ABSTRACT
As the men are the life and soul of the .religion of Burma, so the women are the heart and soul of the life of the country. Mongolian by race, and Indian now by conquest, they have achieved for themselves a freedom which may be envied not only by their Indo-Chinese sisters, but by European women as well. The Burmese are absolutely the freest women in the world. Marriage is an equal contract, all property being held jointly. Property inherited by a woma.ri. before or after marriage, or earnings made by her, are absolutely her own. Marriage is an affair of the heart, and among these easy-going and affectionate people love-matches are not delayed till the husba.nd Can provide a home and an income, but the girl-wife a.nd the boy-husband are taken into the house of either parent, and maintained till. a separate household can be set up. If love is lost, or there is found to be incompatibility of temper, or if either wife or husband become a drunkard, a gambler, or vicious in life, divorce or separation can be easily obtained by application to the magistrate, with equal division of the joint pro~erty. Divorces are, however, rare; family life is saId to be very affectionate, and children are adored. Wives are consulted in all the affairs of life, and a farmer would hardly dare to sell his paddy harvest without the consent of his wife; in fact, she is found to be a much closer bargainer than he is. Women are the retail traders of the country. N early every house is 8. shop for the sale of somethin~, and even the daughters of well-to-do officials think It no degradation to set up a stall at a Bazaar. The earnings thus made are her own, and will enable her to wear a smart silk tamein at the races, or to make offerings at the shrine of Buddha, and add to her sum ?f ~erlt .or Ran. Many of the government contracts m tImber, forage, &c., were made, I was told, with women; and it surprised the European traders to find how versed they were in the arts of "holding up the
market," and obtaining the best price. Notwithstanding, however, their liberty, their control of property, and their ability in commerce, the chief aim of the young Burmese woman is to be pretty, and in this she succeeds. No Mongolian can be beautiful, according to the European standard; but apart from this standard there is much to admire in the Burmese girl. . A round face, with olive skin and dark bright eyes, is surmounted by coils of smooth black hair, in which is jauntily stuck a :Bower or two. The upper part of the body is modestly covered with a white cotton jacket. Bound closely round her slender hi;ps, and falling to the ground, is worn the tamein or skirt, which is generally of silk woven into a brilliant and harmonious combination of colours. A gay-coloured silk wrap is thrown across the shoulders and brought over the head when it is cold. Sandals held by a strap between the big and second toe protect the bare feet. All the women, young and old, smoke immense green cheroots, ten inches long. It is not at all unusual to see a bevy of women and children, dressed as brilliantly as a bed of tulips on a spring day, engaged in puffing great clouds of smoke out of cheroots twice as long as their smiling pretty faces.--' From "Burma," in the "Oornhill Magazine" for January.
