signed a treaty and the Burmese returned to their own territory.
According to the South Hsen Wi Chronicle this is the date of the
overthrow of Hsen Wi. Sao L6ng Hkam Hkai Hpa had three sons —
Hkam Hawt, Hkam Yawt, and Hkam I-at. Hkam Hawt was order-
ed to remain in the capital with his father, but was appointed Sam-
bwa of Wing Hkum. Hkam Lat was appointed Sa-ahwa of Kiing
Ma. On the death of his father, the second son Hkam Yawt be-
came Sa-:viitva and moved his capital to Wing Leng. He had a son
and a daughter — Hkun Wat and Nang Han Hkon Saw — and in the
year 8o6B,E. (1444A.D.) Hkun Wat succeeded on his father's
death and moved the capital to Hsup Hio S^ U, on the banks of
the Nam Tu (the Myit-ngfe). His sister, Nang Han Hkon Sawr,
was carried off and married by the King of the Nagas.
Sao Hkam Wat reigned fifteen years and was succeeded by Sao
L6ng Hkam Hep Hpa in the year 821 B.E. (1459A.D.). In his
time the Hsip Hsawng Panna rebelled against his brother, who was
in charge and Hkam Wat marched there and restored order and
also visited Mong Yon, Mong Ping, and Keng Mai, where he dis-
covered an image of Buddha and carried it off to Wing S6 U.
(The South Hsen Wi Chronicle says that the expedition against
Chiengmai was made under orders from the King of Burma and adds
that fikam Hep Hpa captured ihe Chief of Chiengmai, Saophra
Kaw Mong, also known as Tarahsi Hcng-ka, and brought him a
prisoner to Hsen Wi). Shortly after his return he shifted his capi-
tal to Wing Ai, owing to a famine which prevailed. He reigned
sixty-three years and in the year 884 B. E. (1518 A. D.) Sao L6ng
Hkam Hsen Hpa Ahsen Hpa Kyi of Mong Mit became SuToh-wa
and reigned for ten years. He was succeeded by Sao L6ng Hkam
Hken Hpa, who was followed in five years* time by Sao Long Hkam
Pak Hpa. In the year 903B.E. (i54!A.D.) Sao Long Hkam Hsen
Sung became Sawbwa and reigned till the time of Mengtara Rasa
Meng Saw. When that king became ruler of Ava he appointed
the nephew of Sao Long Hkam Hken Hpa of Mong Kb to be
Sawbiva of all the Shan States. In the year 923B.E. (1561A.D.)
Sao Long Hkam Hsen Hpa moved his capital from Wing S^ U to
KQng Ma and thence to Wing Tawng Kang S6 Hak, where he
reigned for twenty-four years. In the year 932B.E. (1570A.D.)
Sao Long Hkam Hkong Hpa succeeded and moved the capital
from S6 Hak to Wing Sfe U again.
CHAP. VI,] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAl.
a45
In'the year953B.E. (1593A.D.) during the reii^n of Nyawng Rap
Meng Kyi Kyaw in Ava, the Satvb-wa of Hsi Paw Ong Pawng, rebel'
led and consequently the Sawbwa Hkam Mken Upa sent troops to
aid the king in subduing the revolt. They were commanded by
Sao Tap Hsang Hkam and he took 6ng Pawng and captured the
Stzwbwa Sao Kaw Hpa.
In the same year Mijng I'ing, Nam Palu, Yawng liwe, and Nawng
Mon rebelled, but were immedlateiy suppressed.
In the year 961 B.E. (1599A.D.) Hkam H so Hkam Nan rebelled
and seized Wing S6 U and held it for a year, but Hkam Hkai Noi
Sao Kyu, who at first took refuge in Kawi Yotara, collected men in
the Hsip Hsawng Panna and in Yotara (Siam) and drove out Hkam
Hso Hkam Nan.
Intheyear967B.E. (1605A.D.) Sao Kyuand the Hpaya of Mong
Pawn rebelled against Mengtara Nawng Sarap. That Prince got
reinforcements from Sao Upa Yasa and from Sao Hso Horn Hpa,
the Kyem-tnong of Mong Mit, and invaded i^ong Pawn and Wing
Se U. Sao Kyu Hkam Hkai Noi had to fly. first to Wing Kc-ng Hin
in China and from there he was driven back to Kawi Yotara.
After his flight the people sent Sao Tap Hsawng Hkam with
presents to tnc King Mengtara Nawng Sarap and he accepted the
submission of the couniry and assumed the administration. This
was the end of the history of Hsen Wi Long, the country of white
blossoms and large leaves, in the province of Siri Wilata Maha
Karobawsa Kawsampi. It had twenty-five rulers, who were the
descendants of the generation of Sao Hkun Tai Hkan and were as
follows : —
Hkun Tai Hkan,
Tai P6ng,
Tai Long,
Noi Chfe.
Noi Myen,
Noi San Hpa,
Pang Hkam,
Kang Hkam Hs6 Hkan Hpa,
Hso Pyem Hpa,
Hs5 Wat Hpa.
Hso H6m Hpa,
Hs6 Yep Hpa,
Hkun Tet Hpa.
Hkam Hkai Noi Sao Kyu.
Hkun Pyem Hpa,
Hkun Put Hpa,
Hkam Pak Hpa,
Hkam Hkai Hpa,
Hkam Hawt Hpa,
Hkam Wat Hpa,
Hkam Hep Hpa,
Hkam Hsen Hpa,
A Hsen Hpa,
Hkam Hken Hpa,
Hkam Hsen Hsung Hpa,
Hkam Ching Hpa,
Hkam Nan Hpa> ^nd
346
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP VI.
They ruled over twenty tributary States as follows (these are
really the names of the various capitals): —
Pu Hkam,
Nawng Hpo Mh,
Keng Hin,
Keng Lon,
Wing Hko,
Wing Keng Hkam Kai,
Wing Long,
Wing Ai,
S^ Hak,
a period of six hundred and
Hsen Wi Hsen Sfe,
Wing Wai,
U Ting,
Mong Mao,
S6 Hai,
Wing Nawng I,
Wing Nang Ukai Hkam Pawng,
S6 Ran,
L6ne Kwai,
Ta Puk,
and maintained their sovereignty for
one years.
In 968B.E. (1606A.D.) after the flight of Sao Hkam Kyu, Sao
L6ng Mengtara Nawng Sarap and Sao Upa Yasa appointed Sao
Hs5 Hung Hpa, the /Cyem-moug oi Mong Mil, to be the ruler of Hsen
Wi Long. He was the son of Sao Hso H6m Hpa, the Sawbwa of
Mong Mit, who was a descendant of Sao Long Hkam Hkcn Hpa.
(The South Hsen Wi Chronicle places the accession of Sao Hso
Hung Hpa in 1651, but this must be a mistake and is no doubt due
to a miscomprehension of the Shan system of counting by cycles.
This is hardly understood now south of the Nam Mao, or Shweli
river. We know from Burmese history, where Mungtara Nawng
Sarap is called Nyauiig Ram Meng by Sir Arthur Phayre, that the
Northern Shans were subdued in 1604. The Shan dale given here
is therefore no doubt substantially correct.)
Thus llsen Wi Long became a dependent State of MOng Man
Mong Men {i.e., Burma). Wing Se U was the capital of Sao HQng
Hpa and he reigned for thirty-nint: years. He had four sons Sao
Kyem-mong Hs6 Hung. Sao Hpaya Sao, Sao Hso Hom-mong,
and Sao Hs6m Hpu. The Kyem-mong died in Pai-ko (Pegu f)
and left a son named Hkam Nawn Nai Hkam Kaw Hpa. Sao
Hpaya Sao died in Ava and Sao Hs6m Hpu died in Mong Kawng.
In the year 1006B.E. (1644A.D.) Hkam Nawn was appointed
Sawbioa with the title of Sao Hso Hsen Hpa and lived in Wing S6
U. He lived there for six years and was then put to death by Sao
L5ng Mengtara and Sao Hso Hung Hpa was appointed Sawbwa.
He had two sons Hso Hung and Hkun Awk Hkam and a daughter
Nang Han Hpa Hko Hkam Hijng.
Hso Hung Hpa collected an army and invaded Mong Mao, Mong
Wan, Sd Hpang, Mong Na, San Ta, Mong Kawn, and Mong Ti,
and conquered the whole of the States near the Nam Kong which
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
247
had formerly belonged to Sao Hs6 Hkan Hpa. Wing S?;U remain-
ed his capita! and he reigned for thirty-three years. He was suc-
ceeded in 1046 B. E. (1684A.D.) by his daughter Nang Han Hpa
Hko Hkam Hong, who reigned for four years and died in Wing
S6 U, The country then remained for nine years without a ruler
and then in 1059B.E. (1697A.D.) Sao Long Hkam Hsawng Hpa
was named Saisib-wa and lived for eleven years in Wing S6 U. He
then removed his capital to a place called Man Kao Hlwe Mong.
Pang Pawng and built Wing Ting Yit there, but stayed for only a
twelvemonth and then built a new capital Wing Pang Pawng, also
called Wing Hsup Pang Pawng.
While he was still at Wing Sfe U, a person named Ku Ma of
Lan Sang Mong Yotara (Luang Prabang) came with his family to
Hsen Wi Long and settled at Hsup Nang Pang Pawng Tu and
built there the Wat Sfe Kvu, which was afterwards called Hsung
Pawng S6 U Long.
'X\\QSa7obwa Ilkam Hsawng Hpa reigned for twenty-three years,
eleven years in Wing Sfe U and eleven years in Wing Hsup Pang
Pawng, besides one year at Wing Ting Yit.
The names of the Sa-wbwas of Wing Sfe U were —
Hkam Wat Hpa.
Hkam Hsen Hpa.
Ahsen Hpa Kyi.
Hkam Pen Hpa.
Hkam Hken Hpa.
Hkam P.nk Hpa.
Hkam Ching Hpa.
Hkam Hs6 Hkam Nan Hpa
Hkam Hkai Noi Sao Kyu.
Hso Horn Hpa.
Hs6 Kaw Hpa.
Hso Hsiing Hpa.
Hkam Pet Hpa.
Nang l-lan Hpa Hko.
Hkam Hsawng Hpa.
Hkam Hong.
Wing Sfe U remained the capital for a period of 101 years.
Hkam Hsawn^j Hpa had four sons — Hkam Ho, Hkan HQng, Hkam
Leng, and Hkam Kawt — and a daughler named Han Hpa Nang
Naw Hseng.
Hkam Ho, who was born of a minor queen, Nang Awn, died
young, but left a son named Hkun Li. Hkam Kawt was the son
of the Queen Nang Mong Na, and died in Ava, leaving a son and
a daughter named Hkun rising Hpo and Nang Hsoi Hkam Mong.
The daughter Han Hpa Nang Naw Hsen was the daughter of the
Chief Queen Nang L6ng Han Hpa Meng Hko Hkam Hiing.
Sao Hkun Li was ordered by the King of Ava to invade Chieng
Mai. On his return he was appointed Sau^bwa of Hsen Wi and
reigned for five years, when he was murdered by dacoits as he was
on his way to worship at the pagoda in Kfing Tawng.
348
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VI.
Mkun Hseng Ilkain Kawt, a son of Hkun HsCng Hpo, who was
with him at the time, was also murdered.
At the same time the Sawbwa of Mong Kang wished to marry
Nang Hsoi Hkam Mong, but she fled to Mong Ching,
In the year 1076 B. E. (1714 A. D.) therefore Sao Hkun Leng
was appointed Sawbwa. He was a uterine brother of Hkun Ho
and took the title of Sao Naw Hpa. In the fourth year of his reign
Kung Ma rebelled against him, and at the same time his son, the
Kyem-mOng t Pu Sao Htawn La, also rebelled. He was, however,
captured immediately and put to death, but very soon afterwards,
on the fourth waxing of the fourth month, his daughter, Nang Hsum
Naw Hseng Pan rebelled and murdered Sao Naw Hpa in his palace
in the middle of the night.
She was confirmed in charge of HsenWi by the King Mengtara
Nanta Yasa and reigned for 12 years, when she was succeeded in
1090 B. E. P728 A. D.) by her brother Sao L6ng Hkam Hong
Hpa. He married Nang Tu Sum of Mong Mao and had four sons
and five daughters. (He is apparently the Hseng Hong ol the
South Hsen \Vi Chronicle, which states that he received his appoint-
ment order in Ava and returned to the Shan States by way of
Yawng Hwe, where he married Nang Hseng Pu, a niece of the
During the time of the Sawhwa Hkam Hong the Kwi M6ng, the
countr)' of the Kwi (this is the country of the Kwei-kia, *' the
Gwfe Shars'* whom Mr. Parker places in Madaya, near Mandalay),
rebelled, and the King of Rurma ordered Hkam Hong to march
against them. He sent his son Hkam Wat Hpa, who drove the
Kwi as far as O Hpo O Meng and then returned to Hsen Wi.
Shortly after his arrival the Chinese of Maw La-wu rose in rebel-
lion and seized Maw Pang Hp6k and from there threatened to in-
vade Hsen Wi. Sao Hkam Wat, however, drove them from Kyu
Wing Kak back lo China. But disturbances caused by the Chinese
contmued in the Kwi M^ng, at Maw Pang Yang, and at Miing
Pat and Ye La, and Hkam Hong sent another army against them
under Sao Mang Ti, who drove the Chinese rebels as far as Hsi
Paw, where the Burmese troops fell upon them and captured the
Saivbiva of Mong Pat, who was, however, rescued by his own people
as he was being carried down to Ava. Ko Hseng Hsi Kang Rasa
W.1S the general in command of the Burmese iroops in the Kwi
M6ng and he fell in battle there at 0 Hpo O Meng. Upon this
Sao Mang Ti went to the assistance of the Burmese army and
fought both the Kwi and the Chinese. While he was still there Sao
Long Hkam Hong died at Pang Pawng after a reign of twenty-four
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
•49
years. Sao Mang Ti, his brother, returned in 1115 B. E. (1753
A.D. ; the South Hsen Wi Chronicle gives the date as 1 750) and was
chosen Saivbwa by the people at MongMot, when he took the title
of Hs6 Um Hpa. He had three sons named Sao Naw U Mong,
Hkun Hseng Vi, and Hkun Hsam Hpo and two daughters Nang
Hscng Hkam Mu and Nang Hsoi Hkam Mong, who were married
to Sao Hkam Ho and Sao Hkam Leng. (The South Hsen Wi
Chronicle says that Sao Mang Ti confiscated all his brother's pro-
perty and consequently the dowager Nang Hscng Pu returned to
Yawng Hwe and gave birth there to a son called Hkun Nu, who
aftenvards became Sawb-n^a with the title of Sao Hswe Cheng.
The account given of Sao Mang Ti's reign also differs consider-
ably. The Burmese Government, it is said, persisted in demanding
heavy tribute and levies of fighting men from Hsen Wi. Sao
Mang Ti built a pagoda and dreamt that, if its spire inclined to»
wards Ava, Hsen Wi was to be always under Burmese authority ;
if it remained upright, the State was to be independent, but, if it bent
towards China, that country was to be the suzerain. Next morning
he found the top of the pagoda leant towards Burma. He there-
fore abandoned lisen W'i and went to live at Mong Ka in Chinese
territory. He was followed there by his son-in-law Sao Hkam Hu,
who had been fighting for the Burmese in Karenni. The king
summoned both to Ava, Sao Mang Ti refused to go and died
shortly afterwards in Mong Ka. Sao Hkam Hu went to Ava and
died immediately after his arrival. His brother Sao Hkam Leng
remained in Chinese service and was active in invasions of Hsen
Wi and held the town for three years. Hkun Hseng Awng Tun
also commanded a Chinese army and invaded not only Hsen Wi,
but also Mong Nai, where he maintained himself for 17 years.)
Maw Pang Yang again gave trouble and occupied Nawng Mon
La-hseo. The Burmese sent an army under Bo Hsang Kang, and
Sao Mang Ti gave the command of his forces to Sao Hkam Leng
and they drove the Chinese out of Nawng Mon La-hseo and then
marched down to Ava. In 11 18 B. E. (1756 A. D., while Sao
Hkam Leng was in Ava, his wife, the Sawbwa^s daughter, took
another husband. In the same year Prince Hswe Tawng (Shwe-
daung) rebelled and had to take refuge in Hsen Wi under the pro-
tection of Sao Mang Ti, where he settled in Ting Yit, but had to
remove to Kun Long, Sao Mang Ti supported the Shwedaung
Prince in his rebellion against King Awng Zeya (Alaungpaya) in
1 120 B- E. (1758 A. D.) and was driven to Kiing Ma, where he
built a pagoda, and shortly afterwards died.
Awng Zeya died in 1122 B. E. (1760) and was succeeded by Sao
Mengtara Nawng L6k (Naungdawgyi), and in the same year the
33
aso
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VI,
chief of Kwi Mfing again rebelled and established himself in Hsen
Wi. A Burmese army under Meng-kyi, Kyaw Ma Ting came up
and invaded Kami Kang, Mong Pat, and Mdng Hko Mong Ka-
The Kwi M^ng Sawbwa fled lo Maw Noi Mong Lem, where he
put the Sawbioa lo death and settled in Mong La.
Shortly after this the Men^-kyi, Kyaw Ma Ting, came and es-
tablished himself in Hsen Wi. He recalled Sao Hkam Pat from
Mong Kawn and set him up as Sawbiva, and, having brought in
Sao Kham Ho from Se Hpang, took him down with him to Ava.
But soon afterwards Kung Ma rebelled and the Meng-kyi re-
turned and drove the Chinese back to Kyu Hsin and built a
bridge over the Nam Kong (Salween.)
In the year 1 125 B. E, (1763) Sao Hsam Kyap Me Tu (Sin-
byushin) became King of Ava, and on the fourth day of the eleventh
month of that year he appointed Sao Kham Leng to be Saw/fwa
of Hsen Wi and he established himself under the name of Sao
Long Hkam Hsawng Hpa. In 1127 B. E. (1765 A. D.) troops
from Ava came up under the command of Teng Kyaw Bo Myawk
Wang and Bo Mang Kawng and with reinforcements from Hsen
Wi under the command of Sao Hkun Hseng Awng Hion marched
to Mong Lem and the Hsip Hsawng Mong (Keng Hung.) The
Sawbwas of these States fled to the Sao Wong Ti, who sent an army
from China, which drove the Burmans and Shans back to Hsen Wi.
The Chinese army then in the following year 1 1 28 B . E . ( 1 766 A. D.)
invaded the whole of the eight Shan States on both banks of the
Nam Kong. Sao Hkun Hkam Hsawng Hpa surrendered to the
Chinese General at Mong Myen (Mien Ning ?) and was brought
by him to Mong Pawn, where he was established as Sawbwa wnth
a Chinese title. He reigned for three years and died of cholera
soon after receiving his insignia and was succeeded by Sao Hkam
P6t.
There was a Chinese Governor at this time living at Tima and
Sao Hkam P6t went to see him and was well received and sent,
with two elephants as a present, to live in Wan Tcng.
Hsen Wi was again utterly destroyed and the Chinese General
summoned the States of Mong Myen, Kung Ma, Mong Ching,
Mung Ka, and Mong Ting to meet him at Hsen Wi.
But in the first month of the next year a Burmese army under
the Myauk Wang Bo came up and expelled the Chinese from Hsen
Wi and drove the Chinese Tajen to Mong Na and settled in Mong
Sa. But the Chinese troops under the Taj6n of Mong W'an at-
tacked him and he retreated to Mong Ma and afterwards to Mong
Y6k and Mong Yin.
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
aS»
The Chinese troops then took possission of Wing S6 U, but the
Myawk Wang f^o gathered five thousand men and drove them back
and, with support from Sao Hkun Hkam Pot, drove the Chinese
beyond S6 Hpang, Mcing Ching, and Kting Ma.
At the same time another Burmese army marched through Maw
Noi, Mong Lem, and drove the Chinese from the Hsip Msawng
Mong (Keng Hong).
In the following year, however, the Chinese Taj^n came through
Mong Ko and Mung Si by way of the Nam Lan and occupied Man
Saw S& U and appointed Wu Kung Ye Governor of the Shan
States, and drove the Burmese from Hsen Wi to Hsi Paw and later
from Ilsipaw also. Wu Kung Ye then went to live In Loi L6ng.
(This Wu Kung Ye is probably the Burmese Thukhunye and the
" Duke Fuh^ng, the Manchu Generalissimo, a relative of the Em-
press," of Mr. Parker.)
A Burmese army under the Kyaw Bo and the Myawk Wang Bo
then came up and drove the Chinese from Hsen Wi through the
upper defile of Ho Km and then expelled Wu Kung Ye from Loi
Long (Tawng Peng) and drove him to Miing Yin, where he died.
(Mr. Parker says " he reached Peking only to die there.") Another
Chinese force came from Kang Usij, but was repulsed and driven
back from Mong Yaw. The Chinese carried off some Chiefs and
one hundred and thirty households with them to Ta Ri (Tali-fu)
and kept them there.
[The South Hsen Wi Chronicle gives the story differently. Ac-
cording to this version, the Chinese General Sao Wong Kantarit
came in 1129 B. E. (1767) with a largt; army, built a bridge over
the Nam Tu at Ta Te above Hsi Paw and placed garrisons in Hsum
Hsai and other places towards Burma. A Burmese army from
Pegu and Martaban drove them back 10 Wing Hkao Hsan (Lashio),
where the Chinese had a formidable fort. The Burmese fortified
themselves on the south side of the Nam Yao at Lashio village and
waited until the Myauk Win Bo marched up through Mong Lem
and Mong Ma and attacked the Chinese from the east. The
Chinese were then driven from Wing Hkao Hsan (the ramparts of
which still remain). Then succeeded a series of IVuns and Sikkes
in Lashio as to which the two chronicles are at variance].
In the year 1137 B.E. (1775 A.D.) the king Sao Mengtara
Long appointed U Ting Hpoi to be Saivbioa of Hsen Wi and he re-
moved his capital to the Nam Yao near Lashio, and therefore Lashio
was formerly called Wing U Ting Hpoi, after the Sawbwa who
reigned there for seven years and was succeeded by the Kyauksfe
iVun, who remained in charge for three years and was then replaced
ftS*
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VI.
by Sao Hswe Hking of Ton Hkam. who came from Yawng Hwe.
He was the son of the Sawbxca Khun Hscng Hong. Sao Hswe
Hking took the title of Hso Wai Hpa and moved the capital to
Wing Hsup Pang Pawng. He reigned for twenty-three years and
died in 1162B.E. (1800 A.D.)
[Hsi Paw invaded Mong Tung in the second year of his reign
(1780), but was repulsed. The South Hsen Wi Chronicle gives
further details. King Patung (Bodawpaya) succeeded Singu Min
(Maung Maung) in 1781 and summoned the ^aaiaws of Kawsanipi
to his capital. Eight of them went. Sao Hswe Cheng did not,and
the other Sawhwas said that he was preparing to rebel. Sao Hswe
Cheng was therefore arrested by the Set-taw \Vu?t and the Danubyu
IVuH and taken to Ava, where he was sentenced to death. The
A-weyaukt in whose charge he was, Interested the Queen-mother in
the prisoner. She represented the matter to the King, with the
result that the Wuns were executed and Sao Hswe Cheng was
restored to his State. This was in the year before the foundation
of Amarapura and two years before the arrival of the Arakan image
in boats built specially for the purpose by the King. During the
Sawbwa's reign it is noted that in 1786 the Sawbivas of Hsi Paw
and Mang Lijn built capitals on new sites. In 1787 the Chinese
sent messengers with valuable presents to Hsen Wi, Hsi Paw, and
Lawk Sawk, and in 1 788 the Sawbwas of all the Shan States united
to build a fort at Mong Nai, because of an eclipse which happened
in that year, while, the year after, a new hti was mounted on the
Shwe Maw Daw in Pegu apparently for the same reason,]
The Sawbwasoi^Aong Mao, Mong Ting, Hsi Paw, Mong Sit, Sara
Ka, Kcng Tawng, Nam Hkok, Nawng WaRn, and Yawng Hwe at-
tended Sao Hswe Cheng's funeral. He left seven sons and two
daughters. One of the daughters, Nang Hseng Santa, was married
to the King Mengtara Long and had a son named Hsato Mang-hsa,
but he died voung. In the year 1 163B.E. (1801A.D.) the King of ^
Burma appomted Hkun HsGng Hong, the eldest son, to be Sawbwa of'
Hsen Wi with the title of Sao H.s6 Kaw Hpa. In 1 171B.E, (1809)
Mong Het rebelled against him and four years later, when he was
on a visit to Mong Ut, there was a general rising. He was sum-
moned to Ava to explain how this had happened and from there was
sent back by way of Mong Nai, Mong Nawng, and the Kawn Tau,
but he died before he reached his capital. He built a bridge over
the Nam Tu and reigned for fifteen years and he left a son, Sao
Hswe Pawng, by a Burmese wife, but the King appointed a General,
named Hsiri Rasa Hsang Kyam of Mong Kawng to take charge
of the State, which he held for three years and then died. He was
succeeded by Hsiri Kyawdin NawTahta, who, however, was recalled
CHAP. VI.J THE SHAN STATF.S AND THE TAl.
353
to Ava in twelve months' time. Then, in 1 181B.E. (1819A.D.),
King Patung, Bodawpaya, died and his nephew, the next Burmese
King, appointed Sao Naw Mong, a son of Hso Wai Hpa, to be Saw-
biva of Hsen VVi with the title of Sao Long Hso H6m Hpa. He
died within the year at Mong Nai, where he had gone to see the sitk^,
having only reigned five months (the Southern Chronicle says two
years). The King then appointed his brother Sao Hkam Kawt
with the title of Sao L6ng Hsii HOng Hpa. He was Sawbwa for
two years and died at Mong Xai, whither he had been driven by the
rebels Ching L6ng Hsung Hko Awn, Hpraka Hkam Kal of Mong
Pat, Hpraka Hkam M6n Hkam Hsen of Hsen l..em, Htao Mdng
Hpraka Jlkam Man of Kat Kang, and Heng Hkam Hiing of Man
Wap. The deceased Sawbwa left a son Ilkun HsengMawng Hpo
living in Ava, but in 1 1S6 B. E. (1824 A.D.) the Sao Long Meng-
tara appointed Sao Hkam Pak to be Sa^vbwa of Hsen \Vi. Before
he took charge, however, he received orders at Mong Nai to go with
the other Shan San^hzcas to fight the English at Rangoon. He
took three thousand men with him and was killed in the fighting.
In his absence the Wtin Kyawzwa Myeng was put in temporary
charge of the administration, and in 1189S.E. (1827 A.D.) Hkun
Hsang Hkam Nan, another son of Hso Wai Hpa, was created Saw*
bwa with the title of Sao Long Hso Yep Hpa. He died in three
years* lime and was succeeded by his son Hkun Hseng Hkam Nan,
who died on his way up to Hsen \Vi.
In 1193B.E. (183!) Sao Hswe Mawng, a son of Sao Hso Kaw,
was appointed Sawb-iua of Hsen Wi with the title of Hso Wai Hpa,
and reigned for seven years.
During his time the Htao MSngs of Mong Het, Mong Kyek,
Man Sang, and Mong Yai rebelled and joined Mang Lon. About
the same time the Sarvbrca of Yawng Hwe also rebelled. He was
sent to Ava and died there and his two sons also died, one of them
at Pyang U (Pyinulwin) and the other at Ava.
Sao Hswe Mawng joined in the rebellion and marched to Pang
Hkao, near the Tawngtaman lake to support the Sck-kya Mintha.
Apparently he did not fight and was merely deposed.
In the year 1200 B.E. (1838} the Burmese King appointed Sao
Hkun Hkam Leng, a son of the Queen Nang Hkam Kyi, to be
SoTvbwa of Hsen Wi with the title of Hso Hkan Hpa. During his
reign the Yang Sawk (Red Karens) rebelled against Ava and the
Hsen Wi Sawbwa with other Shan forces was sent to suppress them,
which he did, but on his return to Ava ho was put to death for some
fault after having been Saicbiva for seven years.
In 1208 B. E. (1846) Hkun Hseng Naw Hpa, a son of Sao Naw
Hpa L6ng and grandson of Sao Hswfe Cheng, was appointed Sawbwa
354
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VI,
with the title of Hs6 Sam Hpa, Sltta-palaThudhamma Yaza. He
had almost immediately to deal wilh a rebellion headed by Twi Taw
Hkani Mawn, who was joined by the Hcngs and Hta-mongs of
Kokang Taw Niu, Kun L6ng, Kang Mong, Mimg Kawn, and the
Kawn Rang and drove the 5aa'ia'a toNaNoi Kaling and thence to
Hsai Hkao, Mong Yin, and MongTat. There, however, he gather-
ed an army and drove the rebels to Mon^ Ti and Miing Ting,
where he captured Twi Taw Mkam Mawn and put him to death and
marched all the way to Mong Nawng. In I2ii B. E. (1849) he
had subdued the whole ol the subordinate States, but he died in
the same year. The Southern Chronicle says he was put to death
in Ava.
The Wun Paw La Nan Ta was then put In charge of Hsen Wi,
but died in a year and was succeeded by the /!'«« Mawng Kyut.
It was at this time that King Mind6n seized the throne from his
brother. On his accession he appointed Kun Hseng Mawng Hpo
to the charge of Hsen Wi. Hkun Hscng Mawng Hpo made a
prisoner of Mawng Kyut and took him to Ava, where he was put
to death. Sao Long Hso Sam Hpa was then appointed Sawbwa of
Hsen Wi in 1215 B. E {1853). The whole State was very dis-
turbed and he put the Paw Mong Hsung Ton Hkam and his son to
death. Upon this the Hcng of Mijng Nawng and the Ho Hsiing of
Mong Ton went first to Mong Nai and then to Ava and obtained
the separation of their own and other States from Hsen Wi. This
was in 1216 B. E, (1854), and in the following year the Sawbwa
Hso Sam Hpa was summoned to Ava. While he was there the
5xV/'t^ Meng Kawng Rasa was put in charge of Hsen Wi. He was
unable to suppress the disorders and left in eight months' time and
was succeeded by another Sitk^, Hseng Kadaw, who obtained forces
to support him from the Shan States to the south. He also was
recalled after a year, and in 1218 B.E. (1856) Hkun Hseng Mawng
Hpo was sent up again and look the title of Sao Long Hs6 Kaw
Hpa. But the disturbances continued. The Paw Mong of Mong
Hsing overran and occupied Mong Nawng and Kesi. The Htao-
m'dngs of these States made their way to Mong Nai and Ava and
obtained permission to be independent of Hsen Wi. The order was
issued in 1220 B.E. (1858}.
In the same year Hso Kaw Hpa (Maung llpo) went back to Ava
after three years' stay at Wing Hsup Pang Pawng. The Pagyi IVun
took his place, but died in a year. The Sitkd Hseng Kadaw then
came up again. He settled in Lashio, but soon returned to Ava
and was succeeded by the Pa Hkan Wun Mingyi, who, however,
died at Man Sang before he reached Hsen Wi. In 1226 B.E, (1864)
Hso Kaw Hpa once more returned, but was recalled in a year, to
CHAP, VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
35s
be replaced by Shwe Pyi Bo, who settled at Lashio. In 1328 B.E.
(1866} the Myingun Prince rebelled and the Shwe Pyl Bo and the
Nga-ya Bo supported him. When the rebellion was over they were
summoned to Ava, but committed suicide at Lashio.
In 1229 B.E. (1867) the Sa-wbwa Hso Sam Hpa, who had been
detained all this time in Ava, came back to Hsen Wi, but in the fol-
lowing year Tao Sang Hai rose against him and the Saivbiva was
again recalled. Wundauks were sent up, one of whom stayed in
Lashio and the other in Wing Hsup Pang Pawng, but they failed
to overcome Tao Sang Hai, and in 1236 B.E. (1864) Hsen Wi town
was burned. The next year Hso Sam Hpa and the Nauk IViudaw-
hmu came up together, but they could not put an end to the distur-
bances and eventually he had to rtireat to Mong Si, while *m 1241
B.E. (1879) Hkun Hsang Ton Hong, with the aid of a large body
of Kachins, established himself in Hsen Wi town and maintained
himself there.
Sao Naw Mong, the son of the Sawbiva, Sao HsGng Naw Hpa
Long Hso Sam Hpa, was kept a prisoner by King Thibaw in Man-
dalay until 1885. He was then liberated by the British troops and
went up to Man Sang. After some stay there he marched north to
attack Hkun Hsang TOn Hong, but was defeated at lashio and
retreated to Na Nang. Here Hkun Hsang Ton H6ng attacked him
in the following year and overran all the Kawn Kang, the present
State of South Hsen Wi. Sao Naw Mong then fled to Mong Nai
and was established in the following year as Saipbiva of South Hsen
Wi at Mong Yai, while Hkun Hsang Ton H6ng received the north-
em half of the Stale with his capital at Wing Msen Wi.
There is sufficient general correspondence Jn facts, names, and
dates in this chronicle with those collected by Ney Elias to warrant
the assertion that the story is the same, and that the " Kingdom of
the Mao Shans" is the same as the Kingdom of Hsen Sfe Man Sfe
and also the same as that of the Kingdom of Pong. The first and
chief authority for this is Major Boileaii Pemberion, whose account of
„. , , „, it was derived from a Shan manuscript chronicle
Kingdom of rOnif. i • i > t • i t i ■ t •
which he obtained and caused to be translated
during his mission to Manipur in 183'^. In this document the first
King's name recorded is that of one Khool-lie ("no doubt Hkun Lai),
" whose reign," writes Major Pemberton, " is dated as far back as the
" eightieth year of the Christian era', and from whom to the time of
'* Murgnow, in the year 667 A.D., the names of twelve Kings are
"given who are described as having gradually extended their con-
" quests from north to south, and the names o\ no less than twenty-
" seven tributary cities are mentioned which acknowledged the supre-
256
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. Vi.
" raacy of Murgnow • • « .In the year 777 A.D. Murg-
*' now died, leaving two sons called Sookampha and Samlongpha
"(these are the Hso Hkan Hpa and the Sam Long Hpa of the
"manuscript translated above), of whom the eldest* Sookampha
" succeeded to the throne of P6ng, and in his reign we find the first
" traces of a connection with the more eastern countries, many of
"which he appears to have succeeded in bringing under subjection
"to his authority." The story is then told of Sam Long Hpa's
campaign against Manipur, Tipperah, &c., and of the poisoning of
Sam Long Hpa by Hso Hkan Hpa, though in this history Sam
Long Hpa is said to have escaped owing to a warning sent him by
his mother.
" From the death of Sookampha in the year 808/' continues
Major Pemberton, "to the accession of Soonganpha in 1315 the
" names of ten Kings only are given • • « ^ but about the
"year 1332 A.D. some disagreements led to collision between the
" frontier villages of the Pong King's territory and those of Yiin-
"nan.
" An interview was appointed between the Kings of P6ng and
"China to take place at the town of Mong SI, which is said to
"have been five days distant from Mong Maorong, the capital of
" P6ng." [This may have been the Mong Si, which is now the centre
of one of the Kachin circles of North Hsen Wi, but is more likely
to have been Miing S^, Yunnan-sen, though that is very much
more than five days* journev.J "The Chinese sovereign, with
"whom this interview took place, is named in the chronicle Cho-
'* wongtec (Sao W6ng-ti), and Shuntee, the last Prince of the iwen-
" tieth imperial dynasty, is in the best chronological tables described
"as having ascended the throne of China in the year 1333." [Mr.
Elias thinks this must have been Cheng-tsu Wen-ti (A.l3. 1403 —
1425) of the Ming dynasty and not Shun-ti of the Yuans, but
since W6ng-ti is simply Hwang-ti, the title and not the name, the
fixing of an absolute dale, if that were possible, would determine
which Emperor it was.]
"The Chinese, however, determined on subjugating the Pong
"dominions and, after a protracted struggle of two years' duraiion»
"the capital of Mogaung (called in the manuscript Mong Kawng)
"or Mong Mao Rong (which would appear to be Mong Mao Ldng,
" a very different place) was captured by a Chinese army, under
"the command of a General called Yang Chang-soo " (the Theinni
manuscripts seem to call him Wang Chung-ping or S6ng-ping),
"and the King Soonganpha with his eldest son, Sookeepha" (these
would appear to be Hso H6m Hpa and Hso Kep Hpa, but the
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
357
Story is very involved), " fled to the King of Pagan or Ava for pro-
*' tection. They were demanded by the Chinese General, to whom
" the Burmese surrendered them, and were carried into China, from
"whence they never returned.**
On this Mr. Ney EHas remarks : —
"So far will be sufficient to follow Major Pcmberlon's story, for it is
"evident, even from these few incidents, erroneous though some of them
''are, thai this Manipuri histnry of PAng is simply that of the Mau Shatis,
" antedated by nearly five hundred years at the commencement. The error
" doubtless arose in the first instance from the absence of an intelligible
"chronology in the original Shan record, and for want of fixed points in
" the contemporary annals of neighbouring countries by which to set up
" land-marks ; but however this may be, we see that on aniving at the death
** o( Chau-ugan-pha Major Pemberton's date is only about one hundred
'* years in arrear uf the correct date and that some four hundred years have
*' had to be distributed over tJie reigns of the intervening Kings. Thus it
" is (hat twelve Kings are made to reign for 587 years, or an average of
" nearly forty-nine years each ; the thirteenth Murgnow (a name impossible
"to recognize) reigns for the astounding period of one hundred and ten
"years, the fourteenth for thirty-one years, and the remaining ten lor 507
"years; giving an average for the whole twenty-four of very nearly fifty-
" one and-a<half years, or more than double the usual period and sufficient
" in itself to show the erroneous nature o( the story from a chronological
•'point of view,"
And if Major Pemberton's report has failed in this respect, it
has hardly been more successful in fixing the site of the capilal of
Pong. " To the Munnipoorees," he says, "the whole country un-
"derits ancient limits was, and is still, known as the kingdom
*' of Pong, of which the city called by the Burmans Mogaung, and
" by the Shans Mong Mao Rong, was the capital. But Mung
" Mao or Mung-iiiao-lung (great Mong Mao) exists to the present
" day under this same name on the Shweli."
Mr. Ney Elias' information was picked up in Mong Mao, where
the Shan chroniclers made that out to be the capital of the Shan
States generally. The Hsen Wi Chronicle claims that honour for
Hsen Sb or Hsen Wi. As a matter of fact, it seems very improba-
ble that there ever was one capital unless perhaps Tali-fu. Major
Hannay savs the people he converged with assigned " the south-west
"corner ol the province of Yunnan as the seat of the Empire
" (of the P6ngs), and the capital Kai Khao Mau Loung was said
" to have been situated on the Shweli river, or Lung-shu6 of the
" Chinese (the present Chinese name is Lung Kiang), which falls
" into the Irrawaddy in latitude 24** north." Mr. Elias identifies
this Ka-kao, or Ma-kao Mung-lung with Mong Mao, but as a
matter of fact it is simply Mong Hkao (the old city), Mong Long
(the great city or country).
33
flS8
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VI.
Into the subject of the origin of the P6ng nation Major Pember-
ton does not enter, but alludes briefly to the traditional accounts
given of themselves by the Ahoms to Dr. Francis Buchanan Hamil-
ton in the early years of this century, a people whom he rightly
reg'arded as springing from a common origin with the inhabitants
of P6ng. Dr. Buchanan Hamilton's original writings are much scat-
tered and difficult of access, but an apparently full prfecis of his re-
port on .^ssam is given by Montgomery Martin I Eastern India iii,
600 et seq.), from which the following account is epitomized : —
" Many years ago two brothers called Kliunlat ard Khuntai descended
from heaven and alighted on a hill named Chorai Korong. situated in the
Fatkoi range, south from Gorgango, the ancient capital of Assam. Kbua-
lai taking witl\ htm some attendants and the god Cheng (Seng, the image
of one of his female ancestors) went towards the south-cast and took pos-
session of a country called Nnra [this is also called Tai LAng (or^at Shans)
and was called by their neighbours of Kasi or Moilay {i.e., Manipor) the
Kingdom of P6ng], which his descendants continue to govern. Hkuntai
remained in the vicinily of the hill Chorai Korong and kept tit his posses-
sion the god Chung (Sung, the image of one of his mate ancestor^}, who is
still considered by his descendaals as their tutelary deity. IJr. Uuchinan
believes the ' heaven ' to mean some part of Thibet bordering on China,
but the original word, whatever it may have been, he continues, has, since
the conversion of Khuntai's descendants to !irahmanism, been translated
sroorgo (heaven) *t * « Xhe original territory occupied by Khun-
tai included two very long islands formed by branches of the Brahma-
putra, together with some oT the lands adjacent on both banks of that great
river. The names of thirteen princes in regular succession from father to
son are given, but no dates or indications from which dates could be infer-
red."
Here there is a sufficient general resemblance in the general
story of Khun Lu and Khun Lai to establish a common ori^n,
though names and details differ. Francis Gamier obtained a* simi-
lar tradition of the origin of the Lao race along the Mekh»ng ; in
fact it would appear that each separate section of the Tai race,
thoui^h they acknowledge in a general way a common origin and
have a common legend, place the scene both of the origin and the
fable in their own particular region. Carnier's story, told in the
Voyage d^ Exploration, &c., i, 473 is that, after a god called Phya
Then had created the heavens and the earth, there were three
princes, named respectively Lao-seun, Khun Khet, and Khon Khan,
who founded kingdoms {ties muongs) and who were exhorted by
Phya Then to live in peace and to honour the spirits of the dead.
He was not obeyed, however, and after punishing the inhabitants of
the earth with a deluge (this also appears in the Kcng TQng his-
tory), in which ^eat numbers were drowned, the survivors begged
for mercy and Phya Then sent them Phya Kun Borom to govern
them and Phya Pitse Nu-kan {le grand arckiiecte dtt del) to spread
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES ANU THE TAI.
259
abundance in the land. Kun Borom founded Muong Then in Tong
King (perhaps this is the Muong Theng first occupied in 1887 by
the French). Ho had seven sons, who founded various kingdoms
as follows 1^—
(r) Kun Lang, who founded Muong Choa.
(2) Kun Falang, who founded Muong Ho (this is the name the
Lao Shans giv* to the Yiinnanese: Muang HawJ.
(3) Kun Chon-soung, who founded Muong Keo, or Annam.
(4) Kun Sai-fong, the founder of Muong Zuon (r.ff., Mong Y6n-
Chiengmaij.
(5) Ngou-en, who founded either Muong Poueun (perhaps the
present Muang Phuen north of Luang Prabang) or Ayuthia, i.e,,
Siam.
(6) Kun Lo-koung, who founded Muong Phong or Muong Sai-
koun (Saigon).
(7) Kun Chclcheun, who founded Muong Kham Kheut Kham
Muong or Muong Poueun.
Here again appears a suggestion of the common Tai folks-myth
slightly varied by the different branches of the race, while each
branch applies it to the country which it knows. The most singular
fact about the Shans, however, is iliat the one settlement which has
maintained its independence as a kingdom and has become civilized
beyond all the others, the Kingdom of Siam, should contribute ab-
solutely nothing towards tracing the origin of the race. So far as
appears, the Siamese have no history worthy of the name earlier
than the founding of their first national capital, Ayuthia, towards
the beginning of the fourteenth century of our era, and " the best
'* authorities believe the Siamese to have migrated, only shortly be-
" fore the founding of Ayulhia, from the hill country towards the
" north and to have displaced the aboriginal Karens, by whom the
" country now called Siam was inhabited."
With regard to the name of P6ng there can be little doubt that
it is merely the Manipuri appellation for the whole of the once
united Shan States of L'pper Burma and Western Yunnan. The
name is not known to the Shans themselves any more than it is to
the Burmese, the Chinese, or the Kachins. There can be little
doubt that it was the mediaeval Shan Kingdom called by the Chinese
Nan-chao, which is the Carajan of Ser Marco Polo, while the second
chief city called by the same name is doubtless Tali-fu. This
Kingdom of Nan-cnao had existed in Yunnan since 738, and pro-
bably had embraced ihe upper part of the Irrawaddy valley, for the
Chinese tell us it was also called Maung, and it probably was iden-
26o
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VI.
tical with the Mung Maorong of Captain Pemberton. The city of
Tali was taken by Kublai in 1254. The circumstance that it was
known to the invaders (as appears from Polo's statement; by the
name of the province, is an indication of the fact that it was the
capital of Carajan before the conquest.
We may now proceed to consider the evidence collected by Mr.
The Kingdom of E. H. Parker as to the earlier* history of the
Nan-ehao. Shans. What follows is taken from his book,
Burma with special reference to her relations "with China, and
from a mass of translations which he has made of the Chinese an-
nals of various border States,
Mr. Parker says, quoting chiefly the annals of the Chinese dy-
nasty of T'ang, a book a thousand years old :—
'' The Chinese had clearly defined relations with the Shan or Ailao Em-
pire of (modern) Tali-fu In the first century of our era, and in A, D. 90
(elsewhere the date A. D. 97 is given) one Yung Yu. King of T'an, sent
tribute to China through the good oltices of the Aiiao, receiving an olBcial
seal from China. The Chinese seem to take it for granted that Yung Yu
of T'an was of the same race as a later Pyfi (Burmese) King named Yung
K'iang."
[Since, however, they transformed Aungzeya, the assumed name
of Alaungpaya, into Yung Tsihya and connected him with the
same Vung " family," the coimecting link is of practically no value.
In any case, Mr. Parker thinks that the T'an State really lay much
farther west than Burma and was only originally known to China
because its envoys approached China through Burma and Yiinnan.]
Mr. Parker continues —
*' The Ailaos were next calird Nan-chao when they re-appcared upon
the Chinese political stage. There can be no question 01 identification, for
the Aniiamese stUl call the Laos of Upper Siam by the name Aiiao, and
the Chinese tell us that Nan-chao was the ' southern ' or JVan of the six
C/iao or 'princes,' adding that C/iao was a barbarian word for prince,"
[It is so still in Siamese and I-ao Shan, The British Shan form is Sao].
" Nan-chao we are toid bordered on Magadha, which quite explains how the
Kshatriya princes could find their way by at least one route to Burma.
To the south-west were tlie t*iao (still proiiuuticed Pyu in Cantonese,
which is the best Chinese rcpresetitalive dialect). During the 8th century
the T'upo (usually now called T'ufan) or Thibetans "itruggled with China
for mastery over Nan-chao and the Nan-chao King Kolofung annexed both
the Pyu and also part of Assam. It is from this time only that trustworthy
Burmese history can be said to begin, just as genuine Japanese history be-
gins in the fourth or fifth century, when relations with China had become
constant. From this period India may be said to disappear as a political
factor from Burmese history.'*
But even earlier than this the Chinese had come into contact
with the Shans and Burmese. One hundred years before the Chris-
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAl.
261
tian era, the Chinese Han Emperor, Wu Ti, sent an expedition to
Tien (which Mr. Parker notes is a name still applied to Yunnan
in the literary style). It may be assumed that the King of Tien
was a Shan. His capital was at Peh-ngai, and this was an im-
portant Shan centre 800 years later. At any rate the King of Tien
became an ally of the Chinese, and joined them in suppressing the
K'uu-ming tribe. This name K'un-ming is still applied to a lake
near Yiinnan-fu. Mr. Parker is of opinion that the name of Wu
Ti, or Imperator martialis, is the origin of the name Uti or Udibwa
applied by the Burmese in official correspondence to the Emperor
bi China. This Emperor left a name in China not inferior to that
of Cssar in Europe.
It appears to be certain that about A. D. 50 the Ailao king
Hien-lih, while engaged in warlike operations against a neighbour-
ing tribe, trespassed upon Chinese territory. He was attacked and
with all his band, estimated at about 18,000, became tributary to
China. After this numerous other chiefs of neighbouring tiibes sub-
mitted with their people and together made up a population of about
half a million, who were grouped together to form the prefecture of
Yung-ch'ang. One of the first Chinese Governors of Yung-ch'ang
entered into a treaty with the Ailao, according to which each male
had to pay a tribute of a measure of salt and two garments, " with
a hole in them for the head to go through." Later Governors did
not retain their hold and there were numerous frontier wars with
China. There seems reason to believe that, at this time, the Bur-
mese or Pyu, as distinguished from the Talaings or Mon, were
more or less under the power, or influence of the Shans, or at any
rate were connected with them in some way, and therefore it is
possible that the King of T'an, Yung Yu, who sent tribute to
China in A. D. 97, and received an official seal, was a King of the
I3urmesc. But since " it is perfectly clear from Chinese history
" that adventurers from India founded kingdoms in Java, Malaya,
" Camboja, and Ciampa, and it is also clear that envoys or mer-
" chants from Alexandria, or some other Roman port, visited China
*' in A. D. 166," it seems unnecessary to insist upon the identity
of T'an with Burma. The envoys of Marcus Aurelius reached
China by way of Ciampa, then known as Jlh-nan, but more an-
ciently known as Yiieh'shang, which the Chinese confuse with Mien-
tien, a quite modern name for Burma. The Roman emissaries or
merchants called their country Ta-ts'in, and Ta-ts'in conquerors
went to China with Yung Yu's envoys previous to the visit of the
Ta-ts'in envoys to China through Jih-nan. Hence probably the
confusion. The presents of these envoys were called tribute ac-
cording to the engaging Chinese habit and T'an may as well have
262
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. Vt.
been Alexandria as Burma. The envoys may be supposed to have
landed in the Talaing Kingdom and lo have marched from Moul-
mein through Chlengmar and Chieng Khoni;" to Muang Theng or
Laichao and so on to Vinh on the coast of Annam. Mr. Parker,
from whose account this is condensed or adapted, continues : " China
" was shortly afterwards (A. D, 220; split up into three empires, one
*' of which was Sieng-pi Tartar (a Tungusic dynasty akm to the
" modern Manchus). Accordingly the Ailao drop out of sight for
"some centuries, until at last the powerfuT Chinese dynasty of
" T'ang consolidates the empire into one cohesive whole again.
" But the celebrated Chu-koh Liang, a general serving one of these
" three great empires, which was practically the modern Sz-ch'wan,
" did a great deal of solid work in Yunnan When I entered the
" first gorge of Sz-ch'wan, 10 years ago, I found that stories about
" Chu-koh Liung were repealed as if he had lived only a hundred
" years ago. If my memory does not fail me, a town not far from
" Momien (Teng-yiieh) was, and perhaps is, known to tradition as
" the city of Chu-koh Liang. He died in A. D. 232 and the 'in-
" 'vasion of the Chinese,' under the third king of the old Pagan
" dynasty, mentioned by Captain C. J. F. S. Forbes, doubtless
" refers to him. For 400 years after this there is a complete blank.
" The Ailao have now (A. D. 650) become the Nan-chao."
The Nan-chao Empire was extensive. It touched Magadha on
the west, so that the relations of both the Burmese and Shans with
India, which are referred to by the late Captain Forbes and rejected
by him as too traditional for belief, may very nell have been true
and would be worthy of credit, if they were recounted in a less le-
gendary form. On the north-west Nan-chao reached Thibet, from
which kingdom the Burmese are assumed to have come. To the
south was the " Female Prince State, " a name then applied lo Cam-
boja, whose queen married an Indian adventurer. The occurrence
of female rulers among the Shans is, however, far from uncommon,
though when the lady entered into a formal alliance she usually
yielded direct authority to her husband. It was otherwise when she
contented herself with mere butterfly connections. On the south-
east of Nan-chao were the Tongkinese and Annamese, then called by
the Chinese Kiao-chi, "splay toes," a name which implies that
Chinamen wore shoes and the Tongkinese did not, though it does
not explain why the Tongkinese should have received the nickname
to the exclusion of all other races which went barefoot. To the
south-west were the P'iau (the Piu of the Cantonese), that is to say,
the Burmese. The T'ang Dynasty Annals give no boundaries to
the north or north-east, presumably because the Nan-chao Empire
was considered a part of China. There were two chief towTis, one at/
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATKS AND THE TAI.
263
or near, ihe modern Tali-fu, the other somewhere near the modern
Yune^-ch'ang-fu.
*' The Nan-chao Empire seems to have been highly organized.
" There were Ministers of State, censors, or examiners, generals,
'' record officers, chamberlains, judges, treasurers, sediles, ministL-rs
*' of commerce, &c., and the native word for each department is
" given as shwatig.'^ Tliis may or may not be a Chinese perver-
sion of the Shan /fsiittg, or f/seti, officials whose duties now-a-days
are provincial rather than metropolitan. " Minor officers managed
" the granaries, stables, taxes, &c., and the military or^;anization was
*' by tens, centurions, chiliarchs, deka-chiliarchs, and soon. Mili-
** tary service was compulsory for all able-bodied men, who drew
" lots for each levy. Each soldier was supplied with a leather coat
*' and a pair of trousers. There were four distinct army corps or
" divisions, each having its own standard. The king's body-guard
*' were called Chu-nu katsa, and we are told that katsa or katsii
" meant leather belt. The men wore chuti, helmets, and carried
" shields of rhinosceros hide. The centurions were called Lo-(sa-
" tss." These names, if they really were Shun and not Chinese in-
ventions, have been lost since the Shans ceased to be a conquering
power. " Land was apportioned to each family according to rank :
" superior officials received forty shwang or acres (the tone of this
" word being unlike the tone of the first-mentioned word shuan^).
" Some of the best cavalry soldiers were of the Waug-tsa tribe, west
" of the Mfekhong. The women of this tribe fought too, and the
" helmets of the Wang-tsa were studded with cowries." Mr. Parker
thinks these may have been the VVa, but this can hardly be. The
modern \Va have nn ponies and look upon ihem as highly dangerous
animals. The Shans and the hill tribes generally are as poor horse-
men now as the Gurkha is.
" There were six metropolitan departments and six provincial
" viceroys in Nan-chao. The barbarian word for department was
" kien." This is obviously the keng of present times, which in
Lao Shan and Siamese becomes chieng and along the Mfekhong is
frequently pronounced, and sometimes written, sieng, whence the
French form xiettg. The Burmese transformed it into kyning.
The forms kaing and kiang are freaks of the British military oih-
cer and of railway promoters. The word may be compared with
the \Va ken, meaning a circle, or community of villages under one
chief, as in lien Tail and Wa Pet Ken, beyond the Nam Hka 1 he
term is also used in Kokang in the circles of Ken Pwi and Ken
Fan.
" It is unnecessary to enumerate all the Nan-chao departments;
*' but it is interesting to note: Peh-ngai, the capital of the King
264
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP, Vf.
" of Tien, Yunnan ; Mfing-she, (he ancient seat of the M^ng family
" of Nan-chao rulers [this is doubtless the modem Mangshih, called
" by the Shans Mong Hkawn ; the term ' Mt^ng family' is due to
" the wooden-headed Chinese persistency in ascribing clan names
" to the Shans, which induces them to transform the title Sao
*' into Sz or Su and call it a family name. M^ng is doubtless the
" Shan Mong, a State or fortified town] ; and Tai-ho (Tali-fu)."
" The people were acquainted with the arts of weaving cotton
" and rearing silk-worms : in some parts — the west of the country —
" there was considerable malaria, and the salt-wells of K'unming
" or modern Yunnan-fu were free to the people. West of Yung-
" ch'ang a mulberry grew, the wood of which was suitable for
" making bowls, and gold was found in manyparts, both in the sands
*'and in the mountains West of Momien (T't^ng-Yueh) the race of
'* horses was particularly good " (probably Tawng Peng Loi L6ng
is meant).
" When the King sallied forth, eight white-scallopped standards
" of greyish purple were carried before him; two feather fans, a
" chowry, an axe, and a parasol of king-lishers* feathers having a
"red bag. The Queen-mother's standards were scallopped with
"brown instead of white. She was cidled Sin Afo or Kiwrno, and
"the Queen-wife was called Tsin-wu" ("the chief wife of a Sawbwa
"of the present day is called the Maha Dewi)."
As a special mark of honour, the chief dignitaries wore a kimpo/o,
or tiger-skin, which suggests the modem t/ia-mwe htggyi or fur
coat, formerly only worn by officials. The women's hair was
gathered into two locks and plaited into a chignon : their ears were
ornamented with pearls, green-stone, and amber. Female morals
were easy previous to marriage, but after marriage death was the
penalty of adultery. It took three Nan-chao men to drive an ox-
piough : one led, one drove, and the third poked up the animal.
All ranks, even the nobles, engaged in this leisurely agricultural
work. There were no corvtes^ but each man paid a tax of two
measures of rice a year.
The history of the Chinese dynasty of T'ang gives a list of the
kings of what it calls the Royal Family of Mt^ng. The record of
these is complete after about the beginning of the seventh century
of our era. From this list Mr. Parker developes a curious theory
that "each son takes as the first syllable of his own name the
" last of his father's." Thus Tuh-lo is succeeded by Lo-sheng-
yen, and he by Yen-koh. This idea of hereditary syllables seems
to be purely fanciful, or an invention of the Chinese mind, devoted
to ancesLral worship. In mod«rn days the Shan takes his name
on much the same system as the Burman, without any reference to
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
265
the name of his father, and in any case the Sawbwas are always
known by a title, assumed after their accession. This has no con-
nection with ihijir birth name, and to use the latter is, with the
Shans, as it is among all the other Indo-Chinese races, if not a
crime, at any rate an insult.
The names given arc so disguised as to be almost beyond recog-
nition ; much as Symes called a Myosaye a Me-wjerry and another
writer playfully converts Upa-raza into Upper Rodger. However
that may be, it is recorded that towards the. middle of the eighth
century King Koh-lo-feng made T'ai-ho (Tali-fu) his residence ;
Tai-lio mtians great peace in Chinese, and it may thus be compared
with Yan Gon (Rangoon).' The further statement of the Chinese
Chronicles that the Shan word for " peace " is Shan-po-t'o, and that
this name was adopted after a successful war, gives one pause.
The whole of the names are a sort of missing word puzzle and very
much of an y^lia itElia crispts riddle character.
Koh-lo-f6ng received a title from China and succeeded to his
adopted father's throne in A.D. 748. A war with China now took
place, owing to the imprudent behaviour of a neighbouring Chinese
Governor, and the result was that Koh-lo-fi^ng styled his kingdom
the Great Mt^ng Empire, and threw in his lot with the Thibetans,
who conferred upon him a seal and the title of btsanpo-chung,
or " Younger brother Gialbo," i.e., ruler equal to the ruler of Thibet,
hut ranking slightly after him. Koh-lo-ftng caused a marble
slab to be engraved with the reasons which drove him lo revolt, and
this tablet M. Emile Rocher says, in his History of Yiinnan, is still
pointed out in the suburbs of Tali-fu. He does not mention
whether it is in Shan or Chinese character, or indeed whether he
actually saw it, and it is mentioned by no one else.
China was in dtflficultios with the Turks at this period, and Koh-
lo-f^ng took advantage of the opportunity to annex parts of the
Empire, besides the land of the Pyu, the Burmese, and thatof Sun-
chwan, which would appear to have been an Assamese tribe. It
is noted that polyandry existed among the people to the west of
them. These tribes lived in cage-like houses, were scattered about
without any central authority, clothed themselves with bark, and
practised no agriculture.
The Chinese made several attempts to subdue Koh-lo-f^ng, but
met with successive defeats on the Hsi-^rh river, and on his death
he was succeeded by his grandson I-mou-hsiin, whose mother
belonged to the Tuhkin race of savages. I-mou'hsiin, however,
had been taught by a Chinese literate Ch'eng-hui and was a man
of some education. He found the Thibetans very troublesome and
34
366
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER, [CHAP. VI.
inclined rather to be task-masters than allies. They established
ganisons at all important points, levied men to fight their wars,
and taxed the country very heavily. He, therefore, listened all the
more readily to the advice of Ch'eng-hul and opened up com-
munications with We Kao, the Chinese Governor of Ch'eng-tu, the
capital of the modern Sz-ch'wan province. A letter was sent to
Wei Kao, in which I-mou-hsiin Complained of the tyranny of the
Thibetan Blon or Governors and explained how it was that his
grandfather had been really forced by ill treatment to abandon
China. He wound up the letter by suggesting that the Ouighour
Turks should be directed to join him and China in an expedition
against Thibet.
At that time the Ouighours. through whom the modern Mongols
and Manchus derived their letters, were in occupation of parts of the
modem Kan-suh Province, wiih their capital at the present Urumtsi,
where they had (or a considerable length of time been under the
influence of the Nestorian Syrians. A Syriac stone still exists at
■ Si-an Fu in Shen-si Province, and Ouighour letters are probably
merely a form of Syriac.
The correspondence resulted in a treaty, four copies of which
were drawn up at the foot of thf snow-capped hill of Tien Ts'ang,
which dominates the modern Tali-fu. One copy was sent to the
Emperor of China, one was placed in the private royal temple,
one in the public stone temple, and one was sunk in the river. U
mou-hsun then put all the Thibetan officials in the kingdom to
death and their army was defeated in a great battle at the "Iron
bridge," possibly that over the Salween, in West Yunnan. The
Emperor then sent I-mou-hsun a gold seal recognizing him as
King of Nan-chao. The Chinese Envoy, Ts'ui Tsoshih, was re-
ceived at T'ai-ho with great pomp. Soldiers lined ** the roads and
"the horses' Iiarness was ablaze with gold and cowries. I-mou-
" hsiin wore a coat of gold mail and tiger-skin, and had twelve ele-
" phants drawn up in front of him : he kotowed to the ground,
" facing north, and swore everlasting fealty to China. Then followed
"a great banquet, at which some Turkish women presented by a
"former Emperor sang songs. Their hair was quite white, as
" they were the only two survivors of a once large musical troupe.'*
I-mou-hsiin now entered upon a career of conquest and, besides
uniting the six Shan principalities into one, annexed a number of
neighbouring States, some of whom are stated to have lived in raised
houses which suggests Upper Burma, while others varnished or gild-
ed their teeth, a statement which immediately recalls the Mongolian
Province which Ser Marco Polo visited four hundred years later.
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
267
I-moii-hsun sent his sons to be educated at Ch'6ng-tu Fuln Sz-ch'-
wan and became more and more bound to China. The Thibetans
were again defeated, and amongst the prisoners taken were a number
of Abbasside Arabs and Turkomans from Samarkand. About this
time a Corean General in Chinese employ had carried the Chinese
arms into Baiti and Cashmere, and the Abbasside caliphs had re-
gular relations with China, [t is, therefore, clear thai there were
Mahomedans in Tali-fu even before the time of Prince Kublai and
Nas'reddin.
(•moU'hsiin died in A.D. 808 and was succeeded by sons and
grandsons, who did no credit to their Chinese training. One of
them was killed by his own general, who aftertt'ards marched on
Ch'$ng-tu Ku and carried off a number of prisoners, among them
skilled artisans, who " placed Nan-chao on a par with China in
" matters of art, literature, and weaving,"
In 859 A.D. one Ts'iu Lung, who seems to have been a Shan
cfEcial rather than a member of the '* family of M6ng," became
ruler of Nan-chao, assumed the title of //'ivang-ii {Emperor), and
with an energy equal to his arrogance, declared war on China,
besieged Ch'eng-tu, and before he had to retire, left "eighty per
*' cent, of the inhabitants of certain towns in Sz-ch'wan with
** artificial noses and ears made of wood.*' He did not take
Ch'eng-tu Fu, but he conquered Chiao-chih (Kfe-sho, the modern
tHanoi) and overran Annain. But the war which he began, and
tis son and grandson continued, ruined Nan-chao, and in 936
A.D., after some ephemeral dynasties had ruled over what they
called the ^reat Ch*ang-ho State, the great T*ien-hing State,
and the great i-ning State, a Chinese official Twan Sz-p'ing,
who may have been semi-Shan, established himself as King of
Ta-li. Mr. Parker says *' this is the beginning of the tributary
"State of Ta-li. It must be mentioned, however, that China
"was again divided into two empires. First the Kitans and then
"the r^uchens (ancestors of the Manchus) ruled in the north,
" and the Sungs, with capital at Hangchow, ruled south of
"the Yangtsze. Hence we find that the Russians still call the
" Chinese Kitai, it being with the Kitan dynasty that they first
" had relations. Marco Polo's J/(7«.?/ is the Southern Empire of the
" Sungs, it being still the custom fur Northern Chinese to apply the
"term Man-lsz, or barbarians, to the Southern. This epithet no
" doubt dates from the time when the Shans, Annamese, Miao-tsz,
"&c., occupied nearly all South China, for it is essentially to the
" Indo-Chinese that the term Man-tsz belongs."
It seems certain that the Nan-chao Empire now split into two.
At any rate the country round Ta-li became more and more Chinese,
968
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VI.
while the western portion, which is no doubt the Kingdom of Pong
of the Manipur Chronicle and of the list of his conquests made by
Anawra-hta, remained Shan and split up into a variety nf States,
possibly every now and again united under some energetic Saw'
bwa of one State or the other. Kublai conquered the la-Ii State
in 1254 and put an end to the Twan family. He put the King's
Ministers in charge with the title of Ssiian-fu-shih or pacificator,
and left to them the duty of subduing the neighbouring tribes.
This seems to be the origin of the similar titles now bestowed on the
Chinese-Shan Saivbroas. Mr, Park(;r says " This brings us to the
" period whence the history of the border Sarobwas begms. Even
*'now the southern portions of Yunnan are in part administered by
"Shan Sawbwas, ,0V by Chinese adventurers, who have become
" Shans in character. The centre of Slian power was slowly but
" surely driven south. As Captain Forbes very judiciously suggests,
" ' previously to the destruction of the Pagan monarchy in A.D. 1 284,
*' ' theTai race, of which the Shans form a branch, had been gradu-
*" ally forced out of their original seat in Yunnan by the advance
"'of the Chinese power under the great Rmperor Kublai Khan.
*' ' It was about this time that a portion of the race formed the King-
" * dom of Siam.* Dicu Van-tri, the Chief of the Muong Shans (of
" Tong King) is not a Shan, but a Canton Chinaman named Lo,
" who still iiolds the Ming seal, and has always rejected the over-
" tures of the Manchus. The name Dieu is simply the surname
" Tao given by the Chinese,"
Among the early pacificators or conciliators was the Ssuan-fu-
skill of Luhch'wan, which Mr. Parker thinks was "probably the
" Chinese name for the Shan Kingdom of P6ng, for many P6ng
"events and names described in the Manipur Chronicles tally, ex-
" cept as to date, with similar events and names described in the
*' Chinese Chronicles of Luh-ch'wan, which State then included the
" present Chinese 5"rfS'^a'rtships of Lung-ch'wan and M6ng Mao, at
"least, if not more. The only other Chinese protected Sawhwa'
"ship which dates from 1260 is that of Kan-ngai, or Kan-ngeh,
"as the Mongol history writes it. Both these States were sub-
" ordinate to the Mongol Military Governor of Kin-chi'ih, or
"'golden teeth/ generally and probably rightly considered to be
"the Zardandan of Marco Polo. The modern Burmese-protected
"Shan Sawhwashi^ of North Hscn Wi, called Muh-pang by the
"Chinese, also submitted to the Mongols, who passed through
" it on their road to attack Annam. It becomes a question whether
"the P6ng State of the Manipur Chronicle did not rather refer to
" Hsen Wi, which originally included Meng*mih or Mong Mit.
" Be that as it may, during Kublai's reign the whole of the Shan
" 5tfw^3i;aships included between Manipur and Annam were at least
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
969
"nominally subject to the Mongol dynasty of China." The
disintegration of the Shan Kingdom of Nan-chao open^^d up the
way to Hurma and led to the expeditions which resulted in the
overthrow of the Empire of Pagan by the Chinese. Mr. Parker
doubts whether the Mongols ever got to Pagan, srill less to Tar6p-
maw, but thinks it possible thai Shan nuxiliaries may have done so.
The Hsen Wi Chronicle, translated above, practically says that this
was the case.
The Shans were unable to hold their own against the Chinese or
were weary of the constant fighting in Nan-chao and so spread
south-east, south, and south-west. Thus were formed the various
Lac States, Luang Prabang, Nan, Chiengmai, and Ayuthia, the
capital of Siam itself, where Paliegoix places the commencement of
Shan domination or occupation in A.D. 1350, while In Burma the
Shans established Themselves at Pinya, Myinzaing, and Sagaing
in addition to the more northerly districts which had probably
always been within their territory. The Burmn, that is to say,
the country ruled by the Burmese of those days, was a petty State,
no more powerful than Pegu, or .'\s<;am, and certainly not to be
compared with the Nan-chau Kmpire. At the same time that the
three Shan usurpers displaced the Anawra-hta dynasty of Pagan,
another Shan adventurer named Magadu from Chiengmai established
himself at Martaban as King VVareru of Pegu, and this Wareru dy-
nasty maintained itself from A.D. 1287 to 1540. It had no re-
lations whatever with China, but seems to have been tributary to
the Shans of Ayuthta, that is, to the Siamese. This no doubt ac-
counts for the statement in the Hsen VVi Chronicle that Maw-la-
myeng was a tribuiar}^ State of the Shans of the north.
Mr. Parker says " the Shan or Thai race was thus in the thir-
*' teenth centur)' supreme in Siam, and nearly all over Burma, ex-
" cept in Taungu, whither a large number of discontented Burmans
*' took refuge. The northernmost Shan States were at the same
" time, at least nominally, under the over-rule of the Mongols of
" China. A short paragraph in the history of the Chinese Ming
"dynasty (which succeeded the Mongol dynasty in 1368) says that
*' the Mongols ' appointed Comforters of Pangya and other places
"'in 1338, but withdrew ihem in 1342.' Doubtless this means that
"both the Panya and Sagaing houses accepted Mongol vassal
" titles for a short pciiod. Meantime what Colonel Phayre calls the
*' ' Mao Shan from Mogaung ' carried war into the Panya do-
" minions, and carried off the king (1364). Colonel Phayre also
"quotes from the 'Shan Chronicle discovered by Pemberton at
'" Manipur in 1835,* an event 'not noticed in Burmese history.
" 'About 133a a dispute arose between the King of Pong {so the
ifo
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VI.
" ' Chief of Mogaung is termed) and the Governor of Yunnan. A
" ' Chinese or Mongol army invaded the country, and after a slrug-
"'gle of two years the capital of Mogaung was taken. The King
" ' Sungampha flud to Sagaing, and on demand was surrendered to
" 'the Emperor of China. The sons of Sungampha succeeded to their
" ' father's kingdom.' Here again we shall be able to show that
" Colonel Phayre has been misled by placing too much faith in thie
"Shan Chronicles. Not only does Burmese history not mention
"any such event at that date, but the Mongol history fails to nien-
" tion it too, though we have seen that the Mongols had officers
"stationed in Burma between 1338 and 1342. The fact is the
" Manipur Chronicle is exactly a century wrongand the whole story
"belongs to the period [432 — 1450. ' Sungampha, King of Mo-
" gaung ' was really Szjcn-fah, Sa'ivb-wa of Luh-ch'wan. The
"Chinese annals of Momien gives the whole storv most intelli-
"gibly. He attacked the^awia'rtships of Nantien, Kan-ngai, Mo-
" mien, and Lukiang, in consequence of the Chinese Ming Emperor
" having first deprived him of his Chinese vassal title for impro-
" perly fighting with Muh-pang (Hscn \Vi), and, having next placed
"Luh-ch'wan under the Chief of Mtng-yang (to which probably
" M^ng-kung or Mogaung then as afterwards found an appendage)
" Sz-jen-fah, i>., the Phra Sz-jen, thereupon took possession of
" Ming-yang. He apologized in 1443, but the Chinese declined to
"compromise and demanded hisextradition from Burma, This was
"granted in exchange for the promise that Meng Yang (Mohnyin)
** should be given to Burma."
Mr, Parker is certainly right as to the date. The mistake of
Colonel Phayre arose from the Shan custom of counting by cycles^
(explained above) instead of by era. But the whole story is told
by Ney Elias of Chau Ngan Pha of Mong Mao. We thus have a
comparison of names: Sungampha is Chau Ngan Pha or Sz-jen-
fah and the Hscn \Vi Chronicle makes him Sao or Hso Ngan
Hpa, while the Burmese call him Tho Ngan Bwa. Moreover, the
Kingdom of Pong would seem to be a convertible title for Mogaung,
for Mong Mao, or for Mr. Parker's Luh-ch'wan. The conclusion is
irresistible that the Kingdom of P6ng was a general title, like
Prester John, for whatever Shan State happened to be most power-
ful or most prominent for the moment. Where the original Kingdom
of Pong was ^unless it was Nan-chao) and where it had its capital
at any particular time can apparently only be ascertained by a
coileclion of all the histories of the greater Shan Stales when
these can be obtained. Mr. Parker practicallv admits this when
he says " the Pong State of the Manipur Chronicle was more
"probably Luh-ch'wan than Muh-pang, although Muh-pang
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
37 1
" (Hsen Wi), orMfingPang is to the ear the more suggestive name.
" Luh-ch'wan, however, is a purely Chinese designation, and it is
"quite possible that il, as well as what the Chinese call Muh-pang,
"was included in the region called P6ng by the Manipur Shans.
" At any rate the boundaries of the then Shan States were bewilder-
" ing and Icaleidoscopic in their changes. Su-ngam is plainly Ss-jen,
" the characteryVM having still the power Nyim or Ngiang in certain
" Chinese dialects. That fah means pbra {Hpa in Shan ; Btua in
''Burmese; as in Sao-hpa, 5(77ri7t'ff) is plain : firstly, because ihe
" Momien annals speak elsewhere of a Shan Satshwa arrogating to
" himself the title o\fah and, secondly, because other Chinese books
" speak of Sz-j^n, Sz-ki, and Sz-puh (which it may be noted in Shan
"would be Sao Ngan, Sao Hki, and Sao Pu) without adding the
" syllableyff// at all. Finally, Colonel Phayre tells the same story
"over again from the Burmese history under date 1444, where
"5z-j6n is called Tho Ngan Bwa, Sawbtoa of Mogaung (the
" Burmese th and the Shan hs, it may be remarked, are identical
"characters) and remarks in a note: 'The circumstances here
" ' recorded have some resemblance to the events of A.D. 1332-33.' "
If follows therefore that, while the history of the Shans remains
to be written, the history of Burma, as at present accepted, requires
a certain amount of emendation, and that Chinese contributions
imply such mental gymnastics that careful editing is required.
The reference of the Ming history to Mien-chung (Central or
Middle Burma) is particularly interesting, since it shows that the
Mien State of those times was a mere fragment of the old and
independent Mien dominions of Anawra-lita and that the Shans
were the dominant power. The *' Khun-mhaing-ngai Shan Chief
"of Un-Boung," whose name puzzles Mr. Parker so much, was
Hkun Mong Ngoi, of On Pawng. which was the old capital of the
modern State of Hsi Paw. Detalh will be found in the history of
Ong Pawng Hsi Paw. The only thing that is clear is that in the
hands of the Shan Chiefs the fragments of Burma changed rulers
in a ivay which can only be understood when more materials than
are at present available are gathered together and tabulated.
Mr. Parker has thrown much light on the history of the Shans
by his translations (rem the Chinese. If it be granted that these
annals have at least some of " the empty, anachronous, and bom-
"bastic pride*' with which he so sweepingly charges all Burmese
history and what Shan Chronicles are known, it may be possible to
construct a "less hazy and mangled account of the rise and pro-
"gress of Burma" than at present exists.
His conclusions may be accepted : " The Burma df the Pvu was
" at first under the tutelage of India, subject at times to the fitful
27a
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP, VI.
" military domination of the Shans. After a brief spurt of national
" g^oT under Anawia-hla (or Nawrat'a Menzaw as he is also called)
"and his grandson Alan£[sithu, the Burma of the Mien fell under
" the tutelage of China, subject again at times to the occasional
*' military domination of the Shans. A second spurt of patriotic
"life took place under Tabeng Shwe-t'i, the ' Brama King of
" Pegu,* who, though of Burmese race, was a product of Taungu,
"and was not of the ancient royal Burmese lineage, nor were ms
" successors legitimately born to him. Then followed depopulating
"wars between Peguans and Burmans, with Siam and the other
" Shan States, with Aracan, Manipur, &c., during which transition
" period civih'zation retrograded, and Europeans began to intervene.
"A third spurt was made by the Alompra family. Chinese in-
" fluence was gradually thrown off under the Emperor Tao-kwang,
"though it is true complimentary missions were sent in 181 1,
" 1820, 18.^0, 1833, 1834, and 1843 and British tutelage took its
" turn. Like the Chinese, who, with intervals of national dynasties
" under the families of Han, T'ang, and Ming, have passed haU
** their time under Tartar rule, or concurrently with it, so the Burmese,
"with intervals of glory under the Anawra'ta, Tabeng Shwe-t*i,
"and Alompra houses, have passed half their time under Shan
"rule, or concurrently with it. The neighbouring Hindoos,
" Annamese, Cingalese, Cambodians, &c., have been snuffed out of
"political existence in common with Burma, and the Shans or
" Pais, though weakened by distribution over China, Tong King,
" British Burma, &c.,are the only one of the competing races in the
"peninsula which has maintained, under the name we give them of
" Siamese, an independent political existence to the last."
All this can only be called a preparation for a history of the Tai
race. In British territory apparently no rerords exist. All have
been burnt. It is possible ihat really old histories may yet be
found in the Shan-Chinese Slates. Up to now all that can be con-
sidered to be established is that the Kingdoms of Nan-chao, Pong,
and Mong Mao Ldng are different names for the same empire and
that the Tai race came very near to being the predominant power
in the Further East.
The relationship of the Tai to the Chinese races seems un-
mistakeable and appears no less clearly from
their personal appearance and characteristics than
from I heir language. They have been closely
connected with the Chinese as neighbours and, at one time or
another, as rivals or subjects for many centuries ; but this does not
seem ennugli to accoutit for all the affinities which exist. The
research, which has not been long begun, points distinctly to the
Tai racial charac-
teristics.
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
373
fact that the Chinese and the Tai belong to a family of which the
Chinese are the most prominent representatives. Physical resem-
blances are most conspicuous among the Tai Hki, the Shan Chinese,
who are nearest to, and perhaps in, the home of the whole race,
but they are carried on through those of the Tai, who have been
most influenced by the Burmans, to the Lao and Lu, whom the
M6n races have affected, down to the Siamese who have been
modified by the Cambodians. Since the Mon and the Karen are
also nearer or farther relations, the greatest divergences should
appear among the Burmese Shans. But even among them type of
face, shape of eyes, and complexion all point to an affinity with China.
Mere similarities of words do not prove race descent, but they
help towards it. It is not enough to say that Afa both in Chinese
and Shan means horse, that p'ing and ping mean level, tsao and
sao early, liang and ling light as day, and that wan means
bowl in both languages, or that the Chinese chih is very like the
Shan word se for paper, and that kuan and hkun mean practically
the same thing, nor is the fact that six out of the ten primary
numerals in Tai and Chinese are very nearly the same, necessarily
conclusive. Nor is it enough to quote Monsieur Terrien when he
says that the proportion of the respective loan words between " the
Taic languages " and Mandarin or Standard Chinese reaches a total
of three hundred and twenty-five out of one thousand words which he
compared. But when we find that in addition to this the grammati-
cal structure of sentences in Chinese and in the Tai languages is
the same and quite different from that of Burmese and the Thibeto-
Burman languages generally, there is strong presumptive proof of
relationship. The place of the object of the verb and of the
possessive in Shan are identical with the Chinese instead of being
inverted as in Burmese. Moreover, the use of couplet words of
related meanings used together is characteristic both of Chinese
and of the Tai languages. In these phonetic couplets one word
has the dominant meaning and, as Dr. Cushing saySj the other
word seems to be a shadow word used for the sake of euphony.
Thus the Chinese say lu'dao for a road, and the Tai tang-ksin,
where /m and tang are the words with the inherent meaning. Dr.
Cushing*s opinion is that " these shadow words (in Shan) are pro-
" bably words emptieSof their ancient signification, for some of them
"are found to be in use in Chinese dialects, where they have the
*' same meaning as the substantial word in the Shan phonetic coup-
" let. Thus ka in Shan means ' to be shiny * and the phonetic
"couplet is ka-ki. In Shan ki has no apparent meaning, whereas
" in Chinese ki has the meaning ' to be shiny.' " When all these
points of similarity are taken into account, the conclusion that
35
m
t^i tto»ER B'UlCsiX GAZETTEER. [CHAP. V|.
Chinese and Tai are sister languages is irresistible. Whether
Karen and M6n-khmer will also turn out to have been derived front
the same common stock is not so clear, bat it seems very probable.
The country between Assam and China is the point from which
„. „^ __ a number of ereat rivers start southwards in paral-
The Shan country. • . . r . ■ i •
' lei courses, at hrst within a very narrow span
of longitude, and afterftards spreading out into a fan which covers
the country from the Yellow Sea to the Bay of Bengal. They all
ran in deep narrow rifts, and the ridges which separate them continue
to run southwards almost as far as the rivers themselves and in chains
almost as sharply defined as the river channels. These mountain
ranges widen out as the river valleys widen, and lose their height
as tributary streams break them up into herring-bone spines and
spurs, but they still preserve the same north and south direction,
though here and there they re-enter and form the series of flat-
bottomed valleys, or wide straths whicli make up the Shan States.
Of all the rivers the Salween most steadily presents its original
character and flows swiftly through a deep narrow gorge between
high ranges from its source till it reaches the plain land which it
has itself piled up over the sea in the course of ages.
It runs nearly through the centre of the British Shan States and
they are situated towards the fringe and nearly in the centre of the
fan, which has for its ribs the Brahmaputra, the Irrawaddy, the
Salween, the Mfekhong, and the Yang-tze. The Salween with its
mountain banks has always formed a serious barrier, so that the
branches of the Tai race on either side differ in dialect, in name, and
even in written character, but their general features differ no more
than the appearance of the country, which is simply a plateau rough-
ened by mountain chains splitting upland running into one anothef;
while still preserving their north and south tendency. The gen-
eral height of the plateau is between 2,000 and 3,000 feet, but
the cross ridges and the drainage cut it up into a series of val-
leys or plains, some long and narrow, some rounded like a cup'
some flattened like a saucer, some extensive enough to suggest the
Irrawaddy valley on a miniature scale. It is no doubt this physical
character of the country which has affected the national character
and has prevented the Tai from living at peace with one another
and uniting to resist the encroachment of ambitious neighbours,
It also made obvious and easy for the conqueror the old maxim
divide et impera^ the more so since the hills everywhere are in-
habited by various tribes all more or less wild,
The Tai are seldom found awav from the alluvial basins an(J do
not look upon themselves as a hill people at all. The larger plains
CHAP. VI.l
THE SHAK STATES AND THE TAl.
375
are intersected with irrigation canals, while in the smaller the
streams are diverted by dams into channels which water the slopes,
or bamboo wheels are used where die river-hanks are high and th6
extent of flat land justifies it. Everywhere the cultivation is more
careful and laborious than in Burma, and in many places cold sea-
son crops, such as tobacco and ground-nuts, are grown. The most
extensive rice-plains are those of Mong Nai, Lai Hka, Hsen Wi, and
"Vawnghwe, and there are many other States, where though the
area is smaller there is wet cultivation far beyond the needs of the
working capacity of the population.
In some parts, as in the Myelat, parts of Mong Nawng and Kehsi
Mansam and in South Hsen vVi State east of Loiling, comparatively
tdry uplands have been cultivated so regularly and for so many
[years that hardly a tree is to be seen except in the village enclo-
sures and about the religious buildings. Here, except in rare
fsirips along the banks of the streams, the cultivation is all dry,
what is called hai'm Shan and taungya in Burmese, and the same
hai cultivation is practised on the hill slopes. In such places,
though rice is usually the chief crop, cotton, various leguminous
crops, ground-nuts, and the like, are largely grown. Chillies, onions
and such products attract the attention ofsome districts, sugar-
cane, as in the Yawnghwe neighbourhood, of others, while the tobacco
of the Lang K6 valley in the Mawkmai State is celebrated through-
out the hills. In Loi L6ng Tawng Peng very little, but tea is grown,
and this is also the main cultivation of the Pet Kang district of
Kcng Tung and of a few circles elsewhere.
Everywhere there are large numbers of cattle, and it seems pro-
bable that some of the more easterly Cis-Salween States, wnere
there is much grazing country, will devote themselves more and
more to cattle-breeding. Buffaloes are chiefly used for agricultural
work and bullocks as transport animals. Some areas, such as the
Myelat, Kehsi Mansam, Tang Yan, and Mong Keng arc full of cara-
van traders, and they outnumber the agriculturists pure and simple,
but there are pack-bullock owners in all parts and agriculture is the
general industry. The manufacture of coarse paper from the bark,
and of pottery of al! kinds, whert: the soil is favourable, occupy the
inhabitants of whole districts here and there. Thus, though nee is
grown everywhere, it is very unequally distributed and there is con-
sequently a very considerable carrying trade within the limits of the
■Shan States themselves as well as with the plains of Burma. No
caravan is allowed to enter Loi L6ng Tawng Peng which does not
bring an amount of rice proportionate to the number of pack-bullocks
and, though the rule is not so strict in the tobacco-growing Lang
Kd valley, or in the paper manufacturing tracts of Keng Lon in
376
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VI.
Mong Nai, motives of self-interest practically impose it upon the
caravan traders.
In the deep narrow valleys of tributaries of the Salireen there are
many orange groves. The most noted, however, are those of Kantu
L6ng {Kaaug)'i) in the Mawk Mai Siate, where the fruit has a size
and a flavour uneoualted not only in the Shan States, but in the most
famous groves of Senile, or Florida, or of China. Otherwise the
country is poor in fruit, though the mangoes of Mawk Mai are
almost equal to those of Mandalay. Peaches, plums, pears, cher-
ries, and apples grow wild, but they are seldom eatable and never
good. At heights of 3,500 feet and upwards raspberries grow
abundantly and, after a few showers of rain, will bear comparison
with those grown in English gardens. Blackberries are found, but
are verv woody. The walnuts in the Shan Slates mostly come
from China, but there is at least one large walnut forest in the Wa
States, on the western slope of Nawng Hkeo hill.
Much valuable timber exists in the forests of Karenni and in the
States of Mawk Mai, Kcng Tawng, Mong Pan, Lawk Sawk, Hsi Paw,
and in Mong Pu, but the teak has been worked in the most ruinous
way, so that in some places the forests are permanently mined and
in others the British occupation came barely in time to save them.
Most of the other timber is only used locally and cannot be export-
ed at a profit. Of forest produce stlck-lac is the chief. Cutch is
hardly boiled except on the western fringe bordering on Burma.
Since the British occupation the cultivation of potatoes has been
greatly extended and improved in the Southern Shan States and the
growth of wheat has been begun by Mr. Hlldebrand, As roads are
improved and extended and markets opened, both of these promise
to bring much money into the States. At present the cost of car-
riage hampers their development.
The great majority of the tribes on the hills only grow hill-rice
for their own eating, but some of them cultivate
Crop* of ihc hill cotton for export and all of them grow poppy.
Opium is not grown for sale, west of the Salween,
except on Loimaw in South Hsen VVi and a few other circles, but
east of the river the district of Kokang grows a very great deal and
enormous quantities are produced in the Wa States and among the
Northern La'hu. The wild Wa live chiefly on beans, the La'hu on
maize and buck-wheat, and the Mung on Indian-corn. Any rice
they grow is for the manufacture of liquor. In the more settled
parts the hillmen grow a good deal of cotton for export, but most
of them are content with growing enough of this, or of vegetables,
tobacco, or surplus opium to supply themselves with salt, beyond
which they want little from the outside world. None, except the
Chap, vi.] the shan states and the tai.
277
Kachins here and there, own pack cattle and they never go beyond
the local market at the foot of their hills and there frequently not
oftener than once in the month. A few of the nearer Kachins own
a pack bullock or two and travel considerable distances, but other-
wise none of the mountain people show trading instincts.
The Shans on the other hand are great traders, but usually only
_, , on a very petty scale, partly from want of capital
Shan trade. j i ■ n i ^-i •. *. i
and chiefly because until quite recent years the
roads were either very unsafe or were so burdened with tolls and
exactions that profit was nearly impossible. Since the pacification
of the country the volume of traffic has steadily increased and pro-
mises to become very considerable. Under native rule the Natteik
pass and the Hsum Hsai, Hsi Paw, Hsen Wi tracks were the chief
trade routes, but there were a number of other smaller passes used
all along the line of hills from Bharao to Toungoo. Many of these
were execrably bad, but they were used to avoid the extortions of
the Burmese officials. When the demands became very great on
one route it was disused for a season or two and the caravans went
some other way.
Since the opening of the railway to Mandalay and the construc-
tion of cart-roads from Meiktila to the headquarters of the Southern
Shan States and from Mandalay to Lashio, these Government roads
attract all but the purely local traffic, and are constantly used except
when the rains make them impassable. The chief exports are pickl-
ed and dry tea, bullocks, ponies, skins, horns, crude sugar, leaves
for cheroot wrappers, potatoes, lac, and a variety of fruit and other
miscellaneous articles. The imports are chiefly cotton and silk
piece-goods, yarn, twist, salt and salted-fish, betel-nuts, brass and
'Other metals, and earth-oil.
Caravans go down to the plains from all parts of the Cis-Salween
States. The country beyond that river is usually served by an en-
tirely different series — some belonging to the west, some to the east
of the Salween. The only caravans which go all the way through
are those of Chinamen and Hui Huij who use pack mules and
therefore go much faster and farther. Some of these are settled
in the Shan States at Pang Long, Loi Maw, Kehsl Mansam,
Na wng Wawn, and other places ; but the majority of them lie up for
the rains in different parts of Yunnan. Parties of konhap^ pedlars
or hucksters, go in larger or smaller companies, not only over all the
British Shan States, but to Nan, Hpr^, and other of the Siamese
Shan States, and at one time many went as far as Luang Prabang
(Mong Long Pa Wang). Latterly, however, French bureaucracy
has frightened them out of this. The trading instinct is very
ij8
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP- Vi-
Strong and will inevitably bring much more money into the country
than would be possible if the people were purely agricultural.
Coal has been found in many places in both the Southern and
„. J Northern Shan States, but as far as has yet been
ascertained most of the fields are of poor quality
and in fact it would appear rather to be lignite than coal. The
researches made as yet have been, however, rather superficial and
limited, and it is possible that when the Mandalay-Salween Railway
is opened, the Lashio and Nam Ma seams will be found to be more
valuable than at present is thought. Lead is worked in Maw Son
and Kyauk Tat in the Myelat and at many other places, notably
at Kat Maw near Takut. Silver is also abundant. Thq great
Bawdwingyi mines in Tawng Pen^ have been unworked for over a
generation, but there are very rich mines in the Nam Hka valley in
the Wa country and silver ornaments are universal and abundant
all over the hills. Gold is washed in very many streams, but so far
no specially rich deposits have been discovered. There are tour-
maline mines in Mong Long, but they are not formally worked, and
the rubies found there and in the Nam Mao (Shweh) are of poor
colour and size.
The great number of ruined cities and the wide extent of ground
Old T • t I which these covered show that at one time the
Shan States must have been very much more po-
pulous and more prosperous than they are now. The number of
them is partly accounted for by the Indo-Chinese habit of having
a new capital for every ruler of particular note or energy, or for a
new dynasty. A reference to the Hseii Wi Chronicle will show that
even in comparatively recent times the capital was frequently chang-
ed. But it is ihe oldest cities which were the largest in extent and the
most formidably defended. The situation of these seems to show
the line of Tai movement and the places which they held in the
days of their independence. Thus they are frequent in the North-
ern Shan States in many parts of Hscn Wi. It will suffice to men-
tion Sh Lan, Pang Hkam, Mong Si, Wing Sang, on which Mong
Yaw now stands, and Wing Hpai, where the ramparts, hundreds
of years old, were still strong enough to keep out the Hsi Paw
Sawb-wa^s robber bands in 1887. The line of them then rather
trends to the south-eastward. There are a few, but not so many,
in the Southern Shan States. Near the SaUveen the nature of the
country contracts them to mountain fastnesses rather than walled
cities, but towards the Mfekhong they again appear, some of them
in the depths of almost impenetrable jungle like Wing Kfe on
the Nam K6k, others hidden in seas of elephant grass like Chieng
CHAP. VI.] tHK Siikii STX-rkfe Xnij tkz tai. 279
Hsen, until, in the Siamese Shan States, they become as numerous
as they are in the neighbourhood of the Nam Niao.
There is nothing so tantalizing as the absolute ignorance of the
people as to everything but the names of these ancient cities, and
nothing that is so calculated to excite despair as to the possibility
of writing a history of the Tju. In the midst of a forest, which
might almost be called primeval, the traveller comes upon a
vallum, on which there are trees of 8, 12, 15 feet girth. Exami-
nation shows that it encloses a space from half a mile to a mile
and a half square and that round the outside runs a moat 15 feet
or more wide and 10 feet deep, but filled now with great forest
growth or cane-brake, instead of water. The mouldered rampart
IS 10 to 20 feet hif;h and must have taken thousands of men
years to build up. Yet now there is absolutely nothing inside it, but
blank jungle, unless other ridges show that there was an inner city,
or that the whole was divided into three compartments, as seems to
have frequently been the case. Here and there a tumulus suggests
that there may have been a brick building, a palace, or a pagoda,
or a refuge tower, but the pipul trees have strangled it and the
white-ants have covered it with earth. It is possible that some of
these may have been like the woodland fastnesses of the Cells, which
Caesar describes in Britain, designed to afford the people a retreat
and protection for themselves and their flocks in times of invasion,
but it seems more probable, in the absence of all reference to such
works, that they were really once cities. Nothing can be more
complete than the effacement of all trace of human dwellings in
Chieng Hsen and S^ Lan, which we know to have been powerful
capitals.
Some of these monuments to the vanity of human wishes have
not even names of their own now. Of others it is said that they
were Chinese cities, which we know from the business-like, if vain-
glorious, Chinese annals to be quite untrue. The Lao of the Sia-
mese Shan States are particularly fond of ascribing their erection to
the Lawa. The wild Wa are undeniably skilled in defensive forti-
fication of a kind, but it is of an entirely different character. The
commonest answer, however, is that the constructors were the nagas^
" Gorgons and hydras and chimaeras dire." Where the ruins are
not more than a couple of centuries old and are admittedly Tai, all
that one can learn is that they have not been inhabited for, say. fifty
generations, and that they were depopulated during the wars. As
the Burmese overran the country they took care to demolish the
walled cities, and practically the only one which remains in the Bri-
tish Shan Slates is that of K€ng Tiing, which is not very old and
id distinctly dilapidated.
aSo
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VI.
The S o u t hern
Shan States.
In what is for administrative purposes called the Southern Shan
States, Burmese suzerainty was enforced From a
much earlier date than in the Northern Shan States
charge. In fact it seems by no means impossible
that the M6n, or the Burmese, held the Southern Shan States
before there were any Tai there. All the Southern States,
where they have histories at all, refer to a time when ihey got
their Saivbwas from the north, mostly from Mon^ Mit, that is to say,
from some part or other of the Nam Mao Tai Kingdom. The con-
jecture may therefore be hazarded that the Tai only came to the
south to the States of Lai Hka, Mong Nai, Yawng Hwe, and so
forth after the Kingdom of Ta-li was broken up by Kublai Khan.
Their traditional histories all refer rather to visits in Sekya Hpaung-
daw, aerial barges and what not, of Pe^uan or Pagan Kings, than
to the Ilkun Lu and Hkun Lai, the Hfao-mongy and the like of the
Northern States- Where they have any history at all, the earlier
portion is all taken up with Burma rather than with the region we
know the Tai race came from, until the time when the Mao Shans, or
their tributaries, or offshoots, the Mogaung and Mohnyin Sawdwas,
conquered Upper Burma and ruled there as kings for a time. It is
precisely at this period that we find Saw 6was coming from the north
to the Southern States, Theuld families are said to have died out,
or intrigue at Ava imposed a new line, or there were matrimonial alli-
ances ; any sort of a tale is told except what seems possibly the true
one, that the Tai only came south in force at this time. This may be
only conjecture, but, if it is not the case, the singularity of the facts
will have to be proved by details which are not yet availatle. Who
were the aborigines of these Southern States if this theory is correct
is no less of a puzzle, but the balance of probability seems to be that
they were Karens. If further investigation proves that the Cambo-
dians, the Hka Muk, the Wa, Palaung, and cognate tribes are of the
Mon race which has been asserted, then this race may have been the
predecessors of the Tai. But it seems more probable that the
Karens were displaced by the Shans. The presence of the Red
Karens and the Taunglhu seems to point to this and especially
the conflicting traditions of the latter. The people of Thatdn in
Lower Burma relate that they came from a place of that name in
the hills. The Taunglhu of Hsa Htung (the Tai form of Thaton)
say they came from Tenasserim. Both may be right. The
Karens may have been driven south by the Talaing or Burraan
Kings and later may have rc-colonized their original home or rein-
forced the remnant that remained there.
However that may be, it is quite indisputable that the Kings of
Burma received tribute and controlled successions in the Southern
CHAP. VI.I THE SHAN STATES AND THl
aSi
Shan States long before they had any permanent control in Hsen
Wi, where their first exercise of authority was no earlier than
A. D. 1604 or 1605, when the Mao Shan Kingdom came lo an end.
From that lime ihe Tai were never free from Burman interference,
however little the suzerainty may have been ac-
n B c a y irf Siian knowledged in the remoter States to be of prac-
'*'*^*^* tical effect. In the Southern States it very soon
became an active and oppressive reality, dwindling gradually to the
eastward and to the north-east, but for manv years constantly
creeping on, notwithstanding the enterprise of the Chinese from the
other side. In these three centuries at any rate, the power and
prosperity of the Tai principalities steadily declined. They were
worn down not only by the aggression and rapacity of the Burmese
and Chinese, and by the intestine wars, in which there is abundant
proof that they always indulged, but by the advances of the Kachins.
Whether these hillmen were crushed out by the Chinese, or whether
over-population forced them to migrate, it is certain that for the last
two centuries they also have passed south-eastwards and have driven
the Tai from much territory between China Proper and Burma,
until Shan names of mountains, streams, and villages are the only
remaining witnesses of former occupation. The once powerful
States west of the Irrawaddy now only possess a mea^e and much
Burmanized population, while the border principalities to the east
from Hsum Hsai to Yawng Hwe, and in a lesser degree even to
Mong Nai, have suffered almost as much from the deliberate policy
of the Burmese Kings and have only survived because they had the
mass of their fellow-countrymen behind thorn-
No connected history of these two, or two and a half centuries
can be written because there was no cohesion or connection. What
details have survived must be picked out under the heads of the
various States. The Burmese policy was not by any means direct-
ed to maintain peace and quietness. The sons or brothers of the
ruling SawlfTvas v^tre always kept at the Avan Court, not only as
hostages for the good behaviour of the Chief of the State, but that
they might be reared under Bunnan Influence and withdrawn from
sympathy with those of their own race, so that when they in time
came to rule, their loyalty to the suzerain might be ensured ; more-
over, the policy was to foster feuds between the different Sawhwas^
and rival aspirants were left to settle their claims lo the succession
in a State by force of arms. The victorious claimant might be
confirmed as Sawtwa by Royal patent, but he would not be, unless
he was able to pay for it, and when the civil war was over, his forces
were too exhausted to permit him to resist Burman demands.
If a Chief seemed so prosperous that he might become impatient
36
389 THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP VI.
of Burman control, conspiracies were fostered against him. Such
troubles were easily managed among a hot-tempered people, such
as most hillmen are. There was probably never a time when the
gates of the temple of Janus were closed, when there was peace in
all the Shan States. Consequently there were permanent bands of
marauders or dacoits, collected from all parts, who were always
ready to take the opportunity for indiscriminate plunder which the
disturbed condition of some State might offer. In this way it was
not uncommon for a prosperous and populous district to be utterly
deserted for a time owing to these internal troubles, and the State
of Hsen Wi, which till the middle of the century was the most
powerful of the States, is the most notable example. Besides all
this, or rather in consequence of all this, there were frequent, more
or less extensive, rebellions against the royal authority, Some of
these were soon put down. Some, like that in Hsen Wi, dragged
on for years. The extraordinary thing was, and it was pointed to
as the justification of the Burman policy, that other States always
willingly supplied armed contingents to suppress the rebel for the
time being. Such risings were always put down in the same way.
Towns and villages were ruthlessly burnt and everything portable
was carried off. It is little wonder therefore that the greatest of the
modern Shan capitals would hardly form a bazaar suburb to one of
the old walled cities.
The chief seat of Burmese administration m the Shan States was
Burmeae adminis- at Mong Nai and the title of the Burmese
traiive system. Resident was Bo'kmu Mintha, but he was
seldom, if ever, in permanent residence. Dr. Richardson, who visit-
ed the Shan States in 1837, gives the following account of the
system {Parliamentary Papers, 1869, under date in the Journal
aoth February): —
" Tlie Bokmoo Mengtha Meng Myat Boo (General Prince Mcng Myat
Boo, a half-brother of the King's son of a Shan Princess), the General who
commanded at Melaun during the late war, is, and has been since the
peace, governor of all the Shan countries from Mobie nominally, but really
from Molcmai, south, to the Chinese frontier, north, and from Nattike, the
top of the pass from the valley of the Irrawaddee, up to the Shan country,
west, to three days beyond the May Koong tBroad river), or great Cambo-
dia River, east. He himself generally resides In ,\va, but visits his Oov-
crnmcnt occasionally, in one of which visits he rode from Monay to Ava
in three days. His deputy, who constantly resides in Monay, leaving
as usual his family as pledges in Ava, is the Tsetkay Daughee, who has
several officers under him ; and there are nt the court of each of the other
Tsoboas two Tsetkays, also .ippointed from Ava. These Tsetkays, parti>
cularly the chief one, lord it ov»r the Tsoboas ; to him the chief 'authority
belongs and all the external relations of the country is committed; and
the royal orders are sent to Monay, from whence they arc forwarded by
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAt.
283
the Tsetkays; bnt the Monay Tsoboa has no authority to call any of the
others. The lesser Tsoboas have no Tsetkays and are looked upon as
merely Afyotsas."
The manners and pretensions of the Sikk^ are described under
the date February a2nd. —
" I sent the Shan interpreter and some of the most respectable of the
traders to notify our arrival to the Tsoboa or Tselkay Daughee and claim
protection from the raoh. They were stopped by the latter Chief,
nhose house was nearer us than the Tsodoa's, He qaestioned them 5n
the most arrogant manner as to who they were, where from, and what they
wanted. They said they had been sent by me to the Tsoboa or himself
to notify my arrival ; told him who I was, and that I had a letter and presents
for the Tsoboa from the Commissioner of Moulmcin, by whom I had been
sent on a friendfy mission to open tbc gold and silver road trade. They also
explained to him that we were not aware of the existence of his appoint*
ment till we reached Mokmai, and at the same time begged that he would
send some one to keep the people from crowding on the tent, as they were
doing, with which request be at once complied and sent a Taungkmoo, and
some people armed with' rattans to drive them out; to the first part of the
message he replied that 1 should not see the Tsoboa until he was fully
informed of our errand, that we had no right to enter the Kingdom by this
road,, that Barney, as he called the Resident, was at the goldi^n footstool,
where we ought to have gone and begged permission before coming here.
In the evening a Seray, or Secretary, came out to my tent ; he mentioned to
the people outside, though not to me, that he had been sent by the Tsetkay,
He was dressed in a handsome and heavy fur jacket, with the hairy side
in, though the thermometer in the tent was about 86°. I discovered after*
wards that this was a sort of official dress with all the Government officers
here, though I should think anything but pleasant in tiiese latitudes. He
questioned me as to what 1 wanted here, and wished to know why I had
not brought letters to the Tsetkay, &c. 1 told him my visit was a dis-
interested one, for 1 wanted nothing but to open the gold and silver road
that the people here might exchange what they did not at present want
wilh our peoples for what they did, 10 get the protection of the Govern-
meni here for our people who might hereafter come on the same errand,
to assure them of the good feeling towards them at Moulmein, and to pro-
mise protection and facilities for traders to their people visiting it, &c. I
explained again the reason of my coming unprovided with letters to the
Tsetkay, Stc, by the fact of the Commissioner of Mouhnein not being aware
of the existence of such an officer, &c. My visitor had served in the late
war ; he had been a sort of Aide-de-camp to the old General of the Shans,
Maha Nay Myo, &r. ; had taken part in the affair at Wattigam, and bore a
part at Zirabike, when the old General was killed, with several of the Shan
Tsoboas and two of the three wives of the Laygea Tsoboa who, dressed in
male attire, were for some superstitious cause expected fo have done good
service against our troops at the seven stockades near Rangoon. The
Burmans suffered most severely here, ; the Shans, who had not engaged
us before, were not prepared to run away soon enough. He gave a sad
description of their sufferings from cholera and starvation for many days
after the storming of their stockades. His visit lasted about an hour and
984
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. V|.
a half. We parted scrcat friends and he continued daring my stay most
attentive and friendly."
The Sikk^ was, however, very much the reverse. He first insisted
that Dr. Richardson *' must, according to custom on visiting the
" Chief, first go to the Yeum-dau (the Lum, or court-house), where
'* there would be an assemblage of all the lesser Chiefs ; here taking
"off my shoes, I must wait til! Meng Nay Myo Yadza Nf)rata(the
" Secretary) should report my arrival to the Tsetkay at his own
" house, and return to conduct me there, from whence I should pro-
'* ceed to the Tsoboa's place." This Dr. Richardson refused to do
and said that in Ava " 1 had never taken off my shoes, but in the
" palace, the houses of the princes, and at the Hloat-dau^ where I sat
" side by side with the Woonghees" This demand was therefore
dropped, but when he went to the Lum the Sawb-wa was not there
and he *' was stopped outside the flank about a foot high {Coonfsen),
" which surrounds the central pillars of the Veum, and requested to
" seal myself there. Close to me were all my own people and the
" people of the town ; inside the flank before mentioned were the
" Tseikny Daugkee, Meng Myat Boo's representative (and Gover-
*' nor in his absence of all the Shan Stales) ; the royal Tsetkay, an
*' old man whom I took for the Tsoboa, two NakhanSy and two Bo-
" dha-ghees. Meng Nay Myo (the Secretary) seated himself by
" me." The Sikke then " commenced conversation in a most insuU-
" ing and overbearing strain, which he kept up during the whole
"interview. He told me I had trespassed in coming here without
" an order from Meng Myat Boo and the King, through Barney,
" the Resident," and continued to say much more that " was exceed-
ingly discourteous to use the mildest term." Dr. Richardson pro-
tested against this style of reception a day or two later through his
interpreter, and the St'kk^ moderated his tone " and told him that
" as they were situated here, a very few Burmans amongst a con-
" querea and distinct people, the customs were necessarily different
" from what they were in Ava ; that the Tsoboa, whom J should meet
" today, was never allowed to come inside the Coontsen • • •
" As the Tsoboa was to sit outside, of course I could make no
" further objections."
The Sawbtoa accordingly came '* with four gold chattahs and
" about 50 or 60 men armed with muskets, das, and spears, and
" a number carrying thanleafs. When the old gentleman came
" in I bowed to him, which he returned and seated himself close
" beside me. The morning was cold, and either from that cause
" or agitation he trembled considerably." When the letter was read
the Sawdwa said he had already heard of the contents ; that " he
" was the King of Ava's slave and afraid of rendering himself liable
TFI-AP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
aSs
ic
** to punishment {yasawot) if he allowed me to proceed." Accord-
in^^ly Dr. Richardson was delayed considerably over a month in
M *15ng Nai. His relations with the officials and with the Sawbwa
foar^unately greatly improved in that lime. The latter is described
" ^m^ s a man of perhaps 68 years of age, of the common height
" <r:>l Burmans, fair even for a Shan, though those on this side of the
'• i==alween are much darker then to the eastward, notwithstanding
" t liat they are a few degrees farther north ; his manners are mild
" ^a.nd gentlemanly. • » • His boa or palace has a gilded roof
" «:>f five stories; the pyaihai or royal spire, surmounted by a hii
*' Cjhatiah) orgilded iron ornament so called ; the hall in which I was
received, about 40 feet square exclusive of a large verandah which
surrounds it ; the centre portion, a square of 30 feet, is raised
^bout 18 inches, with four rows ol pillars, which support the high
■~oof, three in each row and 10 feet apart ; the innermost four of
the two centre rows are gilded, and the Yasa Bolen (throne),
'^'hich is a very handsome one, is lower and of better proportions
than those of the Siamese Shan Tsoboas I have seen. The gold
^ippears burnished at the distance at which I sat, though the art
of burnishing is not known to the Burmans. At each side of the
throne stood a large white muslin umbrella, furled, with two rows
of gold plate attached to fringes near the outer edge ; on it were
a. small gold crown, a sceptre, a cho-ivree^ an ottar daun, and the
foval red velvet slippers, forming the five insignia of royalty
{A^fettg Hmeauk Yasa Ngaba). The only other furniture in the
Toora was a gilded chair and a common clumsy Burman bed-
j stead. There might be about 100 muskets ranged in different
'p'Si.rts of the hall."
Il3r. Richardson was told that at this time the Burman force
'n^imtained in the Shan States was about 10,000 men, that there
*^^^ 13 Sawb7vas, four of them beyond the Salween, and that the
Cot~*tingents they were expected to furnish to the Burmese Govem-
tnerit amounted to over 90,000 men. While he was still in Mong
N^ the Sawbwa was ordered to proceed to Ava in person with a
tboiisand men to aid in the suppression of Prince Tharrawaddi's re-
b^Mion, The State of Keng HQng was said to be the most popu-
\ous and that of Ilsen Wi the most extensive, The Sawbioaoi the
fatter State was murdered about this time, "beaten to death with
*' clubs by his Shan subjects at a f>oe, to which he had gone with
''a few followers. He was the son of the last Tsoboa (a perfect
"savage) by a Burman woman he saw only for a few days at Ne-
"aong Ewe. After his birth the woman married a Rangoon man,
" where the boy followed her, and was loose in the country for some
" years. He then came to Ava and entered himself among the
386
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VI.
" young Prince's followers. His father dyln^ without other known
" children, he was raised to the Tsoboaship about six years ago. He
" was a confirmed bad character and, Hving about the palace in Ava.,
"had learned, with the vices of the capital, drinking and opiuin
" smoking, to consider himself more as a Burman than a Shan,
" and had imbibed the Burman contempt for the latter, by his oppres-
" sion of whom he had succeeded in making himself so detested
" that his death as related was the conseauence." This showed
how one Shan State was going to ruin and tnat the largest. Of af-
fairs in Miing Nai the picture is no less suggestive. Dr. Richardson
says the Shans " complain much of the oppression and insolence of
" their Burman rulers. The members of the Tsoboa's families are
" frequently insulted in the streets if ihey go out without their gold
" ckatfahs or attendants. The Burmans, who are very numerous
" here (of an estimated total of i,6oo houses, 350 were Burmese)
*' live entirely on the natives, contribute nothing to the expenses
" of the country, or to the occasional royal exactions of money,
" the levying of which is the province of the Tsoboa, Many of
" them, styled Keun'dau-myey not even called soldiers, have no
" means of subsistence but preying on the natives, and many acts
" are committed with impunity by them, which are severely punished
*' in the Shans, who complain they are looked on as little better than
"dogs."
If this was the state of affairs at the centre of administration, it
may be imagined that it was certainly no better elsewhere. A con-
siderable military force was also maintained at P6yak6n, opposite
Mong Pai, whither the Myelat IVun moved his headquarters after the
Myingun rebellion had stirred up the Red Karens to special activity.
It may be noted that the men here at the time of the British an-
nexation were Myedu people, and the policy always was to keep the
soldiers as far as possible away from their homes. Smaller detach-
ments were stationed in other parts, and every chief or, at any rate,
every Sawbwa had a resident Burmese official to keep an eye on
him. Beyond the Salween, however, the Sawbwas were much more
independent and in fact paid very little attention to the orders of
the Burmese residents. In fact de Carne says that the Burmese
officers' dislike and antagonism to the French excited the anger and
opposition of the Chief, who actually showed the utmost courtesy
to the French party out of sheer obstinacy.
The character of the local Government, however, depended large-
ly upon the personal character of the native Prince. Notwithstanding
Burman supervision, the Saivbwa always retained the general ad-
ministration fif the affairs of the people and the collection of taxes,
and the Shan Chiefs always assumed the same insignia and habits
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
flSf
of royalty as the Burmese Kings, The chieftainship was hereditary,
but the appointment of the successor from a Saivbwa^s family rested
with the King of Burma. The Sawb-xas all had powers of life and
death and were virtually absolute in their authority when not interfered
with by the Burman official. The local Government was therefore
strong or weak, just or oppressive, according to the character of the
Prince, and taxation was seldom interfered with when the demands
of the Burraan Government were satisfied promptly. Satvbwas
noted for oppressive measures were few in number, for in such cases
their subjects migrated to neighbouring States. Often, however,
the Chiefs were driven to the exaction of heavy taxes to meet the
demands of the Durman Court and were thus forced in to a course
not agreeable to themselves. It was a series of such exceptional
exactions which caused the Mdng Nai Sawbwa to revolt against
King Thibaw.
Of the people Dr. Gushing savs : " The Shans are a thrifty
" people. Being the inhabitants of a mountainous region, the neces-
"saries of life are not so easily obtained as in the fertile deltas of
" the Irrawaddy and M6nam. They are good agriculturists, but
"excel in trading, by which they supply themsevcs with food and
" merchandize not obtainable in their own country. The houses of
" the belter class exhibit a cleanliness and comfort not found
" among Burmans of the same rank. They have much i ndepcndence
"of character, but are given to jealousies and personal dislikes
" which have kept them divided politically and socially. In war-
"fare they are often cruel and vindictive, not only seeking to put
" to the sword all men of a hostile region, but often slaughtering
" the male children who fall into their hands. In time of peace
" they are cheerful, hospitable, and ready to render help to one
" another. An innate restlessness gives rise to frequent change of
" residence in the Shan country itself, so that often a good per-
"centage of the population in a principality is not native born to
"that principality."
It is practically impossible to determine how many Shan Slates
there were under Burmese rule. The Burmese
ciJ'^'c?"."''^"^ ^^ **"^ used always to number go, a favourite number
Shan Stales. .1.1 "^ 1 1 -i / 1 - ,
With them, but no details ol this number were
procurable or, when supplied, they were found to be manifestly
wrong. The phrase is as meaningless as the name Ko Shan Pyi.
As a matter of fact, except with the larger States, those always
governed by Sawhwas, there was continual change. There was
probably at no time much coherence or inter-dependence between
neighbouring villages or groups of villages ; and as it needed but
a Royal order to make any group into an independent State, how-
288
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. fCHAP. VI.
ever small, the indefiniteness and confusion of the political divisions
in Burmese times is not surprising. The King's interference was
frequent and took various forms. He always exercised the right
of nominating heirs from among the Chiefs' families. Sometimes
in case of a dispute a principality was split up and a portion given
to each of two claimants. Unruly Chiefs were deposed or driven
into exile. Others were bought out bv palace intrigues. Occa-
sionally Shan Princes were imprisonetf in the capital. In latter
years there were two or three ^x-Saiabwas of Hsen Wi in more or less
close confinement in Mandalay, and the forty-nine mongs of that
State had been greatly reduced even before the times of King
Thibaw, by the creation of independent charges, such as Mong
Nawng, Kehsi Mansam, Mong Hsu, and Mbng San^; not unsel*
dom a Burmese Officer was put in as Governor for a longer or
shorter time. Now and then a powerful Chief was shorn of part of
his territory for the benefit of a more acceptable person, the father
or brother perhaps lof a favourite queen, or a weak Chief was
made to give up territory to an energetic soldier more capable of
defending it and doing the King's service.
The people of the Myelat were foreigners equally to the Shans
Th M Ur ^"^ ^'^ ^^^ Burmese, and their rulers were as
^** * often as not Burmans pure and simple, sent up
by the order of the King, or at the recommendation of the Myelat
Wun. The Ngivekunhmus differed very little, if at all, from the
Shwehmus of the Katha district, and they were only a little more
permanent in maintaining ruling families because of the greater in-
accessibility of the Myelat. There are practically no Shans in that
lenitory, and Shan is not only not spoken, but is not often under-
stood. A reference to the accounts given in another chapter will
show thai the inhabitants are almost certainly descendants of Bur-
me-=e colonies, voluntary or enforced. The Intha of the Yawng
Hwe Lake are descendants of a colony planted many centuries ago
by a King of Pagan, who took a number of prisoners from Tavoy
and settled them at at Inle-ywa. The Danus would appear to
have come of their own accord, or, if driven from home, chose ihetr
own place for settlement. The Taungthus, though not Burman,
would seem to have a similar history. But, because the country laj
beside that of the Shans and was more obviously connected with a
physically, than with the plains, the Myelat people were always
treated by the Burmese as tributaries and not as pari of the Bur-
mese nation.
The title of Satobwa was by no means necessarily hereditary,
_. except in such States as Hsen Wi, Mong Nai, and
thcTrans-Salween States, who concerned them-
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
3^9
selves little about Burmese orders or wishes. Mawk Mai, Mong
Pai, and Yawng Hwe appear to have held the higher litle for longer
ihan most and Mong Mit was almost always a Sa-wbTtash'ip, but,
as far as the Burmese were concerned, Lai Hka was quite a recent
creation as a SawbwasWip, and Hsi Paw was considerably below
Hsum Hsai in osliniation, though now Hsum Hsai is a mere dis-
trict of Hsi Paw. The ruler of Lawk Sawk appears almost always
to have begun as a Myoza and only to have received the higher
title by dint of rendering some service or living long enough. The
essentially haphazard, corrupt, or emotional system of Burmese
government makes ii impossible to determine precise facts, and the
Shans themselves call every ruler Sao-kpa, whether he is titular
Sawbwa or Myoza.
It appears that there never was any formal or authentic prece-
dence list in Burmese times. Of Cis-Salween Chiefs Hsen Wi
always ranked first, until the State became a mere chaos, and Mong
N.ii ne.\t. But it would appear that as a rule the relative rank of
Chiefs was as unstable as that of French Ministries under the Re-
public. If one Sawbwa had priority over another, or one Myoza
over another, it was due to age or favouritism. The oldest Chief
took first place, so far as there was any first place, quite irrespec-
tive of the extent of his territories. Moreover, this was complicated
by the fact of the despatch of Thami-kanya to the capital. Every
Shan Chi^f had to send daughters of his house to the King. If
one of these girls was promoted to the rank of one of the four
Queens, or was even a favourite minor Queen, her father or brother
wss correspondingly favoured on audience days, while a perhaps
much more powerful Chief was passed over because his womankind
were mere maids*of-honour. Thus in the time of King Mind6n the
Mong Nai Queen was one of His Majesty's favourite wives, and in
those days the Sawbwa of Mong Nai not only took rank above all
others, but had his territory greatly enlarged- Apart from this and
the granting of special insignia for special services, it would appear
that all Sawbwas were considered to be on equal terms, except
where considerable age, or extreme youth, made a marked differ-
ence. If this was so with the Sawbwas, it was much mors so with
the Myozas, though some of them, from the ancient existence of
the State as a separate territory, were usually considered to rank at
the head, unless their youth, or the considerable age of some of the
other Myozas, made an obvious distinction.
Durbars were held at Mong Nai only very irregularly and most
often when the ruler of some State had died, though it does not
appear that this was enforced by any customary law, or that the
opinion of the assembled Chiefs as to the succession was asked, or
37
390
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VI.
had any weight if given. These assemblages were held in the Lum,
the buildini^ referred to by Dr. Richardson. In this there was a
long raised platform running cast and west in the centre of the
audience hall. At the western extremity of this the Bo-hmu Min
sat on a dais facing the east. In front of him sat the Wundauk,
who appears to have accompanied the Bo-hmu when he paid his
visits from the capital. Behind the IVundauk sat the Sikkd-gyi,
then the Nakhnns and other subordinate officials, and at the east-
ern end were ranged the body-guard. To the left of the Bo-hmu
J/«'«, below this platform, was a square enclosure fenced with red
cords. In this the Sawb'ivas arranged themselves at their plea-
sure, or according to mutual agreement, the Mong Nai Sawbiva
occupying the post of honour, that nearest to the Bo-hmu. The
Sa-whwas were nearly in a line with the IVundauk, that is to say,
a liltit to the left front of the Bo-hmu. Beyond them and facing
the Nakhans were the Myozas, also in a red-fenced enclosure, like
that of the Sawbvas. Behind these enclosures were others, in
which wore gathered the Amais, and Afyoeayes — the ofBcials of the
Stt-wbwas behind the Sawbtvas and those of the Mvozas behind their
masters. The Ngwekunhmus, \\ any were present, took rank with
the Amatgyis of a Sawb-wa.
At the Palace in Mandalay the Shan Chiefs sal straight in front
of the throne behind the Princes of the blood and the Ministers of
State, who took station left and right of the throne, otherwise the
arrangement seems to have corresponded with that in the Mong Nai
assemblages. It is stated that the Satvbwa of Mting Nai in King
MindOn's time (father of Hkun Kyi, the iirsl Sawbica under British
rule) in right of being one of His Majesty's fathers-in-law, sat
occasionally with the Princes of the blood, but only by special orders
and not as of right.
Titles of Shan Sawbwas.
Keng HflQR (Kyaingyi'iDgyi)
Kfing Tflng, Kfiiig Cheng
(Kyaington, Kyaingcliaing).
Mfing Nai (Mon^)
Hsenwi {Thcinni)
Yawng Hwe (Nyaungywe)
MOng Pai (Moby4)
Zawti Nagara Mah5 WunthaThiri Thudham
ma YSza.
Pyinsala Ya-hta Mah4 Wuntlia Dhamma
Yaza.
Kambawsa Ya-hta Mahi WuDthiri Pawaya
Thudhamma Yaza.
Ihlri Ya-hta Maha Wuntha PawJIya TheU
Thudhamma Yaxa.
Kambflwsa Ya-hta Thiri Pawaya Mahik Wun
tha Thudhamina Yaza.
Kamb.-iwsa Maha Wuntha Thiridhamraa
Yaza.
CHAP. VI.] THR SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
391
Mong Pan {Maingpanl
Lai Hka (Ugya)
Mong Pu (Maingpu)
Mavvk Mai (Maukint)
Loi Long (Taungbaing) ...
Mong Mit (Momeilv)
Hsawng Hsup (Thaungthut)
WuiUho
Kale, Teionyin
Kaati
Hsum Hsai (Thftnzft)
M6ng Pawn (Maingpun) ...
Sam Ka (Sa^a)
Hai Long (Hftlfin)
Kanlarawadi (Karenni)
Kyemmon^s (Kyamaingsj
Hsi Paw (Thibaw)
Mong Lfing (Mainglfin) ..
Maw Hson (flawsaing)
Vox La [Pwehia)
Fatigtara (Piodaya)
Kamhawsa Thiri Mahji Wuntha Dhamma
Yaza.
Kambawsa Ya-hta Mahawuntha Thiri Thu-
dhainina Yaza.
Kambawsa Ya*'hta Wuntlia Thiha Dhamma
Yaz.-*.
Kambawsa Ya-hta Maha Wuntha Thiri Yaia.
Maha Thiri Pappada Thuya Yaza.
Gantala Yahta Malia Thiri Wuiiiha Yaza.
Mawriya Maha VVniitha Tliiha Yaza.
Maha Wuntha Thiri Zcya Thohonbwa.
Mawriya Thiha Maha Wuntha Dhamma
Yaza.
Maha Wuntha Duyein Yaza.
Titles of Myozas.
Thiri Ya-hta Maha Wuntha Thudhamma
Yaza.
Thiri Maha Tho-nganbwa,
Mah^ Yaza Tho-nganbwa.
Maha Zeya Tho-nganbwa.
Pappada Kyawgaung.
Kambawsa MahS Wuntha.
MyQ6ks.
Nemyo-minhla Raza.
Ngwekunkmus.
Nemyo-thiri Kyawdin.
Nemyo-thiri Kaza
Nemyo-raza NawraU.
Da-kunhmus.
Thiri Maha Kaza Tho-nganbwa.
Pong Mu (P6n-mu) Da-
Icunhmu.
The administration of the Shan States was at no time justly or
„ . . , .. consistently carried on. After the death of Kine
MmdonU lell into complete disoidcr, like ihat of
every part of King Thibaw's dominions. The Sawbwa ni Keng
Tong was the first to revolt. He took offence at the appointment
by King Mindon of a Hsenwi-hpa or Saivfi-wa to the State of Keng
Hung (Cheli) without reference to him and to tlie exclusion of the
Keng Tung nominee. King Thibaw issued an order confinning this
Chief, and upon this the Saivbtra of KCng Tung executed the
Burmese Political Officer resident at his court and massacred the
majority of his guard, about thirty in number. He then proceeded
to destroy the capital of KCng Hong and to instal his own candi-
date, who was subsequently taken under Chinese protection.
iga
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. Vt.
King Thibaw was quite helpless to punish this insubordination
and apparently thought it wiser to ignore it altogether rather than
to expose his weakness.
Repeated demands for money made the Sawhwa of Mong Nai
desperate and with the KOng TQng success before him, he also mas-
sacred the Burmese garrison in his capital. Sympathy, family con-
nection, and similar grievances induced the Sawbwa of Lawk Sawk
and the Myoza of Mong Nawng to join him, but these western Chiefs
were more accessible and the Burmese forces drove them to take
refuge beyond the Salween with the Keng lung Sawhwa in 18S4.
At KengTOngthe fugitive Saw biv a s ^Xoiied. means of regaining their
lost dignities and with this object conceived a plan for placing at
their head a Prince of the Burmese. Royal house, and either over-
throwing King Thibaw and replacing him by their own leader, or
establishing an independent sovereignty in the Shan States. The
person selected by the confederates as their leader was the Limbin
Prince, a son of the Einshemin or Crown Prince. The Einshemin
was the brother of Mind6n Min and in his lifetime the most influen-
tial and the most popular member of the Royal Family of Burma.
He was killed in 1866 by his nephew, the Myingun Prince, now
living in Saigon. His son, the Limbin Prince, escaped to Lower
Burma on the accession of King Thibaw, was educated in Rangoon,
and was for some time employed as a Myo6k or subordinate Magis-
trate. He was removed from his appointment for incompetence and
because he took advantage of his liberty to attempt to raise a rebel-
lion in Upper Burma. During the year 1885 he was living under
numinal surveillance at Moulmein, and here the agents of the exiled
Sn-wb7vas at Keng TQng found him. He accepted the invitation
and left Moulmein in October 1885, about a month before the des-
patch of the British expedition to Mandalay. On the arrival of the
Limbin Prince at Keng TQng the allies collected their forces and,
aided by the Satobwaoi KfingTOng, proceeded to take steps to re-
gain their former possessions. By this time the Burmese Govern-
ment had been overthrown and the Burmese troops had been with-
drawn from the Shan country. An open field was left for the
contest for supremacy in each State.
The allies crossed the Salween in February 1886 and at once
attacked Mong Nai. This State and its dependency Keng Tawng
after the flight of the rightful Sawbwa, Hkun Kyi, had been
administered by an unfrocked monk called Twet Nga Lu, who had
married the mother of Saw Maung, a child who had been appointed
Sawbwa by the Burmese Government. Aided by his allies, Hkun
Kyi drove Twet Nga Lu from Mon^ Nai, and re-established himself
in that State, but Twet Nga Lu maintained himself for some time
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
293
in Keng Tawng, though the Mong Nawng Myoza, a cousin of
Hkun Kyi's, wa$ re-established immediately to the nortli ot him.
Sao Weng, the exiled Sawbwa of Lawk Sawk, also regained his Slate
without trouble. During his absence it had been handed over tem-
porarily by the King to the Sn-wbiva of Yawng Hwe, Sao Mawng,
who put in an AmatchCk, or chief minister, as administrator.
,In order to understand the somewhat complicated relations be-
tween the several States during the year j886, it must be remem-
bered that the object of the allied Sawbwax was not only to recover
their own States, but also to establish the Limbin Prince as an
independent sovereign. They were bound to the Limbin Prince by
solemn oaths of allegiance, and it was necessary to the success of
their plans that all the Shan States should either join the confede-
racy of their own free-will, or be compelled to do so by force of arms.
The plans of the allies had been concerted before the outbreak of
war between the British and Burmese Governments, but they were
not at first modified by the overthrow of the Burmese monarchy.
The Sa^h-ivas probably believed that the British Government would
for a time at least be sufficiently occupied by the settlement of
Upper Burma proper and that it would be possible to consolidate
their leader's power in the Shan Slates without interference. The
active members of the confederacy were the important States of
Mong Nai, Lawk Sawk, Mawk Mai, and Mong Pawn and the Myo-
zaships of Mong Nawng, Mong Sit, Keng Hkam, Mong Ping, Hsa
HtQng, Wan Yin, Nawng W'awn, Nam Hkok, and Ho P6ngj white
many of the Ngwekunkmus of the Myelat joined, because they
were afraid to do anything but agree with their powerful neigh-
bours. The majority of the Chiefs of these States were related by
blood or marriage. The few who were not, found themselves so
surrounded by members of the confederacy that they had no choice
but to join. The Stales of Lai Hka, Mong Kiing, and Kehsi Man-
sam had, under orders from Mandalay, furnished contingents for
the attack on Mong Nai, when Hkun Kyi had to fly, and it would
seem that they were attacked immediately by the allies, probably
as much to give the Keng TQng troops payment and employment
in the way of looting, as to enable the returned exiles to recover
their plough-cattle or to take those of other people. At any rate,
Lai Hka was burnt and ravaged from end to end and considerable
portions of Mong Kung and Kehsi Mansam fared nearly as badly.
Sao Mawng, the Saivbwa of Yawng Hwe, as we have seen, had
been put by the Burmese in charge of Lawk Sawk. As soon as
Sao Weng had re-established himself in his State he proceeded In
his turn to revenge himself on Yawng Hwe. The Sawbwa Sao
Mawng, VI ho had been in Mandalay at the time of its surrender to
394
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VI.
the British, had hardly reached hi? own State when he was attacked
and wounded, whereupon he retired to Taw Gin, near HIaingdet in
the Meiktila district. A half-brother of his, Sao Chit Su, was named
SaTvhva by the Limbin faction, but he was almost immediately
expelled by Sao Ong, who then had to defend himself against Sao
Weng from the north and the States of Nawng VVawn, Wan Yin,
and others in the valley of the Tarn Hpak immediately to the east.
Sao Ong received a certain amount of assistance from Sam Ka and
some of the Southern Myelai States and so held his own. Mean-
while he tendered his allegiance to the British Government and asked
for support.
The Hsi Paw Sawbwa had only just re-established himself. Ex-
actions and intrigues in King Thibaw's reign had forced him to fly
from his Stale. He took refuge in Rangoon, whence, after some
dramatic experiences, he was banished to Karenni. Sawlapaw, the
Chief of I^astem Karenni, gave him a force on the outbreak of the
war with King Thibaw, which enabled the Sawbwa to take posses-
sion of his old State. He promptly look advantage of the general
turmoil to lay hands on the neighbouring principalities of Hsum
Hsai and Mong Tong. This kept him fully occupied and he had
no connection with the Limbin parly either way.
The neighbouring State of Hsen \Vi had been in a state of chaos
for a whole generation, since Sang Hai rose against the Sawbtca
Naw Hpa in 1856, and it remained so. In the extreme south the
situation was little better. There the Red Karens had only been
kept under by the Burmese garrison at P^yakon. This was with-
drawn and the old bickering and raiding immediately began again
between Mong Pai and the Karenni States. Moreover, Sao Chit
Su, the few-days Sawbiva of Yawng Hwe, had taken refuge with the
Mong Pai Sa-wbwa. Sao Ong anticipated trouble there and rightly
or wrongly was thought to have egged on the Western Karenni
Chief Po Bya to attack Mong Pai. In revenue the Mong Pat forces,
with the assistance of those of Lot L6ng, attacked Ang Teng (In-
deing-g6n) at the southern end of the Yawng Hwe Lake, and in-
cursions were made into whatever parts of the Myelat promised
plunder.
Over on the south-eastern frontier Mawk Mai and Mong Pan had
a private quarrel of their own which they prosecuted with vigour.
Thus every part of the Cis-Salween States was in a slate of war.
Everywhere villages were burnt and property destroyed ; whole dis-
tricts became depopulated and the emigration of the Shans, which
had been constant for years, became something very like evacuation
by every one except ihe actual combatants.
CHAP. VI.
THE SHAN STATES AXD THE TAI.
395
This was the state of affairs throughout 1886. Yawng Hwe was
invested on every side but the west, and hostilities were carried on
in the usual Shan fashion, which consists in a sudden advance, the
construction of stockades, desultory firing, and an attempt to starve
the enemy out, or to rush their works when the bulk of the de-
fenders arc absent in search of food. Everywhere else there were
triangular or quadrangular duels.
In Januat)' 1887 a column under Colonel Stedman (now Sir Ed-
ward Stedman) marched up from Hlaingdet with Mr. A. H. Hilde-
brand, the Superintendent of the Shan States. Some desuliory
opposition was encountered on the road, at Kyap Sakan in the terai,
at Nam i^kum on the edge of the plateau, and at Kugyo, not far
from Taunggyi, where the Lawk Sawk Sawbwa made a stand in a
fortified position, from which he was driven without difficulty by our
troops. These were practically all the warlike operations that were
necessary. The column reached Y'awng Hwe on the loth February,
and four days later a site for the establishment of the headquarters
of the Superintendent with a garrison and fortified post was chosen
at the village of Mong Hsawk on the eastern side of the Lake.
This sta.tion has since been known as Fort Stedman.
The work of pacification proceeded rapidU*. On the march up all
the northern and central Ngwekunhmus of tde Myelat had tendered
their submission in person. At Yawng Hwe the Myoza of Sara
Ka immediately proffered his allegiance. A small body of troops
went from Yawng Hwe to Mijng Pai, passing undisturbed through
Nam Kok and Sa Koi, and at Mong Pai the Saivbiva himself ten-
dered his unreserved submission to the Assistant Superintendent
as the representative of the British Government and advocated the
establishment of a British force at P6yak6n.
Meanwhile the Superintendent had called upon Mong Nai and
Mong Pawn, the most prominent members of the Limbin con-
federacy, to submit to the British Government and to keep peace
among themselves. They did not, however, immediately submit,
but withdrew their forces from the borders of Yawng Hwe and re-
tired to their own territories. The Limbin Prince himself, who had
been established at Wan Yin, moved first to Ho P6ng and eventu-
ally to Mung Nai. The States of Lai Hka, Mdng Kiing, and Ke-
hsi Mansam had already made submission in Mandalay and they now
took advantage of the state of uncertainty which prevailed among
the Chiefs of the Limbin confederacy to raise a mixed force, with
which they marched upon Mong Pawn. The Mong Nai Sawbwa
was too fully engaged m driving Twet Nga Lu out of K5ng Tawng,
which he succeeded in doing with assistance from Sawlapaw, to
396
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VI.
determine on any definite course. Mawk Mai had attacked Mong
Pan with considerable success until Hkun L6ne, the Mawk Mai
Sawbwa.wa.s killed bv a stray bullet, whereupon his forces retreated
to their own State. Both Twet Nga Lu and Mong Pan represented
themselves as subjects of the British Government, and Sawlapaw.
who had assisted Hkun Kyi of Mong Nai, and whose daughter had
married Mong Nai's nephew, was known to be bitterly hostile to us.
The whole situation was therefore very involved and critical.
The Lawk Sa\vk Snwhwa Sao Weng continued to maintain an
attitude of hostility; threatened the northern Chiefs of the Myelat,
and incited attacks on the communications between Fort Stedman
and the base at Hlaingrlet. Promises of pardon and immunity h.^d
no result. The Superintendent therefore proceeded to Lawk Sawk.
The Sawbwa fled before the arrival of the column and Lawk Sawk
was occupied practically without opposition. Sao Weng had no one
with him but his Kang TOng mercenaries and he returned straight
to that capital, where he remained until its submission in 1890,
when he moved on to Kcng Hung.
From Lawk Sawk the Superintendent marched through Mong
Ping to Ho Pong, where he had arranged to meet the Limbin Prince
and his most energetic supporter, the Mong Pawn Sawbtva. They
did not appear, but the Myozas of Ho P6ng, Nam Hk6k, and
Nawng Wawn did. These were all supporters of the Limbin Prince
and the last-named was uterine brother of the Mong Pawn Saw"
bwa. He represented that Mong Pawn was closely pressed by the
forces of Lai Hka and other States professedly acting for the
British Government. The British column therefore moved on there
and a cessation of hostilities and the reconciliation of the Chiefs
was effected on the actual scene of a fight in the best manner of the
light opera stage.
The Mong Pawn Sa-wbwa was a man of much force of character
and had been the practical leader and certainly the spokesman of
the Limbin confederacy. Upon his submission all the other South-
ern Shan States submitted. A party under Captain Wallace, of the
27th Punjab Infantry, proceeded to Mong Nai with the .Assistant
Superintendent, where the full submission of the Miing ^a\ Sn-wbwa
was received and the Limbin Prince voluntarily gave himself up
and handed over his flag. A \nsit was paid to Mawk Mai, where
the aged and abdicated Kolan Saivbiva had just died, and the three
British Ofiicers and one sepoy who formed the party were received
with great honour. At the special request of the Mong Nai Say}'
bwa the British flag was hoisted in Mong Nai and the detachment
then reLurned to Fort Stedman, whence the Limbin Prince was sent
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAl.
»97
to Rangoon and afterwards at his own request to Calcutta, wiiere
he lives in receipt of an allowance from Government.
Thus by the middle of June 1887 the whole of the Southern Shan
States had been brought under the influence of the Snperinlendent
and were free from disturbances. But the north, except Hsi Paw,
was still in a state of complete anarchy. The Hsi Paw Sawbwa
AKsited the Chief Commissioner in Mandalay early in 1887, and as
he was the first Siian Sa-wbwa who placed himself without reserve
in the hands of the Government beyond the borders of the Shan
States, he was received with much consideration. He was present
at the celebration of Her Majesty's Jubilee^ and on this occasion,
as a special mark of grace and favour, His Excellency the Gover-
nor-General in Council was pleased to remit for ten years the tri-
bute payable by his State. It was also arranged that the Slates of
Mong Long and Hsum Hsai, which border on the Mandalay
District, and the State of Mong TOng, which lies to the south-east
of Hsi Paw, should be considered as subordinate to the SawSwa of
that State. On his return to Hsi Paw the ^awiajfl was accompani-
ed by Mr, J. E. Bridges, the Deputy Commissioner of Mandalay,
who stayed some time in the capital and endeavoured to arrange for
the pacification of Hsen \Vi. Matters there, however, were far
beyond the possibility of settlement, except on the spot. At one
time Hsen \Vi consisted of forty-nine matjgs, each ruled over by a
tributary chieftain. In addition 10 this national division it was
partitioned by thoBurmese into five tracts — northern, southern, east-
ern, western, and centVal. But since the year 1856, when the
Sawhiva Hsiing Naw Hpa, who acceded to the dignity in 1S48-49,
became involved in a struggle with Sang Hai, who had com-
manded the Hsen VVi contingent which helped to repulse the Sia-
mese attack on Kfing TQng, the State had become more and more
invoKed in violent and continuous civil war. The Burmese Gov-
ernment deposed and re-appointed the Sa-wbwa ; appointed another
Sawbwa and imprisoned and then reappointed him ; sent a long
succession of IVuns and Sik/kes, Wtndawhmus, and Military Bos,
but entirely without success in restoring order. In 1877 mdeed
Sang Hai was compelled to retreat beyond the Salween, but the
relief was only temporary, and in the meanwhile Mong Nawng,
Kehsi Mansani, Mong Hsu, and Mong Sang, formerly integral parts
of Hsen \Vi, had become separate Slates under Chiefs who held
their dignities by direct grant from the Burmese Government
instead of being subordinate to Hsen Wi, and the northern division
had fallen permanently into Kachin hands, while the fertile Alfelet
in the centre had been reduced lo a condition of chaos. Sang Hai
died, but he was succeeded by Hkun Sang of T6n Hong, an adven-
38
298
UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VI.
turer who had married the daughter of Sang Hai after acting as
chief fighling leader for some years. Hkiin Sang was by birth a
Mang Lon man and is said to have \Va blood in his veins. On
Sang Hai's death he immediately assumed the offensive with the
assistance of the Kachins, and in 1878 finally drove Hsiing Naw
Hpa from the capital and maintained himself in the Wing in
defiance of Burmese Sikkes and other officers, who were fain to
administer what was left of the Central and Western divisions from
Lashio as their headquarters. These portions of the Stale, how-
ever, continued to be disturbed until 1881, when Sang Aw, known
as the Paokchok, established himself at Mong Yai as ruler of Hsen
Wi Alfelet, which then included all Hsen Wi that was left, outside
of the north in HkunSangof Ton Hfing's hands, and the south which
had been broken up into new States. The Burmese officials had
practically no authority beyond the Lashio valley and the road
thither, and for the rest of King Thibaw's reign they were unable to
improve their position.
This was the state of affairs when Upper Burma was incorporat-
ed in British India. As elsewhere, the Burmese garrison in Lashio
was immediately withdrawn, or disbanded itself. Hsiing Naw
Hpa, the quondam Sawbtva of all Hsen Wi, was at this lime living
at Mone^ Si, a Kachin circle to the north-east of the Wing or Myo-
ma, as the Burmese called the capital, where Hkun Sang of TAn
H6ng was established, and tlie Padkchok was in Mong Yai. They
were all of them more or less quiescent- Naw Mong, the son of
Naw Hpa, had been detained throughout King Thibaw's reign a3
a prisoner in Mandalay and the British occupation set him free.
He immediately set out for Hsen Wi and on his way up passed
through the camps of both the Myinzaing Prince and that of Saw
Van Naing, the son of the Metkaya Prince. He made for the
western part of the Alfeltt and gathered supporters round him in
the Man S^ neighbourhood. When he had sufficient force, which
was not till the beginning of 1887, he marched over the hills to the
Lashio valley, where he was met and defeated by Hkun Sang with
his Kachins. Hkun Sang thereupon proceeded to drive back the
forces of Naw Hpa, which apparently made a badly concerted
movement from MOng Si. He then marched on the Aiglet. Saw
Yan Naing had by this time been driven not only from the Ava
neighbourhood, but also from the Pyinulwin subdivision and had
retired to Man Sfe. Hkun Sang of T6n Hong overthrew him on
his march and drove him into Loil6ng Tawng Peng and then pro-
ceeded to defeat Naw Mong and the PaokchSk, Sang Aw, in
detail. His success was much contributed to by predatory raids
of bands from Hsi Paw, who burnt out the whole of the south of
iP. VI.] THK SHAN STAT6S AND THE TAI.
S99
the Alfelet and finally ruined the greater part of that tract. By
August 1887 the Paokchok and Naw Mong were driven from
Hsen Wi altogether and Hkun Sang took possession of Mong Yai.
The two fugitives made their way to Mong Nai and began com-
munications with Mr. Hildebrand at Fort Stedman, under whom
all the Shan States, both north and south, were now placed. Mr.
Hildebrand opened a correspondence with Hkun Sang at Mong
Yai. The Hsi Paw robber bands were withdrawn and for the first
time for many years there was peace in the Shan States. The
incessant fighting which had been going on had, however, prevent-
ed the sowing oi crops, and everywhere there was much distress,
which in Lai Hka was so great that a considerable number of
people died of actual want of food.
In the open season of 1887-88 Mr. Hildebrand proceeded with a
considerable military force on an extended tour, which took him
through all the Shan States hitherward of the Salween, lasted for
over live months, and ended at Mandalay without a single shot
having been fired. In the course of his march Mr. Hildebrand re-
ceived the personal submission of all the Sawbwas and Myozas,
confirmed them in their positions as tributary Chiefs, settled their
relations with the Government and with each other, fixed the
amount of tribute to be paid by each Chief, and generally established
the supremacy of the British Government. The general peace has
not since been disturbed except by enterprises begun or concocted
beyond the area then in the Shan States charge.
At Mong Pai an attempt was made to settle a dispute between
the Sawdwa of that State and Po Bya, one of the Western Karenni
Chiefs. This was afterwards brought before Sir Charles Crosth-
waite in Rangoon by the Mong Pai Sawbwa in person and by the
sons of Po Bya. It was agreed to condone past offences and to
abstain from disputes in future, but this settlement proved of little
value owing to the hostile attitude of Sawlapaw, the Chief of East-
ern Karenni, and the absence of any arrangement with the other
Western Karenni Chiefs.
After the column had started Twet Nga Lu, who had come to Fort
Stedman during the rain.s to prefer a claim to the Sawhivaship of
Keng Tawng, but had been told that it could not be entertained,
raised a band of followers in Keh si Mansam and raided and burnt
Keng Tawng. He was driven out by the Mong Nai Sawbwa,
passed mto Mong Pan, and burnt that capital and was then forced
to take refuge in Chiengmai territory. At Mong Pan, where four
Siamese Commissioners and the British Vice-Consul of Chiengmai
were met, promises were given that he would be restrained from
300 THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VI,
hostile action, but these were not very competently fulfilled. The
main purpose of the meeting was to discuss the question of the
right of the British and Siamese Governments to the small States
of Mong T6n, Mong Hang, Mong Kyawt, and Mong Hta, as well
as to Mong Hsat. The former four territories had been dependen-
cies of Mong Pan and only sought protection from Chiengmai
when the quarrel between Mawk Mai and Mong Pan threatened
them with danger. Only a temporary arrangement could be made
at this meeiing and this gave an advantage to Twet Nga Lu, of
which he did not fail to avail himself, while the British and Sia-
mese Governments were discussing the future administration of
these Slates.
From M5ng Pan Mr. Hildebrand went to Mong Nai and there
held what no doubt the Shans considered the first durbar in the
Shan States. A meeting had been held in the end of 1887 at Fon
Stedman, but only the western Chiefs and the Ngwekunhmus of
the Myelat were present. At Mong Nai on the contrary, with the
exception of the ^aivhwas of the north and these western Chiefs, the
rulers of all the principalities were present^ and a reconciliation was
effected between the Limbin Prince's allies and their victims.
Here also the general question of the tribute payable by the Shan
States, as well as the separate question:s of the individual amounts,
were finally settled. At first the SatL'bwas, through their spokes-
man, the intelligent and self-reliant SawbTva of Mong Pawn, raised
objections to the assessment of tribute on the principle of the //ra-
tkameda, a principle which had been adopted in the time of Mindon
Mln. They professed a wish to return to the primitive custom of
sending to the ruling authority valuable presents in acknowledgment
of its suzerainty instead of the fixed sums demanded in compara-
tively recent years by the Burmese Government. These objections
were finally overruled and the tribute question was sullied with
the concurrence of all the assembled Chiefs for a period of five years
from the ist December 1887, after which the amount was to be
liable to revision.
From Mong Nai the Superintendent marched through Lai Hka,
Mong Kiing, and Kehsi Mansam to Mong Yai, where he was
met by a northern column which had been touring through Tawng
Peng and Hsen \Vi with Lieutenant Daly as Political Officer. Ex-
cept that in Tawng Peng their rear had been fired into, this party
had been equally peaceful and it brought in Hkun Sang of^T6n
H6ng It may be noted here that the name Kun San Ton Hon, which
was given to this personage by the Burmese and accepted by us
when Shan matters were not so well known, is from the pedantic
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
301
point of view absolutely incorrect. His "little name " was Sang
Yawn Ko and he belonged to T6n Hong village. When fortune
smiled on him he dropped the Yawn Ko and adopted the title
Hkun, which properly is applied only to members of a ruling house.
Thus his name is Hkun Sang of Ton Hong, as we say William of
Cloudeslee.
Naw Mong and the Padkckok (which seems to be the Wa title
Pachok and may be compared with the old Nam Chao style Pa;,hi
meaning Governor) had come from Mijng Nai with Mr. Hilriebrand
and a meeting of all the heads of circles and elders of Hsen Wi
was held in Mong Yai. As a result the already mutilated State of
Hsen Wi was further dismembered. The north and east were given
to Hkun Sang with the title of North Hsen Wi Sawbwa, and what
was practically the old Kawn Kang, or Alfelet was assigned to Naw
Mong as Sait'bwa of South Hsen Wi. The Paokckok, who was ill
and aged, was to remain a pensioner of South Hsen Wi. A couple
of months after the column had gone, his party rose against Naw
Mong, who fled to Hsi Paw, Before Lieutenant Daly arrived to
restore him, the Paokchdk paid all debts by dying of dropsy.
Lieutenant Daly and the Sawbwa then summoned together the
principals in the rising. They came and were arrested and the
Sawb-wa sentenced a number to imprisonment.
The Superintendent had meanwhile marched down to Mandalay,
receiving on the way the submission of the Sa-whwa of Loi Long
Tawng Peng, who had failed to come in to Lieutenant Daly.
The long absence of the Superintendent and of the bulk of the
garrison from Fort Stedman seems to have given rise to the
supposition that the British troops had been or were about to be
withdrawn. In March 1888 Sawlapaw, the Chief of Eastern Karen-
ni who had declined to meet the Superintendent when invited to
do so some months before, and who had already annexed part of
the State of Sakoi on his borders, became still bolder and took the
settlement of a longstanding feud with Mawk Mai into his own
hands. A band of Red Karens attacked Mawk Mai ; the Sawbiaa
fled from his Wing across the Salween, and it was pillaged and
burnt. Sawlapaw then proceeded to set up as Sawbwa a man named
Hkun Noi Kyu, a cadet of the Mawk Mai family, who agreed to
hold the State as a feudatory'of the Karenni Chief. This success
no doubt emboldened Twet Nga Lu. He attacked and occupied
Mong Pan, driving out the Sawbiva. The Myng Nai Sawbwa, by
order of Mr, Hildebrand, sent a parly to expel Twet Nga Lu, but
they were defeated and pursued up to the gates of Mong Nai, with
such vigour that Twet Nga Lu was able to establish himself there
3oa
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTI-ER. [CHAP. Vr,
early in May 1888 and Hkun Kyi fled to Mong Pawn. The Assist-
ant Superintendent was therefore hurried up from Mandalay in the
middle of April. Meanwhile somewhat serious hostiUties had broken
out between minor States in the south of the Myelat, fomented by
the Yawng Hwe Saivb-wa^ owing to actual or wilful miscomprehen-
sion of the orders of the military officer at Fort Stedman. These
were dealt with, peace restored, and the Sawbwa fined Rs. 10,000,
and then a column marched east. A mounted surprise party under
Lieutenant Fowler of the ist Biluchis succeeded in capturing Twel
Nga Lu and all his leaders seven days after the rebel entry into
Mong Nai and this put an end to the rising. Six of the leaders were
executed after trial by the Sawbwa of Mong Nai, and Twet Nga
Lu himself was shot by his guard.
The column with the Assistant Superintendent after restoring
Hkun Kyi then marched south to Mank Mai, which was evacuated
by Hkun Noi Kyu and the Karenni The former made his escape
to Siamese territory and has not since given any trouble. The
Karenni retired to their own territory and a British post was estab-
lished at Mawk Mai with a small detachment at Mong Nai. At the
end of June 1888, however, Sawlapaw made another attack on Mawk
Mai, where the Sawbwa had been re-established. The Karenni
were easily repulsed and Lieutenant Fowler then immediately as-
sumed the offensive, drove the Red Karens out of their works at
Kantu Awn with very severe loss, and finally expelled them from
Mawk Mai. The British force was so small comparatively and in-
flicted such heavy punishment that no further trouble was experienc-
ed on this side.
The result of these distarbances was the permanent establishment
of a British Civil Officer at Mong Nai. About the same time the
Northern Shan States were separated from the south and made into
a separate charge.
It will be noted that these risings were purely local matters and
it may be remarked that the Shan States, as a whole, were the only
part of Upper Burma which practically accepted British authority
without opposition. Within little over a year after the first occu-
pation of the country the ruler of every State had made persona! sub-
mission to the Sup«^rlntendcnt and had agreed to accept his position
as a tributary of the British Government on fixed conditions. The
intention of the Government to maintain order and to prevent pri-
vate wars between the several Stales, while at the same time allow-
ing to each Chief independence In the administration of his terri-
tory to the fullest extent compatible with the methods of civilized
government had not only been declared, but had been exemplified.
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
303
Trade began to revive almost immediately, ruined villages and
towns were re-occupied and re-built, and the people began to resume
their ordinary pursuits, which it may be said have never since been
disturbed except in the frontier States, and there only for reasons
which were purely local and differed in each case.
The season of 1888-89 was mainly occupied in dealing with
Sawlapaw, the Chief of Eastern Karenni. Immediately after the
defeat of his forces at Kantu Awtiin Mawk Mai and probably before
he was aware of it, Sawl.ipaw wrote to the Superintendent of the
Shan States recounting his grievances against Mawk Mai and
peremptorily ordering the withdrawal of British troops from that
State. This letter was returned. In Ausjust 1888 Sawlapaw
seems to have begun to apprehend that punishment would be in-
flicted on him for his attack on Mawk Mai. He wrote to the
Superintendent of the Shan States and also to the Commissioner of
Tenasserimj asking that the British Government would arbitrate
the dispute between him and the Sawbwa of Mawk Mai from
whom he claimed Rs. 24,00,000 as compensation. These letters
being couched in unsuitable phraseology, were returned to Saw-
lapaw by the hand nf his messengers. Early in September the
Superintendent of the Shan States was furnished with an ulti-
matum to be sent to the Eastern Karenni Chief if he should not
tender his personal submission to the Superintendent as the
representative of the British Government. The ultimatum required
Sawlapaw to come to Fort Stedman in person to pay an indemnity
of two lakhs for the damage done to Mawk Mai and to cover the
cost of the despatch of troops to the relief of that State, to sur-
render five hundred ser\*iceable muskets, and to pay annually Rs.
5iOoo as tribute. The Superintendent was instructed to endeavour
to secure the submission of Sawlapaw without recourse to arms, and
the despatch of the ultimatum was withheld till the middle of
November in order to alTord Sawlapaw an opportunity of making
terms. On the 19th December, after all attempts to secure Sawla-
paw's submission had proved fruitless, It was finally decided that
the punitive expedition for which preparations had been made
should go forward.
The preparations included the despatch of a strong column under
Brigadier-General M. Collett, C.B., from Fort Stedman, and of a
second column from Lower Burma by way of the Salween district,
which borders on Eastern Karenni on the south. The object of
the Northern column under General Collett was to overcome any
resistance that might be offered by Sawlapaw and to take and
occupy his capital, Sawlon. The object of the Southern column
was to co-operate with the main force to prevent the escape of
304
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP, VI.
Sawlapaw to the south and to cover the Salween district, into
which it was apprehended the Karenni might send parlies of raiders.
The necessity for this was soon apparent, for on the lyih
December, two days before the arrival of the Southern column
under Colonel J. J. Harvey at Papun, Sawlapaw had struck the
first blow by sending a considerable force to attack and plunder
Kyaukhnyat, a village north-east of Papun on the Salwecn river,
where there is a police outpost. After plunderintj and partially
burning the village, the Karens retired before the arrival of the troops
sent to repel them. On the a6th December Colonel Harvey's force
marched from Papun and took a stockade at Pazaung south of
Bawlakfe without difficulty and the column remained in occupation
of this place for the purpose of covering the Lower Burma frontier.
Except for one or two raids of no special importance, the Lower
Burma districts were not disturbed after this.
The northern column, which was accompanied by the Superin-
tendent of the Shan States, was opposed immediately on entering
Eastern Karenni at Nga Kyaiiig, near Loi Kaw. Here on the ist
January 1889 a force of five hundred men was encountered by the
Mounted Infantry under Lieutenant Tighe. Between one hundred
and fifty and two hundred Karenni were estimated to have been
killed, with a loss on the British side of four men killed and eight
wounded. After this the opposition was of a very desultory kind
only, though Surgeon-Captain N. Manders was wounded in the
defile close to Sawlon. This place was found deserted and was
occupied on the 8th January. Sawlapaw had fled from his capital
some days before and all endeavours to persuade him to return were
unsuccessful. After three weeks therefore, on the 28th January
1889, at a meeting of the principal local officials and notables a new
Chief of Eastern Karenni was elected. This was Sawlawi, the
nephew and heir designate of Sawlapaw. Sawlawi agreed to hold
the State of Eastern Karenni as a subject of Her Majesty, to
abstain from dealings with foreign States, to pay an indemnity of
three lakhs of rupees in three instalments, to deliver before the end
of March 1889 five hundred serviceable muskets, and to pay an
annual tribute of five thousand rupees. The payment of the tribute
and the delivery of the muskets were guaranteed by the leading
officials and timber traders of Eastern Karenni, most of whom had
direct dealings with Moulmein-
The troops were withdrawn on the 30th January 1889. Since
then Sawlawi has loyally carried out all his engagements with the
British Government and has maintained order in his territory. He
attended a durbar of Shan States Chiefs which was held in May
of the same year. Sawlapaw before long came to live at Manmau,
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAJ.
305
I
a village midway between Sawl6n and the Salween. He made no
attempt to restore himself or to interfere with Sawlawi and died
about eighteen months afterwards of cholera. The complete and
definitive surrender of the Red Karens was the more satisfactory
because it was so unexpected. For years thev had been the terror
of their nt-ighboursand had extended their raicls far into theMyelat,
whence they carried off women and children to be sold in the
Siamese Shan States. On the return march Mr. Hildebrand
demarcated 'he boundary between the States of Mong Pal and Nam-
m6k(5n and effected a settlement of the disputes there, and the only
other incident of note was that in 1889 the Mong Pan Sa^vbwa was
formally placed in possession of the Trans-Saiween States of Mung
T6n, Mong Hang, Mong Kyawt, and Mong Hta, which had been
claimed by Siam and until this had not acknowledged the Sawbtua^s
authority.
In the north, where there had been war for thirty years, it was
hardly to be expected that there would be an immediate absence of
disturbances. There was a slight rising in South Hsenwi which,
however, was at once suppressed, and it was only after some trouble
that [lieutenant Daly succeeded in inducing the Nam Hkam Myoza
to recognize the authority of the North Hsenwi Sawbwa. During
the Hsenwi civil war Nam Hkam and Hpang Hkam or Sh Lanhad
become practically as completely independent as Mong Nawng and
Kehsi Mansam and the subordination to the split-up State was for
some time stubbornly opposed. In this year also the ex-SawbTtra
Hsiing Naw Hpa was induced to move from Mong Si 10 his son's
Court at Mong Yai and thus a possible source of discontent was
got rid of, The old man died within the year.
There was a goad deal of resentment in the States of Hsum Hsai
and Miing Long at their subordination to the Hsipaw Sawb-wa, sind
the persons he put in charge of them were not very judicious appoint-
ments. This and their proximity to the plains, which made them
an obvious place of refuge for dacoitsand outlaws, rendered them a
source of trouble and the population of both States tended rather to
decrease than to settle down quietly. Tawng Peng Loi LAng, and
Mong Mit were full of elements of disturbance in the presence near
their borders of the Pretender Saw Yan Naing, besides Bo Zeya,
Hkam Leng, and other dacoits and outlaws, and there was a good
deal of ferment and some figh'.ing in Mong Mit, an account of which
is given elsewhere. On the whole, however, there was steady
progress and the confidence of the Chiefs in the Government was
confirmed and strengthened.
In the following year South Hsenwi was undisturbed, but in
December 1890 the Northern State was the scene of a rising headed
39
3o6
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VI.
by Hkun Yi, the Sawhwa*s brother-in-law and son of Sang Hal, who
intended him to be his heir. Hkun Yi was killed before the affair
became serious, but later in the year there was trouble between the
Saiuhvas officials and some Kachins in the outlying parts of North
Hsenwi. This was smoothed over for the moment, but the Kachins
were not satisfied, and this was the beginning of the discontent
which had serious results three years laier. The rest of the North-
ern States were undisturbed, but the condition of Mijng Long as a
refuge for outlaws was still very unsatisfactory and H sum H sai con-
linueil steadily to lose population. A good deal of progress was
made in the construction of cart-roads from Mandalay to Maymyo
and Hsi Paw and from Meiktila towards the headquarters of the
Southern Shan States, and both of these immediately began to be
greatly u^ed by caravans.
In the Southern States in 1890 the most important events were
the work done by the Anglo-Siamese Commission and the sub-
mission of the great Trans-Salween State of KCng Tung, with
which up till 1890 only a broken and resultless correspondence had
been maintained.
At the time of the expedition against Eastern Karcnni in 1888-
89, which resulted In the deposition of Sawlapaw and the recognition
of his nephew Sawlawi as Chief of the State, Siamese troops and
local levies occupied a considerable tract on the east of the Salween
which had for many years been inhabited by settlers from Eastern
Karenni. This territory was claimed by the Siamese Government
as part of the province of Chlcngmai. In addition to this territory
the Siamese Government advanced claims to the Trans-Salween
tracts of Mong Mau and Mfehsakun, which had been considered
appanages of the Stale of Mawk Mai, and maintained the claim,
previously asserted, to the four small States of Mong Ton, Mong
Hang, Mong Kyawt, and Mong Hta, which had been made over
in December 1888 to the SnwbTva of Mong Pan. In order that the
territorial claims of the Siamese Government and various com-
plaints preferred by Sawlawi concerning the action of the Siamese
authorities in the tract peopled by his subjects across the
Salween might bo thoroughly investigated, the Government of
India appointed a Commission to visit the disputed territory in
the open season of 1889-90 and to examine and report on the
Questions at issue It was originally intended that the points in
dispute should be investigated by a joint Commission consisting of
Commissioners appointed by the Indian and Siamese Governments.
But, though Siamese Commissioners were appointed, the Siamese
Government at the last moment declined to join in the enquiry,
which was accordingly carried out ex parte. Mr. Ney Elias, C.i.e.
CHAP. VI. J THR SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
307
was the Commissioner appointed by the Government of India and
the party successively visited the Trans-Salween territory claimed
by the Siamese Government and bv the Chief of Eastern Karenni,
the districts of Mong Mati and M6 Hsakun, and ihe four Mong
Pan sub-States. In the disputed Karenni territory the Commission
held a local enquiry and completed the survey of the country, but
left the Siamese in possession, in Mong Mau and Mfe fisakun Sia-
mese troops were also found established, but the Mawk Mai Saw
bwa received charge of both States from Mr. Ney Elias. At Mong
T6n also the Commission found a small Siamese garrison in pes-
session and this was required to withdraw. Mr. Ney Elias entrust*
ed the administration of the four States to Hkun Pon, the nephew
of the Mong Pan Sawbwa, but as difficulties arose in respect of this
arrangement Hkun P6n was restricted to the administration of
Mong T6n, and the other three States were placed under the direct
control of his uncle the Sawbwa of Mong Pan. The death, not
long after, of Hkun P6n of smaIl~pox, put an end to all friction in
this direction.
It had been at first intended that the Anglo-Siamese Commission
should visit Keng TOng. This was found impracticable and the
Superintendent of the Shan States was therefore detached from the
Commission to visit it. With a party of twenty sepoys under Cap-
tain F. J. Pink, D.S O., he reached there in March 1890. Negoti-
ations were somewhat complicated by the murder of one mule-driver
and the wounding of anotner by the Satvbwa almost immediately
after their arrival ; but the Chief paid satisfactory compensation and
fully accepted the position of feudatory. It was decided by the
Government of India that Keng Tung should be treated as a State
in subordinate alliance with the British GovernmenT, preserving
its independence as regards its domestic administration, but agree-
ing to regulate its external policy in accordance with the advice of
the Superintendent of the Shan States. A sanad was granted to
the Sawbna by which he was recognized as Chief of the State by
the British Government on these conditions. The State of Kfing
TOng is by far the most influential of the Trans-Salween Slates
and has an area nearly twice that of Wales, North and South. lis
complete submission was therefore a matter of some importance,
and practically guaranteed the peace of the Shan States.
In March 1890 the Chief Commissioner, Sir Charles Crosthwaite,
for the first time visited the Shan States and held a general durbar
of Shan Chiefs at Fort Stedman. Almost all the Cis-Salween
Chiefs, attended by the notables of their States, were present and
the Sawbwas of Mong Nai and Yawng Hwe u-ere invested with
the insignia of titles of honour conferred on them by the Viceroy
3o8
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VI.
and Governor-General. The Chief Commissioner addressed the
assembly, pointing out to the Chiefs and notables present the ad-
vantages which they derived from the introduction of law and order
into their country, explaining the duties and responsibilities of the
rules and the obligations of the people, and declaring the inten-
tions of the Government in respect of the Shan States. In this
year also orders were issued modifying the customary law of the
Slian States in the matter of punishments for offences and the pro-
cedure in criminal trials. These were made as few and as simple
as possible in order that the introduction of civilized methods might
be gradual and intelligible to the Chiefs and people.
During the greater part of 1890-91 and 1891-92 systematic en-
quiries as to the population and revenue-paying capacities of the
States were carried on and the Superintendents were for the most
part engaged on frontier matters. There were some disturbances
caused by Kachlns in North Hsen Wi. Unsuccessful attempts
were made to procure the submission of West Mang L6n, the only
State west of the Salween which had not accepted British autho-
rity, and turbulence on the frontier between Kengtung and Siam
culminated in the murder of a Siamese Survey OfHcer in June 1891.
It was only towards the end of this year also that the Western Ka-
renni Chiefs were brought under administration. Till then they
had been treated as practically independent ; they quarrelled among
themselves and with their neighbours, and the Superintendent was
not in a position to settle their disputes with authoriiy. They
were now granted sanads, a nominal tribute was imposed, and vari-
ous intertribal disputes of old standing were settled by an oflRcer
who was now stationed at Loi Kaw for this purpose.
In the following year 1892-93 the demarcation of the frontier
between the Southern Shan States and Siam practically assured
the tranquillity of these States. The demarcation was carried out
from the Salween to the Mfekhong along the line selected in 1890,
and the Siamese Commissioners worked in perfect accord with
Messrs. Hildebrand and Leveson. The Superintendent subsec^uent-
ly visited KCng TQn^ and settled various matters pending m the
affairs of that State, notably the forest revenue and the tribute on
account of the subordinate States of Mong Hsat, Hsen Yawt, and
Hsen Maung, which were remitted up to 1897. Mr. Leveson for-
mally reinstated Sawlawi.the Chief of Eastern Karenni, in his Trans-
Salween possessions, which had been occupied by the Siamese
since 1889.
The security which this certainly as lo boundary gave was early
exemplified by the complete failure of Teiktin Myat, a pretender
who made his appearance early in the year in the Mong Pan State,
CHAP. VI.] THR SHAN STATES AND THK TAI.
309
where he came from Chieng Mai with the intention of raising a re-
bellion. Teifilin MyAl was promptly arrested by the Mong Pan
Sa-wbrva and, on investigation, was found to be a person of feeble
intellect who had adopted the part of Mintha at the suggestion of
a monk in Chieng Mai. This prompt suppression of revolt com-
pared ver)f favourably with the temporar)' success of a " Minlaung"
in Karenni at the close of the previous year, when the Loi Kaw
post was actually attacked. The only harm done was that such an
attempt should have been possible. The settlement of the frontier
now gave an opportunity for the display of the general loyalty of
Shans towards British rule.
In the Northern Shan States there were considerable distur-
bances. Kachin troubles had long been brewing in North Hsen
Wi. The task of administering the constantly increasing hordes
of Kachin immii^rants proved entirely beyond the powers of the
Shan Sawbwa. The Kachins held with some justification that he
owed his position to them, and the attempts of nis district oPficials
to tyrannize over them produced a wide feeling of exasperation
among these unruly tribesmen, which culminated in a successful at-
tack on Wing Hsen Wi on the laih December 1892. On the
15th Mr. W. A. Graham, the Treasury Officer at Lashio, proceeded
to Hsen Wi with an escort of Military Police and dislodged the re-
bels, who then promised to submit to arbitration. Various distur-
bances, however, broke out in different parts of the State afterwards,
but the Kachins everywhere declared that the rebellion was agaiust
the authority of Hkun Sang of Ton Hong and not against the
dominion of the British Government It was only in the extreme
north-west near Nam Hkam that the object of attack could be said
to be British troops, and there the troubles were to some extent
connected with the rising on the Bhamo frontier and were fomented
by outlaws from Burma living beyond the Chinese border. A
band of them settled in Man Hang, a few miles north-east of Se
Lan. where there was a temporary British post, and soon after set
upon a patrol of sepoys. Man Hang was therefore attacked ; a
number of stockades were taken, and the Kachins were driven out,
but at the close of the fight Lieutenant Williams, the only British
Officer with the party, was killed, and the sepoys returned to Sfe
Lan.
A military column was then hurried up from Bhamo, but after
burning Man Hang found nothing to do, smce the raiders had retir-
ed into Chinese territory, whence, however, they issued to burn
M5ng Ko, out of which they were driven by Kachins on the British
side,
310
THE UPPER BURMA GAZHTTEER. [ CHAP. VI.
While these events were happening, the Superintendent was
settling affairs in Mang Lon, in which State he had arrived before
the outbreak. At the time of the annexation Mang I-6n had been
divided into two States, east and nest of the Salween. The western
State was ruled over b>- Sao Maha, a half-brother of the Sawhwn of
the eastern or main State. Sao Maha corresponded with Lieu-
tenant Daly, but refused to meet him, and the letters sent did not
admit the suzerainty of the British Government. This state of
affairs continued for six years after the annexation and for five
after every other Cis-Salween Chief had admitted the authority ol
the Superintendents. In 1892, therefore, Ton Hsang, the Eastern
Chief, was put in direct charge of both sides of the Salween.
During the rains, however, Sao Maha obtained support from several
minor Wa Chiefs, re-established himself in Na Lao, west of the
river, and burnt some villages in East Mang Lon, with the assistance
of his chief allies Ngek Hting and Loi Lon. He now again disap-
peared on the approach of the Superintendent, who marched
through a great part of the Wa country, Including the wilder terri-
tory, to assure the tribes of the peaceful intentions of the Govern-
ment and to pledge them not to support Sao Maha. Since then
West Mang Lon has remained at peace, but there have been several
disturbances east of the Salween, promoted by Sao Maha and others
from Chinese territory.
On his return west of the Salween the Kachins readily laid down
their arms when assured by the Superintendent that their grievances
would be enquired into. The sMitary exception was at Pang Tap,
near the Chinese frontier, where he was fired on. The village was
burnt and several of those who were engaged in the attack at Man
Hang were killed. As the result of enquiries held on the ground
and at Lashio an Assistant Political Oflficer was appointed to North
Hsen Wi to put a stop to the friction between the Sawbna and his
Kachin subjects. The duties of this officer were to collect revenue
from the Kachins on behalf of the Suwhwa, to settle tribal quarrels,
and generally lo maintain nrder within the Kachin mdngs. In many
cases where Kachins and Shans were found living in the same circle
the Kachin villages were formed into separate circles, each with its
own headman, and a similar separation was made in some cases
between Kachins of different tribes. The results have been emi-
nently satisfactory and what troubles there have since been have
been either purely local or have been due to the uncertainty of the
boundary with Cninese territory.
Since 1893 peace and prosperity have been maintained through-
out the Shan States and the only troubles which have occurred
have been on the frontier. Indeed, it may said that from the very
lAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
3M
first the Shans accepted our authority loyally and that the few
disturbances there have been, arose either from disputed accessions,
from the restless and predatory habits of the hill tribes, or from the
machinations of outlaws driven out of Burma. The garrison in the
Shan States has always been very small ; the number of British posts
even now can almost be counted on one hand, yet the amount of seri-
ous crime has always been less than in Burma and tends to decrease,
except where there is an alien population. This is the more sur-
prising since the country is so extensive and so difficult to get
about in that even now, more than ten years after the British occu-
pation, there are parts which no officer has ever visited.
It will be suflicient barely to note the chief events of each year
since 1893, when the tribute to be paid by each State was fixed for
the second period of five years. The sums demanded were pur-
po.%ely small with the object of assisting the development and
repopulation of the States, and with the same object the Sawbwas
were instructed to submit rough budgets to the Superintendents,
showing their proposed receipts and expenditure for the coming
year.
In January and February 1894, Mr. Lcveson was engaged on an
expedition to the Brfe and Padaung country, which lies between the
Karen Hill Tracts of the Toungoo district and the Western I^arcnni
States. This expedition was undertaken in consequence of a raid
committed on Lokadash^, a village on the north-eastern border of
the Karen Hill Tracts. Until this expedition verv Hitle was known
of the condition of the country of the Br^s and r.idaungs beyond
the fact that the people were in a disturbed slate. They were
found 10 be practically lawless, the various villages were technically
under one or other of the various Shan or Karcnni Chiefs, but were
either uncontrolled or were beyond their control They were there-
fore placed under the general charge of the Civil Officer at Loikaw
with considerable advantage to themselves and their neighbours.
Another expedition, conducted by Mr. Stirling in the same year
along the Keng Tong frontier, also brought us into relations with
various hill tribes other than the Shans and settled different frontier
questions.
In the Northern Shan States the chief work was the pacification
of the Kachins of Hsen \Vi, by Mr. W. A. Graham, and the estab-
lishment of order in the hilly country at the point of meeting of
the Tawng Peng Loi Long and Hsi Paw States with the Ruby
Mines district by placing a post at Mong Ngaw, The lax and cor-
rupt administration of the border officials of Hsum Hsai and Mong
LOno; States, subordinate to Hsi Paw, were chiefly responsible for
this. The Satobwa of Hsi Paw paid a visit to Englana during the
313
THE UPPER BURMA GAZeWeER. [ CHAP.
yeir. He was cured of a disease of the eyes which had threatened
him with blindness and was received in audience by Her Majesty
before his return. The State was administered by his eldest son Sao
Hkt;, whi^ had spent two years in England studying engineering, but
the control over the revenue exercised by some of the ministers re-
suked in so much disorder to the finances that, with the concurrence
oJthe Sawhwa, an Adviserwas appointed to Hsi Paw and Captain E.
U. Marrett was the first officer who occupied the post. The resuUs
have been very satisfactory. Disarmament had previously begun
and was now carried out thoroughly, monopolies were abolished, and
the number of officials in particular was greatly reduced. The
Myozas of Mting Long and Hsum Hsai were removed. The one
had I>een too suggestive of King Log, the other of King Stork;
and both districts have since increased in prosperity and population.
There were, however, still some dacoitiesand serious crimes, among
them the murder in Wing Hsi Paw of Mr. Lambert of the American
Mission, but most of them were of the type produced by civilization
rather than the want of it.
About this time also the Trans-Salween State of Keng TQng was
declared to be on the same footing as that of other Shan States in-
stead of being merely in subordinate alliance and a small garrison
was established at the capital, where an Assistant Political OtHcer
had been located for some time.
Many of the chiefs, notably of Mong Pawn in the south and South
Hsen Wi in the north, began to do good work in the improvement of
communications in their States, and at a durbar held by Sir Frederic
Fryer in May 1895 Trans-Salween, Cis-Salwecn, and Karenni
Chiefs met for the first time. This was the more noteworthy
sinct:, during the open season, Keng Tung was in much prominence
owing to the presence of an Anglo-French Commission on its
eastern frontier. After the final arrangements with France the Cis-
M^khong districts of Keng Cheng were handed over to Keng TQng
and the capital of that State was made the headquarters of one of
thu Burma Regiments and of an European Political Officer, Mr. G.
C. B. Stirling, who had buen a member of the British Commission.
Peace and prosperity had been so marked that it became a press-
ing necessity to relieve the plethora oF production which had ensued,
an<l the construction of the Mandahty-Kunlun Railway was begun.
This must mark a date of far-reaching importance in the histoid of
the Shan States, when the branch railway to their centre, the align-
ment of which is still under examination, is carried out. Kven with
the unmetalled roads existing, the Shan States as far east as Mong
Nai were able for the first time in their history to supply rice to
Burma during 1897. The Northern Shan States, partly owing to
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
313
the more mountainous character of the country, the greater pre-
ponderance of wild tribes, and the absence of certainty as to the
boundary Une which affords facihties to malcontents from Burma
and elsewhere beyond the border, have not yet attained the same
height of peace and security. Both in 1896 and 1897 there were
hostilities with certain petty Wa communities, provoked on each
occasion by these tribesmen. This did not, however, affect the
tranquillity of the main body of the charge. The future policy to be
adopted in relation to these Wa States has not yet been finally
settled by the Government of India. So long as they do not inter-
fere with Mang Lon, they will for the present be let alone.
Thij Administrative History of the Shan States. — Early in 1886
a notification was issued under the Statute XXXill Vic. Cap. 3,
constituting Upper Burma, except the Shan States, a scheduled
district. At the same time the whole of Upper Burma, including
the Shan States, was declared to be a part of British India. By
section 8 of the Upper Burma Laws Act, 1886, the local Govern-
ment is empowered, with the sanction of the Governor- General
in Council, to defme the Shan States from time to time, and by the
same section the Shan States are excluded from the operation of
any Act not specially extended to them by the local Government
with the sanction ot the Governor-General in Council.
In 18S7 the Shan States were first defined under section 8 of the
Upper Burma Laws Act. In November 1891 and again in July
1895 revised notifications defining the Shan States were issued.
The Shan States, as at present defined by the notification of July
1895, are divided into —
I. — The Northern Shan States, under the supervision of
the Superintendent, Northern Shan States —
(r) Tawng Peng (Burmese Taungbaing.)
(2) North Hsen \\"\ (Theinni).
(3) South Hsen Wi (Theinni).
(4) Hsi Paw (Thibaw), with its dependencies Mong LOng
(Mainglun), Hsum Hsai (Thonz^), and Mong Tung
(Maington).
(5) East and West Mang Lon (Mainglun), with their depen-
dencies including Maw Hpa, M6t Hai, Huk Lap, Mang
Hseng, Mang Pat, and Ngek Hting.
All these are .SVza'ia'aships.
(6) All territories east of Salween river, not mentioned else-
where in this notification, which on the 27th November
1885 owed allegiance directly or indirectly to the King
of Burma and which still form part of Upper Burma.
40
3H
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. Vlj
These are the various Wa States and the communities of other
races which maintain themselves here and there among them.
II. — The Southern Shan States, under the supervision of
the Superintendent and Political Officer, Southern Shan States.
Sawbwaships.
(t) Mong Nai (Mon£r), with its dependency Keng Tawng
(Kyaingtaung.)
(2 Mong Pan (Maingpan), with its Trans-Salween dependen-
cies M5ng Hta, Mong Hang, Mong Kyawt, and Mong
Ton.
(3) Lawk Sawk (YatsauU), with Its dependency Mong Ping
(Maingpyin.)
(4) Yawng Hwe (Nyaungywe), with its dependencies Lai Hsak
(Letthet^ Anglewa (Inleywa), Kyawktap (Kyauktat),
and Hsi Hkip (Thigyit.)
(5) Mone Kiing (Maingkaing).
(6) Lai Hka (L&gya).
(7) Mong Pawn (Maingpun).
(8) Mawk Mat (Maukmfe), with its Trans-Salween dependencies
Mfe Hsakun and Mong Mau.
(9) Mong Pai (Mobyfe.)
(10) Keng TQng (Kyaington) and its dependencies including
Mong Pu, Mong Hsat, Hsen Mawng, and Hsen Yawt
(Thinyutand Thvnmaung) and the Cis-Mfekhong portion
of Keng Cheng (Kyaingchaing).
' Myosaships.
(u) Mong Nawng (Maingnaung).
(12) Kehsi Mansan (Kyethi Bansan).
(13) Mong Si (Maingsclk).
(14) Hsa HtUng (That6n) including Tam Hpak (Tabet) and
Mang Lon (Letmaing).
(15) Wan Yin (Banyin).
{16) Nawng Wawn (Naungm6n).
(17) Sa Koi (Sagwe).
(18) Keng Hkam (Kyaingkan).
(19) Ho Pong (Hopon) including Hai Long (Hfel6n).
(20) Nam Hkok (Nankok).
(21) Mong Hsu (Maingshu).
(23) Mong Sang (Maingsin).
(23) Keng Lon (Kyainglun).
(24) Loi L6ng (Lw616n),
CHAP, VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
3^5
HI. — The Mvelat, under thesupenision of the Superintendent
and Political Officer, Southern Shan States.
Myosaships,
(i) Maw Nang (Bawnin).
Ngwekunkmuships.
(2) Ye Ngan (Ywangan).
(3) Pwe La (Pwnhla).
(4) Maw Son (Bawzaing).
(5) Nam HkOm (Nank6n).
(6) Pang Mi (Pinhmi).
(7) Loi Maw (Lw6maw).
(8) Nam T6k (NanUok).
(9) Kyawkku Hsi Wan (Kyaukkuleywa).
(10) Pang Tara (Pindaya).
(11) Ky6ng(Ky6n). , r • a
(la) Hsa Mong Hkam (Thamakan including Makwe,) Loi An,
Tawng La, and Meng Hti.
(13) Loi Ai Lw6 E).
(14) Nam Hkai (Nankfe).
(15) Maw(Baw).
IV.— States under the supervision of the Commissioner, Nor-
thern Division —
Mong Mit (Momeik), with its dependency Mong Lang (Moh-
laing) and Hkamti L6ng (Kantigyi).
V. — States under the supervision of the Commissioner, Central
Division —
(i) Hsawng HsQp (Taungthut).
(a) Singkaling Hlcamti (ilingalein Kanti).
Maw (Baw) remained until 1895 under the Commissioner of the
Eastern Division and was then restored to its former position as one
of the Myelat States, and Loi LOng until the same time was included
in the Myelat, hut was then separated. The status of the Trans-
Salween States was not definitely settled till the same year, when
they were placed on the same footing as the other Shan States.
Keng Hung and Mong Lem were then ceded to China, and Keng
Hsen, which had been in Siamese hands before the annexation, was
also excluded from the Shan States.
Before the passing of the Shan States Act, 1888, the only way in
which enactments could be extended tn the Shan States was by noti-
fication under section 8 of the Upper Burma Laws Act. This section
gives no power to modify any enactment to suit the circumstances
3i6
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VI,
of the States. Except by the application of enactments in force in
other parts of I3ritish India there was no power to regulate the
administration of the Shan States. The authority and powers of
the Chiefs and of their official were exercised without any legal
sanction. Towards the end of 1 888 the Shan States Act was passed
for the purpose of placing these matters on a more satisfactory-
footing. This Act came into force on the ist February 1889. By
section 3 the ci\ni, criminal, and revenue administration of every
Shan State is vested in the Chief of the State subject to the re-
strictions specified in the sanad granted to him. Under the same
section the law to be administered in each State is the customary
law of the State so far as it is in accordance with justice, equity,
and good conscience, and not opposed to the spirit of the law in the
rest of British India. The customary law may be modified by any
enactment extended under the Upper Burma Laws Act, and it may
be brought into accordance with justice, equity, and good conscience,
and into conformity with the spirit of the law in the rest of British
India by orders Issued by the local Government under section 4,
sub-section (i), clause (d), of the Shan States Act. By the section
last quoted power to appoint officers to take part in the administra-
tion of any State, and to regulate the powers and proceedings of
such officers, is vested in the Government, and section 5 of the Act
enables the Government to modify any enactment extended to the
Shan States.
T/te Northern and Southern Shan States. — In the Northern and
Southern Shan States the criminal and civil as well as the revenue
administration is vested in the Chiefs subject to the limitations laid
down in their sanads, and to restrictions imposed by the extension
of enactments and the issue of orders under the Shan States Act.
The customary law of these States, except the Myelat, has been
modified by Notification No. 11, dated the 19th November 1890,
which specifies the punishments which may be Inflicted for offences
against the criminal law, limits the infliction of certain .punishments
to the more heinous offences, and prescribes simple rules of pro-
cedure in criminal cases. The Superintendents exercise general con-
trol over the administration of criminal justice and have power to
call for cases and to exercise wide revisionary powers. All criminal
jurisdiction in cases in which either the complainant or accused is
a European or American or a Government servant or a British sub-
ject not a native of a Shan State Is withdrawn from the Chiefs and
vested in the Superintendents and Assistant Superintendents. The
expression Assistant Superintendent includes any Assistant Com-
missioner, Extra Assistant Commissioner, or any officer appointed
by the Lieutenant-Governor to discharge all or any of the functions of
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
317
an Assistant Superintendent. The Subdivisional Officers, Maymvo,
Mogok, and Mong Mit, and the Adviser to the Hsi Paw SawbwakTe
ex'officio Assistant Superintendents. In the cases above mentioned
the ordinary criminal law in force in Upper Burma on the 30th May
1889 is in force in these States. In such cases the Superintendents
exercise the powers of District Magistrates and Sessions Judges
and the Assistant Superintendents powers of a District Magistrate
under section 30 and section 34 of the Code of Criminal Procedure,
1883. The Superintendents and Assistant Superintendents, if Eu-
ropean British subjects, are also ex'officio Justices of the Peace in
the States. The Superintendent has been specially empowered to
withdraw from subordinate Ma^strates such cases as he thinks fit.
Each Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent exercises the
powers of a Magistrate under the Foreign Jurisdiction and Extra-
dition Act, 1881, parts of which are In force in the States. The
Superintendents are also Marriage Registrars under the Indian
Christian Marriage Act, and District Judges under the Adminis-
trator-General's Act, 1874. In the cases in which the Superinten-
dents and Assistant Superintendents exercise criminal jurisdiction
the Lieutenant-Governor is the High Court, except where European
British subjects are concerned. The Lieutenant-Governor also
exercises certain powers under the Marriage Act.
Neither the Superintendents nor the Assistant Superintendents
have power to try civil suits, whether the parties are Shans or not.
The Myelat. — In the Myelat a closer approach to the law in
force in other parts of India has been prescribed. It was repre-
sented that the Myelat had always been administered according to
the law in force in the rest of Upper Burma and it was thought
desirable to maintain this practice.
The criminal law in force in the Myelat is practically the same
as the law in force in Upper Burma on the 38th November 1889.
In order that they may have jurisdiction in criminal matters the
Ngwekutthmus of all the Myelat States have been appointed Magis-
trates of the and class. The Myozas of Lwel6n and Sagwfe are
not Magistrates and exercise no criminal jurisdiction in their States.
In the Myelat the Superintendent and the Assistant Superintendent
exercise the same criminal jurisdiction as in other States, except
that their jurisdiction extends to all criminal cases and not merely
to the cases in which Europeans and others above mentioned are
concerned. The Assistant Superintendent has been empowered to
hear appeals from sentences passed by Magistrates of the and class.
In other respects the law in the Myelat and the powers exercised
by the Lieutenant-Governor, the Superintendent, and the Assistant
390
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VI.
gari of a Sikh and in the south it is often merely the scarf which
the Burma woman carries over her shoulders.
The people are a quiet, mild, good-humoured race, as little addict-
ed to intemperance in drinking or opium-smoking as the Burmese.
Goitre is very common in the hills and is, as elsewhere, slightly more
prevalent among the women than among the men.
The Tai race now is everywhere Buddhist. It seems very im-
Tai religion and probahle that this was the religion of the Nam
*^'"'°'"'- Chao Kingdom, which is more likely to have been
naga or dragon worship, spirit»worship, or the worship of the
dead, which is limited in China to the cult of ancestors, but in Tibet
has overlaid Buddhism to such an extent that some of the hierophants
profess themselves lo be dead men ; or it may have been Sivaism,
the worship of the hero-gods of the hills, which was closely connect-
ed with the ancient religion of the non-Aryan Himalayan hill tribes.
Siva was not incorporated by the Brahmans into their pantheon
until about the commencement of our era. It is at any rate uncer-
tain when Buddhism was introduced. The current legends in regard
to it are manifestly untrustworthy and they give no real hint as to
whether the religion travelled north from Thaton, where it was estab-
lished by Buddha G6sha about A. D. 400, or came along the line
of the Himalayas. We know that in the early days of the Pagan
Kingdom naga worship was the prevalent religion. It still overlies
the belief of the people, but the ancient animistic religion has an
even stronger hold, not only over Shan but over Burmans. King
Anawra-hta was a zealous reformer of religion and, as he married
into the family of the Mao Shans, he probably made his influence
felt at what was then the chief seat of the Tai race. But it would
seem that Buddhism must have remained more or less corrupt and
inert, for in A. D. 1562 Buyin Naung, another propagandist King,
is specially recorded to have forced religious reforms on the Shans
of the Upper Irrawaddy. It is certainly a fact, as Dr. Gushing
says, '* that where Burman influence among the Shans has been
*' greatest, Buddhism has its strongest hold on them. The Bud-
*' dhism of the principalities west of the Salween presents no such
*' laxity of practice on the part of the pongyis as it does east of
" the Salween." The monks of Kcng Hung wear skull caps and
smoke habitually ; they trade in many places and own pack cattle;
some of their wats are rather caravanserais, or even fortified po-
sitions, than monasteries, and they frequently carry swords and
sometimes even guns when they go abroad. The monks of Siam
also, it may be noted, are not very exact in their observance of the
rules of the Book of the Enfranchisement.
PI^TF XT.
■ jrv.j ti it._i,- aan—. L.,t^ini.jw>.
A SHAN TBADEH.
n
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
331
It is not yet certain where among the modern Tai the branch
least affected by outside influences is to be found, and it is certain
that the British Shans have taken many of their customs from the
Burmese, or have assimilated their own to those of their conquer-
ors. But it is by no means certain that in Upper Burma, at any
rate, the Tai influence has not been the stronger. The prevalence
of animistic religion there seems due to them, and the Shans are
generally admitted to be abler astrologers and more potent tattooers
than Burmans.
The following notes on their manners and customs differing or
varying from those of the Burmese are furnished by Mr. W. R.
HiUier.
Birth. — At birth no particular ceremonies are performed. The
mother is not secluded, nor is the couvade practised, signs of
which may be traced among some of the Karen tribes. No rules
of diet are enforced on the woman during pregnancy, but after child-
birth the mother is forbidden the following : —
(i) Sambhur flesh.
(2) The flesh of the barking deer ;
(3) The fish called pamong (o-[t^S);
(4) Oranges ;
(5) Vermicelli ;
(6) Sessamnm oil;
(7) i£)S'OcS^ hpak-kut (a vegetable fern) ;
(8j Onions (tj6«o8), /ipak-mi ;
(9) Tomatoes (0^:^80^), mak'kd-hsum\
for one month after the birth of the child. These things are said
not to agree with a newly b-jrn infant. Immediately after child-
birth the mother has her stomach bandaged and sits with her back
exposed to a fire made of any wood which when punctured does
not exude milky sap or gum. The woods generally used are : —
(} ) o'^, oak, mai-nim.
(3) o'jocS mai-kut (undetermined).
{3) w'o^, tnai-kmak (a tree-fern).
(4) «'8c6^ mai-miit (undetermined).
(5) w'goT^ mai-kaw, the chestnut.
The mother is considered unclean for seven days and before en-
tering upon the duties of the household has to bathe and put on
clean garments. Pine-wood (08^^ mai-pek) is burnt and the
41
333 THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER, [CHAP. VI.
mother inhales the smoke and- also inhales coq8>C,5 {nigella
saiiva) like the Burmese. This is to prevent a rising of the blood
to the head, which might cause bleeding at the nose and mouth.
If this happens, the woman is given a decoction of turmeric or some
monkey's blood. The husband observes no special diet during the
pregnancy of his wife or after her delivery, but it is considered
undesirable that he should —
(i) drive pigs ; | (iii) bore holes in the ground ;
(ii) carry the dead ; | (iv) Fill in holes ;
(v) mock others.
After a month the child is bathed in water, into which, if the
infant is a boy, there have been put gold, silver, precious stones, a
lo-tola weight, a 5-tola weight, a 2-tola weight, and other
standard weights down to one-eighth of a tola. If the infant is a
girl, gold, silver, and all the ornaments of her sex are put in the
bath water. If the child is of well-to-do parents, one and a half
tolas weight of gold is tied as a pendant round the child's neck,
and if of poor people, four annas weight of silver. The child is now
named by one of the elders, who ties a cord consisting of seven
threads round the wrist.
The name is given in the following order : —
First son — Ai, jdd'
Second son — Ai Yi, JDD o3
Third son — Ai Hsam, jdd'oo
Fourth son — Ai Hsai, 4X>^oJ
Fifth son — Ai Ngo, jdd'cjS
Sixth son — Ai N6k, jdd^^^
Seventh son — Ai Nu, jxt^'^e
Eighth son — Ai Nai, jdoV
First daughter— Nang Ye. ^5go5
Second daughter — Nang Yi, x5o8
Third daughter — Nang Am, xSjSD
Fourth daughter — Nang Ai, w8j3d'
Fifth daughter— Nang O, ^6aj6
Sixth daughter— Nang 6k, ^6j3CJ^
Seventh daughter— Nang It, ^SdBoS
CHAP. Vr.l THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
3*3
These names are retained by both boys and girls, unless changed
under the following conditions :■ —
(i) When the boy enters a monastery-
(aj When, after three or four years, the child is re-named with
a name indicating the day of birth.
(3) When illness causes a change of name. This is especially
the case when the child was born on a day unlucky
according to the Hp^-wan ( v. post.)
A boy when old enough to talk and learn, is sent to the monastic
school, which he attends until he has learnt the first doxology.
When he can repeat this three times without fault before the head
fongyi of the monastery, he exchanges his ordinary clothes for
those of the holy order and remains in the monastery under a name
given him by the pongyi.
This name begins or ends with one of the following letters, ac-
cording to the day of his birth : —
Sunday — Any vowel sound: as (Hsang) Aw.
Monday — ^, hk^ ng. : as Kaw-liya.
Tuesday — s, hs, ny : as Santa.
Wednesday — y, I, w- as Wilahsa.
Thursday — p, hp, m • as Pansfikta.
Friday — hs, h '• as Hsawna.
Saturday — /, hi, n : as Nanta.
The name thus given is ordinarily retained for life. In the case
of girls the name is given by an elder, not by a monk.
When illness, or bad luck^ suggi^sts a change of name, a cere-
mony is performed by which the child is supposed to be exchanged
for—
{a) a piece of coarse cloth ; it is then called Ai Man, or
Nang Man = Master or Miss Coarse Cloth •
(b) a piece of silver ; the name is then Ai or Nang Ngun=
Master or Miss Silver '■
(c) a pair of scales in which the child is weighed ; if it
weighs more than a viss, the name adopted is Ai or
Nang Hsoi Hsa=Masteror Miss More-than-a-viss : or
{d) the child is put into a pot and a make-believe of
roasting it is gone through ; the name then adopted
is Ai or Nang Kaw = Master or Miss Roast:
{e) the child is thrown away by the parents, picked up by
some one settled beforehand and restored to the father
and mother ; such children are called Ai or Nang Kip=
Master or Miss Picked-up :
3^4
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VI.
(y) the child is given to a visitor in the house, who restores
it after a decent interval, with the result of the appear-
^ ance of At or Nan^ Hkek = MasteT or Miss Visitor:
(g) advantage is taken of the full moon to lose and find the
child again and so achieve the name Ai or Nang M6n=
Master or Miss Full-moon :
(A) advantage is taken of birth-marks to give the name of
Ai or Nang Mai=Master or Miss Marks :
and so on according to the inventiveness of the household.
Such changes are most common in cases of sickness, but any-
thing which tends to show that the child is exposed to hostile
influences justifies them. If there is no apparent result, the child
may be taken with other offerings to the monastery and thereafter
called Ai or Nang Lu = Master or Miss Alms. Names got in this
way may be changed in the case of a boy by his subsequent adop-
tjon of the yellow robe.
Afarriage. — Marriage is permissible with any caste or creed.
There is no trace of the Karen cxclusiveness. If a person of either
sex dies without marrying, the corpse before bunal is knocked
against a stump, which is assumed to represent husband or wife.
If this ceremony were omitted, it is believed thai the person
would in the next Iransincorporation also die unmarried.
When a young man takes a fancy to a girl, he visits her at her
parents' house. If she likes him, she goes off with him to the
house of his parents. Next day the parents of ihe young man go
to the girl's house, announce what has happened, make a present of
salt and tea to her parents, hope that the incident may not be
distasteful, and request that a day may be fixed for a more formal
ceremony of union. When this is agreed to, the girl goes home
to the house of her parents again.
In towns and among the bettcr-to-do people the process is not
quite so precipitate. The girl, having made up her mind, refers her
wooer to the old people. His parents again obligingly carry on
the negotiations. They take salt and sugar on such occasions
and obtain the sanction of her parents to fix the day for the public
ceremony.
This is done in accordance with the //pi Pf^an, regard being had
to the birthdays of man and maid; the position of the dragon,
when each of these events happened, and for the time being; the
Nakais, or stellar influences ; and so forth. It should be calculated
by an expert and is, whenever it can be afforded.
On the day appointed the relatives of both parties and the parties
themselves meet in the house of the bride. The bridegroom brings
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
a vissof tea and a viss of salt tied together into a parcel, with what
money he can afford to give the parents of the girl as compensation
for her loss. This he deposits before the bride's parents and makes
a formal proposal for the hand of their daughter. The parents
untie the bundles and take out the money, whereupon one of the
elders of the village carries the tea and salt out into the street,
holds them above his head, and calls on earth, sun, and sky to bear
witness to the union of the man and the woman. He then comes
back into the house and ties a cord of seven threads round the left
wrist of the bride and one round the right wrist of the bridegroom
and the ceremony is over. The bridegroom distributes money
among the village elders present and all sit down to a feast, after
which the bride carries her things over to the bridegroom's house.
When all concerned approve the marriage, mutual consent Is
practically all that is necessary, and living together proclaims the
fact.
Divorce is effected by mutuaJ consent and the man gives the
woman a letter of freedom to re-marry. If the wife claims a divorce
and the husband is not willing, a payment of thirty rupees sets her
free. U the husband alone claims the divorce, he forfeits all the
household property. Where a couple simply agree to part and no
fault on either side is alleged, if there are no children, each takes
his or her original property and all joint stock is divided. If there
are children, the girls go with the mother, and the sons with the
father. The whole of the property is collected and father and
mother each take one-tenth. The remaining four-fifths are then
equally divided between parents and children, share and share alike.
Where Xhe causa causans is with the man, the woman is entitled to
his house, garden, and all household goods, and the man is only
allowed to remove arms, tools, and his immediate personal effects.
Where the fault lies with the wife, she is sent back to her family, or
turned out without anything.
IK man may not marry his own or his ^xife's mother, grand-
mother, or aunt, or his sisters, and conversely with a woman. All
other alliances are permissible. Polygamy is sanctioned, but not
common, except with the wealthy. Polyandry is forbidden. A
widow is free to marry and to act as she pleases. No one has a
claim on her. Infanticide is unknown.
Diseases are cured by the use of medicines, which are chiefly
herbs, by shampooing, and by exorcism when these fail and the
illness is assumed to be caused by evil spirits. The dead are
buried usually in the jungle, or in a grove near the village. The
grave-diggers, before getting out of the newly dug grave, carefully
32^
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VI.
sweep it out with brambles or thoms to expel any evil spirits that
may be there. The corpse is dressed in new clothes. Care must
be taken that there is no mark of a bum on them. It is better to
bury the body naked than in such clothes. Fire would consume
the deceased in the next existence. Persons who have touched
the corpse are required to bathe before they re-enter the village.
There is no mourning dress for man or woman, no matter how close
the relationship.
Law was administered by the SaTohwas and Myozas and their
Amats and by Htn^s and HtamSngs, the district officials. The
customary laws of the people were nominally founded on the
Dhammathai, modified by the rulings of the sages and a great
deal by local custom.
Murder could always be purged by money payment. In most
places the amount was three hundred rupees, but in the north the
rule seems to have been (a) three hundred and thiny-three rupees
to the next of kin j {b) three hundred and thirty-three to the
official deciding the case; (c) half this sum, or Rs. 166-8-0, to the
Amats ; {d, a quarter, or Rs. 83-4-0, to the clerk of the Court ;
and (e) one-sixih, or Rs. 55-8-0, to the bailiffs and messengers.
If the murderer could not pay, his relations had to; if his relations
could not, then his village ; if the village could not, then the amouut
was recovered from the circle. If the murderer belonged to another
race or State and payment was refused, the amount was taken by
force, which usually resulted in reprisals. If two brothers ft>ught
and one was killed, the whole family forfeited their household goods,
but not their land. When a murderer paid up the wergild, he was
absolutely free and no slur or stain attached to him. At onetime,
however, a defaulter, with his whole family, was liable to be handed
over as slaves to the relations of the murdered man.
As under Anglo-Saxon law there were bots for wounds and
mutilations, so there were compensations Bxed for flesh wounds or
the loss of limbs.
The rules governing property and inheritance were practically
those of the Dhammatkat or of that code as interpreted in Burma.
Wills might be made, but in cases of intestacy the rule was first
downwards, then upwards, then side-ways, that is to say, children
(and the surviving parent) had the first claim ; failing children,
parents ; failing parents, brothers and sisters. The division was
carried out in different ways. In some parts the chief wife got 50
per cent, of the estate and the children and other wives had equal
shares of the remainder. In other places the whole property was
divided into five parts of equal value. The chief wife, after paying
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAI.
327
all debts, took one-fiftK and the remaining four were then shared
equally by all wives and children, the chief wife included.
The Sawbwa on the foundauon of a village or circle designated
the limits of the land at its disposal. Within these limits land
m\0M usually be disposed of by the village headman or the eldfrs.
Original clearing and cultivation, however, conferred a title which
vested in the original squatter, even if he ceased to cultivate. But
if he left the State the right lapsed. Right to such land was
inherited in the ordinary way and could be bought and sold. No
strange community or individual, however, was allowed to settle in
a State without the permission of the Chief. Migrations were, how-
ever^ very frequent and new arrivals were almost always welcome.
Until King Mindon introduced the thathameda system and coin-
age, revenue was paid in produce and all transactions were by
barter. Silver has always existed in large quantities and passed by
weight. The Shans, however, had a sort of coinage of a clam
shell shape, and specimens of these old coins may frequently be
seen hung round the necks of children. Latterly in most places the
tax was levied according to the number of baskets of send sown.
But everywhere many circles and villages were exempted from pay-
ments in return for services of the kind known in English history
as grand or fetit serjeanty. Thus in the Hsen Wi neighbourhood
one village supplied the Sawbiva with orchids, another with fruits,
another with syces and mahouts, others with torches and the like,
while'everywhere there were villages exempted for supplying labour
on the SaivbTDa*s fields, or servants for his household. Every male
fit for war might be called out when necessary, but in all States
there were families or circles which supplied the Sawbwa's body-
guard by hereditary right, and therefore held houses and lands
free.
The Shans will eat anything, fish, flesh, fowl or reptile; nothing
is forbidden but human flesh, and the consumption of that was
always permissible during certain forms of tattooing common among
military officers of distinction. Cicadas and the pup.-e of a large
species of beetle (a scaraba^us) are considered delicacies and may
sometimes be seen for sale in the markets. Snakes are only regu-
larly eaten by the Tai Dam (the Black Shans) of the Trans-M^khong
country, who prefer them to any other form of diet, and it is pos-
sible they may have taken the habJt from their neighbours, the Hka
Muks, but everywhere lizards are consumed.
Agriculture is everywhere the chief occupation and there is much
spirit worship in connection with it, though there is no recognized
Demeter or Ceres. The first-fruits of the crop are always taken as
328
THE UPPER BURMA GAZKTTEER. [ CHAP, VI,
an offering to the village monastery befofc any is eaten by the
household.
The stealing of cattle is considered the most serious crime in the
States and was at one time always punished with death. The
Track Law was always vigorously enforced. This is laid down as
follows in the Manu Kye Dhammathat: —
"The law by which the district to which the footmarks of stolen cattle
arc traced shall be caused to mike good the loss.
" Oh King! If anyone's horses, buffaloes or oxen be stolen, and the foot-
marks are really traced to any district, that diatrict may be sued ; if the
fact be not ascertainedior there be no foitniarksj there shall be no claim
against the district Wise men must note this. If horses, buffaloes, oroxeo
be lost, aud the owner shall trace their footmarks into any village, the
people of the village and the ihugyi, that they may be free from blame,
ought to go with him and point out the place where the foot-marks leave
the village. If they do not show the place by which they left the village,
they should be caused to replace them,"
The owner tracks up the cattle to the limits of his own village or
circle ; there he makes over the foot-prints to the headman and the
villagers of the next circle, who follow them to their uwn border and
pass them on to those next responsible and so on till the animals
are found or the tracks lost. Unless for very good cause shown,
the village beyond which the foot-prints cannot be taken is always
held responsible.
In their civil wars practically every one was called out. , The
warriors started with a few days' rice supply tied in a bundle at their
backs and after that was eaten, lived on the country. Each man
paid his devotions at the village shrine before he left. During his
absence his wife was forbidden to do any work on every fifth day
and remained within her house; each day she filled an earthen pot
with water to the brim and put in fresh flowers and leaves. If the
flowers withered or much water evaporated; it was considered a bad
sign ; each night she swept the floor and laid out her husband*s
bedding and she was on no account to lie on it herself, if she
could, she sent food out to him, but this was impossible where long
distances had to be travelled. The bands therefore burnt and
ravaged wherever they went. A single check usually meant the
failure of the expediiion, but there were always bands of adventur-
ers, who joined in hostilities for the sake of the plunder to be got,
and these naturally joined the side which took the offensive. Mu-
tilation of the slain was common. In every case the head was cut
off and brought to the Chief, who rewarded the bringer with a
larger or smaller sum, according lo the rank of the victim. While
the war was going on these heads were mounted on posts outside the
CHAP. VI.] THE SHAN STATES AND THE TAl.
3=9
tovm as signs of victoryi but they disappeared when the war was
over.
Every Chief is called a Sao Hpa by the Shans. The lesser rank
of Myoza was introduced by the Burmese and the name was never
accepted by the Shans. Tributary Chiefs were called Sao I/pa Awn,
little Sawbwas. Each Chief had a number of Amats^ many or
few, according to the extent of his territory. The Amats were
chosen for iheir capacity and the title was not usually hereditary.
The State was parcelled out amongst a number of district officials
called Hsngs, Hianiongs^ Nsungs, Kangs, Kes, andKin-m'dngs. In
the Southern Shan States there are few, except llengs and Hta-
mongs, and everywhere these arc the more important officials. The
word Hsng means one thousand and the original HSngships no
doubt were charges which paid one thousand baskets of rice to the
over-lord, which seems also to be the meaning of the word Panna
used in the Trans-Salween State of Keng Hung. The word Hta-
mdng was anciently written Htao-mdng and means originally an
elder, Officials below this rank, Kangs and Kbs were mere headmen
of single villages or of small groupSj but many of the Ndftgs were
very powerful and had charge of territories more extensive than
some existing Stales. Thus Mong Nawng, until it was separated
from Hsen \Vi. was merelv a H£ngs\\\\i of that State, and the present
H£ng of Ko Kang is wealthier than many Sawbwas, In the north,
however, Hta-indng has a tendency to be considered the more
honourable title.
The following folks-myth gives an account of the origin of the
Shans and of their government : —
A man aged five thousand years started from the east in search
of a wife and at about the same time a woman aged five thousand
years started from the west in search of a husband. These two
met in the middle of the Shan States and became man and
wife. They had eight sons and seven daughters, who multiplied
in their turn and produced a large population. The eight sons and
their children claimed to rule the others and thus caused a confusion
of tongues, and they then separated and went in various directions
with their families and their herds. The names of the eight sons
were Ai, Ai Yi, Ai Hsam, Ai Hsai, Ai Ngo, At Nu, Ai Nok, and Ai
Nai, whose names are given to male children to the present day in
that order. The two eldest were not able to agree as to who should
be Chief, and they invited two kings from the north to come and
rule over the Shan country. These two are said to be the sons of
Hkun Sang, the king of the heaven, who had despatched them on
purpose to save the Shan States from destruction. On their way
4a
33° THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VI.
they met a man called Sang Hpan, who said he wished to follow
them, and they accepted his services.
A little farther on they met another man Turiya, who was a singer,
and him also they took with them and arrived at the place called
Sampuralit, which is in the south-east of the Shan States. There
they founded their city, and first they laid down the eight essentials
of a city —
(i) A bazaar.
(2) Water-supply.
(3) Palace buildmgs.
(4) Other houses.
(5) Fields.
(6) Monasteries.
(7) War chiefs.
(8) Roads.
The two first rulers took the names of Maha Khattiya Raza
and Maha Hsamhpeng Na Raza. The first of these improved
agriculture and the second introduced weapons. They knew that
Sampuralit was the place for the city, because when they arrived there
they found a stone mscribed by the deities with rules for the gover-
nance of a country.
From the two sons of Hkun Sang are descended all the Sawbwas
of the Shan States and from Sang Hpan and Turiya are descended
all their officials.
The earth, it is stated, was reared out of the depth of the waters
by white-ants, first of all in the shape of the Myin-mo mountain,
with foundations reaching 84,000 yuzana beneath the surface and
84,000 j^M^flWA above it. It was square in shape. Nine spirits
came down from on high and separated earth, water and air. They
then established religions and afterwards created man, animals,
trees, flowers, fruits, and grain. They divided the world into 16
divisions. The details are those of the ordinary Buddhist cosmo-
graphy.
CHAP. V!I.] THE KACHIN HILLS AND THE CHINGPAW. 33I
CHAPTER VIL
THE KACHIN HILLS AND THE CHINGPAW.
(The basts of this chapter is the Kaehin Cattitftr dr.iwn up by Captains H. B. Walkrr
and H. K. Daviks of the Intelligence Department, but additions have liecn made
from all avaiU-ible sources).
The Kachins (Chingpaw or Singpho) were the first of the fron-
tier races with whom we came into contact. They Inhabit the
country on the north, north-east, and north-west of Upper Burma.
During the last 50 years they have spread a long way to the South
in the Northern Shan States and in the districts of Bhamo and
Katha. Colonel Hannay of the Assam Light lofantry, in a work
written in 1847, was the first to localize the Chingpaw tribes. Like
previous authorities, Bayfield, Willcocks, and others, he places them
generally "on the upper waters of the Irrawaddy," but says more
specifically that their territory is bounded on the south-east and
east by Yunnan (they have now overrun a great part of the western
portion of that province), on the west by Assam, and on the
south by the 24th degree of north latitude. He adds that their
northern boundary comes " in contact with the Khumongs, with
" whom and other tribes residing in the inaccessible regions border-
" ing on Tartary they are closely allied."
No explorations have as yet determined their exact northern-
most limits, but it is nearly certain that they extend as far as 28**
30' north latitude.
At the present time, 20* 30' is accepted as their southern limit,
an extension of 3 J° in 50 years. They probably would have extend-
ed much farther, if we had not annexed Upper Burma when we did,
and indeed at the present moment there are isolated Kacbin villages
far down in the Southern Shan States and even beyond the Salween
river. They are broken up into small communities each under its
own Chief and, though wild and savage, arc ver)' good agriculturists.
Their disunion has been at once a source of weakness to them and
a cause of trouble to us, for there was no central authority which
could be subdued or conciliated, with the result of securing general
peace. Each petty tribe submitted or raided according to its own
inclinations and interests, and as the district which we now administer
(described below) covers not much under 20,000 square miles, the
process of establishing satisfactory relations was not effected
rapidly or without considerable trouble.
'332
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VII.
The Burmans and Shans stood in great awe of the Kachlns.
For some years before the annexation, it was a common thing for
villagers in the Bhamo district to sleep in boats on the river, so
that they might have some chance of escape from a sudden raid.
Bhamo itself had been attacked in 1884 by a combination of
Chinese and Kachins and was almost completely destroyed. The
Shan traders were the victims of excessive black-mail, which the
Kachins levied on all who passed through their territory. Above
Bhamo no village, Burman or Shan, could exist without putting
itself under the protection of some chieftain in the adjacent hills.
The Kachin Owwa, or Chief, came down at irregular intervals and
levied tribute, ranging from a demand for several buffaloes to a few
handfuls of salt. The protection granted was somewhat anomalous
and usually consisted in negotiating the release, of course on the
payment of large sums, by the wretched Shan Burmans, of slaves
captured from their village by other Kachins. Sometimes the
protecting Chief made a retaliatory raid on the Duwa who had inter-
fered with his clients, but more often he attacked a village of Shan-
Burmans tributary to the offending village.
Bhamo was occupied by us on the aSth December 1885, and at
first the Kachins seemad more curious than hostile. The occu-
pation of Mogaung and our connection with the jade mines, led to
our first direct relations with them. In Februarj' 1886 a British
force, accompanied by Major Cooke, the Deputy Commissioner,
visited Mogaung and received the submission of the local officials.
The column went, one party by water and the other by land, to
Slnbo, cutting a road for itselt part of the way. The Kachins
were troublesome, but not hostile. From Sinbo the journey to
Mogaung was accomplished without opposition, either in going or
coming. At the date of the arrival in Mandalay of the British Ex-
peditionary Force, the Mogaung district was governed by the elder
Sawbwaoi Wuntho. He had been deputed thither in 18B3 (two years
after he abdicated in Wuntho in favour of his son) by the Burmese
Government to put down a Kachin rising, which had devastated the
whole neighbourhood. Me was successful both in the restoration
of order and in his subset^uent administration. The Sawitva,
Maung Shwe Tha, left Mogaung at the end of 1885, and the Gov-
ernment was then carried on by a council of three persons, of whom
the Chief was Maung Kala, who belonged to a family of Chinese
extraction, long resident in Mogaung, and closely related to the
Mogaung Tu-ssu, who ruled that district when it was tributary to
China. He possessed an ancient Chinese official seal, which had
always been found by the Burmese Government a potent means of
controlling the Kachins. The other members of the council were
CHAP. VII.] THK KACHIN HILI.S AND THE CHINGPAW.
533
Maung Shwe Gya and Maung Seln. The former, of mixed
Kachin and Burman blood> was in charge of the defence of the
town, and the latter, a Burman, aided Maung Kala in the civil
administraiion. The council appear to have governed wisely and
to the satisfaction of the people. They beat off the attacks of
Li Win-sho, a Chinese dacoit, who had a large and well-armed
gang, and they kept up friendly relations with the Kachins.
Major Cooke appointed Maung Kala lo be Myo6k and Maung
Shwe Gya and Maung Seln to be his assistants, retaining the Bur-
mese title of Nakhan. Two months after he had left Mogaung, in
May 1886, Maung Kala was assassinated, and it was discovered
that the Nakhan Maung Suin and two ffx-officials had hired men to
commit the murder. It was supposed that they intended to hand
over the town to a self-styled prince who had appeared in the neigh-
bourhood. Maung Shwe Gya and the elders of the force arrested
and promptly executed Maung Sein and his accomplices. The
Deputy Commissioner then appointed Maung Htun Gywfe, a Rhamo
oflicial, to be MyoOk, and Maung Po Saw, soft of Maung Kala, to
be Nakhan of Mogaung. Maung Htun Gywfe went to Mogaung,
but came back almost immediately to say tliat he had been badly
received and that he declined to stay there unless supported by
troops. He was accordingly directed to stay at Sinbo and take
charge of that part of the Mogaung district which adjoins the Irra-
waddy. In September a man named Nga Kyi entered Mogaung
territory and produced a patent of appointment as Sawhwa purport-
ing to have been issued by the VVuntho Sawbwa. The Mogaung
officials answered his invitation to them to submit by attacking and
killing him. In consequence of this exhibition of spirit, Maung
Htun Gywfe was re-called and Maung Po Saw was appointed Myo6k,
It was intended to send an expedition to Mogaung at the end of
1886, but the attitude of the Wuntho Sawbwa was at that time so
suspicious that the column was diverted 10 Mawlu to watch him
instead.
Meanwhile the Hpimkan Kachins began to be troublesome near
Bhamo. While the Mogaung party was out two attacks were made
on the village of Sawadi. The Duwa was ordered to come in to
Bhamo, but failed to do so, and on the 12th April a party marched
from Bhamo for Katran. They took several positions and advanc-
ed some way into the hills, but rain and want of dhoolie-bearers
forced them to return, with Captain Wace, R.A.,and Captain Lyle,
of the Welsh Fusiliers, wounded, besides five rank and file.
On the 22nd May another column advanced from Mansi to-
wards Katran. It was met by an apology from the Duwa, who
said his son was responsible for the attack on Sawadi and sent
334
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VII.
some weapons and presents. As the Chief did not come in person
the advance was continued to Panyaung, lo or 1 1 miles from Kat-
ran. Some resistance was experienced on the way and a depot for
stores and wounded was being formed when a doubt arose as to
whether Katran was not within the Chinese frontier. The column
halted three days and then returned. The rear-guard was fired on
during the retreat until the post at Nankin was reached. The
cause for the abandonment of the advance was not understood by
the Kachins and they raided frequently on the plains during the
months of June, July, and August, and on the I4lh November at-
tacked Bhamo, made their way into the stockade over the north-
eastern battery, killed three sepoys, and set fire to the barracks.
They were driven out with a loss of five men. There were several
encounters with marauding Kachins in the plains during 1887, but the
hills were left practically unexplored.
During all that year Po Saw held Mogaung for us as Myook,
but the accounts of the genuineness of his loyalty were very con-
flicting. In December 1887, however, he came down to Sinbo,
met the Deputy Commissioner, Colonel Adamson.and professed to
be pleased to hear that British troops were to come to Mogaung.
The expeditionary force under Captain Triscott, R. A., crossed the
Irrawaddy at Nethagon on the 5th January, arrived at Sinbo on
the 7th, and reached Mogaung on the i4ih. In the meantime,
however, an unfortunate incident had happened. One of the Cap-
tains in the service of the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company had received
permission to go up the river for the purpose of seeing whether it
would be possible to establish a steam-boat service above Bhamo.
This gentleman took advantage of the permission given him to
go to Mogaung and took with him L6n Pein, the farmer of the
jade-mine duties. It appears that Lon Pein had made himself
obnoxious to the Chinese traders in jade and gave out that he was
going to take possession of the mines. The house in which he and
his companions were lodging in Mogaung was attacked in the night
and Lon Pein received wounds from which he afterwards died. The
Myo6k, Po Saw, is believed to have been implicated in this crime.
In any case his conscience was bad, for though the people receiv-
ed the British column in a friendly manner, the Myo6k left the
town just before its arrival. He was induced to come in the fol-
lowing day by the Chinese traders, but absconded again on the
night of the 21st and, though he was pursued, made good his
escape, and thenceforward remained in open rebellion. He was
formally deposed and his cousin Maung Hpo Mya appointed in his
place, but Maung Shwe Gya remained the most useful and power-
ful auxiliary we had in Mogaung. Colonel Adamson then visited
CHAP. VIM THE KACHIN HIl
AND THE CHINGpAW.
335
and explored the jade mines and interviewed many of the surround-
ing Kachin Chiefs with satisfactory results. Thence he went to
the Indawgyi lake, explored the surrounding country without incident,
and then returned to Mogaung. It is probable that the Mogaung
country would have remained undisturbed but for Maung Po Saw.
He instigated the Lepai Kachins to attack the column on the return
march to Mogaung at the village of Nyaun^chidauk, and prepara-
tions were made to do so, but they were frustrated by a double
march which Captain Triscott macie in the hope of capturing Po
Saw. He failed in this, but he marched into a strong series of
stockades in the early hours of the morning before the Kachins
were aware of his approach and killed several of them with the
loss of one Gurkha of his party. About the same time the Kachins,
instigated by Po Saw, attacked the mail, between Mogaung and
Sinbo, and killed a Gurkha and a boatman, and even made an attack
on Mogaung itself, but were easily beaten off. In these combina-
tions Po Saw had been chiefly assisted by the Punga Duwa, to
whose village a very successful punitive expedition was made on
the 1 7th February by Captain O'Donnell and Mr. D. H. R. Twomey,
Colonel .'Xdamson then set a price of one thousand rupees on
Po Saw's head and marched back to Katha, having a brush with
Kachins stockaded on the Mohnyln river by the way. It is proba-
ble that Po Saw had hoped to establish himself in semi-independent
authority in Mogaung and that, even if the Lon Pein incident had
not occurred, his continued adhesion could not have been secured.
Mogaung was now constituted a subdi\'ision with an Assistant
Commissioner in charge, and a strongly fortified stockade was built
on the bank of the river in the town, which was considerably larger
than Bhamo. The strength of the garrison was 350 men of the
Bhamo Militarj* Police Battalion under Captain O'Donnell, but
there were not enough men available to establish outposts, except
one on the Mogaung river between Mogaung and Hokat. Nume-
rous dacoities on the river on trading boats necessitated their going
in convoys under a periodical escort, and the Kachins soon became
more aggressive, and on the 10th May 1888 the garrison had to de-
fend itself. BoTijPo Saw's principal lieutenant, occupied several
strong positions during the night with a force of four hundred Shans,
collected from the Uyu country and from Mogaung itself. They were
not turned out without considerable resistance. Eightof our sepoys
were killed and fifteen wounded, while, the enemy lost forty killed
and a large number of wounded. Not long afterwards Bo Ti stockad-
ed himself at Taungbaw, only three miles from Mogaung, whence he
was driven on the 23rd May with a loss of twenty-six Kachins killed
and six taken prisoners without casualty among the Military Police.
336
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VII.
BoTi had been prominent in the murder of L6n Pein and was captured
by Colonel Adamson and sent down to Bhamo, but escaped from the
guards. With Po Saw he gained over the Lepai Kachins of Thama,
whose hill lies north of the junction of the Indaw and Nankon
rivers and commands Kamaing, so that they were able to put a
stop to all the rubber and jade trade.
After Bo Ti's attack the country for the time became quiet, but
it was necessary to undertake operations in the cold season of 1888-
89 to bring the Kachin tribes to submission and lo punish them for
the many outrages committed in the early part of the year. The
operations included four separate expeditions : —
(i) Aijainst the Lepai tribe north of Mogaung, the principal
chief being the head of the Thama sub-clan and the harbourer of
Po Saw and Bo Ti.
(2) Against the Ithi or Szi, also a sub-tribe of the Lepais, lo the
south of Mogaung, the leading Chief being the Duiva of Panga.
(3) Against the Sana Kachins of the Lahtawng tribe, who had
raided near Mogaung in May.
(4) Against the Marans, wliose sub-tribe, the Makans, and others
in the neighbourhood of Sinbo, were responsible for an attack on
Nanpapa in May, and for a later attack on Hlegyomaw on the
Mogaung river in August.
The direction of the whole of these operations was undertaken
by Sir George White, and all the military police in the Mogaung
subdivision were placed under his orders. While the plans for
these operations were being matured, and while preparations were
being made, notice was given lo the Thama and Panga Drnvas
requiring them to tender their submission lo the Subdivislonal
Officer at Mogaung, and to make reparation for damage inflicted
by them on traders and others. The regent of the Makan tribe,
the widow of the late i/uwa, had already been warned that
punishment would be inflicted if compensation were not made for
the raids at Nanpapa and Hlegyomaw.
The offending tribes failed to comply with the terms and on the
8th January 1889 a force under Captain O'Donnell left Mogaung to
operate against the Lepai, and particularly against Thama. Ka-
maing was taken on the 1 ith after a slight resistance. On the 30th
January a sharp engagement took place at Hweton to the south of
Kamaing, in which the Kachins lost ten or twelve killed and the
village was burnt, while 18,000 pounds of paddy were burnt. Final-
ly, after a delay caused by an outbreak of small-pox on the 19th
February, the main Thama villages were attacked and burnt after
some stockade fighting, in which Captain O'Donnell and Captain
CHAP. VII.] THE KACHIN HILLS AND THE CHINGPAW. J37
MacDonald of the Hants Regiment were spiked through the foot
and Lieutenant Hawker received a spike wound, from which he died.
The operaiions were ccmpleied by the 9th March, on which date
the column returned to Niogaung. Twenty-four villages, including
almost all subject to Thama, were destroyed and a large quantity
of grain burnt. Our loss was, besides the three officers, 18 men
killed and wounded.
The second expedition against thelthi Lepai, south of Mogaung,
was begun on the 1 ith March. The Shan and Kachin villages of
Nyaungbintha were occupied without resistance, for Bo Ti had left
the neighborhood and the people had no leader. A post was
established at Nyaungbintha and small columns burnt all the vil-
lages of the tribe and destroyed their paddy. These were the
tribesmen who had attacked Mogaung, but the resistance met with
at the ten villages taken was very slight. The village of Wara-
naung, of which the Chief had been consistently loyal smce the oc-
cupation of Mogaung, was specially exempted from attack,
On the 1st .April Captain O'Donnell proceeded to punish the
Sana chieftain of the Lahtawng trib^, On the 4th, after a march
along the stony bed of a stream and through a very difficult gorge,
in which the enemy had stockaded themselves, but were outflanked,
the column reached Panlang, the Chief's village, and destroyed it.
There still remained the tribes to the west of Sinbo, the Marans
and the Hfegyomaw dacoits, to be dealt with, and to reach them a
march of 56 miles from Mogaung to Sinbo had to be made across
the plains. On the 20th April operations commenced and the
villages of Makan, Lasha, Pinzon, and Lwekyo were taken one after
the other and burnt. The Kachlns offered a stout resistance and
at Lwekyo replied to the artillery fire with jingals, butourcasualiies
were trifling, as they were also against the Hlegyomaw group, whose
villages, Kawaw, .Assin, and Kachaing, fought stubbornly and hung
on the rear of the retiring column. In the four expeditions forty-
six villages containing 639 houses were destroyed, together with
large stores of grain. The casualties on our side amounted to one
officer and three men killed and two officers and thirty men, includ-
ing followers, wounded. The column engaged the Kachins twenty-
two times and took forty-three stockades.
The results were satisfactory. The occupation of Kamaing and
the establishment there of a military police post had the effect of
opening the road to the jade mines, which had been interrupted.
Up to the end of May 1889 no less than ninety-eight villages had
come in and tendered their submission to the Subdivisional Officer
at Mogaung. These included the whole of the villages subordinate
to the chieftain of Thama, except Thama itself and two other villages ;
43
asS THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VII.
the whole of the Ithl Lepais, including Pangea ; the whole of the Lah-
tawngs, except one village ; the whole of the tribes round Sinbo, ex-
cept two small villages; and the Lakun tribe south of the Ithi
country. In the case of villages which resisted the column sub-
mission was only accepted after the payment of moderate fines in
money or in kind and the surrender of a smallnumber of guns. The
Marip tribe, under ijie Chief Kan Si Naung, in whose territory are
situated the jade mines, and the Sassan tribe in the Hukawng valley
and in the neighbourhood of the amber mines submitted from the
first and have never given any trouble.
Meanwhile in the more immediate neighbourhood of Bhamo there
was a good deal of disturbance. A band, consisting for the most
part of Chinese brigands and deserters from the Chinese army, which
had gathered on the Mol6 river, forty miles north-east from Bhamo,
was attacked by Mr. Segreave with a party of military police on the
9th January and entirely dispersed with the loss of about fifty killed.
The effect of this action was to secure the peace of the district north
of Bhamo and to stop further alarms of the gathering of Chinese
marauders in that direction t^jiring the remainder of the open sea-
son.
About this time the air was full of rumours concerning projected
attacks on the Upper Sinkan township to the south and even on
Bhamo itself. Hkam Leng (Kan Hlaing) was the cause «f these.
He had been harboured by the Kachin Chiefs of Lw^saing and
T6nh6n and had constantly visited Si-u in the Upper Sinkan
township, where he made long stays and levied contributions
from the villagers. The Myo6k had not a sufficient force of police
to prevent these visits and asked that a military patrol might be
sent from Bhamo. On the 3rd February 1889 the District Su-
perintendent marched with fifty police and on the 4th the rebels
were found strongly stockaded across the road near Malin, 30 miles
up the Sinkan river and about ao from Si-u. The police after three
quarters of an hour's fighting were forced to retire with a loss of two
killed, ten wounded, and aJl their baggage, except ammunition,
captured. It was necessary at once to break up t!ic gang of rebels
who were now In possession of the whole of the Upper Sinkan valley,
and on the 6th February Captain Smith, R, A., with a strong force
marched from Bhamo. On the 7th the dacoits were encountered
in the position they had held against the police. It was only taken
after severe fighting, in which Second- Lieutenant Stoddart, 17th B.I.,
Iwo men of the Hampshircs, and two of the 17th B. I. were killed
and 17 were wounded. The dacoit gathering then dispersed as
suddenly as it had appeared. After the defeat of the rebels at
Malin the villagers for the most part returned to their homes. The
CHAP. VII.] THE KACHIN HILLS AND THE CHINGPAW. 339
villages which had joined in the rising were fined and the force of
the police was increased at the expense of the township, which was
also effectually disarmed. The nucleus of the band seems to have
consisted of 80 men sent by Saw Yan Naing from Manp6n to help
his new ally Hkam Leng, and they returned thither after they had
been dislodged, while HKam Leng went back to the hills east of
Si-u. On the 23rd March a detachment of troops was sent to Si-
kaw to remain there during the rest of the dry season in case Hkam
Leng should attempt further hostilities. At the end of May an
attempt was made to capture him in the hills. This, however, was
frustrated by the action of the LijV'^saing and Tonhfin Kachins, who
afterwards came down in some force and occupied Si-u. They
were there attacked on the and June 1889 by a party of troops and
police and driven back with loss, but In July they attacked Sikaw
Itself. The villagers and the Gurkha police, however, beat them
off. The lateness of the season made it impossible to punish this
abortive rebellion before the end of the cold weather.
The Hpunkan Kachins once more gave trouble. The Katran or
Kar^^an Duwa had steadily declined to visit Bhamo, or to definitely
submit, and there were continual rumours of the gathering of Chinese
brigands and disaffected persons in his tract, which is only 30 miles
south-east of Bhamo. At the beginning of March 1889, probably
excited by the Burmese remnants of the Malm gang, the Hpunkan
Kachins again descended to the plains, killed a thugyi, carried off
his wife and children, killed two policemen at Mansi post, and bumt
Mansi village. The return of the troops who had been engaged in
the Mogaung expeditions furnished a convenient opportunity for
dealing with this troublesome tribe, and a force under Brigadier-
General G. B. Wolseley, C. b., was sent against it. The force
started in the middle of April in two columns, by the northern and
southern roads, a proceeding which so baffled the Kachins that
their principal villages were occupied with no resistance to speak
of, though Captain Smith, R.A., was wounded in an advance guard
skirmish only two miles from Mansij from which the Southern column
started. As had been arranged, the troops remained in the hills
and proceeded to enforce the submission of the Kachins. The
terms imposed upon them included the surrender of a number of
guns and the payment of a moderate fine as compensation for past
misdeeds. The troops left after these terms had been substantially
complied with, and before Karwan was evacuated the headmen of the
Hpunkan callages entered into a solemn agreement to abstain from
raids in the future. General Wolseley then marched on to Nam-
kham in the Northern Shan States, met the Superintendent there,
and returned to Bhamo.
340
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VII.
The States of Mong Mit (Momeik) and Mong Leng (Mohlaing)
are nominally Shan, but they have never been administered with
the Shan States proper, and indeed the Shans only inhabit the valleys
and are greatly inferior in numbers to the Palaungs and the Kachins,
who occupy the hills, which form the greater portion of the territory.
At the time of the annexation, a member of the ruling family of
M6ng Leng, named Hkam Leng, or in the m.ore commonlv used
Burmese form, Kan HlaJng, claimed to be the Sa-wbwa both of Mong
Leng and Mong Mit. His claim to be Chief of Mong Mit was re-
sisted by the ministers of that State on behalf of the rightful heir,
who was a minor. In October 1886 Kan Hlaing was induced to
come to Katha, where for some time he remained pending the con-
sideration of his claims. Towards the end of the year he abscond-
ed and has been a bitter rebel ever since. In April 18S7 the Chief
Commissoner himself visited Mog6k, received the Mong Mit of-
ficials, and settled the conditions under which Mong Mit was to be
administered, and fixed the boundary between that State and Mong
Leng. In contravention of explicit orders Hkam Leng in June 1887
invaded and occupied part of the territory of Mong Mit. He was
promptly driven out by a force sent from Kalha. Subsequently the
territory of Mong Leng was partitioned between Mong Mit and the
Bhamo district, while Mong Mit was administered under the con-
trol of the Deputy Commissioner of the Ruby Mines from Mogok.
Hkam Leng took up his residence in the Kachin hills east of Mong
Leng and fomented disturbances in the Upper Sinkan township as
has been noted above. Towards the end of 1888 he established re-
lationship with Saw Van Naing, the son of the Meikaya Prince,
who had established himself at Manp6n in a diHicuIt position on the
borders of the Tawng Peng Loi L6ng State and Mong Mit. To-
gether they endeavoured to arrange a simultaneous movement on a
large scale at various points on the northern frontier. Mong Mit
itself, the capital of the Slate, was threatened and 50 men of the
Hampshire Regiment were sent there. On the 14th January 1888,
owing to insufficient information, Lieutenant Nugent, with 16 men
of the Hampshires, suddenly found himself within 50 yards of a
strong stockade. Lieutenant Nugent charged, but the first volley
of the dacoits killed one man and wounded Lieutenant Nugent and
six men. A second shot killed Lieutenant Nugent, and Sergeant
Bevis conducted a retreat bringing in the dead and wounded. On
the i9ih Lieutenant Ozzard, with 50 men of the Hants Regiment
and 20 mounted police, attacked the same band at Mobaung, ten
miles north-east of Mong Mit, and killed 20 dacoits including the
leader. Reinforcements were then sent up and an attack was made
on Manpon, the headquarters of Saw Van Naing, Four stockades
CHAP. Vn.] THE KACHIN HILLS AND THE CHINGPAW. 34I
were taken without loss and the position was occupied, but, owing
to a misunderstanding, the column returned to quarters before the
country had been thoroughly explored and settled. The result was
that Saw Yan Naing almosl immediately re-established himself at
Maniun, a few miles from Manpon, and remained there for the rest
of the year. Hkam Leng remained with the Lwfesaing Tonhon
Kachins, with whom he was connected by marriage, and incited
them to keep the southern part of the Bhanio district in a state
of ferment, Other minor leaders, of whom the most important
were Nga Maung of Twinnge and Hcn^ Nga Maung of Mdng
Long, desired support and encouragement from these centres of
disaffection, and one or both of them found an asylum in the State
of Mong Long. The borders of Tawng Pfng Loi Lung also had not
been thoroughly cleared of dacoits, and Bo Zeya, a refugee from the
Mandalay district, was still at large there.
It was therefore arranged that a strong column of troops and
military police should be sent from Bhamo, and starting from Si-u
as a base, should march in December 1889 against Lwtsaing and
T6nh6n ; that another column should march from Mong Mit and
should combine with the Bhamo column at Manpon, while Mong
Mit town was occupied by troops; and that Lieutenant Daly, the
Superintendent of the Northern Shan States, with a detachment of
the Shan levy of military police, should co-operate from the Hsen-
wi side, keeping touch with the other columns as far as possible.
At the same time a party of military police under Mr. H. K. Hertz,
Assistant Superintendent of Police, was detailed to visit Mong LOng
and thence march along the Tawng Peng border to deal with any
bands that might be in that quarter. The scene of the operations
was very difficult country, chiefly in the southern portion of the old
State of Mong Leng, in the valleys of the Sinkan and Nampaw
streams, in the hills to the east of them, and in the north-eastern
part of the State of Mong Mit, known as the Mvaukko-daung, the
northern nine hills. The valley of the Sinkan and the adjacent hills
form part of the Bhamo district, while the valley of the Nampaw
falls within Mong Mil. The area of the Myaukko-daung is esti-
mated at 2,500 square miles. Mr. Shaw, Deputy Commissioner,
accompanied the Bhamo column and at Sikaw was met by the
DuTua of Kanlun, who with the headmen of twelve other Lakhum
villages tendered his submission and volunteered to accompany the
party. Lw^saing and T6nh6n were taken on the 23rd and 24th of
December, opposition in both cases being offered only at stockades
across the road, some distance from the village, and aftei^wards from
the sides of the hill after the villages had been occupied. In this
way a Subadar of the Mogaung levy and a private of the Hamp-
342
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. Vll,
shires were killed at Lwfesatng and five men were wounded ; while
at Tonhun a sepoy was killed and four were woundod. About the
same time, in a movement to seize the ferries of the Shweli, made
by Captain O'Donncll, a distinguished Native Officer of the Mo-
gaung levy. Jemadar Krishna Rana, was killed. Lw^saing was
destroyed and the column remained at Tonhon till the 3rd January
1890. Before the troops left, representatives of all the villages
in the jurisdiction of Lwfesaing-T6nh6n had come in, and part
of the fine in money and guns imposed on the villages which
had resisted t he troops and harboured H kam Leng had been
paid. On the 3rd Januarv' the column started for Manpon, a
detachment being left at T6nh6n to enforce the payment of the
fine. A Transport Jemadar was drowned at the passage of the
Shweli, and Manton was entered on the nth January and found
in possession of the Mong Mit column, who had occupied it
the same day after some skirmishing on the outskirts, in which
Captain Sewell of the Norfolk Regiment was wounded. From
Mantdn detachments were sent out against Mant6ngale and Lao-
choin, the Chief of which, Waranaw, had been a prominent sup-
porter of Saw Yan Naing. Both these parties were stubbornly op-
posed by the Kachins, who had erected stockades across the roads.
Laochein was occupied and completely destroyed, Major Forrest of
the Hampshires being dangerously wounded while leading the at-
tack, whilst a number of others were wounded by the subsequent
firing from the hill-sides. On the return of these parties the M6ng
Mit column moved to Manp6n, while the Bhamo column remained
at Mant6n. The remainder of the marching season was occupied
by the troops and civil officers in visiting as much as possible of the
country in which the operations were benig carried on, in inflicting
punishment in cases in which resistance had been offered or out-
rages committed, and in securing the submission of a number of
Kachln, Palaung, and Shan villages nominally subject to the Saw
biva of Mong Mit. Efforts to secure the surrenderor capture of
Saw Yan Naing and Hkam Leng and of iheir leading adherents,
however, were unsuccessful. Saw Yan Naing slipped past Lieu-
teoant Daly into Hsenwl and passed thence across the Chinese fron-
tier, where he has since remained at different places in the Shan-
Chinese States, and was afterwards joined by Hkam Leng.
In Mogaung the operations of 1888 kept the subdivision undis-
turbed, traders were able to travel in security, and Kachin Chiefs
from remote parts tendered their submission. The caravan trade
between Bhamo and China, however, was not free from interruption.
Attacks were made on traders by the Kachins through whose
country the trade routes Ije. Two caravans were set on in Novem-
CHAP. Vn.] THE KACHIN HILLS AND THE CHINGPAW. 343
ber 1889 by Kachins of the Karwan and Poiilein tribes. In both
cases the Chiefs of the tribes concerned were called into Bhamo and
required to pay compensation, and threatened with punishment in
case of future misconduct. Nevertheless there were attacks in the
following January and February, and in consequence of these the
Chinese traders during the latter part of the season made use of
the Hpunkaw route in preference to the northern one by Manaung,
An attempt was made towards (he close of 1889 to open the old
disused route known as the Embassy route, but the arrang^ements
were not effectual, chiefly because the Kachins lived on the border-
land between China and Burma, and it was not always easy to as-
certain whether the offenders belonged to British or Chinese terri-
tory.
The disturbances there no doubt tended to keep up a spirit of
unrest in Mong Mit. Saw Maung, the Sa-whwa of the Southern
Shan States of Yawng Hwe in Burmese times (and since re-
appointed to that State), was installed as Regent of Mong Mit for
five years from April 1889, during the minority of Hkun Maung,
the hereditary Chief. Saw Maung unfortunately did not succeed
in gaining the good-will of the people of Mong Mit, or in maintain-
ing a proper supervision over his subordinate officials. This is
perhaps hardly surprisir.<i, for he had no experience of Kachins or
Palaungs, who form about So per cent, of the population. In Oc-
tober 1890, the village of Yabon, some thirty miles to the north-east
of Wing Mong Mit, was attacked by a combined gang of Kachins
and Palaungs. Yabon was held by forty of the Sawbwa's. men
under one of his amats or ofTicers. The attack was probably in
some measure due to this man's bad management of the surround-
ing tribes, but Saw Van Naing and the outlaws over the frontier are
supposed to have had a hand in stirring up trouble. The amat
and his men, after a feeble resistance, abandoned their post and fled,
giving up their arms to the people of Manpon on the way. The
Sawbwa sent out a fresh force to Yab6n, but the outbreak was left
to be dealt with by Mr. Daniell, Assistant Commissioner, Mong
Mit, and the column which it had been previously arranged should
spend the dry season in eastern and northern Mong Mit to finish
and consolidate the work of the previous cold weather. Mr. Daniell
at once visited Yab6n and was successful in securing the speedy
submission of Chiefs and people. The restoration of the guns and
ponies taken in the attack on Yabon was required, fines were im-
posed, and the turbulent Lahkum Kachins were directed to move
back .ind live among their own people. The leader of the attack,
Saw Saing, Lahkum Chief of Yabon, was cleverly captured by a
night surprise, and the whole circle was satisfactorily settled and
344
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VII.
pUced in the charge of the several local Duxas, who agreed to
pay tribute and bring it to Mong Mil twice a year.
Meanwhile on the 9th December i$9o anothirr affair had ocan^
red. The Mdi^ Lene Myo^ was atucked at Etkyi by a band of
40 or 50 men, who kiued and wounded several o( his foDowers and
carried off propertv. These men were under the protection of the
Lahkum Kachin I)u'xa o( Kah6n, one of them being Nga Kyaw,
an outlaw, and ihey also were bdieved to have acted on the insti-
fation of the adherents of Saw Yan Naing and Hkam Leng. Mr.
taniell was accordingly instructed to direct his march to Kahdn
and punish this outrage as soon as possible. He sent two messen-
gers to call in the Kah6n chieftain who seized and killed one of
themi though the other escaped.
As it was evident that organized opposition was to be ex-
pected, Mr. Daniell's party was reinforced by British Infantry,
part mounted, from Bernardmyo and Shwcbo, and by a com-
pany of the Mandalay ^(ilitary Police Battalion under the Com-
mandant, Captain Alban. No time was lost in making for Ka-
h6n, and on the early morning of the 28th Jaunar)' 1891 the
combined force under Major Kelsall, of the Devonshire Regiment,
effected the surprise of Kahon. There was a determined resis-
tance and five of the enemy were killed, including the Dtnea^s,
brother, while the Z^unra himself and others were wounded. A pri-
vate of the Devons was killed and a Military Police sepoy severely
wounded in this engagement. The troops and Military Police
were then distributed about Kahon, Kyutha, and the neighbourhood
geiicrally, and worked thoroughly through the country, with the
result that altogether twenty-six of Kah6n*s adherents were killed
and seven of Nga Kyaw's, mcluding his lieutenant, Nga Pan San,
while numbers were raptured- The only further casualties on our
side were one Gurkha killed and a Military Police sepoy severely
wounded. Seven villages under Kahon were destroyed and the
remaining villages in the Manmauk circle were forced to make
thfir submission. The Chiefs of the other circles of north-easiern
Mnng Mit then came in and made their submission to Mr. Daniell.
The T6nh6n column under Major Yule now came up from Bhamo
and the village of Loik6n was attacked and burnt. Upon this the
T6nh6n Sawbwa, who had remained out during the previous year's
operations, came and made his submission. The MOng Leng head-
men who had been deported in 1890 were thereupon taken back to
their homes.
The T6nh6n column took the ChaukTaung side of the country,
while Mr. DanicU visited the circles of Maing Kwin, Humai, and
CHAP. VII.] THE KACHIN HILLS AND THE CHINGPAW. 345
Shawlan, There was no further opposition, and an arrane^ement
was made with the Humal Satobwa for the prevention of the pass-
age of outlaws and marauders through his country. The column
returned towards the end of March and Nga Kyaw made an attack
on Mabein on the night of the 30th, killing one villager and carry-
ing off some plunder, Mr. Daniell at once returned and pursued
him, but was too late to come up with him.
The best arrangements possible were made with the various
Kachin and Palaung Chiefs, who were held responsible for keeping
order in their respective jurisdictions and required to acknowledge
the authority of Mong Mit by the regular payment of tribute. The
Regent Saw Maun^ recognized that he could not manage the State
with the staff of men and officials he had. He first proposed to
give up the Myaukko-daung and then asked to be allowed to
resign altogether. This he was permitted to do, and from the be-
ginning of 1891, Mong Mit, with the adjoining portion of Mong
Leng, has been incorporated as a temporary measure with the Ruby
Mines district.
Farther north at the close of 1890 the Lana Kachins were block-
ing the main trade route into Nam Hkam, and all the routes lead-
ing eastwards from Bhamo to Manwalng on the road to Yunnan
were the scenes of constant attacks on caravans. Of the valley of
the Molfc stream little or nothing was then known. At: the com-
mencement of the 1890-91 cold season, therefore, arrangements
were made to send out a punitive column to settle the whole of the
tribes to the immediate east of Bhamo, who had been guilty of
attacks on traders. This column, consisting of seventy-five men of
the Mogaung levy under Lieutenant Burton, started on the 24th
December 1890 and proceeded to visit first the hills north of the
Taping, finally returning to Bhamo on the 21st May 1891 from
Lana.
The work was thoroughly done. Every village that had any case
reported against it during the two years preceding was visited and
duly punished by fine. Disarmament was insisted on as far as
possible, and fines were taken by preference in guns. Owing no
doubt to the operatiims of the column the attacks on caravans were
reduced to two. One of these was perpetrated by the Kalunkong
Chief, who was arrested and sentenced, to the evident surprise of
the surrounding Kachins. The other attack, though it was made
in British territory, was conducted by Kachins who had come from
across the border. Unfortunately, owing to the negligence of a
sentry, the camp was rushed by Han Ton and other Kachins on
the night of the 1st March. Two sepoys were killed and nine
wounded, besides Mr. French, Assistant Engineer, who received a
44
34<5
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VII.
bad gunshot wound in the foot. According to previous instruc-
tions Lieutenant Burton sent in for reinforcements and one
hundred men under Major P. H. Smith, of the Dcvons, were des-
patched. The villages implicated in the attack were burnt and the
Sawhwa of Hant6n was killed at Walaung. Subsequently it was
found that the Lahsi tribe had joined in the outbreak and accord-
ingly fifty men under Major Smith went out and) in conjunction
with Lieutenant Burton's party, surprised the Lahsi villages, killing
two men and capturing ninety. All the seven villages were burnt
and the party was not afterwards molested.
Towards the close of the season a further series of operations was
undertaken in the Sinkan valley in the south-cast of the Bhamo
district. The Sinkan valley had been for some time notorious as
a nest of robbers, whose presence there was secretly connived at
by the oid Sikaw Myook. Wlien he died they had no longer a
protector and they found that inconvenient steps were being taken
to bring them to justice. They therefore combined and became
aggressive. It was impossible to control both Upper and Lower
Sinkan from the one post of Sikaw, and immunity from interference
emboldened the gangs so far that they murdered the Thugyi of
Theinlin, a village within lo miles of Bhamo. Upon this another
officer was added to the district, and a company of the reserve
Military Police Battalion was lent. The commencement of the
operations, however, came too late in the season, and, although
Captain Gastrell was successful in making some important cap-
tures, and although the progress of the operations led to the arrest
of the greater number of the once notorious I3o HIaw's gang, who
were responsible for the abduction of the Bhamo Myook in 1889,
still, ofling to the rains and the consequent unhealthiness of the
Sinkan valley, the operations had to be stopped before the country
had been permanently cleared.
During the whole of the cold season from November 1890 to
March 1891 Lieutenant L. E. Eliott, Assistant Commissioner, and
Major Hobday, R.E., of the Survey Department, with an escort of
seventy rifles were employed in exploring the hitherto unknown
northern and north-eastern borders. They marched along the
west bank of the Irrawaddy from Sinbo to a point, Tingsa Pura-
lumpum, belonging to the Lepai tribe, in latitude 26° 15'. Here
obstacles were put in the way of their advance by a section of the
Sana Lahtawngs, who had been punished at Panlang two years be-
fore by the Mogaung column. Large presents were demanded as
the price of a guide and for permission to proceed. To avoid the
risk of setting the country in a blaze, with the chance of being cut
off from their base, they fell back along the Irrawaddy to Maing-
CHAP. VII.] THE KACHIN HILLS AND THE CHINGPAW, 347
na first, above Myitkylna, and thence struck eastward to Kwitu,
where they found the Chief Sagurig VVa belonging to the Sadan
tribe unfriendly, though not openly hostile. They then made in-
cursions into the Kachin Hills to the eastward, between the 'Nraai-
kba, or eastern branch (»f the Irrawaddy, and the Taping river on
the south. From Lekapyang they trivelled chiefly through Maran
villages, which were friendly, and eventually returned to Waingmaw
on the Irrawaddy below the confluence. Sadon had originally
been the object of their eastern explorations, but owing to the hos-
tility of that sub-tribe of ihe Sadans, indeed of the whole tribe,
the project had to be abandoned.
To enable this vast tract of country to be administered a Sub-
divisional Officer was established for the first time at Myitkyina,
the most northerly Shan-Burman village on the Irrawaddy, with a
police post and guard, and the Military Police of Bhamo and Mo-
gaung were strengthened from other battalions.
The condition of the Mogaung subdivision at the beginning of
1890 was far from satisfactory. To the north the Thama chieftain
'was sullen after his punishment of the year before and slill gave
refuge to Po Saw and other bad characters. He also permitted a
stream of armed ruffians to pass through his territory from China
to the jade-mines, bringing illicit opium and liquor. To the west of
Thama was the seat of the disturbances between the India-rubber
traders. Dacoities and attacks on friendly villages round Kamaing
were frequent and there were constant disturbing rumours of in-
tended descents from the jade mines on Mogaung. In the neigh-
bourhood of Lake Indawgyi the Sana Kachlns gave trouble. They
raided the villages on the west side of the lake and they harboured
the rebel Po Saw for months at a lime. For a time the tribes on
the Kaukkwe stream were tolerably quiet. Two brutal murders
north of Sinbo were supposed to have been committed by some
of the Kachins at the head-waters of the Kaukkwe, but otherwise
there was no serious trouble. The Lfeka chieftain still held back
from coming in to the Deputy Commissioner, Bhamo, and submit-
ting his dispute with llie forest lessee to arbitration, but he v;as
noi actively hostile. The only place where a real and permanent
improvement had followed the operations in the early part of 1889
was in the tract just west of the upper defile. The Kachins there
were thoroughly subdued and quiet.
This was the slate of afifairsat the beginning of the rains of 1890.
During the rains, as was natural, there was a period of tolerable
quiet. Scarcely, however, were they over, when there were evidences
of threatened disturbance up the Kaukkwe. The rival tribes of the
Karas and Kakus beyond the confluence began collecting with a view
348
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VII.
to a fight over some petty qaarrel and the Nanka Chief had the
daring to raid S6gyi, where he took seven captives, and refused to
release them in spite of direct orders. Later the Gonga Duwa
raided the newly founded village of ^[auktan behind Mosit and
destroyed it utterly. This was particularly annoying. Hitherto
from fear of the Kachins the Shan-Burmans had never dared to
penetrate inland and take up the many acres of fertile land lying
waste and this was the first experiment of the kind that had been
made*
At the end of the rains, therefore, a column was formed to visit
and punish the Lana Kachins, thence to strike across to Lfeka
at the head of the Kaukkwfe and arrange matters with the Chief,
and proceeding southwards towards some central spot to establish
a central depot, whence the whole of the Kaukkwe valley could be
traversed and explored.
This column started from Bhamo at the end of December with
the intention of proceeding towards Sana. It was, however, delayed
a considerable time at Mogaung for want of rations, and in the
meantime Captain O'Donncll, the Commandant of the Mogaung
Levy, received what he imagined to be trustworthy information of
a gathering of some eight hundred Chinamen under Po Saw,
collected at Thama, with the intention of attacking Mogaung after
the column had left for Sana. Captain O'Donnell started for
Thama on the 15th February 1891, but on his arrival at Thama he
found that, though Po Saw and his men might have been there, the
eight hundred Chinamen certainly were not. There is no doubt,
however, that a certain number of desperadoes had come over from
China ready for any enterprise that might offer. This otherwise
fruitless expedition secured the submission of the Thama Chief, who
was induced to come into Mogaung, but fled back to his hills the
same night for some reason that was not discovered. Repeated
messages, threatening and conciliatory, were sent' to him, but he
refused to do more than send in his step-son, who was taken down
to Bhamo to give him some insight into our strength and re-
sources.
While Captain O'Donnell was away in Thama the Wuntho
rebellion broke out. He was then re-called and ordered to proceed
to Taunglh6nl6n and act under General Wolseley's orders. This
he did, but luckily on his way back found time to deal with Sana
in the first week m April, lie himself advanced from Taungih6n-
I6n, while Lieutenant Wilding of the Inniskilling Fusileers with
1 15 men went out direct from the Indawgyi post. The latter party
came across Po Saw's encampment near the village of Nunkoman
and captured some of his effects. Apparently Po Saw's following
tAP. VI!.! THE KACHIN HIL"
IE CHINGPJ
349
had now been reduced to twenty men. These all effected their
escape. The columns burn: the villages of Lana, Namkan, Nanisai,
and Nampu and ihen returned. No resistance was offered by the
Kachins themselves, but Po Saw's followers fired on the column.
The Wuntho rebellion had prevented action on the Kaukkwe, but
the Shan-Burmese were so alarmed at the attitude of ihe Kachins
that thuy meditated deserting their villages and coming down to the
banks of the Irrawaddy for protection. Two columns were, there-
fore, sent out in the second week in April, one of which went up the
Kaukkwe valley and on by Nanko, the other following the Mosit
valley to G6nga. After successfully accomplishing the punishment
of the Nanko Kachins by the arrest of the Chief and the raiders,
and of Gonga by the burning of the Duma's house at Tauiigdu and
of the neighbouring village of Legyagataung, whence most of those
implicated in the dacoity came, the two columns met at Maing-
taungwa. Here they received the submission of Sinwawa, the head
of the Kwan sub-tribe and by far the most powerful Chief on the
Lower Kaukkwe. Sinwawa's submission had a marked effect on
the attitude of the other tribes and it was found possible to with-
draw fifty men of ihe King's Royal Rifles, the remainder of the
column, which consisted of one hundred Madras Infantry and ninety
Devons, half of them mounted, proceeding directly up the Kaukkwe
to deal wiih the L^ka Dwwa. Owing to the lateness of the season
and transport difficulties, the column was unable to proceed further
north than Kalegan near Yfepu, which is two days' journey from
Lfeka. The Dwwa, however, came into the camp and brought in
the lesser Chiefs who were engaged in the attack on the elephants
of Maung Bauk, the forest lessee. These were lined and the L^ka
Duwa made them pay. It had been intended to take him in to see
Bhamo, but the nearness of the rains made the return journey
difficult and he was not brought on. The Kara and Kaku dispute
was also settled without fighting. The rival parties were made to
take oaths according to Kachin custom not to raid on one another.
Thus as much as was possible was done before the troops were
forced by the rains to return into quarters. But Kachin peculiarities
and feuds upset much of the settlement before the rains were over.
The peaceably disposed Lfeka Chief was murdered by a rival named
Kalingwa, who established himself as his successor, and as an
almost necessary consequence assumed a hostile attitude towards
British authority, which could not be supposed to approve of such
a way of assuming charge. Lower down the Kaukkwe a similar
example of Kachin masterfulness flouted our authority in another
way. The Maingtaungwa Duiva had differences with some
neighbouring Chief and, in defiance of orders not to take the law
3SO
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VII,
into his own hands, proceeded to settle the matter by burning his
opponent out.
It became evident that something more than punitive expeditions
was wanted to put an end to Kachin pretensions and disorderliness.
There were numerous tribes lying within our administrative bound-
aries who had not even been visited, to say noihing of reduction to
order and subjection. When columns went out to punish raids and
burn villages, that was all they did, for nothing had as yet been
decided as to what British claims were and what the position of the
Kachins was to be. A great part of the country south of Mogaung
through which the Mu Valley Railway was to be constructed haa
not been visited at all, and the tribes of the Kaukkwe valley evi-
dently still believed that they might carry on their feuds exactly as
they did in the times of the Burmese Government. It was resolved
therefore, that all the tribes west of the Irrawaddy lying inside the
circle of our settled villages must be taught that they were tributary
and made amenable to orders. The Kachins were to pay a moderate
house-tax, while we left to them their village customs and did not
interfere in the payments, whether in money, kind, or labour usually
made to their l)un'as. Petty crime and civil disputes were to be
settled by tribal custom, but all serious offences, such as murder,
dacoity, and robbery, were to be reported to the nearest British
officer. The headmen were themselves to arrest such offenders, or
to aid in their arrest. All blood feuds and inter-trtbal raids were
to cease and differences with neighbouring clans were to be sub-
mitted to our officers. They were to open and maintain such hill-
roads as might be pointed out to them. In return each Chief was
to receive a certificate or sanad, recognizing him as Chief and set-
ting out his obligations. As long as he exercised his authority
well he was to be supported by Government. All villages lying
within the district limits, where they were not exposed to trans-
frontier raids, were to be deprived of guns, except where well-dispos-
ed Chiefs received them, again registered and numbered.
To carry out this policy, one military and four police columns
were employed to the west of the Irrawaddy during the open season
of 1 89 1 -92.
Of these the military column was the only one which met with
no opposition throughout. It visited the Hukawng valley, which
till 1892 lay entirely outside the area of our control. The column
left Mogaung on the 21st December 1891 and marched via Laban
to Mainghkwan, the chief Shan village in the Hukawng valley,
which was reached on the 9th January. Here, as had been pre-
arranged, a column from Assam under Mr. J. F. Needham was met
Exploration was conducted throughout the Hukawng Valley and
CHAP. VII.] THE KACHIN HILLS AND THE CHLSGPAW. 351
the amber mines region, the India-rubber tract towards 'Ntup 'Nsa
was visited, and the various Chiefs were called in. The column was
accompanied by Dr. Noetling of the Geological Survey, whose report
on the amber mines is noted in another chapter, and by Mr.
O'Bryen, Assistant Conservator of Forests, who was deputed to
examine the India-rubber forests.
The valley was explored in all directions and the column then
marched from Mainghkwan down the Chindwin and reached to the
Jade Mines from the west, ending its tour at Mogaung ori 7th March
1892, when it was amalijamated with the Irrawaddy column and
employed in rationing Sad6n. The chief work done by the column
was the exploration and preparation for future control of the IIu-
kawng valley. This is quite flat throughout, clothed with dense
forest, mostly impenetrable, intersected by numerous streams, and
very thickly populated. The K.ichins in these parts are reported
to lose their turbulent character in descending from the hills and to
become lazy and peaceable like the Shans, who formerly inhabited
the valley, but were gradually ousted. The Hukawng valley still
remains to be brought imder direct administration. Its peaceful
condition made it possible to postpone this till the more disorderly
country could be reduced.
The Jade Mines country had never given any trouble and its
settlement was satisfactorily carried out by Mr. Crowther until just
before the rains of 1892, when an untoward incident occurred,
owing to a mistake of verbal orders by a Myook. The Duwa of
Lfema, north-west of Kansi, was arrested by a party of military
police and, as he was being brought into Sanhka, the police were
ambuscaded. One sepoy was shot dead and two were at first
reported missing, but were afterwards found to have died. The
Duwa escaped. In spite of this the other Chiefs remained quiet
and, as the garrison of Fort O'Donne-ll at Sanhka had been with-
drawn, the offending Kachins were left unpunished.
The Mogaung and Indawgyi police columns were originally de-
tailed to visit the Kacbin hills near the Indawgvi lake. The more
urgent work of hunting down the t\-Sa'iCbiva of Wuntho, however,
rendered it impossible for them to carry out this programme. Be-
yond capturing the rebellions Duwa Sinwawa at Maingtaungwa in
the Kaukkwe valley, these two columns did nothing in the shape
of settlement of Kachin Tracts, and confined their attention
entirely to hunting Maung Aung Myat, the younger Sawbwa, out
of the neighbourhood of Taungth6nl6n, where he had established
himself with a considerable following. Captain Wilson, A<:sistant
Commissioner, was put in control of all the forces and the Wuntho
Sawbwa found his position untenable and tried to make his way to
352
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VU.
Lfeka to join Kalingwa. A portion of his following was intercepted
by the Indawgyi column on the 30th March at the Namon stream,
south of Lake Indawgyi. Six were killed and some women of the
gang were captured. The pursuit of the Sa-wbwa was carried on,
and, though he was not captured, his following was entirely broken
up and he himself was driven into China.
The third police column operated in the Kaukkwe valley. In
November a party proceeded up the valley and established a post
at Thayetta to keep the valley permanently in check and to serve
as a base for the ensuing operations. A combined descent on
Maingtaungwa was arranged by the Kaukkwe column from Tha-
yetta and the Mogaung column from Sinbu. The latter arrived
first by a night march and succeeded in surrounding Sinwawa's
house and arresting him. He was deported and the lower valley
afterwards gave little trouble.
The Kaukkwe column then proceeded to visit as much of the
valley as possible. They crossed the basin of the Mosit, went
across country to Bhamo, and then moved up along the hills to the
west of the third defile to Sinbo. From Sinbo they returned to
Thayetta, punishing Watu for raids on Mantan on their way.
From Thayetta the column set out for the L6ka country, where the
upstart Kalingwa had to be dealt with. No resistance was offered
at first to the advance of the column, but Kalingwa was successful
in getting the tribes to rise. The column attacked and burnt
Lepaigatang, but met with serious resistance and had ultimately to
retire to Thayetta, partly because of sickness, partly because
rations were running short. The Kachins harassed the retreat and
there was a danger of an extended rising. A hastily improvised
column was therefore sent out from Bhamo, with Mr. Ross as Civil
OfTicer, by the Kaukkwe route to co-operate with a military police
column from Katha acting through Mohnyin. The columns con-
verged on Lepaigatang on the i6th April and met with some oppo-
sition at first. By a piece of good luck Kalingwa himself was
killed and upon this the villagers took to the jungle. The column
stayed for some days destroymg the grain of the rebellious villages
and fining and disarming all that could be reached. At the end of
April this was finished and the Kaukkwe column returned to Tha-
yetta.
The Northern Katha column, consisting of 25 men under Mr.
Skinner, Assistant Superintendent of Police, marched from Katha in
January to the Kachin hills round Mohnyin, and from there advanced
towards Natmauk. On the ist February at about four miles from
Natmauk the party was ambuscaded and Mr. Skinner withdrew for
reinforcements. The column was brought up to a strength of 80
CHAP. VI T.J THE KACHIN HILLS AND THE CHINGPAW. 35 J*
and on its return to Natmauk was met by the Drnva with offers of
submission. He paid the fine that was imposed upon him, and for
the next three months Mr. Skinner carried on the visitation of vil-
lages, collecting tribute, and confiscating guns without further
molestation. He collected 127 guns altogether.
The last of the columns employed on operations in the interior of
the Bhamo district was the South-eastern column, which was em-
ployed on the east of the Irrawaddy in the country bordering on the
Sinkan valley. The column left Shwegu in December and spent
the following three months in disarming Kachin villages. No
opposition was met with ; 98 villagers were visited ; Rs. 903 in tri-
bute at the rate of one rupee a house brought in ; and 302 guns
confiscated. The two columns last mentioned were therefore able
to carry out the policy towards the Kachins begun in this sea-
son.
East of the Irrawaddy little had up to this been done to bring
the tribes under control. Several expeditions had gone out from
year to year to punish outrages committed by the tribes to the
south of the Tapms; river, and these tribes had learnt to a certain
extent to recognize and respect British authority. The country to
the north of the Taping was entirely unvlsited except for the recon*
naisance made by Captain Eliott and Major Hobday in 1890-gi.
The necessity for bringing this part of the counti7 under control
was forced on us by repeated outrages committecf by the tribes
there Thus In March 1889 the P6npaT (Lepai) Kachins attacked
Ywadaw near Waingmaw, killed three villagers, and carried off two
captives. In December 1889 the men from Sadon attacked Waing-
maw with a force of 300 men. They were beaten off, but they
carried away some captives, among them the headman of Ywadaw.
In January 1890 the Kachins of Kasu and Tabon carried off and
enslaved a family living on the Nantabet stream. In June 1890
the Lahsi Kachins of Makaung carried off a Burman from the same
neighbourhood. The Kachins of Kwitu and Lakapyang stopped
the work of Major Hobday by their hostile attitude. .Along the
Molfe river there were constant dacoities by the Kachins. More-
over the elder Sawbwa of Wuntho was reported to be at Sad6n
stirring up the tribes to raid and issuing proclamations for this pur-
pose.
In approaching these tribes we had to deal, not with nationalities,
but with groups of small independent savage communities, with no
inter-tribal coherence. It was necessary to dominate and reduce
them to the position of subjects and tributaries, if permanent peace
was to be secured. Besides this, the Kachin hills along the Chinese
frontier served as a screen for the bad characters, who were in the
45
354
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VII,
habit of assembling on the Yunnan side of the frontier and making
periodical raids into British territory. It was such a gathering: of
well-armed Kachins and Chinese that attacked Bhamo Itself in
1886. Mogaung had been repeatedly threatened and the India-
rubber trade had been completely disorganized. Rumours of the
presence of armed bands did even more mischief and rendered a
revival of trade between Burma and Yunnan on any considerable
scale impossible. All the principal routes of that trade pass
through the Kachin hills south of the 'Nmaikha and had been up
to this time subject to continual interruption and harrying by un-
ruly Kachins. While legitimate trade was thus hampered, great
quantities of illicit opium, spirits, and arms found their way in from
China without any trouble whatever.
It was therefore decided to deal with the Kachins east of the
Irrawaddy in the same way as with the tribes to the west ; to
reduce them to tributaries ; and to grant the Chiefs sanads on the
terms indicated above. The only change to be made was in the
case of Duwas on caravan routes. These Chiefs had been from
time immemorial in the habit of levying toll on caravans and, in
return for such payments, of keeping up trade roads, repairing
bridges and guaranteeing safe passage. This was the main source
of their revenue and it was undesirable to deprive them of It sud-
denly. It was therefore decided to issue at any rate the first sanads
with a clause authorizing the Chiefs to levy tolls, the amount of which
was to be fixed in each case. To carry out this policy the whole of
the north-eastern Bhaino frontier from Nam Kham in the Shan
States to Sadon was visited during the open season of 1891-92 by
four colnmns.
The operations of the Sinkan column were partly frontier work,
partly of a similar character to that of the columns employed to the
west of the Irrawaddy. The column went first to Namhkam in
the Northern Shan States and there Captain GastrcU, the Political
Officer, entered into communications with the M^ng Mao SaTvbwa,
whose capital is in the same valley as Namhkam and about twenty
miles off. The r'H-siu was furnished with a list of the outlaws and
dacoits who were known to be harboured in the M^-ng Mao State,
and invited to meet the British Officers and discuss plans of joint
action for driving them out. The Tu-ssu's replies were not satis-
factory. He first denied that there were any dacoits in his juris-
diction, then said he would expel them, and finally sent a verbal
message asking that no more letters might be sent to him, since
correspondence with British Officers was likely to get him into
trouble with his superiors in Yunnan. The valley of the Nam Mao»
as the Shans call the Shweli, is perfectly flat and open in this
CHAP. Vll.] THE KACHIN HILLS AND THE CHINGPAW. 355
neighbourhood. There are very many villages and abundance of
boats. It was obvious therefore that the only method of keeping
peace on the frontier here was to establish a post at Namhkam,
which was accordingly arranged for but not effected before the fol-
lowing year.
After completing these investigations at Namhkam the column
entered on the second portion of its work, which consisted In visit-
ing the Kachin Hills in the Sinkan valley, issuing sanads, collecting
tribute, and licensing and confiscating guns. Appointment orders
were given to nineteen Du-xas, sixty-four guns were licensed and
forty -four confiscated, and Rs. 203-8-0 were collected at the rate
of eight annas a house. At the same time information was collected
as to the dacoit gangs which remained in the valley and In the middle
of April, in conjunction with a party from Mong Mit, an attack was
made on their camp at the head-waters. In this affair three dacoits
were killed and six captured, but Nga Po and Nga Byu, the leaders
of the gang, escaped. The late Captain (then Lieutenant) Nelson
and several sepoys were wounded on our side. All endeavours to
hunt the dacoits down failed, and as enquiries proved that they were
harboured by several villages the inhabitants of these were moved
to another part of the district under the Village Regulation.
The Eastern column went through the area cast of the third defile,
which had not till then been brought under control and then pro-
ceeded along the part of the frointer between Taku and Matin. In
the first portion fifty-five guns were confiscated, Rs. 154-8-0 were
collected as tribute, and headmen were appointed without incident.
In the second portion ninety villages were visited, 258 guns destroyed,
and 104 licensed, and Rs. 1,638 were collected as tribute. The
Matin tract was not entered, in pursuance of an agreement made
with the Chinese official of T6ng-yueh (Momien) that pending the
delimitation of the frontier neither Chinese nor British Officers should
visit it. No opposition was met with anywhere.
The Irrawaddy column explored the section of the frontier between
the Nantabet and the 'Nmaikha. This part of the country had been
visited for the first time in the 1890-91 season by Captain Eliott
and Major Hobday and it was decided as a result of their investi-
gations to establish a post at Saddn, This place lies at the junction
of the two main routes from China, those from Kay6n and Sansi, and
is therefore important as controlling illicit trade.
The column left Myilkyina on the 23rd December and marched
without opposition as far as the Tingri stream. A mile beyond this
was a strong stockade which was carried after half an hour's fighting,
in which six Karhins were killed and one Gurkha was wounded.
3S6
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VII.
The column pushed on to the hill above Sad6n, where the village of
Sana was taken. Next day, the 30th December, Sad6n was attacked
on two sides and was taken after some opposition. The building
o( a post was immediately commenced and after ten days the main
column left Sadon to explore the country to the north and north-
east of the post. U first advanced to the neighbourhood of the
Chinese frontier at Kambaiti camping-ground and then marched
north to Kumpipum, a short distance south of the 'Nmaikha, and
then returned to Sad6n, which it reached on the 23rd January. The
chief object of the tour was to secure the submission of the Nawchon
and other Chiefs in the country north of Sadon. The tribes were
told that they were subject to our rule ; our intentions were explained
to them, and they were informed that tribute would have to be paid,
but none was collected, nor was the tract disarmed. The chief
tribes are Marus, Li-hsaws, and La-hsis, and it was thought sufficient
to inform them that they were British subjects.
The column halted at Sad6n till the 4th February, and during
this time the construction of the post was pushed on as fast as pos-
sible. On the 1st February Information was received that the Chief
of Sadankong, a village on the north of the 'Nmaikha, two marches
from 'Nsentaru, was collecting a hostile gathering and intended to
dispute the passage of the 'Nmaikha at the 'Nsentaru ferry, if we
should attempt to cross the river. The column accordingly left
Saddn on the 5th and reached 'Nsentaru ferry on the 7th February.
The passage was not disputed, but the nature of the ground made
the crossing difficult. The country beyond was found quite friendly
as far as the village of Sampawng, and on the loth Feburary an
advance was made on Sadankong. Seven stockades blocked the
way and were taken without loss, but on the i ith, when Sadankong
was carried, a Gurkha was wounded. During the two days' halt
made, the Kachins made several attacks and two neighbouring
villages were consequently burned. On the 14th February the
column set out on its return journey to Sadon and found on its
arrival on the aand that the fort had been besieged during its
absence. The Kachins to the north, west, and south of Sadon rose
on the 7th February, surrounded the post, and harassed it by repeated
attacks. T]ie garrison was relieved on the 20th Februarj- by the
North-eastern column under Captain Davies of the Devonshire Regi-
ment. Notwithstanding the siege, a ration convoy party of fifteen
Gurkhas under Lieutenant MacMunn fought its way into the fort
(since named Fort Harrison, after the Commandant) on the 9th
February. The earthworks and sapping operations undertaken
by the Kachins during the fortnight's siege created some sur-
prise.
CHAP. VII.] THK KACIIIN HILLS AND THE CHINGPAW. 357
During the remainder of February and the beginning of March
the Irrawaddy column was engaged in reducing to order the country
round Sadon, which had furnished men for the attack on the fort.
The Kwitu Chief, who was the most formidable malcontent of these
posts, was deported for continuously harbouring Po Saw after the
rehef of Sadon. On the iith March the column started on the
last part of its tour in the country to the north-west of Sad6n and
on its march captured a slave of Po Saw, the ^A"-Myo6k of Mogaung,
who stated that a smuggling league had existed between a chain of
Chiefs on the line from Sansi in Yunnan lo the jade and amber
mines. The principal hnks were Sadon, Sadankong, Turgor, and
Thamaand these had now all been dealt with. A post was built at
Namli as an intervening link to Sad6n.
The fourth column was the North-eastern, which visited the
frontier, and the country within the frontier, from Myothit on the
Taping to the Nantabet stream and traversed without opposition
large tracts of country which had never before been visited. The
Nampaung stream lay within this section. In 1891 there were
persistent reports that the Chinese intended to establish military
posts on the Taping trade route at the Nampaung and at Man-
naung, where a British police post was contemplated. During
preceding years Chinese caravans had been escorted through the
Kachin Hills in both Chinese and British territory by an adven-
turer named Ma VVuh-hsiang, who had collected a body-guard
and protected caravans as a sort of private speculation. These
men were his own followers and, before 1890, no Chinese troops
had advanced beyond the Nampaung. In October 1891, however,
a party of Chinese troops, said lo be eighty strong, crossed this
frontier stream and established themselves at Lawkugyi and near
Myothit, two places considerably to the west of the Nampaung and
unquestionably in British territory. A small body of troops and
military police was sent out to Mannaung and Myothit at the
beginning of November and letters were sent to the Chinese autho-
rities requesting the withdrawal of their troops. About five miles
from Myothit, at a place called Tingsu, a commencement of
stockading hat! been begun by the Chinese, and at Sumpaya, close
to the Nampaung, a small stockade had been erected, but destroyed.
On the eastern side of the Nampaung, two miles farther on, there
was a small post. Here the Bhamo Deputy Commissioner had an
interview with Chang and Huang, the Commandants of the Manyiin
(Manwaing) levy, a body of troops employed in the jurisdiction of
the Teng-yuoh Rrigadit-r. .After hearing our intentions, the two
Chinese Officers left for Man-yiin and a British post was built on
the west bank of the Nampaung and garrisoned by one hundred
men of the 4th Burma Battahon.
358
THE UPPEK BUBJCA GAZETTEER. [CHAP, VU.
Arrai^efDeiits were made lor regpbdng the traffic The rates of
caravan tolls were fixed and it «as arranged that ibe sums collected
fboold be divided among the Kachki Chiefs wiiu bad fonncriy been
in the habit of lenring dues. The estahMimem of the post result-
ed in complete sabety (or caravans on the British side.
It was in the coantry on the north of this that the North-eastern
column made its tour. It staned h'om Myotbit on the Taping and
marched northwards to the Moli at a short distance from the frontier,
visiting the villages on and near the route. The right bank of the
Moli vas followed to Kwi-hkaw on the frontier and then the column
turned north-west and visited the country near the Irrawaddy.
While it was at Kazu on the i6ih February news was received of
the siege of Sadon and a hurried march was made to the north.
Sadon was relieved on the 20th and during the foHowing days seven
men were wounded and a follower vas killed in the punitive ope-
rations.
The column marched back for Kazu on the Nantabet on the 9th
March and then proceeded east to the frontier, where resistance had
been threatened but was not met with. On the 24th March it again
turned north-west and worked through what remained of the section.
Except in the Sad6n affair no resistance was met with and the ope-
rations were a mere march through the countr)^ Tribute to the
amount of Rs. 3,414-8-0 was collected, 680 guns were confiscated
and 336 guns were hcensed. This was the more salisfactor)' be-
cause the tribes had been reported to be ill-disposed and bent on
hindering the march.
The chief occurrence of note during the rains of 1892 was the
incursion of the pretender known as the Setkyawadi Min, Who he
was really was never found out, but he first came into prominence
in January 1S89, when he led a band of mercenary Chinamen into
the country of the Upper Moli, where the band was met and scattered
with severe loss, by some military police. No more was heard of
him till the 8th July 1892, when he re-appeared at Theinlon on the
Molfe with a gang of over too men, 12 of whom were Chinamen and
the rest Shan-Burmans and Kachins. He was pursued, but escaped
across the Irrawaddy at Kaungchi in the second defile. Close to
this he was come up with and in the engagement he and six of his
men were killed. It was not discovered where he came from, but
he was first reported by the Kachins at Kadu, on the stream of the
same name which flows from Alawpum to Manwaing and is in the
jurisdiction of Santa. Letters found on him showed that he was in
correspondence with the Wuntho Sawh-wa, The remnants of his
gang scattered into the LfeUa country, where they could not be
K)llowed at that time of year. They probably made their way
CHAP. VII.] THE KACHIN HILLS AND THE CHINGPAW. 359
back to China, for nothing was afterwards heard of them. Other-
wise, except for one or two petty dacoities, two or three crimes of
violence on ihe trade routes, and a few inter-tribal disputes, the
Kachins remained quite peaceful.
Towards the end of the rains, however, there were signs of renewed
activity on the part of the Wunlho Sawbwa and the malcontents
with him. Emissaries from across the border were said to be
moving about and, with the help of the Sana Kachins, north-west of
Myitkylna, they managed to smusfsjle through to China the elephants
which Aung Myat, the younger Wuntho Sawbwa, had been obliged
to leave behind in his retreat the year before.
The programme for the cold weather of 1892-93 included the
establishment of frontier pohce posts at Sinia and Namhkam.
Otherwise operations were to be confined to the settlement of the
tribes within the limits of the Bhamo and Katha districts and the
completion of the work of previous' seasons. A limit was determined
on beyond which direct administration was not contemplated and
detailed instructions were issued to the civil officers employed in the
Kachln Tracts. The following extracts indicate the policy adopt-
ed:—
" The Gm^ernment of India consider It of the utmost importance not only to
keep the operations within the narrowest practicable limits, but also to restrict
as closely as possible the area within which future administrative interference
will be necessary. The annexation of the territories formerly subject to the
Court of Ava has imposed on us the duty of establishing peace and security
within the settled districts ; but except for this purpose there is no need to
interfere with the savage tribes along our borders ; and it has always been
recognized that it is unnecessary, in cases of this kind, to push forward the
administrative frontier as far as the extreme limits within which we claim
supremacy.
" The Governor-Genera! in Council is of opinion that the first principles
of our policy should therefore be to entirely exclude foreign influence and to
deal with all Kachin tribci of any strength or importance in two main di-
visions, namely —
(i) the tribes and clans within our line of outposts and settled vil>
lageH and
(ii) the tril>r» and t Unii out«lde of that line.
" The Kachins inside the tine thould be treated in exactly the same
manner as our other KubjectSi ftnd should be disarmed and taxed accordingly.
'* As regards the Kschins outside the line, the view of the Governor-
General in Council \n that tliey should be dealt with on the principle of
political as di8tinguiiib«*d (rom adminiHtralivc control. As long as they keep
the peace all unnccriftary interierrncc should be avoided. Only a nominal
tribute should be taken from Ihrm and disarmament should not be enforced,
except as a special punishment. Along the eastern frontier from Sad6n south-
wards it is DOW necessary to take a firm position; but in dealing with the
366
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VIJ.
Kachins on this border it is considered inadvisable to push through a violent
measure of disarmament, or to impose taxes which will be felt as severe ; and
in the tract on the east of the Irrawaddy between the administrative frontier
and the 'Nmaikha from 'Nsrntaru westwards it will probably be best to as-
sess each hill or tribe in a lump-sum to be paid by the Chief as revenue, and
to make tjie Kachins register their arms, allowing them to be retained during
good behaviour. Civil officers generally, and those employed in this region
in particular, should give to their visits as peaceful and conciliatory an aspect
as possible.
" During this cold weather civil officers will not ordinarily issue appoint-
ment orders to Kachin Chiefs. They will, however, have to settle and com-
municate to each Chief —
[a) the territorial limits of the Chiefs jurisdiction ;
(A), the number of arms his villages may possess ;
{c) The rale of tribute per household {note, not house) which the
Cliief must pay in yearly by the 1st November ;
(rf) The place at which payment of the tribute is to be made, t.e., the
nearest Subdivisional Officer's court-house.
"The fixing of the above points will be left to the civil officers, subject to
the genera! control of the Deputy Commissioner. Appointment orders will
only be issued in exceptional cases to important Chiefs, and will in no case be
granted without the previous sanction of the Chief Commissioner.
'' As for point (a) there will generally be little difficulty, but where there is
a regular dispute between two or more tribes, a formal onquin* must be held,
evidence taken, and a formal adjudication passed and notiBed to the parties,
which will, subject to revision by the Deputy Commissioner, be final.
'* As for point {6) the guiding principles are —
(i) Every hill guilty of disloyalty to us, or guilty of attacks on cara*
vans, &c., to be disarmed.
(a) Disarmament of all villages and hill tracts in the interior of the
district to take place, selected Chiefs loyal to us being allowed
to retain a few guns.
(3) Disarmament of frontier and exposed tracts not to be carried out
for the present except in case of hostility, disloyalty, or turbu*
lence.
"Poini [c). — The rate has been fixed by the Chief Commissioner for the
present at Rs. 2-8-0 per household. But the object of the tribute is not to
raise revenue so much as to have a palpable token of submission. Hence it
will always he advisahl** to let off the villages easily, hut where a village or
group of villages pays at a lesser rate, it is only in consideration of certain
special circumstances, and next year they are liable for the full rate.
"The opium rules permit Kachins to manufacture and possess opium
grown locally, and with this there will be no iiilerfLTcncc ; further the Kachins
have been exempted from the provisions of the excise law with respect to
country liquor and they should be permitted to manufacture, possess, and buy
and sell it amongst themselves without let or hindrance, but the excise and
opium law must be enforced against caravans.
" With reference to slaves the civil officers should insist, whero'cr possible
and politic, on the surrender of staves taken in raids, but should attempt no
CHAP. VII.] THE KACHIN HILLS AN^THE CHINCPAW. 361
active interference at present on bcha!f of slaves who have voluntarily surren-
dered their liberty to satisfy a debt, or, if hereditary slaves, who are well
treated by their masters.
"They should, on the other hand, lose no opportunity of impressing upon
the Kacnins that the whole system of slavery is disapproved of by the British
Government ; that It is contrary to British law and custom and will therefore
receive no support or encuurawtcment from the British authorities ; that no ill-
trcalment nf slaves will be allowed ; and that, if a slave ruus away, the Gov-
ernment will not assist his master to recover him.
" The great diRiculty we have to deal with in keeping down disorder
among the Kachins is, the existence of inter-tribal feuds due to " debts "
dating in many instances years back. It is particularly desirable that all old
scores should now be settled once for all. else wc shall have constaiit raids in
future. The civil officers will therefore make particular enquiry at evexy
village, whether there is a debt due either to the whole community or
to a singlr individual. Should there be one, he will take steps in accor.
dance with local customs to arrange matters. All Kachin 'debts' can
be settled by payment of compensation to one side or the other. Failure
to pay ivill be treated as a deliberate refusal to pay a fine ordered by .
Government and will be punished accordingly.
" It cannot be too often explained to the Kachins that in future we intend
to settle their inter-tribal disputes, which must always be referred to the
nearest civil officer. Taking the law into their own hands and raiding as
hitherto will disqualify the offender from redress and will render him liable
to punishment as well."
The Siraa, or North-eastern column under the command of
Captain Boyce Morton of the Magwe Military Police Battalion,
concentrated at Talawgyi on the Irrawaddy between Sinbo and
Myitkyina and marched on the 3rd December 1892. Opposition
was met with at 'Nkrang, which was reached on the 12th. Two
sepoys and a mule-driver were killed and Lieutenant Dent, the
Intelligence Officer, was wounded in the face and neck. Two days
later Sima was reached after thirty stoclcades had been taken on the
way, but intermittent fighting went on from the time of arrival until
theslh January 1893, durinj; which lime the post was being built.
On the very day on which Sima was reached Myitkyina was
raided suddenly and without a word of warnint^. The court-house
and Subdivisional Officer's house were burnt down and the Subadar-
Major of the Mogaung levy was shot dead. The raiders, who
were driven off with a loss of three killed, were the Sana Kachin
from the north-west of Myitkyina, headed by Sin-raing-wa, a Chief
who used formerly to live in Myitkyina itself, and was subsequently
found to be now acting in concert with the people round Sima.
While measures were being taken to collect a sufficient force of
men to punish Sana, the hostilities at Sima assumed very formid-
able proportions.
46
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VII.
Rumours that a general attack on the fort was intended were
so general that the pickets thrown out on the night nf the 5th
January were withdrawn in the early morning of the 6th, with the
exception of one which, though situated in a very exposed position,
was overlooked. At six in the morning the Kachins attacked from
all sides. Captain Morton then started for this exposed picket,
about eighty yards distant, but immediately fell mortally wounded
and was with difficulty brought inside the fori by Surgeon-Major
Lloyd, who afterwards received the Victoria Cross for his gallantry.
Five sep<iys were killed at the same spot.
The only European officers in the fort had been Captain Morton,
Surgeon-Major Lloyd, and Lieutenant Dent, a party under M^ Hertz
and Lieutenant NewboU having gone out to the north-west. On
the death of Captain Morton the command devolved on Lieute-
nant Master, who came in from * Nkrang about four miles distant.
Unfortunately he permitted the enemy to hem him in, with the result
,that, except forhelio communication, Sima was practically cut off.
Parlies marched backwards and forwards to 'Nkrang, but were
harassed all the way and the destruction of stockades in one place
was followed by the erection of fresh works elsewhere and the rising
gained strength daily. On the 16th January a party under Lieute-
nant Newbold attacked Mali to the south of Sima and destroyed
it, but on their return march heavy opposition was encountered and
Mr. Brooke-Meares of the civil police was mortally wounded and
seven sepoys killed. After this the force acted on the defensive.
Lieutenant Orever, therefore, who had assembled loo military
police at Myitkyina to punish the Sana Kachins, was ordered to
join Lieutenant Newbold at 'Nkrang and open up communications,
while the Eastern column, which was working south of the Taping,
was ordered to effect a diversion by the Molfc valley and was strength-
ened by 100 men under Captain Atkinson, who had been sum-
moned from Namhkam to take command. The Kaukkwfe column
under the command of Captain Alban was sent across in'd Talaw-
gyi. These measures had the result of opening up Sima, Simulta-
neous attacks were made on the 30th January on a formidable
stockade at Kamja (or Sumjar), and the Kachins were scattered
and the village burnt. Our loss was five killed and six wounded, in-
cluding Lieutenant Master, who was shot through the right lung
and died live days later. The next day Palap and Mali were burned
with a loss on our side of four killed and 22 wounded, including
Lieutenant Cooke Hurle, of the Somersets, and on the and February
another fight occurred close to Palap, when a bullet-proof stockade
was taken after a strong resistance. Nineteen Kachins were
killed here with eight Chinamen, one of whom had been an ofi&cer
CHAP. Vn.] THE KACHIN HILLS AND THE CHINGPAW. 363
in ihe Chinese army and had been dismissed for misconduct. After
this the fighting was of a more desultory character. Our opponents
here were the Kurnlan Kachins, whose principal characteristic is
that they do not own the authority of any Chief, even in single
villages. Many of the enemy came from the Hkaona valley, the
ownership of which at that time was uncertain, and these could not
be touched, but all the villages within our undoubted line were
brought to submission, while a few from the other side, Kum-lao,
Long-prong-yang, Waraw-kaung, Uprakhum-mu, Pumpri, and Lahsi
Chinkong, came in with presents of their own accord. The work
of the colunm was brougiii to a close in the last week in March.
It experienced the heaviest fighting that was encountered in the
Kachin hills. The enemy received their final blow at Palap, but
not before twelve hundred rifles had been sent to put down the
rising. The casualties for the seven weeks* fighting were heavy:
three officers killed, three wounded, and one hundred and two sepoys
and followers killed and wounded. Many mules were also killed
and stolen.
Shortly after the withdrawal of the column another rising, which
seemed at first to be serious, was reported at Palap. At Kazu the
rebels attacked and burnt the house of Pawmathe, locally known
as the Chaungok, a most influential man and one of our strongest
supporters. An attack was also made on Sima, but was repulsed.
An ambush at Palap, however, resulted in the death of a sepoy. A
military column consequenlly started out at once, but found on
their arrival at P.-ilap that nothing was left but a picket, of whom
they killed four. It afterwards appeared that the raiders were
about one hundred strong and were raised by Shao-kong of Lower
Palap. Thirty of them were Shans, mostly of the Wuntho Saiobiva's
following, thirty Chinese, and the remainder Kachins, chieflv from
Lwfe-ying, Nam-bang, and Ning-hpun on the Chinese side of the
border.
On its return from Sima the military column marched through
the hills to the south of Molfc by w^ay of Pumpein, where attacks
on caravans on the Nam-paung trade route were becoming common.
The Pumpein headman now submitted and the Talang Duwa was
arrested, while the Nam-paung trade route Kachins were fined for
not guarding the route better and a patrol was sent out regularly
from Myoihit.
The Eastern column had meanwhile, between the ist December
1892 and the 14th January 1893, the date on which it received
orders to proceed to the assistance of Sima, visited the whole tract
of the hills east of Bhamo, except Matin. Cases of " debt " were
settled. Tribes which had been slow in bringing in tribute were
3^
TKS UPPER BURMA GAZCTTEC&. [GHAP. Vlt.
Made to p»y and, except for some thorn oi bosisSty at I^ttse. where
s sepoy was votsuded, there was oo tronbte- The ofserations at
Sima, however, prevented the southeni area from beii^ visited.
The Namhkf m po^t was estabttsfaed in the begtmung of Decen-
bcr, with Captain Blarrett zs Ctvil Officer, to pot a stop to the coo-
itatit and hitherto uointemipied inr:>ads of bands of freebooters
from acrou the border, who had persistently iroafaled the Sinkan
valley and had kiOed the Mankin and Gw<*gyi thagyis not far from
Bhamo.
Early tn January Captain Marrett went with fifty men to Hsen-
wi town, which had been atucked and burnt by local Kachins. It
had been already relieved from Lashio and on his return there were
romottrs of gathering of malcontents on the Chinese frontier to the
north-east. Fifty men were sent oat to occupy S^-Tan, thirteen miles
from Namhkam, Notwithstanding this a considerable number of
marauders crossed through Wan-teng and settled at Man Hang, a
Kachin village in the hills above Muse, some miles beyond Selan,
where a former DuTsa had re-established himself. A patrol of
thirty-five men, under a native officer, was attacked at Mus^ by
the Man Hang people and beat them off with a loss of thirteen
killed. Upon this Man Hang was attacked on the 7th February
1893 by Lieutenant Williams with seventy-five miliiary police.
He had taken the village, when he was killed by a chance shot,
and the party then returned to Namhkam without burning Man*
hang or destroying the stockades.
Upon this a military column was hurried up from Bhamo.
When it advanced to Manhang the place was found to be evacuated
and was burnt. Somewhat later a raid was made by frontier
Kachins on the Shan village of Manhai In the Mdngko circle.
Manhai was burnt and many of the \'illagers were carried off as
slaves. The Kachin headman of Mongko attacked the raiders
on their retreat and released most of the captives, so that the late
arrival of Major Mathleson's party from Namhkam was of the less
importance. Many of the Manhang raiders, however, and those
who had burnt Manhai, settled in the village of Panglap on the
frontier ridge, A party of military police from Lashio went there
to disperse them after the miliiary column had returned to Nam-
hkam. Mr. J. G. Scott, the Superiniendent of the Northern Shan
States, was with the British party, which was fired on. The village,
which was strongly stockaded, was attacked and burnt on the 3rd
April 1893. Several ponies were killed and one sepoy wa*? wounded,
as wi:!! as Mr. Bradley, the Lashio Civil Surgeon, while the Kachins
lust nine killed. This punishment and the establishment of the Nam-
hkam post prevented further incursions on this part of the frontier.
CHAP. Vtl.] THE KACHIM HILLS AND THE CHINGPAW. 365
The Sinkan column started from Shwegu early in December and
made a final settlement of the Kara-lahtawng feud, which had been
running on for 25 years and had drawn in most of the villages in
these hills. On arriving at Sitkaw it co-operated with the Mong
Mil column in scouring the jungle in the south and south-west.
While it was there two Burman constables succeeded in getting the
Kachins of Nan-kauktaik to attaick the gang of Bo Byu. The Bo
was killed and most of his followers with him. From letters cap-
tured, it appeared that Ilkam Leng had been for three yeas send-
ing orders to the local ofhcials, and that, in spite of waminrgs, fines,
and special operations, most of the villages of Upper Sinkan had
been remitting funds to him. This success was followed up by
another early in February, when the Manga Kachins killed Po
Ywet, Hkam Leng's father-in-law, with two of his men. This man
had been Hkam Leng's chief recruiting agent and an implacable
enemy of our authority. Further operations were put an end to by
the diversion of the column to Namhkam, where it remained for some
weeks and only returned to the Sinkan valley at the end of the
season, when nothing further was heard of the dacoits. Lieute-
nant Milne, the Officer Commanding the Party, died of fever shortly
after returning to headquarters.
The Kaukkwe column also had its operations curtailed by the Siina
outbreak, but in December it disarmed all the L&ka villages without
trouble, Kahngwa's son and the Tingram Chief, the remaining
leaders of the hostile Kachins, having fled to China. Their villages
submitted and paid tribute and were placed under the control of
the friendly Pumkin Duioa. On its return from Sima the column
divided into two at Sinbo and passed through the hills west of thf
defile and through Thayclta along the Kara range, completing the
disarming and tribute collecting on iheir way.
The Mogaun^ column equally had its programme curtailed, but
during the time it was at work it received tribute from all the Thama
villages without the necessitv of visiting them and had only to
punish the Pontu Du-way who was deprived of all his guns. The
Lema Chief, who had killed two military police in an ambush, was
fined Rs. 2,000, and under the orders of Kansi, the principal
Jade Mines Chief, paid in two instalments almost immediately. A
number of villages in the hills round Indawgyi were visited and those
between the Mogaung and Indawgyi rivers, and tribute was col-
lected and cases settled without difficulty.
On the Nampaung route the village of Kadaw was fined three
buffaloes for persistent robberies and thefts from caravans and the
Kyetyin Chief, who was also rmpUcated, paid Rs. 20 and a pony,
and this with regular police patrols from iMyothit made the caravan
-166
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VII.
route quite safe for traders. With this season's vork it may be said
Ihat the whole of the Kachin hilU to the west of the Irrawaddy,
south of the jade mines, «ere finaUy quieted. On the east of the
Irrawaddy organized resistance was practically dead and the un-
certainty of the frontier was the only obstacle to the establishment
of permanent peace.
The visit of the Viceroy to Bhamo in November 1893 enabled
many points in referL-nce to the Kachin hills to be finally decided.
It was determined that the policy which had been found to work
well in the Arakan Hill Tracts should be applied. Administrative
responsibility is accepted on the left bank of the Irrawaddy for the
country south of the *Nmai kha and on the right bank for the
country south of a line drawn from the confluence of the Mali kha
and the 'Nmal kha, through the northern limit of the Laban tract
and including the jade mines. North of these lines it was announced
that so long as the tribes abstained from raiding they would not be
interfered with. Representative Kachin Chiefs from all parts of
the hills were presented to the Viceroy.
The maintenance of the Namhkam post not only prevented
marauders from crossing the border, but emboldened the Sinkan
Kachins to deal with those within their hills. Thus in July 1893
the Hopon Kachins fell upon and killed a gang, of whom the chief
men were Tet Pya and Nga Nyun, long noted, as ruthless dacoits.
For a time this l<ept things quiet, but early in November NyoSein,
for whose capture a reward of Rs. 2,000 had been offered, came
down to raid. Nyo Sein had been a prominent leader in all the Sinkan
valley disturbances from the lime the military police were repulsed
at Malin in 1888. Now, however, he was so hunted that he had to
return to China without effecting any mischief. He returned at the
end of November and was then surprised by Matinla, the Duwa
of T6nh6n, who killed both Nyo Sein and his lieutenant Gandama,
fighting to evade arrest. This was all the more gratifying because
Matinla had himself fied before us into China in 1893 and now
made his submission.
With one exception, the 1893-94 season was uneventful. A
number of parties went out in the Mogaung, Bhamo, and Shwega
subdivisions to collect tribute which had not been paid in at head-
quarters, to settle disputes between tribes and villages, to withdraw
or register firearms, and generally to show the Kachins that our
control was to be permanently maintained. The officers were every-
where received in a friendly way, except in the hills east of Bhamo.
There the village of Pansfe on the frontier was visited, to punish it
for firing on the Eastern column of the year before and afterwards
neglecting lo pay the iiue imposed. The Pansfe people made no
CHAP. VII.] THE KACniN HILLS AND THE CHINGPAW. 367
open resistance, but most of them went across the frontier into
Lung"ch'\van territory with their cattle and properly. Part of
their village was therefore burnt as a punishment and two other
obstinate villages shared the same fate. The result was an attack
on the column while on the march between Maipat and Hkinmun
and again on the following day, the i6lh January 1894 ; a number
of stockades had been built at difficult parts of the road, and in the
fighting three sepoys and a compounder were killed and 1 1 men
were wounded, while a number of the baggage mules were stamped
in thick jungle. Among those killed on the side of the Kachins
chanced to be Lemaing Tu, the Lahtawng leader of the rising, and
the gathering immediately dispersed. The punishing of the vil-
lages which had taken part in the rising was effected without further
trouble. Seventy-nine guns were taken and all the looted mules,
except a few which had been carried over the Chinese frontier, were
recovered, while the offending villages on the British side of the
border were fined.
Since then disturbances have been purely local and insignificant.
They have chiefly arisen from the Kachin's peculiar and stubborn
ideas on the subject of " debts " and from the many land disputes.
In many parts the country is too thickly inhabited, and the people
have difficulty in supporting themselves with their present rude
agricultural methods and their scanty crops. The question of
boundaries is therefore fought out with great bitterness and for
some time there were not enough officers to ensure a regular system
of visitation and enquiry.
In 1S95 Bhamo was therefore divided into two districts, the new
district having its headquarters at Myltkyina. The line of division
is approximately the latitude of the head of the first defile of the
Irrawaddy. At the same time the Kacliin Hills Regulation was en-
acted and brought inio operation. It legalized the procedure of
oflficers employed in ihe hills, but otherwise made no important
changes in the procedure previously in force. The gradual abolition
of all tolls is in contemplation and will be rendered easier by the
delimitation of the frontier with China.
The continued misconduct of the Sana Kachins from beyond the
adminstrative border rendered punitive measures necessary. They
had remained unpunished since the attack on Myitkyinain Decem-
ber 1892. Two columns were sent up, one of 250 rifles from Mylt-
kyina. the other of 200 rifles from Mogaung, marching in Decem-
ber 1 895. The resistance met with was entirely insignificant, though
one sepoy was mortally wounded near Sabaw. Unfortunately Major
Atkinson, Commanding the Column, died of fever at Sabaw, but
otherwise the operations were entirely successful. Twenty-four
368
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VII.
groups of villages were punished. The agtrrecjate of fines amount-
ed lo Rs. 3,000; four villages, including that of Sabaw, of which
Sin-raing-wa, who led the attack on Myitkyina, was Chief, were
destroyed with much paddy, and some gun^ were taken. Con-
sidering the poverty of the tract the punishment was heavy.
The rest of the hills are now so peaceful that officers are able to
go about with only a small personal escort. The only place where
daciities of any note have occurred is in the neighbourhood of Nan-
yaseik, where a ruby tract has been found on the Padi-hka within
the last few years. The large sums of money carried about by
miners and traders attracted a number of bad characters. The
posting of a Civil Officer at Nanyaseik with a detachmi;nt of police
put an end to this. Early in 1898, the Kara Duwa'm the Katha
district caused the only trouble with the Kachins which had occurred
for some years. On the 2nd March, when at Petit village, Mr.
Brown, Subdivisional Officer, Katha, sent his interpreter, Maung
Taung Baw, with four military pnlice and some friendly Kachins, to
call into his camp Saw Tun, the Kara Saivhwa, who lived at Mawa-
tauk, half-a-day's journey away. The real season why Mr. Brown
summoned the Kachin Chief was because the roads in his country
were reported to be bad, though it is said that Taung Baw, who
had previously been successful in getting many guns, intended also
to get some from the Karas. Mr. Brown was on tour with an
escort of 15 men collecting gun-^ from the Katha Kachins. hi
Mawatauk there was a Kachin outlaw and murderer whom the Saw*
bwa had harboured for two years. Saw Tun under the influence of
this man, who had heard that he would be arrested, determined to
rebel rather than g^ive up his guns. The Karas had a bad repu-
tation and had previously never been visited by a Government official.
Accordingly, with the help of some other Karas from the Shwegu
subdivision, who happened to be in Mawatauk, a sudden and trea-
cherous attack was made on Maung Taw Baw and the sepovs as
they were taking refreshments after their arrival at Mawatauk.
All five were cut down with dabs and killed without bein^ able to
make any defence and thoir sniders and bandoliers were taken,
^he friendly Kachins escaped and gave information at Mawhun.
The next day Mr. Brown who had heard nothing of the aff.iir,
arrived at Mawatauk to sec what had become of his party. He
was ambuscaded, but after two hours' tiring, in which the only
damage done was a peon severely wounded, repulsed the rebels and
destroyed their village. Mr. Brown returned that day m Petit and
the next day to Katha. On the 4th March a force of military
police under Captain Harvey, District Superintendent of Police,
arrived on the scene by a forced march, and the next day opt^rattons
CHAP. VH.] THE KACHIN HILLS AND THE CHINGPAW. 369
began against the Karas. The villages, numbering 10 or 12, of the
entire clan were destroyed, and the rebels, being caught between
two fires— another force of military police was sent to the east of
their country — the rebellion collapsed and Saw Tun and the leading
rebels escaped into the Shwegu subdivision. But their respite was
only a short one. The Subdivlsional Officer of Shwegu hunted
them down with the aid of his friendly Kachins, killing Saw Tun,
together with his wife, and recovering three of the &niders and ban-
doliers and one other gun, and the Kara country was completely
pacified.
On the frontier there has necessarily been some trouble, but many
cases of feuds and quarrels between villages on opposite sides were
amicably arranged and the Chinese officials showed a desire to
assist wherever they could.
The settlement of the Burma-China boundary, in progress while
these pages are going ihrous;h the Press, will finally ensure the
peace of the Kachin Hills under oar administration.
The Chingpaw, Singpho, or Kachins.
The Chingpaw are essentially a hill people and though, during
the last fifty years, they have pressed southwards to the plains and
have established villages on what are by comparison mere hillocks,
there is no instance of a Kachin village actually built in the plains.
In many cases their cultivation is in the valleys, but they live above
it, very often at heights and distances which to any one but a
Kachin would seem prohibitive of proper work.
The race includes a great number of tribes, sub-tribes, and clans,
divided and sub-divided to an extent which would appear needless
refinement, even thougfi they are recognized by the Chingpaw
themselves and are supported by differences in dress and sometimes
even in physical appearance, if it were not that these tribal divisions
are supported by sometimes very marked distinctions in dialect.
This is of course due to the isolating character of their abrupt hills
and valleys and still more to their combativeness and their main-
tenance of blood feuds. Though therefore the classifications and
sub-classifications seem bewildering and recall the grouping of
the Karens according to the pattern of their trousers and jacKets,
they have a present foundation in fact, though probably before
long most of them will become mere traditions.
The name Kachin is purely Burmese, but from the point of view
of this province, it has become as firmly attached to the race as the
name Shan has to the British Tai. The Tai call the Kachins
Kang; the Chinese call them Ye-jen {wild men) as an ordinary
name, but use the term Shan-teo (heads of the hills) when they
47
37°
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTKER. [CHAP. VII.
consider it advisable to be civil. In the Burma province the
various tribes usually answer to the name of Chingpaw, but that of
Khakhu is also used. The race has been studied from the north
and from the south. On the Assam side Mr. Needham and Mr.
Errol Grey are the chief authorities, besides the earlier writers,
Hannay. Bayfield, Willcocks and others. On the Burma side Mr.
E. C. S. George is the most prominent authority, but thure are
many others, Major Fenton, Captains Couchman, Davies, Walker,
Peebles, Dauncey, and most recently Lieutenant Pottinger, who
have supplied valuable information about special tracts. The
account here given is compiled from their various reports, but the
basis is a memorandum written by Mr. George in 1892.
It may be noted first of all that among themselves there are two
political divisions, firstly, Kanisa Kachins, that is to say, those who
have a Dwwa, or ruler; and secondly Kumlao Kachins, those who
have no Chief and even sometimes only an occasionally summoned
village council. Such republican or democratic communities are
no longer permitted within the Burma administrative boundary.
The word Kumlao originally means rebel and this suggests what
seems to have been the beginning of the various mixed communities
called Kumlao. Villages, or clans of tribes, revolted against their
Dwmas and formed little republics of their own, and it is probably
owing 10 the fact that these settlements were composed of contin-
gents from various tribes, Marips, Marus, Marans, Lepais, thai they
abstained from electini» a Chief. The custom appears to have been
of comparatively recent origin. The rebelliun of Laipuwa and
Kaulfe among the Lepais seems to date from about 1870, The
Sima rebellion of 1892-93 was mainly among the Kumlaos. The
chief villages implicated were Sima, Kamja, Palap, Nam, Ngalong,
Mali, Kaiya, Pumkatong, Palang, Upra, Tinga, and Mailong, all
democratic communities.
The national division into twn families, the Chingpaws and the
Khakhus, seems to be more fanciful than real, and to indicate
rather that some have migrated and some have not, or at any rate,
not within historical times Both Khakhus and Chingpaws arc
admittedly pure Kachins and all pure Kachins claim to come from
the "river-source country" (Khakhu means literally, head of the
river). The parent tribes, however, of whom there are five, the
Marips, Lahtawngs, Lepais, Nkhums, and Marans, run through both
the Khakhus and Chingpaws, and since Chingpaw means a man,
it w^ould appear that the name Khakhu, up-river men, is applied by
the Southern Kachins or Chingpaw to the Northerners simply as a
geographical term. The difference there is now between the North-
ern and Southern Kachins has simply resulted from the intercourse
CHAP. VII.] THE KACHIM
'HE CHINGP>
3V
of the migrants with the Chinese Shans, Burmese, and other races,
whom they have displaced or among whom they have settled. The
Singpho Rachins of the Duri Dihing, Noa Dihing, Tengapani and
the Hukawng valley apply the name to their kinsmen to the north-
east and, though Mr. Needham says the Khakhu dialect is essenti-
ally different, yet it has many words identical with those used by the
Sadiya and Hukawng Singphos. The Khakhus on their side are
said to call the Chingpaws Tingnaitnasha " men of the hot country,'*
which is simply another way of saying down-river men.
Khakhu may therefore be taken as meaning a Northern Kachin,
one living above the confluence of the two branches of the Irra-
waddy ; and Chingpaw, a Southern Kachin, one who has certainly
migrated from the original home of the race. This division has
the further convenience of corresponding with the present Burma
administrative boundary. Mr. I. G. Baines, in a paper on " The
Language Census of India," read before the Congress of Orientalists
in 1893, says —
"There- is in the corner of Assam a curious offshoot of tlie Kakliyin
race, which had its centre at Mogauiig, on a tributary of the IrrawaHdy.
♦ * * It establiiihed itself in Assam near the end of last
century, and made slaves of a good many of the Assamese of the neigh-
bouring tribes. A mixed race, the off-iprlngof this connection, is in exis-
tence, out retains the language of the country, not of the forti^ner. The
whole community is very small, just over two thousand in all, of whom
twc>lhirds are Siog-pho, and the rest Duania, or half-breeds."
We have thus a proof of what we may assume to be a certainty
elsewhere with regard to many of the so-called separate tribes, or
allied races.
As to the first home of the race, Mr. George says that all tradi-
tion points to the headwaters of the Irrawaddy as the ancestral nidus
from which all the Kachins came. All the legends describe as their
first ancestor a certain Shippawn-Ayawng, who was descended from
the nats or spirits who lived on the hill called Majaw-shingra-pum,
from which the Kachins say the Irrawaddy rises, the Mali kha on one
face and the N'Mai kha on the other. Shippawn-.Ayawng had still
something of divine nature in him, and it was not till the time of
his grandson, Wakyetwa, to whom the Kachins more immediately
trace their descent, that man became mortal. Shippawn-Ayawng,
had many sons, of whom the following are some: —
(i) Sina-tengsan, father of
Wakyetwa.
{2\ NTing.
(3) Nang.
(4) N'Jan Maja.
(5) Makawng Liang.
(6) Karyeng,
(7) Malang.
(8) Pauk Khyeng.
372
ER BURMA GA2KTTEER. [CHAP. Vlt.
From the eldest son are descended the Chingpaws or true Kachins,
who have migrated from the Kliakhu, the headwaters. From the
rest are derived the various tribes, which are cognate with the
Chingpaws and by this lime have become practlcjJly assimilated
with them, though isolated communities still linger here and there.
They are now said to possess the same language as the true Ching-
paws or Singpho, and apparently have much the same customs.
From the second son are descended the N'titigs, a colony of
whom is said to be at Sabya between Mahn on the Uyu and the
Nantein streams. A house or two is found occasionally among the
Marans.
From the third son came the Nangs, a few of whom are said to
exist scattered among the Sadans to the east of the Upper Irra-
waddy.
From the fourth son rise the N'Jan Maja, said to be found on the
road north from Myitkyina to Hkanui-lung, and also up the Kauk-
kwe valley at Watu. Their women are said to wear sashes round
their waists in place of cane-girdles and to tie their hair in a knot
on the top of the head without any other head-dress.
From the fifth son are derived the Makawug Liangs, a few scat-
tered families of whom are found amon^^ ihe Sadans. They are
also said to have a colony at Saingiaung in the Amber Mines
tract.
From the sixth son are sprung the Karyeng or Kharyengs, said
to be met with in the territory of tlie Lepai Chie( of Thama. A
large section is at Wudi, north of Moda in the Kalha district.
From the seventh son come xheMalangs^ said to be found along
the Upper Uyu.
From the eighth son the FaiJi Khyeng or Bon Khying, said tn
reside north ofthe confluence and to differ from other Kachins in
the custom of shaving the head so as to have a top-knot only.
This information is all derived from native sources. The only
thing certain about these cognate tribes, according to Mr. George,
is that by now they are pra<:tically extinct, and only in very rare
instances are they found as separate communities.
The name, Chingpaw is, however, nnly the general racial name.
The five principal tribes of the present day are descended from
Wakyetwa, the son of Sana Tcngsan. By his wife Makawn*kaba
Machan, Wakyctw'S had the following eight sons, from the first five
of whom the parent tribes have sprung. The three youngest only
reinforced their elder brothers' issue : —
CHAP. VII.] THE KACHIN HILLS AND THE CHINGPAW. 373
' — ■ —
Son's name.
Tiile.
Race sprui^
from him.
(1) Lakan or
Lagam
Maripwa, Kumga, MiUcam
The Marips.
(2) Lanaw
La-nn*NaA-tig, Liiaw-wa, Nunglawn „,
The Lahtawngs.
(3) Li»5
La'Bn, Lapaiwa, Laring
The Lcpais.
(4) Latu
Ld-an-tG-iin-tfl-wd-tu-khuin
The 'Nhkums.
(5) Latan;
La-iin-tang', Maran-wa, T5ng-r5n
The Miirans.
(6) Layaw
La-an-yaw-yawng, Kun-yawng-tfln
The 'Nhkjms.
(7) Uhtca
Liwin-ka, Lilaw-wa. Kh^hu-khasha
The Lahiawnga.
C8j 'Nkying
La-an-kying, Mitran*wtt, Kyfng-nan
The Miirans.
The five parent tribes are thus the —
(i) Marips,
(3) Lahtawngs,
(5) Marans,
(3) Lepais,
(4) 'Nhkums,
The descendants of the younger brothers mentioned above are
merged in the common folk of their respective tribes, and, although
they claim relationship to the ruling line, and apparently can inter-
marry with it, ihey are never admitted to the post of ruler.
From one or other of these parent tribes the later clans are
offshoots. There has been a constant tendency to disintegration
among the Kachins just as there has been among the Tai, and the
hillier character of their country has made the subdivisions very
much more minute.
This disintegration was also in past times due^ no doubt, chiefly
to the necessil) for migration caused by over-population and the
wasteful characiei of the hill cultivation. It became the custom,
on the death of a Chief, for the youngest son to succeed : while the
elder brothers set out with such following as they could muster and
founded fresh settlements, which, if Ihey were successful, In time
came to be distinct tribes named after their own founder. The
Kentish law of Borough English no doubt is a reminiscence of a
similar custom among the Anglian tribes.
This custom has been carried to such an extent that occasionally
Dunas are found ruling over four or five huts, whose inhabitants for
the time being call themselves by the local appellation of that par-
ticular area, usually the same as the title of the Chief. These pre«
tensions are absurd, and in time there will no doubt be a reflex action
374
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VII.
which will reduce the clans to the number of the five parent tribes
and eventually perhaps to the one family of the Chingpaw, or
perhaps of the Khakhu and the Chingpaw.
Lieutenant Pottinger has the following remarks on the origin of
Chingpaw : —
"The first wave of migration known as Mon-Annam has left no traces in
Upper Burma and consequently does not affect this subject.
"The second wave comprises a large number of tribes, such as Garo,
Kachari, Kuki, Naga, Mishmi, Abor, Chingpaw, and many others besides the
Burmans. The term applied toil is 'Tibeto-Burman wave,' which is a
misnomer in so far that it presupposes that all llie tribes comprised in it
migrated by the same route, whereas inferences drawn from a comparison of
the vocabularies of the various dialects clearly point to two groups that
descended by totally different routes, the similaritj* between which is only
such as one might expect to find between races springing from the same
parent stock in TibeL
"The first group consists of Maru, Lashi, Szi, Hp5n, Ngachang, and Bur-
man, who migrated from Tibet by the Nmai kha.
" The second group consists of the Assam frontier tribes mentioned above,
who left Tibet by one or other of the upper branches of the Brahmaputra.
Chingpaw by language arc far more closely allied to this than to the
'Nmai kha group. Chingpaw traditions all point to their ancestral niiius as
being a snow-claci hill called Shingra Bum at the head-waters of the Irra-
waddy. That the)* did not migrate by the 'Nmai kha I feel convinced ; it is
possible tliat, on breaking from the rest of the Brahmaputra group thL-y first
settled in Hkamti, near the headwaters of the Malika, but 1 think tlie following
is a much morr probable history of their movements.
"When the great Tai race spread westward over Assam, they occupied
Hkamti and all the intervening country. At this time the Chingpaw was a
comparatively small tribe, which had but lately left Tibet ; as they increased ia
numbers, they expanded westward by a route south of Daplia Bum, across
the Patkoi range, and through the Hukawng valley tuwards Burma, driving
before them wliatever Tai villages they may have met with and thereby iso-
lating the Tai of Hkamti. As the ancient kingdom of P/Sng increased, the
Chingpaw in turn were driven back as far as the Maiika, some of them,
about this time (1783), settling to the south-east of Sadiya in Assam. On
the dissolution of the Pflng kingdom they appear to have continued their mi-
gration east and south-east."
This theory has no doubt much that is true in it, but Mr.
Pottinger dates the dissolution of " the kingdom of Pong," the
main Tai ruling power, a good deal too late. Tai conquests, how-
ever, doubtless interrupted the flow of migration and isolated the first
emigrants.
This, coupled with subsequent isolation owing to the nature of
the country and the home-keeping character of the people, is quite
sufiicient to account for the considerable variations in dialects. At
the same time the Maru, Lashi, Achang, and so forth may be mere
CHAP. VII.] THE KACHIN HILLS AND THE CHINGP.WV. 375
half-breeds with the blood of Kiu-tzu, Liu-tzu, and what not, modify-
ing the original Chingpaw strain. Information is still being collected
as to these so-called tribes, sub-tribes, and subdivisions of sub-tribes,
and the subjoined list appears to be accepted as striking a mean
between a too minute classification and the omission of clan names
which are constantly being referred to: —
(i) The MARiPSare found west of the Mali kha in the Hu-
kawng valley, and north of this up to the Khakhu country; round
the jade and amber mines ; and also to the west of lake Indawgyi.
West of the Irrawaddy they are a powerful tribe ; on the east
however, they have only a few scattered villages which range about
as far south as the Nantabet stream. This tribe has been from
the first most consistently friendly to British authority.
The sub-tribes mentioned are the —
(1) Singdonkha Marips.
(2) Om Marips.
(3) Nlngrong Marips,
(4) Lema Marips.
(5) N'kang Marips.
(6) Demao Marips.
(7) Gawlu Marips.
(8) Lakang Marips.
{9) Tingrum Marips.
(to) Singlwi Marips.
(1 1) N'ding Marips.
(12) Lasum Marips.
(13) P'howlu Marips.
(14) Waja Marips.
(15) Maraw Marips.
(2) Tmr Lahtawngs apparently had their first home in the
country between the Mali kha and the N'Mai kha "about a week's
hard marchini; " north-north-east from the confluence. The
Duivas Nawhkum, Nkuntu. and Kaddaw live in this area. But the
tribe has spread southwards over all the country north of the upper
defile of the Irrawaddy; from the Mali kha west to the Kuman
range ; along both banks of the N'Mai kha for some distance above
the confluence ; along the right bank of the Irrawaddy nearly as
far south as Myiikyina ; west of this to the Shwedaunggyi range
of hills ; on the'Chinese frontier just below the head-waters of the
M0I6 and into North Hsenwi and Mong Mit. With the exception
of the Sana sub-tribe, the Lahtawngs have not come into collision
with British authority.
The sub-tribes mentioned are th<
(i) Tabor Lahtawngs.
(2) Salor Lahtawngs.
(3) Sana Lahtawngs.
(4) Tingra Lahtawngs.
(5) Malu Lahtawngs.
(6) Lawkhum Lahtawngs.
(7) Kashu Lahtawngs.
(8) Paochan Lahtawngs.
(9) Nawkhum Lahtawngs.
(10) Kaddaw Lattawngs.
37^
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VII.
(ii) Tingut Lahtawngs. (i6) Lamun Selawng Lah-
(12) Waga Lahtawngs. tawngs.
O3) Ninglaw Lahtawngs. (17) Tingsa Selawng Lah-
(14) Selawng Ngawn Lah- tawngs.
tawngs. (i8j Hpaoyan Selawng Lah-
(15) Htinmut Selawng Lah- tawngs.
tawngs.
This list is probably too minute, and yet it is by no means so
exhaustive as it might be made, h is probable that the Lawkhum
and Nawkbum sub-tribes are identical ; the letters are frequently
interchanged.
The Sa7ia division has been consistently hostile to us. They
are said to have become a clan apart under the leadership of a
younger brother of the founder of the Lawkhum sub-tribe- They
are settled west of the Irrawaddy and to the north of the Mogaung
Thama Lepais. On the 4th April 1889 their principal village was
destroyed by the Mogaung punitive column for abducting four
women from near Mogaung and murdering one of them. To-
wards the end of the rains of 1692 the Wuntho Sawhwa, with the
help of the Sana Kachins, smuggled through to China the elephants
which he had left behind the year before. It was the Sana Kachins
too who made the raid on Myllkyina on the i4th December 1892,
when the court-house and Subdivisional Officer's bungalow were
burnt down and the Subadar Major of the Mogaung levy shot dead.
For this they were punished in the open season of 1895-96, having
been persistently hostile in the interval.
(3) The Lepais. —This is probably the largest and most power-
full of the Kachin tribes ; they are found in the Shwedaunggyi hills
to the north and the north-east of Mogaung ; in the tract of country
between the two arms of the Irrawaddy; along the right bank of
that river about Myitkyina; and in the Pfinkan hills south-east of
Bhamo. But they are also found scattered about all over the
Kachin country and in North Usenwi and MOng Mil.
The sub-tribes mentioned are the —
(1) Thama I-epais.
(2) Kaori Lepais.
(3) Sampawng Lepais.
(4) Szi or Asi or Ithi Le-
pais.
(5) Samkha Lepais.
(6) Lassa Lepais.
(7) Wawang Lepais.
(8) Hpunkan Lepais.
(9) Sadan Lepais.
fio) Singma Lepais.
(u) Lakhum Lepais.
(12) Paran Lepais.
(13) Hkunru Lepais.
(14) Krawn Lepais.
(15) Kara Lepais.
(16) Tingsa Lepais.
(17) Mongsi Lepais.
CHAP. VII.] THE KACHIN HILLS AND THE CHINGPAW, 377
Of these the most powerful or the most prominent are the Thama
and the Set. The territory of the Du-wi of the Thama sub-tribe
lies in the country north of the most southerly peaks of the Shwe-
daunggyi range, which is drained by the Tanai Hku and the Nam
Sang Pe streams, which flow northwards and join the Chindwin river.
The Thama Chief not only refused submission, but harboured
Po Saw. the rebel ^;ip-Myo6k of Mogaung, and murdered Shwe Gya,
the Nakhan of Mogaung. His Chief village therefore, with 23
others, was burnt in February 18S9 by a column of mixed British
troops and Military Police under Captain O'Donnell. The British
casualties were 3i killed and wounded. Those of the Lepais were
unknown, but 329 houses were burnt and 124,000 pounds of
paddy destro^'ed. The Du-wa submitted two years later, but after-
wards fled beyond the administrative border, whence he has not
returned.
The Kaori Lepais occupy the hills to the east and south-east of
Bhamo. They are not a very important clan, but deserve mention
because they dominate the beginning of the Embassy Route to
China. They have frequently been fined for robberies, but no
regular operations against them have been necessary.
Both the SampaiGng and Samkha Lepais are Kumlaos and have
no hereditary Dwwas.
The Ssi Lepais are so numerous that they have frequently been
referred to as a main tribe, but they themselves say they are
Lepais. They are also known as the Ithi, Asi, or Thi, and are
widely spread. Their villages are found all along the frontier from
a point east and south-east of the head-waters of the Nantabet and
south of Sadon. Near the sources of the Nantabet and M0I6 rivers
they are very powerful and they also hold the hills west of the
Namyin, south-west of Mogaung as far as lake Indawgyi. A few
seem also 10 be found in Mong Mit and Tawng Peng. They
are said to have lived originally near Myitkyina. With the
exception of the Waru Nawng Du-wa of Taung-ni, the Szi tribes
were at first mostly hostile. They joined in the attack on our
troops occupying Mogaung for the first lime in December 1887,
and in the attack on the same column at Nanpadaung and at Taung-
baw, and they long harboured Bo Ti, the lieutenant of the rebel,
Po Saw, tf,t-Myo6k of Mogaung. They also opposed the Irrawad-
dy column in 1891-92.
Major Fenton and Captain L. E. Eliott were inclined to declare
the Szi not to be real Kachins and Captain H. R. Davies, whose
vocabularies appear in the Ethnology Chapter, would have leaned
to the same opinion as far as language is concerned had it not
48
378
THE UPPER BURvMA GAZETTEER.
CHAP. V\h
been for the iribal traditions. No doubt they are half-breeds, like the
Danus, Kadus, Yaws, and such like borderers. Captain Davies's
opinion may be considered conclusive. The Szi and the Kaoris
trace their descent from two brothers of the Duma or ruling line of
the Lepais, called AOratin and Maingtungla,
Aoratan, according to the lecjend. lived in the hills, and Maing-
tungla in the plains near the river. Maingtungia therefore was
thin and sallow and sickly, but Aoratan was fat and jolly. Maing-
tungla, however, had a buxom, winsome wife whom AurStftn covet-
ed in addition to his ow^n. Aoratin thought that as Maingtungla
looked as if he could not live long, it would not be a bad plan for
the two brothers to enter into an agreement that the sur\'lvor
should take the other's wife (whence arose, says the Chronicle, the
Kachin custom of a brother taking a deceased brother^s widow).
Maingtungla agreed, bul chance willed ii that AuratAn was the
first to die, and Maingtungla therefore went up to console the
widow. The result was a child called NTu, whom at first Maing-
tungla disowned. But since the widow persisted in saying it was
his, he marched up intending, in Kachin style, to wipe child,
widow, and village out of existence. As he approached, however,
the woman wont out to meet him with stoups of Kachin beer and
inveigled him into holding the baby while she went to fetch more
beer. She came back with a looking-glass, and in this Maingtung-
la saw that his own face was so Hke that of the baby thai he could
no longer entertain doubts as to his paternity, and the scene closed
in reconcilation and intoxication.
To this N'Tu the I-unggyun Kachins, who live on the ridge of
hills beyond the Nam Wan on the border-line with China, trace
their origin. Their language, according to Mr. George, is a dialect
of Szi, and they wear much the same dress as the Szis, except
that the women appear to have only a single upper garment, a
jacket with long sleeves and no opening down the front or back, so
that it is drawn over the head like a jersey.
From N'taung, the son who followed N'Tu, are descended the-
Hpunkaii Kachlns found on the hills to the south and south-east of
Bhamo, who speak ordinary Chlngpaw and wear ordinary Kachin
dress.
Lumiang (or Lukmyang), Panga, Mansin, Lachon, Gunsun, Gun-
dawn, and Uni^aw are mentioned as Szi clans, but the subdivision
seems excessive.
The Hpunkan Lepais live along the Nam S6k Ho Ma road to
the south-east of Bhamo, but are also found in some numbers
north of Mohnyin, along the railway line, where they are stronger
CHAP. VII.] THE KACHIN HILLS AND THE CHINGPAW. 379
than any other clan. Their most prominent chief is the Duiva of
Lachinpuni, who was among the earliest to submit. Under him are
eight chieflets who have from two to seven villages under them.
Their villages lie on the eastern range and in the Kauk-kwe valley,
with the exception of three; Wawbaw, Kumsum and Shankam,
which are on the western range of the valley.
The Loplu are a sub-section of the Hpunkans, who gave a great
deal of trouble in the early days of the annexation. A series of
raids, beginning with an attack on Sawadi, a village on the Irra-
waddy, culminated in the burning of Mansi, 12 miles from
Bhamo. This necessitated a punitive expedition under Brigadier-
General Wolseley. Karwan was entered on the ii>th April 1889,
after some opposition on the way, and Karwan, Pang Tap, Kan, and
several other villages, numbering 117 houses in all, were burnt.
Some 80,000 pounds of paddy and a number of cattle were taken
and the Chiefs then submitted and have given no further trouble.
The Sudan Lepais are an important sub-tribe found widely dis-
tributed along the frontier from .N'orth Hsen Wi in the south-east,
to as far north as 'Nsentaru on the N'Mai kha, and beyond the lati-
tude of the confluence. Their greatest strength lies in the tract
between 'Nsentaru and the head-waiers of the Molt: river. They
are essentially a frontier tribe and are not found west of the Jrra-
waddy.
The chief sub-sections of the Sadans are the Adan, Kwitu,
Sadon, Matu, and Masang Sadans. The Kwitu people, together
with the Sadon Sadans and their neighbours the Szis and the
Lashis uruted to oppose the advance of the Irrawaddy column in
1891-92, and it was the same combination whose menacing atti-
tude the year before caused the retreat of Captain L. E. EUott's
exploration party to the north and north-east of Bhamo.
The Sadon Sadans also harboured the elder VVuntho Sawbwa
and enabled him to communicate with his supporters to the west.
Sadon, the headquarters o( the clan, was therefore occupied, after
some resistance in 1891-92, and the post established there, after-
wards named Fort Harrison, was invested by the Kachins from the
7th to the 22nd February and was pressed hard until it was reliev-
ed by the North-eastern column, operating farther to the south.
The Sad6n post has been maintained ever since and has served
to keep them in order.
The Siftgma Lepais are also described as Seinma and Chingma.
It is said that in the sacred or nai language of the Kachins the
names Chingma and Lepai are identical. Some reports assert that
the Singma are Sadans, while others declare they are Karas. AH
38o
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. Vll.
at any rate are Lepais and the difference of opinion seems to show
that the sub-classification is delusive, as it cerlainly is illusive.
The Singma at any rate are closely connected with the Karas, of
whom they are said to be a younger branch. They live in the hills
immediately to the east of Talaw and stretch away to the south-
east to a point a little above Theinlon on the Molfe river. Some
villages are also found to the south of Rhamo in the Sinkan valley.
They have always been more tradable than most of the other
Lepai clans, chicMy perhaps because their country is very open to
attack. Sub-sections of ihc Singma noted are the Makokwa, Law-
pwa, Suma, Nachaung. and Maochan Singmas.
Their relations, the Karas, have a sub-tribe, the Makawng, which
is found in scattered villages to the south ^nd south-east of
Bhamo.
The Lakhutn Lepais are an important sub-tribe on the frontier,
along which they stretch from some 20 miles north of the Taping
to close on the Salween. Their most northerly village mentioned
is Ninglum, and settlements of them appear to the east and south-
east ot Bhamo ; along the right bank of the Shweli below P6nkam ;
in Mong MU, and between Namhkam and the capital of North Hsen
Wi ; and in all these places their turbulence has been conspicuous.
They have been confounded with the ' Nkhum parent-tribe, but
they are said to be absolutely distinct from them.
Of the other sub-tribes Httle is known beyond their names and
they are in any case of no great importance. There is some doubt
as to who the Mongsi Kacnins are, and they have not been official-
ly recognized as a sub-tribe, though they are universally admitted
to be Lepais. There is said to be a large class of them known as
the Mongsi Namsang group in Tract XVI south-east of Talawgyi.
As a whole it may be said that the Lepais have been from the
beginning the most hostile tribe.
(4) The 'NKHUMS.—The home of this tribe seems to be the
country south of Hkamti L6ng and west of the Mali kha. They
are found on the east bank of the Irrawaddy, north of Maingna, and
also on both banks of the N'mai kka some way from the confluence
and near the head-waters of the Natmyin stream, which enters the
Irrawaddy from the east near the village of Ywapaw (situated in
latitude 25**! 7'). There are a few scattered villages of the tribe
along the frontier, and south of the Taping river the 'Nkhums in-
habit the tract of country on the borders of the Shan-Chinese States
of Ho-Hsa and La-Hsa. There are also a few villages east of
Bhamo and an isolated colony on the Nayin stream in the southern
Mogaung area.
CHAP. VII.] THE KACHIN HILLS AND TrfE CIMNGPAW. 381
The principal sub-tribes are —
(i) The Mashan 'Nkliums. I (5) The Panma 'Nkhums.
(2) The Chikyet 'Nkhums. ! (6) The Nawgo 'Nkhums.
(3) The Shir^ 'Nkhums. (7) The Wurung 'Nkhums.
(4) The Watao 'Nkhums. (8) The Kalangcha 'Nkhums.
(5) The Marans are found all along the frontier In scattered
villages, thougii north of the sources of the Molfe river they seem to
exiend farther into British territory. They are also found west of
Sinbo ; and in the Kauk-kwe valley ; and to the west of the Mali khti
north of the Shwedaunggyl range and about the Amber mines. They
have also spread southwards as far as iMong Mit on the east of the
Irrawaddy and Mohnyin in Katha district on the west, and also
south-east into Tawng Peng and North Hsen VVi.
The sub-tribes given are —
(l) The Lana Marans.
(a) The Laika Marans.
(3) The N'ting or Ningting.
(4) The Makan Ningting,
Besides these parent tribes and their sub-tribes, there are several
cognate tribes, who are regarded by the Kachins as probably de-
scended from the same common legendary ancestor, but who differ
somewhat, and in some cases very widely, in manners, habits, and
language, from the true Chlngpaw. The chief of these are the
Sassans, the Marus, and the Lashis. To these are added by some
the Yawyins or Lihsaws, but ihe Lihsaws at any rate seem to be
of the same family as the Lahu or Muhsb. The stock is doubtless
the same, but in the present state of our knowled^jc it seems rash
to make too definite assertions. Yawyin seems most likely a
Burmese corruption of the Chinese Ye-jen (wild people), but it
may denote a connection with the Yao tribes of the Mfekhong neigh-
bourhood (see Ethnology chapter).
The Sassans. — This tribe is sometimes confused with the Marips
with whom they are greatly mixed up ; with the 'Nkhums ; with the
Lahtawngs; while some Kachins say that they believe they are
Marus Major Fenton says that their language is probably true
Kachin, but differs somewhat in dialect from the languages spoken
farther east. The name is also sometimes pronounced Tasan or
Lasan Captain Eliott says they do not possess any of the nat
legends which the parent tribes have and are never called in tn
assist at the spirit festivals.
Their country lies north and west of the Amber mines and extends
beyond the Hukawng valley to .^ssam. They have not emigrated
much, though stray Sassan villages are found In most unexpected
places. Like the Marips they have never come into collision with
383
THE UI'PKR BURMA GAZKTTliF-R. [CHAP. VII,
US, and with them cover the approaches to Assam from Mogaung
and the Hukawng valley. Their dress in no way differs from that
of the true Chingpaw.
The sub-tribes given are —
(i) The Tumpao Sassans. I (3) The Lapwang Sassans.
(3) The Lawki Sassans. | (4) The Lalya Sassans.
Colonel Hannay speaks of the Mirips and the Tesan (Marips
and Sassans) as being the most numerous on the Assam frontier
and " in Hookong" and says the Luloung family occupied the
ambur mines district in 1835. He also refers to the Toomsah
family, which is no doubt the 'Ntup 'Nlsa of Kachin scholars, and
his linhun family corresponds most likely with the 'Nb6n. He also
gives the Tesan Chief, whom he calls Sampro Songong, who lived
on the Shwedaunggyi hills, a bad characier as a marauder.
The Hukswng valley has only once been visited, by a column
which went up in 1891-92 and had throughout the most friendly
relations with the Sassan Chiefs.
The chief villages are —
1 Saraw,
'Ntup 'Ntsa.
1 'Nbdn.
'Nkang,
Taifa,
Lalaung,
'NjQm,
'Ndong,
'Nten,
which have Vuwas or Chiefs, while iht following are Kumlao or
democratic : —
Naingran.
Makaw.
Pasi.
Sana.
Senglen.
'Njaw-
'Nkadon.
Saingchet.
Kadumakon.
The 'Nb6n and Ntup 'Ntsa Chiefs are the recognized Duwas of
the Amber mines.
The Mar us. — Most authorities, including the Mai us themselves,
say these people are not Kachins. Their neighbours, however, per-
sist in calling them Kachins, with the distinguishing qualification
" dog-eating ", because they fatten the friend of man for the pot like
the Wa, the Akha, and the Tongkiiiese. So far as is known none of
the true Chingpaw do this, yet the Mams mingle and intermarry
freely with neighbouring Chingpaw, especially the Szis and the Ma-
rips. VVilh other Kachin tribes, notably in the Shan States, where
they are frequently called Malu, they are or were on consistently
bad terms. In dress and appearance the Maru does not differ from
the ordinary Chingpaw. The language spoken, however, is much
nearer Burmese than Chingpaw. They may be hyhrid.s like the
Lashis, with whom and the >>zi Lieutenant Pottinger thinks they are
closely allied.
CHAP. VII.] THE KACHIN HILLS AND THE CHINGPAW. 383
Those in known territory frequent the border-land of Burma and
China, particularly lo the north-east of Talawgyi, south of the main
iLashi settlement and east of Loi Nju. The " Rlaru country " of which
Errol Grey heard is probably the headquarters of the " Black Maru."
He was told that it was twenty-one days distant from Pu Tou in the
NamKui valley (27^22' 30*' north latitude) of Khamti Lon^. "The
" first eight marches (from Pu Tou) follow the right bank of the Nam
" Kiu ; then crossing over to the left bank it is seven marches to
"the N'Mai Kha; crossing this it is three days into the Lashi
"country, when three Hays northward the Maru country was reached
" and three days eastward China. There are many different clans
'* amongst them and they are not always at peace. They deal largely
" in slaves."
The Marus, however, go far afield. There are many villages of
them far down into North Hsen Wi and on the west of the Irra-
waddy many are found in the Mohnyin subdivision of Katha.
Among the Marus every village is a separate community and has
its own Chief, and thus there are no sub-tribes, unless indeed every
village be called a separate clan.
Lieutenant Pottinger has seen more of the Marus, or at any rate,
more of the northern Marus than any one else, in his journey in the
cold weather of 1897-98. He says —
"The Marus on their journey southwards, wliich appears to have been
of a cotnparativfly recent dale, came in contact with the Chinj^paws, who,
being one degree higher in the scale of civilization, despised them as
savages of the same type as Nagas, both races being partial to the dos as
an article of diet. In the course of time the southernmost clan, feeling
their degradation, began to look on the Chingpaws as a superior race ana,
dropping the habit of eating dogs, copied their customs and called them-
selves Szis. They then either intermarried with or were conquered by a
sub-tribe of Chingpaws called Lepai, and in time came to consider them-
selves as a sub-clan of Lepai Chingpaws and now deny all connection
with the Marus.
'' As the Szis moved southward, they were succeeded by another clan of
Martis called Lashis, who, following their example, now try to pose and
claim the same origin as Chingpaws, who, however, repudiate them. The
Marus of the present day, whenever found in close proximity to the
Chingpaws, have moditied their dress and customs to assimilate to that of
the superior race."
" On the other band, the Nanwu Marus, who have not come in direct
contact with Chingpaws and look upon themselves as equal, or rather
superior, to any of the other tribes, claim to have come originally from
the headwaters of the Mf^khklia, which rises somewhere about latitude 37°
jo', longitude 99", in the watershed between the 'Ninaikha and the SaJ-
ween."
384
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VII.
Captain Sillery gives the origin of Marus and Lashis as being
from a hill called Yena at Mung-kiung in China ; he compiled the
following table as regards their descent from mythical beings : —
A h- Maw -i married a Monkey.
Bear Rainbow Indang King (son) married Indangjen (daughter).
Indangkingzaw (son) Married Daughter( name unknown).
Sawyawbaw (son)
Married Daughter (name unknown).
Chumlunipat (son)
Husungdwi (son)
Married Daughter (name unknown).
Married Daughter [name unknown).
Yaukting (son) married monkey daughter (i) and Daughter (name unknown) (3).
Tinglun (son) married monkey daughter (i) and Daughter (unknown) (2).
Uluziang (son)
Married
Daughter (name unknown).
Sianglofen (son)
Married Two daughters (names unknown).
Fung Lawnii (son) (i) Nulaw Kiang (son) (a) Daughter (name unknown).
The two brothers married their sister and had issue, each six sons and six daughters
who, intermarrying, became ancestors of the twelve Lashi and Maru races : —
Kiang Baw (Maru), Paok (Sikhung Maru), Kilpb^ng (Kujjum Laghi), Pungi-
(Kalan Lashi), Iching (Saulong l.ashi),Kianiung (Maru Chidang), Tsungbung (Mang-
CHAP. VII.] THE KACHIN HILLS AND THE CHINGPAW. 385
sang Lashi), Pomding (Unkaw Lashi), Tingjsong (Indam Lashi], Tsungtsiang (Tum*
khtng Lashi), Changding (\Vi-j.iw Lashi), Tingkaw (Poilap Lashi).
At this point tfic race brcamc mortal, though both Fung Lawnu and Nulaw Kiarg
still retained something of the divine about ihein, Here loo ihey separated, Fung Lawnu
calling himself Maru and Nulaw Kiang Lashi.
As far as probability is concerned, this is no more absurd than
the main Chingpaw legend given below, and the omission of refer-
ence to the Shingra Bum of the Chingpaw is of no significance,
since that name Js applied to any lofty snow-clad peak.
Mr. Pottinger continues: —
" In general dress and appearance the Marus resemble Kachins ; a few of
them wear a long coat similar to that of the Yawyins, but it Is more the
exception than the rule. The women are great adepts in artistically orna-
menting the edges of their garment, but the chief peculiarity in their
dress is that they wear several rows of cowries and small bells round their
waists and hips (this is also done by I^shis andSzis, but to a less extent).
'* With the exception of the Nanwu clan the majority of the women have
their ears pierced through the top, ceutre, and lobe. They wear in these
holes earrings about three inches in diameter made of brass wire. With the
exception of the long lubes of silver {lahiri) they wear the same kind of
ornaments, strings of beads, and silver hoops round the neck as other
Kachins. ThJii black cane rings are worn by both sexes below the knee,
but none of the women wear cane rings round their waists, which is a
custom common to Palaungs and many nf the Kachin tribes.
" Married women wear their hair long and tied up in a turban ; un-
married girls and men wear it cut to a uniform length all round. The
method of hair-cutting is as follows : the hair is carefully wetted and comb*
ed over the sharp edge of a da and then cut by being tapped with a small
wooden mallet.
"The small bags carried by the men are blue, with a small amount of
coloured embroidery, but never so ornamented or highly decorated as those
of the Chiupaws.
"The only tattooing we saw was on an old woman near the Shin-ngaw
kha, which took the form of a succession of rings from the f^iot to the knee.
She was a Chinpaw, and the custom was once common amongst them, but
has lately been dropped and is now never seen except amongst the old
folk.
'' The Marus near the frontier are as a rule under-sized and of poor
physique. Their features are more regular than those of the ordinary
Kachin. A broad flat dumpy face is seldom met with, it being usually
ova!. On the whole they are a better looking people, though of an effemi-
nate cast of countenance. This type gradually changes as one gets north-
wards till the Naiiwu Marus are met with. The latter are fine, sturdy men
with powerful lirab.>i, deep chests, and square chins, which give them a
determined bull-dog expression, Their splendid physique was especially
noticed when carrying our loads in the hills, they being capable of mar-
ching double the pace of coolies we had previously engaged, over infinitely
worse roads. The loads were roughly 50 lbs. each and on two occasions
men volunteered to carry double loads if given double payments.
49
386
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. Vli.
" All Kacbins are proverbially dirty, and the Mams in this respect in no
way differ from them as regards their persons. The Nanwus are if possi-
ble dirtier than the other clans. While clearing the burnt jungles for
their fields, the whole of their face and body gets smeared over with a
mixture of charcoal and sweat. As they never wash, this in a short time
gets thoroughly ingrained into the skin, so much so that when our cooties,
who, on the march, would frequently halt and have a dip in a stream to
cool themselves, came out, the water left no impression of having in any
way cleaned them. For this reason they are called by down-country
Kachins " Maru Chang-bdk" or Black Marus (Chinpaw dialect: Changi=
black, bfik — tribe or people). They would, however, regard it as an in-
sult if personally addrcsse<d as such.
" When I was at Sadftn I had heard of a tribe of black people inhabiting
the upper reaches of the Irrawaddy and wondered if they could possibly
be aborigines, but the Nanwus provided the solution to the mystery."
In the Nan-wu countn- the Maru rule is democratic and village
elders manacje all public affairs. Mr. Potiinger says the Marus
from latitude 26° 20' southwards are dividrd into three clans :
Siktung Marus, Kiangbaw Marus, and Chidang Marus. The
difference of dialect is hardly perceptible. North of these come
the Nanwu Marus where there is so much variation as to make
interpretation diflicull to a Southern Maru. The true home of the
Marus.is the valley of the 'Nrnai kha between latitude 27' 30' and
35° 45'. Beyond this lie uninhabited mountains to the north-east.
The dogs are fattened for sale chiefly by the Yawyins. They are
of a yellow, rough-haired breed, and are led or dragged by a thin
cane tied round the neck and passed through a hollow bamboo to
prevent the dog biting it. Liquor is brewed from rice, millet, and
Indian corn. A little is poured on the ground for the nats before
drinking. Tobacco is smoked only by the old and opium by very
few. Tobacco, belel, and lime mixed are chewed by everybody—
men, women, and children.
Their religion is the conciliation of evil spirits; fowls, pigs, cows,
and myihun are sacrificed; cats and dogs never. The Marus are
the only Chingpaw tribe who bum iheir dead. The ashes are buried.
Over these is raised the jsual conical structure, but sometimes an
open shed is substituted. Cross-bows and arrows are the chief wea-
pons, but a few cheek guns made locally are found, and spears and
dhas are common. The arrows are not poisoned and, as none are
metal-tipped, they do not carry far. The Marus grow and clean
their own cotton, and the women spin it into thread and weave the
household clothing. The dyes used are blue, brick-red, and yellow.
Most villages have a blacksmith's shop in which dhas and spear-
heads are made. Maru houses are of the same shape as those of
other Kachins, and the material is the same or varies only according
CHAP. Vn.] THE KACHIN HILLS AND THE CHINGPAW. 387
to what timber is available. Outside the villages are the usual nat
resting-places.
In all this there is nothing so distinctive as to warrant the asser-
tion that the Marus are of a different race, and the resemblances of
words, and particularly of the construction of the language, support
the assertion that the differences are due to segregation and local
circumstances rather than to separate origin.
The Lashis. — Chingpaw popular tradition declares the Lashis to
be the issue of a connection between a Chinaman and the daughter
of a Maran Duwa. Probably other girls of the tribe followed the
example of the Chief's daughter, and the story is perhaps borne out
by the somewhat Chinese features which many I-ashis have.
They have, however, been quoted as a sub-tribe of the Sassans,
though the Lashis appear to be confined to the China border, while
the Sassans are on that of Assam. A similarity of name has led
to their frequent confusion with the Lihsaw, from whom, however,
they are quite distinct.
The Lashis are much mixed up with the Szis and with them are
spread along all the frontier, north, east, and south-east of Bhamo.
It was their connection with the Szis, no doubt, which led them
into collision with British troops in 1891 and 1892. Captain H. R.
Davies finds a close resemblance in the language of the Szi, the
Lashi, and the Maru. The differences are in fact so slight that the
three may be considered dialects of one language, and men of an^
one of the three tribes can understand the greater part of what is
sad by either of the other two.
Beyond this Captain Davies finds a resemblance to Hpon
Achang, and Burmese, A reference to the vocabularies (Ethnology
chapter) will show that the general likeness is close enough to
warrant his belief that these six tribes or people spoke the same
language not very long ago. Captain Davies therefore propounds
the theory that these tribes may be the remnants left by the Bur-
mese in their migration from the north into Burma, or possibly
tribes of the same origin as the Burmese who left Tibet soon after
them. " If the Burmese descended from Tibet by the Irrawaddy
" Valley, the geographical position of these tribes certainly bears
" out this theory ; their language is another strong piece of evidence
"in its favour, and, except in the case of the Szis, there is nothing
*' in the traditions of these tribes against it." Although the Szis
are said to be a sub-clan of the Lepais, it is occasionally said that
all Szis are not Lepais, but only the Dwma^ and their families. If
this be true, it would seem probable that the Szis were originally a
separate tribe who were subjugated by the Lepais and governed \iy
388
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VIU
Lepai rulers, who have since merged in their own subjects, in the
same way that the Sawbwas of many of the Chinese Shan States,
though of Chinese origin, have become practically Tai.
Notwithstanding the opinion of Mr. George, Major Fenton, and,
in a more guarded way, Captain H. R. Davlos, there seems no
justification for classing the Yawyins or Lihsaws directly with the
Chingpaw, however they may have been related to them in the
mists of the past. We are tofd that Yawyin is the Chingpaw name,
Lihsaw that given by the Chinese. The Shans call them Yaoy^n
and Lihsaw indiscriminately and Yaoy^n is obviously the Yaojdn of
the M^khong country, who are separately described under the head
of Yao tribes. The language of the Yao or Lihsaw of the Kachin
country — they are found chiefly in the neighbourhood of Sad6n
and scattered at high altitudes and always in very small villages
throughout the Northern Shan States and Mong Mil — has con-
siderable resemblances with La'hu, but none whatever with Ching-
paw. Features, dress, and habits are no less distinct from those of
the Chingpaw, and, though the resemblances of the Lihsaw and the
Tingpan Yao are not very conspicuous, yet there are many Yao
tribes and their dresses vary very considerably.
The dress of the Yawyin and Lihsaw of the Kachin country is at
any rale very different from that of the Kachins. It is a sort of
frock-coat of coarse white cloth almost like canvas, which reaches
nearly to the knees. On the back are sewn square patches of blue
cloth so as to leave a white line about two inches broad down the
spine. The sleeves are turned with blue and a variegated belt con-
fines the coat at the waist. Short Chinese trousers of blue cloth
are worn and the legs are protected by coarse cloth leggings edged
with blue. The turban is light blue. Most of the men wear the pig-
tail, and silver or copper earrings are frequent. In addition to this
difference in dress from the Chmgpaw, the Lihsaw arc also usually
very much bigger men and the features are very distinctive. It is
possible that the Lihsaw may not be Yaojcn, but it seems certain
that they are not Chingpaw, or at the best much remoter relations
than the Mam and the Lasht. It seems reasonable to believe that
they have some connection with the Lisus or Lusus of the region
of the great rivers descending from Tibet into Yunnan and Burma,
of whom Baber, Cooper, Desgodins, and Gill have written. Baber
was disinclined to believe that the Lcsu were Lihsaws because Dr.
Anderson described the latter as " small with fair round flat faces,
"high cheek bones, and some obliquity of the eye." But the
Lihsaw generally are not small, nor are they round-faced as a rule,
and probably not at all when the race is pure. In the upper parts
of the great valleys on the Tibetan border the Lisus are very much
CHAP. VII.] THE KACHIN HILLS AND THE CHINGPAW. 389
intermixed mth the Musus, a name which immediately suggests the
name Mu-hs6, which the Shans give to the La'hu. These Musus
are said formerly to have possessed a kingdom, the capital of
which was Li-kiang-fu, which the Tibetans and the hill-people gene-
rally call Sadam, and their king was known a^ the Mu Tien Wang.
The resemblances of language between La'hu and Lihsaw seem to
support the conjecture that the races are allied ; and since Musu is
no doubt the origin of ihe Shan name Mu-hs6, this connection
would seem to be probable. The fact that the Musus of the Tibe-
tan border were only so called by I heir neighbours, and themselves
used the name Nashi, may be used as an argument either way.
Our knowledge of all the races is, however, so slight that nothing
beyond conjecture is possible. It seems, however, fairly clear that
the Yawyins or Lihsaws are not Chingpaw. (.S*^^ tor the Lihsaws
and Musus the Ethnology chapter.)
Lieutenant Pottinger, speaking of them as Yawyins, says that in
appearance they are more like Chinese than Kachins. The men
wear their hair in a pig tail, like the La'hu ; and the women generally
in two piff tails, one on each side of the head so as to part the hair
at the back. Both men and women smoke. Like the La'hu they
grow no rice for food ; Maize and Indian -corn take its place and pop-
corn is a favourite form in which to eat the latter. They fatten does
for Maru eating, but do not cat them themselves. Pigs and fo\vls
are found in great numbers in their villages. Their national weapon
is the cross-bow and they use poisoned arrows like the La'hu and
the Akha. Many of the women wear cane rings round the waist
like the Kachins, but this is probably mere local fashion. Yawyin
houses are quite small and of different construction from those of
the Kachins, and Kachln spirits arc not worshipped. It seems there-
fore that these Lihsaws or Yawyins have no real or at any rate only
a very remote relationship to the Chingpaw.
Besides these parent and cognate tribes of Chingpaw there are
a number of miscellaneous tribes extending beyond latitude 25°
north, up to the twenty-eighth parallel, of whom little or nothing
is known, but whom the Kachins regard as being indirectly con-
nected with them. These are : —
(i) The Khaftgs, who are said to live on the other side of the
Chindwin beyond Bisu, and who, Mr. George thinks, may be per-
haps identified with some Chin tribe. They are also found north-
east of the Bor Khamti country and originally separated the Khe-
nungs on the Salween from the Khumongs on the west. Mr, Errol
Grey says that they have a distinct language and are less feminine
in type than the Khumongs, with whom they are much mixed up,
though they occupy separate villages.
390
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VU.
(2) The KaJ> hawks. —Some of these accompanied ihe Khangs
across the Chindwin, while others remained to the east of Hkamti
Long. With them are related —
(3) The Kaluns, who are said to differ in some way. These are
probably the Kalangs, a naked tribe spoken of by Major Kenton,
who calls I hem wild and uncivilized and says they eat their aged
relations to spare them unnecessary misery.
(4) The Tarens or Tarengs are found on the west border of the
Chinese State of Santa and in Hkamti Long. They wear clothes
something after the Chinese style, and are well known in Upper
Burma as coolies under the name of Maingthas. They are a
distinct tribe, with a language and customs of iheir own, and are
renowned for the excellence of their dhas. They appear to be
great travellers and itinerant merchants. During the cold weather
they desert their villages and scatter over the adjacent countries,
returning at the beginning of the rains.
The name Maingtha is a simple Burmese perversion of the Shan
form Tai Mong Hsa, that is to say, Shans from the two Hsa Stales,
Ho Hsa and La Hsa. There they call themselves and are called
by their Chinese neighbours Ngachang or Achang {see Ethnology
Chapter) and appear to be called Paran by the Kachins round
about. Their dress, religion, and customs are those of the Chinese
Shans. They are Buddhists and their language is a curious mix-
ture. Captain H. R. Davies estimates that about 30 percent.
of the words appear to be connected with Burmese and 12 per
cent, with Shan. The latter have probably been borrowed from the
surrounding Shans as names for things of which they knew nothing
until they encountered the Shans and were converted to Buddhism.
Mr. Errol Grey speaks of meeting Turengs on his way to the coun-
try of the Khumongs, above latitude 'i'f 15' and in about longitude
97" 30'. The Turengs, he says, are the great blacksmiths of that
neighbourhood, just as the Ngachang are for the country round
Hotha and Latha. They make all the dhas and daggers worn by
the Singpho and the Hkamti Shans, and these under the name of
Hkampti dhas form one of the chief articles of trade between the
Hkamti valley and Assam. The iron is found in the hills forming
the boundary between the Turengs and the Khumongs. " It is of
"excellent Quality and the knives are very durable." The dhas
are made in tour varieties, " the streaked, the indented, the white,
''and the black dhas," Mr. Errol Grey refers to a Tureng Dhu or
Chief who visited him and gave a Hst of the Singpho tribes,
amongst which appeared Marans, Marips, Laphars (no doubt
Lepais), and Darengs or Tullings, who presumably are the Tarengs
themselves. He also says he saw " a range of snows, separating
CHAP. Vn,] THE KACHIN HILLS AND THE CHINGPAW. 39I
" the Tisang from the Tamai," which is said to be the eastern limit
of the Tureng Singpho country- The Tamai is the local name for
the eastern branch of the Irrawaddy. This would place tlic Tu-
rengs in about longitude 98*^ and about latitude 27" 30'. Prince
Henri d'Orleans found that many of ihe tribesmen, called by their
neighbours Kiutzu (from the fact that they inhabited the Kiu Kiang
valley, a branch of the 'Nmai Ahti)^ styled themselves Turong or
Tulong.
(5) The Khenunga, according to Mr. Errol Grey» come from
the valley of the Salween, where their country bounds that of the
Khunnongs or Khumongs on the east above latitude 27". Their
dress is said to be a short pair of trousers reaching to the knee, lied
round the waist by several coils of a plaited cotton strint; and two
nr three coats of various lengths, the outermost of which is made of
wool and reaches down to the calf of the leg. They plait their
hair into a queue after the Chinese fashion and wear hats made af
felt, conical in shape, with a broad brira much turned up. Their
influence extends from the Salween to the Tamai or N'mai Kha.
They exercise authority over several Khunnong villages In the
Tisang valley, paying two yeariy visits, when they announce their
arrival by blowing on a gourd reed, presumably something like the
Ken of the La'hu, the A'kha, and the Luang Prabang Tai, " The
*' Khunnongs, immediately on hearing its sound, rush out, to meet
"them, and conducting them into their villages feast them on the
best they have." {Report on the Bor-Khampit country). The
tribute paid seems to consist chiefly of bees-wax, a common offer-
ing among the \Va also.
(6) The Khunnongs, also called Kumongs or Khumongs^ are
found above latitude 27° 30' between the Nam Kiu, the western
branch of the Irrawaddy, and the Salween, that is to say, east of
Hkamti L6ng, called Bor Khampti by Mr. Errol Grey. Their
neighbours on the east are the Khenungs and on the south the
Kachins called Khakhus by the Kachins within the administrative
Hne. They are mentioned in the Mbng Kawng (Mogaung) Shan
Chronicle as one of the eight races forming that kingdom and Ney
Elias identifies them wiih the Mishmis whom the Assamese divide
into the Miju and Chullicotta Mishmis.
The late General Woodthorpe speaks of them as Kummungs
and describes them as " an extremely gentle, pleasant-looking peo-
" pie, small in stature, rather fair in complexion, with their hair cut
" short in a fringe on the forehead," He thinks their language
somewhat resembles Singpho, " about five per cent, of the words
being identical. " They are a timid people and as a consequence
392
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VII.
are oppressed on all sides — by the Khenungson the east, the Sing*
phos on the south, and the Hkarati Shans on the west, and pay
tribute to all of them. Both men and women wear the hair cut in
a frino^e across the forehead and hanging loose behind as far as the
shoulders, but not below. This is exactly the style of coiffure of
many of the Tame Wa and as the hair is very coarse and tangled
it gives them a particularly wild appearance. Their dress in the
hills consists of a loin-cloth only, but those who have come under the
influence of the Hkamti Shans have adopted the Tai dress. The
women wear a short petticoat coming to the knees, and in the cold
weather a cloth is thrown loosely round the shoulders, but for the
greater part of the year they go naked to the waist. Like all the
hill tribes they are dirty in their habits, but are more particular
than most about their food. Their houses are built on piles and in
place of thatch they use bamboo leaves for roofing. Near Hkamti
Long some villages have cattle and even a few buffaloes. As with
all the hill tribes, they are divided into numerous clans, whose
dialects differ according to their distance from one another. Of
these the chief mentioned are —
{a) The Pangsu Khintnongs. — These are said to be subject
to the Ilkamti people of Mungelung (i.^., Langnu and
Langdao), to whom they give the following items of
tribute : —
Korisa, bamboo shoots.
Two dhas.
One ckutiga (bamboo) of ienga pant.
Twelve seers of tobacco.
Three chttyas (mats).
One seer of ganja hemp for making clothes.
One load of dried fish from the Tisang river.
These Khunnongs moreover act as porters for the Hkamti
people on their journeys to Sadiya and elsewhere, be-
sides building and repairing their houses and stockades.
Finally it is asserted that they supply the Hkamti
Shans with temporary wives when required. It is rec-
koned that this Pangsu clan has altogether about 1,000
houses.
(i) The Pusku Khunnongs, who are said to be subject to
the Choja (Chief) of Padao in Hkamti L6ng. Each
head of a household in the Bor Hkamti country, accord-
ing to Mr. Krrol Grey, has so many houses told off to
liim and the Khunnongs have to render service and
furnish supplies. The tribute seems to be identical
CHAP. Vn.] THE KACHIN HILLS AND THE CHINGPAW. 39J
^•ith that paid by the Pangsu clan. The number of
houses among the Pushu is estimated at about eight
hundred.
(c) The Nogmun Khunnongs, who are said to be subject to
Man Chi in the Hkamti Long country, and pay a simi-
lar tribute and render similar services.
Colonel Macgregor says that the Khunnongs used to live nearei
to the Chinese towards the east and close to the Lamas (whom
the Hkamti people call the Hpangs) on the north, but they were so
much oppressed by both, especially by the Lamas, that they placed
themselves under the protection of the Tai of Hkamti Long. They
are a hard-working people and, like the Tarengs, have a great
reputation as blacksmiths. Their dhas are noted ; they are shorter
and thicker in the blade than those used by the Kachins, Mr.
Errol Grey says : —
"I saw a blacksmith at work this eveninfj foiling these blades. His anvil
was a large flat stone and his hammer a round one with a slightly flat head.
A splint of bamboo about thirty-six inches in length was bent into the form
of a pair of tongs, and the round stone was placed inside the loop so formed
and the free ends of the tongs, being lasbed well togctherj served both to
keep the stone in its place and also as a handle to the hammer thus made.
This hammer weighed about twenty pounds, and was used in the first pro-
cess of forging only, the finishing touches to be given by a small light iron
hammer with a long bead. I did not see that any steel was used, but was
told that the small pieces of iron that flew off on all sides from the red-hot
blS.de in the process of forging were collected and added to Ihc iron, serving
the purposes of steel."
The Khunnongs also extract silver, which is found at Nogmun
to the east of the Nam Tisang. Colonel Macgregor says the ore
is melted out in an iron vessel over red hot charcoal; a draught is
kept up by " blow-pipes " on opposite sides, and the melted silver
is carried away by means of an iron pipe. "The Khunnongs trade
"with the Chinese to the east, with the Lamas to the north, and
*'w!th the Burmese to the south." They may have traded with
Burma at one time, but of late years their trade does not seem to
have extended beyond Hkamti, Mr. Errol Grey also notes that
they make their own cloth out of the fibres of the hemp plant.
*' In appearance the cloth resembles fine canvas."
Like the Wa and some other hill tribes the Khunnong bury
their dead in front of their houses. The graves are raised circular
mounds surrounded by a ditch and are not unlike those of the
Singpho.
(7) The Murus exist on the authority of Colonel Macgregor and
he saw only one of them on his visit to the valley of the Nam Kiu
50
394
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VII.
(the Irrawaddv). They are said to inhabit the hills north of the
Hukawng valley and to trade with the Chinese. "The Mooroos
" are a miserably poor race, and go about almost naked. I was
"informed that often they are on the point of starvation and are driven
"to eating all sorts of roots. The specimen of a Mooroo whom I
"saw at Langnu was certainly a wretched one. With the exception
" of a small loin-cloth and a very large coating of dirt, he possess-
"ed no garment. He came and stared at us like a wild animal
" and then suddenly turned on his heels and fled."
It is possible that these Muru are the Kumans about whom Mr.
George learnt details from " the Amber Mines pongyi" The
monk said the men wore nothing but a breech clout tied with a
siring, and the women a scanty kirtle kept in place by a rattan
girdle. He added that they crouched round fires to keep them-
selves warm at night and consequently very often had large blisters
on breast, back, and arms. Besides these, according to Kachin
information given to Major Fenton, there are —
(8) The Son and Bilu people, who live beyond the Khunnongs.
These wizards and o^res eat dogs, and the Kachins north of the
confluence and in Hkamti L6ng trade with them in that animal.
This race would hardly be worth mentioning if it were not for the
Bilu city which used to exist near Mohnyin, according to Mong
Yang and Mong Kawng history. The Son, according to the
Kachins, are clever workers in iron, which they get in their owp
country.
These eight tribes seem to have very little resemblance to the
Kachins. Some of the details about the Khunnongs suggest Wa
habits. Until more is known of them it is profitless to make con*
jectures. It seems not unlikely, however, that they may be of the
same family as the Palaungs and connected through them with the
Wa. Prince Henri d'Orleans has some notes wnicli supply hints
which are useful to the ethnologist as clues. He says: —
'Mn the basin of the Kiu-kiang (the easternmost branch of the 'Nroai
stream) the mountaineers are termed by the Chinese Kiu-tses. They are
closely akin to the Lu-tses, possessing ahno^it the same dialect. (It may
be noted that Kiu-tse simply means people of the Kiu-kiang or Irrawaddy ;
Lu-tse, people of the Lu-kiang or Salween.) Their precise denominations
arc successively Tulongs on the banks of the Kiu-ltiang. Tandsards by the
river Tclo, Rewans at Duma, and l.uans at Patigdam. The people of
Hkamti, that is to say, the Tais, know them under the generic title of Kha-
nungs ; and this is the name marked on the English maps. The same
Hkamti Tais call the Mislunis, Khamans. It is probable that the first sylla-
ble, kha, is identifal xvith the name by which the Laotians describe the
hill'tribes of ludoCbina. * * * Finally the Tibetans speak of the
Lu-tses as ngias (imbeciles). The Lu-tsc language differs entirely from the
CHAP. VII.] THE KACHIN HILLS AND THE CHINGPAW. 395
Lissu, and contains but few Tibetan words. Us construction, too, is dis-
similar.
•'The Lu-tses relate tbelr own origin thus: There lived formerly on
Pemachou (a mountain which wc afterwards saw on reaching the Kiu-kiang)
a man and his wife, who had nine sons, ca<;h of whom in their turn married.
One became King of Tibet and another King of Peking. Then these two
asked their brothers for money- The latter refused, and proposed to make
war on them. But the mother interceded saying: Mam the mother of
you all. Do not quarrel ; you seven ought to jjivc each a little to the two
who arc kings.' Her counsel prevailed and that is how the seven, who
peopled the district of the Lu-tse Kiang and became the Lu*tses, came to
render tribute to China."
This legend sus.G;ests immediately the Majaw Shingra-pum of
the Kachins. The Prince continues : —
"The Klu-tses at Duma (on the Reunnam) seemed a finer set of men than
those hitherto m^t. In proportion as wc advanced west wc found them
more civilized * * ♦ An old man 1 conversed with declared the Kiu-
tses, Loutses, Lissns. and Chinese to be sprung from the same stock. This-
branch of the Kiu-iscs at Duma styled themselves Rewans. They had
been driven westward succpssivoly from the Salween and the Telo by the
I.issus of Kioui (Kiwi). Even now it was a Lissu delegate from the Chief
of Kioui who collected the impost, one tsiett per family ; thence it weot to
the Chief of Ditchi, who jn his turn p.issed it on to the Prefect of I.ikiang.
• * • * It was indicative of the reputation for ferocity enjoyed by the
riparian Lissus that, already established in the cast and south-east, it should
also be recognized so far west of the Salween as this."
At Buniang, a village on a tributary of the Dihing, the Prince met
some Khamangs —
''These Khamangs I discovered were no other than the Mishmis; the
English calling them by the iallt;r, and the Sin«phos by the former name. *
• * They are more like the Pais tlian the Kiu-tses, being almost brown,
with rather large noses and cheek hones and small chins. They wear their
hair in a knot on thi* top of the head, and are clad in a sleeveless coat to
the knees, open in front, and a loin cloth; over their shoulders they occa-
sionally thruw a covering like the Pais, either striped brown or all scarlet.
Their ears are pierced with a metal tnhe, to which sometimes a rinij is hung.
Slung across the shoulder are a slsnder sword and a pouch made of the skin
of a wild animal. The women have in front of their hair a silver crescent
held behind by cowries, and the knot above is' transfixed by wooden pins.
A thin silver circlet with a smail cock's feather is fastened to the upper
part of the ear, and necklets of brass wire or glassware are also seen. They
wear a sort of waistcoat, brown, short-sleeved, and cut into the figure
before and behind. Th-: dwellings were small and on piles. The construc-
tion of their tombs seemed to point to a more religious, or at any rate
superstitious, character than that of the Kiu-tses wc had hitherto met."
Since there are so many clans with dialects which differ a good
deal, it is only to be expected that there should be
Personal char- ^ corresponding difference in the appearance of the
"^ '"■ peope. In the south, and especially in the Bharao
396
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VIU
neighbourhood, the Kachin is a short man averaging perhaps 5 feet
4 inches, while the women measure some inches less. The men are
by no means so well formed as the Burmese and look less muscular.
But the number of types is very great both in complexion and
feature. In a single village a man may be seen who suggests
negro blood, except for his hair, and beside him another with the
sallow tint of the south of Europe and features no less regular.
The shades of colour run to everything from swart black to
light brunette, though the most prevalent tint is a dirty brown.
Dr. Anderson, speaking of course only of the Kachins near Bharao,
detects two different types. " One with a fine outline of features
"recalling the womanly features of the Kacharies and Lepchas of
" Sikkim, In it the oblique eye Is very strongly marked, and the face
" is a longish, rather compressed oval, with pointed chin, aquiline
"nose, and prominent molars; while the other, probably the true
" Chingpaw, presents a short round face, with low forehead and very
" prominent molars. The ugliness of the slightly oblique eyes, sepa-
" rated by a wide space, the broad nose, thick protruding lips, and
"abroad square chin, is only redeemed by a good-humoured exprcs-
" sion. The hair and eyes are usually a dark shade of brown and the
" complexion is a dirty buff." The prevailing feature among all the
Kachins is the oblique eye and a tendency to high cheek bones,
but the nose varies greatly, ranging from an aquiline hook to a mert
undulation of the skin. Colonel Hannay, who writes of the Kachins
of the north-west, says : —
"The personal appearance of the Kiichins varies much, but they arc not
by any means a diminutive race ; on the contrary the ICakoos arc remark-
ably fine athletic men, hardy, and capable of enduring great fatigue, and it
is not uncommon to see them six feet high."
Of the Tartar origin of the Kachins there cannot be much doubt.
Their traditions point to a first home somewhere south of the
desert of Gobi and their movements have been always towards the
south. The diversity of complexion and type, which prevails even
in tracts where Shan and Burmese influence have apparently never
penetrated, seems to point to admixture with aboriginal races whom
the Kachins supplanted. Whether the Tarengs, Khunnongs, and
what not represent these can only be conjectured.
Intermarriages between Shans and Burmese and Kachins occur,
but they are so unusual that attention is always drawn to them.
Neither do the Kachins and Palaungs intermarry, and in any case
such unions would not result in aquiline noses. Connections be-
tween Chinamen and Kachin women seem more common, but they
are hardly numerous enough to produce a type, even in a restricted
area. It is clear that climate has done much, for though it might
CHAP. VII.] THE KACHIN HILLS AND THE CHINGPAW.
397
be expected that the swarms poured from the loins of the teeming
north would be the most vigorous of the race, yet it is manifest that
the most southerly are the most stunted.
More recent authorities, however, are inclined to add two inches
to the five feet four which Mr. George allows them » and to call them
athletic, while at the same time classing them as '* very dirty indi-
viduals with a repulsive type of countenance," The truth is per-
haps that they are tough and wiry rather than muscular and athletic.
The general character of the Chingpaw dress is the same among
all the tribes, and it is only a very observant, or a very practised eye,
which immediately detects the clan peculiarities which exist On
the Chinese, Shan, and Burmese borders some approach to the dress
of these people is noticed, but this is due to convenience and mascu-
line indifference. The women cling loyally to national fashions.
Colonel Hannay, writing over fifty years ago, vaguely speaks of
the Kachins in the neighbourhood of Bhamo as wearing a dark blue
cotton jacket and scanty nether garments and cutting their jet black
hair in a line with their ears. The native explorer Alai^a says that
both men and women wear little clothing and the women nave sleeve-
less jackets, with cowries as ornaments round their waists, beads
round their necks, and anklets of cane dyed black. Mr. George,
distinmiishing between Northern and Southern Kachins as Khakhus
and Chingpaw, says: Generally speaking the Khakhus wear a
narrow turban wound round the head, but not concealing completely
the top knot of hair ; a coat with long sleeves, generally dyed
with indigo, and without embroidery, and a striped oblong piece x)f
cloth, just about the size of a bath-towel, which they pass round the
waist and secure in front by a twist. They sometimes gird them-
selves with a narrow cane belt, to which are strung a double row of
cownes{$hiwan). They alsowear two or three thin black cane rings,
Just below the knee, not as a charm, but to set the leg off. The
original dress is said to be a small rather tight coat, a small waist-
cloth, and a very narrow turban, wound only once, or at most twice,
round the head and tied in a knot over the forehead. The colours
are either black, or a plaid pattern of red, yellow, and dark-blue.
The Khakhu women are said to wear a white or parti-coloured
narrow turban bound on the head in Burmese fashion. They wear
an under-garment like a jersey with short sleeves and over it a coat
open down the middle in front, reaching below the waist, with long
sleeves and cuffs ornamented with cowTies. Not unseldom the coat
is dispensed with. They wear the cowrie girdle, and, as a skirt, an
oblong piece of cloth a little longer than the men's, with a narrower
fringe of embroidery on the border than is customary among the
398
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VII.
Chingpaw ; this petticoat is secured with a twist, so that the opening
is towards the left side. They wear no cane rings whatever.
Among the Chingpaws, on the other hand, the women wear an
enormously tall head-dress of folded dark blue cloth, reminding one
of the tall hats of the Parsis, and short jackets barely reaching the
waist, and sleeveless or verj* nearly so. They
multiply girdles of thin cane round the waist, as
also a few rings below the knees like the men, while
their skirts are always worn so as to have the
opening to the right. Through the lobes of their
ears they thrust long tubes of silver {lakan) with
shreds of coloured cloth run down the centre, while
from the upper portion of the ear hang litsuns or
lappets of embroidered cloth with small tassels of
beads after this shape. Some wear enamelled plates of silver of the
same size and shape.
Round their necks the women of some tribes, such as the Kaon
Lepais, wear numerous necklaces of small beads called ^&gyi^ and
with all tribes the giri^ or torque of silver, is worn by such as can
afford it.
Among the Chingpaw men there is much diversity as to dress,
tribes adopting indifferently the dress of Shans or Chinese, accord-
ing to neighbourhood. Wide Shan trousers and large round turbans,
like those of the Shan-Chinese, are quite common, and there is much
diversity in coats — from the long surtout of the Lihsaw to the ordi-
nary Burmese or Chinese coat of while cotton almost universal in
the nearer hills.
Unmarried Chingpaw girls do not wear the tall turban and are
conspicuous by their hair, whicfi is cut across ihc forehead in New-
gate fringe fashion. Amongst the Kachins to the south-east of
Bhamo and throughout the Northern Shan States the tal! turban is
universal among the married women, whether of the parent tribes or
Lashi or Marus. This and the silver tube through the ear appear
to be the distinguishing characteristics of the Southern Kachin
women. The men instead of the tube often wear rolls of paper in
the lobes of their ears, as the Tai, and indeed all the exaggerated
ear-boring races do.
When a Kachin is about to be born, all friends and neighbours
are assembled, and two pots of Kachin beer are
prepared, one of which is meant for the genera!
company and is drunk by them, while the other is
set aside and called after the name of the child, and drunk only
when it has appeared. No young man may drink from this second
CiMioms.
Birth.
CHAP. VII.] THE KACHIN HItLS AND THE CHINGPAW.
399
pot without running the risk of ill luck, but the aged of either sex
and women and children are not debarred. At the instant of birth
the midwife says " the child is named so-and-so." If she does not
do this, some malignant nat or spirit will give the child a name first
and so cause it to pine away and die. If mother and child do well,
there is general drinking and eating, and the happy father is chaffed.
if, however, child-birth is attended with much labour, then it is
evident that nats are at work and a himsa or seer is called into
requisition. This man goes to another house iu the village and
consults the bamboos (chippa^vt) to discover whether it is the
house-Hfl^ who is averse, or whether a jungle nat has come and
driven the guardian nat away. These jungle 7tats are termed sawn^
and are the spirits of those who have died in child-birth or by violent
deaths. They naturally wish for companions, and so enter the house
and seize the woman and child. If the bamboo declares that it is
the house-wa^ who is angry, he is propitiated by offerings of spirits
or by sacrifice in the ordinary manner. If, however, it appears that
a sawn has taken possession, then prompt action is necessary.
Guns are fired all round the house and along the paths leading into
the village, arrows are shot under the floor of the house, dhas and
torches are brandished over the body of the woman, and finally old
rags, chillies, and other materials Ijkely to produce a sufficiently
noisome smell are piled under the raised flooring and set fire to,
thereby scaring away any but the most obstinate and pertinacious
spirits.
When the birth is happily accomplished, the neighbours make
little presents of dricd-fish and the like, and drink to the health of
the parents. Within a day or two the birth of the child must be
notified to the hoMse.-nats, and it is commended to their protection
by the tumsa, who decides the suitable offerings or sacrifice for the
occasion.
For three days after the birth the mother may not leave the
house, but she is not prevented from conversing with any one she
chooses. On the morning of the fourth day, very early, she goes
out with some elderly dame of the village and proceeds to the place
where the village water is drawn. The gammer takes a spear with
her and, when they come near the spring or the well, she casts it
towards the water and says " Avaunt all evil spirits ! " This is to
frighten off any nats that cherish designs of carrying off the woman
or her child. After the casting of the spear the woman bathes and
washes her clothes in safety and thereafter is free to do as she
likes. During pregnancy the woman must lake no honey in any
shape or form, or eat porcupine flesh, the reason given bemg that
400 THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VII.
these are likely to cause miscarriage. Otherwise there is no re^
striction of diet. The father is restricted in no way either before
or after the birth.
Among the Kachins all personal, or as we should say Christian*
.. . names are fixed and used in regular rotation
'*'""■"«• thus ;-
The 1st male child born is always called 'N Kam.
The 2nd male child born is always called 'N Nawng.
The 3rd male child born is always called 'N La.
The 4th male child born is always called 'N Tu.
The 5th male child born is always called 'N Tan.
The 6th male child born is always called 'N Yaw.
The 7th male child born is always called 'N Hka.
The 8th male child born is always called 'N Hkying.
Two other prefixes are common — Ma and La — for males. Thus
the name 'N Kam may appear as Ma Kam or La Kam. It will be
noticed that the order follows that of the sons of the legendary
Wakyetwa. The names of the females run as follows :-r-
The 1st female child born, — 'N Kaw.
The and female child born, — 'N Lu.
The 3rd female child born, — 'N Roi.
The 4th female child born, — 'N Tu.
The 5th female child born, — *N Kai.
The 6th female child born,— '.\ Kha.
The 7th female child born, — 'N Pri.
The 8th female child born,— 'N Yun.
.The 9th female child born, — ''N Khying.
The loth female child born, — 'N Nang.
The nth female child born, — Khying Nang.
The I2th female child born, — Khying Tang.
In place of the prefix 'N, Ma can also be used, thus *N Kaw or
Ma Kaw indifferently ; the prefix La, however, is peculiar to males.
The above are the ordinary and most commonly used names, but
sometimes a few other appellations may be used instead. Thus
instead of naming the first male infant Ma Kam he can also be called
Kum Rawng or 'N Gam, while for the children of the Chiefs or
ruling line honorific appellations are used thus : —
"Sao Kam.
Sao Ri (among the LepaiJ.
Sao Ing (Lahtawngs).
Sao Seng (Lepais, Marans, and Szis).
Sao Naw,
Jali or Jale Kam.
Kum Saing.
__Kum Ja Kam.
'N Kam becomes
any of these.
■{
CHAP. VII.] THE KACHIN HILLS AND THE CHINGPAW. 40I
'N Naw becomes
'N La becomes
*N Tu becomes
'N Tan becomes
'N Kaw becomes
fSin Wa Naw.
Kumga Naw.
I Sao Awn.
An Nawng.
Sao Lawn.
;ja!aw.
La Ring (Lepai).
iSaok 'Nwc La.
la Yit.
faTu.
Sao Tu.
Sao Hlang.
f Awra Awratan.
"■(^Sao Tan.
'N Yaw becomes... Sao Yaw.
Sao is equivalent to Sawbwa and is therefore not improbably
borrowed from the Shans. Ja means gold, and is used Hke Shwe in
Burmese or Hkam in Shan.
Among the females —
Nang Mun,
Ja Taung,
Nang Seng,
'N Rol becomes ... Nang Roi,
'NHtu becomes... |^^"g"''y'^"g'
I Nang Htu,
Nang being an honorific particle, also probably borrowed from
the Shans. Besides these individual names, there are in the case
of the common folk a large number of family appellations as —
[(i) M'bwi.
) Laban.
) Paw Sa.
) Hpaw Tan.
) 'N Taw.
) 'N Tap, &c.
[(i) Chumlut.
(2) La Hang.
AmongtheSzis...'f3) M^ Lang.
^ (4) Hpau Yu.
(5) Hpau Yan.
(6) Mi Tun, &c.
These surnames are used before the Christian names just as the
Hsifig names are in Chinese. Thus the first son of a family of
ChumlQt is called Chumlut Kam, the second son Chumlut Nawng
5»
Surnames among
the Lakhums.
^M 403 THK UPPER BURMA GAZBTTEER. [CHAP. VII. 1
^H and soon. It seems probable that the Chingpaw have a series of |
^^^H family names, Hke the Using of the Chinese.
fl
^^^1 The following is a list of the family names among the Kachins ^^|
^ compiled by Mr. D, W. Rae, Civil Officer, Bhamo Hills Tracts. ^^|
^^K ()) Using.
(34) I-asang.
(67) Kaigyi. ^B
^^^^^^ (a) Singhtong.
(35) Kumtong.
(68) 'N b rang B
^^^^^H (3) Chasham.
(36) Paosang.
Paokun. m
^^^^B (4) Ungsing.
(37) Palu.
(69) Pasham. ^^B
^^B
(38) Sabaw.
(39) Ningkyem.
(70) Lamai. ^^B
^^^^^H (6) Kambao.
(71) Paoyam.- ^^B
^^^^B (7) Jangma.
(40) Mai da.
(72) Tawshi. ^^B
^^^^^H (0) Lasum.
{41) Kancma.
(73) Gamaw. ^^B
^^^^^H (9) Sumnut.
^42) Shadao.
(43) Kangsao.
(74) Galao. ^^1
^^^^^H (10) Kareng.
(75) I-using. ^H
^^^^^H (11) Hkuntang.
(44) Mitong.
(76} Sagaw. ^^B
^^^^^H (12) Kumding.
(45) Aora.
(77) Paola. ^^1
^^^^B (13) Malang.
(46) Kumtat.
(78) Paotai. ^H
^^^^H (14) Kangkyi.
(47) 'Ntap.
(79) 'Ndao. ^^B
(So) Palai. ^H
^^^^^B (15) Chaogyi.
{48) Pumang.
^^^^^B
(49) Dumao.
(81) Kangda. ^H
^^^^^H (17) Labang.
(50) Lamao.
(82 j Paowong. ^^B
(83) Kumpyen. ^B
^^^H (18) 'Mbwi.
(51) Paoyu.
^^^^^B
(52) Sinyu.
(84) Lama. ^^fl
^^^^^H (20) Mwehpu.
(53) Daoma.
(85) Hkrap. ^H
^^^^^H (21) Mwehku.
(54) Maru.
(86) Paolang. ^H
^^^^^^^ (23) Mwehkaw.
^^^^K (23) Sakong.
(55) Wuchik.
(87) Chingpaw. ^^B
(56) Kinraw.
(88) Magao. fl
^^^^^H (24) Paosa.
^^^^^^H (25) Lashi.
(57) 'Ngyi.
(58) Paonat.
(89) Kumshan. B
(90) Dingdu. ^^B
^^^^^H (26) Chaohpa.
(59) Wudi.
(91) Ningdup. ^^B
^^^^^H (27) Lakang.
(60) Myetshi,
(92) Kataokum. fl
^^^^^H (28) Sangan.
(61) *Mam.
(93) Pao-se. ^^1
^^^^^H (29) Lukna.
(62) Shanghtin.
(94) Tao-je. ^H
^^^^^fl (30) Manam
(63) Tashi.
{95) Wapai. ^B
^^^^H (31) 'Nkhum.
(64) Shawunla.
(96) Pala. ^M
^^^^B
(6^) Tingrin.
(97) Lebang. ^H
^^^^P (33) Marip.
(66) Marao.
^H
^^^V It is somewhat singular that all having 1
he same surname, fl
^^^^ whether they belong to the same or different t
ribes, reo^ard them- 1
^B selves as being of one blood and do not intermar
Ty. Thus a Maran 1
^H Chumlut cannot take a wUe from the Szi Chum
lots. This is inter- 1
^B esting, because it suggests totemism and becau
56 it shons that the B
^^L family distinctions are older than the tribal. \
30 far the origin of ^^B
CHAP. VII.] THE KACHIN HILLS AND THE CHINGPAW. 403
these family names has not been ascertained. It seems probable
that a perversion of the system led to the outrageous number of so-
called sub-clans. It is significant that all Chiefs, no matter of what
tribe, are regarded as of one family and have no surnames. They
are distinguished by local distinctive names. The first question
Kachin strangers ask each other is — "Are you a Du-wa" (one of
the chieftains^ line) or a commoner?" It is customary for those
of the Duwa family to contract alliances within their own family*
but intermarriage with commoners is permitted and the offspring in
every case belongs to the father's family. Yet there are signs that
the Kachin family was at one time matriarchal.
Tribal distinctions are properly those of local area or political
subordination rather than of blood, thus a Szi ChumlQt who settles
in a Maran Dtcna's territory and pays his dues there becomes a
Maran and his children become so too.
The underlying idea that those of the ruling estate all belong to
the same family and govern by right divine is common to all early
monarchies, and the legend of Wakyetwa finds its parallel in the
storj of the Setkya kings. It is to the interest of each ruling
familv everywhere to claim the most lofty lineage and from motives
of self-interest to concede it to all other Dwxas. Bui the existence
of common family names in different tribes and their supposed kin-
ship immediately suggests the Roman gens and the Greek genos.
Since the Romans practically knew nothing about the origin of the
gens at the time of the laws of the Twelve Tables, the modem
Kachins. far from their old home, may be excused if they cannot
explain this puzzling topic. But it may be remarked that in
America, Australia, and Africa all persons bearing the same totem
name belong to that lotem kin. When the farthest Chingpaw
are visited this subject will be worth careful attention.
Infanticide is not known among the Kachins, and the smallness
of their families is due to the inclemencies of their climate and the
savage surroundings generally, which make the rearing to maturity
of those that are born no easy matter. Every additioncil hand is
so much gain to the family, and at the worst the parent can always
sell a superfluous child as a slave and thus make something out of
him. When the parents belong to different tribes, the children
take the name of the father's tribe. This is so even in the case
of ningkhis or illegitimate children, the fruit of the experimental
intercourse before marriage. Adoption can only take place in the
same tribe. There is no restriction as to the age of the adopted
child, but it still retains its own family surname- No particular
ceremony is necessary. The adopting parents simply hold a feasjj
404
THE UPPER BURBAA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VII.
which need not take place at the time of adoption, but can be de-
layed l3l convenient, and at this, in the presence of elders, they
declare their intention. The child resides with its adoptive parents,
and shares with the other heirs on their decease.
A man may not mairj* a woman of the same surname. It seems
. to be a general rule that a man should marry a
*'"** ' first cousin on the female side, or more pre-
cisely the daughter of a mother's brother. He may not, however,
marry his father's sister's child, who is regarded as closely related.
Blood connection is generally traced through the female, which
may or may not be a reminiscence of polyandry. This rule seems
much relaxed among the Southern Kachtns, but it is said that far-
ther north, if there is a marriageable first cousin whom a man does
not want to marry, he can marr>' elsewhere only after paj-ing a fine
to the injured parents of the damsel. The parents arc injured
because they are robbed of a certainty in the price of the girl.
The forbidden degrees of consanguinity are —
(i) Parents and grand-parenls.
!2) Children and grand-children,
3) Father's sister's child.
(4) Father's brother's child (because of the same name).
(5) Mother's sister's child.
Among the Szis there is an arrangement whereby one family is
so to speak general parent-in-law to another family and gives
females only to the members of the latter family. Since the
families are thus regarded as permanent connections, it is i»ot
competent for the first family to demand wives from the second
family, so they have to get them elsewhere. There appears to be
a well recognized series of families among which women are regu-
larly given or taken in marriage.
Thus the following families : —
Malang, I LSban, I Taw Shi,
Hpau Yan, | MislQ, | Sin Hang,
may take females of the family of Chumlots, but the Chumlut
family has to go for its consorts to other families, such as the —
Num Taw, I Turn Maw, J^^ng Maw,
Lfimaw, I Hpanyn, Hpu Kawn.
The only restraining influence now-a-days is popular opinion.
No particular punishment seems to be inflicted for breach of these
hymena;al rules. Traces of a custom of the kind are found among
certain of the Karen tribes (r^e Ethnology chapter) and similar rules
used to be maintained among some of the Australian aborigines.
CHAP. Vn.l THE KACHIN HILLS AND THE CHINGPAW.
401
Polyandry does not exist, but polygamy is permissible. For a
man to have more than two wives is rare. Sometimes, however,
he cannot heip himself, since successive brothers must marry a
deceased elder brother's widows. Occasionally, when many bro-
thers die and one brother is saddled with more wives than he is able
to support, it is permissible to arrange for a still younger brother
or even a stranger to take the widow ; the widow in any case has to
be taken care of and fed by her husband's family even if none of
them will formally become her husband. If this is not done, she
returns to her own household, and this constitutes a " debt " which
has to be liquidated in blood or money. The reason given for
permitting polygamy is that it is a provision against barrenness,
but, although permissible, it is not always practised. Monogamy,
as in most similar cases, is at any rate prevalent and is perhaps the
rule. Dr. Anderson says ; —
" The ceremony of marriagei besides the religious rites, combines the idea
of purchase from the parents with that of abduction so frequently found to
underlie the nuptial rites of widely separated races. An essential prelimi-
nary is to get the diviner to predict the general fortune of the intended bride.
Some article of her dress or ornaments is procured and handed over to the
[seer, who, it may be supposed, being thereby brought «« rapport with her,
proceeds to consult oraciis and to predict her destiny."
After this there appear to be two forms — One where the abduc-
tion of the bride is nominal and the preliminaries and ceremonies are
adjusted with formality. This is the rule among the Sawbwas and
the more wealthy or influential households. The other form, where
the abduction is actually carried out, is usual among the common
people. The latter is obviously the earlier custom and may there-
fore be described first. When the tumsa^s forecast is favourable,
the young man sends some of his friends to the house of a respect-
able householder in the village where the girl lives. This agent is
termed chang tung. The emissaries inform the ckang tung whom
they wish to carry off, and show the presents which the intending hus-
band has sent. There is a generally recognized scale of presents
due according to the social standing of the damsel, and the inter-
mediary is guided by this. If he considers the present insufficient,
he mentions what is still required. The matter is discussed, the
exact presents are finally fixed, and agreements are come to to make
up deficiencies at the first opportunity. The go-between then
decoys the girl to his house and she is seized and carried off. This
usually occurs at night. Next morning the ckang iung goes over
to the parents and tells them what has happened and displays the
presents. As a rule, since they are on the recognized scale, they
are accepted. Occasionally, however, the parents go in pursuit,
and so long as the religious marriage ceremony has not been per*
4o6
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VII.
formed, and the parties are not man and wife, they can take the
girl back. H, however, the religious ceremonies have been gone
through, they are too late and must acquiesce.
The religious and other ceremonies performed in case the girl is
not recaptured are similar to those customary in the more regular
and modern form of marriage common among the notables.
In such cases the proposer sends two messengers with Kachin
beer and a piece of clothing as presents, to make a formal pro-
posal. These go first to the house of the usual intermediary and
by him are introduced to the parents. The amount of dowry is
discussed and agreed to, and then the neighbours are summoned
and drinks are served round. The girl herself is never consulted,
and is bound by her parents* wishes. This constitutes the be-
trothal. There is no fixed time which must elapse before the
marriage ceremony takes place. When the day comes the bride-
groom stays at home and sends his friends, male and female, without
limit as to number, over to the bride's village with the presents
agreed on. They go first to the chang tufjg*s house and thence
to the bride's, where she sits in her best clothes, wearing silver
torques {girt) and as many silver ornaments as possible {kuni'
praw paiawng). A tumsa ts present and proceeds to find out by
bis art which two women it would be best to send as bridesmaids.
When these are selected, each picks up a nauklwe (the basket
carried on the back by a sort of yoke round the neck) in which are
clothes, a couple of spears, and a dha or two given by the parents
and intended to start the couple in house-keeping. Other articles
of housewifery, such as cooking-pots and the like, are sent later.
The bride then starts off attended by her bridesmaids and as many
other people as the popularity or station of the family justify, but
the parents remain behind. When the bridegroom's village ip
reached the bride is usually conducted to the house of the onginal
messenger or go-between {likyaw), while the tumsa is offering
sacrifices to determine the propitious moment. When he gives the
word the bride is brought out and made to sit near the bridegroom's
house.
Then to quote Dr. Anderson : —
" The tumsa arranges bundles of fresh grass pressed down with bamboos
at regular inter\-als so as to form a carpet between the company (where the
bride is) and the bridegroom's house. The household nats are then invoked
and a libation of sheroo and water poured out.'*
This may be the case at the weddings of DuwaSt but the ordi-
nary Kachin ties his bamboos of liquor for a reasonable time before
the spirit shrine and then carries them home and pours the libation
into his own person.
CHAP. VII.] THE KACHIN HILLS AND THE CHINGPAW. 407
Dr. Anderson continues : —
" Fowls, &c. (which usually means pigs), arc then killed and their blood is
sprinkled on the grass-path (and also on the bride), over which the bride and
her attendants (the two women with nauklw^s only) pass to the house^ and
offer boiled eggs, ginger, and dried fish to the household deities. This con-
cludes the ceremony, m wliich the bridegroom takes no part."
He does not even talk to the bride then ; she usually goes straight
into the bridegroom's parents' rooms till the time of the evening
mealj when she is brought out and husband and wife feed each
other with a few mouthfuls before the assembled company.
" The marriage feast ends, like all their festivities, in great drunkenness,
disorder, and often in a fight.''
As a rule, co-habitation does not take place for some days after
marriage, the only reason given being that the parties are ashamed,
but frequently very young girls are abducted and this necessarily
delays coverture. The bride is not veiled. In cases where ab-
duction has taken place against the wish of the parents, it is per-
missible for friends of the intending husband to perform the part
of the more regular bridesmaids. A widow, as has been noted, is
usually taken by her husband's brothers. She has no option and
can only marry again outside her husband's household with their
consent.
Before marriage the young people are allowed to consort as they
please. In villages to the north there are al-
ways two or three little so-called bachelors* huts
idum^nia) at the disposal of any maiden with any favoured man.
If they do not care for each other, ihey part, and no one has aright
to interfere. Each is free to experiment with any one else. If
they care for each other, they marry. The result of this is claimed
lo be that unchastity after marriage does not exist. In case a child
results, it is usual to arrange for its birih in the man's house, and
he has to kill a bullock and pigs to honour the nats of the damsel's
home. In addition he has to pay a fine to the parents of a spear,
a gong, a dka, and some pieces of clothing, or else he must marry
her. Otherwise the parents have a " debt " against him. When
he has paid the required fine, the man can take or leave the child,
just as he pleases. This free love at once recalls the description
given by Marco Polo of the marriage customs of Tibet, where no
woman was thought of as a wife until she had proved herself a child-
bearing reality ; the greater number of fathers, the more conclusive
the proof. Herodotus has a similar tale, but in the case of the
Gindanesof Libya the number of lovers was ostentatiously displayed
to prove that a girl must be worth marrying. Such sordid proofs
as babies are not referred to.
4o8
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VII.
In case of mild forms of sickness where there is not much suffer-
Uiscase *"S simple herbal remedies are adopted, but there
_ * is no regular profession of medicine. Most elders
of the village have their own recipes. Where sickness, however,
is dangerous or accompanied by pain, it is declared to be caused
by a naf, or spirit, biting the person. The tumsa is called in, and
by his aid the particular nat who is the cause of the illness is dis-
covered and propitiated with eggs, spirit, fish, or the sacrifice of a
buffalo, fowl, or pig, according to the emergency of the case. Goitre
is found among the Kachins as among the other hill tribes, but
seems not to be so prevalent as among the valley dwellers.
Mr. George was told the following folksmyth by a Szi from the
r- .. south-east of Bhamo. Long ago when all men
Death. . ^ , J*" *• 14 1
were immortal, a very aged man named Apauk-
kyit Lok lived on Majaw Shingra Pum, the ancestral hills of the
Kachins. Nine times had he grown old, lost his teeth, and become
grey-headed, and nine times had he mysteriously rejuvenated, as
everybody else did in that golden age, when nobody could die.
Apaukkyit L6k went out one day to fish and caught a stkhai (prob-
ably a kind of squirrel), which had fallen asleep on the branch of a
tree and had slipped off into the water, whereit was captured. Ap-
aukkyit Lok put the sSkkai into a big bamboo basket and covered it
with clothes and then went and hid himself. The neighbours were
taken in by this primitive joke and the rumour went round that the
old man was dead. Now m the sun there lived the spirit of a man
termed .sHwr/, which is the all-pervading life essence, without which
man would die. This sumri was subject to the Lord of the sun,
who when he heard of Apaukkyit Lok's supposed death summoned
sumri, but found that essence unchanged. The idea of sumri is
explained as being that of a mere centre from which threads of life
spread out to each individual, and until this thread is snapped or
cut, life goes on existing in the individual. The Lord of the sun
discovered that the old man's connection with the life-centre was
still intact, and so realized that there was a mistake, so he sent
several messengers, as if on the pretext that they were to dance at
the funeral, but really to make enquiries. .All they could see was a
bundle of clothes enwrapping a form in a wicker basket. Appa-
rently it was not permissible to see the corpse, so the messengers
had recourse to stratagem, and covered their feet with honey to
make them sticky, and contrived, while dancing round the basket,
to touch the clothes with their feet and gradually draw them enough
to one side to discover the fraud. They informed the Lord of the
sun, who in anger cut off Apaukkyit Lok's connection, so that he
fell sick. He sent for a tumsa, and the path of the messengers
CHAP. VII.] THE KACHIN HILLS AND THE CHINGPAW. 409
was crossed both by a jungle cat and an otter, both excellent
omens, but in spite of sacrifices and all that could be done. Apauk-
kyit L6k's fully " opened the door" (as the Kachins put it) for death
to enter into the world and people have died ever since. Mr.
George doubts whether this is a true Chingpaw myth, more especi-
ally because it was told him on the southernmost fringe of the
Ching[3aw country. This hardly seems a sufhciontly strong reason
for suggesting that the tale may be uf Chinese or Shan origin and
denying all capacity of mystic speculation to the Chingpaw. Most
races accept death as inevitable without speculating as to why it
should be so, or when and why it began. Dr. Anderson gives the
following account of funeral ceremonies as they are now prac-
tised : —
" When a Kachin dies, the news is announced by the discharge of match-
locks. This is a signal for all to repair to the house of death. Some cut
bamboos and timber for the coffin, others prepare for the funeral rites. A
circle of bamboos is driven into the ground slanting outwards, so that the
upper circle is much wider than the base. (This is termed Karoi.) To each
a small flag is fastened ; grass is placed between this circle and the house,
and the iumsa scatters grass [Nam — long grass} over the bamboos and pours
a libation oi sheroo. [Cht'ru is considered to be tlie better translitrration now,
and the Kachin now-a-days merely offers the spirit and eventually drinks it
himself.)
" A hog is then slaughtered and the flesh cooked and distributed, and the
skull is fixed on one of the bamlxws. The coffin {tu-u) is made of the
hollow trunk of a large tree which the men fell with their dhas. Just before
it falls a fowl is dashed against the tottnring stem and killed, Tlie object of
this sacrifice is to induce the spirit of the departed ti> make the tree fall
fairly so that it may be easily split to make the coffin. The regular cus-
tom is to split the trunk, hollow out the inside, and use the two pieces as
coffin and lid, so tliat the junction of the two is exact.
" The body is washed by men or matrons, according to the sex, and dress-
ed in new clothes. Some of the pork, boiled rice, and chiru are placed
before it and a piece of silver is inserted in the mouth to pay ferry dues over
the strt^ms the spirit may have t^ cross. It is then coffined and borne to
the grave amid the discharge of firearms. The grave is about three feet
deep, and three pieces of wood are laid to support the coffin, which is covered
with branches of trees before the earth is filled in. The old clothes of the
deceased are laid on the mound and chiru is poured on it, the rest being
drunk by the friends around it. In returning, the mourners strew ground,
rice along thL- path, and when near the village, they cleanse their legs and
arms with fresh leaves. Eating and drinking wind up the day. Next morn-
ing an offering of a hog and chiru is made to the spirit of the dead man, and
a feast and dance are held till late at night and resumed in the morning. A
forma! sacrifice of a buffalo in honour of the household nais then takes place,
and the iumsa breaks down the bamboo fence, after which the final death
dance successfully drives forth the spirit, which is believed to have been still
lingering round its former dwelling. In the afternoon a trench is dug round
the grave and the conical cover already described is erected, the skulls of the
bog and buffalo being affixed to the post."
5a
4ro
THK UPPER BURMA GAZKTTEER. [CHAP. Vll.
Mr. George remarks that this description applies properly to a
funeral among the Kaori Lepais, a tribe very restricted in area
and marked by peculiar patms and customs, but what different
usages there may be among other tribes do not appear to be very
distmctive.
It does not appear to be necessary that the burial and funeral
ceremonies should be at all coincident in point of time. If a man
dies, at a distance from his village, if it be impossible to collect all
friends and relations in time, or if the family finances be too low to
provide a sufficiently magnificent wake, it is quite permissible for
the body to be buried at once and without ceremony. An ordinary
man can be buried lying in any direction. Although there are
recognized burial-grounds, their use is not compulsory, and his rela-
tives can bury a man where they please. In a Kachin burial-
ground it is not usual, except in the case of people bearing the
same family name^ to have the graves as near together as is the
case with Burmans and Shans. Among the Szis on the east fron-
tier, it is said to be customary to call on a Chinese or Shan-Chinese
soothsayer termed sensen, whose specialty it is to decide on a favour-
able spot for the grave so that the survivors may not be worried by the
ghost of the departed. In the case of Sawbwas or inlTuentia! men,
when it has been decided to postpone the funeral ceremonies, it is
common for the coffin to be kept sometimes for months supported
above ground on posts. A bamboo is let into the coffin, comn-cting
it with the earth to permit of the escape of the results of decompo-
sition.
When it is decided to hold the funeral ceremony {mdnmakoi),
all friends are invited and a tumsa is called in, who decides in con-
sultation with the spirit of the departed what sacrifice— buffalo,
bullock, pig, or fowl — should be offered This is killed and eaten
and a portion is presented to the spirit of the deceased at his
shrine (tnankyang or mang-ja7ig). This spot is usually ac the
back of the house, where the household ttats are worshipped and
where, pending the completion of the funeral rites, the deceased's
dha, bag, and the like have been hung up. Feasting and drinking
go on after this till nothing is left, the monotony being varied by
death dances, described by Dr. Anderson as follows : — '' We enter*
" ed the common hall, round which men, women, and children were
" dancing, each carrying a small stick, with which each beat time as
"they circled round with measured steps, curiously combining a
" prance and a side shuffle. The instrumentalists were a man and a
" girl, who vigorous] V beat a pair of drums, while ever and anon the
" dancers burst into loud yells and quickened the speed of their evo-
" lutions. We at first sat gravely on the logs brought by a similar
CHAP. VU.] THE KACHIX HILLS AND THE CHINGPAW. 4II
" girl, but were presently invited by signs to take our places in the
"dance; accordingly we stood up and went round, and had hardly
"taken two turns when the whole party rushed yelling out of the
"house, the leader flourishing his stick wildly as though clearing the
"way. Much puzzled, we returned into the house, and found the
" corpse of a child laid in a corner carefully screened off and the
" poor mother wailing bitterly by its side. The festivity turned out
" to be a death dance to drive away the departed spirit from hover*
" ing near its late tenement, and our exertions were believed to
'* have mainly contributed to the happy result."
On the final day of the death ceremonies the liip or conical
shaped thatch cover seen all over the hills is erected over the grave,
and the trench usually dug only for Chieftains and noteworthy
people is finished. The knroior bamboo circle is pulled down before
this is done. In the evening the tit-msa addresses the spirit of the
deceased {man-skippawt ttai), and begs it to go away to the
place where its ancestors are and never to come back. Neither Mr.
George nor other enquirers have ascertained whether there is any
idea of a definite spint-world, as this would seem to imply, and, if
so, where i: is. The shrine {mang-jang) in the house is then
destroyed and guns are fired off, and a party of friends goes out
to visit the burial-place, firing and drinking as they go. If the
deceased is a man, they make six halts. When they reach the lup
they hang up the articles of the deceas<;d's dress, his dha, and so
forth, which have been taken off the mang-jang, and then they fire a
volley. Oil their way back they place little heaps of rice-flour here
and there on the road, which are inspected next moniing and omens
are drawn from their condition. Should they be found disturbed, it is
a sign that some other member of the family or village is shortly
about to die. There is a final death-dance and then the company
disperse. Six days afterwards in the case of a man, and seven in
the case of a woman, the spirit of the deceased is supposed to
return for a last look round. It is consequently necessary to induce
it to go away. In anticipation the family have caught something
eatable, generally fish, and the first captured is presented along
with some chiru to the spirit, who is adjured to go and remain with
his or her ancestors and not to stay and become a nat. Neigh-
bours come in and a general drinking bout ends the proceedings.
There is no mourning garb nor does it appear that any of the rela-
tions have to observe any special rules after the death. Burial is
now-a-days the usual form of disposing of the dead, except in the
case of lunatics (nw«(j), persons dying a violent death [s&w&\^
and women dying in child-birth [titang), who are burnt. In the
case of the last, the ashes and bones are simply raked together,
4>
fHE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VII.
covered with a litlle earth, and a inp erected above them. Among
the Kaoris, according to Dr. Anderson, " funeral rites are also denied
" to those who die of small-pox and to women dying in child-birth.
*' In the latter case, the mother and the unborn child are supposed
" to berome a fearful compound vampire {swawn). All the young
" people fly in terror from the house and divination is resorted to
"to discover what animal the evil spirit will devour and another
"into which it will transmigrate."
This shows the influence of Buddhist notions introduced through
intercourse with Shans and Burmese, for the idea of transmigration
appears to be utterly unknown to the northern Kachlns. Dr. An-
derson continur'S : "The first (animal) is sacrificed and some of
" the flesh placed before the corpse ; the second is hung up and a
" grave dug in the direction to which the animal's head pointed
"when dead. Here the corpse is buried with all the clothes and
"ornaments worn in life, and a wisp of straw is burned on its face
"before the leaves and earth are filled in. All property of the
" deceased is burnt on the grave and a hut erected over it. The
" death-dance lakes place lo drive the spirit from the hou.se in all
" cases. The former custom appears to have been to bum the
" body itself with the house and all the clothes and ornaments used
" by the deceased. This also took place if the mother^died during
" the month succeeding child-birth, and, according to one native
"statement, the infant also was thrown into the fire^with the ad-
" dress ' lake away your child ; ' but, if previously any one claimed
" the child, saying ' give me your child,' it was spared and belonged
" to the adopting parent, the real father being unable at any time
" to reclaim it."
The last statement suggests the complacent Burman informant,
who is always willing to invent and improve upon>trange customs.
Mr. George says that a tradition exists among the Szis that
formerly cremation was the rule. The only explanation given for
its discontinuance is that with altered times came altered customs,
and the spread of the custom of chewing betel, unknown in the
north, was instanced as a parallel example.
Each Kachin Duwa has his own recognized hill tract, within
Government. ^^'*^^ ^' dwellers look to him as their Chief. The
term Sa^obu^a, commonly used, is not national and
in most cases is absolutely misleading, for though there are Chiefs
such as the Kansi and Thama Duwas, who rule over fairly wide
tracts and have many subordinate Dunas, or village headmen,
under them^ the majority of the so-called SatDbwas are of no more
CHAP. VII.] THE KACHIN HII.I-S AND THE CHINGPAW. 413
consequence than the ordinary Burmese village gaung. The Shan
Chiefs to whom the title belongs look upon the use of it by the Ka-
chins with amused contempt. The chieftainship is hereditary, the
youngest son succeeding to the title and power, as under Borough
English law. The eldest sons can stay on in the old homestead
if they like, but in most cases they move off with a small personal
following to make a fresh settlement according to ancient use and
wont. The retention of authority by the Duwa depends entirely on
his own personal gifts. If he is intelligent, his counsels are follow-
ed, other^vise he is a mere mouth-piece of his salangs, who are
oftenest called pa'tvmaings, a Shan name for a village headman.
Every Duwa has two or three of the elders to advise him, and in
the majority of cases they are the real authority ; they have no pay,
but they control everything in the village. Theoretically the Dwtca
is master of all lands in his territory, but practically individual rights
are respected. As Dr. Anderson puts it, speaking of the Kaori
tribe : " a suggestion to a villager that the chief might evict him
" from his holding was replied to by a significant sawing motion of
" the hand across the throat."
No strangers are allowed to buy or cultivate land without the
Duwa's permission. Tribute to the Chief consists usually of one or
two baskets office from each house, but he is also entitled to a part,
usually a leg, of all game and of all bullocks and buffaloes killed
within the limits of his jurisdiction ; while such chieftains as have
their territory along the caravan routes receive also such collections
as are made from travellers for free passage. Otherwise the Duwa
is in the same position as any other villager, and has to work for
his living in the same manner, with the exception that four times
in the year — at jungle-clearing, sowing, weeding, and harvest time —
the whole village has to give one day's labour to the ruler, but even
then he gives them their food for the day. He is not even village
judge or keeper of the peace. Quarrels are referred to the arbitra-
tion of the salangs, sometimes of the same, but oftener of a sepa-
rate village, and should an award not be accepted the law of repri-
sals is resorted to, and the Duioa, unless he or his relations are
personally concerned, has no right to interfere. Inter-tribal or inter-
communal quarrels are always settled by reprisals, and then the
Du-wa takes the lead in executmg vengeance. Our system of making
each headman personally responsible for peace and order in his
territories was therefore quite a novelty to the Kachins. The rise
of the kumlao or democratic system referred to above was therefore
quite easy and was effected without any noticeable change In vil-
lage habits. The salangs did everything as before and there was
merely no Dutoa.
414
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VII.
According to Mr. George this kitmlan system began certainly
not more than thirty years ago. The exact year, he says, can ht
fixed by the fact that it was the year in which a very large comet
indeed was visible and remained so, which would seem to refer to
1858, for nearly two months. The story goes that the daughter of
Ning Bawa, Duwa of Sumpawng Pum, was sought in marriage by
two men: Khawlfe, who is described as a Maran Akyi (headman),
and Lapushaung. Ning Bawa, however, chose neither, but gave her
to Naw Pwe, Chief of Ngumla, a village beyond the confluence, two
days north of Wanlu. Upon this Khawlu and Lapushaung joined
forces. Khawlt killed the Ngumla Chief and Lapushaung disposed
of Sumpawng Hum and each seized his victim's villages. This
raised an appetite for more and they proceeded to kill or drive away
all Duicas who would not yield and efface themselves. Major
Fenton remarks that "Simwa, Sa-wbwa of Sakipum, and numbers
"of minor Dutvas saved their lives by consenting to give up their
" emulumentSj and were made akyis, apparently a purely honorary
*' title." The movement was not confined exclusively to the Lepai
tribe as he says, but was found also among the Lahtawngs and
Marans. It is extraordinarily widespread, considering its recent
origin, for there are \-iIlages in the upper deKle, just north of Bhamo,
where wiihin a few years of the annexation tJie Duwas were driven
out and akyis established. How the system worked appears from
the remarks of Captain L. E. Elliott: " The difference between
" Kumlao and Kumsa is only mentioned here, as no presious
" report has noted how greatly the difficulty of a march through
" Kachin country is enhanced if the people of the villages passed
" through have no Sawbwas, or in short are kumlaos and not kum-
** sas. With a hereditary Sawdwa, if he is friendly, no trouble need
" be expected from the villagers ; but in a kumlao village which is
" practically a small republic, however well meaning the headman
" may be, fie is quite unable to control the action of any badly dis-
" posed villager, as the latter would strongly resent any restraint
"on the part of the headman on his liberty of action. Though the
"movement maybe slowly extending to the north of the con flu-
" ence, it is doubtful whether it is really gaining much ground,
"as certain Kachin villages near the Chinese frontier are disgusted
" with the new state of affairs, and the lawlessness involved thereby,
"and are negotiating for the retum of their Sawbwas. The Sa-aj-
" bivas, however, do not seem anxious to rejoin, as ihey are not yet
" certain of their position."
The appointment of some responsible person as headman has
been made compulsory on all Kachin villages within the adminis-
rative zone. Occasionally the Z^wtto acts as representative of the
CHAP. VII.] THE KACHIN HILLS AND THE CHINGPAW. 41S
^
whole community in offering sacrifices, as for example in the yearly
festival of the " nai of the earth," and every villager is obliged to
assist him and contribute offerings. So, too, in times of general
prosperity, the Duwa, as head of the community, holds high festi-
val for three or four days on end {mauaukalaw), to which all neigh-
bouring communities are invited. The entire company of the nais
Is then propitiated with offerings, and dancing and drunkenness
help to pass the time merrily. The whole comnmnity contributes
to bear the expense. When a Sawbua marries, it seems to be
customary, but not obligatory, for his subjects to make him offer-
ings. There was in fact a species of trinoda necessttas, but the
Chingpaw were too impatient of control to observe it, except when
they cnose.
There does not seem, so far as our knowledge of Chingpaw cus-
tom goes, to be any body of recognized legal rules.
Disputes may or may not be referred to the decision
of the DuTva or some of the salangs or paromaings, but ultimately
each man is his own avenger; compensation for injuries is allowed, and
there is a tolerably recognized scale of blood money : thus, if a Duwa
is murdered, the cession of half the village lands of the ofFender
with many slaves and guns is required to expiate the crime; while, in
the case of a lesser man, one slave, eight or ten bullocks, and some
clothes and gongs will suffice. If satisfaction is not thus obtained^
a "debt" is constituted, and the Kachin method of reasoning in
liquidating these debts is exceedmgly whimsical. Mr. George gives
the following example of the wrongheadedness which characterizes
Kachin notions and the tenacity with which they cling lo them. In
December 1890 a caravan of peaceful Chinese traders returning
from Bhamo to their homes were suddenly attacked by ihe Duwa
of Kasankon, cast of Bhamo, aikd two Chinamen were shot dead.
There was no apparent mcirive for the crime at the time as the
Kachins along that route had been perfectly quiet all the season.
Subsequently, on the capture of the Duwa, it appeared that in 1868,
when Colonel Sladen's mission marched to Momicn, the Kasank6n
DuTva's father was of assistance lo the party, and in return for his
services, Colonel Sladenon his way back invited him to accompany
his mission to Bhamo, probably with the object of rewarding him on
arrival. The father came to Bhamo and died there, apparently
from natural causes. This constituted a debt against Bhamo, and
the memory was carefully treasured up till 1890, when the Duwa
suddenly resolved lo square accounts, bince Bhamo was the debtor,
every one connected with it, no matter in what way, became liable,
even a mere merchant visiting it temporarily for trade. The twenty-
three years that had elapsed made no difference as to the ultimate
4i6
THB UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VII.
working off of the debt. A still more curious instance is quoted in
the Katha district. A Kachin tniy was accidentally drowned in the
Kauk-kwe stream north of the Katha township. For years after-
wards the parents and others of the villagers came lo the spot on
the anniversary' of the boy's death and hacked at the waters of the
stream with their dhas. The most trivial matters are remembered
and worked off after long intervals of time. The village of Naungmo
was once attacked and burnt and two \*iliagers shot, because some
six years previously a Kachin who came to the village lost a cook-
ing-pot there and failed to recover it. This system renders the
keeping open of the trade routes a most difficult task. Attacks by
Kachlns and reprisals by traders furnished a constant series of debts
which it was contrary to Kachin character to forget and which it
would have been disgraceful to condone.
It is a point of honour to assist a friend in working off a
" debt, *' and a following can be raised at a moment's notice, and
without expense, which will see the account paid. A poor man is
therefore on an equality with a rich one, so far as punishing injuries
is concerned, and this is tn a way a justification of the system. In
the case of a murder the man's relations are his avengers, and divide
the compensation, if any, accepted for his death. In other cases a
man is his own avenger. In the case of a Duwa's death, all his
subjects join in exacting an adequate revenge. Where the discharge
of debts was not possible for the time, note of it was kept by cutting
notches in a bamboo.
With regard to taungya or hill cidiivation, individual property
is not recognized ; the land is regarded as belong-
roperiy. j^^ ^^ ^j^^ whole community as represented by
their Duwa, and the system of cultivation does not permit of a
constant use of the same plot of ground. Where land is owned in
the valleys and wet-weather paddy is cultivated, the case is differ-
ent, and individual ownership is admitted, with this restriction, that
the land cannot be parted with to an alien. It is as a recognition
of his theoretical ownership of all the land that the Duwa gets one
or two baskets of paddy per house annually. Land descends to a
household as a whole, and is worked in common for the benefit of
all. Those who leave the household lose alt right to participate.
When the household breaks up voluntarily, a division is made
according to no fixed rules, except that the youngest son gets
Benjamin's share, as well as the ancestral homestead. If there are
no male children, the wife takes all the properly.
The Kachins worship ttats or spirits, of whom the number is
endless, for an^ one may become a rtfff after his
death. The original ««/ according to Mr. George's
Religion.
fAP. VU.] THE KACHIN Hl1
rO THE CHINGPAW.
417
Szi informant, was ChinDn Way Shun, who existed long before
the formation of the world and before the other 7iats came into
existence. ChinOn Way Shun is now known as the nat of the earth
and he created the other big nats —
(i) Chiton, the forest nat, a particularly vicious one.
(2) Mu (Mushang in Szi), the nat of the heavens.
(3) Siniap 1 These live in the sky and generally interest
(4) Ponphyoi > themselves in mortal affairs. Siniap is
said to give wisdom to his worshippers.
(5) Mb6n, the nat of the wind.
(6) Wiwn or Khying Wdwn, according to Anderson the
patron of agriculture.
The last two nats are worshipped only by the Duwa and only
when a festival (mtznau) Is being held.
(7) Jan, the nat of the Sun 7 n *u i r
/o\ c-lL .u i f .l f Both beneficent.
(8) Shitta, the«rt/ol themoon )
After these greater nats had been created, the story runs that
Way Shun made a pumpkin and then called in the other nats, who
each added a little; Chll6n gave legs, Mu, eyes, and so on, and
thus the first man-like being, known as NIngkwawnwaor Shingrawa,
also in places called Ningganwa, came into existence. Shingrawa,
though he was of human shape, was of divine nature, and from him
was descended Shippawn Ayawng, the forefather of the Kachln
race. When Shingrawa came into existence, the earth left much to
be desired. The water was undrinkahle, the ground unworkable,
and every tree and shrub was covered with thorns. For some
unknown reason the waters rose and submerged everything and
after this had happened Shingrawa created the present earth and
its vegetation our of the remains of the old earth, shaping it care*
fully with a hammer. For a long time he went about the earth
taking care of it and the people, but eventually he went away into
the sides. Since Shingrawa was kind and good and does not
interest himself now in mankind, little notice is taken of him and
the shrines to him are few and neglected.
The following legend is told in various ways in different parts of
the hills as to the flood and origin of the races of mankind.
When the flood came on, a man Pawpaw Nan chaung and his
sister, Chang-hko, saved themselves in a large boat. They had
with them nine cocks and nine needles. After some days of rain
and storm they threw overboard one cock and one needle to see if
the waters were falling. But the cock did not crow and the needle
was not heard to strike bottom. They did the same thing day
4l8 THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VII.
after day, but with no better result ; at last on the ninth day the
cock gave a cheering cror and the needle vas heard to strike upon
a rock. Soon after the brother and sister were able to leave their
boat and they wandered about nil they came to the cave of two old
flats called Ch'tong, n:ale and female. The nafs bade them stay
and employed them in clearing the jungle and cultivating the
f round, hewing wood, and drawing water. Soon the girl Chang-hko
ad a child. The old she nal used to look after the infant while
the parents were at work and when it cried she used to threaten to
cut It in pieces at the point where the nine roads met. But the
child knew no better and went on cr}'ing and one day the old witch
wife took it to the fork of the nine roads and hewed the baby to
pieces and scattered the blood and the fragments over the roads
and the country round about. But some of the flesh she carried
back to her cave and made into a savoury curry. Before the mother
came back the witch put a block of wood into the baby's cradle
and covered it up, and when Chang-hko came in from the fields and
asked for the child the «fl/-wife said. " It is asleep ; eat your rice
first." So Chang-hko ate the rice and curry and then went to the
cradle, where there was nothing but the block of wood. She asked
where her child was and the old nat said "You have just eaten it."
The poor mother fled from the house and at the cross roads she
wailed aloud and cried to the great spirit to give her back her child
or to avenge its death. The great nai appeared and said : " I can-
'* not piece your baby together again, but mstead I will make you the
"mother of all nations of men." And then from one road there
sprang up the Shans, from another the Chinese, from others the
Burmese and the Bengalis, and all the races of mankind, and the
bereaved mother claimed them all as her children. But they
would not believe her, and one said " if you will make this piece of
" charcoal white, I will believe you are my mother," and another
bored two holes in the bottom of a bamboo bucket and said " fill
this with water if you are my mother.** And the others also de-
manded miracles of her. Then Chang-hko was angry and said
*' If you will not own me as your mother then 1 will live upon you."
And to this day when they are in trouble she demands their pigs
and their cattle and, if they do not give these, she eats out their life.
Therefore the Chingpaw say when any one is sick : " We must
" eat to the nats. "
A variant on the story in the Katha district omits all mention of
the brother and says the girl became a mother without a husband.
The races that sprang from the fragments of the child were called
Hnon, Mayan, and Lapaik, north, west, and east. The old nats
were named Ngawwa and Lamotusan.
CHAP. Vn. 1 THE KACHIN HILr.S AND THE CHINGPAW.
419
It was after Shingrawa, the creator of the earth, went away that
the lesser nats began to appear, until now, as Dr. Anderson puts it,
" every hill, forest, and stream has its own nat of greater or lesser
" power ; every accident or illness is the work of some malignant
" or vindictive one of these viewless ministers."
Additions arc constantly being made to their number by the
spirits of the dead. The Kachins generally seem to have no theory
ot a future existence. They do not go beyond consigning the soul
to the place " where its fathers and mothers have gone." So far as
is known they do not send the good to a heaven and the bad to a
hell, though Dr. Anderson says of ihe Kaoris that "they believe
" Tsojah is the abode of good men j and those who die violent
" deaths and bad characters generally go to Marai.'* To questions
as to the situation and condition ofthese places an inielligent
Kakhycn answered : " How can 1 tell ? No one knows anything."
These notions, however, seem borrowed from their Buddhist neigh-
bours, like those of the Szi, who gave Mr. George " a most thril-
" ling and elaborate description of how the wxetched soul, after
" death, had to crawl along a thin bamboo bridge, underneath
"which a set of huge cauldrons were kept continually boiling. If
'* the soul had belonged to a bad man, the cauldrons began to
" bubble up and boil over and envelop the bridge, thus dragging
*' down the delinquent to perdition (metiftgaraitd). The souls of
"others, not quite so bad, pass on 10 the end of the bridge, but
"meeting an almost perpendicular and slippery hill, cannot avoid
" slipping backwards to the region of the cauldrons, whence they
" make their escape back to the earth and become wa/s after suffer-
" ing a parboiling which cannot have improved their tempers,
"Others get to the top of the mountain, where they meet two roads —
"one to the right, "strait and narrow" leading io meungiiban,
"the region of the blessed, and the other, "broad and inviting,
" leading to stika^ where the soul is subjected to many petty annoy-
"ances," This version of the vision of Mirza seems to point
certainly to Buddhist ideas. Meung&raitd may be taken to be the
Shan Mong A'garai, the Ngayi.- of the Burmese, and the lowest of
the eisjht hells. This is all the more probable from the name
meungliban, L and N are interchangeable among the Shan
Chinese, so that Liban is simply Neibban, Nirvana. " When a man
"becomes unconscious and then revives, he is said to have got to
" within sight of the bridge and burning pots, but to have heard the
"voices of his friends recalling him and to have returned." The
Northern Kachin, however, has apparently no such notions. It
seems a mere chance whether a soul goes to the ancestral home
or remains behind and becomes a nat, Apparently the only cluq is
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VII.
when after the death of one of a fan\lly, another member has an
accident or falls sick. Then the iurnsa is called in and, if he de-
clares themalignam influence to be due to the soul of the deceased,
this nat is promptly propitiated and installed among the household
gods. These are usu.dly the spirits of ancestors {^K&m hin Kiitn
hj>ai)t though Chit6n is occasionally included amongst them.
As a rule the fiats are considered malignant, and are not there-
fore worshipped so long as everything goes on smoothly. Even the
beneficent nais do not exert themselves actively to better the con-
dition of their worshippers. Dr. Anderson says " there are two ways
*' of consulting the nats, either by a possessed medium termed a
'* mi't-way, or by the tumsa or regular priest, who is quite distinct.
" There is no sacerdotal caste, the succession being kept up by
" a natural selection and apprenticeship. The tumsa practises
"augury from fowl bones, omens, and the fracture of burned mil-
" grass, besides holding communication with a spirit world."
The iurnsa is usually resorted to when it is a question of sacri-
fice or propitiation, the mi'tway when a question of purely human
interest (such as the proper time to attack a neighbouring tribe)
is being debated.
The tumsa first determines by divination which nat is at work,
and then proceeds to deliver a long harangue in sonorous and
rhythmical language, comprehensible only to the initiated. The
tumsa suits his dress to the particular spirit he is addressing.
Thus chiton is invoked in full dress, with dha and bag complete,
and the tumsa holds a bamboo full of water. Yunmii (a nat
peculiar to the Szis) is invoked with bare head and in a crouching
attitude. The earth nat or ka nat is worshipped in ordinary dress,
but no dha is worn. Similarly the Burmese have regulations as
to the dress proper for the invocation of each of the thirty-seven
nats of Burma. The sacrificial animal— buffalo, pig, dog, or fowl —
is brought out, and the tumsa determines the exact moment when
it shall be killed, and this is done opposite the bamboo shrine
erected for the purpose. It is cut up by the kyang jons or khtng
jong, who separates what is known as the " nafs flesh," special
parts of the thigh and shoulder, and, with economical piety, the offal
generally. These are boiled, wrapped in little packets in leaves,
and hung round or deposited on the bamboo shrine. The tumsa
then formally prays the nat to accept the offering and be appeased.
In the case of household nats, as soon as the tumsa has finished,
it is permissible to take back and use the offering for household
purposes ; with the outside nais — ponphyoi^ tvatan^ and others —
the sacrifice may not be taken back. Chiton and sinlap are looked
upon as good natured, and it is usual, where the sacrifice has
CHAP. VIU] THE KACHIN HILLS AND THE CHINGPAW. 421
been a pig or a buffalo, to run the risk of offending them by
removing the offerings after a decent time has elapsed. When the
offerings have been merely a fowl, or dried fish, or spirits, they are
left on the shrine. If there is no sacrifice, bat other offerings are
made, these arc tied to ihe shrine, and it is usual, as a prelimhiary,
to offer in this way a bamboo full of spirits. The bamboo shrines
referred to are a conspicuous feature near every village and are
fashioned in all sorts of extraordinary shapes, of which some are
annexed —
IT
T.':....-..,.ir.-.-
2
'is-;?
k^Q
I and 2 are altars used for the household nais.
3 used for mu and ponphyoi*
4 and 6 for sinlap.
5 for jdn and slntta.
But there is no fixed form, and plenty of scope is left to indivi-
dual imagination. When the three sky nats—mushangj ponphyoi^
and sinirtp—Ate being worshipped together, sinlap' s shrine is always
in the middle, with mushang's on the rightand ponphyoi's on the left.
Certain proportions in the sacrifices seem to be conventional : for
example, the ka nat and mn nat get one of each kind of animal
sacrificed, while ponphyoi and sinlap get two ; but mbon never has
anything offered him but dried fish, eggs, and spirits. The
422
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VII.
method of consulting the will of the nafs through a mi-twe. or in-
spired medium, is best given in the words of Dr. Anderson, who
describes an actual instance which took place when Colonel Sladen
was bargaining for mules to transport his party across the hills, and
the Dtiwas who were to provide them wished first to consult miiwe
and propitiate the nais.
"The mi't^ay now entered and seated himself on a small stool in one
corner, which had been freshly sprinkled with water ; he then blew through
a small tube and, throwing it from him with a deep groan, at once fell into
an extraordinary state of tremor: every limb ijuivered, and bis feet beat
a literal devil's tattoo ou the bamboo flooring. He groaned as if in pain,
tore his hair, passed his hands with maniacal gestures over his head and face,
then broke into a short, wild chant, interrupted with sighs and groans, his
features appearing distorted with madness or rage, while the tones ol
his voice changed to an expression of anger or fury. During this extra-
ordinary scene, which realized all one had read of demoniacal possession,
th^ Sawbwa and his pawmaings occasionally addressed him in low tones as
if soothing him or deprecating the anger of the dominant spirit ; and at last
the Savb'va informed Sladen that the nais must be appeased with an offer-
ing. Fifteen rupees and some cloth were produced : the silver on a bamboo
sprinkled with water, and the cloth on a platter of plantain leaves, were
humbly laid at the diviner's feet, but with one convulsive jerk of the t,eg3
rupees and cloth were instantly kicked away, and the medium by increased
convulsions and groans intimated the dissatisfaction of the nats with the
offerings. The Sa'ic6:ea in vain supplicated for its acceptance, and then
signified to Sladen that more rupees were required and that the nats men-
tioned sixty as the propitiatory sum. Sladen tendered five more, w ith the
assurance that no more could be given. The amended offering was again,
but more gently, pushed away, uf which no notice was taken. After
another quarter of an hour, during which the convulsions and groans gradu-
ally became less violent, a dried leaf rolled into a cone and filled with rice
was handed over to the mi-tway. He raised it to his forehead several
times and then threw it on the floor. A //a, which had been carefully
washed, was next handed over to him and treated in the same way; and
after a few gentle sighs he rose from his seat and laughing signed to us
to look at his legs and arms, which were very tired. The oracle was in our
favour, and predictions of all manner of success were interpreted to us as
the utterances of the inspired diviner.
*' It must not be supposed that this was a solemn farce enacted to
conjure rupees out of European pockets. The Kakhyens never undertake
any business or journey without consulting the will of the nalszs revealed
by a mi-t'xay under the influence of a temporary frenzy or, as they deem
it, possession. The seer in ordinary life is nothing; the medium on whose
word hung the possibility of our advance was a coaly, who carried one
of our boxes on the march, but he was a duly qualitied mi-tway belonging
to a Ponsi village. When a youth shows signs of what spiritualists would
call a vapport, or connection with the spirit-world, he has to undergo a
suflicicntly trying ordeal to test the reality of his powers. A ladder is
prepared, the steps of which consist of sword blades with the sharp edges
turned upward, and this is reared against a platform thickly set with sharp
Divination.
CHAP. VII.] THK KACHIN HU.I.S AND THE CHINGPAW. 423
spikes. The barefoot novice ascends this perilous path to fame and sits
himself on the spikes without any apparent inconvenience , he then
descends by the same ladder, and if, after having been carefully examined,
he is pronounced free from any trace of injury, he is theuceforward accepted
as a true diviner."
The Jai \Va is a sort of arch-funtsa occasionally, but very rarely
met with. He performs ceremonies for only the most powerful
Duwas, and is supposed to be in more intimate connection with the
spirit-world than an ordinary tumsa.
It is noted that effigies are not offered up in lieu of real sacrifices
as thev are by the Tongkinese, who present rude models of animals,
houses, furniture, and so forth, or by the Annamese, who only offer
pictures of them.
If the htmsa declares the sacrifice of a bullock necessary, and
the worshipper cannot obtain one at the time, he simply promises
the nat to sacrifice one at the first opportunity. Muman beings are
never sacrificed.
The methods of divination usually employed are
the following : —
(1) The consultation of the bamboo termed s^mHtt^ or
shimdn Tvot. The esoteric name of this operation
is tiif/gu'di. A kind of thin green bamboo is taken
and laid across the embers of a fire. The heat
causes the wood to split and little hairy fibres stand
out all along the edges of the split thus made. By
consulting these the expert can foretell events.
(a) The consultation of the leaf, termed shippa wift, which
is equivalent to the ooSc^iy^coosfitn hpet-htun hman-
taun^ ol the Burmese-Shan. A peculiar kind of
leaf is used, whose veins do not interlace but run
parallel to each other, something after the fashion
of the plantain leaf and inclined at an acute angle
to the mid-rib. This permits of the leaf being torn
into thin shreds, which are taken at haphazard
and knotted together. The knots and the number of
slips contained in each are then counted, and this,
added to other indications, such as the form of the
knots and the like, knowTi only to the initiated, permits
of forecasts being drawn.
(3) Auguries are drawn from the entrails of cattle and pigs
and from the brains and sinews of fowls.
(4) The Szis have a method, termed s/ian' sL Thirty-three
short bamboo splints are taken and put haphazard
between the clefts of the finjers of one hand. The
424
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VII.
odd Sticks in each group are then taken out and laid
on one side. The process is repeated thrice, and by
the result the seer's prognostications are guided.
Mr. George does not say which furnishes the omen — the pile of
odd eliminated splints or the presumably larger number which
remains.
If a snake {/ip/fu), porcupine (iumsi), or wild cat (k/mn),
Omens(«aniiin( crosscs onc's path, it is very unlucky and evil will
itumtait). happen. If they are merely seen on either side
of the path, it is a matter of indifference. On the other hand, deer
(shiln nga)y hedgehog (/w), or rhinosceros {dum pan) crossing the
path are good portents. Apparently no omens are drawn from the
flight of birds.
The most common form of cultivation is the wasteful process
of tauHgya or hill-clearing. The hills to the im-
AgricuUurc. mediate east of Bhamo treated in this manner are
now practically bare, which has had an important
effect on the climate, according to the Kachins. They say
it is generally much warmer than in the time of their fathers and
therainfallis less. The method employed is to select an untouched
hill slope, fell the jungle about March, and let it lie on the ground
till it is thoroughly dry. This is set fire to in June or July, and the
surface of the earth is broken up with a rude hoc, so as to mix in
the wood ashes. The sowing is of the roughest description. The
worker dibbles away with the hoe in his right hand and throws in
a grain or two with his left. The crop is left to take care of itself
till it is about a foot high, when it is weeded, and again weeded
before the crop gets ripe. The crop is usually reaped about October.
The straw is generally regarded as useless. The same field cannot
be cropped two years running. Usually it has to lie (allow from seven
to ten years where the jungle does not grow rapidly, and from four
to seven years where the growth is quicker.
In the hills to the east of Bhamo, and in fact wherever they have
learnt from their Shan and Chinese neighbours, wet paddy cultiva-
tion has been introduced. The hills are scarped into terraces and
water is turned on at the top from a convenient stream, or brought
to the field by a bamboo aqueduct. The Shan plough and the
buffalo are then used to turn up the soil. In many parts of the
Northern Shan Stales the Kachins have begun valley cultivation
on lands from which they have driven the Shans. In the hill-clear-
ings maize, tobacco, indigo, cotton, and sessamum are grown, be-
sides the usual rice-crop. The poppy is everywhere cultivated, but
only in little enclosures near the houses, in the north Kachins come
long distances in the cold season to raise a crop on the alluvial
rHAP.'VlI.] THE KACHIN HlLl.S AND THE CHINGPAW. 421
islands o{ the Upper Irrawaddy, but everywhere the cullivation is for
local use rather than for export. The mode of gathering ihe opium
is very primitive. The poppy-heads are notched wilh a dhu instead
of with the three-bladed knife of the Chinaman or the \Va, and the
sap is gathered on a dirty cloth instead of the orthodox leaf or bowl.
From this clolh it is nol removed and, according to Mr. George,
the average Kachin simply tears off a piece of the saturated cloth,
puts it in his pipe, and smokes it. Farther from Bhamo, however,
they are more enlightened, though they are far from orthodoxy.
The opium is mixed up with dried and shredded plantain leaf and
so smoked in any kind of pipe, instead of in the r^w tsiang, or proper
'* smoking pistol " The Kachins do nol eat opium, and in fact know
Utile about it except as a sedative. The use of it has only been
known to them for two or three generations, though now every
Kachin smokes, at any rate in British territory. As to its effect on
them Mr. G. W. Shaw says of the Kachins at Paraw on the Upper
Irrawaddy: "The Paraw Kachins, a fine healthy looking lot of
" people, who ought to be exhibited to the opium faddists, all smoke
"opium, so they say themselves, men, women, and children ahke.
" The latter are allowed to begin as early as they please," and Dr.
" Anderson says: " It is worth recording that the men invariably
" smoke opium, but not lo excess. Rarely, if ever, did we see them
"use tobacco for smoking, though they never object to chewing
" it."
Each year, before sowing time, the nat of the earth (A'o, who is
the same as the great original nat chimin icay shun) is worshipped
by the Duwa on behalf of the whole village, who contribute offenngs.
The sacrifices take place at the numshatig or general prayer-place
outside the village on the road, in which a collection of bamboo
shrines are usually found. Only the Dwwa and the tumsa and kydng
jbng (the butcher) are allowed to be present at the time of sacrifice,
which usually takes place towards the evening. The villagers during
the earlier part of the day worship the whole company of the nats
at the numshang. After the ceremony for four days no work must
be done. After these days of ceremonial holiday {ml ml at) the
tumsa determines by exorcism which particular house in the village
should start sowing first in order that the crop may be a good one.
This household goes out and sows its fields, and there are then two
further general holy days, wound up by a feast and more offerings
of eggs and licjuor. Sowing then commences for every one. There
are six recognized holidays in the year, when no one is supposed to
do any work : —
(i) Two days after ihe Duwa*s taungya hut is built. It is
customary, owing to the considerable distances of
54
426
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VII.
the hiU clearings from the village, for each cultivator
to build himself a little hut on his Held and stay
there while work is going on. On this occasion,
the ka nat is worshipped by the Duwa, but more pri-
vately than at the regular festival.
(a) Two days at the time of first setting fire to the jungle-
clearings.
(3) Four days at the time of the great Ka nat worship
described above.
(4) Two days after the first sowing as noted above.
tS) Four days when the crop is ripening, at the time of the
worship by the whole village of the pantheon of tiats.
Every house presents a distinct offering at the num-
shang. This ceremony is termed chikkawn kfiaw-
nai. The ripr^ning crop is commended to the care of
the nats in a body so that danger may be averted.
(6) Two days after the reaping of the Duwa's (aungya,
which is done for him by the whole xnllage.
In case of blight, or other harm to the crops, the iutnsa is called
on to discover whether some nat has caused it. If the cause
is declared to be due to other than nat influence, nothing is done :
otherwise the spirit who is causing the mischief is sought for and
appeased.
No reaping whatever may take place till the first-fruits of the
crop sown by the first house have been gathered In and offered lo
the house nats of thai particular household. This is usually done
before the crop is actually dead ripe, so that the reaping of the
other crops may not be delayed.
Among the Szis, after the paddy has been dried and placed in a
heap for threshing, all the friends of the household are invited to
the threshing-floor and food and drink is brought out. The heap
of paddy is divided, and one-half spread out for threshing, flhile
the other is left heaped up. On the heap food and spirits are
placed, and one of the elders present, addressing " the father and
mother of the paddy-plant," ask^ for plenteous harvests in future
and begs that the seed may bear many fold. Then the whole party
eat, drink, and are merry. This is the only time the "father and
mother of the paddy " are invoked. There is no recognized Ceres or
Demeter.
Some tumsas have the power to cause sickness and death by
^. . . bewitching {marcmg m^tsdat\ the victim. The
necromancer recites the special charms necessary
to cause the particular ill desired. While he does this his client
CHAP. VII.] THE KACHIN HILLS AND THE CHINGPAW. 427
plants a few stalks of long grass by the side of the road leading
towards the victim's house. Then either a dog or a pig is killed
and the body is wrapped in grass and placed by the road and left
there. Meanwhile spears are cast and shots fired in the same
direction, and lh« ceremony closes by ihe tttmsa and each of those
present taking up four or five stalks of grass and casting them
similarly towards the person who is to be harmed [kumpachin
khyenai). This process as described by Mr. George prfsumably
refers 10 a very powerful and avowed enemy. Otherwise what he
calls the cheaper mode of revenge, sitting behind a bush and shoot-
ing the man as if he were an Irish landlord, would be adopted. It
would certainly have the advantage of secrecy.
Besides this there are people who have a species of evil eye.
Such persons are said to possess two souls \numla)y whtlf the ordi-
nary man has only one. It is the spare soul which has the jcltatura.
As with the Shans the belief takes the form of a kind of Judenhetse
disastrous to the jeffafore. Mr. George givesan instance : " C, the
"brother of A and B, happem^d to die of fever, and, before dying,
'* declared that D had bewitched him. Within a fortnight A and
** B collected a following, attacked D's house, shot him dead, and,
" capturing ihc whole of his household and relations, some thirteen
" in all, sold them into slavery. Even on trial A and B would
"not admit the possibility of C having made a mistake, and were
"scandalized that ihe British Government sliould interfere on behalf
" of a wizard." The system is really an early form of Lynch Law or
Jeddart Justice, but in bad hands degenerates as the Vehmgerichi
did.
Mr. George cites the following as the common form of ordeaL
Accuser and accused have to stake something.
The value of the stake depends on the gravity of
the crime alleged. The stakes are held by a referee, who wraps
some rice in a leaf and boils it. If the nee boils regularly and
becomes soft all through, the accused is declared innocent and lakes
the slakes; if not. the accuser wins.
In serious cases between Duicas and men of mean<; the stakes
may be several buffaloes, guns, or a slave or two, and then another
form of ordeal is cnstoniary. A tumsa is summoned and goes to
the jungle with his dha. After invoc^ition he casts this from him at
random. The dha, which has become endued with supernatural
power, hits a bamboo which, when it is cut open, is found to con-
tain about a cup full of water. The water is put in a large pot
over a fire and when it bnils the accused has to put his hand inio
it. If he is guilty, the water froths up, bubbles over, and takes the
skin off the man's hand If he is innocent, he suffers no hurt.
Ordeals-
428
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER, [CHAP. VII.
When a sportsman conies home with a bag the kydng jong, or vil-
H ntinir '^^^ butcher, cuts off the parts known as nat's flesh
and puis them in a basket. A friend then brings
a heap of ashes from a neighbouring fire-place and puts them near
the steps leading into the house. The hunter must tread on the
ashes before he enters the house. He then places the basket on
the shrine of the house nats and invites them to eat and be kind,
after which, if the game is a largo animal, a deer or a boar, it is
divided. The Duwa gets a haunch and the village fumsa also
gets a share. The ashes are said to be intended to propitiate the
tsiklirat (in Chingpaw dialect) or kyam (in Szi), not very lumi-
nously described as a sort of genius and not a nat. Besides this,
when the quarry is killed, a little of the blood is sprinkled towards
the jungle to satisfy the tsikhrat, who is said to possess a sort of
radiantly white body, and, if well disposed, so fascinates the game
that it \s unable to stir and falls an easy victim to the hunter. This
belief, however, does not prevail among the Marips, nor possibly
among other tribes. The fishermen have apparently no such Saint
Hubert. When a hunter dies, it is customary to lay his weapons
with him in his coffin. This is done because after death the ghosts
of his victims block the way and he has to scare them ofT. This,
curiously enough, does not applv to a man who has killed another.
The ghost of the one who perished is said to have received such a
fright that nothing would ever induce it to go near the ghost of the
one who triumphed. A wounded tiger is never followed up until
a iumsa has been consulted. This is discreel.
Of war proper the Kachins have no notion ; their hostilities
are mere desultcri' raids. They cannot be called
courageous and yt^t It is possible to under-rate
them. Like all undisciplined bands when they know what is expect-
ed of them they will endeavour to do it with some pertinacity, but
when there is no leading idea or leading spirit they almost invariably
disperse. Their tactics with British forces have been, with very
few exceptions, defensive, and for this reason they usually employ
stockades and are wonderfully quick and expert m erecting them.
They are generally made of split bamboos woven into a kind of
trelhs-work with sharpened points outwards, while the ground in
front is studded with spikes. Occasionally there are several concen-
tric rings or enclosures of this trelUs-work, usually about six feet
apart. Behind the innermost there is an earth-work, generally
circular. This is quite three feet thick and is neatly revetted with
bamboo. The earth for the breastwork is taken from the centre,
so that the defenders actually stand below the level of the ground.
Large hollow bamboos are built Into these earth-works and form a
CHAP. VII.] THE KACMIN HILLS AND THB CHINGPAW. 439
kind of loop-hoie, trained on the path in front. The Kachins can
thus fire through these without exposing themselves in the least,
and there is always a line of retreat ready scrCKncd from the view
of the attacking; party.' Generally this is down a steep ravine
into thick jungle. Tree-trunks and stones are often utilized to make
stockades. They are covered with earth, and the ^sjround in front
and on the flanks is liberally studded with spikes as indeed all the
defences in the hills are with all the tribes. These spikes, nyaung-
su, or pnngyis, as ihc sepoys call them, are bamboos sharpened to a
point, usually triangular like a bayonet, and sometimes tire hardened,
but oftener not. They vary in length from four or five feet to a
few inches and are firmly planted in the ground at an angle of
forty-five degrees. They are so hard to see that men knowing them
to be there and actually searching for them have been known to
spike themselves. Thev go through a boot as easily as through
clothes and the essential oil of the bamboo adds irritation to the
mere wound. It is said that they are sometimes poisoned, but such
cases are very rare.
Pit-falls are often used. These are two to three feet wide, six feet
or more long, and perhaps three feet deep. They are studded with
bamboo spikes and are usually very neatly covered over. Another
common defensive measure is to cut away hillside paths to the line
of the slope, so that they become quite impassable for animals or
baggage porters. The spot chosen for the defence of a village or
a road is usually in thick jungle. The favourUe places are a ravine
with steep approaches or a gorge along which the road winds,
keeping on the same level and following the contour of the ground.
Trees are cut down to block the road for the attacking force and
this is done with so much skill that the abattis is usually not
discovered till the advance guard is actually brought up by it. On
this spot the Kachins have guns laid from the opposite side of the
gully or from the next furrow of the hill slope. The ravine itself is
densely blocked and spiked in addition, and beyond this there is a
stockade, or perhaps a series of stockades, if the force is large.
" These may be extended into the village itself, as was the case
" at Sadon, where each house was a stockade or a part of a stock-
"ade. As fast as they are driven out of one, the Kachins retire
"into another and re-open tire." To attack the Kachins direct is
therefore to run unnecessary risks. A Hanking party causes them
to vacate the strongest of positions, for there are never aiiy flank
defences. The following plan of attack originated with Captain
O'Donnel, D.S.O., some time Commandant of the Mogaung Levy :^
*'An advance party of six men lead the way. Two flank parties of
" varying strength are told off and follow the advance party some
430
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VII.
" distance m rear. Immediaiely behind them comes a mountain gun.
" The instant a siockade is discovered the advance party passes
" the word back and disappears to the flanks. The flanking parties
" move immediately right round the flanks of the stockade and a
" gun is brought up and a shell is fired at the work. This generally
" will result in the Kachins leaving in ahurr)-, and probably bolting
" in the direction of one or other of the flanking parties."
Kachins usually attack at night, and the lime chosen is just be-
fore the rise of the moon. This enables ihem to deliver the attack
in a half light and they have the moon afterwards to light them on
their retreat with their booty. Their system of fighting is in fact
nothing but raiding developed. Before a raid the tumsa is called
upon to decide by his magic which of the villagers are to go and
who are to stay at home. When the tumsa has selected the party
the mi't'ive is consulted as to the road to be taken and the time for
the assault.
Heads are cut off as a proof that the warrior has killed his man.
When he has established this fact among his fellow-villagers the
head is thrown away. The Kachin does not consider, like the IVa^
that by securing the head he has secured the ghost of the departed
as his minister and servant ; nor does he think, like the Chinaman,
that the appearance of the departed in the next world without a
head will be to his disadvantage. The cutting off of a head is
therefore with the Kachins neither an act of religion nor of spile.
It is mere vanity. When the raid is ended the village /kw/5« again
presides over a general worshipping of the nais, exultant or re-
proachful, according to the issue. Alliances between the Chiefs of
different clans are commonly cemented by marriage. In the cere-
monial making of friendship a buffalo is slaughtered, its blood is
mixed with native spirits, and spears and swords are dipped in this.
Then each Chief drinks, calls upon the nats to witness, and impre-
cates dire calamitites upon himself if he should break his vow :
that he may be swallowed by tigerSj or bitten by nats, or may perish
by his own dha. Weapons, lihas^ guns, and spears are often ex-
changed and it is customary for each to sacrifice to the household
deities of the other.
A few of the more powerful Chiefs have jingals and swivel guns,
but they are very rare now. Guns are of every kind, from the flint
and match lock up to converted Enfields and even Winchester re-
pealing carbines, obtained from Yunnan. The old Tower fltnt-lock
musket of A. D. 1800 is frequently met with, but more generally
the Kachins use what is called the cheek-gun. This has no butt and
an idea can be formed of it by imagining a gun stock cut and round-
CHAP. VU.j THE KACHIN HILLS AND THE CHINGPAW. 43I
ed off just below the comb. This is held in the right hand, which
is pressed against the cheek. These guns are nearly all match-locks
and are of Chinese-Shan make. Few of the Samtao guns from
KengtOng get so far as the Kachins. All of them are of very soft
metal.
Powder Is made locally, and is very coarse and dirty. Four
fingers' breadth is a not uncommon charge. This is rammed down
with Shan paper or rags for a wad. The bullet is of iron or
lead chipped and hammered into some sort of shape ; another wad
secures it ; and sometimes there are two or three bullets in separate
layers. The guns cnrry far and hit hard. A finer powder is used
for priming and to prevent this from dropping out of the vent the
gun is on ordinary occasions, or on the march, carefally covered
with wax. The match used is hemp soaked in saltpetre. Hunters
have often a lump of wax on the butt of their gun and in this they
fix some memento of the game they kill — the whiskers of a tiger,
the bristles of a boar, a feather from a pea-fowl, or a bit of deer-skin.
Cross-bows are also used. They are made of hardened bamboo
and shoot strongly. The bows are from three to four feet in span
and are nearly identical with those of the La'hu. The arrows are
also of bamboo and are hardened in the fire. They are much more
rarely poisoned than is the case with those of the La'hu, and metal
tips are uncommon.
Spear-heads are sometimes double-edged of the ordinary type and
sometimes single-edged with a worn-down knife blade. They are
usually about six feet long with the shafc.
The dka with the Chingpaw, as wiih the Burman and the Shan,
is a national weapon. At the hilt the blade is an inch and a half
in width, widening to about two and a half inches at the truncated
tip. The back is sliijhtly curved. It is half sheathed in wood and
slung over the right shoulder by a rattan ring. In the case of well-
to-do people or warriors, this rattan sling is sometimes adorned
with cloth and embroidery, or with the claws or teeth of wild ani-
mals It hangs with the hilt in front ready to the hand. This is
the proper shape of the Linkin or Chingpaw dha. Among the
Kachins who have pushed farthest snuth there are other types,
taken from their Shan or other neighbours, but the chararteri'?tic
half-sheath is almost always retained. East of Bhamo Mr. George
says the Kachins use a long straight sword, about two and a half
feet long, which they call ntugaht. These, with the more orthodox
Linkin are said to be manufactured mostly by the Tareng, the
Nga-chang, and pos-^ibly also the Khunnongs. Like the wild Wa
the average Chingpaw cannot or does not make his own dha.
432
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. Vtl.
Slavery is a national custom among the Kachins. In former times
Slaverv ^^^ Supply was kept up by the constant raiding
that went un not only against enemies but by
the stronger against ihe weaker, who were enslaved even within the
limits of the same clan. Since the annexation " the inhabitants of
" a village in Thama, regarding a certain household in their com-
" munity as useless and a nuisance, seized and sold them." So
long as the sIavc behaves well he appears to be treated well. He is
a member of the household and works with and no more than his
master. Refractory slaves are deprived of food or beaten, but
never so as to be really injured, for a slave is a valuable article.
Formerly the main source of supply was the Shan- Burmese villages
in the plains. A slave could always be redeemed by his friends
either by ransom or by the easier method of seizing one of the
aggressor's household and cffe::ting an exchange.
A niale slave can marr>- a free woman. The offspring are slaves
to the slave's master. A woman slave can be demanded in marriage
by any free man. He does not buy her, because that would reflect
on his offspring, but makes offerings to the slave-girl's owner, who
is regarded as his father-in-law. It is said that the master practi-
cally never has intercourse with his own female slave. Instances
at any rate are very rare. If a personal enemy is captured, unless he
is sold off at once into distant slavery, he is usually put into the
stocks and not allowed to roam about freely. Cases are instanced
in which men have been kept thus for several years.
The instruments now used for making fire are tinder, flint, and
steel. In former times it was usual to cut a notch in a bamboo,
fill the hollow with tinder, and to work backwards and forwards
with a bamboo splint as a bow, till the tinder ignited, which it soon
did. The miniature piston and cylinder in which tinder is ignited
by means of suddenly compressed air is quite a recent innovation
and comes from China.
The Kachins have no form of salutation or obeisance, a conclusive
proof that their Duieas are persons of slight authority. Mr. George
says that they can count up to 10,000 ; above that they use general
terms, such as very many and the like. They have different names
for the cardinals I to 10, ao, 100,200, 1,000, and .0,000. The others
are formed in a natural way ; thus eleven is ten-one, and thirty-three
is three-tcn-three. There are no ordinals. They count on their
hands, commencing with the little finger in each, and with sticks
and pebbles in the case of large numbers. The names of the
numbers do not seem to indicate any root word which would show-
that they are derived from I he custom of counting on the fingers or
otherwise. They have no written character and tell the familiar
CHAP. Vri.] THE KACHIN HILLS AND THE CHINGPAW.
433
legend that the nais gave all nations writing, but unfortunately that
of the Kachlns was written on hide, which they cooked and ate.
The variant with the Karens is that a dog ate it. They can draw
rude pictures, such as the figures on posts outside their villages,
indicating the offerings tliey have presented at the numshang, in
order to obtain a good harvest. Mr. George gives the sketch in the
margin copied from a post just outside the Kachin village of
Sinlum Gate: —
^
Uuu-i
1 represents ears of Indian-corn.
2 represents the lappet earrings worn by women
3 represents the silver torque worn.
4 represents a Kachin rake.
5 represents trees and jungle.
But they do not seem to have elaborated this picture writing into
ideography. The use of knotted siring is common, but the art
does not seem to have become a means of communication such as
existed among the Mexicans at the time of their conquest by Cortes.
The knots are not conventionally distinguished from each other in
shape or position on the string, and consequently they can at best
only serve as memoranda for the person who made them ; notched
sticks are also used. Letters can be made up with familiar objects.
Thus a piece of thatch indicates a village. If the ends are burnt,
the village has been taken and burnt; a drop of blood or more
shows that there have been losses. A crossing of the stalks indi-
cates whence the enemy came and a special grass or leaf or soil
gives other indications.
The divisions of the day are thus
nized —
Time.
recog-
(i) Just before early dawn
(a) First cock crow
(3) Second cock crow
(4) Dawn
(5) Sunrise
(6) Time of morning meal
{7) Forenoon
(8) Noon (sun vertical)
(9) Midday nical-time
10} Fowl roosting time
Ning Htoi Maka.
Wu Galang Koi Yang, 2-A.M.
iVkhawng Lang Koi Yang, 4-A,M.
Ning Htoi Hioi Sa, 5-A.M,
yan PrUt 6-a.m.
Chippawt Shat Sha Tin, 7-A.M.
Jan Sin Lawng Tsan, y to n>-A M.
yan Pong Ding Di, 12-noon.
Shini Shat Sha Ten, 3-P.M.
Wu Lon Ten, 5 to6-P.M.
55
434
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VII.
(ii) Sunset
(t2) Dask
(13) Evening mcaj
(14) Bed-time
(15) Midnight (full sleep)
Jan Skangj 6 to 6 30-P.M.
A7i»£- >?/'*», ifter 6-P.M.
SJkt'na Skat Ska Ten, 8-p.M.
Yufi Tung Ten, 9 to lo-P.M.
Youp Doftg, 12 midnight
The months are lunar and the divisions are —
Shitta Pyato ... First ten days of the waxing.
Shitta Si ... Last ten days of the waxing.
The intervening section of ten days has no special name, but the
full moon is known as Shilta lai.
The days of the week are not distinguished by special names.
The months are as follows : —
(i) ATfri* (roughly January).
(2} Ra,
(3) Ot or Wat.
(4) Shila.
(5) Chithim.
{6) Shingam.
(7) Shimari,
(8) Kupshi.
(9) K Upton.
(10) Kdl3.
(d) MSju
(12) jJ/df^fl (roughly December).
They have not hit on the idea of inserting an intercalary year or
month, with the result that their reckoning becomes periodically
confused, and no one has a clear idea of what month it is. No
calendars are kept, and there appears to be no recognized beginning
or end of the year, nor are the years numbered or distinguished
from each other. The calendar is therefore made to conform to
the natural seasons. When sowing-time comes round, it is con-
sidered that it is the season for such and such a month, and that
month it is assumed to be without further ado. Whether the Kha-
khus are better informed or more systematic is not known. Were
it not for the formal names for the months given by Mr. George, it
might be suspected that the Idea of months and years was borrowed
from the Chinese or the Shans. The seasons are distinguished as
follows : —
Yunam ... July to August.
YunamKdang .. August to September.
Kheungton htdkha September.
Miittgaita ... September to October.
Kfu'ungfon ... October to November.
The rains (beginning)...
Rains (middle)
Dry season (at hand) ...
Paddy sprouting
Dry season (beginning
time of harvest)
Culd weather
Dry season (middle) ...
Hot weather
Paddy sowing time ...
Ningshunta ... November to February.
Kheungton Kdang Miirch to April
Janratoite ... .-Vpril to June.
Mamtat Ten ... June to July,
The time of this last season is fixed by the rise over the horizon
of a certain constellation termed Khru M&jan Shikkan. It is stated
to rise some thirty degrees above the horizon and retire after having
CHAP. VII.] THE KACHIN HlLtS AND THE CHINGPAW. 435
remained there a month. After its disappearance it is not good to
sow paddy. What constellation this is has not been ascertained.
An eclipse is said to be due to the efforts of a dog (Shitta Kiva)^
not a frog as with the H^astern Tai, to swallow the moon. The usual
firing of guns and beating of gongs prevents him. The rainbow
{'Nkoz La Turn) is said to come from the mouth of a crab {chikdn)
which lives in the vast ocean, which is supposed to be under the
earth. The large marshy hollows occasionally to be met with in
valleys are thought to be connected with this subterranean sea, and
the crab comes out of them occasionally for an airing. This chi-
kan is a nat. If the arc is complete, it is a sign that dry weather
is in store ; if it is only partial, rain may still be looked for.
Thunder {mungoiai) is the voice of the nat of the heavens
(m« or mushang). Lightning (my it hpyap kalam at) is also due
to his agency, the literal translation of rhe phrase being "roiling
round and shaking of the eye," presumably Mushang's. An earth-
quake (shirut ru) is due to the inovements of the crocodiles {purcn)
of the subterr^inean ocean, who persist in burrowing in the super-
incumbent earth. The «rt/5 of the sun and moon are worshipped
once each year, but only by the Ditwa, a privilege jealously guarded.
This ceremony is called nat sut at and takes plac:e in the cold
season. No living sacrifice is made, but food and drink are offered
and the Chief begs the protection of these tints for the whole village.
The only other time they are worshipped is at the time of the
manau, the general festival described above, which may take place
only once in four or five years. On this occasion again the Chief is
sole worshipper.
The markings in the moon are said to be due to the foliage of a
big India-rubber tree, which suggests the thorn bush of other folks-
myths. The India-rubber tree is specially reverenced by the
Kachins, as the banyan is by the Wa.
The universe is imagined as three parallel planes : the first is the
heavens, the second the earth, and the third is kasangka, the abode
of the kasatigs or Liliputians. These people are shaped like men,
but are so small that ordinary grass appears to them like trees, and
their deer and wild game are of about the bigness of crickets and
grasshoppers. When the sun or the moon sets below the plane of
our horizon it rises in kasangka, so that when it is day on earth
it is night in kasatigka, and vice versa.
The Chingpaw will eat most things ; but snakes^ wild cats,
monkeys, and tigers are excepted. Dogs are only eaten by Marus ;
crows and hawks are eaten like other birds and all fish are eaten
including eels. Porcupine's flesh and honey are forbidden to preg-
436
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VII.
nant women for fear of miscarriage. Pigs and domestic cattle are
rarely if ever killed merely to be eaten. They are utilized as sacri-
fices first and as food afterwards. Fowls and game generally are
killed simply for the pot. Ordinarily the Kachin will not eat cattle
found dead or that have died a natural death. Blood is not drunk,
though flesh from which the blood has not drained off is cooked and
eaten. Beyond the notion that eating a tiger's heart makes a man
subject to uncontrollable fits of sudden fury, there are no super-
stitions about food.
Cannibalism is unknown among the true Chingpaws, though
Captain Fenton, speaking of the Kalangs, Kamons, or Kamas, says
their chief peculiarity sf-ems to be that they eat their aged relations,
though they do not practise any other form of cannibalism. " My
" informant said that when any man or woman became old and decre-
'* pit, their relations assembled together, put the old person upon a
" high sort of bamboo scaffold, such as the Kachins erect in front of
" their villages in connection with their nrt/-worship, and then poke
" them off with bamboos, so that they fall down and die ; then they
" cut them up into small bits and cook and eat them. Only relations
"and intimate friends assist at this ceremony."
Lieutenant Master says : " There is a tribe called Ling {Query,
Li-ang) who live in the Assam direction, north-west from here (the
Jade Mines), who dispose of their old men and women by making
them drunk, killing, and eating them by boiling or rather cooking
the flesh." The story is probably as untrue as that which ascribed
cannibalism to the Wa.
The Kachin house is in the form of a long oblong, with a pro-
jecting porch at each end, the one in front being the larger. The
following ground-plan given by Mr. George will serve to explain
better than any description.
'^^
I. — Front porch (mpang).
2. — Steps (likang),
3. — Naaow verandah or landing in front, about two feet
wide (nati kum).
4.^Doorway, usually very narrow (ching-ka).
CHAP. VII.] THE KACHIN HILLS AND THE CHINCPAW.
437
5. — General apartment ; can be used as a spare room for
guests or for any of the family when the place is
crowded.
6. — The maiden's apartment (nia). This apartment serves
in lieu of the bachelor's hut or dum'nta, before
referred to, in villages where special huts are not
built for the purpose.
7. — Men's apartment (lupdaTs).
8. — Room for eldest son and his wife or eldest married
couple in the hut.
9. — Fireplace (tapnu).
10. — Apartment of the parents of the household (ganu-
gawa tap).
] I. — Back door.
12.— Back landing.
13. — Back stairs.
14. — Back porch.
There are no windows, but when the hut is a long one, one or two
doors are cut In the sides for easy egress. The back door is not
used except by members of the family^ otherwise the household
nats are offended. The houses are often very long, sometimes as
much as a hundred and fifty feet ; but this is exceptional, though they
are always larger than Shan or Burmese houses. They stand on
piles two and a half to three feet of! the ground. The space below
is usually fenced in for the pigs and dogs and fowls. The houses
are built of bamboo with thick " cotter's thatch " and are far more
solidly constructed than Burmese houses. The posts, particularly
in some of the Chiefs' houses, are very substantial. In front of the
main porch, on the central post, are nailed up skulls of buffaloes
and other animals that have been sacrificed j under the porch paddy-
husking and weaving are carried on. The paddy is put into a heavy
wooden mortar, and two women standing opposite each other pound
it in alternate strokes with heavy wooden pestles grasped in the
middle.
The weaving is very primitive ; there is no frame, and the warp
is kept stretched by being attached to a bar from which a broad ^
leather strap passes round the back of the woman weaving. She
leans against this with her legs stretched out straight in front of
her. The farther end of the warp is attached to a bamboo fastened
to a peg in the ground. The cloth is very coarse, but tough and
strong, and indigo is the commonest dye. The ends have a narrow
strip of variegated pattern, usually in red and yellow. Striped cloths
are also met with, but are not so common ; the shoulder bag is worn
as universally as the wallet of the Shan and indeed of all the hill
438
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VII,
tribes. Some of the Kachin bags are very neatly embroidered and
are ornamented with a variety of tassels and ribbons, and occasionally
with beads, cowries, seeds, and Chinese cash. The patterns appear
to vary with the clans.
Besides this the only other industry seems to be the manufac-
ture of dkas, and that is conficed to the Tarengs, who do not appear
to be true Kachins. Mr. Errol Grey, who calls them the ^eat
blacksmiths of the Khakhu country, says that they make all the
dhas worn by every Kachin and Hkamti Shan adult north of the
confluence. These dkas under the name of Hkamli dhas form one
of the chief articles of trade hetween the Hkamti valley and Assam.
The iron is foimd in the hills forming the boundary between the
Tarengs and Khunnongs. It is of excellent quality and the knives
are very durable. Mr. Enrol Grey continues: "These dkns are
" made in four varieties : —
(i) The streaked (or dorica me/a as it is called in Assam),
having four lines running longitudinally down the
blade.
(a) The spotted d/ta, having numerous black spots cover-
ing both sides of the blade, as if indented by being
hit by some pointed instrument, but really naturaL
(3) The white dha, with a perfectly clear blade, without
spot or line.
(4) The black dha, a dirty, rough-looking blade, giving the
idea that the process of manufacture is not com-
plete.
" These weapons are about eighteen inches long in the blade, and
"are broader at the point than at the handle. They are ground to
*' have an edge in the form of that of the chisel. With the handle a
" couple of such dhns weigh a little over two pounds. The streaked
*'dha is invariably worn by the nobility and gentry of the Hkamti
"country."
As to Kachin dances and musical instruments no precise informa-
tion is available. Gongs of Chinese and Burmese manufacture are
in great request, and near Bhamo the Kachins have adopted some
of the musical instruments of their neighbours. Those of their own
manufacture according to Captain Couchman appear to be confined
to a species of one-stringed violin and a double-barrelled pipe, with
the stops on one side of the pipe only. At the end of this there is
a kind of drone formed by a piece of bamboo split up into small
shreds, which is moved up and down like the piston of a trombone.
Like most highlanders the Chingpaw practically never wash.
The explorer Alaga says : " They are not cleanly, but eat and live
CHAP. VII.] THE KACHIN HILLS AND THE CHINGPAW. 439
*' like pigs ; they use leaves as plates ; they have no cups or knives
"or spoons. They have nothing in their houses. Their cooking
" pot is either a large iron vessel brought from China, or else of
" stone. Sometimes they boil their food in bamboos and they use
" these solely for water," that is to say, they have no water-jars or
buckets. It is a question whether the long bamboo carried on the
back is not the most convenient vessel for carrying water up the
steep hill paths, for the water-supply is usually a considerable dis-
tance below the village. In addition to being dirty, the Kachin is
very lazy and he is also very vindictive and treacherous. Some
points in his character may have been darkened and exaggerated by
his Ishmaelite ^existence. The better traits certainly want foster-
ing. Many have been employed as civil police, and an attempt is
being made to drill some into military policemen. At the time of
writing the success of the experiment is a point on which opinions
differ as much as light does from darkness. On the one occasion
in 1898 in which they have been under fire, however, they seem to
have behaved with praiseworthy courage and discipline, and the
most experienced and trustworthy opinion is that they will make
excellent soldiers and policemen.
8
bes. Son
; omamen
:h beads,
vary wit!
Besides
e of dhi,
be true
cksmitl
as wor
ifluenc
the ch:
e iron
rengs
very
lade !
T
e
LV
U
it
I
CHAP. yiU.] THE CHIN HILLS AND THE CHIN TRIBES. 441
CHAPTER VIII.
THE CHIN HILLS AND THE CHIN TRIBES.
Expeditions against the Chins were forced on us bv the action
of the tribesmen, just as the Kachins made it impossible for us to
disregard them and leave them to themselves. Very full details as
fto the Chins and our operations against them are to be found in the
^Cht'pt Gaseiteer of Messrs. Carey and Tuck. Our relations with
'them need therefore here only be shortly summarized.
During the cold season of 1887-88 Lieutenant-Colonel F. D.
laikes, then Deputy Commissioner of the Upper Chindwin districti
'had negotiated with the Tashons, the most powerful of the tribes,
wlio lie between the Siyins, Sagyilaings, and Kanhaos, on the
north, and the so-called Baungshes on the south. The most im-
portant Tashfin Chief, Sonpek,. met the Deputy Commissioner, and
It was hoped that his confidence and good-wUI had been secured.
But the suspicions of the Chins were apparently aroused by the
proposal of the Government of India to explore their hills with a
view to opening communication between Chlttagong and Upper
Burma, and the Shwegyobyu Prince, a Pretender who had been
driven from the Yaw country, and the Qx-Sawb-iVa of Kale, who had
escaped from Mandalay and sought refuge in the hills, succeeded
in inducing the Tashons to commit raids in Kale. In May 1 888 the
Tash6ns carried off the Sawbwa of Kale (a nephew of the fugitive)
from Indin, and he was released only on undertaking to join in a
rising against the Government. Somewhat earlier the Siyins and
Sagyilaings had raided into the Kabaw Valley (Kubo), while certain
septs of the Baungshes had continued to raid In the Yaw country,
and negotiations with them had been unsuccessful. During the
raJns of 1888 attempts were made to bring the Chins to terms.
The Tashfins gave up a few Shan and Burmese captives, but refus-
ed to surrender the Shwegyobyu Pretender and other rebels and
made counter demands and counter threats. The Siyins and Sagyi-
laings answered menaces by raids and the Baungshes entered into
an alliance against Government.
At the end of rheyear 1888, therefore, a column marched against
the northern tribes. Near the foot of the hills, on the 7th Decem-
ber the Chins commenced hostilities by firing on a working party and
56
443
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VIII.
mortally wounding Lieutenant Palmer, R.E, Severe punishment
followed. All the villages of the Siyins were destroyed and much of
their grain was taken and rendered useless. Seventeen villages of
the Kanhaos also were burnt, and the operations lasted, with inter-
ruptions for negotiation, until May. Our casualties were, includ-
ing losses at Gangaw and Kan, twenty-six killed and fifty-four
wounded. Sub-Lieutenant Mitchel, of the Norfolks, was mortally
wounded in an attack on Tatan, a Siyin village. Surgeon Le
Quesne, who dressed his wound and was himself wounded, received
the Victoria Cross. Nearly two hundred captives were restored to
freedom during the operations and the Chin losses in action were
heavy, but the tribes still held out, and, after the rains had set in,
the Siyins more than once attacked the post of Fort White, which
was built while the operations were going on.
The Tashons had not been encountered during the operations
and, though their representatives met Lieutenant-Colonel Raikes
in the latter part of 1889, they failed to comply with the demand for
the surrender of all captives and the recognition of British authority.
Accordingly in the open season of 1889-90 a strong column enter-
ed the Chin country from Kan in the Myittha valley, and another
from Fort White in the north co-operated with it. The converging
point was Falam, the main village of the Tashdns, and the Military
and Political command was entrusted to Brigadier-General \V. P.
Symcns. Such resistance as was met with was absolutely petty, and
harassing shots into camp and ambuscades were the main incidents.
In this way Lieutenant Foster of the K. O. S. Borderers was shot
near camp while on a stroll, Haka was occupied on the 14th Feb-
ruary and was made the headquarters of the Southern column.
On the nth March 1890 the combined Northern and Southern
columns met at Falam and occupied the hills commanding the vil-
lage. After hesitating for two days the Tash6n Chiefs accepted the
terms offered them. The village was strongly fortified and resistance
had been intended, but was frustrated by the commanding position
of the British troops. Brigadier-General W. P. Symons then
returned to Haka, where he met General Tregear, who had come
eastwards with a column from Chittagong. A permanent post was
established at Haka and a Political Officer was stationed there.
Many captives were surrendered, roads practicable for baggage
animals were constructed from Kan to Haka, from Haka to Fort
Tregear, and from Fort White for some distance in the direction
of Falam ; and all the tribes gave assurances that they would
abstain from raiding. But the attitude of the Tash6ns remained far
from satisfactory for several years. They arrogated an equality of
authority with the British Government.
CHAP. VIII,] THE CHIN HILLS AND THE CHIN TRIBES. 443
The Baungsbes of Yokwa and Haka agreed to an annual tribute,
but those of Thetta were defiant and reuised to give up their cap-
tives. Altogether the results, though satisfactory, were not com-
mensurate with the magnitude of the force, or rather the unwiel-
dlness of the force made settlement slow and submission delusive.
In the north Mr. Carey induced the Sagyilaing Chiefs to submit and
administered further punishment to the Siytns, with the result that
they also submitted. The Kanhaos, however, raided Kabaw and
could not be dealt with owing to the march to meet General Symons.
In December 1889 also Captain Rainey, the Commandant of the
Chin Frontier Levy, visited the detached tribes to the south of the
Chin country proper, the Chinboks, Chlnb6ns, Chinmfes, and Yin-
dus, who occupy the country at the head-waters of the Yaw and
Maw rivers. Only very slight opposition was met with, captives
were given up, tribute fixed^ and durbars held. Up till this trade
and intercourse with the plains had been forbidden to the lawless
clans, but Captain Rainey succeeded in getting them to appoint a
responsible headman, and the prohibition was withdrawn, A track
known as the " Sawbwa's road" leads through their country from
Arakan to the Irrawaddy.
In 1890-91 there was much wire-cutting up in the north and the
Kanhaos had to be punished for raids on the plains. Their village
ofTungzang (the chief centre after the destruction of Tiddim m
1889) was taken by assault and anumber of Chiefs, who were taken
prisoners; were sent down to Rangoon, the sight of which it was
hoped would ensure their loyalty.
In the south there was more trouble, though everything was quiet
in the immediate neighbourhood of Haka. The Thetta Baung-
shes were the main source of trouble. They murdered Mr. Wethe-
rell, Assistant Superintendent of Police, and attempted to murder
Mr. D. Ross, the Political Officer. Early in January 1891 a small
party went to punish them. The village was attacked unsuccess-
fully and Lieutenant James, R. E. was killed. A padey was then
arranged. The Thettas offered to submit, to pay a fine for past mis-
conduct and tribute for the future, and to obey orders, and the force
then withdrew. To prevent misconception a combined movement
was made later by a column from Gangaw co-operating with
another from Haka. These marched through the Baungshe country
and were received in a friendly way at Thetta, where the fine imposed
was paid in full. A number of other villages made full submission
and the Baungshes gave no more trouble.
In March 1891, however, there was trouble with the Tlantlangs,
a tribe to the west of the Hakas» Ivlng between them and Kort Tre-
gear. Mr. Macnabb had left Haka with a column of one hundred
444
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEKR. [ CHAP. VIll.
men under Lieutenant Mocatta to meet a party from Fort Tregear
at Tao and to visit the TIantlangs (Messrs. Carey and Tuck write
this Klangklang), who had made formal surrender to General Symons
in March 1890. It was reported that they had been raiding on the
Lushai side, and Mr. Macnabb's intention was lo order them to
abstain from raiding in future. The march to Tao was unopposed,
but the Tlantlang Chiefs were not seen. They were reported to be
propitiating their na/$ and to be very drunk^ so the inter%'iew was
postponed for the return journey. The Political Officer at Fort
Tregear was not able to come himself to Tao, but sent his inter-
preter with letters instead, and Mr. Macnabb's party therefore
marched back. It was then discovered that the absence of
soon
the Tlangtlang Chiefs was really for the purpose of preparing an
attack on the column on its return. In the neighbourhood of
Hryankan the party was suddenly set upon by a body of Chins
estimated at between seven and eight hundred men. The column
fought its way with some difficulty to Tlantlang, and had five
men killed and ten wounded, besides Lieutenant Forbes, who was
wounded. At Tlantlang they were met by reinforcements from
Haka under Colonel Mainwarnig, who had come out on receiving
news of the intended attack on Mr. Macnabb's party. To punish
the TIanllangs for this unprovoked attack a fine of 50 guns and Rs,
3,500 was imposed, and live days were given to them to pay up the
fine. The fine was not paid and arrangements were accordingly
made for a punitive expedition. While these were in progress
Yahywit (Jahuta), the head Chief of the TIantlangs, came into Haka.
Yahywit explained that the attack had been carried out in opposition
to his wishes by two of the other Chiefs, Lalwe and Koikye, the for-
mer of whom wanted to revenge himself for having been arrested by
Captain Rundall in the previous year. Yahywit showed an earnest
desire for peace, and as it appeared that his statement that he had
not been concerned in the attack was correct, the Political Officer
determined to accept his submission and abstain from destroying
the Tlantlang villages on condition that Lalwe and Koikye should
be given up, that their houses should be razed to the ground, and
that the arms and moveable property of all those who were en-
gaged in the attack on our column should be confiscated and given
up. As an earnest of good faith Yahywit handed up 17 guns, six
myihun, a large elephant tusk, and a number of brass vessels and
gongs. Yahywit was then, on the 20th April, permitted to return to
his village. As the two Chiefs were not given up> a column consist-
ing of 300 rifles and two mountain guns started (or Tlantlang on the
2nd May. It was found that Lalwe and Koikye had fled and that
their houses had been destroyed as desired by the Political Officer.
CHAP. VIII.] THE CHIN HILLS AND THE ClIlN TRIBES. 44$
Yahywit was found to have to some extent re-established his
authority and the villages of Tlangrwa and Twalam paid up ten and
eight guns respectively, while others sent in five guns between
them, Hryankan and Tungzang, however, remained defiant. The
lateness of the season and a want of transport prevented imme-
diate submission being exacted and operations were deferred till
the next open season. I
The Chinboksj Chlnbons, Chinmfes, and Yinduson the Yawdwin
frontier, who up till then had given no trouble, on the 6th January
1891 attacked the Yawdwin post, looted the house of the Assistant
Superintendent of Police, and carried off his pony, and committed
other raids, in which five women were carried off prisoners from Saw
and a villager was killed. A large party of mounted infantry from
Mylngyan speedily punished Panchaungj the chief offending village,
all the captives were recovered, and most of the tribesmen took
formal oatn of fealty to the Government.
During the rains of 1891 two parties of Chin Chiefs, one from the
north in May and the second from the Southern States in October,
visited Rangoon, saw the sights of the town, were introduced to
the Chief Commissioner, and were present at a parade of troops.
They were duly impressed and it was thought that the recital of
their experiences would do much to pacify the tribesmen. The
resultSj however, were somewhat disappointing. The tales told were
too marvellous for the acceptation of their fellow-countrymen. Their
scepticism irritated many of the travellers, who had moreover seen
so many marvellous things that after a time they seem to have
doubted the evidence of their own senses. Sneers and insinuations
worked so effectively with some that a few of the sight-seers them-
selves were stung into taking part in later disturbances in the hills.
The massacre of British officers in Manipur and the subsequent
operations in that State did not affect the general behaviour of the
Chins, though a few of the villages nearest the plain of Manipur
actually took part in the attack on the Residency. They returned
almost immediately to their hills and spread reports that thousands
of British troops had been killed in Manipur, but they also seem to
have been looked on as braggarts, or were stolidly disbelieved.
The troubles in Manipur and later in the Lushai Hills under the
administration of the Bengal and Assam Governments, however,
seriously interfered with the scheme of operations drawn up, and
columns which had been intended only to establish influence, collect
information, select Chiefs, grant preliminary sanads, and settle
tribute found themselves occupied in much purely punitive work.
Still much work was done which was summarized for the
Northern Chin Hills as follows: — "The hitherto unknown and un-
446
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VIU.
*' explored tracts inhabited by the Thado, Nwite. Yo, Wheino, and
" Nwengal were explored and placed in the maps. The number
" and size of the \'illages was ascertained. The Kanhao and Siyin
" tribute was collected and 190 slaves were recovered. This
" number comprises 117 Burmans and Kale Chins, 15 Manipuris
" and Nagas, and 58 Chins of various clans. Of these 88 were
"recovered from the Siyins, 22 from the Kanhaos, 11 from the
" Thado, 1 1 from the Nwite, 36 from the Yahao and Wheino, and
" 20 from the Nwengals. No less than 17 villages were punished,
" the fines usually taking the form of confiscation of guns and other
" arms and of live-stock. Wire-cutters, camp-thJeves, and two
" murderers were also arrested during the year as well as several
'* slave-owners. Two important crimes were satisfactorily settled.
" In the first cAse out of 12 Yo, raided a year ago by Yahao, ii
" were recovered, the twelfth is dead. In the second case two
" head-hunters carried off five heads and both murderers were
" arrested 75 miles from Fort White.
" A mule road to Lenacot from Fort White (80 miles) was made.
" From Lenacot a branch road was made running north-west
" through the Yo tract to the Nwite country, 50 miles. From
" Lenacot the road w^as continued north to Shuganu in the Manipur
" plain, hence a mule-road is now open from Manipur on the north
" straight through to Haka on the south. From Lenacot to
*' Yazagyo a trade route was re-opened, 61 miles. The main road
" to Falam was completed, with the exception of a bridge across the
*' Nankatlife river. Tlie two roads to Sagyilaing were repaired and
" continued to Mobyingyi (Molbem) and several other Chin tracks
" and paths were repaired and improved. All this most excellent
" road work was accomplished by the 4th Madras Pioneers."
The exploration of the Nwengal country by columns from the
Northern and Southern States was cut short by the attack at
Lalbura on Mr. McCabe, the Political Officer in the Assam Hills.
The Nwengal country, inhabited chiefly by Soktcs and Kanhaos, is
a strip of land on the west of the Nankathfe or Manipur river,
stretching roughly from the latitude of Molbem (Mobyingyi) on the
south to that of Tiddim on the north. West of them lie the Wheino
or Whenno tribes, which extend to the Lushai country. Mr.
McCabe stockaded himself at Fort Aijal, eight miles west of Lalbura,
and the Nwengal column marched as far west as Arban peak to
assist him. On its way back, the rising in the Southern Lushai
country assumed serious proportions and, after getting fresh rations
at Bozong, Captain Rose and Mr. Carey marched for Daokhoma
in the heart of the Southern Lushai country and the centre of the
rising. The column marched one hundred and four miles in twelve
CHAP. VIII.] THE CHIN HILLS AND THE CHIN TRIBES. 447
days through an unknown and hostile country across several lofty
mountain ranges at the most trying time of the year. At Dao-
khoma they were joined by Captain Shakespear, and that place with
Kanglova, Lalruma, and other villages which had joined in the
revolt were destroyed. There were a few skirmishes, but no casual-
ties were suffered by our troops. The march, however, was a very
notable one. The column went on to Lungleh and then returned
to Burma by way of Chittagong. Meanwhile, a party of Chins had
att3,cked one of our outposts at Botong, and in consequence of this
and the murder of a Burman at Hele, Hele was attacked and some
houses were destroyed by way of .punishment. Apart from this no
raids were committed during the year either in the hills or in Burma,
and it was thoufi;ht that considerable progress had been made in
establishing satisfactory relations with the Chins.
In the Southern Chin Hills the Baungshe column explored the
country to the southern limit of the charge, and, except for an
unfortunate contretemps at Shurkwa, where the villagers resisted a
demand for coolies and attacked a party of troops on their entry
into the village, the proceedings of the column were perfectly peace-
ful. The Shurkwa affair ended disastrously for the Chins j 35 of
them were killed and 20 wounded in the meUe which followed their
attack upon the troops. Our loss was one sepoy killed and one
wounded. The whole of the Baungshe country was visited, tribute
was levied, and Chiefs recognized. Twenty-five slaves were re-
leased and a mule track made from Shurkwa to Minywa.
The Tlantlang column had for its object the completion of the
punishment of the villages which attacked Mr. Macnabb's escort in
the previous year. This object was attained almost without blood-
shed. Some twenty-one villages were visited by the column ; all fines
imposed were paid or punishment inflicted for nonpayment; the
whole Tlantlang tribe was completely subjugated, and tribute was
levied and Chiefs selected for appointment. The season's operations
concluded with the Tash6n column and the occupation of Falam,
which it was proposed to make the future headquarters of the Chin
Hills. The occupation was successfully and peacefully effected
by combined columns from Haka and Fort White. The Tashons
were supposed to be able to put a force of 10,000 fighting men in
the field, so a strong force was sent to overawe any possible oppo-
sition. The Tash6n column commenced the post and after leaving
a detachment at Falam made a tour through the countrj' to the north-
west occupied by the Yahao, Lyenlyum, and Lushai tribes. The
column was received in a friendly way throughout.
In the hills south of the Baungshes, which are controlled by the
Assistant Commissioner, Yawdwin, Lieutenant Tighe made a very
44S
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VlU.
successful tour among the Cliinm6s, Yindus, and ChinbAks, collect-
ing tribute and accepting submission from various Chiefs, who had
remained unvisited up till then. Opposition had been threatened
at Khrcum, a village of nearly 200 houses, beyond Baff6ng in
the Chinm6 country, but at the last moment the Chiefs submitted.
The Chinm6 tribe is reported to be a sort of connecting link be-
tween the so-called Baungshe and the Chinboks, and inhabits the
sources of the eastern Mon, called here the Thetlaung. The tribe
of Chins inhabiting the western branch is known as Yindu, and
extends beyond the watershed of the Arakan Yomas and even, it
is said, across the Kaladan, called here the Otlaung.
Up till July 1892 the Chin Hill Tracts were administered frona
Fort White and Hal^a, under the names of the Northern and South-
ern Chin Hills respectively, but from that date they were formed
into one charge with Jieadquarters at the new Falam post.
During the rains a plot was concerted by the Siyins and the
Soktes of Nwengal to overthrow the Government in the hills, and in
it were implicated several of the Chiefs who had been conducted in
the preceding year by Myook Maung Tun Win to Rangoon. The
cause of the rebellion is believed to have been the fear of total dis-
armament due to the infliction of fines in guns on offending vil-
lages and individuals. It had been hoped thus to disarm the
country without causing a general rising, such as would have been
the result of an attempt to impose wholesale disarmament. The
rebellion broke out on the 9th October 1892, when Myo6k Maung
Tun Win and his escort were treacherously ambuscaded near Pom-
ba village, where the Myouk had been sent to meet Twum Tong,
Chief of Kaptyal, at the Chief's request. The Myo6k, his clerk,
an interpreter, a peon, and eight sepoys were killed and seven men
were wounded. The attack was brutal and treacherous and indi-
cated what the subsequent tactics of the rebels in persistently at-
tacking our posts and convoys and in themselves abandoning and
burning the villages on the approach of our troops subsequently
proved, the determined and desperate character of the rebellion.
It was absolutely necessary that the rebellion should be thoroughly
and completely suppressed, and it was also of the greatest import-
ance that it should not be allowed to spread to other tribes. The
military force employed therefore numbered 2,600 men and they
were six months in the field. The tactics adopted were the estab-
lishment of many small outposts dotted about the rebel tract, so as
to prevent all building and all cultivation, and at the same time to
destroy all food-supplies. Military Police columns from the Upper
Chindwin district co-operated with the Chin Hills troops in Novem-
ber 1892 and in February 1893 against the M6nt6k villages and in
lAP. Vill.] THE CHi^HfLl
;hin tribes.
449
March against Pimpi. During the operations our casualties of all
ranks exceeded 70, including Lieutenant Geoghegan, 6th Burma
Battalion, and the Subadar-Major of the ist Burma Battalion. The
operations resulted in the thorough cowing of the Siyins and the
people of Nwengal. A large proportion of their arms and of those
of neighbouring tribes were withdrawn, the number so withdrawn
reaching to over t ,600. Most of the ring-leaders, including the
prime instigator of the rebellion, the Kaptyal Chief, Twum Tong,
were captured or surrendered themselves into our hands; hostages
for their future good behaviour were given by the principal tribes ;
of the nine rifles, one gun, and one revolver, which fell into the
hands of the rebels on the occasion of the attack on the Myook,
eight rifles and the gun were recovered. Of the captives carried
off from the plains in a raid committed in November on the village
of Taungu near Kalemyo, five out of six were recovered ; and of
the rifles taken from the Upper Chindwin police in an attack in
December on a small party near Nansauns^po, two out of three
were given up. From six villages fines were levied and the amounts
were paid away in compensation to the families of the men killed
on the 9th October and to the sufferers from the raid on Taungu.
At the same time the area of the rebellion was strictly confined
to the two tribes with whom it began. The other Chin tribes
behaved well, except the Baungshe village of TUntlang, which har-
boured a proclaimed outlaw and former Chief. For this they were
heavily fined in guns by Mr, Tuck, the Assistant Political Officer.
Apart from the military operations the chief work was the successful
collection of a regular house-tax in cash. Up to this time a nomi-
nal tribute only had been rendered in cash, ivory, myi/iun, goats,
and the like, but now a rate of one rupee was fixed for each house.
From this time also began the systematic visiting of the hills by
Burmese and other pedlars, who hawked their wares and stopped
in the villages with perfect safety. From the very beginning the
cutting of telegraph wires by the Chins was systematic. The steel
insulator shanks were broken off and converted into knives and
hoes. The wire itself was rarely cut until the rebellion started,
when it was utilized in place of bullets, and most of the wounds
from the Chin fire were found to be caused by lengths of telegraph
wire. Sometimes also the wire was cut out of pure mischief. The
practice was put a stop to by collecting the full value of the wire
and a small line in addition from each village in the responsible
tribe when they failed to produce the offender.
In the season 1893-94 a small and stubborn remnant of dis*
affected Siyins in the neighbourhood of Pimpi was finally suppress-
57
450
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VIl!.
ed ; the Northern Chin tribes were finally disarmed and have since
fiven no trouble. Messrs. Porteous and Carey during this season
emarcated the boundary between the Chin Hills and Manipur,
which had remained undetermined from the previous year owing to
the Siyin revolt. The Southern Chin tribes were quiet on the
whole, but an inter-tribal quarrel was only settled by prompt action
and the village of Thetta committed a couple of raids towards the
close of the year. Nevertheless the tribute collected during the
year amounted lo Rs. 16,686 and there were no raids from the Chin
Hills people on the plains. The Kaswa-Aswa tribe, who are be-
yond the administrative border, committed two serious raids on the
Upper Chindwin district, for which they were promptly punished by
a force of military police under Mr. Porter, the Deputy Commis-
sioner of the district,
Thetta, the most turbulent village in the south, was brought to
submission and disarmed in 1894, and following this all the South-
ern tribes were also disarmed, the number of guns withdrawn being
'j938. In all nearly 7,000 guns were taken from the tribes north
and south between the years 1893 and 1896, and since this the hills
have not only enjoyed peace, but there has been an almost total
absence of serious crime. Tiie growth of trade and intercourse
between the Chins and the people of the plains was rapid, and con-
siderable numbers of Chins settled in the Kale valley. The garri-
son of the Chin Hills was taken over by Military Police in 1895
and 1896, with a consequent great reduction in expenditure, and
trade with the hills is steadily increasing.
Only a narrow fringe of the tribes bordering on the Yawdwin
and Pauk subdivisions of Pak6kku are administered. They remain-
ed quiet for some years, but in 1896 Chinboks from Kyingyi and
Yindus from .\tets6n Pyedaw committed some raids, one savagely
successful, on the village of Shwe Legyin near Laungshe, and the
other abortive, on the military post at Mindat Sakan. Against these
raiders three parties of Military Police went out in 1897, one coming
from the Northern Hill Tracts of Arakan. No opposition was en-
countered ; the offending villages were punished and compensation
was paid to the persons who had suffered in the raids. Tours were
made throughout the whole tract, which up lo this lime had not been
completely surveyed, and feuds and disputes were settled in many
parts beyond the administrative boundary. The questions of the
administrative boundary and of the introduction of the Chin Hills
Regulation were still under consideration in 1897. In 1896 the
Chin Hills were declared by proclamation to be apart of Burma and
were constituted a scheduled district. The Chiefs, however, will be
allowed to administer their affairs, so far as may be, tn accordance
fp. Vm.] THE CHIN HILLS AND THE CHIN TRIBES. 4St
with their own customs, subject to the supervision of the Superin-
tendent of the Chin Hills.
The pacification of the Chin Hills, even more than that of the
Shan States, is a notable triumph for the British art of governing
savages according to the methods of civihzation. When we first
encountered the Chins in their mountain ranges we found them
practically savages. Their chief occupation was raiding, and this,
with their blood-feuds, engrossed their entire attention. Amongst
themselves they were as much at enmity as the Chingpaw, and
one village raided on another and carried off men, women, and
children into slavery, while all the villages made common cause in
raiding on the Burmese villages of the plains. There was no culti-
vation and no industry worthy of the name. The will of the Chiefs
was law, but it was only maintained by truckling to the savage
instincts of the people, who were quite ready to get rid of a leader
who was not energetic in raids on his neighbours. To the Burmese
the Chin Hills were practically unknown, for amongst people where
it was unsafe for the inhabitants of one village to visit its immedi-
ate neighbour, a stranger had little chance. If he was lucky enough
not to Be killed, it was only to be held up to ransom.
Now not only are the plains undisturbed, but the hills themselves
are quite peaceful. Raids are unknown, and scarcely any crimes are
committed, so that the Chin Hills are actually more secure than
many parts of Lower Burma. Roads, on which Chin cooHes now
readily work, have been constructed in all directions ; the rivers have
been bridged ; the people have taken up the cultivation of English
vegetables, and the indigenous industries have been largely develop-
ed ; British officers now tour about with escorts of only four or five
men in places where formerly they could only go with columns.
Burmese pedlars wander unmolested all over the hills and the Chins
themselves not only visit but settle in the plains. The relations
with Manipur, the Lushai Hills, and Arakan are equally unrestricted.
The completion of the Falam-lndin road will still more open up
communication and cheapen goods. A settlement of Gurkhas in
the valley of Laiyo, five miles from Falam, suggests great develop-
ments, though similar colonies at Haka and Fort White were not so
prosperous. Altogether the reduction of the Chins to order is as
great a matter of congratulation as the pacification of the Kachins
and the peaceable development of the Shan States.
The Chins, Yo, Zh6, or Shu.
Mr. J. A. Baines, in a paper on "the Language Census of India,"
read before the International Congress of Orientalists in 1893, says
of the tribes on the hill ranges separating India from Burm^:
452
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VIIK
" In their northern extension these tribes are coUecltvely known as
" Kuki. The term Lushai, which is applied farther south, is not
"recognized by the people themselves, who use the name Zh6.
" Shendu is also a synonymous title for the Lushai tribes. In the
" country between Bengal and Burma, the tribes are known as Khyin
" in the east, and by a variety of local names in Bengal. The whole
" mass was left very much to itself in former years, as the Jnhabit-
*' ants of the plains hold such races In considerable respect, and
" trading on this feeling, mountaineers have manifested their superi-
" ority over the peaceful communities they overhang In ways that
" the British had to stop with some vigour. It is hardly necessary
" to point out that with so many tribes close together, each under
" hereditary obligations to lay by a store of the skulls of its neigh-
'*bour, the diversity of language is as great as in the tract across
" the Brahmaputra."
There is little doubt that the pronounced dialectic differences
have led individual students to believe that they were linguistic and
to dispute the connection of the Chins with many of their neighbours.
Studies of the language, legends, and traditions are being made
from both the India and the Burma side and the true position and
connections of the Chins will no doubt ere long be determined, but
at present their identity is a matter of conjecture. Messrs. Carey
and Tuck in their Chin Gazetteer say : — " Our close connection with
" the Chins and Lushais during the last 6ve years (1890 — 95) does
" not appear to have taught us anything more than we knew twenty
" years ago of the ethnology of the tribes." Yule In 1 855 described
the Chins and Lushais as "of Indo-Chinese kindred, known as Kukis,
'* Nagas, Khyenes, and by many more specific names." Colonel
Hannay identified the Chins with the Nagas of the Assam moun-
tains and thinks that they must be closely allied to the Kukis. In
1866 Colonel Phayre classified the Chins living on the north of
Arakan as Indo-Chinese. Mr. Taw Sein Kho, in a pamphlet on
the Chins and Kachins bordering on Burma, wrote: —
" Ethnically tbese tribes belong to that vaguely dcFined and yet little
understood stock, the Turanian, which includes among others the Chinese,
Tibetans, Manchus, Japanese, Annamcse, Siamese, Burmpse, and the Turks,
The evidence of language, so far as it has been studied, leaves little doubt
that ages ago China exercised much influence on these Turanian races,
whose habitat, It is said, included the whole of at least Northern India
before its conquest by the Aryans."
Mr. Taw Sein Kho, in the same paper, also says : —
. "Of all the surrounding tribes, the Chins appear to reflect most the pre-
Buddhistic phase of the Burman. Some of the customs of these two
peoples, as those relating to marriage, inheritance, and slavery, are so
CHAP. VIII.] THE CHIN HILLS AND THE CHIN TRIBES. 453
strikingly similar that he who would like to know about the Burmese
people of prehistoric times might with advantage study the language)
; habits, manners, and customs of their congeners, the Chins."
Messrs. Carey and Tuck continue : —
"Mr. McCabe of the Assam Commission, whose service has been spent
amongst Nagas, Lushais, and the other hill-tribes of the province nf Assam,
designates the Chin-Lushai family ;is Indu-Cliinese. Captain Forbes calls
the race Tibeto-Bnrraan. Mr. B. Houghton, of the Burma Commission,
in an essay on the language of the Southrrn (Sandoway) Chins and its
affinities in i8gi writes: — * As a mere conjecture of the original habitat,
&C.J of these races the following may be hazarded. At first the stocks of
the Dravidian, Chinese, Tibetan, and other races may have lived together
in Tibet, or perhaps a good distance to the west of it. The Dravidian
hordes first started on the immigration, some entering India by the north-
ern passes and some perhaps by the north-west Some time after them
the Chinese separated themselves and went to the east, occupying gradually
their present country, this separation occurring at least three thousand
years ago, if the supposition may be trusted that about that time the
Chinese alttircd the old pronunciation of their numerals. After the depar-
ture of the Chinese smaller hordes from time to time poured into India, the
largest being the Burman one, which, perhaps by the pressure of the newly
arrived Aryans, was forced into Burma. The hillmen of Arakan I would
regard as rather later immigrations.*
" In the Burma Census Report of 1891 Chin ethnology is dismissed with
the remark that the Chins or Kyins are a group of hill-tribes, all talking
dialects 01 the same Tibeto-Burman speech and calUng themselves by
various namea. Without pretending to speak with authority on the subject,
we think we may reasonably accept the theory that the Kukis of Manipurt
the Lushais of Bengal and Assam, and the Chins originally lived in what
we now know as Tibet and are of one and the same stock ; their form of
Government, method of cultivation, manners and customs, beliefs and
'traditions all point to one origin. As far as tlie Chins are concerned, we
know from our own experience, as well as from the records of Manipur,
that the drift of migration has changed and is now towards the north.
The Nwite, Vaipe, and Yo Chins, who within the memory of man resided
in the Northern Chin Hills, have now almost entirely recrossed the northern
border, either into the hills belonging lo Manipur, or to the south of Cachstr,
and their old village sites are now being occupied hy the Kanhow clan of
Sokte Chins, which also is steadily moving northwards.
" From the available records it would seem that some authorities class
the Nagas as nearly akin to the Kukis, hut this is mure than doubtlul.
The Government of the NagA tribes is distinctly democratic. Their Chief-
tainships do not necessarily pass from father to son, but are practically
dependent on the will of the tribesmen, and the Naga Chiefs are therefore
without much individual power and their rule is based on the general
approval of the clan. The Kuki Chiefs, on the other hand, invariably
inherit their position by the right of birth and take the initiative in all
matcers concerning the administration of their clansmen, by whom they are
respected and feared, [It may be remarked that this alone is somewhat
slender ground for denying the identity of the races. The Kunilaot or
454
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. Vlll.
'republican' Kachins are admittedly the same as their Chicf-go\'erncd
brethren]. It is true that the ciders of the village, called Waihaumte in
the north and Boite in the south and bv the Lushai OITicers Kfiarbari And
Afantri, surround the person of the Chief, but although they all discuss
questions togechcr, they have no power to over-rule the decision of the
Chief himself.
"The Naga and Kuki methods of cultivation are totally different) for
whereas the Naga takes the greatest care and pride in his elaborate system
of terrace cultivation, the Kuki merely jhums in a most untidy and waste-
ful manner. The dress of the Naga is invariably a cloth tied round the
loins with the loose ends hanging down in front, while the Kuki either wears
nothing but a blanket, or else ai//i(7/;' wound round the loins passing between
the legs from the front and fastened behind in the regular Indian way. In
appearance the NSgas and Kukis diSer; some Nsgas cut their hair, which
the Kukis never do. The Naga features are more pronounced and in many
other ways the light-bearted Naga is far apart from the solemn sloW'Speak-
ing Kuki.
''Those of the Kuki tribes which we know as Chins do not recognize
that name, which is said (by Mr, Taw Sein Kho) to be a corruption of the
Chinese Jen, man. The Northern Chins call themselves Yo; the Tash6nsi
Haka, and more southern tribes Lai, whilu the Chins of Lower Burma give
their name as Shu. Some of the Assam tribes have also been christened
by names unknown to them ; for instance Niiga, the meaning of which is
simpTy 'naked,' and the Arbors, who call themselves Padam.
"The Chins subordinate to Burma are not all confined in the tract ad-
ministered from Falam, for besides the Chinbflks, Chinb6ns, and Chinmfis,
administered from Yawdwin, and the political charge of the Arakan Hill
Tracts, the Deputy Commissioners of Mcnbu, Thayetmyo, Kyaukpyu, and
Sandoway all have dealings with Chins who reside in their districts."
The separate tribes recognized in the tract controlled from Falam
are the Soktes, Siyins, Tash6ns, Hakas, Tlantlangs, and Yokwas.
In the south there are independent villages belonging to none of
these main tribes. Each of these independent villages has its own
Chief, They have no tribal system. The Thado, Yo, Nwite, and
Vdipe tribes have almost disappeared from the Northern Chin Hills.
The Sokte tribe, which includes the Kanhao clan, is found on both
banks of the Manipur river^ which led to the people on the left
bank calling those on the right Nwengals (from Nun=a river,
A^^fl/= across). They are, however, the same tribe.
The Siyins are the Tautes and Tauktes of the Manipur records.
The Tash6n tribe includes the two powerful communities of Yahaos
and Whenos, which were formerly known as Pois, Poites, and
Paites. The formidable Shendus, so well known on the Chittagong
and Arakan frontiers, are mainly Ttantlangs (or Klangklangs) and
Hakas. The term Baungshe (from the Burmese Paung^ to put
on, and she in front) is a mere nickname applied to all the Chins
CHAP. VIII.] THE CHIN HILLS AND THE CHIN TRIBES. 45S
who tie their hair in a knot over the forehead. Messrs. Caxey and
Tuck estimated the numbers of the tribes as follows in 1895: —
Tashfins .., ... ... ... 39.ai5
Hakas ... ... ... ... I4>350
Soktes ... ... ... ... 9.005
TIanllangs ... •.. ... ... 4,925
Yolcwas ... ... ... ... 2,675
Siyins ... ... ... ... 1,770
Independent Southern villages ... ... 17,780
Total ... 89.620
The most thickly populated tract is ihat of the Tash6ns; the
thinnest those of tne Siyins and Kanhaos, The headquarters of
the Political Officer arc at Falam, whence the Tashons and their
tributaries are administered. The Siyins and Soktes are controlled
from Ttddim ; the Hakas, Tlantlangs, Yokwas, and the southern
villages from Haka.
The late Dr. Forchhammer in his notes to Maung Tet Pyo's
Customat-y Law of the Chin Tribe writes, from information gathered
from Chins settled in Lower Burma, that the Chins were originally
divided into 36 clans or so, of which he gives the names. These
do not correspond with the clan and tribal names mentioned in the
Gazetteer of Messrs. Carey and Tuck, and these gentlemen make
absolutely no reference to the list. Dr. Forchhammer says : —
"The names of the 36 clans imply professions, which are hereditary in
each of them. The Pasan so furnishe.s their pritsts, whose sole occupation
is to preside over the ceremonies performed at marriages and funerals.
None but they know Ibe formulas pronounced on such occasions, the old
sacred songs, embodying the niylhological notions of the- Chins. Other jw
have their name from being by occupation goldsmiths, m.inufacturcrs of
swords, of knives and spears, boatmen, &c. But most of the names refer
to the nature of nnlitary services which they render to the King of Burma
and formerly to the Chinese. The clan appellations imply 'guardians of
the palace,' ' spcar-bcarers/ 'lancers,' 'bowmc-n,' 'elephant-keepers,' &c."
From a consideration of the Chin Laws as collected and codified
by Maung Tet Pyo, It appears certain that the Chin race was at
one time more united and certainly much more civilized than we
found it. Messrs. Carey and Tuck ignore these customary laws
altogether. They say " Law in criminal matters according to our
" definition of the word does not exist and the word ' custom * must
'* be borrowed to express the arrangements for dealing with crime.
" But it must be clearly understood that might quashes right and
"avarice smothers justice and custom amongst the Chins, whose
" quaint reasoning has decided that drunkenness is a valid excuse for
" murder and adultery, but that the action of a sober man committed
*' by inadvertence and pure accident must be punished in the same
456
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VIIL
*' manner as a crime committed with deliberate intent. Before our
'* coming there were no judges among the Chins ; each man protect-
" ed his private interests, each village defended its rights, and each
" tribe was the guardian of its honour and property." Even if we
admit that Maung Tet Pyo, in taking down the customary law from
Chin ciders, generalized a great deal and insensibly introduced
much from his own knowledge of the D /tarn mat hats, yet there is
enough that is distinct and individual in the primitive law of the
Chins to stamp it as original, at any rate with respect to the Bur-
mese, though corresponding customs exist among other nations,
such as the law of Borough -English or Mainetd, their laws of
marriage, inheritance, and the like. At any rate they point to a
much better state of things than that described by the authors of
the Chin Gazetieer. About the origin of the Chins and their af-
finities we have as yet little more than vague guesses. They are
becoming rapidly Burmanized. It may be hoped that enough will
be learnt to assign them their proper place before it is too late. As
far as appears from the account of separate clans given by Messrs.
Carey and Tuck it would appear that the Chins have no history
intermediate between the remote legendary and the quite modern.
The following is a summary of the various tribal histories.
The Soktes and all the Northern Chins believe that their race
began at Chin-nwe, a village which still exists,
but affords as little proof or enlightenment as
the Majaw Shingra Pum of the Chingpaw, the Pakkatfe, which the
Wa consider their original home, or Mount Ararat. The Sokle de-
rive their name from Sok, or Skok, meaning below, or to go down,
and te which is the sign of the plural, and they say this proves the
point because Molbem tMobyingyi), their old capital, lies to the
south of Chinnwe. The Sokte otherwise trace their history back for
six generations, hut have no real historical facts earlier than the time
of Kantum, who conquered the Northern hills about 1840. Ten
years later the tribe under the name of Sooties and other aliases
(Mackenzie's North- Rast em Frontier of Bengal) began to give
trouble on both the Lushai and the Burma side, and brought on
themselves invasions from Manipur, and about this time they split
up into Soktes proper and Kanhaos, and lost much of their pre-
dominance, for the Nwiies migrated north to Manipur and many
Soktes went over to the Falam Chiefs. At present Dok Taung
rules the Soktes and Haochinkup the Kanhaos.
The Siyins, like some of the \Va, believe they came out of a
^ourd. It fell from heaven and split opi^n and
Chinnwe was the home o( the primaeval pair
Eventually they moved eastwards and settled near some alltali^
Saktea.
CHAP. VIH.] THE CHIN HILLS AND THE CHtN TRIBES. 4S7
springs, whence their name from 5Aff=alkali and l'o».=side, while
te is the si^n of the plural. Sheyante was corrupted by the Bur-
mese into Siyin and we took the name from them. The Siyins are
called Taute or Taukte (the sturdy people) by the Lushais and
Southern Chins.
Neyan of Chinnwe, the father of the Siyins, is traced back no
farther than 1 3 generations, and the various clans of the tribe — Twan-
tak, Toklaing, Limkai, Bweman — are named after various descend-
ants. The Limkai people are those we know as Sagyilaings, also
one of the Burman names of which we have adopted so many :
Shan, Kachin, Panthe^ Lawa. The Siyins for the last half century
have been at constant war, mostly with the Tashuns and Burmans,
but frequently among themselves, and till they were overwhelmed
and disarmed by us there was no peace in the hills. They bear such
a bad character that the Chin Gasetteer says "Never pardon a
Siyin for any offence."
The great majority of these tribes have migrated into Manipur,
where they are known as Kukis or Khongjais.
N^ite.'^*'* ^°' ^"'^ ^^^y believe that their ancestors came out of
the bowels of the earth and account for the
variety of Chin dialects by a tale that a father told his sons to catch
a rat. In their excitement they were stricken with a confusion of
tongues and moreover did not catch the rat. The eldest son spoke
the Lamyang, the second the Thado, and the third either ihe Vaipe
or the Manipur languages. The Yo were driven out by the Sokte
ruler Kantum, and those that remained were absorbed by the Kan-
hao. " Soktcs, Yos, and Kanhaos are practically one people, though
*' no Sokte Chief would admit that he is not of superior birth to a
" Yo."
The Nwite believe that they are descended from a man and a
woman who fell from the clouds to the earth at Chinnwe. Former-
ly they lived round Tiddim, but almost all have now settled in
Manipur.
The Tash6ns believe that they came out of a large rock at Shun-
_. kla, and by this name they call themselves and
** "*' are known to the Southern Chins. The North-
erners call them Palam-te, the people of Falam. Tashon is a Bur-
mese corruption of Klashun, the name of an early capital, the
remains of which were utilized by our troops when they built a post
in 1893. Klashun was founded four generations ago from Shunkla,
but was abandoned because a syren sat on the high rocks above
the village and on whatsoever man she looked he pined away and
died. But the Chin Gasetteer says it was no Circe, but the Hakas
58
45S
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VIII.
who turned them out by force of arms. " The Tash6n tribesmen,
"unlike the Siyins and Soktes, do not claim one common progeni-
" tor. They arc a community composed of aliens, who have been
" collected under one family by conquest, or more correctly by
" strategy." They are divided into five classes —
(i) Shunkla,
(2) Yahao,
(5) Wheno,
(3) Tawyan,
(4) Kweshin, and [
which are further subdivided.
The Yahao believe that they were hatched from an egg, laid by
the sun on Webula hill, and hatched by a Burmese woman in a
pot.
The Kweshins look on Shimpi as their original village and are
believed to be Burman half-breeds ; they oiten acted as inter-
mediaries between the Burmese and Chins. They were quite as
much under the Kale Sa-wbiva as under the Tashons.
The Tawyan arc said to be quite distinct from the others. They
at one time subdued all creation and set about building a tower to
capture the sun. A tribal quarrel, however, led to one half the
tribe cutting the ladder while the other half were upon it. They
fell uninjured in the Kale and Tawyan neighbourhood and elected
to stay there. They rebelled against Falam and were conquered
and enslaved by the Shunklas.
The Wheno are said to be Lushais and believe that they came
out of the rocks at Sepi. Like the Lushais they wear the hair on
the nape of the neck and live in temporary bamboo villages.
Falam and its territory is administered by a council of five Chiefs
chosen by vote of the people, but always from the Shunkla tribe.
They decide cases as a bench and never as individuals and are not
distinguished for impartiality. Tliroughout the Chin Hills opera-
tions they sat on the wall.
The clans which claim the title of Lai are Hakas, Tlantlangs,
Yokwas, Thettas, and Kapis as well as many of
the southern villages. The two former are uni-
versally recognized as Lai and deny the right to the three last, who
are said to have been born of a wild goat.
The Hakas had much fighting with the Shunkla Tash6ns before
they established their independence. Then they fought among
themselves and raided the Lushais and the Burmese, whom they
routed when they invaded the hills.
The Tlantlangs confined their raids to the Arakan and Chitta-
gong side, where they were known as Shcndus,
Ctiinb&ks and other
southern tribes.
CHAP. VIII.] THE CHIN HILLS AND THE CHIN TRIBES- 459
As to the race-identity of the Chin tribes, there can be no doubt,
but there is as great a variation in appearance as there is among
the different Kachin tribes, and the divergences of speech seem to
be even greater. It is only a long day's march from Falam to the
heart of the Siyin country, but the two dialects are mutually unin-
telligible. The dialects to the south differ to the same extent or
perhaps even more. There is little doubt that the Chinb6ks,
Chinbons, Yindus, and other tribes beyond the
Chin Hills administrative district are of the
same race as the many-named inhabitants of
that area, but the Chin Gazetteer makes no definite statement
on the subject, and in the absence of means of making a formal
comparison it seems best to simply record the information available
as to the inhabitants of the eastern foot-hills of the Arakan Yomas.
The following notes are quoted or condensed from the report of
Major R. M. Rainey, former Commandant of the Chin Frontier
Levy, and now Commanding the II Burma Regiment, and were col-
lected in 1S90. They concern —
(i) The so-called WHaung Chins, who inhabit the villages
on the head-waters of the Myittha river. They are
bounded on the north and west by the tribes of the
Southern Chin Hills, Hakas, Yokwas.andTlantlangsj
on the south by the Chinb6ks ; and on the east by the
Taungthas of the villages round Wethet, which is
four days' journey off.
(2) The Chinboks, who live in the hills from the Maw river
down to the Saw chamig. They are bounded on the
north by the W^laung and "Baungshe" Chins; on
the east by the Burmese ; on the west by the Arakan
Yomas ; and on the south by the Yindu Chins.
(3) The Yindus, who inhabit the valleys of IheSalin chaung
and the northern end of the Mon valley, bounded on
the south by the Chinbdns : otherwise the same as
the Chinb6ks.
(4) The Chinbons,-who inhabit the southern end of the M6n
river and stretch across the Arakan Yomas into the
valley of the Pi chaung. They are bounded on the
south by the Chinboks ol the Minhu frontier ; on the
cast by the Burmese; on the west by the Arakanese.
The Wfelaung Chins are said to be of Baungshe origin, that is to
say, they approximate to the tribes of the Southern Chin Hills.
The Chinboks claim a like origin. The Yindus say that they are
akin to the Taungthas, an industrious race who inhabit the Yaw and
460
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VIII.
Myittha valleys in Burman territory and claim to have come from
P6pa bill. The Chinbons further south point out a rock which
they state is the body of a Mtttt or official, who was killed in a
quarrel with his brother, when they were migrating from P^^,
and was turned into stone. The brother returned to P6pa. The
Chinbdns claim to be of Burman origin. Their general appearance
is that of Burmese with somewhat better accentuated features.
The villages on the headwaters of the Myittha speak two dialects,
one spoken by the people of W^laung, the other by the remaining
villages of the group.
There are three distinct dialects of the ChinbSk tongue, — the
northern, spoken from the Maw river to the north bank of the Chfe,
with patois here and there ; the central, between the south bank of
the Chfe and the Kyauksit rivers ; the southern, spoken by the
Kadin and Saw river Chins.
The Yindus speak an entirely distinct language. That of the
Chinb6ns is the same as that spoken by the Chins of the Laungshe
township, to whom they are related. No doubt ail have an infusion
of Burmese blood and possibly also of Shan.
Besides these main divisions there are also local clans, such as the
Chinmfes, Yanans, Kunsaws, Pusaws, Lusaws, Hlwazaws, Sogats,
and others, to consider whom as separate tribes, though their patois
may differ, is obviously absurd.
All these tribes seem to have had no other system of government
than that of village communities. Each village has a headman and
the title appears to have been hereditary. Usually among each
group of villages there was one noted as a sportsman or raider,
who had more influence and led the others.
They have no ministers of religion and their religion is the most
primitive form of spirit worship. Buffaloes, bullocks, myt/iun, goats,
pigs, fowls, and dogs are all sacrificed, but chiefly the last three, and
dogs especially when they are on a raid, because they follow the
camp. Omens are drawn from the way the blood flows. Eggs are
consulted in the same way and are blown in school-boy fashion with
holes at each end. The empty shells are afterwards painted and
put on sticks with cocks' feathers, and rows of such slicks frequently
run across jungle paths. Drink, the music of tom-toms, and dancing
accompany the ceremony of consulting the spirits. They have no
defined ideas of a future world.
The dress of a Chinb6k man consists of a very small langoti,
such as is worn by natives of India when wrestling, and a piece of
cloth about three feet long and one foot broad, which is folded and
hung behind, suspended by a siring from the shoulders. The chief
CHAP. VIII.] THE CHIN HlLLS AND THE CHIN TRIBES. 461
object of this garment is to have something to sit on when the
ground is wet and cold. They are woven by the Chin women and
when they are new they show red and blue stripes. The dress of
the woman is a sort of tabard, or sleeveless jersey with a V-shaped
throat. Below this is a small loin cloth, which shows about six
inches below the jacl<et. These jackets are of the same pattern
as the men's cloth and are also home-made. Chlnb6k women with
any sense of modesty can only stand /Dr kneel. Any other position
is indecent. Neither sex cut the hair ; it is tied with strips of cloth,
usually red, in a knot on the top of the head. In the cold weather
both men and women wear blankets over the shoulders.
The Yindu man wears a loin cloth like the Chinbtbk and also a
loose blouse, or gaberdine, which reaches to below the knees. Ex-
cept in the cold weather, they slip their arms out of the sleevesand
tie them round the waist. Their women have the same dress as
those of the Chinb6ks with this smock in addition.
The more civilized Chinb6ns dress practically as Burmans.
Those on the Arakan side of the Yomas are said to wear tree bark
occasionally, but the majority appear to wear nothing.
Ornaments are much more freely worn than dress. The hair is
often decorated with coils of different coloured beads, cowries, and
seeds, and brass pins are skewered through it, and these in the case
of the Yindus are usually embellished with tassels of goats' hair
dyed red, or bunches of the teeth of the hog-deer. Sometimes
bone, ivory, bamboo, or porcupine quill hair-pins are worn. The
men all use feathers as hair decorations. Sometimes only a few
feathers, usually white cock's tail feathers, are stuck into the top-
knot, sometimes the whole of a cock's tail and part of the back is
worn. In this case the bird is skinned, and the part to be worn is
dried and stretched on a bamboo frame with a bamboo pin to keep
it in place. This when worn at the back of the head strikes the
unaccustomed as being comical rather than decorative. Green
parrot's feathers are also used. Women wear the long hair-pins, but
no feathers.
Both men and women wear necklaces. These are made of all
kinds of beads, glass marbles with holes drilled through them,
white metal bands, and bells like ferret bells, cock-spurs, teeth of
hog-deer, cockle-shells, cowries, coral, and bright coloured pebbles
and stones. The men wear earrings, simple plain rings about two
inches in diameter, usually brass dignified with the name of gold.
They are put on or taken off by pulling the ends asunder. The
springiness of the metal keeps them closed. The lobes of the ears
are much pulled down by these rings. Ordinarily the women fill
463
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. ( CHAP. VIII.
the lar^c holes in their ears with thin strips of bamboo tightly rolled
up. They seldom wear actual earrings, but Captain Rainey saw
some with pieces of telegraph wire about five inches long bent into
an oval-shaped ring.
The men wear bracelets of brass wire, sometimes covering nearly
the whole right forearm. They are seldom worn on the left. The
women wear white metal instead of brass. The men invariably wear
wristlets to protect the left arm from the bow-string. Amon^ the
Chinboks these are made of cane wicker-work lacquered over.
Sometimes a strip of leather is used. These wristlets are about six
inches in length and are frequently ornamented with bells. The
Yindus wind a piece of string or rope round their wrists, instead of
these wristlets. The Chinboks of the Chfe rivef wear long brass
guards covering the whole of the back of the left arm up to the
elbow. These are kept in position by the wristlets. They serve
partly as ornament, partly as a protection against dagger thrusts.
Every* Chinb6k and Yindu male carries a bow from the lime he
jins to toddle. It is made of bamboo seasoned in the smoke of
the house-fire. It takes five years to thoroughly mature a bow.
A grown man's bow is usually about five feet across. It is thickest
in the centre and tapers to the ends, where it is notched to hold
the string. This is made of cotton, sometimes plaited with bamboo
and other fibres. When bows are not in use they are frequently
unstrung. The arrows are carried in a basket quiver on the left
side. They are about eighteen inches long and the shaft is of
bamboo about the thickness of a pencil. They are neatly winged
with feathers or bamboo shavings and various kinds of tips are used.
For war and for big game the heads are of iron, some barbed, some
lozenge-shaped, and the sizes vary. Others are hardened wood
points spliced on bone heads for shooting fish, at which they are
very expert, and for shooting birds plain sharpened shafts are used.
The arrows with iron heads carry a hundren and fifty yards and
more and are very deadly. Bears, tigers, and deer are killed at
eighty yards range. The Chins do not poison their arrows, which
are usually kept bright and clean, but the arrows are used time
after time and are often recovered from an animal which has been
wounded and has died in the jungle. Blood-poisoning therefore not
uncommonly follows an arrow-wound.
The only other weapon which every man carries is a dagger, a
little over a foot long, worn on the war-path in a bone scabbard on
the right side attached to the shield or leather breastplate. Ordi-
narily it is worn in a basket on the right side, in which there is a
sheath to receive it.
CHAP. VITl.] THE CHIN HILLS AND THE CHIN^
463
The bone scabbard is formed o£ the shoulder-blade of a buffalo
or bullock, fitted with a bamboo back. The daggers serve both
for fighting and feeding and are most used in drunken brawls.
Many of the men carry spears, but these appear to be usually ob-
tained from the Burmese, Every man wears a kind of leather ar-
mour, which consists of a strip of buffalo hide bent over, reaching
from the waist in front to the small of the back behind and about
nine inches to a foot broad, It is worn over the left shoulder like
an ofTiccr's sash and the ends are tied together at the right side
with a string, and tu this the dagger in its bone sheath is attached.
It does not appear to be so extensive as the leather armour (the
cuir botiilli) which Marco Polo says the Miao-tzu used.
The Yindus often make this armour of cai^e basket-work thickly
covered with cowries, and the Chinboks adorn theirs with cowries and
small bells like ferret-bells.
The arrows are carried in a neat basket slung over the right
shoulder and hanging on the left side. This basket is divided into
compartments, the nearest to the hand of which contains a bantboo
quiver with iron-headed arrows kept in place by cane loops. This
holds about a dozen arrows and is covered with a lid, sometimes of
bamboo or cane-work lacquered over, sometimes ornamented with
red beads. This topis attached by a stringlo the breast -plate and
this siring is often decked with bells. The next compartment in
the basket contains a somewhat smaller bamboo which holds to-
bacco, tinder, steel, and flint. The tinder used is generally bamboo
scrapings. The lid of this bamboo is usually ornamented with red
seeds. The rest of the basket holds untipped arrows, the pipe, and
general odds and ends. Outside the basket, at the back, is a small
bamboo which carries a spare bow-string. The ordinanr basket
measures one and a third foot deep, one and two-thirds foot long, and
eight inches broad.
On the right side another basket is worn, a foot in depth and
eight inches broad, which carries foodand other necessaries. In a
special compartment is the knife or dagger described above.
The pipes smoked by the Chinboks and Yindus are of three
kinds, — first, a plain bamboo pipe, with a bamboo stem about a foot
long ; secondly, a pipe with an earthen bowl and a bamboo stem ;
thirdly, a pipe on the principle of a hubble-bubble. This consists of
a gourd which holds the water, a bamboo tube projects about an
nich from the upper side of the gourd, and on this a neat clay bowl
is fitted. The smoke is drawn into the mouth through the end of
the gnurd, which tapers off to the stem. The tobacco smoked is
home-grown and is rank and offensive in smell. Both men and
women are constant smokers.
464
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VIII,
The Chinbdns generally carry nothing but spears, though they
have a few guns and a few bows and arrows. They carry a square
leather shield in the left hand when they are on the war-path and
with this ward off arrows and spear thrusts. They have no defen-
sive armour.
The articles exported are small in quantity and value and con-
sist chiefly of cane-mats, bees-wax, honey, ginger, turmeric, chillies,
tobacco, plantains, Indian-corn leaves for cheroot wrappers, millet,
and pork. The imports are salt, various articles of clothing in
small quantities, cotton, dyes, petty hardware articles, gongs and
cymbals, bells, beads, spears, Irinltets, and brass wire. A\\ the tribes
carry on the same sort of hill cultivation, the ordinary taungya of
all the hlU tribes, They use no plough cattle. The women do
most of the farm work. A few of the Chinb6ns at the southern
end of the Mon valley use buffaloes, but these were often in former
days carried off by their wilder neighbours to serve as sacrifices.
The jungle is cut by the men in the usual way in October and burnt
in April. The seed grain is dibbled in with a pointed stick. The
weeding is done by the women, who also loosen the soil round the
young plants with small ihambya or diggers bought from the Bur-
mese. The same field is only cultivated for two years. In the
third the grass grows too strong. After five years of fallow it can
be cultivated again. Threshing is done by treading on cane mats
with the naked feet. The grain is stored in huge bins standing
over four feet high. Indian-corn is stored loose in the ear. Be-
sides hill-rice, various millets, jowar, bajra, and ragi are grown, as
well as Indian-corn, peas, beans, yams, and sweet-potatoes, dil,
ginger, sugar-cane, brinjals, pumpkins, gourds, tobacco, cotton, tur-
meric, ginger, plantains, pine-apples, and chillies. The crops are
much damaged by bears, pigs, and birds. Huts are built up in the
trees from which to frighten the bears and scare-crows are also used.
A little potterv is made, mostly in villages on the Mon and Myaing
streams and no doubt learnt from the Burmese ; daggers, arrows, and
spear-heads are made in special villages only. A certain amount
of lac is gathered but seems to be all used locally. Salt is obtained
on the Maw at a place called Sanni, six daitigs from Tilin, where
two hundred viss (633 lbs.) can be produced daily. There are other
salt-pits further up the stream. The brine is boiled to evaporation.
The women make their own and their husbands' clothes They do
not e^row enough cotton for their rfquireinents. The men hunt
regularly and many are killed every year by tigers and bears. The
Chins are very skilled in shooting fish with arrows. They also
catch ihcm in traps, with nets, and by poisoning the water with the
bark of a tree. A certain amount of teak is found on the lower
CHAP. VIII.] THE CHIN H.ILtS AND THE CHIN TRIBES. 465
slopes along the Yaw, Maung, and Ch& streams and cutch also
occurs.
Their houses are on the Burmese pattern, but stronger and bet-
ter buih, with thatch often a foot thick and floors of teak or fir
planks hewn out of a single tree. They are raised on piles, and pigs,
goats, dogs, and fowls live below. During the cultivating season
the villages are abandoned for temporary huts on the fields. The
granaries are built on piles six feet off the ground and branches of
firs are tied round the piles to keep out rats ; flat circular collars
are also used for the same purpose. Rattan bridges are slung
across the streams and there are others on the cantilever princi-
ple. Like the Wa they bring water into their villages by split bam-
boo aqueducts, often from considerable distances. They have no
household furniture beyond the fire-place, cooking, and water-pots.
In the verandah of every house are the householder's trophies of the
chase, heads of tiger, boar, bear, and deer. The Chinboks also carve
boards or rather posts, about eight feet high, which they set up
outside their houses to show the number of head of game the owner
has killed. The Chinbons are much poorer sportsmen than the
Chinbuks and Yindus.
In the raids of former days women, children, and pongyis were
preferred as prisoners, because they were so readily ransomed and
had so Httic chance of escape. Captives were at first put in the
stocks and afterwards allowed the freedom of the village with a log
attached to their legs. A hole was cut through the beam, a pin
fastened the foot in, a string attached to either end of the log
enabled the prisoner to take the weight off his ankle when he was
walking. If not soon redeemed, captives were sold from village to
village. They had to work in the fields, fetch water, husk grain,
and do such like work. The value of a prisoner varied from eighty
to three hundred rupees, and payment was usually taken in cattle.
In former days certain villages depended for their livelihood en-
tirely on raiding, on other Chins as well as on Burmese villages.
Raids were organized by the headman of the village or some pro-
minent person. He gave a feast, collected men, sometimes from
several villages, arranged for food on the road and took the lion's
share for his trouble. The spirits were always consulted for a
favourable day and moonlight nights were usually chosen. The path
was spiked behind them on their retreat and, if they were close
pressed, they often killed their prisoners, which often prevented pur-
suit being made at all. Their method of warfare was either by
ambush or by a sudden surprise. Chinbfik villages are never fenced.
Those of the Yindus have thorn or bamboo fences, but not of a for-
midable character. The Chinbons stockade their villages and form
59
466
THE UPPER BURMA GAZtTTtER. [ CHAP. VUI.
abattis by felling bamboos when they expect to be attacked, and plant
innumerable spikes. All the Chin villages are built in dense jungle,
usually in hollows on the side of the hill. They can always be
taken from above. The roads from below are always spiked and
rocks are rolled down the path that leads to the single gate.
All the tribes arc great drunkards ; they make their liquor from
boiled and fermented grain of various kinds. The rice-beer is the
best and strongest. Good Chin beer is described as a very pala-
table drink, much resembling cider in taste, but more like perry in
appearance. It is stored in jars standing about two feet high and
half full of the fermenting gr^n. As the liquor is taken out more
water is pourfed in. Debauches are often kept up for many days on
end. The liquor is drunk out of the jar. A bamboo pipe of the
thickness of the little finger is thrust well down into the fermenting
grain. The drinking party take it in turn to suck. A more polished
way is to use a kind of syphon. The top of the bamboo pipe is
closed ; another bamboo is fixed in at an angle to serve as a spigot ;
the host gives a preliminary suck to start the flow and the beer is
then handed round in gourd cups.
All the women have their faces tattooed, unlike the Chins of the
Chin Hills proper, who do not tattoo. The process is commenced
when they are quite little girls and is gradually completed, some-
times only after a good many years. The pattern diflfers with the
tribes.
The Chinb6k3 cover the face with nicks, lines, and dots of a
uniform design. The women's breasts are also surrounded with
a circle of dots.
The Yindus tattoo in horizontal lines across the face, showing
glimpses of the skin.
The Chinbons tattoo an entire dead black and are the most
repellent in appearance, though many of them are fair-skinned. The
men are not tattooed at all. The beauty of a Chin woman is
guaged by her tattooing. The origin of the practice is still uncer-
tain, but from the fact that it is only the tribes near the Burmese
who practice it, it would appear probable that the first intention
was to protect the women from being carried off, or to enable them
to be easily discovered if they were carried off.
Some of the villages have both Burmese and Chin names, but
the commonest practice is to name the village after its headman, or
after the founder.
The most prominent musical instruments are gongs, cymbals,
drums, and bells, which, however, seem to be all imported rather
than national They have, howeverj a curious kind of banjo of their
HILLS AND THE CHIN TRiBeS.
467
own. This is made of one piece of bamboo, a little thicker than a
man's wrist and about eighteen inches long. The bamboo is
hollow and cut off at both ends just beyond the joint. Narrow strips
of the bamboo are then slit down and raised on small pegs without
severing the ends. There are four or five such strings and they are
strummed with the fingers. The music is not unpleasing.
Both women and men take part in the dancing, usually after
drinking a good deal. The men brandish spears and dhas and yell.
Otherwise the scene round a camp fire is attractive.
The tribes have several forms of oath, but none appear to be
very binding. The form most feared is to drink water which has
been poured over the skull of a tiger. Another is to drink blood,
in which a great deal of liquor is mixed.
Births, marriages, and deaths are all occasions for sacrificing to
the spirits. Marriages among the Chinboks are arranged by the
parties, subject to tne approval of omens. The bridegroom must
give at least one mythun to the girl's parents. If she has many
necklaces, he must give several. The value of the mythun may be
paid by instalments.
The Yindus manage differently : a young man selects the girl
he wishes to marry and goes to her father's nouse with ten pairs of
earrings, or their value. In return he gels the girl, whose likes or
dislikes are not consulted in any way.
Divorces are not known. If a man's wife goes off with another
man, the husband kills his rival, if he can, and takes his wife back
again. Polygamy is permissible and unrestricted. If a man dies,
his brother must take his wife and children, as is the case with the
Kachins.
The dead are burnt, after a wake which lasts according to the
age and dignlt)^ of the deceased. The burning place is far from the
village on the ridge of a hill. The charred bones are collected and
kept in an earthen pot along with the cloihes of the departed.
The pot is placed on the ground under a slab of stone supported on
four upright stones. In the Chinb6k and Yindu country there are
large cemeteries of such memorials. Some of the stones are of
enormous size and must have required great exertion to carry them
kto the burial-ground.
The Chinb6ns do not erect such dolmens, but put up miniature
houses instead, of the same kind of architecture as that of their
village, some standing on piles, some not. The pots are placed in
these miniature houses. Chinbdns who die away from home are
cremated and their ashes are brought to the ancestral village.
This Chinese custom does not seem to be practised by any other of
rz
468
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. VHI.
For a full description of the Chins of the Chin Hills the Chin
Gazetteer may be consulted. • The chief Kuki
■ndwBio,^^''^''''" ^"'^ Chin characteristics are said to be slow
speech, serious manner, respect for birth and
pride of pedigree, the duty of revenge, love of drink, virtue of hospi-
tality, clan prejudices, avarice, distrust, impatience of control, and
dirt
The average Chin is taller than most of his neighbours, about
five feet six inches in height, but men only an inch or two under
six feet are not uncommon. Some of thera measure sixteen inches
round the caU. The finest built men are the Siyins, Hakas, and the
southern tribesmen.
They carry loads in baskets on the back, with a yoke which fits on
the neck and a band which passes round the forehead. In this way
they can carry i8o-Ib. loads for twelve miles over a hilly country.
The Whenos and Yahaos grow beards, but otherwise the Chins are
hairless, though in the south elderly men cultivate a scanty mous-
tache and goatee. All the tribes are uncleanly in their persons. All
have a character for treachery. The Hakas are least unattractive
in appearance and habits, the Siyins most so.
The Siyins, Soktes, Thados, Yos, and Whenos wear the hair in
a knot on the nape of the neck ; the Tashfins, Yahaos, Hakas, and
the southerners generally tie it up on the top of the head, whence
the name Baungshe, because it is usually just over the forehead.
The hair-pins, like those of the southern tribes, are heavy, and are
formidable enough to be deadly weapons in a sudden quarrel. The
southern women are very proud of their hair, but it is considered
illomened to compliment them on it, and the same desire to avert
bad luck prevents them from wearing flowers in their tresses.
The Chins are rapidly adopting Burmese forms of dress. When
the hills were first occupied some wore a rough white cotton
blanket or mantle only, some a loin cloth in addition. In the fields
they worked mother-naked. The Shunklas, Whenos, Hakas, and
other southern tribes had distinctive patterns or lartans for shawls
worn over the mantle on State occasions. The Shunkia tartan
consisted of broad red bars separated by bars of black and green
and crossed by narrow red, or red and yellow, bands. Red, blue,
and green were the predominating colours and the HaJca clan
tartans were worked in silk. They were worn much like the Scot-
tish plaid, over the left shoulder under the right arm, across the
chest, and with the end brought from the. back over the right
shoulder. Bamboo spathe, date-palm, grass, and bark coats and
hats are worn in the rains. They had no shoe-wear.
CHAP. VIII.] TH^HTN HILLS AND THE CHIN TRIBES. 469
The women wore a skirt wound once and a half round the body
and hitched in like the Burmese woman's petticoat ; with the south-
ern Chin women this kirtle reached the ankles ; among the Tashons
it had shrunk up to the knee ; the further north one goes the scantier
the skirts become. The skirt is kept in place by a brass or iron
girdle, like the chain of a cogwheel, and from threo to ten pounds
in weight. Sometimes a belt of many coils of a light shiny grass
is substituted. The Haka and southern women wore a sleeveless
jacket. The northern women were nude above the waist. All are
now beginning to cover the bust.
The earrings worn by men and women were not the brass rings
of the Kukls and the ChinbOks and Yindus, but usually cornelians
strung on a cord. The cornelians are bought from the Lushais.
In the north the men wear necklaces of tiger and bear claws.
Women wear among many other things the long tooth of the hog-
deer. Children wear the claws of wild-cats. The necklaces of the
women may number as many as fifty. Bangles are of beads, brass,
or coils of wire. Merry-thoughts are worn round the neck by
some women and indicate that she recovered from an illness through
the sacrifice of a fowl. In a siniilar case the men wear cocks*
feathers at the throat.
Garters like those of the Danu women are worn by the Soktes
and the southern tribes. They are said to support the muscle of
the leg on long marches. A tiger's claw or some cocks' feathers
are sometimes attached.
As is usual among raiding communities, the villages used always
to be placed in strong defensible positions, on peaks or steep ridges.
Artificial means were adopted to make them diffcult of access, and
ramparts, rifle-pits, thorny hedges, and spikes were added. The
houses wereoften built over platforms cut out of the .side of the hill.
Water was often led in by bamboos or wooden trough aqueducts.
Zigzag paths like those of the Tongkinese, or tunnels like those of
the Wa, approached the solitary village gate. Villages were most
often named after the founder, but sometimes after natural features,
as Dabon=the village built on a ledge, Mwelpi=the village on the
big hill, Taksat= pine-tree clearing. The houses were built of plank-
ing with thatched roofs and stood on piles. Pine is the most
common material for planking, but walnut and teak are used where
they are available. In the front verandah are hung or stacked up
the trophies of the chase acquired by the householder or his
ancestors. Human skulls are never brought inside the village.
They are mounted on posts outside.
Like the Wa, the Hakas, Shunklas, and other southern tribes
bury those o'f the family who have died a natural death in the yard
470
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. VHI.
in the front of the house. The Siyins and Soktes never bury their
dead inside the village.
All the Chin women smoke perpetually, partly for the sake of the
smoke, but chiefly to supply the men with nicotine. The women's
pipes are hubble-bubbles, with a clay bowlj a bamboo or gourd
water receptacle, and a metal stem. The smoke passes from the
bowl into the water receptacle and the nicotine is held up in the
water. When the nicotine water is strong enough it is poured into
a gourd which the southern women carry in their baskets and the
nonhem women round their necks, and from these the nicotine
gourds of the men are re-filled. The nicotine 19 not drunk. The
men keep it in their mouths for a time and then spit it out. It is
merely a lazy form of chewing. The nicotine gourds of the men
are often ornamented with ivory stoppers and painted with vermilion.
They also colour with the nicotine like a pipe.
The most common pipe in the hills is of bamboo, with a bowl
lined with metal, usually copper. In the western Tashon country
brass pipes arc cast in moulds, and the stems are ornamented with
figures of men, horses, elephants, horn-bills, and bison.
Chin liquor, yu or rw, is most commonly made from millet, but
also from Indian-corn and from rice. It is drunk in the same way
as among the Chinb6ks. Marriage is a mere matter of purchase.
Tn the north the capacity of a girl as a field-labourer, in the south
her pedigree (in addition to this) are the chief points.
In the north, part of the name of his male forebears is given to a
boy, and to a girl part of a name on the spindle side. Thus father,
No Shwun, son KupShwun, grandson Shwun Lyin, great-grandson
Shwun Hao : mother, Dyim Man, daughter Manwet, grand-daughter
Dyim Nyet. In the south names are said to be given according to
fancy.
Unlike the Chinbfiks and Yindus, the Chins hury and do not burn
their dead. Great importance, however, is attached to the remains
being buried in or near the ancestral village. The Hakas and South-
erners, Tashfins and their tributaries, bury inside the village in deep
vaults with receptacles branching off at right-angles.
The Siyins, Soktes, and Thados bury outside the village always,
and the corpse is usually dried for a year before burial. The Sokte
graves are built on the surface of the ground with mud and stones.
They are also in the form of vaults and each family of position has
one of its own and can enter at will through a wooden door. Chiefs
are not buried in the common cemetery, but, like the Kachins, on
the side of a road leading to the village. Their vaults arc easily
recognized by the number of stone pillars which stand round them
and by the carved posts.
d
b
CHAP. VIII.] THE CHIN HILLS AND THE CHIN TRIBES. 47I
Siyin corpses are also artificially dried. The dried corpse after
the funeral feast is exposed in an open coffin on a platform a few
feet above the ground. After a few months the bones are collected
and buried in an earthen pot in the ground. The funeral ceremony
is a drunken debauch with firing of guns, beating of gongs, and
singing of songs. Captain F. M. Rundall gives an account of a
Siym funeral at which he was present ; " The three corpses were
completely concealed from view by gay coloured cloth, one of them,
a woman's, being ornamented with bangles, &c. These people died
some years ago and, according to Chm custom, had been smoke-
dried, sun-dried, and mummilied till they were about a quarter
of their original size. The three mummies were tied in an upright
position in a bamboo fraihe-work, and were being paraded on a large
wooden platform in front of a hut, and the Chins were dancing round
them in a slow measured cadence, with their arms on each other's
shoulders and their heads bent down. Some extremely dirty women
were crying, and a man and three boys were beating a small drum
and some dried mythun horns. As the men danced tbey chanted
the following words:—
Hang Suon P6 I HAng Liou, f-iou I
Tong Suon Po I Tong Liou Liou 1
Tong Hi Suonfe,
H^ng Suonfe,
Khutdng Shi6 B5ng,
Pial M06.
Which fairly literally translated runs :— ■
Brave relations all ! Brave again and again !
Feast relations all ! Feast again and again !
Our relations {i.e., the corpses) have had their
feast ; our brave relations are caught (by
death) as in a trap; they cannot get free.
In the hut and outside it were a dozen or so of liquor pots, about
two and a half feet high, filled with Chin liquor, from which men
and women were drinking by means of reeds, through which they
sucked up the liquor, and many of both sexes were getting hope-
lessly drunk by sunset. Guns with blank ammunition were fired
off, and the Chiefs particularly requested that my men might fire
three volleys, which they did. The Chiefs and men were delighted
and said : " Now the women have seen for themselves that you can
load and fire a great deal more quickly than we can, and they are
all saying we spoke truly, and it is vain to hope to fight against
you."
472
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER, [ CHAP. VIII.
The wake is called a Mithi. The memorial erected in the north
to departed Chiefs consists of a thick plank of hard wood, with orcU-
narily the head of a man carved on the top, with a spike protruding
from the skull. The head represents the deceased, and on the plank
are carved men, women, children, animals of all sorts, gongs, beiids,
guns, and so on. These represent the Chief and his possessions, his
wife, family, the animals he has killed, and the slaves whom he has
captured. This is the modem interpretation, but probably they
represent what in earliest times would have been sacrificed to
accompany him to the Land of Spirits. The carving is rough and
none are likely now to be erected, for the Chios say they are no
longetr allowed to take heads or capture slaves, and therefore the life
of Chiefs is no longer worth perpetuating in memorials. Skulls used
frequently to be fixed on the topmost spike, and round the memorial
were poles and forked boughs, also hung with the limbs and heads
of human beings. The wood from which these hatchment posts
were carved is so hard as to have resisted the weather in many
instances for more than fifty years.
The Tash6ns also erect such poles, about fifteen feet high. The
lower five feet are rudely car\'ed in the semblance of a man, and the
remaining ten feet represent the turban of the Chief. Round this
smaller posts represent his wives and children. The Siyin carving
is much better than that of the Tash6ns.
The commonest form of oath between Chin villages was the
following, — A mythun is produced and liquor poured over it and the
spirits called to witness. The contracting Chiefs then simultaneously
shoot or stab the animal to the heart. Its ihroat is cut and the
blood collected in bowls. Then the tall is cut off, and with this the
Chiefs and men daub one another's faces with blood, while the wise
men chant : " May he who breaks this agreement die as this beast
" has died ; njay he be buried outside the village and may his spirit
" never rest ; may his family also die and may every misfortune befal
" his village." A big stone is set up to remind the contracting parties
of their agreement. Heaps of stones are found near every village
to record oaths that were never kept.
In some parts, especially in the south, it is customary to eat
earth as a sign of swearing to tell the truth, and earth is adminis-
tered to witnesses giving evidence in a criminal case. This is con-
sidered a very binding oath and more likely to extract the truth
from a Chin than anything else.
The Chin religion is a belief in spirits, all malignant. The North-
erners dlsbelive in a supreme being ; the Southerners accept such
a deity and call him Kosin, He is indifferent and may become
malignant ; at any rate he is not beneficent. Spirits preside over
CHAP. Vfll.] THE CHIN HILLS AND THE CHIN TRIBES. 473
the usual places, the village, house, clan, family, individual, the flood,
the fell, the air, the trees. They are not merely unwilling to bestow
blessings, but incapable of doing it. The Hakas believe in another
world called Mithi-k-ma {dead-man's village), which is divided into
P'weiht-k'wa, the pleasant place, and Satki-kwa, the abode of
misery. Good or bad livelihood does not affect the destiny after
death. Those who die natural or accidental deaths go to Pwethi-
kwa. Those who die by the hand of an enemy go to Sathi-kwa
and remain there till their deaths are avenged in blood. Kosin does
not live in Miihi-k'ma and the occupation of its inhabitants is not
known. The belief prevalent among many savage races, that the
slain becomes the slave of the slayer, is held in many parts of the
Chin Hills.
The Siyins not only deny the existence of a Supreme Deity, but
also of another world, though they believe in a future existence, when
there will be drinking and hunting. As to fighting and raiding they
are uncertain.
The names of spirits vary greatly. There seem to be no gene-
rally recognized spirits as among the Burmans, Kachins, and Karens.
" No less than twenty spirits which inhabit the house alone have
"been named, of which six only need be mentioned: Z?oto/( lives
" above the door of the house and has the power of inflicting mad-
" ness ; In Mai lives in the post in the front comer of the house and
" can cause thorns to pierce the feet and legs ; Nokpi and Nalwim
" live in the verandah and can cause women to be barren; Naotio
" lives in the wall and causes fever and ague ; A-waia lives above and
" outside the gate and can cause nightmare and bad dreams."
Different spirits require different sacrifices. It is useless to sacri-
fice a pig or a cock to a spirit who requires a rnythutt. There is a
wise man or wise woman who understands spirits in every village.
Throughout the hills there are various sacred spirit groves. Omens,
witchcraft, and the evil eye are believed in.
The Chins cultivate grain, pulses, roots, and vegetables. The
grain comprises three kinds of millet, including Job's tears and
jowari, rice, and maize ; pulses include gram, various legumens, in-
cluding dhal, a bean like the scarlet runner, and the dangerous
aunglauk, which is poisonous till it has been soaked in water ; the
roots are yams, sweet- potatoes, ginger, lily bulbs, and turmeric ; the
vegetables are of the ordinary kind, including wild varieties of
spinach.
The only articles manufactured for export are cane and bamboo
mats and baskets. Spears, dhas^ axe-heads, hoes, and knives are
manufactured locally.
60
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
475
CHAPTER IX.
ETHNOLOGY.
WriTH VOCABULARIKS.
In the first volume of the Rcporl. on the Census of Burma of
1891, Mr. H. L. Eales has discussed the classification of the very
numerous vernaculars of Burma. Since that time a greater know-
ledge of the more outlying parts of the Province has made us par-
tially acquainted with a considerably greater number of new dialects,
or vernaculars. A full knowledge and consideration of these might
lead to an amendment, or possibly a confirmation, of his classifica-
tion. His sur\'ey of the theories of the most eminent scholars only
results in the conclusion that, according to their individual tempera-
ments, they contradict, severely criticise, or wholly disregard one
another ; certainly they all differ ; moreover they all invent titles
which beg the question. Thus we have Turanian from the supposed
patriarch Tur ; we have Turano-Scythian, Thibeto-Burman, with a
variety of branches; we have Kolarian, Lohitic, Kuenlunic, M6n
Khmer, M6n Taic, and Taic Shan. If it were a question of scholar-
ship merely, it would be simply foolhardy to differ from men like
Professor Max Miiller, the late M. Terrien, M. Hovelacque, Adal-
bert Kiihnj Br^al, Professer Whitney, Dr. Carl Abel. But the
revolutionary student of language is encouraged by the discovery
that these scholars usually differ from each other. The inference
is that the whole edifice of their theories is built on a foundation of
shifting sand. The methods are called orthodoxy, but there is none
of the beautiful unanimity of orthodoxy about the results. Mr.
Eales recognized this and suggested the classification of the lan-
guages of Eastern Asia according to the use or non-use of tones.
He thus formulated a new division into polytonic and monotonic
languages and arranged them as follows: —
(i) Polytonic. — This includes the languages of China, the
Tibeto-Burman and the pre-Chinese languages, the
Taic-Shan, M6n Taic, Mon Khmer, and Karen, which
de Lacouperie (M, Terrien) classifies as pre-Chi-
nese.
(2) Monotonic, which will include the Aryan^ Semitic, and
1 '-■ Dravidian family.
47^
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IX.
If Mr. Eales had stopped at this he would probably have done
all that can be done in the present state of our information, but with
the assistance of Dr. Gushing and Mr. B. Houghton he ventured
on a detailed classification. Ft seems more than probable that this
will have to be modified.
This classification is —
(i) M6n Khmer or C
Talaing or Peguan.
Mdn Annain<
Palaung.
group. (.
Khamu.
f
Ahom.
-
Hkampti.
Northern
Chines c-S h a n s,
Maingtha.
(ii) Taic Shan
Intermediate
Burmese-Shans.
HkUn.
Lii.
r
Southern i
Sgau.
Lao or Yun.
Siamese.
Polytonic I a n-
(iii) The Karen i
Pwo, including
Tatingthu.
guages.
L
Bghai or Bw&.
^
Burmese.
Arakanese.
Tavoy.
r
(i) Burmese
Chaungtha.
Yau.
Kadu.
Danu.
Southern Chin.
Pallaing.
Kun.
Daignet.
Thet.
(iv) Tibeto-Burman •
An.
(2) Chin Lushai or ■
Mro.
Chin.
Kami.
Haka or Baungshe.
Siyin.
Shandu.
Kyau.
Lushai.
1
(3)|Kachin Naga •
Kachin.
Lishaw.
c
Sak or Thet.
This list is imperfect, for it omits all notice of the Wa, the La'hu
(Lao-^rh or Muhso), the A-hka (Hka Kaw), to say nothing of the
comparatively few and scattered Yao-jdn (Yawyin or Yaoym,), the
Yang Lam, and Yang Sek, the Miao-tzu, and several others. All
these will probably prove to be valuable connecting links for an
eventual classification. In addition to this there is a little too much
sub-classification; in the case of the Chins and the Shans certainly,
and probably in other groups. The differences between Lao, Lu,
CHAP. IX.
ETHNOLOGY.
477
Tai-long, and Hkampti are no more marked than between the dia-
lects of Somersetshire and Wiltshire, and the Mearns, or between
Neapolitan and Florentine patois.
Moreover the scholars differ. Dr. Gushing is of opinion that
modern Chinese (meaning the Kuan-hwa, the " Mandarin " dialect,
as distinguished from the Afan-hroa, the .sweeping phrase for the
dialects of the south), Shan, and Karen are sister, or (perhaps if still
farther separated) cousin languages. " He thinks that they may
" have all been derived from a common stock, and Tibeto-Burman
" may perhaps be traced to the same origin." Mr. Eales does not
agree with him ; but nevertheless both verbally and structurally there
are great affinities between Shan and Chinese.
Again in classifying the dialects of the Chln-Lushai and Kachin-
Naga groups Mr. Eales followed the grouping suggested by Mr.
Houghton, except that he left the Kadu in the group of Burmese
dialects. Mr. Houghton would place them in the " Kachin-Naga
sub-group." There are sufficient traces of Shan in their language,
to say nothing of the names of the villages they live in, to warrant
their being claimed for the " Taic Shan " group. The differences
between, local scholars who know the languages are as great as
between the experts of the Bodleian and the British Museum, the
Biblioth^que Nationale and the Bibliothek ol Munich or Vienna,
who only Icnow the books.
All classifications of the languages of Indo-China are likely to be
greatly modified and extended when M. Pavie brings out his work
on the countries between Tongking and the Mfekhong, for which he
and others have collected many vocabularies and much information.
We have been content to assign the name of Chinese to all the
dialects and idioms of the Middle Kingdom ; the Cantonese, Hakka,
Fuchow, Wenchow, Ningpo dialects, as well as the four idioms of
the Kuan-/iwa, those of Peking, Hankow, Yangchow, and Szch'wan.
Yet we know that the Chinese empire is made up of a great num-
ber of races, some absorbed and some still independent or semi-
independent, with remnants driven south-westwards to and beyond
the boundaries of the Chinese Empire. We may well therefore be
contented with the general names of Burmese, Tai (or Shan), Karen,
Chin (or Naga), Kachin (or Chingpaw) and leave the assignation
of the numerous branches of these groups to their proper place
when local students have made detailed researches. It must not be
forgotten that the splitting up, intermingling, and transfer from one
place to another have happened on so extensive a scale that hybri-
dity is much more common than pureness of race. The Tai of the
east have been greatly affected, but not absorbed by the Chinese
and by the pre-Chinese races. Those of the west have come under
478
Th^JPPE^BURMA gazetteer. [ CHAP. IX.
the influence of the Aryan and Dravid'ian races and have been
equally, if not more, affected and still not absorbed. Other races
may not have originally possessed so strong an indiv-iduality. It is
only by a comparison of legends, religions, traditions, as well as lan-
guage that we can eventually assign each particular race, or tribe,
or group, to its proper family.
Changes have been brought about not merely by conquest, or
migration, forced or voluntary. Slave-raiding was until compa-
ratively recent times universal all over Indo-Cnina, at one time on
a huge scale, latterly more in the fashion of the rape of the Sabine
women. Dr. Richardson says in the journal of his visit to Chieng-
mai (Zimmfe) in 1836, of the Chao Rajawun of that place: —
" He has twenty-eigbl wives and told mc with evident cxullatioQ that
tboy were all taken prisoners hy himself but one. He was Chief of the
Dummyas, or licensed robbers, for many years — a situation of some honour
and danger, where the most barbarous system of border warfare is carried
on with the most rancorous hatred, and where the State looks upon the
prisoners taken by these treacherous midnight robbers as a principal source
of its population."
Where the Chief had twenty-eight wives, the captain might well
have had his half dozen and the plain soldier his couple. Most of
the wives were aliens. Thus the physical features of the inhabitants
of a locality might completely change in a couple of generations
and the language as well, for the mothers teach the children. Males
were usually killed, but not unseldom they were kept to till the
ground and, when they married, helped in the transformation. The
result may be seen on a small scale in the Shan Chiefs of ruling
families. For years it has been the fashion for the Sawhwas to have
Chinese^ Burmese, Karen, and Kachin wives, sometimes captured,
sometimes bought, sometimes received as presents. Occasionally
the issue of sucfi unions succeeded to the State, with the result that
often a Sa-wbica is in appearance of a different race from the bulk of
his subjects.
In addition to this the intricate mountain ranges of the coimtry
bounding the Irrawaddy valley served to seclude settlements. Unless
they were attacked and carried off as.slaves the inhabitantsof a remote
valley often so changed their dialects in two or three generations
that they were unintelligible to their nearest neighbours. Hence
the multiplication of dialects so conspicuous in all the hilly parts of
the province. Beyond the lowest level of civilization to which natural
evolution gradually raises the people, there is no hope for a secluded
race of advancing much beyond their point of departure. On the
other hand, a comparatively civilized race, if driven into seclusion,
will fall rapidly to a much lower level. Otherwise we cannot account
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
479
for the present state of the savage Wa in view of the universal tra-
ditions that at one time they held all the country as far south even as
Chiengmai and were not savage beyond their neighbours. There
is a common capacity of the human race to attain in independent
groups a similar culture of a higher or lower standard according
to idiosyncracy, but this is controlled by the immediate influences of
climate, character of soil, food, and facilities for clothing far more
than by peculiarities of race or intellect. We cannot therefore judge
altogether by language, for that may have been altered by seclusion,
by migration, or by intermarriage. We cannot judge by physical
features alone, for they also have been altered by similar influences,
and a high or low grade of civilization is not necessarily a proof
that two communities are of different origin. Allowances for every
kind of influence, direct or indirect, must be made. But it is too
soon to endeavour to sort into their places the " imbroglio of hybrid
communities*' which constitutes the population of [ndo-China.
The "Comparative Dictionary of the non-Aryan Languages of
India and High Asia " is the result of more than a century of British
rule in India. It deals with about 140 forms of speech and shows
that much has been done, yet it shows that we are still only at the
beginning of extensive linguistic research. If this is true of India
after so long a period, it is much more so of Burma. The topo^p-aphy
of Yunnan alone gives a list of 141 tribes, probably few of which
are represented in the comparative dictionary, and to these have to
be added the names of many more on our western and south-eastern
borders. If it has been impossible for any scholar or combination
of scholars to produce even now an account at once comprehensive
and complete of the many languages of India, how much more so is
it in Burma, where our stay has Ijeen much shorter, where most of
the languages are neither Aryan nor neo-Aryan, and where above
all hardly any one has had leisure for study or means of getting
about the country. So far htite beyond lists of words and hurried
notes have been made. From these it is impossible to determine
which is the mother-tongue and which is the patois ; still less which
are the families and which are the groups. This must he the
excuse for recording every obtainable point of divergence in dialect
and customs. Hovelacque in his Science of Language says :
"These languages arc for the philologist merely varieties of some one
primeval form of speech formerly spoken in Central Asia. Convinced of chis
truth we have undertaken to restore the words of this primitive language
organically, by everywhere re-establishing the origina? type by means of
its better preserved varieties. This contains the very essence of the modern
science of language."
This is a most excellent ideal, but before the edifice is reared
the material must be gathered together and it must be tested.
480
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
We have it on excellent authority that " there is not a single work
treating of the Indo-Chinese races and languages which does not
contain gross mistakes on important points."
There is not the slightest doubt that owing to the very numerous
epithets applied to one another by the different races of the Penin-
sula, we have a great number of names on our lists which have no
business there. Tlie Siamese call the Cis-Salween Shans Ngio ; the
Bunnans call the Lao Shans Yon ; the Tongkinese call the Tai
tribes Tho or Doe or Moi or Muong : the La'hu are variously call-
ed Muhso, Lao-t-rh, Law'hfc, Musur, and Moucen. The names of the
Kachin tribes or clans are bewildering beyond endurance, and the
sub-tribes of the Karens recall a history of tartans. All this is very
much as if an inhabiianl of Mars were to land in America and grave-
ly record Yankees, Hoosiers, Blues, Pukes, Pennaniites, Creoles,
and Beef-heads as tribal names distinct from the Americans proper.
On the other hand, the Chinese lump whole groups together con-
temptuously as Miaotzu, Mantzu, Vfe-jen, and Lolo, which are
terms like the Dutchmen of the British sailor, the Yank of the half-
penny comic paper, or the nigger of the junior subaltern.
Wherever it is possible therefore, the name by which they call
themselves is given to the tribes mentioned in this compilation, but
the list of the races no doubt still greatly resembles a slang diction-
The system of grouping adopted in this Gazetteer does not profess
to be more than tentative. It is as follows: —
(1) T/ie Tai la ngutt^es. —Though there is very great difference
between Siamese and Shan, and though there are not less than six
different forms of Tai written character, there can be little doubt of
the common origin of all the Tai races. They are treated of in the
chapter on the Shan States.
(2) The Chiugpa'd' languages. — The differences between the
various Kachin dialects are no greater than between those of the
Tai, but Kachin students have hitherto been eager rather to split up
than to classify. A comparison of the various forms of speech
in the tabulated vocabularies .seems to show that there has been
needless subdivision not less among the Chingpaw forms of speech
than with —
(3) 7'he Zko, Shu, or Chin Ittnguages, where a common form
may be traced through all the six dialects given in the parallel
vocabularies. The Chingpaw and the Shu are discussed in the
chapters on the Kachin and Chin Hills.
(4) The Vi'fRumai, or IVa-Palaung languages. — This connec-
tion is now first established. The original stock remains uncertain,
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY,
4S]
but that the languages are cognate seems fairly clear. There is a
regular trail of cognate tribes extending from the Stiengs and other
tribes of Cambodia through the Hka-muksand Hka-mets of Trans-
MHhong territory to the Wa of Kengtung and the Wa country and
beyond them through the nondescript "La** and "Lawa" to the
Rumai or Palaungs of the Northern Shan States and Yunnan.
How much farther the trail will lead can only be known when Tibet
ceases to occupy the position of " Hermit otate " as successor to
Korea. It seems more than doubtful that the supposed connection
of the Palaungs with the M6n or Talaings can be sustained. Lin-
guistic evidence seems entirely against it, no less than physical
characteristics and habits, customs, and practices.
(5) The Karen languages. — The great bulk of the Karen tribes
are in Lower Burma, but since the Pwo-Karens are supposed to
have come down the valley of the Salween and the Sgaws and
Bw6s (or Bghais) down the Nam Mao (Shweli), those who have
remained behind on the way may furnish clues as to the original
home of the race.
(6) The half-bred languages. — It seems indisputable that the
Danus, Danaws, Kadus, Yaws, Taungyos, Inthas, TaungthuSj and
others have no right to be considered as other than mixed races,
but as such they may furnish clues.
(7) Ungrouped languages. — On all the loftier and more clearly
dehned ranges of the Shan States and especially on the northern
and north-eastern frontiers there are numerous settlements of hill
tribes. Some of these are very small and do not consist of more
than two or three, or even one single isolated village ; others are
more extensive and cover a whole range, or, as in the case of the
Lahu in Mong Hsat, a compact block of country. As Mr. Warry
writes : *' Owing to the operation of causes as yet only partly
understood there is in this particular region (the north-eastern fron-
tier) a collection of races diverse in feature, language, and customs
such as cannot perhaps be paralleled in any other part of the world.
Up till now they have been almost entirely isolated owing to the in-
security which has prevailed in the regions where they are settled.
In consequence they have no doubt preserved their languages and
institutions in a far purer state than members of same races who have
lived under happier and more peaceful conditions elsewhere." Among
these scattered races is to be found the key of many problems : who
inhabited China before the Chinese; who are the aborigines of
Indo-China ; whether the Tai and the Karens are related and, if so,
through whom, and when the divarication began ; whether the Wa,
the Chins, and the Khasias had a common primaeval ancestor and
fix
483
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IX.'
whether the Palaungs, the Hka-mQks, and La-mets, to say nothing
of the Stiengs, are cadets of the family, or belong to the nriain line ;
who are autoclithonous, who are immigrants, and who enforced wan-
derers ; who are pure-blooded and who what the Dabu calls " denii-
official infants."
About all or most of these tribes we have as yet only scattered
and disjointed notes picked up by officers passing rapidly through
the country. Little more than the most prominent peculiarities
have been noted and anything like a trustworthy account of either
their languages, their institutions, or their traditions is wanting.
Unfortunately too they are known by as many aliases as a Cheva-
lier d'industrte, applied to them by their different neighbours and
differing in different parts of the country. This has led probably
to an altogether unnecessary over-estimate of the number of distinct
tribes and has also caused distinct tribes to be confused with one
another. Thus Mr. George declares thai the Lihsaws, whom he calls
Kachins, are the same as the Yaw-ylns, Yao-ji^n, or Yao tribes.
It would be rash to say in as many words that this is not the case,
but the statement seems to demand qualification. Again the
Shans apply the name Myen indiscriminately to the Mu-hsd or
La'hu and to the Kwi, who seem to be Mr. Parker's Gwfe Shans.
Yet the La'hu will not admit that the Kwi (who are notorious
thieves) have any connection with them. Linguistic evidence seems
conclusive that they are wrong. The establishment of peace in the
hills will rob philologists of their opportunity if the study of these
hill tribes is not soon begun. Contact with the outside world will
rapidly modify or obliterate language, assimilate customs, and man-
gle traditions.
As to the majority of these tribes Mr. Warry is the chief authority.
Almost all of them talk Chinese with some fluency, whereas their
knowledge of Shan is ordinarily very slight. The more valuable
portion of the notes is therefore chiefly based on his reports, with
additions from what has been observed by other oflicers and by the
compiler.
In the trans-Salween country Mr. Warry thinks that, apart from
the Wa, the majority of the hillmen may be referred to one or other
of the following divisions —
The Yao tribes.
The Akha tribes.
The Miaotzu.
(4) The La'hu.
(5) The Panna and Lotfe.
(6) The Hka-kwen, the Hka-"
muk, and the Laraet.
It is premature to alter this grouping, but it seems at least pos»
sible that the number may be early reduced.
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
483
It is still too soon to endeavour to solve the problems suggested
in the late Captain Forbes' " Languages of Further India." We
cannot yet say whether Burmese tradition, which represents that
the founders of their race and nation came from the west, from the
valley of the Ganges, into their present seats is right, or whether they
came through the south-western provinces of China from the table-
land of Asia as Sir Arthur Phayre maintained. The history of the
Shans, so far as we know it, seems to show that it would be unwise
to reject peremptorily the Burman tradition, because it appears to
prove clearly that Phayre's theory was without foundation. Every-
thing combines to prove that Forbes was right when he concluded —
'* That both the Tal and Karen races came hy a diffprent route from that
talicn by the Burman and Mnn-Anam families. The Tibeto-Burman tribes,
which now form the Burmese nation, arrived according to their traditions
in their present seats from the westward, about six centuries before the
Christiao era. In confirmation of this we find a chain of fra!»mentary cog-
nate tribes rcachinc from the Gunduk river in the west of Nipal to the banks
of the Irrawaddy, the footprints as it were of the march of their race."
It seems that the Burmese were very nearly dispossessed by the
Tai, rather than that they drove the Tai out.
The clues are too slender to enable us to determine whom they
turned out, but the allusions are much the same as those found in the
Mahabharata, to the fierce black degraded savage tribes, the Asums
or Bilus, on the one hand, and to the people who lived in cities and
possessed wealth and whose women were fair, whom they termed
Nagas, or serpent-worshippers, on the other. As a matter of fact,
Indo-China seems to have been the common asylum for fugitive
tribes from both India and China. The expansion of the Chmese
Empire, which for centuries did not extend south of the Yang-tzu
river, and the inroads of Scythian tribes on the empires of Chandra-
gupta and Asoka combined to turn out ihe aborigines both to the
north-east and north-west, and these met and struggled for existence
in Indo-China. It is only some such theory which will account for
the extraordinary variety and marked dissimilarity of races found in
the sheltered valleys or the high ranges of the Shan States and the
surrounding countries.
It may be hoped that the Linguistic Survey of India, Instituted
at the request of the Oriental Congress at Vienna in 1886, will soon
include Burma in its labours. The magnitude of the task is far
beyond the powers of any single student, no matter how great an
enthusiast in linguistic research.
The Rumai or Palaungs,
This race is so quiet and peaceable that it has not been much
studied. They have a State of their own, usually called Loi L6ng
484
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX,
by the Shans, though Tawngpeng, the Shan way of pronouncing
the Burmese Taungbaing, is equall)- often used. The Chinese name
Ta-shan has the same meaning as these other two names : The
Great Hills (countrj')- The form Ch'a-shan (tea hills) is, however,
very often used. The Rumai are found all over the Shan States, Bri-
tish and Chinese, but almost always high up in the hills, and usually
in secluded places. Details about them are much scantier than
concerning perhaps less estimable races. Sir Henry Yule sug-
gested that they might be of Karen origin, and their own legends,
with the constant references to the Taungthu, seem to hint at the
same thing. The analogy of language, however, distinctly points to
a connection with the Wa, who in their isolation and the character
of their hills, not less than in the extremely guttural character of
both languages, otherwise strikingly resemble them. The Palaimgs
are therefore probably connected with the Hka Muks and Hka
Mets, and possibly also with the Stiengs and other races farther to
the south. The connection with the M6n or Talaing stock, suggest-
ed by Professor Forchhammer, seems very doubtful. Their own
traditions do not help. One of these relates that the race migrated
in a body many centuries ago from Thaton near Moulmein. This
would certainly seem to suggest an identity with the Taungthu, but
the details are too vague and extravagant to be trustworthy. The
Kun Hai clan not only say that they come from That6n, but claim
to be Talaings, and date their emigration a few years later than the
time of the visit of Yamadi Ky^thu Min. The Tawng Ma people
on the other hand say they come from Keng Hung and are Yon
Shans. The people of Nam Hsan, the capital, call themselves Sam-
long, and say they came from Kawsampi, the name of the old
Shan Empire. The Hpawng-myo, who are a branch of the Sam-
long and mostly of the ruling class, on the contrary declare that
they came from Sab^nago and that they had to leave that country
because of a huge pumpkin which overgrew their villages faster
than they could cut it down. The following is the account of the
origin of their Sa-wbtva as it appears in the State records.
V About three centuries before the time of Buddha Gaudaraa there
lived a Naga Princess Thusandi in the not tank on the MongkQt
,^Mog6k) hills. Prince Thuriya, son of the Sun-wo/, fell in love
with her and she loved him. The Dragon Princess was delivered
of three eggs, and immediately after her confinement Prince Thuriya
was summoned by his father, the King of the Sun. He could not
choose but go, but when he arrived he sent a letter with a precious
stone called " Manikopa" to the Naga Princess and gave it to two
parrots as messengers. The two birds on their way met others of
their kind and rested with them in a large tree and for a time for*
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
V.'
r\>
^c^
got all about the letter and its enclosures. A T^tm^hu and his son
came by, found the letter, took out the Manikopa jewel, put some
birds* fceces in its place, and went their way. After a time the
parrots took up the letter again and went on to the Naga Princess.
She read the letter with pleasure, but when she found what was
enclosed she was so angry that she took two of the eggs she had
laid and threw them into the Irrawaddy river. One of them moved
up stream to MmrMaw ■'(Bhamo^, where it was picked up by a gar-
dener and his wife and put in a golden casket as a curiosity. In
time a male child hatchea out of the egg and the gardener and his
wife called it Hseng-Nya at-iiFM btrt artefwawls Udibwa. When
Udibwa grew up he married the daughter of the St; Lan Chief and
had two sons by her. The younger of these, Min Shwe Yo, became
Emperor of Chma and took the title of Udibwa — born of an egg.
Hence the title given to Emperors of China down to the present day.
The elder boy, Min Shwe Thfe, was afflicted with a kind of leprosy
from his childhood. He preferred cold and mountainous places and
therefore built the town of Sfetawn Sam, on the crest of the Sagabin
hills in Loi L6ng Tawng Peng, and lived there as Sawbioa, From
him all the Palaung Bo, or Rumai Sawbwas, are descended.
The other egg drifted down the river, until it reached Paukhkan
CPagaixJ, where it was picked up by a dhobi and his wife, who put
it away in a golden pot. Out of this egg also was born a man child
of so noble a bearing that they named him Min Rama, because
they thought he must be of the Pagan Rama Min's family.
The third egg was thrown away at Kyatpyin, where it broke on a
rock and all that it contained was scattered. This place produces
rubies of all kinds to the present day and is known as Mong K^
{Mogdk).
Thus the Sawbwa of Loi Long, the Udibwa of China, and Min
Rama, who became King of Pagan, were all brothers and were
descended fromLthe Naga Princess Thusandi.lVThe Tawngpeng
Sawbwa and all his people are her descendants and the Rumai
women to the present day wear a dress which is like the skin of the
.ol'
A Naga.^
This story has very Burman characteristics about it, and its gene-
ral lines are of the familiar kind which recall the statement that till
King NawTa-hta destroyed Thaton the Pagan people were all ser-
pent worshippers. The Udibwa of ancient days it is almost certain
was the King of Yunnan Sen and therefore probably a Tai. It
would seem therefore that the Rumai were in Tawngpeng and pro-
bably other parts of the present Shan States before the overthrow
of the ancient Shan Kingdom of Nanchao and were isolated and
4S6
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IX.
scattered by the irruption of tlie Tai. In six hundred years there is
abundance of time to create the differences which make it now diffi-
cult to determine whether the Rumai belong to the Mon or the Karen
race, whether they are nearer to theWa than to iheTaungthu.
No one as yet has made a study of their language, and all that is
known is derived through Burmese or Shan and has inevitably been
coloured in the process.
Hence the contradictory character of the information about
them. There is a vague general division into Palaungs and Pales
which has a basis in distinction of dress and dialect, but is Bur-
mese rather than national. So far as it goes, it may be said that
the Pales are found north and west of a line drawn from Kun Hawt
to Saram and Man Wai, and the Palaungs east of it. Within
quite recent times the Kachins have driven the Rumai out of the
whole of the north of Tawng Peng, which has tended to confuse
old divisions. Broadly speaking it may be said that the Palaungs
live on the higher hills and cultivate little but tea, while the Pales
settle lower down and often grow more rice than tea.
Another division into Man Ton, Ho Kun, Hu Mai, and Mong
Kwang Palaungs is administrative rather than national, though
there are differences of patois which are sufficiently marked to
make the people themselves believe that they are dilTerent clans,
instead of merely home-keeping folk who have developed a slang
of their own. A further division is into the following clans: the
Kadii round Nam Hsan, the capital; the Pa d^v^ round Man Loi
and Kong Hsa; the Tcao /? at round Nam I-in; the Kawn Cyawn
round Tawng Ma and Tawng Mt; ; the Kann U, who seem to
correspond to the Pale.
In the Rumai language Pale seems to mean " the tribe of the
west i" other national names are Pato Ru, " the tribe of the centre,"
Hu Mai, "the clan of the east," and Om Ko, " the clan beyond
the river " (the Nam Tu or Myit-ng^). The Pato Ru claim to be
the Rumai proper, and their village of Tawng Ma, south of Nam
Hsan, the capital, vaunts itself the oldest in the State. It is as-
serted that the clan originally consisted entirely of relatives of the
ruling house, who kept up a jealous exclusiveness and did not
marry out of their own clan. This at once recalls the Yindalfe or
Yang Talai sept of the Karenni. Apparently the Palo Ru claimed
at one time a variety of privileges and distinctions. They alone
of the Rumai men wore colours ; all the other clans were restrict-
ed to plain black and white. Now-a-days, however, these differ-
ences have vanished. There are no such restrictions, and mem-
bers of all clans intermarry so freely that seemingly the old dis-
tinctions have vanished.
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
487
The men at any rate have all adopted the Shan dress, and it
docs not appear that the dress of the women, though it is distinct
from that of the Shans and Kachins, keeps up the old clan dis-
tinctions. The better class women wear broad flat torques. As a
race they are peaceable and industrious, though they are rough
and uncouth. They are short and sturdily built, with fair skins
and not uncommonly grey or light brown eyes. The nose is flat
and very broad at the nostrils. They are exceedingly superstitious,
but at the same time are very zealous professing l?uddhists. Vil-
lages of no more than three or four houses regularly maintain a
monastery.
Their houses are of the same general pattern as those of the
Shans, built of bamboo wattle, raised on posts about six feet from
the ground and roofed with thatch, strung on flakes like the Shans
and not in wisps like the Kachins. There is an open platform
at one end, sometimes at both, and in the corner of this is almost
always a shrine for the tar familiaris. Very often several families
live in the same house and the houses are therefore much longer
than those of the Shans, sometimes as much as 100 feet long.
This may be due to the difficulty of finding sites on their steep
hill-sides. It has not been ascertained whether the various families
living under the same roof arc relations or connections, or whether
the conjunction is merely one of convenience. The houses are
always divided transversely, and many of the rooms arc of very
fair size. The space between the floor and the ground is used
sometimes as a storing place for paddy but tools, but more often
perhaps as a stable or byre.
The ordinary every-day dress of the women is a dark-blue cut-away
jacket and a skirt and blue leggings. The full dress is much brighter
m colour. \ large hood is worn, which is brought to a point at the
back of the head and reaches down over the shoulders. The
border is white with an inner patch-work pattern of blue, scarlet,
and black cotton velvet. The skirt is often composed of panels
of cotton velvet of these various colours with garters to match,
and the general effect is very gay. Silver earrings and bangles
are the ornaments and so are torques, but apparently with some
limitations. More children wear them than women, but the Saw-
bwas* wives usually wear several. Round the wrist are worn num-
bers of black varnished bamboo hoops of the same character as
those of the Kachins, sometimes plain, sometimes decked with
cowries and seeds. Some women do not wear these, but whether
because they are inconvenient or because it denotes a clan distinc-
tion has not been ascertained. The Pale women wear a hood
which is entirely white, with a short dark-blue coat and a skirt
striped horizontally with red and blue.
488
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. i:
According to Rumai custom every official receives a fan on his
appointment, and as long as he remains in office and gives satisfac-
tion in his work he receives annually a new one from the hands of
the Sawbwa. These fans are treasured as a sort of insignia of
office. The local titles, Paw Lara and Lam Mong in use in Tawng
jPeng for officials, arc not noticed elsewhere west of the Sahveen
ind east of it apparently only in the neighbourhood of the Wa.
The following notes on Rumai customs and superstitions are
condensed from the notes of Mr. \V. G. Wooster: — The origin of
the name Palaung is explained in this way. Many years ago there
was a great Princess, Nang Hkam L6ng, who lived somewhere in
China and had miraculous powers. She set out on a raft and was
able to produce water in front of it so that it went in any direction
she chose. After much journeying she came to Loi Hpra, a
great hill to the north of Zeyan village in Tawng Peng. Here she
moored her raft and went to visit the Sawbwa of Tawng Peng and
asked him to marry her. But " her bosom indicated old age " and
the Sawbwa ungallantly evaded the alliance by declaring he had
too many wives already. So she went back to her raft. But
some mischievous youths had set fire to it, and Nang Hkam Long
exclaimed Hpanng [tni) lamtg thi, " My raft is burnt. Though the
Chinese Princess knew Burmese, the Rumai did not and they made
a catchword of Hpaung laung, corrupted it into Palaung, and
then accepted it as their name. This story is obviously in the best
style of the Burmese etymologist, but to fend it verisimilitude the
Palaungs believe that, if the Sawbwa had married Nang Hkam
L6ng, the Nam Tu would now flow by Loi Hpra and that the coun-
try would not be hilly. The Princess took away the water from this
unchivalrous neighbourhood to where the Nam Tu now flows and
went on to Hsi Paw, where she stayed with the Sawbwa for a sea-
son and then proceeded to Ava. The Nam Tu, I he Burmese
Myit-ngfe, marks the line of her journey and indeed was created by
it
The truth of this story is proved by the pagoda on Loi Hpra.
The Chinese Princess built that and the Rumai still worship it.
The Palaungs have no alphabet or written character of their own.
Whatever may have been their national way of naming their chil-
dren, they have now adopted the Burmese system of letters appor-
tioned to the days of the week, but use it in a somewhat slovenly
way as follows : —
Monday : k, kh, g, ng —
Male — Kyaw Tha, Kyaw Thein.
Female — Et Kya, Et Ke,
CHAP. IX,
ETHNOLOGY.
489
Tuesday : s, s, ny—
Male — Sam Sa, Sam Zw&.
Female— Et Saw, El Ze.
Wednesday : h, /, w —
Male— Hia Sa, Twe HIa.
Female— Et Hlu, Et Hwe.
Thursday : /•, hf>, b, m —
Male — Ai Man, Pan Hpyu.
Female — Ma Hpe, Et Hpawng, Pan Son.
Friday : hs.
Male — Ai Hswe, Hswe Awng.
Female — 1 Hsaw, I Hsi, I Hsam.
Saturday : t, ht, ».
Male— T6n Hla, Ne Htun.
Female — I Ti, I Nu, I Htawn.
£t appears to be the national feminine Torm of address, but
Burmese and Shan forms are being rapidly adopted.
Marriage customs seem to be an equally queer mixture of pro-
bably national traditions and Burmese fashions. Once a year, on
a day fixed by the local thaumaturgist^ a meeting of all the youths
old enough to be married is held. They have a band and go round
to the houses of all the girls who are marriageable, and *' pull them
about with due regard to decency." These romps are carried on
after the parents are gone to bed, but the band must ensure that
everything is strictly proper. After this the girls are said to be
prepared for wooing, and three days later a meeting of the young
men is held, at which lots are drawn. The names of the youths and
the maids are written on slips of paper and they are drawn together
in pairs. For the next three days the lads are instructed in the way
of love-making by sayas, while " experienced women " take the
lassies in hand. On the third day the youth sends a silk hand-
kerchief and a betel-box with a looking glass on the cover, to the girl
whose name has been drawn with his. Three days later she sends
him a lasselled cloth, a sort of connecting link between a towel and a
handkerchief, and a belt worked by herself. After this the young
man is at liberty to press his suit in person and goes to the girl's
house at " lads-go-courting-time," about nine o'clock at night. For
the first few nights he is accompanied by his instructor in love, while
the girl is backed up by her mistress of dalliance. If the girl
happens to be asleep in bed it is perfectly correct to go and wake
her up. The pair sit on either sides of the fireplace and philander,
so far as the situation allows and their instructors have taught them.
63
490
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
It is reassuring, if somewhat unbusiness-Uke, to learn that the girl
is by no means bound to have the young man who has drawn her in
the lottery. She may coquet with whom she pleases and make her
selection from among all those who come courting.
This is no doubt where Burmese influence comes in. Presumably
national custom respected the fortune of the lottery, otherwise the
institution seems aimless. When matters are arranged, a night is
fixed on which the girl is to elope. The accepted lover takes her to
a relation's house and then goes home to tell his parents. The girl
has explained her departure by leaving a little packet of tobacco and
some rice for her father and mother. Convention requires the bride's
parents to make a great fuss the next day, but, if the match is a
suitable one, they search for her in the wrong directions and are
quite ready to meet the young man's parents when ihey come to
make formal proposal of marriage. It is disconcerting to find thal^
when matters have gone so far, the match may be forbidden because
the girl is wanted as a help in the house, or because the bridegroom is
too young or too poor. Sometimes, it appears, a youth steals three
or four girls before he is married. When, however, there are no such
objections, a feast is held, to which the village elders are invited, and
they pronounce a blessing on the pair. Presents to the girl's parents
are not necessary, nor docs she get a dowry. The custom is evi-
dently a reminiscence of marriage by capture, such as prevailed in
Sparta and Crete and is to be traced in the rural customs of Wales.
Among the Pales the rule is different. The man who intends to
marry has to bargain for his bride, and she usually costs not less than
one hundred and fifty rupees, paid in cash or in goods or produce.
When a Palaung dies, the nearest of kin, if not present, must be
immediately informed. He must be present at the burial and must
defray its cost. There is usually no limit to the time that the corpse
may be kept unburicd, but the headman of the village must be told
how long it is proposed to keep it. The body of a person dying on
the last day of the month must, however, be buried at once, other-
wise, the Palaungs believe, some harm will befall the \nllagc — there
will be a fire, an epidemic, or a murder. As long as the corpse
remains above ground everybody in the village, native or foreigner, is
feasted. The entire village helps to make the cofEn and to dig the
grave, which is from four and a half to five cubits deep. The head
of the body is laid towards the village, the feet away from it. The
bodies of monks are burned as they arc in most Buddhist countries.
So are those of the Sawbwas and their family.
The Palaungs are fervent professing Buddhists, but they are also
staunch believers in spirits. Their ttais live in a big tree, a well-
'Chap. ix.
ETHNOLOGY.
49r
t
marked hill, a large rock, or some such natural feature. They are
male and female, and all of them have their names. The most
powerful is the spirit who dwells on Loi Sen^and is called Ta-Kalu.
Others of note are : Taru-rheng, who lives near the group of pagodas
at Zeyan village ; Peng-m6ng, who frequents the dense jungle on
the west side of the big hill near Zeyan ; Ta-hku-16ng used to live
close to the ruin of an old pagoda near Pavagyi, or Sfelan village, but
he was much neglected and has been invited to bestow himself in
the clump of jungle on the hillock at the east gate of Namhsan, due
east of the Sawbwa's palace ; the Loi-lan nal lives on a hill near
Myothit ; and there are many more-
Every year In Tawihalin (September-October) a great «fl/-feast
is held in Namhsan. This is presided over by the " Damada Saw*
bwa," the hereditary priest of the nafs. He is assisted by two old
men, Wai-long and Serai, the heads of the Rumai clans, or families
of that name. The special date is fixed by the astrologers and, when
this is ascertained, the Damada Sawbwa instructs Wai-l6ng and Serai
to formally bid the nats to the feast. This is generally done the
day before. A room in the Damada Sa7vbiva's house is cleared out,
kalagas and curtains are hung round, mats and carpets spread, and
a few paper shrines erected for the accommodation of the nats. The
nats accept the invitation and fix the hour. At the time arranged
Wai-long and Serai go out into the verandali and ceremoniously con-
duct the invisible visitors to their shrines, before which offerings of
rice and flowers are placed. The nats are fed first and then the as-
sembled people. The arrival of the nats is usually signalized by
some atmospheric change, the clouding over of the sky, or a shower
of rain accompanied by sunshine. The Damada Sawbwa is able to
interpret such manifestations. He is allowed the use of a white
umbrella.
The other Rumai feasts are the ordinary Buddhist festivals, and
do not differ from those of Burma.
The cultivation of tea is the great industry of the Rumai, and the
following legend is told of the manner of its introduction : —
Many years ago, during a feast held by Bilus on a certain river, a
Bilu youth fell into the water and would have been drowned had it
not been for the great lord Yamadi-ky6-ihu, who rescued him. The
mother of the lad in gratitude offered to the great lord the body of
a dead bird that had remained in a state of perfect preservation for
several years, Yamadi examined it and found a lump in its throat-
He cut the body open and found a seed which had stuck there and
killed the bird. When he removed the seed the body immediately
decayed and was thrown away. Yaraadi-ky6-thu kept the seed, it
492
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
is said, until he should visit some place where the soil was suitable
to plant it in.
About three hundred and sixty years ago he visited Loi-seng hill
in Tawngpeng on a hpaung set-kya, or magic barge, accompanied by
100,000 ofBcials and followers. He stopped at Tat-mang-sa village,
about five hundred yards from the hill, and visited Loi-seng on a
white elephant.
When the elephant reached the foot of the hill he knelt down and
worshipped it, thus indicating the presence of some relic of Buddha.
A search was made and some bones were found under a ruin. These
were re-buried and Yamadi-ky£-thu built a gilt pagoda over them and
declared the hill a place of general worship. He then called two
hunters (said to have been Taungthus) named La San and La Yi and
gave them the seed he had found in the dead bird's throat to plant.
The great lord stayed seven days at Tat-mang-sa village and left
three ofBcials to look after the growing of the seed. The Taungthus
held out one hand to receive the seed and consequently the plant
was called " Let-tit-pet " (or one hand), which has now become cor-
rupted into " Let-hpet." The great lord told the Taungthus that, if
they had held out two hands (as etiquette and respect demanded),
they would have been rich, but that now they would be poor.
Loi-seng hill is still held sacred by the Palaungs, and annually in the
month of Tabauttg (March) a feast is held there.
A number of small pagodas have at different times been built at
the hill and one of them is glazed. A large tea tree, said to be the
original plant that grew from the seed planted by Yamadi-ky^-thu,
is still pointed out. Some, however, say that the first tree was cut
down by Burmese soldiers.
This big tree is, however, worshiped by the Palaungs. There are
also a few ancient images on the hill. One of a bullock at the foot
is said to have been erected by the first tea trader, a Shan named
San Law, in memory of a bullock of his that died there. On each
side of the tea tree is a bird in stone, and they are said to have been
built by Yamadi-kyfe-thu,
When Yama-di camped at Tat-mang-sa village the Pale tribe of
Palaungs are said to have cooked for him, and because he found a
hair in his food he ordered their hair to be cut off. Consequently to
this day some of the Pale women cut their hair short.
A reference to the comparative vocabularies proves conclusively
to the arm-chair student that Wa and Palaung (Lavu or Vii and
Palawng or Paraok) are very closely allied languages, not much
farther apart than the various dialects of the Chingpaw, or the
Chin. But the Rumai will not have it and reject attempted proofs
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
493
with contumely. The Wa in their own country have no knowledge
of the Rumai or Palaungs at all, but believe themselves a race
apart.
It is, however, very disconcerting to find colonies of Palaungs
and Wa settled close to one another in Kengtung and steadily deny-
ing any possible relationship. Mr. StirHng gives the following
count of these Palaung settlements : —
" There are very few villages of this race in Kcngtiing State. AU that
are known have been here for many years, but they believe their fore-
fathers came from Tawngpeng. They are Buddhists. The western Shan
character is taught in their monasteries. Intermarriage with other races is
of very rare occurrence, not because the Palawngs have any objection to it,
but because (they say) their women are not beautiful, and they are mostly
poor. A wife is practically bought from her parents, as much as Rs. 70
being paid if the man is wealthy, and she belongs to her husband's family
after his death. The bodies of old men ^nd p^ri^is Are burnt ; other dead
are buried. The Palawng do not seem to be great spirit-worshippers,
though they make the usua.1 offerings in case of sickness. They have no
domestic hearth or ahar to their ancestors, but the spirits of these are
propitiated by offerings as well as the local spirits of the hills, rivers, Sec.
Several families live in one house. Their villages are fixed, and invariably
at a htgh elevation. They cultiviate opium as their main crop, and,
althougli they have the usual hill rice-fields, they rarely raise enough rice
for their support. It is bought from the nearest Shan community. The
Palawng are accounted an honest and hard-working people, and most of
their settlements are fairly prosperous."
The Palaungs are great wanderers and small settlements are
scattered over all parts of the Southern Shan States on the higher
ranges. But they always profess to have come from Tawngpeng
and scout any connection with the Wa or the Riang tribes — Yang-
lam, Yangsek, and Yang Wan Hlcun. The Wa of the " Wa country"
declare themselves to be autochthonous. The Wa of Kengtung
on the other hand claim to have been the original inhabitants of all
the country down to Chiengmai. This is significant in connection
with the Rumai tradition that their ancestors came from That6n.
Tke Wa.
These people, in one dialect at any rate, call themselves Wii or
Vfl. In most places, however, they use, or accept, the name Wa.
The Burmese call them Lawa ; so do the L10 of the Siamese Shan
States. The Chinese appear to have the general name Hkawa for
them, but in the immediate neighbourhood of the clans, according
to Mr, Warry, they discriminate. The name Hkawa is there
reserved for what the Shans call the Wa Hai, the wild or savage Wa ;
that of Yet Hka-la (or wild Hka-ias) is applied to those who are
very objectionable, but do not resent all intercourse ; while those
494
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IX.
who appear at markets partially, sometimes even decently, clad are
called Chia Hka-la, or domesticated Uka-Us. This is not rery
scientific, but it indicates a disconcertii^ division which is every-
where met, but nowhere run to ground. This is the distinction be-
tween \Va and La. The Shans are convinced of its existence, but
direct enquiry brings out nothing more divergent than that the La
are Buddhists, or at any rate are more civilized and are willing to
and do live among other races, while the Wa do not leave their
homes, are mere spirit -worshippers, and have all the objectionable
qualities which tradition assigns to the race. The Wa Pwi, who
are the wildest of the race yei seen, also recognize the name La,
but the tribesmen they designate by the name La, such as the in-
habitants of Kang Hs6 and Sonmu, disown the title and claim to
be Wa. The inhabitants of Ken Pwi and Ken Fan and a few other
villages in Kokang, it is true accept the name La, but they ap-
parently do so because they are too isolated to oppose the volume
of public opinion, and moreover they appear to be half-breeds, like
the Danus and Kadus and Danaws, and Yaws who vex the enquir-
er's spirit. It would almost appear therefore as if La were a euphe-
mism, or a diplomatic expression, the sort of language necessary
in dangerous company all the world over. But on the M&khong
slope of the Salween-Mfekhong watershed near the Wa country there
is a tribe which calls itself Hka-la (the La being pronounced ver>'
short like La(t), with the / unsounded). Their language to the
ear is precisely like Wa; their appearance, villages, and habits are
practically the same, but they themselves strenuously deny any
connection. Too little is known of them to be dogmatic, but the
opinion may be hazarded that they are quite mistaken as to their
ancestry and that they are really \Va ; it is also possible that their-
shamefastness is responsible for the use of the term La for sucH
of the race as are not brazen in their sava.^ery. The Wa of the Pet
Ken call themselves Krak or K-l-rak, which seems to be the same,
but is locally said to be nothing of the kind.
Captain H. R. Davies found that "the inhabitants of a very civi-
lized village near Meng Meng (a Chinese-Shan State), far away from
the head-hunters, were described as Wa'* The people of this village
called themselves Parow(kj and said they called the wild Wa Rave(t),
It is unfortunate that these names do not seem to be known at
Wa heado'jarters, as, until more is known, the wilder Wa country
must be considered. It is well known that / and rare easily in-
terchanged and r<a-ve(t) might well be La-ve or (La) Vii. Moreover,
the name Parow-k would seem to be a link with Palaung. Thus we
would have La-vii, La-wa, split up into La and Wa, and Parow(k)
Palaung.
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
495
As far as language is concerned, it would seem that the Wa are
of the same race as the Pataungs (Rumai or Tasoru) and Hka
Muks and therefore, if we are to accept Professor Forchhammer's
idea, the same stock as the Cambodians, Annamese, and Talaings^
or M6ns. Such a connection is rather startling and suggests the
dictum that speech is meant to deceive. Linguistic evidence cannot
be entirely trusted, but when it is backed up oy physical appearance
and habits and customs it is incontrovertible. The comparison of
vocabularies no less than race types seems to show that Forchham-
mer was wrong and that there is no relationship between the M6n
and the Palaung and therefore none with the Wa.
The fact that the Lawa and the Wa are the same and that they
are of the same race as the Rumai or Palaungs and the Riang
tribes seems to be conclusively proved by comparative vocabularies,
and there the matter might rest for the present if it were not that
Wa traditions in the Wa country represent that country as having
been always peopled by its piesent inhabitants. The Wa or Lawa
of KengtQng on the other hand say, and are said by their neigh-
bours, to have been the aborigines of all that country and of the terri-
tory down to Chiengmai. McLeod, writing in 1837, says (Parlia-
mentary papers) : " Zimm6 and alt the country in this direction for-
" merly belonged to the Lawas, who are now but few in this district ;
"some are found in about six villages to the northward, besides
"those near Muang Niong; the rest have fled to the mountains
" round KengtQng, which country, however, is said also formerly to
*' have belonged to them.'* The Wild Wa know nothing of this and
the history of Mang Lon {^. v.) makes no allusion to such domi-
nion. It will therefore be most satisfactory to discuss the titular
" Wa country " first.
These self-styled Wa live in an extremely compact block of terri-
tory on our north-eastern frontier, extending for about one hundred
miles along the Salween and for perhaps half that distance inland
to the watershed between that river and the M^khong. Within this
area, which is roughly bisected by the ninety-ninth parallel of east
longitude and lies between and on either side of the twenty-second
and twenty-third parallels of latitude, there are very few people who
are not Wa. Their boundaries may be roughly said to be the Sal-
ween on the west, the ridge over the Namting valley on the north,
the hills east of the Nam Hka on the eastern and southern sides,
while the country ends in a point formed by the junction of the Nam
Hka with the Salween, Beyond this few Wa are found, though they
occur as far east as the Mfekhong, but only in isolated villages, and
it is only on the fringes of this block that other races, chiefly Shana
and La'hu, venture to settle.
49^
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
Of more extended possessions the main body of the Wa have no
reconection. They claim to have inhabited the country where they
now are smcc the beginning of time. One account of their origin
(from a huge gourd) is given under the head of Mang Lon, but
this is much disfigured by additions obviously taken from Shan and
Buddhist history. Another gives the reason for the head cutting,
but it is no doubt loned down from the true head-hunter's version.
All the Indo-Chinese races have a predilection for totemistic birth
stories. Some claim to be sprung from eggs, some from dogs,
some from reptiles. The Wa claim tadpoles for their rude forefathers.
The primaeval Wa were called Ya Htawm and Ya Htai. As tad-
poles they spent their first years in Nawng Hkeo, a mysterious lake
on the top of a hill range, seven thousand feet high, in the centre
of the head-cutting country. When they turned into frogs they
lived on a hill called Nam Tao and, progressing in the scale of
life, they became ogres and established themselves in a cave, Pak-
katfe, about thirty miles south of the mountain lake on the sloj>e
over the Nam Hka. Krom this cave they made sallies in all direc-
tions in search of food, and at first were content with deer, wild pig,
goats, and cattle. As long as this was their only diel, they had no
young. But all Hpi Hpai in the end come to eat human beings.
It is their most-distinguishing characteristic, after the fact of their
having red eyes and casting no shadow. One day Ya Htawm and
Ya Htai went exceptionally far afield and came to a country inhabited
by men. They caught one and ate him and carried off his skull to
the Pakkatfc cave. After this they had many young ogrelels, all of
whom, however, appeared in human form. The parents therefore
placed the human skull on a post and worshipped it. There were
nine sons, who established themselves in the nine Wa glens, mostly
inlhewest, and they bred and mustered rapidly. The ten daughters
settled on the fells and were even more prolific. Their descendants
are the most thorough in head-hunting and the skulls are always
men's. The language the new race spoke was at first that of the
frog, a sort of Brekkekkekkexkoax, but this was elaborated in time
into modern Wa.
Ya Htawm and Ya Htai enjoined on their children the neces-
sity of always having a human skull in their settlements. Without
this they could not have any peace, i)lenty, prosperity, comfort, or
enjoyment, and this injunction has always been piously obeyed.
When the venerable ogres felt death coming they summoned all
their progeny together and gave an account of their origin and said
that they, Ya Htawm and Ya Htai, were to be worshipped as the
father and mother sprits. Other spirits there were, but they were
bad and malevolent. Ya Htawm and Ya Htai alone were genial
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
497
and benignant and the most seemly offering to them was a snow-
white grinning skull. The ordinary sacrifices on special occasions,
however, were to be buffaloes, bullocks, pig, and fowls, with plentiful
libations of rice-spirit. The special occasions were marriage, the
commencement of a war, death, and the putting up of a human skull-
In addition to these meat offerings a human skull was always desir-
able under exceptional circumstances, or for special objects. Thus
when a new village was founded, a skull was an imperative necessity.
If there were a drought, which Uireatened a failure of the crops, no
means would be so successful in bringing rain as the dedication of a
skull. If disease swept away many victims a skull alone would stay
the pestilence. But the good parental ogres expressly said that it
was not necessary that the villagers should slay a man in order to
get his head. They might get the skull by purchase or barter.
Thus the intermediate Wa account for their lack of enterprise
Until a British party visited the Wild Wa country in 1893 it was
firmly believed that the Wa were cannibals. The story is as old
as the time of Vasquez Da Gama, for there seems no reason to
doubt that "the Gueos" of Camoens' Lttsiadas, Cant. X, cxxxvi,
are the present-day Wa. The passage is thus, none too musically,
rendered in Bowring's Siam, Volume 11, page 1.
" O'er these vast regions see a varied throng
Of thousand unknown nations crowd the coast;
Tiie Laos both in lands and numbers strong,
Avas and Binnahs in their niountaias lost,
And savage Gueos, scarcely seen among
The deep recesses, where the barbarous host
On hun^an flesh with brutal hunger f^ed,
And with hot iron stamp their own — rude deed ! "
Vasco de Gama's first voyage, of which the Lusiad tells, began
in 1497.
It is, however, certain that the Wa are not cannibals, at least not
habitual cannibals. The assertion Is, however, so universally made
by all their neighbours — Chinese, Burmese, Shans, Lem, and La'Hu
— and is so firmly believed, that it seems probable that on special
occasions, possibly at the annual harvest feast, human flesh may
be eaten as a religious function, a sort of pious remembrance of the
diet which made the Wa first ancestors fecund and produced the
race. The Wa themselves, however, even the Wa Lon, who are
the most thorough-paced supporters of rules and regulations, deny
it, not indeed with scorn, or horror, or indignation, or any well-
regulated sentiment, but with a placid, well-fed chuckle as who
should say : Why should we eat men's flesh, when the regular
posting up of men's heads will ensure us plenty of dogs, plenty of
63
498
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX,
maize and buckwheat, and plenty of spirits ? Certainly headless
corpses are left lying about the roads as if they were of no value to
anybody. We are therefore forced to abandon belief in the attrac-
tively graphic story of the good wife putting " the kettle on the
fire " when the men of the village go out head-hunting. The Shans
still firmly believe that the Wa eat their parents. When they be-
come old and feeble, so it is said, the children tenderly and loving-
ly help them to climb into the branches of a tree. Then they
shake the boughs until the old people fall down. " The fruit is ripe :
let us eat it " they say, and proceed to do so. This prepossessing
old story seems to be true only of the Battakof Sumatra, who find
no grave so suitable and honourable for the authors of their being
as their own insides, though it is told also of the northernmost
Kachins.
But as to the head-hunting there is no manner of doubt. It is
true that the Wa are not mere collectors. They do not accumulate
heads as one collects stamps, or botanical specimens, or matchbox
labels, from the pure pleasure of possession and an eclectic gratifi-
cation in difference of size, shape, or in the perfect condition of the
teeth, and the well marked definition of the sutures. No individual
Wa has a private collection, nor does it appear tJiat success in the
accumulation of heads ensures the favours of the fair. They do
not mount their heads, fresh lopped off, on posts as the people of
the Mambwe country, south of Lake Tanganyika, do, in the belief
that such exhibits are pleasing and impressive ; nor do they regard
them as tokens of individual prowess as the Dyaks do, or as the
American Indians used to gloryin the scalps they carried about them.
The Wa regards his skulls as a protection against the spirits of evil,
much the same as holy water, or the sign of the cross, or like texts
at a meeting house, or Bibles on the dressing table at a temperance
hotel, or hallelujahs at a Salvation Army service. Without a skull
his crops would fail ; without a skull his kine might die ; without a
skull the father and mother spirits would be shamed and might be
enraged ; if there were no protecting skull the other spirits, who
are all malignant, might gain entrance and kill the inhabitants, or
drink all the liquor.
The Wa country is a series of mountain ranges, running north
and south and shelving rapidly down to narrow valleys from two to
five thousand feet deep. The villages are all on the slopes, some
in a hollow just sheltered by the crest of the ridge, some lower
down where a spur offers a little flat ground. The industrious
cultivation of years has cleared away the jungle, which Is so uni-
versal elsewhere in the Shan hills, and the villages stand out con-
spicuously as yellowish brown blotches on the hill sides. A Shan
i*HAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOiT
499
village is always embowered in bamboos and fruit or flowering
trees ; Kachin villaj^es straggle about among the peaks with pri-
msBval forest all around ; Akha, Kwi, and La'hu hide away their
settlements in gullies, or secluded hollows ; but a Wa village is
visible for miles, the houses all within one enclosure and the gray
of the thatched roofs hardly distinguishable from the litter of cattle
and pigs which covers inches deep all the ground within the fence
and makes it as conspicuous as a chalk mark on a billard cloth.
But outside every village, every village at any rate in the Wild
Wa country, there is a grove of trees, usually stretching along the
ridge, or a convenient col. It is usually fairly broad and is made
up of huge trees, with heavy undergrowth, strips of the forest
which, years and years ago, covered the whole country. From a
distance it looks like an avenue, sometimes little over one hundred
yards long, sometimes stretching for long distances from village to
village. This is the avenue of skulls. It is not necessarily, and as
often as not is not, the usual mode of approach to the village.
Occasionally, however, the skulls actually line the main road and
arc practically out in the open. This appears to be the case rather
with the more recently established villages, and the avenue, sombre
with the shade of high over-arching trees and dense undergrowth,
is certainly the more usual.
Here there is a row of stout posts, about three and a half to four
and a-half feet high and five or six feet apart. In each of these, a
little below the top, is cut a triangular hole with a ledge on which
the skull is placed. Somerimes the niche is on the side facing the
path, so that the whole skull is in full view of the passer-by ; some-
times it is inserted from behind and grins at him through a slit.
As a rule the posts are perfectly plain with nothing but the bark
stripped off, but here and there they are fashioned into slabs with
rude carvings, or primitive designs in red and black paint, by way
of adornment, but this seems to be the case on the outer fringe
rather than in the heart of the downright business-doing head-
hunter's country. The posts stand on one side of the road only,
not on both sides, and there appears lo be no rule as to the direc-
tion, either of the grove or of the line of skulls, north or south,
east or west. Most villages count their heads by tensor twenties,
but some of them run to hundreds, especially when the grove lies
between several villages, who combine or perhaps run their collec-
tions into one another. The largest known avenue is that between
Sung Ramang and Hsan Htung. Here there must be a couple of
hundred or more skulls. There is no assertion, however, that this
is really the largest.
50O
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
The skulls are in all stages of preservation, some of them glisten-
ing white and perfect in everv detail, some discoloured with the
green mould of one or more rains, some patched over with lichens,
or shaggy with moss, some falling to pieces, the teeth gone, the
jaw's crumbling away, the sutures yawning wide ; sometimes the
skull has vanished with age and the post even is mouldering to
decay.
No doubt a Wild Wa never misses a chance of taking a head,
when an opportunity presents itself. The skulls are looked upon
as a safeguard against and a propitiation of the evil spirits. The
ghost of the dead man hangs about his skull and resents the ap-
proach of other spirits, not from any goodwill for the villages, for
all spirits are mischievous and truculent, but because he resents
trespassing on his coverts. For this reason the skulls of strangers
are always the most valuable, for the ghost does not know his way
about the country and cannot possibly warder a^vay from his earthly
remains. Me also all the more resents the intrusion of vagrant
ghosts on his policies. They cramp his movements and a ghost
wants plenty of elbow room. An unprotected stranger is therefore
pretty sure to lose his head, if he wanders among the Wild Was, no
matter what the lime of the year may be. The more eminent he is
the better, for the Wa are quite of the opinion of the tribes farther
to the north, <hat an eminent man will make a puissant, brabbling
ghost, who will dominate the country side, and secure his owners
sleep of nights.
BuL though heads are thus taken in an eclectic, dilettante way
whenever chance offers, there is a proper authorized season for the
accumulation of them. Legitimate head-cutting opens in March
and lasts through April. The old skulls will ensure peace for the
village, but at least one new one is wanted, if there is not to be risk
of failure of the crops, the opium, the maize, and the rice. In these
months journeying is exciting in the hills. A Wa must go out with
the same reflection as a self-respecting dog, who never takes a
stroll without the conviction that he is more likely than not to have
a fight before he comes home again. Nevertheless there are rules
of the game ; lines of conduct to be observed, which assume the
the dignity of customary law. Naturally the Wa never take the
heads of their fellow-villagers, The elements of political economy
forbid that. It would be a very urgent necessity, a raging pesti-
lence, a phenomenal drought, or a murrain among their cattle which
would justify the immolation of a man from an adjoining village.
To behead a man from a community even on the same range of
hills is looked upon as unneighbourly and slothful. The enterprise
should be carried out on the next range, east or west, at any rate at
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
5o»
a distance, the farther the more satisfactory from the point of view
of results — agricultural results. When the head is secured the
party returns immediately travelling ni^ht and day without halt.
ft is not necessar\' to have more than one head, but naturally the
more heads there are, the less danger there is of agricultural depres-
sion. They may therefore take several heads at their first stoop and,
if they meet with a favourable opportunity on the way home, a party
of misguided pedlars unable to defend themselves, or a foot-sore, or
fever-stricken straggler from a Chinese caravan, they promptly end
his wanderings.
The hunting-party is never large, usually about a dozen. Villa-
ges are therefore never attacked. That would be too much like
slaughter, or civil war, which is not al all what is intended. The
act is simply one of religious observance, or the carrying on of a
historical tradition. It does not appear that the neighbours of the
victims harbour any particular animosity against the successful
sportsmen. No doubt they go questing the following year by pre-
ference in that direction, but they apparently never think of exact-
ing immediate vengeance.
Further, the Wa never seem to make raids beyond the limits of
their own countrj-, or al any rate of country which they have not
regarded as their own in the past^ or consider as likely to become
theirs at some future time. There is no case on record of a Wa
raid across the Salween, into Shan territory, to collect heads, nor
have they ever invaded the Chinese Shan States on the north.
The Shans of Mong Lem to the south-east do indeed complain
that certain roads, which, they say, are in their State, are very
unsafe when the Wa hill fields are being got ready for planting, but
it is only the roads that are unsafe. Shan villages are so open
that disappointed hunlers might very well creep in at night to get
the heads which they have failed to secure in the open country, but
it does not appear that this has ever been done. It is probably
this discrimination on the part of the head-hunters which, as much
as anything else, has restrained the neighbouring people from com-
bining to put an end to the Wild Wa, or at any rate to their accu-
mulation of skulls.
The head-hunting party usually goes out quietly enough. There
has probably been some consulting of sacrificial bones, or some
scrutiny of the direction in which feather-light plant down floats,
but there is no blessing of the questing party or any demonstration
on the part of those who stay behind. Not even the women and
children go to see them beyond the village gate. It is as much a
matter of course every year as the sowing of the fields.
502
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
Sometimes they are out for a long time, for naturally every one,
whether stranger or native of the country, is very much on the
alert during the head-cutting season. Occasionally two search
parties come across one another. There is as much feinting and
dodging and beguiling then as between two wrestlers trying for the
grip. The Hsan Mtung head-hunters actually did thus waylay a
party from Yawng Maw, north of the Nawng Hkco lake in 1893,
and took three heads from the party of ten. This was legitimate
sport, for the Yawng Maw men were in the Hsan Htung limits and
presumably after Hsan Htung hcadr>. Ordinarily, however, VVa
heads are not taken. The vulture does not prey on the kite. It
is said that the bodies are never mutilated, but on the occasion re-
ferred to one corpse had hands and feet cut off. The Hsan Htung
men were too drunk and excited to be favourable subjects for cross-
examination, but it was said that the wretched man was a noted
thief and that his hands and feet came off before his head as a
warning to ill-regulated characters.
There is a tariff for heads. The skulls of the unwarlike Lem
come lowest. They can sometimes be had for two rupees. La'hu
heads c.in be had for about three times as much, lor the La'hu are
stalwart men of their hands and use poisoned arrows in their cross-
bows. Other Shans than the Lem are more rarely found, for they
usually go, if they go at all, in large parties. Burmese heads have
not been available for nearly a generation and Chinamen's heads
run to about fifty rupees, for they are dangerous game. European
heads have not come on the market. There arc no quotations.
Wa skulls, probably from motives of delicacy, are not appraised.
They probably fetch the average price, about ten rupees, according
to the successful nature of the season and the number of semi-
civilized Wa villages who are buying.
When the head, or heads, are brought home, there is great re-
joicing. The big wooden gong is frantically beaten. All the
bamboos of rice-spirit in the village are tapped, the women and
children dance and sing and the men become most furiously drunk.
The head is not put up as it is. It requires preparation, for it is
only the cleaned skull that is mounted outside the village.
At one end of the village, usually the upper end, for all the villages
are built on a slope, stands the spirit house, a small shed, fenced
round with stakes and roughly thatched over. In the centre of this
stands the village drum, a huge log of wood with a narrow slit
along three-quarters of the length of it, through which the Interior
has been laboriously hollowed out. These drums are sometimes
ten or twelve feet long and three or three and a half feet thick.
They are beaten with wooden mallets and give out deep vibrating
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
503
notes which travel very long distances. This gong is sounded at
all crisus and moments of importance to the \'illage, but chiefly
when heads are brought home, or when sacrifices are being made,
or when a village council is to be held. Outside this spirit-house
the sacrifices to the spirits are made, the buffaloes, pigs, dogs, fowls,
are killed and llieir blood smeared on the posts, and rafters, and
thatching, and their bones hang in clusters round the eaves.
Here the head is taken. It is wrapped up in thatch, or grass, or
plantain leaves and slung in a rattan or bamboo basket and is then
hung up in a dark corner to ripen and bleach against the time when
it is to be mounted in the avenue. This is the commonest practice,
but some villages seem to prefer to hoist the head, slung in its
rattan cage, on the top of a tall bamboo fixed in the centre of the
village. This seems to savour of ostentation. Others hang the
heads in aged, heavy foliaged trees, just within the village fence,
but the spirit-house seems to be the more regular place. Wherever
the skull is seasoned it remains until it is cleaned of all ilesh and
sinews and blanched to the proper colour. Then it is mounted in
the avenue. What the ceremonial then is does not very clearly
appear. None but a Wa has ever seen it. There seems, however,
to be much slaughtering of buffaloes, pigs, and fowls, much chanting
of spells by the village wise mcn^ but above all much drinking (if
spirits by everybody. This last item no doubt accounts for the
meagrenesss of the information on the subject. Apparently, how-
ever, the elders of the village carry out the skull wiih glad song and
uplifting of voices, accompanied by every one who is in a condition
to walk, and some traditional invocation or doxology is intoned
before the skull is inducted in its niche. Those who are sober for
this function do not long remain so. The service throughout seems
to be corybantic rather than devotional.
It is noticeable chat no offerings are made in the avenue of skulls.
The skulls are offering, altar, and basilikon in themselves. The
sacrifices are all made at the spirit-house in the village and the
bones, skins, horns, hoofs, feathers are deposited there or in indivi-
dual houses, not in the calvary.
A Wa village is a very formidable place, except for civilized
weapons of offence. Against all the arms which any of their
neighbours possess it is impregnable, and it could not be carried by
direct attack except by a very determined enemy, prepared to
suffer very considerable loss. All the villages are perched high
up on the slope of their hills, usually on a knoll or spine-like spur,
or in a narrow ravine near the crest of the ridge. Thus all of them
are commanded by some neighbouring height, which could, how-
ever, only be used by a force provided with arms of precision.
504
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
Round each village is carried an earthen rampart, six to eight
feet high and as many thick, and this is overgrown with a dense
covering of shrubs, thin bushes, and cactuses so as to be quite im-
penetrable. Outside tliis, at a varying distance from the wall, is
dug a deep ditch or fosse, which would effectually slop a rush,
though it is seldom so broad that an active man could not jump it.
The depth, however, is usually verv formidable, and anyone falling
in, could hardly fail to break a limb, even if his neck escaped.
This chasm is very carefully concealed and must be a very effec-
tual safeguard agamst night attacks.
The only entrance lo the village is through a long tunnel. There
is sometimes only one, though usually there are two at opposite
sides of the village. It is built in the shape of a casemate or a
sunk road, most often of posts and slabs of wood at the sides and
on the top, but not uncommonly of earth overgrown with shrubs,
specially chosen for the purpose, whose branches intertwine and
weave themselves into one another so as to form a densely reticu-
lated rnnf. This tunnelled way is not much higher than a \Va, that
is to say, a few inches over five feet and not quite so much wide, so
that two persons cannot pass freely in it, and it winds slightly so
that nothmg can be fired up it ; moreover the path is frequently
studded with pegs in a sort of dice arrangement, apparently to
prevent a rush. None of them are less than thirty yards long and
some are as much as one hundred paces. The inner end is closed
by a door formed of one, or sometimes two, heavy slabs of wood,
fastened by a thick wooden bolt. A Wa village is therefore by no
means easy to enter without the approval or permission of its
inhabitants, and as some of them lie right across the main tracks
in the country, travelling is by no means easy and the visitor who
feels himself strong enough lo protect his head is fain to admit
that there are other discouragements nearly as weighty. Con-
sequently there is exceedingly litile moving about in the head-
hunting country. A few Shans, tolerated as middlemen and resident
in the Tame Wa country, and some sturdy Hui Hui, Chinese
Mahomedans from the borders of Yunnan, come up yearly with
salt and a little rice and peihaps a few cloths and go back again
with loads of opium, but everything has to'be carried on the backs
of men, for no loaded animal can pass through the narrow village
adits. There is very little trade naturally under such circumstances
and the number of those free of the hills is very limited. Salt,
however, must be had, and the opium from the Wa hills turns over
a heavy profit in China and the Shan country.
Inside the fence the houses stand about without any semblance
of order. The broken character of the ground would prevent this
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
SOS
even if the Wa had any desire to lay out streets, which there is
nothing to show that they have. The houses stand on piles and
the floor is frequently so hi^h that it is possible lo stand erect
underneath. They are substantially built of timber and wattled
bamboo, much more substantially built than the average Shan
house, or indeed the houses of any other hillmen but the Yao-Jen
and the Miaotsu, and they are fairly roomy. The walling and
floors are of planks or rather slabs of wood chipped flat with dhas.
Some of these must have taken weeks and even months to prepare ;
round or oval-shaped doors are often seen in the Wild country. In
shape the houses are rather more oblong than square, but they have
no verandah such as is always found in a Shan house, and the heavy
thatch roof comes down on^ll four sides to about three feet from
the ground. No doubt this is a safeguard against hurricanes and
wind squalls in the hills, but it very effectually excludes all li^ht.
A few houses have a sort of small skylight, little lids in the thatch
which can be lifted up, but these serve rather as a means of letting
out the smoke from the wood fire than as a convenience for illumi-
nation. To enter the house one has to stoop low to get under the
eaves and then scramble up a somewhat inadequate bamboo ladder,
or a still more inadequate sloping post with notches cut in it to
serve for foothold. Chiefs' houses very often have a trough-like
a dug-out ; inside it is almost impossible to see anything either of
the furniture or of the inhabitants. In the centre of the main room
is a platform of bamboo covered with earth for the fireplace.
There are a few stools, about a hand's breadth high, to sit on, a
luxury which the Shan denies himself. He either sits on his heels
or lies down. Besides this there is nothing unless it be the house-
holder's gun, if he has one, or more probably his sheaf of spears,
made of simple lengths of split bamboo, sharpened at both ends
and hardened in the fire. In the sleeping rooms, narrow strips
under the slope of the roof, there is nothing but a mat or two and
a squalid pillow made of raw cotton, or perhaps of a block of
bamboo. Stuck in the thatch of the roof are scores of bones,
mostly of chickens, which have been used for spying out the future
or ascertaining a lucky day. These are usually so grimed over
with smoke that it is almost impossible to distinguish them from
the thatch. The elders seem often to keep a presumably specially
lucky pair in a sort of phial made of bamboo and sometimes rudely
carved.
Each house stands apart on its own plot of uneven ground and is
usually enclosed within a slight fence. Inside this is the record of
the number of buffaloes the owner has sacrificed to the spirits. For
each beast he puts up a forked stick, in shape like the letter Y,
'5o6
UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. tX.
exactly like an overgrown catapult. These are planted in rows and
stand ordinarily from seven to ten feet high, though some arc
smaller. Some houses have rows of these which represent whole
herds of buffaloes. No one is so poor but that he has three or four
of them. Here and there the more important men of the village
have them of huge size, as high as gallows trees and not unlike
them in appearance. Sometimes they are painted black and red
with rude attempts at ghouls' heads, but ordinarily they are the
simple wood, seamed and roughened and split by the rain and
scorched and corrugated by the heat of the sun. The heads of the
buffaloes with the horns are usually piled up in a heap at one end
of the house as a further guarantee of good faith. These forked
sticks are called Eramng Mot ICrak or. IVang On King.
Below the house live the pigs and dogs and fowls. These are
often allowed to fend for themselves, but frequently the pigs have
slab houses built for them or live in holes dug for their accom-
modation in the ground, into or out of which they dive with startling
abruptness. Baskets woven of bamboo and filled with straw are
hung round the houses for the hens to lay in. The dogs do as they
please and live where they like. The \Va eats them regularly, but
does not appear to fatten them for the table as the Tongkinese do.
The \Va dog is apparently a distinct species- He does not in the
least resemble the Chow dog of Kwang-tung, nor ihe black stock
of Tongking, and appears to be in fact simply a dwarf species of
the common pariah dog of India, yellow, or light-brown, short-haired,
about the size of a black and tan, but not so long in the leg and
with a head not so foxy as that of the pariah. Dogs are not offered
as sacrifices; they simply supply the vVa table.
The house of the Ramang or Kraw or headman of the village is
distinguished by the prolongation of the rafters of the gable end
of the house into a fork, or species of St. Andrew's Cross. This is
sometimes gaily painted or even rudely carved in fantastic fashion,
but Wa art is not con'spicuous, or rather is thoroughly inconspicu-
ous. Except that it is usually, but not necessarily, larger than its
neighbours, the headman's house does not differ in 'dwy respect.
Naturally, however, he has a very large forest of forked sticks mdi-
eating the sacrifice of buffaloes. Nevertheless he has not by any
means necessarily the largest collection in the village. In the
debateable country the big village wooden drum is always at his
house.
The Wa are very heavy drinkers and always have a large supply
of rice-spirit. But this appears never to be stored actually in the
owner's house. It is characteristic of the hill tribes to believe in
the general honesty of mankind. Most of them are not civilized
CHAP. IX.
ETHNOLOGV.
507
enough to be thieves. The Akha habitually store their paddy, the
whole produce of their rice-fields and the main staple of their food
for the year, in granaries by the side of public roads and often a
mile or more away from their villages. They have no means of
fastening the doors of these flimsy sheds better than a bit of twist-
ed rattan, so that any one can go in, and the paddy is piled loose in
large split bamboo bins. The reason they give is that the rice so
stored is less exposed to destruction by fire. That any one should
think of carrying it off never appears to occur to them. The Wa
are not quite so confiding, or perhaps they think that the temptation
of liquor is greater. But though they do not keep their liquor cellar
outside the limits of the village^ they never appear to have it in the
Immediate neighbourhood of their dwelling houses. Round the
skirts of the village and usually at the upper end, just inside the
earthen circumvallation, each householder builds himself a small
hut, about the size of an average hen-house. This stands on piles
and is reached by a ladder, and so much confidence is shown that
even this ladder does not appear to be removed, even at night.
Here the VVa liquor is stowed in long bamboo stoups of consider-
able girth, piled up on the rafters, or on cross-beams pat up for the
purpose. These bamboos contain twice as much as the largest
Rehoboam and there are few houses that have not their dozens of
them. The Wa has no fancy to run short in his liquor supply.
The rice they grow is used entirely for making liquor. They eat
none of it, and indeed frequently have to buy more rice so that they
may not run out of drinK. The spirit is very strong and by no
means pleasant in flavour, apart altogether from the fact that it is
usually flavoured with stramoniumj a little of which is always grown
for the purpose. Besides the rice-spiritr they also make a beverage
out of fermented maize and are particularly fond of eating the barm
from which the liquor has been strained off.
Water is always very scarce in Wa villages. Like many of the
hill tribes they believe that the neighbourhood of water produces
fever. Accordingly the village is never built on, or even near, a
stream. What water is wanted the women go and fetch in bamboos
slung on the back. But occasionallv when the water is very distant
they build bamboo aqueducts and bring it into the village from
considerable distances. Bamboos are split in halves to serve as
runnels and these are propped up on wooden struts. The bamboo
channels lie loose, overlapping one another at the ends. The
advantage of this is that the water can be obtained as long as it is
wanted and can be turned off as far from the village as is desirable,
by simply lifting off one of the lengths of bamboo. Considerable
engineering skill is sometimes shown in winding, or zigzagging this
So8
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
aqueduct about, when the water is brought from some height above
the village, so that the supply of water may not come in with too
^\ much violence, as it would if the slope were considerable.
The Wa villages are always of a very remarkable size for moun-
tain settlements, far beyond those of any other hill race in the Shan
States. Doubtless this is intended for safety and self-protection.
If a village consisted of only a few houses, it might offer irresistible
temptation to attack. Moreover, the formidable works necessary
for defence could not easily be executed by a small number. In
the Wild Wa country therefore there are very few \'illages with less
than one hundred households and many have double or treble this
number. If a settlement is very large, it usually has a whole section
of a hill range to itself, or at any rate one side of the slope for its
crops. Frequently, however, three or four villages cluster together,
but though they acknowledge a common Chief, each village has its
separate headman, its separate fields, distinct from those of its
neighbours, and usually on isolated spurs, or on opposite sides of
the slope, and they have their separate feasts. On the outer fringe
among the Tame Wa this is not so, the villages are much smaller,
they are united in large numbers under one Chief and they are
defended by fences no more formidable than are essential to keep
out wild animals, or wandering cattle. In the wild country the two
most powerful Chieftains are Sung Ramang and Ho Hka in the
south and in the north respectively. They are said to rule over a
large number of villages, but the tie seems to be rather that of a
federation than of a Government. Haunches of buffalo and pig and
bamboos of liquor are sent at feast times, and the quarrel of any one
village would be taken up by the whole under the leadership of the
Chief, but any closer form of sovereignty does not appear to exist.
The Wa really form a series of village communities, for the greater
part autonomous and independent of one another, but with certain
indefinite alliances and agreements for the mutual respect of heads,
and possible recognitions of superiority in material strength, with a
vague understanding that all shall unite against a common enemy.
The chief of Pakkatfc, the legendary seat of the race, though pos-
sessed of a big village, does not claim, and is not admitted to have
any influence beyond his village fields, and is indeed described as
a feudatory by the Chief of Ngekiek, who has technically given up
head- hunting.
The Wa are certainly not an enterprising, or an ambitious race.
Even the Tame Wa Hsap Tai, as the Shans call them, those who
border on the Shan States, do not do anything beyond cultivating
their fields. They do not trade ; they do not keep shops ; they
have no markets of their own, though they sometimes go to those
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
509
of their Shan neighbours; they never travel beyond their own
limits from motives of curiosity, or any other sentiment ; the Wild
Wa do so in order to get heads, but for no other object. Hundreds
of them never leave the range on which they were born. They
remain there for all their lives, and probably there are many women
whose knowledge of the world is limited to at the most a ten -mile
radius.
They are, however, very good agriculturists. The clearing and
cultivation of their steep hill-sides implies a life of toil. No field
can be reached without a climb up or down the steep mountain side.
The buckwheat, beans, and maize are never certain crops and are
all they have to live on beside their dogs and pigs and fowls. The
rice they grow to make their liquor is very often planted three
thousand feet or more below the village, and it needs constant atten-
tion all through its existence. But their chief crop is the poppy.
The hill-tops for miles and miles are white with the blossoms in
February' and March. One can make several days' journey through
nothing but opium fields. This is essentially a crop which demands
constant attention. The fields have to be carefully cleared and
constantly weeded and, when the harvest time comes round, the cap-
sules have to be scored with the three-bladed knife at sunset and
the sap collected on leaves at daybreak the next morning. The
enormous amount of opium produced shows that the Wa are not a
lazy people. Indeed they are an exceedingly well-behaved, indus-
trious, and estimable race, were it not for the one foible of cutting
strangers' heads off and neglecting ever to wash themselves.
In appearance they are not altogether attractive. They have
short sturdy figures, perhaps a little too broad for perfect proportion,
but many of the men are models of athletic build, and the women, like
most of the women of the hill tribes, have very substantial charms
and marvellously developed legs. In complexion they are much
darker than any of the hill-people of this part of Indo-China, even
if allowance be made for dirt, for they never wash. They are con-
siderably darker even than the swarthy Akha, who otherwise are the
darkest tribe in the hills. The Akha, however, are a totally distinct
race and are remarkable for their size among races who as a rule
are short, while the Wa are smaller even than the Shans. In fea-
tures the Wa are bullet-headed with square faces and exceedingly
heavy jaws. The nose is very broad at the nostrils, but othenvise is
much more prominent than that of the Shan, who cannot be said to
have a bridge to his nose at all. The eyes are round and well
opened and, though the brows are by no means low, they are round-
ed rather than straight. The Tame Wa allow their hair to grow
long enough to form a mop of shagg)' unkemptness, for they never
5to
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IX.
seem to run even their finders through ii. This gives them a much
wilder appearance than the real Wild Wa, who crop their hair short.
Heavy eyebrows do not improve the type of face, but on the whole
it is not a degraded type and gives no suggestion of the savagery of
the head-hunter.
Their dress is soon described. In the hot weather neither men
nor women wear anything at all, or only on ceremonial occasions.
At other seasons the men wear a strip of coarse cotton cloth about
three fingers' broad. This is passed between the legs, tied round
the waist, and the ends, which are tasselled, hang down in front.
Viewed as an ornament, which seems to be the latter day ultracivi-
lized object of clothing, it is inconspicuous, or rather conspicu-
ously ineffective. Regarded as a means of protecting or conceahng
the body, which may be supposed to have been the first duty of gar-
ments, it is absolutely inadequate. In the cold weather they throw
a coarse home-woven coverlet — their bed in fact — over their shoul-
ders and throw it off when the sun gets well up.
The women would do wtrll perhaps to adhere constantly to their
hot weather dress, a few bead necklaces. They do not, however.
For the greater part of the year they think it necessary to wear a
petticoat, if thai can be called a petticoat which begins at the hips
and ends considerably above the knees and being fastened by a half
hitch in front, and formed of coarse stiff material, is really obtrusive
in its failure to effect what is ordinarily considered the main purpose
of clothing. The garment is as a matter of fact of thesamejengih
as that of the more civilized Wa women, but instead o( being
allowed to /all down to mid-calf as with them, is always worn doubled.
Thus as mere drapery it is ungraceful and as a covering for the
body it can only be called shameless. But it is the shamclessness of
the Garden of Eden. Inside their villages in the warm weather they
dispense altogether with this equivocal garment and limit their dress
to their ornaments, which consist of silver ear-lubes which are like
gigantic carpet-tacks, necklaces of cowries or seeds, and fillets of
twisted straw or bamboo spathes, which bind up their hair in the
case of the married women, while the unmarried girls wear a straw
cap which suggests a strawberry pottle more than anything else.
In this garb they have no hesitation in confronting a company of
strangers, and the modesty or false shame, whichever culture or
Philistinism may choose to call it, is certainly not on the side of the
women, whether they are fifteen years of age or fifty. The state of
dirt of both men and women is absolutely beyond belief and is only
limited by the point beyond which extraneous matter refuses to
adhere to human flesh.
CHAP. IXT^
ETHNOLOGY.
511
Polyandry is not known. Polygamy is permissible, but is not
much practised ; wives are bought for a few buffaloes, if ihe girl is
handsome, or of a good family ; or for a dog or fowl or two, if her
attractions or her family are not conspicuous- The first child
belongs to the parents of ihe wife, but can be bought by the father
and mother if they want it.
The above is in great part taken from a paper which appeared in
the Asiatic Quarterly in ]iin\i3iry 1896, and deals with the Wild VVa
only.
The Tame Wa are found along the Salween in Maw Hpa, Mang
Lon, Mot Hai, Kang Hsu, S6n Mu, Ngek Hting, Lon Long, and in
the greater part of Ngeklek. Some at any rale of the States of
the latter confederacy, however, seem to indulge in head-hunting, or
at any rate have fits of it. On the skirts of the Chinese Shan States,
of M6ng Meng and M^ng TOng the Wa are also tame, and the same
is the case in the Pet-ken and other parts along the Mi^ng Lem
border. This tameness, however, only extends to the one detail of
the hunting of heads.
Material prosperity seems rather to exist in inverse ratio to the
degree of civilization. The Gaungpyat Lawa, as the Burmese call
the head-harriers, have the most substantial villages and houses,
the broadest fields, the greatest number of buffaloes, pigs, dogs,
and fowls. They have also the best conceit of themselves, the most
ornaments, and the least clothes. The intermediate Wa fall some-
what away In material possessions; the Tame Wa, with their civi-
lization, find their houses dwindle to hovels, their fields shrink to
plots, not extending to three acres and without the cow, and Instead
of ornaments they wear clothes. They are therefore much more
fikhy than (he true savages. This is hardly the fault of civiliza-
tion, for the word has no application in most parts of the hills and is
as comparative as the respective morality of a company promoter
and a handkerchief thief. Nevertheles Mr. Warry says: —
"The Chinese regard the Wa'a views upon skull-collecting as a rough
index to the degree of civilization he has attained to. The proper Wild Wa
takes any heads, those of strangers and innocent people by preference. A
litllc above biin comes the Wa who reslriLts his collection to hoads taken
in fight and to those of thieves and dacoils. That Wa is considered well
on the way to reclamation who only imys heads, though perhaps he may
not make minute enquiry as to whether they were honestly come by; and
at the top of the scale comes the Wa who has cured himself of ihe passion
for human skulls and exhibits only those of bears^ panthers, and other wild
beasts."
But beyond this there are Wa, certainly only on the outskirts of
the country, who put up no heads of any kind. Some of them
Sia
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
claim to be Buddhists ; others make no claim to anything at al!, not
even to the pity of their neighbours.
Mang Lon is the chief VVa State, only because the Sawbwa has
succeeded In getting all his villages to recognize his authority- In
the wild country, and to a great extent in the semi-wild country,
each village is practically autonomous, or at best there is a fede-
ration of villages on the same hill mass. In S6n Mu and Kang Hso
a central authority is also recognized, but much more loosely than in
Mang Lon, and what union there is is intended rather for resistance
to outside violence or interference, than for administrative purposes.
In Mang Lon the Wa are all nominally Buddhists, but their
fervour and doctrinal knowledge leave much to be desired. None
of the villages in this State, however, mount skulls outside their
gates and there are few, if any, o1 the ivang iin-keng, the forked
sticks set up to denote tliat a buffalo has been sacrificed to the spirits.
This indeed is the rule all along the Salween and on the northern and
eastern borders, whether the inhabitants are Buddhists or not.
Here and there the skulls of wild animals are found and, to prove
the rule, in an odd village, even in such a State as Maw Hpa, a
human skull or two is to be seen. These are always declared to
have belonged to incorrigible thieves.
Nawng Hkeo, the mountain lake, may be considered to be the
centre of the head-hunting villages, and the farther one gets from
there the fewer are the skulls and the older the specimens. The
Wild Wa country, so far as it has any definite frontier at all, may
be considered to be bounded on the west by the Nam Ma and Nam
Pang and a line joining these two rivers ; on the east by the Loi
Maw range beyond the Nam Hka ; on the south the head-hunters
Jiardly extend beyond Pakkatfe ; and lo the north, as far as is known,
only to the range which forms the boundary with China, Even
inside these limits there are many villages which have given up
regular raids. Outside of them there is a marked change. The
villages decrease in size. They have not the formidable ditches and
tunnels which are found among the Wa Hai, except where thev are
necessary for self-protection, and gradually one comes to villages
which are fenced in the ordinary way or have no need even for fen-
ces. Similarly the skull avenues decrease in length and in fresh-
ness. The heads are old and compare badly with the grinning
honours of the head-hunter's village, or they are bought, or are the
skuUs of local malefactors. Thus through a zone of lichen-grown,
weather-stained skulls one comes to /a,ii-j('^Hg (head posts), which
either have the skulls of wild animals or are empty altogether.
Finally even the groves, or avenues of trees in which the on gru
CHAP. IX.
ETHNOLOGY.
S'3
pan^^ kaii, as the line of kWawng-ngai or iak-htng is called, once
stood, disappear, and one is among what the Nawng Hkeo people
call the La» With the prosperity of the skull avenue seems to be
bound up the number of the -wang iin-keng, the forked posts which
show the number of buffaloes sacrificed. Even in the debateable
zone many villages seem to have only two or three large specimens
of these for the use and credit of the whole village, and in the outer
fringe even these disappear.
The Tame Waare divided into five different clans — the Hsin Lam,
Hsin Leng, Hsm Lai, the Hta Mo, and Mot No. The distinction
appears in the waistcloth, which is striped or chequered in various
patterns, or in different colours, for the so-called septs, This is,
however, all the difference there really is, and, though the dialects of
the Wild and the Tame Wa do not quite correspond, the language is
undoubtedly the same. The division of the Wild Wa into Wa Pwi
and Wa Lon or Lawn is also no doubt quite as needless, though
the Wa Pwi declare the Wa Lon to be very degraded. This as-
sertion appears, however, to imply no more than that they are better
at getting heads than the Wa Pwi.
The distinction of Msin Leng, Hsin Lam, and so on seems to
have corresponded in a way to the clan tartans of the Scottish High-
landers, for Ngek Lek is said to be chief of the Hsin Lai, Ngek
Hting of the Hsm Lam, and Lon No, or Loi Lon of the Hsin Leng.
Now-a-days, however, they are much intermixed. The Tame Wa let
their hair grow long and cut it across the forehead in a Whitechapel
fringe. They have no head-dress and use no combs. Their hair is as
thick as a door-mat in consequence and as comely to look at as the
same door-mat chewed by puppy dogs. This gives them a pictu-
resquely wild appearance and they look much more like savages than
the Wa Pwi, who crop the head close except for a tuft on the top,
moreof the size of the Gurkha's salvation lock, than of the boot-brush
which decorates the head of the Cambodian or the old-fashioned
Siamese. In some places, especially in the Pet-ken, the men wear
numbers of silver necklaces, or rather chains of silver, hanging well
below the chest, and rudely fashioned bangles ; chicken bones in
couples are also often worn in the ears. The women and children
have a profusion of bead necklaces and are fond of silver buckles,
buttons, and spangles, besides a variety of bracelets and ear-tubes
terminated in front by a large shield. These are all of silver, of
which there is a great quantity everywhere except in the western
States. In many villages all the men have silver- mounted pipes
about a yard long.
The clothes worn are all woven by the village women. Cotton is
grown to some extent, but probably only when clothes are required,
65
5 '4
_ ■<x>t
THE
UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CftAP. IX,
for the crop is only seen here and there. The waistdoths and
coverlets are coarse, but very strong, and some of them are decorat-
ed with patterns by no means unpleasing. Unforlunatelv, however, a
Wa seems to have only one suit and one blanket in alf his life, and
indeed some of the garments look as if they were family heir-looms,
with the stains of generations on them.
The Wild Wa are certainly very much darker than the Tame Wa,
They have also more sharply marked features and these have even
an approach to regularity which can seldom be said of a Shan or a
Burman. The Wild Wa look more like the La'hu than any of their
neighbours, and they occasionally grow a moustache, which the Tame
Wa either do not or cannot. In complexion they are very dark,
almost as dark as negroes or negritoes. There is ncvertlieless no
doubt that they are of the same race as the Tame Wa. Most of
them smoke opium, but eating it seems to be the more common
practice, and they thrive on it like the Sikhs.
It is said that the Wild Wa bury all their dead, or at any rate the
adults, at the foot of the steps leading up to the house. This is
certainly the case in the intermediate country with the families of
Ramattgs, the Chiefs, and with the more noteable people. The coffin
is the hollowed out trunk of a tree and the- graves are six to eight
feet deep. The personal ornaments of the deceased are buried with
the body and possibly this is the reason for having the graves at
the front door. Commoner people are buried by the road-sides
close to the village. The graves are mounded over and enclosed
fay a slight fence, but except for a few stars and quaint devices cut
in bamboo suspended on sticks there is nothing to distinguish one
grave from another, and these appear never to be renewed and do
not last over more than one rainy reason. Near some of their vil-
lages there are huge barrows, which are pointed out as the sepul-
chres of the early Wa, who are sard to have been giants. One of
these, a mile or so north of Hpang Lon in the Loi Lon State, is
nearly one hundred yards long, three feet or more high, and broad
in proportion. Most of the tumuli are, however, considerably shorter.
A reasonable account of them is still required. So far as is known
none of the other hill races have similar barrows.
In some wild Wa villages there were also seen collections of
boulders with pointed stones standing in the centre and in Sung
Ramang there was a large flat stone propped up on several others
in cromlech fashion. These may have been graves, but they were
said to be the abodes of the house spirits. The one does not neces-
sarily exclude the other.
It is said that in the north, about the sources of the Nam Ma, the
women tattoo their faces and bosoms. This suggests the Chia
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
5'5
custom, but the fact has not yet been substantiated among the Wa«
As a race they do not tattoo, but some of those on the Shan bor-
ders have devices tattooed on the arms and chests to serve as
charms in the Shan fashion.
Spirit worship is the only religion, and there seem to be no gene-
ral feasts except when heads are dedicated, and therefore there
are no regularly recurring feast days. They are held by villages
and families when there are particular dangers or necessities. The
village spirit is called Hknm y^ng and is not held in any particular
esteem, though the heads are offered to him. The spirit of the
house, called Ariya or Liy^-a, is the one who concerns the Wa most
directly, who is most feared and therefore considered most power-
ful. Buffaloes, pigs, and fowls are sacrificed fairly regularly to
keep him quiet, but there are no fixed worship days even for him ;
any worry or ailment in the household suggests that it is time a
sacrifice were made. The forked Erawng Mot fCrak keep tally of
these offerings. The spirits of the flood and the fell are called
Ariyuom and Hkiimturu respectively. They are only appeased by
offerings when a party is out head -hunting. Human sacrifices, to say
nothing of cannibalism, seem to be quite unknown. There appears
to be no regular priestly class ; any old man can conduct the invo-
cations, but in most villages some one or more are considered
especially suitable or expert. At the only service seen, five old
men sat on the open verandah in front of the house, arranged in a
circle^ Gourds and fruit and vegetables were hung to the posts in
front of the house ; pigs and fowls with their legs tied, lay down
below ; each man had a little pile of coloured heads of grass and
cotton in front of him. They sang a kind of a chant in monotone,
ending in a shout at regular intervals, and all the while threw shreds
of cotton and the downy grass seeds on a bamboo platter in the
centre. The chant might be rendered —
Daughter
Matter
Taught her
Fatter
Wrought her
Patter
Sought her
Tatter
Bought her
Batter
Caught her
Chatter
Fought her
Blatter
Water
Drat her
Oh-h-h 1
Oh-h-h !
continued at infinite length and with apparently no more sequence
of ideas than is contained in the above collocation of words. After
quite an hour of it the fowls without their feathers and legs of pork
Si6
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. I3t.
were hung round the eaves of the house. Bamboos full of liquor
were more discreetly bestowed inside.
A Wild Wa dance has not been seen. The Tame Wa imitation
is not unlike the La'hu and Akha dances, but the performers do not
face inwards, and have no conlplicated steps. Like the Khasias
they carry green branches in their hands. They commence by
3[oing round at a dignified walk to the sound of a rhythmic chant
ike the above, broken at intervals by a choral shout, when al!
eap with both feet off the ground. The difference in the various
dances is not apparent, but in the head-hunter's dance the pace gra-
dually increases as in the Khalak dance, and it is possible to imagine
the performers working themselves into a frenzy. The Wa of the
Pet-ken have a musical instrument which they call a kawkang^ ap-
parently made out of the tip of a buffalo horn. On this they play
rather grotesque little airs. It is something like an ocarina in shape,
but is very little more pleasing than the tin trumpet of childhood,
and the airs do not seem to get beyond the same standard.
Recent enquiries have shown that the area in which the securing
of heads is thought to be necessary for a good harvest is much
more restricted than was at first thought. It is also certain that
the Wa are not nearly so ferocious as they have for years had the
credit of being. Heads are not lopped off for mere wanf onness, but
as a sort of auto dafi^ or at any rate on mistaken agricultural theo-
ries. Apart from this foible, the Wa are admitted to be not bad
neighbours. They are not thieves like the Kachins and the Kwi,
and they do not make raids and burn villages. The cutting off of
heads inevitably tempers esteem, and the amount they drink and
the extent to which they neglect to wash, tend to create dislike, but
otherwise their qualities command approval. They are brave, in*
dependent, energetic, ingenious, and industrious. They are not
cannibals, but they eat the friend of man ; they are not undressed,
but they are nude j they are extraordinarily diligent cultivators, but
they are very occasionally sober. They bring water with much
skill from long distances by bamboo aqueducts into the interior of
their villages, and they throw cleverly slung bamboo and rattan
bridges over wide rivers, but the water inside the village seems only
to be wanted to make liquor with and the bridges appear to be
intended to avoid an involuntary washing of their persons.
West of the Salween there are no Wa who own to that pame.
Wa outside the Wa There are some villages of so-called La scattered
eounfy- about in the Kachin portion of North Hsen Wi,
but they do not own to relationship with the people of the Wa
country any more than they will admit any connection with the Pa-
CHAP. IX.
ETHNOLOGY.
S»7
laung or the Rlang tribes. But, on paper at any rate, they can be
contradicted out of their own mouths.
In Kenglung State there are many villages whose inhabitants
own to the name of \Va and there are a great many other tribes
with quite different names, who appear to be indisputably Wa.
Concerning these Mr. G. C. B. Stirling is the chief and in many
cases the only authority. He says : — •
" The people calling themselves Wa and known to the Shans by this
name arc spirit-worshippers. Tht- men generally wear a loin cloth and go
bare-headed, though in many villages ttie youths have begun to adopt the
Shan trousers and turban. They live in the hills at a moderate elevation
and descend to work irrigated fields wherever these can be laid out. A ll^a
has but one wife. At a marriage a feast is given to the whole village, and
presents made by the bridegroom to his wife's par^'nts. There is no fixed
rule requiring a man to live with, and worlt for, his wife's family. He may
do so, or he may set up house for himself at once. Divorce Is unusual, but
a man can get it by paying a small sum of money to the woman. The dead
are always buried. The great spirit sacrifice of the year is held just before
the fields are sown. Fowls, pigs, or any other animals may be sacrificed.
The unconverted Wa regard the Tai Loi and other Buddhist hillmen as of
the same race, though tribal distinctions are insisted on. They know that
at one time (hey held all the valley lands of Kengtuog and were driven
thence by the Hkon and Lu. They seem to think that they originally came
from a country cast of the MCrkhong, but it is unccrtaio whether they have
any real tradition to this effect."
Of the Tai Loi Mr. Stirling says : —
" The name Tai Loi, though often used loosely by the Shans to denote
_ . . . any hill tribe that has been converted to Buddhism*
^' '■ signifies fiar excellence people of iVa origin who have
adopted the religion. The people so designated call themselves IVa, or JVa
Kitt ('* ihc Wa who were kft, or remained " — left, that is, after the Hkon
conquest of the country). In this connection it must be remembered that
the original Kerigtung State was a very small place. Probably it compris-
ed little more than the central valley in which the capital town lies, bven
at the time when the term "thirty-two cities of the HkOn " more or less
truly indicated the area settled, the country was of but limited extent.
According to tradition these Wa Kut remained within the conquered terri-
tory and settled in the hills, where they still remain, by virtue of an agree-
ment, or treaty, between their leaders and the Hkdn chief, Mang Rai.
They had thus a good opportunity of profiting by Shan civilization, and it
must be many years since they adopted Buddhism, and became known as
Tai Lot, or hill Shans. Their marriage customs arc. the same as the Hkon.
They bury their dead, except pdngyis and very old men, whose bodies are
burned. They sacrifice, and make offerings, to spirits in the same way as
the Hkon. Regarding these non-Kuddhistic customs and beliefs, however,
there seems reason to think that the Hkon borrowed from their Wa Kut
neighbours as much as they gave them."
As to the history of the Wa in KengtOng State and its neigh-
bourhood reference may be made to the head of KengtQng. At-
5t8
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAI'. IX.
tention may be drawn to the legend of the gourd, which also ap-
pears in one of the Rumai traditions. The golden stag which
Mang Rai of Chiengmai chased may also be noted in connection
with the notable figure supposed to be visible at the Maw Hkam,
the Gold Mine in the Wa Pet-ken. Mr. Stirling says : —
" The Tame \Va of Kengtung certainly have a tradition of having been
driven from the valley by the Hkfin. The Tai Loi (Wa Kiit) agree with
the Kengtung annals in saying they got the hills of the main valley by
virtue of a treaty with the Hkon. The Mong Yawng account mentions that
a village of hill people (presumably Wa) stayed behind • to eat prawns,
and were captured. They have since been subject to the Mung Yawng
Shans. The H'a that I have questioned gave th<» latter explanation. The
Wa Kut, they said, had been captured while cookin:; food.
'' I feel so little doubtful about the legend o( the Hkon conquering Keng-
tang — from Chieng Hal — as one can be about such things. The belief in
the ' Lawa' being the aborigines of the couutry (or at least the inhabitants
immediately preceding the Hk6n) seems widespread. So many of the Wa
tribes are now Buddhist.^ that it seems to point to their having been here
a long time. I do not know any case of Kaw or Muhs&, or any of the later
immigrants, adopting Buddhism."
Besides these self-admitted Wa and Tai Loi Mr. Stirling has
collected vocabularies of a number of tribes with undoubted Wa
affinities, some of whom show strong connecting links with the
Rumai on the one side and the Hka-mQk on the other. These
are: the En, the Sawn, the Angku or Hka-Ia, the Pyin or Pyen, the
Amok or Hsen Hsum or Hsem, and a race called the Loi of Mong
Lwe, who believe themselves lo be Hka-mQks, a concession which
few of these patois-speaking clans can bring themselves to entertain.
There are also Darang who call themselves Palaung. Of these
tribes generally it may be said that the Tai Loi or Wa Kiit are very
fervent Buddhists like the Rumai and have fine wats and pagodas;
they also grow tea, and several families live in one house. The
Pyin and Hsem are usually Buddhists and so also are the En, who
very often have monasteries, but without resident monks Perhaps it
would be more correct to say that these last three clans are becoming
Buddhists as also are the Angku or Hka-la. Of the En Mr. Stir*
ling says : —
" The people kaown as Kn by the Shans call themselves by this name.
They repudiate any connection with the Wa, and deny that their languages
arc mutually intelligible. They profess Buddhism and have monasteries
in their villages, but very rarely a priest. Their conversion in fact seems
to be in an early stage. The great spirit feast of the year is held in the
6th month just before the rains. There is a wise man in every village who
directs wliat is to be done to propitiate the spirits. Pigs and fowls are
usually sacriticed at the general ceremonies, in which the whole village lakes
part, and always in the case of private offerings to get rid of sickness. The
spirits worshipped are those of the hills and forests, and a belief id Chetr
powers is deep-rooted.
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
5^9
"Over extensive areas the pt^ople will not work hHI fields for fear of
offending the spirits. If a tree fs felled they say a man dies. Though dis-
tinctly a hill people ill their habits, Iheir villages are fixed, they are content-
ed to live at a moderate elevation, aud they descend to work lowland fields.
If the supply is at all distant, water is led into the village in pipes. When a
woman is sought in marriage the usu.il presents of betf I and lea, with a leg
of pork, are given t» her parents, but no money, A man may have more
than one wife if he can afford it. A newly wed pair sometimes live with
the wife's parents and sometimes set up house for themselves at once. In
cases of divorce it is customary to give five rupees and a pig to the village
headman, who pronounces it, but nothing is given to the woman. The En
bury their dead and usually place the deceased's clothes with the body.
No money or valuables are buried. The clothing of men and women is
generally the same as the Shan, but dark blue turbans are usually worn.
'' En from Enlorgand other villages west of the Nam Lwc come into Keng-
tOng town to cut grass for the Sawb-wa's pontes. Every twenty-second day
the men are relieved by a frcsli party. 1 his is an old custom, but its origin
has been forgotten."
The Riang tribes : Yang Hsek and Yang Lam.
The Burmese call them Yin. Yang Is the ordinary Shan name
for the various tribes of Karens.
The Yang Lam are found throughout the whole strath^ or stretch
of undulating plain between Mong Nai and South Hsenwi. The
Yang Hsck and the Yang Wan Run are not so widely distributed
nor so numerous. The former are in greatest strength in the State
of Mong Sit, but they are also found in Mting Nai and Mawk Mai
and stray villages occur in other States. The Yang Wan Kun are so
called by the Shans from the Wan Kun circle of Laihka, which is
the stronghold of the tribe. They arc not, however, confined to that
circle, but have spread into parts of Mong Nai State.
Mr. G. C. B. Stirling says of them :
" The three tribes are inclined to look upon each other as different
races, but their language shows them to be one. TIie nearer approach of
the Yanglam of the north to the Shans has led to the introduction of many
Shan words, but the language is radically the same as that of their brethren
farther south.
" The degrees of relationship are apparently designated by separate words
and there is some diversity in the names used. The Vang Hsek call them-
selves Riang {or Kiang Kioi) ; the Yangwankuu use the form Riang Rting ■
the Vanglam occasionally give the name Rinng, but usually accept the name
given them by the i^hans. The convertibility of r and y accounts for the
bhan form.
"The language is quite distinct from Shan, Taungthu, and Karenni."
The resemblances with Wa and Palaung are remote, but seem
regular enough to be conclusive to a student, though the people
themselves will not admit any connection.
gao
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP, IX.
Mr. Stirling adds :
"They look upon themselves and arc regarded by the Shans as dwellers
in these States from time immemorial, and they eertainly must havp been
here for a very long time. No tradition of any immigration or first settle-
ment appears to have been handed down, but it is to be noted that (he
Yanghsck and Yangwankun (who have preserved a more distinct na-
tionality) are very timid and not at all disposed to answer questions.
" The Yanglam have amalgamated with the Shans to a much greater
extent than the other two tribes. Mixed villages of Shans and Yanglam
arc frequent, and in such cases the * Black Karens ' are often cultivators of
low-land rice-flelds. In South MscDwi and Kehsi M^nsam they cultivate a
good deal of cotton besides upland rice. The Yanglisck and VanErwankua
on the contrary seem always to live in villages distinct from the Slians and
do not appear even to have wet cultivation. As with the great majority of
the hill tribes the outward distinction between Vangs and Shans and be-
tween the different tribes ol the Yang is the dre.ss of the women. The men's
dress is the same as the Shans.
'' The Yanglam women wear a closed skirt, belted round the waist and
reaching nearly to the ankles. It is made of dark blue home-spun, and a
jacket of the same colour and material completes the dress. The effect is
sombre, but the dress is modest and becoming, which cannot be said of many
of the feminine hill fashions. The Yangwankun use the same material for
petticoat and bodice, but the garments are more scanty and fit closer to the
figure, and the bodice is elaborately embroidered and ornamented with beads.
Round the waist they have coils of thin bamboo or cane, varnished with
wood-oil like those of the Palaung and Kachin women. Similar rings
garter the k-g below the knee.
"The Y'anghsek wear a blouse or smock-frock which is striped red and
white and is the only garment visible. Their garter rings are madeof brass
wire.
"Reed-pipes {/wi) are played by each tribe and the music produced,
though very monotonous, is not unpleasant. The Yanghsck national dance
is a most vigorous performance and apparently represents courtship.
Twenty or 30 men singing a sort of chant prance around some half dozen
women, who every now and then turn sharp round and evade the advances
made to them by threading their way through ihi* dancers to the other side
of the group. The Wan Kun Yang take their amusements stolidly. A
line of men, one or two of whom play the pipes, place themselves opposite
an equal number of women.
" Both sing softly, but the danci ng consists of the least possible motion of
the feet and bodies.
"The three tribe-s are Buddhists but also worship »ji/^, or at all events pro-
pitiate them with offerings."'
Notwithstanding the pronounced denial of these Riang tribes
there can be little doubt that they are of the Rumai or Wa stock,
whichever of these is the older. But long separation has no doubt
affected their language so greatly that neither a Rumai of Tawng
Peng nor a Wa of Ngek Lek would understand them. They may
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY,
form a connecting link if further information is gathered of a
Palaung migration from Thaton or of the expulsion of the " Lawa "
from the Siamese Tai States and from Kengtung.
Hka Milks, Ilka Mels, and Hka Ktvtn^.
These tribes are undoubtedly cognate and are known by a
variety of names : Kamu, Kamet by the Burmese, lumped together
as Hka Ch6 by the Siamese ; Lam€t among the Shans and, at
!east occasionally, among other neighbours and themselves ; while
the Chinese call them P'u-mang.
So far as Is known there are no permanent settlements of them
in British territory unless that of the " Loi" in Mong Lwe, but they
are excellent foresters and great numbers of them come for work in
the teak forests. They are also of great interest philologically
and their language has been thought to have similarities with the
Palaung, the Wa, and the Khasia; For this reason they are noted
here, and vocabularies will be found elsewhere which may substan-
tiate or overthrow these surmises.
M. Pavie and other French enquirers are persuaded that these
tribes are the aboriginal tribes of many parts of Annam and Tong*
king and did not come from the north. It is certain that they do
not understand Chinese and are singular among the hill tribes in
this respect.
The tribes have different dialects just as the women have
different bshions of dress, but the variations do not seem to be
very great and the same general type of face runs through all three.
They are short in stature, much more swarthy than most of their
neighbours, with heavy irregular features which do not greatly
differj except in dullness of expression, from the Tai races. The
men dress like the Shans in blue or white coats, buttoning on
the right side, atid blue trousers. Frequently there is a stripe of
red, white, or yellow on the legs of the trousers, or the coat sleeves.
The Hka Muk tie the hair right on top of their heads ; the Hka
Met more towards the forehead. Occasionally they wear turbans,
white, red>or yellow, worn level with the forehead; often they have
Shan hats with no turban. Many of the men part their hair in
the middle and sleek it well down, which is apt to give them the
meek and epicene appearance of the stock curate of the comedy
stage. The women wear petticoats with horizontal stripes of colours
differing with the tribes, and near the Mdkhong all have sleeveless
coats of blue cloth which fail to reach the top of the petticoat. In
the remoter villages the Hka M^t ladies limit their costume to a
dagger-like skewer thrust through their chignons. The women
66
522
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. !X-
of all the tribes, but especially the Hka Mets, have an amplitude of
figure, a breadth of shoulder, and a phenomena! tievelopment of
calf and thigh which possibly account for the subdued appearance
of iheir husbands. The Hka Muks cat snakes and are reputed to
prefer them to anything else in the way of a meat diet. The fact
that the snake is poisonous makes no difference. They carefully
cut out the poison glands before skinning.
All three tribes are essentially forest dwellers, but the Hka
Moks are the best known from the distances they travel to obtain
employment from timber traders. The villages are seemingly
always circular in shape and the houses all stand close together,
without the yards and gardens always found round Tai houses.
They are built of bamboo and thatched with gra?s, and the village
site is usually a sheltered ridge, or the slope of a valley. Little
besides hill rice seems to be grown, and the villages are full of pigs
and poultry, but cattle or buffaloes are rarely seen. Many of the
Hka Muks have accepted Buddhism so far as to build monasteries
and support monks, but the national religion is spirit-worship.
It is asserted by French enquirers that a young man has to serve
for his wife, in the house of her parents, for a longer or shorter
time. The price of a wife varies from fifteen to sixty rupees, and
possibly the difference indicates as much length of apprentice-
ship as greater fascinations or rank. Morality is lax ; divorces are
frequent and are arranged on strictly pecuniary lines. So are
illegitimate births. They cost thirty rupees to the presumed father
ana he has to do the house work until the woman is about again.
" Cet accidetif est, f>aratt-il, assesfr^oueut" The dead are buried in
the jungle some distance from the village ; in coflins if that expense
can be afforded ; ordinarily in their clothes only or wrapped in a
mat. A wake is held and offerings made to the spirits. The
grave is surrounded by a slight bamboo fence. While this lasts
offerings are made to the spirit of the deceased. When it dis-
appears the grave is forgotten.
It is noticed that among the Hka Kwen, the children shave their
heads on the death of a parent. Girls do not do so after they are
sixteen years old. The Hka Moks and Hka Mets have not this
custom, and it is apparently unknown among other hill tribes, as
indeed are any visible tokens of mourning on the part of relatives
of the deceased.
Village headmen are the judges. Murder is purged by a
wergild of one hundred and twenty rupees ; theft by the payment
of double the value of the thing stolen, and so on on primitive princi-
ples. Other cases are more singular and original. If two buffaloes
CHAP.
Ethnology.
523
belon^in^ to different owners fi^ht and one is killed, the carcase
is divided between the two and eaten ; the \-ictorious buffalo is sold
and the money divided. But, if the unfortunate beast was tied up
so that he was handicapped in the fight, seven rupees are due to the
proprietor and the procedure is otherwise the same.
If a buffalo kills a man, the character of the beast is enquired
into. H the buffalo is notoriously dangerous, the relatives of the
deceased receive the full lite money, one hundred and twenty rupees ;
otherwise only half that sum.
If a dog bites a man so as to draw blood, the owner of the dog
has to pay the victim a rupee and a fowl. The fowl is offered to
the spirits to secure speedy healing of the wound. If the wound is
slight, tlie fine is reduced to a hen's egg and enough cotton to
make a wristlet for the sufferer. This wristlet is of the kind worn
by the Burmese and all Indo-Chinese races to ward off evil spirits
and act as a safeguard against cholera.
Mr. Warington Smyth (Notes on the Geography of the Upper
Mfekhong) relates the following tradition : —
'* The Lao and the Khaclie were once brothers. Their father died and
left to be divided between them a box containing two bundles and an ele-
phant and her young one. It was agreed that the Khache should have first
choice, and he took the smallest bundle, which lay at thu top, and found
therein the tiny waist-cioth which he wears to this day, the Lao getting a
fine panutig (the waist-cloth of the Siamese), which he lias ever since
adopted. The Khache, not to be beaten thus, chose the biggest elephant and
took her away home with him. But she grew sad in her heart, and her
thoughts wtnt towards her child, so she bolted away and returned to the
baby, the Lao thus getting both. TIk- Khache thereupon returned up into
the hills in the sulks, and has ever since remained there without clothes or
elephants.'*
The Karen Tribes.
The Karens are treated of at some length in the British Burma
Qasetteer of 1879. A good deal of the information given is of the
nature of a history of tartans. More extensive details are to be
found in Mr. D, M. Smeaton's Loyal Karens of Burma. Nothing
is given here therefore as regards the race as a whole, whether with
respect to dress, traditions, language, or customs. The vocabularies
and local usages of the groups to be found in the Shan States may
lead to the determination of the original stock and its place of origin.
It may be hazarded that all the facts point to the correctness of
the conclusions of Mon. Terrien de Lacouperieand of Dr. Gushing
that the languages are connected with, but not descended from,
Chinese, and that the people are pre-Chinese like the Tai, and not
Thibetan, or aboriginal, or the descendants of the lost Ten Tribes,
524
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTF.F.R. [CHAP. IX.
The suggestion that the Karens are kinsmen of the liming, the
so-called Miao-tsz, remains no more than a random guess. As
elsewhere suggested, we may find that the Hmcng are far-off cousins
of the Mon or Talaings. Whether their religious traditions, which
have attracted so much attention, were derived from the Jewish
settlements In China, or are the relics of a distant past like the far
carried boulders left us by the glacial age, may never be definitely
proved, but it can hardly be amiss to point out that savage fancy
m many places recalls Biblical statements. The Burmese story
of the Thalesan reminds one of the " fruit of that forbidden tree
The Wa have a similar story {v. sub. voc, Mang L6n). Tradi-
tions of a deluge are common. Mr. Stirling in his KengtDng notes
gives the Hkiin belief at some length, and the list might be
extended.
ft is sufficient to state briefly here that there are three great
divisions of the Karen race — the Sgau, Pwo, and Bghai or Bwfe
Karens. Dr. Gushing thinks that the Sgau dialect will gain the
mastery. It differs from Pwo in having no final consonants, which
is characteristic also of Bghai. This latter dialect includes the
language of the Red Karens and differs most noticeably in its
system of numeration. It somewhat resembles Sgau, but possesses
a large number of separate roots. Taungthu there is now no
doubt is a dialect of Pwo.
The Karen-fii.
It seems probable that the Red Karens are nearer in language
and in customs to the original slock than the Pwo and Sgau Karens.
The resemblances now existing are, however, greater in forms of
speech than in appearance and manners. The Karen-ni live to-
gether in a compact territory much as the Wa do and, except for a
few Shan villages and some of Taungthu and Yimbaw, also called
Laku Po, or Lesser Padaungs, there are few besides the Red Karens
in Eastern Karen-ni. In Bawlakfe ihe greater proportion of the
inhabitants are known as Yintal6, or Yangtalai, in the Shan form»
and the ruling houses of this State and or Eastern Karen-ni are of
this branch.
The Red Karen is conspicuous even among hill races for his
dirtiness. The men wear short breeches reachmg to just below the
knee. These are red when new, but speedily turn to a dirty black.
They are fastened by a leather belt. Some wear a small, open,
sleeveless dark-coloured coat^ but the greater number perhaps wear
instead a cotton blanket striped red and white, thrown round the
shoulders. In the hot weather both coat and blanket are discarded.
Some sort of handherchief is generally twisted round the hair, which
Chap, ix.]
'HNOLOGY.
5*5
is tied in a knot on the top of the head. Small metal pear-shaped
earrings are also worn, the material depending upon the wealth of
the person.
The women wear a short skirt, reaching to the knee. Usually it
is dark-coloured, but sometimes it is red. A broad piece of black
cloth passes over the back across the right shoulder and is then
draped over the bosom and confined at the waist by a white girdle
tied in front, the ends hanging down with more or less grace accord-
ing to the newness of the article. Round the waist and neck are
ropes ol barbaric beads, and a prolusion of these also decorate the
leg, just above the calf, which also is encircled by innumerable
garters of black cord or rattan. These with the beads stand out
some two inches or so from each sturdy limb and cause the women
to walk with their legs wide apart. The same tyrannical fashion
prevents them from bending their legs to sit and, accordingly, when
they do place themselves on the ground, or floor, to spin or for
other work, they do so with their limbs stretched straight in front
of them, as do many Kachin maidens, who decorate themselves in
similar fashion. The position is highly shocking to the 13urmese
and Shan mind. Round the neck, in addition to the beads, the
more well-to-do women hang pieces of silver. Silver earrings are
also worn, many of huge size. A piece of black cloth is thrown
jauntily over the head, sometimes with red tassels like those of the
Taungthus. The general effect is striking and, when the things are
new, not by any means unattractive.
The Red Karen nearly always goes abroad armed with dka and
gun and is practically never seen without his spear. This weapon
is very distinctive ; the head is sharp on one side only and the
shaft IS of bamboo with a spike in the butt so that it may be stuck
upright in the ground when the owner is at work in his fields, or
sitting down.
The Karen-ni are with very few exceptions spirit-worshippers.
Latterly a fair number have become nominal Buddhists and some
have even founded monasteries, but none give up their belief in the
nats and they continue to propitiate these with the customary rites
and sacrifices as before their conversion. Like all spirit-worshippers,
however, they trouble themselves little about their deities so long
as all goes well. The most obvious occasion for worship is when
any one falls sick. A sacrifice is then made to appease the wrath
of the angry spirit, The first thing killed is a fowl, and the bones
are examined to ascertain whether the nat would like fowls, pigs,
dogs, bullocks, or buffaloes as a sacrifice. When this is settled
the required animal is slaughtered and the headj ears, legs, and
s^
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IX.
entrails are deposited in the nat-sin, ihe shrine of the spirits. The
family eat what remains of the carcase. Similar sacrifices on a
larger scale .'ilways prelude a warlike expedition.
Fowls' bones are the Red Karen's dictionary, vade-mecum, and
Where-Is-lt book. He consults them to know where he should pitch
his village or his house ; whether he should start on a journey, in
what direction, on what day, and at what hour; whether he should
marry a certain girl and, if so, on what day ; where he should make
his clearing ; when he should clear, sow, and reap it : in fact he does
nothing without authority from fowls bones. When a Chief dies
fowls' bones are consulted to decide upon his successOT. This
was done, since the British occupation, on the death of Hkun Bya,
the Chief of Kyebogyi. It was generally believed that Hkun Po,
the nephew of the deceased, would succeed, but the bones declared
against him and in favour of his younger brother, Hkun U, who
was formally elected. In these elections the succession is always
in the male line. Sons have the first right to try the fates ; if they
fail, then the brothers of the deceased Chief, and after them the
nephews.
Every event of importance is celebrated by a great consumption
of fowls, pigs, and much drinking of liquor. An elaborate feast
of the kind celebrates the appearance of the Red Karen in the world.
All relations and friends of the family are invited and usually con-
tribute presents of clothes and money. The ceremony does not
seem to go beyond mere gross consumption of meat and drink.
As soon, however, as the mother is able to get up and move about,
generally three or four days after her confinement, she takes the
child in her arms, descends from the house, and taking a hoe in her
hand hoes up a little ground, the idea being to show the child that
it will have to work for its living. This ceremony is carried out
whether the baby Is a boy or a girl. If it is omitted, the child is
likely to grow up lazy. A less estimable custom is that of giving
the infant liquor from its very earliest years. If the mother is un-
able to suckle her child immedialcly she takes a mouthful of liquor
and feeds it with this from her own lips. Both the fact and the
survival of the infant seem incredible, but they are vouched for by
various officers.
The boring of the child's ears takes place very early, sometimes
no more than a month after birth, but it is not made an occasion of
feasting. There arc certain professional ear-borers in every village
and the ordinary fee is a brass coat-bulton. After the boring a
small piece of string is passed through to keep the flesh from clos-
ing up.
CHAP, rx.]
ETHNOLOGY.
527
When they have reached the age of five or six, children are com-
monly betrothed. When the beirothal is arranged a feast is given
by the parents of the boy, followed the next day by a similar cere-
mony at the house of the parents of the girl. Presents are usually
given by the parents of the future bridegroom and as a general
thing consist of a silver bracelet, a lump of silver, two ordinary
Karen-ni blankets and two Ngwedaung blankets. These are the
only presents given at the betrothal, but later, when the marriage
is consummated, and always if there are children, presents are ex-
changed between the parents of the happy pair. The betrothed
may refuse to carry out the contract when they reach years of dis-
cretion, and the ordinary penalty is twenty-five rupees. Should the
girl, however, accentuate the slight of refusal by taking another man
for her husband, the line (paid, of course, by the accepted suitor)
amounts to from one hundred to two hundred rupees.
Divorces are by no means infrequent and may take place by
mutual consent, or for good cause shown by either party. Three
years of cohabitation without issue is a frequent and successful
plea. Either husband or wife may force a separation on this
ground, but the plaintiff loses all right to a share in property mutu-
ally acquired after marriage. Either p^rty may be freed from
marriage bonds, without cause shown, on payment of twenty-five
rupees, but in this case abandons all claim to property, or right to cus-
tody of the children, if there be any. If the husband dies before there
are any children by the marriage, the widow loses all right to the
deceased's property and it passes to the family of the husband.
Adultery is a good cause for dissolution of marriage and the co-
respondent is fined one hundred and twenty rupees, which goes to
the injured party. A guilty woman renders herself liable to have
her ears cut off by the wife whom she has wronged, and it is said
that Karen-ni wives usually take advantage of their right and
exact their revenge. Earless women are not, however, commonly
seen, which may be a testimony either to Karen-ni female chastity,
or tenderness of heart,
There is no rule as to which house the young couple shall go to
live at. If the husband goes to his wife's house, he is escorted
thither by his friends with great beating of drums and gongs and
the wife's parents give a great feast, at which it is a point of
honour that a song from the one family is to be responded to by one
from the other.
The sojourner near a Karen-ni village is sure to hear frequently the
firing of guns at all hours of the day or night. This denotes the
occurrence of a death. When it is certain that a person is dying,
528
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IX,
two or three shots are fired, followed by many more when death
actually takes place. At the burial there is a tinal salute fired by
all the relatives and most of the neighbouring villagers. A funeral
wake is always held, and friends gather from far and near. Those
from other villages come with much beating of drums and gongs
and are expected to bring rice and liquor with them. Gongs are
beaten at the house of the deceased without intermission. The
object is no doubt to scare away malignant spirits from the pass-
ing soul. If the deceased was a man of note in his village, there
is always dancing in front of the house, carried on for several days
occasionally. The coffins used are very large. They are usually
made of the hollowed out trunk of a tree and are ordinarily from
twelve to fifteen feet long. !n addition to the body there are placed
in the coffin, clothes, arms, and farm tools. Gold and silver may
either be placed in the coffin or buried in the grave alongside it. On
the filled-in grave are placed articles used in life by the deceased —
baskets and jars in the case of women ; a plough over a cultivator ;
bullock baskets over a caravan trader. A small structure on four
posts is built over the grave, something like a miniature shed, and
m this are placed paddy, millet, Indian-corn, or other cereals. If
the death occurs during the sowing season, this is not done until
the time of harvest comeS round. If the deceased was an owner of
landj a curious custom exists oi planting in the soil a post, on the
top of which is placed a basket full of food, over which is an imi-
tation bow and arrow, the object of which is to keep away birds and
wild animals generally from the food.
When a Red Karen dies far away from his home the body can-
not be buried until the guardian spirit of the deceased arrives and
agrees to the interment. The usual feast is held and in the centre
of the room hangs a bullock-bell suspended from the roof. Danc-
ing and beating of gongs goes on until the spirit announces his
arrival and approval by tinkling the bullock-bell. If the spirit
delays his coming, a rtumber of guns are fired to hasten and guide
him on his way. He never fails to arrive sooner or later. At the
man's house the whole ceremony of funeral is gone through. A
form made of straw and cloth is placed in the coffin to represent
the body of the decea'Jcd and the usual formalities are gone through
as if this were the actual corpse. In all cases where it is possible,
however, the dead Red Karen is brought to be buried from his own
house,
A wealthy Red Karen prepares his coffin long beforehand. In
some cases they are handsomely decorated inside with mirrors and
pieces of coloured glass. PyfepanOj a rich limber trader of Loikaw,
has his coffin ready, and it has been so handsomely decorated by
rboca.-JkKS.
letihama Ni (who afterwards became an amai of the State) of
Sawldn as to be a subject ol pride to the entire neighbourhood.
The Karen-ni as a rule do not tattoo anything on their bodies
with the exception of a representation of the rising sun in red on
the small of their backs. Formerly every Red Karen man was thus
tattooed, hut the custom i'^ falling into disuse and many are now seen
without the distinctive mark.
The Red Karens have no system of chronology ; ayear with them
does not mean 365}- days, but merely a round of the seasons.
Months are roughly regulated by the moon [ie being the Karen-ni
word for a month and the moon), but there is no system of count-
ing the days of the quarters. The names of the months are —
Name of the month.
Meaning.
About.
I.
Le Sha ...
Month of ihebudding^ of the
manRo tree.
January.
2.
Le Shi «.
Doubtful
February.
\
Lc L\a ...
do
March.
4-
LeRu ...
Warrr month
April.
«>•
Le Toprc ...
Month of hoeing faungya ...
May.
6.
Le Vi ticn Klui
Month of first sowing of paddy
une.
7
Lc Saw Ben ...
Month of tninsplantation ...
8.
Le E Du ...
Month cf public holidnys ...
Au^st.
y-
Le Pri Pwai Sada-gyut
Month of the Burmese Th.i-
Jingyut feast.
September.
10.
I^ Ben llva
Month of paddv ripening
Oaobor.
II.
I.e She Pu ...
Month of fowls clucking
November.
13.
Le Tya Len Ku
Month of funeral rites
Oeccmber,
The two principal national feasts of the Red Karens are the
Kuio-bo, corresponding (in meaning) to the Burmese Tagondaing
feast, and the E Du. The farmer is held in April and the chief cere-
mony is the erection of a post in a place, set apart for the purpose,
in or near each village. A new post is set up every year ; the old
ones are left standing, but are not renewed if they fall or decay.
The chicken bones are first consulted as to which tree will be
the most suitable to fell for the post, which day will be most
propitious, and the like details, A post ao or 30 feel long is rough
hewn from the tree and is ornamented with a rudely carved capital.
On the propitious day all the villagers assemble and drag the pillar
to the chosen spot. After it is placed in position, a rude sort of
May-pole dance is executed to ihe accompaniment of drums and
gongs. There is much eating of pig and very much more drinking
of liquor, both of which are supplied by the general body of the
villagers for the common enjoyment.
sy>
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IX.
The E Dii festival is celebrated in the month of August. E
means to call, hence to assemble friends and relations; Z?«, to
practice, i.^.j perform a duty, or ceremony. It seems to be a sort
of Cerealia. When the paddy sowing is finished by the village, on
a day fixed by the chicken bones, the people assemble and march
with the usual accompaniment of gongs and drums a short dis-
tance outside the village, where they set up a post about four feet
in height and fix on it a rude figure of some animal, usually a hor^
or an elephant, fashioned out of a block of wood. Offerings of
rice arrack, fruits, and flowers are placed on the ground near it and
the day ends in the usual way with feasting and drinking The
animal is supposed to carry off whatever evil spirits there may be
to a safe distance in the Shan country, or the Siamese provinces.
These festivals are public and general. The conclusion of har-
vest is the occasion for paying tribute to the memory of friends and
relations who have died during the year — a sort of feast of All
Souls. Guns are fired off at night to frighten away ex-il spirits and
next day quantities of arrack are brewed, a bullock or a pig is killed,
and small pieces of the l^esh are stuck on skew'ers made of bamboo
and are roasted. A procession is formed by the relatives of each
departed one and to the clashing of the well-tuned cymbals and the
booming of deep-mouthed gongs and drums they make a round of
visits to the houses of all friends or relations in neighbouring vil-
lages, where tlie inmates each receive a piece of roasted meat and a
draught of arrack. In the evening there is unlimited firing of
guns.
About the liarvcst time also it is customary to take a piece of
smouldering fuel from the house fire, place it in a bamboo, and carry
it ceremonially outside the village fence. There it is formally thrown
away. The Karen-ni seem unable or unwilling to explain the signi-
6cance of this. It is said to have been customary from theearliest
times of the race, and its effect is to keep off fever and sickness
from the house whose inmates have performed it. Probably it dates
from the time of their migration and like the signa ex exit's and signa
ex triptidiis has been perverted from its original significance. It
may be a memory of ancestor worship or simply a symbol of the
necessity of burning the jungle for the hill crops.
Temples or shrines ate erected to the spirits in all villages of any
size, usually under the shade of a large single tree, or of a dense
clump of trees. They are placed under the charge of a selected
old man of the village, who is allowed certain privileges and, as a
rule, conducts the ceremony of consulting the chicken bones. Ex-
cept at Sawlon, these spirii-sbrines are merely small bamboo and
thatch sheds of insignificant appearance. In them are deposited
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
S3t
the offerings to the spirits in the shape of rice, tobacco, fruit, and
the like.
The spirit-house al the Yangtalai village of Sawl6n, known as the
Auk Haw, is a massive timber building, profusely gilt and decorat-
ed In Shan fashion. Sawlapaw used it chiefly as a treasure house,
and none but he himself and his relations of the blood were allow-
ed to enter. The spirits no doubt were expected to guard the
treasure, as were the alligators of the fabled tank which was the
treasury of the kings of Annam.
The Br& or Lakii.
This tribe of Karens is called Brfe (pronounced like Bre(k), with
the k silent) or Manumanaw by the Burmese, Pra-mano by the Red
Karens, and Lakii by themselves. The following account of them
and their country is given by Mr. \V. H. L. Cabell : —
" The country of the Brfes covers an area of approximately 600 square
tnilea. It ia difficult to define exactly the area inhabited by the Brfcs, merg-
ing as they do inlti Karen races on the one side and Shans and Shan-Bur-
mese on the other. Their villages are included in the tracts under the
administration of —
[i) the Karen Chieftain of Kycbogyi ;
(ii) the Karen Chieftain of Bawlakfe;
(lii) The Shan Chieftain of Moag Pai.
" No definite boundaries can be laid down, and it w ill be sufficient to say
that their home is the extremely rugged and mountainous region lying to
the west of the Karen States of ^awiakc:, Kyibowyi, and M5ng Pai, bounded
on the north by the State of Lwel6ti atid the Nrvelat of the Shan States ;
on the west by the Lower Burma district of Toiingoo j and on the south by
the Karen Stale of Naungpalt, which belongs to Karcnni Proper.
"The Bri region, beginuing from the tail end of the Myelat of the Sh^n
plateau, ia a mere jumble of hills very high and steep, M-ith extremely nar-
row valleys in between. The hilLs, however, arc not rocky and lend them-
selves io ya cultivation, which is very largely practised. The mountains
do not run to any great height ; probably the highest peaks do not exceed
6,000 feet, while the altitude oS the valleys may vary from 2,500 to 3,000 feet.
The country is extremely well watered; mountain streams are fownd al
short intervals, and these all drain into the Namtu or Tu chaung, a large
river which Rows tlirough and joins the Pun stream in the south.
" There is no mineral product of value at present known- A conslderablo
amount of teak is worked in the Tu chaung by Karennis, who sell the tim-
ber to merchants from Moulmein and Rangoon, but it is impossible to esti-
mate the actual outturn, and it is nearly certain that any teak in these for-
ests will soon be exhausted owing to the reckless way in which trees of
every siie are girdled and felled.
" The history of the Br^s is absolutely unknown. They are locally divid-
ed intri the Man6, the Southern, and Northern Bre —
533
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTKER. [ CHAP. IX.
" (i) il/fl«(?.— The Maiio Inhabit the eastern portion of the Br& country to
thi; soutli of the Tu fAawnif. Those in the soulh are very peaceable, but
those who inhabit the strip between the main Brft country and Kydbogyi
Proper arc much like purer Laku. They attack one another, murder, and
seize captives, but have always been more easily controlled than the main
body of the tribes,
'• These people are undoubtedly the result of inter-marriage between Br^s
and Karennis. Their language has resemblances to both Karenni and
Brfe. The wilder men have exactly the same type of feature as tlie Br& and
wear a pair of short red and white striped trousers tied at the waist with a bit
of string, a blanket for a coat, and tlieir long black hair in pari tied into a
knot just over the right temple and the rest left unkempt and hanging
down the back and over the face. Tlieir legs are ornamented with cotton
stained black and coiled below the knee witn brass rings to keep the many
coils separate. Many of them also wear brass necklaces.
*' The dress of the women is usually the same as that of the Karenni
women, only instead of black cotton coils round the legs they wear white;
but the dress of those in the souLhern villages is diflcrent. There they
wear a short red Burmese lunoyi and a coat of the samo pattern as is worn
by IJurmans. This is probably due to inter-marriage with the Yaogtalai
of the Bawlak6 State, who affect this costume.
" (ii) Southern Bres. — The Southern Bri is physically a very poor crea-
ture. He is extremely ugly, undersized, and badly developed, no doubt
because he is always in a state of semi-starvation. The Southerners have
not the energy of their northern brothers and do not cultivate more than
enough to support them for seven months of the year. Cr>nsequently during
the rains, when they really require nourishing food to keep them in health,
and when fevers are prevalent in the valk-ys of the lower portion of the Tu and
its tributaries, they have to live on a small quantity of millet or maize large-
ly supplemented with roots.
'•The Southern Brfes are so apathetic and enervaledby years of want that
they are timid and unwarlike, and are the constant prey of the northern
villages.
" The language is slightly different from that spnken by the Northern Br6a
and, alihough the dtessoE the men is the same, the ureas of the women is
difftrent. These mostly wear a long blue thindaittg or gaberdine with a
blue petticoat, striped horizontally witli pale red. Sfo bras? ornaments an*
worn and no head-dress, but enormous ear-plugs are fixed in the lobes of
tlie ear, which is much distorted.
" (iii) /Vorihertt Bre. — The Northern Br&s inhabit the villages north of
Sawpaieko and arc well-made muscular men. They are not quite so ugly
as those in the south, though the type is not high. They are very active
and make capital coolies.
" They cultivate a very large area of land and reap sufficient paddy to feed
them all the year round on rice eked out with maizn. Although ihcyare ad-
dicted to raiding, murder, and kidnapping, and have cnnstant village feuds,
the Brfes are very cowardly and timid. They fly before strangers into the
jungle, and sometimes a whole village remains there for days before they
niuster up courage enough to return. A raid is never made openly, no
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
533
matter how strong the attacking party is and how weak the defenders.
They sneak up to the village watering place and seize whatever single un-
fortunate comes there to draw water. Another method is to lie in hiding
near the ya, the village fields, and pounce upon their victims, whom they
overpower by numbers. If anyone is killed it is not in a stand-up n>jht»
but by a shot from ambiish. Tlie captives taken arc always well fed, to
judge from the plump condition of persons found chained up in the stocks.
" Both men and women are placed in these stocks and the men are loaded
with chains as an additional precaution. Children are allowed lo run free
in the village and are frequently sold as slaves to other villages at prices
ranging from forty to a hundred rupees. The medium of payment is gene-
rally the large Karenni gong known as pasi.
" No indignities of any kind are ever offered to women whco in custody.
"The dress of the men is similar to that worn by the Mandaad Southern
Brfe, but that of the women is more like that of the Padaungs. They wear
a white and pink striped thindaing \i\\.\\ a narrow pink border and under
this a short deep blue and red petticoat. Brass tubing is coiled round the
leg from the ankle to the knee and from above the knee to balf-way up the
thigh. Large brass hoops are worn round the neck and car-plugs in the
ears. There is no head dress, the hair, whicli is very unkemptj being tied
in a knot at the back of the head.
" The weapons of the Lakii are Tower, Enfield, and cheek guns (the last
falling rapidly into disuse), spears, dkixs, cross-bows, and arrows, always
poisoned, while blow-pipes with poisoned arrows arc used by the chiWrcn
to shoot small birds.
" Gunpowder is made by the villagers themselves, all the necessary in-
gredients being made in Karenni, where they also procure their capsj which
seem to be made or imported by a Chinese firm.
" A generation or two bark these people carried shields, made of plank
covered with buffalo hide and studded with brass nails. There arc none to
be obtained now.
" All these three Karen septs contract marriage at a very early age ; men
at fifteen, women at about thirteen years of age ; and this, Mr. Cabell thinks,
accounts for a peculiarity specially noticeable. There are no young men or
young women of the torn-boy or hobble-de-hoy stage of youth to be seen in the
villages ; nothing but children and fully grown men and women, Another
point worthy of nute is that the children uf both sexes up to the age of eleven
or so are in many cases rather pretty, with clear and live complexiuns and
large eyes, but no sooner do they marry than they become wrinkled and
positively repulsive. This sad result of youthful marriages is certainly
singular, but it probably means that what is enough for one is not enough
for two.
" It is an easy matter to single out the married from the unmarried man.
The bachelor wears stone necklaces which have been handed down from
father to son for generations, some of them being worth as much as fifty ru-
pees, and he ornamen ts his neck, ears, and the cotton round the calf of his leg
with large rings of brass. The Northern Brfe in addition to all this wears a
band round his head studded with mother-of-pearl shirt buttons, or small red
and green beads as a setting lo the wings of green beetles. But when tie
534
THF. UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. |\'.
man takes tinto himself a wife, all tliis finery becomes her property, and he
is reduced to a blanket, a pair of trousor*;, and a little unornamented black
cotton round his leg. He also retains the little comb, which is stock coquet-
tishly in his very meagre top-knot.
•' The Brfe of both sexes stain their teeth black, using for the purpose the
leaf of a tree, called by them the fhupu, mixed with lime-juice. This
staining of the teeth is made a ceremonial performance. When it has bcco
decided that it is time for a certain number of girls and hoys of the age of
ten or thcreabonts to stain their teeth, the headman and elders of the vil-
lage collect them together and the children are sent into the most quirt and
secluded spot in the jungle near tlie village. They are not allowed to
talk while they are going there and, when they have arrived at the place
most suited to their purpose, the children each go their own way, sit down,
close their eyes, cover them with their hands, and set to work to chew the
leaves of the thiipu, mixed with Umes. They remain like this the whole
night and return to their village at daybreak, whore they are received by
the ciders with the beating of gongs and the strains of the naho, a peculiar
kind of trumpet made of a buffalo horn. The elders then examine them one
by one to see if the result is satisfactory.
" The Br^s say that the reason the children have to go to the jungle is thatj
if they chencd the Iea\es in the village, their attention would be distracted
by what was going on and they would open their eyes and their teeth would
become the colour of whatever their eyes rested upon.
"The marriage customs of these people do not call for much remark.
Presents are made over to the parents of the would-be bride, and on the
marriage day large numbers of fowls, pigs, and bowls of kaung are coa-
sumcd.
" When the man has decided on the woman he considers most suited to him
he always consults the chicken bones to find out whether he will be happy
with her and whether she will be prolific and faithful ; should the bones
answer In the negative, he has to choose some one else.
" When a child is born the father has to attend to the mother and acts as
midwife. No one is allowed to enter the house and he is not allowed to talk
to any of the villagers for a period of seven days.
" Children are bathed regularly every morning and evening tii warm water
for about one year after birth, and that they consider sufficient in Ihc way
of cleanliness to last them for a lifetime. Children take to liquor before
they arc weaned.
"The manner of disposal of the navel string is similar to that c;ustomary
among the White Karens and closely allied to that among the Ked Karens.
*'The navel is placed in a small bamboo kyedauk tightly sealed up and
fixed by means of four pegs on to any tree in the vicinity of the village.
" Red Karens always select one tree, which is used by the whole village.
"The rifjht of naming a child rests primarily with the mother. She con-
sults the riiicken bones as to whether in the case of a son it would be lucky
to name him after her grandfather, or after her grandmother if the child is a
girl. If the bones are unfavourable, then the father has the chance of per-
petuating the names of his ancestor. This seems to show that among them
the family was matriarchal and that kinship was reckoned through women.
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY,
535
" The only peculiarity in ihe nianDer of disponing of the dead is that, if a
woman dies in child-birth, no married maa is allowed to assist in the making
of the coffin ; this work has to be done by the unmarried and widowers.
" No dead body must be carried through another village, or underneath a
house. The coftin is taken out of the house on the side nearest to the
cemetery, even if this entails making a passage through the walla of the
house.
"The coffin is in the shape of a boat, hollowed out of a single piece of wood
with a narrow slit in what would be the keel. In the centre of this slit it is
just possible to force the head; this having passed through the body is
worked in. The aperture is tl:en closed up and the roffin, which has four
legs forming a part of the whole, is placed in the grave, the four legs keep-
ing it in position.
" Each village keeps a supply of coffins, and this is necessary as they take
some time in the making.
" Every family in the Br& villages owns a piece or pieces of land with wcU-
def\ned boundaries exactly in the same way as each village has it^ own
boundaries. No one is allowed to work this land without the permission of
the owner, and this is never accorded as there is only sufficient land for the
owner to work himself each year Such land is hereditary and handed down
from father to son. This Is peculiar, for it is not the custom in other parts of
the Shan States in respect of ya land.
" Another peculiarity is that the Mano and Southern Brt do not reap their
paddy with a sickle. They take .several stalks of paddy in their hantls, pull
off the heads of corn, and throw them into a basket. By lliis process a great
deal of grain is saved.
" The ordinary crop is paddy grown in the iaungya style of cultivation.
TTie southern villages, as has been noted, never have enough rice to last them
the whole year round and grow a little maize and millet as well. Each
family grows sufficient for its own requirements and there is no staple price
for these different food-grains.
" Buffalo, pig, goat flesh, and fowls are eaten on any occasion on which it
may be necessary to propitiate a spirit and at marriages and funerals. The
Northern Br^s of Kabb and Thabawa always drink the blood of any animal
they kill, imagining it gives them courage and strength.
*' Chillies are also grown by the Northern Br6s In sufficient quantities to be
exported ; those used in Western KarennJ are almost all from the Bri coun-
try.
The Padaufigs or Kekaivngifu.
"The country of the Padaungs covers a lesser area than that of the Brfcs
and may be put down at something like one hundred and fifty square miles.
It lies near that of the Bris and is subject lo the same administration, while
the boundaries are similar. It is impossible at present to define the latter
with any degree of precision. The country is far more open and regular
than the Br$^ rountry, the ranges do not rise so high, and the valleys are
more open and wider. The country as a whole is not well watered. The
main watershed is that of the Kaukleun or Paunglaungngfe, a tributary of the
Paunglaunggyi, or Sittang, as it is called in its lower course in Burma. Many
536
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER.
CHAP. It
of the smaller streams disappear altogether into the rocky sides of the hills.
The altitude nf the country generally i.s about the same as tliat of the Br6
countrv, but the summits of the higher hills are slightly lower. The highest
run to about five thousand feet. The only considerable stream is the Paung-
laungngfe.
" The roads traversing the Padaung country are much better than those of
the fires. They aro well aligned, fairly broad, and much used. The roads
running along the hills are easier and more pleasant to travel over than those
in the plains, which are much encroached on by the paddy cultivation.
*' The dense forest growth met with in the Brft country entirely disappears
here. What jtingle growth there is is scrub. For the hills a maximum shade
tempi'rature of perhaps 85° Kahreuhcit during the months of March and
April may be given ; for the rains an average of 62^ to 75° or a little higher,
while in the cold weather slight hoar-frosts are frequently experienced The
range for the valleys may safely be estimated at some 10° Fahrenheit higher.
"The people met with In the Padaung country fall into two classes : —
"(i) Padaungs proper.
" (2) Ktku Padaungs, the result of marriage between Keko Karens
and Padanngs proper. The Kftku Karens are a sect of Karens
living in the Alechaung-Bawgata and Padaung-Koywa States,
speaking a dialect of Karen. They are generally a peaceable
and industrious race.
"The Padaungs proper, who call themselves Kfekawngdu, or members of
the larger family of the tribe, are met with in the Kepo or Yinyaw group of
villages ; they have no knowledge of their previous home or history. They
state in a vague sort of way that they migrated from the south, and their old
men say that they came last from Toungoo. This is vcrj* natural as their
horizon does not extend beyond that place, which they imagine to be the
centre of the world. Their language is so similar to Taungthu that it appears
probable that they belong to that family and were refugees from the Taung-
thu kingdom of Ttiatftn when that country *as overthrown and their king,
Manuha, taken pristmer by the King of Pagan.
" The Padaung is a most zealous agriculturist. Every available nook oi
the valleys is terraced for irri-^ation ; often with great labour, streams are
diverted and their volume increased by catching the water from adjacent
valleys and running it acro.ss saddles in a most ingenious way. In addition
to tlie irrigated land many dry crops are grown, such as maize, millet, cotton,
&c., and the number of cattle and pigs attests to the general prosperity.
The Padaung is a trader too; many bullocks arc kept solely for pack pur-
poses and salt and betel are largely imported from Toungoo in exchange for
rice and cotton. Kauni, P6yak6n, and Mfing Pai, the chief towns of the
Mong Pat State, have large five-day markets, which attract numbers of
Padaung traders as well as purchasers. The dress of the men is the same
as that of the Western Shans^loose trousers and short coats, which may be
of any colour, but are generally blue or white. The villagers situated at a
dLslancc from trade routes and trade centres like MOng Pai and Kauni
have retained tlie more primitive short breeches of the Brfe with the cane
garters. As an ornament they wear anklets made of kalet't seeds and shirt
buttons, and every man carries a powder and shot case neatly made of wicker,
prettily ornamented with brass bosses and raised scroll work done with
thitsi, strapped on to his belt
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
537
" Distinctive peculiarities of dress arc reserved for the women. They wear
a neck band of brass rod, which varies from five to twenty-live coils accord-
ing to the age of the woman. The rod is about one-third of an inch in
diameter and the object is to lengthen the neck as much as possible, this
being considered a mark of beauty. The appearance of a Padauiig woman,
with her small head, long brass bound neck sloping shoulders, and the sack-
like folds of her smock-frock, inevitably suggests a champagne bottle. Mr.
Cabell says that some of the women who have been converted to Christianity
have been induced to lay aside the brass-coil necklace and in this state
suggest nothing so much as a cockerel learning to crow. The brass used for
these coil necklaces is obtained from the Shan States. The girl begins to
wear them as early as possible, and fresh coils are added as she grows.
" The head-dress of the Padaung women is much the same as that of the
Karen-ni, simply a coloured scarf twisted into the hair, and the coat is a long
woven blouse with a V neck and short arms slipped over the head and
ornamented by a coloured border. The skirl is a short striped blue and
red garment reaching to the knees.
"Before a Padaung commences courtship he goes to the parents of the girl
and asks permission to visit their house and pay attentions to their daughter
with a view to marriage. Armed with their permission he continues his
visits for a period of from three months to two years until he has made up
his mind. He then chooses a friend with ])laustble and affable manners to
get the consent first of the parents, then of the girl, and then to arrange the
presents to be given to the bride's parents. The presents are buffaloes,
bullocks, or gongs, and return presents are usually given to llic parents of the
bridegroom.
'' The marriage ceremony is nothing more than an orgic, at which every
one eats pork and fowls and drinks on a Homeric scale.
" When this marriage rite is over the girl remains in the house of her
parents till her husband conies to take her away. Even then she only re-
mains a day or two. returning again to her parents' house, and this visiting
and returning continues for six months before the couple finally settle down
to live together. The men marry at the age of fifteen or sixteen years and
the women even earlier.
" The Padaung woman is very prolific, families of eight or ten being very
common.
" Polygamy is permissible, but is seldom indulged in. Where there is more
than one wife the women sometimes live in the same, sometimes indifferent,
houses.
" Exogamy Is the rule among these tribes : they arc allowed to marry any
woman Lhi-y please and are not tied down to blood relations as is customary
among other Karen tribes.
*' Mr. Cabell adds that man and wife sleep regularly with the fireplace
between them, presumably because the lady's brass collar requires a special
pillow. The fireplace is always In the centre of a Padaung house.
" Divorce is not permissible after marriage has been consummated. Cases
of wife-beating or abuse are severely dealt with by a deputation of the village
elders, who reproach the culprit formally before the whole village.
68
538
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER, [ CHAP. IX.
" If there have been no children, and the couple are not definitely living
together, a Padaung can obtain a d'lvorct: by paying the girl's parents the
Vidue of the presents already given them as a marriage dowry. In the
same way a girl can obtain a divorce by paying twice the value of the pre-
sents already given. In these cases the help of the clHrrs of the villages is
not asked for, the divorce being arranged by the relations of the parties.
" When a child is born, the woman is not attended by any midwife but by
her husband. After the birth of the child, it is bathed with cold water and
tliL-n with warm, and this is continued for one month and fifteen days regu-
larly. The husband and wife are not allowed to eat boiled rice, the former
for one month and the latter for a month and a half.
*' They have to live on rice put in a bamboo and roasted. The husband is
allowed to ]cave the house, but is not allowed to enter any other house in
the village during this period. The woman is not even allowed to leave
the house. She lies before the fire for ten days aftrr confinement as is cus-
tomary in Burma. A special pot of liquor is brewed for the husband and
wife during the period when they are not allowed to mix with the other
villagers. Children drink liquor before they are weaned.
"The manner of divination by chicken bones is as follows, — The thigh
or wing boneg of a cock or hen are taken and scraprd till holrs in the bone
appear. When the number of holes is even on one bnne this bone is used.
Pieces of bamboo are taken and placed in the holes. If these slant in-
wards, the omen is unlucky ; if they slant outwards, the omen is a lucky
one.
" Ali these Karen tribes are spiril-worshippers and the names of the spirits
flccm to be the same for all. The chief arc Ka, Lu, Kang, Mawkt, Tarana,
Takadfe, Tadiinhcinkawng, Tanfenawku, and Tawi. The first threeare con-
sidered the most powerful ; but it is desirable before propitiating them to
consult the chicken bones in order to find out which nat ought to be
addressed.
" Lu is an extremely wicked spirit and possesses great powers for evil.
It is he who brings sickness into a family and causes death, and he has a
direct object in this, for his favourite food is dead bodies.
" Const-qucntly the idea is, when a man falls ill, that it is because there is
nothing for Lu to eat in the cemetery, and he is therefore stalking food for
himself among living people.
•' They therefore go to the cemetery and make offerings of pigs, fowls, rice,
and liquor, hoping that Lu will thus appease his hunger and spare the sick
man. Offerings arc made in the house as well as at the cemetery.
'' Ka is the second spirit in importance and reigns over forests, streams, aad
the house, but he is also supposed to be able to cause sickness. It is only after
a reference to the chicken bones that it is determined whether the offering
is to be made to Lu, Ka, or Mawki. Ka is supposed to have the villagijd
generally, and Mawki particular houses to live in, so any disaster to the
village or to houses is set down to the action of these two spirits. The
offerings to them are the same .is those made to Lu.
" Ka is feasted by the whole village once a year at the beginning of the
rains and prayers arc offered up by the spirit medium or guardian of the
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
539
nat, asking Ka to give them a good harvest, to protect them from disease
and sickness, and generally to favour his worshippers in all their pursuits
and especially in hunting- No one is allowed to touch the offeringSj and
they rot where they are laid or arc carried away by animals,
" The aid of Mawki is only invoked when the house is to be rc-biiilt or
repaired, and then the offerings are the same as in the case of Ka.
"There is another nai called the smaller Ka, for whose entertainment
three bamboo kyedauks full of liquor are placed in the house. These are
rc-filled once a year. This lesser Ka and Mawki have authority over all
household matters.
" Dcwi or Tawi is a minor tiat and causes sicknesses, but only of a com-
paratively slight character, such as headaches, sores on the legs and arms,
and such like lesser ills.
"Tadunheinkawng and Taninawku are much of the same importance as
Dewi, but Ka and these two spirits must be fed only on the flesh of male
animals.
" In all offerings made to nats, only the worthless parts are placed on the
spirit shrine ; the best pieces are eaten by the villagers themselves.
" There arc two Lu ; the elder is the less formidable and is only sacrificed
to once in five or six years, or whenever sickness is very rife.
"When the time for buniiug the hill clearings arrives the three nais,
Lu the younger, Ka the younger, and Taninawku, arc propitiated and the
sacrifice is one small cock. The nats are then entreated to grant a good
harvest and to enable it all to be garnered in. The ya is then set lire to.
" When the crop is ready for reaping, a small bamboo is filled with liquor ;
it is then closed up and placed in a receptacle made expressly for it and
fixed in the ground near the^rf ; nothing is offered but this liquor, and, when
the bamboo stoup is set up, the reaping of the field is commenced.
"The villagers believe that, If this is not done, they will suffer from diar-
rhoea and headaches even if no harm should come to the crops.
"The same thing is done at the reaping of irrigated fields."
The Zayeins or Sawng-iiittg Karens.
Mr. F. H. Giles furnishes the following information about the
Sawng-tiing Karens, also known as the Gaung-to or Zayein, or
Zaleins. The name Gaung-to is given because the men shave the
whole of the head except a small patch over the ear. They claim
to have originally come from L6n-tung in the Amherst district of
Lower Burma and now seem to be found only in twenty-six villages
in the Loi-l6ng and Mong Pai states, chiefly in the former.
When they reach the age of puberty all boys are made to live
in a building called a huTv, which stands just outside the village,
and from the time of their entering this haw till their marriage they
may not enter the houses of their parentSj nor talk to any of the
young women of the village.
S40
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. *[ CHAP. IX.
The marriage customs of the race are very singular and are so
strictly adhered to that it seems certain that the race must in pro-
cess of time become extinct. There are many ^rey-haired bache-
lors in the haws and many aged spinsters In the villages, whom
Sawng-tiing custom has pre\ented from marrying. Marriages are
only permitted between near relations, such as cousins, and then
only when the union is approved by the elders. The parents of the
young man make their selection from among the eligible girls, con-
sult the village elders, and then send the young woman three brass
leg rings in the name of their son. The girl signifies consent or
rejection by wearing or sending back the rings. If she consents,
the parents of both families prepare a great feast ; the Hmatv-saya
offers up some rice to propitiate the nats, and eating and drinkine
are carried on for three successive nights. Unmarried men ana
women meet only on these occasions, but none but relations of the
bride and bridegroom are admitted. The marriage feasts seem to
be particularly disgraceful orgies and constitute the whole marriage
ceremony. They seem as scandalous as the Agapae which the
Council of Carthage denounced as being no better than the Paren-
talJa of the heathen.
This limitation of marriage to near relations only, results fre-
quently in unions where husband and wife are very unequal in age —
the husband fifteen and the wife seventy, or the reverse. Widows
and widowers may re-marry if the \inage elders approve. If a
Sawng-tiing woman eloped|with a Shan, Taungthu, or Burman, the
former custom was to kill the offending pair. A large hole was
dug in the ground. Across this a log was placed to which two
ropes were fastened. The ends of these were noosed round the
necks of the man and woman and they were made to jump into the
pit and so hanged themselves. Now the custom is to excommuni-
cate the woman ; cases of the kind are said to be very rare.
When young man and maid run off together without obtaining
the permission of any one, they are forbidden ever to enter their
native village, or any Sawng-tiing village, again. The two villages
of Kara in the Nan-kwo circle are said to be entirely inhabited by
such eloping couples.
A childless widow, on the death of her husband, is permitted to
return to the house of her parents. If she has children, she remains
in her husband's house, or goes to live with his parents.
Polygamy is not permitted. Restrictions on marriage are mul-
tiplied by the rule that only certain villages may intermarry with
certain villages. Villagers of Ban-pa, Nan-kwo, Sawng-k6, L6n-kyfe
may intermarr)'. Loi-16ng, Kathfe (Mong Pal), and Loi-pwi only
can intermarry.
CHAP. tX.
ETHNOT.OCY.
5|i
Salin, Baw-han, Ka-la, Hkun-hawt, Mfe-sun (Mong Pai), and
Loi-sang (Mong Pai) are similarly grouped.
The villai^ers of Pa-h!aing cannot go farther for wives than the
village of Kawri-sawng.
Karathi, Me-ye, Wa-tan, and Din-klawng, the last three in Mong
Pai, have to seek alliances in no other villages.
La-mung, Ta-plaw, Daung-Iang, and Lang-ye form the last group.
If an unmarried woman becomes pregnant, she is forced by the
elders to disclose the name of her seducer. If he admits the truth
of the accusation, the pair are condemned to commit suicide in the
manner described above, by jumping into a pit with ropes round
their necks. No case of the kind has occurred within the memory
of the present generation.
Divorce is not permissible, and it is claimed that no Sawng-tung
Karens have ever been known to want to be divorced.
There are some suggestions of the couvade. When the wife ap-
proaches her confinement the husband may not leave the village
and has to perform all the duties of the household for thirty days
from the birth of the child. The woman is not allowed to eat any
food except what has been prepared by her Inisband. There are
no midwives. Roasting to " dry up the humours " is practised after
childbirth much as it is amongst the Burmese.
The naming of the child takes place as soon as the mother is
well enough to be present. The ceremony is simple. The infant
is made to drink a cup of rice-beer and, if a boy, receives the name
of the grandfather ; if a girl, that of the grandmother. Then it is
carried in procession to the houses of its parents' relatives and
receives from them presents — necklaces and the like — according to
their means. Throughout the day afier the birth of a child, no
villager is allowed to go outside the village. The reason for this
custom seems to have been forgotten.
Formerly twins, triplets, or a greater number of children at one
birth were put to death. The idea was that only animals gave birth
to more than one at a time. Mr. Giles quaintly remarks that these
Karens are now more enlightened. The custom besides being
repellent in fact and idea was very singular, for among most of these
hill races children are a valuable property.
When a Sawng-liing, maleor female, dies, all the relatives assem-
ble for a feast in the presence of the corpse. When this is over the
dead body is put in a coffin and a live cock is tied to the big toe.
If the deceased was a man, his bow, arrows, spear, and dha and other
articles used by him in life are laid beside him ; if a woman, what-
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
ever she may have habitually used is similarly placed In the coffin,
and besides these a small quantity of rice, ground-nuts, sweetmeats,
kaungyei anything that is not sour to eat, arc added, and then the
coffin is closed and buried. The near relatives, standing round the
grave, join jn a kind of chant, saying ; " Go, go, and when you meet
your grand-father, grand-mother, father, mother, give them these
presents and tell them we are well."
Before the grave is filled in, the assembled relatives join hands
(with the Laniing villagers a man and a woman alternately) and
dance round it.
All funerals lake place in the early morning. In the evening there
is a drinking orgie, in which both sexes join. The unmarried men
from the haw and the unmarried girls from the village meet on
these occasions. The Sawng-tiing are spirit worshippers. There
is a nat-sin in every house and each should have in front of it sixty
cups of kaufigye regularly replenished.
In the month of Kason (May) when the paddy is planted, an
offering of pig's flesh, fowls, eggs, and liquor is made to the spirit,
who is believed to live on Luimaw hill away to the east. His help
is invoked to provide a good harvest and to protect the household
from evil.
Whenever a house is built, one pig, one fowl, and a large quantity
of liquor are placed on the spirit shrine and the nat is called upon
to secure the prosperity of the builder while he lives in the house.
When the paddy is reaped a similar offering of pork, fowlj liquor,
and cooked rice is made by each household.
The same is done when the hai^ the hill-clearings, are cut and a
prayer is offered up for a bounteous harvest, and again when the
payit'pon are burnt before the rains come. Before these heaps are
\\gh\&A kaungyc is sprinkled over them. This is done to, attract the
saba-leip-bya, "the paddy-butterfly," the spirit of the tilth, without
whose presence no crops would grow.
When the grain is stored in the granaries, leaves of the following
plants are put in the sabagyi with the paddy : sinhnamaung, the
kaotoom tree.j'fl sap /t/>eflfl (the Burmese kyaung mi ku), ^nd yanat.
Why these particular leaves should be added is not now known.
The custom has been handed down from father to son for gene-
rations.
Finally when a child is born in the house a brass ring and a
skein of white cotton is placed on the household altar.
The Sawng-tiing race have no idea of a Supreme Being. Their
national spirit is theirs exclusively and is called by them Lei. He
rAp. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
lives on Loi Maw hill in the Shan States and Sawng-tungs go there
when they die. Families are reunited and everything goes on
exactly as it did in life upon this earth.
The Nan-kwo and Loi-long Karens never weave their own clothes.
There is a tradition that generations ago some persons in these
villages went mad through weaving. Ever since then looms have
been forbidden in the village and clothes have to be bought else-
where.
The Loi-long Karen men tattoo two black squares beneath their
chins. Of these they are inordinately proud and, according to
Mr. Giles, '* even when they have no looking-glasses, they may be
seen peering into a smooth sheet of water and looking with admira-
tion at the reflection."
A very singular superstition is that which forbids the presence of
eggs in a village during the reaping of the fields. As soon as
harvest operations begin all the eggs are sought out and thrown
away outside the village. No reason is given for the practice.
The heads of all animals killed in the chase are piled up together
in the young men's haw. It is considered unluckly to take them
into the village. Once a year, when the reaping season comes, they
are all thrown away.
In Ban-pa and some other Sawns^-tiing villages several families
live in one house, according to the Palaung custom, but in Loi-16ng
and other villages there is only one family to the house.
All visitors must sleep in the young men's ha-w.
The dress of the men consists of a short pair of trousers about
fifteen inches long, lied round the waist by a
string, and a long coat reaching as far as the
knees. This is lied at the neck, but otherwise open in front. Both
trousers and coat are white.
The ornaments worn are brass rings round the arms up to the
elbow, and solid brass rings round the neck. These are large
enough to be slipped over the head. In addition are worn innume-
rable bead necklaces of red stones and glass usually with a boar's
tusk attached.
The men shave the head.
The women wear a short white thindatng or smock. This is
turned up with black round the neck, arms, sides, and down the back
and front ; round the bottom there is a pink border about three inches
wide. This blouse or smock reaches half-way between the hips and
the knees. Some of them are ornamented with shells. Below this
is worn a skirt, reaching not quite to the knee. It is white with a
544
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IX.
black, red and black border, the first line an inch wide, the second
one and a half inches, and the third three inches.
This is all. As Mr. Giles says the women are extremely fair-
skinned and decidedly pretty the scantiness of their altire is the
less to be regretted.
The ornaments are, however, more elaborate. Necklaces of many
strings of beads are worn, also brass torques, like those of the men,
and many brass armlets. Cotton dyed black is worn round the leg
below the knee ; below this a strip of blue or red cloth is wrapped
round the calf, and brass rings are coiled round from the ankle up
to within four inches of the knee on both legs.
The hair is combed and as much as possible is forced into a sil-
ver receptaclej like a dome, about five inches high by two inches in
diameter. The head-dress is worn round this, the dome appearing
above it. The head-dress itself is very elaborate and striking. It
consists of eight pieces of red and white cloth, about twenty inches
long and six inches broad, pleated together so as to show a narrow
red and white stripe. On this a piece of black cloth is sewn and
upon this is worked with kaleik seeds a red and yellow lace or net
pattern. This appears only in front. The whole is kept in place
by a narrow band of silver worn like a tiara. The effect is very be-
coming.
Ear-plugs of all kinds are used, from common wood up to chased
silver, according to the rank in life.
The customs of the Sinsin, Pa-hlaing, Kawn-sawng, Loi-l6ng, Sa-
l6n, Karathi, and Lamung Karens are the same as those of the Ban-
pa SawngtiJng Karens, but there are differences in dress.
The Sinsin Karens. — These people are of the same race as the
Sawng-tiing, but have left their villages and live intermingled with
Shans and Taungthu. They still retain their own language, but
have adopted in the main Taungthu customs. A woman may marry
whomever she pleases and is not restricted as among the Sawng-
tung.
The men's dress is the same as that of the Taungthu or Danu.
The women wear a long thindaing which reaches down to the knee.
This is white with a blue line round the neck, the sides, and down
the front and back. The sleeves are bordered with narrow blue and
red stripes. Cotton dyed black is coiled round the waist over this.
No petticoat is worn.
For ornamcms a silver bracelet takes the place of the brass arm-
lets of the Yawngtiing. The hair is worn like the Taungthu women
and the bead-dress is the same.
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
545
The Pa-hlaing /Taren*.— These people used to dress like the
Banpa Sawng-tung, but have now, as far as the men are concerned,
taken to the Taungthu dress. Not very many years ago a man
was not assessed until he wore clotheSj and then U was the custom
for the young men to go about mother-naked until at least the age
of twenty, in order to excape taxation.
The women wear a short white thindaing with blue lines round
the neck, arms, and down back and breast. The bottom is turned
up with a border of pink two inches wide. This garment reaches
to mid-thigh and beneath it a short petticoat is worn slopping short
of the knee. It has a black, white and black border, and the whole
is often stained with red earth, that is to say, designedly so dyed,
before being worn.
The women wear no head-dress, but otherwise their ornaments
are the same as those of the Banpa women.
The Kamn-zawng Karens. — The men have for some time given
up the Loi-long Karen dress and adopted the Taungthu fashion.
The women dress like those of Banpa with the following differ-
ences,— They have no head-dress. The hair is combed out, tied
up, and passed through a bamboo. Instead of the coils of brass on
the arm^ they wear plates of silver on the fore-arms, when they can
afford silver. Their necklaces are of white beads only and they do
not load themselves with brass torques,
The Loi-long Karens,. — The men have the same dress as those
of Banpa, but add a head-dress, being otheiwise close-shaven like
the Banpa men. This headdress is composed of shells strung on
wire thus
"^^^^
in a circle and fixed on a cane. A rab-
bit's t^l is then fastened to a projecting slip of cane and this is
surmounted by a porcupine's tail.
r^^'^.^
This coronet is placed square on the head, but the tail is worn
behind.
No brass rings are worn.
The women wear the same dress as those of Banpa, but the brass
rings on arms and legs are not in one continuous coil ; each ring
69
54^
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
stands apart and ihe top ring on the legs has a small projecting
ring attached to it. The effect is distinctly strange and suggests
that the women are chained up at night, but this does not seem to
be the case.
The hair is done up in a coil and passed through a bamboo
kycdauk, about six inches long, from the top of which it appears.
In front the hair is parted and a fringe falls loosely over the fore-
head and ears.
No head-dress is worn.
The Sa-I6n Karens. — The men wear the same dress as those of
Ban pa.
The women dress like those of Loi-l6ng, with the exception that
Ihoy wear no petticoats. To make up for the shortness of the smock,
which only reaches mid-thigh, they WTap a blanket round the
body.
The Baw'han Artr^wj:.— The men dress like those of Banpa ; so do
the women, except that they have no head-dress, part the hair in
the middle, and tie it in a knot at the back of the head. Instead of
brass coils on the arms they often wear silver plates.
The Karalhi Karens. — The men wear a short jacket or ihin-
daing reaching to the waist, white ground M-ith blue facings and at
the bottom a two-inch pink border, and short trousers like the
Banpa men. Below the knee they wear a twist of black cotton
cloth. In other respects they do not differ from those of Loi-l6ngp
but they never have boars' tusks on their bead necklaces.
The women dress exactly like those of Sa-l6n.
The Lamung Karens, — The men wear a jacket reaching to ihe
waist, white with a blue and pink border. Their trousers reach to
the knee and have a white and red vertical stripe. They wear ear-
plugs of black wood and small white seed {kaieik) necklaces, with-
out boars' tusks. Cotton dyed black and four inches wide is
worn twisted below the knee.
The women wear a smock, half red, half white, the red half being
undermost, hke the thindaing of the M&pu Karens. Beneath
this they wear a short skirt, with red and blue stripes. The hair is
done up in a knot at the back of the head, pierced with two bone
pins and further secured by a triangular comb. Silver ear-plugs
are worn and brass coils round the neck like those of the Padaungs.
They wear brass bracelets on the arm and also, not only below the
knee, but well up the thigh. They stain their teeth black.
The Banyang or Bany6k race is extremely reduced in numbers.
According to Mr. Giles, it is found only in the Banyin village of
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
547
Loi-lAng, which contains no more than six houses, situated at the
foot of Byingyfe hill, and in Karathi, a village in the Pyinmana
subdivision of Yam^thln district.
This paucity of numbers is, it would seem, due to their extraordi-
nary marriage customs. Mr. Giles says there is no giving and
taking in marriage as with all other races in the world. It is only
when a high ofTicial, such as a Tnung-sat visits Banyin that there arc
any marriages at all. This personage orders a couple to be married
and married they are, just as a man might be sworn of the peace.
The Taungsa GOnwara makes a point of going there once a year so
as to ensure at least one marriage in the twelvemonth. It appears
that matters are further complicated by the fact that the contract-
ing parties must be relations, as is the custom with the Sawng-tiing
race. In a village of only six houses, however, where custom has
decreed cross-marriages for many years, this requirement should
be very easily fulfilled. The men are said to be very averse to
marriage and *' have frequently to be taken by force to the bride's
house.' This sounds very Gilbertian and one can only hope that
the lady is not equally unamiable.
The official who makes these marriages seems to be let off very
easily with a marriage present consisting of nothing more costly
than two pots of liquor. The village, however, prepares a feast at
which every one is present. From the banquet ihe newly married
couple are taken to a house and are not allowed to leave it for three
days, during which time the village provides them with food. The
banquet and the order of the Taungsa constitute the entire wedding
ceremony. The parents on either side seem to have nothing to
say in the matter. Presumably, however, in a six-house village,
where there is one marriage at any rate every year, couples are very
clearly marked out for one another. This may account for the
alleged coyness of the men. There are some races in Australia
who also practice the same sort of in-marriages, the most extreme
contrast to the custom of exogamy which is so much more preva-
lent among uncivilized and totemistic races.
It is said that many years ago Banyin used to intermarry with
Pahlaing village ; some generations back, however, the two villages
quarrelled and since then Banyin has been a very close marriage
market. Intermarriage, even by the men, with those of another
race was never permissible. There is no hint of marriages of
inclination. They are all as it were officially gazetted alliances.
There is nothing against widows remarrying ; in fact they must, if
the Taungsa happens to order it. Since there is so much worry in
marrying the people, it is not surprising to hear that divorces are
not permitted.
548
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
Neither at the birth, nor the naming of a child, is there any cere-
mony, not even a feast. Neither is there a death-feast. When one
of the villagers dies the villagers draw lots who is to carry the dead
body to the grave. The corpse is wrapped up in split bamboo and
carried outside by the man on whom the lot falls and there buried.
If the deceased owned fields with standing crops, only half the
fields are reaped and the rest is left uncut for the use of the spirit.
The dead Banyang are all supposed to take up their residence on
Byingy^ hill, and there to repeat the existence spent on earth.
The chief naf of Byingyfe hill is presumably the first of the Ban-
yang, the protot)[pe of the race, for they do not believe in a supreme
being and imagine the whole hill to be the residence of their for-
bears. It is cnaracierisllc of their narrowness that they should
have selected a heaven so close at liand, so limited in area, and
so comparatively unattractive. Each house has a natst'n, an altar
to the Byingyfe spirit, and there is a general feast once a year when
pork, fowls, eggs, rice, and liquor are offered up and the spirit is in-
voked to shower prosperity on the village and to bless the inhabit-
ants with good health. With a listlessness which might be expect-
ed of them this feast takes place in no particular month. It is held
when the fancy seizes them, or when there is apparent pressing
necessity, but there must be a feast some time in the twelvemonth.
In the month of Taiothalin (September- October) offerings are
made at the separate house-shrines. Each cultivator kills pigs and
fowls and offers up the flesh with quantities of liquor. The blood of
the sacrifices is caught up and poured upon the paddy plants in the
iaungya with prayers for a good harvest. Again in the next month,
Thadmgyut, or in Tasaitngmon, an offering is made by each house-
holder at his private shrine, with prayers for a bumper harvest.
While harvest operations are going on, it is a tradition that
nothing but plain rice must be eaten. No condiments of any kind
are permissible.
The one human and attractive trait the Bany6k have is that they
are much given to hunting and are very fond of their trained dogs.
In the month of Tawthaiin every year they make special offerings to
three guardian spirits on behalf of these dogs. This ceremony,
which lasts over two days, is a very solemn one, and women and
strangers are excluded.
The ceremony is conducted in the depths of the jungle at some
distance from the village. A large number of plates of rice, mixed
with pork and cut-up fowls, is prepared and a small quantity of
kaun^ye is poured ai the side of each pile of rice. All the heads
p| ftmmals killed during the preceding year are brought and placed
CHAP. IX.] ETHNOLOGY.
round these plates. The dogs are then brought forward and a
prayer is offered up to llie guardian spirits, beseeching them to pro-
tect the dogs from injury, to give them speed and endurance, and
that they may succeed in killing a larger quantity of game than in
past years. After this the dogs are allowed to eat the offerings.
The Banyok in other ways are, however, rather priggish. They
do not use gold, silver, or precious stones, either for ornaments, or
in the form of money, because, they say, they are the su-taung-pyi
(prayer-granted) people. All their wants are supplied with the
minimum of labour, and they will have nothing to do with precious
metals or stones, because the presence of them only brings worry,
trouble, and bad feeling. This philosophic altitude seems a little
strained for a village of six houses.
Mr. Giles thinks that possibly these Banyangor Banyok are the
remnants of the aborigines of the Myelat. The fact that money in
any shape has only comparatively recently been known in that tract
seems a rather slender basis to start from.
The young men of the Banyang race wear a short jacket reaching
to the waist with vertical stripes of dark blue and white about six
inches wide. Round the bottom of the coat runs a bordering of
pink. Two rows of shells run right round the body, back and front.
They are sewn on. The trousers are long like those of the Danu.
On both arms they wear bracelets, a spiral coil of brass, with twenty-
one rin^s, reaching to near the elbow. Round the neck they wear
four solid brass rings, so loose that they can be easily slipped over
the head, and a necklace of coloured beads with a pendant of four
boar's tusks, arranged in pairs as with the Karcn-ni. They do not
tattoo. Bands of cotton dyed black are wound round the leg below
the knee. When they reach the age of puberty black cotton is tied
very tightly round the forehead in a band which covers the whole
brow so completely chat the wearer can hardly raise his eyes. The
hair is worn long.
The old men's thitidaing'xs of the same length as the youth's and
to the six-inch vertical stripes of white and blue are added three nar-
row black stripes on the white ground.
The women wear a ihindawg reaching half-way between the
hips and the knee. This is white with a black border at the neck
and arm-holes. A black band runs down breast and back and a
three-inch pink band goes round the lower edge. A petticoat which
does not quite reach the knee is worn. This is white with a black,
red, and black striped border, the first stripe one inch wide, the red
one and a half, and the second black stripe two inches wide. These
skirts are often ornamented with shells.
556 THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
Round the neck they wear necklaces of many strings of beads,
but no boars' tusks; also brass torques, like those of the men.
Brass armlets of the same pattern as the men's are also worn.
Below the knee they have bands of black cotton and beneath
this swathes of blue or red cloth. From the ankle to within four
inches of the knee rise coils of brass rings. Like all the hill women
they have substantial legs and the superimposed brass rings are
singularly unbecoming to the unaccustomed eye.
Black cotton bands are also tightly tied round the forehead as
with the young men. The hair is worn long and tied in a knot at
the back of the head.
Both sexes drink kaungye freely from the age of 1 2 months. The
arms of the men are cross-bows, spears, dhas^ and daggers. They
smoke long pipes, but do not chew betel.
The Mbpu or White Karens*
Mr. F. H. Giles gives the fol!o\ring details of the White Karens
found in the Paunglaung valley of the Loi-16ng State. They them-
selves claim to belong to the Mfepu Karen tribe found in the Pyin-
mana district of Upper Burma and in the villages of Ban-16n, Ban-
lon-ngfe, Padaung Koywa, Al^chaung, Bawgata. At the same time
there can be very little doubt that they are closely allied to the
Taunglhu race, for the language is full of Taungthu words and all
these White Karens can talk Taungthu.
The following legend is told of the origin of the race : — Very many
hundreds or thousands of years ago a brother and sister, Lan-yein and
Among, lived at Kla in the Pyinmana district. They apparently be-
longed to the aboriginal race of Upper Burma. The Set-kya, or
Celestial Prince, gave them a drum with magical powers. When it
was beaten it drove away all enemies and it also supplied all the
wants of its owner. The brother and sister lived happily together
until one day Lan-yein got a porcupine by beating his wish-drum.
He cut it in half and gave one portion to his sister. Unhappily
Among's half had large quills in it which wounded her hand. She
thought Lan-yein had given her this piece on purpose and became
very angry, and made up her mind to have her revenge. So she
went to her brother and said she had had a dream that, if anew skin
w^as spread on the wish-drum, they would obtain things far more
readily than they had hitherto. Lan-yein, suspecting no evil, tore
off the skin and put on a new drum-head. He then found too late
that the magic spcU was broken, and he got nothing for all his beat-
ing.
Then he was very angry and resolved to leave Among and go to
live in some other country. To get away the more easily he told his
Chap, ix,]
ETHNOLOGY.
55 >
sister to go and catch some prawns while he went to catch fish in a
different direction. Both came bark successful and the fish and
prawns were cooked. Lan-yein told his sister it was not safe to
eat the prawns till they turned white. His fish were white and he
ate them and then went out, as he said, to cut a clearing for an
opium field. Among, he said, was not to come after him till the
prawns had turned white and she had eaten them. She waited hours
and hours, but the prawns turned no whiter and at last she became
so anxious that she went out to seek her brother. She followed his
foot-tracks till she arrived at Maung-la just west of the present
village of Loi-mawng. She was then so wearied that she could go
no further and stayed so long that the foot-tracks were lost- So
she settled down in Maung^la and later married one of the men of
the village and from her descended the M6pu race of White
Karens.
Lan-yein went on till he got to China and there he was at a loss
to decide where he should stay. So he got four green beetles and
set them free, one in each direction, north, south, east, and west.
But the green beetles did not come back in one body, so he
decided that the place was unfavourable and journeyed on. Three
limes he tried this omen and the third time the signs were propitious.
The four green beetles all came back together to their home. So
he determined that he would settle there, but to make sure tried
another test. He dug seven holes in the ground and when he found
that the earth from the seven only refilled one, he was satisfied.
His magical powers and his abilities soon gathered people round him.
He became very famous and in the course of time was chosen Udi
Bwa.or Emperor of China.
In those ancient days the women of China wore brass anklet rings.
When he became Emperor, Lan-yein sent twelve pairs of these
to his sister by some messengers going to Burma. Among put
them on, as the messengers showed her how, and they were so much
admired, that all the women of her race have worn them ever since.
The tale does not suggest any great narrative power, or imagi-
nation on the part of the White Karen fabulist, but it hints at the
original home of the race.
The women of the race wear a ihindaing, a sort of blouse, or
tight-fitting smock with short sleeves, often made of silk in the
Paung-laung valley. It is half white, half red, the white half being
the upper. Beneath this is worn a skirl, or petticoat, reaching to
within six inches or so of the knees. It is made of cotton and the
pattern is usually red and deep blue stripes. The head-dress is
called tabet and is of a chequered material, much like that worn
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IX.
by the Taungyo. Until some years ago brass rings were worn round
the arms, but silver bracelets arc now usually substituted, like those
worn by the Taungthu women. Broad ribbons of cotton, dyed
black with ihit-si, are also twisted round the arm to make up for
the want of sleeves to the thindaing. The brass rings formerly
worn round the legs are now not often seen. Instead of them there
is an untrammelled display of sturdy naked calves.
Formerly, it is said, all the White Karen women wore valuable
necklaces of coloured stones. These seem now to have been all
lost, and so indeed is all their jewellery, for the ear-cylinders or na-
daung are, except in rare cases, always of wood. On festival occa-
sions 'he women add to the beauties of the tabet by adorning that
head-dress with feathers and pieces of coloured glass.
The men also wear a short thindaing reaching to the hips and
a pair of trousers about the length of running, or boating shorts.
They have cane rings twisted round the waist like the Palaung
women, but not so many of them. The turban is of cotton and is
tied up in a ball in front. Brass bracelets are worn up to the elbow,
and they frequently have necklaces and silver ornaments of all kinds,
which one would think must have been stolen from their wives.
The marriage customs of the M&pu race are very liberal. Young
men and maids arc allowed to court without parental Interference
and a maiden is allowed to marry even a man of another race and still
may continue to live in her native village. In all love matches the
man employs first of al) a go-between to ascertain whether the girl
will allow him to visit her. If permission is granted, courting goes
on in the somewhat formal and spoil-sport fashion of the Burmese.
When philandering has ended in proposal and acceptance, the con-
sent of the parents is obtained. After this omens have to be taken.
A formal feast is given by the contracting parties and the expec-
tant pair each produce a fowl or a pig. These are killed and the
liver is closely inspected. If the liver is malformed in any way, or
of an abnormally dark colour, the parly who has produced the crea-
ture is not lo be trusted. If the liver is smooth, straight, and pale-
coloured, the omens arc happy. The livers of the pigs are much
more trusted than the feelings of the parties, and marriage contracts
are ruthlessly broken off, if the pig or fowl should have been an
evil liver. When the marriage is consummated, the following are
the fees : — Go-between, five rupees ; brother of the bride, fifteen
rupees ; mother of the bride, no-bo, or " niilk-bote," nine rupees four
annas. The bridegroom goes to live in the house of his wife's
parents. A somewhat eccentric custom is said to prevail, whereby
the parents of both lose all power over the married couple and the
CHAP. IX.
ETHNOLOGY.
553
go-between takes the place of family adviser till the death of the
woman. Polygamy is not allowed. Adultery is denied to exist.
Divorces are forbidden.
The chief peculiarity on the birth of a Mepu child is that no one
is allowed to leave the village till the umbilical cord is cut. The cut-
ting is announced to the rest of the village by the bursting of a
bamboo. It is somewhat hard to believe, what is asserted, that the
same constraint is put on the villagers when a domestic animal
brings forth young. No one from another village is allowed to enter
the house of the woman who has been confined.
to
The following is the
system on which
names
are giv
children : —
Sons.
Daughters.
First born
La£ ...
A-mdng*
1 Second bora
I,a Nyein
I-6-ma,
Third born ...
La Than
A*Ia-ma.
Fourth born ...
La Th^:
A-la.
Fifth bora ...
La Thawk
A-paing.
Sixth born ...
La Lawk
A-u.
Seventh born
La So
A-o,
Eight born
LaPc
A-c.
Ninth born
...
A- Icing.
When a M^pu Karen dies, the body is placed in a wooden coffin and
a feast is held at which all comers are welcome. The young men
and women of the village dance and sing round the coffin on its way
to the grave. In former times, when the White Karens were slave-
owners, the slaves were buried alive with their masters. A small
hole was left through which they could breathe and food was sup-
plied to iheni for seven days. If then they could unaided rise from
their graves they became fr?e men. The statement that they very
rarely did may be believed. There have been no Mfepu slave-
holders for many years, which is a matter for congratulation.
If the jungle growth in the cemetery catches fire by accident, or
from the spreading of a hill clearing fire, the person who originated
the fire has to pay compensation according to his means to the
relatives of the occupant of any grave which has been harmed. If
the fire spreads over the whole cemetery before it is put out, the
offender is ordinarily unable to pay the whole village and he then
has to compromise by making sacrifices to the village spirits.
Small spirit shrines are built inside each village. Offerings are
made at these by the villagers according to the piety that is in
them, usually when they are in trouble, or have sickness in the family.
Outside every village there is a larger ««/«« always built in dense
jungle at some little distance. The spirit of this shrine is worship-
70
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP^ IX;
ped formally every three years and men only are present at the rites*
The offerinfis then are three pigs of two, three, and four sot in girth,
three fowls, and one kycdauk (measure) oikaungye (rice-spirit) from
each house in the village. All the offerings are taken in procession
to the shrine, where the pigs and fowls are cut up, and a small
piece of each is deposited on the natsin with a few drops of liquor.
Each householder then offers up a prayer to the spirit, asking for
protection, freedom from sickness, and prosperity during the next
three years. The remainder of the offerings is taken back to the
village, where the whole population gorges and swills. If they have
not consumed it all within two days, what remains must be thrown
out.
The Taungtku and Taung-yo,
These tribes are called Tawnghsu and Tawnglo by the Shans.
The former are well known all over Siam and Cambodia and as far
as the Lower Mfekhong — about Bassac and the rapids of the Thousand
Islands. In the Shan States they are cultivators. When they go
abroad they are most commonly elephant and horse-dealers. The
Tawnghsus call themselves Pa-o, which immediately suggests Pwo.
The Taungyo one would expect to be of the same race, but their
speech is much more Burmese in character, and they themselves
deny all relationship with the Taungthu amongst whom they live and
prefer to connect themselves with the Danu, even to the extent of
frequently living in the same villages with them. The Taungthus
form nearly half the population of the Myelat, and the State of
Hsa-htung (That6n) is so completely Taungthu that the Myosa is
of that race. Elsewhere thejf are found over the whole of the wes-
tern part of the Southern Shan States, but they do not spread
northwards, nor are they found east of tlie Sal ween except in Siamese
territory. The Taungyo arc much less numerous and scarcely ex-
tend beyond the southern portion of the Myelat, where they are found
in Hsa Mong Hkam, Maw Nang, and Kyawk Tat. The men of both
clans wear Shan dress. The women wear a garment which the
Burmese call a thindaing, a sort of loose camisole, or gaberdine,
or perhaps more like a poncho. This is black with the Taungthu and
red in the case of the Taungyo and constitutes the chief difference
between the two. The wealthier of both clans add embroidery.
Under this smock-frock is worn a short kirtle, which does not extend
below the knee. Below the knee are garters of black thread, and
leggings, black or white, are sometimes worn. The forearm is also
covered with strips of various coloured velvet or flannel ; green and
purple are favourite colours. The head-dress is elaborate. The
basis is a black cloth or tabet wound round the head turban fashion
and ornamented with a variety of coloured tassels. The hair is
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
555
done up in a chignon and a large spike hair-pin and a silver band
serve to keep this firmly fixed. Finally a long silver cord or chain
is wound round and round and makes everything fast. Pendant
earrings of silver are worn and large hollow bracelets are universal
— some of silver, some very much alloyed.
It was formerly assumed tliat the Taungthu of Lower Burma
came from Hsa-htung (Thaton), but the Shan States tradition is
precisely the reverse, ^ind the original home of the Hsa-htung people
is asserted to have been Thaton in the Amherst district. The follow-
ing is the local legend : —
"In the ycar4i9B.E. (957A.D.) Manuha, the Taungthu King of Thatfin,
invited a Buddhist monk to visit his country for the purpose of spreading
the Buddhist religion. The monk came and brought with him thirty sets
of the Buddhist scriptures, the Pitakat. The neighbouring King of Pagan
heard of this and wrote to the Taungthu King Manuha asking for one set of
the scriptures. He sent the letter by an Amaf, but the King of Thaton re-
turned an insolent reply to the efTect that the subjects of the King of Pa-
gan were so exceedingly ignorant and wild that a copy would be wasted
on them, for they would not be able to understand it. Nawra-hta replied
by raising a great army which proceeded by land and by water against
'rhat6n, and the King of Pagan himself commanded the boat party. Tha-
ton was attacked and taken ; King Manuha with his wife and family were
made prisoners, and the copies of the scriptures were carried on eight white
elephants to Pagan. All this is familiar from Burmese history, which places
Nawra-hta, however, in the eleventh century. King Manuha and all the
Taungthu nobility were made pagoda-slaves tcj the Shwezig6n and other
pagodas in Pagan and all the more prosperous people were also carried
thither as slaves. Those who were left migrated from the ruins of the
Taungthu capital to the Shan States and there founded a new State, to
which they gave the same name. This is the modern Hsa-htung ; others
settled in the Myelat. Tun Chi, it is recorded, came up with one hundred
families and settled in the country now known as Hsa Mong Hkam {^.v.).
The present Ngwekunhmu of that State calls himself a Danu, but his father
Shwe Min is said to have declared himself a pure Taungthu and a lineal
descendant of Tun Chi. Roughly it may be said that the I'aungthus predo-
minate in the south and the Danus in the north of the Myelat. Both of
them may be looked on as Afesfisos, the Taungthus and possibly the
Taung-yos with more Karen blood and the Danus with more Burman, while
Shan blood controls the mixture. The Taungthu language is, however,
mainly Karen, the Danu mainly Burmese, and the Taung*yo betwixt and
between, with a predominance o£ Burmese words."
The Taungthu certainly have a written character, but those who
are able to read it are even fewer than specimens of the literature.
So far none of these have been obtained in the Shan States.
Taungthu courting customs seem to have borrowed a certain
amount from the Burmese. Love-making must
Taungthu customs. ^^^ ^^ ^^^^.^^^ ^^ ^^^ sita\i\ though the proper
time is after dark. The young man comes up to the house where
5S«
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
the object of his affections lives, playing on a flute. This is more
to let the parents know that a suitor has come for their daughter
than for the more romantic purpose of serenading the damsel.
The melody is a matter of indifference so long as there is obvious
tootling.
Having thus announced his arrival, the young man has a right to
find the lady waiting for him at the fireplace, but if she is not there
he opens the door and wakes her up and she ^romes out to talk with
him over the embers of the fire. There is nothing binding or cora-
promising in this. When the young people have settled the ques-
tion for themselves, the youth gives the girl a present of money and
then she formally asks the consent of her parents to the alliance.
H this is given, a day is fixed for the marriage ceremony which
takes place in the house of the bride's parents. .Ml relatives and
friends of both are invited. The bride and bridegroom sit side by
side. A person whose father and mother are both alive, hands
them lapei (salad tea) which they eat in the presence of the com-
pany. This is the binding part of the ceremony. After this the
young couple kadaw, make obeisance to their parents, with pre-
sents of fruit and flowers and the like, and then the oldest person in
the village ties a piece of cotton round the right wrist of the hus-
band and the left wrist of the wife and at the same time prays that
they may be prosperous, happy, and have many children. For this
service the husband pays a fee of four annas. After this the mar-
riage feast begins. All comers are welcomed and the wedding
guests make presents to the newly married pair, usually in money.
The parents also give wedding gifts. Finally one of the villagers
partitions off a chamber in the house of whichever of the parents
the couple are to live in and receives four annas for this trouble.
This ends the marriage service.
If a divorce is wanted by both parties, they make a declaration
to that effect before the elders of the village and that settles the
question. If only one wishes for a divorce, it may still be effected
if the refusing party will accept thirty rupees as compensation, but,
if this is declined, there is no divorce.
Husband and wife may separate without a formal divorce. The
husband in such a case must give the woman subsistence money.
If this is insufficient, or if it is not paid for three years, the woman
may re-marry, without further ceremony. If reasonable subsistence
money is regularly paid, she may not.
In cases of adultery on the part of the wife, the paramour has to
pay compensation to the husband as ordered by the elders of the
village. This is decided according to the co-respondent's means.
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
557
There is not necessarily a divorce,
with the husband.
Whether there is or not rests
If an unmarried woman becomes pregnant, she is summoned
before the village elders and put on oath to point out her seducer.
If the man admits that it is true, the two are married. If he denies
the accusation, he has to pay thirty rupeoSj unless ho can prove that
it is manifestly false. Offenders in all such matters, married or
unmarried, are ordinarily expelled from the village. After bearing
a child the mother sits on a low settle or stool, made specially for
the occasion, by the house- fire. The hot bricks used in Burma are
rot applied. The midwife receives her food and an honorarium of
eight annas. Her hands are also formally washed by the parents
a short time after the accouchement.
When the mother is able to go about, a feast is held, to which all
relations and friends are invited. In front of each person a bowl
of water is placed and into this they drop pieces of money, accord-
ing to their means. Then each guest dips a wisp of grass or
thekkd (thatch) into this water and with it brushes his legs, feet,
and hands. The object and origin of this custom seems to have
been forgotten, but the ordinary stranger is apt to think that this
rudimentary washing is highly desirable and even necessary if there
has not been a birth in the village for some length of time.
The money collected from the bowls is spent in buying silver
ornaments for the infant. The child gets its name on the same
principle and with the same formalities as prevail with the Bur-
mese. When a Taungthu dies it is customary to tie the thumbs
and great toes together. This is said by some to be intended to
make walking after death less probable. Another peculiar custom
is that after a death the nearest relative measures the corpse from
head to foot with a piece of twisted cotton. This is thrown on the
corpse and the soul of the deceased is then said to be formally releas-
ed. At the funeral feast, a plate of food is set before the deceased,
and this, with what remains over after those present have eaten, is
taken to the cemetery. When the corpse is carried outside the
house, the chief mourner, widow, or widower, son or daughter, pours
water over the body and says : " As a stream divides countries, so
"may the water now poured divide us." If there is a coffin, it is not
closed, and when the cemetery is reached the face of the corpse is
carefully washed by the nearest relative and the body is then buried.
Burning is never resorted to. The food which has been brought from
the house is then scattered wide as an offering to the spirits.
A piece of silver, large or small, in accordance with the means of
the deceased, is placed in the mouth. This hka-bo^ Charon's toll,
SS8
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX-
isa custom borrowed, imitated, or inherited, no doubt, from the Bur-
mese, The Taungthu do not help us in any way to explain the
origin of the custom.
If the person has died on a " duty day," the eighth of the waxing
or waning, full moon or new moon, it is customary for some one to
walk with a torch in front of the bier for a short distance after the
funeral procession has left the house. This is said to be to show
the way to the corpse, but the idea probably is that on holy days
ghosts do not walk and the disembodied spirit might conceivably
sla^ behind in the house, instead of following its earthly habitation
to Its last home.
If a death occurs on the last day of the month, it is not right to
keep the body in the house. It must be buried at once. The
same must be done if a woman dies within three days after child-
birth. Moreover saya must be called in to lay the ghost. Other-
wise her spirit would haunt the house. Mr. Hildebrand says that
when a woman dies in child-birth her body is invariably beaten
with sticks and ropes in the hope that, if the woman has only
swooned away, she will return to consciousness. If she dies short-
ly before accouchement is expected, when the dead body reaches
the cemetery, it must be cut open and the infant's body buried in a
separate grave. The wise men must be called in to lay the ghosts.
If these precautions are neglected, not only is the house likely
to be haunted, but no woman who knows the manner of the pre-
vious wife's death will marry the widower, lest she should die in the
same way.
The Taungthu arc nominally Buddhists, but they are as little
really so as the Chinese and ihc Annamesc. They are practically
spirit-worshippers and nothing else. The house nat is worshipped
at a special feast every year in the month of KasSn (April-May).
The usual offerings are made — fish (the kind called tigapetn), liquor,
rice, and the ordinary household stew — and are placed on a shelf fixed
round the centre post of the house, while a prayer is put up for
health and prosperity to the houst-hokl during the year. If the of-
fering is placed elsewhere, it must be either on the eastern or west-
ern side of the house, never north or south. In this they in no way
differ from their neighbours, but they have some special obser\'an-
ces. If any one makes over property for safe custody, it is necessary
for the house-owner to first of all ask the permission of the house-
spirit. If this is not done, the whole household is liable to be
stricken with disease.
If there is a marriage and a bride is brought into the house, or
if a member of the family leaves and sets up a house of his own, it
CHAP, IX.
ETHNOLOGY.
559
is necessary to inform the lar. He would certainly take offence if he
suddenly discovered for himself that the number of indwcUers had
increased or diminished without his knowledge.
There is a village nat as well as a house 7iat. He is propitiated
in the month of Nayon (May-June). This spirit lives outside the
village limits and his shrine is to be found in a grove of trees, or
under a clump of bamboos. At the"annual feast each household
offers three ngapein^ a little rice, some ginger, salt, and chillies. The
ngapein must not be cut up or bruised. The offerings are collect-
ed from each house and put into a common fund. From this the
portion for the spirit is taken and placed on the natsin. What
remains is then eaten by the villagers, and from this meal deductions
are drawn as to the prospects for the year. If there is not enough
rice to satisfy the appetite of all present, then the paddy crop wilJ
be bad ; if there is a surplus, tfien it will be good, in proportion to
what remains over, and so with the other component parts of the
offering.
On the day on which the rice-fields are sown, or planted out, no
Taungthu will give food, fire, water, or anything that may be asked
of him to any one, no matter what the necessity of the asker may
be, or his degree of relationship. If he were to do so, his crops
would be eaten by insects. The first handful or two of seed is al-
ways sown at night, just before the farmer goes to bed, when there
is fittle chance of any body coming to ask for anything.
On the day when the paddy threshing begins some rice and
cooked food are placed near the threshing floor; when nearly the
whole field has been threshed, the offering is placed on the threshing
floor itself so that it becomes mixed with the paddy. A prayer for
full granaries and general prosperity is offered at the same time.
When all the fields have been reaped some paddy and paddy
husks are mixed together in the fit-Ids and a trail of this is laid from
there to the farmer's house, while all the time the paddy leipbya
(literally, butterfly) is called on loudly tocometo the house. With-
out this next year's harvest will be bad, and care must be taken that
tliere Is no break in the trail.
A special day must be ascertained for taking the grain out of the
sabagyi, the granary. It does not do to take it out on random-
chosen days, no matter what the apparent urgency may be.
When the first meal is made of the season's rice, offering must
be made to the nais and also at the pagoda if there is one, and
some of the elders of the village must be invited to eat with the
household.
s&
THE UPPER BURMA gAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
When paddy is sold It is customar)' to take back a handful out
of the baskets to prevent the paddy leipbya from being carried
away.
During the whole of the month of Pyatho (December-January)
it is forbidden to take any paddy out of the grain-bins. SuBficient
for the needs of the whole month must be taken out before the
month begins. During all this month also the ashes from the fire-
place must not be brushed up and removed. They will be very use-
ful later in killing the insects which attack the paddy-6elds.
The Taungyo have more laxity vn their courting customs than the
_ Taungthu. The eirl wails after nightfall for
Taungyo customs. \ \ • r ^ t\^ .'l jl
ner lover m front of her parents house and, when
he comes, the two of them go to any convenient place in the
neighbourhood, usually to a stack of straw. The Taungthu consider
this very immoral and insinuate l^ie most shocking familarities,
which the Taungyo deny with becoming indignation.
The marriage ceremony is correspondingly simplified when the
youth has sufncient possessions to warrant his convening his sweet-
heart into his wife. He goes with her to the girl's father and
mother, taking a few presents with him, varying from a bunch of
plantains and some flowers to a buffalo, or a plough-ox, and says he
wishes to marry the girl, if the parents approve, they simply tell
him to take her away. The pair go off to the house of the young
man's parents and that completes the ceremonial. Presents are
frequently given, either of money or cattle, by the parents on both
sides, to the newly married couple. As the happy pair go to the
husband's parents house they are stopped on the way by his bache-
lor friends, who demand payment before they will remove the cord
which they hold across the path. This is a reminiscence, or a
plagiarism from the Burmese. Pioc are sometimes held, but only
when the parents are well off. Elopements, as may be imagined
from the laxity of the preliminaries, are not uncommon, but Mr.
Giles is of opinion that marriages which have been approved of by
the parents " arc somewhat more numerous."
Divorces are not common and are discouraged by the village
elders. The girl returns to her parents' house if the divorce is sanc-
tioned. If children have been born of the marriage, divorce is
almost never granted. Barrenness in the woman is no ground for
divorce, for polygamy is permissible and the wife is really simply
cook and farm servant.
If a child is bom out of wedlock, the girl is called upon to point
out the father. She is first put on oath. The village elders then
suggest marriage. If the man refuses, he must pay thirty rupees.
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
S6i
If he denies the allegation, the girl must submit proofs. If she can-
not, she is disgraced and forbidden the village.
On the birth of a child the woman roasts herself for six days ; the
friends and relatives gather for a feast and make presents, accord-
ing to their means, for the benefit of the child. The midwife re-
ceives four annas, one measure (pyi) of rice, and two fish.
On the whole the system of naming is very similar to that of the
Burmese, but the child receives any name that the parents think
suitable. It is fixed by their fancy, not by the Burmese formula or
by any family name.
There are no distinctive customs on death or burial ; Burmese
ceremonies are copied.
Like the Taungthu, the Taungyo are pure spirit -worshippers.
Under ordinary circumstances they worship the nah three times
a year — twice on account of the individual household in Tabodw^
(January-February) and Wagaung (July-August) and once on ac-
count of the community in general, in the month of Tawthalin
(September-October).
The household nai is worshipped in each separate house and the
offerings are seven plates of rice with ngapein and Hquor. These
with other things are placed in seven separate heaps in the front
room of the house and a short invocation is repeated, praying for
freedom from sickness, help in time of need, and good harvests.
There is no particular day of the month on which the ofTerings
should be made.
The circle or Wan-nein or PU nat is worshipped mth much
more ceremony. He lives in any conspicuous tree, or coppice in
the neighbourhood of the village, if he is a mere village spirit, or in
the circle, if he has a larger charge. The Wan-nein nat of Myin-
ka in the Pangtara State, who is particularly revered, has his abode
in a large (hitya tree, which stands to the south of Myin-ka, north
village. Many Taungyo, who live beyond the limits of the circle,
nevertheless attend his feast. On this occasion each householder
takes with him one fowl (killed before the shrine is reached), two
kyedauk of liquor, one of kaung-ye, and one of sam-shu, a small
pottle of tomatoes, two ngapein fish (one male, the other female),
and a measure of rice. All these articles are cooked on the spot
and deposited before the shrine with the usual prayer for blessings
on the offerer and his family. Neglect to make the offerings results
in speedy disaster.
The Taungyo are all cultivators and therefore worship the deity
of agriculture. Their Demeter or Ceres is the saba leip-bya, who
is called after the crops have been reaped but before threshing has
7>
56a
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX*
begun. An offering of rice, liquor, and water is placed near the
threshing floor with appropriate prayers.
Like the Taungthu they take no paddy out of the grain- bins
during the month of Pyatho. All that is wanted for the month
must be set aside on the last day of Naida-m (November-Decem-
ber). If this is not enough, rice must be borrowed elsewhere, or
bought, for to open the sabagyi would mean to blight next season's
crops. The ashes on the domestic hearth are also allowed to ac-
cumulate all through the month.
The Danus and Danaias.
The Danus are found in considerable numbers along the border
country which separates the Shans from the Burmans and are the
most important tribe In that part of the country. They form a con-
siderable proportion of the population of the Maymyo subdivision
of Mandalay district, are numerous in the Ruby Mines district and
in the Shan States of Mong L6ng, Hsum Hsai, and Western Lawk-
sawk ; while in the Myelat they are found in all States, but pre-
dominate in Pangtara, Poila, Yengan, and Maw. A few also are
found in the ierai villages of the Meiktila division, especially in the
Lon Pan circle.
Dr. Gushing is of opinion that they are a hybrid race and that the
Danaws are only variants. Mr. F. H. Giles is inclined lo be par-
ticular about dividing the Danus from the Danaws. The former he
believes to be the descendants of a Burmese colony who emigrated
from south of Hanthawadi about the time of the Norman conquest
(p. sub, voc, Hsa Mong Hkam). The Danaws on the contrary are
not. Their language more resembles Taungthu (Taung-hsu in Shan
and Siamese) and they affect the Taungthu dress. They are found
in Pangtara, Kyawktat, Lai Hsak^ and the surrounding larger States,
but are much fewer in numbers.
Mr. C. E. Browne on the other hand derives the Danus from the
Karen-Taungthus and says they did not exist before the Taung-
thu occupation of the Myelat. At the same time he admits that
they predominate in the places where Shans and Burmans most
met for purposes of trade. The general opinion is that they are
" a wild sort of Burmans ; " but in some places they are claimed to be
one of " the 30 races of Shans." The chief objection lo this is
that the majority of Danus cannot speak Shan, whereas all of them
talk Burmese of a kind. In later times it is undeniable that per-
sons of half Shan, half Burman parentage are called Danus, with
in some places the superfluous additions of Shan-Danu or Burman-
Danu, which simply mdicate whether the particular person under-
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY,
5*53
Stands Shan or not. Everywhere the Danu wears the turban and
jacket of the Burman, but in most cases he prefers the Shan trou-
sers to the Burmese loin-cloth. The women sometimes wear the
Karen smock or tunic, but usually dress in Burmese kirtle and
jacket. Almost all, however, follow Shdn fashion in wearing a scarf
tied round the hair-knot. This, however, is taken off at religious
functions.
'i'he origin of the name is more puzzling. Shan lends no assist-
ance ; a / is substituted for a d. One theor}' is that the first of the
race came from Tenasserim, the Siamese name for which is Taneng-
thari» From the first syllable of this Danu is thought to be deriv-
ed. Another suggestion is the Burmese 7V/w A'*«, meaning " the
refined people." This is somewhat of a lucus a non.
Like the Kadus they are destined to disappear very soon. Like
them also they are most probably a mere ethnological precipitate
of an irreducible character, like the inhabitants of the South Ameri-
can republics.
An excursus by a Burman Sir John Mandeville of the Meiktila
district gives a hint at the name^
" Now when King Nawra-hta Amirddda Dewa Mingyi had finished build-
ing the town (of Hlaingdet) he marched up to the Kambawsa province
with many squadrons of cavalry and much light infantry. And when he
came back he met with a wild and jungly man of a strange race ia the
territory between Burma and the Shan States. The King questioned him
and it was discovered that the wild man's forefathers were of a race called
La-6, but his grandmother was a Burmese woman. Upon this the King
ordained that the race should be called Danu, but that all descendants
were to be called Danaw. And since the place the man dwelt in was near
the Shan States it was included among the thirty-five countries of the Shan
States.
" Now the Danu drank water from the valleys, so they spoke very slowly,
*'The King furthermore ordained that the Danu and after them the Danaw
should build their dwellings in the fashion of a taiapSn, that is to say,
their roofs were to be tike in shape to the lid of a cofHn. Tbeir houses had
no floors. They had no cattle to plough with, no level ground to plougli,
and they had to sow their seed on the tops and slopes and hollows of the
hills, and they planted it in a hole made with a pointed stick. When one
basket of grain was sown the number of baskets reaped was Bfty or sixty.
"The Danu women who lived near Burma dressed like the Burma women,
but thoee who lived farther away wore cutty sarks like the Karens. The
Danu men dressed themselves with short trousers like tlie Wild Karens.
" When Danu bachelors courted a maid they took with them a betel-box
to the girl's house and each young man placed his betel-box in front of the
maid, and when the lassie took a betel-leaf, the lad from whose betel-box
she took the leaf knew that she loved him and he took up his betel-box
and went home. And that was the custom among the Danus.
5^4
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
" The Danus never bred any cattle, but only pigs. Their language differ-
ed from the Burmese and also from the Shan. The Danus who were wild
used to bnry in the grave half the property of the person who died. And
if the dead man had slaves they buried half of them. And if the wife died
before the husband half the properly that they had was buried with her
and half with the husband, if he died firsL But the remaining half they
kept. They set a watch over the graves so that no one should come and
dig up the property. The religion of the Danus was like the Burmcscj but
they were very wild. They used to sleep round the fire and they had no
other blanket hut that, uot even in their houses. And as they had no pil-
lows they used to sleep with their heads on one another's bodies like kit-
tens or puppy-dogs. \Vhcnevcr they went out into the jungle, or into the
fields, they took bows and arrows in their hands. And with their arrows
they killed whatever they came across and killed even Bsh in this way.
This was the reason why the King of Pagan, Anawra-hta Zaw ADur6dda
Dewa Mingyi called these people Danu and Danaw, because they always
went thus armed with bows, and arrows. For the word Danu is derived
from a Pali word which means bow^ and what more shall I tell you of this
jungly people. In sooth there is nothing to tell ! 1 "
It may be doubted whether there ever was a distinct Danu race
or language. The present speech is simply a Doric form of Bur-
mese with a sufficient admixture of foreign words of the BnUum v,
Boatum character to justify the term Macaronic.
The Day^,
The Dayfe or Shan*Dayfe are another half-breed tribe of the Mye-
lat. They are said to be the descendanis of Shan-Chinese who
came from Kawliya, the situation of which place in China is not
known. Unlike most of the inhabitants of the Myelat ihey talk
Shan or a form of it. They may be the descendants of prisoners
of war, of an immigrant colony, or of traders settled for a time.
They are certainly not the last relics of a race. They trace their
first home to Dayl, or Thuyfe, a circle in the HsaMong Hkam State.
Dayfe is said to have been one of the original villages founded by
Tunchi (:). Hsa Mong Hkam). The Day^ are likely to become
a mere name in a very few years.
The Inthas.
These are the inhabitants of the villages around and on the Fort
Stedman or Yawng Hwe lake. They call themselves and are
called by the Shans Ang-hsa, which is simply the Shan fashion of
pronouncing the Burmese word, it maybe translated Sons of the
Lake or Lake -dwellers. Tradition is unanimous in saying that
they were originally natives of Tavoy, the only difference of opinion
being as to how they came to the lake, whether voluntarily or as
prisoners of war. They are occasionally called Daw6, which may
CHAP.
ETHNOLOGY.
565
be a confirmation or an assertion (Dawfe is the native name of
Tavoy). Under this name they appear in the Hsa Mong Hkam
Ng'^ekunhmu's cnumeralion-rolls. There seems to be no reason to
doubt the stor^' and their language is practically Burmese pronounc-
ed in Shan fashion. This is illustrated by their name. The Bur-
mese word for lake is in, which is written ang and is so pronounced
by the Shans. The word ika is identical in both languages, but the
Shans have no th and pronounce the character instead as ks. The
Tavoyans are believed to be the descendants of an Arakanese
colony. In addition to this their dialect was affected by Siamese
or Lao influences. Then when the Inthas came to Yawng Hwe
their Burmese patois was modified by another form of the Tai
speech. No doubt also they intermarried freely with the Shans and
half-breed Shans. Thus, though the identity of the Intha tongue
with Burmese is indisputable, no Burman who docs not know Shan
can comprehend much of what the lake men say. The Shans of
course understand them still less. They have a few words which
are neither Shan nor Burmese, nor Siamese —
Ant
Melon
Mattress ...
Water- vessel
Basket ...
Trousers ...
Shallow ...
Palang.
Pakensi.
Pasangkwi,
YAgya.
Knn.
Tanbi.
Ti.
The men wear the ordinary Shan dress. The women do the
same, winding the kerchief round the head as a turban instead of
throwing It over the shoulders like a scarf, as the Burmese women
do. Like the Danu and other of the hybrid races, the women wear
threads of black dyed cotton round the legs below the knee. This
species of garter is three inches wide on the leg exposed when walk-
ing and " about one Inch or so on the other leg. This," we are
told, " is done to make the skin appear fair from the contrast."
The Fort Stedman lake is shallow and the Inthas have a habit
of building their houses over the water, sometimes as much as half
a mile from the shore. The houses are all built on piles, some of
wood, some of bamboo. None of them are floating houses like
those of Bangkok and many places on the Menam. All communi-
cation is by water in small dug-outs. The common Intha method
of paddling with the leg has attracted much notice. The man
stands on the gunwale of the boat with one leg, twists the other
round the long paddle and clips the blade with his toes. The butt
of the paddle reaches to the height of his shoulder and this is
grasped in the hands. The weight of the body is thrown on to this
566
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IX.
and at the same time the leg forces the blade back. With a
number of men paddling in this way much greater way is got on the
boat than would be possible in the less acrobatic ordinary fashion.
Mr. F, H. Giles gives the following Intha traditionary tale : —
'*\n the year 699 BE. (1337A.D.) Prince fadrikkhaya, the son of a
certain king of India, hearing of the nondrous beauty o| Shwe EinsI, the
daughter of the King of Pagan, desired to marry her, and in order to reach
her country obtained a piece of charmed quicksilver, which enabled the
person who swallowed it to fly whither he would. He accordingly Hew to
Pagan and just outside that city met &.RahaHda, who was also flying. He
asked the holy man whence he had come and was told that he was returning
from the wedding of Princt^s3 Shwe Einsiand the King's adopted son. The
Prince Patlrikkhaya gasped with chagrin. The charmed quicksilver fell out
of his mouth on to a tkinganet tree outside the city walls and the Priace
biniseli fell in a clump of bamboos and was killed. His spirit entered the
womb of the newly married bride and Prince-ss Shwe EinsJ gave birth to
him next year 700B.E. (i338A,D.). The child was named Mani Thesu.
When Mani Thesu was 15 years of age he heard of the charmed quicksilver
and sent men to search for it. It could not be found, but when the
thinganct tree was cut down it was found that its limber had the same
miraculous power as tlic quicksilver. A barge {hpaungdaw) was therefore
built and in this Mani Thesu voyaged to the Shan States. But first he weal
to Tavoy and took a number of artificers on board there. The first place he
came to was Mong Pai (Moby&), where he built a pagoda. Thence he pro-
ceeded to Gaya, and at Tagaung in that State built another pagoda, and so
went on to Hmawpi, Nampan, Maingthauk (Fort Stcdman), Shwe Linbaw,
Nankaung, Yatsaufc, Maingkaing, Lwfe Maingfin, Taungbaing, Kaungdaing,
Thandaung, Indein, and Taungdo, at each of which places he built a pagoda.
From Taungdo he came up to Tha!&-u on the cast bank of the lake, aad
tliere built a palace, in which he stayed for &r>me time.
" Before he returned to Pagan he left at Indein (called Ang Tcng by the
lake people) five images of Gauc^amat which till then he had carried in the
bows of his barge. Hence the name of the images, the Hpaung-daw-u.
They arc held in great reverence on the lake and arc taken round it in great
stale to the music of drums, shawms, cyml>als, and gongs in the month of
Thadingyut (September-October) every year.
With the images, Mani Thesu left behind the Tavoyans, and these have
remained ever since in the lake district. They were at first known by the
name of Hpaung-gyan, from the barge they came in, but when they grew
numerous and overspread tlie whole lake they became known as Intha and
they have kept the name ever since. The headman of the Tavoyans was
Hpo Ke, who first built his house at the mouth of the Indein river. Ever
since when the images arc brought out f'^r the yearly procession, the people
pour a chatty of water on the place where Hpo Ke's house stood/'
The Hpon or Hpiaon.
This is the race which Mr. George describes under the name of
Hpuns in the Appendix to Volume I of the Census Report. His
conclusion is that " they had originally something very much in
CHAP, IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
567
common with the Shans." Captain H. R. Davies on the other hand
thinks that they are much closer to the Burmese and adduces in
parallel columns vocabularies of the Hpon, Burmese, Achang (or
Ngachang), Szi, Lashi, and Maru. They are no doubt the Hpwon
or Hpawn referred to in the Mogaung annals as being one of the
eight subject races of that kingdom and are said to be divided into
the Great and the T-ittle Hpwon. This would seem to tell against
their being of Tai race, if it were not notorious that native ideas of
relationship are absolutely worthless. It is possible thai they are
a mere sort of dishclout, like the Yaws and Danus and Kadusj full
of traces of all their neighbours. On the other hand, they may
prove a valuable link in the chain when the many detached links
begin to be joined together.
The Hp6ns are found so far only in the upper defile of the Irra-
waddy between Bhaino and Sinbo and just above it in the Mankin
valley to the south-east of Sinbo. AH who have seen them, includ-
ing Colonel Hannay of Assam and Mr. Kincaid, the American
Missionary, who wrote of them many years ago, describe the Hpwons
(or whatever may be their proper name) as Hke the Shan-Burmans
in dress and appearance and also in the architecture of their houses.
Captain Davies adds that they are rapidly forgetting their own
language and taking to talking Shan.
They state that they came from M6ng Ti and M^ng Wan in
China about six generations ago. They settled first on the Nanti
(a stream) near Mogaung, but for some reason their seven Sawb-was,
who had led the exodus, took oft the majority of the people to
Mong Ti on the Upper Chindwin, while those who remained without
a leader came and settled in the third defile, where they have
remained unmolested ever since, dragging out a precarious exis-
tence by means of faungya and timber-cutting (George). This is
much loo vague to be ot any value, especially when we find Great
and Little Hpwons talked of as being in the district more than six
hundred years ago. Mr. George says they are invaluable for keep-
ing open communications through the defile in the rains, towing
boats round corners and the like, and that if their timber-cutting is
stopped and they have to leave no one will take their place.
They recognize two divisions aniong themselves : —
(1) Hpon Hpyd, or Mong Ti Hpons, who live in the villages of —
(i) Pulaung.
(2) Kanti.
(3J Htonbo.
(4) Thamaingyi.
(9) Hkaungmy6.
(5) Nanh6.^
(6) Hmangln.
(7) Pint aw.
(S) Hkaungkyfe.
568
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER.
CHAP. IX.
Their tones are acute, as opposed to the—
(2) Hp6n Satmng or Mong Wan Hpons, who speak with a
guttural intonation and live in —
(i) Nansauk. | (2) Hnok-kyo (a few).
{3) Laungpu.
These latter are said to have emigrated a year or two later from
the ancestral home.
Mr. George gives the following words : —
Atu.
Woalu.
Tsa.
Alng.
Tammi,
Ilpya.
... Chaukp^.
Kishauk.
Tsa,
It is somewhat disconcerting to find that these do not agree with
those given in the much fuller vocabularies of Captain Davies
(?- V.) ; probably this is because the language is dying out and
only " the very old men of the villages can speak it properly or
understand it." They have words for numerals up to 100,000.
Man
YCisa.
Body
Woman ,.,
NQsa.
Bullock
Water ...
Kheuk.
Rice
I^nd
Tamil.
House
(M. Ti).
Fire
Tarn Neuh.
Coat
(M. Wan).
Akmuk.
Paso
Foot
Drink
Hand
Alaw.
Eat
I =Taw}'6k.
5 = Hako,
io=Tosik.
20= T6ksik.
30= Sangsik.
ioo=:T6kya.
1,000= Honning.
io,ooo=Mong Ngmu.
lOO,ooo=Sawng Wun,
Allowing for transliteration, these correspond with Captain
Davies's list, but they are a mere jumble of Shan and Burmese.
The Hp6ns look perilously likt half-breeds, but they may be
a back-wash.
Mr. George says their religion is primitive in the extreme.
They worship only one nat^ the natgyt of the hills, once a year,
when the whole village presents offerings. Otherwise they worship
only their immediate deceased ancestors, i.e., father and mother,
when dead, and not the grandfather. This is only done for special
reasons, as when sickness occurs. Their food is placed at the
north end of the house, and the head of the family prays his
parents to help themselves and help him.
Divination is practised by the method called Hpetton iiman
Taungkyi. The leaf of a particular plant called shippa wut is
»KR^ak>Gjt.
^
I
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGV.
569
taken. This has parallel veins running at an inclined angle from
the mid-rib to thu margin. The veins do not interlace, so it is easy
to tear the leaf into long ihin shreds, of which a number are taken
at random and knotted together into one bunch after another.
The number of these tangles and the number of shreds left over
enable the expert to decide whether the fates are propitious or
not. " This, however, may have been borrowed from the Kachins."
The Hpons In fact seem to take their good and their language
where they find it.
The suggested connection wiih the Kingdom of P6ng is of
course the mere attraction of a jingle. If the Hpflns had known
anything of that, it would have connected them with the Manipuris
and not with the Tai.
The Yaws.
Dr. Mason classes the Yaws as a Burmese tribe. In this he is
followed by Dr. Gushing. Mr. Houghton is inclined to doubt the
accuracy of this classification. The Shan Chronicles of Mong
Kawng (Mogaung) seem to claim them as Sbans, though perhaps
they may be the Nora spoken of as earher owners of the land.
They themselves have a Icijcnd that ihey are descended from a
clan of the Palaungs called Parawga or Payawga. This in time was
shortened through Yawga to Yaw. There are still to be found
Parawga sayas among them, oracles or mages, who make their
divinations on the Tai cycle tables, which is significant. The
common folk .say that the reason why their dialect differs from
Burmese is because they drink the water of the mountain streams.
They are described by Colonel Yule as a tribe of hucksters and
pedlars. These are the ci\ilized Yaws who call themselves Bur-
mese. The self-admitted Yaws live almost exclusively in the Yaw
valley subdivision of the Pakokku district. In the census of 1891
there were only 370 who retunied themselves as pure-blooded
Yans. It seems probable that there never was such a thing as a
Yaw of unmixed blood. The dialect is a hybrid, nearest to Bur-
mese now ; possibly it was at one time nearer to Shan, or to some
of the Chin dialects. It is certain that both language and people
are being absorbed. They seem always to have used the Burman
alphabet, when they used an alphabet at all. Before another cen-
sus they will probably have disappeared altogether, like the Yabeins.
The Kadus.
Who the Kadus were originally remains uncertain, but now they
are little more than Burmese and Shan half-breeds with traces of
Chin and possibly Kachin blood. If they ever had a distinct
language it is now extinct or has been modified so much by all its
7»
S70
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER, [CHAP. IX,
neighbours as to be little better than a kind of Yiddish. From an
analysis of a list of vocables which he has collected, Mr. Houghton
is inclined to believe that their langxiage belongs " to the Kachin
Naga sub-group," and that they are allied to the Saks or Thek of
Arakan. They are chiefly found in the Katba district, where the
power of the Western Shans endured for many years after the Mao
Shan empire fell. Nothing certain is known of their origin or history,
and they will probably have entirely merged in the Burmese before
a position can be found for them. They are frequently called the
Kachins of the plains and there are local divisions such as the
Ganan-ma and Ganan-pwa (see under Katha), while the Indauktha
name of Taw seems to hint still more at commixture. Such tales as
that they migrated from the " Maha-myaing forest " in Ye-u are
pelusive. The following tale of their settlement there is locally
cherished : During the time of Gaudama Buddha there reigned in
Thawatti a king named Wipadupa, who was the son of Pathanadt.
This king made war against Kappilawut, though he was forbidden to
do so bv the Buddha, and laid siege to the city. In the end the
King o( Kappilawut came forth with all his family and surrendered.
His name was Dazayaxa. Three of his personal attendants, Lapi,
Lasin, and Patu, effected their escape and made their way to Maha-
myaing in Ye-u, where they settled and became the ancestors of
the Kadus. Eight families of their descendants in process of time
removed to Pazuntaung in Mogaung, where they made friends
with the Kachins. They were Buddhists at this time, for they
built a pagoda of solid rock which is still to be seen. I.aier they
met with people from Wuniho and Manyu and learned how to
make salt and took to this as a livelihood. They had to pay
annually seven viss of salt to the Mogaung Mintayagyi as tribute.
That ruler died in 999 B. E. (1537 A. D.) and the Burmans then
seized Mogaung. The Burmese did not take salt as tribute and
imposed a due of two ywe {Abrns precatorius) seeds on each house-
hold. Thepeople^ however, continued to be known first as Ptitetk,
which is a Kachin word for salt-pit and afterwards as Mawleik,
which is Shan.
This fragment of history is not very valuable and it is some-
thing like dividing a sardine to be informed that there are six
sects of Kadus with distinct habits and customs. These are : —
(\) Mawteik. (3) Sigadaung. (51 Gyodaung.
(2) Mawkwin. (4) Slnan. (6) Ganan.
Of these only the last, the Ganan, have resisted the temptation
to Burmanize themselves and their dress. Properly the dress of a
married Kadu woman is all black. The unmarried girls dress in
CHAP.
ETHNOLOGY,
S7»
"ail colours." When a marriage is arranged the bridegroom
makes a present of a bamboo full of tea. The length of the bam-
boo must be equal to thai of the king-post in the bride*s house.
Further the bride has to be asked from the nat of the house as
well as from her parents, and this is done in the presence of the
elders. At the marriaeje small packets of pickled lish are suspend-
ed by a string the whole length of the king-post. The hands of
the young couple are then joined and they go hand in hand down-
stairs and skikho to the nat of the house at the foot of the stairs.
It is perhaps worth noting that the Taungthu have exactly the
satne custom of demandint; the daughter of the house from the lar
or house-spirit. Eating food together completes the celebration of
a Kadu marriage. Banmauk tradition represents the Kadus to be
three pans Chm and one part Burman. The story is as follows.
In the western part of Banmauk there lived a tribe of Chins^ who
were known as the Pathet Chins becau-^e they moved from the
village of Pathet on the southern side of Setawkonyo to Hlwazin-
g6n. Another batch of Chins came from the hill at the source of
the Laiksaw stream ; and a third came down from the Letu hill.
They met and came to the conclusion that their language, mode of
living, and customs were mucit the same, so they all settled in the
same village. To them came a parly of Burmans, under a man
named Pohamon, who had fled because of the civil war in Pagan,
fir.st to Mantaw and ihon to Pathet. He also was received and
they lived together and intermarried and the result is the Kadus of
Banmauk. The original name of the village, they say, was Man-
mauk, which the Burmese changed to Banmauk. Now Manmauk
is obviously Shan. The villagers therefore would seem to be of
an even more mixed origin than they admit. It is stated that the
Sa7vhn^as o\ Mogaung and Mohnyin appointed a young Kadu to be
pyiso of Banmauk in place of the patriarch who had previously con-
trolled the place. Shan influence is therefore apparent and no
doubt Shan blood came in too. The conclusion is irresistible that
the Kadus never were anything but a mixed race and came into
existence where they are now found.
Kadu villages are usually built on the spurs of the hills above
their cultivation and have the reputation of being neat and well
kept. They cuUivalu a good deal of tea, much of which is pickled.
A good deal of tea seed is also exported to Manipur at the rale
of four rupees the basket. They arc now all Buddhists and most
villages have /r/*ofi^yi kyaungs and many have pagodas. The men
are sturdy and well-built and the women are verj- hardworking.
Mr. Bernard Houghton's paper in the Indian AntiqKary of May
1893 gives the Kadus a much more distinct position and origin.
57*
THE UPPER BURMA CAXETTEER.
CHAP. IX,
He says they are "comparatively recent immigrants into Burma.
" The evidence at present available points to ihe conclusion that
" this section of the race only arrived in Burma after the Burmese
" central authority had become somewhat established and that
*' these wild tribesmen, though superior in fighiing qualities to the
" Burman, have been checked, if not forced back, by the superior
"power which comes from a centralized authority, even when im-
" perfectly organized. The Kudos would seem to have been an
" advance guard of the Kachin race, and, what between the Shans
" and the Burmans, to have been rapidly deprived of the autonomy
"which they originally possessed. They have in fact been chiefly
" subjugated by the former of these two races, which, unable owing
*' to the Burmese power to get an outlet to the soulh-ivest, forced
" one to the north-west, a movement culminating in the irruption
" of the Ahoms into Assam.
" A glance at the list of words given {see vocabularies) will show
" that at the time the Kud6s left their Tibetan home they were in
*' a very low state of civilization , and could not in fact count up lo
" more than five, or at most six. The numerals above six, and
" probably also that number, have been obviously borrowed from one
" of the Shan family of languages. This is in curious contrast to
** the Chin-Lushais, who have their own numerals up to one hundred.
"The words for 'buffalo* and *goat' have also been adopted by
" the Kudfis after iheir arrival in Burma, but it is evident that pre-
" viously they had pigs, fowls, and dogs, and that they knew of
*' horses.
" Apart from the above-noted general relationship of the Kud6s,
" my examination of the words given has led to the very interesting
" discovery that the Siks, a tribe living in the valley of the KulA-
" daing in Arakan, are of all known tribes the most closely related
*' to the Kudos, and that in fact it can scarcely be much more than
'* one hundred years since they formed one people. The list of SAk
" words given in Hodgson's Vocabulary is unfortunately incomplete,
" but the resemblances to the Kud6 words now given are so striking
" . — in several cases the SAk furnishes the only parallel to the Kud6
'* word — as to show that they must have at one time formed one
'* people, and that the period of separation cannot have been very
*' long ago. This is the more remarkable as the SAks live now far
" away from the Kudds, and are in fact surrounded by tribes of the
" Chin-Lushai race, from whom they probably received a rough
" handling, before they reached their present habitat. The most
" probable explanation is that a portion of the Kudos, driven forth
" oy some risings (perhaps a Shan immigration), endeavoured to
" cross the hills to NAga-land, but were unable to get through, or
CHAP. 1X>]
ETHNOLOGY.
573
" else lost their way and, striking the head-waters of the KulAdaing,
" followed that river down to where thev now live. They now form
"on the west of these hills, as the Kud^fis do on the east, the most
" southern extension of the Kachin-NAga races. The result of this
" discovery is that the SAks must be withdrawn from the Chin-
" Lushai branch and affiliated to the Kachin-NAga branch (sub-sec-
" tion Kud6) of the Tibeto-Bunnan race.
"As to the original habitat of the Kudos, lo£jether with that of
"the Kachin-N3iga sub-family generally^ it is probable on the evi-
" dence before us that they came from North-eastern Tibet, their
" route lying throui^h the passes north of Bhamo. Their congeners
" in those regions would appear to be Gyarungs, Gyamis^ Sokpas,
"and Thochus, of which races but little is as yet known.
" The first of these peoples is, it may be remarked, somewhat
"closely allied to the Karens, whose passage into Burma though
" by the same route as the Kachin-NAga immigration, was probably
" much anterior to it. The language of the Karens is very much
" corrupted, and pri?fid facte docs not seem to be specially related
" to those of the Kachin-NAgas. All, however^ show a leTidoncy
" towards the Chinese section of the family. I use this last expres-
" sion advisedly, being convinced that Chinese, Tibetan, Burmese,
" and the various cognate languages and dialects are all members
'*ofone great family which, originating in Tibet or to the north-
" ward, has spread itself east and south-east. Of all these languages
" the Chinese has become most corrupted in pronunciation, thus
" causing it for so long to be grouped apart from the others ; but
" from the pronunciation of some of its better preserved dialect?,
" and from the restoration by modem scientists of its old sounds, it
"is easily shown that its most Important roots are identical with
"the ordinary forms still existing in the Tibeto-Burman family
" proper."
Whether this theory of Mr. Houghton's is corrector not remains
uncertain, but it seems at least possible that the first Kadus were
priiioners of war brought over from Arakan by Sam L6ng Hpa, or
some other of the earlier warrior kings of Mogaung. They seem
more likely to form a link in history than a sub-section in ethnology.
The following legendary tales are current in Katha about the
Kadus : —
There was an old city called Pagan, near Tagaung, in the Kyan-
hnyat township of the Katha district, which was
a uao anan. ^^^^^ capital of Burma. It was abandoned, how-
ever, and a new capital of Paukkan, or Pagan, founded further
south on the Irrawaddy below Myingyan.
574
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IX.
Nawra-hta was at one time King of Pagan and had a son Saw
Yun. Kyan Yit succeeded Nawra-hta on ihe throne. He had a
daughter Shwe F-inza, who married Saw Yun and had by him a son
Sfethu, who succeeded Kyan Yit on the throne under the title of
Narapadi S^thu.
During his travels this king visited the Kadu of Ganan in the
Katha district. Great feastings and ceremonies took place in his
honour, many strangers came to witness and take part in them, and
numbers of these afterwards settled in the locality. The; original
settlers, who were at Ganan when the king arrived there, were styled
A'tna. Those who came in his train and settled in the place were
called A-pwa. Hence the classes Ganan-ma and Ganan-pwa into
which the people of the locality are divided. Subsequently when
marriages between the two classes were arranged, the woman was
received into the class ol the man she married. Thus a female
A-ma marrying an A-pwa man became an A-pwa.
The two classes lived together in the same villages. A headman
from each class was selected and over the two heddmen another
official was appointed a^sytca-ok. The three shared equally between
them the commission due on the revenue collections.
Originally there were insignia of office attached to these appoint-
ments, which consisted of —
A royal order. I A spear.
An umbrella. I Saddle trappings, and
A chest to hold these in.
One set was given to each sh-we-limu. These are now in the
hands of the kynnngiagas. They were appanages of office, and a
custom obtained that whenever the people were divided in their
(»pinion as to who should be s/iwe-hmu, or headman, and there
seemed a chance of disturbance, a pongyi summi>ned the people
of each sect together and drew a dividing line. Those in favour of
one candidate went to one side of the line and those in favour of
the other drew up on the opposite side. The numhers were then
counted and the emblems of office were handed over to whichever
had most supporters.
Sometimes, however, especially if the existing shwe^kmu thus
fell from office, the symbols of headship had to be taken by force.
This also was recognized b;^ custom, but the combatants were only
allowed to arm themselves with sticks, DhaSi sharp instruments or
metal of any kind were strictly forbidden. This resort to force only
took place when the orders of the arbitrators, the fSngyt's, and the
kyaungtagas to surrender the symbols of office were not obeyed.
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
575
Occasionally serious injuries were sustained in these contested
elections.
The office oi ywa-oi was a creation of the e\'Sawbwa of Wuntho
in 1251 B.E. (1889 A.D.) to arbitrate in cases of dispute between
the shwe-hmu.
The Kadu came from the Pagan country before it fell from its
position as capital province. They gradually scattered. Those
who ascended to the hills were called Kachins; those who settled
in the plains Kadu. They were all, however, of the same race and
spoke the same tongue,
The Kachins have now been broken up into clans or tribes, owing
to internecine quarrels. They have spread over a wide extent of
country, have elected a number of petty Chiefs, and have gradually
widened the diflferences between the septs.
There were originally no rights acquired over the soil. Occasion-
ally, however, a person would transfer the right of cuhivating a
certain portion of land He did not apparently mortgage the soil,
but simply gave up the right of cultivation, which he had acquired
from the thugyi.
Some of the Kadu have acquired rights by long occupancy.
Others have been scattered and remain nomadic. The sons do not
remain on the lands tilled by their fathers.
The Kadu of Wumho are supposed to have settled there in the
time of the Mogaung Sa-wbica. Th^ Shans migrated from the
territory of the Mohnyin Saivbiva. There were internecine wars and
the Burmese attacked and drove out these Chiefs, who up to then
had been independent. Wuns of Mogaung and Mohnyin were
created under the direct control of the King.
Taw,
The people of the IndauUtha circle of Kalha were originally call-
ed Taw, and the name is still occasionally applied to them. Their
first settlement was in Pagan and they were of pure Burmese orl^jin.
They go: the name of Taw from a Burmese legend, which runs as
follows '. — There reigned in Pagan as king, a huge bird, Hngetgyi
Min. This monstrous wild fowl held the country for six years and
was then killed by an arrow from the bow of LJ-myo Mmtha, the
Prince who was born from an egg. The great bird required seven
maidens for his food every day. After a time the supply of maidens
became exhausted. There were left only a great number of men
and a few women of mature age and no great attractions. These
Hngetgyi Min could not or would not eat, and he accordingly
banished them, in a fit of temper, to the jungles and forests of
Indauktha.
S'fi
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
He had now to get his daily ration of maidenhood from ^rtber
afield. This 6red the courage of the U-myo Mintha, who shot the
laidly fowl-king and ascended the throne himself.
\NT»ether this prince sprung from an egg was a connection of the
maiden-eating royal bird does not appear, but when be succeeded
to the kingdom of Pagan he instituted enquiries as to the banished
inedibles and invited them to return. They had, however, already
settled down and had no wish to return. The King therefore con-
firmed them in the lands they had cleared and called the place
Indauktha-nga-myo. The Pagan people, however, called these
emigrants lndauktlia-/«3f-lu-myo, because they lived in the jungles,
and this was gradually cut down to taTe for short. The Taw have
a separate dialect of their own, but have no written language. Now-
a-daya they use Burmese more or less for all purposes.
The La'hu tribes.
This is the race commonly referred to as the Mu Hso, written in
a variety of ways phonetically. The Chinese call them Loheirh or
Law'he, and they are also locally called Myen by the Shans, while
the Wa sometimes call them Kwi, who seem really to be merely a
sub-clan of the La'hu.
The La'hu Chief of Mong Hka furnished the following " history"
of the race : —
" Originally the ahoclp of the La'hu was near the Irrawaddy river. Their
descendants are »till there. In oldi^n daya when Kyanyittha was King of
Burma, he marched into the Chinese territory to get possession of Gaudama
Uuddha's tooth. The La'hu went along with him. On their arrival at the
boundary between llie Burmese and the Chinese countries they found a vil-
lage. The headman of that village had a daughter. Her name was NalS.
King Kyanyittha married her. After the marriage be made her parents
the rulers of that village. Her parents had besides her one son and one
daughter. The son was called Hiti and the daughter Bi. The La'hn having
come from the lower country settled themselves in a place called by the
Chinese Te Mdng Myen. The Chinese therefore called them Law-myen.
The numbers of the 1^'hu soon increased and the place being small for
them, they extended their territory as far as the west bank of the Nam
K&ng (Salween). When they reached there they met a certain race, who,
on being asked to whom tlie country belonged, said it was within the juris*
diction of the MOng Lcni Sawbwa. The La'hu accordingly went to San-
bula and gave presents to tlie Satehwa and asked him to allot them lands
to settle in. The lands which the Sriwbwa allotted to them were Kawng
San and San Mat llpa, where they founded villages. The numbers of the
La'hu continued to increase and they asked the Saiebwa to allot them <;ome
more lauds. The lands which the Saiebwa further allotted them were
MOng ring, Mdng Lam, NantQng, and Sang Ke. During their stay ia
these villages they had to pay annually four annas per house as tribute.
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
577
" The Chinese subsequently came and attacked the towns of Se Lan and
Wing Ka in the Hsen Wi tprritory and the villages were nilned. A Shan
from Sh Uan came over to Mt'ing l«im and servrd under the. Saivbna there.
The Sa'j-'bwa gave him the vilbj^es of Mfing Nga, Mftng Ma, and Mong Liii,
There wefc silver mines Iherc. The Cliinese came and worked them and
thi* Sawbwa of MOiig Lin demanded royalty from them. But the Chinese
not only refused to pay, but persuaded the Lcnis to give tribute to the
Chinese officials and supply them with informati'^n. The Chinese did sn in
order to alienate the loyalty of the Lems to the Wa. On this the Lems
replied that they did Dot wish to listen to them as the Wa wouhl come aud
attack them. Thereupon the Chinese asked the La'hu what tribute they
were paying tothc Wa. They replied that they had to pay annually four
annas per house, when the staircase of it touched the ground. The Chinese
then advised ihrm to rpfu« to pay the tribute when the Wa came to de-
mand it and to tell them that the staircase did not touch the ground, and
added that they should try and make the staircase not touch the ground.
Soon after tiiat, when the Wa came to demand the tribute, they refused to
pay it. So yearly up to this time the Wa come and cut off the heads of all
such Len»s as thry can lay hands on."
This does not lake us very far. Individual La'hu always say they
came from the country north-east of Keng Ma, which they call
Mon^ Myen. This is the Shan name for T'eng-yiieh, which we
call Momien, but the La'hu profess to have nothing to dn with
T'^ng-yiieh. On the other hand Mien Tien is the name given by
the Chinese to Rurma. No doubt, however, the only point where
the La'hu may have touched the Irrawaddy was at its sources.
The reference to Nawrahta (not Kyanyittha) seems to point to
Momien. He would pa^s through T'eng-yiieh on his quRst for ihe
Swedaw of the Buddha. Doubtless, however, the La'hu first home
was much farther north. They seem certainly to belong to the
same souche as the Thibetans. Howevrr that may be, some cen-
turies ago they were driven from Mong Myen by the steady ad-
vance of the Chinese and the Shans and, according to the Mong
Hka tradition, migrated in three swarms, one of which, apparently
the largest, followed the line of the Mfekhong, a second crossed the
Salween and settled in Hsen Wi and Hsi Paw, and the third coloniz-
ed the country round Nan Cha, called Ho Sak by the Shans. Whe-
ther this version is correct or not cannot be proved. If it be, the
Mfekhong party has not finally settled yet, at least there is no de-
finite LaTiu settlement. Villages are found scattered all over Keng-
IQng and Keng Cheng, hut they are nomadic and are yearly press-
ing southwards into the Siamese Shan Slates, even beyond Chieng-
mai. The only group of any numerical strength is that which
holds the hills on the borders of MOng Hsat and Muang Fang.
The party which settled in Hsen Wi and Hsi Paw is no doubt that
referred to in the history above quoted as having been expelled
73
S78
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
from S6 Lan and forced across the Salween. There it coalesced
with the third swarm, the Nan Cha settlers. These were the only
migrants who did well. For a time they were very prosperous and
multiplied exceedingly, so that they very soon colonized the whole
country north of Mong Lem, and extended as far east as the Mfe-
khong. T6ng Chu seems to have been the earliest settlement and
from this were established in succession Mong Hka, Ho Mka, Ho
Ma, and Nam Tawn Tail Tang. The villages along the Nam Hka
and Nam Ma were called the Upper Ward and the Nam Tawn Taii
Tang, along the Nam Li and Nam Sang, the Lower Ward. The
Yunnan Viceroy in the Peking Gasette described the La'hu
country as " one-thousand // (two hundred miles) in length ; bounded
" on the one side by the Wa hills and other places in the north of
" Burma, and on the other side by the Chinese sub-prefectures of
" Mien-ning, Wei-yiian, and Ssu-mao, and formerly under the juris-
" diction of M^n^ M^ng and Meng T-cm."
Here they were at first entirely independent according to their
own account and lived peacefully under their thirty-six Ftt or Chiefs.
A Burmese army, however, came up, overran their country, and de-
clared the La'hu to be tributaries of Mong Lem. Previous to
this they had had nothing to do with the Shans, and after the
settlement the subordination to Mong Lem was merely nominal.
Mong Lem was. however, partly under China and the subjection of
the La'hu to the Lem State again attracted Chinese attention to
them. Moreover, the Shan Saivbwas seem to have taken alarm at
the expansion of La'hu territory, for a combined army of the " Nine
Sawbwas," most prominent among whom were those of Kengtung
and Keng Hung, attacked the La'hu country, but were so un-
successful that a Burmese army again intervened and penetrated
as far as the Tang-pa Haw, the Nam Hsiing. These appear to be
the wars referred to in Shan history as the wars with Mong Kwi,
and it is noticeable that this part of the country is referred to in
the Kengtung neighbourhood as Mong Kwi, a further indication
that the Kwi are not a separate race, but only a clan of the La'hu,
who would thus apparently be the mysterious Gwe Shans of Mr.
Parker.
The La'hu then seem to have remained at peace for many
years until a further onward movement brought them in collision
with the Chinese, and led the late Viceniy Tsen Yii-ying to
denounce "the refractory attitude of the La'hu Chiefs and the danger
" of their forming an alliance with their neighbours beyond the
"frontier." The subjugation of their country was therefore begun
as recently as 1887 and was only accomplished after much fighting,
in which the Chinese were not always successful and indeed
CHAP. IX.]
ETHVOLOGY.
S?<
effected little until they were reinforced with Krupp guns. Tlie
eventual result, however, was the addition of a new department
called Ch^n-pien T'Ing to the Yunnan administration. In much of
the fighting the La'hu were aided by the Wa and both seem to
have fought well. The Peking Gasette narrator, quoted by Mr.
Warry, says he " met with scant respect from the Wild Wa, who,
" being too little removed above the condition of the brute creation
" to understand their own interests, repulsed the Imperial troops with
"some loss. Hereupon a larger Chinese force was put in the field ;
*' Nan-cha was taken and the Wild Wa retreated to their own hills,
" where they have remained safe from ' the entire moral reformation '
"with which the Chinese officially threaten them." This alliance
probably accounts for the (act that so far as is known the only
remaining Ta Fu Yd, or ancestral Chief of the La'hu, now lives on
Nawng Hkeo hill, the headquarters of the Wild Wa, But as a race
holding a country of their own the La'hu seem to have come to an
end. They are as much wanderers as the Jews or the Hui-hui and
at the most form the majority of the population on a block of hills
here and there.
Mr. Warry says that the Chinese call them Loheirh out of pure
mischief. " La'hu would have been an equally easy sound, but to the
" Chinese mind it would not have been so appropriate a designation,
" for it would not have conveyed the contemptuous meaning of
" Loheirh. Loheirh may be translated Lo or La=' niggers.' The
"translation 'Black Lolos ' is incorrect and also very misleading,
" because it suggests that the La'hus are akin to or identical with the
"'blackhone' Lolos, the 'tall, handsome, oval-faced, Aryan-like
"race' of Western Ssu-ch'uan described by Mr. Baber. The
" La*hus are a very different people. They are of small stature
"with sharp prominent features and a keen and distrustful expres-
" ston. Dressed in Chinese costume, which they usually affect, the
"men are very like Chinamen in reduced circumstances. Their
"women are somewhat better-looking, with bright intelligent faces
"and figures well set off by their very picturesque national dress.
"As a rule the Chinese have two names for aboriginal tribes on
'• their borders ; one contemptuous, if not contumelious, for general
" use, and the other euphemistic and employed only in the presence
"of members of the tribe, or when the speaker is supersittiously
*' apprehensive of some hurt from them. This second designation
" in the case of the La'hus is Fu Chia or ' the happy family.' The
"unintentional irony of this term cannot fail to strike any one who
"has seen the wretched discomfort in which the La'hus live and
" recollects that for several years past they have been remorselessly
" hunted and oppressed by the Chinese and robbed of whatever
58o
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
" happiness might once have been their lot. If they are in any way
"related lo the Moso tribes of North-west Yunnan, whose ancient
*' capital was at Lichiang-fu, they have lost all tradition of the
" connection, and indeed the Mosos of thai region, as described by
*' Mr. T. T. Cooper and others, seem to have little or nothing in
"common with them."
There are two main divisions of the La'hu race, the Great La'bus
and the Yellow La*hus, according to Mr. Warry. but a common-
er division Is into the Red and Black, and there are very many
subdivisions of them. The truth seems to be that the La'bu who
have pressed farthest south and are farthest from their old home
adopt the division into Red and Black, while those nearer China
adhere to the probably older classes of Great and Yellow. A fugi-
tive from Nan-cha told the compiler that the Great La'hus came
from Mien-ning and the Yellow La'hus from Ch'ing-tung T'ing.
Mr. Warry says : *' They (the Great and Yellow La'hus) are
"distinguished by a slight difference in dress and a considerable
"variation of dialect. The most obvious difference is in the mode
" of wearing the hair. The Great La'hus shave the whole head, with
" the exception of a square inch here and thfTC, on which they grow
" small top-knots. The Yellow La'hu shaves his head like a Chinese
" but plaits no pig-tail, wearing a turban instead." Most of the
La'hu seen in the Shan States shave like the Chinamen and wear a
tail not plaited indeed, bui tied with a bit of rattan or creeper at the
end and of very rudimentary dimensions. This is only seen when
they salute. They take the turban uff, lay it on the ground before
them, and then k(nv-tow in the regular Chinese fashion. The Black
La'hu men wear coats and trousers of black or very dark blue cloth
of the ordinary Shan cut, and their turbans are of the same material.
They make a very sombre crowd. The women wear a long coal of
similar material reaching nearly to the ankles and slit up at the
sides to the hips. It is not unlike a dressing gown, or an Annamese
woman's coal, except that the latter is not divided at i he sides. This
robe is fastened at the throat and over the bosom by a large silver
boss or clasp j below this it falls away and exposes a triangular
portion of the person there, and shows part of an undcr-garment
which looks like a skirt, but may bt; trousers, as Captain H. R.
Davies declares it is. Bead patterns and embroidery ornament the
upper part, but there are no bright colours, and the turban, which
is much the shape of a curling stone, is also black. The better-to-
do women wear Isrge silver rings or torques, not unlike those of the
Palaungs, round the neck ; poorer women seem to wear cane-nccklets
instead. Bracelets, which are mere plain ring bangles, with at the
most a knob at the end, seem seldom tu be worn, except on the left
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
S^i
arm. The earrings are quite as large as Ihe bracelets and are
often five inches or so across, so that they nearly reach the
shoulders. These La'hu women give the impression of being much
more fully dressed ihan any of their hill sisters, notwithstanding
that the front of ihe waist is freely exposed.
The Red La'hus do not differ in cut of dress, and ordinarily the
dress of the men does not differ at alt. Now and then, however,
they have strips of red and white round the sleeves of their coats
and the le^s of their trousers, like the Lu Shans, and sometimes
they have white or yellow turbans. Like the Black La'hu men they
have their ears bored and they perhaps oftener wear the large ear-
rings, which are shaped like a mark of interrogation upside down.
The women's fashion of dress is the same, but instead of befng
all black the outer long coat is ornamented with red and white
stripes, arranged like the frogs on a tunic. The under-garment is
also frequently brown or some colour other than black. The orna-
ments do not appear to differ in any way, but the turban is narrower
and higher, something like a chimney-pot. It is black.
Hpaya Kiri, or Cheli, the Chief of the La'hu settlement on the
Mong Hsat-Muang Fang border, gave Captain H. R. Davies the
following list of sixteen tribes. It will, be noticed that the Kwi
figure among them : —
(i) PIHti. (6) Paw La.
(2) I Hso. (7) La Law.
(3) Hai. (8) NaPe.
(4) Ku Lao. (9) HkaPaw.
(5) Kwi. (10) SiPii.
(16) Veng Gya.
Nothing similar to this has been obtained elsewhere, and it is to
be noted that these La'hu of the border between the Shan and the
Lao States have been where they are now settled for several gcne-
ratioiiSj bo that their traditions may have suffered in transmission.
The name Pi Hti, however, appears in the Mong Hka " History."
Hpaya Kir! and his La'hu do not shave the head. Most of them
clip the liair, but some wear it knoUcd up. Whether this is a re-
tention of old custom or not is not known. The Chinese may have
forced the northerners to shave.
Everywhere the La'hu carries a cross-bow or ka. Occasionally a
few have guns and, like everybody else in the hills, they carry dhas.
But the balestres are the characteristic weapon, as ihey were with
the people of King Cogachin of Carajan in Marco Polo's time, and
poisoned quarcls are still used for larger animals such as sambhur,
bison, and tigers. These arblasts are very strong and well-made and,
(11) Si Pyeng.
(12) KyiU.
(13) Sen Ling.
(14} Nam Baw Pe.
(15) Pan Nai.
SS4
THE UPl^ER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX,
except by those who have the knack, cannot be strung without the
use of both hands and feet and even then only with considerable
exertion and discomfort. The arrows are carried in a bamboo
quiver and are usually of wood or bamboo throughout, without iron
heads. Some are hardened with fire like the hasta prcBusta.
They are feathered with leaves or bits of bamboo spathe. The
La'hu are very expert with them, but do not shoot ordinarily at a
greater distance than fifty yards, though they can kill at a hundred.
At twenty paces the crack shots can hit a two-anna bit at least
once in three attempts. The poison seems to be undoubtedly
aconite, though its composition is made a mvstery. In some places
the La'hu say it comes from China ; in others it is averred to be
obtained by boiling chips of the wood of a huge forest tree which
grows at Mong Ko in Hpayak.
In the south the La'hu cultivate rice and eat it. In many places
also they grow cotton, but in the north their chief crop everywhere
is opium and they live on buck-wheat and maivie and have no rice
whatever. They are very adaptable, for here and there, where they
have suitable sites, they even try wet cultivation. Opportunities for
this are, however, very rare.
Their houses in the south differ in no way from those of their
Shan neighbours, but in the north Uiey are sometimes like those of
the \Va, sometimes like the Yao or 'Mfing. Ordinarily the villages
arc on the highest ranges and sheltered from the high winds which
prevail during the spring months, but newly settled villages seem
m addition to this to be built away from roads and in secluded
places where they will attract as little notice as possible. The
conditions of their existence for the last century or more have bro-
ken the spirit of many of the La'hu in the south and they have
the name of being timid, cowardly, and puny in stature. But the
La'hu in the north| though not tall, are muscular, and they main-
tained themselves with credit against the Chinese and were only
overcome by superior numbers and weapons, after campaigns which
have lasted over more than ten years.
Besides their cross-bows the characteristic of the La'hu is their
ken, a musical instrument which consists of a dried gourd with a
number of bamboo pipes plastered into it with bees-wax and much
like the kan or reed-organ of the Lao Shans, though very much
smaller and differing in having several lioles in the sounding cham-
ber. There are never more than four or five reeds, besides the
mouth-piece, so that the compass is very much smaller than ihat of
the Luang Prabang kan, which sometimes has as many as fourteen,
besides ranging In size from three and a half feet to ten feet and
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
583
even more. The La'hu pipes vary from one foot to two and a
half in length, and the sound is something between that of a flute
and toy bagpipes. They are played by the men, who seem to
march to the tune of them going to and coming from bazaar ; but
they are chiefly used for their dances. These are always carried
on m a circle, the performers all close together and facing inwards.
There is a good deal of posturing on one foot and stamping with
the heel on the ground like a buck-rabbit. The musicians not only
play but are the leaders in the dance and sway about in top-headed
fashion. The airs arc as elementary as the dances, but some of
them are rather pleasing, and both are superior to the efforts of the
Akha and Wa in the same direction. No one skilled in music has
ofl'ered an opinion on the La'hu pipes, but Mr. Warington Smyth's
remarks in his " Notes on a Journey to the Upper Mfekhong, Siam,"
on the Lao kan may be quoted as applicable : " With regard to the
" music, it is impossible, without a long study of it, to say more
" than that they are very fond of the minor, that they use the
" octaves very much in playing, that the key-note may often be
" heard down for a long time, and the time is generally a rapid
" horse's trot, or quick march."
Besides this they have another musical in.strumcnl like a Jew's
harp, consisting of a couple of slips of bamboo held close to the
lips and blown through. This is called fie by the Shans and seems
to be rather a toy than an instrument. Proficiency on it seems to
be very rare, whic^ is fortunate, for the very best results could
hardly be attractive.
The farther south they are and the longer separated from the
bulk of their race the more the La'hu seem to become like the
ordinary spirit-worshippers of the hills. In KCngtCing and to the
south they worship Tiwara, who are spirits of the ordinary type,
guardians of the houses, villages, mountains, rivers, trees, and 90 on,
and the offerings seem to be of the usual kind. But in most
places they say that they also worship one great spirit who dwells
in the skies, and apparently this is the only religion of the parent
stock. Whilethey were yet a people with a country of their own they
were ruled by Fu. This is the Chinese name for Buddha, and the
fact that these Fu of the La'hus were spiritual as well as temporal
rulers immediately suggests the Lamas of Thibet and hints at the
original home of the race. In the Nan Cha Tong Chu Kingdom
of the La'hus there were thirty-six of these Fu and over them were
set Ta Fu Y^ or great Buddhas or Lamas, whose number is vari-
ously stated. These thirty-six Fu were, it is said, established
at the instance of a great teacher, Kyan Sit Fu, who appeared
mysteriously and ordered the construction of thirty-six Fu-fang or
584
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER.
CHAP. IX.
ilmself actually the object of worship, id
I in the new year's festivities. His house
arransiecl in a line, marked
sacred (Buddhistic) houses. When they were built he disappeared
as suddenly as he came. There were orii^inally 360 huyi (priests)
in charge of these Fu-fang. They abstained from eating flesh and
adopted asceticism of various forms. The only Ta Fu Y^ known
still to exist or, at any rate, who has been met with, is the Chief of
Mijng Hka and he, if not hi
at any rate chief ministranl
is In the last of a series of squares, arranged m a line, marked out
by loose stone walls and absolutely hire, like the entrance courts
leading up to a Confucian temple, except for the second, which has
in the centre a rudely squared cubical altar, or block of stone.
Similar squared stones are on knolls all round about. Al the hew
year each of these is visited in turn by processions firing guns
and beating ^^ongs, and lighted candles and burning joss sticks are
deposited before them. There are also a series of small sheds with
no adornments of any kind, nothing but a board with an inscription
in Chineiie, the purport of which has not been ascertained. These are
called altern.Ttively Kaw-mu and Fu-fan^. KaTV-mn suggests the
Burmese Kojing Hmu. often used for a pagoda, and Fu-fang is the
ordinary name for a Buddhist temple in Chinese. The main Fu-
fang at Mong Hka stands on the top of the ridge behind the village.
This also is approached through a series of bare courts outlined
by loose stone walls, but in several of them stand white umbrellas
and long poles with pennants or streamers, such as are familiar on
the Burmese Tagondatng. The shrine itself in the farthest court
consists of no more than a couple of rude sheds, long and barrack-
like. The entrance to each is in the middle of the side and within
there Is nothing but a line of tables or altars, with erections on them
like troughs reared on end and inscribed with Chinese characters.
There is no suggestion of an Image of any kind ; tiie offerings of
food, fruit, and flowers are placed on the tables, candles and joss
sticks bum outside the shed and at the foot of the pillars, but there
is no priest or monk in charge and there appear to be no regular
services or days of worship. The whole in its simplicity and vague-
ness recalls the State religion of China, the worship of the Tieti or
Hwang-tien, the imperial concave expanse of heaven, rather than a
form of Buddhism. The name 7a Fu Ye and the sacred character
of its bearer, as has been said, suggest the Lamas of Tibet, or
rather the Dalai Lama, for the ordinary Lama is nothing more than
a Buddhist monk and the lamasseries are simply monasteries on a
gigantic scale. In Tibet the power nominally passed from the
Lamas to the Chinese Governors two centuries ago. If the La'hus
came from Tibet or its neighbourhood, they certainly left it long
before then.
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
S8S
Apparently temples such as above described can only exist where
there is a Ta Fu Vd, which may account for the fact that the
scattered La'hu not only do not build them, but seem gradually to
be becoming mere «*!/- worshippers like the majority of their neigh-
bours. At any rate no Fu-fatig seems to have been seen except
that at Mong Hka. The headquarters of the Chinese prefecture
of Ch^n-pien is now established at an old La'hu Fwjang, and
indeed the Shan name of the place retains the name, for it is
called Hpu Hpang, and the aspirated p among the Chinese-Shans
is always pronounced y^ It is not known whether the La'hu temple
there was of the same construction as that at Mong Hka, nor
whether the La'hu Chief's house was approached through a series
of courts, nor whether there are the cubical stone altars which so
far have only been seen at Mong Hka.
Everywhere, however, they seem to keep the Waw-LSng feast ,
which corresponds in time with the Chinese New Year, as also a
minor festival, which they call the Wau^-noi, or lesser \Vaw, about
a fortnight later. At M6ng Hka at this sca.sontjinga/s are fired
at sunset for three days and during that time at frequent intervals
parties firing guns and beating gongs make the round of the
shrines and deposit wax candles and burning joss-sticks. Else-
where, animistic worship prevails, offerings are made to the spirits
with much playing of kens and dancing and singing. On such
occasions the women dance as well as the men. The JVaw Not is
celebrated with the same formalities, but only for a single day.
During both these feasts no stranger is allowed to enter a La'hu
village and, if by chance one is found, he is kept till the feast is over ;
*' everything he has, including his clothes, is taken away from him
" and he is finally sent away naked," according to Captain Davles.
The reason given is that the spirits are displeased at the presence
of a stranger. There are many other observances to be kept during
this festival ; no one must tread on a fireplace and no language but
La'hu is permissible.
There is much about the La'hu customs which suggests that
they must at one time have been Buddhists. Their religion on the
one hand has been influenced by the Taouism of China and on the
other has dwindled back to the spirit-worship characteristic of pri-
mitive races. Where they have not been broken down by oppres-
sion and misfortunes they are a greatly superior race to most of the
mountain tribes.
Prince Henri d'Orleans found that in some places the Lochai, as
he calls the La'hu (no doubt from the Chinese Law'hfc), called
themselves Lolo. He was told that the La'hu had a written cha-
racter, which was like the writing used on Mandarins' seals. The
74
S8<5
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
people of a village near Mien-ning told him that " the Lochais, like
" the Lolos, came from near Nang-king ages ago.'* His account
of the Mos-sus and their Mokwa may be compared with La'hu cus-
toms and Chiefs {see below).
Mr. G. C. B. Sterling gives the following account of the La'hu or
Muhso settlements in Kengtang, and of the Kwi or La'hu Hsi : —
"The people called MuhsO by the Shans call themselves La'hu. There
arc two main tribes, or divisions — Lahuna and Lahuhsi. The dialects are
Mid to differ considerably. The Muhso settlers in Kf ngtOng have for the
most part come from the north of MOng Lem. Some of their villages are
on the highest bill ranges, and the people cultivate opiunn Others are
at a lower elevation, where the ordinary mixed agriculture of the bills is
practised. The Muhso have a great fertival once a yeari when sacrifices
of fowls are made to the spirits ; strangers arc forbidden to enter their
villages at this time. The chief spirit is called Ne-u. A Muhso has one
wife. He is supposed to live four years in her parents' house and three
years in the house of his own parents before setting up for himself.
" This custom, however, seems to be often disregarded. Divorce is ob-
tainable by a payment of Rs. I2 to the village headman who pronounces
it. The clead are buried in wooden coffins. If the relatives are wealthy,
money and valuables are buried with the body.
"The people called Kwi by the Shans often accept that designation, but
their real tribal name is La'huhst (or Lahuchi). 'I hey generally live at
a considerable elevation. Their agriculture is mixed — rice, cotton, maize,
&c., and sometimes opium. Their houses are built of bamboo, small, and
are slightly raised from the ground. The sarac house is often occupied
by more than one family. At the roads leading to a village there are small
gates— two posts with a cross-bar. These gates are practically the same
as those erected by the HlcOn and I.u and in no way resemble the high
Structures of the Kaw. In each village there is a building with a small
shrine in which is a Chinese letter, or paper with Chinese characters.
One or two Chinese manuscript books are usually hung up in the building.
The full moon and the last of the waning moon are worship days. One
man id every village has some knowledge of Chinese, and he teaches the
Jouths. A kwi has only one wife, but marriage after the death of a hus-
and or wife is permitted and is usual. No money is given to a girl's
parents when she is sought in marriage, but they live m her parents' house
and work for the family. If the parents require their serA-ices, the hus-
band aud wife may have to pass several years in this way before they are
free to set up house on their own account. On the occasison of a marri-
age fowls and pigs are killed, spirits procured, and a feast given to the
whole village. Divorce is obtained by a paymeat to the village headman.
If the husband die after the pair have removed from the house of the wife's
parents, the wife does not return there. She either marries again or con-
tinues to live where she is. On the death of the head of a family the pro-
perty is equally divided amongst the sons. Daughters get nothing. Ex-
cept iu the case of young infants, the dead are burned.
" Crime appears to be rare amongst the Kwi, and they have no code of
justice. A man caught thieving can be killed. Three times in the year
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
587
sacrifices of pigs and fowls are made to the spirits. Private or family of-
ferings may be made at any time, and are usual in casn of sickness. A
small pig is the ordinary offering on these occasions. The spirits worship*
ped are the spirits of the hills and forests. The Kwi (Lahuhsi) can un-
derstand the Muhs6 (Lahu Lam) tolerably well, but the two dialects differ
considerably,"
The Lt-hsaws or Lisa-ws.
Captain H. B. Walker in his Kachin Gaseitecry Mr. E. C. S.
George, and others have classed as a cognate race with the Kachins,
a tribe whom they call Lishaws or Yaoyens. Some remarks have
been made on this subject in the chapter on Kachins. It seems
certain that the clan spoken of has nothing to do with the real
Yao tribes — the Ting-pan, Lanten, and others — and it seems equally
probable that it is really identical with the Li-hsaws, who are found
scattered, always in very small settlements and at great altitudes,,
all over the Shan States on both sides^ of the Salwecn. If so, the
linguistic test {see the comparative vocabularies) points almost
irresistibly to the conclusion that the Li-hsaws are practically
identical with the La'hu, or at any rate form only an earlier or later
swarm from the main slock from which the La'hu come. Monsieur
Bons d'Anty, as will be seen later, is satisfied that the La'hu are a
half-breed race. It is possible that the Li-hsaws are so also. But
as to the connection of the two there can be no manner of doubt.
In North Hsen Wi there are about a thousand Li-hsaws living in
perhaps a score of villages, and in Tawng Peng Loi Long and
Mong Mit (Momeik) there is perhaps an equal number, in person
and features these Li-hsaws are not easily distinguishable from the
so-called Chinese of Yunnan, or from the Hui-hui, and they dress
in the same style. Most of the men talk Chinese fluently. Their
villages are always isolated and on a very lofty ridge or on the
sheltered side of a peak. Frequently the site is cut out of dense
forest. The houses are substantially built of wood and are not
raised above the ground. The walls usually consist of stakes, ave-
raging six inches in diameter, driven into the ground side by side
and often plastered outside with mud. The roof consists of very
heavy thatch, rather of the "cottar" than of the Shan and Burmese
character. Each house has two or more rooms, in which frequent-
ly several families arc established. The villages are never fenced
or fortified in any way, and the multitude of pl^s kept usually
makes them very filthy. The staple crop is Indian-corn, which
forms the food of the village with quantities of pork. Much coun-
try spirit is also brewed.
The Li-hsaw religion seems to be in a transition state between
ancestral and simple spirit worship.
S88
THE UPPER. BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IX.
Marriages are said to be arranged by the parents while the chil-
dren, or at any rate the girls, are of very tender years. Half the
marriage portion, or the price of the eirl, has to be paid before she
reaches the age of fifteen. When sne is of that age the village
elders go to her parents' house with the second instalment and take
away the girl to the bridegroom, who conducts her to his father's
bouse. No further ceremonial beyond drinking seems required. It
is said that the price of the women in each family has been fixed by
immemorial usage and that no special charm in an individual, or the
want of it, is allowed to alter the price of the girl. Thus if ten
rupees, which seems to be a common amount, is the family price, a
beauty is not allow^ed to be bought for more, nor is a plain girl to be
had for less.
The Li-hsaws have no fixed cemeteries. The dead are buried
in any remote place. The body is put in a wooden coffin and the
spirits are consulted as to the time for interment. Till this arrives
the body is kept in an open place, closely fenced round by stakes.
When the fixed time comes the male friends and relatives cut down
this fence with their dhas and the coffin is then carried away to some
lonely spot. The graves are not marked or tended in any way.
Mr. Stirling writes as follows of the Li-hsaws in Kengtung: —
" But few villages of this tribe are found in KengtQng State. They are
opium cultivators, and live on the highest hill ranges. Their habits and
civilization seem to be distinctly Chinese. They intermarry with Chinese,
but never with Shans, am! ihey cclebratu the Chinese New Year. The same
house is sometimes occupit^d by more than one family, but there is no set
custom. A wife is stolen from her parents in the first instance. The pair
hide in the jungle for a day or two, and then return to the village. A feast
is given and a money paymejil made to ihc girl's parents proportionate to
the means of the husband. Formerly the price of a wife was one hundred
and fifty rupees, but it is now very much less. Parents always consent to a
match after the man has succeeded in abducting his bride. After the mar-
riage feast, and payment to the parents, the woman becomes her husband's
property.
"There is no divorce, but he can sell her if they do not agree together.
The Li-hsaw bur)' their dead. They worship the spirits of their ancestors:
and they sacrifice pigs and fowls to the divinities of the bills and forests."
The Akha tribes.
These are more commonly known as the Kaw or Hka-kaw, thft
prefix hka, as in all similar cases, meaning a slave, or conquered
race. In some parts they seem to call themselves Akho. But see
below.
The Akha are probably the most numerous and widely distributed
of the hill tribes in KengtQng, certainly in the eastern hills, and they
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
589
are also found in considerable numbers east of the Mfekhong, but how
far east ihey extend is uncertain, though it is said there are many
in the valley of the Black River. They are a bigger race of men
than most of their neighbours and swarthier, but much of the dark-
ness of their complexion is due to a dislike to the use of water.
They have a much less Chinese cast of countenance than the Yao
tribes, but like all the hill men have a knowledge of Chinese. Mr.
Warry therefore has been able to collect more trustworthy informa-
tion about them than most of the other observers who have come
across them, and much of what follows is taken from his reports.
On one point all who have seen them are agreed, and that is, that
they are very stolid, if not wanting in intelligence, and very little is
to be learned from them of their origin or their customs. They have
coarse heavy features, quite distinct from those of the Shan, and with
higher bridges to their noses and rounder eyes than the Chinaman.
The most characteristic feature is, however, perhaps their pointed,
f>rojecting jaw, which Monsieur Bons d'Anty points to as a distinct-
y Oceanic type. The general expression is honest but stupid, and
there is a vague suggestion of the Tongkincse about them, though
physically they are very superior to that effeminate race. They wear
pig-tails, but these are more of the size of the Hindu's shendi or
salvation lock than the Chinaman's queue, and are never eked out
with false hair or silk endings. It is only in fact when the men take
off the turban to kon'totv that the existence of these tails is realized.
Like the Annamese and the Wa they eat dogs, but they are not so
eclectic as either of these races or the Chinese. The Annamese
will only eat black dogs which have a black palate ; the Chinaman
will only eat the chow dog, which also has a black palate, no matter
what his coat may be like ; the Wa fatten for the table a special
breed of dog which looks like a dwarf pariah ; but the Akha will
apparently eat any kind of dog he can lay hands on. The men's
dress is practically that of the Shan or the Chinaman ; coats and
trousers dark blue or black, turbans black, dark blue, or occasion-
ally red, the only relief to the general sombreness. Some of the
wealthier men on market days appear in elaborately braided coats,
with a considerable quantity of silver ornamenls, coat-buckles,
buttons, necklaces, and earrings.
The dress of the women is much more distinctive, as always with
the hill tribes, and varies according to the different clans. As a
general thing it consists of a short coat which stops a long way
short of the next garment, a sort of kilt, rather than a petticoat,
which reaches from the waist half way down to the knee and has a
singular aptitude for getting unfastened. The head-dress varies
witn the clans and with most is rather striking. The simplest form
690
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. fX.
is that of two circlets of bamboo, one going round the top of the
head horizontally and the other fastened to it at an acute angle so
as to go round the back of the head. These are covered with dark
blue cotton stuff and are ornamented with studs and bosses and
spangles of silver arranged sometimes in lines, sometimes in a pat-
tern. An elaboration of this with broader bands and more of them
rises to the height of a mitre and is studded with spangles and seeds
and hung with festoons of seeds and shells, tiny dried gourds, and
occasionally coins. Still another form is a tall conical cap like that
of a witch or of the time of the Plantagenets,aIso decked with beads
and the white seeds of shrubs. The unmarried giris wear skull
caps, or coifs of blue cloth similarly ornamented and coming low
down over the brows like a Newgate fringe. Ropes of white seed
necklaces are worn and the calves are covered with cloth leggings
as a protection against leeches rather than as a covering or an
adornment, which they certainly are not. All the women let the
hair fall over the brows, some of them part it in the middle, and at
least one clan wears it coiled in heavy loops over the ears in " owl
in the ivy-bush" fashion.
The Akha believe that the country round, or to the north of
Tcilang T'ing in the southern division of Yunnan, was their original
home. This, Mr. Warry says, " is almost certainly not the case,
" but Talang seems to have been the last centre from which they
" migrated in any numbers," and there may be still some represen-
tatives of their race there. Mr. Warry continues : ** There are
"seven main divisions of (he tribe, said to be named after seven
" brothers from whom all Akha are descended. These are Suli,
" Chi-cho, Sat-do, Chi-ma, Mota, Luwei, andPuchet (see also below).
'* In Kcng Chrng I met and conversed with members of the first four
" divisions. The people are further subdivided into many different
" clans, the names of which it is not worth while setting down here.
" The dialect of each division of the tribe varies, but not so much as
" to make communication difficult. There is also a considerable
" difference in the costume affected by the women." The Akhas
cultivate cotton largely, but in the west and north the main crop is
the poppy, the sowing of which is often superintended by Chinamen,
who come for the purpose in December and January and return
again in March and April to look after the preparation of the opium.
The chief peculiarity of the Akha in the opinion of the Chinese is
that, though they thus in many places live by growing opium, they
rarely or never smoke it. The Akhas are proud to have the Chinese
with them and entertain them most hospitably, calling them in
familiar speech Muchus or brothers. The Chinese seem to recipro-
cate this friendliness, for they pay them the high compliment of
CHAP. IX,]
ETHNOLOGY.
59«
calling them by their proper name, Akha, instead of by a nickname,
as is the case with almost every other hill tribe. The cotton grown
by the Southern Akha Is sold to the Chinese as well as the opium.
There are goats in most villages, and a certain amount of hill paddy
is also grown, but there is no wet cultivation and all the villages are
on the hills, but not usually at the highest elevations, which are left
to the La'hu, Miaotzu, and Yao.
As far as stature and muscles are concerned the Akhas ought to
be the best fighters of the hilU, but instead of that they seem' to be
the drudges and are invariably summoned down by the Shanswhen
there is any laborious or unpleasant work to be done. Nevertheless
it is said that at times they have appeared as warriors, and in 1854-55
it was chiefly they who hung on the rear of the Siamese retreating
from Kungtung and cut up nearly the whole army. They have a
curious habit of building their granaries at long distances from their
villages and fields, often along the banks of a mountain stream.
This is said to be done as a safeguard against fire, and singularly
enough the granaries are mostly built on the roadside, showing a
confidence in the honesty of mankind which is all the more striking
from the secluded position of their villages. An increase of civili-
zation will probably teach them that their property is in greater
danger than their persons.
As a people they are not as resourceful as other neighbouring hill
tribes, who, when one crop fails, can generally tide over a bad season
by turning their hand to something else. The Akha, if his cotton
or his poppy field is blighted, has no idea of saving the situation in
any other way than by selling himself or his family into slavery.
Simplicity and timidity arc more characteristic of them than of any
other hill men. When they descend to the markets in the plains,
each village apparently makes up a parly and they hang together
like a flock of sheep. The men have string bags, but these hold
little more than their pipes and tobacco and such like odds and
ends. The women have baskets on their backs, carried by a strap
round the forehead. Sometimes instead of a basket they have a
wooden trough and from this the husband dispenses what he has to
sell — vegetables or forest produce — and piles up in it the family pur-
chases. Like the La'hu almost every party has at least one kettj
the musical instrument well known as the Lao mouth-organ. The
Akha ken are, however, of very modest dimensions, and the dried
gourd with its inserted reed pipes rarely measures more than eigh-
teen inches over all. It is also greatly inferior in tone to the five or
six feet high instrument of Luang Prabang. Both the tunes and
the sound suggest rather the bagpipes than a flute or an organ, and
592
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IX.
the exertion of playing also reminds one of the chanter. The Akha
seem to use it only for dancing and, so far as is at present known,
only the men dance. The Indies* skirts are eminently unsuited for
such exercise both from their exiguity and their elusiveness, except
in home circles. Four or five Kaws gather together in a small cir-
cle with iheir heads inwards and dance round and round to their
own music, a sort of figure which suggests the Highland fling per-
formed by a man in the last slate of physical exhaustion. The
La'hu-and the Wa have similar dances slightly more energetic and
more like the camp-fire dances of the Khasias or the riotous vigour
of the khatak of the Pathan.
The Akha builds his house of bamboo with the floor slightly
raised above the level of the ground. It consists generally of one
room, very small, dirty, and overcrowded. There is practically no
furniture beyond mats, and the provisions for privacy are equally
meagre. If there are any partitions at all, they do not exceed one,
and that is for the parents, and only very particular house-holds
have that, no matter how old the sons and daughters may be. " As
*' might be inferred from this, the Akha's notions of sexual morality
" are laxer than those of other tribes, and his marriage ceremonies
"are simpler and more primitive. When a couple agree to marry,
" they go away together for a night, and in the morning return and
" tell the girl's parents. Then follows a sort of entertainment at
"which the news is made public, and after an interval of a few
"days the man comes and demands his bride and escorts her to his
" house. Singing and feasting conclude the proceedings. Unlike
" many of the other hill tribes, the Akha will, if the chance offers,
" intermarry with any stranger. Akha girls, however, though some-
" limes sulficiently comely, do not seem to be in much demand,
"except with Chinamen of broken fortune, who cannot succeed in
*' obtaining a wife of their own nationality. One often finds half-a-
" dozen Chinamen with Akha wives living in an Akha village.
" Akha settlements, in which a good proportion of the male inha-
" bitants are Chinese, or in which the inhabitants are of mixed
" Chinese and Akha descent, style themselves ICo-ckia ox Commxi-
"nities of Guests. It is as well to record this fact, because the
" word will certainly become corrupted and unintelligible before
*' long, and the people will have a distinctive type of feature which
" may well puzzle the ethnographer of the future." It is no doubt
in this fashion that many of the one hundred and forty-one classes
of aborigines recorded in the (Chinese) Topography of Yunnan
have come into existence, and there are beyond dispute many of
our own clans and sub-tribes which will have to be amended with
fuller knowledge.
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
593
" On the death of an Akha of p^jsition a large tree is felled and
" a section of it is hollowed out into a coffin. In this the body is
" placed and with it some of the favourite personal effects of the
" deceased. The local seer, or medicine man, is then procured to
"recite a burial service. He takes up a position in front of five
" buffaloes placed in line and commences his incantations while the
*' assembled company sit round and wait. At the proper mystic
'* moment he springs on a pony, rides at the nearest buffalo, and kills
" it with his dha. The other four are then more sedately slaughter-
"ed, the flesh is cooked, wine is produced, and revelry is kept up
" for many hours. Afterwards the body is buried on some lonely
" hill-side, the top of the grave being left level with the surrounding
" soil. No ceremonies are performed at the grave and no mark is
" placed over it ; in a very short time it is overgrown with jungle
"and Its position is forgotten. The religion of the Akha seems to
"consist mainly of ancestor-worship, or rather the propitiation of
" their ancestors, whom they re^gard as malignant influences, Hkely,
" if neglected, to return and injure them. The west door of their
" house is for the use of their ancestors, who are supposed to be
" somewhere in the region of the setting sun and may possibly
" sometimes desire to re-visit their descendants. No male of the
" family and no strangers arc ever allowed to enter by this door ;
"the women may do so, but reverently and not too often. There
" are twelve feasts in the course of the year, when pigs are sacrificed
"and rice cakes are prepared and the whole village gives itself up
"to festivity for some days. At such times the old legends of the
" tribe are recited In order that they may not fall into oblivion, and
"respect is duly paid to ancestors by placing portions of the feast
" in an earthemvare vessel in the part of the house where the last
"death has occurred, or, if there has been no death, then outside
" the house on its western side. At the conclusion of the festival the
" vessel is removed and hidden in the jungle. Most of the above
'* particulars were given to me by Akha of the Pull tribe, who said
"that with unimportant differences they applied to all the divisions
" of the Akha vz.ct"—{Warry),
In most villages there is an arch across the road on the outskirts.
This is formed m all villages seen by thecompilerof four high posts
of bamboos bending together at the top to suspend a log of wood
cut roughly in the shape of the yoke or collar worn by men and wo-
men across the chest when they carry heavy loads. Captain H.R.
Davies, however, speaks of " three long bamboo poles stuck up,
" joined together at the top ■, this had something to do with their
"religion, which is some form of spirit worship."
75
594
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTBER. [CHAP. !X.
Mr. Wairy does not notice this erection, li is doubtless de-
signed to prevent spirits (who are always assumed to be stupid and
suspicious) from entering the village, but the Kaiv do not like talk-
ing about the spirits, whom they call miksa^ lest these should hear
something derogalnry and visit their resentment on the speaker.
None of the villages appear to be fortified or even fenced in.
Mr. G. C. B. Stirling says :
" The KengtOng Shans recognize three divisions of this tribe — the Pu Li»
the Na Li, and the Tao Sa Mi. The Kaw call their race Akha, and say
there are a great number of clans.
" The followtDg are the names of some : —
Sc Mo. Pii B&. Hset Gong.
Pu Mya. Hwe Zu. Ma 2u.
Pu Tsu. Hwe Mii. Lu Chfc.
Taw Chfe. Byaung U.
"They worship the spirits of their ancestors, as well as the spirits of the
hills, rivers, &c. Pigs and fowls aro offered as sacrifices. The chief spirit
is known as Mi Hsa. At every Kaw village there arc brge gateways —
generally two. They are called La Kawng snd are said to be put up to
show the boundaries of the village. Spirits seeing these structures recog-
nize the village limits and, if properly propitiated, will slay outside.
" A Kaw can have as many wives as he can afford to keep. One rupee is
paid to the parents of a girl when she is sought iu marriage. The hui^band
gives a feast to the whole village and s^pcnds as much money on it as he
ran afford. Divorce is easy, and is obtained by malving a money payment
to the woman. The amount varies. It is larger if the woman h.is borne
sons, but apparently is never gr^at. The husband always keeps the child-
ren. Dead are buriod^ and it is custoinory to bury clothes with the body,
but not money."
Mr. Stirling gives the following account of the Akho. They are
probably a half-breed race. The Akha are tall ; the Akhii seem to
be short as a rule, but comparative vocabularies show a distinct
connection : —
"This tribe is so called by the Shans, and the name is accepted by the
people themselves, who do not know of any other name for their rare.
They are not very numerous in Kengtung Stale, and appear to have onlv
settled here aboat twn generations agn. Their fathers, they say, came
from China, and were able to speak Chinese. They have no written
language and no tradition of having ever had letters.
" An Akij village is usually small. The ho^3^s have no pLitforms, but they
are reasonably weather-proof. There mny be several faniifies under one roof,
and, if so, all work together. Fach house has two hearths— one for ordinary
use, and one for the spirit called Mihsa, which seems to be the spirit of
ancestors. No one, but a member of the family, can approach ibis inner
hearth. Sacrifices to the spirits take place at irregular intervals, but gene-
rally twice a year on a large scale. Pigs, fowls, and somelimcs dogs are
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
595
offered up. Private and family sacrifices for the recovery of health, &c, are
customary, and may be made at any time. There are gates to a village
(like those of the Kaw) and these are closed when sacrifices arc going on.
" An Ako has only one wife. A feast is provided for the whole village by
the bridegroom at his marriage. The only special ceremony seems to be
the tying together oE the arms of the couple. When a child is born an
offering is mftde to the spirits. The custom is for a man to bring his wife
lo the house of hi^ eldest brother, if be h:is one. If the husband dies, the
wife can return to her parents if she chooses, provided there are other men
in the house. But she must leave the children with her husband's family.
Should the pair have set up house for themselves, and there be no male
relation left in it alter the husband's death, the wife must remain there
with the children — apparently to keep up the family altar. There is no
objection to her taking a second husbaud in either case. Divorce is un-
usual, (f the man wants it, he pays Rs. 1 3-8-0. If the woman, she pays
Rs. 35. The dead are always buried. In former years gold and valuables
used lo be buried with the body, but this is not done now, for fear the
Shans would dig them up.
"The Ako, both men and women, arc very small people. The men wear
a pig tail and dress in the ordinary dark blue cotton. The women wear a
lungyi, of the coarser Shan tvpc, but with this exception, their clothes are
generally dark blue. The villages are at a moderate elevation, and the
agriculture practised is mixed — rice, cotton, maize, &c."
The Panna and Lotk.
So far as is known neither of these tribes are found in British
teritory, but only the Mfekhong divides thorn from hills to which
Ihey may very well migrate when their present fields are exhausted.
Moreover, they seem very closely allied to the Kaws or Akhas,
and Mr. Warry is the only observer who has separated them, and
he does so very guardedly and on the authority of the people them-
selves. "The Akhas disclaim all connection with them, and the
"Panna and Lot^ repudiate relationship with the Akhas with still
" more vehemence. There is certainly small likeness between the
"two, the Panna having a longer and heavier face, smaller eyes,
"and squarer chins; neither is there any similarity in the female
"costume. The Panna woman wears a thick jacket folded in
" Japanese fashion across the breast. She does her hair up in a
" high square mass projecting over the forehead and confined with
"a closely fitting turban. In the lobe of the ear she wears thick
"thimble-shaped silver tubes with large silver bangles dangling
"below them. Round her waist are a number of hoops of straw
" braid ; below she wears a short blue skirt and gaiters. Altogether
"it is a very distinctive costume. In spite of these differences
"there is, no doubt, a similarity between the languages of the
" Panna and the Akha. The Panna told me that they could under-
" stand nearly half the Akha said, but that the Akha, ' being natu-
596
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
"rally dull of apprehension/ could understand very little of what
" they said.
" I saw a number of Panna in the hills above Tang Aw, but only
"once came across Lotfe, so that ray remarks must apply mainly
*' to the former division of the tribe. Altogether there are said to be
" some three hundred families of Panna and Lot6 in Chiang Kong
"and the Trans-Mfckhong KenglGng tract. Their own country
"lies on the border of China proper, north of the tea districts,
" {i.e., near Ssu-mao). The Sanbwa is at present at Lolfe, For-
" merly the Panna had a Saivhwa of their own, but they took the
" wrong side during the Panthay revolt and were punished by being
" placed under the Lotfe. This arrangement has been fell as a
" grievance ever since by the Panna, lor, though related to the Lot^,
" they are different from them in many respets and seldom or never
"intermarry with them. The present Sa-a'htva, they say, is un*
" popular both with the Panna and with his own people, and it is on
" account of his oppression and exactions that his subjects have
" begun to emigrate.
" The Panna are agriculturists and the crop they prefer is poppy.
" The community I visited in the Tang Aw neighbourhood had
"about two hundred acres of this under cultivation. Their method
" of preparing opium was the same as that practised everywhere in the
*' Shan country and, when the juice has been extracted from the
'•poppy-head, they grind up the seeds and make very palatable
"cakes with the flour. In the only Panna hamlet I visited, La'hu
"had been engaged to put up the houses. The Panna said that
"the plan of their own houses was very much the same.
" The Lot^ are more assimilated to the Chinese in social cus-
" toms and observances than the Panna. As a Chinaman concisely
"expressed it to me: 'The Panna are three-tenths civilized; the
" Lotfe seven-tenths.' The Lotfe Saii'biva and many of his male
" subjects wear Chinese clothes, but the women retain their national
"dress."
With this may be compared the notes of a French observer.
In his enumeration of the tribes round Ssu-mao he is almost cer-
tainly referring to Akha tribes.
"Z« Lolos. — Ccs aborig<ines que Ton est tent^ de consid^rer comme lea
autochthones du Yunnan sent assez nombreux dans la region de Ssemao.
ils n'ont point de chefs reconnus officiellement par les Chinois, mais il est
probable qa'ils s'administrent eux mdmes, les mandarins iic s'occupent
d'eux que pour recueiilir les impots, ou dans le cas ou il se produit de
graves dissensions dans les families. Lc groupe Lolo comprend, semble-t-
\i, plusieurs branches distinctes :
CHAP. IX.]
INOLOGY.
597
' Lcs Lolos proprement dits qui se dcssignent eux-m^mes sous le
nora de Massous, Nessous, Lessous ou Lt'ssous ; ce serait 1^
en mCme temps I'application g^n^rique An grotipe lout entier.
3" Les VVoni (Woni blancset Woni noirs) repartis en tribus on clans:
Saupi, Khato, Tchctou, Sausou, Foutou, Poula, Poukeng, Piyo,
&c,
Lcs idiomes de tous ces Lotos tmt un fond cominun ; 2i SscmaQ on ren-
contre surtout outre les Lolos proprement ditsj des Poutou, des Kliato, dcs
Koutsong, et des Mabfi ; ces derniers, vcnus il y a une vingtaine d'aimces
des environs de Talang (which is the place the Akha told Mr. Warry they
came from), habitent dans la plaine, aux portes de )a villo; les autres
Lolos vivent dans la montagne. Les Koutsong et surtout les MahC sont trfes
miserables ; ils exercent lcs metiers les plus vils, et ils apparaissent au milieu
du reste de la population comme des peuplades ab:\tardies et degemSrces.
Les femmes Lolos portent le costume de leurs tribus, les hommes sont
habilMs ^ la Chinoise.
11 convient d'ajoutcr que lcs Lolos iic su consld&rcnt nullcment comme
les premiers occupants du sol; Irurs traditions tendraient au conlraire, Si
(aire admettre qu'ils ne se sont ^lablis dans (a region qu';\ unc ^poque rcla-
tivcmcnt rccente. {Jour. Off. de NnJo-Chme, 3Sih Jan. iSg'/.)
The Miaoisu.
Mr. Warry says " the real name of the so-called Miaotzu tribes is
" 'Meng' " (Hmfeng). TheShans call them Meao or HkaMeao in
the Kcngtung and Lao States, and in Kokang they are called
Hkfe Hpok, While Chinamen, and call themselves Mong ; in some
parts of Yunnan the name Hp5 seems to be applied to iheui. Mr.
Warry continues : '* Miaotzu is the Chinese term for them, and, like
"all Chinese terms for other races, it implies disparagement and
" contempt. In parts of China where these tribes are numerous and
" powerful the Chinese do not dare to use the word in their hearing.
" They call them then Chung-chia, or apply some flattering descrip-
" tive title, such as ' Lords of the mountains ' [the same title it may
" be remarked is in similar circumstances applied to the Kachins], to
"them. The Hmt-ng have, however, always been mentioned by
"travellers under the term Miaotzu, and as Miaotzu they will con-
" tinue I suppose to be described until the end of the chapter." The
name is rendered by some " children of the soil," with the implication
of "simple dirt," but Mr. Bourne says it means "roots." Chinese
chroniclers say there are eighty-two tribes of them, but probably
many of these are mere clans while others are distinct races.
Dr. Wells Williams thought their language in the southern branches
was akin to Siamese and Annamese, which is much as if he had
said the Icelandic has affinities with Russian and Portuguese ; and
the- northern branches, the Lolo, whom later authorities consider
distinct, he grouped with the Burmese. M. Bens d'Anty agrees
i^
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX*
in finding lingui-itic resemblances between the Lolo and the Bur-
mese, but separates the Miaol;:u from the Lolo. He also said the
Yaij-jln (Yaos) were a Miaotzu tribe, that they came to trade in
Canton, and that the Chinamen there were convinced that they had
tails like monkeys. Very much more information is wanted before
we can accept or deny these statements. It is said by Mr. C- H.
Judd that a Burmese embassy passing through Kueichao found
that they understood many Hm&ng words ; some observers also de-
tect analogies to the language of the Kachins. All this only
proves that more information is wanted. Mr. Warry is our most
trustworthy authority. He says that the race comprises nearly one
half of the population of the province of Kueichao and is also very
numerous in Kiangsiand nelijhouring provinces. "Ts'en Yu-ying,
" the late famous Viceroy of Yunnan and Kueichao, ! may mention
"was of Miaotzu extraction, as is also the present (1895) acting
" Viceroy Ts'en Yu-pao. There has of late been a considerable emi-
" gration from that province into the northern parts of Tongking,
"*' whence a few communities have found their way westwards into
" Chieng Kong, KCng Cheng, and the Hslp Hsawng Panna. Mong
" Hsing is the only place in British teritory where I have ever seen
" Miaotzu, except in Kokang in 1891." There are several villages
in KenglQng and two in Kokang, and probably more exist or will
settle. They are a nomadic race, wandering when their hill-fields
become exhausted by cultivation.
" There are three principal tribes of Miaotzu, distinguished by the
" Chinese as Reel, White, and Black. (The Black tlmeng are said
to be the most numerous and powerful in Kueichao, but early in the
seventies the Chinese, aided by the coloured or particoloured Miao,
as Mr. Bourne calls them, made an attack on them and killed great
numbers, so that not more than 70,000 are supposed now to exist).
" I have met members of the first two divisions only ; they call them-
" selves respectively ' Meng-len and ' Meng-tou. In appearance
" they are much alike, but the dialects and the costume of the women
" are different. The ' White ' Miaotzu woman wears a white kilt and
"a buttoned-up jacket with a high collar; the others wear coloured
"kilts and collar-less jackets folded across the breast " [IVarry),
Most of the men are dressed in Chinese or Shan fashion, but the more
well-to-do have long coats with sailor collars covered with very
elaborate and finely worked embroidery. This embroidery work is
always found on a little bag, something like an ornamental purse
worn in front tied to the waist-belt. The same also appears in the
women's turn-down coUarSj and in sashes or pinafores, which haN^e a
singular general resemblance to the aprons worn in masonic ceremo-
nies. The kilts of the women begin at the waist and end above the
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
599
knee, but they are pleated or frilled in accordion skirt fashion into a
bulk and amplitude not to be exceMed by the petticoats of the Dutch
woman. A large blue turban seems to be common to both clans.
This is worn so as to show the back hair. The le^s and feet are bare.
The coloured kilts {no other term can be used, though the garment
is not feminine) seen by the compiler have invariably had a zigzag
pattern printed on them with indigo. The printing is done by the
Hm^ng themselves with wooden blocks prepared for the purpose.
These people are the most interesting and intelligent in the hills and
they are by far the best looking. Many of the women could pass for
natives of Northern Europe as far as fairness of skin and apple cheeks
go, and in personal attractions they could equally challenge com-
parison. They have hazel eyes, straight or slightly aquiline noses,
oval faces, a pleasant smile, and very simple engaging manners.
The women are distinctly short. The men are taller without being
really tall. They still usearblasts as in Ser Marco's time and their
quarels are poisoned, but they no longer wear jambeux of cour-
bouly, boiled leather harness.
Such villages as exist in British territory are of recent settle-
ment and therefore probably below the general standard of comfort.
Even under these conditions, hoAvcver, the Hmeng houses are more
substantial than those of other hillmen, though they are all very
small. The villages seem to be all un a heavy slope and the houses
stand on a raised foundation of stone and sun-dried clay, or on piles.
The older houses seem to have mud-walls ; others have the walls
formed of barked logs, or stout upright planks placed side by side,
and the roof is of shingles. The interior consists of one long room
with little closets partitioned off here and there in the corners and
along the sides, according to the number of the family, in which
they sleep on bamboo bedsteads. The houses are fairly high and
almost all of them have a sort of loft, formed by rafters or planks,
thus making a ceiling to ihe dwelling room. In these attics are
kept tools, stores of provisions, and miscellaneous lumber, so that
the rooms are not cumbered up. Skins and mats are spread on the
floor and there are a few rude henches and stools, besides the usual
wooden fireplaces common in the hills. Very neatly hooped and
fitted wooden buckets, like milk-pails, seem to be universal and must
be village made, for none of the other neighbouring races have them.
Log sheds are built for both the cattle and the pigs, and these are
not only very substantial but are also floored. Almost all the other
hill tribes keep their beasts below the dwelling house ijistead of
having separate byres and styes ; neatness and cleanliness characte-
rize everything, even the pig troughs. The ' M^ng live chiefly on
Indian-corn and the heads arc dried on high platforms built near the
6oo
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IX.
houses for this purpose. The villages are fenced in and have sliding
bar gates. T^ey usually stand in sheltered and secluded glens and
in times of disturbance the approach of friends is announced by a
peculiar whistle, repeated till the countersign is given.
Mr. Warry says : —
"The Miaotzu sctms to possess more mechanical ingenuity than his
neighbours. He is generally a good carpenter and blacksmith. The vil-
lagers with whom we stayed (in Keng Cheng) were engaged in forging
axe-heads and dhas. and some of the tribe are able to turn out rough guns —
lock, stock, and barrel. In this manufacture they told mc that they nscd
Chinese iron and foreign kang (apparently »ome mineral for soldering] im-
porled vid Canton. But the usual occupation of the Miaotzu is agriculture.
They cultivate maize and poppy and they seem nearly always to select the
highest anri most inaccessible mountain slopes for their husbandry. Those
whom I saw appeared to be shy and timid in the extreme, and they were
the last people I should have credited with the possession of warlike quali-
ties. Yet the Miaotzu in Kiieichao have a reputation for valour, and at
present two regiments of them, raised in that province by General Ting, are
on their way to the scene of operations in the north" (1895, against the
Japanese).
" A few Chinese are occasionally to be found in Miaotzu villages, but it
is rarely that they succeed in obtaining Miaotzu wives. The Miaotzu are
usually very particular to intermarry only with their own race. With them,
as with all the other hill tribes of these parts, monogamy is the rule, simply
because narrowness of means will only admit of a single establishment.
The marriage ceremonies are not very elaborate. There is a betrothal,
when, after songs and dances by the engaged couple, they go away together
for a few hours or perhaps a day. On their return they do not necessarily
commence house-keeping together; more usually they live apart as before,
meeting from time to time. The man may row complete the marriage
whenever he likes by taking his bride to his own home, and he must do so
if she becomes eHcettite; otherwise the irregular connection may last for
years. She is, however, regarded as belonging to hiin all this lime, and he
is allowed to punish her if she is unfalthfiil. Un the day whL'n he takes his
bride home, he proceeds to her parents' house and presents them with a sum
of money, according to his means. He then helps the assembled company
to wine and kotows to bis parents-in-law. The bridal party then proceed
to the bridegroom's house, where the feasting is renewed and the bride-
groom again performs the koto^o, this lime to his own parents. The rest of
the day is devoted to festivity. I asked whether the brides koto'jsed too.
* No ' was the answer ; ' they cannot be trusted ; we regard the kotow as a
•solemn ceremony, and our women make fun of everything on their wedding
'day.'
" Deceased Miaotzu are buried in coffins somewhere in the deep jungle,
and an oblong heap of stones is raised over their grave. Every year in the
seventh month, for three years, the son or nearest relative comes and bums
paper at the grave. Then this individual's attention ceases, the position of
the grave is forgotten, and the dead man is remembered only at the general
ceremony in honour of ancestors which every Miaotzu is careful to bold iq
bis house once a year."
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
66r
" Beyond this worship oE bis ancestors the* Miaotzu has few religious
ideas. He seems only to have a vague notion of same over-ruling power,
generally malignant, or at any rate of uncertain beneficcncCi to whom he
offers an annual sacrifice of pigs.
Other authorities, however, assert that the Hm^ng do not worship
their ancestors. The custom may have been adopted in some
places just as some have adopted the custom of shavmg the head.
*' Like the Yao, the Miaotzu have adopted the Chinese calendar, use
Chinese almanacs, and observe some of the principal Chinese feasts. A
few of them can write Chinese chiracters, bat it seems certain that they
once had a written character of their own,"
It is believed that some of the officers of M. Pavie's mission
have obtained Mong manuscripts. They are said to have four
family names: — Tien, Lo, Ch'cng, and Ts'ai.
It seems not at all out of the range of probability that 'the
Hmfing, Mung, or Miaotzu are the ancestors of the M6ns, Peguans,
or Talaings. There was a great Mon kingdom in the interior. It
was disrupted by the Chinese, just as they overthrew the Tai
kingdom. The Mons would thus stand in the same relation to the
Hmeng that the Siamese do to the Tai Long of the Shwcli neigh-
bourhood. If this should be so, the relationship would probably
be traced through the Hka Muk, the Wa, and the Palaung or
Rumai. At present, however, the data for such a pedigree are
very. fragmentary, and not very encouraging.
There are a fair number of 'M6ng villages in the North Hsen
Wi State and several also in Kengtung. They are, however,
quite recent arrivals. The cultivation of the race is carried on in
the usual wasteful hill fashion and they move their settlements
when the soil is exhausted. The chief crop appears to be always
Indian-corn. It may be hoped that more will comcj for they are a
most attractive race.
The Yao tribes.
These are called variously Yawyin, Yaoyen, Yaoj^n, Laoyen, and
Lanten. Mr. Warry says there are four main divisions of this
people, named after four mythical ancestors of the race. The
eldest branch call themselves Yu-mien or Yao-mien. This is no
doubt the same Mien or Myen as is referred to in Lahu traditions,
and recalls the Chinese name Mien Tien for Burma, which Mr.
Parker says did not come into use till about the year looo A. D.
The Chinese call this eldest branch the Tingpan Yao, which may
be paraphrased " Mortar-board Yao " in allusion to the striking
head gear worn by the women. The other branches are the Lan-
tien Yao, the Santeng Yao, and the Chiaokuo Yao.
76
6oa
»PER BURMA GZETTEER.
fAP. IX.
The Tingpan Yao have themselves apparently, at any rate when
talking in Chinese, adopted this designation instead of Yu-mien.
According to their own traditions the Chinese Province of I funan
was the cradle of the race. Thence they seem to have moved in
a southerly direction into Kwangsi, Kwang-tung, and Eastern Yun-
nan. In recent years a large wave of emigration from those dis-
tricts has overspread the northern parts of Tongking wilK (hese
tribes, and thence they have marched westwards through Laichao
on the Black River to Chieng Khongand Mong Using. Verj few
have as yet crossed the Mfekhong, for the " Yawylns or I-ihsaws "
of Mr. George do not seem to be the same people, but the west-
ward movement is still going on and the two or three villages on
the KCngtung borders seem likely to draw more after them. I
The features of the Tingpan Yao are somewhat of the Chinese
cast, but the contour of the face is rounder, the eyes are more open,
the complexion is fairer, and the features generally are cleaner cut
and more dehcate. Generally they are short in stature. The men
all wear the queue and dress like Chinamen, but the women retain
the tribal costume — a short jacket with richly embroidered edges'
folded across the breast in what milliners call cross-over blouse
fashion, and a short skirt, open in front like that of the Burmese.
But the chief characteristic is the exaggerated mortar-board, a sort
of "cartwheel" college cap. This is a square frame-work of bam-
boo covered with leather and supported by struts at a height of
some inches above the head. The hair is carried up in a rope or
column through this and fastened down with gum or stick lac on
the leather, and then the whole is covered with red cloth with pend-
ent tassels. Such a head-dress cannot be done up every day, and
the misery of learning to sleep with this roof projecting over the
head can only be equalled by that of the Padaung women of Mong
Pai with their foot-wide brass tube collars, or of a fashionable
Chinese lady with her hair gummed into the semblance of butter-
flies or flowers. The head covering Is so striking that it monopo-
lizes all attention and has prevented any one from passing an
opinion on the personal appearance of the wearers. It may, how
ever, be said that they are not so good-looking as the Miaotzu, but
are very much cleaner than the Akha women.
The Tingpan Yao are an agricultural people, but they cultivate
only in the hills and not generally at a lower altitude than from
4,000 feet above sea- level. They grow paddy, cotton, maize, and
poppy, the last usually only in garden plots for their own use — "not
enough to physic a fowl/' Mr. Warry was told, but he afterwards
learned that his informant was an exception to this rule and
*• owned several acres of poppy and manufactured enough opium to
CHAP.
ETHNOLOGY.
603
" poison all the poultry in the country side." The only other in-
dustry seemed to be llie manufacture of a coarse kind of brown
paper used mainly for ceremonial purposes. The houses of the
Tingpan Yao are built of split logs (Mr. Warry says sawn, but
this is probably a lapsus calami) or bamboos. They are oblong
comfortless structures built on the bare ground and not on piles,
roofed sometimes with reed thatch, oftener perhaps with large bam-
boos split in halves and laid face and back alternately uppermost
with the edges over-lapping. Inside is one large room, with reces-
ses here and there, partitioned off for sleep and containing bamboo
bedsteads. At either end there is a cauldron for boiling the
chopped plantain trees and maize husks on which the pigs are fed ;
on the floor there is generally a fire burning on a clay hearth, and
probably there are one or two low stools, all suggestive of China
rather than of Inda-China. The walls and rafters are hung with
maize, vetches, sprigs of a certain shrub used in default of tea, in-
sides of gourds, and other vegetables, all drying for household use.
Over the fircj drying also, is usually a fiask of gunpowder. The
authority for this description is Mr. Warry, and he continues :
" The object which occupies the place of honour in the houses of nearly
a.11 Yao is the smoky, grimy Chinese volume attached by a string to the
wall near the fireplace, and somewhere, if possible, where the light of day
can full on it also. The Yao are exceedingly fond of their connection
wilh China, of the Chinese CLviliz;ition with which, as they believe, they
were once thoroughly imbued, and of the tincture of it which still remains
tn them. Accordingly in evrry Yao village, as soon as the absolute wants
of nature have been provided for, the first charge upon the surplus funds
is lor the salary of a teacher of Chinese. If the village can afford it, a
Chinaman is sought for ; if not, an educated Yao is engaged. His duties
are to tench all the boys to read and write Chinese, and his salary is one
rupee yearly from every pupil. A Chinese teacher costsa good deal more.
All the Yao villages I visited were so wretchedly poor that they could not
engage a teacher, but there were always some of the older inhabitants
who could read a little, or at any rale recognize a few characters. These
did what they could to prevent a knowledge of Chinese literature from
utterly dying out among the people, and the tattered Chinese volume was
taken down from the wall at regular intervals and its contents expounded
after a fashion to the assembled youths. In no house did I discover more
than one book, and in no two houses the same book. Here one would find
a volume of the Analects of Confucius, there a Treatise on Astrology, and in
one house I surprised the owner, a wizened old man, busily copying out
passages from a Polite Letter-writer. This was In a remote mountain region
in south Chicng Kong and, seeing the old man's occupation, I asked him
if he had any intention ot going to China. No, he said, I shall never go,"
but my children may, and I should like Uiem to know how'to behave.
The few villages of Yao there are in British territory are in
KengtQng. They are of very recent establishment, and have no
6o4
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP, IX.
teachers such as Mr. Warry saw and heard of beyond the Mfekhong.
So far it is uncertain whether their number will increase or not.
Of their customs Mr. Warry has the following notes : —
'* Marriage among Tingpan Yao of good standing is preceded by a formal
betrothal. The intending husband goes to his sweetheart's house and there,
in the presence of her relatives, recites or sings to her some extemporised
stanzas. She answers him in the same way and the two proceed thus, in
rude strophe and antistrophc, for some little time. If the sentiments of the
lovers as thus tested seem to harmonize, and a subsequent comparison of
their horoscopes reveals nothing inauspicious, the parents give their consent
to the engagement. The bridegroom presents a sum of money to the bride's
parents and they provide an adequate trousseau for her. On the wedding
day the groom, accompanied by a friend as be-st>man, goes and claims hts
bride from her parents at their house. After an interval of waiting she
appears with a bridesmaid, a sister if she has one, and the party set out for
the bridegroom's house, where feasting and merry-making conclude the cere-
mony.
" When a Yao of the higher class dies, the body is placed in a coffin and
burnt. The ashes are collected in an earthen pot and buried in a lonely
place in the hilis, the spot being marked with three stones arranged in the
shape of a triangle, with their edges just showing above ground. The
bodies of poorer members of the tribe arc not burnt, but wrapped in mat-
ting and buried tn some lonely spot. No stone marks the position of their
graves."
The differences between the Tingpan and Lantien orLanten Yao
are not very great. The name Yao is dropped by their Shan and
Akha and other neighbours when referring to them, and it was not at
first realized thai they really were Yao. Nevcrlheless on the outskirts
of British territory they are the most numerous of the Yao tribes.
In feature Mr. Warry detects some differences between them and
the Tingpan and notes a firm small mouth and a well-shaped chin
as characteristic of the women and as giving them a more refined
look than the mortar-board ladies have. The men are certainly more
Chinese in appearance, but there is no distinction in dress or other-
wise externally. It may be noted that both Tingpan and Lanten
and all the Chinese or yw/z^/'-Chinese races round Yunnan wear blue
coats and trousers. The turbans, which almost all wear, are also
blue and, in the case of the Yao tribes, are flattened on the top and
worn straight round the head. The dialects of the Lanten and
Tingpan differ a good deal, but each can understand about half
what the other says. The costume, too, of the women varies. The
Lanten lady's jacket is plain and docs not greatly differ from what
the Burmese call the Chinese jacket, buttoning across the throat,
whereas the Tingpan blouse is cut lower and has a double row of
ornamental tassels on the breast ; not unseldom the women wear
trousers dyed with indigo and, when in full dress^ have a long upper
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
60s
coat, also blue, which reaches lo below the knee like a gaberdine,
or a Tongkinese coat, and like the latter is slit up on each side.
East of Ssumao, where Prince Henri d'Orleans met what he calls
Lintindjou, styled Yao by the Chinese, the women " displayed a
" small disc above the hair knot, which lent their turbans some resem-
" blance to a papal tiara. In their ears were heavy double rings of
"silver." The men wore a "black tunic gathered in by a sash,
" and studded from top to bottom with a double row of metal but-
" tons. Round the neck was fastened a collar similarly adorned,
" and on their heads they wore a large black turban over a small
" horse hair skull-cap. Rum9ur ascribed to them a writing of their
" own." The Lanten woman has a hat which is more like the
huge basket-lid of the Annamese congai than the spathe hat of
the Shan, and it can be taken off at will ; indeed Mr. Warry says
the Lanten woman considers it polite to remain bareheaded before
strangersj whilst the Tingpan woman never uncovers. As a matter
of fact it would take her quite an hour to ungum her hair, which
would have to be done before the mortar-board could be got off.
The structure of the houses is moreover slightly different. The
Lanten usually has a floor raised a foot or so above the ground.
They are not exclusively hillmen like the Tingpan ; some live on
the slopes, some in the plains. Originally, it is said, they were all
hill-dwellers, but in recent times some clans have settled in the
valleys and they are naturally much the best off. In many parts
the Lanten work in iron and make dhas and even guns for their own
use and for sale. The guns have a short curved stock like those of
the Kachins and are lircd from the cheek.
The marriage customs of the Lanten resemble those of the Ting-
pan Yao with a few differences of detail, chief of which is that it is
not necessary to compare the horoscope of the couple. Mr. Warry
ascertained that the Lantien do not intermarry with the Tingpan
Yao nor with any other tribes. "The burial ceremonies differ but
" little. The Lantien, however, does not mark the site of a grave
** with stones, but erects a monument of bamboo and coloured
" paper over it. At the interment a pig is sacrificed and a wake
" held. Thereafter the grave is not usually visited again and all
" trace of it rapidly disappears. But occasionally In times of great
"affliction the family revisit the grave and hold a similar ceremony
" there. This can only be repeated three times altogether and the
" place is then forgotten."
From these details collected among the people themselves by
Mr. Warry, it is obvious that there is sufficient difference between
the two tribes to warrant the Shan belief that they are distinct
races. It is also clear that, if the people Mr. George calls Yawyin
6o6
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
are Yaojd'n at all, they belong to the Lanten tribe. As already noted,
however, there seems not much doubt that they arc La'hu.
Of the third and fourth divisions of the Yao tribes, the Santeng
Yao and the Chiaokuo Yao, Mr. Warry saw nothing and no other
British on'tcer so far has heard of them. "The first-named are
" pretty numerous in the K'al-hua district of Yunnan and in Annani,
" and there is said to be a fair sprinkling of the last in Tongkjng."
The Yao arc of a timid and retiring nature and are not often seen
even in bazaars. Nevertheless they are amiable and quick to make
friends when they are kindly treated. In spite of this, among the
Shans they have the name of being great warriors. It is worth
noting that in the State of North Hsen Wi the Lihsaws have pre-
cisely the same reputation and were formerly frequently summon-
ed to take part in desperate enterprises. Notwithstanding this,
more unassuming and nervous persons it would be difTicult to find.
The fact may be noted by later enquirers.
Mr. Warry continues : —
** if a Vao is asked what his religion is he will probably reply Confucian-
ism. This merely proceeds from a pardonable de.*;ire to impress bis ques-
tioner. He has perhaps seen the wonl in his Chinese book, but he has no
idea of its meaning. Me is in effect a spirit-worshipper. At seed and
harvest time he sacrifices to the unknown powers that control the seasons
and make his crops grow. He has a particular dread of hisancestors, who
he fears may return to his house and molest him. The most elaborate
religious ceremony of his life is shortly after marriage, when he erects a
bamboo altar to his ancestors in the north-west corner of his house, lights
candles in front of it, and prostrates himself before it. Guests arc then
bidden to bis house and a feast is held for a variable time, generally three
days, at the end of which the altar is removed to an unfrequented part of
the hills and left there. The further it is taken and the wilder and more
inaccessible the spot in which it is left, the better will it be for the peace
of the house, for it will be more diiTicult for the ancestors to find their way
back and give trouble."
The Yao tribes are much more intelligent and, so far as it goes,
have much more civilization than most of their neighbours. They
have, at any rale, so far as is known, no distinctly savage or brutal
customs. The few words of Yao obtained give no real clue as to
the classification of the race. It may fairly confidently be said
thai they have no race-connection with the Tai, the VVa-Falaungor
the La'liu Lissu stocks. The most probable conjecture is that they
are an off-shoot or a half-breed race of the ' Meng or Miao-tzu.
The Panthays or Hui'hni.
The name Panthay is a purely Burmese word and has been adopt-
ed by us from them. The Shan word Pang-hsc is identical and
CHAP. IX.
ETHNOLOGY.
607
gives no help as to the origin of the term. Among themselves
and to the Chinese they arc known as Hui-hui or Ilui-tzu (Maho-
medans). The latter term Colbome Baber declares to be slightly
derogatory, and is therefore the more, commonly used by the Chi-
nese. Their chief settlement in British territory is Pang Long in
the Northern Shan Slate of S6n-mu, but there are several smaller vil-
lages. They are chiefly known, however, as muleteers on the trade
routes. They are excellent caravan drivers and their mules are
highly trained. They arc a race of Mahomedans very like the
Tungarais of the north. Accounts of their origin vary very much,
but there can be little doubt that they are the descendants of mili-
tary immigrants who inter-married with Chinese women and settled
down In tne country. They are still a much finer race than the
ordinary Chinese and history shows that they are not deficient in
warlike qualities. They kept the field against the Imperial troops
from 1855 to 1873 For long after this they were proscribed in
Yunnan, but many have again settled along the road between T'eng-
yiieh (Momicn) and Tali, and to the sculh of Tali they are in great
force in the plain of Mi^ng-hwa Ting.
They furnished the late Sir Edward Sladen with the following
account of themselves in 1869: —
"Tlie Chief Queen of the Emperor Tanwan adopted a child and called
Iiim Anlausha.n. In time Ihc child developed into a man of extraordinary
comeliness and wonderful intellect.
■• The Queen was enamoured and ihe adopted son became her paramour.
Aniaushan soon rose to distinction. His abilities were of the highest order
and raised him at once to fariie and influence. The quf cnly passion was
not disclosed ; but suspicion had been sufficiently roused to make it prudent
on the Queen's part to get rid of her lover and defeat all signs of illicit in-
tercourse.
"Aniaushan was accordingly accused of being privy to a conspiracy to
dethrone the Emperor. The infiuence of the Queen prevailed to obtain a
conviction and his favourite was banished from the royal capital.
" But the injustice of his accusation and a sense of wrong roused Aniau-
shan to action and induced hiin to become in reality a leader of rebellion.
He lost no time in collecting a large, force, with which he was able to make
head against the Government and successfully encounter Ihe troops of the
Emperor. In time he had approached within a league of the capital and
city and palace were alike threatened.
"The Emperor Tanwan in this emergency adopted the suggestion of his
Vizier Kanserec and despatched a mission to Socyoogwct and implored
foreign aid. A force of 3iOoo men was sent under the command and guid-
ance of three learned teachers, who arrived in due time at Tanwan's capital.
By their aid Aniaushan was defeated and eventually captured.
"The rebellion was at an end and the foreign contingent left China to re-
turn to itsown country. Mere, however, a difficulty arose. Their rulers
refused them admittance and alleged as a cause for doing so that it wag
6o8
THE tJPPKR BURMA GAZETTEER.
CHAP. IX.
a.^inst the constitution of the country to receive back men who had come
into combat with pork-ealiny infidels. Thpy had herded in fact with pigs
and infidels, and could no longer be regarded as unpolluted subjects^ or as
fit members of a society which held pork in religious detestation.
"They returned therefore to China and became permanent sojourners in
a foreign land. They are the original stock from which Mahomedanism has
sprung up in China, in various communities and under several denomina-
tions.^
Doctor Anderson in his Mandalay fo Afomien identifies Tanwan
with (T'ang) Hiian (now more commonly written Yiian) Tsung,
against whom Xgan Lo-shan rebelled. The ng are letters of su-
pererogation frequently omitted. The next Emperor of the T'ang
(not Tung as Dr Anderson writes it) was Su Tsung, who acceded
in A.D. 756 and was rescued from his difficuUies by the arrival of
an embassy from the KhaHf Abu Jafar Al Mansur, ihe founder of
Bagdad, accompanied by auxiliary troops who were joined by
Ouighour Tartars and other forces from the west.
This account of their origin seems far fetched when we remember
Kublai Khan's conquest of Tali five hundred years later and the
existence of the Tcingamis in the north.
Nevertheless the Hui-hui in the days of their independence be-
lieved it, for they sent the following letter to Sladen: —
'* Tlie Panthays send greeting to their friends.
" When Lanlu and other Kachins came to Momicn we conversed with
them freely a:)d were extremely happy to learn that three hundred foreigners
had arrived at Bhamo.
" Being of the same belief as yourselves, we know your willingness to help
and assist us. We are the descendants of three ihousdnd men of the Lerroo
country, who, being unable to return to their n^itive land, settled down in
China, where we have been upwards of a tliou'iand year^. Some ten years
ago the Chinese Go\'ernment became so intolerably oppressive that by God's
help Tuhin-shee u( the Tu race (that is to say, his nsin^, or surname) was
commanded to separate the good from the wicked and obtained possession
of the western provinces of the Chinese Empire.
"At present also we are carr\'ing on war around Yttnnan. The whole
country has sided with us and we daily expect to capture that city. Already
our rule at Momien has become so popular that those who were formerly
inimical have gladly joined our cause and Government.
" The Shan Chiefs have also voluntarily placed themselves under our pro-
tection and have been confirmed in their several States.
" We have given peace to the country, and merchants and people can now
carry on their several avocations with ease and security.
" With regard to your intention of visiting Momien we wish to consult your
pleasure and convenience. We have sent word of your intentions to Tahin-
shoo (Tu WCn-hsiu)j our King, and will write also to the Shan Chiefs to help
and assist you on your journey.
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGV.
609
'*Fcar nothing, but co.iie by the Momouk route which leads direct to
Momien. On ynur arrival all matters relating to trade and merchandise
will be satisfactorily settled in accordance with your wishes.
"We are of the same nation ; coma without fear or anxiety of any sort.
" (Writer) Qiialyen, a friend of the 1-ee race (Li Kuo-Hen), 9th Wax-
ing Nay6n 1230" (29th May 1868).
It appears therefore that then as now the Hui-hui accepted the
name Panthav. Dr. Anderson discusses the derivation of the terra :
" Major Sladen gives Puthee as a Burmese term for Mahomedans
" generally. Gamier says that the word Pha-si, which the Burmese
" have corrupted into Panthee, according to Colonel Phayre, is the
"same as Parsi or Farsi, which in India is applied to the Mahome-
"dans, and this denomination is very ancient, as Colonel Yule
*' pointed out that in a description of the Kingdom of Cambodia,
" translated by A. Rcmusat, a religious sect is described called PAssi,
"who were distinguished by wearing white or red turbans and by
" refusing to drink intoxicating liquors or to eat in company with
'^the other sects. But that distinguished Chinese scholar, Sir
" Thomas Wade, derives the term Panthay from a Chinese word
" Pun-tai, signifying the aboriginal or oldest Inhabitants of a country ;
" and Gamier mentions that a people called Pen-ti are found on the
"eastern side of the Tali Lake and in the plain of Tang-chuen to
"the north of Tali. Tiiey are a mixed race, descended from the
*' first colonists sent into Yunnan by the Mongols, after the con-
" quest of the country by the Generals of Kublai Khan. Mr. Cooper
"tells us that the term Pa-chce, or white flag party as distinguished
"from the Hung-chee or red flag, or Imperialists, was also used to
"designate the rebels in the north of Yunnan, and Garnier frequently
"applies these terms to the contending parties."
Sir Thomas Wade's opinion is deserving of the highest respect
and would be incontestable if either Chinese or Chinese Mahome-
dans used the word. But they do not, and since It is only the
Burmese and Shans ihat habitually speak of Panthe, the derivation
from Path! pronounced very nasally seems the more probable. It
must not be forgotton that the invasions of Burma were led by
Musalman Generals, who are known as such in Burmese annals.
The authority of Colborne Baber is absolutely conclusive and he
says : —
" The word Panthay has received such complete recognition as the
national name of the Mahomedan revolutionaries in Yunnan that I fear it
will be almost useless to assert that the term is utterly unknown in the
country which was temporarily under the doinination o( Sultan Suliman,
otherwise Tu Wfin-hsiu."
It is in fact as absolutely an outside name as the term Maw
(spelt Hor by cockneys and H6 by Vice-Consuls), used in Siara and
77
6io
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
the Lao Slates for the Yiinnanese, is, and since that name sticks
and has even been borrowed by the French in Tongking, it is use-
less to protest against it, and all that can be done is to note that it
is not a new race and that it is applied indiscriminately to Mahome-
dan Chinamen and to their conquerors.
Colborne Baber continues : —
*' The name of 'Sultan,' utterly foreign to the ordinary Chiaese. was
never applied to their ruler, except perhaps by the two or three hatt/is
among ihem. The name ' SuMinaii ' is equally unknown. The Mahomr:-
dans of Yunnan arc precisely the same race as their Confucian or Buddhist
countrymen ; and it is even doubtful if they were Mahomedans except as
far as they professed an abhorrence for pork. They did not practise circum-
cision, though I am not sure i( that rite is indispensable ; they did not observe
the Sabbath, were unacquainted with the language of Islam, did not turn to
Mecca in prayer, and professed none of the fir e-and*s word spirit of propa-
gandism."
This is a little too sweeping. The Grosvenor-Baber Mission
visited Yunnan some time after the insurrection was quelled and
when Mahomedanism was proscribed. It is certainly true that the
Mahomedan sepoy looks with the utmost disdain on the claim of
the Hui-hui to be true children of Islam. Ii is undeniable that there
are not a few at Pang LOng who made the kaj years ago. Many
of the caravans carry pennants bearing tags from the Koran, and
some of the wealthier Hui-tzu can introduce these phrases into con-
versation. In 1891 the inhabicantsof Pang L6ng engaged a Moulvi
Fakir Mahomed to preside over their mosque and to instruct
them in the tenets. He had a poor opinion of his flock, but that
is not uncommon with ministers of religion. Moreover, since the
British occupation several parties have made the pilgrimage to kiss
the black stone of the Kaaba.
All Hui-tzu of station have Mahomedan names, of which they are
very proud, In addition to their Chinese style. Thus in 1893, two of
the Administrative Council, Ma Yin-hsin and AnT'sung-kuei, were
known respectively as Ismael and Muley Mahomed. The third,
Ma Tsu-hsin,gave " Shiliao L6ngii" as his Mahomedan name. It
is such slips that excite the derision of the immaculate sepoy, and
the assumption of the name of Abdul Rahman, which is very com-
mon, rouses his Indignation. Several of the Pang Long notables^
held office under Tu W6n-hsiu, and one of them claims to have been
Governor of one of the eighteen provinces into which Yunnan was
divided, no doubt in mockery of the Hwang-ti's Shih-pa Sheng.
It may be noted that " Prince Hassan," who went on a mission
to England with tributary boxes of rock from the Tali mountains,
is steadily asserted, not only not to have been a son of Tu Wfin-
hsiu, but even to have been merely a secretary. His letter, however^
CHAP. !X.
iTHNOLOGY.
(11
is interesting as preserving the name of Chin-ch'ih, or golden teeth,
the name which Marco Polo gave to Zardandan, the region of Yun-
nan. He describes himself as *' a humble native of the golden teeth
country."
It is unnecessary to give an account of the rebellion. That will
be found in Rocher's Province Chinoise du Yunan. It is enough
to say that the war seems to have originated in a quarrel about cer-
tain copper mines. Whenever the Hui-hui wanted to work a mine,
the Chinese would seize the site. If an appeal to the local authori-
ties resulted in favour of the Mahomedans, a considerable present
would bring about a reversal of the decision. This and the irri-
tating behaviour of the Chinese generally in the matter of pork, led
through bickerings and jealousies beiween pig butchers and the
fleshers of Islam to riots in the market places, to bloodshed, and
eventually to the open rebellion which lasted for eighteen years.
In this period many towns were taken and retaken upwards of ten
times, and the people who took refuge in the mountains died of star-
vation, because they had no lands to cultivate. Thousands more,
old men, women, and children, were ruthlessly massacred, and on the
back of this came the plague. It has been estimated that the rebel-
lion reduced the population of Yunnan from eight millions of human
beings to one. Moreover, it originated the plague which reached
Hong Kong in 1893 and Bombay in 1896.
A minor detail was that Li Ta-ssu-kon, the Governor of Tfeng-
yiieh, with many of his followers, escaped to the Shan States and
there joined the rebel Sang Hai. The result was the absolute ruin
of the great state of Hscn Wi. It may be added that the so-called
Sultan, Tu \V6n-hsiu, was merely a wealthy merchant before the
rebellion. Cooper met him at that period and calls him phonetically
Dow Win-sheow.
About a century before there had been another rebellion which
lasted from 1765 to 1771. It broke out among the Mahomedans
of the western frontier and spread to the province of Kan-su. The
rebels resisted the Imperial forces with great valour, but were ulti-
mately subdued. After this they made great exertions to increase
the numbers of their sect. For this purpose they purchased many-
children to be brought up as Mahomedans. During the famine
which devastated the province of Kwang Tung in 1790 they pur-
chased ten thousand children from poor parents ; these were edu-
cated and, when grown up, provided with wives and houses, and
whole villages were formed of these converts. This system still
seems to be followed in a less wholesale way, so that large num-
bers of the Mahomedan population are of Chinese origin. Yiinnan
6ia
THE UPPER BURM^GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
appears to have been the scene of almost constant insurrections
from 1819 to 1834 and no doubt the Mahomedans were responsi-
ble for them. The mixed populations of the province, Hui-hui, Tai,
Miao, and Lolo appear to have been always distinguished by an
independent and insubordinate spirit, which often delied the central
authority. Some towns wure even governed by elective municipal
councils only nominally ruled by the Mandarins.
The Mahomedans from ancient times appear to have formed a
considerable portion of the population of \\estern China. Maho-
medanism was little known among the Tartars beforu the time
Ghengis Khan (Tamerlane or Timour the Tartar}, but his conquests
were the means of bringing a considerable population of Ouighours
into Shen-si and Kan-su, and the faith of the Prophet had spread
among this tribe long before the Tartar conquest of China. Marco
Polo, in his description of the people on the western border of Shen-si,
where the celebrated mart of Singui was situated, and his account
of Singan and Carajan, a part of Yunnan, describes the Mahome-
dans as forming a considerable part of the foreign population.
How strong a position they had obtained under the reign of
Kublai Khan, who overthrew Nan-chao, the Tai Kingdom, appears
from Marco Polo's statement that the provincial governments
were entrusted to Mahomedans, Tartars, and Christians. In the
early part of the fourteenth century Rashid-ud-din, V^izier of Persia,
mentions Carajan or Yunnan province, an
were all Mahomedans.
and says the inhabitants
The Jesuit fathers in the seventeenth century made frequent
mention of the Chinese and Mahomedans. Le Compt says that
they had been six hundred years in the country undisturbed, be-
cause they quietly enjoyed their liberty without seeking to propa-
gate their religion, even by marriages, out of their own kindred.
They were regarded as foreigners, and frequently insulted by the
Chinese.
It was these insults which brought about the revolts no doubt,
and the Chinese were merciless in their executions when they got
the upper hand. The number of the Hui-hui is therefore very great-
ly reduced and, although, so it is said, they only marry those of their
own creed, they very commonly take Chinese women as concubines.
There is therefore a very large infusion of Chinese blood. Still
even now many are distinct in their physiognomy from the Chinese,
and most are taller, stronger, and more energetic. Men over six
feet high are common among them and they are fair-skinned, with
high cheek bones and only very slightly oblique eyes.
CHAP. IX.
ETHNOLOGY
613
When Tu \V6n-hsiu's rebellion was put down, the Hm-hui were for
many years proscribed in Yunnan. Ten or twelve years asjo, how-
ever, many were allowed to re-setile in the province under special
permits. Now all are allowed to come and go freely, and it is even
said that the bulk of the garrison at Talifu is now made up ot Ilui-
tzu. There is at least one brjgadler of that nationality, Wang Pe-
chen, who in 1897 commanded the Chinese troops in Chen-pien and
eld fast by his old faith.
The Hui-tzu in the Shan States are all engaged in trade and have
only sufhcient cultivation tu supply their immediate needs. The
manual work Is all carried on by slaves or hired servants— some
Chinese, some natives of the country. Except in their capacity of
traders and carriers, they do not seem likely to increase in numbers
in British territory.
Tran'S-frontier tribes.
In the absence of sufficient information to warrant the classi-
fying or grouping of the various tribes it may be worth while to give
a short account of the main tribes beyond the British border so far
as they are known. At the same time it should be noted that en-
forced migration and the miseries of a wandering life have no less
an influence on whole races than privations have upon an individual.
Those who have seen the Lolo in their northern homes are unanimous
in their praise, and the same enthusiasm is expressed, except as re-
gards cleanliness, with respect to the Kutsung. Yet near Ssu-mao
a Frenchman stamps them both as ih's peuplades abatatdies et
d^ginereeSf while Mr. Bourne calls tht:m " heavy featured and
stolid.'* Even within the limits of British territory the La'hu of the
south are spoken of as wretched in physique, timid, and cowardly,
yet in the north they are by no means weakly and they fought
pertinaciously for years against the Chinese. Mere outward cha-
racteristics are therefore no more trustworthy than the correspon-
dence or divergence of a few leading words, or the variation of
habits and methods of cultivation.
The chief of these trans-frontier people are the Lolos or I-chia
, , ... . , . (barbarian families). Their home for very many
years has been the part of Ssu-ch uan included
in the large bend made by the Yangtzu river in 103° east longitude.
Thence they have spread south into Yiinnan and east into Kuei-
chao, and are found in scattered communities as far as Ssumao
and the southern frontier. They call themselves Lo-su and Ngo-su
and in some dialect Ne-su. The word Lolo is said to be a corrup-
tion of Lulu, the name of one of their ancient Chiefs, but in most
places it is pronounced very broadly as Lawlaw. The Chinese
6i4
THF. UPPEE BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP, IX.
divide them into two sections, the ' H6 (or Hei) Loloor Black Lolo
and the Pai Lolo or White Lolo, The former have succeeded in
maintaining their independence of Chinese suzerainty, and besides
this make frequent raids on the low country and even maintain a
large number of Chinese slaves. The chief reason for their inde-
pendence seems to be that ihey never intermarry with the Chinese ;
even the women they carry on in their incursions into the plains
are retained only as wives for their slaves.
Their villages are in the hills and they grow wheat, maize, oats,
beans, buck-wheat, rice, potatoes, and poppy. The opium is said
to be grown only for sale. They do not smoke it, but are very
fond of tobacco. They are great sportsmen, and gold is found in
their hills. I heir villages are situated in strong defensive positions.
Thu houses are built of mud and stone much in the Chinese man-
ner and are very closely huddled together. There are no openings
to let air in or smoke out.
They are described as a tall handsome race, energetic, and hard-
working, but simple, hospitable, and frank and very apt to be de-
ceived by Chinese tr:\ders. They wear their hair roiled into a knot
or horn on Ihe front of the head, and narrow strips of cloth are wound
round this and the head itself. The women wear a short jacket
and skirt ; the latter is plain from the waist down to the knee, then
for about a foot it has several small plaits, below which there is
another plain strip about four inches deep and rather wider than the
rest so as to give freedom in walking. The jacket is tight at the
shoulders, but comes down loose to the waist. A (ine embroidered
stiff collar is worn round the neck fastened at the back with a silver
clasp.
The White Lolos differ considerably. They mix with the Chinese
and iheir women marry Chinamen. The great majority of the
inhabitants of Yunnan are believed to have Lolo blood in them, and
perhaps for this reason are always ready to join in any rebellion
against the Government. Many of those who call themselves
White Lolo have adopted the pig-tail, a sign of Chinese citizenship,
and have received Chinese official rank and appointments, and some
of the women have compressed feet.
The Lolo have, or perhaps it would be more correct to say had,
a written character which Monsieur Terrien de Lacouperie declared
to have resemblances with that of the Bugis and Mankassars of
Sumatra as well as wilh the Indo-Pali characters of the A9oka
fragment. Only a iew per-ma or sorcerers here and there can read
it, and it is disconcerting to find that most of them can only read
their own particular manuscripts. The writing seems to be an ideo-
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
6iS
graphic system based on picture writing) and the language is of the
Chinese type, with a small number of monosyllabic and dissyllabic
words helped out by tones.
Prince Henri d' Orleans says : —
" Manuscripts were plentiful at Lu-chu, and they brought me some very
fine illuminated ones. The characters are sttll in use, employed in property
contracts in duplicate with Chinese. A more learned native than most*
* * said the Lolo caligraphy contained three hundred letters and signs, and
was read from the top of the page to tlie bottom, and from left to right."
As regards religion they believe in a future slate of retribution
and have no idols, but worship a supreme deity called Peti.
They have books of prayer and, though they do not build tem-
ples, they erect little bamboo altars in the woods. They sing and
dance, and the dates of their feasts are generally marked in the
Chinese calendar. The dead are burnt and the ashes are deposited
in caves and crannies in the rocks-
The Mantsus are thought by Mr. Bourne to be a section of the
Lolos. Mr. Babcr thought they were more akin to the Sifan and
gives a list of eighteen tribes of them. Mr. Bourne gives thirty-two
distinctive names given by the Chinese to tribes which he considers
to be Lolo. It seems probable that some of our Shan hill tribes will
be identified with these. Captain Davics found that in some places
Meng-hwa Lolo women were dressed very much like the La*hu,
They disowned all connection, but that proves nothing. Another
M6ng-hwa village furnished a vocabulary much resembling the
Lihsaw dialect. In some places Lolo tribes have adopted Buddhism
even to the extent of building monasteries. In others they are said
to have accepted " the Chinese religion." presumably ancestor wor-
ship. The Mantzu have undoubtedlv been distinct from the Lolo
for centuries, but the balance of opmion seems lo connect them
with that tribe. They are found in isolated bodies from Tali-fu on
the west to Kuei-chao on the east and the minor tribes of them,
Wo-ni, P'u-t'e. P"u-la, K*a-to, Pu-tu, and many more seem to over-
lap the Lolo clans. It may be noted that at Mo-lan-poin Southern
Yunnan Mr. Bourne came upon some Lolo celebrating the " Little
New Year" which suggests the ll'aw noi oi the La'hu.
The later opinion as to these tribes seems to be that they are
closely allied to the Tibetans, if not Tibetans pure
and simple. Mr. Baber referred to the former as
Menia tribes and coupled them w'ith the Mantzu,
and his authority is not lightly to be put aside. With them no
M d L" doubtarctobe considered the Mu-sus, the Li-sus,
and what not, and it may be noted that the late
Sir Henry Yule agreed with Dr. Anderson in thinking that the
The Sifan and Kut-
6i6
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IX-
Similarity of Li-su and Burmese languages was so great that it is
hardly possible to avoid the conclusion that the two peoples have
sprung from one stock.
Prmce Henri d'Orleans spent some time among the Lissus, as he
calls them, whom he first met near the Yang-pi, an affluent of the
Mtkhong. which flows southwards west of Tali. They have there a
great reputation for fierceness, and what he calls the H6 Lissus, who
inhabit the Salween valley between latitude 26° and 27°, are indef>en-
dcnt. It is difficult to say whether this He is the Shan hat or the
Chinese ye, but ail three mean savage. The Prince is inclined to
connect the Lissus with the Lolos and their division into Ain-Lissus,
Pe-Lissus, and Kwa-Lissus seems to support the theory. Moreover,
" he studied the Lissu dialect, which resembled that of the Lochais
" (Lao'hfc, La-hu, or Muhso) and the Lolos. By his account (a
" Lissu T'u-ssu's) the Lissus came here four (?) generations ago
" from Nang-king, which accorded with a similar tradition among
" the Lolos. Farther on we were to learn that the Lissus theni-
" selves spoke of a country where they had formerly lived, where
" there were elephants. They must then have come from the
" south." This suggests the \Va, the Hka Muk, and the M6ns.
Many of the Lissus wore noted as having markud aquiline noses
and straight set eyes, with a copper complexion. The photographs
of the women suggest the 'Miing or Miaotzu, hut they do not wear
the kilt, though they have aprons. The Lissus " knew that the
" Lolos possessed a wTiting, but they themselves had none. They
" are spirit and perhaps tree worshippers. Shrines stood under
" notable trees and they had New Year's trees, Lau-tien-shu, firs like
*' our Christmas trees." The Pe-Lissus wore long white coats like
the Lihsaws or Yawyins. Some of the women wore white fillets
as do some of the Was. Their clothing varied from the atmos-
phere up to two garments, an apron, and an armless waist-coat.
" The Mossos or Musus have a king at Yetche, near the M6khong,
"a little south of Tsuku, about the twenty-eighth parallel. In the
*' view of Terrien de Lacouperie the Mu-^us would be of the same
" Thibeto-Burmese group as the Jungs or Njungs who appeared on
" the frontiers of China six centuries before Christ, coming from the
" north-east of Thibet." Chinese historians mention the Mossos
seven hundred and ninety-six years after Christ, the epoch of their
subjection by the King of Nan-chao. Regaining their independence
for a time, and then rc-attachcd to the kingdom of Tali, they ac-
knowledged the Imperial suzerainty in the fourteenth century, and
were definitely subdued by China in the eighteenth century. Thev
and the Lolos probably have the same origin. The names of the
two peoples are of Chinese application ; and, whilst the Lolos call
CHAP. IX.]
KTHNOLOGY.
617
themselves Ngo-sus, the Mu-sus call themselves Na-chis (or Na-
chris). The dialects have many points in conmion. Upon their
reduction by China they were settled round Li-kiang, within a few
days radius of the town. Towards the north they extend on the left
bank of the Mekhong to Yerkalo, and on the right bank up to within
two davs march of Tseku. Formerly their sway reached far into
Tibet, Beyond Kiang-ka, There is a popular Tibetan poem, the
Keser, which celebrates I he prowess of a warrior who strove to drive
back the>Iu-sus.
The men dress like Chinamen, but the women have a distinctive
head-dress. " Their hair is gathered into a knot and brought up in
" front of the head like a horn, with a silver button on the top ; be-
" hind this button is fastened a silver-studded band from which hang
'^ down behind the ears a pair of scalloped earrings, also silver, larger
'* than walnuts. This ornament is only worn by married women,
" and is presented to them by their husbands on the birth of a child.
" Young girls have only the band without tha rings. Great value is
" set upon these trinkets, which are handed down from generation
" to generation.
" The Mu-sus worship spirits and have carved posts, on which a
" frequent design is an eye, set up at the entry of the villages to
" avert evil, and to the same intent within the houses a pillar is
" planted in the centre with branches, inscribed bamboos, and small
" hags round it- The tradition of the duluge is known to them.
" On the first day of the year a feast is held at w^hich a pig fattened
" on peaches is sacrificed and nothing but Mosso talked ; if any
" Tibetans are in the village they are excluded." This immediately
recalls the IVaTv-ldn^ of the La'hu, who seem to be connected with
these Mu-su. The Mu-su have " medicine-men " who arc elected
by the people and suggest the Tafu-y6 of the La'hu. Prince Henri
says :
" Mosso writing has no real existence as such. The wizards make and
keep manuscript books filled with hieroglyphics ; each page is divided
into little partitions, horizontally from left to right, in which are inserted
rough drawings of men, housesj animals' heads, and conventional signs for
the sky, lijjhtuiug, &c. * * *Tliey arc prayers beginning with the mention
of the creation of the world, and ending by an cnunicraljon of s.\l the ills
which menace maoi m hich he can avoid if he is pious and gives gifts to the
magicians.
" Yelche is the residence of a Mokiea (Mu-su, king). He ts of noble
blood, and belongs to the ancient royal family of Li-kiang. The power
with which he is invested by the Chinese Governmeol U hereditary. His
territory, which extends but a short disiance to the east, runs northwards
almost as far as Alentse, southward to within two or three days' march of
Yctche, and westward beyond the Mtkliung and the Salween till it touches
the borders of the Irrawaddy ; but the A^G^tetJ only accounts to China for
78
6i8
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IX.
his administration, that is to say, the collection of imposts, in the districts
on the left bank of the Mfekhong. * • * He levies on his own subjects every
three years the tithe of their live-stock, and to him of right belongs the
yearly issue of a license to hunt called the Sba-nia-shu Rui (price ot the Sba-
ma-i>bu or flying squirrel) which more especially afTects the Lissus of the
Mfekhong right bank. Tliey must furnisli besides, yearly and by family, four
Tsifiis, paid in cereals, wax, or money. He (or his part presents also
yearly and by family to one-third of his people a plate of salt, to another
third wine, and to the remainder meat."
The Lissus call the Afok:i>a, Iseitpa.
This information does not seem to bear out the theory of Dr.
Anderson that the Ll-su have any great connection with the Burmese.
On the other hand it seems to connect them with the I-ihsaw and
therefore possibly with the Yao tribes on one side and with the La'hu
on the other. The Shan and Burmese name Mu-hs6 for these tribes-
men immediately suggests Mu-su. The fact that neither Mu-su
nor Mu-hso is the name given to themselves bv the people proves
nothing either way, any more than the fact that the Hui-hui are
known as Panthays. The information availablejs, however, so much
collected at random and is in many ways so contradictory, that it is
unsafe to do more than indicate lines of enquiry for those who may
have the opportunities.
The Kuiungs or Kuisungs at any rate appear to be Tibetans and
the Mu-sus appear to be intimately connected with them. Of them
it is said that in physique they are superior lo the Chinese, but are
extremely dirty and neither moral nor warlike, and as regards the
former or these two qualities no apparent change has taken place in
their customs since Marco Polo passed severe strictures on the
" caitiff " husband.
The A-ch'angs seem to mark the connection with the Burmese if
it is to be proved at all. These people form the
Nga-ch'arigs,^"^ ^^ ^"^^ of the population of the Ilo-hsa La-hsa
plainj often referred to as Mung-hsa by the Shans,
whence the Burmanized name Maingthas for the people who come
south to work in the plains during the cold season. These people are
usually assumed to be Shans and the men dress like Chinese-Shans,
while the women more frequently seem to wear trousers after the
Chinese feminine fashionj but they appear to be certainly a distinct
race, as they say they are. In feature there is a noticeable differetice
between the A-ch'angs and the Shans, and " the two languages are
"totally distinct, both in vocabulary and construction," according
to Captain H. R. Davies, who says they call themselves Ngachang
and are called Chang by the Shans, which is the same name that
the Shans know the Chins by. The Nga-ch'ang language is evi-
dently closely connected with Burmese and its resemblance to the
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
619
languages of the Szi, Maru, and La-hsi Kachins is still more mark-
ed, while the dialect of the Hp6n or Hpwon of the upper defile has
many resemblances. Captain Davies' theory is that these tribes
mark the track by which the Burmese came into Burma. {See also
under Kachins.)
The Shans are ihe other main race of the trans-frontier country
and are treated of separately. It will be enough to say here that
they are variously called by the Chinese P'o, I'a or Pai-i, Shul ; Han
or Hua Pai i, Pai-jcn, T'u-jt'ni, P'u-man, Pai, Hei, or Hua T'u-lao,
Nung or Lung-j«^n, Sha-j^nj Hei or Pai Sha-j&n, Min-chia,or Ming-
ch'iang, Shui-chla, and Chung-chia.
The Mols of the mountainous country between Amram and Siam
are almost certainly Shans. There are many tribes of them, of
whom the Sedangs, notorious on account of their temporar)' French-
man King, M. Mayrcna, are the chief.
The great difficulty in trying to classify tribes and to identify
peoples mentioned by different observers is the extraordinary number
of names and the looseness with which they are applied. Unfor-
tunately it is usually the Chinese nick-name which is taken, and the
Chinamen are wonderfully fertile in inventing such terms and apply
them with a recklessness characteristic of the national self-suffi-
ciency. Thus the name P'u-man or Pu-mang is well known. Mr.
Bourne found it applied to undoubted Tai j in the Mfekhong neigh-
bourhood it Is given to the Hka Muks and Hka Mets(or Lamets),
and Prince Henri d'Orleans is persuaded that some Pumans he
heard of were Chingpaw. In face of such expansiveness, it is not
only impossible to dogmatize^ but it would be reckless to formulate
an opinion.
With regard to these trans-frontier tribes Monsieur Bons d'Anty,
Consul Designate in Canton, and previously Consul for the French
Republic in Ssu-mao and Wuchao, has furnished the following sug-
gestive note : —
" Leaving out the Miaos and Yaos, not numerous and recently arrived in
these partSi thf population of YiJiinan, meridional and oecidcntal. and of the
regions lying between China Proper and Burma or Tonkin is composed of
the following elements:
" I. y'Af Chinese (ilan-jen), coming from Ssu-ch'uan» with earlier settle-
ments of Kiangsi men who came there as soldiers at different times. Natu-
rally the descendants of these Han-jen of the old or new stocks are a very
mixed loi, ahowing plainly that they arc m^tis of Chinese and aborigines.
" 2. The Pai-yi (tlic Sb.ins of Burma). They are far from being a pure
race. The Ho arc mixed with Chinese and look more MongoHan than the
others; the Lii (Kicng Hung) seem to be more pure. But al! these differ-
ent tribes speak dialects very much akin to the Laotian and showing very
620 THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IX.
few variations. This same language is spoken by the Tho of Tonkin and
Kwang-si ; the Lung (or Ncng) and Chuang of Kwang-tcng and Kwang-si ;
and the Li of Hainan.
"3. The so-called Loh. Here I must notice a most important distinc-
tion between —
"(a) Lolo proper, or as they call themselves Nies-su (literally,
those who are brown). The Nies-su speak a language very
much like the Burmese and their type reminds one of the Hin-
dus of the north (the Punjabis or Afridis, for instance). They
certainly, as said most excellently M. Thorel (in De Lagree
Riviere s book), belong to the ' rameau noir de la race Cauca*
sienne.'
"(i) The Wo-ni. — Under this appellation the Lolo proper and the
Han-jdn of Yunnan include a group of mixed populations
speaking dialects derived from the Lolo. The original stock
seems rather related to some Oceanic tribes, the Alfurus for
instance.
" {c) The Poumang, calling themselves Santeum ; called by the Lo-
los AIou, and by the Pai-yi Hka-dam. " All the surrounding
populations recognize them as being the true aborigines of
Viinnan and Laos (and perhaps Burma). Some of them have
kept their peculiar language entirely different from Chinese
or Lolo or Pai-yi. They are very small in size, with fiat
faces, noses without bridges, and black skin. They generally
are broken in variegated tribes and are mixed with Chinese,
Lolo, and Pai-yi, and generally speak dialects borrowed from
a Lolo source. One of their peculiarities is their rounded fore"
head and their protruding lips. The majority of the Han-j£n
of Yunnan are certainly from this stock, and the characteristics
exhibited by these Poumang are very often visible in the Pai-yi,
Moreover, I am ready to admit that the Khas of China and
Laos, the I-bang, I-vou, and Yeu-Io-jens, and the Kachyns, the
Pou-cun-jcn also, are of the same stock. The Lo-he are
certainly metis of Poumang and Wo-ni. Altogether the Pou-
mang, more or less mixed with alien blood, is for me the ori-
ginal element of the population of these regions. It would be
very interesting to compare them with the negritoes of the
Andamans and some of the dwarf populations of Borneo, Java,
&c."
This is a most instructive letter, particularly in the later sugges-
tions. It differs very considerably from some of the conclusions
hinted above as to the affinities of the various races described.
The reference to the negrito races at once suggests the submerged
continent of Lemuria, imagined by naturalists, but decried by geo-
logists. The pointed chin of the A-kha, the eagle beak of the
Lissu, and the rounded forehead of the Shan certainly imply very dif-
ferent stocks, but so far as British territory goes there seems to be
no dialect which has any affinity whatever with Andamanese, Selung,
or Jakun.
CHAP. IX.
ETHNOLOGY
62i
Vocabularies.
These have been collected by many workers, and in some cases
the lists given are the result of the comparison of several distinct
tables.
The system of transliteration adopted is the Hunterian in general
and more particularly that prescribed for the transliteration of Shan,
The cognate languages are grouped side by side in every case
and in some cases dialects which have been supposed to be allied
are entered in the same table for comparison.
Mistakes are inevitable because in a great majority of the lists
the words were obtained through interpreterSj some Burmese, some
Shan, some Chinese, accordingly as the hitlmcn questioned^under-
stood some language besides their own.
Ordlnar)' systems of transliteration are incapable of reproducing
the extremely guttural sounds of races like the Palaung and the Wa,
and in Karen-ni there are a series of gradations in sound between
the sharp vowel ^ and the broad vowel ^ which cannot bo adequately
represented on paper ; similarly between o, zi, and /, and between the
consonants j and sh, which shade into one another. In very many
dialects / and r are constantly interchanged and the Wa have an
extraordinary sound which seems to combine the two letters. The
« sound in Yintal^ is extremely nasal and approaches an indistinct
«^. •
Shan group. — The Siamese and Lao vocabularies have been fur-
nished by Mr. \V. R. D. Beckett, Her Majesty's Consul at Chieng-
mai. It did not seem necessary to add I.ii and Hkampti voca-
bularies, for the differences are very slight. Mr. G. C. B. Sliding
supplies the following comparison : —
Certain words used by the Lit ^ which differ from the word in ordinary
use among the Western Shans.
English.
Comition Wcsierr STian words.
Lii word.
To beat
To throw
Togo
Short
Poor
Trousers
Paw (cyi^)
Iltim (od')
Kwa (^^)
Pawt (goS)
Hpan (06^)
Kon (^;vf)
Ti (eg)
Kwat (03^)
Pai {hco)
Ek (Gjg)
Teo (o^)
633
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IX,
Certain words used by the Lii, which dijfcr from the word in ordinary
use among the Western Shans.
English.
In word.
Sulphur
Custom
Picture
To sing
To dance
Poison
Poison (arsenic)
Crime
Kan (j3^)
Hiong sam (a^Sro)--
Ayukorayot(o:>^^j
Hilkwam (^^C^J^,)--
Ka (o^)
Ngon (q^)
Hsan (oo^)
Apyet (^go5) ••
Mat (yg)
Hit, Kawng (c§"§,)
ihip, Han^ (^^?)
Hkap, Kwam(^0'5)
F6n (^)
Ngon Bo (| eg)
Hsan Bo (oDgcg)
Tut (g^); also used for
punishment.
Some of the above words, entered as Lii are also used by the
Western Shans. But they are not the ordinary equivalents of the
English word.
Mr. Stirling also adds —
" Everj-thing seems to point to the Hkiin having come from the Chicng-
Hai Chieng-Mai country. T^c written character is practically the same.
Whore it differs the Hkon seems to have degenerated. Lao, Lu, and Hkiin
are practically the same characters."
No doubt these Tai got their letters from the Cambojans, while
those west of the Salween got them from the Burmese. The diver-
gencies in written character seem to indicate very clearly that the
Tai had no letters before the disruption of the old Nan-chao Ennpire,
There are further differences, as Mr. Stirling points out :
"The Lii and Hkiin talk about Hpra in, Hpra-pawni (and so do the Lao
and .Siamese). Hpra-in is no douljt Iiidra, but it is not so clear who Hpra-
pawm is. The 1 1 kiln can say no more than that they are great gods. The
Western Shan has only one Sao Hpra. The Western Shans follow the
Burmana in putting up pagodas everywhere. The Hkun, Lii, and Lao are
only moderate pagoda builders, but are very fond of elaborate wa/j (or
monasteries). Among the Tai Loi again pagodas begin to increase, but they
never approach to the Western Shan standard."
No doubt this also comes from Cambojan influence. The orna-
mentation and figures in the great Angkor tout on the Tonle Sap
have all a distinct Indian character,
Wa-Paiaung [Vu-Rumai) group, — The Ilka Muk words are
mostly supplied by Captain H. R. Davies ; the Riang lists by Mr.
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
623
G, C. B. Stirling. The Palaung tables arc a combination of many
lists. Much of the Man vocabulary entered for comparison was
supplied by Mr. Taw Sein Ko.
Karen and half-breed group. — The Karen-ni, Yintalfe, and Mami
vocabularies are compiled by Mr. H. G. A. Leveson ; those of the
Sawng Tiing, PadOng.'Ban Yang, Sin-hniaw, Taungthu, Taungyo,
Danaw, and Kawn-sawng by Mr. F. H. Giles.
Kachin and unclassed groups. — The Chingpaw table is from
comparison of a number of lists ; the Maru was supplied by Mr.
W. R. Hillier ; the Szi, Lashi, Hp6n, Ngachang, Mcng Hwa, Lo-
lo, Mingchiang, and Mahfe by Captain H. R. Davies. The Lisu,
Musu, and Lanten Vao are talcen from Prince Henri d'Orleans' latest
book.
Chin or Zho group. — Siyin is taken from Captain F. M. Rundall's
Manual. Haka is taken from Captain D. J. C. Macnabb's Hand-
book. Shonshe was supph'ed by Captain F. H. Eliolt. Yawdwin
was supplied by Mr. A.Ross. Taungtha and Chinbok were supplied
by Mr. W. B. Tydd.
For other lists the compiler is responsible.
Following the main tables are a series of separate vocabularies
which may be considered mostly mere dialect.s, but are valuable as
showing how greatly languages change with isolation. The Kadu
vocabulary is Mr. H. Houghton's. Mr. Stirling supplied theothers.
Lu Alphabet.
ka hka ga hga nga
cha sa cha sa nya
ta hta da hda na
ta hta da hda na
pa hpa ba hba ma
ya la la wa hsa ha la
=^ =^^ 85 g§ e § & © a, a. I, i, 0, Q, 5w, aw.
00 TOO 08 cS OJ OJ GOD boo CC730 Gf^ 00 C& O^
J§ {§ CQ GGQ bey? c§ cci^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
B^f £^ Bc^ ?>c^ o' ^6 ^6 oS B5 ^5 ^8 ^■^
rfj^ o^ j:>^f
00
9
0
ffl>
^
0
9
S
a
s
ts-
^
S
aj
O'J
00
C\
£\
0
5
u
0
0
00
0
w
S
00
0
00
c^E
624
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
S gj3 "^ "S? G85 GC^ ^ f§ eccg OD2 o5o c§ 'eg
^^ ^^ oS j^6 BS SS ^6 »/j^ B6 »o6 o jj^ ^g J5
035cq]qcqiuoqio fgooc3 gc^ G603 Gog GGqo| c^
oJ5 fio5 B5 BS ^5 ^o5 Bo5 £o5 BS BS ^5
^^ ^^ ^! ^ ^ ffl ^ G^^GCfgOOOGGTO t9i cqo
jDo5 >^o5 BS ^5 ^8 OsS B^ B^ ^-6 >o\ GsS co\ oS
003 ego CgOG^ Sc^GCcS GC§ g§ f§ ^ f^ ^
jg'S jp5 c^ jj8 «^c^ ^^c^ ^>f »g'>^ ^5 RcS B8
"^" ^^ ^ G(^ f§ Cg^ 022 Cg^ GO5 CGO3
B6 jy' ^B ^8 qS jf J^S j^j5 ^ ^
Lao Alphabet.
ct
... a.
9
... a.
0
... i.
01
... i.
I
... u.
k
... u.
G
... e.
8
... 6.
"s-
... ai.
QQ\
... u.
^5
... 6.
0
... an.
3
... am.
CO
... ka.
0
... kha.
... ka.
8
... kha.
9
... nga.
0
... cha.
CO
.... sa.
9
... cha.
S
... sa.
^
... nja.
CO
... (t) lata.
s
... (th) laiha.
S
... da. .
KJ
... (th) latha.
OQ
... (na) lana.
CO
... ta.
E3
... iha.
©
... ta.
0
... tha.
s
... na.
6
... pa.
CO
... pha.
MARU KACHW BAG.
LANA KACttWljR
lAP. IX..
ETHNOLOGY.
O
... pa.
O
... ba.
§
... pha.
bS
... ya.
S
... ma.
^
... fa.
iO
... nja.
£3
... fa.
®
... la.
S
... cha.
<x>
... la.
<^
... nja.
G
... wa.
^
... ma.
^
... sa.
S3
... na.
CO
... ha.
^
... nga.
S
... la.
^
... wa.
£3
... a.
£8
... la.
S
... ha.
625
Shoulder bags, or wallets, are worn by all the hill tribes. The
number of patterns is very great and is quite a study in itself. Some,
like the bags of Loi Ngiin (Ngwedaung) and many of the Chingpaw
tribes, are very handsome and are elaborately decorated with seeds,
cowries, coins, and tiny dried gourds. Others again are quite plain.
Besides the woven bags occasional specimens are come across made
of the skin of the python, of the Hoolock monkey, and of a variety of
other animals. Tne patterns given were drawn by a Rumai in the
Northern Shan States and only give an indication of the ornamen-
tation and the merest hint at their variety.
79
626
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAt*. iX.
Palaung or
English.
Shan.
Siamese.
Lao.
WaorVfi.
Hka MSk.
Rumai
(Shan
States).
One
Niing
Niing
Nung
Te
Hie
Two
Hsawni^
Sawng
Sawng
Ra(a)
• •*
E
Three
Hsan '
Sim
Sam
Lai (oi)
...
0£
Four
Hsi
Si
Si
P6n
ftp>
Hpdn
Fhe
Ha
H2
Ha
H pawn (fan)
...
Hpan
Six
HAk
Hok
H5k
Laiya (lia)
Taw
Seven
Sit
Tchet
Tchet
A •! a i y a
(alia).
...
Pu
Eight
pet
Pet
Pet
S'te (sn'te)
...
Ta
Nine
Kao
Kao
Kao
S'ti (sn'ti)
Tint
Ten
Hsip
Sip
Sip
Kao
...
K6
Eleven ...
Hsip-lt
Sip-et
Slp-et
Kao ra te
.■•
KA-ra-hle
Twelve
H s i p-
hsawng.
Hsao
Sip-sawng
Sip-sawng
Kaora
...
KS-ra-A
Twenty
Ji-sip
Sao
Ng5
Bkfl
Twenty-one
Hsao-it
Ji -sip-it
Sim-sip
Sao-et
Nga-ra-te
E-k6 hie
Thirty
H sa m •
hstp.
Pa k (niing]
Sam-sip
Ngoi
Oe-kfi
One hundred
Roi-niing
Hoi-niing
RayatS ta-
...
U-pai-ym
(Hsoi=
ra-je.
one viss)
One thousand.
H e n g
H p a n -
H pan- niing
T a-r e n g
• ««
U-h e n g
(Sh.n)l
A u-mfin
(niing).
niing.
(Shan) P
Ten thousand.
MOn
Mun-niing
Miin-niing
T a m ii n
• ■«
(Shan).
1
Kao-hka
Chan
Hka
Ngawt ngan.
...
Ac
We
Hao-hka
Rao
Hao
um.
E
...
Ye
Thou
Mail
Rao
Hao
The, Pe
• •.
Mai
You
Hsu
Rao
Hao
Pe
Pe
He
Man
Hkao
Hkao
Y6ng
An
They
Hkao
Hkao
Hkao
Tai y e n g,
Hki.
...
I
Of me
Kao
Hkawng-
chan.
Hkawng-hka
Ngawt, um
...
Ao
Of you
Hsu
H kswng-
Hkawng-hao
Pe
...
Mai
Above ...
No
rao.
Hk a n g-
Hkang'bon
Ka-tang, ka-
Hki ten, i-
Below
Tail
bon.
H k a n g-
lang.
Hkang-Ium
prang.
Ka-hse, lang-
te, k5ni.
...
deng.
Hki-hkyem
Far
Kai
Klai
Kai
Sa-ngoi, nge
...
Dong
Near
Sam
Klai
Kai
K i n-k a n.
>..
Indaw
Alone ,„
Kaw-Ieo
Hk6n-dtu
Hpu-diu
Hkang-nai
de(t).
Kwai, kau
U-k^-lai
Inside
Ka-naii
Hk ang-
nai.
Ka-neng, ka-
tum.
K a-p a-r e.
...
U-chiang^
Outside
Ka-nawk
H k a n g-
Hkang-nawk
nawk.
ngat.
^^v
CHAP. IX.
■
ETHNOLOGY. ^^^^
627 ■
1
Rumai
(Mnntfin
neighbnur-
hood].
Riang or
Yang Sck.
Riang or
Yang Wan
Kun.
M5n or Ta-
laing.
PaJaungor
Rumai (of
Nam H'an).
^H
Hlc
Hawk
Hawk
Muwi
Sapong
Mu-a ^^1
^^B
A
K4r
Kar
Hpa, ba
Avun
^^1
^^1
We
Kwai
Kwai
Hpaik, pft
Wa-4
^H
^^P
Pwan
K'pwon
K'pwon
Kin
Hpi'jn, pawn
Pun
Pawng ^^^1
^H
Hpan
Kan
Pa-thaiin, pa-
Hpan
M's^ ^H
^
si'in, tn'bon.
^^^^1
^^^^^^H
Wdaw
Twal
Twal
Ka-rao, t'r.io
Bru
^H
^^^H
Pi^
Pul
Pul
Ka-paw, t'pau
Pot
T'pawk ^^^1
■
•Nu
Preta
ProU
Ka*tsan, hka-
hsam.
Tft
^H
^^B
•Ntim
Tim
Tim
Ka-si, t'chit
Tin
^H
^^V
Kii
S'kall
S'kall
Tsao, chaw
Se'kiir
T'chawk ^^M
^H
Kii-ra-hlc
K.ill-cis
Kall-cis
Tsao-mwa
Kiir-pong
Chawk-mua ^^^|
^P
Kii-ra-a
Kal)-ar
KalMr
Tsao-hpa,saw-
ba.
Hpa-lso, b3-50
KiV-a
Chawk-ba ^^H
H
A-kii, kii-ra-
kii.
A-kti-ra-hlc
Ar-ka!l
Ar-kall
A-kRr
Ba-chdk ^^B
^H
Ar-kall*eis
Ar-kaII-c:s
A-kur-i
Ra-cbok-mua ^^H
H
WekD
Wai-kall
Waj-kall
Paik-tso, pi-
chaw.
Wa-fc-kQr
^H
■
Ma-ya
S'pria
S'pria
Hklawn, klCm
Sc-par-yar
•
Mua klawm ^^H
I
U-hrerg
S'rtng
SVftng
Ngin, ngim
Sc-hing
MuA t'ngim ^^^1
H
U-mon
Mon
M6n
...
Kiir-hing
Mua lak ^^^M
H
Aw
Eor O
Eor 0
Wa-dojt, owa
Aw
^M
^1
Vfc
E
E
Pw«-dauk*tOt
Vfc
Pu-e ^^M
■
Mai
Mu or All
Mu or Mi
pue.
Moing, bai
All
M'na, bai (col- V
loquial}. H
^^1
QH
Pe
Pe
P.-U-UI
Sa-wut
M'na (tawng) 1
^^B
An
Hu
Hu
Nyia, nya-cr
Gai
N-ya fl
^1
Ke-doi
Ku
Ku
Nyia-to
Y6-tan-dwfe
Nya (tawng) H
^H
Aw
0-ni or 0
O-ni or 0
*■•
Aw seku
No possessive J
^^H
H
Mai
Fe-ni or pc
Pe-ni or pe
■••
Kaw-mi
case. ^^^H
H
I-ra-we
Hir ku]
Lawng kul
A-[awiai
Kfrrawut
^^H
H
I-krum
H ar awk
I'kut
A-hmo-nn
Kc-rflm
^^M
I
DOng
S'ngi
Van
N g u w a^
nyuwa.
Mi-aw
Za-ngo-ft ^^^1
^1
Dal
Rim
Tat
Tsaik
Gwa& rtmaw
Krap ^^H
^1
O-I
...
,„
...
Aw-sii ku
Ch'a-nya ^^H
^H
1-cheng
KurKli
Tu
A>dowa, adwn
Werakawng
P'ngo-a ^^^1
1
f»
...
**•
Ma-ngai, nga-A
•t*
••■ ^^^^H
B
L
1
62S
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAI*. IX.
Palaunf or
English.
Shan.
Siamese.
Lao.
WaorVit HkaMQk.
Kumai
(Shan
States).
Bdore
Hpai-na
Hkang-
nawk.
-Ikang-nawh
Kai-y6, ka-
hka.
...
i-ai
Behind
Hpai-lang H k a n g-
H k a n g-
<a-hki, ang-
._
I'pan
hlang.
hlang.
hkfe.
East
Wan tang- T a w a n-
Tawan-awk
Karali si-nyi
... 1-3S
awk.
awk.
fc-"
South
Tang-taii
Hkang-tit-
tai.
Hkang-tai
Ka-si, ka-
rSm.
...
» o
5 **
North
Tang-n6
Hkang-tit-
nua.
Hkang-nua
Ka-lang, ka-
ka.
...
vi i'S
£83
West
Tang-tfik
T a w a n-
tAk.
Di
Tawan-tdk
Karali si'hyi
...
Good
Li
Di
Ti-luen mdn
...
Chi, hm&m
Better
Yen-hken
li.
Di-kwa
Di-kwa
Ti-liia, m5
m6m.
...
Hmdm ku-
Best
Li (n a)
hse p6n.
Di-nak
Di-nak
...
...
Wai ku-
Bad
Hai
Chua
Chua
Ti-ma, le, wa-
wi.
...
Jeo» aw
hrnSm.
Worse
Ham-hai
Jing^hua-
kwa.
Jing-c h u a-
kwa.
M5le
...
W a i -u-
hro&m.
Worst
Hai-h s e-
pon.
Chua*nak
Chua-nak
Ang-kwet ti-
ma kai ru-
•••
Wai-n-
hmfim.
High
HsQng
Sung
Sung
ong.
Lawng
«*.
Dza
Low ...
Tyem
Tam
Tam
Hta yim
...
Dfim
False
Am-man
am-men.
Mai-chong
Baw-ching
K'rawng am-
sa.
...
Ao-mu
True
Sail, sd
Ching
Ching
K'ra yeo-pe,
Mu
Pretty
Hang li
Ngam
Ngam
mu.
Mawm yang
...
Ra-kho-e
Ugly
Hang hai
Mai ngam
Baw ngam
Sang b&
...
Rang jan
Thin
M a n g
Bang o r
Bang or
Touk, pa-re
•..
Hre, cha
Fat
yawm.
Man
pawm.
Man
pawm.
Man
Hoen, yen-
...
Klaing
Thick
Na
Na
Na
Pu, ngai
.••
Hat
Clean .^
Mdt
Cheng or
Cheng or sa
Ot
...
Ka-m^
Cheap
Kake
sai.
Thuk
Thuk
Et, so ngoi
...
Ka-uw
Dear
Ka yaii
Hpeng
Hpeng
Hiin, hteng
ngoi.
Hpan pe,
-
Nga
Poor
Hpan
Chon
Chon
«■«
Plan
hsuyu.
Rich
(Sutgjmak
Mang-mi
Mang-mi
Koi-tik koi-
m6.
KrHHI
Old
Htao
Kai
Htao
Sa -h k u t.
*••
I-pyim
Young
Llk nam
Num
Num
prim.
Ayanglang
so hkut
...
Det
CHAP, IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
629
Rumai
(Mantfln
neighbour-
hood).
Riang or
Yang Sek.
Riang or
Yang Wan
Kun.
Mon or Ta-
laing.
Palaung or
Rumai (of
Nam Hsan).
Mon.
I-ai
Har sin dall
Ait-ngai
Kwai-den se-ni
Kata
I -pan
Har-pwut
Ta-Iaw ta-
La-bun
Lak-karaw
Har-16
pawt.
Ring-1&
Gandar rh wu-
P'mfik
••■
Har-Vyar
San-dall
•
naw.
Gandar ba zan
SmHung kia
(E)r-hniani
Har k u n-
bong.
Har-kot
Rak
Yeng-cher-
rak.
Rak lawk-i
Sik-pong
Ring-k5t
Rak
Yung-p a i-
rak.
Rak lawk-i
Ka-h k w e-ra,
hka.
Gandara pa
hawng.
Gandar rfewun
tdk.
Myan-n y 0 n-
haw.
I-imyan-nySn-
haw.
S'maw kia
P*lat
K'a
U-hmSm
Rai or dwall
Rai
U-hka, h'k6
Kaman
...
W a i - 1 u-
hmam.
Yeng-cher-
dwall.
Rai lawk-i
Pai-yung rai
Rat lawk-i
...
...
.*•
Dza
fSit
S'rawng
Dell
Nfe-ho, nam-
sa-ho.
Hai-so, hai-
nfe.
K u n - n u-
SVawng
Dell ■
Am-an
An
At
Hku, gao
Dzar
De-um
Kilmaw nyon
hyaw.
Himyaw myan
nyon hyaw.
Karia
Saw
Samun t^awnj
T'aw
Paik
Sit-gyi-an
wung.
Rang-cha
Rang-cha
Parrfe, prfe
Kaw-karia
Parum
Cha
Praw
Praw
...
Hrai
Srai
Klaing
Pre
K'bi
...
Dhan
...
Hat
Ka-mai
Ka-taw
Nga
Ktit
M 5 t-se-
pra-wal.
Hung-yai
Lang-an-pul
Kut
P'lawt or Icp
Hung-b a i,
lung-bo.
Kerswo
Hkiit
Shin-Ian-
hnyaw.
Unkunggo(r)
Unwa
Tarn
Plan
I-pran
I-ken
...
KftyS pan-maw
Daiks&
Kram
I-mang
I-kwen
.«
Un-krfim
...
Gat
l-tatj
I-tau
**.
Kwan-hnya
Pyu
Det
Kan-Iiet
I-kye
I
Kwan-hna
...
^30
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP, IX,
Palaung
English.
Shan.
Siamese-
Lao.
Wa or Vii.
Hka Mak.
or Rumai
(Shan
Statr^}.
TalJ
Hsung
Sung
Sung
Ldng, lawng
...
Ja^dca
Little
Lik
Lek
Noi
Tern, so
Jem, det
Very small ...
Lik-awn
Noi
Noi
So
...
•*«
Big
Yau
Yai
Yai
Hting
Hsa Kalaw
...
Dang:
Tight
Kep
Hkap
Hkap
...
Hkyi-a(ch)
Wide
Kwang
Kwang
Kwang
V6t, wak
...
Ka-wa
Close
Hyim
Hkep
Hkep
Thfi timan,
karawk.
...
Dat
Painful
Hkop-
hkijn.
Puat
Puet
Hsa karSng
...
Hsan
Pleasant
M6n
Sabai
Muen
Pyaw
...
Tha-ya
(Burmese)
Red
Leng
neng
Deng
Rao,kq-ra(k]
...
Rawn
Yellow
L5ng
Hluang
Hluang
Hsen-nyi
Tan
Green
Hkio
Kiu awn
Kiu awn
Hsiing ngS,
hsa-nga
hsdm.
...
I-nyo
Blue
Hsawm
Kiu
Kiu
Hsiing ng5m
•••
La
Black
Lam
Dam
Dam
Ling
P o 1, hpa
•■•
I -wane
White
Hpok, kao
Hkao
Hkao
.•>
I-Iui
rong.
Hand
Mii
Mu
Mu
T6. tai
Ti
Tai
Foot
Tin
Taw tin
Tin
C h a w n g,
sing.chan.
Tsu awng
Jan
Nose
Hku lang
Tamuk
Hudang
Kawng muk
Mo
Kadongmu
Eye
Mak ta
Ta
Ta
Ngai, suk-
ngai.
Mat
Ngai
Mouth
Hsup
Pak
Pak
1 aii 'mtut
'njui, hkwe.
Tanaw
Mwe
Tooth
Hkio
Fan
Kiu
Rang, hara
Rang
Hrang
Ear
Hu
Hu
Hu
Y,i«(k) yiik
Ram we
Hs6k
Hair
Hkon
Hpawm
Hpawm
Hak keng
Kid
Huk ken
Head
Ho
Hua
Hua
Hkeng
Kam pong
Ken
Tongue
Lin
Lin
Lin
'Nta(k),tak
Tak
Hsitii
Belly
Tawng
H tawng
Htawng
Htu
Lwe
Wat
Arm
Hken
noi.
Hkcn
Hken
Hte, pa
Tai
Leg
Hka, tin
Hka
Hka
Pari chawng,
rawang.
Plo"*
Plo
Skin
Nang
Hpiunang
Hpiu nang
Hak
Hun
Bone
Lup
Kaduk
Kaduk
Hsa-ang, a-
kwi.
Nam
...
Ka-ang
Blood
Lot
Luet
Luet
HnSm
Stone
(Mak) hin
Hin
Hin
H si-mo, hsi-
Klang
Mao
Iron
Lek
Lek
Lek
mao.
Hrem.hreom
Hlak
Gold
Hkam
Htawng
hkam.
Hkam
Hsari, hsarai
...
Khyi
Silver
Ngtin
Ngon
Ngon
Mii
...
R6n
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
631
Rumai
(Mantfin
neighbour-
hood).
Riang or
Yang Sek.
Riang or
Yang Wan
Kun.
Mon or
Talaing.
Palaung or
Rumai (of
Nam Hsan).
MSn.
Dza
Det
Hkyi-a(ch)
Wa-h
Oat
Hsan
Reng
Teng
Nyen
Nyen-rabai
W3iig
Luc
K3-ba-ui
Ka-ba-jeng
or seng.
Kawng-mu
Ngai
Mwe
Rang
Shfik
HSk-kyeng
Kyeng
Ka-la
Wai
Tai
Jeng
Hun
Ka-ang
Hn£m
Mao
Hin
Kri
Ran
Chrawng
Pawk, dell
Kan-Iiet
Pull
Wass
Kyep
Su. sawk
Saya-rak
Rong
R'mit
Nyer
Lang
Lang
Kan-ra
Ti
Chavng
Ka-dawk
Ngai
Ko
Rang
Ka-tik
H6k
King
Tak
Klung
PJi plu
(thigh)
Pli-chawng
(shin).
Hur
Ring-an
Nam
S'mfik
Hir
Hkam(Shan)
Run
Chrawng
Pawk, dell
Kyfe
Maw
Wass
Sak-nydc
Su, sawk
Maw-rak
Rong
R'mit
Nyer
Mun
Lang
Kan-ra
Ti
Chawng
Ka-dawk
Ngai
M'watng
Rang
Ka-tik
Hok
King
Tak
Klung
Ka-dell
Pli-chawng
Hur
Chin-an
Nam
Ra-ang
Hir
Hkam(Shan)
Run
Hlaungi tha-
Ion.
Hkli, kle
Pa kit
Yhnit'
Nyfe-swam
Ka-tsdk,katsaw I-yum
In-gya
BrS
D&dayat
Dhan
Awp
Wa
Dat
Su
Hye myan-nyo-
hyaw.
Un-ko
Un-ting
Un->fe
Dawt
Snou
Pataing, p'tan
To-wa, twe
Jo-ing, zin
Miit, mwut
Pan
Nget, ngawt
Ka-to
Tsijt, swet
Kadop
Hnam, S'nam
Jut. .sut
Sin, sein
K'maw
Pa-thwe
Bain
Ti
Gawng-mu
Ngyfe
Miit
Krang
Hyaw
Pu-king
King
sa-ta
Wai(k)
Va
GyAn
SS-rfe
Kun-Sng
Hnam
Mo-dayat
Gre-ya
Kri
Dron
P'kat
Daik-mit
Sa-ngak
Dam
Lasok
Kamu
To-a
Saing
Mu
Mut
Paing
Kontaw
K'dap"
Lataik
Sut
T'mawm
Paso-a
T'aw
Srawn
633
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
Sulphur
Earth
Salt
Sugar
Father
Mother
Bro-
ther,
.{
Sister
Elder...
YouDger
■ Elder ...
, YouDger
Man
Woman
Wife
Husband
Child
Son
Daughter
Fathcr*in-Iaw
Mother-in-law
Uncle
Aunt
Nephew
Niece
cuhi- ;
vator. '
- UpUnd
. Lowl&Dd
Tawng
leng.
Liin
Sek hpdk
T aw n g
15ng.
Kan
Un
K&
KS wan.
Nam o!
(crude).
Paw
Me
Pi
Nawng
Pi nang
N awng-
yin.
Kon,Hpu-
sai.
Hpu-ying
M&
Hpo
Luk awn
Luk sai
Luk ying ;
Pu nai
H tawng
deng.
Ta-kua
Dibuk
H tawng
luang.
Kamma-
htan.
Din
Klua
Nam tan
Hpaw
Mai
Hpi-chai
Nawng
chai.
Hpi-sao
Nawng-
sao.
Hpu-chai
Hpu-ying
Mea
Hpua
Dek
Luk hpu-
chai.
Luk hpu-
ying.
Hpaw-ta
\
Awn nai, i Mai yai
mS-sao.
Lung
Pa
Lan sai
Lan ying
Kon het
hai.
Kon het
na.
Lung
Pa
Lan chai
Lan sao
Hkon tam
rai.
Hkon tam
na.
H tawn g .
luang. I
M3t i
1
Din
Hkia
Nam tan
Kan (Shan) i
Hpaw
Mai
Hpi-chai
Nawng-chai
Hpi-sao
Nawng-sao
Hpu-chai
Mfe-jing
Mea
Hpua
La awn
Luk hpu-
chai.
Luk hpu-
ving.
Hpaw-mea
Mai mea
Lung
A-ao
Lan chai
Lan sao
Hkon rai
Hkon ye
Hak-te. te .
Hkit, sai ,
Hkit nyum,
sai nyam.
King, pwa,
te.
Ngua, me-at,
ma.
Ek
Po
Aw
Po
(A) ramfe(t),
,pwi.
{A)ra(m)p6n,
'mpuii.
Ra-mawng
H r ia w n g,
karaw.
Kawn nyum
Kawn (a)ra-
m6(t).
Kawn 'rapfin,
rap6n.
Kiin ampun
ao, pao.
Mo ampun
ao, hting.
Mpau, hting
Pao
Kawn hpa, .
hsaii.
Kawn hpa .
(a)rampAn '
Hto mahpu-
yu-ma.
I
Yon no hpu-
yu-na. j
Kate
Mar
Yong
Ma
Tai
Ham
Sem kiin
Ham sem
kiin
Sim yaw
Sim kiin
Tum kaw
Kle
Hkawn ne
Ma-zat
Hin-lui
Ma-lai^*
teng.
Kan(Shar)
Kitai
Se
SeJngSni
Kdn
MS
Pi
Wa
Pi ipan
Wa ipan
I-ma>i
I-pan
P^
N^
en
I-det
Kawn !■•
mai.
Kawn i-
pan.
Po
Kan
j K6n or pA
I Hlani-mai
|Hlan i-pan
I
1
: I-raing-nA
^^^^^^
^AP. IX.] ETHNOLOGY.
^
■ ^33 ^%
H
Rumai
(Miintfin
neighbour-
hood).
Riang of
Yang Sole.
Riang or
Yang Wan
Kun.
Mon or
Talaing.
Palnung or
Rumai (of
Nam H.san).
^^^H
Pa-I3ng
Tawng-rong
T.iwng-r5ng
Oong
^^^1
P5-zat
Siin
L'wun
Pra-gyet
^^1
Hin-lui
Hir kan-ra
Hir kan-ra
...
Grcya-bain
Paso-a daik ^^^|
Pn-lang-teng
Tawng r'mil
l awng r'mJt
...
Otingning
^H
Kan
Kan-lok
Kan
...
Yan-yim
Kawn mak ^^H
KStai
K'te
K'tc
Taik, te
Ka-dti
^H
Hsi
Swak
Swik
ISaw , bu
Saw
^H
Hs^-ngam
Swak-nam '
Sw^k-n^m
...
Saw-nan
Da-ki« ^^M
Gtn
Pa
Pa
A-ba. a-pQ
KQn
^H
Ma
Ma
Ma
A-mai
MS
Mi
Wft-i-mai
Bo, mai-
kerame.
Mai
...
"
Kon
Wa-i-mei
Taw
Scn-bo
...
Bwi
Dam
W&-i-pan
Mai kannya
or chaross.
Wai
...
...
I-hmua
Wa-i-pan
T.iw-kannya Bo kannyn
*••
Bwi-pQn
I-dflm
or chaross.
(Lui) i-mai
Kerame
Keram*
Mnni, karu
Bi
M'ni
(Lui) i-pan
Kannya
Kannya
...
Bi-pan
Brao
1-pSn
K'pun
Ya
...
Bi-pu-naw
Kay.ning
I-mai
K'me
K'me
...
Yi-m.n-aw
Kayaing
Kawn-det
Kw.in
Kwan
KnanS
Kawn-i-mai
Kwan kcrnmc K wan
1 kcrarae.
...
Kwin
...
Kawn-i-pan
Kwan
kannvn.
K w a n
kann%a.
...
Kwan ntpan
P5
Paw (by
merii,
Kun DV
Paw (fcy
men),
Kun (by
Pr.
K'nwm ^^^1
^^H
women).
women).
^^^^1
KAn
Ta (by men)
Ya (by
u-omcn).
Ta (by men)
Ya (by
women).
...
Kun
...... M
^^B
Kfln or P5
Lfng
Leng
PatTeng
...
Paw shi-on
A>nai, a<mS ^^^H
K.^n or Ma
Paw
...
VVa-ktin
^^^1
HIan i*mai
P'ii
Pli
Su
^H
Htan i-pan
P'li kannya
P'li kannya
...
5u l3-py£
^B
r
E-kin-marii
£-kin<mara
.,,
1
I-raing-ni) i
or E-sw<im-
or E-s worn-
mara.
marl.
^1
(
E-swonn-na
E-sw6m-na
i
1
Kro-mi
~ ■
^^B ^1
634
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
English.
Shan.
Siamese.
Lao.
WaorVa
Hka MQk.
Palaung'
orRamu
(Shan
Sutes).
Cowherd
Hunter
God
Devil
Sun
Moon
Star
Fire
Water
House
Horse
Bullock
Cow
Bull
Dog
Cat
Fowl
Hen
Cock
Duck
Bird
Mule
Elephant
Buffalo
Fish
Deer
Goat
Sheep
Flea
Milk
Bamboo
Kfin ling
wo.
Muhsd
Hpra
Hpi
Kang wan
Lon
Lao
Hpai
Nam
H5n
Ma
Wo
Womfe
Wo paw
Ma
Miao
Kai
Kai mh
Kai hpu
Pet
N5k
Ma (law)
Sang
Kwai
Pa
Hpan
Pft
Sin
Mat
Nam num
Mai
Hkon ling
ngua.
Pra chao
chiwit.
Pf
Det
Duen
Dao
Fai
Nam
Ruen
Ngua
Ngua tua
mai.
Ngua tua
hpu.
Hma
Meo
Hkai
Hkai tua
mai.
Hkai tua
hpu.
Pet
N6k
La
Chang
Kwai
Pla
Kwang
Hpe
Ke
Mat
Nam nom
M^ (pai]
Hkon ling
ngua.
Ngom miik
Mu-hs5, kwi
Pra chao
chiwit.
Pi
Det
Duen
Dao
Fai
Nam
Huen
M±
Ngua
Ngua mai
Ngua hpu
Hma
Meo
Hkai
Hkai mai
Hkai hpu
Pet
N6k
Luwa
Chang
Kwai
Pa
Kwang
H-pe
Ke
Mat
Nam nom
Mai (bwa)
Yum tsao
keng.
Hsa-ng&, si-
ngai.
Hke
Hsim-ung,
hsa-niiL
Ngo, ngu
; Rom
Nyfe, nya
M a r 0 n g,
brum,
I Muk, ma(k)
I Muk moi
Muk meng
Hsaw
Miwi e-ya
|ti yuang,
E-r ape
(wild).
E-rak6n
fe-rame
Sun, hsim
Parong, law
Hsanst
Karak
Ka
Pot, mo
Hpun
Sin
Tep, pik
(R)um-po,
rum-tiik.
Hkao,
khawng-
keng.
Mat si-nyi
Mong
Chel meng
Para lua
Om
Hkang
Imprang
Impo
Hsaw
Mioo
Hsim
Sang
Ka
I-hywn^-
mSk.
Mu-hs5
(Shan).
Pi-r2
Ki-nXm
Se-i^
Pakyo
Hsa man
l^kwai
Em
Kalep
Imbyang
MSk
M&k
Hfiao
A-nyiao
Van
Van kSma
Van akOn
Pyit
Hsim
Law
San
Kfi-rS
Ka
Tiing
Be
Hsu (Bur
mese).
Sa-tye
Om-bu
Hrang
^B CHAP. IX.] ETHNOLOGY. ^^^^
' ^3S H
^B
Rumai
(MantAn
nt'igbboiir-
hood).
Riang or
Vang Sek.
Riang or
Yang Wan
Knn.
Mon or
Ta-laing.
Patau ng or
Riim.Vi (or
Nam Hsanj. i
^^M
1-hyang-mak
E-uiD*muk
E-tam-mfik
...
Bi-heng-pi
1
Mc'hsO
Mu-hsC
Mu-hs6
...
Mok-M
^H
Pi-ra
Sa<i pri
Sao pra
...
Pr4
Kuk ^H
Ka-nSm
H 5 A 11 g
(Shan).
Hsung
...
Pait
^^1
Hsa-ngai
S'ngi
S*ngi
Nyuwa, VI-
ngowa
Ss-ni law
T'nguA ^^M
MS-kyen
Kyer
Kyer
Ka-to
Plang-kcr
^H
Ma-iang
Sngatnun
Sagamun
Naungs'nong
Sft-main
^1
Nga(li)
Ngall
Ngall
K.i-mwoi
Ner
P'mawt ^^H
Om
Om
Om
Taik t'dat
Om
Oaik
Gang
Rang
Kang
Hoi, hnyi
tiang
•••
'R-brSng
Marjlng
Marang
Hkyai. kchi
Brang
».
M3k
Mfik
Mflk
Mi
Mak ka-ma
Mfik-pyang
Muk-m.nya
I<a-]inn-bo,ka-
■ ..
...
raw.
Mik T&-hso
Mflk-tuk orl Muk-tflk
...
Mi-rase
•*t
reng.
A-6k
So
So
Hkia, kic
S.i«
...
A-nyiao
Mtao
.N) iao
P.*i-ko wa, pa-
hkwe.
A-myao
Ba-k54
Van
Yer
Yer
...
Her
...
Yan ka-ma
Yer-nyang
Yer-nyang
...
Her kama^r)
...
Yan a-kor
Yer^ng
Ycr-reng
...
Her a-krdm
...
Pvit
Hsrim
Sim
Pvit
Pyet
A-<U ^H
Sinn
Ka-tsin
Sim
^^^1
Law
Law-la
Law-la
...
Brang*1aw
^H
Sang
Sang
Si<hang
Si-ng
5.""P
^H
Ki-rd
P a n a
(Taungihu)
Pan.T
Pri-eng, parin
G* ra(r)
^1
Mi
Ka
Ka
...
Ka
Ka ^H
Tung
Puss {bark-
ing deer),
Tyak (sam-
bhur).
Puss
Tyak
Po
I
Be
Pfe
P6
Kabck, kabai
Pyi
Ba-bit ^^1
Hso
...
...
...
...
^^M
S,i-l>'en
Wass
Wms
...
Gatr)
^H
Om-bu
Om-ncn
Om-bu
...
Bu
^1
HrSnff
Rung
Rung
""
Hrang
^^^^^^1
1
636
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IX.
Palaung^
English.
Shan.
Siamese.
Lao.
Wa or Vu
Hka Muk.
or Rum&i
(Shan
States).
Turban
Hkin ho
Hpa pok
Hpa Tawng
Win-k eng.i Hstng
Kame
hua.
ne(t) hsapa
nawt.
pong
(woman's)
Hat
Kup.mawk
ho
Muak
Kup
Keng tang
luak, sap-
na keng.
Wawm
Klep
Coat
Hsd
Sua
Sua
Sha(ch) sha-
be.
Kon k'la
Htep
Kabyok
Trousers
Kon
Kang keng
Hpa tiu
Teao
Sft-la
Petticoat
Hsin
Sarawng
Sin
Tai
...
Glang
Shoes
Hkep tin
Kuk
Kup
Kep-tin
(Shan).
Hkep
H kep-tin
Ear-rings
Pe-hu
Tam hu
Lan hu
Ru-p5, nga-
...
Shflk
, (Unhniked)
Hkao hsan
Hkao san
Hkao san
rung.
Ngao, iip
Ngaw
Hnenn
Hkao pok
Hkao
...
Ngao, up
Unhko
Sakao
Opium
Ya lam,
hping.
Fin
Fin
Hpin
...
Hping
Grass
Y6
J^
J?
Yep
...
Bst
Tree
Ton mai
Fon-mai
Tfln mai
Rung hkao
La, nla
Sa awng
TSne^oi
Leaf
Mail
Bai mai
Bai mai
La
HIa
Wood
(No) mai
Mai
Mai
Ka (pang)
hkao.
...
He
Cold
Kat, nao
Hnao
Hnao
(Yum) krawt
lat.
Rao, lao.
...
Kaw
Warm
Mai, hawn
Rawn
Hawn
Hrang
kawt.
Ice
Nam mwe
Nam keng
Nam keng
Cm karo,
mwirom.
-
Ml-tap
Snow
Nam mwe
Hima
Nam mwe
...
...
...
Rain
Hpon
Nam-fon
Nam-fon
(Tum) ]h
...
Klai
Wind
Lom
Lom
Lum
Ko-a, ka.
...
Hku
hsup-pu.
Thunder
H pa-Ian g
Fa-rong
Fa-hong
Num pa-re,
ranim pa-
le
...
Ka-nSm-
bleng.
Lightning ...
Hpa mep
Fa-Iep
Fa-mcp
Sip-puk ka-
lak, mim-
lim sfe-pii
plak.
...
Bla-bUk
Sky
Hpa
Fa
Fa
(Hak) ma
Hrauang
Plan
Cloud
1 M a w k
kum.
Meik
Meik
Wi-iim,
hpra paru.
...
Ma-ut
Day
Wan
Wan
Wan
Yiawng, pe-
si-ngai.
...
Hkai 53-
ng;u.
Night
Kang hkon
Hkiin
Hkiin
'Mhsom,
'mbang.
...
Hkai som
Light
Leng
Leng
Leng
Riiang pe,
rang.
...
Blang
Dark
Lap hsing
Miit
MiJt
Awp pe, wak
...
Ap
River
Nam
Me-nam
Me-nam
Rom ngawt.
Hra w n g
Rawne
hawng.
1
ka-lawm,
sawk rdm.
om.
fai.
Hill
Loi
Hkao
Doi
Turu, tu-a
Tan hkdn
Gawi^
CHAP. IX,]
ETHNOLOGY.
637
Rumai
(Mantdn
neighbour-
hood).
Riang or
Yang Sek.
Riang or
Yang Wan
Kun.
Mon or
Talaing.
Palaung or
Rumai (or
Nam Hsan).
M5n.
M5-lawng
Pi-Iwil
Sem-wut
Gyan-king
...
Klup
Klup
KlOp
...
Hmaw
Sa-daw
S'keng
S'keng
...
Si-taw
...
Sa-!S
Clang
Kyet-tin
Kon
La
Sawng-klep
Kon
La
Sawng-klep
...
Si-la (r)
Klan-t5ng
Kyet-tin
...
S5-yok
Pan-wall
Sam-k y u t-
katik
...
Hyaw
...
Ta-kao
Hping
Kg
Rut-lang
Ko
Ya-lam
...
A-ko *"
Bing
Bin
P5t
TSng-he
Hla-lie
He
Man
Tung-kfe
U-kl
Rung-k&
Tak
Tung-kfe
La-kfe
Rung-kfe
Kanaung-su
HIa
Hla(rj'"
He
...
Kat
Kat
Kat
Ba
Mi ki-bye
Ba
Sa-tin
Koit
Koit
Katao
Kwo(r)
A-zrung
*Rtap
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Bwe-gywat
...
Klai
Hkun
Kyung
Kur
Kyung
Kur
...
Don
Kwi
...
K S-n S m-
pleng.
Pli ta-kur
Ta-kur
...
Gene-plang
...
Bla-V-biek
Pli lak-lawk
Lak-lawk
...
Ka-sa-s'l6
«>.
Bl«ng
MS-ut
Pleng
Top
Pleng
T6p
Ta-hka
Keraw^king
Ot
...
H k a t s 3-
S'ngi
S'ngi
Ta-ngua, nyu-i
Sa-ni
T'ngua
ngai
Hk^ som
Blang
Tak-b i m,
tak-sawm.
Tak-klup
Tak-bim
Tak-mut
Pa-taung
Ka-ma
In-sdm
Ptang
B'tawm
Laya
Ap
Cm-rawng
Tri-bim
Om-rawng
Bim-lang
Om-rawng
Bi
A-bing
Pdn-dan
D'mlu
Nawn
Rang
Rang
D'oi, hde
Sfir
...
638
THE UPPEB BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
Palaan^
English.
Shan.
Siamese.
Lao.
Wa or Vij
Hka MQk.
or Rumai
(Shan
States).
Valley
K6 loi.
hwe loi.
W a n g-
hkao.
Wang-doi
Mfim lawt
mdm lawng,
hsa-na tu-a
...
BIyang
Insect ...
Meng
Meng
Meng
Rai, ma-la
••
W4
Heart
(Ho) sail
Chai
Chai
Hsuk
...
Ble-na
Chief (ruler) ...
Sao hpa
Chao
Chao
KrSw, ra-
mang.
...
An-dang
kukft.
Freeman
...
Htai
Htai
Mil ka-lawn
...
Slave
Hka
Tat
Tat
Hsalu.
chuang
kraw.
••'
Hmai
Witness
Hsak hse
(Burmese)
Payan
Hou pam hu
Top-me,
hpwi-yaw.
...
Hsak-hse
(Burmese)
Law
Tara
Kot-mai
Hit kawng
kot mai.
TVa
...
TS-r£
(Burmese).
Punishment ...
Tarn
Htot
Htat
Hpe, tarn
(Shan).
• •«
DSm
Crime
A-p yet
(Burmese)
Htot
Htot
...
...
A-bret
Spirit (sout) ...
...
Winyan
...
Liyi-a ri-ya
(the great-
est, that of
...
Wi-nyin
(Burmese)
the house).
Kum turu
(of the hills),
Kum ari
y u a w n
(of the
streams).
Dream
( Naw n )
hpan.
Fan
Fan
Sara m ao,
ra-mu.
...
It-ban
Vision
Ruparong
(Burmese)
l^mo
Rang
...
...
Sacrifice
P fl k-saw
(Burmese)
Wai hpi
Wai hpi
...
...
Nft kS-
nSm.
Penance
.••
Keb5n
Rebon
...
Kindness ,..
...
Chai ku-
son.
Chai bun
M 6m ra -
rOm.
...
Ka-we
Time
Hkeng ...
...
...
...
...
■ •«
Morning
Rang
h k u n,
ka n g
naii.
(Rung)
chao.
Na ngao
Kai hnyft
Evening
Rang sai,
k a n g
tflk.
Wela bai
...
...
...
S2-ngai-
Iip (sun-
set).
Midday ...
Rang
W e 1 a
...
N y a w ng
...
Kadai sX-
teng.
tieng.
sang.
ngai.
Round
M6n kflm
Klom ...
M5n
Ma roi, lu-
ll.
...
KilSng
CHAP, IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
639
Rumai
(Mantftn
neighbour-
hood).
Riang or
Yang Sek.
Riang or
Yang Wan
Kun.
Mon or
Talaing.
Palaung or
Rumai (of
Nam Hsan}.
M&n.
Blyang
Wtt
Ble-na
Hmai
Wur
T h a k-sit,
mar-ri.
K i n-kan-
wass>
•^
Dam
A-bret
It-ban
Sk k&-nam
Ka-we
Sa-nga i* I e
(sun rise).
Bre-ap (after
dark).
Kadai sa-
ngai.
Kft-tftng
As in
Shan.
Hot
Marri
K i n-k a n-
wass.
Yet r'mu
P u - saw
(Burmese)
S'ngi mat-
sang-sang-
ho.
S*ngi Wa
kiit.
S'ngi mat
sang-sang.
Mun (Shan)
Yet r'mu
P u - s a w
(Burmese)
Tak-mop
S'ngi Wai
S*ngi-sang-
sang o r
S'ngi-tun-
sang.
Mun
Law
Bwa
Kera-pu(r)
Bi-dan
Wawt
Hmi
Sak-sa
Im-po
Ko-gwai kera-
nam.
M G n-n y o-
hynaw.
Kai hyi
Sa-ngai lip
Kala-bwai
Kaya.
S'mawT'ngu*A
640
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
Palaong or
English.
Shan.
Siamese.
Lao.
WaorVu.
Hka Mak.
Ruraai
(Shan
States).
Flat
Hpep, ping
Kdng
Ben
Ben
Plafl
Ki-htep
'Hollow
Prong
Kluang
R a u ) a-
...
KlSng
awng.
Strong
H e n g
(yaii).
Keng reng
Heng
Mfira, m5-
ka-Ie n g
pa-ting.
Ang-pa ma-
...
Blawm
Weak
Heng lik
Awn
Hlu
Ra-hia
ra, sukka-
leng.
Spear
Hawk
Hawk
Hawk
Hpa-lia(k)
Plek
Y6
Sword
Lap
...
...
plia
W*(k), wai
Hkam-
awng.
Bo
Bow
Rang
Tanu
Kong
A k-hte t>
ngak.
Maw
Kang
Hatchet
Ta-mat
KwSn
Kwan
Mwe
...
Ta-mAt
(Shan).
Needle
Kycm
Hkem
Hkem
Nyo, hsi
• •■
...
Pot
Maw
Maw
Maw
Tawng
.»•
Ka-lop
Boat
Ho
Rua
Hua
Kao-n a n g,
rong, kao-
Rua([.ao)
Kale^ ra
Cord
Sok
Chuek
Chuek
pSk.
N g a w n,
mao.
...
Wan
Village
Man, wan
Ban
Ban
Yawng, yung
Rung
Imju
House
Hdn
Ruen
Huen
Nyis, nya
Hkang
Kalep
Roof
M u n g
hdn.
Langka
Lang ka
Top-m a r 0 ,
top-plawng,
rang yang
Katrawng
hkang
Da kalep
Chair
Ti-nang
Tao-i
TSng
Hkao ngom
"•
Ka-la-
heng
(Burmese
Table
Taw
Taw
K a r e n g-
hsam.
Ta-kon
Box
Op, ep
Hib
Hib
Ngok, yep
...
Sa-t5k
Basket
Tang
Kabung
Peat
Tang, pong,
...
Hkawn
yaw hsawng
Haii, ro 1 Pok
Bag
Htflng
Tung
Tung
Jan, hu
Fishing-net ...
Hsai hkit
Hai
Hai
Hke
...
R3p
Snare
Hkiim
Krun
Run
Hkawk
Ting
Picture
Fum hang
...
Rang
Rang
Statue (image)
Hak tu ...
...
1
Yok-tu
(Burmese
To carve
Tawng
..■
1
...
Song
Kwam un
Pleng
Saw
I-he, a-ii, a-
sa-sawn. .
Ka-6
Dance
Ka
Ten ram
Fawn
Ka, ngoi
Ka
Pipe
Maw ya
...
Rom nya
■ ■*
Medicine
Ya ya ...
Ya
Ya
Arahta, ra- '
BSt nyawt
Poison
Kawng
Ya hp i t
bua.
Va bua
tail.
Om
Kawng
(Shan).
Toy
■ ..
Thuka-ta
Luk pata
•••
M a -ka
hlfe kawn.
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
641
Rumai
(Manton
neighbour-
hood).
Riang or
Yang Sek.
Riang or
Yang Wan
Kun.
M6n or
Talaing.
Palaung or
Rumai (of
Nam Hsan).
M3n.
K3-htep
Klong
Blawm
Klep
Mang-tu
Kum-rang
Klep
Ma n g - 1 u,
tu-krek,
Kum-ring
•«•
Hrat
Beng
Ko(r) .
...
Ra-hla
K u m-rang
kan-vyet.
K u m-rang
leng.
...
Ka-k wen-mo n
...
Sat
Plas ' Plas
1
...
Ka-long
>*.
Bwet-Ung
Wait
Wait
...
bo-lang
...
A-ba
Ak
Ak
...
Drai
...
Mwe
Ka-lop
R6
T ' m a t
(Shan).
Pun-ngi
Klo
C h u n-
Iwawng.
T'mat
Pun-lait
Klo
C h u n-
Iwawng.
Kalon
Mwe
Pa-laik
Klo-um
Ru
...
Wan
Nwur
Nwur
Wer
...
Ran
Gang
D9p
Pru
Kang
Tok-up
Pru
Kang
Tok-up
Kwon, ko
Hoi, hnyi
Ka dan
G4ng
Gang ta-pQn
...
...
Tang
Tang
...
...
Ta-k6n
K'reng ti-
m6k.
Tok (Shan)
Kak, up, pyil
S'ki
Kye-kang
Dak
Rang-un
Pen-pell
...
...
...
Sa-tok
Hkawn
Ka - b y a n,
hu.
Rap
Ting
Rang
Tok
K*rep, yuk,
pyit.
S'kt
Kye-pru
Dak
...
Duk
Ber
KQr
Ta-hke
Sat
Danawt.
Bam.
Ka-s"
Ka
Kyi mawk
warn (Shan)
Ka
Ka
Dan hMing
Ka
...
Tha-diit
Sa-nam
Sa-nam
...
Pat se-num
...
Kawng
S a - n a m
Sa-nam
...
Hen taw-han
,,,
Rfi
yam.
yam.
Kwun-na king
...
81
643
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
Pataung
English.
Shan.
Siamese.
Lao.
Wa or VQ.
Hka Mak.
or Rumu
(Shan
States).
Game
Kan len
Kan len
RS-hlft
Riddle
K w a m
takan.
Ban ha
Pun ha
...
...
...
Today
Mfi naj
Wan ni
...
E-ring, ari-
ying.
...
...
Tomorrow ...
Mo hpok
Prung ni
...
Paya, nQng
ngfip-sa.
...
...
Yesterday ...
MS wa
Wan ni
...
Pakaw, pa-
ka kau.
...
*««
To stand
Siik
Tun
Ddn
Tun
t)6n
Tsung, j5ng
Tun
Jang
Han ra
To walk
Kwa
Luen, ro
...
To run
Len
Wing
LAn
P 6 r a y ft.
wuk.
...
Jeng.
KT anok,
tabu.
To sleep *..
Nawn
(lap).
Lab
Ub
Nyim ik
Hsi
I
To eat
Kin
Kin
Kin
Sam, I, pye-
re hpa-ra.
A
Hawm
To strike
Yen
Ti
Bub
Ti-ya, mfin
tek.
...
Ka
To see
Han
Hen
Han
Yao, sawn
Yeo
To make ...
Het
Tarn
Je
Yfik, yu-ha-
awng.
Ren
To sit
Nang
Nang
Nang
Nak ngawm
Tani
Mdne
To die
Tai
Tai
Tai
H s i a w m,
Y«m
To call
Hawng
Rik
Hawng
yum.
Kawk, huet
karai.
Wong,
Te
To throw
Tyem pii
Jon
Jon
Dawt
teng chek.
To drop
Yawt tak
Tok
Tek
Araii, ka-rik
\!:
To place „.
Tang, wai
Wang
Wang
Ngaw ka-
tang, tik.
To lift
Yfik,
yawng.
J5k
J5k
Vuk
J6k
To pull
Siing
Chak
Chak
Ngun tek,
naw.
Tiit
To smoke ...
K aw n
h p a i
awk.
Sub
Sub
Mat-nga w,
ie-mawk-
ngu, tiin-
wo.
Nyawt
To love
Hak
Rak
Hak
Hak pao,
■ >•
Rak
re.
(Shan).
To hate
Sang
Kleat
Klat
Ang ren . ...
Blot
nang pao,
hkon.
To go
Kwa, pai
Pai
Mua
Lon, ro
Yaw
Hao
To get up ,.,
.,,
Kao jong Ro
Yoi
To beat
Yen"
Hkien
Hkien'
Tiya, ma-ru
Ma ■
To lie down ...
Nawn king
IvTa
Nawn
Nawn
It-it, pang-
mu-ta-it.
Ma ge
To come
Ma
Ma
Ni, roi
Wet
De
To ride
Hki ma
Hki ma
Hki ma
HpQk.brung
bijk.
Pak im-
prang.
Bak im-
byang.
To fly
...
...
...
Rai
Tar
Pfi
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
643
Rumai
(Manton
neighbour-
hood J.
Riang or
Yang Sek.
Riang or
Yang Wan
Kun.
M6n or
Talaing.
Palaung or
Rumai (of
Nam Hsan).
Men.
1 Ra-hl£
Tan-law ng
Tan-Iawng
...
Aw bvfe
P5r '
...
...
...
...
Ngwai-no
...
...
...
...
...
Nu-ye
...
...
...
...
...
Lek-kan&
...
...
HanrS jeng
Cheng
Nwur
Roi-che ngbo
Nwur
A-taik, kwaik
Jung
H 1 a w tan-
Datao.
Han dao
Ruk
Rawng
Hkrit, krape .
ding.
Ter
...
It
Hawm
Yet rung-
ngot.
Sworn
Yet-r u n g-
ngot.
Sworn
Toik, h 1 i n g,
tet.
Tsi, tsit
lyit
Horn
Hling.
Ka
Ti
Ti
Tak
...
...
Yo
Raing
on
Si
oil
Si
;;:
Y6-yu-wun
Aw-nya-un
Nyat.
Koi
Yam
Kade
Yam
Kade
Yam
Hkyet"
Maw
Yam
...
De
Rak
Rak
...
Ke ra ahi
...
Dawt
Kwall
Sam- pat
...
Taik-kwan
...
Jaw
Vek
K^er-kl6
Li-mok
Loi-kl&
Li-mok
...
Tor-taik
Om
>ii
J6k
Tiit
Chaw<1i
Tut-li
Chaw-li
Tiit-sang
Kaban, ka-
baung.
Yaw
Tut
Dasawt.
Nyawt
Teng
Teng
Thaung
Nwat
,..
Rak
I'rak, I'riaw
I'rak, iViaw
■ I.
Aw-ket
Sra Han.
TsSng
S'kur
Sang (Shan)
...
Aw-san
K'du.
Hao
Lan
Lan
A
...
A.
Ma '"
Ma-ge
Nak*"
Ta
Nak '"
Ta
:::
Hnaw
I-yit
■*.
••>
Mu
Mo
Klaung, klom
...
...
•••
■••
...
...
...
...
...
•It
...
...
...
•>•
644
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IX.
boa
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CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
645
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646
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. |
CHAP, i:
English.
Karen, ni.
YintalS.
Mano.
Sawngtung
Zayein
Karen.
Padeng
Z«-yein.
One
Ta
Ta
T.
A ma
A ma
Two ...
No
Ni
Kini
Ner
Ner
Three
S6 (low
tone).
Sun
Su
Tawn
Tawn
Four
Lwi
Lwi
Ti
Lwi
Lwi
Five
Nya
Ngai
It -
ou so
Ngfe
Ngfc
Six
Sdso
Sun so
Ser
Saw
Seven
So so Na ta
So so ta.
Sun so ta
Su so ta
Ngwi
Ng*
Eight
Nine
Lwi so
Lwi so
Tisfi
Tbu
Tbu
Lwi so Nit
Lwi 50 ta
Tisota
K'chi
K'chi
ta, Lwi so
ta.
Ten
So {high
tone).
Sfita
Sai
Shi
A ser
Aser
Eleven
Sai ta
Shita
Ser a ma
Ser ama
Twelve
S5 no
Sai ni
Shi kini
Ser net
Ser ner
Twenty
N5s6
Ni sai
Kini shi
Ner ser
Ner ser
Twenty-One
N6 so nata.
Ni sai ta
Kini shi da-
Ner ser daw-
Ner sor ma
no so ta.
ko ta.
maw.
Thirty
So (low), so
(high).
Sun sai
Sushi
Tawn ser
Tawn ser
One hundred
Taye
Tay3
Taya
Aya
Aya
One thousand
Tari
Tari
Tari
Areing
Areing
Ten thousand
Tasaw
Tasong
Tasaw
Athang
Athang
I
Wa, pe
Kwai
He
Nga swun
Nya
We
Pe ta klaw
Kwaitaklaw
Aw-ta po
Nga ter
Nya nun
Thou
Ne
Na
Na
Nga
Nft
You
Si
Ya, na
Se-ta po
NgAter
Napla
He
Ye
Na
N3
Pla
Nya pla
They
Ye si
Ya, na
Se-ta po
Pla-ter
Nya pla
Of me
Of you
Above
No sign of
sossessive.
Noku
Ddku
Doku
AI5r
Al6r
Below
Note
Dota
Dota
Ala
AIA
Far
A -ye
Aj-u
Jiya
Aya
Zao, za
Near
A-pu
Apun
Ba-d
Apwun
Pun
Alone
Ta ku td
Ta ku ke
Ta ku ta
Apla-u
Aku
Apla-u
Akyu
Inside
No daw
A-a
Do ku
Outside
•••
...
...
...
■«■
Before
Do n>4
Du nga
Do tako
A -nga
Minya
Behind
Do kye
Du kyin
Do kaw pe-
ta.
Wa ta wa
Kang sa
Kangsa
North
To
Tang
Lata
Lata
South
Lya
Lang
Law ta law
Lawi
Lawi
East
'lu
Mun tang
Taw ta law
Lakwun
Lakwun
West
N6
Mun tai
Tu mu law
[.apu
Lapu
Good
Arya
An
Awi
Apu
Hwa
Better
Arya klaw
Ari ti
Awi te
Apa-sut
Hwa fun
Best
Ar>'a aduta
Ari te en
Awi te ako
Pu ler pla
Hwa ler
Bad
Aha
Ahe
Aku
Kai
Ti
H CHAP. [X/
ETHNOLOGY.
^
^47 ^J
Banyang*
Zaycin.
Sinhmaw
Mfipauk
Karen.
Taunglhu.
Taungyo.
Danaw.
Kawn Sawng ^^^H
Karens of Loi V
A ma
Ta
Ta
Tit
Kut
^H
Nyin
Ni
Ni
Hnit
An
Ta-nger ^^^H
Tun
Than, thon
S6m
Th6n
wi
Ta-Iaw ^^^1
Lwi
Lwi
Lit, Iwe
Le
Pun
^H
Nye
Nge
Ngat, ngai
Nga
Thun
Ta ng'hai ^^^H
Saw
Sot
Hsu
Chauk
Tun
^^^H
N6
Nwi
Nat
Ka-ngai
Pet
Ta-ngwut ^^^|
Tsu
Tso
Swot
Shit
Sam
Ta*sao ^^^|
Chu
Kwi
Kiik
Ko
Sin
Ta«chi ^^^B
Aser
T'si
Tasi
Ta sha
Pak yin
Ta-9er 1
Ser dAwma
T'si t.i
Ta si ta
Ta sha lit
Pak yin kut
Aser apU H
Aser nyin
T'si ni
Ta si ni
T.i sha hnit
Pak y[n am
Aser rger H
Nyin scr
Ni !ii
Nisi
Nc sha
Amkyin
Nger ser H
Nyin aer
Ni si ta
Ni bl la
Ne sha tit
Amkyin kQt
Nger aer apLt H
daw ma.
^1
TiJn ser
Than si
S6m si
Thiin sha
Wi-kyin
Taw ser H
Aaa
Tara
Ta «ja
Taraw
6-pya
A-yi ^M
A Icing I Ta lawng
r.i-rein
Tatfe
E-tauiig
I^^^M
Alhane
Ta thaung
Ta m5n
,^
£-lhaung
A-bang ^^^H
Nya
Hi
Kwe
Nga
0
Ng&-vao ^^^H
Nya pla
Pn
Kwe
Nga-do
K
Ng6-sao ^^^1
Na
.Na
Na
Nang
Mer
N£ ^H
Napla
Na
Na
Nanif-do
Per
^H
Na
Na
W^
Thu
Pyi
Ngi ta p]h ^M
Napla
Awilc
We-thi
Ihu-do
Pyi-cn
Ngi scr n\t H
Dalo
Kaung-ku
Ki
A haw ma
Tautig-kwe
^^1
Kyalfl
K.-vung-la
Lap
Kk ma
Taung-ket
^H
Za
A yaw
A nya
Awi wr
Aka ngai
^H
Pung
Aper
Abaw
Ani
Aka m*
^^^M
Apla-u
Tapra-hao
"t'apra-clia
"layfe ladii
Aku( Ich]?
Nga-pU-u ^^^1
Akyu
Aku
Pl
Atama
Taung kiong
Aku ^^M
Ukyi"
Ari '"
Nga"
Ashe "
La-ngwun.
^H
Kya natv
Klin shu,
kunifstL.
Kya
Ani
Lawrig wut
Ngai-sfr ^^^H
M„ « -1 f Mvnwic
Tang
Nao
Der
Ka tan
Kanaw
^^H
^^^1
M 6 n g
Ashe
Kwun
Ashe
Tabu, laung
La-kwang ^^^H
hawng
sate.
^^^H
MOng tang-
Anawk
Tu
Ani
Taket, s e •
La-per ^^^|
le.
kawk.
^^^^1
Apii ' Tu
Hao
Akwun
KI6
Haw ^^M
Apu-du Kaung-tu
\'ijn-hao
Akwun
Klo-na
Haw si ■
Apu-zufi A-tu-klu
A-hao-aon
Akw'un-le
A-ktd-sdn
Haw Icr la* H
Hfe
Sao
Akai
So
S5
Kyi-ki 1
1
m
64$
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IX.
English.
Karen, ni.
Yintalfi.
Maii&.
Sawngtung
Zayetn
Karen.
Padeng
Za-yein.
Worse
Ah3 klaw
Ah^te
Aku te
Kaisut
Tfc zun
Worst
Aha aduta
Ahe te en
Aku-ku-ako
Kai ler pla
Tiler
High
Te
Tfl
Tu
Aler
Aler
Low
Ya
Yaw
...
A per
Aper
False
Amato
Mwe wa
Atoma to
A-leng
A-leng
True
A ma
Mwe
A to
Amao
Amao
Pretty
A to
AtsU
Awi
A sang, apu
Hwa
Ugly
A mo mya
Atsu wa
Awi lo
Ye laojziip-
pu.
Tika, kyi-
kya.
Thin
nU (high
tone).
Akrat
Akwe cho
pe.
A pang
A pang
Fat
Bii (I o w
tone).
A bon
Abiita
...
...
Thick
Bu (tow
tone).
Apli
A bdn
...
Dawn
Dawn
Clean
Atsu (te)
Awi (te)
Plang
Plang
Cheap
A-ngu pati
A pre pati
Ru pati
A-ngu pyi
A-ngu-pyi
Dear
A-ngu e
A pre du
Rudu
A-ngii du
A-ngu-du
Poor
Ru a-o toma
A-o wa
Ache-i
Sa-nge
Pan (Shan)
Rich
RU a-o ma
Tai tama
Ian.
Ale kano
K y a m-s a
(Burmese)
Awdai
Old
Mu pre
Du pra
Amu
Pla
Pla
Young
Atse
Mitsa
Aprichae
Bang
Bang
Tall
Du
Atu
Du
Taw
Tu
Uttle
Pati
A pati
Pati
Per
Per
Small
Pu
A pati
Pali
Pyi
Pyi
Big
[)u
Atu
Du
Du
Du
Tight
Tatse
Ata chu
Alsa
Ting
Teiig
Wide
Lya
A-lwai
Lya
Lai
U
Close
Pwi
Ata chu
Pwi
Kya
Yen
Painful
Se
Asa
Sa
Sa
Sa
Pleasant
Mo
Ari
Awi
Tan^, nger, ' Nger, tang
tall
Red
Ti
Ali
All
Ali
Ali
Yellow
Bya
A ban
Abaw
A bang
Abang
Green
Kawbfe
Ata-nga
Asfita
A iwawn
Atwawn
Hlue
Su
Ata pa
Asa pa
Aklu
Atiln
Black
Pa-a
A-sii
Alu
A lom
A lom
White
Bu
A-bu
A-biJ
A-pawng
A pawng
Hand
Kada
Tsawti ko
Kawdi ko
Su
Taw
Foot
Kadu kada
Kan sa
Kaw pe
Kang-ku
Kang ku
Nose
Ku p6
Nan kai
Non ki
Na kawnjT
(Burmese)
Na kyawng
Eye
Mese
Mai ma
Mu sa
Mye
Mye
Mouth
K;i-Q
Kako
Kil pe
Prawng
l*rawng
Tooth
Ku ko
Ta kai
Ktl ki
Mye
Mye
Ear
Kale
Nan kaw
Maw ku
Nala
Nala
Hair
KuUi
Ku Ian
Kuiu
Ku swun
Kyu to
Head
Kuklaw
Kuka
Iku
Ku dang
Ku dane
Tongue
Pli
Pli
Pti
Pli
Pli .
Belly
Haw
Ho
Pu
Per
Eng
Arm
Sakya
Ftetig
Chukaw
Tser bawng
To
f
CHAP, rx.'
■
ETHNOLOGY.
^
649 ^
I
Banyan fi
Zayein.
Sinhmaw
Mtpauk
Taungthu.
Taungyo.
Danaw.
Kawn Sawng ^^^|
Karens of Loi ^^^|
B
Karen.
Long. ^^M
Ah^du
Kaung-san
Yun-kai
So
So na
Kyi-ki si 1
^1
Ahizun
A-sao-klu
Akai son
So-[c
A-sd-sSn
Kyi-ki ler to- M
^H
Aler
A 1u
A to
Amrang
Kang
Law ^^^H
^^B
A per
Lflne-plQ
Apo
Ancin
Dh
^^^1
^^B
Nalaw
Ro
Lyen
I^n
Leng
Lai ^H
^^1
Zun
Ot
Man
Man
KwatKii
Mo ^^M
^^1
Pu
Raw
Ta-re
Hta
Ngu, ngo-na
^^^H
^1
Kyi-kya
Diraw
Atakai, ar&k
takai.
Pu
A-rOk-so
ArAp-fio
^^M
I
A pang
Ber
Aba
Tuin*tang
Baw ^^1
■
D6ng
D5rg
DAn
Atu
Cm
^^^
Piang
Blu
Su
1J>* _.
Ngen, ka-ngo
^^M
^^P
A-nyo vi
A-n g a w
shan.
A-ngo pye
Apo nge
Ngwat-pfe
A-ngu-tsai ^^H
^H
A-nyo-8u
A-ngaw du
A-ngo htan
Apo kwi
Ngwai-kong
A-ngu du ^^^1
^^B
Pan
Singre man
Sangri
Sa ra
Sang rai
Chaw, tsaw ^^^|
H
Aw su
Kyam-t h a,
aw-a.
Kyom tha
Chaung sa
Kyam-tha
Saw-ii ^^^H
^^1
Pla
Pra
Pra
O
Tao
^H
^H
Bang
Pali
Bang
Pvo
Myaung
P]6k
Bang ^^^H
^^1
Tu
Tu
T6
Kang
law ^^^H
^^^H
Per
Dalo
P6
Bu
Pu
per ^^^H
Pyi
Shan
A pyi
Anga
Pi
^H
^^B
Du
Du
Alan
Akwl
Kong
^H
^^B
Tcng
Kaser
Kyap
Ali
Akyi
Akia
Tit
^^1
^^B
U
U
Yo, chawng
^H
^^H
Aden
Kla
A baw
Kaung
m
Yi • ^H
^^1
Sa
Sa
Sa
Naw
Su
^H
■
Awi
Bwan, tu-
man.
Sim, awi
Sa, sin. kru
Siin, tu
Si-yi, V a 0, ^^M
hawhaw. ,H
^^B
AH
All
A la nya
A-ni
A -son
^^1
^^B
A bang
A bang
A la thi
A-waw
A-rwi
A-sao ^^^1
^^B
Alung
Asya
A-sein
A-scin
A-lat
^^H
^^1
Aba
All
Akio
A>pia
A thSm
A-sawm ^^^|
^H
A long
Alo
A-prfing
A-bwa
A-nak
A-mak
A-Uo ^^1
^^M
A pawng
Apu
A-pru
Lak
A-ko
A -per ^^^1
^^B
Taw
Tso-dc
Su
Ti
Ser ^H
^H
Kyang
Kang-de
Rang
Akyc
Tsung
^H
^H
Na kyawng
Dong-pu
Ncpo
Kwun ye
Kadut
^^M
^1
Mye
Mye
Myet-prAn
Myak-sai
Tawng-nai
Ma hao ^^^|
^H
Ngyaw
Ka
Prawng
Pasaw
Ka-nwc
Ngaw ^^^1
^^^
iMe
Thu
Ta-nga
Saw
Peng
^H
^^H
Na
Hang-ka
Na-la
Naw
Tun
Nahi ^^H
H
Ch'law
Kii1u
Ta-lu
San bang
Ngywok ka-
tang.
Kulur ^^1
^^H
Chu
Ku kao
Ka-tu
A-ker
Katane
^H
^^1
Pli
Pli
Pri
Sha
Hk
^H
^^1
Awng
Pu
Ho
K.ri pau
Pii
^H
H
Taw
Ta putha
Su-Iawng
Lak nger
Pli-tu
Su-per ^^H
1
^H
650
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
English.
Karen, ni.
Yintal&.
Man5.
Sawngtung
Zayein
Karen.
Padeng
Zayein.
Leg
Kadu
Kanta'v
Kola paw
Kang per
Kyang paw
Skin
Pa
Py6
Ob6
A-pyi
A-pyi
Bone
Krwi
Akrw6
Akwi
A-thwi
A-thwi
Blood
Fwi
Swi
Asi
A-swi
A-swi
Stone
Law
Lon
Lu
Lorn tu
Lom tu
Iron
Tawte
Tonta ■
Tu taw
Ta
Pathi, ta
Gold
Te
Ta
Ta
Kam
Kyam
Silver
Ru
Tamun
Ru
Kwawn
Kwawn
Copper
Talili
Lon ban
Talili
Serii
Han tser
Lead
Tsa
Tsin
Paw su
Tswan
Triing
Tin
Pre
Pra
Paw
Tapawng
Tapu
Brass
Talibya
...
Ta sa
Tser bang
Sulphur
...
Kan
Kan
Earth
He
Hanko
Hako
Han
Han
Salt
Ise
Isa
Isa
Tita
Tita
Sugar
Ise su
Isa sun
Isa shu
Thag y a
(Burmese)
...
Father
Pe
Pa
Pa
A pa
A pa
Mother
M5
Mun
M5
Amu
Amu
B^'her f='„t;,er
Vya
P6
Ve
Paw
We
Pu
|v.
Ve
f Elder...
Vya pre
Ve mon
Meam9 Mu
)
Sister ]
maw.
> Vemer
Vemer
( Younger
P6 pre maw
Paw mon
Pu am& Mu
3
Man
Preku
KQ
Amiku
Plaku
Pa-kyo
Woman
Pre maw
Mon
AmamQ
Plamya
Manr.aw
Wife
Me
MS
Ma
Ama
Ama
Husband ...
Vc
Va
Waw
Awa
Awa
Child
PS (high)
Pu
Pu
Plapyi
Plapyi
Son
Pu pre ku
Pu ku
Pu amakii
Pu
Pu
Daughter
Pu premaw
Pu mon
Pu ama mu
Pumye
Maw
Father-in-law
Pre
Pra
Pa pwa
A per
A paw
Mother-in-law
Pre
Pra mon
M5 pwa
Api-fe
Plawngpla
Uncle
Pedu
Mai
Padu
Padu
A pre
Aunt
Mo du
Men
MOdu
Merdu
A pro
Nephew
Puis
Pu pu
Pu du
Yeku
Yeyu
Niece
Pu 15 (pre
maw).
Pudai
Pudu amtl-
mii.
Ye mer
Ye mer
Cultivator (upland)
^
Maw t h u
tha.
Maw lai tha
Maw t h u
tha.
Maw lai tha
Cultivator (lowland
I rend ere
d by a paraph
rase.
Cowherd
I
0 thur tha.
0 thur tha
Hunter
J
Molsu
Motsu
Devil } (=P«") ■■
L6, ne
Law nan
-r- -
1 u, na
(
Pra
Ur
Pra
Ler
Sun
Maw (low
tone), t a -
Tamun
Tumu
Mung
MQng
maw
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
6ki
Banyang
Zaye:n.
Sinhmaw
M^pauk
Karen.
Taunglhu.
Taungyo.
i
Danaw.
Kawn Sawng
Karens of Loi
Long.
Kyang paw
Kang putha
Kang-lawng
Kvi bang
Pli-sung
Kaw-prer
Sti
A-pai
A-pyi, a-pro
Are
Ka-dut
A-pyi
A-swi
A-swi
A-sut
Aru
Ka-nang
A-swi
Twi
Thwi
A -thwi
Swi
Ngam
Swi
Lorn tu
Lo
I^m
Krfe
Tamu
Lahao
Ta
Data
Pa-ihi
Sang
Thi
Tfe
Ta
Ta
Kam
Shwe
Hen, han
Kaw
Kun
Rwan
Run
Ngwe
Run
Kwa
C h a u n g
Tawng ti
Taw n g
Kye-ni
Plang-som
Tser
thili.
tanya.
Sude
1 hwi lo
Sun
Ka
Ka sak
Tsa
Pla
Pra
Sun-bwa
Ka-byu
Kasak-to
Tft-per
Chaung thft
Tawng-ban
Tawng-tathi
Kye
Piang
Tsfe-sao
Kan
Kan
Kan
Kan
Kan
Kaw
Chang-chu
Hawm-pong
Ham
Mye
Nyawn
Haw
Tita
Let-tha
Ta-lha
Saw
Sa
Ti-tfe
...
...
Thi-kya
A- kya
...
A pa
Apa
Apa
Apa
Ba
Ap^
Amu
Ma-a
Amu
A mwe
Md
Ma-her
Ve
Awi
Ave
Apu
Ikkur
Nyi
Maw
Twe
A-fao
Vitnaw
Ngaw-pi- ;
Ve-mu
Lamaw
Kanan
•
Fao-maw
mu.
Pu-pu
L6-fc6
Kantu
Pachu
Plaku
Ye-yaw
Prawk
Plaku
Paw maw
Plamdn
LOmu
Men-maw
Ta-mva
P lamaw
A ma
Ma
Ma
Nyaw
Pro
Myft
Awa
Wh
Wa
Lang
I'a-man
Av6
PuU
Po sa
L5-pyi
Lu-pfe
Lu-pe
Pu-tfe
Pu
Pao-ku
P6
Saw
Kun
Pu
Pumaw
Pao-mon
Po-mu
Thami
Kun-nya
Pu-maw
No word
Thin-iha
Pu
Kauk-kama
Ta
A.(er
Do.
Thin-tha
Pyi
Kauk-kama
Ya
A-ser
Do.
Padu
Ba-n a n g ,
Ba-k w 1, ba-
Ku, s a r a w
Pfe-du
ba-tan.
nga, mwi.
kCng.
Do.
Dumu
Mu-t a n g ,
mu-nang.
Aywi, mwi-pe
Mi-be, sa-de
.Maher-du
Do.
P a o - d u
plaku.
P6
Sa-daw
Tu
Nga-ther
Da
Pao-du pla-
nr.On.
P5-mu
Thami-daw
Tu-ma, k u n-
danang.
Nga-ther-maw
Tting-W
Rang k 1 d n
Lai- lop- tha
...
Yawk-Iai
Maw-bao
na.
...
La lok thama
ApSr pu
A k y a u ng
tha.
Po-pana ti-
tha.
No-klor thama
Tin-wat
O-the^"
Motso
Moiso
Mots5
Miso
Motso
Motsao
No word
Paya
Para pwe
Para
Para
Par^
Law
Ta-tong
Ngaraikun-
tan, ta-nam
Nai
Ka-ngam
La-fer
Mung
Mu, sa
Mu
Ne
Si
Mahao
^^^^o^^^^ THE UPPER BURMA
GAZETTEER. [
CHAP. IX. ^^
^^^^B English.
Karen, ni.
YinlalJ.
Ma no.
Sawngtung
Zayein
Karen.
Padeng Za- B
yein. ^^^H
^H Moon
Te
Tata
Ta
La
^^1
^H Star
Se
La si
ShJl
Sa
^H
^H Fire
Mi
Mi
Mi
.Mi
^H
^H Water
T5
Tai
Chikutso
Ser
Ser ^H
^M Horse
Tasi
Tssi
Tisi
Ti
^H
^H Butlock
Pu
PQ
Pu
Pu
^H
^^B Cow ...
Pu (low) mfi
Pomon
Pum&
Pu mu
Pu ma ^^^1
^M Bull
Pfl (low) pe
Pii pa
PQ pi
Pu pa
Pu pa ^^H
^H Doe
Twi
Twe
Chi
Tswi
^^^B
H
To
Chi Nyawn
Meka-aw
Myc
Mye ^^B
^^1 Fowl
Shi
Shu
Shi
Sa
^^B
^1 Hen
Sh£ mo
Shii mon
Shi amd
Sa mu
Sa mu ^^^1
^H Cock
She pe
Shij pa
Shi apa
Sa pa
Sa pa ^^B
^H Duck
Tasa
Ama
Tnsaw
Tukum pai
Tukum pai B
^M Bird
TD
To
Taw
Tu
^H
^H Mule
MyA aw lya
Manawla
Mann law
Law la
Uiw la ^^^1
^H Elephant
Tasha
Tasan
Kawshaw
Sang
Sang ^^B
^H Buffak)
Pare
Pa nil
PanA
Pana
^^B
^H
T*
Tapu
Tapo
Tu
^^B
^H Deer
Kraw, takii
Chu, Kakai
K2uki
Yu, Ker
^H
^H Goat
Pe
Pe
Pe
Va
^^1
^^B Sheep •••
...
. . .
,,,
^^^1
^M Flea
Takla
Si
Sckwe
Ker
Ker ^^B
^B Milk
N3 lo
Non
NushI
Ngyfe ser
Mycnser ^^^B
^^1 Bamboo
Ve
\Va
Wo
\Vr
^^1
^H Turban
Kuto
Pupun
Kulclo
Kuto
Ku-kyi-n
Ku-sen ^^^B
^B Hat
Kamaw
Kuku
Kuko
^^^1
^B Coat
Tsa
Chen
Chepu
Kannscng
Hwunting ^^^|
^^K Trousers
115
Kon
Hijnw
Kwun
Kyun ^^B
^H Petticoat
Ho Premaw
Hai
Mamw.i Ill-
Ngy^, nga
Ngyft, nga ^^B
^B Shoes
Kapa
Kan kwa
jaw.
Kawpc
Kan pa
Kyanpa ^^^B
Na-k eng ^^B
^^V Ear-rings
Kalsya, Ka-
MankSng
Naw&e
Na-kyfn
shya.
^^^^1
^H Rice (unhusked) ...
B6
Bo
Bu
Ffe
Faw ^^B
^B Rice (husked) ...
^H Rice (cooked)
HiJ
H.10
Hu
■••
^^^1
Di
Amin
DI
Nyen
^H
^H^ opium
Tarii Law
Pi
...
Pyen
^^^H
^^L Grass
Me
Mi
Mi
Ktr
Tata ^^B
^H Tree
Sawmaw
Sen
So
Ton mil
Ton mil ^^^B
^B L^af
Te
Ata
Ta
A-la
^^B
^fl Wood
Saw
Senya
Kaw
Ala, T a-
ngun.
Ata, T a- B
ngdn. B
^B Cold
Ro, TatscJ
Atsai
Kaku
Pyfng
Pying B
^B Warm
Ka
AkQ
...
A-la, A-ku
A-Ia, A-kyu ^^B
^B Ice
.*■
■ •a
Byi-iu
^^H
^^M Snow
.*•
«•*
<••
^^^B
^H Rain
Ketsi
KantsQ
Kachu
K.in
Kan ^^1
^B Wind
La
Kant.tl.1t
La«tni
Ta
Kan ^^M
^^M Thunder
Mnnkraw
KantnCii
Taklu
Kankrdn
KankrOn ^|
^^M Lightning
Sike
Chuvan
Siiilibu
Tsalang
T^lang ^^^M
^M
Maw (high)
Kane h on
...
Mu
^^B
p
CHAP. IX."
feTHNOLOGV.
^
^^^^53 ^M
■
Banyatig
Zayein.
Sinhmaw
Kawn sanng ^^^H
Karens Ixii ^^^H
L4Rg. ^^H
1
M^pnuk
Karen.
Taiinglhu.
T.-iungyo.
D.inaw.
U
La
U
Sbw
Kalo
^H
Sa
Sa
Sa
a?'
Kalam
^H
^H
Mi
Mi
M^
Mi
^H
^H
Ser
ri
Ti
Ye
Cm
Thcr ^H
^H
Ti
Thai
The
The
^H
^H
Pu
Pu
Po
No
Pa wak
Fer ^^H
^H
Pu mu
Pu-mit
Po-ma
No-mnw
P.I wak mei
Fcr-ma Iter ^^^H
^v
Pu pa
Pu-pa
Po-ii, Po-tii
No-di
Pa wak ink
Fer.p^ ^^^H
I
Twj
fwi
Twi
Kw)
So
^^^1
Mye
Mi-kaw
Nyao
Ky&
Mi-mam
Mao ^^^1
Sa
Su
Sya
Kyak
Pay in
^^M
■
Sa mu
Sii-mu
Sya-mu
Kyak-maw
Payinmai
S6 maher ^^^|
^K
Sa pa
Scj pa
Sya-ti
Kynk-pa
Wonba
Pay in tijk
Sipk ^^M
^1
(No word)
Won-be
Karnpai
Tawng-bai
Kampai ^^^|
^1
Tu
Tu
Wa
Ngat
Sim
^H
^H
...
La
haw
U
^H
^B
Sanji
Rasang
Sang
Sang
Sang
Saw ^^^H
^H
Pan.i
Hina
P.^n.-i
KywA
Man.a
P6 nk hh ^^M
^H
Tu
fa
Ta
Ngaw
Sai, Kre
Pyan
M^oi, Kalim,
^^M
^B
Su, Scr
Chao, Kyi-
Kro,Chi
Su, Hwan-nn ^^^H
^K
kao.
Yit.
^^^H
^H
Za
Pi
ByS
Tho
Se
Pu pb
^H
^H
,,,
So
...
^^^1
^H
Ker '
Klai
Takri, Tham
Kwi-ie
Tawk-tip
Nyen, Bu
Ser ^H
^B
Naw
No
Nycn
Wa
Ngai
My6 ^^M
^H
Va
Kwa
Maw
Kara
V& ^H
^H
Chu-kj-i
Kukaw
Tu bauk
Kwun bung
Rii-lang
^^^1
^H
Chu-tijng
Kiililaw
Kflij bring
Kaw-ot
Katu
Kumwa ^^^H
^H
Lawngthen
Kundu
Seng
Ang-(cwi
Sjik
Kawtni ^^^|
^B
Kyong
Kiinbi
Kwun
Pung-ni
Kun
Baw ^^1
H
Nye
Hi
Ban nt, Seng
ian-pi
K.ithi
Nger ^M
H
Kyannachaw
Penul
Kangpa
Pen.ip
Penap
Kawkao ^^^H
H
Nadawng,..
Nakuthi,
Nakullian.
P.iila, Na*
kydn.
N.id^ Nasal ng
Tunrun, Pyc
^^1
H
Faw
...
Gycn
Tamarg
Ko
Thcr ^H
^^
Zin
• ■•
Hii
Saw
Byu
^H
^H
P*n
Il*n ""
Ryin
Ben
Pying
^H
^^B
Nanjjkawnc
Ru
Mi
Myak
Sekka
Bo
Tata ^^M
^H
lung
f humu
Thin-mii
The, Sok-the
Tao ^^^H
^H
A-la
Ala
A 1.1
Awn
La
Asao ^^^1
H
Tu-tung
Thupu
Thinya
Sck-kyaw
Thuk-thi.
Nyun-thc.
Ngadu ^^^H
^H
Pen
Sao
Ta-kwa
Kran
I
Pye ^^1
a1& ^H
^1
La
La, Ku
Ta-lom, Ta-
Nwi
Lut
H
Palan-ser
Songti
lya.
VVa-kron
Ornium
Balu ser ^^^|
^H
...
...
■••
<••
Kiing (frost)
^^^1
^H
Kyan
Mao
Kam
Mo
Kale
^^1
^H
Kyan
Dati
T.i-li
Ne
Kun
Kaw<;cr ^^^H
^H
Salangza
Klfln-mu-ya
Kam-krun
Moon
Lekrung
Krosi ^^1
H
Salang-lang
K I 0 n mu-
langsi.
Pyao^
Pyak-si
Tangmang
^H
1
Mu
Mao^ku
Mo
Mo
Kali
^H
1
1
■
^54
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IX,
Sawngtung
Padeng
Zayein.
English.
1
Karen, ni.
Yintalfe.
Manft.
Zayein
Karen.
Cloud
Awlo
Awlu
Puulu
Kan awn
Kan awn
Day
N6
Mun sekta
Lumij sha
Hwun nyer
Mung nger
Night
Se, He
Munpa
Lumu chi
Na
Na
Light
Ti
Ti
Sha
Ti
Ti
Dark
Chi
Chi
Chi
Mu, K e r,
Sading.
Mu, Ker.
Sading.
River
Lya
Law
Lo
Ser kawng
Ser kawng
HiII
So
Son
Sho
K a u n g
K y a u n g
shawng.
.
sawng.
Valley
Lya
Law
Lo
Takawng
Scrkeng
Insect
Shi
Vetakwfe
Shi
I-sa
Tiker
Heart
Saplaw
Nontu
Saptu
Ta
Ta
Chief
Kwi
Kwi
Kwi
Kwun
K\un
Pla-lu
Freeman
Tsiito
Pla-lu
Slave
Tsu
Kron
Aswun
Aswun
Witness
Sase (Bur-
mese).
Aro leklo
Sakse, Man-
tsi.
Mantsi
Law
Kyibo
,,,
Punishment
Me lya e
Law an
■ ••
...
Crime
Me adamS
■>•
..•
•••
Spirit (soul)
Vayo
Kon
Vi n n y a n,
Tahang.
...
Dream
Omo mya
Meman
Ner mang
Net mang
Vision
Onan taku
Onan taku
Sacrifice
Bo
Maki, Rechi
Boil6
...
Penance
Pta
...
Kindness
Say aw
Saiyun
Tanyang
Kyu-aw
Time
Morning
Mu-ko
Mung-kyo
Evening
Mii-n e n g,
Mijng-neng,
Mu-ha
Mung-ha.
Midday
Mu-lu
Mung-tu
Round
Bo
Atarii
Ama, Awung
Awung
Flat
Be
Atabyu
Apya
Akudai
Tongsa
Hollow
Akumo
A-ii
Apudai
Strong
A so
Atso
A-du
A^u
Weak
Asoto
Atsowa
A-pyi
A-pyi
Spear
Tabya
Taban
Sabaw
Bang
Da-theng
Bang
Sword
Ne
Tana
Nawshe
Han-then g
Bow
Pya tsaw
Ktai
Kli
Se, So
So
Hatchet
Hedi, ko
Tadu, kwa
Oawdu, ko-
tapla.
Ta-kwa
Ta-pa
Needle
Te
Ta
Tawne
Thakyfe
Sato
Pot
Tomaw
Pun
Kapu
Pong, Prong
Prong
Boat
Sawklu
Klai
Sikli
Ther
Ther
Cord
Supio
Sanplai
Si'i pt i
Taprivi
Huiiprivi
Village
Daw
Dong
Du
Dong
Dong
House
Hi
Shin
Hi
Ywan
Vwan
Roof
Tahi
Maw
Kehiko
Oda
Oda
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
6SS
Banyang
Zayein.
Sinhmaw
Mepauk
Karen.
Taungthu.
Taungyo.
Danaw.
Kawn Sawng
Karens of Loi
Long.
Kyan uni
Mao-i
Mo-Ii
Tan
Ot
Kaw-3
6 mye
Musa
Mu-ya
Ne
Si
Hwun nger-&
Mung ha
Muha
Mu.ha
Nyaw
Kako
Mahfe
PJSng
Ka
Mii-le
l.ang
I-ang
Li
Cm
Ke-lhu
Ma-chi
Mawng
Ri, Wet
Sadai
Ser kawng
Ti-rawng
Ti-krawng,
Yeml^, Myaik
Parong, Om-
La-hao-kwe
Kyu
Kawng
Ti-myit.
Kawng,
sawng.
Ten
laung.
So b«^
Ke
.Slilata
Kfln-to
Krawng
Ml^
Myaung
Praing
L^mu
Thepu
The
Po-myaung
Pli
Tamahu
Ta
Tha
L ot h a-
prawng.
Hni-lon
Nywat
T6
So
Mang
Kiin, Mang
Mang
Mang
Kwa
Pra-ri
•••
_
Plalu
Sum
Swan
Swun
Klwai*"
Su
Swun
Yese
'
So-sao
Tart
'■•
As ir
Burmese
Dao
Ta-amu
Serhaw
Myetnang
Mi-man
Bing-mang
Ein-mak
Ting-po
Nger mahaw
Nyalawng
Mitta kyeza
Mit-ta
Meit-law
...
Ngfe mahaw
inaing.
Mung-kaw
Han-rao
Panak
Ngwun-ka
Mung-ko
Mung-tipu-
,,,
M u-1 w&.
Mun-lwa, Nya-
Si-m 6 n - 1 w 6 ,
M tin g-nfe.
ya.
Mu-ha-ko
kang.
Lang-ko-ko.
Mung-hfe.
Mung-tu
Mu-ti
Mun-t&
Si-m6n-t6
Mting-tii
Awung
Ta-kiii'
Atawng-ldm,
Atawun.
A-lQn
A16n, Awun
Awa
Paungpa
Akyul^
A-bi
A-twa
A-pla
A-pIak
Pyi-gy6
A-klu-klo
Aia-o
Kaung-paw
Katang pwa
Aklu
A-pu
A-du
A-tan
A-kwi
Ring-bdk
£du
Azaw-^a
A-shaw
A-pyi
A-P&
Ring-p4
C-tsai-u
Bang
Dasaing
Law-kll, S6
Ban
Bang
HIan
Plit
Baw
Lung-ddng
Na
Ta
Wik
Kawsfe
Kli
Kri
HIedu, Ife-tfe
L&du, Lawk-
Ther
te, Ak.
Ta-bu
Dao-pa
Kwa
Pfe-sein
Kan£
Kape
Sataw
Longpo
Ta
Ap
Takap
Ther
Pung
Per
Pung
0
Omlo
Pa
HG
Kli
Pri
Hie
Tawng-Iwl
Ther
Namprwi
Liing-pli
Ta-prwi
Kyo
Wa
Kanet
Naw-kwi
DSng
Do
Don
Tabo
D5n
Zung
Thing
Lam
Ein
Nya
Yau
Ashu
Thing-
kawng
Atha
Mo
Plang
Odfe
6s6
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IX.
English.
Karen, ni.
Yintalft.
Man5.
Sawngtung
Zayein
Karen.
Padeng
Zayein«
Chair
Table
Katya
.••
...
■ •a
■ «•
Box
Tuta (Bur-
mese).
Teta
Tuia
...
...
Basket
Dya, kri
La-Q, Kraw
Law-wo, Ki-
Chang, Tan-
Chang, Tar
pa.
ku.
ku.
Bag
Pye
Pawkai
Puki
Tsa
Tsa
Fishing-net
Tavi
Tave
Chi
Kre^ Sam
Kre, Sam
Snare
Picture
Dango
Pre-yo
San
Praiyan
Pu-ii
Kyibawng
Marapang
Kyibawng
Marapang
Image
Pfldikri
■ ..
...
...
...
To carve
Tepo
...
...
Aprawk
Tawk
Song
Iro
Antarong
Dawng per
Dawng per
Dance
lie
Antacheng
...
Tsu
Ka
Pipe
...
...
...
I..
..«
Medicine
Teku
Sai
Tako
Tiinkawi
Tiinkawi
Poison
,.,
...
...
Ker
Ker
Toy
Law aw
Ap ton
...
■ «•
...
Game
Law aw
Ap ton
...
Awn
...
Riddle
•.•
»•
...
—
.»
Today
...
...
■..
•*•
...
Tomorrow ...
.•>
••>
...
• •a
,,.
Yesterday
...
...
...
• •1
..•
To stand
Itaw
I tiin
ItQ
Tong
Tong
To walk
Su (high),
Kad6.
Ha
Chu
Tawng
Tawng
To run ...
Sii (high)
te
0 mti
Ha tata
Chii mita
Vyi
Vyi
To sleep
Men
Mu
Ner
Ner
To eat
E
Ang
A
Am
Am
To strike
...
...
■ •■
Twawt, Si
Twawt, Si
To see
Mya to
Maw
Kechi
Ser
Ser
To make
Me
Ma
Mamo
Maw
Maw
To sit
0 nya
Nang
Du
Nang
Nang
To die
Sii (low)
Sai
SI
Ser
Ser
To call
n
A
Ka-a
Hawng
Hawng
To throw
Vi cha
Tu
Wi
Vying
Byi
To drop
La ta
La tai
Alawti
Va-pyi
Lang-ti
To place
Be
Na-aw
Be
Likye, pyi-
dang.
Tap*
To lift
Tsaw
Tang
Pe
Yo
Yo
To pull
Tswi
Tsvih
Chi
Ter
Ter
To smoke
O
Aw
0
Mi-Ie-hang
Mi-lo
To love
Sayii
Sayii
Sawyu
Rak
Ta-mying
To hate
Sayii to
Sayu vra
Saw yu to
Lwa ser
Sa-ne
To go
Su
Ha
Chu
Lh
Le
To get up
...
• ••
,,,
■ •■
To Beat
Mo
Mo
Pu
Wan
Wan
To lie down
0 mii
Mawn
Mu
Dawng
Dawng
To come
Su (high)
Ha
Chii
To ride
ill
...
...
...
^^^^^^^F^Ft»Z
•
P^
1
■■
CHAP. IX.
ETHNOLOGY.
^^^s^^H
Baryafg
Zayein.
Sinhmaw
Mftpauk
Karen.
Taungthu.
Taungyo.
Danaw.
Kawn Sawng ^^^|
Karens of Lor ^^^|
Kala-Tang
Turn sang thut
^1
...
.•■
Katang
...
...
**■ ^^^^^^1
1
...
T6k
Ml«
...
^H
Va
Chang, Po
M yet an ^,
CKang, Paw
T^hang
So
Pu-daw ^^H
Tm
Bya
Tawngpil
Bit
T a w n g-per,
Ta-kyi,
Ngi-s6 ^H
Che
Thwi
Klai, Put
KwBinff.Thang
...
Kao, Saw ^^^|
Chung
Kwa
Chi
Kadaik
Odao ^^M
,,,
Ka
Ka
Ka
Ka-ngaw
Takurser ^^^|
^^^V
,,,
>■•
Arfip
,..
...
^^^1
f •■
TaVii
Tawng arOp
Tn
.a.
At^ ^H
Ker
Ung-kawng
Te-chang
Maw-mli
...
Dopcr ^^1
^B
Ka
Ka
Suta
Ka
Thai
Kft
^^M
Zalul'a
Tahi ta-kra
Tathi Umii
Sc'wa
Nam ngan
K'"
Tu
A Mrtg
Asii
A-seit
Ka-s5
Na nywa
Klang'
...
**'
PlWai'"
*"*
...
Kata
I
On tijng
Suta
..I
...
Tone"
SSng-tii
Ta
0
Ta-Tao
Su
Tu
Tawng
Shft
Tsup
Sula kler
Yyi
Swa
Law
Pte
Lwe
ua
Ome
Mi
Biiig
It
Tin
A-nger
An
An
Am
Cha
Swi
O
l-M
&
TCp. Si
Tu
To
^^M
Ong
Lij
Ti Myaw
Yin
A-ser ^^H
M.1
Ma, L6p
Tot
Yawk
Mao ^«
Nang
Sanang
Lang
Tan
Thert
A-ngaw ' H
Scr
Thi
Thi
Se
Pyin
liek
Ser ■
Hawng
Ka^
Hfe
Kaw
Hi ^M
Byi-ye
Be-lauriig-lJ
K8-]«ng
Nai
Kai ta
Hih. Rai
Pa-vai ^^1
Kya-lang
Ri-Iang, Te-
Akiaw saw
Yok-lu
Va-pyi ^^H
lyen.
^^^H
lie
Kwc
Awn-lwe
Ta
But
Ta-vao ^^1
Z.iw, Tawpyi
Ser^u
Ma
Maw
Ma, Pang
Va*kao * ^^H
IwS
Swi
Tii, Ngang
Swi
Sen, Tiit
Taw ^^^1
Mi-shaw
Kii, aw
Mi-ko, SSn
Mi-ko, SBk
Ct, Ngwin
Mi-ku, Ao ^^^1
Ta-ba
A wan, Sao-
man.
Rak, KyOk
Kyawk
Ko
YumaliS^ ^H
Pla-ta
Sao'pla
Lwa-ti
Mu
I
Lwa-ser ^^^|
U
U
Lwe
Saw
Ku, Kya
^H
Wan'"
Twan
Nak,"Twi
Rai raw
Tiing
^H
0-myin
Ka :
Ao - blng, Li
Lawng.
Liin
A-der ^^M
...
Thi
Lwtin Law
Dfe, Daw
^H
^
_
_^ ^
_
1
^58
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
English.
Karen, ni.
Yintal^.
Man6.
Sawngtung
Zayein
Karen.
Padeng
Za-ydn.
The men are com-
Ye si sii
Naha
Shi c h ii
Plakuko lu
P 1 a k u h^
ing.
dup^.
lai.
daw haw.
The women are go-
Ye si sii
Nahii
Shi ch ii
Plamer ko
Mamaw hh
ing.
dup^.
IMai.
swa haw.
He has gone
Ye sii haw
Na ha tsen
aw.
Chii t6 h5
Nga \h lu tti
Nga swa \h
lu.
She will come ...
Ye sii dii pa
Na ha t^ ka
aw.
Chii ta dup^
Nga la lai
Nga baw
daw haw.
They should have
Ye si arya
Ma ha ari
Shi chii awe
Nga \h sang
Nga daw
come.
sii ta.
luda.
sang daw
da.
Go
Sii maw
Ah2
Chul6
...
I^ them go
Ye si sii cha
maw.
Ha na
Shi c h ii
mam 5.
Nga 1^ tii
Nga Ih tii
A good woman ...
Premaw arya
Amon ta do
Ama mu ta
Plamer pu
Mamaw hwa
ta pre.
a-tsu.
pre awi 15
A bad man
Pre ku aha
Pyan ta do
Kay6 ta pre
Plaku kai
Plaku kyi
ta pre.
ahe.
akii 15.
ku.
Mischievous ani-
Te mi aha
Tami ahh
Pu aku
•■•
p..
mals.
Ten head of cattle
Pu pane ta
Pu ta sai
Pushi
Pu adur s5r
Pu adur 95
What do you call
so.
0 ta ko ma
En5 mi ra
Tan5 takQ
£ plahawng
£ plahawng
this?
ne he di t£.
dita.
ma na he
hit^.
tar a.
tara.
What is your name F
Ne mi ne he
Na mi na
Nam! me na
Na myin ta
Nga myin
dite.
mi di ta.
ka naw hi
O tasi ta du
ma.
ta ma.
How old is this
Tasi bo-o
Tasi end na-
Nga ti la
Nga ti kyai
horse P
ma ani na
awbd neng
ani obi ni
tur (ning)
haw s5 ta
na ba t^.
tL
so ta ma.
ma.
I do not know
Wa seni to
Kwai si ta
He sikana to
N^adi (si)
ti kao.
Nga di ti
na wa.
daw.
How far is it to S — ?
A-o b6-o su
Bodong S—
Dii dii S — aje
S — dong aya
S— ddng
daw S — aye
ayii ten aw
bete.
so ta ma.
azao 55 ta
ba te.
bwe ma.
ma.
It is a journey of
Aye ta nil
Ayii ta ne
A-o to ni
Oa ng5 ke
Oa ng5 ke
one day.
ha.
chii.
^m CHAP. IX.] ETHNOLOGY. ^^^^^ 659 ^H
Banyan);
Zaycin.
Sirhmaw
Mi^pauk
Karen.
Taungthu.
Taungyo.
Danaw.
Kawn Sawng ^^^H
Karens of Loi ^^^H
Pa kyu he
Plaku a-thi
Lo ko fi \6n
\'h yaw myaw
P r a w k-b 0 k
Pl.tku ^^H
tuta.
thi da.
Ian kyaw du.
piil kva (ur
tu). ■
^^^M
Pawmaw he
Plamon a-Ii
Lo mo a Iwe
M e i n-m a w
Tamya-t>ok kii
Plamaw h5 lao ^^^|
I& [sv&) ta-
thi da.
ni.
myaw saw
kyaw dh.
kya (or tu).
■
Na swa (Ifc)
Ngaw 1^ hii
We Iwc su
Su saw byi
M5 k{i dh
Lao haw ^^H
Nalu
Nga ka Ihi
Wc i I6n
Su law me di
Mo piit dt
(daw).
Tai haw ^^^|
Na pla lu Awi Ihi da
We thi lOn
Su da Law
Mo nu thang
^^1
ya.
thang so.
kaiing et.
kii dc.
Na pla pyi
L&dimfe
We thi Iwe
Su do saw ba
Kyi-en kii ba
1
S& lao ma hao H
swakyi.
b^S.
le St.
Kwai kii d&.
1
Paw maw pu
Pbmon tu
man.
Lo mu hao
M e i n m a w
kwun.
Tamya klB aw
Pl.imaw hriw H
Pakuhi
Plaku sao
Loko kai
Yd yaw 50
Prawk sa j Pla ku kyi \A ■
man.
^H
...
Maki tara
tarn tareit
san.
Pyaksi tar-
eiksan pdn.
Pyak.kyi lede
lareiksan.
...
I
Pa wa sun
Tasi da
Po tasi ba
No sa ken
Wak pakyin
Fu a-sA ■
do.
kut.
m
E. kyung a
E ngyun ka
Ta yo hi ta
He ha go kya
No no ka tiin
Nh ha la hi) ^M
tani ta la.
ta ra.
mai.
kyaw daw.
da.
^
^1
Na myin ta
Na amySn
Na myin
Nang namb be
M.it mfi ka
Nga nyu ho ta H
H
la.
dawng tha
ma.
paw raai.
dulaw.
tiin da.
h^ ■
^H
Na ti ma na
Thai eta ma
The yo pra
Hi myang di
The kumaw
Tsi ni kaw ^^H
^^^^B
aw pj a
Ic mya ma
sii kon mai
Ic 0 law.
put ca da.
hwoi sum hi. ^^^|
tawng ma.
hu.
■
Nya zi ti ba
Hi thai b^
Kwe ta thi
tao.
Nga ma si bu
0 ngan gaw
Nga ^^H
S— d5ng aw- Klai yaw
S — aitya kon
S — de le awl
S— k a - n g a i
S — ayi hwoi ^^^H
tawng ma m y a ma
mai.
law.
lawk m^-a.
Slim h^. ^M
za.
S— .
^^^B
To a-ngyfe
Aw i a d.iw
fikO ta ni ta
Tnne kari hi
A»i ka ngwun Laii a nA ^^^|
karL
pu.
d^
^
^^^^H
66o
TliE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IX,
English.
Chingpaw or
Kachin.
Asi <H' Szt.
Lechi Or Lashi.
One
La-ngai
La, ra
Ta
Two
La-kawng
I
Ok
Three
Ma-sum
Sum
Hsawm
Four
Ma-li
Mi
Mik
Five
Ma-nga
Ngaw
Ngu
Six
Kru
Chu, cho
Chuk
Seven
Sa-nit
Nyit, Ngit
Nyet
Eight
Nme
Ma-sat
Shit
Shet
Cha-ku
Kao
Kok
Ten
Shi
La-tse, ra-ta
Ta hse
Eleven
Shi la-ngai
La-tse-la, ra-tsi-ra
Twelve
Shi la-kawng
La-tse-i, ra-tsi-i
■ >. ■•.
Twenty
Hkun
I-tse
Twenty-one
Hkun la-ngai
I-tsela
Thirty
One hundred
Sum-shi
Sum-tse
La-sa
La-shaw, Ra-chaw
Ta shaw
One thousand
Ching-mi
La-hing
Ta tong
Ten thousand
Mun mi
La-mun, ra-wan
Ta kyen
I
Ngai
Ngaw
Ngo
We
Atith, anhteng (hai)
Nga maw
>•« ••■
Thou
Nang
M Y^ng
Nang
You
Nante, nan hteng
Na maw
He
Shi
Heyu, he
They
Shante, s h ihteng
(hai).
Maw-bang, he-ga
Of me
Nye, ngai hai kaw
Ngaw
Of you
Nang hteng i
Myang
Above
Ning (nung) sang
de.
Kata, tmpude
Pyit sum, hu-shut
Below
Cham-ki,mao-shut
Far
San ai, k0 hkun
We (le)
Ve
Near
Ni ai, ne i
Chang (le)
Kyang
Alone
Hao layu
Inside „■
In-ku, ka-ga
A-tfe
Outside
Before
Shon dk, shong dh
Kwfe-pyang, he-shut
Behind
Pang-d6 htom^fe
Tang-pyang, hlang-
shut.
North
Tin tot
Ason pyang, pwi pyi
hpyit,
Hi pyang, pwi pyi
South
Tin da
hpyit.
East
Sumpro, Zanpru
Pwi htaw
West
H^n-na» Zanshang
Pwi wang
Good
Ka-kya, krau
Chaw-i, kfe
Ke
Better
Shang ka-kya
Chaw-ke e (ro)
Best
Ka-kya tumsa
Tsom (ro)
Bad
Ing Cm) ka-kya
A-ts6m a-kl
A-ke
Worse ...
Shang (krau) 'm ka-
kya.
Ai-a lum tsom
Worst
'M ka-kya tumsa
A-chaw yo
Myang (lo)
High
Saw (ai)
Low
Nyem (ai)
Myem (ro)
CHAP, IX.]
ETHNOLOGY,
66l
Maru-
Pwun or Hpon.
Ngachang or
Ho Hsa.
Lisaw or Yawyin.
Ta
Tawk (kaung),taw
Ta
Hti
Hsek
Naik (kaung), hai
San (.kaung), hsang
Hsok
Nyi
Hsam
Hsum
Sa
Pik
Si (Ian) ■ J.
Mi
Li
Ngo
Ha (Ian) ■- .
Hok (Ian) . S c
Ngaw
Wa, ngwa
Chauk
U5r
Cho, htaw
Nat
Tsit{lan) ril
Petlan) §"
Nyit
Shi, sho
Shi
Het
He, hyi
Kuk
Kao (Ian) "
Kao
Ku
Ta-hse
Taw si
Tache
Chi
Ta-hse ta
Si-ip
Chi-ti (ma)
Ta-hse-hsek
Si-sawng
Sao (Ian)
Chi'nyi (ma)
Hsek-hse
Nyi-chi
Hsek-hseta
Sao-lp
Nyi-chi ti (ma)
Hsam-hse
Sang-si
Sa-chi (ma)
Ta-yaw
Taw-ya
Taw-hing
Ta pak
Ta neng
Ti-hya
Ta-twang
TMo
Ta-kik
Si-hing, taw miin
Ta hmun
Ti wan, ti-hsiu
Ngo
Nga
Ngaw
Nu, ngwa
Ngon>ong
Ngwa
No, nyo
No
Nawng
Na
Nan-ong
Na,yi
Yong
•■ti>>
Va, lawma
Ta pam
Ya
Ngo
•••••■
Ngwa
Nyo
Na
Muk-kong
Ta-sho-a, Ga-s£
Mik-k5ng
Na-kwa, wo-s%
Wara
We, we-Iin
Ve
Go-a, wi
Hsun
Ni, ru-lin
Ne
N5-a
Ti-ju-a, ti-ma
Ne-ku
Yi-ku-na
Sho-ma
Hte-te
Mi-ta-sh6, awia sh
Htung-kyo
Ka-nya-sho (sfe)
Hsit hsai
Pe fang (Chinese),
ba s&.
Hte hsai
Nan fang, pu pij sh
Patok
Mosa do ko^ myi
myi daw kh.
Pa wan hsai
Mo sa gw^ k5, bui
dui ke.
Kai-wa
Kawng
Kyi
Hka, gyi law
Kai-ro
Su machi hka
Hsak kai wa
A kii hka
Ma k^
Ma-kawng tso-m&ng
Ma-kyi
Ma hkS. ma-gvi
Su machi ma nka
Hsak ma kai
A kii ma hka
Myin r£
Mrawlin
Mo-a
Nyam ri
Naing
.....
O-a
662
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER, [ CHAP. IX.
English.
Chingpaw or
Kachin.
A si Or Szi.
Lechi or Lashi.
False
Ma su, 'm tyeng
Ma-u (le)
True
Th, tyeng ai
Ngwut na (lo)
Pretty
Som ai
Tsom (ro) y5ng-de
Tfiin
'M som ai
A-tsom, a yOng
A pi-sha
Girhu, yam
Paw
Fat
Pum ai •
Myum (ro)
Htu
Thick
Htat ai
Htu (ro)
Htu
Clean
Ahsan hsan ai
San (ro)
Cheap
Manupa, manungpa
Manulakya, manung
Wilaw yam
Dear •>•
Hte pao
kaba.
Poor
Ma-san ai
Myung
Rich
Lu-i, Su ai (i)
Ngun myaw
Old
. Teng la, teng hsa
Eprat hung, nang be
Mang, Atsawk
Young
Shi brang, wa ram
Eprat hti ashi
A-hsok
Tall
Katu
Nyang
Little
Ka-chi, ka<kyan
Nyawm
Small
Kadun
Hti
Nge
Big
Kaba
Kaw
Kyi
Tight
Kyat ai
Chap
Kyap
Wide
Dam, tam ai
Kaw (ro)
Lam
Close
Ani, *m sha
Painful
Ma-chi, ma-si
Naw (ro)
Pleasant
Pyaw ai
Red
A-cheng, chai
Ne(ro)
Ne
Yellow
Sit-sit, sao
Shankan sadut (ro)
Nyao
Green
Ka-seng
Nyu-i (ro)
Blue
Mut
Mu-i (ro)
Black
Chang, san
Naw (ro)
Naw
White
Pr5ng, praw
Hpyu (ro)
Hpyu
Hand
Kya, lata
Hflaw
Foot
Chi
Chi
Nose
Lati
Niiw
No
Eye
Mouth
Mi, my it
Ning-itop, tin-gup
Myaw
Myawjik
Nut
Nawt
Tooth
Wa
ThQ-i, tsu-i
Tho
Ear
Na
Naw, naw-chap
Ni chap
Hair
Kara
Hsam
Tsam
Head
Paw
Ulum
Wulam
Tongue
Salet, shing-de
Shaw
Yaw
Belly
Kan
Warn
Warn tao
Arm
Lata, lapum
Law bo
Law
Skin
Lakon, Iag5ng
Chi-bu
Chi
Hpi, hpyi
Sa-we
Bone
'Mra, ning ra
Sha-wi
Blood
Sai
Su-i
Stone
*Mlon, long-^ya
La kaw
Lfik pawm
Iron
Hpri
Sam taw
Tsaw taw
Gold
Gya
Hung •
Shiing
Silver
Kumpraw, kumprong
Ngwun
Ngo
Copper
Ting san, makri
Cheng.
Cho, machu
Kyi
Kyi
Lead
Tchu-i
Tin
Pri-praw, hpri-prong
Sam taw pyu
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
663
Mam.
Pwun or Hp6n.
Ngachang or
Ho Hsa.
Lisaw or Yawym.
Muk wa
Mats
Tap wa
To
Yung-wa
Byi-a, byl-Iaw
\Ia byi
Mayung'wa
Ngao-wa, paw
Pa
Hyam^ shyam
Ba
Htao-wa
Hiu
Kan
Bu-a
Htao-wa
Htu
Kan
Tu-a
Hsai pe
Sha sha ka
Kawfi
I-hpij ni-a
Ye wa
I-hpii vu-a
Ma-mydng
Cho.&a
Myong
Cho-bo
Mung
Mo, ahawng
Mawng, atsao
Mao, maw yaw
Hse ngen
A-hke
Ashok
Ju-a
Mo-a
Myon Ti
Myo
Hmang
Ta ngen
Hkawng
Hnyun
Atin^
Ngai tSl
Nhsit, nyen
Tsaw
Ati n6
Gyl ra
Ching, chi
Hke
I da ma
Kye-ra
Htip
Hnyap
Kyi-a
Hse
Kwang
Kd
Vu-a
Nu-a
No ra
I na jwa
Myo ra
Pyan
Yi-shi sh5
An ne
(Ka) Ne no
Na
An nyok
Long
Nyao
Yi-shi shii
An ne
(Ka) Tsaing
Yi-ni chij
An ne
Apya
(Ka) Naw
Chywe la
An no
Naw
Nana
Ap hpyu
Hpon dii
Hpor
Hpu-a
Lo
A-law
La pa
Chi
Hpao-wa, hki
Chi
No
Nakawng
Nyihawng
Nabe
Myo sik
Yo-hsi, lo-hsi
Nyaw-tsi
Mya-sii
Na
Le-hsa
Hnyut
Na hu, mij-le
Soi
Hsama
Kyo-c
Si-che, tse-chi
Nahke
Nilsaw
Ana
Na paw
Hsam
A se
Ok-kawng
Wu cho
Ao lam
Apawng
Wudo
Hsaw
Aya
Shaw
La cho
Wen tok
Pauk ma
Um-lsaw
He-chi
Lo
Law-pawkj a-lo
Law
La vti
Hsik
A-hki
Chi
Chi vii
Hsi-kik
Kugyi
Yuio
Hsa
■•• •.■
Shu
Lao pam
Hka Idk
Likaw
Lu di pa tha lachi,
hochi.
Soto
Hse-hset
Sham
Ho
Kang
Shain
Se
Shd
Ngoi
Myain
Ngo-e
Hpu
Kik ne
Tawng
Tong
Gyi
Hsa
TsSng
Kik hsang hpaw
Zi
664
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
English.
Chingpaw or
Kachin.
Asi or Szi.
Lechi or T.ashi.
Brass
Makrisit, makeng
Kyi nu i
Sulphur
Kan
Kan htik
Earth
Shingbat, Lamiika
Mye kom
Mi
Salt
Chum
Yet chum
Sugar
Father
Chumdwe
Kuwan (Shan)
Kawa
Yo-wa, awa
Hpaw
Mother
Kanu
I-no, nga nu
Myi
Brother, elder
Kapu
I-mang
Mang
Brother, younger ...
Sister, elder
Kanau
A-ko
Pfin nawm
Kani
I-na
Pe
Sister, younger
Kanau
A-ko
P5n nawm
Man
Usha
Yuk-ge
Pyo yup-ke
Meye
Myi
Woman ...
Numsha
Mi me, me we
Wife
Kasha kanu
Ng2 mi
Husband
Num duwa
Nga lang
Lang
Child
Ma, kasha
Tsano otsaw
Tsaw
Son
Kasha, lakasha
Ngatsaw, ukS zaw
Yupke tsaw
Daughter
Shiyisha, numkasha
Ngatsaw-mi we zaw,
nu we zaw.
Meye tsaw
Father-in-law
Kasa, saba
Mung
Mother-in-law
Kani, niba
Ao-maw
Uncle
Dw&
Aunt
Notung
Nephew
Niece
Hkuwa
Cultivator (upland)
Itong rang
Cultivator (lowland)
Kaonatu (talaw)
Herdsmnn
Yungrem
LetsSng song su
Hunter
God
Para, sagya para
Namo hpara
Devil (spirit)
La-san, sit-nam, sit-
tfin.
Nat
Sun ...
Chan, zan
Pwi
Pwi
Moon
Shat-ta
Lamaw
Lamaw
Star
Shat-kan
Kyi
Kyi
Mi
Fire
Wan
Mi
Water
Hka, in-sin
Wetcham
Kye
Horse
Kum-rang
Myang
Myaung
Bullock
Dum, tum-su
Na
Cow
Dumsu wayi
Dumsu dola (wala)
Le tsong mi
Nachong
Bull
Wa hlang
Dog
Gwi
Kwi
La hkwit
Cat
La mi, la myao
Lenyao
Lai nyao
Fowl
U
Waw
Kyaw
Hen
U wayi
U wala
Waw
Cock
Waw paw
■ 1 i*i«
Duck
U pyet
Pyit
Ngaw
Bird
U
Ngaw
Mule
Law sh, ma*law
Kumyang malaw
Elephant
Ma-gwi
A-pao
Buffalo
Nga, wabu wi
Natu-i, nawlin
Nalu
Fish
Nga
Na shaw
Ngo
Deer
Lao ni, sa kyi
CM chi
Goat
P6 nam
Pai nam
Chat pat
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
66$
Maru.
Pwun or Hpon.
Ngachang or
Ho Hsa.
Lisaw or Yawyin.
Kik neo
Gyi shii-shu
HpSng
Hwan
Mik sai
Ta-myi
Hnun
Mi-na, ni-h6
Sa-bo
Sa-bo bya
Hpaw
A-hpa
Hpaw
Ba
Mye
A-ye
Me,gya
Ma
Maw
Momo
Tsai
Ko
Palam
Isa
A nyi
Nyi-tha
Pai
Mi Chi
Be
Chi-che
Nawng
Pi pi
Maw
Nyi-ma
Yao, pyu
Lu, luk'sa
Tso, i-kye
Cho-pa
Mege
Mi sa
I-nyaw
Cho-ma
Myi
Mi sa
Tsi
Za m5
Lawng
Alo
Hpao
Zagu
Tsaw
Sa-ni. a-hsa
I'saw
La-nyo tha
Tsaw
A'hsa
I-kye tsaw
Abi
Myege tsaw
Mi-hsa
I-nyaw tsaw
Ami
Sa yii
Samo
Hpale
Wu hpa, v5 tha
Le
Ru-dama, ni-ru
T6 le ngo
Sama
Demi sha
A nyi locho
Licha tS so
Hsi aw len
Sa-lo
Fu
San
Kyin-kwe, shin-yu
NakSng
Aing-zo, kali
Nyi-maw
Mdtsa
U
Se-la
H paw-law
Aba-chii
Ki
Chi-hsi
Hke
Kutha
Mi
Tam-nu, tami
Pwi
A to
Glok-ke
Hkd, Chi
Ti
Yigya
Myon
Mraw mio
Hmang
Amo
Nga
Wa
No
Anyi
Ngachaungsu
Wa
No
A nyi ma
Nga hsu
Anyihpa
La hka
Ta hkwi
Hwi
Ana
Lik nyo
Chawng
Kalaw
Anya tszu
Aga
Ngo
Hkaw, cho
Ko
Ngo sang
Aga'ma
Ngo hpo
Aga hpa
Paihse
?kk
A
Ngo
Ngo hsa
Hmaw
Nya
Lo hse
Lo tszU
Hsun
Ha ma
Niu lai
Kaluii kali
Noloe
A nga
Nga
Ta-nga
Ngaw
Ngwa
Hse
Che
Hsaipe
Pye yang
Pa
At chii
84
666
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
English.
Chlngpaw or
Kachin.
Asi or Szi.
Lechi or Lashi.
Sheep
Yang
Samao hung-ro
Flea
Wakali
Wakalai
Milk
Chu
Nao
Bamboo
Kawa
Wa
Turban
Pawngbam, 'mku
W5-top
Wu-htawp
Hat
Palamta, kakup
Mo chop
Mod
Coat
Palong
Hpo, pu
Pyi
Trousers
Sin kon
Pitsan, law
u
Petticoat
Labii
Mewe pitsan
Sao hai
Me
Shoes
Larop, saokai
Chik-tsong
Ear-rings
Lakan
M3 k9n
Rice (unhusked)
Mam
GSk soi
Kok sQ
Rice (husked)
•Mgu
Chin
Chen
Rice (cooked)
Shat
Tsang
Tsaw
Opium
Kani
Ya pyen
Grass
Sing-du, sum-pra
Wako
Man
Tree
Hpun
Sit kSm
Hsfik-kam
Leaf
HpQnIap, namlap
Sit hka
Hs6k-fu
Wood
Hpun
Htang
Cold
Ka-shong
Chaw (ro or Ife)
Ngam
Warm
Lum ai
So-op (ro), a gyaw
I.om
Ice
Sin, hkakang
ChSm sSn
Snow
Chen
Lik baw
Rain
Hsin, lamu
Tong by5ng iracham.
Wind
'Mbdng
mao«
Lai
Lai
Thunder
Mushika
Mao kun
Lightning
Miprap, mu ady^
Lap pyap
Mao-nkong
... ••■
Sky
I.amui ningsa
Mok-kong
Cloud
Lamu mong, marang
lamsl.
Ni, sha-ni
Inong lao
Day
Kant su, ku-nyi
Nyi-kyo
M>en
Night
Na, sha-na
Myin, ku-myin
Light
A'hsan
Hpyu (ro)
Dark
Ning-hsin, sin i
Mao chut raw
River
Mali hka
We maw
Lang hkao
Hill
Pum, bum, pumka>
ba.
Layang, laprang
Raikacni, s ngpai
Pum
Pawm
Valley
We kon
Insect
Htong san
Heart
Sal dm
Lik lorn
Chief (ruler)
DS-wa
Mang saw
Freeman
Ngai
Slave
Mayam
Kyun
Witness
Sakli
Sak se
Law
Prat, ton-gyam
Tar3 lum (Shan)
Punishment
Amu krom
Dam (Shan)
Crime
Kagya wat krom
Abyek adap
Scul (spirit)
Satumtum
Sopjaw
Dream
Yup mang
imyaw myang
Vision
Mikatd
Sacri6ce
Nat-chaw-i
Penance
Ting-ri
Kindness
Kyaw-ya
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
667
Maru.
Pwun or Hp5n.
Ngachang or
Ho Hsa.
Lisaw or Yawyin.
Yong
A chii hpu
K2la
Kat5
A nuk
A jii
Wo
Ta-wa
Ma-kwa
Ao htap
Pawng sawng
Pa-tong, u-htup
Kan* u-ii5Ung
Wut6
Muk
Muchaung
Nahu
Pao
Hso
Tze
Bichu
U
Pun
Hlaw
Mi Chi
Mat hsin
Pashu
Tang kaw
Mi chi
Kik hsun
Chep tin
Kyaptin
Chi ni
Nit tawng
Nako
Kauk hsai
Kao, kok
Ku
Cho
Hseng, ching
Sesi. she
Ts'en
Za hpu
Tsaw
Hsa
Kyaw
Tsa
Ya ping
Gzo
Myo tneng
Tamyo, amak
HrSng
Shii
Hsak-ke
Sha sein po sc-sain
Sho tseng
Shi-gyi
Hsak-hpo
Arc
Sho tseng aro
Shi-pya
Hsak
Kichi
Keo
Cho
Kam, kat
Jys
Lu-6
Lawngri
Pu
Pan, pu
Ngiin
Ni
Sam
Pa-pa
Mak-Q
Tammu wa
MS ha
LA
Kali
HIi
Ml hi
Miik-ktim
Tammu nghkawng
Mugupyi
Le-hsai
Mugu Scho kii-a
Ms Kwa
Muk-kOng
Mu tang
Mao
Muk-tap
Tlmaio
Pa
Kani
Ni
Mu sa
Muk-hsai
Mawng, yo^i
Chut
Mii kii
My6n
Nyi mwa
Muk-hsai
,,. .,
Nyi mamo
Gok Ion
Kohawng, mik pa
Ti-hke
Law-cha na-yi
Pa
Katawng
Tung tao
Cha-ke, wa-jii
LunkSng
Wa-lu
Kik nat
Padi
KQtn
...".
Nyi ama
Suk
Cho vii
Cho jo
Sum
Yato
Twe kyun
Pyu nakemo
Sii
Yupak
Hsai
Kola
Cho la
Saw, y6
Chon ha
Yap mo
Yap pyu
Hpyu kuk hse
Yemya kwa
Ne ti-a
Chtn-yi
668
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. !X.
English.
Chingpaw or
Kachin.
A si or Szi.
Lechi or Lashi.
Morning
A- kang
Noon
Evening
Round
Lorn tdm, kum
Ling ling mo
Flat
Hpa, pa-pa
Pyit pyet mo
Hollow
Punkrong, kuai
A-hte ma-he a-baw
Strong
Gya, ninggum kaba
Ning gumcha, 'mgya
Ri, ^pri
Wumbaw, kung ...
Weak
Wum a baw
Spear
LSm
Lam
Sword
Lao intu, 'mtu
ShSm
Sham
Bow
Lepraw, 'mdao
La hpaw
Lai
Hatchet
Ning wangt unwa ...
We ts5n
Needle
Sa-myit, sum-myit...
Ap
Pot
Diba, di
Ao
Boat
Lk, li
La-i
Cord
Shing^ri, sum-ri ...
Fung chwe
Village
Mareng
Wa
Wo
House
'Mta
Yum
Yawn
Roof
'Mta galup, nSm
kang.
Yum hkum
Chair
Ching nyang
Yang ku
Kunhkao
Table
Pong kflm, ktjm pyen
Se dek
Box
Taw
Basket
Karin, shing nwai,
Lin
Bag
Fishing-net
Ting san, 'mpyen ...
Htong
Htdng
Baik( sum kSn
Kun
Snare
Prim, krSn
Picture
Sumla
Bya taw
Statue, image
Sumla
To carve
Wagon
Byu law
Chi ting
Song
Ntn^ chQn ma ian
Dance
Ka-i, ka-ai
Kaw
Medicine
Si
Sara
Poison
Ko-wa, si pala
Myaw nwe Hchaw
Toy
Ka-gyan,sum la
Game
Shan, shai-yi
Riddle
A-pung hkai
Today
Ka-nyl
Tomorrow ...
Nam ma
Yesterday
To stand ...
Bot, sap
Yap
Yap
To walk
Tamhsai bai-wa
To run
Prongwa, ka-ai
Tin myap
To sleep
Yup
Hteyup
Yup
To eat
Sha
Tsaw
Tsaw
To strike
Ka-kyet, a-diip
Nu
To see
Ma, mu-hsa
Ngam
Wut sawng
To make
Kalaw
Kut
Ku-a
To sit
Tung, dung
Si, SI hsa
Tseng
Shi ( )6)
Tsong
To die
She
To call
Shi-ka, sha-ka
Wut, nvaw
Ye-yawt
To throw
Ka bai
Htu pyam
To drop
Hkrut-rai, ka-rat
Chaw pyam
Kyaw
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
669
Maru.
Pwun or Hpon.
Ngachang or
Ho Hsa.
Lisaw or Yawyin.
Mo-ta-ja-la, Mo sa-
do-la
TIma logwa
M 5 sa gw6
Lang lang
A-loyo
Lu lu
Ph
Pya pya
Hkong
•*t(K
Iku
Ngam
Sha
Hsun
••■ •■•
Ma sha
Un
Le
HIam
Lan tan, yelo-che
Hsen
Im-hta
Hampi
A-ta
La
Le
Karg
Myan pii, kya
Wo hsfln
••■•••
A-cho
Ngck
■•••■•
Ok
Nim-be
La
Lawng
Tsuli
Toi
Chisa
Wo
Hka-wa, hkawk-wa
0
Si-szii, cha
Yam
Ain
In
Hin
Mo muk
Mu
Mao
Hin pyi-a
Ao hkao
■•■.
Patong
Hpun
Tso tsii
Pan
Kwe tsu
Mung hko
Ta-law
Htang
Kayang
Tsek
L&-sha
Kum
Sa-u wa
Ngo tot
Wa-she
Hsat
Cho bya tha
Fula
Ylkwa boia
Wikke
Mu gwa-gwi
Hko wa
Kwa che
Hsik
Rupi-a
K5n hsik
Na-chii
Petlo
Ka-nya-do
Ka-nya
Ye hsaw
Tso. gik
Yap
HSIa
Hpung wa
Wara
Tsu li
Shi pa je
T6]!g
Yap saw
Ai
E
Yita
Hsaw
Tsa
Kyaw
Za
Peya
Chii (ga-le)
Ngu
Myo
Mang
Mu (ga-le)
Ya, 5 la
Kai
Lap, lao
Hkot
Sawng wa
Htanp
Shi, shein
Ni, nawk
Ngita
Hsik wa
Shi
Sho
Yung r5
Go
Hkoe
Hku
Peya
Lo (ga-le)
Kyu wa
Choi
Hk5
Che-wa-u
670
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX,
English.
La-hu, Law'hS or
Mu Hs5.
Mdnghwa Lolo.
Ming ch'
ang.
One
Te-ma
Chih
A, ji
Two
Nyi-ma
Am
Caw
Three
Hsam-ma, hs^I&
Sao
Sa
Four
Aw-16
Yi
Si, sht
Five
Nga-ma, wa-ma
Nga
Ngu
Six
Kaw-ma, ku-ma
Hko
Fu
Seven
Hse-ma
H6
Ts'i
Eight
He-ma
He
Pya
CM
Nine
Ko-ma
Ko
Ten
Te-ch'i (hsi)
Ts'i
Djo, tso
Eleven
Hsi-ti-ma
Twelve
Hsi-nyi-ma
Twenty
Nyi-hsi, an>so-nia
Yi-tse, ni-tsen (ta)
Twenty-one
Nvi-hsi-ti-ma
Thirty
H'se-ch'i, hsam-hsi-
ma.
One hundred
Te-ha,te-hi-ya
Ch*ih-pa
A-pe, l-pe
One thousand
Te-to, te-hing
Ch'in-tao
A-shi
Ten thousand
Te-hvi, te-wa
Ch'ih-m5
A -ngaw
1
Nga, ngwa
Ngaw
Ngaw
We
K>''
Ngaw-chii-po
Thou
Nwa, naw
Nyi
Naw
You
Nwa
He
lu-wa, pa
U-Iaw, Yu-Iaw
Paw
They
N5-hu
Of me
Ngwa
Of you
Nwa
■• •■•
Above
Nywa
Below
Swa
Far
A-yao, wii-a
Tsa-baw
Dwe
Near
Ne-ya, pa-ti
Chin
Tse
Alone
Te-so, te-gai
Inside
Na-wa
Outside
Ho-paw, o-bao
Before
Ho-pa, su-pa
Behind
Ka-nya-hse
North
Ko-si-hs6, non-baw
South
Aw-pe-hs6, mnn-baw
Ma- isa-to-hkfl, omen
East
taw baw.
West
Ma-hsa-ko-hko, mani-
kai-baw.
Good
Hka.d'ap&
Nan, naw
Ts'io-16
Better
A-ko-kha, d'a pfc th
Best
Hsu-hsim-hsi-h k a,
hsu k^ d'a.
Bad
Hko-wa, ma-d'a
Worse
A-ko hko-wa
Worst
Hsaw-hsim-hsi-wa
High
Mua, amumaka
Low
6-6
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
671
Mahe.
Lis 11.
Mos5o, MuBU, or
Nachi>
LanLen V30.
Chih
Te
De (k3)
f
Nyi
Ngi
N[{k5)
Sum
Sin, sao
Su (ko)
PS
Yi
Li
L6 (kfi)
Pie, piei
0, pia
Nga
Wan
Ngoa (ko)
Hku
Ch'o
Choa Ck6)
Tia, kio
sa
Sh&-s1ii
Sin [kfi)
Tio, i-a
He
He
Ho Cko)
Ngi
Kwe
K-wa, ku
Ngo (k6)
Do
Tsc
Tso
Tse (ko)
Sap, sop
•■*Hli
.,.-.,
Tse-de (ko)
Sop-a, sap- [at
««<<•«
Sap-nie(
Gui-ts6
Ni-cse (ko)
Ni-sop> sap-go
■hMI
'■■"'
Hti-ha
Tien-hin
Di-clii (ko)
A-jte, te
Hti-cha
"I'ie-tse
Di-tu
A-pi-ne
(No word)
.„...
T<l«>>
Ngoa. Ngu
N&
Ya
^■•.4
A pu-]fl
'M»i»^
N5
Nga
Mei, mu-i
A pu-ja
IMItl
Ya-wai a
Wa
Nan
■artti-
A pu'jd
tn?*'
(iiHl
.,.-..
rrifi.
■■■..•
Mli'**-
HK**>
M*-*** •
......
i ■»•■»'
••■•■'
.....
-,.-.„
■»■■>
■■«>ili.
««■««»
"■'"
. — .
■k^lH
li.l«t
• ■-.n
• till*
*«1.IB^
Mo
«■«?«•
::;:::
itt»«
■■■■il
««ii*iii
ii'lirwi
,...•<
■11 ••■
<««■•■
*■« ■»■
672
THE UPPEK BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IX.
English.
Lahu, Law'h^ or
Mu Hso.
M£nghwa Lolo.
Ming ch'iang.
False
K6-a, he-pua
True
Ngaw
Pretty
Pi-ya
Ugly
Nyi-shi-ya
Thin
Ni-lo
Wa
Paw
Fat
I-hs5, chiia
Thick
Tua, hpim-myu
Htu
Go
Clean
Ma-so, kan-pua
Cheap
I-htu ni-ya
Dear
I-htu nya, faw hka
Poor
Chaw-ha
Rich
Chaw -paw
Old
Chaw-maw
Mu, yi
Gu, na
Young
An-nfe
Tall
0-a, mo- a
On
Ka
Little • ...
Ma-5
U
Hi
Small
I-ti-yft
U, a-hpyi
Se
Big
U-a
Gho
Daw
Tight
Wide
Kaw-a
Chin
Che
K6-a, gfl-a
Hkwa
Close
Htaw
Painful
Na
Pleasant
Ha-Ife. ha-ka
Red
Nyi-pS
Um-te
Che, hoang
Yellow
Shi.pi
Shih-gaw
Luh
Green
Naw-pfe
Blue
Aw-pii
Lu
Na
Black
Aw-na
Nye
H6
White
Aw-hpu
Ve
Peh, pd
Hand
La pu
Nepa, le
Sui-pa
Fool
Kii pu
Na- ikaw
Go-pe
Na- ikaw
Ko-to-pe-ne
Hpyi-fu-te
Nose
Eye
M6-shi
Myet-sao, me-s6
Ngwe-su, we po
Mouth
Mawk-kaw
Hka-hpyi
Chi-ge
Tooth
Ch'i
Sui
Che-pa
Ear
Na paw
Na-hpu, na-pa
Nvaw-taw
Hair
Sokh maw
U-ts'ua
Hte-ma
Head
A top-ko
Ha-tfe
Udi, 0 du
Hte-paw
Tongue
La
Che-hpyi
Belly
Ho-pe
Hi-mado
Fu-hkaw
Arm
Lai-naw
Let
Sho
Leg
Ko waw
Hke, hko
Kaw
Skin
0-g5-ku
Bone
Ok-kam ku
Blood
Hso
Stone
Hap-pii
Kalaw
Chaw-hke
Iron
Hso, shij
Fu
Hte
Gold
Shi
Sha
Kyi
Silver
P'fu
F6
Nyi
Copper
Ko, k6n*ni
06
Hwe, to
Lead
Gii-law
Tin
Hso p'lu ma
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
673
Mahe
Lisu.
Mosso, Musu, or
Nachi.
Lanten Yao.
Pa
Htu
Nyi
H5
Ne
Na
Pa
Na-pyu
Ma-naw
Me-bawn
Shaw
Na-bu
Che-hku
U-hto
A-Ia
A-hk5
Ha-law
Sum
Hpu-shu
HpU-t2fl
ChO
Si
Ni-chi
Ne-ne, nien
P6
Le-pe
Chi-pe
Na-kti
Mya-sfl
Ka-be, ka-pe
Na-po
He
Tai
La
Kii
Ni-ma
Mien
Me-ta
Ai-dz
Mo-isd, a-dzfi
Di-me, hii
Shd, sht
Pii
Gyi
Lo-pa
Shwo
Ha
Hun
A]
Bwii ti
Bwii-meng
Bwii kya
Bwii
Po
Sa-6, tao
Pii song
Ma-ya« moi
Gye-te, yet
Mo-nom
Yao-ha
Ya
Sam, som
Nyan
Tong, t6 te
85
674
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IX.
English.
Lahu> Law'hft, or
Mu Hs6.
M£nghwa Lolo.
Ming ch'iang.
Brass
K5-shi
Sulphur
M9
Earth
Myi-na-ma* mi-go
Mi-di
Ye-pe-ht5ng, gyi-
pe-ten.
Salt
A-Id
Pi
Sugar
A-16-mya
Father
A-pa
A-te
A-te, a-hye
Mother
Ai, e, a-me
A-ma
A-maw
Brother, elder
A-viang
Kaw
A-kaw
Brother, younger ...
Nyi-pa
Wi-ma
Nyi-za
Hte
Sister, elder
A-tsi
A-tsi
Sister, younger
Nii-ma
Yu-ma
Nyu-hte
Man
Haw-hka
Tsu, tsu-pao
Nyi-hke, tso-nyi
Woman
YamI (n), zami
Zeme tsa
Nyu-nyi
Waw-nyi
Pnw-nyi
Wife
0-mim-ma
Ma
Husband
Aw-paw (maw)
Nyen
Child
Yati-yft, e
S6-tz6-nyu
Son
Aw kapai
Za
rs6
Daughter
Yami (n)
Ze-me
A-nyawi niotze-ho
Father-in-law
A-pu
Mother-in-law
A-pi
Uncle
Aw-nyft, up-pa
.1 ...
Aunt
Nga
Nephew
Aw-hoi yh pa
Niece
Aw-hoi yami (n)
Cultivator (upland)...
Hete
Cultivator (lowland)
Timite
Herdsman
Hunter
Hka
^
God
0 sha, fu
We
Devil (spirit)
Paya-ing, ne
Sun
Mo lawkaw, mii-mi
A n-ts'a, an-ni
Nyi-hpyi
Wa-hpyi, mi-ngua
Moon
Ha pa
Mo CO
Ha-pa, sha-pa-mu
Star
Hko, kyi-hto
Sien
Fire
Ami
A -taw
Hwe (Chinese)
Water
Yika
Gh6
Su, shui (Chinese)
Horse
Miian, maw
Am
Me, me-te
Bullock
Nu
\'o-te
Cow
Nu-ma
An
Ng6
Bull
Nu-hpa
Dog
K6, hpti
A-hko, a-naw
Hkwa
Cat
Mft-nyi
A-nyi
A-ni
Fowl
K6-ga
Ai
Ki, ki-to
Hen
Ga-ma
Cock
Ga-hpa
Duck
A-p6
Bird
Ng3
A-nya
Tsaw-dzo
Mule
Liw
Law-tzo (Chinese)
Law-tzo
Elephant
Bunalo
H3w
Onka, awka
Van
Shui-ngfi
Fish
Nga
An
Ngu
Deer
Kfl-hso, hs6
Ma-15
Goat
U
A-ch5
Yaw
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
67s
Mahe.
Lisu.
1
Mosso, Musu, or
Nachi.
Lanten Yao.
Myi-ch'a
Men-ne, ha-mi
1
Tue
Ni
Tsa-bo
Tsai'
A-ba
A-ma
A -pa
A-ma
Fa
Gyi-ne, yo
Cho-yan
Tsii-bum, tsii-za
Zamo, zamii
Zii-chii
Mi-chu
Man-tdn atamon
Man-za
Zanezn, za
Zwe
Atasei
Ami
Mizuzu
Atasa-kyen, sa
Kii-ni
Pu-la
GAn, fuipe
A-ts'a
Pa-ha
A-ku
A-tsa
A-ts'o
A-maw
Nu-ne
Mii-tsa
A-ba
A-to
I-gwia, a-dia
Am, aman
A-ngi
Ni-me
He-me
Mi
Gye
Joa
Na-g6
Mo-noi, ma-hoi
La-a
Tao, to
Worn, woma
Ma
Wong, ngong
A-hk5
A-ni
A-ha
A-na
A-ya
Ku
A
Kto
Tai
Ha-dzd
Apa
Law
La-hpu
Nahte
A-ts'a
An-ngwe
Tse
Chi-gfl
Ch6-a
Wom-ba
Kum-dai
676
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IX.
English.
Lahu, Law'hft, or
Mu Hso.
Mftnghwa Lolo.
Ming ch'iang.
Sheep
Yaw, 5-chi
A-hio-nyi
Flea
Puh^
Milk
Num chuo
Hamboo
Wa-mo
WMM a.
Turban
U-mi
La-ba
She-chin-haw
Hat
U-hsS
Na-hkaw
T6-ma-to
Coat
Apu, apo
Hpu
Yi-hkaw
Trousers
Ha taw
La
Kwa-yo
Petticoat
Ht^-du
... >■
Shoes
Kon-no
Hke-ne
Nge-tsi
Ear-rings
Pehu
Rice (unhusked)
Cha hsi, hsa-hsi
Chi-se
Sd
Rice (husked)
Hsak hka
Sa-hkao
Me
Rice (cooked)
Aw
Tza
He-jo
Opium
Fing
Grass
Z6
Sho
Ts'aw
Tree
Hsu-chft
So-dzd
So-dzo
Leaf
Hsii-pa
So-hpye
Di5-she
Wood
Hsaw, yai
Dzo
Cold
KS(t)-a
Am-kya
Kd, kan
Warm
Hwa, tsa
Hwe, u
U
Ice
Ang-ngo
Snow
Mo
Rain
M6-ye
Vo-shi-go
Wind
M5 haw
Im-hpyu
Pyi-s5
Thunder
Mo taw
Lightning .«
Matipw^
Sky
Ms naw (ma)
Im-di
Chi-tsen, he
Cloud
Mo
Day
Nyi
Yin-si
Nyi-h 0, a-nyi
Night
Mo-po, moha, muha
Mattla
Yimi-si
Yi-aw ho, ho
Light
Dark
Mo vaw
River
0-hka, ika
Lu-ke
Ko-kon, chaw-chaw
Hill
Hkaw, aw-hkaw
Ku-djo
Nge-taw, so
Valley
Law-hko
Insect
Hp5
Heart
Nyi ma hsi
Chaw maw
Chief (ruler)
.
Freeman
Slave
Hka
Witness
Law
Punishment
0-chi tso
•• >••
Crime ,,,
Ya
Soul (spirit)
Ne
Dream
Hzo mS
Vision
Hzd mo
Sacrifice
Penance
Kindness
Nyimala
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
677
Mahe.
Lisu.
Mosso, Musu, or
Nachi.
Lanten Yaa
A-sho
Che-hpu
A -haw
A-pu
Naw
ln-ch*i
Ka-dju
At-che
Za-p6, che-p6
t
Si-ko, si-dzo
Gya
Tsa
Me-ha, ma-ha
Aw-sa
T5-nyi, ngyfe
Sa-kwa, sin-kwa
I-ma, i-maxa
She-ko, kote
Wang-ti
Vfi
Cho-a
So
Ch'e
Tso
Mbe
Ho
Men
Di-ngi
Mo-kfi
Lo-ke
Ndiu
Hka
Ta-zaw
Yaw-me, yong
Mai
Yang
Song
Ngi-ne
Pon-bo-Io
G&n
A-noi, gui-ne
Dom
To
Tim, kfm
Ho-dao
678
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
English.
Lahu, Law'hi or
Mu Hso.
M£nghwa Lolo.
Ming ch'iang.
Morning
Mo hsaw na teyang
Noon
Mo ha teyang
■•■ ■••
Evening
Nyolawk-kaw teyang
Round
Vaw-ve
Flat
Hpe da
Hollow
Hko16
Strong
H-ea
Weak
Nga ma chaw
Spear
Kye
Naj-hto
M5-hka
Sword
A-htaw
A-hta
Yi-ta-dz5
Bow
Hka
Kong
Kaw-hpe
Hatchet
Che-che
Needle
W5
Pot
Muk-ku
*
Boat
Ha
Law
Cord
Ma
Village
Hka
A-yo
House
Yfe
Hin
Haw-ke
Roof
Yeb&
Sho
Mo-ts'ao
Chair
Kaw-gyaw
Table
Polaw
Box
Tako
Basket
Kapilu
Bag
Fis ling-net
Michaw
La-sha
G5
Snare
P&
Picture
Htaw
Statue, image
To carve
Hao
Song
Taw-te
Dance
Kai (naw= pipes)
Medicine
Nat-hso
Poison
Kawng
Toy
Game
Riddle
Today ...
Tomorrow ...
Yesterday
To stand
Hpawng ta
Hen
Djo
To walk
Poi
To run
Ngo
To sleep
Zo mo kai
To eat
Ch'a
Tza
Y5
To strike
Daw
To see
Maw
Mu
Mu
To make
Te
Tso
To sit
MS da
Nyi-li
K6
To die
She
Hu-hk&
g
To call
Ku
Li
To throw
Baha
To drop
Tse la
Tsi-tsi
Htu
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
679
Mahe.
Lisu.
Mosso, Musu.or
Nachi.
Lanten Yao.
•*••••
• •••M
**••■*
i»i*a
»•»•
•••"»
Kawng
Na-che
A-ta
Jii-te
Gyo
•*•••(
L5
Cli'u-hpu
La-haw
Hie, hi
Gyi
Fiao
•••*••
"
•"■■
••••■■
Tsa
A
Sfi
68o
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
English.
Chingpaw.
Szi.
I Asbi.
1
To place .J.
To ift
LatSn tdn-ta
Hto (Daw)
Taw
Ka-aw, lada
Ku
To pull
Dun, sam
LSng
To smoke
Wanlu, malutlu
Nya shu
To love
Sawai. ra
Aw
To hate
'Mddng, tin-ra
A-aw
>•••••
Togo
Sa-wa
E
Ye
To get up
Rawt
Taw
To
To come
Hsahsa
I.e
Law
To tie down
Kaleng
I^ taw
To beat
Yayat
Nu
English.
Uahu.
Mfinghwa Lolo.
Ming ch'iang.
To place
To ift
Ht&da
En
Djavf
Hsi hka
To pull
Gaw hka
To smoke
Fi-taw, shu-taw
To love
Ha da
To hate
Machaw
To go
Kai
Yi,iu
Nge
To get up
Htaw
Peh-hk6
To come
La
Lit tai
Nge-6
To lie down
H&ta
To beat
English.
Chingpaw.
Szi.
Mam.
The men are coming
The women are going
He has gone
She will come
They should have
come.
Go
Let them go
A ^ood woman
A bad man
Mischievous animals
Ten head of cattle ...
What do you call
this ?
What is your name ?
How old is this
horse?
I do not know
How far is it to S— ?
It is a journey of one
day.
La-sha ni hsahsa
Ntim-sha sawa hsai
Shi hsa wa mat
Shi wa (hsa) na
Shi teng-tu hsa na
rai, or shan-te du
ram sai.
Sa wa sit
Shi teng hsa wOga
Num-sha ka-gya
I^sha 'm ka-gya
Rai chaten. orshang-
kasup-pa-rai.
Nga tum su shi
*Mdai nai ka ning
ngu sha ming.
Na ming ka ning
ngu i.
'Mdai kflm rang ka
de ting la i
Ngai 'm cheng
S— kade san rai j
La ni san, or sha-ni
sing-du liip sa i.
l^-hpu le bo
Mime e bo
Heyu le kara
He m3-wu im hta
Nang ming he baka
kaw.
Kum myang kum
yaw tsan.
A se
S— ku ho we la
Pvuli ya ko
Mege lo wa ko
Yong lo wa
Yen li neke
Ye ya
Hto pam pik lo ke
Mege kai ra
Yao kai ma rai
Nu chaung ta hse
Pe ra yung ra
Ni mang pe ka
Mydn hsik tao ka
niyo seng wa.
Ngo ma pa
S — ka hpa po
Tan ne itS
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
681
Maru.
Hp5n.
Ngachang.
Lisaw.
To wa
Tao wa^
Lfin wa
Sik hsao
Ngoi ra
Ma nuk ngu
Lo
Htaw
Li
Hson saw
Pe J a
Hta,htao
La, la-le
Wo, gan-haw
Imti-16
Htaw
Law, so
Htaw
Law
Hta ku-kii
Hlai (ga-le)
jhO (ga-le)
chii
Shuza
Ni jo (ga-l«)
^a^gye
\ji
Yi ta
Do (ga-le)
Mahe.
Lisu.
- Musu.
Lanten Yao.
*■*■•*
• •■■■*
Li
Htu
Lai
.....
Hpdn.
Lisaw.
Lahu.
Hintu ta ma hon {
i
i
S — ta su we ma
Lacho la dao
Z3mS je dao
Ya jao
Yi fa mo
Ya la hh hka
Ya la je ka ja
HkS shii zamS
Ma hka shii 13 cho
Yin chd byago jO tha
A-nyi chl ma
Tlma a*sha ba
Nu m5 ali md a
Amo tlmi h3 mya ko
jwa.
Ngwa ma sd
S — mugu ha gd jwa
Ta-nyi ak6 g5-a
Haw cha hka chaw
Yamin chaw kai
Kaibo
Ha Iao
Kai
Yam n da
Chaw cha
Nu (ng) U chi kft
Sia to ma kwe
Noa tit m^ le
Mijan kan nyi kaw
Nfahsi
S — ka f u choi
Te nyi a-kaw
•*«»*»
86
682
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
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684
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
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CHAP. IX.] ETHNOLOGY. 685
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686
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. !X.
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688
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IX.
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690
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
i
U
Sepat shrar yan pi
Shina i-yan n'preit
s'yan.
Ngan min anuyan
She num-se kun
a-i-iksu lauk syan
Che ku k'hmat
I- rut chok s'yan
Hnump ut lam
*
a
JZ
to
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9
(4
1 1 ^ ^- '
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R i-^z^-SdS 2
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a
0
u
i
5
1
I-yapo yan na-
nkon.
Nanut nanin u yan
Akum i ku-awp
siyan.
Kh ka ka nuit
I sv,h hang sak
siyan.
Hmut Gt tun
1
Shonshe
or
Gangaw.
•s 1 i,sj
8 1 Jll'Sj" |.
N < z ac «> z
I
: 1 : : :| :
i '
.5
Mia shie abang
nachi yim.
Namin akwo yim
S — hkwomin bang
yim.
Ten head of
cattle.
What do you
call this ?
What is your
name ?
How old is this
horse?
I do not know
How far is it to
S-?
It is a journey
of one day.
CHAP, IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
Kadu.
691
Air
Halaung
Water
W6
Ant
Pun-s4n
I
Nga
Arrow
Tal*t
Thou
Nank
Bird
U-se-sa
He, she, it
K'yin, bin-ni-nfl
AiNsuda
Blood
Sft
We
Boat
Wali
Ye
Hani
Bone
Mak-ku
They
Anda
Buffalo
Ky«
Mine
Alisuda
Cat
Han-si
Thine
Hani
Cow
Mdk
His
Amt-sht-da
Crow
U-h4
Ours
Ali-suda
Day ,
Ya-a
Yrturs
Hani
Dog • ...
Kyi
Theirs
Andauk
Ear
Ka-ntk
One
Ta-nat
Earth
Ka
Two
Krin-tet
Egg
u-di
Three
Sum-tet
Elephant
Akvl
Four
P!-tet
Eye
Mfi't-tu
Five
Nga-tet
Father
Awa
Six
K6k-tet
Fire
Wan
Seven
* Set-tet
Fowl
U
Eight
Nine
P'et-tet
Fish
, I^ng-nga
Kau-tet
Flower
Ba-p4
Ten
Shim-nfl
Foot
Ta-paut
Twenty
Son-nfl
Goat
Gap6
Thirty
San-ship
Hair
Hal6ng-hfi
Forty
Shi-ship
Hand
Tapaung
Halang
Fifty
HA-ship
Head
One hundred
Pauk-nfl
Hog
Wag
Eat
Y6k-mat
Horn
Yfinga
Drink
U-wawn-mat
Horse
Sabu
Sleep
Ek-ma
House
Kyin
Wake
Mi-li-ma
Iron ...
Sin
Laugh
Ni-y6k-ma
Leaf
P'un-tap
Weep
Hapma
Light
Wan-yi-ma
Be silent
Y4-p'yi-8h! nim
Man
Ta-m!-sat
Speak
Ta-ta b'auk
Monkey
Kw£
Come
Li
Moon
Sad&
Go
Nang
Mother
AmS
Stand up
* Sap-nim
Mountain
Kava
Pa^sit
Sit down
T*6n-nim
Mosquito
Move, walk
Taraknang, lamta-
Name
Nanmfe
yang
Night
Nat-kyet
Run
Ka-mat
Oil
Salaw
Give to me
Nga-yan I
Plantain
Sali-bhi
Give to any
Hi-yan I-yan
N^a-het fang
Hi-het lang
River ...
Mvit
Take from me
Road
Lam
Take from any
Salt
Sum
Strike
Tan-nang
Skin
Sale
Kill
Wan-sht-yang
Sky
Hamet
Bring
Lai
Snake
Ka-p*u
Take away
Lift up, raise, bear,
La-nang
Star
U-nQ-shi
Nga-an
Stone
L6ng-kfl-shi
carry.
Sun
Samfit
Hear
Tet-pu-ma
Tiger
Ka's4
Understand
Nga-min-sh&-ha-
Tooth
Sw4
ma
Tree
P*un-grun
Tell, relate
Hfe-yang
Village
T'«n
Red
Ha Ma
69a
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER.
Kadu — concluded.
[chap. IX.
Green
' Sin-pyJ-pyl-ngama
Square
L&-daung
Long
Saut-ma
Flat
Palat-k'ara
Short
Tun-na
Level
N>I-tama
Tall man
Matamisa saut-ma
Fat
T6m-ma
Short man
Matamisa tun-na
Thin
Asina
Small
Asina
Weary (be)
Naung-ma
Great
T6m-ma
Thirsty (be)
We nga-ta-mat
Round
Waing-waing nga-
Hungry (be)
Y6k-k'aw-na
ma.
Akka or Kaw Vocabulary.
One
Two •••
Ti
Ngi
Better
Rest
Akyaw ta mu s^
Three
Hsong
Bad
Ma mui or hai
Four
E, or 0
Worse
Ni ma mu s&
Five
Nga
Worst
Six
Ko
High
Ye maw ko
Seven
Hsi
Short
Ye maw ma ko
Eight
Ye
True
Ye taw
Nine
Gwe
False
Ye ngo
Ten
Hs^
Thin (persons)
Yudo
Eleven
Hs^-ti
Thin (things)
Yeba
Twenty
Ngi-hs^
Fat
Yehsu
Twenty-one
Ngi-hs^-ti
Thick
Yetu
Thirty
Hsong-hs^
Pretly
Ye mu
A hundred
Ti ya
Ugly
Mow mu, or yaw
hat.
Two hundred
Ngi-ya
A thousand
Ti ba, or hse ya
Clear (water)
I nfe nc
Ten thousand
Miin, or hse ba
Thick (water)
Hsu
A hundred thousand
Tihs6
Cheap
I hsu-tek
A million
Ti lam
Dear
Yu ma byu
I
• ••
To stand
Yaw
We
...
To run
Yu yaw
Thou
...
To sleep
Yu yaw, or u-wu
You
To eat
Haw hsa
He
•■■
To drink -
Taw
They
•■■
To beat
Ti yaw
My house
Nga yung
To see
Yokka
Thy house ...
Nga yung ma
To make
A-hu
His house
A hsaw ka yung
To go
I -yaw
Above
Kota paw
To come
Lai yaw
Saw gaw
Below
Ko-o-paw
To sit
Far
Near
Yu mo ka
Yu mo ma ka
To lie down ...
To die
Hsep pya yu
Hsi mh
Alone
Tegat6
To call
Kaku
Inside
Yu nakwe
To throw
Ti ka le
In front oF
Ni pa paw
To drop
Kaka
Behind
Nakaw
To place
Yu tao
North
Kota paw
To lift
Kota yu
Shi ko la
South
Ko-o-paw
To pull
East
Nama tola paw
To smoke
Ya kaw daw
West
Nama gai paw
To love
Aw kaw saw
Good
Y6-mu
To hate
Sa da ma
CHAP. IX.] ETHNOLOGY.
Aiha or Kaw Vocabulary — continued.
693
Rich
Yo-kwe-a-s a w n g -
Ice
kwe-su-swoi-i-la.
Snow
Hsu (kannya)
Ye, or u-ye-ye
Poor
I-sa-i-taw
Rain ■•■
Old
Hsa maw
Wind
Yi le baw
Young
Ye nun ta ru
To thunder
U hse hse ya
Big
Yehu
To lighten
Myaw
Small
Ye hsa
Sky
Urn
Tight
Taw te-u
Day
U be da la
Narrow
Yesu
Night _
U kyi kyi
Wide
Yehu
To be light
Ba la mya
Painful
Hsaw ngao
To be dark
Ma maw
Red
Ye no
Cloud
U turn
Yellow
Yehsu
River
Ya hse
Green
Ye nyu
Stream ...
Gaw le
Blue
Yena
Hill
Ga da
Black
Ye na
Valley
Ka lawng
White
Ye pyu
Plain
Yahsa
Brown ...
,,.
Insect
A-ho
Grey
Ye pu
Heart
Nu ma
Hand
A-la
Chief
Hsu kwa
Foot
A-ko
Slave ...
A-kye lawka, or ya
Nose
Na-mfe
ka.
Eye
Mouth
Ne no
Witness
Hsak ka
Ka me
Law
Zawne ko
Yu-oTe-sao
Tooth
Hso
Punishment ...
Ear
Na haw
Crime
...
Hair (of the head) ...
0 du sakaw
Soul
...
Moustache
Me mang
Spirit
Pi shu ne, or nfi
Beard
Me tawne
To dream
Ma mac
Head .
Odu
Kindness
A-hsa gao ( F )
Tongue
Meld
To be treacherous ...
Ye ma ye mu ( P)
Fish
Nga sa
Hour
•••
Flea
Ku sho
Round
Yu lawng.
Sambhur
Kehs^
Flat
Ye hsa, or ye daw
Barking deer
Hsiha
Hollow
Ka bawn daw
Goat
Hsi mS
Strong (persons)
Ga yu ka kao
Sheep
Yaw
Strong (things)
Ye itawng
Milk
A-hso
Weak
Ye nawng
Bamboo
Ya pu
Belly
Ma
Tuhban
Odzong
Arm
Ladu
Hat
Oko
Leg
Aku ma gaw
Shan hat
La ho
Thigh
Sa pya
Jacket
Trousers ...
Pa kawng
Skin
Sa ko
Yeti
Bone
Sa vwe
Petticoat ' ...
Pidi
Blood
Hsi
Shoe
Hse ngaw
Rock
Ka-lo
Ear-ring
Nayo
Iron
Hsum
Rice
Hse pyu
Tin
Hsum ba
Paddy
Hse kum
Gold
Hsu
Opium
Yaye
Silver
Tu
Grass
Yaga
Copper ...
Ko
Tree ,„
Takaw bai yaw
Brass
Ko-hsu
Leaf
A -pa
A-baw te by a
Sulphur
Bu ya hsu
Mi hsa
Wood (timber)
Earth
Forest
D u se yaw
Salt
Sa do
Cold
Yu ka kai-a
Sugar
Sa do kume la
Hot
Yu hsa hsai-a
Father
A-da
Warm (persons) ...
Ye lum
Mother
A-ma
694
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER, [ CHAP, IX.
Akha on Kaw Vocabulary — concluded.
Brother (elder)
A-yu
1
' Needle
A-gaw
Brother (younger) ...
A-nyi
Pot
I-lawng
Sister (elder)
To ma
Boat
Law
Sister (younger)
A-nyi
Ka hse ya
Cord
A-sa
Man
Village
Pu
Woman
Ya mi ya
Nga mi ya
Nga ka nso ya
Roof
Ugyi
Me kyfe
Wife
Sword
Husband
Chair ... ; Na mawng
Child
Lagu la
Table ... Ta bva
Son
Ngali
Box
Bako
Daughter
Nga bu
Basket
Karo, OY kaba
Father-in-law
Nga saw maw
Bag
Pi tawng
Mother-in-law
Nga mi la ma
Net
La
Cultivator
Ya tu tu
Snare
Ya kaw
Shepherd
Picture
A md
God
Ta paw ma or a
Carving
pii.
Song
A gyu go
Sun
Nam ma
lo dance
La tu gaw
Moon
Bala
To play
Medicine
Nidtu
Star
A-go
Ya kaw
Fire
Mi za
poison
Za do
Water
I-su
They are coming ...
Naw aga ne late
House ...
Yung
Come here
La yaw
Horse
Mawng
They will go
I ma
Bull
Maw pa
They have arrived...
La ku mc
Cow
Maw ma
What is your name 7
Apa Iwe le
Dog
A-ku
Three men
H song ya
Cat
A-mi
Five horses
Mawng nga maw
Hen
Ya ma
Four houses
E yum
Cock
Ya pii
Two spears
Duck
A-gu
Three swords
Me Vyh hsong kong
Mule
Taw la
Six villages
Ko pu
Elephant
Yi ma
How far is it from
Hu ganiyu hu pa
Buffalo
Ai nyo
here?
i-ko.
Spear
Taw yaw
How old is this
Bow
horse ?
Cross-bow
Ka
I know
Nga si ma
Hatchet
Ma Icyc du, or bi ha
1
I do not know ...
Ma si
Vocabulary of Ako Tribe, Kcngtiing State,
One
't.
Thirty
He-so
Two
O (verj short)
A hundred
PivA
Three
H<5
Two hundred
NgiyA
Four
Li
A thousand
Ti Seng
Five
Nga
Ten thousand
Ti mijn
Six
Ko
A hundred thousand
Ti sen
Seven
Hsi
A million
Ti Ian
Eight
E
I
Nga
Nine
Gwi
We
Nga
Ten
So
Thou
Naw
Eleven
§o-to
You
Naw
Twenty
Ong-so
He
Naw
Twenty-one
Ong-BO-to
They
Nga
CHAP. IX.] ETHNOLOGY.
Vocabulary of AM Tribe, Kmgtung State — continued.
695
My house
Nkaw
Poor
Ye-hsi
Thy house
Naw-n-i-kaw
Old
Yi-maw
His house
Naw-n-i-kaw
Young
Mi-si
Above ...
Puttd
Big
Yaw-ma
Below
Pu
Small
Mi-si-silio
Far
Uyd
Tight
A-t£
Near
Az^
Narrow
Ha-te
Alone
Tiigd
Wide
Hu-ma
Inside
La k^(-u
Painful
Na-n6
In front of ...
La n^i
Red
A-no
Behind
Ha ndw 1
Yellow
A-ho
North
Put td
Green ...
A-niu
South
Pu
Blue
A-na
Fast
Bo do
Black
A-na
West
Lagd
White
A-pu
Good
Mo
Brown
•I.
Better
Mwe mo ni
Grey
A-pu
Best
Mwe mo nd
Hand
A-Jd
Bad
Ma mo
Foot
A-kyi
Worse
Moi lai
Nose
Na-baw
Worst
Moi lai
Eve
Mouth
Mi-nu
High
Hu md
Mi-taw
Short
La ni
Tooth
A-haw
True
A-ddw
Ear
Na-ko
False
A-g6
Hair (of the head) ...
Sa-ko
Thin (persons)
Thin (things)
A-gwe
Moustache
M£m5
A-bd
Beard
M^-do
Fat
A-tu
Head
A-hu
Thick
A-tu
Tongue
Mi-u
Pretty
A -mo
Fish
Tu-kyi
Ugly
A-gwi
Flea
Ku-hd
Clear (water)
U-gS
Sambhur
Hs^
Thick (water)
U-16
Barking-deer
Hsia
Cheap
A-the-yA
Goat
Hs'm*
Dear
A-pu-ka
Sheep
...
To stand
Tu paw
Milk
A-kyi
To run
Tsw6 I
Bamboo
U-baw
To sleep
I-to
Turban
Udzu
To eat
Za 1
Hat
Ud-gywU
To drink
Taw
Shan hct
Kwi-ya
To beat
To 1
Jacket
P^-kaw
To see
Mo
fro users
Ti-saw
To make
U-n6
Petticoat
I.a-gd
To go
t
Shoe
S'naw
To come
La
Ear-ring
Na-y6
To sit
Zaw
Rice
U-hs6
To lie down
Lit6
Paddy
Go-hu
To-die
Si i
Opium
Ya-yo
To call
Hu
Grass
Mii-gd
To throw
To
Tree
A-baw
To drop
Gal
Leaf
A -pa
To place
To lift
U-ta
Wood (timber)
A-lu
Ba-li
Forest
Ha-tsw6, or ha-t5
To pull
Ho
Cold
A-tii (very short)
To smoke
Daw
Hot
A-b4w
To love
Mu-ne
Warm (persons)
A-Iu
To hate
Ni-ma-p6
Ice
.■•
Rich
Hu-m6
Snow ...
Se-b^
696 THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX*
Vocabulary of Akd Tribe, Kengtung State — continued.
Rain
Maw
Sister (younger)
Sa-bo
Wind
Li-nii
Man
Ya-yo
To thunder
Zo-du
Woman
Ya-me
To lighten
A-mfi
Wife
Ka-md
Sky
Ta-go-si
Husband
U-gyi
Day
Ung-gdw
Child
Ya-nii
Night
Ung-ki
Son
Ya-yu
To be light
On-za
Daughter
Ya-mi
To be dark
A-na
Father-in-law
Se-maw
Cloud
A-pu
Mother-in-law
Se-maw
River
Ga-Iiw
f Lowland
Te-at-su
Stream
Hill
Loi-ya
YeddA
Cultivator 5 Hi^f*^*-
Ya-kawn
Valley
Ycddd-ku-kyi
(. fields.
Plain
Ga-nd
Shepherd ,«
God ...
Hsa-m^-su
Insect
Mt-haw
Api-mi-ye
Heart
Nu-ma
Sun
Ung-gdw
Chief
Yokki
Moon
Ba-ld
Slave
Yek-kd
Star
A-gyi
Witness
Hsaw-k^
Fire
Mi-za
Law
Aw
Water
A-hsu
Punishment
Gi
House
I-kaw
Crime
Mi-hsapE
Horse
Me-pd
Soul
Si
Bull
La-si
Spirit
N4
Cow „.
Yaw-ma
To dream
Ma
Dog
Kd
Kindness
Go-ha
Cat
Aw-mi
To be treacherous ...
Sa-diw
Hen
Ya-mi
Hour
...
Cock
Ya-pti
Round
A-lo
Duck
Gi-gyi
Flat
A-b&
Mule
Taw-la
Hollow
Ka-biw
Elephant
Buftalo
Ya-md
Strong (persona) ...
Ga-bdw
Bu-nd
Strong (things)
A-gd
Spear
U-kav
Weak
A-nu
Bow
...
Belly
Mu-md
Cross-bow
Hu-na
Arm
La-nu
Hatchet
Hed-zaw
Leg
Ki-du
Needle
Gu-gyti
Thigh
A-pa
Pot
U-law
Skin
Hak-ko
Boat
Law
Bone
Ha-ii (very short)
Cord
Nu-hsa
Blood
A-hsi
Village
Zo-gu
Rock
Lo-ma
poof
Gwyi
Iron
H^
Sword
Taw-md
Tin
H6-apli
Chair
Gi-bd
Gold
Hii
Table
Li-pa
Silver
Pu
Box
Tong
Copper
Gi
^Loima
Brass
Sulphur
Gi-ngo
Si-ho
Basket
Ka-Iaw or •
(large)
Loi ya
Earth
Miza
.(small)
Salt
Satu
Bag
Pa-tdw
Sugar
Father
Sagyi
Net
Kudzu
A-bli
Snare
Hkiin
Mother
A-md
Picture
Maw-kwU
Brother (elder)
Ai-i
Carving
I'o-fo-ma
Brother (younger) .,,
Sa-bo !
Song
Se-g6
Sister (elder)
A-su i
To dance
Bo-lu-nyii
^^^^BaPhx^^^^^^^etrnology,
^^^^ 697
■
^^^H Vocabulary of Akii Tribe, Kengtiing State
— concluded.
1
^H rAs
f Taw-pa
Five horses
MepA-nga-maw
^^^ To play ■ dren
Four houses
I-kaw-H-twi
^^^H
^^^^^ C Gamblc>
i.Pai-iii
Two spears
U-'taw-o-kyi
^^^H
^^^^H Medicine
Sagd
Three swords
Tawm.-i-hi-kyi
^^^1
^^^^V Poison
Do
Six villages
Zogii-ko-ku
^^^H
^^M They are coming ...
HePA-li'ga
How far is it from
Kade-u-ng£
^^^H
^^1 Come here
Va-ia
here?
^^^^1
^^1 They will go
Adzu-I^ne
How old isthit horse F
M ep &-ka w-la-ako*ka
^^^1
^^H They have arrived ...
Adzu-ku-liau-aw
le-ku-nc.
^^^H
^^H What is your name P
Nawma-ami-kau
I know
...
Ngaha
^^^H
^^^ Three men
Hh-gA
I do not know
1
...
Mah6
^M
^^^^P Vocabulary of Muhso Tribe, known as Lahutta,
Kengtiing State.
1
^H One
Ti ma
North
Aw na paw
^H Two
Ngi ma
South
..1
Aw kii paw
^^^1
^H Three
Sdte
East
,„
Man-i-taw'paw
^^^H
^^H Four
AwU
West
•*•
Man-i-ke-paw
^^^H
^^m Five
Nga ma
Good
M*
Da
^^^1
^1
^^^^^ Seven
Kaw ma (short)
Had ma
Better
Best
• .•
Da t^ to
^M
^^^H ^'g)it
Hi ma
Bad
• ••
Taw yi, or ma da
^^^M
^^H Nine
^ Ten
Kaw nna (long)
Ti hsi
Worse
Worst
...
] Ma da t^
^H
^H Eleven
Vi hsi tima
High
• ••
Kam maw maw, or
^^^H
^H Twenty
Ngi hsi
mwa.
^^^H
^H Twenty-one
Ngi ti»i ti ma
Sdhsi
Short
...
Nolo
^^^H
^H Thirty
True
.«>
Si wi da t& ti
^^^1
^H A hundrtxl
Ti ha
False
,,,
Ma da ma se
^^^1
^^H Two hundr<;d
Ngi ha
Thin (persons)
,.
Saw gu or go wa
^^^1
^^H A thousand ...
Ti heng i
Thin (things)
• ••
Pa
^^^H
^^V Ten thousand
Ti miin
Fat
• ••
Saw tu
^^^H
^H A hundred thousand
Ti hsen
Thick
Ml
Til, or twa
^^^H
^H A million
Ti lin '
Pretty
...
Si ve da
^^^H
^m
Nga 1
Ugly
»t
Si ve ma da
^^^H
^K We
Nga
Clear (water)
...
Chi
^^^H
^^B Thou
Naw 1
Thick (water)
..•
Ti
^^^H
^1 You
Naw
Cheap
...
Aw paw ma 6
^^^H
^H
Naw"|
Doubt f u 1;
Dear
•..
Aw paw 6
^^^H
they ap-
To stand
• t.
Hu ta v^
4 ^^^^^^^H
pear to
To run
• ••
Gokai
use words
To sleep
• *•
Aw ta ve
^^^1
signifying
To eat
.»
Aw sa
^^^1
^V They
NawJ
'* other."
To drink
...
[Ika] daw
^^^1
^^V My house
Nga >6
To beat
.»
Daw
^^^H
^H Thy house
Naw yfi
To see
• •.
Nya maw
^^^1
^^K Hfs house
Naw y£^ or utt y^
To make
«*•
Telo
^^^H
^^H Above
Mu pe
Mi cha
Togo
• •■
Kal wuh, or kai lo
^^^H
^^B Helow
To come
• ••
Lalo
^^^H
^m
Wii ya
To sit
ttl
Mo ta lo
^^^1
^H Near
La pa si, or ma wii
To lie down
• ••
Nge ta lo
^^^1
^^1 Atone
Tiga
To die
...
Sepo
^1
^^M Inside
Nu ti si, ur a-Uaw
To call
...
Ngaku
^^H
^H In front of
0 li yo, or o-paw
To throw
■ ••
Baka
^^^1
^H Behind ...
Kaw naw paw
To drop
...
Che pu la
1
88
698 THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
Vocabulary of Muhso Tribe, known as Lahuna, KSngtung Siate^contA.
To place
To lift
Ute tu lo
Paddy
Za hsi
Ngai yu lao, or che
vi a lo.
Opium
Yafin
Grass
Maw
To pull
Nga daw vi. or yu
Tree
Hsu hs£
vye ha \p.
Leaf
Aw pa
To smoke
Su kuddw -
Wood (timber)
Hsawhd
To love
A vi a nyi
Forest
He paw kaw
To hate
Ngikaw.masaw
Cold
Ka-a
Rich
Pu saw
' Hot
Hwa
Poor
Saw lu sa kwi, or
1 Warm (persons) ...
Le-a
naw law ti hsi ma
Ice
...
saw.
Snow
Ma ye or a-ng6
Old
Saw maw
Rain
Ma ve
Ma haw
Young
A-n6 [children
A-pyi].
Wmd
To thunder
Maw taw
Big
0 ya
To lighten
Maw na
Small
A D&
Sky
Maw pe
Maw la kaw
Tight
Ti-a
i Day
Narrow
Ti-a, or kaw da
1 Night
Maw pu
Wide
Fe-a
To be light
Maw paw lao
Painful
Na
To be dark -
Mu pu 0
Red
Nibi
Cloud
Mo
Yellow
Hsi be
River
Stream
Ika law
Green
Nawb£
Ika law ka-y£
Blue
Nawb^
Hill
Gadd
Black
White
Na dawng
Pub£
Valley
Plain
Aw toi, or taw wa
Brown
Insect
Sa vi
Grey
Piibfi
Heart
Ni ma hsi
Hand
LahsS
Chief
Kahs£
Foot
Kuhs^
Slave
Aw hse
Nose
Na kaw
Witness
Naga yu pt
Eve
Mouth
MShst
Law
Aw hi hsaw
Maw kaw
Punishment
La hsaw za tai
Tooth
Hsi
Crime
Naw hsu yai-e
Ear
Na paw
Soul
H saw ha, or hse pa\t
Hair (of the head) ...
Zu che
ma saw.
Moustache
Patzu
Spirit
Ne
Beard
Pa pi
To dream
Yu ma
Head
A to ko
Kindness
Naw he nga da
Tongue
Hat£
To be treacherous ...
Ma da-o
Fish
Nga
Hour
■ M
Flea
I hsi y€
Round
Le-a
Sambhur
Kuzii
Flat
Se-ba
Barking deer ...
Sa be ko-t
Hollow
Aw-ko
Goat
Ap)6
Strong (persons) ...
Strong (things)
Hsi pa h^, or ka \€
Sheep
Yaw
m-n
Milk
Hsu -6
Weak
Nu-a
Bamboo
H su (very short)
Belly
U pe
Turban
Oni
Arm
La yaw
Hat
Ut zaw
Leg
Thigh
Ku yaw
Shan hat
Lang haw
Paku
Jacket
Trousers
Apu
Skin
Aw gfi
Ha
Bone
Am gd
Hsuh
Petticoat
Tedu
Blood
Shoe
Ku nu
Rock
Ha pu ku
Ear-ring
Na paw pe
Iron
So
Rice
Za ka
Tin
So pu
CHAP. IX.J ETHNOLOGY. 699
Vocabulary of Muhsb Tribe, known as Lahuna, KSngtUng State — concld.
Gold
Hsi
Buffalo
Awga
Silver
Pu
Spear
G^
Copper
Ko
Bow
...
Brass
Kdhst
Cross-bow
Hka (very short)
Sulphur
Kan, or mat
Hatchet
A taw, or hsi hse
Earth
Migo, (»rgy6
A \i
Needle
Wu
Salt
Pot
Mo ku
Su^ar
A16md
Boat
Haw
Father
A pa
Cord
A ta che
Mother
A m^
Village
Ka
Brother (elder)
A vyi
Roof
Yib6
Brother (younger) ...
Aw nyi
Sword
A taw
Sister (elder)
Sister (youi]ger)
Nga vyi
Chair
Mi kaw
Nga vyi-e
Table
Teng
Man
Haw ka
Box
Ta kaw we
Woman
Ya mi ke
Basket
Kaw law, or pe ko
Wife
Aw mi ma
Bag
Mi saw
Husband
Aw pa
Ngai ya
Net
Go
Child
Snare ...
Wa taw
Son
Ngai ya pa
Picture
Saw ha teng
Daughter
Ngai ya mi
Carving
Sa hui
Father-in-law
Aw pao o-mi
Song
Ka mu
Mother-in-law
Aw mi-a
To dance
Pw^te
C I.owland
Timi te
To play
Ka yu da
Cultivator \ fields^
Medicine
Su-"
(Hill fields
Hete
Poison
Yab5
Shepherd
Ache
They are coming ...
Naw lo la lo
God
Uhsa
Come here
So lao
Sun
Maw nyi
They will go
Naw kai
Moon
Ha pa
They have arrived ...
Naw ga lao
Star
Maw ko
What is your name P
Aw hsi a tu ma me
Fire
A mi
Three men
S6ga
Water
Ika
Five horses
Maw nga chd
House
Ye
Four houses
Aw y6
Horse
Maw
Two spears
G& ngi kaw
Bull
Nu pa
Three swords
Ataw ae ta
Cfw
Nu ma
Six villages
Kaw ka
Dog
Pii
How far is it from
Oka kai wii na mft
Cat
Mi mi
here?
wii na, or su ka u
Hon
Ra ma
ka kai, or ka fu so-
Cock
Ra pu
A p4
e.
Duck
How old is this horse F
Maw ka nyi kaw ye
Mule
Law
I know
Nga hsi-a
Elephant
Haw
I do not know ...
Ma hsi
Vocabulary of Tribe known as Kwi by the Shans (they call themselves
Lahu Hsi). ' ;
One
Ti ma
Eight
Hi ma
Two
Ngi ma
Nine
Kaw M
Three
S^l£
Ten
Ti hsi
Four
Aw 16
Eleven
Ti hsi ti ma
Five
Nga ma
Twentv
Ti sao
Six
Kaw ma (short)
Twenty-one
Ti sao ti ma
Seven
HsS ma
Thirty
S£hst
7oo
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IX.
Vocabulary of Tribe known as Kwi by the Shans (they call themselves
Lahu list) — continued.
A hundred
Tihoi
To come
Lao
Two hundred
Ngi hoi
To sit
Mu
A thousand
Tipan
To lie down
I-mi
Ten thousand
Ti miin
To die
Saw saw
A hundred thousand
Ti hsen
To call
Ku
A million
TiUn
To throw ...
Ba
I
We
Nga
To drop
To place
Se
U-da
Thou
-\
To lift
Si da
You
> Naw
To pull
Waw
He
To smoke
A hsu hsaw
They
J
To love
Tara
My house
Nga yi
To hate
Sang da
Thy house
Naw yfi
Rich
Saw hsa
His house
Naw y£, or uviti
Poor
Saw hn
Na'lo
Old
Saw maw
Above
Young
Yana
Below
Malo
Big
Aw lo ma
Far
Wi-a
Small
Aw nd
Near
Aw pa
Tight
Go-a
Alone
Tiga
Narrow
Go-a
Inside
Ka lo gai
Wide
Gwa
In front of
Olo
Painful
Na
Behind
Kaw tan aw
Red
0 ni
North
Nalo
Yellow
Ohsi
South
Malo
Green
0 naw
East
Man I taw wa
Blue
Opi
West
Man I kd wa
Black
Ona
Good
Da
White
Oyu
Better
Best
' Saw ye da
Brown
Grey
0 pi-a
Bad
Sa
Hand
La gaw
Worse
Worst
Saw ye hai
Foot
Nose ...
Kyi
Na kaw
High
Maw
Eve
Mouth
Mi hsi
Short
N^a
Maw kaw
True
Saw
Tooth
A hsu
False
Kaw wa
Ear
Na paw
Thin (persons)
Saw gaw
Hair (of the head) ...
Su k^
Thin (things)
Pa
Moustache
Pa zaw
Fat
Pu-a
Beard
Pa kang
Thick
Tu-a
Head
Ako
pretty
Da
Tongue
Hale
Ugly
Ma da
Fish
Nga
Clear (water)
Kd
Flea
Pihs^
Thick (water)
lA
Sambhur
S£
Cheap
I-a
Barking deer
Su ga n6
Dear
0 poya
Goat
A hsi
To stand
Tu ho
Sheep
Yaw
To run
Se
Milk
Su-t
To sleep
Yaw
Bamboo
A wa
To eat
Hsa
Turban
Une
To drink
[A ka] daw
Daw
Hat
Udzaw
To beat
Shan hat
La haw
To see
Mwa
Jacket
Trousers
A pu
Ha
To make
U lu za te
logo
Yo
Petticoat
Te
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
701
Vocabulary of Tribe known as Kwi by the Shans {they call themselves
Lahu Hsi) — continued.
Shoe
Chi nu !
Rock
Ear-ring
Na po la 1
Iron
Rice
Sa ka
Tin
Paddy
Sa hsi
Gold
Opium
Va fin
Silver
(trass
Maw
Copper
Tree
Zawd^
IVass
Leaf
Aw pa
Sulphur
Wood (timber)
A saw
Earth
Forest
He pi lo
Salt
Cold
Ka
Sugar
Hot
Haw
Father
Warm (persons) ...
Le
Mother
Ice
Brother (elder)
Snow
Hsi
Brother (younger) ...
Rain
Maw yk
Maw haw
Sister (elder)
Wind
Sister (younger)
To thunder
Maw taw
Man
To lighten
Maw p^
Woman
Sky
Maw
Wife
Day
Maw kaw
Husband
Night
Maw ka
Child
To be light
Ma te lao
Son
To be dark
Maw su na
Daughter
Cloud
Mwe
Father-in-law
River
Ka ka lo ma
Mother-in-law
Stream
Kaka
^ ,.■ ( Lowland
C"'''^«- fields.
Hill
Ga da
Valley
Plain
Aw daw
^°^- i Hill fields.
Shepherd
God
Insect
Pi haw
Heart
Ni ma
Sun
Chief
Aw kc
1 Moon
Slave
Su s^
1 Star
Witness
.••
Fire
Law
Aw hi aw kawng
Water
Punishment
...
! House
Crime
Tut
1 Horse
Soul
Sa se vy4
Bull
Spirit
Ne
Cow
To dream
Yaw ma
Dog
Kindness
Ta da
J Cat
To be treacherdbs ...
Pa da
1 Hen
Hour
...
Cock
Round
Le-a
Duck
Flat
Aw pe ne
Aw kaw kaw
Mule
Hollow
Elephant
Strong (persons) ...
La vy^
Buffalo
Strong (things)
He
Spear
Weak
Nu
Bow
Belly
Up£
Cross-bow
Arm'
La-Bw
Hatchet
Ley
Thigh
Ki-aw
Needle
Pa
Pot
Skin
0-gi
Boat
Bone
Aw-wa
Cord
Blood
Saw
Village
Haw me
So
So pu
Hsi
Pu
Tawng
Tawiig Idng
Mat
Mi gyi
Al^
A 1^ dza
A*pa
A -mi
A-vi
Aw na
Nga vl ma
A na ma
Haw ka
Ya mi
Aw mi ma
O paw maw
Ya ne
Haw ka ya
Ya mi ya
Aw pu
Law pi ma
Ti mi te
Ha kaw
Wihsa"
Maw ni
Ha pa
Maw ki
A-mi
Aka
\&
Maw
Nu pa
Nu ma
Pi
Nam mia
Ra ma
Ra paw
A-p^
Law
Va ma
Nu ga
A-gyd
Ka
Ki hsaw
A-wu
Mo ku
Haw
Zak6
Ka
702
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
Vocahulary of Tribe known as Kwi by the Shans (they call themselves
Lahu Hsi) — concluded.
Roof
A y5
Come here
To lo lao
Sword ...
A-da
Thev will go
Yo kai che
Chair
Mi kaw
Thev have arrived ...
Ga lao
Table
Teng
What is your name P
A to m6 15
Box
Kang
Three men
Saw s£ ga
Basket
Me ta
Five horses
Maw nga chS
Bag
La sa
Four houses
Aw ye
Net
G6
Two spears
Gy5 ngt ma
Snare
P6
Three swords
Da se tin
Picture
Aw hu aw h3ng
Six villages
Kaw ka
(Carving
.»
How far is it from
Saw ye koi hsi le
Song
To dance
Ka mi
here?
Cheng
How old is this
Maw a-yu koi ma
To play
Medicine
Lega
horse f
le.
Na saw
I know
Nga hsf-a
Poison
Taw
I do not know
Nga ma hsi
They are coming ...
Su la
Vocabulary of Lihsaw Tribe, Kengtung State.
One
Ti ma
Alone
Tileo
Two ...
Ni ma
Inside
Taw ta shu
Three
Sa ma
In front of
Gwa ta shu
Four ...
Lilu
Behind
Gai nya shu
Five
Ngaw ma
North
0 pu shu
Six
Hso ma
South
Kut shu sha
Seven
Shti ma
East
Sa do ku
Eight
He ma
West
Mi sa ko ku
Nine
Ku ma
Good
Ka
Tun
Hsi ma
Better
A ku ka
Ek'vcn
Hsi ti ma
Best
Su sum sii ka
Twenty
Ni hsi ma
Bad
Waw
Twenty-one
Ni hsi ti ma
Worse
A ku waw
Thirty
Saw tzii
Worst ' ...
Su sum sii waw
A hundred
Ti nya
High
A mo mo
Two hundred
Ni nya
Short
l^-^h
A thous.ind
Ti tu
True
Wo wii
Ten thousand
Ti mu
False
Mow wo mow wii
A hundred thousand
Ti hsen
Thin (persons)
La so chu
A million
Ti Ian
Thin (things)
Bale
I
Ng.iw"^
Fat
La so swe sii
Wc
Ngwa
Thick
A tu to
Thou
You
fjj[ -Doubtful.
Pretty
Bi-a
Hi-ya
He
Nu
Clear (water)
Ni ya ko
They
My house
Ngwa.
Thick (water)
Vilii
Ngaw hi
Cheap
I pu nyi
Thy house
Naw aw hi
De.-ir
1 pu wa
His house
Nuhi
To stand
Hega
Above
Ha mo mo
To run
Ku pa che ya
Below
£-erh
To sleep
Eta
Far
Huzd
To cat
Za
Near
Pate
To drink
Nyi )'a do
CHAP. IX.] ETHNOLOGY. . 703
Vocabulary of Lihsaw Tribe, Kengtung Siafe—contmvtd.
To beat
To see
To make
To go
To come
To sit
To lie down
To die
To call
To throw
To drop
To place
To lift
To pull
To smoke
To love
To hate
Rich
Poor
Old
Young
hig
Small
Tight
Narrow
Wide
Painful
Red
Yellow
Green
Blue
Black
White
Brown
Grey
Hand
Foot
Nose
Eye
Mouth
Tooth
Ear
Hair (of the head) ..
Moustache
Beard
Head
Tongue
Fish
Flea
Sambhur
Barking deer
Goat
Sheep
Milk
Bamboo
Turban
Hat
Shan hat
Du-a
Go maw lo
Ha hsu hsu yi
t
Ni takfi
Yuja kawla
Si kaw leo
Hawd
U
Hsi kaw le
Uzu ku ga
Aw mo mo te gd
Chii ta la
Ye ku s5
Ta la kaw
Ngi hsu la gaw
Fu do shii do
So hi so swa
So mo
La gula
I da ma
I ti na
Si se ni da
Sa da
A shi she
Na
1 shu shu
I ni shu
I shii shu
I na la
I na la
I pu pu
I mi tsu
Lapd
Si pd
Nako
My^ su
La ho
Tzii tzii
Na po
Ucbo
Mi tsd
Ni tsd pu so
Odo
Lacho
Ngwa
Kata
Se
Cho
Ach6
A chozu
Tzi dzu
Ut6
Naho
Sop mo
Jacket
Trousers
Petticoat
Shoe
Ear-ring
Rice
Paddy
Opium
Grass
Tree
Leaf
Wood (timber)
Forest
Cold
Hot
Warm (persons)
Ice
Snow
Rain
Wind
To thunder
To lighten
Sky
Day
, Night
To be light
To be dark
Cloud
River
Stream
Hill
; Valley
■ Plain
j Insect
Heart
Chief
Slave
Wi ness
Law
Punishment
Crime
Soul
Spirit
To dream
Kindness
To be treacherous
Hour
Round
Flat
Hollow
Strong (persons)
Strong (things)
Weak
Belly
Arm
Leg
Thigh
Skin
Wit chu
Mi tzii
Yihu
Si ni
Na pu to
Za pu
Za masu
Yapi
Mo
Zidzii
Zi pya
Zi pu so
Si na
Gi a
Sa
Lu-a
Ne
Ma ha li-e
Mi hi yu-eh
Mi ku p£ -
Mibyfiy6
Mo kwa
Mo lo
Sa ko
Mi tadzu law
Nyi mo
Mo ku
Lo ku dam&
Lo kula
Wadzii
Wad^
Bidi
Mi ma
Haw to
Pa shula
Sha she
Te ba
Mo shu shu
Nado
Shi kaw to
Ne
Nyi a-ko
Ta la gaw
Lai nyi shi do
Lu lu le
Pip p^ ni
I ku do
Waw nyi
Fwa
Nu lega
Hechi
La-vuh
Su na byi
Bu-o
I kudzu
?04 THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
Vocabulary of Lihsaw Trihcy Kettgtung State — concluded.
Bone
Yu-o.to
Mule
A mo law dzu
Blood
I-shuh
Elephant
Ha md
Rock
Lu di pa
Buffalo
A ngA
Iron
Ho
Spear
Lapya
Tin
Ho pu
Bow
Gold
Shii
Cross-bow ...
Sa
Silver
Pu
Hatchet
A so nu
Copper
Dzu
Needle
O-o
Brass
Dzii shu shu
Pot
Nimb£
Sulphur
Ko ZQ
Boat
Suli
Earth
Chai mii-6
Cord
Su-a
Salt
Sa po
Village
La su tse zu
Sugar
Sa po s5
Babd
Roof
Shu
Father
Sword
A ta
Mother
Ma m j
Chair
Gu mi
Brother felder)
Brother (younger) .„
Kok6
' Table
Nyi ko
Nyi-a
! Box
Sigu
Sister (elder)
Si-che
i Basket
Taw law
Sister (younger)
Nyi-ma
Bag
Usha
Man
Su pa la
Net
Sa wd
Woman
Za mu la
\ Snare
Nyai wd
Wife
Za mo
Picture
Bo wa
Husband
Zagu
Carving
...
Child
Za nil
Song
Mu go gwa
Son
Ngaw za
To dance
Ka nyd
Daughter
Ngaw mi
To play
Medicine
Ka nya
Father-in-law
Za ywe
Natzii
Mother-in-law
Za ma
Poison
Do
rultiva- f Lowland
"'^- t^Hill fields
De mi ma so
They are coming ...
Yu wa ni so lo ta
wa ja.
San to mi-i-so
Come here
Tala
Shepherd
God
■ «4
They will go
Yu wa ni so lo yi go
Wuhsa
They have arrived ...
Yu wa ni so lo pi
Sun
Mu hsa
law.
Moon
Ha bat zii
What is your name?
Nu min a le myu
Star
Kula
Three men
Sa lo
Fire
A do
Five horses
A mo ngaw ma
Water
Nyi ya
Four houses
Li hi
House
Hi
Two spears
La che nyi tzii
Horse
A mo
Three swords
Atd sa tzii
Bull
Ai nji pa
Six villages
Hso sai
Cow
Ai nvi ma
How far is it from
Tagaw ye gu sa yi
Dog
A n^
here ?
erh.
Cat
A nyit zu
How old is this
A mo he myekoywa
Hen
A ga ma
horse F
Cock
A gd pa
I know
Ngaw su
Duck
!
1 do not know
Ngaw mow su
Note. — The sounds in this dialect are very difficult to represent in English,
vocabulary should be tak^ down by a Chinese scholar.
The
Wa Vocabulary^ Kengtung State,
One
Te
Five
Pawn
Two
A
Six
Lu-a, or lu-erh
Three
Oi
Seven
A-lu-a
Four
Wun
Eight
Tai
CHAP. lie.] ETHNOLOGY.
IVa Vocabulary, Kengiung State — continued.
7^5
Nine
Dim
To eat
Sha-e
Ten
Kau
To drink
Nyu om
Ririt
Eleven
Kau ru te
To beat
Twenty
Nga
To see
Yo-e
Twenty -one
Nga ru te
To make
Lun i sung
Thirty
Ngoi
To go
Lun
A hundred
Ti ya
To come
Ing
Two hundred
A ya
1 To sit
Yawm-e
A thousand
Kau ya, or heng
■ To lie down
Tawng-i<le
Ten thousand
7
i To die
Yum
A hundt^ thousand
: As in Shan
! To call
Long sung
A million
3
To throw
Kwat-i-lit
I
Ao
To drop
Sawt-i-lit
We
Ao
To place
Un-e
Thou
Me
To lift
Nyang-i-bun
You
Me
To pull
Oi-e
He
Me
To smoke
Lut.e
They
My house
Mom paing (P)
To love
Rak-e-po
Nya ao
To hate
Ang-e-rak
Thy house
Nya me
Rich
We num
His house
Nya me
Poor
Pra nam awn
Above
Pang ma
Old
Kut num
Below
Hakd^
Young
Kaw nyawm
Far
Ngai
Big
Ma ting num
Near
Taw
Small
Kun yet
Alone
Inside
Hu ta ga yong
Ti ting
Tight
Narrow ...
] K5p-i.it
In front of
Tilut
Wide
Ma wa
Behind
Kawng ka e
Pain/ul
Sao
North
Ka long e or ka de
Red
Krak
n)a.
Yellow
Ngur
South
Ka se e, or ka nge
Green
Ngall
East
Ka le nge ,
Blue
Sawm
West
Ka lek nge
Black
Lu-ong
Good
Mom ;
White
Paing
Better
Mom in
Brown
•••
Best
M5m mu ka je
Grey
Maw mun
Bad
Ral
Hand
Da-e [ang da-e.
Worse
Ka ral nam in
whole arm, includ-
Worat
Ka rai nam ke-i*
ing hand] yin de.
pi-
fingers.
High
Long
Foot
Ang song
Short
Turn
Nose
Da mwe
True
Mom pan
Ka wok ka vyek
Eve
Mouth
Da ngai
False
Da lut
Thin (persons)
Kraw
Tooth
Rang
Thin (things)
Ri !
Ear
Da yauk
Fat
Mom glwin
Hair (of the head) ...
Hak kaing
Thick
Po num
Moustache
Hak la lut
Pretty
M6m
Beard
Hak ang kap
Ugly
Ang in mom
Head
Ang kaing
Dak
Clear (water)
Mom paing
Tongue
Thick (water)
Wu
Fish
Ka
Cheiip
Kon yit noi
Flea
Dup
Dear
Ting noi
Sambhur
Bwe
To stand
Song na put
Barking deer
To run
Rung
Goat
P6
To sleep
It
Sheep
...
89
)o6
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
Wa Vocabulary, Kengtung State — contiuued.
Milk
1
Dwe
Arm
Ang lai
Bamboo
La
Leg
Bli shong
Turban
Win-
Hollow
Kwe dao
Hat
Maw k
Thigh
Ang wing
Hafc
Shan hat ...
Ne kaing
Skin
Tacket
Ya
Bone ...
Ang
Trousers
Kra
Blood
Nam
Petticoat
Dai
Rock
Mo
Shoe
Kyep .
Iron
Rum
Ear-ring
Bur«
Tin
Rum patng
Rice
Kao
Gold
Tang lit
Paddy
Ngu
Silver
Mur
Opium
Pin
Copper
Lat
Grass
Rup
Brass
Lat ngur
Tree
Rawng kao
Sulphur
Mat
Leaf
La
Earth
De
Wood (timber)
U me [?1
Salt
Kwi
Forest
Pre
Sugar
Kwi nyom
Cold
Gut
Father
Gung
Hoc
Rawn
Mother
Ma
Warm (persons]
Ur
Brother felder)
Brother (younger) ...
Ek
Ice
• aa
Kaw-e
Snow
Lat [?]
Sister (elder)
U^
Rain ...
Li
Sister (younger)
Ba bun kaw-«
Wind
Gur
Man
Bam^
To thunder
Lu shai
Woman
Babun
To lighten
Plok blak
Wife
But)
bky
Kang rao
Husband
Me
Day
Pun nge
Child
Kawn e
Nif;ht
Pun sawm
Son
Ba me kawn
To be light
Rang pre
Daughter ...
Ba bun kawn
To be dark
Awp pre
Fathei^tn-Iaw
Gung bun
Cloud
Kut awm
Mother- in-law
Ma bun
River
Krawng mung
r Low-land
Vu kin na
Stream
Om yet
Cultivator < fields.
Hill
M'long
(.Hill fields
Yu he mar
Valley
Plain
■ Klagh
Shepherd-
Insect
Mawt
God
Hpasao
Heart
Si kom
Sun
Nge
Chief
Hkun
Moon
Kyi
Slave
Kra
Star
Se mwin
Witness
^
Fire
Ngall
Law
Punishment
As in Shan
Water
House
Om
Nya
M"*long
Crime
3
Horse
Soul
Mut se kom
Bull
Moi maing
Spirit
Pret
Cow
Moi wun
To dream
S'mo
Dog
So
Kindness
...
Cat
Miau
To be treacherous ...
Hen
Yer wun
Hour
...
Cock
Yermi
Round
Mom pai ling
Duck
Ap
Flat
Mom nvu
Mule
M'15ng
Strong (persons) ...
Mra
Elephant
Sang
Krak
Strong (things)
Loi
Buflalo
Weak
byur
Spear
Plur
Belly
Tu
Bow
...
CHAP. IX.] ETHNOLOGY. 707
1
fVa Vocnbulary, K^n^tung Sfte — concluded.
I
CfMS-bow
Ak
To play .,. 1 Ge
Hatchet
Dn mat
Medicine
Da
^^^1
Needle
Nyur
Poison
Hsan
^^^H
Pol
Dnwng
They nrc coming ...
Ing lek
^^^H
Boat
Ru
Come here
1 ng da tin
^^^H
Cord
Mow
Tf-ey will go
l.un i sung
^^^H
VilLigc
Vawng
They have arrived ...
Hwe gye
^^^1
Roof
Blong
What is your name P
Sti ma pi
^^^H
Sword
Waik
Three mm
Gwe oi gao
^^^H
Chair
A-tan
Five horses
L'long pun bo
^^^H
Tnble
Ben
Four houses
Bun nya
^^^H
Box
Kang
Two spears
Plur a dai
^^^^^H
Basket
Moi
Three swords
Waik oi bla
H^^^^l
B.ng
Ha knwk
Six villages
I.u-a ynwng
^^^^1
Net
Rup
How far Is it from
Kui) ngailang hb
^^^H
Snare
Mao
here?
^^^H
Piaure
Rop
How old is this
M*]ung ywa asak
^^^1
Carving
•••
horse 7
ta hun.
^^^1
Song
To dunce
A-nyi'
1 know
Yong ao ka me
^^^1
Si
1 do not know
Ang yong
I
•
ate {these people
^^^^ Vocabulary of Pi
ilaung Tribe, settled in Kengtung Sf
^^^K call themselves Darang).
,1
^^H Two ,..
Hie
A
Kar
Near
Tong
Ntftt
^^^ Three
U-we (short)
Alone
Wt
1
^^^^LFaur
Pu-on
Inside ...
I-chcne
■
^^VPtva
Pan
In front of .„
I-ai
^^^H
^^l Six
Naw
Behind
l-pan
I-iciiwi
^^^1
^H Seven
By
North „.
^^^1
^m Eight
Nda
South
Uek
^^^1
^l Nine
Lim
East
Kadi -lek •sind)
^^^1
^H
Gfl
West
Kadi-gui-sinii
^^^1
^^^ Eleven
G6-hle
Good
Mam
'^^^H
^^^^H Twenty
A-g6
Better
Mam ka kao
^^^1
^^^^H Twentyone
A-go-hle
Best
Mam kuHJ
i^^^l
^^^" Thirty
U-wc-gu
Bad
Hai
^^^H
^^V A hundred
Qme-yawgh
Worse
Hai stit
■
^^H Two hundred
A-mi-yawgh
Worst
Hai sfit
^^^
^^H A thouund
U-ryeng
High
Hsa
^^^1
^^H Ten thousand
Mijn
Short
Viam
^^H
^^H A hundred thousand
Hsen
True ...
Sau
^^^1
^^m A iDtDion
Lan
FaJse
Am sau
^^^1
^1
0
Thin (persoru)
(Luwi) kya
Rhco
^^^1
H We
Ye
Thin (things)
^^^1
^H Thou
Mai
Fat
Glaing
^^^1
^B You
B»
Thick
Hut
^^^H
^m
An
Pretty
Chit
^^^1
^H They
^H My nouM
G«
Ugly
Chilsao
^^^1
Kilng 0
Clear (water)
S'nga
SJwTn
^^^1
^H Thy house
Kang mai
1 Thick (water)
^^^1
^H His house
Kang an
I Cheap „
Nawk pareik
^^^1
^H Above
l-deng
; Dear
.Nawkkon
^^^H
^H Below
I-krum
To stAnd
1
Hiawng
J
^^^^ ^^
7o8
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IX.
Vocabulary of Palaung Tribe^ settled in Kengtung State {these people
call themselves Dardng) —continued.
To run
Ku-blep
' Milk
Um-pu
To sleep
It
' Bamboo
Rang
To eat
Horn
■ Turban
Kamaj
To drink
Di-eng
Hat
Mo-ging
To beat
Ma
Shan hat
Klup
To see
Vo
Jacket
Trousers
Sa-t6
To make
Raing
Sa-ld
To go
Hao
1 Petticoat
Glang
To come
Ta
1 Shoe
Kycp tin
To sit
Koi
Ear-ring
Kaset-hyo
To lie down ..•
Koine (or Koi-ing)
Rice
T'gau
To die
Yam
Paddy
Nj.0
To call
De
Opium
Yafin
To throw
Wun
Grass
Pat
To drop
Shogh
Tree
Dang-h6
Hla-h^
To place
To lift
Un
Leaf
Dugh
Wood (timber)'
H^
To pull
Dut
Forest
Prai
To smoke
Nyawt naw
Cold
Kat
To love
Lai rawk
Hot
Mai
To hate
Lai yawng
Warm (persons)
Si-ywin
Rich
(Luwi) kram
Ice
• ••
Poor
(Luwi) pl&n
(Luwi) kat
Snow
N'dap
Old
Rain
Glai
Young
(Luwi) num
Wind
Kun
Big
(Luwi) tang
To thunder
Ga-nam
Small
(Luwi) tiek
To lighten
Plam-plep
Tight
Kyer
Sky
Kang hau
Narrow
Kyer
Wagh
Day
Se-ngSi
Wide
Night
Ka-saw
Painful
Sau
To be light
Wagh
Red
Reng
To be dark
Ap
Vellow
Deng
Cloud
Nga-ut
Green
Nyen
River
Um-bleng
Blue
Kawng (?)
Stream
Um-bleng-ti-et
Black
Wong
Hill
Nawn (Mountain)
White
Lui
Katiyang.
Brown
Valley
Da-lfe
Grey
Mun
Plain
Glang {or pSng)
Hand
Lai
Insect
Pruwin and pnioin
Foot
Cheng
Heart
Nogh
Nose
Kong mu
Chief
La-hoie [Lahu(t)],
Eve
Mouth
Ngai
Slave
Hmai
Mwe
Witness
Hsaksi (kadi)
Tooth
Rang
I^w
Tara
Ear
Heo
Punishment
Tam
Hair (of the head) ...
Huk ging
Crime
Map
Moustache
La mo
Soul
Pa-I6m
Beard
Kong kip
Spirit
Ka-nam
Head
Ging
To dream
It-m'bao
Tongue
S'la
Kindness
Lai-rok
Fish
Ga
To be treacherous ...
Pyait hsitsa
Flea
S'di-en
Hour
...
Sambhur
Ya (short)
Round
Kalang
Barking deer
Bwa
Flat
Gli-et
Goat
Pd
Hollow
Ka-ong
[Luwijplom
Sheep
...
Strong (persons)
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
709
Vocabulary of Palaung Tribe, settled in Kengtung State {these people
call themselves Dardng) — concluded.
Strong (things)
Plom
Hen
Ma-iyeng
Weak
[Luwi] da-hli
<Vaik
Cock
Yen-ago ng
Belly
Duck
Pyit
Ma-lo
Arm
Dai
Mule
Le?
Gugh-mu-cheng
filephant
Buffalo
Sang
Thigh
Hlao
Ora
Skin
Hu-in
Spear
Li-ar
Bone
Ka-ang
Bow
•.■
Blood
Nam
Cross-bow
A
Rock
Mao
Hatchet
Mwe
Iron
Hing.
Needle
Ma-laik
Tin
Hing-lui
Pot
K'lo
Gold
Kriu
Boat
Ro
Silver
Ron
Cord
WSn
Copper
M'lawng
Village
Rao
Brass
M'lawng leng
Roof
Yawt
Sulphur
Gan-duk
1 Sword
Pu-wat
Earth
Ka-dai
'■ Chair
...
Salt
Se
Table
Pan-ttin
Sugar ...
Se-ngam
Box
Yaduk
Father
Guin
Basket
Kruik
Mother
Ma
Bag
Hu
Brother (elder)
I-kat
Net
Rap
Brother (younger) ...
Wa
Snare
Hkom
Sister (elder)
I-kat i-bun
Picture
Rang
Sister (younger) ...
Wa i-bun
Carving (of a flower)
Rang bogh
TawK-5
Man
1-mai
Song
To dance
Woman .*.
I-bun
Ga
-Wife
I-bun
To play (as children)
Dalao
Husband
I-mai
Medicine
Sa-nam
Child
Gawn
Poison
N»on
Son
Gawn i-mai
They are coming ...
(le-bat-ta
Daughter
Gawn i-bun
Come here
Ta re-ni
Father-in-law
B5
They will go
Ge t'hao
Mother-in-law
(;5n
They have arrived ..
Ge ta re-ni
Cultivator (htll fields)
I.uwi raing man
What is your namef
Seng an-hsii
Shepherd
• ..
Three men
Luwi-uwe-i
God
Sau hpra
Si-ngai
Five horses
M'prawng pan
Sun
Four houses
Kang pu-on kSng
Moon
Mag-gyen
Two spears
Li-ar a bla
Star
Si-main
Three swords
Put uwe bla
Fire
Ngaw
Six villages
Naw rao
Water
Urn
How far is it from
Yet-u-di-ni-tong
House
King
hereP
Horse
M'prawng
How old is this
M'prawng-ni-asak-
Bull
Mak[Mak-t£ng)
horse?
kai-mawng-koi.
Cow
Ma-miik
1 know
0 nam
Dog
So
1 do not know
0 tu nam
Cat
Ang-ngiao
V
Kabulary of En J
"ribe, Kengtung Sta
te.
One
Tai
Four
Pun
Two
Ra
Five ... ,..
Pan
Three ...
Loi
1 Six „.
Li-fi
710
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
Vocabuiary of En Tribe, KengtUng State — continued.
Seven ,..
- EiEht ..,
Nine
Ten
Eleven ...
Twenty ...
Twenty-one
Thirty .*.
A hundred
Two hundred
A thousand
Ten thousand
A hundred thousand
A million ,„
1
Wc
Thou ...
You
He
They
My house
Thy house
His house
Above ,„
Below .,.
Far ,„
Near
Alore ...
Inside ... ...
In front of
Behind ...
North ...
South
East
West ...
GL-od .11
Better ...
Best
Bad
Worse ... ...
Worst ...
High
Short ...
True
Fiilse ...
Thin (persons)
Thin (things)
F<it
Thick ...
Preliy ...
Ugly ..,
Clear (^ater)
Thick [water)
Cheap ...
Dear ...
A.li-*rh
Pin dai
Dim
Ko
Numbers aDuve ro
as in Shan.
Ao
A word signifying-
** others seemB
to be used for
second and thtrd
personal prO'
nouns.
Nya-ao
Nya-pe {ar p[)
Nya-pi [or kaut)
Ta lawTig
Tahsfi
Ngai
Te kau
Ka nawrg
Kat^
Kakr^
Ta bwng
Ta h^^
Ka n s'ngai
Ka kre s ngai
MofiTi
Muin krjk krak
Mum krak krak
Sau
\ Sau krak kr^k
Laung
Lul
Rau
Kiiw kaw
Yawn
Rj
Klwing
Pu
Mom
San rang
(ROm) sa ngijm
(Rom) sa ngu
Ek noi
Ting noi
To stand
To run ,.,
To sleep
To eai ..,
To drink
To beat
"I'o see
To make
To go
To come
To sit
To fie down
To die
To call
To throw
To drop
To place
To lift
To pull
To STTokc
To love
1'o hate
Rich
Poor
Old
Young
Big
Small
Tight
Narrow
Wide
PainfuS
Red
Yelloiv
tireen
Blue
Black
While
brown
Grey
Hand
Foot
Nose
Eye
Mouth
Toi^th
Esjr
Hair fof the head)
jMniistBche
Beard
Head
Tot;gije
Fish
Flea
Sambhur
Ba> king deer
(ical
Shcpp
Chwong
Mtil£
It
Sawm
Ya (rom)
Mfn
Vau
Yuhan
Hu
In
Nawm
Tawng taw
Yum
Ho ni na
Kwat
Kfik
Un
Roi un
Dung
Bao
Rin
Kwe nu ga
Pyik pyen pyflc kwi
Pyik tak pyik yak
Kwat
Num
U pi tin
Et
Bit
Kyit
Wa
Sao
Sung grak
Long
S'nga
f Law ng for Iwung)
Paing
Pairg yam ring
Taf
Sawng
Mq
Ngai
Lot
Rang
Vok
Hak kaing
Not
Kak not Kin
Kaing
Lak
Ka
Lep
Hsak
Po
U
CHAP. IX.] ETHNOLOGY.
Vocabulary of En Tribe, Kengtung i'/a/c^— continued.
711
Milk
Bamboo
Turban
Hat
Shan hat
Jacket
Trousers
Petticoat
Shoe
Ear-ring
Rice
Paddy.
Opium
Grass
Tree
Leaf
Wood (timber)
Forest
Cold
Hot
Warm (persons)
■ Ice
Snow
Rain
Wind
To thunder
To lighten
Sky
Day
Night
To be light
To be dark
Cloud
River
Stream
Hill
Valley
Plain
Insect
Heart
Chief
Slave
Witness
Law
Punishment
Crime
Soul
Spirit
To dream
Kindness
To be treacherous
Hour
Round
Flat
Hollow
Strong (persons)
Strong (things)
Rom-tu
U-yawng
Pale kaing
Mak
N6
S'b6
K'la
Ui
Kyep
Bu yok
Gao
Ngo
Yafin
Rep
Num kao
La
Kao chen
Uk
Siyat
Ron
Su
Mwe
L£
Kd
Rung rung
Tu sa
Tong ma
Num ngai
Num som
Un rang
Vyek
Mut om
Nam hawng
Klong et
Blao
Peng
Mwet
Sawng bong
Kwat = a vill^e
headman.
Mai
Hsak kyi
Rit
Wat
Lut pom
Hsu
Maw-a-yao
Ri
Mun
Hpa
Laung
Reng
Chen
Weak
Belly
Arm
Leg (lower)
Thigh
Skin
Bone
Blood
Rock
Iron
Tin
Gold
Silver
Copper
Brass
Sulphur
Earth
Salt
Sugar
Father
Mother
Brother (elder)
Brother (younger)
Sister (elder)
Sister (younger)
Man
Woman
Wife
Husband
Child
Son
Daughter
Father-in-law
Mother-in-law
Cultivator
Shepherd
God
Sun
Moon
Star
Fire
Water
House
Horse
Bull
Cow
Dog
Cat
Hen
Cock
Duck
Mule
Elephant
Buffalo
Soi
• >l
Tu
<«.
Tai
..■
Man pi
Wong
•*.
Hak
...
Sang
■ •>
Nam
S'mao
■ *•
Lek
...
Lek pok
...
Kre
...
Mo
...
Tawng
...
Tawng 16ng
...
Mat
,,
T6
,,
Gyi
•■
Gyit£
Ku win
,^
Ma
„
Um6
...
Po
,,,
U wun
■ ■■
Po wun
...
Um£
,,
I wun
• ••
Mu win
..
.M6
Kon
Kon yom m6
Kon yom wun
.,
Kuwin m'win
,.
Ma m'win
K 6 ng
"
Mi sang'
lowlani
fields.
Ma, hil
aelds.
„
Hpa sau
..
S'ngai
..
Si
„
Si mwin
„
Ngo
„
Rom
.,
Nya
M blawng
..
..
Moi maing
,,
Moi ma
^,
So
„
Mi-a
,,
Ya ma
,,
Ya chok
,,
T^
..
M'blawng haw
,,
Sang
..
Krak
712 tHE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IX.
Vocabulary of En Tribe, Kengtung .y/a/^— concluded.
Spear
Bya
To play
Pal^
Bow
,
Medicine
Ta
Cross-bow
Ak
Poison
Ngon or h s a n
Hatchet
Mw^
(Shan).
Needle
Ngyfi
They are coming ...
Rao le kao (several
Pot
Aw
persons) u tit in
Boat
Ro
Come here
Cord
Mao
They will go
Re chin hu
Village
Young {or yawng)
They have arrived...
Prau yi
Roof
1 yawn
What is your name P
Su mi kwa
Sword
Waik
Three men
Lot kaii (short)
Chair
Ngut
Five horses
M 'blawng pan
Table
Lai
Four houses
Pun nya
Box
Blawng kao
Two spears
Bya ra
Basket
Sawng
Three swords
Waik loi
Bag
Tawng
Six villages
Li-a rawng
Net
Hi
How far is it from
Nam in hun d£ he
Snare
Rai
hereP
ngai.
Picture
Rup hang
How old is this horse P
M'blawng pu ayu
Carving
mun maw pi.
Sone
To dance
Yau
I know
Yawng
Li-a
1 do not know
Tao yawng
Vocabulary of Tribe known as Hsen Hsum, Kengtung State. {The people
call themselves A Afoi.)
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twenty
Twenty-one
Thirty
A hundred
Two hundred
A thousand
Ten thousand
A hundred thousand
A million
1
We
Thou
You
He
They
My house
Thy house
His house
Mo
Above
Nam taw
A
Below
Nam ti
W^
Far
Ng£
N*ti
Pun
Near
Hsen
Alone
Mo-i
Tall
Inside
Tung ne
N'pwi
In front of
Ta nawk
N'u
Behind
Nam kan
N'tum
North
Ting rang to
N'kyu
South
Ting rang ti
Mo-kyu-le-mo
East
Nam wan awk
A -kyu
West
Nam wan tok
A-kyu-le-mo
Good
Yawng
W^.kyu
Better
Nai yu yawng
Mo ba hsi
Best
Yang te la-i
A ba hsi
Bad
R^
Mo tawng
Worse
R^ nai ru re
Man
Worst
Ro ton ta la-i
Hsen
High
Lung
Lan
Short
Tem
Aw
True
A-ru a-kl6k
Yi
False
Pa-ru pa-klok
Mu
Thin (persons)
A-kawm
Mu
Thin (things)
Ai-r.syu
Mu, or yu
Fat
Akroing
Mu
. Thick
Asut
Rang -aw
Pretty
En rong
Kang mu
Ugly
En rong hsik
Rang yu
Clear (water)
[Om] hs^
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
:?i3
Vocabulary of Tribe known as Hsen Hstttn, Kengtung State. {The people
call themselves A Mok.) — continued.
Thick (water)
[Om] om
Sambhur
Po€
Cheap
Nyoi en kut
Barking deer
Hsawt
Dear
Nyoi en pawng
Goat
A-pi
To stand
Kyen ut
Sheep
...
To run
Law
Milk
Om twi
To sleep
Et nom
Bamboo ...
Krong
To eat
Ky£
Turban
I-kup
To drink
Teng [om]
Hat
Hsung mok
Hsari
To beat
Klok en
Shan hat
To see
L5m
Jacket
Trousers
Ka lop
To make
Kyi
Kan
Togo
Yang
Petticoat
Nga
To come
I
Shoe
Krep
To sit
utti
Ear-ring
Lan
To lie down
Utnuk
Rice
N'ku
To die
Yem
Paddy
Sak
To call
N^»„g
Opium
Ka yafin
Nail
To throw
Grass
To drop
Km
Tree
Tam su
To place
To lift
\yi
Leaf
La Sn
Yaw
Wood (timber)
Hsu tan
To pull
Y5
Forest
Lane pri
To smoke
Tawt
Cold
Kyet
R5n •
To love
Rak
Hot
To hate
Sang
Warm (persons) ...
Om
Rich
1 ka mang
Ice
■ ••
Poor
I tok i pla
; Snow
Om myu
Old
1-tan
1 Rain
Kale
Young
Nyawm mok
Wind
Ka mi
Big
On
1 To thunder
Pong pa nom
Small
Tek
! To lighten
Pang pa lek
Tight
Kap
Sky
Kang rao
Narrow ...
Kap kyit
Day
Pu ngi
Wide
Wa
Night
Pu pwe
Painful
Hsu
To be light
Pai lat
Red
A-kreng
To be dark
S'wail
Yellow
A-kl5ng
Cloud
Pong pit
Green
A-kyu
River
Om rawng
Blue
A-lang
Stream ...
Om rawng tek
Black
A-lang
Hill
Gyd
White
Apaing
Valley
•■•
Brown
...
Plain
Lang yang
Grey
A-pyi
Insect
!-8oil
Hand
Ti
Heart
Hung wi sum
TSn Kam rum
Foot
Chung
Chief
Nose
Katu
1 Slave
Kawn sa mo-i
Eve
Nlouth
Hsu ng6
En twm
■ Witness
*)
j Law
' As in Shan
Tooth
Kaing
Punishment
Ear
La sok
Crime
Yup yat
Hair (of the head) ...
Suk kung
Soul
Hsim-i
Moustache
Silk Iwin
Spirit
Pakri
Beard
Suk kap
To dream
Et nam ka mu
Head /..
Kung
Kindness
Rak pd dd
Tongue
Pak
To be treacherous ...
■ >>
Fish
AhM
Hour
• *t
Flea
S'koin
Round
Mun
90
7«4
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IX,
Vocabulary of Tribe known as If sen ffsum, Kengtung State. {The people
call themselves A Mdk.) — concluded.
Flat
A tip
A k ong
Cow
Mwe kon
Hollow
Dog
So
Strong (persons) ...
En kait
Cat ...
A ngya
YakSn
Strong (things)
En kail
Hen
Weak
An mok
Cock
Va kuwin
Belly
Katu
Duck
Kap
M* ang law
Arm
Pakti
Mule
Le?
Thigh
Nvang
Elephant
BuiTalo
Sang
Kalu
Krak
Skin
Anggu
Spear
Wai mawng
Bone
Ka-ang
Bow
■*•
Blood
Nam
Cross-bow
Ak
Rocfc
Kamu
Hatchet
Niu
Iron
Se ngang
Needle
Pai ngi
Tin
Se ngang paing
Pot
Ka-5e
Gold
Alang
Boat
La- ong
Silver
Mwi
Cord
Pa si
Copper
Tawng leng
Village
Rum*i
Brasa
Tawng Iflng
Roof
An plang
Sulphur
Mat
Sword
Waileo
Earth
Kati
Chair
An kung
Salt
Ru
Table
.,,
Sugar
FaUi^
Ru nyum
Box
Rang
U
Basket
Hsawng
Mother
Pa
Bag
Tong
Brother (elder)
Meng kuwin
Net
Ari
Brother (younger) ...
Mem kuwin
Snare
Hkom
Sister (elder)
Meng (on
Picture
Yi rop yi rang
Sister (younger)
Mem fon
Carving
Man
Nyom kuwin
Song
Hwit mai nguwin
Woman
Nyom fon
To dance
Fon
Wife
Fon
I'o play
A ng su ba do
Husband
Me
Medicine
Ka ya
Child
Nyawm [tek]
Poison ...
Ngon san
Son
Kawn kuwin
They are coming ...
Ke-a-we-i (several
Daughter
Kawn fon
persons) lat S
Father-in-law
Ta ne
Come here
Lat ka-6
Mother-in-law
Yan^
They will go
Ke-a-we-i sa miu
/" Lowland
I kyi na
I kyi m&
They have arrived ...
Lat roit ait
Cultivator upYi'l
What is your name ?
Three men
Ngye maw
I we i
(. fields.
Five horses
M'lang pa hsen to
Shepherd
••■
Four houses
Pun kang
God
Pahsaw
Two spears
Wai mawng a do
Sun
Pangi
Three swords
Wai [klwe tung
Moon
N'kya
Six villages
Rum tall rum
Star
A main
How far is it from
Ut no yang ng^ 5
Fire
Ng6
here?
Water
Om
How old is this horseP
M'lang ayu en pyin
House
Kang
pa maw.
Horse
M'lang
I know
Aw yu
Bull
Mwe kuwin
I do not know
Aw pa yu
Vocabulary of Hill Tribe of Mong Lwe district, Kengtung State.
These people are Buddhists and have adopted the Shan language
and dress. They believe themselves to be Hkamuk by origin, and
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
7>S
the following words are supposed to be Hkamuk. The people are
called Loi, or Tai-loi by the Shans, but differ from the race usually
known by this name.
One
■
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
■ As in Shan.
Twenty
Twenty-one
Thirty
A hundred
Two hundred
A thousand
Ten thousand
A hundred thousand
A million
I
Mi
We
Aw lor t\
Thou
Mi
You
Mi
He
Pe 1
They
My house
Aw
King aw
Thy house
Kang mi
His house
King p£
Above
Tung pawng
Below
Tung piin
Far
^ >
Near
T6
Alone
Om kun
Inside
Klom ni
In front of
Tung toi
Pla kat^
Behind
North
Tung tawng
East
Tang wan awk
South
Tung piin
West
Tung wan tok
Good
N3m
Better
Yeng nam
Best
Nam Id k
Bad
NgiLn
Worse
Yeng ngun
Worst
Ngan 15 €
High
Lung
Short
Ten
True
Bat hs5
False
An pu sawk kawk
Thin (persons)
Kyer
Thin (things)
Lyer
Fat
I
Thick
. . .
Hsut
Pretty
Am
Ugly
Hsd
Clear (water)
Sung sang
Thick (water)
Si urn
Cheap
Ka na yung
Dear
Ka yung
To stand
Kun cheng
To run
Sal£
To sleep
Et
To eat
Kai
To drink
Sang
To beat
Bup
To see
Lawm
To make
Hsi
To go
Pai [yang]
To come
!m pu
To sit
Tit
To lie down
Ung kung
To die
Yam
To call
Het
To throw
Teng
To drop
Kli
To place
Un pu
To lift
Yokpu
To pull
Hsak
To smoke
Lut
To love
Hak pu tu
To hate ,
Sang pu ru
Rich
Tu kam^ng
Poor
Tok hptin
Old
I tau
Young
Tek
Big
Yung
Small
Tek
Tight
Kap
Narrow
Kit
Wide
Wa
Painful
Su
Red
Kyeng
Yellow
L6ng
Green
Hkeo
Blue
Kam
Black
Lang
S*kaU
Whit
Brown
...
Grey
S'puU
Hand
Ti
Foot
Pu tak silu
Nose
Kati^
Eye
Mouth
Ngai
Moin
Tooth
Kain
Ear
La sok
Hair (of the head) ...
Suk ching
Moustache
Suk moin ; .
7l6 THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IX.
Vocabulary of Hill Tribe of M'dng Lwe district, Kengiung State — contd.
Beard
Suk ki.p
HraH
Ching
Tongue
Tak
Fish
Ka
Flea
S'kwen
Sambhur
Pwe
Barking-deer
K'sawt
Goat
,„
Sheep
...
Milk
Om pu
Bamboo
Kung
Tu cning
Turt>an
Hat
Wawm
Shan hat
Kop
Jacket
Trousers
Ngawk
Tea
Petticoat
Nya
Shoe
Ear-ring
Kyep
Kyok .
Rice
Un-ko
Paddy
Si ngaw
Opium
Yafin
Grass
Luk
Tree
Kung ka hsij
Leaf
La
Wood (timber)
a*.
Forest
Kawng pwi
Cold
Nyeng
Hot
Pok
Warm
Urn
Ice
<•■
Snow
«•■
Rain
Sale
Wind
Sa md
To thunder
Kasa lak
To lighten
Kliik
Sky
Hpa
Day
Kang wan
Night
Hkun
To be light
Pai
To be dark
Phet
Cloud
Op
River
Om hawng
Stream
Om tek
Hill
Wi
Valley
lat
Plain
■ a<
Insect
Ang ma
Heart
■)
Chief
Slave
> As in Shan.
Witness
)
Law
Hit piing
Punishment
■)
Crime .t.
Soul
^ As in Shan.
Spirit ...
3
To dream
Ele kamu
Kindness
Tu h&k tu pyeng
To be treacherous ...
...
Hour
Round
Mun
Flat
Tip pyep
Hollow
Hkong
Strong (persons) ...
Pak heng
Strong (things)
Ken
Weak
Met
Belly
Kutu
Arm
Ti
t!? .
Pu nyang ky£
Thigh
...
Skin
Pong ku
Bone
Ka-ang
Blood
Se nim
Rock
Se m6
Iron
Ku ngSng
Tin
Ku ng&ng s'putl
Gold
Hkam
Silver
Ka miln
Copper
Brass
As in Shan.
Sulphur
Mat
Earth
Kate
Salt
Plu
Sugar
Plu sa nang
Father
U
Mother
Nwfi
Brother (elder)
Mat
Brother (younger) ...
Sister (elder)
KySm
Pi nang
Ky9m Icon
I kwin
Sister (younger)
Man
Woman
Ikon
Wife
K5n
Husband
Kame
Child
Kawn
Son
Kawn kwin
Daughter
Kawn k&n
Father-in-law
Uk5n
Mother-in-law
Nw6
Cultivator
Tu kyi ma
Shepherd
...
God
Pra
Sun ...
Nga nyi
Kiing ky4
Moon
Star
Kang sa min
Ngall
Fire
Water
Om
House
Kang
Horse
Ma
Bull
Po kwin
Cow
Po kon
Dog
Hsaw
Cat
Miau
Hen
Ekdn
Cock
Ekwin
CHAP. IX.] ETHNOLOGY. flj
Vocabulary of Hill Tribe of M'ong Lwe district^ KSngtang State— conc\d.
Duck
Ekap
Carving
Mule
Ma law
Song
Kap kwam
Elephant
Sang
To dance
Ka [fSn]
Buffalo
Tak
x,, ni«.. f 3s children
T°P'=>ltogamble.
Kyeng
Spear
Bawng
Taw lawng
Bow
Medicine
Hsau
Crossbow
Ak
Poison
•■■
Hatchet
Mui
They are coming ...
#.•
Needle
Si n^
! Come here
I
Pot
Kaall
: They will go
•••
Boat
Ho
' They have arrived ...
KyelS
Cord
Pi si
'. What is your name P
Hsu kamu
Village
Kim
Three men
Hsum kwin
Roof
La
Five horses
Ma ha to
Sword
Ka mawng
Four houses
Kang hsi lang
Chair
Ka till
Two spears
Bawng hsawng an
Table
Saw su
Three swords
Kamawng hsam tin
Box
Lim
Six villages
••*
Basket
Law
How far is it from
•••
Bag
Pok
here?
Net
Kop
How old is this horse F
•••
Snare
Yawk
1 know
Aw uU
Picture
...
I do not know
Aull
Vocabulary of Pyen (or Pyin) Tribe, KengtUng, Southern Shan States.
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twenty
Twenty-one
Thirty
A hundred
Two hundred
A thousand
Ten thousand
A hundred thousand
A million
I
We
Thou
You
He
They
Turn lum
Nyi lum
Hsum lum
Han lum
Shan numerals
used for num-
bers from five
upwards.
Sa
Ga
Ngang
Ngang
Ngang
Ngang
My house
Thy house
His house
Above
Below
Far
Near
Alone
Inside
In front of
Behind
North
South
East
West
Good
Better
Best
Bad
Worse
Worst
High
Short
True
False
Thin (persons)
Ga yum
Ngang yum
Ngang yum
La shu
Aw shu
Angl w6
'Ang] m
Tu mang yu
Nai
Naka
Tang kang
Ta shu
Aw shu
Miing nung awk
Miing nung kla
Myen
Myen ya
Myen hse piin
Hlal
Hlai ya
Hlai hse piin
Mawng
Ngum
Plawng
Mow plawng
Yong
7i8
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
Vocabulary of Pyen {or Pyt'n) Tribe, KgngiUngi Southern Shan
States — continued.
Thin (things)
Fat
Thick
Pretty
Ugly
Clear (water)
Thick (water)
Cheap
Dear
To stand
To run
To sleep
To eat
To drink
To beat
To see
To make
To go
To come
To sit
To lie down
To die
To call
To throw
To drop
To place ••
To Uft
To pull
To smoke ..
To love
To hate
Rich
Poor
Old
Young
Big
Small
Tight
Narrow
Wide
Painful
Red
Yellow
Green
Blue
Black
White
Brown
Grey
Hand
Foot
Nose
Eye
Mouth .„
Tooth
Ear
Hair (of the head) ...
Hpa
Turn
Htu
Myen
Hfai
Kiing
Hlum
Hu
Huho
Hsung (ng4)
Hun nung (ng^)
Yu (ng6)
Hsa
Tang
Tu
Myang
Teng(ng^)
E
La
Lung
Lung ing
Shi
Hau
San ang
Kla ang
Nu kyu
Yup pi le
Kun nang (ng^)
Ya kon h^u
Hlak
Bu
Sang pang
Ang sang bye
Ya mang
Hsang la
Hsang mawng
lya
Teng kat
Teng
K16
Na
Ng4
Hso
Keo
Hpang
Hpang
Hpawn
Pu
La pu
La ko
Na kang
Byennu
Wan pawng
Hsa bye
Na sting
Hsam kiing
Moustache
Beard
Head
Tongue
Fish
Flea
Sambhur
Barking deer
Goat
Sheep
Milk
Bamboo
Turban
Hat
Shan hat
Jacket
I'rousers
Petticoat
Shoe
Ear-ring
Rice
Paddy
Opiurn
Crass
Tree
Leaf
Wood (timber)
Forest
Cold
Hot
Warm (persons)
Ice
Snow
Rain
Wind
To thunder
To lighten
Sky
Day
Night
To be light
To be dark
Cloud
River
Stream
Hill
Valley
Plain
Insect
Heart
Chief
Slave
Witness ,
Law
Punishment
Crime
Soul
Man mu
Man mu
Ang tu
Man hla
Lawng xA
Tang han
S6
Haw pawng
PI«
Nung hsa
Mai
Tu pay
To sawng
Hsung kaw
Krau
Ku tawng
Sin ka
Lako kyep
Na plawng
Kaw kyin
Kaw lum
Ya fin
Mokka
Hsing hsiing
Hsing pa
Hsung t3n
H sawng kawng
Kyaw
Hlawng
Lum
Mwe
Bung haw
Hang man
Bung kye
Bung blap
Bung
Bung kawng
Bung kyi
Plen la ba
Wun
Bong bung
Lang hawng
Lang la
Tahs^
Ang pyeng
Pang sau
Nang hsa
Niing ba
Yokka
Yet kyen
Sang hsak kye
A plawng
Lekau
Hang amn
CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
P9
Vocabulary of Pyen {or Pyin) Tribe, Kengtung, Southern Shan
States— concluded.
Spirit (ghost)
Hpi, hpit
Horse
A mawng bu
To dream
U mye bun
Bull
A my ang bu
Kindness
Ang hlak
Cow
A myang ba
To be treacherous ...
Sang law 1£
Dog
Hk6
Hour ...
.,.
Cat
A meng
Round
Mun
Hen
Yaba
Flat
Pyep
Cock
Ya pa
Hollow
Ang hon
Duck
A kau
Strong (persons)
Ang ka
Mule
A mawng
Strong (things)
Ang kyen
Elephant
Buftalo
Yam ba
Weak
Ang law
Pong na
Belly
Pawng pawng
Spear
Hkiing
Arm
La lung
Bow
«*•
Leg
Ku bong sa
Cross-bow
Sing na
Thigh
Bong tu
Hatchet
Lan
Skin
Ang kaw
Needle
Kiing kiau
Bone
Ang kau
Pot
U lawng
Lawng-lawng
Blood
Ang shi
La Da
Boat
Rock
Cord
Let to
Iron
Sham
Village
Kong
Tin
Sham ang pon
Roof
Mong
Gold
Hkam
Sword ...
Tang
Silver
Plu
Chair
Tawng ku
Copper .„
Tawng ne
Table
Hang p5n
Brass
Tawng shu
Box
Kang
Sulphur ...
Mat
Basket
Kwe
Earth
Lin ta
Bag
Pye lawng
Salt
Hsa meng
Net
Kaw sing
Sugar
Hsa meng kiau
Snare
Hok klong
Father
Bong
Picture
Sang hup
Mother
Aba
Carving
...
Brother (elder)
Brother (younger) ...
A ai
Song
Kam kap
A p6
To dance
Yin
Sister (elder)
A tsi
T„ «!«., fas children
^° P'^y [gamble ...
Baw
Sister (younger)
A paw
Mak teo baw
Man
Kapala
Kabala
Medicine
Hsu ka
Woman
Poison
Blattaw
Wife
Kaba
They are coming ...
■ •■
Husband
Ang plawng
Come here
Nu lau
Child
Yak kye
They will go
Ka e na
Son
Ya plawng
Ya M
They have arrived ...
Nga kwe ba
Daughter
What is your name P
Mang shun meng
F'ather-in-law
Yawk pa \
Three men
Hsang hsum mang
Mothei^in-law ...
Yuba
Five horses ...
A mawng ha to
Cultivator
Teng la
Four houses ...
Yum hsi lang
Shepherd
God
...
Two spears ...
Hkiing nyi lum
Tang hsum tin
Hpa sau
Three swords
Sun
Mong nung
Six villages
Hok kong
Moon
U la
How far is it from
Ne kungsa wS la
Star
Uko
hereP
Fire
Water
Mi taw
Lang
How old is this horse
Amawng a ayu alo
pun no.
House
Yum
I know
Gab£
I do not know ...
Ga ma b£
^20
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. tX.
Vocabulary of_ Tribe known as Hka-la by the Shans {they call themselves
Ang-kti), Mong-yawng district, Kingtung State.
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six ...
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twenty ...
Twenty-One
Thirty
A hundred
Two hundred
A thousand
Ten thousand
A hundred thousand
A million
I
We
Thou
You
He
They
My house
Thy house
His house
Above
Below
Far
Near
Alone
Inside
In front of
Behind
North
South
East
West
Good
Better
Beit
Bad
Worse
Worst
High
Short
True
False
Thin (persons)
Thin (things)
Fat
Thick
Pretty
Ugly
!-»
Clear (water)
Thick (water)
1
Cheap
Dear
To stand
To run
1
To sleep
1
To eat
To drink
'As In Shan.
To beat
To see
To make
To go
To come
To sit
To lie down
To die
■
To call
■
To throw
J
To drop
Aw
To place
To ift
Aw
Mi
To pull
T^
To smoke
Pd
To love
Aw
To hate
Kang aw
Rich
Kiing mi
Poor
Kang p£
Tung kawng
Old
Young
Tung piin
Big
S'ngai
Small
To
Tight
Aw ka ti
Narrow
Si ni
Wide
Litk toi
Painful
Teng to ang
Red
Teng toi
Yellow
Teng ptin
Green
Teng nai nyi li
Blue
Teng nai nyi kut
Black
Nam
White
Taw nam t^
Brown
Nam t^ 1^ ;
Grey ... ,
Yam •■
Hand
Ho hai
Foot
Hai t^ le
Nose
Lung
Ten
Eve
Mouth
Se
Tooth
Ai se
Ear
Kiau
Hair (of the head) ...
L6
Moustache
I
Beard
Ka hsut
Head
Ntim to
Tongue ,,,
Ai yau
Fish
(Cm) hsang
(Om) sa-um
Tukte
Ka an yung
Kung kyei^
Sal^
Et
Kai
^T
Lawm
Kyi
Ut
In
Tit
Tit nung kung
Yam
Het
Teng
Kli
Un
Sip
T6t
Lut
Hak pu tu
Sang pu tu
I-pa-t6
Tok
Taut^
Tek
Kun yung
Tek
Kap tc
Kyip t^
Wa
Su
Cheng
Lfing
Keo
Lang
Lang
S'pall
Mun
Hti
Sell!
Tok kattii
Ngai
Moin
Kyaing
Chok
Hsuk ching
Ka hsuk moin
Ka hsuk kap
Ching
Tak
Hka
H CHAP. IX.]
ETHNOLOGY.
^^^^^ ^1
^M Vocabulary of Trt
he knoiim as Hka-!a hy the Shans
[tfiey call themselves ^H
^1 Ang-kii), Af
ong-yawng district^ Kengtung State — continued. ^^|
■ Flea
Si k«xng
Round
^1
^H Sambhur ...
Pwe
Flat
>..
^H
^H BArking-deer
Ka s.-Swt
Hollow
•••
Hune ^^1
Ang ku kcng ^^|
^H Gont
P^
Strong fpersons)
...
■ Sheep
...
Strong (things)
...
Au ^^H
■ Milk
Dm pu
Weak
...
Ka su la met ^^|
^H Bamboo
Pi-lctsu
Belly
...
Tu kiin ^^1
^H Turban
Tu ching
Arm
•••
^H
■ Hat
Wawm •
I-og
...
Salu puying kyo ^^|
^H Shan hat •■■
Klop
Thigh
.■•
Ka long ^^H
^H Trousers ...
Ngawk
Skin
•••
Pong ku ^^1
Teo
Bone
.„
Ka-ang ^H
^B P«iicoat ...
Nya
Blood
...
Si-nj(m ^^M
■ Shoe
Kvcp
Rock
...
^^1
^H Ear-ring ••.
L&n
Iron
i.i
K.I ng.ing ^^H
^1 Rice
N'ko
Tin
•••
Kn ngang s'pull ^^H
■ Paddy
S'ngaw
Gold
•••
Hkam ^^H
^H Opium ...
Fin
Silver
,,.
Ka mull ^^H
^H Grass „.
Luk
Copper
,,
Tnwng tcng ^^H
■ Tree
Kun^ ktsu
Brass
...
Tawrg t6ng ^^H
■ Lenf
La kisu
Sulphur
...
^M
■ Wood (timber)
Kung klsu chcng
Pri fkatc]
Earth
„,
Ka to ^H
^1 Forest
Salt
•••
Piu ^H
■ Cold
Ngeng
Sugar
Father
•••
Plu t'ngan ^H
■ Hot
Puk
^1
^1 Warm
Si-um
Mother
••■
Nwe ^^H
■ Ice
•••
Brother (elder)
...
Mull ^H
^H Snow
Mwe
Brother tyounger]
,,,
Em ^^1
^1 Rain ,..
Si le
Sister (elder)
.1.
Mull Ikdn ^H
■ Wind
Si mi
Sister (younger)
...
Km ik5n ^^|
^H To thunder
Kusai lak
Man
>■>
Ikuwin ^^1
^1 To lighten
Kliik
Woman
«..
Ikdn ^M
■ Sky
>>•
Wife
••*
^^H
^^^ Day
Yim Icng
Husband
...
^^H
^^m Night
Yam sum
Child
...
Ken nyawm ^^H
^^^M To be light ...
Hpai
Son
Kon kuwin ^^H
H To be dark
Fyek I*
Daughter
...
Kon k5n ^^|
^1 CEoud
Father-in-law
1..
U-k5n ^H
^1 River
Om-hawng [yung]
Om-hawng tekj
Moihcr-in-law
Nwe-kon ^^|
^1 Stream
Cultivator
I kin kyi ma ^^|
■ Hill
Wi
Shepherd
Goc
•■i
... ^^1
■ Valley
Tu kong
■•■
Hpaya ^^|
■ Plain
Pang sau
Sun
•t.
Vim Icng ^^|
Kiing chu ^^H
^1 Insect ...
Ang ma
Moon
•■(
^1 Henrt
Ok
Sur
Kang sa men ^^|
■ Chi«f
U-kyim
Mu-nka-i
Fire
••.
^1 Slave ...
Water
••■
Om ^H
^B Witness
H5.iki yek
House
•*•
King ^H
^1 Law
Mu hit mu pijng
Horse
..<
^H
^M Punishment
Tut, M
Bull
...
M'po ku-vin ^^H
^B Crime
Tut, La
Cow
«»
M'po k6n ^^1
^m Soul
Pu sum
Dog
«■*
H
^1 Spirit (ghost)
Plit
Cat
■••
^^1
^H To dream „.
K.imu It'm
Hen
!••
I-.iii k6n ^^1
^1 Kindness
Kru hak kru preng
Cock
«M
l-au kuwin ^^|
^M To be treacherous ...
Duck
«••
I-au kup . ^^1
^1 Hour „.
Mule
*».
Ma law ^^1
m
fl
7!S2
tHE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [ CHAP. IX.
Vocabulary of Tribe known as Hka-la by the Shans {they call themselves
Ang-kti)f Mong-yawng disiricty Kengtung State — concluded.
Elephant
Bufialo
Sang
i Song
To dance
S&ng k&p
Kak
Fon
Spear
Bawng
, To play
■ Medicine ...
Lin
Bow
a*a
Ya
Cross-bow
Ak
1 Poison
Hs&n bu
Hatchet
Mwi
1 They are coming ...
Needle
S'ni
Come here
In
Pot
Ka-dll
They will go
Im lat le
Boat
Om puk
They*have arrived ...
In im kye le
Cord
Puhsi
What is your name f
Sii i*mu
Village
Him
Three men
Hu hsfim to
Roof
U
Five horses
Ma ha to
Sword
Ka mawng
Four houses
Kang hsi lang
Chair ...
Ka tit
Two spears
Bawng hsawng tin
Table
■••
Three swords "...
Ka mawng hsatn tin
Box
Hit
Six villages
Him h6k wan
Basket
Klwe
How far is it from
Lat s'ngai
Bag
Pok
hereP
Net
H5p
Hkiin
How old'is this horse P
Ma hau le
Snare
I know
Aw ull £
Picture
•••
I do not know ...
A-ull
Carving ...
...
Vocabulary of Tai-hi.
[Wa, or Wa-kiitf 1.0., " the Wa who remained " after the conquest of Kengtung valley
by the Hkon.]
One
»•■
Ka-ti
They
My tiouse
Pe
Two
,.,
U-al
Nyaye (ornya-u-ti)
Three
...
La-oi
Thy house
Nya mo
Four
•••
Pun
His house
Nya mo
Five
••■
Pan
Above
Tam-to
Six
• ••
"»
Below
Tam-yum
Seven
•..
! Far
Sa-ngai
Eight
•••
Near
En-te
Nine
•■•
Alone
Ti-pe
Ten
...
Inside
Nai (Hkon and Lii)
Eleven
Twenty
Twenty-one
Thirty
...
As in Shan {Rot
for 100, Pan for
i,ooOt asin Hkon
and Lii).
In front of
Behind
North
South
Tam-na
Tam-kru
Tam-to
Tam-yum
A hundred
...
East
w""S''}sh.n
Two hundred
...
West
A thousand
...
Good
Chak
Ten thousand
->.
Better
Cheng-chak
A hundred thousand |
Best
Chak-lu-pe
A million
Bad
Rai
I
U-ti
Worse
Cheng-rai
We
U
Worst
Rai-lu-pe
Thou
Mo
High
Long
You
Pe
Short
Tim
He
M5
True
Sak p£
CHAP. IX,] ETHNOLOGY,
Vocabulary of r<K*-/oi'— continued.
in
False
Un-sak
Hair (of the head) ...
Huk-ching
Thin (persons)
Yawm (Shan)
Moustache
Huk-murr
Thin (things)
Vil
Beard
Huk-murr
Fat
Kling
Head
Ching
Thick
Ka-pull
Chak-ti
Tongue
L*tak
Pretty
Fish
K^
Ugly
Rup-sa
Flea
Tep
Clear (water)
S'ngam
Sambhur ...
Hsak
Thick (water)
S'urr
Barking deer
Puss
Cheap
Et
Goat
Pe
Dear
T6p
Sheep
■..
To stand
Sang
Milk
Om-tuss
To run
Tal
Bamboo ...
Ko-aw
To sleep
It
Turban
Perr-ching
To eat
Sawm
Hat
Mok-ching
To drink
Nyu
Shan hat ,.,
Ka-ne
To beat
Pu
Jacket
Trousers
Hsa
To see
Nyo
Sa-ld
To make
Tus
Petticoat
En-tai
To go
Hull
Shoe
Kyep-chong
To come
Ing
Ear-ring
Lan-yok
To sit
Mawk (mok)
Rice
En-ko
To lie down
Mawk-an-tuU
Paddy
Ngaw
To die
Yum {or yim)
Opium
Ya-fin
To call
Kawk (k5k)
Grass
Rip
To throw ...
r
Tree
Num-ko
To drop
Leaf
La-ko
To place
Twe-un
Wood (timber)
Num-ko
To lift
Twe-un
Forest
Pri
To pull
Tut
Cold
Kat
To smoke
Nyu
Hot
Hawn
To love
Rak
Warm
Sa-urr
To hate
R'ngai
Ice
...
Rich
Kwe
Snuw
Mwe
Poor
Tok
Rain
Le
Old
Tau
Wind
Kurr
Young
Num
To thunder
Pur-«a-pa
Sang-cnar
Big
T5p
To lighten
Small
Et
Sky
Kang-hau
Tight
Kap
Day
TA-si-njri
Narrow .»
Kit
Night
Ta-som
Wide
T6p
To be light
Ta-sinyi-ing
Painful
Su
To be dark
Wait- ing
Red
Su-krak
Cloud
Mut-pamg
Yellow
Long
River ...
Om-Iass
Green
Keo
Stream '
Om-Iass-et {fit om*
Blue
Lang
klong-et).
Black
Lang
Hill
An-kong
White
Paing
Valley
K7u(P)
Brown
!*•
Plain
Ti-mot
Grey
Pul
Insect
Mut-et
Hand
Ti
Heart
Ho-s^
Foot
Chong
Chief
(As in Shan)
Nose
Mus
Slave „.
Plftng
Eye
Mouth
Ngai
Witness
Hsak-hse (Shan)
Hoin
I<aw
Hit-kawng
Tooth
En-paing
Punishment
Tut-tfim
Ear
Yok
Crime ...
Tut
734
THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IX.
Vocabulary of rai-/«— concluded.
Soul
Pom
House
Nva
Spirit (ghost)
Hpi-hpyit
It-Vmo
Horse
N rang
To dream
Bull
Moi-ming
Kindness
Kuss-bo
Cow
Moi-ma
To be treacherous ....
Lit-mang hsit hsa
Dog
Saw
Hour
.••
Cat
Miau
Round ••
Mun
Hen
Err-ma
Flat
Tep
Cock
Err-chuk
Hollow
Kall-tu
Duck
5fp .
Strong (persons)
Kwe-reng
Mule
N rang-haw
Strong (things)
Weak
Ko-karr
S'urr
Elephant
BuSalo
K'sang
Krak
Belly
Wait
Spear
Hawk
Arm •••
Sawk
Bow
...
Leg
Thigh
Tawm-chong
Cross-bow
Ak
Ma-wAng
Hatchet
Kawn-mwe
Skin •■■
Hak
Needle
Kall-nye
Bone
Sa-ang
Pot
Kaw-all
Blood
Nam
Boat
R6
Rock
Sa-mol
Cord
Mo
Iron
Uk
Village
Yung
Tin
Lek-paing
Roof
Mong-nya
Gold
Hkam
Sword
Walk
Silver
Ka-muU
Chair
Pang (P)
Copper
Tawng-leng
Table
Tak-krak (?)
Brass .••
Tawng-I6ng
Box
Rang
Sulphur ...
Mat
Basket
Kwe
Earth
Ka-de
Bag
Tong-kok
Salt
Kith
Net
R6
Sugar
Kith-teo
Snare
HkSm
Father
Paw-u
Picture
Ting-rup-ko
Mother
Mye-u
Carving ...
Ting-rup-ko
Brother (elder)
Ek-u
Song
Mo-li-kap
Brother (younger) ...
Ang-u
To dance
M6-ti-sai
Sister (elder)
Tc-u
To play (as children)
Pla-ti-ple-po
M6-ti- awng-ti-pl^
Sister (younger)
Ang-u
To play (gamble) „.
Medicine
Man
Ra-me
Un-pai
Woman
En-pun
Poison
Hsan
Wife
Ra-mwin
They are coming ...
Pyi-ta-ing
Husband
Po
Come here
Ing-Iok-en
Pyi-ta-hull
Child
Kon-nyawm
They will go
Son
Kon-ru-me
They have arrived ...
Pyi-ta-hwit
Daughter
Kon-en-pun
What is your name P
Aluths-kaniw
Father-in-law
Paw-ramwin
Three men
Pyi-ta la-oi
N'rang pan to
Mother-in-law
Ma-ram win
Five horses
' Lowland
Kon-ru-kung
Four houses
Nya pun
Cultivator . ^^^]^^
Kon-ru*marr
Two spears
Three swords
Rawk la-al
Walk la-oi
L fields.
Six villages
Rok yung
Shepherd ("Man that
Mo-ti-w€ (pe)
herds goats").
How far is it from
Twe-huU-pan-min-
here ?
ting.
God
Hpa-sau
How old is this horse ?
N'rang-aru-pun-
Sun
Moon
S'ngi
Chi
I know
pan-ting.
Uti-yang
Star
Lun
I do not know
Uti'Un-yang
Fire
Ngall
One
Te
Water
Om
Two
A
^^^ CHAP, ixf^^^
NOLOGY. ^^^^^^^^^^l 7^5 ^1
^^^H Vocabulary of Son Tribe, KingtUng State. ^^|
H Thr«e
Oi
To stand
Song ^^H
^H Four „•
Wun
To run «„
Rat-(ao) ^H
^H Five ...
Pu-on
To bleep ,«,
It (ao) ^H
■
Lu-a
To eat i.
^H
^H Seven
A-Iu-n
To drink
Nyu-n (nm) ^^|
H Eight
Oai
To beat
^^^^H
^^H
^H Nine
Dim
To see
Ya-on ^^1
^H Ten
Kau
To make
Yu hun ^^1
^H Eileven •••
Kau-ru-tc
To go
Lun ^^H
^H Twenty •••
Nga
To come
Ing ^H
^H Twenty-One ...
Nga-ru-lB
To sit
Ngawn ^^H
^H Thirty
Ngoi
To lie down
LTng hung ^^H
^H A hundred
Tiya
To die
Yum ^H
^H Two hundred
A ya
To call
Kok ^H
^H A thousand
1
To throw ,„
Wnt ^H
^H A hundred thousand
As in Shan.
To drop .„
5ut ^H
^H A million
3
To place
To lift
^1
■
Au
Yawk hawk ^^|
■ We
Au
To pull ...
Rut ^H
^1 Thou ...
Me
To smoke ...
Uut ^^1
■ You
Me
To love ...
R^k un ^H
■ He
Me or a-ni
To hate
Rai ya un ^^|
■ They
^H My noase
Doru do
Rich
Kwe ^H
Ny.i au
Poor
Hpan nam ^^|
^H Thy house
Nya me
Old
Ta kut ^H
^B His house
Nya me
Young
Kun nyawm ^^H
^B Above
Ming mu
Big
lp-i*tcng ^^H
Run nyawm or yet ^^H
^1 Below
Hakdil
Small
■ Far
Ngai
Tight
Dawt ^^H
■ Near
D?
Narrow
Kit-kat ^^H
^H Alone
Ta kau
Wide
^H
^1 Inside
Ka nyawng nya
Painful
Sau ^^H
^H Iii front of
pa mang
Red
^H
^1 Behind
Awng kye
Yellow
Ngar ^H
■ North
Havvn nS
Green ...
Nga ^H
^H South
Hawn tail
Blue
Sawm ^^H
^m East
Ka le r\^i
Black
Long ^H
■ West
Kct ngc
White
Paing ^^H
■ Good
Mfim
Brown
^^H
H Belter
Mom nam
Grey
Bao ^^1
■ Best
M«'.m up pi
Hand
^H
■ Dad
Ral
Foot
Sawng ^^H
■ Worse
Tun rai
Nose -.
mu ^^H
■ Worst
Rai up pi
Eye
Mouch
Ma ngai ^^H
■ High
Ung
Da lilt ^H
^1 Short
Turn
Tooth
tieng ^^1
^H True
R5 se kom
Ear
Yauk ^H
■ FBl«e
Wuk se kom
Hair (of the head)...
Hak gfiing ^^H
^H Thin ipersons)
Koi
Moustache
Hak lut ^H
^H Thin (things)
Ri
Beard ...
H<jk ang kap ^^|
■ Fat
KIwin
Head
Gaing ^^H
■ Thick
Pu
Torque ...
Dak ^H
^B Pretty
Mam
Fish
^H
■ Ugly
Ang mom
Flea
Dup ^^1
^H Clear (water) ...
Mom ba
Sambhur
Buh ^H
^1 Thick (water)
rOm] kwit
Vet naw
Barking deer
^H Cheap
Goat
^1
■ Dear
Ti naw
Sheep
1
7a6 THE UPPER BURMA GAZETTEER. [CHAP. IX.
Vocabulary of Son Tribe, Kengtang ^/tf/*— continued.
Milk
Om-pu
Belly
Tu
Bamboo •..
La
Arm
Ang le
Turban
Pro
Le?
Thigh
Bli saung
Hat
Mawk
Ang wSng
Hak
Shan hat ...
Ne keng
Skin
Jacket
Trousers
Za
.Rone
Ang
Kra
Blood
Nam
Petticoat
Dai
Rock
Mow
Shoe
Kyep
Iron
Rum
Ear-ring •>.
A-bu
Tin
Rum paing
Rice
Kao
Gold
Kyu we
Mu
Paddy
Ngo
Silver
Opium
Pin
Copper
Lat
Grass
Rip
Brass
Lat ngur
Tree
Rawng kao
Sulphur
Kan
Leaf
La
Earth
D£
Wood (timber)
Rawng kao law
Salt
Kyi
Forest
Pre
Sugar
Kyi nyom
Cold
Long
Father
T'yung
Hot
Rawn
Mother
Mwe
Warm (persons) ...
Ur
Brother (elder)
Ek-ao
Ice
...
Brother (younger)...
Po
Snow
Om sa
Sister (elder)
0
Rain
Omld
Sister (younger) ...
Po
Wind
Gur
Man
Bam£
To thunder
Bung ya
Woman
Ba bun
To tighten
Plok black
Wife
Bun ao
Sky
King rao
Husband
M6
Day
Pun ny£
Child
Kun nyawm
Night
Pun sawm
Son
Ba mi
To be light
Rang pre
Daughter
Ba bun
To be dark
Awp
Father-in-law
Nun bun
Cloud
Kut om
Mother-in-law
Mwe bun
River
Kawng klong
f Lowland
Yu na
Stream
Hill
Om yek
Tur or m'long
Cultivator 5 j^j^f'^^-
Vu mar
Valley
Plain
} Klagh
( fields.
God
Hpa sao
Insect
Mvvet
Sun
Nge
Heart
Si kom
Moon
Kyi
Chief
PukSt
Star
Semwin
Slave
Ka nya
Fire
Ngo
Witness
^
Water
Om
I-aw
Punishment
> As in Shan
House
Horse
Nya
M'long
Crime
J
Bull
Muk dang
Soul
Wut sa kom
Cow
Mok ma
Spirit
Hpi
Dog
So
To dream
S'mao
Cat
Miau
Kindness
Rak un
Hen
Yer ma
To be treacherous ...
...
Cock
Yerm6
Hour
...
Duck
Ap
Round
Mu lur
Mule
Ma law
Flat
Kaw lip
Elephant
Sang
Krak
Hollow
Ong kao
Buffalo
Strong (persons) ...
Ma
Spear
Plur
Strong (things)
Law
Bow ...
•••
Weak
Byur
1
Cross-bow
Tut
CHAP. IX.] eTHNOLOGV. 737
Vocabulary 0/ Son Tribe, Kengtung State — concluded.
Hatchet
Mwe Of ta mat
Medicine
Ka yu
Needle
Nyur
Poison
Ngon
Pot
Dawng
They are coming ...
I n ut ka e
Boat
Ru
Come here
In kin
Cord
Mao
They will go
Lun ge
Village
Yaung
They have arrived...
Hwege
Roof
Blong
What is your name ?
Su ma ne
Sword
Waik
Three men
Ot gao
Chair
Ka-ut
Five horses
M'long pu-on mu
Table
Pyen
Four houses
Bun nya
Box
Kang
Two spears
Plur & de
Basket
Yuk lum
Three swords
Waik oi bla
Bag
Ha kawk
Six villages
Lua yaung
Kawk-e-ta-ni, ang
Net
Rup
How far is it from
Snare
Hkom
here?
kuk ngai.
Picture
Lem hsat
How old is this
M'long asak pa hun
Carving ...
• la
horse P
Song
To dance
Sem kraw
I know
Yong un
Su we
I do not know
Ang yong
To play
Ge pow-e
INDEX.
VOLUME I.
A.
Page,
Abddction : form of marriage ... ... ... ... 4PS
Abhi Raja ... ... .„ ... ... ... ai?
A-ch'angs or Maingthas ... ... ... ... ... 6l8
or Ngach'ang ... ... ... ... ... 390
Administrative line in the Kachin hills... ... ... ... 366
Agriculture among the Wa ... ... ... ... 509
Ahoms ... ... ... ... ... ... 258
Ailao ... ... ... ... ... ... 193, a6o
Akha tribes ... ... ... ... ... ... 588
theirclans ... ... ... ... ... S90t 594
Akh5 ... ... ... ... ... ... 594
Alaungpaya Dynasty ... ... ... ... ... 97
All Souls' feast among the Red Karens ... ... ... S30
Ama and Apwa ... ... ... ... ... 574
Ang-hsaor Inthas ... ... ... ... ... 564
Anglo-French Commission ... ... ... ... .„ 31a
" Siamese Commission ... ... ... ... 306
Annexation of Upper Burma ... ... .„ ... 114, 117
i4«H^/a«i, a poisonousescuient „. ... ... ... 473
Ava as a district amalgamated with Sagaing ... ... ... 136, 162
B.
Ranyano or Banyfik tribe ... ... ... ... ... 546
Barrows in Wa country ... ... ... ... ... 514
Baungshe, a mere nickname ... ... ... ... 454,468
heinaka or Peng Naka ... ... ... ... ... 317
Bhamodistrict ... ... ... ... ... 123,157,175
Biblical statements recalled by heathen legends ... ... ... 524
Birth ceremonies among Shans ... .., ... ... 331
Blackmail, Kachin system of ... ... ... 333
Bombay-Burma Trading Corporation, King Thibaw's action against ... 107
Uons d'Anty, Monsieur, on tribes of Yiin-nan ... ... ... 619
Brfe or Laku ... ... ... ... ... ... 531
— ^- and Padaungs taken under administration ... ... 31I
Buffalo posts, Sravng Mot JCrak ... ... ... ... S06
Burial customs amon^ Taungthu .. ... ... ... 557
Burying alive of slaves ... ... ... ... ... 553
C.
Capitals, ancient, in the Shan States .>, ... ... 378
Chinbftks ... ... ... ... ... ... 459
three dialects ... ... ... ... ... 460
■their tattooing ... ... .. ... ... 466
Chinbdns ... ... ... ... ... ... 459
their tattooing ... ... ... .. ... 466
Chindwin district ... ... ... ... ... I28
subdivided ... ... ... ... ... 164, 177
Chin Hills ... ... ... ... ... ... 16
U. INDEX.
Pag*-
Chin Hills incorporated in Burma ... ... ... ... 450
— ethnology... ... ... ... ... ... ff m^. 452
— - tribes ... ... ... ... ... ... *t s*q. 454
^-^ customary law ... ... ... ... ... 455
^— characteristics ... ... ... ... ... 468
ideas of a future state ... ... ... ... 473
Chins, first hostilities with ... ... ... ... ... 441
■ final submission and disarmament ... ... ... 450
Chenpien T'ing formed ... ... ... ... ... 579
Coffins prepared before death among the Karenni ... ... 528
— among the Brfe ... ... ... s.-yj
Creation, Kachin legend of ... ... ... ... 4t7
Crosthwaite, Sir Charles, visited Shan States, 1890 ... ... 307
Cushingt Dr., on Chinese and Shan resemblances ... ... 273
D.
Dacoit bands, their system ... ... ... ... iji
Dances of the Wa ... ... ... ... ... 516
Danu. the name, theories of its origin ... ... ... ... 563
Danusand Danaws ... ... ... ... ... 562
Dayft ... ... ... ... ... ... 564
Death brought into the world, Kachin legend ... . . ... 40S
^—^— dance, Kachin ... ... ... ... ... 410
Debts, Kachin ... ... ... ... .. 415
Deluge, Kachin legend of ... ... ... ... ... 417
Dhaja Raja ... ... ... ... ... ... 318
Z)Aa5, varieties of Kachin ... ... ... ... ^ ... 431.438
Dialects, causes of multiplication of ... ... ... * ... 478
Disarmament of Upper Burma ... ... ,.. ... 143
■ " ■ of Kachins ... ... ... ... ... 353
Districts, division of Upper Burma into, and subsequent changes ... 115
Divination amongst the Kachins ... ... ... ... 433
■ - by fowls* bones among the Karenni ... ... ... 526
— ■ "— among the Padaungs ... ... ... 538
Dogs eaten by Wa ... ... ... ... ... 506
Durbar, first British, at .Mong Nai, supremacy of Government established
in Shan States ... ... ... ... ... 300
Durbars at Mong Nai in Burmese times ... ... ... 390
Z^Kioii, his powers ... ... ... ... ... et seq. \12
E.
Eales's, Mr. H. L., classification of Ihe languages of Burma ... et seq. 475
Eclipse, Kachin theory of ... ... ... ... ... 435
Edible dogs of the Wa ... ... ... ... ... 506
£ (fa, Karen-ni festival ... ... ... ... ... 530
En, the, and other Kengtung hill tribes ... ... ... 518
^^-flisn^ //o< it' rfl*, sacrificial posts ... ... ... ... 506
Evil eye, Kachin's notions of ... ... ... ... 427
F.
Faun* ... ... ... ... ... ... 36
Fort Stedman established ... ,.. ... ... ... 395
Frontier with Slam demarcated ... ... ... ... 308
Fu, La'hu chiefs ... ... ... ... ... 583
Fu Chia, the La'hu ... ... ... ... ... 579
Funeral ceremonies among Kachins ... ... ... ... 40^
Fytche's treaty ... ... ,.. ... ... 61
INDEX, UU
G.
Page.
Ganan Ma and Ganan pwa ... ... ... ... 574
See also under Katka.
Gaung To ... ... ... ... ... ... 539
Gueos of Camoins' Lusiad ... ... ... »• 497
H.
Head RUMTiNG among Wa, its origin ... ... ... 496
■ ■■— rules for its conduct ... ... ... ... 500
Hka Che, Siamese name for hill tribes ... ... ... ... 521, 533
Hkam Leng ... ..- ... ... ... .„ 340
Hka Milks, Hka Mets and Hka Kwens ... ... ... 531
Hkawa, Chinese name for the Wa ... ... ... ... 493
Hkun Lu and Hkun Lai, the legendary first Tai rulers ... ... 3l8
Sang of Tdn H6ng ... ... ..." ... 300
Hmeng or Miaotzu ... ... ... ... ... 597
Holy days, Kachin ... ... ... ... ... 435
Hounds of the Banyang, festival on their behalf ... ... ... 549
Hpaung>Jaw-u feast of the Intha ... ... ... ... 560
Hp& Wan, or Shan cycle ... ... ... ... ... 308, 345
Hpfin, or Hpwon ... ... ... ... ... 5*56-7
Hpunkan Kachins ... ... ... ... ... 333, 339
Hsen-s^ Man-s& ... ... ... ... ... 327
Hsen Wi Chronicle ... ... ... ... ... 337
etymology of name ... ... ... ... 330
^ L6ng submits to Burma ... ... ... ... 345
rebellion in ... ... ... ... ... 50
State ... ... ... ... ... 397
■ subdivided ... ... ... ... ... 301
Hsi Paw SaiBbvoa ... ... ... .... ... 394, 397
visits England ... ... ... ... ••■ 311
Hui-hui or Panthays ... ... ... ... ... 006
Hu Kawng valley first visited ... ... ... ... 3S<
I.
I-JBN or lolos ... ... ... ... ... ... 613
Infant betrothal among Karen-ni ... ... ... ... 537
among Lihsaws ... ... ... ... 588
Intermarriage between specified villages ... ... ... 540
Inthas, or Ang-hsa ... ... ... .•• ... 564
Invulnerability, other charms ... ... ... ... 79
J.
Jovian cycle compared with Shan ... ... ... ... 913
K.
Kachin Hills ... ... ^ ... ... ... ... 17-32
— ■ ■ rising in the Northern Shan States ... ... ... 309
funeral ceremonies ... ... ... ... ... 409
-— -- Hills Regulation ... ... ... ... ... 359, 367
form of Government ... ... ... ... 413
characteristics ... ... ... ... ... 396
signs of totemism ... ... ... ... ... 403
forbidden degrees ... ... ... ... ... 404
- — laxity of morals ... ... ... ... ... 407
■ customs, birth ... ... ... ... ... 398
IT. INDEX.
Page,
Kachin names ... ... ... ... ... ... 400
■i-'-^. — families' names ... ... ... ... ... 4»M
^— marriage customs ,„ ... ... ... ... 404
■ ' house, plan of ... ... ... ^ ... ... 436
Kachins, advance of .. ... ... ' ... ... 38i
— area of their country ... ... ... ... 331
- attack Bhamo ... ... ... ... ... 334
— ■ - first columns against ... ... ... ... 33*5
— - their first home ... ... ... ..^ ... 37*
-■■■ their first man ... ... ... ... ... 37'
- their five parent tribes ... ... ... ... 373
Karen tribes ... ... ... ... ... ... 5>3
Kadus.the ... ... ... ... ... ... 569
Kamsa Kachins ... ... ... ... ... 37o
Kaon Lepais ... ... ... ... ... ... 377
Karen-ni ... ' ... ... ... ... ... 524
I ■■ ■ Sir Douglas Forsyth's Mission to Mandalay ... ... 73
•*^— Eastern, subjugated, 1889 ... ... ... ... 304
— ■ Western, brought under administration, 1891 ... ... 308
•' " laws in force ... ... ... ... ... 318
Katha district ... ... ... ... ... l>3. 159> I75
Kaukkwe column ... ... ... ... .■■ 349> 353
Kaw DT Hka Kaw. Akha ... ... ... ... ... 588
K&kawngdu or Padaungs ... ... ... ... ... 535
Keng Tung, revolt against King Thibaw ... ... ■•■ 391
Keng Tung's submission to British Government, 1890 ... ... 307
Khakhus and Chingpaws ... ... ... ... ... 370
Khamangs, Chingpaw name for ihe Mishmis ... ... ... 395
Khanga ... ... ... ... ... ... 389
Khenungs ... ... ... ... ... ... 391
Khunnongs ... ... ... ... ... ... 391
— — their clans ... ... ... ... 39a
— — — noted as blacksmiths- .„ ... ... ... 393
Kiutzes ... ... ... ... ... ... 394
K'o-chia- ... ... ... ... ... ... 593
Koshanpyi ... ... ... ... ... „. 189, 198
Krak, local name for the Wa of Pet Ken ... ... ... 494
ATraw or i?(ima«^ Wa chiefs ... ... ... ... 506
Kumlao Kachins ... ... ... ... ... 370
Kumlao system ... ... ... ... ... 414
A'u^o-if}, Karen-ni festival ... ... ... ... ... 529
Kutsung ... ... ... ... ... ... 615, 618
Kwi Mong ... ... ... ... ... ... 248
KwiorU'huHsi ... ... ... ... ... 586
Kyauksfe district ... ... ... ... ... 137,165
La, the, name discussed ... ... ... ... ... 494
Lahtawngs ... ... ... ... ... ... 375
La'hu tribes ... ... ... .. ,„ ... 576, 580-1
Lais, a Chin tribe ... ... ... ... ... 458
Laku or Brfe ... ... ... ... ... ... 331
I.amets ... ... ... ... ... ... 521
Languages, system of grouping, adopted ... ... ... 48a
Lantien Yao ... ... ... ... ... ... 604
Lao account of their origin ... ... ... ... 358
Lashio ... ... ... ... ... ... 351
Lashis ... ... ... ... ... ... 387
Law amonpst the Kachins .. ... ... ... ... 415
Lepais ... ... ... ... ... ... 376
INDEX. V.
Page.
Lihsaws or Yawyins ... ... ... ... ... 388
Uhsaws ... ... ... ... ... ... 587
Limbin Prince's confederacy ... ... ... ... 292
his surrender ... ... ... ... ,,. 296
Li-sus ... ... ... ... ... ... 616
Loheirh, or La'hu ... ... ... .. ... 576, 579
Lol09orl-j6n ... ... ... ... ... ... 613
Luhch'wan ... ,,. ,.. ... ... ... 368, 270
Lutzes ... ... ... ... ... ... 394
M.
Magwe district ... „. .„ ... ... 169, 178
Maingtha ... ... ... ... ... ... 390
.Maingthas or A-ch'ang ... ... ... ... ... 618
Mandalay, foundation of ... ... ... ... .,, 4o-.(3
• district ... ... ... ... ... 121, 156, I7.S
Mang Lon, Western ... . ... ... ... ,., 310
Man Hang ... ... ... ... ... ... 364
Mano, a branch of the Brfe ... ... ... ... 532
Mantzus ... ... ... ... ... ... 615
Manumanaw, Brfe ... ... ,., ... ... 531
Mao Kingdom, its greatest extent ... ... ... ... 222, 241
its overthrow ... ... ... ... 226
Marans ... ... ... ... ... ... 381
Marips ... ... ... ... ... ,., 375
Marriage customs among the Rumai ... .„ ... ... 489
of Zayein^ ... ... ... ... 540
Marriages between speciBed families amongst Kachins ... ... 404
Maru and Lashi pedigree ... ... ... ... ... 384
Marus... ... ... ... ... ... ... 382
Mawk Mai, rebellion of Kolan Sawbiva ... ... ... 50
Meiktila district ... ... ... ... ... 139*171
Memorial posts of Chins ... ... ... ... ... 472
Mfepu Karens ... ... ... ... ... ... 550
Miaotzu or Hmfeng ... ... ... ... ... 597
Military Police, formation of ... ... ... ... 141,174,179
conversion into regiments ... ... ... ... 185
Minbu district ... ... ... ... ... ... 134, 167
Mindfin Min, conspiracy which led to his accession ... ... 29
capture of Shwebo ... ... ... ... 33
— — Sagaing ... ... ... ... 36
his accession acknowledged by China ... ... 37
Mission to Calcutta in 1854 ... ... ... 39
■ foundation of Mandalay ... ... ... 40t 43
—Royal mint established, 1865 ... ... ... 52
rebellion of Mying6n Prince ... ... ... 54
Padeing Prince ... ... ... 57
—^ mixed Court established ... ... ... ... 64
Fifth Great Synod held ... ... ... ... 66
- embassy to London ... ... .., ... 68
hisdeath ... ... ... ... ... 80
Mishmis possibly called Khunnongs ... ... ... ... 391
Mithila, or .Meittila, the classical name for Yunnan ... ... 219
Afi-^ure, Kachin medium ... ... ... ... ... 420,422
Mogaung ... ... ... ... ... ... 201
^Wuntho Savbva, Governor of ... ... ... 332
fighting with Kachins at ... ... ... ... 335
Mois ... ... ... ... ... ... 619
M6n. the, not connected with the Rumai and Wa ... ... 495
Months, Kachtn names of ... ... ... ... ... 434
Tl. INDBX.
Montbi, luoMB of, amoi^ Karen-ni ... ... ... ... 539
Monrning, shaving the hesd ... ... ... ... 59a
Mang Leng ... ... ... ... ... ... 340
Mao founded ... ... ... m. ... 341
Mit ... ... ... ... ... ... 340
— ■ —Saw Maurtg' appointed Saistma ... ... ... 343
f Na.i, chief f^eat of Burman adminiitration in the Shan States ... 38s
ff^ British post established, 18SS ... ... ... 301
fr ' revolt against King Thibaw ... ... ... S9'
MnHsOor La'hu ... ... ... ... ... 576
Mu Ruk a clan mentioned by Colond Macgr^or ... ... 393
Mtt-svs ... ... ... V. ... ... 616
Myetat n. ... ... ... ... ... 288
■ law in force in ... ... ... ... ... 317
Myen orLa'ha ... ... ... ... ... 576
MyingAn Prince^ rebellion of ... ... ... ... 54
Myingyan diitrict ... ... ... ... ... 131, 166, 177
Myitkylna district created . ... ... ... ... 367
■ attacked by Kachins ... ... ... ... 361
N,
Na-cbu ... ... ... ... ... ... 617
Names among Shans ... ... ... ... ... 33S
*^— of children among the Mfepu Karens ... ... ... 5^
Naming of children among Rumai ... ... ... ... ^8
Nam Hkam noat est^Itshed ... ... ... ... 3^4
Nam Mao valley and the Shans ». ... ... ... 194
W-impaun? post established ... ... ... ... 357
Nanchao, Kingdum Oi ... ... ... ... ... tt s«q. ij^.
Nat of the earth, Kachin ... ... ... ... ... 4^5
feast at Nam Hsan in I'awng Pei^ ... ... ... 49I
f/ais, spirits oi Kachins ... ... ... ... ... 4>7
Ne-su or Ngo-su ... ... ... ... ... 013
Ney Eliasonthe Shans ... ... ... ... ... xgo
Ngo-su or Ne-su ... ... ... ... ... 613
•Nhkums ... ... ... ... ... 3*>
Nicknamesi racial ... ... ... ... ... 480
M'n^A», Kachin illegitimate children ... ... ... 403
Nwite, Chin tribes ... ... ... ... ... 457
O.
Oaths, Chin ... ... ... ... ... ... 479
Ordeal, Kachin forms of ... ... ... ... ... 427
Origin of Shans, folks myth ... ... ... ... 3^9
P.
PAOAUMosor K&kawn^du ... ... •.. -. — 535
I Padeing Prince, rebellion of ... ... ... ... S7
[ Pag^n as a dislricC ... ... ... ... ... ISS
divided between Myingyan or Pakdkku ... ... ... 167
; Pai-i ... ... ... "• ... ... ao7
I Pakkatd, the Wa primsval cave ... ... ... ... 49<i
Pakakku district ... ... ... ... ... 167. 177
I Palaung, popular etymology of name ... ... ... ... 408
■traditions as to their origin ... ... ... ... 484
—clan divisions ... ... ... .•• ■■• 486
Palaungs or Rumai ... ... ... ... ■•• 4^3
INDEX. vii.
Pagt.
Palaungs, their houses ... ... ... ... ... 487
their dress ... ... ... ... ... 487
Palans ... ... ■•. ... .•• ... 486
PannaandLotfe ... ..- ... ... ... 595
Panthay, origin of the word •■• ... ... ... 609
Panthays or Hui-Hui ... ... ... ... ... 606
Pa-o, race name of the Taungthu ... ... ... ... 554
Parke's, Mr., translation from Chinese annuals ... ... ... igi
^.— — . , on early Shan history ... ... .., ... afio, 271
Phayre, death of, at Padein ... ... ... ... 135
Physical divisions of Upper Burma ... ... ... ... 3
Polytonic and Monotonic languages ... ... ... ... 475
P6ng, Kingdom of ... ... ... ... ... 188, 198, 255,
259, 270
Po Saw of Mogaung ... ... ... ... .„ 333-4
Poumang ... ... ... ... ... ... 620
Pramano, Br6 ... ... ... ... ... ... 531
Precedence of Sawbwas ... ... ... ... .,. 289
Prince Henri d'Orleans on the Sources of Irrawaddy ^. ... 7-10
Property among Kachins ... ... ... ... ... 416
Pyinmana, as a district ... ... ... ... ... I37i I7i» 178
Q.
QuBBNS power of Burmese ... ... ... ... 81
R.
Ramang or Kravi, Wa chiefs ... ... ... ... 506
Rebels after the annexation, their various character ,.. ... n^
Religion, early, of Shans ... ... ... ... ... 320
Riang tribes ... ... ... ... ... ... 519
Richardson at Mong Nai, 1837 ... ... ... ... 284
Ruby Mines district ... ... ... ... ... 124,160,176
Rumai or Palaungs ... ... ... ... ... 483
S.
Sadan Lepais ... ... ... ... ... ... 379
Saddn post besieged ... ... ... ... ... 3^5
Sagaing district ... ... ... ... ... 125,162
Salang, Kachin elders ... ... ... ... ... 413
Sam Ldng Hpa, the great Tai conqueror ... ... ... 221, 240
Sana Kachins punished ... ... ... ... ... 357
Lahtawngs ... ... ... ... ... 376
Santeng and Chiaokuo Yao ... ... ... ... 606
Sao Ngan Hpa ... ... ... ... ... 213
Sassans ... ... ... ... ... ... 381
Sawlapaw ... ... ... ... ... ... 301J 303
Sawng- Tung Karens or Zayeins ... ... ... ... 539
Seals siven by China to Hsen Wi ... ... ... ... 236
Seasons, Kacfitn names of ... ... ... ... ,„ 434
Secretanats for Upper and Lower Burma combined ... ... 155
Sft Lan, the ancient capital of the Shans ... ... ... 195
■ ■ ■' - founded in 1035 ... ... ... ... ... 221, 239
Shan Hills ... ... ... ... ... ... 22, 26
—■ • Burmese policy in ... ... ... ... 281
origin of the name ... ... ... ... ... 205
——customs ... .,. ... ... ... ei seg. ^2$
— - cycle or Hpfe Wan ... ... ... ... ... 208 tt seq.
< characteristics ... ... ... ... ... 319
Vlii. INDEX.
Page.
Shan country ... ... ... ... ... ... 374
— - officialg ... ... ... ... ... ... 329
^— Settlement west of the Iirawaddy, I^end of ... ... 202
•^^- States, theirnumber in Burmese times ... ... ... et seg. 287
• under British rule ... . . ... ... 313, 315
' ■ ' divided into Northern and Southern charges, 1888 ... 302
— development of ... ... ... ,,. 312
-^- ■ Administration under British rule ... ... ... et seq. 313
■ n native times ... ... ... ... 326
— Act of 1888 ... ... ■ ... ... ... 316
■ trade ... ... ... ... ... ... 277
Shans of the north-west ... ... ... ... ... 200
north-eastern ... ... ... ... ... 204.
eastern ... ... ... .., ... ... 205
—^-southern... .. ... ... ... ... 307
in Burma ... ... ... ... ... 269
in Martaban ... ... ... ... ... 369
a valley people ,.. ... ... ... ... 274
Shippawn Ayawng ,... ... ... ... ... 371
Shwebo district ... ... ... ... ... 124,160
Siamese defeated at Keng lung ... ... ... ... 38
Sifan ... ... ... ... ... ... 615
SikkS of Mong Nai, 1837 ... ... ... ... ... 283
SimaptJst ■. ... .. ... ... ... et seq. 361
Sinkan valley Kachins ... ... ... ... ... 339, 346
Siyins, final subjugation of ... ... ... ... 449
tribal history ... .., ... ... ... 456
funeral ... ... ... ... ... 471
Skull avenues of the Wa ... ... ... ... ... 499
tariff ... ... ... ... ... ... 502
Sladcn's Mission ... ... .. ... ... 62
Slavery amongst Kachins ... ... ... ... ... 432
Soktes ... ... ... ... ... ... 456
S6n and Bilu tribes ... ... ... ... ... 394
Southern Shan St;3tes, Burmese power establi^ed eariy ... ... aSo
Spirit shrines, Kachin ... ... ... ... ... 421
beliefs among Taungthu ... ... ... ... 558
Spirits among the Chin tribes ... ... ... ... 473
VVa ... 5'S
Padaungs ... ... ... ... 538
Supayalatj King Thibaw's Queen ... ... ... ... 87
Surrender oE Mandalay ... ... ... ... 1 12
Synod, Fifth Great ... •■• ... — ... 66
Sii Lepais ... ... ... ... ... ... 377
TAFUYft ... ... ... ... ... ... 583
f . Tai race wide spread ... ... ... ..- ... 187
local names very numerous ... ... ... 187
written character ... ... ... ... .■■ i88
,j ihetr first homK ... ... ... ... ... 191
.' claBBiiicatiftn of ... ... ... ... ... 199
/ racial characteristics ... ... .■• ... -.• 272
Zai Z«', a general name ... ... ... ... ... 517
r,;i;4vjii^, Wri skull posts ... ... ... ... ... 512
j Tame Wa ... ... ... ... ... ... 51»
thrir divisions ... ... ... ... ... 513
- Tarens or Tarengs ... ... -■■ ... ... 39o
I Tarilks and Tarets ... ... ... ... ... 193
r Tashflns ... ... ... ... ... ... 457
INDEX. IX.
Page
Tautifjdwingyi a district ... ... ... ... ... 137
name changed to Magwe ... ,., ... 169
Taungthu and Taung Yo ... ... ... ... ... 554
Taw ... ... ■ ... ... ... ... ' 575
Tawng Peng, rebellion in ... ... ... ... ... 47
Tea, legend of its introduction into Tawng Peng ... ... ... 491
Thadn, Cliin tribe ... ... ... ... ... 457
T'Aitmoifi'f their system ... ... ... ... ... 417
Thatna Lepais ... ... ... ... 377
Tkaikameaa method of assessment ... ... ... ... 415
Thibaw, the plot which put him on the throne ... ... ... 82
massacre of the Princes ... ... ... ... 85, loi
' his marriage ... ... ... ... ... 86
his titles ... ... ... ... ... 91
— — pagodas built by ... ... ... ... ... 93
* liberation of slaves by ... ... ... ... 94
—— death of his children ... ... .., ... 95
massacre by, in 1884 ... ... ... ... 95
■ ■ ■ his personal name and lineage ... ... ... 98
■ his education ... ... ... ... ... 99
outrages on British subjects ... ... ... .^ 100, 102
— — letter to the Viceroy in 1879 ... ... ... ... 103
embassy to Simla in 1882 ... „. ... ... 104
— ■■ — disturbances in Native Burma ... ... ... 105
embassies to Europe ... ... ... ... 105
' ■ ■ negocifations with France ... ... ... ... 106
treatment of Bombay-Burma Trading Corporation ... ... 107
— British ultimatum to _ ... ... ... ... 108
.... - proclamation to his subjects ... ... ... .,. no
nis surrender to the British ... ... ... ... 112
Thudama, Ecclesiastical Court ... ... ... ,.. 3, 5
Tiger of Hsen Wi ... ... ... .., ... 236
Time, division of, amongst Kachins ... ... ... ... 433
Tingpan Yao ... ... ... ... ... ... 602
Titles of Shan Sanb-aas ... ... ... ... ... 290
Tdnhdn expedition ... ... ... ... ... 34l» 3U
Totemismf signs of, amongst Kachins ... ... ... ... 403
— amongst the Wa ... ... ... ... ... 496
Track Law ... ... ... ... ... ... 328
Transfrontier tribes ... ... ... ... ... 613
Treaty of 1867 ... ... ... ... ... ... 98
Tree-worship ... ... ... ... ... ... 5»9
Troops in Burma in 1886 ... ... ... ... ... 140
in 1887 ... ... ... .-. ... 147
-in 1888 ... ... ... ... ... 173
-in 1890 ... ... ... ... ... 179
TuM'Sa, Kachin minister of religion ... ... ... ... 420
Tu W6n-hsiu, wrongly called Sultan of Yiin-nan ... ... ... 611
Twet Nga Lu ... ... ... ... ... ... 393. 299, 30a
U.
OLTiMATtjM to King Thibaw ... ... ... ... 108
Upper Burma, characteristic features of country ... ... ... 153
V.
Vision of Mirza, Kachin version of ... ... ... ... 419
Vocabularies system of transliteration adopted ... ... ... 631
■ authorities ... .» ... ... ». ^^3
Vii, Uvu or Wa ... ... ... ... ... 493
%. INDBX.
W.
Page.
Wa, the, orVa ... ... ... ... ... ... 493
^— their country ... ... ... „. ... 495
birth<tale ... ... ... ... . ... ... 496
villages ... ... ... ... ... ... 503
——tunnels ,.. ... ... ... ... ... 504
-^—houses .. ... ... ... ... ... 505
— wild, visited for first time, 1893 ... ... ... ... 310
WaW'LdHg feast of the La'hu ... ... ... ... 585
Wfelaune Chins ... ... ... ... ... 459
Wild Wa country, limits of ... ... ... ... 513
Wo-ni ... ... ... ... ... ,„ 030
World, Kachin legend of creation of ... ... ... ... 417
Wuntho rebellion ... ... ... ... ... 180
State divided between Kathaand Ye-u districts ... „. 184
YiifftTaiN district ... „. ... ... ... 139,171,178
Yang Lam and Yang Hsek ... ... ... ... 519
Yao tribes ... ... ... ... ... ... 601
Yaws, the ... ... ... ... ... ... 569
Ye-u as a district ... ... .. ... ... 161, 177
Yindus ... ... ... ... ... ... 459
— -^ thdr tattooing ... ... ... ... ... ^
Yo, Chin tribe ... ... ... ... ... ... 4S7
ZAYBiNSorSawngtung Karens... ... ... 539
ZhA or Chins ... ... ... ... 451
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