t
Woman's Rights in a Country Where Women Do AIL the Business
(Copyright, mo, by Frank O. Jarpentrr)
OMAIIA, SUNDAY MORNING. APRIL 24, 1910.
m m 1 spondcnce to The Bpc.)-C'om4
jYjl I with me to the bazar and have
h iook at me gins. v e Bre ln
th old capital of liiirmn, walk
1 ii V through Immense building
filled with Malls, in which hundreds of
laughing women are sitting upon platforms
with goods piled around them. Here is
One felling silks. She has the most delimit
pinks, blues, yellows ami greens, all striped
with some other gay color. They are In
tended for skirts, and will he wrapped tight
around the person and fastened with a knot
at the waist. See, a girl hus come up and
Is making a purchase. The fair merchant
takes a cigar as big as my wrist out of her
mouth and Ih.vh It aside while she measures
the goods with a yardstick. A half dosen
girls aro sitting on their heels nearby
watching the sale. Their barks arc turned,
and I observe their silk skirts glued to their
plump bodies. The Burmese maid wears
neither corset nor bustle. The skirt falls
straight to the feet, Inclosing the legs so
that thev look like double pies wrapped In
silk. The upper pint of the body is clad
In Jacket and shawl.
Now look nt the ears of those girls. They
arc shaped like beautiful shells, except at
the lobes, which are elongated and plugged
with cylinders of gold, silver or amber.
They aro bare-headed and thc.lr long black
locks are dono up In a knot on tho crown.
Every girl wears two or more bracelets,
and a diamond ring sparkles tin the hand
of the merchant as she measures the cloth.
Women Ilo the Business.
Now turn about and look through the
bazars. There are thousands of women buy
Ing and selling, and hundreds of peddlers
moving about with trays on their heads.
Here comes one with fresh fruits. She has a
bowl of coemuiuts and bananas and crlen
out her wares as she goes. Behind her Is
a flower peddler, and further on aro mald
eim with vegetables, fish, fruit and all sorts
of things. A fish woman is soiling a trout
from which she has chopped off the head.
The fish bleeds as she handles it. She
has plugs In her ears and her Hps are
wrapped around a mighty cigar at which
she puffs aa silo weighs out the fish.
We go to the street of the tailors. Here
girls are Bewlng on machines worked by
hand. They will make you a dress while
you wait. We stop before a pretty silk
seller and a buy a yellow striped skirt to
send homo. The girl sits on her feet, her
llttlo brown toes peeping out of the pink,
skirt which Is wraped tightly about her.
She looks Innocent and 1 feel safe In mak
ing tho purchase at her own price. She
offers me a whiff from her cigar as I
handle the goods and upon my 'refusing
gives it to her sister and then comes down
to business. She pulls out one piece of
bright silk after another awl explains tho
good points of each, laughing and chatting
the while, ln the end 1 find that I have
; paid three times what I should, but the girl
I ws so charming it was worth twice the
; money,
' ' Belle of the Itazars.
This girl whs one of the belles of the
', bazar, and typical of the fair maidens
' of Burma. She was as straight as a post
j and as plump as a partridge, and her rich
j Burmese drees was well fitted to show all
her beauties. Tho women hero are clad ln
j two garments, Ono of these is a Jacket of
1 silk, cotton or gauze, which reaches to tne
hips, and another baa a bright silken skirt
l which is wrapped around the waist and
i' Calls to the feet.
1 This skirt is square; it la about five feet
In width and is fastened by a half hitch
f tvith tn opening down at the front. The
aktrt Is so tight that when tho girl walks
rapidly she shows her bare legs to the knee,
but by throwing out the heels and going)
pigeon-toed tho folds ara prevented from
parting to an Immodest degree. In lower
Burma many of tho skirts are now sewn
together at the front on account of the
comments which foreigners have made
about thi costume.
The drosses are of different lengths, and
the richer women often have skirts which
trail upon the ground. The colors are
those of the rainbow, the most delicate
hues being UBed. My fair merchant wore
a Jacket of gauze, and her skirt reached
as high as the armpits. The jacket was
so thin that the brown skin could be seen
through the meshus, exposing the neck,
shoulders and arms. She had a beautiful
face. Her eyes were large, soft and brown,
with eyelids just a trifle oblique and hlgh
archlng, delicate brows. Her hair, which
was gloesy black, was rolled up In a pyra
mid on the crown, and fastened there with
a bright golden comb. She wore a neck
lace of pearls, to which were hung pen
dants of amber, and a double string of
pearls fell as low as her waist. She had
saven gold bracelets on eaU of her wrists,
a diamond ring on her finger and diamond
plugs ln her ears. She was, I judge, about
15 years of age, but girls mature here at
13, and she was a woman grown.
liar Flugi and Womsnhoud,
All tho girls here wear ear plugs. They
oannot enter society without them. As a
maiden approaches the age of coming out,
which Is usually at 12 or 13, her ears ur
bored, and the ceremony is as Important to
9mr as the first long dress is to her Amer
ican sister. TUo ceremony Is formal, and
t must be dona when the stars are propi
tious. The family cosults the fortune
taller for this occasion, and a big feast is
prepared. All the relatives and friends
attend In their best clothes to witness' the
piercing. - This Is done by a professional
earborer, who uses needles of pure gold
for tha rich and silver ones for tiie poor,
i When tha exact moment haa arrived the
1 cirl is laid down upon a mat ln the back
j of the room and hr relatives hold her
J there while the ear-borer thrusts the
, golden needle through the lobe and twists
i It around Into a ring. This he leaves in
' tha ear. The other ear is treated like-
wise.
While this Is going on the bauds play,
and after It there Is a feast. It takes
the ear some time to heal. When it is
quit well tha process of enlarging the
hols begins. Tha needle is pulled back
and forth lint 11 the aore heals. It Is theu
taken out and a little cylinder of finely
rolled gold Is pressed ln. This is gradually
' opened from week, to week, stretching the
hole larger and larger, the cylinder beliig
kept In until it grows to tha proper six.
, Such people as cannot afford gold or sil
ver! put stems of elephant grass in their
ears, inserting stem after stem, until at
, lust tha hola In the lobe will contain a
bunch as big around as your thumb. After
, the ears are well halad the plugs or hol-
j low pipes ara insert!.
Soma of tha women stretch their aar
holes until they grow to an Inconceivable
sUa. I have seen peasant girls with aar
holes so large that a napkin ring; could
ba thrust through one, and it Is not un
common to sea a Burmese maid with a big
cigar thrust through on ear. There was
not a merchant In tha baxar at Manda-
. lay who could not have used her eara for
cigarette holders, and but few who had
eat- plugs less than the size of thrlr fin
ger tips.
paklng of tobaoco, all Burmese wauiaa
A . ". ' l V: .A-;' . I : A hv, . t$ ' ,11 l.tl i ,v :. . . i. .f
m ' .'$V; V"'w lr-r
SSil ;V h VU t -' A : -;A i j aJa'; v;; AAv m i
4hafll 'A sCv v M V'WlfcSiL
smoke, and a girl learns to puff at a cigar
long before her ears are bored. Children
lire taught the habit as soon as they are
able to walk, and I see 4-year-old boys
puffing clgaroltes. Tho average cigar used
by the women looks much like a long far
of popcorn with the husk on. It Is made
of other leaves In connection with tobacco;
it is loosely rolled and is often tiea with
a string. All the girls are adept In making
cheroots, and at a party ono girl may roll
for t lie crowd, the big cigars being paAed
about from one guat to another, euch
taking a whiff, ln courting, I doubt not,
the girl makes the cigar and the two take
love smokes in turn
l.ove and Marrlaar.
And this brings me to marriage in Burma.
The customs here are different from those
of Japan, China, Korea or the other coun
tries I have visited during this trip around
the world. The Japanese girl has a hus
band picked out by a matchmaker, the
Korean takes one at the dictation of her
parents, while the Chinese maiden Is often
sold, and, if married, becomes the slave of
;her mother-in-law. The Siamese girl is
nominally the property of the king, and the
Malayan la shut up ln a Mohammedan
harem, as are the millions of women of
India, Egypt and Turkey. The Burmese
girl goes about as she pleases, and marries
whom she will. During her childhood sha
associates with the boys, and after mar
riage she is looked upon as a comrade and
often rules the household. She Is the bus
iness man of the establishment. She usu
ally makes the money, and always carries
the purse.
Marriage Oremony Kasy.
The Burmese marry early and one Is an
old maid if not married before she is out
of 'the teens. During the courtship the
young man brings presents of oranges or
candy; he writes verses in praise of his
lady's beautiful ear plugs, and she ln re
Sunny Scenes
aioKtnlej'a Dying; Prayer,
N the afternoon of his last day
on earth, writes James Creel
man in his "On the Great High
way," tho president began to
realize that his life was slipping
away, and that the efforts of
science could not save him. He asked Dr.
Uixey to bring the surgeons ln. One by
one the surgeons entered and approached
the bedside. When they were gathered
about him the president opened his tyes
and said:
"It Is useless, gentlemen; I think we
ought to have prayer."
The dying man crossed his hands on
his breast and half closed his eyes. There
was a beautiful smile on his countenance.
The surgeons bowed their heads. Tears
streamed from the eyes of the white clad
nurses on either side of the bed. The yel
low radiance of the sun shone softly In the
room.
"Our Father, which art in Heaven," said
the president in a clear, steady voice.
The Jips of the surgeons moved.
"Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom
come. Thy will be done "
The sobbing of a nurse disturbed the
still air. The president opened his eyes
and closed them again.
"Thy will be done ln earth as it is ln
Heaven."
A long sigh. The sands of life were run-
ning swiftly. The sunlight died out, the
raindrops dashed against the windows.
"Give us tills day our dally bread; and
forgive us our debts as we forgive our
debtors; and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver US from evil."
Another silence. The surgeons looked at
the dying face and the friendly lips.
"For Thine is the kingdom, the power
and the glory, forever, Amen."
"Amen," whispered the surgeons.
Uulllvcr and the Pickpocket.
The most conspicuous opponent of Sen
ator Aldrieh la the tariff struggle, relates
the National Magazine, was Jonathan P.
Dolliver of Iowa, but despite that senator'.
wit. eloquence, ana undisputed talent ha
found himself outnumbered ln tha votes
which carried the bill through to a bril
liant finish. Senator Dolliver la a born
orator and seldom writes an address, pre-
ferring to deliver It straight from tha
shoulder In massive periods. Ha mora
closely approaches tha giant stature of
Webster ln this respect than any man now
on tbe floor of the senate. Tha Iowa boys
always remember Jonathan P. Dolliver as
a popular speaker, though ha Insists that
bis speeches "ara written out la the agony
in
turn gives him cigars ar,rf, perhaps, a tur
ban or shawl knit by herself.
The marriage is little more than a festi
val at tho house of the girl. Here the
young couple eat rice together, join hands
and say they intend to live as man and
wife. They are supposed to bill and coo.
feeding one another as birds do; and they
drink tea with their parents and parents-in-law.
The groom makes the girl a pres
ent consisting of a silken skirt or piece of
Jewelry, and he is supposed to furnish
the wedding breakfast. After marriage the
two go Into seclusion for a honeymoon of
sevh days, and they .then take up their
home in the house of the bride. It Is pre
sumptuous for them to set up their own
establishment immediately after marriage,
as the man is supposed to work a certain
time for his wife.
I understand that thereare many love
matches ln Burma, and that where par
ents object the young people elope and
go off to themselves. There are few mar
riages for money.
The marriage is a civil ceremony and it
has nothing to do with religion. It is a
social and business partnership rather
than a moral contract, and many mar
riages are entered into without any cere
mony at all. Among some people the
wedding la kept secret for a time, for
the young people do not like to be stared
at nor have stones thrown on their house
roofs, as is sometimes the custom. A girl
does not change her name when she mar
ries, and there is nothing about her to show
whether she Is married or not. She wears
no marriage ring, and she still, as I have
said, keeps her own property. She can
act for herself ln a business way and she
frequently acts for her husband. She can
sign deeds, lend or borrow money and
make any kind of arrangements as to buy
ing or selling.
With all this the women do not mix ln
public affairs. They make no fuss about
their rights, and the Burmese suffragette is
and Memorable Events in
of toll, under the - heat and g.aro of the
gas Jet."
The son of a Methodist minister. Sen
ator Dolliver entered early upon a political
career; he had the old-fashioned way of
using ancedotes to lilustrate his points,
which was then ' considered effective,
though he may have changed his style
with the times. He is one of the orators
who frankly admit that they "like to
talk," a taste he thinks he may have in
herited from his father and grandfather
the latter a Massachusetts seafaring man,
whose cargo of cotton during the war of
1S12 waa confiscated by General Jackson; if
he had his grandson's eloquence it is prob
able that he made some remarks that
would have been worthy of preservation.
When preaching on a large circuit in Vir
ginia, and often riding LU0 miles ln a week,
Mr. Dolllver's father met the lady who be
came his wife, and that is the reason that
the senator hails from West Virginia, and
was educated at the State university there.
After his graduation, at the age of 17,
the young man decided to migrate to Illi
nois. He tells thus of this first western
visit:
"Standing ln the railway station of Col
umbus, O., a policeman tapped me on the
shoulder, and with a warning glance said:
" 'Vou have Just been talking, my boy,
with oue of the most dangerous plck
Duckets in the United States.' "
-One of the most danceroua DickDocketa
in the United States has been talking to a
country boy who has not a red cent to his
name,' was my reply."
Krllrrment of Buffalo Bill.
Buffalo Bill's withdrawal from the arena,
say the New York Times, will mark the
passing of the most picturesque personality
ln public life hunters of wildbeeste and
digdlg not excepted. It's doubtful if any
other man save Ueorge Washington has en
Joyed in such degree the universal adora
tion of American youngsters and the nation-wide
admiration of American grown
ups. Even today affection for Abraham
Lincoln. Uivsses S. Grant and Robert K.
j,ee hll, Beaional limitations; that for
colonel Cody knows no boundaries. To tha
youth of tha land he has been from hia
earliest fame, and always will be, the dar
ing, tha dashing, the debonair Buffalo Bill,
Intrepid pursuer of the hearth-rocking
bUof relentless and alway.1 triumphant
ri,kln. breaker of bronchos, monarch of
cowboys, king of horsemen and prince of
scouts.
Aadrcw Jokuaun'a Kdaratloa.
In Harper's Magazine ara published soma
personal recollections of Andi-ew Johnson
yet unborn. Such girls as I have seen are
modest and lady-like. They are self-respecting,
but not Independent nor forward.
Woman's Itlttht" In Burma.
The rights of a woman after her mar-
riage are well protected. The women are
the chief workers and money-makers, and
a woman can hold property distinct from
her husband. She manages her own mrfney,
and has an equal light with her husband in
all that they make together during their
married life. She has a right to her own
earnings, and if divorced she takes back all
the money she has brought Into the family
and half of what has been accumulated
Blnce the wedding.
As to divorces, these are not difficult of
obtainment on either side of the family.
Any discontented husband or wife may go
before the elders and claim a separation,
and It is seldom refused.
There are also special grounds for di
vorce. If the husband is idle or lazy tha
wife can claim a separation. If he is unable
to support her, If he Is always ailing, or
becomes a cripple after his marriage, sha
can demand that the marriage tie bo broken
and the same Is true if he Ill-treats her in
any way.
On the other hand, the husband has,
also, plenty of grounds for divorce. If his
wife docs not love him, if she visits places
to which he objects, and If she persistently
disobeys him, he may claim his freedom.
The same is also true if she gives him no
boys. Notwithstanding all this divorces aro
not much more common than in the United
States. They are hardly respectable, and
the man who enters a monastery to get lid
of a wife is called a runaway, while a di
vorced woman Is said to be always anxious
to marry again. Indeed, marriage is con
sidered the best state for woman, one of
tfielr proverbs being as follows:
"Monk are beautiful when they are lean,,
four-footed animals when they are fat, men
which give a new and most interesting ac
count of this uniquely remarkable man,
who rose in a few years from a tailor's
bench to the presidency. His pride in hav
ing been a tailor and his free admission of
illiteracy are particularly inteiesing.
"About a year before the civil war Judge
Fespper, who had been a blacksmith before
he became a lawyer, sent Johnson a set of
fire-irons, which he had irflide himself, says
the writer of the recollections, and the gov
ernor presently sent tho judge a coat which
be had, made for him. When he told my
mother of the incident, she said:
" 'Did you really make the coat, gov
ernor?' " 'I put some stitches ln it,' he said; 'Pep
per shouldn't get ahead of mo with the
people. When I was a tailor 1 was a good
one.'
"He refused an Invitation once to dine
with A. V. Brown, a leader of the democra'ic
party In Tennessee and afterward Buchan
an's postmaster general, although all of the
guests were to bo fellow democrats, and let
them know that on that day he hod dined
with his washer woman, off bacon and
cabbage.
"He made no secret of his unlettered
youth, and once brought my mother a mag
azine containing a sketch of his life, ln
which it was stated that his wife, Flora
McCardlo, had taught him to read after
they were married, when he was twenty
one years of age. He said the statement
was Inaccurate but substantially true; that
when they were married his wife brought
her school books to their new home, and
his study of them aided his educution ma
terially. After ho rose to prominence his
admirers used to point out that he had
mode few mistakes in grammar and that
his English was pure, but he never learned
to divide his words correctly in writing,
and sometimes made ludicrous mistakes In
quotations. Once in a public speech he
spoke of the Lays of Ancient Koine as hav
ing been translated in Macauley; and in
another speech he quoted:
" 'And the stern Joy that warriors feel
In foemen worthy of their steel,
as Shakespeare says!' "
Chamberlain's Bank Fallare. ,
Senator Chamberlain of Oregon, who re
cently made Ms first extended speech ln
congress on conservation, has reminded an
old friend of Chamberlain's own experi
ments In conservation.
"When Chamberlain was running fur tha
senate," said this friend to a Washington
Times reporter, "the opposition went over
his recoid with a 'lne-tooth comb to find
something Injurious to him. One day one
V
f '
r
A
when they are learned and women wnen
they are married."
llasy Housekeeping.
Tho Burmese wifo has fewer housekeep
ing troubles than her American sister. If
she belong to the well-to-do classes she
has servants, and if not, sho has but little
hard work. Tho ordinary house is built of
wood or bamboo raised upon posts about
eight feet apart. It has a veranda in front,
with steps leading to the rooms overhead.
The floors are of thin planking or bamboo
canes, and the roof Is of thatch or leaves.
The whole Is simple to an extreme. Tho
i i 1 1 i iv, n
fti ill m-'i H - '-i
? Zrrk-. . .A ..A'.. ' .A-J
Lives of Prominent People
of the strikers rushed ln and announced
that he had it.
"Chamberlain was president of a bank
when he was a young man; it busted and
was a horrible wreck."
"Dig it up quick," announced" the cam
paign manager.
The story was looked up and was true.
The pank had failed and there were al
most no ussets.
They were Just ready to put out the
story when an old friend of Chamberlain's
came along and advised against It. Won't
do you any good," he insisted. "Take my
word for it."
But the campaign managers had to do
something, and so the story of the busted
bank was given cut and gut due publicity
in all the" anti-Chamberlain papers. Next
day the Chamberlain" committee gave out
a statement signed by all the directors
and a lot of depositors of the bank. It
said:
"It is true that Mr. Chamberlain was
president of the bank when It failed. At
that time he was a man of some property.
He had never been actively connected with
the bank management and when he learned
that It was closed and hopelessly insolvent
he turned over his entire property and
personally paid all depositors."
Whereupon the anti-Chamberlain people
started hunting for""Ti new roorback, and
when election day came the man whose
bank had filled Inglorlously was tri
umphantly elected benator.
Beaten by Ills Stories.
Think of a man being defeated for con
gress because somebody swiped all his best
Jukes!
A visitor from Minnesota ln Washington
the other day told a little crowd at his
hotel that Adam Bede missed re-election
In the Kighth Minnesota district the last
time fur just .that reason.
It seems, according to the visitor's story,
that a fellow by tho name of Barker, who
Is a sort of boss of the Kighth Minnesota
district, , cares not at all for Adam Bude.
Now, as everybody knows, Bede was re
gal ded as one of the chief wits of con
gress. He always had more stones to tell
than any seven other men engaged In the
national legislation. He would si nd his
crowd home In a good humor and they
would vote fur lit id.
Well, Barker thought and thought how
to defeat Bede. One day at S o'clock an
Idea came. He made a deal with one C.
H. Miller to oppose Bede and tha fight
wqs on.
Beda started to make a few speeches
In a remote corner of his district, and
Barker sent a stenographer down with In
T j, v -y
a. sr-.A'- rzfjn i MMmmmesaaamamBunEsmr
CLASS I2T RITIITTETJC "
nuxina has no rurnlture ln our sense or tha
word. The people sleep upon mats and rest
their heads on bamboo pillows. There is
little sweeping to do, and tho most of tha
cooking Is on fires out of doors. Tho cook
ing utanslls usually consist of two or thren
earthen pots, ln addition to which are sorno
Jars for water and several cocoanut ladle
Most of the people use neither knives nor
forks.
The staple food of the Burmese is rloe.
which la boiled or steamed, and eaten with
fish paste and peppers. Nothing is drank
with the meals, and aften thean only water.
But few of the Burmese eat meat, for it
structions (o take down all Bede's funny
Btoiies. Then when the fight grew warmer
Barker billed his friend Miller ju.st about
one day ahead of Bede in each town. When
Bede arrived and began to tell ills jokes
the crowd would act bored, for they had
heard the samb stories the night before.
Bede dug up some new ones, but Barker
had arranged that they should Do wired
ahead of Miller.
After about a week of this Bede became
a fallen idol. They refused to vote for a
man who appeared to be trailing along
about one block In the rear of the Joke
parade.
Today Miller occupies Bode's scut In tho
house of representatives.
Pastor's Puzzle Made Plain.
The pastor of a Went Philadelphia church
Was very much surprised and pleased last
Sunday night when in the course of tho
service a crowd of iHrrsons fully forty
strong entered and seated, themselves in
the rear pews. The service continued with
the clergyman congratulating himself on
his unusually large congregation, when
suddenly the Jour opened and a inun stuck
in his head.
"Here she comes," he announced ln a loud
whisper.
Instantly the late comers arose en masse
and rushed to the door. Tho pastor was ho
perplexed at the strange occurrence that
after service he spoke to one of the vestry
who hud been standing by tho door.
"'Don't you know what happened?" asked
.the vestryman, laughingly.
"No," answered the clergy man, "but I
would like to."
"Why, a car broke down right In front
of the church. Everybody got out after a
few minutes, and, seeing a chance to sit
down,' they all came in h.'io leaving ono
man on watch. "Philadelphia Telegraph.
Making Father Give Proof.
A Washington scientist is tho father of
several boys, to whom the greutest freedom
Is accordl-d. He was recently engaged in
some computation, being at the time near
the window of his home, when he heard
a shrill cry of "Dad, dad!'' from his young
est born, who was playing with neighbors'
children outside.
"What a trial my children are!" mur
mured the distinguished man, as he thrust
his head out of tha window. "Well, Har
rington," he asked, "what Is It?"
Whereupon tha lad, who was standing In
tha center of a group of youngsters, re
plied: ,-
"Willie Johnson wouldn't believe you
hadn't a hair on your head. That's all,
dad." Uppencott'a.
is contrary to the '-..ddhlst religion to
consume anything that has life, tho chief
exception bedng fish, which la eaten fresh,
dried and also when rotted by burying It In
the sand. A favorite dish is a fish curry
with rice. The family usually alt ajund the
rice dish each having a little bowl for
curry and a larger one for rice. Everyone
helps liiiiise.lf taking from the rice platter
as much as he can squee&o in his hands.
He conveys the food to his mouth In bin
hands. At tho close of tho meal everyone
Is expected to wash his own dLshes and
each goes to the water Jar to rinse out his
mouth. The meals are more like picnics
than anything else.
Eiluralloii of Women.
Until the British came to Burma onlj
the fewest of tho women could read and
V lite. There aro not many who can do so
xiow. Tho government has established
schools for girls in the large towns, but in
the villages they seldom exist, and tho
monks cannot teach tho girls as they do
the hoys. According to the laws of tho Bud
dhist religion, every boy must go into a
monastery. Ho uswilly does ho at the ai;e
of 8 or it years, and, hu tlnre learns to read
and write. There are very few nunneries in
tho country, and tho girls have nowhe l
else to go. Their mothers are ignorant anJ
therefore it Is the exception to find a uu
tlve girl outside the cities who Is able lu
read.
The British officials are trying lo remedy
this, and there aro now something like
70,000 girls in tho government schools, al
though only ono of every cloven girls of
school age is being educated, and only
about 1,000 are In tho secondary and high
schools.
During my stay lu Burma I have visited
many of these. 1 find the little ones quite
as bright as our American children. They
study diligently and recite well. I remember
a class in arithmetic which I heard In
Rangoon. It was composed of eleven Bur
mese girls of about 10 years of ago. They
performed sums in addition and subtrac
tion at the command of their teacher, and
recited the multiplication table In Burmese
for my edification.
How ;lrls Are Anmrd.
During my stay in the schools I 'as
told the names of a number of the pupils
und the teacher referred to a queer custom
the Burmese havu in selecting names for
their children. A girl Is named about two
weeks after birth, and that at a meeting
of tho relations and friends. The name Is
chosen by mh according to the day" of tha
week upon which the child wbh burn, cer
tain consonants being used for each week
day and the vowels going for Burmese Sun- '
days, or first day of the week. The little
one's name must begin with a letter be
longing to the day on which she was bortk
There urn thus Sunday girls. Monday gii-1
Tuesday girls, and Wednesday, Thursday,
Friday ami Saturday girls, or whutever
the Burmese days of II week bi-o called.
All the little Mis-i Wednesdays have names
beginning with It or V, the Fridays with
Th and It. while the Miss Saturdays ara
T's, D's and N"s. Tho names are often
poetic, a girl may be culled Miss Per
fume, Miss Perfection or Miss Uku-What-There-Is-Xot.
At the moment of a child's
birth the astrologers nolo Its horoscope and,
pick out the stars which are to go with it (
through life. At the ban. a time birth
burnt before Buddha, und c sume days
candles made of red or yellow wax ara
similar candles ara lighted at tha shrines .
4
9
