Full text of "The sea gypsies of Malaya; an account of the nomadic Mawken people of the Mergui Archipelago with a description of their ways of living, customs, habits, boats, occupations, etc. .."

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A Kabang Opened Out.
This shows the decks of split bamboo, and the roof rolled up in the stern.

THE

SEA GYPSIES

MALAYA

AN ACCOUNT OF THE NOMADIC

MAWKEN PEOPLE OF THE MERGUI ARCHIPELAGO

WITH A DESCRIPTION OF

THEIR WAYS OF LIVING, CUSTOMS, HABITS,

BOATS, OCCUPATIONS,

cS'C, (S-c, (S-c.

WALTER GRAINGE WHITE, F.R.G.S.

Member of the Oxford University Anthropological Society
WITH A FOREWORD BY

R. R. MARETT, M.A., D.Sc, F.R.A.I.

University Reader in Social Anthropology, Oxford

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS &• A MAP

LONDON

SEELEY, SERVICE & CO. LIMITED

38 GREAT RUSSELL STREET
1922

FOREWORD

WHEN Mr White came to Oxford to read a
paper on the Mawken before our Anthro-
pological Society, most of us had hitherto
never heard of those people, at any rate under that
name. Thereupon, having gauged his attitude towards
wild folk in general, I gladly promised to furnish any
book that Mr White should write about them with an
introductory note, not because I was in any way com-
petent to supplement the information collected by him,
but simply in order to associate myself with an enter-
prise that I felt to be useful. For surely it is useful
in the highest degree to everyone who takes an interest
in his fellow-men that he should be taught to respect
them even when their circumstances are lowly. These
Mawken are, to judge by externals, scarcely better off
than the mud-fish on which they live. To accompany
our author on a trip in one of their reeking dug-outs
is a trying experience, even when but imagined from
the depth of an arm-chair. Nevertheless, as we follow
Mr White in his efforts to make friends with the
Mawken, we find ourselves becoming friendly towards
them too.

This book, then, in my view at least, is thoroughly
anthropological in spirit, because all anthropology,
whether pure or applied, has its root in human sympathy.
Hoc fundamentum ret est. Human nature is only to be
understood from within. The supreme object of the
study of our fellow-man is to join souls with him. Nor
is such contact so difficult to achieve as it might at
a first glance seem. The natural bridge of souls is

680970

6 Foreword

language. Having this faculty in common, human
beings are capable of spiritual intercourse, whatever
material barriers otherwise may tend to impede the
process. Mr White went the right way to work in
seeking to master the Mawken tongue. He soon
found — as everyone discovers who is at pains to con-
verse with a primitive people in their own idiom — that
the workings of the human mind are much the same
in all of us. He and his friend Nbai conversed freely
to their mutual profit. I wonder which of them learnt
more that was of value to him.

Meanwhile the problem of effectively joining souls
is complicated by the fact that success depends on the
social no less than on the individual make-up of the
minds that meet. Each stands for a consciousness
wedded to a custom. The social habits of the people
with whom one's life is more immediately bound up
must on the whole be followed, and a prejudice in
favour of these as compared with habits of any other
kind constitutes in large part the mental outlook of
every normal man. But if there is to be real sympathy
between those who represent very different stages or
types of culture, such prejudice must be somehow
overcome — to this extent at least, that some sort of
line is drawn between essential and non-essential habits,
between morals and manners, let us say, so that a large
toleration can be exercised in regard to the latter.
Here anthropological science can help. The study of
man is scientific just so far as it is disinterested and
objective. Impartially viewed in the light of the facts,
a given mode of life is seen to entail one code of
manners and another another. If Nbai, for instance,
was to continue to live the life of a Sea Gypsy, his best
chance was to stick to Mawken methods of coping
with their amphibious environment. Thus who can
doubt that the Mawken, confronted with tinned salmon,

Foreword 7

were right in protesting, " We do not know to eat it " ?
Even their practice of cleaning fish into the bottom of
the boat, nasty as it may seem to us, and very possibly
entailing the drawback of skin disease, may amount
to a wise precaution, if, as Mr White suggests, it is
vital to naked pearl divers that sharks should not be
encouraged to hang about. So much, then, for
manners. They must conform to the mode of life.
Unless we are prepared to replace this mode of life by
another, the manners are best left alone.

But morals can be distinguished from manners.
They are far less relative to the mode of life, being
concerned with what is largely common to mankind as
such. To help Nbai to develop his moral nature, to
realise his essential humanity, was not to unfit him for
the career of a Sea Gypsy, but rather to brace him
for his task. Was he not well advised, for example, to
desist from the use of opium ? Without pronouncing
on the wider issues involved in the opium question,
we may surely decide in this particular case that Nbai
was likely to be at once healthier and wealthier for his
abstinence. Again, it was consistent with the truest
sympathy to teach Nbai that black magic ceases to
work the moment one ceases to be frightened at it.
The curse of primitive society is the fear of the
sorcerer. I should indeed like to know in what precise
form there was revealed to Nbai his immunity from
the magician's spells. Perhaps he merely conceived of
Mr White as a superior magician by association with
whom he himself had acquired the power to resist.
Even were this so, however, something would have
been gained. The educator of the savage has to build
with such material as is ready to his hand; and it is
surely possible to utilise the widespread primitive
notion of the spiritual world as a battle-field of rival
wonder-waking powers, so as gradually to bring home

8 Foreword

the truth that a good will must ever in the long run
prove stronger than a bad will.

Finally, to illustrate the difficulty of separating the
morally essential from that which is merely contingent
on the particular state of culture, I note that Mr
White, resolute as he is to suppress all black magic,
is disposed to take a lenient view of the white magic
of the native leech. Certainly the opprobrious title of
devil-doctor is here beside the mark. To practise the
faith cure is not to bedevil. Moreover, as Mr White
seems to me to be perfectly right in holding, the leech
is no conscious charlatan, but thoroughly believes in
the power of which he is the vehicle. Only faith
can beget faith. It is, however, a nice question
whether the educator should be content to leave the
medical science of the Mawken in the state in which
he finds it. It comes to this, I suppose, that we had
better be chary of destroying until there comes the
opportunity of substituting something else that will
be lastingly better. Meanwhile, in all such matters
of doubt, sympathy will suggest the right solution, if
the sympathy be reinforced by a solid and sufficient
knowledge of the facts.

R. R. Marett.

Oxford.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I

PAQB

An Impressionist Sketch of Burma . . .17

CHAPTER II
The Tenasserim & the Mergui Archipelago . 26

CHAPTER III
The Sea Gypsies & Their Homes . . -39

CHAPTER IV

How the Sea Gypsies Name Themselves — & Why . 54

CHAPTER V
U Shwe I: the "Painter" . . . .61

CHAPTER VI

"Your Friend would be I"; or, The Tale of a

Romantic Picnic . . . . -73

CHAPTER VII

Afloat in a Mawkf.n Ship: A Voyage to Maidkn

Isle ...... 84

io Contents

CHAPTER VIII

PAGB

Friendly Overtures & the Warning . . 98

CHAPTER IX

How the Mawken Obtain Their Livelihood : Some

Effects of the Opium Traffic . . • . 106

CHAPTER X

Life at Maulmein . . . • .120

CHAPTER XI

Committing Mawken to Writing : Thought-Symbols

& a Script . . . . . .132

CHAPTER XII

Notions, New & Old . . . . .141

CHAPTER XIII
Discussion of Language Origin . . .154

CHAPTER XIV

Preparations for the Census (1911) . . . 168

CHAPTER XV
Taking the Census of the Sea Gypsies . . 177

CHAPTER XVI
Reasons for Computing the Number of Mawken . 190

Contents 1 1

CHAPTER XVII

PAGE

Births & Marriages ..... 199

CHAPTER XVIII
Kindred & Affinities ..... 209

CHAPTER XIX
The Sick & the Doctor . . . .217

CHAPTER XX
Death & Burial ..... 227

CHAPTER XXI

Children's Games & Occupations . . . 240

CHAPTER XXII
How the Women Live ..... 249

CHAPTER XXIII
The Life of the Men ..... 261

CHAPTER XXIV

Psychological Phenomena, or How Suggestion

Works ...... 273

CHAPTER XXV
A Comparative Study ..... 286

1 2 Contents

CHAPTER XXVI

PAGE

"Science & Art" amongst the Mawken . . 296

CHAPTER XXVII
Future Possibilities ..... 304

Index . . . . . . .312

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

A Kabang opened out

The Floating Home of the Sea Gypsies

Mawken Men

The Sick & the Doctor .

" Grannie "

Kabang in sail

Kabang

" Kennels on Stilts "

Victoria Point

A Distant View of Mergui

Mergui from the Harbour .

Mawken Women

Mawken Children .

Gathering their Dinner
13

Frontispiece

PAGE
40

. 64

88
88
112
128
144
168
200
224
224

i^ i^ist or inustrauor

PAGE

A Grandfather ....

232

A Group of Sea Gypsies .

240

A Beach Shelter ....

256

Harbour (§• Islands

264

A Sorcerer's " Bag of Tricks "

288

Pangolin & its Young

. 288

AUTHOR'S NOTE

UNFORTUNATELY I cannot acknowledge all
my helpers by name. Special reference must
be made, however, to my old friend the
Chinaman, U Shwe I, who enabled me to undertake
the study of the Gypsies of the Sea; as well as to
Mr E. G. N. Kinch, to whose skill as a photographic
artist I owe most of the illustrations. The pangolin
was photographed for me by a Chinese photographer,
at Maulmein; and the group and a few other subjects
were procured from a Burmese photographer at Mergui.
With regard to the mode of presentation, I am
greatly indebted to suggestions made by the publishers,
and especially to those of their reader.

as oh
as oo

ORTHOGRAPHY

In the spelling of Mawken words I have followed the Con-
tinental pronunciation of the vowels, when used without any
diacritical marks.

a is pronounced, whether initially, medially or finally, as ah
e „ „ ,, » asay«

i ii » » » as ee

,, >j >>
u ,, j> >)
When a short vowel-soicnd is needed, I have imposed the

breve. So

a is pronounced, whether initially, medially or finally as in an

e „ i. ii » sls in pen

1 „ „ i, ii as in/?/
6 „ „ ,i >i ^ in pot
u „ „ ,, ,, as in prat
In the Makuchi word, or terminal, which signifies the plural, I

have adopted the circumflex over the " e " in order to give it the
French vowel-sound required, thus thame (thamur — silent r).

In reading the Mawken name for the northernmost clan and
its dialect the word Dung must be pronounced as if written
Doo-ng.

So, the name of the Mawken ship, kabang, must be pronounced
as if written kah-bah-ng ; and nticha-blin must be pronounced as if
written mee-chah blenn.

Burmese words are spelled as officially written in Burma.
Lungyi is pronounced loon-jee.

W. G. W.

THE

SEA GYPSIES OF MALAYA

CHAPTER I

AN IMPRESSIONIST SKETCH OF BURMA

LOTUS-LAND! The Silken East! Land of
the Peacock! Beautiful Burma! What
enchanting pictures are conjured up as our
thoughts dally with these epithets ! Burma, or, as
the people would pronounce it, ~Bur-??iah, is indeed a
land of charms. The land itself is a beautiful land,
and the people from whom the country takes its name
are light-hearted, pleasant folk. Those who like to
find the West in the East speak of the Burmese as
" the Irish of the East."

No well-read nor any travelled person would expect
a region so large as Burma to be inhabited by a single
race ; and Burma is the home of many peoples, of
different shades of colour, of diverse religious systems,
of varied dress and speaking in tongues unintelligible
to each other.

There are the Was. Of them it is told that a Wa
maiden would not look at a Wa swain as a prospective
spouse unless he had proved his physical superiority
b 17

1 8 An Impressionist Sketch of Burma

over other men by bringing in their heads or their
scalps. For the most part the Wa country is still
unadministered by the British.

High upon the hills, bordering upon China and Siam,
are, the Shans. The Shan men are trousered. There is
an ordered government, under British domination ; and
it is a land of corn and peaches, oranges and bananas.
Being five thousand feet above sea-level, and situated
in the tropics, the climate is salubrious and exhilarating.

Upon the " backbones " of Burma live the Karens,
the Po and the Skaw Karens, in whom some would
trace a descent from Abraham, the Chaldean. It
would not be unreasonable to suppose that they
migrated down the Irawadi and the Salween. During
my sojourn in Burma someone informed me that
the Salween rises in Thibet, and flows down behind
the " Snow's-abode " (Him-alaya). The maps of the
Royal Geographical Society know nothing of this,
though I confess to having believed my informant, and
it may pass, with the rest, as Legend. The Karens are,
at the back of things, as were the Hebrews, mono-
latrists, if not monotheists, and their name for the
Supreme Being is Jehovah. Their romantic tradition
is fairly well known : how, for many generations, they
have been looking for white teachers from over the
seas, who would come to teach them the truth about
Jehowah, and restore to them the sacred writings they
had lost! No one can have read the life story of
Dr and Mrs Judson, the American Baptist missionaries,

An Impressionist Sketch of Burma 19

pioneers amongst the Karens and the Burmese, without
being thrilled. Like the Shans and the Burmese, the
Karens have a script of their own. The Karens build
their villages round the tops of conical hills, where
possible. The backs of their dwellings rest upon piles,
with the facades encircling the hill-top.

In the coastal lands of the west of Burma are the
Arakanese, the men of which race wear neither skirt
nor trousers, and do their hair in a ball at the top, and
as a fan behind, and wear laps or loin-cloth.

Of the Chins and Kachins, other peoples of whom
the men are trousered, there is no need to tell, nor can
the remaining races be described here.

En passant, references should be made to the
Burmese, who live, for the most part, in the plains,
watered by the great Irawadi river and its delta.
The Burmese kings had their capitals at different
places, one of which was Ava ; and it is said that a
Burmese king at Ava sent for some of the Sea Gypsies,
had them taught to read and write Burmese, and sent
them back to their people ; but no apparent results have
accrued from this incident. Until the British took over
their country and exiled their king, the last capital of
the Burmese kings was Mandalay. Maulmein, in the
Tenasserim division, was the capital of British Lower
Burma, and from the old Maulmein pagoda, on the road
to Mandalay (in the distant north) one looks westward
to the sea, and eastward to the Shan States and China.

The Burmese had the idea, and perhaps some have

20 An Impressionist Sketch of Burma

it still, that the world is plate-like. It is said that
Mandalay was regarded as the middle of the disc, and
that the king, when holding Court, seated beneath his
sunshade of white silk, was in the middle of the world
and in the centre of the universe. Like many kings of
yore, he seems to have had a very exalted opinion of
himself, of his dignity and of his power, if we may
judge from the grandiloquent language of his letter to
the British when the invasion of Upper Burma was
threatened. Was not the king, in his royal person,
to lead his valiant troops and to sweep the British into
the sea? It is not many years since, that the story
was going the round in Burma that some of the monks
instructed the boys in their schools to reply, if ques-
tioned by a Government Inspector, that the world is
round, like a ball ("lest the European should be
angry ") ; but, " of course, you know that it is
flat."

These things are not mentioned with sneer or scoff.
Early Christians and a pope laid great store upon such
an outlook on the world, and these early Christians, or
some of them, were puzzled to know how, if the world
were a globe, their theory of salvation could embrace
inhabitants at their antipodes. Are not our common
terms " sunrise " and " sunset " relics of this past,
when apparent truth was not differentiated from reality?

The Burmese are a delightful and cultured race.
Their technology is that of a people advanced in
civilisation. And their so-called "religious" system

An Impressionist Sketch of Burma 21

is based upon deep thought, as anyone who has
studied Buddhism knows. The teak, ivory and silver
carvings of the Burmese bear witness to developed art.
I have some beautiful specimens in my possession.
Their use of gold-leaf, vermilion and glass-mosaic
speaks of a beauty sense, even though the ultimate
source of all beauty, as of all truth, be not recognised.

In my many lectures on Burma, in various parts of
England and Wales, although I have tried to be lucid,
I have found, over and over again, that when I have
given an account of the Sea Gypsies, there have been
some people who, because they are a people of Burma,
have confused them with the Burmese. Though it
may be a pardonable mistake, it does great injustice
to Burma and the Burmese.

Burma has been written up so well by Shwe Yoe
and others ; it has been " painted and illustrated " by
Talbot Kelly, and photographed and painted by Mrs
Muriel, in so exquisite a manner; and Fielding Hall,
in Soul of a People, has done such justice to the good
that is in the Burmese (for Buddhist and Burman are
almost synonymous), that there is no need for me to
do more than provide pegs upon which readers can
hang their recollections. These pegs are necessary,
in order that a proper comparison and contrast may
be drawn between the people of Burma to-day and
those about whom it is intended to deal specifically
in the succeeding chapters of this book. There are
still people who think that there is a British Burma

22 An Impressionist Sketch of Burma

and a Burma ruled by a king of Burma. A geographical
text-book for schools made this mistake only a few years
ago. And voyagers to the Silken East, going to work
in Burma, are still requested — as was I ! — to remember
friends kindly to Mr Smith or Mrs Jones, if encountered,
for (may I so put it?) they live just across the way in
a tiny village called Bombay !

Observant travellers, as they visit different lands,
may notice that each country has "prevailing tints."
Often these tints are due to atmospheric conditions,
which cause a particular prismatical resolution of the
colours of light. They are affected also by the pre-
vailing tone of the soil, and, at certain seasons of the
year, by the common flora. Burma's dominating tint
is red. It is seen in the soft rose of sunset and sunrise,
in the deep reds of sky and cloud effects, and in the
mauves and purples of the hills. Bougainvillaa, Flam-
boyant and Lagerstrcemia, with the most graceful of
all flowering trees, Amherstia Nobilis, combine, with the
widely prevailing laterite soil, to produce these tints.
And, as if they would be in harmony with the soil of
their land, the Burmese men and boys have a pre-
dilection for reds in the silks they select for their
lungyis. The Burmese are not a trousered race. The
men and the boys wear a convenient skirt-like nether
garment, full, and dressed in graceful folds in front,
which can be tucked up and tucked in for swimming,
games or work.

For the sake of an interesting comparison, it may be

An Impressionist Sketch of Burma 23

mentioned that the prevailing tints of British Guiana,
to flit from East to West, are blues and delicate blue-
greys, as one compares landscape with landscape, in
panoramic view ; although Guiana too has its red
flowers and its laterite soil in places. In Guiana
there are diamond mines, and sapphires are found.

Burma teak and rubies, and Rangoon oil and rice
remind us of our close connection with this beautiful
country ; and it may be on this account that we are
easily induced to explore its byways and its islands,
and try to delve into its distant past; for I have no
doubt that the past of Burma, if it could be told,
would have many things to relate of a people very
different from the Burmese, living a life of another
sort. The facts I have collected will but hint at this
past, and we shall, when we have considered them, be
left uncertain and wondering still.

Is it right to speak of Burma at all and to omit all
reference to Rangoon ? Perhaps I am a faddist, but I
do confess to a strong desire that the present
capital of Burma should be allowed its original name.
Tan-gon, " the war's end," sums up a bit of history and
crystallises its poem. Ran-goon means nothing at all,
and does but perpetuate the unpleasing fact that
we British have been guilty of a " superior careless-
ness " of other languages and the symbolism of words,
in an illogical deduction from the poet's dictum that
"a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

Rangoon is not in the dry zone of Mandalay, nor in

24 An Impressionist Sketch of Burma

the wet zone of Maulmein and Mergui. Like many
other tropical cities, it is a microcosm. Typically
Burmese it is not. Europeans, Chinese and Indians
from across the Bay (the Bay out here is the Bay of
Bengal, not the Bay of Biscay) have left their mark
upon it. Electric trams and electric light ; motor cars ;
a large and magnificently equipped hospital; churches
and cathedrals, which bear sad witness to the obstinate
perpetuation of divisions amongst those who claim to
proclaim to the world " the Brotherhood of Man " ;
and the inevitable picture palace, caricaturing and
thereby misrepresenting Western life — these all tell
their own tale.

The cantonments, where the Europeans congregate,
include the palatial residence of the head of the
Government of Burma. It is a luxurious building,
which, however, scarcely gives proof of our high
regard for aesthetics. It is a palace, with spacious
ballroom, a lift and electric fans. Its lawns are from
time to time gay with the gorgeous robes of Eastern
races, when on them are collected the various peoples
who have made Burma their home.

There is still one thing we must mention. Amherstia
Nobilis was discovered on the banks of the Salween,
and named after Lady Amherst, when Lord Amherst
was Governor-General of India, with Burma. Yet it
is the padouk, a flowering tree, about which there are
legends, and it is the mantle of orange blossoms, thrice
donned, which forecasts the advent of the south-west

An Impressionist Sketch of Burma 25

monsoon; and it is the golden carpet laid down on
village roads which, in contrast to reds, mauves and
purples, moves visitors to comment.

To quote from a letter to The Rangoon Gazette with
reference to the Amherstiai

" The tree was discovered by Dr Wallich, on the
Salween, near Trockla. . . . There can be no doubt
that the tree when in full foliage and blossom is the
most strikingly superb object which can possibly be
imagined. It is unequalled in the flora of the East
and, I presume, not surpassed in magnificence in any
part of the world."

There is something in a flower when, as in the case
of Amherstia, it inspires a person to write a poem
about it !

CHAPTER 11

THE TENASSERIM & THE MERGUI ARCHIPELAGO

THE southernmost division of the province of
Burma is the Tenasserim, which takes its name
from a former capital, on the banks of a river
of the same name.

Maulmein, the capital to-day, was formerly the
capital of British Lower Burma, when Mindon Min and
Thibaw, in turn, ruled in Mandalay. Tavoy is a river-
port lying farther south, and Mergui, ninety miles
nearer the Equator, is the seaport which gives its
name to the archipelago.

Mandalay, in the dry zone, has an annual rainfall
of from twenty-five to thirty inches ; Rangoon registers
about seventy-five, and the Tenasserim, including the
strip from Maulmein to Mergui and on to Victoria
Point, ranges from a hundred and eighty to two
hundred and twenty inches a year.

Tales are told of Government officials who apply

for leave upon hearing that they are posted to the

Tenasserim; and an amusing story is told of one who

appealed, " For heaven's sake, don't send me to ,"

who was met with the rejoinder, "I have just received

a telegram from that place, which reads, * For heaven's

sake, don't send here.' "

Tenasserim &P Mergui Archipelago 27

The climate is neither trying nor objectionable.
True it is that glued articles become unstuck and one's
shoes will grow fungus if not frequently wiped, when
not in daily use. True also that upon occasion it will
pour for twelve hours right off, giving a fall of five or
six inches within twenty-four hours. But this is no
more trying than the cold, damp, dark days of England,
and nothing like so uncomfortable. Most afternoons
are clear, the water drains away and evaporates rapidly,
and the football tournaments are arranged for this
season,

The Tenasserim is of especial interest in our present
study, as it marks the merging of Burma with Malaya.
We regard Malaya as including the westward thrust of
Siam, because the general characteristics of the country
are identical.

The marked differences are noticeable below Mergui.
The tiny port of Bokpyin locates the line of change.
Burma is the home of the peacock, which is found,
chiefly, in the upper part of the country, especially
where primeval forest has been cleared and the
secondary growth includes bamboo jungles. Malaya is
the habitat of the Argus pheasant, of refined beauty,
though without gaudiness of plumage. A more im-
portant difference is in the flora. Teak gives place to
kyanan (pronounced channan), of which there are the
red and the white varieties. In public buildings kyanan
is used in place of teak, though it is not a substitute of
equal quality.

28 Tenasserim & Mergui Archipelago

The fisherman cat is found here. We kept one for
a time, and studied its methods of plunging into the
large tray of water and securing the live fish at a single
pounce, with both fore-paws, putting its head under
water and bringing it out in its mouth. This cat was
kept in a large, enclosed part of the verandah. It
cannot be said that it was ever tamed.

A still more interesting creature, found in the lower
Tenasserim, is the pangolin, or scaly ant-eater, of which
a mother and young were brought to us. I endeavoured
to secure them for the Rangoon Zoological Gardens,
and failed. The finder, a kala, was sure that if he
killed them the heads, tails and some other parts
would be of inestimable value as charms. So far as
record goes, the pangolin is to be found only in the
Malay Peninsula (the south-eastern promontory of
Asia) and in the regions to the north of Cape Colony.
This peculiar distribution is a matter for conjecture,
and no solution to the riddle has been found.

Oceanography teaches us that on the floor of the
Indian Ocean, running from the Malay Peninsula in
a south-westerly direction towards Zanzibar, is a ridge,
of which the Seychelles are the mountain-tops. Between
Madagascar and the mainland exists one of the deepest
parts of the oceans of the world. The theory of a
previous continent, now submerged, does not find favour,
and we cannot offer a solution here. The prevailing
winds are the south-west, bringing up the rain, and
the north-east, when the Malay Peninsula has its fine

Tenasserim @f Mergui Archipelago 29

weather. Ancient voyagers would travel by the wind-
routes, and the pangolin may have been transported
in one direction or the other by man. Perhaps it is
foolish to claim this as the solution.

We go on to consider the most important difference
of all. Below Mergui the Burmese races are replaced
by the Siamese and the Malay. The lower portion
of the Tenasserim shows, by the nomenclature of its
villages and settlements, that the Malay language has
superseded the Burmese. We have our Chek Chin and
our Paul-a-tum-tum. We have a trousered manhood
again. And we have the Moslem faith.

As the influences of Islam upon the Mawken are
by no means negligible, owing to intermarriage, I hope
that an expression of opinion on this question is allow-
able. I would endorse the statement made in that
splendid book for boys, entitled Men of Might, in
which Mohammed finds a place with Socrates, Savonarola,
Fenelon and Livingstone :

" Nowadays, of course, we do not necessarily regard
the founder of a religion different from our own as a
wilful impostor, much less as one inspired by Satan. . . .
We may well see in him at first an honest seeker. . . ."
And as we look to the future possibility of these
islands being developed by a professedly Christian
Government, we would hope for a policy which gives
elfect to the principle embodied in resolutions at
missionary conferences held in Egypt, to the effect that
the missionary societies should immediately " withdraw

30 Tenasserim ^f Mergui Archipelago

all controversial literature which in the end proves to
have a militating effect on the Mohammedans, litera-
ture which is unnecessarily offensive if on the attack,
or bad-tempered if on the defensive."

The crusades must be viewed in a clearer light !

I made friends with some splendid Mohammedans
in Burma, one of whom was a member of the Provincial
Council; and I feel that they would not resent the
comparison between the Buddha's total prohibition of
life-taking, even of fishes, birds and animals, and the
Prophet's definite commands to slay the stubborn
unbeliever.

The influences being slowly brought to bear upon
the Mawken are curiously divergent. And they are
oblivious to the opposing character of ideas which
those of the north and those of the south are assimi-
lating. The process is an unconscious one.

Perhaps it should be mentioned that Siam, which,
as a glance at the map will show, pushes out between
the Tenasserim and Malaya proper, is a Buddhist
country. The Malays, not the Siamese, have worked
up into Lower Burma, being given to roving the seas,
and a few Malays have scattered themselves about the
Mergui Archipelago. Here and there on the islands
may be found Malay villages. The sons of the True
Prophet, like the descendants of Jacob, have the busi-
ness instinct. They do not renounce the good things
of this world.

The Mergui Archipelago may be visited by taking

Tenasserim <§f Mergui Archipelago 31

a coasting steamer from Rangoon to Mergui, or by
travelling downwards, or upwards, in the Maulmein-
Pinang steamer. Both are "B.I." boats.

Travelling is not pleasant during the south-west
monsoon, from mid-May to September, as the winds
are high and the seas rough. Sometimes a cyclone
travels up the coast, and experiences may be fraught
with danger as well as with unpleasantness. The trip
can be made from Rangoon, or from Maulmein, in
from forty-eight to seventy-two hours, allowing for
the break at Tavoy, when the river launch exchanges
passengers and cargoes with the coasting steamer, and
the state of the tides at the mouth of the Tavoy river
and at Mergui. The first part of the second decade
of this century witnessed a great change on these
runs. Previously during the south-west monsoon I
was frequently the only saloon passenger. Then the
rubber boom, causing numerous rubber plantations to
be made, and the finding of some of the richest veins
of wolfram known to the world, brought planters,
miners and engineers from Ceylon, Australia and
Britain to seek wealth in these industries. Saloon
passengers became common fare, or common fares,
and the European population of Tavoy, Mergui and
the Victoria Point district was increased.

When in 19 14 the war broke out, the wolfram
mines of Tavoy were closed down, for although we
owned some of the richest mines in the world, we
did not know how to extract tungstic acid from the

32 Tenasserim &P Mergui Archipelago

wolfram ore, which had to be shipped to Germany
ere we could obtain the means wherewith to harden
our steel ! The Times afterwards published a very
interesting account of the situation.

Many were the people taken in by the rubber boom ;
for plantations were set going by companies over-
capitalised (making it out of the question for them
ever to pay any but the vendors and the working
staff and directors) ; and some lands were taken up
which could yield no adequate return; while other
less savoury things took place. It is difficult for even
well-informed investors, who understand the ratios of
production to capital, to judge if a certain acreage
can carry such a planting as will yield sufficient latex,
which, when sold, will pay working expenses and allow
a margin of interest on shares. The rainfall of the
lower part of the Tenasserim is not only heavy (as
in the upper part), but extends over a greater number
of days in the course of the year. It is known that
the flow of latex depends upon the moisture, and,
given the right soil, the general possibilities for rubber
plantations are promising.

The coast-land is undulating, or else hilly, until the
neighbourhood of Mergui is reached ; the hills are
forest-clad ; and the country is unsettled and un-
developed. Although there is a sameness in the
contours of the landscape, and although during the
dark nights rain-clouds and rain itself impair visi-
bility, Captain Lima of the famous Pachumba could

Tenasserim & Mergui Archipelago 33

tell his whereabouts by sniffing the air. When the
weather was too dirty he would adopt the course so
vividly described in his own words: "I just flops me
'00k and waits for day."

At the mouth of the Tavoy river, off Reef Island,
where the break in the voyage is made for purposes
already stated, one has watched the turtles swimming
on the surface of the sea and observed the sea-serpents
wriggling just beneath it. At Maungmagan, on the
coast of the peninsula formed by the river estuary, I
have found such sea-serpents " at home " amongst the
rocks. Those seen were coiled in the spaces between
superimposed boulders, and I should estimate their
length, when extended, as being from five to eight feet.

In my diary for January i 909 I have the following
entry : —

" Had chota hazri on board the Envoy (the river
launch) while waiting for the Hindu (the coasting
steamer), then watched the men fishing with nets. On
the average, every two out of three hauls included
snakes. They were marked with sage-green and
green-grey bands, crossing diagonally. The length of
these creatures was just under three feet. They
appeared to be brought up the estuary by the tide."

The entry goes on to mention that on boarding the
Hindu it was found that no cabin accommodation was
available, so the Inspector of Schools, a Public Works
official and myself slept on deck, and used a bath-room
as a dressing-room.

34 Tenasserim <§>? Mergui Archipelago

At Mergui the coast is flat, and sand and mud banks
render the approach to the harbour a matter for
caution. The station itself extends along the foot of
a low hill, upon the summit of which are situated the
Government buildings, the inevitable pagoda and the
choung (Buddhist monastery).

It is usual for the Government to provide at such
stations a circuit house, where the judge on circuit
holds the court. There is sleeping accommodation as
well as the court-room. Other officials may put up
here, and non-officials may make use of the building
when it is not in demand by officials, at a charge of
two rupees a day. Half of this is to cover the cost
of oil, firing and water-fetching; the other half goes
towards paying the durwan, or caretaker. This circuit
house commands an extensive view across the harbour,
and over the opposite island, Palaw, to the low
mountains of King's Island.

Formerly Mergui was in the possession of Siam. A
pleasant walk inland will bring one to the talipot palms
and to a Siamese pagoda, differing in architecture from
the Burmese edifices, near to which is a shrine con-
taining a black Buddha. I recollect that elsewhere — I
have forgotten the name of the place — the Christ is
represented in a similar way. The talipot palm is said
to come to maturity in twenty-five years, when it is
crowned with ropes of flowers. These bear fruit, the
entire crown falls off, scattering the seed, and the
crownless bole of the tree is left like a forlorn sentinel.

Tenasserim <§sf Mergui Archipelago 35

The houses of Mergui, with but few exceptions, are
made of wood, and most of them are thatched with
palm leaves. They are crowded together, and afford
good fuel for fire. In readiness for such calamities,
one may see, within or without some of the larger
houses, a large trunk on wheels. Into this the house-
holders toss their valuables and trundle them off to a
place of safety when a conflagration occurs. I have
seen this done when the fire was almost a hundred
yards away.

Above these houses many coco-nut palms soar, giving
to Mergui almost the appearance of a coco-nut grove.
Palms are characteristic features of tropical landscapes,
and there is something bewitching in their graceful
form in the moonlight. The houses on the foreshore
back on the harbour, and their kitchens and store-
rooms are propped upon piles which, when the tide
ebbs and the mud is exposed, attract particular
attention. At a distance the array of stilts borders on
the picturesque, and at closer quarters there is an appeal
to one's sense of smell. The white pagoda topping
the hill, and standing in marked contrast to the brown
of the earth-oiled houses and their weather-browned
thatch, carries a beautifully worked hti, which is hung
with wind-bells. This hti is a finial somewhat after
the form of the ribs of an opened umbrella, the ribs
extending down to a circular band of metal from which
the bells depend. These tinkle merrily in a breeze
and make galloping music in a hurricane. There is

36 Tenasserim <8f Mergui Archipelago

nothing of remarkable beauty in any part of the scene
if one surveys it from the deck of a steamer at anchor
in the harbour; yet, notwithstanding this, the tout
ensemble is strikingly picturesque.

Long before the Crown Rubber Estates enhanced
the notoriety of this southern port Mergui was
renowned for its pearl fisheries. Some people would
have it that the name " Mergui " means " pearl."
There is not, to my knowledge, satisfactory evidence
for this derivation. The Burmese call the place Baik,
and the Sea Gypsies refer to it as NT lit.

When the tide is flowing the harbour is a sheet
of blue water, but when the tide ebbs the muddy
outflowings of the Tenasserim river foul the bay. An
inspection of the muddy foreshore will bring to notice
numbers of a species of mud-fish, propelling them-
selves by means of their pectoral fins, which serve as
hands and arms. It is amusing to loiter awhile and
to watch these creatures as they slither over the slime.
When they come to a small puddle, how they dart
into it and roll over, first on one side, then on the
other, in evident enjoyment of a dip !

Mud-fish, crabs and other things found at ebb-tide
come welcome to the pot, for such is the pot of the
Sea Gypsies, and these people may be seen wading to
their knees in slime collecting this food.

The silting of mud and sand has formed extensive
flats, which lock in the harbour and extend far down
the coast to and beyond Bokpyin ; there is a tortuous

Tenasserim & Mergui Archipelago 37

channel from the north. Upon these banks the
Burmese plant their large and ingenious fish-traps.
Should any readers wish to know how Buddhist
Burmans can engage in fishing, which entails the
death of the fish, I would refer them to the Burmans
themselves.

Sometimes the harbour contains an interesting collec-
tion of craft. There are the sampans, with their curved,
neck-like prows and their broad sterns. They afford
exciting passages from the coasting steamer to the
jetty when big waves are running or choppy seas
prevail. A few Chinese junks, perhaps, are at anchor.
These are gaily painted in the fore part with squares,
framing staring " eyes." These eyes enable it to see
its way across the waters ! I have been told that the
average Chinaman dislikes voyaging in craft which
lack these painted eyes. John is fast losing his con-
servatism, and it was surprising to see with what
alacrity his queue was dispensed with when the
republic was proclaimed, in 19 12, and the Manchu
dynasty gracefully bowed itself out to the will of
the people. It was in the previous year that the
Chinese catechist at Maulmein was bold enough
to remove his "pigtail" and appear with close-cropped
hair, because he had read that " It is a shame for a
man to have long hair"! He finds himself in the
fashion to-day, though the fashion has a different
origin and a different significance. At anchor, too,
may be seen the white-painted launches for official

38 Tenasserim ^f Mergui Archipelago

use, or the property of rubber and other companies.
Upon appointed days one or two coasting steamers
ride the bay, their black funnels bearing two white
garters, the insignia of the British India Steam Naviga-
tion Company. Pearling-boats also may be seen tied
up to the jetties; and Burmese "country boats," with
their rounded, thatched roofs at the waist, and their
exalted poops, where the steersman stands, or sits,
and manipulates the huge paddle, lie about in various
directions. Here too may be a few of the strange
" ships " which are the home of the sea-drowned
folk, the Sea Gypsies.

In rough outline we have, now, a picture of the
conditions prevailing in the Tenasserim. We can
compare and contrast the Burman and the Malay, the
Buddhist and the Moslem. We can envision the
forest-covered main. And we can make guesses at
the future, and the influences which are at work in
the archipelago which lies off this tail of Burma.

CHAPTER III

THE SEA GYPSIES &• THEIR HOMES

AS chaplain of the Tenasserim it was incumbent
upon me to pay quarterly visits to the southern
ports, and it was upon the occasion of the first of
my visits that my intercourse with the Sea Gypsies began.
J was standing on the Government steamer jetty at
Mergui watching a white-headed fish-eagle seeking
its food in the bay. The bird would mount and
curve and plane in graceful flight, then with a sudden
swoop it would strike the surface, raising a splash,
and, soaring swiftly, bear away a fish in its talons.
Often have I seen this. As William Long, the
American writer, has explained in his enchanting
book, School of the Woods, such a feat is the result of
the careful and persistent training of the young by
the parent birds, and, like many other accomplishments
of wild life, is not the outcome of an inherited instinct.
While watching the fish-eagle my attention was
distracted by the strange movements of a small craft
which lay very low upon the surface of the water.
This little boat would move forward, then come almost
to a standstill ; bear to port and then to starboard ;
then again almost cease to move. Its course was
peculiarly erratic, and as it was a small boat and
39

40 The Sea Gypsies & Their Homes

appeared to be of shallow draught, there was no ap-
parent reason for such a manner of progress. It took
a full quarter of an hour to arrive at the jetty upon
which I was standing, for which it happened to be
making. When, eventually, it came alongside the
riddle was solved. The boat was being propelled by
four small boys, each of whom used a roughly fashioned
oar. Each of these boys pulled when he would, and
each eased off when it suited his fancy or his tired
muscles. There was not the slightest attempt to pull
in stroke. No one was taking the trouble to steer, and
the flight of time was not, apparently, of the slightest
importance.

In considering the Sea Gypsies and other such people
it is necessary to recollect that each family has to build
its own house (or house-boat), to collect its own raw
materials, and to provide all the finished articles it
requires for daily use and livelihood. There are no
shops, and factories are unknown. We have others
to build our ships and our houses. Others provide
our food, which we buy. Furniture is made by others
for our use. Civilisation means specialisation and cor-
porate interdependence. Few of us are proficient with
our hands; and those of us who learn to use them
tend to specialise, and to confine ourselves to one or
to a few handicrafts. The technology of the individual
amongst civilised peoples is strictly limited. Amongst
us only the minority knows what it is to be physically
tired out at the close of each day.

The Sea Gypsies <5§f Their Homes 41

In estimates of the Gypsies of the Sea, as of other
uncivilised peoples, unless we make conscious effort,
our estimation of work and our judgment of character
will, for these reasons, be far from the straight.

So, with these recollections, we refrain from allowing
an initial prejudice with regard to the occupants of the
boat which had taken such a strange course.

The boat which had arrived appeared to be about
twenty-five feet in length. The tree trunk from which
its hull was fashioned had been deeply scooped at prow
and at stern, giving the appearance of scalloped ends.
It was strikingly different from the ships and boats
to which one had been accustomed, which are built
with as fine a fore part as possible, to cut the water as
it progresses. The hull of this boat, as examination
showed, was curved so as to rise fore and aft. The
segment between the bows and stern was built up
with the stems of a palm, called in the Burmese
yingan. The Sea Gypsies call it kamaw. These stems
were laid one upon the other, horizontally, in the
segment, on each side of the hollowed keel, and formed
the bulwarks. The "joints" were caulked with a
resinous matter collected from the trees of the jungle.
These sides were kept in position by stays, made of
natural crooks, to which the palm stems were lashed.
The making of planks for the sides would have been
difficult, if not impossible, for the average Sea Gypsy,
who lacks saws and planes; and although the palm
stems made the boat more frail, they made it more

42 The Sea Gypsies &* Their Homes

buoyant and much lighter to haul than planks would
have done. Athwart the boat, at irregular intervals,
rough bars of wood were fixed, and upon these split
bamboos were placed, longitudinally, and lashed to
them, thus forming decks. The lashings were of the
inner bark of certain trees. These decks covered the
boat, almost without break, from bows to stern.
Amidships, on one side, was left a baling-hole.

The scallop, fore and aft, in the keel-piece of the
boat serves for front-steps and back-steps to the house.
Occasionally the Sea Gypsies keep dogs, and it was a
dog which first drew my attention to the meaning of
the scallop. I was standing on the shore one day
looking at some of these boats drawn up out of the
water when a dog came along. It did not attempt to
jump over the side, but went to the bows and stepped
up in correct style. Frequently after this I noticed
that the people themselves usually entered their home
in this way; and a careful inspection of the boat's sides
made it plain to me that were they to clamber over
the built-up palm stems, such a strain would in a short
time render the boat unseaworthy, and even break
down the sides. The step at the stern is especially
useful for re-entering the boat after launching from
the beach.

It is not uncommon to find an aperture left in the
bows and at the stern, which allows the small boys and
girls to drop through the deck and crawl from one end
of the boat to the other without disturbing deck

The Sea Gypsies 8§P Their Homes 43

passengers or cargoes. Personally I should not care
to make use of this alley-way, for reasons more
than one.

Amidships there is a roughly hewn plank, cut out of
a tree by axe. This has a hole, burnt out or chopped
out, to allow a mast to be slipped through. There is
also a socket in the bottom of the boat to receive the
end of the mast. For when winds are favourable the
oars are abandoned and a sail is hoisted. The mast is
a pole with a fork at the top. Over this a rope, made
of plaited grass, is slipped, and one end is tied to the
top spar of the sail. The hoisting of the sail is. a
simple affair, and it is kept up by fastening the other
end of the rope to one of the boat's crooks, or to a
deck spar. The sail is made of palm-leaf, and it is
rolled up like a Japanese mat and placed on deck, or
on the house-top, when not in use. This sail is made
in four sections very often. A rectangular piece of
palm-leafing is made by threading together leaves cut to
shape. This shaped piece is then securely fastened to
the top spar, which is a piece of flat wood. At the
bottom of this section is fashioned a spline of bamboo,
and on to this spline is fixed the next rectangular
section of the sail. Another bamboo spline is fitted
to the bottom of this, and another section. At the
bottom of all is another spar, which serves as a boom.
The splines are, of course, of split, not of round,
bamboo. By making the sail in such sections it is
quite easy, should rough winds tear it in any part, to

44 The Sea Gypsies & Their Homes

cut out the damaged section and to join up the remain-
ing good sections and make a sound, though shortened,
sail. I experienced the necessity for this procedure, as
I shall relate.

Sometimes the mast is an ordinary pole, to the top
of which a loop is lashed — the loop being made of
plaited grass — through which the halyard passes. Not
infrequently the loose end of the halyard is made fast
aft. A strengthening cord, also of grass, is passed
down the middle of the sail and made secure to each
sectional spline. This cord assists in keeping the
sections of the sail together. The whole thing gives
evidence of much ingenuity, and an imaginative person
can easily trace the stages by which it has been attained.
The top spar of the sail is held by a sling fastened at
each end of the spar, so as to prevent either end from
dipping. The middle strengthening cord passes up
beyond the spar and meets this sling-rope. When
the sail is being hoisted the strain is taken in three
places — namely, at each end and in the middle. The
masts are often taller than the length of the boat.
They are not raked fore nor aft, but, as they are
slim and supple, the upper part bends slightly for-
ward in a strong wind. As the greater weight in
the boat is always aft, this does not cause the boat
to " dive," nor does it affect its safety and that of
its occupants.

It is customary to have the hearth, where the home-
fires are kept burning, amidships, near to the baling-

The Sea Gypsies <§f Their Homes 45

hole. To call it a baling-hole is to describe only one
part of its use, as will become apparent when I give
an account of my voyage to Maiden Isle. Earth is
spread on the deck to prevent the deck itself from
catching fire, and three large stones, arranged as a
tripod, form the fire-place. Here, in an earthen pot,
or in an iron one obtained by barter, the morning and
evening meals are cooked. The Sea Gypsies have but
two regular meals a day, after the manner of Elijah.
Unfortunately for them, even these two meals a day
are not always forthcoming. When I was taking the
census of these people in 191 1, at the request of
the Government of India, because of my knowledge
of the people and their language, many were the sad
facts I discovered.

Abaft the hearth is the home. Two hooped sup-
ports, of wood, are fixed, and upon these the roof of
the "house" is placed. This roof is not thatched,
as in the case of the Burmese country boats. It is
made of single palm-leaf pieces stitched together with
grass, or with light thongs made of the inner bark
of some tree. The palm used for the roof is known
in Burma as dunnce. The ends of the thongs are
left unfinished, and they hang down like the uncut
threads of an unfinished garment sewn by machine.
The roof can, if desired, be removed, and is often
taken ashore and set up on the beach to serve as a
shelter when the Mawken are camping. It can be
rolled up and stowed away should occasion arise.

46 The Sea Gypsies dP Their Homes

This is commonly the need when the squalls and
storms of the south-west monsoon season prevail.
The hoops alone would not suffice as a support for
the roof, so there is a ridge-pole as well, and this
is fixed to forked supports at each end, the hoops
merely preventing the roof from falling in at the
sides. There are stays, rising up from the sides of
the boat, and these support horizontal, light poles,
which act as wall-plates to receive the eaves. The
sides of the boat are the walls of the house, and the
roof sits down upon them ! It is impossible to walk about
in these houses, owing to the roof resting at almost
deck-level. As this roof is light, most of the Sea
Gypsies are careful to place other poles above the eaves,
for the purpose of keeping the roof from taking flight
whenever the wind may be described as in a frolic.

The oars, when in use, are tied to the gunwale
(but these people have no guns of any kind), and
this gives the leverage obtained by us in the use of
the rowlock. When not required, the oars can be
shipped and laid to rest in the stays under the eaves,
or placed, as additional weight, on the roof to help
to keep it in position when gales are blowing. In
some of the boats the usual covering of palm-leaf is
superseded by two mats contained in two frames of
split bamboo, hinged together, so as to fit it over the
ridge-pole and slope downwards on either side. It
is a device not often seen by me. Such a roof is,
of course, much more durable than the other kind,

The Sea Gypsies <§f Their Homes 47

and it is well worth the extra time and trouble entailed
in its manufacture.

The floor of the house is but the continuation of
the deck, which has been already described. Over the
split bamboos in this part of the boat are spread
mats, soft and durable, which are made by the Sea
Gypsies themselves. These mats are their "chairs"
by day and their beds by night. Sheets and blankets
are not called for, and housewives do not include bed-
making in their morning duties.

Sometimes there is a second covering to weigh down the
roof, or, occasionally, strips of framed matting are placed
at the front gable-end, which catches most of the wind.

The Burmese people on the mainland use mats,
which they roll up and put away in the morning. And
they have the luxury of a pillow, of small size, upon
which to rest the head. These Sea Gypsies do not
have pillows of any description. They are accustomed
to sleep lying prone upon the back, or with one arm
under the head. If the whole family cannot find room
beneath the roof, the children will lie about anywhere
on the uneven decks. When there is wind and rain
the entire family must rouse itself and remain sit-
ting up if it would avoid sleeping in a shower-bath.
Many must be the sleepless nights during the wet
season. It is evident to anyone who knows what the
south-west monsoon is like that these people often
have to sleep with the rain beating upon them, with
the only alternative of having no sleep at all.

48 The Sea Gypsies {§? Their Homes

The term for these house-boats is kabang, of which
the singular and the plural are alike, as in our word
sheep. In the word kabang both vowels are pro-
nounced openly, as " a " in French (also as in our word
"father"). You may speak of one kabang, or of a
fleet of kabang.

Those Westerners who have seen the kabang, or
have seen photographs of them, will avoid the con-
clusion that the Sea Gypsies in their kabang are like
the Chinese in their house-boats. The Chinese live
in their boats upon the great rivers of China. The
Gypsies live in their kabang upon the sea. The boats
are different, the people are different and the whole
life is different. The only valid comparison is that
both live upon water.

Having taken a rather close scrutiny of the house, we
may now be somewhat inquisitive about its occupants.

I myself have not taken any scientific measurements
of heads and noses. Mr W. J. S. Carrapiett, of the
Burma Service, did this, and has recorded these
measurements in a thin brochure which he prepared
for the Government of Burma. The average person
may not be at all interested in classifications by head
measurements, as he sees so many shapes of heads
amongst those who are classed as English. Yet even
this uninterested average person may, upon occasion,
be heard to remark upon a " beautiful " head or a
" clever " forehead. Since, however, these Sea Gypsies
have not yet been placed in a classification which is

•Ska K. ^^-tfLttV^^jj^**!! 11

Mawken Men.

Well d( vi lopi 'l -i" • imi i ["he n thi ...

beard i long the j oun ;i i roi n ol I hi i pei ipli I hi

wlni. .M Hi. ir leg i mud

The Sea Gypsies &? Their Homes 49

secure, there is some interest in trying to form an
opinion as to the group to which they should be said
to belong.

Dr Deniker, as Mr Carrapiett mentions, adopts the
following rules for classifying the " Races of Man " —

(V) Dolicho-cephalic, those with index below 77.
(b) Sub-dolicho-cephalic, with index between yy

and 79*6.
(Y) Meso-cephalic, with index between 797 and 8 1 '6.
(a) Sub-brachy-cephalic, with index between 82 and

85-2.
(e) Brachy-cephalic, with index between 85*3 and

86-9.
(/) Hyper-brachy-cephalic, with index 87 and above.

Mr Carrapiett states that he took the cephalic and
nasal indices of eighty-two Sea Gypsies of the male
sex all over the age of twenty-one. These indices
range from 72*20 to over 87, or from the Dolicho-
cephalic to the Hyper-brachy-cephalic. The average
cephalic index is 79* 1 8 ; and, if classified by Dr Deniker's
rules, they would come under the group of Meso-
cephals. In this group are included the Chinese,
Nicobarese, Achinese, Jakuns, Andamanese and the
Arakanese. The Sea Gypsies would come near to the
Nicobarese, and it may be noted that the Nicobar
Archipelago lies farther out in the Bay of Bengal, to
the south-west of the Mergui Archipelago.

It is not intended to suggest that the Sea Gypsies

50 The Sea Gypsies ^f Their Homes

have worked from west to east, thereby approaching
nearer to the mainland of Burma as we know it to-day.
On the other hand, it may be observed that the
cephalic indices of the Burmese, Cambodians, Siamese
and Malays would not lead us to classify the Sea
Gypsies with them. We do not assume that they
are half-brothers, or cousins, to the Malays, Burmese
or Siamese, who occupy the mainland facing this
archipelago.

The Sea Gypsies therefore have a peculiar interest
for us. They are a race of short people. I have
a group photograph, which includes the Chinaman
U Shwe I (of whom more later) and Mr Walkem (the
splendid Eurasian master, then of the Municipal High
School at Mergui, now Head of the Reformatory at
Insein), and this photograph enables me to see that
the Gypsies are shorter than either U Shwe I or Mr
Walkem. The latter's height is five feet six inches.
And I should say that the average height of the Sea
Gypsies is from five feet four inches to five feet five
inches. Most of the women do not attain this height.
It is a matter for regret that I did not take actual
measurements at the time.

The skin is a rich brown in colour, some of the Sea
Gypsies being much lighter than others. The hair is
straight and it is usually jet-black. I have seen one
girl with frizzy hair (not in small curls like the
African's). A few have shown a decided tendency to
auburn; and I met with several whose hair had the

The Sea Gypsies <8f Their Homes 5 1

appearance of having been blanched, or bleached.
The old folk go grey, but I am not, however, in a
position to say at what age the Sea Gypsy becomes old.

For the most part the people, men and women alike,
are well developed in body and limbs. Generally the
men have but little hair on the face, though they do
not adopt the custom of some peoples (such as the
Makuchis) of pulling out the facial hairs by the roots.
Some of the men grow a ragged little beard, which,
irreverently, might be likened to a goat's beard. They
might be quite handsome if this were either pulled out
or dealt with by a West End barber. The chins are
" strong," the lips are dull red, often thin, and never
very coarse. The foreheads of men and women are
" high," and their faces show that they are people of
intelligence (though untutored) and capacity. Like
all peoples of the warmer climes whom I have met,
they have dark brown or brown-black eyes. Noses
vary much. In many instances they are inclined to
be flat. They plainly exist, however, and the bridges
of many are decidedly pronounced. I have not
observed a skyward nose nor a hook amongst these
people.

Anyone studying this description and allowing free
play to the imagination (not to be confused with fancy)
should be able to envisage the Sea Gypsies as they
are in actual life.

Some of the damsels when they smile show even
rows of pearl-white teeth, of which very few of the

52 The Sea Gypsies &* Their Homes

men and older women can boast. The growing practice
of betel-chewing discolours and grinds down the teeth.
This is due to the increasing intercourse with the
Burmese.

In the course of this account it will become evident
why these people dress in rags and tags, and why
they present such an unattractive appearance.

I would not suggest their being Europeanised, though
a wash and brush-up and a neat and clean covering of
some sort would betray them in a better light.

Some waggish American tourist has called the people
of the Andaman Islands — beyond the Nicobar Group —
the " Adams and Eves," because of their being clad
in their birthday dresses, and, as we leave the Anda-
manese severely alone, their " super-modern " fashions
do not concern us. When we come into daily contact
with peoples our conventions exercise a powerful pre-
judice. Travellers are fully aware of the simple
modesty of men and women yet unclad above
the waist. And, as in Guiana, we are content with
the bead-apron of the women and the loin-cloth of the
men (the Indian races of the country). Shall we in-
troduce the Sea Gypsies to bead-aprons and loin-cloths ?
Or shall we suggest a simple skirt for the women and
shorts for the men? I sincerely hope we shall not
decide to send them the misshapen and unbecoming
garments which we have sometimes inflicted upon other
races whom we have gone to teach, as a mark of
their advance in life ! People who have no national

The Sea Gypsies §F Their Homes 53

costume and no full-size mirrors need to be most
carefully considered in the matter of dress. There
is the question of health, as well as that of beauty.
And if we dress them up as guys we deter our fellows
from regarding them as members of the family. Where
there is a national dress, it would seem to me to be
almost impertinence to change it. And I often wonder
at our stupidity and lack of nice feeling for the pre-
judices of the people of India, whose girls we have
dressed in white in our mission schools. To the
Indian — as the Bishop of Dornakal has pointed out —
white is "the absence of colour," and is the dress
of the widow. Africans often speak of us as " the
colourless people," which is rather better than the
Chinaman's first impressions of us (gained from
the behaviour of Europeans who landed in China), for
he used to refer to us as "red-faced foreign devils."
We were supposed to be incarnate demons !

The Sea Gypsies, taking them as a race, regard us
and all other peoples with fear. They have suffered
at the hands of all.

CHAPTER IV

HOW THE SEA GYPSIES NAME THEMSELVES &• WHY

SO far we have avoided referring to the Sea
Gypsy, as we do to an unnamed child, as " it."
There is, nevertheless, something in a name, and
a great deal in the right name.

As a people we must own up to having been
singularly careless about other races and their names.
By a change of vowel we lower an Indian race in
Guiana from the status of "heavenly men," or
" heaven folk," and make of them mere nonentities.
That we should deprive ourselves and our descendants
of so much history and poetry, crystallised in names, is
deplorable. Where there is a written language there
is some hope, for archaeologists will rise up, alert to
catch at any suggestion, to examine the slightest clue,
and will excavate the name of a king from a seeming
jumble of wedges and open the gates to the realm of
a language. In those cases in which the language is
unwritten, knowledge may cease to be accessible.

Some interesting notes appear in vol. ix. of the
Census of 1891, Imperial Series (vol. xx., xxx. 1.
Burma Report), and also in vol. xii. of Census of
India, 1901 (Part I. Report by C. C. Lowis), copies
of which were kindly placed at my service by Mr J. D.

How Sea Gypsies Name Themselves 55

Fraser, then Deputy Commissioner, Amherst district,
in the Tenasserim division.

In the former volume it is stated :

"XX deserves mention, as well as U Shwe I, whose
zeal and knowledge of the Selungs has made the
enumeration of these people a success. Going out in a
small boat through the islands, few boats escaped his
eye, and though his expenses were guaranteed, he has
refused to accept any remuneration whatever."

U Shwe I is well known to me, and I mean to devote
a little chapter to him. Several times has he told me
the story of that census-taking, and I doubt if he
would care to try to support the claim that the opera-
tions were a success ! He tells how, in his little boat
(one of the boats of the Sea Gypsies), he travelled
by night as well as by day, and whenever the European
(snuffered under the mystic XX) who was working
with U Shwe I " come to an island he find I have
been there before he." He goes on to say that
he took the names of the Selongs "all through the
islands." This is recounted with a grand sweep of the
hand.

Later on reference will be made to methods adopted
by some of those engaged in the Census of 1901.

Attention is called to these things because they
throw some light upon the manner in which knowledge
of the " Selongs " has been obtained.

Any visitor to Mergui will hear these Sea Gypsies
alluded to as the " Salons."

56 How Sea Gypsies Name Themselves

Selone, Selong, Selling, Silong, Salon — all are
spellings of the name by which they are known to the
Burmese and Telaings. The Sea Gypsies call the
Burmese "T'now" and the Malays "Batuk." But
we do not go to the Sea Gypsies for these names. We
prefer to call the Burmese by an anglicised form of
that which they call themselves. The Sea Gypsies,
likewise, have a right to be known by their own name,
especially as it is of such significance. For this reason
the names which appeared in previous Census reports
were abandoned by me in 1911.

In paragraph 202 of the 1891 Report (p. 169) the
following statement occurs : —

"The last of the vernaculars of Burma is the Selon
or Selung language, as Dr Anderson more accurately
calls it."

Unfortunately I have not been able to discover why
Selung is more accurate than Selon. "Selon is the
Burmese pronunciation of the name." Does this mean
to imply that Selung is the pronunciation of their name
by the people themselves ? It is, in reality, the Sea
Gypsies' pronunciation of the Burmese name for them-
selves — nothing more.

To quote further from the Report, without being
tedious, I hope :

"It is now generally admitted that Selung is a
distinct Malayan language."

The point to notice about these expressions of opinion
is that they are given by men who have not known the

How Sea Gypsies Name Themselves 57

Sea Gypsies intimately. They have but " encountered "
them.

When I had acquired a knowledge of their language
and was able to converse freely with them, their tradi-
tions were handed on to me. And this is how they
give account of themselves :

Many generations ago their forefathers lived upon
the mainland of Burma-Malaya. They had settle-
ments, with houses and cultivated lands. They were
a quiet, peace-loving people. They were happy and
contented.

Then came the downward sweep of hordes of war-
like men, the T'now (Burmese), burning and plunder-
ing. They drove these defenceless people before them.
The Batuk (Malays) troubled them from the south also.

Being driven to the coast, they crossed the shallower
waters to the islands of the Mergui Archipelago and
made several large settlements. One of these was
on the large island called Chai-an, which is marked
upon our maps as Kissering. It lies to the north-west
of Bokpyin, off the low-lying coast, with its mangrove
swamps and sand and mud banks. Some of them
pushed out from the coast, farther north, where Melit
(Mergui) now stands. No village existed there in
those far-off days. They made a large settlement
upon Dung (Ross Island). They had plantations of
coco-nuts, bananas, pine-apples and bread-fruit, with
other things as well. Each settlement had its head-
man, or king, or great man (the last is the best

58 How Sea Gypsies Name Themselves

translation of the term), and the change of life
was pleasant.

In those days the little chap an, or wood-skin, was
used. Sometimes it was more than a wood-skin (shaped
skin or bark) ; it was a dug-out (a boat fashioned from
a tree trunk).

Further troubles overwhelmed them. The Batuk
raided from the south. Acts of piracy were frequent.
Their plantations were robbed and destroyed, and many
of the people were carried off to become slaves. It
became necessary to build ships so that they might
take to the sea and flee from danger. The kabang
was built and used. During the rough weather of
the south-west monsoon there was some respite. In
the fine, calm weather they were molested again. At
last they decided that, during the fine weather at least,
they must live in their ships and get them away at
the approach of any other boat. These ships were
fitted up as homes, and in them the people lived.

In the forties of the nineteenth century Major
Broadfoot, a Deputy Commissioner in Mergui, was
cognisant of the acts of piracy of the Malays against
these people, and acts of piracy and molestation occurred
during the years of my intercourse with them.

Most of them became so used to live aboard ship
that they gave up building "houses " on the islands,
and they lived — as most of them do live to-day — the
roving life of Gypsies of the Sea.

When first they took to their ships, these ships

How Sea Gypsies Name Themselves 59

were made with insufficient freeboard, and during the
rough weather many of them were swamped and the
occupants were drowned.

Cyclonic conditions prevail annually in the Bay of
Bengal, and devastating cyclones sometimes visit the
coast, blowing down trees and lifting the roofs from
houses.

Upon one occasion when voyaging to Chai-an by
launch I counted seven water-spouts in Whale Bay
during the course of an hour. During part of that
time four water-spouts were working, simultaneously,
across the bay. When we realise that these are
caused by a small cyclone of air drawing the cloud
downward until it meets the sea and churning up the
waves of the sea itself, we can appreciate how poor a
chance had these little ships in such climatic conditions.

Dwellers in Burma know full well what the dark
clouds mean, with the lowering deep black of the
storm-head, the vivid flashes of lightning, and the
crash and the roar of the thunder. The monsoon
has broken ! While cooler atmosphere is felt and
fine intervals are enjoyed, we expect the recurrence,
during the next few months, of violent blasts of
wind, shaking houses with their giant blows and
bending even the mighty trees.

The lot of the Gypsy on the sea is not an enviable
one in these days ; and even if his ship be drawn up
on shore, and the Gypsy shelters beneath the trees,
he lacks the comforts of a settler's life. Unclad and

60 How Sea Gypsies Name Themselves

unable to procure sufficient supplies of food, he must
shiver and often know the pangs of hunger.

Learning by their sad experience, the shipbuilders
added to the freeboard by building up the layers of
palm stems to an additional height of about nine inches,
or a full span of the hand. This added piece of free-
board is, up to the present day, marked by a bamboo
rib, running from bows to stern, on each side of the
boat, where the gunwale formerly was.

The people took to calling this the maw, or
"drowning," as without it the boats would be
speedily swamped in rough weather. In their lan-
guage Pmaw means " to drown." 9 en, in the purest
dialect, is their word for fresh water taken from the
springs, while (fen-ken, abbreviated into d'ken, means
salt water. The word for " drown " and the word for
"salt water" have been coalesced to make the new
work Maw-ken. This is the name they apply to
themselves; and this name, which is their own name
for themselves — no former name being in memory —
means "The Sea-drowned."

These Gypsies of the Sea are the Sea-drowned-
folk ; and in the structure of their kabang their history
is handed down.

Why should we not use their own name for them-
selves — Mawken — and preserve this crystal ?

CHAPTER V

U SHWE I : THE " PAINTER "

IT would be ungracious, as well as being a serious
omission, were one to write an account of the
Mawken without making reference to such an
important and picturesque figure in the picture as
U Shwe I, the Chinaman.

As a study in character he is interesting; and his
long connection with and influence upon the Mawken
cannot with fairness be ignored. Certainly I cannot be
indifferent to his many services to me, first in bringing
me into touch with them and then in using the influence
he had acquired over them to serve my plans.

It is not, of course, as an interesting subject that I
drag in an account of U Shwe I here. It is because
that at the very outset of my dealings with the Mawken
1 had to work through this Chinaman; and but for
this early introduction to him much of that which
follows would not have been written, nor could my
first step have been taken, of which I give an account
in the next chapter, to secure the good-will of the
Mawken.

While this reference to U Shwe I is a break in the
tale of the Mawken, this break occurred naturally in
the course of events; and between my first encounter
61

62 U Shwe I : the "Painter"

with the Mawken and my subsequent dealings with
them I had to make the acquaintance of and get to
know this Chinaman.

When I saw that strange little craft moving across
the bay in the peculiar manner already described, and
when I saw the occupants at closer quarters, a desire to
know them at once sprang up. I wanted to find out
who they were, what they were and how they lived.
Upon giving expression to this desire to Mr Walkem
in course of a conversation on the very day of my first
seeing them, he told me that there was a Chinaman in
the town to whom the Mawken paid frequent visits,
and he suggested that I should call upon this Chinaman
and solicit his aid. So there and then I decided to act
upon the advice, and we went together to his house.
We descended the tortuous path leading down from
the circuit house, past the pagoda, with its wind bells
tinkling merrily in the breeze, and came to the main
street, at a point opposite the steamer jetty. Then we
followed this street down until we came to a house
with a narrow and sheltered balcony running along
its front. It was a wooden house, made of kyanan,
which had become a deep brown colour as the result of
frequent smearings of earth-oil. This is the crude oil
as it comes down the long pipes from the wells to
Rangoon. In those days the cost of earth-oiling
worked out at an anna (penny) for ten feet square of
surface. The oil assists in keeping out boring creatures
and throws off the heavy rains. The roof of the house

U Shwe I : the " Painter " 63

was of palm-leaf thatch, in keeping with the other
houses in the town. The shelter to the verandah was
a lean-to roof, built out just above the top of the door-
way. It prevented the sun from blazing directly into
the house, the front of which contained shutter-doors,
opened by day and allowing full view of the interior to
passers-by if they cared to be curious. There was a
single room the whole width of the house, and besides
the door it had two gaping window-places extending
almost to floor-level. There was no glass ; only wooden
shutters. At the back of this single spacious room
was a raised platform, reached by a short flight of
steps. This platform had a balustrading along the
front. It was the bedroom used by U Shwe I and his
wife. The two grown-up sons and the girls slept on
mats brought out and spread upon the ground-floor at
night. Through the back door (as I learned afterwards)
was a staging with outsheds built upon piles. Under
this the sea came up when the tide was flowing. All
the houses on the foreshore of Mergui had these
extensions raised upon piles.

Characteristically as a Chinaman, and true to the
precepts inculcated into the race by the great Confucius,
U Shwe I received me with unaffected courtesy. He
thought not of himself nor of my probable thoughts
about him. His attention was directed towards his
visitors, and he assumed the attitude of one who was
desirous of ministering to any wants they might have.

If Henry Drummond is right that " Courtesy is Love

64 U Shwe I : the "Painter"

in little things," then the Chinese, of whom I have
had years of experience, in Guiana and in Burma, can
tell us much of how it can work out in life.

Of course he proffered us chairs, with a bow, a
motioning of the hand and a " Please sit down." He
remained standing until I asked him to be seated too.
We found ourselves in a cool place, the brown, wooden
walls of which were restful to the eyes after the glare
of the road without.

The first thing I had not failed to observe when
U Shwe I came forward to greet us was that he un-
wound his queue, which had been coiled on the top
of his head.

Westerners have been accustomed to associate the
Chinese with the queue, which they have, somewhat ir-
reverently, called a pigtail. As a little boy U Shwe I
would have had several little tails, until the hair had
grown long enough to allow of its being plaited into
a single queue. To make it longer, either black silk
or combings of the hair of female relatives would be
plaited into it. This queue was imposed upon the
males of China when the conquering Manchus set
up their empire. It was not so much, as has been
sometimes represented, a sign of servitude as a symbol
of unity. The conquered lost their separate identity
and became one, in outward appearance, with their
conquerors. And this queue came to be regarded
with great respect ! Although I had not been cognisant
of it in Guiana, I found that in Burma it was customary,

• ^> v e - f ^ ft

> r •<

The Sick And The Doctor.

A Micha Blen and a fever patient. The carved tray holds parched rice, and a wax
candle. The " doctor " has in his hand a borrowed fan.

Gran n i e . ' '
An old grandmothei iging at the back of U Shwi [' house,

U Shwe I : the " Painter " 65

amongst the Chinese, to lower the queue (if coiled for
work) when in converse with a " superior." And I
recollect witnessing an amusing incident in Burma,
when an Englishman, who knew of the custom, was
talking to a Chinaman who did not regard that parti-
cular Englishman as a " superior," and consequently
kept his queue coiled on the top of his head. If I
may be allowed a bantering statement, I would say
that the average Englishman is inclined to regard
himself, because he is an Englishman, as the superior
of any member of any other race on the face of this
earth ! Being typical of this average Englishman, the
man in question lowered the Chinaman's queue for
him! The Chinaman, knowing his man, took the
matter well and laughed at the joke of it.

Whenever I visited U Shwe I he would lower his
queue, if it were coiled, as he would have done for
anyone of a religious order. The removal of my
hat upon entering his house was a return of
courtesy.

It was during my stay in Burma that the Republic
of China came into being, and it was a remarkable
testimony to the political significance of the queue
when one saw many of the Chinamen appear in the
streets " curtailed." U Shwe I, either because he
was too old to care, or because he was numbered
amongst those who decided to "wait and see," did
not remove his queue. It is not unlikely that he
retained an idea that it was sacrosanct.

66 U Shwe I : the " Painter "

When U Shwe I put out his hand to shake hands
I had noticed that he retained another symbolic relic
in Chinese custom. This was the elongated nail on
the middle finger of the right hand. The nail was
allowed to grow to a great length, and it was clear
evidence, to all who understood, that the wearer of the
nail did not earn his livelihood as a manual labourer.
It is not that the Chinese regard manual labour with
contempt; it is that they have a high regard for
the brain-worker, the clever and the wise man. A
boy of humblest birth could rise to be a Mandarin
in the old Empire. The lowest on the social scale
in China is the soldier, because he devastates and
slays. U Shwe I was a striking witness to the truth
that there will be no Yellow Peril, so far as the
Chinese are concerned, unless Westerners, or the
Japanese, succeed in changing the Chinese ideas of
spiritual and moral values. The Chinese are a courteous
and a peace-loving people.

Like many Easterners, U Shwe I delighted in making
me "little presents." As 1 did not smoke — no, not
even Burma cheroots, then obtainable at Maulmein a
hundred for a rupee — he was precluded from supply-
ing me with smokes ; nor did he find me prepared to
"chew betel," in which his Burmese wife delighted.
She, although not taking any prominent part in our
conversations, was not secluded in a women's quarter,
but enjoyed the liberty of the sexual equality common
amongst the Burmese in their social relationships. My

U Shwe I : the " Painter " 67

" little presents " might be a pine-apple, some bananas,
or a mother-of-pearl oyster-shell.

It would be tiring to give an account of each of
my many subsequent interviews, and to record, in
snippets, his history as, by degrees, this was related.
So I shall piece these together.

The father of U Shwe I was a pilot on one of the
ships which brought British troops across the bay for
the second Burmese war. After the war he settled at
Mergui and lived by trading. U Shwe I was born in
Burma and he took to himself a wife of the people of
the country. He also took to trading. For some years
he had the free run of the Archipelago. He made
friends of the Mawken, or, rather, of some of them,
and he induced them to bring to him pearl oysters and
other valuable products to be found in the sea or upon
the islands. He would open the oysters and extract
the pearls and the blisters, and, according to his own
admission, pay the Mawken half-a-bag of rice for a
score of pearls. It was not a losing game, for the
shells of these oysters, being mother-of-pearl, are in
themselves valuable, and in the rough will fetch several
shillings a pair. When scraped and polished they
assume a much greater value. Upon the rough scales
being removed from the exterior, the shells are of
exquisite beauty, and the insides are iridescent with the
colours of the rainbow. Some of these oysters are
fourteen inches wide and eleven inches transversely.
One in my possession, which has been scaled — thereby

68 U Shwe I : the "Painter"

being reduced in size — measures ten inches by eight and
a half.

In those days the British Government knew nothing
of the pearl fisheries of the Mergui Archipelago, and
U Shwe I had the grounds to himself, and took
advantage of his opportunity.

His dealings with the Mawken raise the important
question of the mores ok business ; and although there
are important deductions to be made by comparisons,
which I must admit I itch to set out, yet they are ques-
tions which should find place in a treatise upon Moral
Philosophy and as such may be out of place here.

U Shwe I probably is a mixture, or combination, of
Taoist, Confucian and Buddhist.

As a Taoist he seeks to fulfil the precept of Lao-tsze :

"Recompense injury with kindness."

As a Taoist he understands the teaching :

"He who knows others is wise. He who knows
himself is enlightened. He who overcomes others
is strong. He who overcomes himself is mighty. He
who knows when he has enough is rich. He whose
memory perishes not when he dies, lives for ever. The
sage dwells in the world with a timid reserve ; but his
mind blends in sympathy with all."

As a Confucian he knew the laws of courtesy ; but
he is not a follower of the Confucian dictum :

" While you do not know about life, how can you
know death? Treat all supernatural beings with
respect, but keep aloof from them."

U Shwe I : the " Painter " 69

As a Buddhist he believes in the benefit of doing
good. He seeks to gain merit, or to grow in goodness,
thereby destroying evil in himself by a process of
exclusion. This explains why he refused to take pay-
ment for the Census work in which he took part in
1891, as mentioned in the Report.

Those Mawken who venture to Mergui come to him
for food when bad weather prevails and they are
starving. It is difficult for those who have never
experienced starvation themselves to know all that it
means to be starving. From May to September some
Mawken may be seen almost daily at the house of the
Chinaman, sheltering under his verandah and being fed.
They are ill-clad, just rags, and desolate. Though he
still trades in a small way, he does not differentiate
between those who can make a return and those who
cannot. His gentleness in speech and manner towards
the Mawken is very touching.

U Shwe I must, of course, be classed as a Paramat
Buddhist, or heretic Buddhist, as, with a general
acceptance of the Buddha's teaching, he holds firmly
the belief in a Supreme Being, whose "Peace" can
be penetrated by prayer. He makes offerings to the
monks and contributes gold-leaf for the adornment of
the pagodas and the images of the Buddha, and rises
long before dawn and spends hours in prayer and
meditation. His great desire, he told me, was to build
a pagoda. This would crown all his works of merit.

Those who know Burma should have heard the

7 o U Shwe I : the " Painter"

romance of that other Paramat Buddhist, of the
Irawadi delta district, who goes down to posterity as
" the Christian Hermit," his work amongst the Telaing
Karens being a powerful agency in producing the mass
movement towards Christianity of these Buddhists of
the delta.

The desire to build a pagoda seemed to be unlikely
of fulfilment. In 1 9 1 2 U Shwe I showed me a large
bottle almost full of pearls. There must have been
several score! Amongst them was a so-called black
pearl, which, like the white elephant, did not answer
to its name. It would be more correct to speak of a
light elephant and a dark pearl. The latter is pale
brown. The wealth in this bottle could not be realised,
as he explained to me, for " 1 am too old to go to
Holland to sell them." (Why Holland, I did not
inquire.)

" Why not send them by post ? "

"Because they might be stolen, or they might be
kept and the money not sent to me."

" Then why not send them by your elder son ? "

"Because he might, when he got there, want to
travel about, and would use up all the money."

Occasionally he finds a purchaser for a single pearl.
It is not likely that he will die of penury.

Towards the latter part of the last century some
bright officials conceived the idea of holding an Exhibi-
tion of Economic Products of the district. At this
Exhibition U Shwe I exhibited, with pride, some of

U Shwe I : the "Painter" 71

his pearls and mother-of-pearl shells. The eyes of
Officialdom were opened to the possibilities of the
Archipelago, and regulations were made as to the
fisheries. These included penalties, which we usually
specify, since, in our law-making, we generally assume
that regulations are made in order that they may be
evaded ! There is, now, a licence to be obtained and
paid for in connection with each diving-pump used.

The new state of affairs affects not only the China-
man ; it has resulted in developments which have made
it harder for the Mawken to make a living.

For various " Services rendered to Government "
U Shwe I was awarded, at a Durbar held in Mergui,
the A.T.M. He would have some greater reason for
being numbered amongst those " whose memory
perishes not," and upon several occasions he asked me
to use my supposed influence with Government, being
aware that an uncle of mine was the previous Head of
the Government of Burma. Fighting shy of anything
akin to nepotism, I left his requests unforwarded ; and
it may be that, if still alive, he will accept a copy of
this book with some gratification !

We are, or were, good friends, and we reached the
touching and intimate stage of exchanging photographs.
He hung mine in his parlour, and his is framed in mine.

Oftentimes I have wondered which language was
his medium of conscious thought. His knowledge of
Chinese had become rather faulty. His Burmese was
not of the best, I was credibly informed, and his use

72 U Shwe I: the "Painter"

of English was startling, but when it came to Mawken
I often found it advisable to cut the painter.

Yet he was capable of hours of meditation, and had
any good folk of Lincolnshire made his acquaintance
they would certainly have commended him as "part
witty," as the local phrase for " very wise " has it.

CHAPTER VI

"your friend would be i"; or, the tale
of a romantic picnic

THE heading of this chapter is but a literal
translation of a Mawken idiom. Incidentally
it is evidence that the Sea Gypsies in perfectly
natural speech are accustomed to frame sentences which
are not weak, but strong. The significance of this
idiom will become patent as this account proceeds.

I have referred to U Shwe I as the "painter,"
because, using him as a painter, I was enabled to
follow in the wake of the Mawken kabang.

At the time I had no idea of the important part
he played in my dealings with the Mawken, though
I knew instinctively that it was well to be introduced
to the Sea Gypsies by one who had known them for
years, in whom they reposed a large measure of
confidence. The brief sketch of his character has
explained why he was so willing to serve me, up to
that time an entire stranger to him.

My desire was to know the how and the wheres
of Mawken life. Before I could do this I had to
convey to the people a message and an assurance of
great importance. The happy idea occurred to me
of having a picnic out on the sands of one of the
73

74 " Your Friend would be I " ; or,

beautiful islands of the Archipelago, in a spot free
from inquisitive gazers, a place in which the Mawken
would be perfectly at ease. The execution of this
idea depended upon U Shwe I, firstly because he
alone could persuade any of the Mawken to fall in
with it, and secondly because he could secure the
boat which would take me out. To have gone out
in a Government launch would not have done at all,
as it would have placed a gulf between the Mawken
and myself at once. The whole thing had to be as
natural to the Mawken as possible.

After consultation I decided to go to the island
of Kalagyan, the going to and returning from which
would not occupy too much of the day. The arrange-
ments were left to the Chinaman, and the following
is the note received from him in due course : —

"According to your order I keep all the saloons
with their boats. I am anxious to know what time
you may be able to come and meet them. Please
let me know when and what time you expect them
so that I am able to keep them ready.

26.10.08. "Mg Shwe I."

Those who understand Burmese will, I think, see
in the use of " Mg " (abbreviation for Maung) instead
of " U " the natural Chinese self-abasement.

As a result of this arrangement made by the China-
man, Mr Walkem, Maung Bah Thet (an assistant master
at the Municipal High School, Mergui) and I boarded

The Tale of a Romantic Picnic 75

a pearling-boat which, through the kind offices of
U Shwe I, had been placed at my service, and set
out for the islands early the next morning. This
pearling-boat was manned by Burmans, and accompany-
ing us were three Mawken kabang rowing alongside.

Looking back over my diary of those days it is
pleasant to find the following entry : —

"As we were on a mission which might result in
good to the Salones — rumour of my intention to try
to do something had got about — the owner of the
pearler let me have the use of the boat for the day,
free. I merely requited the boatmen for their
labour."

This pleasing feature of the picnic was, of course,
engineered by U Shwe I. The owner of the pearler
did not put in an appearance, and I did not discover
who he was.

There is another entry which I think ought to be
quoted :

" On the previous evening a Burman photographer
sold me views of Mergui and some of Salones. For
the former he charged a rupee ; for the latter twelve
atinas each. This was his contribution towards doing
good for the Salones. Both are examples of Works
of Merit : as indeed they were ! "

And the third extract bears further testimony to
the remarkable way in which my work was facilitated :

" Mating Bah Thet, who accompanied us, acted as
interpreter. His was a Work of Merit, for it was a

j6 " Your Friend would be I " ; or,

school holiday and a great Burmese festival. He
spent it in trying to benefit the Salones."

This entry is explained by the fact that one of the
Mawken who accompanied us, travelling in his own
kabang, possessed some knowledge of the Burmese
language, and during the picnic it was possible for
me to communicate with him by connecting up with
Maung Bah Thet as interpreter. The Mawken who
spoke Burmese was a Micha Blen, or Devil-Master,
as U Shwe I called him. Throughout this book I
have allowed this loose interpretation of the Mawken
title, although I am not at all satisfied that it does
justice to the man and his office. I do not think
that we should be justified in calling everyone who
practises invocation and hypnotism a " Devil-Master."

Burmese festivals usually fall during the fine
weather, and we had selected a day upon which we
could count as being fine. It was a cloudless morning,
and a good breeze was blowing from the north-east.
Usually in the tropics such a breeze rises in the
morning and continues during the heat of the day,
dying away at eventide, and we had counted on this to
expedite our voyage to the island. Such breezes were
common during the dry season in both Guiana and
Burma. In both cases they came from the north-east,
as both countries are in the Northern Hemisphere.

As it happened, there was an exception to prove the
rule. The breeze died away just before ten o'clock, and
our crew had to unship the huge oars provided for such

The Tale of a Romantic Picnic 77

emergencies and walk the deck with them. By this I
mean that to manipulate these oars it was necessary
for the oarsmen to walk several paces forward to dip
them, and to step several paces backward to pull them.
The reach of the arm would not have sufficed, and the
oars were far too heavy for the rowers to work them
while in a sitting posture. Our progress was painfully
slow. Instead of cutting the water and throwing up
the foam at the bows, our pearler seemed to be scarcely
moving at all. And as the wind dropped the heat
became intense, and the glare from the shimmering
surface of the calm sea was extraordinarily trying to
the eyes ; and I had not my shade glasses with me.

The Mawken kabang found no difficulty whatever
in keeping alongside, and the boys pulling at the oars
did not have a strenuous time of it. Frequently, to
cool themselves, they would dip their heads in the sea.
Occasionally one would plunge into the water for a
refresher. Although conversation was not possible,
it was easy for me to observe the kabang and their
occupants; and it was noticeable how absolutely re-
signed they were to the conditions of the trip. Time
did not matter at all, and as they knew there was
no anxiety about food supplies at the end of the trip,
there was nothing whatever to cause concern. While
the boys, and sometimes the girls, did the pulling, the
men and women reclined on their mats, under the
shelters of the kabang, and gave themselves up to
soliloquy, or blankness.

78 " Your Friend would be I " ; or,

The Chinaman had lent us two of his chairs, placing
them aboard the pearler before we cast off from the
staging, and Mr Walkem and I found them much
more restful than squatting on the deck. During my
five years in the East I did not acquire the knack of
supporting my weight on the fore-part of my feet while
sitting on the calves of my legs. Easterners, including
the Mawken, are able to do this with comfort for long
periods together. The muscles of the toes and legs
have to be trained to it.

Upon an occasion like this one is able to observe
such things, and, while of exciting incident there is
none, it is possible to note those customs which do not
obtrude themselves.

Nothing of special note occurred during this voyage,
and we reached Kalagyan at a few minutes past eleven.
I had had an early chota hazri, and I was beginning to
feel ready for breakfast. The anchor was heaved
overboard, and the pearler rode the sea as close to shore
as was possible. The tide was still running out — this
had helped us on the outward journey— and we had to
allow for some farther lessening of the depth. Mr
Walkem and I were beached on the backs of Burmese
carriers. Though it is not a dignified way of reaching
land, it is supposed to add to the dignity of the fair-
skinned races. I was not sorry to discover, later on,
that uncivilised peoples take it as an indication that we
are not hard enough to be able to endure roughing it
as they do. The idea of " roughing it " does not, I

The Tale of a Romantic Picnic 79

found, occur to them. With them to wade ashore
with water up to the waist is a commonplace occur-
rence. It is not a subject to be enlarged upon here,
yet it is well to take note that in such things we do
not always strike uncivilised people in the same light
as we like to think they regard us! I have enough
information, gleaned from my experiences in Burma, to
write a whole chapter upon this subject.

The Burmans conveniently tucked up their gaily
coloured silk lungyis\ they entered the sea with the
water to their waist, and after putting us down upon
the sands they just shook out their lungyis and allowed
them to dry as they walked about in the glorious
sunshine.

We had landed on the south-west of the island, and
there was a fine sweep of golden sand which made a
beautiful fringe to the green of the jungle with which
Kalagyan was covered. To the left of our landing-place
we espied a Burmese house, enclosed on three sides by
a small plantation, plainly indicated, even at a distance,
by the graceful crowns of coco-nut trees.

While some of our men went off in search of fire-
wood, and came back to light the camp-fires for the
preparation of our meal, others of us strolled off to the
Burman's house to see if we could purchase a few milk
coco-nuts. The Burman was at home and was willing
to sell, so one of his boys soon swarmed up a tree
and, twisting off some nuts, threw them to the ground.
Meanwhile we found the shade of the trees luxurious.

8o " Your Friend would be I " ; or,

In Burma I did not have a retinue of servants, as
becomes necessary if one has caste-men. Instead
I employed a Tamil Christian, a Roman Catholic, who
acted as cook, valet and parlour-maid. (Water was laid
on at the house, so there was no need for a pani-wal/ah,
or waterman.) This Tamil " boy," formerly a servant
at Government House, had brought a clean white
tablecloth,? which, not to hurt his feelings, I allowed
him to spread out upon the sands. He had chosen
a spot where we would be sheltered by the trees, and
the cloth was kept in place by stones laid at each
corner; not, however, that there was enough breeze
(for the breeze was blowing again) to carry it off.
Leaving the rice a-cooking, he opened several tins of
salmon (which had come all the way from Canada), and
arranged the glasses and ginger-beers. Our meal was
to be of rice, salmon and ginger-beer, followed by the
flesh of the coco-nuts (we had already quaffed the milk).

When everything was "just so" each of us was
served with a well-heaped plate of beautifully boiled
rice, from which the most nutritious part had not been
polished off, and a liberal helping of salmon — liberal
enough to be termed " vulgar " in places in which the
conventions prevail. Each of the Mawken was served
in like manner, for we shared and shared alike.

It was particularly interesting to me to notice that,
upon receiving their plates of rice and salmon, they
walked slowly to the water's edge and wiped the
salmon into the sea. It was not the first time in my

The Tale of a Romantic Picnic 8 1

travels that I had seen salmon treated in this way.
Evidently this food out of a tin was regarded with
suspicion. What might not be the effect of eating it ?

Upon a later occasion, during a run through the
Archipelago, I offered some cake to some Mawken
boys and they refused it. When I asked the reason
why, they replied : " We do not know to eat it."
Perhaps it is wise not to partake of anything which
has not been mentioned in the tales of your grandfather.
Though in such connections it is ludicrous to us, this
guiding principle has probably been found useful in
the past. Such things are remarkably interesting from
a psychological point of view, for they illustrate ways
in which ignorance produces prejudice. And when we
see these things in others we are led to wonder how
far like prejudice may be found in us, if only we could
see ourselves as others see us.

Having so disposed of the unknown " red stuff," the
Mawken set to work to eat up the rice. This they
did in the manner in which the Nun in Chaucer's
Canterbury Tales ate her food, with nature's fork.
Seldom do we realise how modern are our spoons and
forks in the use we make of them to-day.

After meat came the drink. The Mawken had no
objection to ginger-beer, as they had visited Mergui
frequently, and had seen ginger-beer on the stalls by
the road-side, and probably had not only seen others
drink it, but had tasted of it themselves. They drank
from the bottles, as my " boy " had not thought he was

82 " Your Friend would be I " ; or,

called upon to provide them with glasses. It was very
amusing to watch their attempts to make the glass
balls in the necks of the emptied bottles stick at the
top after the ginger-beer was out. How they inverted
them, shook them violently and turned them about,
and repeatedly examined them with curiosity and
astonishment! Unfortunately it was not then in my
power to explain to them the action of the gas in the
bottles when filled, and the impossibility of getting the
balls to remain in position when the bottles were empty.

The opportunity afforded by the picnic was taken to
write down some Mawken words. Also, after some
expansive explanations through Maung Bah Thet, the
devil-master was persuaded to show me how he plied
his trade in his capacity of healer of diseases. I
shall not forestall a chapter upon this subject by giving
any details here.

After our meal we rested for an hour in the shadow
of the trees, during which time I closely observed the
Mawken and their boats, which were drawn up on
the beach ; and I think that they, no less than I, felt
the sympathy of silence.

In the early afternoon we re-embarked. Our return
trip was slow, as the wind was fitful, and it was late
when we tied up again at the Mergui landing.

The romance of this picnic was greater to me than
words can portray. I am aware that the account
which I have given of it is almost trivial. The real
significance of this picnic lay in the fact that it was

The Tale of a Romantic Picnic 83

the way which occurred to me of telling the Mawken
in actions, which would speak louder than words
(especially words through an interpreter): "Your
friend would be I."

The kind offices of U Shwe I had enabled me to do
this.

CHAPTER VII

AFLOAT IN A MAWKEN SHIP: A VOYAGE TO
MAIDEN ISLE

HAVING, in the way described, told the
Mawken people that it was my desire to be
friendly, I decided, upon the occasion of my
next quarterly visit to Mergui, to try to make some
further progress.

Most of the people live all the year round in their
kabang, and all of them spend the north-east monsoon
afloat. Some few, however, have resting-places on
land. The nearest approach to a village is at Victoria
Point, where eight or nine huts may be seen on the
foreshore alongside the jetty. In other cases I have
seen single huts well hidden in the jungle.

U Shwe I told me of a " settlement " on Dala
Island well out to sea, in a line with Mergui. Here
lived a Mawken of rather forceful character, whom
someone with a great deal of poet's licence referred to
as " the Prince of the Mawken." It may be allowable
to speak of a man with dominating character as a
" prince among men," yet it would not be correct to
say that the Mawken have or acknowledge a chief of
any kind.

It was my wish to make a voyage to this

8 4

Afloat in a Mawken Ship 85

"settlement," and to sleep the night there. Also it
seemed to be advisable to make the voyage in a kabang,
in Mawken style, instead of in a Government launch.

Again U Shwe I was my conjurer, and through his
good services a kabang was placed at my disposal and
arrangements for the voyage were quickly completed.

At this point it is advisable to make a slight digression.
Three years later, after I had taken the Census of the
Mawken, a little book came into my hands, through the
kindness of Mr Morgan Webb, to whom I shall have to
make further reference. It contained notes made by a
Dr Anderson, a linguist, who chanced upon some of the
Mawken. To him, as to all others, they were known
as Salons. Dr Anderson was in the habit of making
vocabularies of words of different peoples, obtained
through interpreters, and comparing the various vocab-
ularies he had so collected. He would seem to have
found a Salon who could speak Malay and to have
used a Malay interpreter who could speak English.
Dr Anderson made no attempt, so far as record goes, to
learn the language. He, like myself, conceived of the
idea of voyaging in a kabang, and mentions the fact
that when the boat was brought he decided not to go.
. . . The smell was too much for him !

Although these people live on the sea, with " water,
water everywhere," they have a very dirty custom.

Their staple food is rice, which they obtain by barter,
and fish, which they spear. Much of their cooking is
done as they move about, and instead of cleaning the

86 Afloat in a Mawken Ship :

entrails of the fish over the side of the boat into the
sea, they clean them into the boat itself. Similarly
when they wash out a pot in which they have been
cooking, they pour the washings into the boat. The
result is that the bilge of the boat is awash with an
evil-smelling slush ! When it is borne in mind that
this is done in tropical regions, it is not difficult for
anyone even in colder climes to judge as to the strength
of the odours.

It would, of course, be easy to dismiss the matter
with the contempt and disgust of superior persons, an
attitude which European peoples frequently adopt when
they meet with " savages " whose ways they have not
studied.

Sympathetic understanding, which is the world's
great need, usually helps us to see that such customs
have reasons behind them, even if we may be able to
show that the reasons are bad ones, or that there may
be other ways of managing things.

The Mawken ships, even with the maw added, lie
very low upon the surface of the water and are the
homes of the people. While the adults on board
should be well able to take care of themselves, it would
not be easy to prevent the little children from dabbling
a hand or a foot in the water, especially when the air
is still and they feel the heat. Sometimes the boys
will plunge overboard, swim about and cool themselves,
and resume work at the oars.

Had the Mawken adopted the custom of cleaning

A Voyage to Maiden Isle 87

the fish over the sides and throwing refuse over, it
would not have taken very long for a species of
" submarine " to get into the habit of following these
craft about, on the look-out for supplies. These
waters abound in sharks.

The Mawken have no buckets nor pails, and
apparently the idea of providing some such receptacle
had not occurred to them. At any rate it has not
materialised.

At the time of my projected trip I was unaware of
the Dr Anderson incident. I was, however, aware of
the usual condition of these kabang. Accordingly it
was arranged that the bilge should have a very special
cleaning, by pouring in copious supplies of sea-water
and baling out several times over while the boat was
drawn up on shore. Buckets were borrowed for the
purpose.

It should perhaps be mentioned that the Mawken
periodically swill out the bilge, but these periods might
well be of much shorter duration than is usually the
case.

Even after the special swill there remained some
washings at the bottom of the boat, but these were
well diluted and were quite mild. My Tamil boy (his
name was Anthony) was careful to buy for me a new
sleeping-mat, since we were not taking cots, and in the
East hammocks are rarely used. I did not see one in
use for camping, though I travelled about a great deal.
My own precautions consisted of taking a bottle of

8 8 Afloat in a Mawken Ship :

eau-de-Cologne, with which my handkerchief was
treated.

We had had chota bazri, our "little breakfast,"
very early, at the circuit house, and we were down to
superintend the washing of the boat. Ere the sun was
high in the heavens we were afloat. My Mawken
companions consisted of four boys and a man, the same
" devil-master " who had been of the picnic party. It
was significant that the women and girls usually in-
habiting this home had been put out of the way.
I understood that they had been taken into another
kabang to spend a couple of days with a family of
Mawken friends.

The morning "broke clean," and although the time
of year was not " safe," being at the close of the
south-west monsoon, we had hopes of a fair passage.

There was no wind and it was necessary to use oars,
so the four little boys unshipped the oars and set to
work. Again it was "every man for himself." Al-
though the tide was ebbing and we were helped by it,
progress was very slow, and we occupied about three
hours in getting well clear of Palaw. Then we headed
for Kalagyan, across a stretch of open water.

Now the sky was overcast and black storm-heads
appeared in several directions. The wind got up and,
coming from the south-west, was contrary to us. Soon
there was a ripple on the sea, and then came horses'-
manes, and the rain descended.

My new mat had been spread over the mats on the

Kabang in Sail.

Taken ofi Palaw. Shows Burmese pagoda on rocky foreshore.
I hi front step " oi the kabang is clearly seen.

K tBANG,
The Boa Gypsii On thi muddy ton hon ol Mergui, with the tidi

.,i ebb.

A Voyage to Maiden Isle 89

deck or floor, and as I had soon tired of sitting cross-
legged under the roof, I had been reclining with an
elbow on my pillow. It is not possible to stand up
under the roof of the house portion of the boat.
Whenever I remained still, out would come armies of
wood-lice of various sizes, from a quarter of an inch
to an inch and a half in length, many-legged creatures
which seemed to enjoy playing and wrestling upon the
smooth surface of the mats. Whenever I moved they
gat them away to their dens. These things are
scavengers, which feed upon the offal awash in the
boat, and being well fed they multiply exceedingly.

Those who have walked the forests of the world,
or have studied the ways of wild life, are aware that
nature provides everywhere a splendid army of
scavengers, and takes care not to leave messes about
the world. Man is the culprit when it comes to
messing up the world, and his scavenging is often
poorly done.

The sea became rough and waves poured into the
kabang. The boys left the oars and were kept busy
baling as hard as they could go. They used their two
hands put together and cupped the water out, one
only having a piece of gourd.

We had to do a lot of tacking, and a sudden gust
of wind brought down the sail by lifting it high and
slipping the rope off the fork. The bottom section of
the sail had been beaten to shreds, and the sail was
shortened. Just as we were approaching the rocky

90 Afloat in a Mawken Ship :

channel to the south of Kalagyan the sail was brought
down again, and the force of the wind gave the boat
such a list that we shipped water along nearly the whole
length of one side. The baling-hole was not large
enough to allow of all of us working simultaneously,
and the work was done by the boys and the devil-
master. It seemed to me that the buffeting we were
receiving would smash up the fragile sides of the
kahang and we all should be numbered amongst the
maw-ken (sea-drowned). The devil-master went astern
again and manipulated the steering-paddle as we
bobbed and plunged our way through the channel.
How he avoided all the rocks, I do not know.

At the extreme end of the island my attention was
drawn to a strip of red salu tied to a stick which was
fixed firmly amongst the rocks. This piece of cloth
had been placed there by the Mawken to mark a
dangerous channel, and more particularly to act as a
charm for good luck.

The world over we find this faith in a mascot or a
charm, and it is interesting to note the witness it bears
to a common belief in the oneness of the universe. All
things are regarded as affecting each other, and the
movements or action of some are believed to indicate
movements of others or to affect their course. The
notion may be all right : its application seems to be
mostly unreasonable, unreasoned and unscientific. It
is evidence of a pessimism which finds solace in abandon-
ing oneself to blind fatalism when in contact with

A Voyage to Maiden Isle 91

powers men know not how to control. Human nature
is the same everywhere, and civilised peoples cannot
justly scorn and ridicule the uncivilised.

That which is of special interest to me is the fact
that red is supposed to possess a special virtue as a
charm. I found the same belief amongst the Indians
of South America, who make much use of annatto for
like purposes. It is possible that it has some connec-
tion with the shedding of blood, as amongst the Israelites,
though I have not been able to prove that this is
everywhere the case.

When we were safely through this dangerous
passage we encountered bigger seas, and the kabang
pitched uncomfortably. It rode the seas well, though
it often did so at a seemingly dangerous angle.

It had been possible to have breakfast, and we had
made a good meal. Tea, however, was out of the
question. We determined to fast until we should
reach Dala Isle. Should we ever reach it ?

Down came the sail for the third time, and for the third
time it was shortened. We had now only one section
left, and the sea was far too rough for the use of oars,
even if the boys could cease their frantic efforts to
prevent the boat from becoming water-logged. The
storm increased in fury and for a time we made no
progress in the direction in which we desired to travel.
The micha-hlen became seriously concerned. He left
the steering-paddle, balanced his way along to the
bows, and squatting down there began a low droning

92 Afloat in a Mawken Ship :

incantation which suggested despair and resignation.
Once again the Sea Gypsies were to be called upon
to prove the Tightness of their name — and we with

them.

The incantation addressed to the evil powers which
work behind all storms was succeeded by a whistling.
Once more, as upon so many other occasions, a com-
parison was suggested. In 1888 my brother and I
came to England from Demerara in a Norwegian
barque called the Gwendoline. For two or three
days we were becalmed. The sea was like a sheet of
glass, and we boys amused ourselves — not then realising
the cruelty — by catching stormy petrels on tiny hooks
baited with fat pork. The sailors were sure that if we
caught Mother Carey's chickens, as they called the
petrels, we should have bad weather. Nevertheless
they spent a great deal of their time " whistling for
the wind." The wind came in due course, and the
main topmast was snapped and the boom with its sail
brought down. While the sailors whistled for the
wind, the micha-hlen whistled for its abatement.

The wind did abate after sunset, and we were carried
on a rough sea, as on the backs of wild horses, to the
beach of Dala Isle, arriving there at about nine o'clock
at night. Fleecy clouds were racing across the sky, and
the sea and the island were lighted up by a glorious
moon.

We dropped anchor, as it was thought to be unsafe
to try to beach the boat. The anchor was a large

A Voyage to Maiden Isle 93

bellied stone made fast to a thick grass rope. At first
we deemed it would be better to forgo a meal and to
sleep aboard the kabang, waiting until dawn to land ;
but this idea was abandoned when we found that the
boat plunged so badly that sleep was rendered im-
possible. Near to us was anchored another kaba?ig,
the owners of which were ashore. I removed my shoes
and socks, tucked up my trousers and was carried
through the breakers. Anthony brought my new
sleeping-mat and the Mawken looked after the supplies.
Upon the beach, which was sandy, were three " houses."
The sea was already beginning to flow up under them.
These houses had the appearance of rather large dog-
kennels built upon sticks (posts they could not be
called). The floor was about eight feet off the ground ;
the walls were about four feet high and the roof sat
down upon them. In shape the houses were nearly
square. Walls and roof were made of the leaves of
the dunnee palm, and the floor, which allowed free
ventilation from below, was of sticks. In the middle
house of the three we saw the glimmer of a light, so
we hailed the inmates, who opened a mat door and
lowered a bamboo ladder for us to ascend. We
clambered up and crawled into the house, the roof of
which was much too low to enable us to stand. At
one side of the single room some earth had been spread,
and upon this a wood fire was burning : there being no
chimney and no smoke-hole, the smoke filtered through
the roof.

94 Afloat in a Mawken Ship :

In the house we saw a man and two women. They
told us that the so-called " prince " was away in his
kabang and was not likely to be back for days. The
Mawken made us welcome, and Anthony spread my
mat, which was all the bed-making necessary, and
promptly set to work to toast some bread and open
up a small tin of melted butter. As is often the
case in the tropics, the tinned butter was in a fluid
condition and could be poured out like thick cream.

I do not want to lay too much stress upon our
gastronomic exercises. Eating does take an important
place in our life, and so one need not be ashamed to
say that the meal in the Mawken house after the day
of strain was partaken of with epicurean enjoyment.

When I turned my attention to the Mawken who
had received us, questions were asked through Anthony
and the devil-master, both of whom had a knowledge
of Burmese. The Mawken man answered the ques-
tions put to him. Immediately I addressed myself to
the women they moved away from the fire-light and
crouched in a darker corner. Though they would
not talk about "wintering" 1 and "summering" a
stranger, it is commonly the case that people such as
the Mawken do not regard conversation between their
women and strange men as being in accord with the
proprieties. We are supposed to require an introduc-
tion, even in civilised countries; so we join with them
in bearing witness to those sex questions which psycho-

1 Suffolk, idioms.

A Voyage to Maiden Isle 95

analysts have recently brought so much to the fore.
While truly natural, they are not of necessity nasty,
and we see that race prejudice is not all on one side.
A real knowledge of the outlook of other peoples
would make the " colourless " peoples of the world
understand that the darker races do not regard them
as superior in all those things which really matter. The
Mawken do, however, regard us with wonderment.

Finding that conversational efforts with the women-
folk would not, at this stage, be regarded as proofs
of true friendship, I abandoned the attempt, spread
myself out on the mat, clad just as I was, and fell
asleep.

Very early the following morning we were astir.
Chota hazri was taken in the house, and while the
belongings were being transported to the kabang I
strolled along the sands to inspect the katoi ka-e, or
devil-posts.

These posts were two in number, and were planted
just above high-water mark, where jungle growth and
sands met. Both were of roughly squared timber
split in half, one square making the two posts. They
were rudely decorated with black bars, curves and
circles, and towards the top each post was tapered,
and above the tapered part was a head somewhat
after the shape of an admiral's hat. The wood
selected was hard and durable, and the katoi ka-e
should last for years without rotting.

These katoi ka-e are taken to indicate that Dala Isle

96 Afloat in a Mawken Ship :
is the abode of a kindly disposed power, under the
protection of which the Mawken may plant their
pine-apples, bananas and ochroes, and rest in their
houses when not roving the sea as Gypsies.

The curious may like to know that the posts are
about five feet in height, seven inches in width and
between three and four inches in thickness.

Dala Isle is small and hilly, and the Mawken planta-
tion was made upon the slope of the rising behind
the huts. There was a clearing for the plantation,
and the remainder of the island was covered with
jungle, from which much of the small wood had
been taken for firing.

The sea was still disturbed, as a result of its beating
up on the previous day. The weather was fine, though
not "safe." We boarded the kabang, hoisted our
piece of sail and, helped by the boys at the oars,
we made fair headway. When the tide began to
flow again we made rapid progress, and the oars
were shipped. The boys, to cool themselves, plunged
into the sea and disported themselves in the water,
swimming and diving with ease. The Mawken are
almost amphibious creatures. When they had had
enough they returned to the kabang, and having
no clothes save loin-cloths, they allowed themselves
to dry in the sunshine.

We reached Mergui just as the coasting steamer
was preparing to heave anchor for the return trip to
Maulmein. Anthony hastened ashore in a sampan,

A Voyage to Maiden Isle 97

fetched the remainder of my kit from the circuit
house and stepped on to the companion-ladder just
as the propeller began to revolve. We had returned
only just in time to catch the fortnightly steamer
home.

On board, we learned from the captain and passengers
that, fearing for my safety in the storm of yesterday,
arrangements were being planned to send out a search-
party when my arrival made it unnecessary.

CHAPTER VIII

FRIENDLY OVERTURES & THE WARNING

AFTER my trip to Maiden Island my interest
in the Mawken was thoroughly aroused. I
sympathised with them in their sorry plight,
and desired to help them, if it should be within my
power to improve their lot.

In order to understand the course adopted by me it
is necessary to recollect the difference between two
words in our language which are, often with great
carelessness, made to do duty for each other. These
two words are Pity and Sympathy. We can pity a
dog, and we can pity those fellow-humans whom we
think we have a right to regard as inferiors. Many
people find it easy to serve those whom they acknow-
ledge as their superiors. Less easily do they find they
can serve those whom they regard as their equals. But
peculiarly difficult do many people find it to serve
those whom they think they may justly regard as their
inferiors. They are prepared to dominate and to rule
them " for their good," and they will seek to impose
their superior ways upon them. It requires clear think-
ing to see the principles and to differentiate between
unessentials and essentials. Life and Civilisation are
often confused.

Friendly Overtures 8§P the Warning 99

As Mrs Chandra Sen, the Indian authoress, poetess
and lecturer has told us plainly, when speaking in this
country for the people of India: "We do not want
your pity. We resent it. What we want is your
sympathetic understanding." So a non-Christian (for
Mrs Chandra Sen is a member of the Brohma-Somaj,
or Indian Theistic church) reminds us of the need of
Sympathy. I do not claim that I had thought the
matter out fully. All I claim is that my object was to
make it quite clear to the Mawken that I wished to be
not a master, but a friend.

Upon my next visit to Mergui some Mawken were
sent for, to assemble at the house of U Shwe I, and
we had a pow-wow. It is evident how useful to me
was the Chinaman in these early days. It was ex-
plained to the Mawken, through him, that I should
like some of them to come with me to Maulmein.
Naturally, they wanted to know why. It was then
explained that I wished them to teach me their language,
and as I could not leave my work to live amongst them
at that time, if some of them came to live with me
they could help me to acquire a knowledge of their
language, and that when I had learned it I could put it
into writing for them (as they had no script of their
own), and could afterwards teach some of them to
write in their own language. Their next inquiry was
as to the number of Mawken I desired to have to live
with me, and whether I wanted men and women or boys
and girls. I told them that one or two men and one

ioo Friendly Overtures <8f the Warning

or two boys might come. It did not seem to me to be
advisable, at first at any rate, to take women and girls
into such different surroundings as would be found at
Maulmein. The children present were much interested,
and my hopes began to rise ; but when I laid my hand
upon a boy's shoulder and asked, through U Shwe I,
if he would like to come with me, the boy became
thoroughly scared and shrank back. The other
children immediately made themselves scarce by moving
off into the road.

U Shwe I strongly backed up my appeal, and talked
to the Mawken for a long while, emphasising his re-
marks with impressive gestures. Could I have understood
his words, I expect I should hardly have known myself
from the glowing description he gave of me ! Probably
I was represented as being one of the best, the kindest
and most illustrious men on earth ! This conference
came to naught. In the afternoon we tried again, and
again without success.

In the meanwhile the news was spreading amongst
the people, and Mawken whom I had not seen before
turned up at Mergui and came to the house of the
Chinaman to listen to my proposals.

No count was kept of the number of conferences we
had, but at length one of the men said he would
come with me and undertook to bring one of his three
little boys. I asked about the other two, and he said
that they were with his father-in-law in a kabang,
which never visited Mergui, remaining amongst the

Friendly Overtures £§f the Warning 101

far-off islands. This led to my inquiring about his
wife, and he told me that she was dead. He was just
the kind of man I needed, as, having no wife to leave
behind, no hardship would be inflicted upon him in
keeping him at Maulmein. He was made to under-
stand that he would be brought down to Mergui when
my quarterly visits took place, and so would be able to
see his people every three moons, and would not be
wholly cut off from them. This man's name was Nbai.
His little boy, who appeared to be about ten years of
age, was named Koshan.

It occurred to me that Koshan would probably find
things rather dull when the novelty had worn off if
he had no playmate who could speak his language and
understand him, and this was explained to the people.
They saw the sense of it, and further inquiries were
made. After a great deal of confabulation another
boy was produced, whose name was Chali. He was
probably about twelve years of age. Nbai I judged to
be about thirty-five. Koshan was a nice-looking little
fellow with a cheery smile. His hair was black and
glossy and when brushed it would lie as arranged. Chali
could hardly be said to be handsome. His lips, though
not thick, protruded somewhat; his nose was of the
pug type, and his hair simply bristled from his head. I
found afterwards that both boys had pleasant dispositions,
and neither of them gave me any cause for anxiety
during the years they were with me at Maulmein.

It may sound paradoxical, yet it was when the

102 Friendly Overtures ftP the Warning

decision had at length been made that the real tussle
began. Whoever in England has offered for foreign
service and has not experienced the hostility of relatives
and friends ? Every tropical country is a " white man's
grave." In spite of the many travelled people, in spite
of the many who have lived abroad and have returned
safely to settle down and to pass their remaining years
in the homeland, foreign countries are still regarded
as "rough" and "trying." And much of the world
outside of the British Isles is classed as " barbarous."

The fear of the unknown is the same the world over,
and so Nbai, Koshan and Chali were subjected to a hot
fire. First of all Maulmein was so far away. It was
too far away. Somewhere nearer to the islands would
not have been so bad. It would not have held so
many terrors. To die away from "home" was
regarded as a possibility which could not be faced with
equanimity. Death in a distant place was so much
more dreadful. No reasons could be given, it was all
a matter of " feeling." And I would not have them
think that I held that sentiment has no rightful place
in life. There were, so they argued, many kinds of
sicknesses, of which they had had no experience.
Nbai and the boys might fall victims to one of these,
and the two other little boys away in the far-off islands
might never see their father again, and their mother
was dead. So the warning was reiterated :

" Matai ka bi-ing tawkaw." (" Dead will be you,
certainly?*}

Friendly Overtures & the Warning 103

How solemn was the warning tone of that word
" tawkaw." And how impressive to hear it taken up,
first by one, then by another: "Tawkaw" . . .
" Tawkaw " . . . " Tawkaw."

I knew that argument would be useless, so I allowed
these expressions free way, and then a silence ensued.
I gave them time to think, and I repeated, through
U Shwe I, my offer, mentioning again some of the
"good things" it contained.

At a later date, when I was visiting Victoria Point,
the wife of the Sub-Divisional Officer informed me that
upon several occasions she had induced some Mawken
to work for her. There are, as I have previously
mentioned, several huts there, on the mud-fiat alongside
the jetty, and the Mawken are frequently " in residence."
Mrs Buchanan told me that whenever these Mawken
came to work for her they always took the precaution
of wearing charms. Unfortunately it did not occur to me
at the time to inquire whether this practice had been
acquired as a result of their contact with the Malays,
or whether it was a custom proper to the Mawken
themselves. From whom or from what they expected
hurt it is impossible for me to explain. The question
remains as one of those for future inquiry. I did not
find any Mawken wearing charms ; Nbai and the boys
certainly did not wear any, and I did not hear any talk
about such things during all the time they were with
me at Maulmein.

The terms of my offer were allowed time to soak in,

104 Friendly Overtures (IP the Warning

and in due course the spirit of adventure overcame the
spirit of fear. Details were again discussed and every-
thing seemed to be smoothed out ; it seemed that
a settlement had been reached, and arrangements
were in train for booking the passages of the three
Mawken when another difficulty arose.

Nbai entered into close and earnest conversation
with U Shwe I, and it appeared that he was trying to
persuade the Chinaman to tell me something, which
the latter was reluctant to do. Nbai was insistent, and
frequently, in reply to something the Chinaman said,
he uttered an emphatic " Ha ! " (the Mawken word
for " not "). Finding that he availed nothing by his
protests, U Shwe I, with some hesitation in his speech,
gave me to understand the subject of their animated
conversation :

" Nbai says, ' If I come with you, will you give me
opium ? ' "

This was rather staggering. Although I knew, at
that time, nothing of the opium traffic in Burma, and
possessed only hearsay evidence of the alleged results
of the drug, I had a strong prejudice against it. Some
rumours of the anti-opium legislation with regard to
China had reached me, and I possessed pictures of
opium dens as they existed in Trinidad. (I did not
know, then, that one of these photographs showing
such a den, while depicting several Chinamen smoking,
showed only one man smoking an opium pipe !) My
prejudice against opium was as strong as the Mawken

Friendly Overtures & the Warning 105

prejudice against tinned salmon, and, like that prejudice,
it was at that time rooted in ignorance.

After some consideration my reply was given in the
form of a definite negative : " No, I cannot ; opium is
not good." Upon this a further conversation ensued
between the Chinaman and the Mawken, and U Shwe I
once more tried persuasion. Nbai was obdurate, and
the Chinaman had to announce the decision :

" Nbai says, c If you will not give me opium I will
not come with you ; for if I do not have opium I shall
die.'"

I replied that it was nonsense to talk like that, and
he was equally convinced that he would certainly die
were the drug not obtainable. We had reached an
impasse, and for the time it seemed that all my hopes
would be dashed to the ground.

CHAPTER IX

HOW THE MAWKEN OBTAIN THEIR LIVELIHOOD.'
SOME EFFECTS OF THE OPIUM TRAFFIC

UP to the present I have not explained how the
Mawken get their living. It is now necessary
to make the explanation.
It has already been told how the Mawken live the
roving life of Gypsies of the Sea. A few have huts,
which they use as a haven of refuge upon occasion,
and others have huts which they use as their base,
from which they make frequent and extended tours in
their kabang. Most of the Mawken do not come near
to the mainland at all. They depend upon those who
visit the ports for their supplies, or they procure the
required commodities from the few Chinese and Malay
traders who do a hawking trade in their house-boats.
Business is done by barter generally.

The Mawken used to do all the diving there was for
the pearl oyster. Even if the oyster contained no
pearl, and not even a blister, the shells, being of the
same stuff as that of which pearls are made (hence the
name " mother-of-pearl "), were of value, as they are
to-day. Some of these shells when cleaned and re-
duced to the limits of true mother-of-pearl measure
ten inches across and eight inches deep. These shells,

1 06

The Mawken @P Their Livelihood 107

mounted on silver clasp stands, make exquisite sweets-
dishes. The Burmese and Chinese of Mergui
frequently cut the shells to shape, and carve and chase
them, making very pretty mother-of-pearl tea and
dessert plates.

Besides these shells, the Mawken dive for the sea-
snails, of which there are two varieties, called by them
ochan and ochau. These shells also are of mother-
of-pearl, and are used for the manufacture of pearl
buttons.

Most of the shallow-diving areas are outfished as
regards the oysters, and the deep diving is done by
Filipinos, who go down in diving-suits. The Mawken
are accustomed to naked diving, and they have not
taken to the suits. As a consequence most of the
pearl fishing is taken out of their hands, and they
have lost their chief means of livelihood. It is a matter
of fear and prejudice again. They do not like the
idea of getting into these strange diving-suits, being
at the mercy of other people, who lower and haul
them up. Their prejudice is hardly likely to be
removed when they observe, as those who visit Mergui
do observe, how many of the men who go down in
diving-suits suffer from paralysis of the legs, which
in the early stages gives them a noticeably unsteady
gait. These divers are, for the most part, opium-
eaters, and I am not in a position to dogmatise about
causes and effects.

Before U Shwe I opened the eyes of the Government

108 How the Mawken Obtain

to the existence of the pearl fisheries anyone could
dive anywhere and sell anywhere. Now a licence
has to be secured for every pearling-boat, and the
right to collect is sold. If the Mawken do any
diving, they must sell to those who have bought the
right to collect.

The intention of this was, not to hinder the
Mawken from earning their livelihood ; it was to pro-
tect those who paid for the fisheries. The result,
as far as the Mawken are concerned, has been bad,
because those who have secured the licences have
been very unscrupulous.

There are also sea-slug fisheries. I have been
shown three species of these slugs. One is grey, the
other is the colour of sand, and the third is indifferent.
The slugs are from seven to nine inches in length, and
are raked up from the sand-banks, in which they half
bury themselves, leaving part of the body protruding.
This is why it is easy to rake them out. The slugs
are spread on the sands and thoroughly sun-dried,
and are then disposed of for the Chinese market.
They are used by the Chinese for broth and are
accounted a delicacy.

Besides the shells and slugs there are the edible
bird's-nests. The Government issues a licence for
the collection of these, and in the Mergui Archipelago
the actual collecting is done by the Mawken. The
nests are made by a species of swift, which may
be seen skimming over the sea, the rocks and the

Their Livelihood 109

islands. The shape of the nests is similar to that of
the English swallow's, like the half of a shallow cup,
and it is affixed to rocks, on the sides of the caves,
which are existent in some of the islands, or it may
be found on the face of a cliff. The Mawken are
agile, and are clever in scaling the rocks, or in
lowering themselves down the face of the cliff.
They collect the nests in which no eggs have been
laid. For the information of those who may not
happen to know, it should be mentioned that the
nests are composed of a species of seaweed which
has undergone a process of semi-digestion in the
swift's mouth. There is a ready market for the
nests in China, and in the Chinese colonies of Burma-
Malaya and the Straits Settlements. They are used,
as are the slugs, for broth-making. I have not tasted
them myself, but I suppose that the flavour is not
dissimilar to that of the lava bread with which I
have been regaled in South Wales. This lava bread
is also made of a seaweed. I am given to under-
stand that in the Mergui Archipelago the chief
nesting-places are St Matthew's Island, The Gregories,
Elephant Island and Turret Island. The names of
these last two islands have been suggested by their
shape.

In recent years the Mawken have been induced
to collect and bring in bark for tanning. There are
many mangrove swamps along the coast, and around
those islands where river currents have deposited their

no How the Mawken Obtain

burdens of silt. The bark of the mangrove is one
of the barks collected for this purpose. Another
requirement is cord-wood, for use on the Government
launches, and the Mawken sometimes bring in supplies,
which they have cut on the islands.

If the weather conditions are taken into account,
as well as the fragile nature of the kabang, it will
be realised that, if the well-built pearlers have to
cease operations during the south-west monsoon, much
more are the kabang restricted in their movements.
Nearly every means of livelihood is shut off during
the rough weather. The swifts do not build nests,
and there are none to be collected.

When the Mawken have anything to barter they
are able to procure supplies of rice, which is their
staple food. They get pieces of cloth, for use as
loin-cloths for the men, and plain skirts (new, or
second-hand) and strips of cloth for the use of the
women. I have seen Mawken, in the distant islands,
with only a few inches of cloth to cover their naked-
ness; and I have been informed that some of the
people — like the Andamanese — wear no clothing
whatever. Having no settled life, they have no cloth-
making industry, and they are wholly dependent upon
barter for any material they possess. Clothes, or cloths,
are worn until they wear into rags. They are dipped,
but not washed.

With the rice they eat fish, and this fish they can
get by barter, or by harpoon. I have not heard if

Their Livelihood 1 1 1

they themselves eat the green-snail, which, when
collected, they place into a pot of boiling water, until
the " oyster " within drops out. This " oyster," like
the sea-slug, is sun-dried and bartered.

The fish most easily harpooned is the nga-u, which
swims on the surface of the water and moves very
slowly. When the nga-u is sighted the kabang give
chase. In each of the kabang a Mawken stands at the
prow, harpoon in hand, and the fish is struck by several
harpoons before it can lash out and do damage.
Noosed ropes are passed over the head and the tail,
and the fish is towed ashore, cut up into strips and
sun-dried. The greater part of it may be bartered.

Owing to their having been molested so much in
the past, and to persecutions even in the present,
the Mawken have not emulated the Burmese and the
Malays in the construction of fish-traps. They are
unable, therefore, to secure large and regular supplies
of fish.

Some of the Mawken keep pariahs, which they train
to hunt wild pig and deer on the larger islands, such
as Kissering and King's Island. The dogs are said to
be trained by being placed on an island for a time
and left to look after themselves. When they have
learned to secure their own food, the Mawken take
them on board again and make use of them as hunters.

Other food eaten by the Mawken includes limpets,
which the children collect from the rocks when the tide
is at ebb. Crabs, too, are caught and eaten. There

ii2 How the Mawken Obtain

is in the Mergui district the soldier crab, which has a
singly developed claw which it brandishes aloft. The
colour of this crab is a brilliant scarlet, even before it
is boiled.

On the few small plantations pawpaws are grown,
and this fruit may, in season, be secured from the
Burmese and Malays by barter. A favourite dish
with the Mawken is a stew of fish and pawpaw. It
reminds one of a fellow-student at Lincoln who on
Fridays in Lent used to flavour the somewhat
tasteless boiled cod and rice with a liberal helping
of marmalade !

Pawpaws and bananas are sliced and sun-dried on the
roofs of the kabang, and small supplies are stored.
Roots of certain plants, and wild fruits are eaten, when
they can be found. At the worst season of the year
roots may be the only food for days on end.

The Mawken have found it convenient to barter their
goods to the Chinese and Malay traders, and wherever
such a trader is encountered one is almost certain to
see a fleet of kabang accompanying the junk. In some
respects this is good, as the Mawken find an ever-
present market, and they are protected from raids and
molestation.

But the harm accruing overbalances the good. Not
only do the Mawken receive only a quarter, or even a
tenth, of the right value of their goods, but they have
been compelled to take part of their payment in opium.

In my diary, under date Tuesday, 14th February

Their Livelihood 113

191 1, I have an entry which is but one amongst
several on the same subject :

" These men live amongst the islands and compel
the Mawken to work for them. The Mawken say
they threaten to kill them if they decline. They make
them take part of their pay in opium. Two at least
of these men are unlicensed. They get their opium
from Bokpyin. The Mawken say that they do not
want to become opium consumers. It weakens them
and makes them poor, and miserable in mind (chakd).
Being induced and forced to take opium, they must have
it or they will die. The Chinamen tell them this . . .
they will die. And as leaving it off" is a painful pro-
cess, they take the bad feelings as a sign of approaching
death."

As we forced opium upon China (it was good for
the revenues of India, and it did not matter in those
days how we treated the " heathen Chinee "), so the
Chinese traders have forced the dope upon the Mawken,
well knowing that, once acquired, the habit cannot be
given up, without medical treatment, of which the
Mawken know nothing. The Mawken addicted to
the drug become virtually the slaves of the traders,
who alone can supply it. And these traders, besides
underpaying the Mawken for their shells, slugs, nests,
etc., dole out the opium wage at an exorbitant charge.

The opium traffic in India and Burma is a Government-
controlled business. Shops are licensed for each dis-
trict, and the shopkeeper buys " the right to sell " at

ii4 How the Mawken Obtain

public auction. The right exists for a term of years.
The shopkeeper gets his stores of opium from the
Government. During the years I was in Burma opium
was retailed at its weight in silver. A tola of opium
was sold for a rupee. The tola is the weight of a
rupee. In paying the Mawken the trader retailed the
opium at a valuation of sixteen rupees a tola, making
a profit on the retail price of fifteen hundred per cent.
When we take this in conjunction with the valuation
allowed on the shells and slugs and nests, we see that
the Mawken disposed of their goods at rates which were
from ten to sixteen thousand per cent, below the rates
they should have received ! This means that, work as
they will, they are kept in a state of abject poverty,
while the opium habit is surely, though gradually 5
sapping their energies.

Certain peoples of India and Burma are placed by
the Government on a "Protected List"; such are the
Burmese. This means that only the Burmans already
addicted to the habit can (in theory) secure supplies.
Each consumer is, in effect, licensed, as he is provided
with a book which he must produce whenever he
wants opium. Not only so, but his supply must not
exceed in value more than a certain percentage of his
wages, and in any case the quantity must not exceed a
fixed limit.

Were this theory effectively carried out, the opium
traffic would die out in the course of a generation. It
certainly has been reduced, as is evidenced by the

Their Livelihood 115

lower value of the shop licences. There are, how-
ever, open doors.

For instance, an employer can certify that he has so
many men working for him who are opium consumers,
and he is provided with opium to meet their needs. I
discovered that the traders in the Archipelago made
false statements as to the number of employes, and
thereby secured supplies far in excess of their actual
requirements. One man encountered had three balls
of opium, each ball weighing eighty tolas. Another
man had two balls of the same weight. Some of the
opium is illicitly made, and it is very difficult to find
"factories" secreted in the jungle. Upon reporting
to the Acting Superintendent of Excise at Mergui (an
energetic represser of the traffic, who refused bribes :
a Eurasian, named Dover), he recommended me to
carry the matter to the Commissioner of Tenasserim,
Mr W. Dawson. The Commissoner, when next he
visited Mergui, made careful inquiries. He called
upon some of the traders to produce their men, which
they were unable to do in the numbers they had
certified ; and, ascertaining the true state of affairs, he
issued regulations requiring that the men should in
all cases be produced and their thumb-prints taken.
While this gives the trader much more trouble, it does
not prevent collusion and fraud.

There was, and is, another open door. Not all the
peoples of Burma are placed on the protected list.
Those not on the list are not registered and can secure

1 1 6 How the Mawken Obtain

supplies from the traders and others without the
production of a book. The Mawken are not on the
protected list, and my effort to have them placed on
the list was unavailing.

While, therefore, we are shutting down the opium
trade in some directions, we are allowing for the open-
ing up in other directions. As Burma abuts on China,
it is scarcely a matter for surprise that some Chinese
governors of provinces are ordering the growing of
poppies in their provinces. If doors are left open, and
since there is money in this traffic, " why should not
we produce opium and secure the whole of the profits
ourselves ? " When it comes to business, the China-
man is no fool.

In dealing with the opium question as it affects — and
very seriously affects — the Mawken, I may, as a matter
of information, state a few general facts, as so many
people are heard to assert that " opium does no harm."
We are told, in like manner, that alcohol as a beverage
does no harm — yet one of the first questions an
insurance agent puts is: "Are you a total abstainer?"
And men in training, when they want to be thoroughly
fit in wind and limb, have to knock off "drinks and
smokes." It would seem to be evident that while
these things — opium included — are useful and desirable
as medicines, they are, although not perceptibly so to
the unscientific observer, harmful as dopes. We leave
others to argue these questions.

Very shortly after my arrival in Burma, while stay-

Their Livelihood 117

ing at Government House, Rangoon, I had the good
fortune to meet Sir Richard Dane, who was Chairman
of the Opium Commission. We had a long talk about
the traffic in India, and he informed me that while he
imputed no dishonest motives whatever to missionaries,
the Commission had found that the missionaries in
some cases were rather careless. They had produced
emaciated men and women who were addicted to the
dope as evidence of the harmful effects of opium.
Opium was not necessarily the cause of this emaciation,
as many consumers are decidedly plump.

If any habit enslaves the habitue we acknowledge
that it is bad for the slave. Opium is an insidious
drug, and the craving grows. Lethargy is induced,
and the disinclination for effort increases. The habitue
may actually grow stouter, through laziness, and
appear to be in better health than before. In the case
of the Mawken, the habit ties him to the supplier,
who, as we have seen, defrauds him of his just
earnings.

Knowledge takes unfair advantage of Ignorance, and
refrains from enlightening it; Wit enslaves Muscle;
and the Mawken, though he has Capacity, at present
lacks the Wit.

We now return to Nbai's refusal to go to Maulmein
unless he were supplied with opium, and to my refusal
to give it to him.

I was determined, however, not to be beaten. So
I went to the G.M.O. and inquired what course he

1 1 8 How the Mawken Obtain

adopted when he had as prisoners men who were
addicted to the dope. He explained that in the case
of a man who took small quantities the supply was
knocked off at once. The man then suffered the
effects of opium-poisoning and became almost demented,
as the unsatisfied craving was so intense. In the course
of a few days he recovered, and, not being able to get
it, he had to go without it. In the case of a man who
partook of large quantities, death would probably
ensue were the drug withheld at once, so the custom
was to administer opium in gradually reduced quantities,
until no opium whatever was given.

In Lincolnshire, years ago, a doctor told me that he
had cured a morphia patient in a similar manner. Dis-
covering the cause of the trouble, he stipulated that he
should inject the morphia himself if he were to continue
his attendances. He made the solution weaker and
weaker, until at length he injected aqua distillata only !
When the patient had recovered normal health he told
him of the course he had adopted, and bore the furious
outburst upon his " deception."

Again I saw Nbai. He was reminded how the
opium habit kept him in a state of poverty, as he
received so little return for his labour. He admitted
the truth of this. He was reminded that the drug
resulted in lassitude and general and increasing dis-
like for work, thereby preventing his working as much
as he would, and causing him more poverty and misery.
He admitted that also; but he said he could not give

Their Livelihood 119

it up, for he would die if he tried to do so. He
acknowledged that opium made him feel out of sorts,
and that his condition, physically, grew worse with time.

By this time I had learned that while the Mawken
do not believe in a Supreme Being, nor do they seek
to worship him, they do acknowledge the existence of
such a Being. Their name for him is Thida, which,
I am told, is adopted from the Siamese, though the
Siamese as a nation are Buddhists.

I assured Nbai that he owed all his powers of body
and soul to Thida. I told him that Thida desired that
he should use these powers in the best possible way.
And while I carefully refrained from picturing Thida
as an irate and arbitrary monster, I ventured to go
so far as to insist that while he was a slave to opium
he was not using these powers in the best way, and
that this was not pleasing to Thida. It was explained
to him how he could, by gradually reducing the doses,
abandon the habit, and he was asked if he would
definitely try this plan. I spoke with the conviction
I felt, and Nbai was visibly impressed. After a few
moments' silence he said he would try. And I agreed
to provide him with the money to procure his supplies
at Maulmein, because I regarded it as "releasing a man
from evil, by stages."

CHAPTER X

LIFE AT MAULMEIN

SO it came about that when the next "B.I."
boat sailed for Maulmein passages were taken
for the three Mawken. The fire-ship, as they
called it, was a wonder-ship to them, and the deck
passages I had secured, to avoid expense, provided
luxuries unknown in their kabang. There were many
things on board for which they had no names, and
had my ignorance of their language not placed me
in the position of a " barbarian " to them, it would
have been interesting to listen to their talk about
such things. The boat was called a fire-ship because
they had understood that without fire it could not move.
On these coasting trips several new words were
coined by the Mawken, one of which I recollect as
resulting from a cargo of sheep we were carrying.
Anyone who has disturbed a goat knows that as it
frisks away it utters the sound " Pe!" The Mawken
name for goat, like our name for wolf, is onomatopoeic.
A goat to them is pe. The Mawken with me had
not previously seen sheep, and they had no name for
sheep. I cannot but realise that at that time any talk
about sheep, shepherds and the Beautiful Shepherd
would have been wholly unintelligible to them.

Life at Maulmein 121

Nbai and the boys, upon the occasion to which I
refer, watched the sheep intently, talked of them as
pe, while commenting upon their curly hair, unlike the
straight hair of the goat, and noted other differences.
Then one of the sheep uttered a plaintive " Ba-a-a-ah"
They all laughed heartily. Nbai repeated the sound.
Later, when I had acquired a considerable knowledge
of the language, I pointed to some sheep and asked
what was the Mawken name for them. The answer,
given without any hesitation, was " Ba." And ba
entered the Mawken language as the name for sheep.

During the first run to Maulmein with the Mawken
on board my mind was exercised afresh on the subject
of clothing. It was my desire not to Europeanise them
in dress, customs, nor speech. I wished to present
new ideas and new knowledge for them to assimilate,
and to leave them free to evolve on their own initiative.

The Burmese wear lungyis, which are skirt-like
nether garments. By tucking them up cleverly boys
and men manage to do whatever they desire without
hindrance. The Mawken of the Mergui district are
in contact with the Burmese. Should the Mawken
adopt Burmese dress? The Malay men and boys
wear trousers, which are useful for a sea-roving
people. The Burmese, on the contrary, as a people
dislike the sea. In the Victoria Point district the
Mawken are in contact with the Malays, and, like
the Malays, they are a sea-roving people.

When we reached Maulmein, I sent for a dirzi. or

122 Life at Maulmein

Indian tailor, and got him to measure the three
Mawken for shorts, to be made of navy blue duck,
fitted at the waist with loops for a belt. Shorts would
be even more convenient for the Mawken life than
trousers. Wishing to avoid the fuss of coats, I asked
the dirzi to make white shirts with the loose, cuffless
sleeves and the shaped, collarless neck of the Burmese
aingyi, or jacket. This made a garment with the
exterior finish of a Burmese coat, while avoiding the
necessity for shirt and coat. A change of garment
was to be provided, so that the clothes might be
washed without the necessity for the Mawken to
remain in bed on washing day. When in the course
of a couple of days the dirzi brought the neatly made
garments, the Mawken donned them with great
pleasure. The blue shorts and white shirt-jacket on
their rich brown skin produced a picturesque effect.
Shoes and sandals were not introduced then, nor at
any subsequent time.

To have left the Mawken in the dirty rags in which
they had come up with me would have been out of the
question, as they were to be friends, living with me,
and having the free run of my house at all times.
They were not to be hewers of wood and drawers of
water in my establishment.

Small mirrors, brushes and combs, and tooth-brushes,
soap, towels and basin were also provided ; thus they
began their new life with supplies which they could
not have earned during twelve moons in the Archipelago,

Life at Maulmein 123

in addition to earning their food. Each had brought his
own sleeping-mat, and these were spread at night in
the verandah, and rolled up and put away in the morning.

Nbai was provided also with a dab. This is a heavy
knife which instead of tapering to the point from the
handle broadens out and is cut off at the broadest part.
It is used in Burma for splitting coco-nuts, chopping
wood or cracking skulls.

In the early days of the Burma railway passengers
were warned not to hang their hands out of the
carriage windows. Incidents had occurred of passengers
hanging out their hands, on which rings were worn,
and as the train moved out of a station, leaving the
usual crowd of sightseers behind, a dab would flash,
and such passengers would depart minus hand and rings.
I do not imply that this was a frequent occurrence ;
but it was a possible one.

When the Mawken had been with me for some
weeks Koshan appeared one morning with a gash on
his head. It was plain, too, that he had been crying.
I inquired of Nbai as to the cause, and he replied,
with a laugh : " Mian ! " — suiting the action to the
word, in dumb show — " Chi ! " {Mian means " to
strike," and cbi means " I.") He had been correcting
Koshan, who had done something to arouse his dis-
pleasure, with the dab ! And it seemed to him to
be something decidedly humorous. He was given to
understand that it was not the kind of thing we regarded
as a joke, and that it was not to be repeated.

124 Life at Maulmein

The Mawken soon became notorieties, in no un-
pleasant sense, in Maulmein. People in the station,
as towns and villages in which Europeans are
" stationed " are called, became much interested in
them.

As chaplain I frequently " dined out," and upon
occasion officials and others " dined in " with me. I
look back with pleasure and gratification to these little
parties, when I recollect how absolutely free from
snobbishness was the attitude adopted by those who
honoured me with their presence. I refer, of course,
to their attitude towards the Mawken.

The little parsonage which I had had built (previously
the chaplain had no fixed abode) was provided with an
open balcony, and after dinner we would sit out there
in the glorious moonlight or starlight, and the Mawken
would join us. By that time my knowledge of their
language was sufficient to allow of triangular conversa-
tions, and those who were interested were able to
obtain some information from the Mawken at these
gatherings en famille. We discovered that they have
an astronomy (on the geocentric theory, of course),
a botany and an extensive conchology. I found no
trace of astrology. This is not to be taken as
a definite assertion that none exists amongst the
Mawken.

While the Mawken who live in their ships and do
not visit the ports do all their business by barter,
those Mawken who mix with Burmese, Chinese and

Life at Maulmein 125

Malays have learned to use coinage and to trade on
a basis of weights and measures. Nbai possessed
such a knowledge, and as he had a colloquial vocab-
ulary of Burmese he was able to look after himself
very well.

Like the Burmese, the Mawken eat with Adam's
forks ! Readers of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales will
recollect that such were the forks used by our fore-
fathers in the times of the Tudors. Our present
use of knives, forks and spoons, not for serving, but
for eating, is modern. It is well to bear this in mind
when one travels, as we should not describe our kings
and nobles of the sixteenth century as " savages "
because they had not our modern customs at the table.
No doubt we should find them rather uncomfortable
table companions, however, in these days ! And be-
cause the Mawken had not advanced from our sixteenth-
century table customs — having no table, and no table
manners at all — they preferred to take their meals
apart, in picnic fashion. Also they did not desire my
fancy dishes, preferring plainer fare in liberal helpings.
I found it worked well to make them a daily allowance
to procure their own food, which they cooked in my
kitchen. This meant a daily visit with my "boy" to
the bazaar.

The following are the Mawken names for the coinage
used in Burma, which is, of course, the coinage of the
Indian Empire, other than the " Native States," as we
call them: —

126 Life at Maulmein

ahong =one pice (farthing)

tbee=one anna (penny)

achok=fwo annas

ap in = four annas

twapin= eight annas (two four-annas)

acha = one rupee (one and fourpence)

Nbai knew the Burmese names for the coins.
Long measure was a very simple thing, without,
however any standard fixed :

kni/p = a. finger-joint

chgam=3. span

ahat=2i fore-arm

adapa =the stretch of both arms

The numbers are prefixed, so that pat hat would
be four fore-arms, twa dapa would be two both-arms-
outstretched.

It looks uncommonly as if the unusually small man
with short finger-joints, short span and short arm-
stretch would have an advantage over his bigger
brother, unless he suffered from being boycotted
altogether! In dealings with Burmese and others,
their measures would prevail, to the exclusion of the
Mawken ones.

Mawken barter did not take account of weights;
and weights seem to be unknown to the Mawken who
flit amongst the distant islands. Number and size of
such things as fish and shells would be considered.
Amongst themselves they had, as they still have, a

Life at Maulmein 127

rough-and-ready system of barter, for which no
standard weights and measures were required. In
recent years, since some of them have lost their fear,
and especially since force of circumstances, such as
the loss to the Filipinos of the greater part of the
pearl diving, they have in larger number become
habituated to visiting the southern ports ; have traded
with the Burmese, Chinese and Malays; and have
found it necessary to procure rice and other supplies
sold in the bazaars according to standards prevailing
there. This has led to the coining, or adoption, of
new words for the weights and measures they have
found in use. So a bicha indicates a hundred ticals,
or a viss\ bicha aking describes fifty ticals, or half
a viss ; a pawt is one tical, or a hundredth part of
a bicha.

It is of interest to note that in this case they start
with the highest measure as a standard and cut it up
into its parts.

Upon many occasions, under various conditions, the
truth was borne in upon me that the Mawken, who
would be classed in Britain as "uncivilised savages,"
are inferiors only because they have not been called
upon to develop their powers. In latent powers they
are not inferiors, and they have great capacity. If
we will lend the helping hand, they will rise when
these powers are educated — i.e. " brought up."

So frequently in England education is confused with
instruction ; and the very word " educate " is taken to

128 Life at Maulmein

connote " drawing out " instead of " bringing up." «
With a wrong idea at the back of our minds it is un-
avoidable that our methods should be " queered." It
is very difficult (at least it was so to me) to take the
right line, in every circumstance, so as to lead and
not to draw or to drive, to cultivate self-discipline
instead of imposing discipline, to exercise the deputed
authority conferred by a knowledge of Truth and Right,
instead of being merely autocratic, according to one's own
arbitrary likings and rulings. If one can always rever-
ence personality, wherever it exists, even in a little
child, one will avoid many serious mistakes in dealing
with that which has, as we believe, eternal potentialities.
When the parsonage was built, and we moved down
from St Augustine's Mission House, which had afforded
my predecessor and myself shelter for years, it was
found that all the bricks supplied for the bases to the
posts which supported the house were not used up.
A stack of them remained in the compound. Nbai
observed this. He also observed that during the
heavy rains water collected in some depressions in
the newly made-up ground surrounding the house.
Also he had noticed that in the public roads the
water was drained off by means of leading channels
and ditches. So without a word to me he marked
the places where the water collected, and when the
rain cleared he traced and dug out a system of drains,
which he bricked in, and so put an end to standing

1 E-ducare — to bring up ; e-ducere — \.o lead out.

Life at Maulmein 129

water about the grounds. Had he known that he was
depriving the anopheles (malaria-bearing mosquito) of
breeding-places, he would have realised that he was
doing a better work than he had planned.

He took a great interest and a real pleasure in the
garden, and I devoted a part of the compound to the
cultivation of vegetables, such as ochroes and pumpkins,
sorrel and maize. He was shown how to take cuttings
of plants, how to do layering, and how to transplant,
taking care to water the hole and to spread the roots
well in it. He learned also about manuring and mulch-
ing, and — a great joy to me! — he learned that there
were other ways of watering garden plants than that of
the ordinary Indian mali — namely, pitching water at them
from a bucket. Understanding that the stomata of
leaves should be washed free of dust that they may
breathe freely, and that plants should be watered
according to the growth of their roots, he "did as
he was told," and had not the inevitable reply of
people of East and West who have dropped into
certain habits, without thought or knowledge : " It is
our custom." What a stone wall is painted to one's
mental vision when the clinching objection to other
ways and other thoughts is propounded in the word —
CUSTOM !

It should be plain by this time that the philosophy of
my dealings with the Mawken can be summed up in the
expressions "Brother" and "Friend." There was a
real desire to exercise a sympathetic understanding and

130 Life at Maulmein

to detect latent powers which might be laid out. This
resulted in a relationship which was frank and pleasant,
and wholly delightful. There was never the slightest
indication of unseemliness, and such a thing as " bounce "
was alien to it. There cannot be bounce when there is
no suppression or knocking down.

Another thing which should be mentioned is this :
Nbai showed the nice feeling of Nature's Gentleman.
It happened that I became engaged before leaving
Burma. Even before the matter was explained to
Nbai he knew by a nice instinct when his room was
preferred to his company, made himself scarce, and
took the boys with him. Even when there was no
need for it he would withdraw himself, as he always
did when anyone came in for a special talk.

I refrained from teaching him English, so he could
not have followed our conversations. I preferred that
he should receive the interference of new ideas (new
motive powers) through the medium of his own
language, which he would understand ; and I wanted
particularly to avoid being misled as to his assimilation
of such ideas by his aptness to learn by rote, and to re-
peat statements and answers to questions in a language
foreign to him (English).

Much of that which follows, as well as much of that
which has preceded, this chapter was gleaned during
the time that the Mawken shared my home life at
Maulmein.

Whether or not he reverted to the dope after he

Life at Maulmein 131

found that I was not returning to help him and his
people, I cannot testify. It was gratifying to find that
within a few weeks of coming to Maulmein he was
able to tell me one morning :

" I do not want any more opium money. I have
given it up."

And he avoided opium during the years that we
companied together.

CHAPTER XI

COMMITTING MAWKEN TO WRITING l THOUGHT-
SYMBOLS <S- A SCRIPT

THE chief objects aimed at in having the Mawken
with me at Maulmein, since I could not go
and live amongst them, were that they might
teach me their language and that, in return, they might
receive new thoughts from me.

They had no writing and consequently no literature.
The knowledge of Burmese writing said to have
been imparted to the Mawken who were called to the
Court of the King at Ava died with those who had
acquired it.

After committing the language to writing myself, I
learned that a previous effort had been made by a Mr
Stevens, an American Baptist missionary, in the forties
of the nineteenth century. The script which he
invented was copied by Dr D. L. Brayton, who was in
Mergui in 1844. He also was a Baptist missionary.
In 1846 a Primer of the Selong Language was
published at the American Baptist Mission Press, which
was then in Maulmein. The edition, I am told,
numbered two hundred, of which I have been able to
trace only one copy. This was procured for my in-
spection through the kind offices of the Reverend W.

132

Committing Mawken to Writing 133

Bushell, Baptist missionary to the Karens at Dinewun-
qnin, Maulmein. It is a brochure containing reading
lessons. In the introductory notes it is explained
that:

(1) Two consonants coming together, unless a vowel
precedes, are separated by a vowel sound.

(2) Two final consonants are pronounced with one
articulation of the voice.

Amongst the illustrations, which are not in colour,
are : a fish, a cat, a tree, a dog, paddy, a flower, a pine-
apple, a fowl, a tiger, an elephant, a steamer, a house,
a rat, a clock, an umbrella (! !), "John Bull," a bird
with a twig, fruit, a cow, a peacock, a train, books,
orchard and apple-gatherers (! !), French dog-carrier,
dog drawing a cart, and "The Crucifixion" (one cross).

This list is of peculiar interest to educationalists if
it be studied. The ideas presented to the Mawken —
whose true name was not known, as the title of the
book proclaims — and their educational values show a
true conception of the necessity of points of contact,
with some amusing attempts to widen the outlook;
unless they be but lapses into the native prejudices of
the would-be teacher.

At the end of the book are addition and multiplica-
tion tables.

It is said that a school was opened and that some
were taught to write and to read. Not a single
Mawken to-day knows anything about it ; none of the
hundreds I met, nor any known to them.

134 Committing Mawken to Writing :

Even had I known of this previous attempt when I
took up the work, I should not have adopted the
script invented by Mr Stevens, as it was unnecessarily-
complicated, and rendered future work by Europeans
difficult. Mr Stevens adopted the Pwo Karen char-
acters, with certain additional signs. Part of his work
lay amongst the Pwo Karens, and it was this fact,
without doubt, that influenced his choice of a script.
His system comprised consonants, vowels and contrac-
tions. There were twenty-two consonants. The
Roman letters G, B, N, S were employed as consonants ;
and N and S with subscriptum were compounds,
together with G and B with iota subscriptum :
N , S , G ; , B ; . The alphabet, being a new thing,
required learning by any European who would take up
the work. A great variety of pronunciations was
noticed ; but, even with this combination of characters,
all the sounds could not be represented.

In China great progress is reported in the study of
the language now that the sounds are recorded by use of
the Roman characters, with a few adapted combinations
of Roman letters. Chinese writing did not attempt to
record sounds; it represented objects and ideas.

The easiest method of writing is the strictly phonetic
one; and but for prejudice the English language
might be written phonetically and thus save a vast
amount of time and effort. Our spelling represents
words as they used to be sounded, not as they are
pronounced to-day.

Thought-Symbols <§>f a Script 135

At first it seemed that the signs used in Pitman's
sound-writing might be called into service. So far as
the representation of all the sounds goes, it would
answer admirably. A big BUT stood in the way.
Would it be easy to make the Mawken understand the
halving, doubling and contracting principles, also the
hooks, hidden loops and circles ? And would it be a
congenial task for future missionaries or Government
officials to be compelled to master Pitman's phonography
before they could get at Mawken? True, it would
not be worse than learning the Burmese script, in
which the more signs one adds the less sound one
gets !

Then the Reverend Mr Whitehead's system, arranged
by him for the Chins, was inspected. That would have
made my work unduly complicated.

It was The English Pronouncing Dictionary which
decided me. By using the diaeresis, the macron and
the breve, and by accepting the unscientific double
consonants cb, tb, ng, ny, sb, a script could be secured
which would represent all the sounds in Mawken
phonology. Nasal twangs — not a necessary part of
the language at all — were left for those to acquire who
cared to do so.

It is well known that the English alphabet is un-
scientific and inadequate, since it professes not to
commit ideas to paper (as in Chinese), but to commit
sounds to writing. It contains five so-called vowels,
three of which are really diphthongs. Language the

136 Committing Mawken to Writing :

world over is based upon six sounds (or pure vowels)
and their modifications. These six vowel sounds are
shown in Pitman's phonography. There are diphthongs,
dissyllabic diphthongs and the triphthong in the word
wife.

Continental spelling, although more scientific than
English, is not truly scientific. In French, for instance,
we have such atrocities as cette !

The letters C, (^, X are not required at all. Soft c
is already represented by s and hard c by k. What a
pity it is that we did not take c from the Italians and
make it represent the sound we now write (absurdly
unscientifically) as ch. We find this in the musical
term "concerto" (con-cherto).

But the ordinary reader will not want to go into
further details.

He may like to be reminded, however, that writing
may consist of symbols to represent ideas, as in Egyptian
hieroglyphics ; it may consist of letters which shall be
combined to spell out sounds, or it may be made up of
signs which shall each represent a syllable. The last is
a syllabary, not an alphabet. And this most wonderful
invention of a syllabary is due, we remind ourselves, to
Sequoia, the Chief of the Chiroki Indians, of North
America, after whom the gigantic sequoia-trees are
named. Those who have followed in his steps in
committing other North American Indian languages to
writing are sometimes named as if they were the
originators of the idea of a syllabary. Honour to

Thought-Symbols & a Script 137

whom honour is due — and the honour is due to the
wonderful Sequoia, the Indian Chief.

We have become accustomed, from Hebrew writings,
to associate various passions with various parts of the
body, such as the high stomach of pride and the bowels
of mercy ; and it is not surprising, when scientists have
dissected the brain and the spinal cord in their search
for the seat of the spirit of Man, to find that the
Mawken locate anger in the stomach! When we
recollect the semi-humorous saying about feeding a man
well to keep him in a good temper, we see how fitting
is the Mawken's localisation of ill temper. There is no
room in the stomach for such a funny contradiction in
terms — and realities — as " righteous wrath."

In committing a language to writing one needs to
recollect that words may crystallise history and poetry.
And because of this one must be very much on the
alert to catch the sounds correctly, and accurately to
represent them in the script one has adopted. The
English have been remarkably careless in the matter of
languages. The symbolism of words seems to have
been largely overlooked. Religious and political
differences are for the most part due to the attaching
of different thought-values to the same symbols
(words) ; and pronunciation has been, and is, so careless
that the most painstaking student will find that un-
wittingly he has become accustomed to a lapse himself.
Public reading is scarcely regarded as a pleasurable art
to-day.

138 Committing Mawken to Writing :

The Mawken language contains many words which
begin with a consonant-sound (minus a vowel), such
as 11? or/>', followed by a syllable composed of the co-
alescing of consonant-sound and vowel. We find such
words as ?npawt, ?nIok, mkty. Other words have the
consonant-sound distinct from the syllable which begins
with a vowel. This gives such words as m'op, ?ii > am.

One of the most difficult words to record was that
for love. It contains a diphthong unknown in the
English language, and it was a long time before I could
get the sound broken up into its component parts. As
in this chapter I have abandoned the macron and have
allowed our vowel-signs to represent the Continental
vowel-sounds, unless shortened by the imposition of a
breve, the Mawken word for love must be written leak.
For the benefit of any who have not dipped into
phonetics, it should be explained that the e is pro-
nounced as aye, and the a is pronounced as ah. So the
word might be written lay-ah-k. The two vowels must
be sounded with a single articulation ; and anyone who
tries this will recognise how difficult it was to catch
the sound when one had had no previous experience
of such a diphthong.

Anyone who in these days commits a scriptless
language to writing knows full well that he is but one
amongst a crowd through the ages ; yet his is the
special joy and satisfaction of the experience of a
pioneer. He knows that he is opening doors to a
palace of exhaustless wonders; and while he is not

Thought-Symbols & a Script 139

puffed up, he may have a just pride in his achievement.
He cannot deceive himself into thinking that the work
is finished once for all ; and he knows from his many
pitfalls encountered and avoided during his task that
some things must have escaped his notice. The true
pronunciation of a word or of a syllable may not have
been correctly apprehended, with the inevitable result
that such word or such syllable has not been correctly
committed to writing. The mistake may cause serious
trouble to someone trusting implicitly in the work of
the pioneer. Or it may be that the meaning of a word
has not been correctly distinguished, and as a result
some religious heresy will arise. Such an instance has
been known in Burma, and was in existence during my
sojourn there.

When Mawken - English and English - Mawken
dictionaries were well on the way (I was careful to do
the double work as I proceeded) it became possible to
begin to teach Nbai and the boys to put pencil to paper.
I practised them first with straight strokes and found
that the strokes were not straight ; some practice was
needed to get a stroke which was straight. Next they
tried their hands at circles and segments of circles, and
then we went right away to letters. I did not arrange
the letters in the form of an alphabet, and I took no
trouble to teach them the alphabet. That would have
been an uninteresting waste of time. They made a
close acquaintance with the members of the alphabet
before they made even a partial attempt to list them in

140 Committing Mawken to Writing

a special order. Any such order, being arbitrary,
requires the exercise of mere memory, and this is
deadening to the spirit which seeks knowledge when
it begins to sally forth in search of it.

We had no school ; no set hours were fixed, and
we worked when we found convenient opportunities.
Usually I would set them some copying to do while I
attended to my correspondence in the morning; and
they would spread themselves about the floor and write
lying down. I have often seen Burmans in their houses
writing while lying full length on the floor. Reading
lessons of short duration would take place in the after-
noon just before I went forth upon my visits, or in the
evening after my return from the gymkhana. (I hope
it is not necessary to explain gymkhana.) When they
were fresh and keen the lessons would be longer than
when they were inclined to be listless, as would some-
times occur on an exceptionally close day. And it is
of interest to be able to record that while external
discipline in this work was so lacking, self-discipline
imposed by the interest of the task and the keen desire
to be able to write and to read effected wonders. It
was not many months ere Nbai could leave chits on my
writing-desk informing me of his little needs. He was
highly delighted with himself when he had attained
this proficiency in the new art.

CHAPTER XII

NOTIONS, NEW &■ OLD

ALL peoples have thought of the " beginning "
of things. Some, like the Buddhists, postu-
late a single law or process. Others, like the
Sumerians and Akkadians, have conceived of various
powers. Genesis, though combining folk-lore repre-
senting two conflicting conceptions, has been welded to
present a single creator and an original pair placed in
a park in the plain. (Eden is a geographical term mean-
ing " plain." Paradise is from the Persian, and means a
park-like region. The word is used in Genesis and in
the utterance from the Cross.) A late Makuchi Indian
(South America) conception supposes a creator and a
batch of human beings. And the questions Whence
came we? and Whither do we go? have interested
most thinkers.

Mr Carrapiett gives an astounding account which
professes to be the Mawken's idea of the origin of
things ! My own opinion is that in more senses than
one he was listening to a fairy-tale ! But it must,
I suppose, be mentioned.

At first there was only one woman; there is no

account of how she came to be. She was unhappy

because she was alone. Thida saw her sorrow and

bade her bend down and turn to the west, when he

141

142 Notions, New &> Old

caused conception from the east; the result was the
birth of a girl. Then the woman was told to bend to
the east, and there was conception from the west; of
this a boy was born. Then from the north and south
a male and a female child were born. When the
children grew up the girls were allowed to play with a
python. One of the girls reported to her mother that
the creature pushed her about, and the mother said
she was not to mind that. One day python and
girl were missing. After a search the python was
found in the roof of the house, and upon being cut
open the body of the girl was found inside. The other
daughter was married to an orang-outang. A child
was born, and mother and child were taken to the top
of a htein-tree. The orang-outang searched for honey
and brought it in leaves to his wife. This diet being
insufficient, the girl wanted to return home, and she
complained of being dull, and got the orang-outang to
bring her some shaw fibre to spin. Of this she made
a rope and let herself down and ran home when her
husband was on an outing. The orang-outang followed
her, but was delayed by a swollen stream. At last he
reached the house and angrily claimed his wife. He
was persuaded to live there as the honey was not
enough for her needs. Then the mother said that he
could share the house, and the father (who appears
from nowhere, be it noted) suggested that the husband
should work with him in the smithy, taking care to
keep his eyes shut and his mouth open. One day the

Notions, New &* Old 143

father pushed a red-hot shovel down the husband's
throat and killed him. The widow next married an
alligator, which ate her up, but her child lived and
was married to a tiger. They had children and lived
happily. The original lads of the first lone woman
married female animals and had children. And so the
world was peopled.

I give this story in epitome, because it was accepted
in good faith. As it was obtained through an inter-
preter, we may apportion some blame to him ! Some
physiological reasons for giving it should be obvious.

The very simple account given to me when I had
made headway in the language was this:
" Thida made everything."

Thida is said to be the Siamese name for God,
although the Siamese, as Buddhists, would not to-day
acknowledge our concepts of a God.

The Mawken have the idea that Thida is the good
spirit, and that being good he will not hurt them.
Therefore he can be ignored. Ideas of seeking com-
munion with Thida, or of worshipping Thida, are
lacking. There are evil influences which must be
avoided, or propitiated.

It would be wrong to speak of the Mawken as spirit-
worshippers. I doubt if there are any such people in
the world ! Spirit-propitiators, yes ! Worship includes
love and adoration. Perhaps it may be allowable to
class the Mawken as animists, though this will depend
upon the thought-value of this term.

144 Notions, New dP Old

In the highest sense, the Mawken cannot be said
to have Religion. This is a statement which needs
explanation, and I can make myself clear by giving a
homely illustration :

My little boy may be sent to school, where he is
taught to write and to read ; is taught French, German,
Italian and Chinese ; is taught to be courteous, truthful,
honest and clean ; is taught music and singing ; and is
trained in games. He may be said to have a good
education, or to receive good instruction. He is good
and clever.

But if he has no idea that he owes all these things
to me, his father (though I do not give him his bread
and butter, nor do I teach him French and cricket),
he will be unaware of any relationship.

Supposing he receives the notion that there is some-
one, called "Daddy," far away, who provides these
things ; but this Daddy is good and will not hurt him,
therefore there is no need to worry about him (though
the bullies of the school must be carefully avoided, or
propitiated).

Or supposing that he came to the house which
should be home, and still had the idea (while enjoying
all that is provided) that Daddy is good and will not
hurt, and that he may therefore be ignored.

What is lacking ? It is the whole meaning of Life.
My outpoured love for my child yearns for his knowledge
of that love, and for his love in return. While there
are many rules of Life, the relationship is unrealised.

\ I Ms i w i View or Mergui
\ -. ati i from Palaw Island,

Notions, New <!§f Old 145

And Religion, in its reality, is a relationship. The
rules (systems) may vary, but the relationship must be
realised, and all that is good in all the rules (systems)
must be comprised and summed up in the relationship.

The Mawken have morals, or inherited customs of
life. They have a conscience, enlightened by, and in
turn enforcing, these customs. They have physical
and mental powers. They are (more or less) good,
and they are (more or less) clever.

There it ends. The rest is a feeling and an un-
explained yearning. They would be " in tune with
the Infinite " if they knew how.

It would be a great mistake to present to them the
idea that differing religious systems are conflicting
Religions, instead of leading them to see that each
system holds some vision of Truth, that the Truth in
all must be conserved and united, and that all must be
consummated in the realisation of a relationship of
Fatherhood and Sonship.

While dealing with Notions, it is important that any
idea of the fatherhood of Thida should be simply that
of relationship, purely spiritual, and free entirely from
any mind picture of the male sex. The Mawken
language allows of speech about Thida without the sex
label of our pronouns of masculine gender — he and
him. This is important to notice when the influence
of Buddhism is taken into account, for the Buddhist
mind naturally dissociates sex ideas from personality or
the profluence of life called karma.

1 46 Notions, New &> Old

In learning the Mawken language, and in seeking to
impart new notions, it was natural that I should wish
to help to a realisation of our relationship with the
infinite, and to teach them how to seek communion. It
took me two years to find the word for " our."

I worked upon my fingers and illustrated my need :
"There were three sons. This one said: 'He is my
father.' This one said : ' He is my father.' And
this one said : ' He is my father.' They all three said :
'He is. . .'?" — expecting the answer "He is our
father." No ! the answer came : " He said, ' They
are all my sons ! ' "

Anyone who has had experience in teaching children
knows how, when the child fails to see the point,
further questioning may make the child more stupid
than ever on that particular question. So I left it
alone for a time. Something psychological must have
gone very wrong, however, for even after intervals of
varying length the same inability was encountered. In
other respects the Mawken were bright and intelligent,
and Nbai would often sense my meaning and help me
out.

The Mawken roamed my house as friends, and one
morning when I was at breakfast they passed through
the room, and I overheard Nbai say to the boys in
Mawken : " Come, let us have . . . food." I stopped
him and asked him to repeat his words, and then I
found that he had said " our food." Kamo-i was the
word I had been seeking for two years ! So the prayer

Notions, New <§f Old 147

could be taught, and the new notion could be ex-
pressed.

The Notion of Holiness was another one I desired
to impart. There was no word for " holy " in the
Mawken language. To transplant the word "holy"
would have been unavailing; it would have been a
sound learned and repeated, and used in proper con-
texts. What of its thought-value to the Mawken?
New notions should be clothed in their language, and
that language must be evolved to express new ideas.

It may be of some interest if I show how the new
idea came to be expressed. The example is simple,
almost crude, and can easily be followed even by
those who have not learned Mawken.

There is in Mawken a word for " separate." " Holy "
comes from a root in the Hebrew meaning " separate "
(separate from all that is not truth, beauty and love).
So I asked the Mawken if they could think of Thida
as separate in such a sense. They admitted that they
had never so thought of Thida but that they could
do so, and their word for "separate" {aching) could
be used of Thida. It would express a new thought.

We associate " purity " with the word " holy." And
in Mawken there is a word used to describe a pure
sky, without a fleck of cloud, or pure water. This
word is fngc. Upon further questioning I learned
that this word, like aching, had never been used of
Thida, but that it could be used and would be
sensible.

148 Notions, New & Old

Then I said that I wanted a new word, in which
both thoughts were rolled into the one word — separate-
ness and purity — and I suggested the new word, made
by the simple process of coalescing aching and frige,
fngdching. This was accepted eagerly. I asked them
to apply the new thought to Thida, and inquired if
the new word gave them a notion of Thida not be-
fore entertained. The answer was on their faces,
which wreathed in smiles (one may catch oneself
smiling at a new perception of truth), and one could
almost see them grip a new notion. So the word
fngaching (which the Mawken explained by breaking
up the word again) came into use amongst those
whom I reached. It is a word which can be passed
on with ease.

Upon Dala Island I saw two kdtoi ka-e. Each of
these posts was about five feet in height. The tops
were fashioned to form a triangle resting upon a long
parallelogram (the post), and each was stained with
a black stain showing bars, strokes and curves.

These posts marked Dala Island as possessed by a
beneficent influence, or spirit, under the protection of
whom or which the " kennels " and the small planta-
tion existed. There were no ceremonies connected
with these posts, and the Mawken showed no signs
of superstitious fear or reverence when passing them.
The Mawken told me of others existing elsewhere.
No others were seen by me, even when touring the
islands on my census-taking.

Notions, New & Old 149

All the world through there is a belief in spiritual,
or unseen, agencies, or influences for good and for evil.
The Burmese may describe them as good or bad nats,
we may speak of them as angels and devils, the
Mawken refer to them as katoi. The notion is the
same, though the explanations may vary.

Similar to Hebrew idiom, the Mawken idiom would be
" man of peace " for " peaceable man." " Angel " would
be "messenger of spirit" (not to be confused with "a
messenger-spirit "). So one given to evil tempers would
be " son of wrath." The plural would be, as in
Hebrew idiom, "children of wrath." And, likewise,
"Son of God" would be equal to "righteous man."
The idioms are composed of two nouns, the second
of which becomes adjectival. In such instances as
boat-house and house-boat, the Mawken would re-
verse the order of the words, without making the
words compounds.

It was easy to extend the meaning of glory from
the physical to the spiritual and moral world.

There was no word for the earth as a planet. The
Mawken are like the frog in the well ; they have no
idea of the whole world. They, not unnaturally, con-
ceive of it as flat, and ending with Burma, China, the
islands to Pinang and the sea and India. Some of
them were taught the shape of the earth, its orbit
has been explained and understood, and something
of its size has been grasped by references to the days
taken (or the moons taken) for a fire-ship to reach

150 Notions, New SP Old

given places. The word for " land " has to do duty
for world, as we often use the word " earth."

None of the Mawken could give me the names for
the days. I could find no division of weeks, only days
and moons and years. The years were roughly marked
by the seasons. It will be a new notion to them when
they learn about hours, minutes and seconds. Names
for Monday, Tuesday, etc., did not trouble me much.
What, however, was I to do for Sunday ? The Day
of the Sun I did not want. There was an expression,
aloi chican, already in use. As its meaning was not
ascertainable, it seemed well to employ a new expres-
sion as a temporary expedient. So Aloi Mping, Day of
Rest, or Sabbath, was adopted, with the explanation
that we observe the first of every seven days.

To those who may be interested, I may explain that
the Decalogue was not translated in the form we
have it. " Explanations " were not confused with
" principles." And so we had simply : " Remember
the Day of Rest. Keep it holy " ; " Honour thy father
and thy mother " ; " Thou shalt not lie," and so on.
It would have been unmeaning to have given " that
thy days may be long in the land" to people who
live in boats upon the sea.

It did not occur to me to inquire whether the right
or the left hand is the place of honour. In Korea it is
necessary, in order to get the right notion, to speak
about " set at the left hand."

Instead of Day of Rest I might have had Aloi Thida

Notions, New §P Old 151

(God's Day). That, however, would have produced
exactly the same wrong notions about the days of the
week with which we are cursed.

In course of time the whole of the Gospel according
to St Mark was translated ; and the fact should be
mentioned that the cost of procuring the special type,
with diacritical marks, and printing was defrayed by
the British and Foreign Bible Society. Also other
little booklets were printed, and an Introduction to the
Mawken Language was prepared and was published in
191 1. The Government took over a number of copies,
as a way of helping me to defray the cost.

Of necessity, this work is tentative. We are con-
cerned with notions, which are to be assimilated ;
rough-and-ready synonyms may do untold harm. Here
we are dealing with a people whose language is very
simple, a child-language in fact; a people whose mind
is virgin soil for new notions; a people still at Life's
beginnings, with latent capacity for development in a
remarkable degree.

The present streams of influence are the Buddhist
and the Mohammedan. What a clash of notions !
What sifting and co-ordinating are involved in this
clash ! The Mawken are slowly being drawn into
strange adventures in the realm of notions.

It is very interesting ! But is that all ?

In a little book upon education, entitled The Point of
Contact, occurs an account of a preacher in Ceylon
who had to make use of a Cingalese interpreter. The

152 Notions, New &* Old

preacher noticed — as many another has noticed when
an interpreter is used — that the man said a great deal
compared with his own short statements. He observed
that the people were very attentive and gave evidence
of varying emotions. After the sermon the preacher
asked what the interpreter had told the people and
why they were so moved. The man explained that to
talk about a shepherd going in search of a sheep would
have been useless, as the people had not seen sheep
and knew nothing about shepherds. Therefore, said
he, "I told them about a buffalo which had lost its
young one and went all through the jungle in search of
it, and at last found it."

Those who translate books into other languages,
such as the Mawken, know how careful they must be
to make sure that the sense is conveyed. In the
chapter on Comparisons there will be found an instance
in which not only must this care be taken, but the
further precaution of ascertaining whether or not the
idiom in the vernacular expresses the true idea. It is
sometimes necessary to correct a language !

It would be far too tedious to attempt to give other
instances of the expression of notions, new and old, in
Mawken, to those who do not happen to have learned
the language. Those illustrations of the nature of the
work which have been given ought to make it clear
that such work entails interesting and even exciting
adventures in the realm of thought, and becomes more
fascinating the further one explores.

Notions, New &* Old 153

People who exclaim at the difficulty of committing
an unwritten language to writing, and regard it as being
a wonderful feat to learn a language which has no
grammar books, would be pleasantly disillusioned were
they seriously to make the attempt themselves.

The one requisite is . . . Sympathy.

CHAPTER XIII

DISCUSSION OF LANGUAGE ORIGIN

THERE is something thought-provoking about
the story of the Tower of Babel ! I confess
I do not know how to take the story myself,
for the explanation eludes me.

It does raise the question, however, how it came to
be that different people came to produce such different
sounds with their mouths to express a name for one
and the same thing. Why should we have water,
the French have eau, the Makuchi have tuna and the
Malays have ayi ? — and how came it to be that the same
sound should express entirely different thoughts (or
names), as pik = to pick, and pik — to pulsate (English
and Mawken) ; a = has in French, a = ah in English,
and a = a crow in Mawken ? The same sound produced
by the voice means to different people an entirely
different thing. If all languages came from one, it
is wonderful. And if they did not, the question Why ?
is still unanswered.

In the course of those years I was able to begin
two dictionaries: one was Mawken-English and the
other English-Mawken. Probably there are about
two thousand words recorded, and whole areas of lan-
guage are unexplored — areas which I know to exist.

154

Discussion of Language Origin 155

With all the care taken, I am still unable definitely to
state the true position of the Mawken language.

In the Census Report, to which previous reference
has been made, the following statement is made : —

"It is now generally admitted that Selung is a
distinct Malayan language. The Selungs are in fact
the northernmost of the Orung Laut or sea tribes of
the Malay race. The dialect is unwritten."

When Dr Anderson submitted a list of Mawken
words, obtained through an interpreter, to Dr Ross
for expert opinion, the latter replied :

"The Selung is a distinct Malay language, not a
dialect of any of the Malay languages. It has a
number of characteristic features in morphologia which
distinguish it from all its sisters. It has, however, a
greater resemblance to the languages of Sumatra than
to other Malayan languages " (notice that he says
" not a dialect ").

Another passage in the Census Report runs :

" Mr Blagden, who, it may be noted, has the advan-
tage of possessing a colloquial knowledge of the Malay
dialects, is more cautious. In his opinion Selung and
Malay are cognate languages, but Selung has adopted
into the language a number of words which are not
Malayan."

These conflicting opinions were expressed by men
who had not learned the Mawken language itself. They
formed their opinions from lists of words, of necessity
arbitrarily chosen, obtained through interpreters. Not

156 Discussion of Language Origin

one of them could have gone to the people themselves
for an explanation of their language. Nor (so it would
seem) has any one of them considered the language
in connection with the past history of the people, as
far as that history can be gleaned from themselves.

We used to accept it as proven that language in-
dicates race, and we have long regarded the people
of India as Aryans because we can trace their language
to Sanscrit. But archaeologists have shown that it is
still an open question, since it might, on the same lines,
be asserted that the Egyptians were related to the
Sumerians and Akkadians because the cuneiform
(wedge-shaped) script was used in Egypt. We
might similarly assert that the negroes of the West
Indies are related to the Saxons and Angles because
they speak English and use our script.

The Mawken say that they began to spread through
the islands from the north. They assert that their
first island settlements were on Dung (Elphinstone),
which is a large island in the north-west of the
Mergui Archipelago. Further, they say that they
were forcibly scattered southwards by the Malays, who,
far from regarding them as a brother tribe, used to
carry them off and enslave them. Dr Anderson informs
us that in an account of the Salons published by
Walter Hamilton in 1828 the fact that the"Chalomes"
were made slaves by the Malays is mentioned. And
in his little book (now unprocurable) Dr Anderson
alludes to the fear of slavery by Selungs whom he

Discussion of Language Origin 157

met at the Yimki Settlements in 1 881- 1882. We have
abundant records of Malay piracy in the past, and I
have personal knowledge of the fact that acts of piracy
occurred during the time of my sojourn in Burma;
for I take it that if a Malay boat holds up a Mawken
boat and robs it of its shells or its provisions, or of
mats and things which the Mawken have made for
barter, an act of piracy has been committed. And as
the Archipelago is undeveloped and unadministered,
such acts are not prevented.

Owing to Malay captures and removals, the Mawken
were located, and founded new centres, about Bokpyin,
Victoria Point, Lawta and Tongka. This is the
Mawken account of the past obtained directly from
themselves.

The Mawken at Lawta and Tongka are called
Orung Lawt, or " Men of the Sea." This name has
been applied to them, and was not, I understand,
self-imposed.

Each new centre of Mawken developed a new dialect.
Those of Lawta and Tongka borrowed from Malay.
They had to work for and with the Malay, and it was
natural that they should pick up Malay words, such as
the names of common things. When comparisons of
words are made it is necessary to obtain the words in
all four dialects.

The Dung dialect is spoken by the Mawken in the
Mcrgui zone. It is evidently the purest form of
Mawken.

158 Discussion of Language Origin

The Ja-it dialect is general in the Lampi Island and
Bokpyin area.

The Lbi dialect is spoken about Victoria Point and
St Matthew's Island.

The Lawta is the dialect of Lawta and Tongka, on
the Siamese coast.

The following is an instance, in illustration : —

The Dung word for fresh water is o-en

The Ja-it „ „ „ oen

The Lbi „ „ „ win (oo-ee-n)

The Lawta „ „ „ ayi (short a and 2)

We notice that in the second word the long o and
the short e have coalesced, and the short e has become
long e. Compare the name Ouida.

The Malay word for fresh water is said to be dyer
(short a and short e). This information was given to
me by a Mawken who speaks Malay, and I afterwards
corroborated his statement. Now the name for fresh
water is one of the likeliest words a subject race will
learn from the dominating race, or which the dominat-
ing race, if greatly in the minority, will take over.
What Britisher in India and Burma does not use the
word pani? So that while it is common to look for
the pure language in the names for ordinary things, it
is sometimes just in such names that one may be led
astray. We can hardly forget that we owe the word
" basket " to the Ancient Britons, as we like to call the
people of only two thousand years ago. (We like to

Discussion of Language Origin 159

deceive ourselves that our civilisation is of venerable
antiquity !) It is evident that the Lawta Mawken have
taken their word for water from the Malay. The
slight difference in pronunciation needs no explanation,
for we know how rapidly the Bilati of Hindustani
became " Blighty " in English, with an entire reversal
of meaning; for in Hindustani it was the word for
" foreign " (meaning the foreign country of England),
whereas our Tommies used it to mean the Homeland.
If in taking lists of words a student went to the
southern Mawken, he might be led to repeat the
statement that Malay and Mawken are cognate, and
that Mawken has " adopted into the language a number
of words which are not Malayan." Whence came these
words? That question will remain unanswered. In
the list of words given by Dr Anderson I notice that
most of them are from the middle and the southern
dialects. The word for fresh water is given as win and
awin, for instance.

In a note on the census-taking I have remarked that
when a comparison of languages is made verbs indicating
common actions (speaking and walking), names for parts
of the body, and nouns denoting common objects (such
as mat or axe) will be tested, since these will probably
be the shortest words, and the words which are the
most likely to be retained. Yet, as has been shown,
the opposite is also true, that in names for common
objects lies the greatest possibility of error in com-
parative philology. It is interesting to notice in this

160 Discussion of Language Origin

connection that those of the Dung Mawken who
company much with Burmese are adopting the Burmese
forms of address, Thakin and Min Gyi, to the exclusion
of their own terms, Micha and Mich a Ada. If this
tendency be present now, it is not unreasonable to
allow that it existed in the past, when, as in the
instance given above (the word for fresh water) the
Mawken took it over from Malay.

If it can be shown that Mawken and Malay have
affinities, it will also be demonstrated that these are
due to modern adoptions. And if there be anterior
affinities, it will be clear that these are due to aboriginal
relationships. Rather than call them " sister languages,"
I would designate them as " forty-second cousins."

I have entered at some length into these questions
as they may be of importance in helping to fix the
position of Mawken amongst the languages of the
world.

The Census Report of 1901 (page 91, paragraph 140)
states: " Selung may be looked upon as one of the
indigenous tongues of British India." The elucidations
given would seem to substantiate this opinion.

The Mawken language must be one of the most
interesting in the world (I do not say the most inter-
esting) because it is the language of a people who have
been in a backwash for generations, and these people
are now being affected by many intruding influences.
There are points of contact with the language of the
Filipinos, who are employed as pearl-divers in the

Discussion of Language Origin 161

Archipelago, and it is interesting to notice that Filipinos
and not Cingalese are the people who frequent Mergui
in connection with the pearl industry. Their dealings
with the Mergui Islands antedate the period of their
first employment as divers, when their diving-suit ousted
the Mawken from the monopoly of pearl-diving. It
should be recollected that both the Malays and the
Chinese made the Mawken dive for them.

Dr Grierson tells us that both "Clam and Selon
are probably the residuum of a tongue spoken at an
extremely remote period by a prehistoric race on the
continent of Farther India."

May I — if it is not being too tedious — crib from
the Census Report an extract from the Journal of the
Indian Archipelago, of 1851, which is part of an
article written by J. R. Logan :

"The language of the Silong of the Mergui
Archipelago is mainly dissyllabic, but with a strong
monosyllabic tendency. Its phonology, like that of
the Simany, is a compound of Earlier West Indonesian
and Ultra-Indian. It possesses several non-Indonesian
combinations of consonants, such as ?ih, ?nn, pn, dn,
kn, km, gm, im, pi, kb, kg, th. Some of these, how-
ever, are found in the more consonantal of the West
Indonesian dialects, particularly in some Malayan and
Bornean ones. Like these, too, it affects long and
compound vowels, ui, ai, ae, etc. Its finals are West
Indonesian and with a higher proportion of consonants,
or about 70 per cent., which is the same as the most

162 Discussion of Language Origin

primitive and consonantal of the North Indonesian,
Micronesian and Malanesian languages."

Before commenting upon this passage in its par-
ticular bearing upon the Mawken, I would draw attention
to the name given to the people. They are, herein,
called Silong. I have noticed that some words spelled
with n are pronounced as if spelled with r, in conversa-
tions between Mawken and Burmese; r is sometimes
substituted for d, in like manner. There is an island
in the Mergui Archipelago, just above Sian (Kissering),
which is called Sellore. On Sian, generations ago, the
Mawken had a " kingdom." Sellore is another form of
Selon. Has the name been transferred from the island
to the people, or from the people to the island ? Sian
is a name applied to the Chinese, and we find the same
name, with the altered terminal, in Siam. We make
the a short instead of long, and call it Si-am, instead
of Si-ah-m.

To come to Logan's remark. When he speaks of
combinations of consonants, it should not be understood
that the consonant sounds coalesce, in the pronunci-
ation of the word ; as they do not. The first of each
of the pairs of consonants is sounded (not named)
before the second. In some words beginning with m
or n there is a slightly nasal twang, which suggests
a following aspirate. The nasal twang is a sign of
carelessness; how often has one heard mothers in
England tell their boys: "Don't talk through your
nose ! " I have caught them out in many instances of

Discussion of Language Origin 163
carelessness of speech, though it is an interesting fact
(observed in Mawken and Makuchi alike) that " savage
races" are much more careful in their use of words
and their pronunciation than the average Englishman.
Not a few have been the times that I have had to
correct my rough dictionary through having accepted,
without sufficient testing, the pronunciation of a word.
For example, chi has almost superseded the full word
chthi\ the word does service for "I," "me," "my."
The first consonant of a word is often slurred and even
dropped, so that ba is made to serve for tnba. This
word means "bring."

The Mawken language is ideogrammic. The verbs
have no conjugations and the nouns have no inflexions.
Nor can the pronouns be declined. The arrangement
of words in sentences decides their meaning ; but this
general rule is always subject to the nice laws of
euphony.

Let us take the word chi. The sentence Chi lakow
means "/ go." In Kabang chi (where it follows the
noun) it means " My boat." And in the direction
t/Pon ti chi it means " Give to me" So the one
word, ideogrammic of self in the first person, serves
for that self in all connections, subject, object or
possessive.

One instance of a verb may be given : Chi lakow
means "I am going" (now). Chi lakow chichow
means "I shall be going to-morrow." Chi lakow
bubut means " I went yesterday." So lakow repre-

164 Discussion of Language Origin

sents just the idea of going, walking or proceeding.
And it is left to the qualifying words to decide its
meaning, or to the inflection of the voice in speaking.
There is no difference between singular and plural, so
that Kamo-i lakow means "We are going." The
pronoun being plural shows that the idea of going
belongs to a plurality of persons. I cannot conceive
of a simpler language. Yet its very simplicity often
baffled one for a long time when one desired to express
a new idea in the language.

It should be mentioned that Mawken is not, like
Chinese, Burmese and Japanese, a tonal language.
There would be no danger of telling a Mawken to
" light a fire and sit on it," when one meant only
" light a fire and put the kettle on." A schoolmaster
from Japan in a public lecture asserted that this con-
fusion might occur in a careless use of Japanese.
Where the Mawken have adopted words from Burmese,
there may be the tonal endings; but usually these
endings are ignored, and it might be taken that some-
one was being sent to fetch an elephant when a basket
was required, or that a boy was being sent to the river
when the intention was that he should go to the
monastery (to bathe instead of to school) !

Those who have caught glimpses of East African
names in the Swahili language cannot have failed to
have noticed how many begin with two consonants, the
first of which is sounded and not named, just as in the
case of Mawken.

Discussion of Language Origin 165

The Mawken have some handy expressions and some
neat idioms. Chicbow means " to-morrow " ; Chichow che
is " the day after to-morrow," and Chichow achdn is
"the day after that." And just when one thinks one
can find the words in English to translate this, one is
brought to confusion by finding that Bubut means
" yesterday " ; Bubut che means " the day before
yesterday," and Bubut achan means " the day before
that." What is one to make of it ?

As St Mark was the first book translated, it is from
that book that I am able to give a neat idiom. The
fact that the disciples " reasoned among themselves "
is, in Mawken idiom, Makow idup idi — simply : " They
questioned, thither, hither ! "

Mawken adds a term to Oceanography. We have
a word for lake and a word for lagoon. The Mawken
have a term to indicate a portion of the sea contained
by encircling islands : the word is Kawbiing. An open
expanse of water amongst the islands is fow, while the
open sea beyond is called klun. The name Mawken,
as has been explained, is made up of two words, one of
which is oken, "salt water." This word was the first
term applied to the sea when it was found that sea-
water is salt.

This is not the place to give the numerals of the
language, yet it may be of interest to mention that in
the case of one, eleven, twenty-one, etc., there is an
ending to denote thing, and a prefix to denote person.
I was able to secure the numeration up to nine ten-

1 66 Discussion of Language Origin

thousands, nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-
nine. The Burmese language is marvellous in being
able to "block " whole ceons of time, and to talk about
"periods" as staggering as "distances" computed by
our astronomers.

The cardinal points are Taliiing (N.), Paiya (S.),
Mlu-i (E.) and Balat (W.). They are given because
Balat is used for west and also to indicate the rainy
season.

A pathetic and peculiarly interesting example of the
law of euphony is to be found in the cry of the little
boy who has plunged into the sea for a cooler and has
been seized by a crocodile or a shark. The little
fellow cries out :

" Enong e! . . . Matai ka chi!" ("Oh, mother!
. . . Dying am I ! ")

How striking it is, the world over, that children
" run to mother " when they are in trouble or danger !

Actually, the person more likely to be able to render
assistance to a little one so attacked would be the
father.

Before leaving these accounts it may be as well to
give another peculiar word. When a Mawken alludes
to another person's father he says apong bi-ing, " father
your." A Mawken boy alluding to his father would
say apong chi, "father mine." But when a man
addresses his son and alludes to himself, he does
not use the same word for " your " as would be used
by an outsider. Instead he says apong eng. And if

Discussion of Language Origin 167

he would say, " I am your father," he would put it
thus : apong eng ka cbi, " father your-own am I."

Are we any nearer to the answer which should be
given to the question : Whence came the Mawken
from Babel ?

CHAPTER XIV

PREPARATIONS FOR THE CENSUS (i 9 1 I )

PUNNING is an art. It is often regarded with
asperity. And in polite circles it has some-
times been condemned as " bad form." But
the fact remains that the ability to pun in a lan-
guage depends upon a fairly good knowledge of
that language ! Many passages of the Old Testament
writings lose their force for the reader of the English
translation because the punning in the Hebrew is not
brought out.

It was while making a preliminary tour of the islands
to get into touch with the Mawken, and to ask groups
of them to spread certain information for me, that I
saw a sight fairly common in the islands. Some
monkeys were capering along the sands of an island,
searching the rocks for small crabs and shell-fish.

The Mawken of Dung have taken over the word
used on the main for a person native to India — Kala —
and have made it Kida. Now the Mawken name for
these monkeys is K^la. It was a poor pun, I admit,
and not the kind of pun to be emulated ; but when
I pointed to the monkeys and exclaimed, " Kula ! . . .
ICla ! " there was an explosion of laughter, and the
pun was repeated, over and over again, for some
minutes.

168

Preparations for the Census (1911) 169

For administrative purposes — though administration
is a term which proclaims something far from the
realisation — the Mergui Archipelago is divided into
the three township divisions of Mergui, Bokpyin and
Victoria Point.

It was planned that I should procure boats and
crews and an enumerator for each of these divisions.
These enumerators were to go out amongst the islands
and to do the actual work of taking names and details
and entering them upon the Census sheets.

When the inhabitants of a boat had been enumerated,
the occupants were to be provided with a red and white
streamer, which they were to be asked to attach to a
short mast at the stern of the boat, and to keep it
flying there for a whole moon.

There are said to be four hundred islands and islets,
so the work is difficult, especially as these Gypsies of
the Sea are continually on the move, and when one is
cruising round the south of a big island a whole com-
pany of Mawken may be doubling back on one's course
round the north of that very island.

The enumerators had to know Burmese for the
northern and middle islands, and Malay for the
southern ; and they were instructed to use Mawken
who could speak these languages.

A Government map of the Archipelago shows that,
for the most part, the islands have not been surveyed.
Their true shape is often not known; and their
figuration is, in many instances, given in the form of

170 Preparations for the Census (191 1)

" squiggly lines and curves." Nor are the channels
charted throughout the Archipelago. Soundings taken
in a middle passage tell of depths of forty fathoms,
while the channel used by the launches going from
Mergui to Bokpyin has at one point only a foot of
water at lowest tide. It was in such a place that we
were caught in my preliminary excursion. Coming out
from an island where we had bivouacked the launch
ran aground upon a sand-bank, as the tide had gone
out more than we had calculated. In time we were
left high and dry, and the launch listed on to its side.
Fortunately the decline was not enough to send her
heeling over altogether. We had to wait for hours,
and were much relieved when she floated again with-
out having turned turtle. I cannot say that our
hair turned grey during those anxious hours, but I
know that none of us aboard that launch desired a
repetition of the experience.

In order to have my instructions spread abroad as
far as might be, I launched as far as the south of
Kissering Island, where is a small "village." This
comprises a large house of a Malay family, the head
of which is (or was) Ibrahim, and four Mawken
"habitations," built of wattles and palm leaves and
raised upon sticks. Ibrahim has taken to himself a
Mawken wife, and the Mawken of the little band
work for him. The Malay has a large house-boat
(very different in design from the Mawken kabang),
and he spends but little of his year at the " Settlement."

Preparations for the Census (1911) 171

There are a few coco-nut trees, which other Malays do
not molest, and a few fowls manage to maintain a
precarious existence.

U Shwe I explained to me how the Census of 1901
was taken, and his version of the proceedings is given
herewith :

"The people they be frightened to go in small
boat in the islands. So they come to my house, and
sit down here, and copy the names from the papers
which I made before time."

This can hardly be a complete account of the pro-
ceedings, though it may be accepted as an account
of how some of the work was done.

We found it necessary to anchor nearly a mile out
from Ibrahim's house, because at ebb-tide the stretch
of shallow water would have imprisoned us. While
at anchor, at high tide, in that which my diary records
as being five fathoms of water, Nbai gave me an ex-
hibition of his prowess as a diver. My diary reads
" five fathoms," and at this date I find it difficult to
believe that there is not some error in the entry !

The Mawken are splendid divers, and when they
dive for oysters or green snails they go down without
suits. Deep diving needs long training and constant
practice. Anyone who has not done deep diving for
some years must be prepared to suffer from severe
bleeding of the ears and nose. Nbai jumped over the
side of the launch and dived in the usual way. Then
he did various tricks. Standing upright and treading

172 Preparations for the Census (191 1)

water, he changed the movement of hands and feet;
making a kind of corkscrew motion with both (the clear
water enabled me to see both hands and feet), he
wormed his way down to the floor of the sea. Then
suddenly, after having been lost to sight for a time, he
shot up to the surface with hands raised straight above
his head. Lowering his hands, he steadied himself,
sat back in a reclining position in the water and held
up first one foot and then the other, and extracted clogs
of clay and sand which he had brought up gripped by
the toes. It was the first time I had seen anyone go
down in deep water feet first.

During this preliminary excursion the discovery was
made that the Mawken usually move about in fleets
of kabang. These fleets may vary from ten to forty
kabang. When a Chinaman or a Malay marries a
Mawken woman he manages to secure the labour of
the entire male portion of the crews ; and the Mawken
are not altogether averse to his domination, as it secures
for them immunity from the depredations of other
Malays or Chinese. Both the Chinaman and the
follower of the Prophet know how to drive hard
bargains ; and the conditions of labour would certainly
not satisfy the demands of our trade unionists.

Some of the Mawken we found had Siamese cats as
pets. I did not learn of their putting the animals to any
use.

On Kissering Island are some water-buffaloes, which
the Karen settlers introduced — swimming them over

Preparations for the Census (1911) 173

from the main at low tide — when they started to
cultivate rice. The buffaloes are used, as by the
Burmese, for ploughing and treading out the grain.
On Kissering Island they are now in an almost wild
condition, and might be unpleasant things to meet.

Bengal tigers also are known to roam the jungle
here. They may sometimes be seen swimming the
shallows. Wild pig, too, exist, and these and the
monkeys render the work of starting plantations no
easy one. In a night they will uproot a whole grove
of sprouting coco-nuts.

As in all tropical countries, the most fearsome things
are the small creatures. Here the sand-flies may be
the pest. Mosquito-nets are useless against them ; and
one either must be bitten and tormented, or be nearly
suffocated within the safety of surrounding longcloth.
Citronella oil, or camphorated oil, may ward them off,
and might be satisfactory if the strength did not
evaporate during the course of one's sleep. Some
camps, such as those on steep shores, were free from
sand-flies. Much depends upon the existence of a
breeze, and its direction.

The other trouble is the leech. The Burma jungle
harbours the beautiful black (or dark brown) and orange
creatures. It is not easy to appreciate their beauty
when several of the species are firmly alHxed to one's skin
and are feeding freely upon one's life-blood. In this I
speak, or write, as the recounter of the experiences of
other people ; for I myself, notwithstanding the many

174 Preparations for the Census (191 1)

jungle walks I took, escaped the attention of these
striped beauties. Perhaps it was because I usually-
avoided jungle walks during the rainy season. Yet in
the Guiana forests I was always immune from the
attacks of the ticks which therein abound and from
which the Indians suffer much.

In connection with my appointment by the Govern-
ment for this work of census-taking amongst the
Mawken, I should like to place on record an expression
of my gratitude to three benefactors especially, through
whose courtesy and kind efforts the great pleasure and
privilege of this work was made mine. Mr G. P.
Andrew, then Deputy Commissioner of Mergui, was
the first to moot the idea. It was he who first
suggested to me that I might undertake this work,
and upon my expressing my willingness to do so he
proceeded to take the necessary steps to secure my
appointment. Mr Morgan Webb, the Superintendent
and Director of the Census Operations throughout the
province of Burma, accepted my services, and he allowed
me various facilities in my work. I was fortunate in
meeting him as a fellow-passenger during one of my
runs from Tavoy to Mergui. Several improvements in
the work were effected by him, and his report at the
end of it all was full of life and interest. The Bishop
of Rangoon (Bishop Fyffe) gave me the necessary
leave to forsake my ordinary duties as chaplain for the
required number of weeks ; and although I neglected
Maulmein, Tavoy and Mergui, I was able to perform

Preparations for the Census (1911) 175

some of the duties of a chaplain when, in the course
of operations, I paid my first visit to Victoria Point.
There we have a wireless station, and the settlement
seemed to give promise of growth. That visit was the
first of the only two visits I was able to pay to Victoria
Point during my five years' tenure of the chaplaincy.

By the time I was called upon to undertake the
work of the Census I could preach in Mawken without
making, as I hope, egregious blunders.

Besides the visit to Kissering Island to inform the
Mawken there, and to secure their assistance in prepar-
ing others for the numbering, I was able to have many
meetings in Mergui, at the circuit house and at the
house of U Shwe I, at which I explained the steps
which would be taken, told the people why we took
all this trouble to know how many people of each race
there were, and asked them to undertake to spread the
information far and wide, assuring others that I was
a friend of the Mawken and that there was no need
to fly and hide themselves when they saw my launch
approaching. To what extent these precautions were
effective may be judged from the account of the actual
work which is given in the next chapter. I hoped for
the best, of course, and, on the contrary, I expected the
worst. No amount of assurance from others could rob
of their suspicion of all strangers those Mawken who
had not yet made my personal acquaintance.

These preliminary arrangements brought me into
contact with a large number of Mawken, and I was

176 Preparations for the Census (191 1)

enabled to add many words to my vocabularies. I
acquired a fair knowledge of the field of operations,
and I was enabled to take a general overhead view
of it.

I was particularly desirous of ascertaining whether the
Mawken were as few in number as previous census
returns had led people to think, and I wanted to have
some data upon which to form a reasonable opinion
with regard to the answer which should be given to
the question: "Are the Mawken dying out?" I
found myself becoming more and more independent of
U Shwe I, and to some extent independent of Nbai;
and I found great pleasure in being able to converse
directly with any Mawken I encountered, with only a
rare appeal to Nbai for help.

Like the work of the Chinaman on previous
occasions, my labours were voluntary, the Government
paying all my out-of-pocket expenses and providing me
with a launch and crew free of charge. The enumer-
ators were, of course, paid. I am not sure, at this
distance of time, whether the amount was fifteen
rupees each or twenty-five rupees. The former amount
equalled one pound sterling, in those days the rupee
being worth one shilling and fourpence.

CHAPTER XV

TAKING THE CENSUS OF THE SEA GYPSIES

MY high-sounding title was " Charge-Super-
intendent of the Census Operations" amongst
the Mawken.

A whole " moon " in fairyland !

Some of the islands out to sea, in the north-west,
are fringed with sands of dazzling white. Picture an
island with green forest and such dazzling white sands
set in the midst of deep blue sea !

Here is my entry:

"Beautiful white shell-sand and clear water. A
Mawken boat seen approaching the island from the
open sea turned tail and fled to sea again at sight of
us. Landed and had a walk through part of this pretty
island until we came to a grey, pebbly beach on the
east. All the Mawken who had been camping here
had fled. A fire was left burning. Nbai explained
that on this island Mawken camp while they are
making new boats. There is good deep anchorage
sheltered against stormy weather. We saw shoals of
small fish in an inlet, about twenty square yards of
them, and they all shot forward, with ripplings and
splashings, making a loud noise, as we drew near.
Various fish-eating birds, quite tame, watched our

M 177

178 Taking the Census of Sea Gypsies

approach, and continued their operations. There was
the fish-eagle, with its white head and red-brown body ;
the didi, a white and bluish bird ; and the ngangu,
a black and grey bird. On this island, as on Dala
Island, we saw some lawbung, or katoi ka-e, which
told us that this island is one which is under the pro-
tection of a Good Influence. This influence, or spirit,
makes his residence, or pung a, here. One of the posts
was large and the other smaller. Both were shaped
and marked similarly to those on Dala Island ; and, like
them, both were placed just above high- water mark.
There were many beautiful shells of large kinds.
There are spawning grounds in the shallows around
this island, and large fish abound at the entrance to the
chief inlet. There are swarms also at the small island
near by, and at that island, called Ch'ke, there is a
rock fashioned like a woman in European dress, with
three children, one standing and two sitting. The
Mawken call it Ayuk Inglit (Inglit means English).
Charcoal-making would be possible on this island."

Had I been a conchologist, my opportunities for col-
lecting spirals and cones would have been numerous. I
had not realised until I saw Colonel Freeman's collection
at Bury St Edmunds this year (1921) how numerous
and how wonderful are the shell-forms of the world.

Most of the islands which have sands have the
golden sands to which we are accustomed around the
coast of England. And it is easy to picture the green,
gold and blue in the brilliant sunshine of the tropics.

Taking the Census of Sea Gypsies 179

Some of the southern islands near to Victoria Point
are bordered with maroon-red sands, as the islands are
composed of laterite. Perhaps because it was new to
me, I regarded this picture of green, maroon and blue
as more beautiful than the others.

While some of the larger islands have mangrove
swamps, where crocodiles lay their eggs and water-
snakes are undisturbed, many of the islands possess
beautiful bays, in which the water is so clear that one
can see to the floor of the ocean. Upon this floor one
may see, as I have seen, coral growing up, green,
yellow, or purple-tipped. It is a matter for sentimental
wonder of a wholesome kind that multitudes of tiny
creatures should combine together to produce such
intricate, beautiful and delicate designs. Would that
the cities of our vaunted civilisation were as wholly
aesthetically delightful!

What a contrast is the Mawken's life to their
habitat !

In some of the bays one could see the sea-urchins
moving about the floor. They have the appearance of
pin-cushions stuck with black pins. Those who would
bathe in these waters must beware. When taken out
of the water and examined, it was found that they had
numerous eyes on the under side, some of which were
bright red, others opaque white and others deep blue.
In moving about, the shorter under spines, as well as
the longer upper ones, are manipulated with a brushing
motion, in sets, backwards and forwards.

180 Taking the Census of Sea Gypsies

Where the waters were deep we saw whales at
play. The vaporising of the hot air as it spouts up
from the vent-hole is a pretty sight, and the rolling
and diving fascinate the onlooker.

On the first day we called at Dala Island ; and while
I was taking the names of some Mawken encountered
there, members of the crew of the launch raided the
plantation and helped themselves to a bunch of bananas
and a couple of pine-apples. Upon discovering this,
the men were given a wigging, and the Mawken owner
received a shilling as compensation.

Going on, we reached Coin Island, where the Mergui
Shell Company had secured a lease and had undertaken
to make oysters produce pearls. The Company had
built a large cemented tank, into which the oysters
were placed, and a steam pump refilled the tank with
sea-water every day. The tank had been protected with
an elaborate arrangement of live wires, so that, should
any marauder attempt to filch a few oysters from the
tank, the slightest disturbance of the wires would cause
an alarm bell to ring in the house on the hill above.

This experiment did not succeed. It was found that
the oysters died. So at the time of my visit the tank
was abandoned and the oysters were placed in large
cages sunk and buoyed in the bay.

It was asserted that by inserting a small particle of
foreign matter between the shells when the oysters
opened to feed, or by boring a hole through the shell
and inserting the foreign body through it, the desired

Taking the Census of Sea Gypsies 181

result would be achieved — the oyster would coat the
intruding substance in self-protection, and a pearl
would be formed. The shell of the oyster is made of
the same stuff as pearls, hence its name mother-of-pearl ;
and sometimes the foreign body, sometimes a pearl, is
covered up with a spread of this stuff, adhering to the
inside of the shell. The coat can be removed from
the shell, and it is then known as a blister. Some of
these, which are regular in shape, make pretty pendants.
During the decade which has elapsed since then the
Japanese have developed this industry, and perturbed
dealers in pearls are " moving heaven and earth " to
get scientists to " demonstrate " that these " Japanese
pearls " are not the real thing ! The scientists who
can discover the difference between these assisted
pearls and those formed by the oyster when a natural
intrusion of a foreign body takes place will be clever
men indeed !

Upon inquiring how the supply of oysters was se-
cured, I was informed that the Mawken were engaged
to dive for them, and were paid fourpence apiece for
each live oyster brought in. Not a bad speculation,
even if the oyster produced no pearl, for the shells are
worth enough to bring in a profit of several hundred
per cent, on the fourpence. And there was the usual
chance of finding that some of these oysters contained
pearls, unassisted by human device ! The Mawken's
ignorance of market-values was again their undoing.
Business morality is rather a hot subject, it strikes me!

i 82 Taking the Census of Sea Gypsies

It was at Coin Island that I first saw the spoonbill
oyster and the dagger, or cruciform, oyster. It was
told me that occasionally " black " pearls are found in
the spoonbill oyster.

The Mawken were paid in opium and negotia.

I slept aboard the launch, at anchor in the bay, and
early next morning we weighed anchor and proceeded
westward. We soon entered a kawbung, or portion of
sea encircled by islands, and surprised a fleet of kabang,
which fled in several directions, through the outlets
between the encircling islands. Before the last one
could escape I was able to hail its occupants, and when
they heard the words "Mawken manutJ" they turned
round and came alongside. The signal was somehow
passed to the Mawken who had fled, and they came
in from various directions. There were about forty
kabang, and I found that my enumerator had not
" taken " any of them. So I entered the names upon
my own sheets, giving register number, name, sex, con-
dition (married or single) and approximate age. The
Mawken were much interested in the fire-ship, and
they examined everything they could lay eyes upon.
One voluble old woman wanted me to pay her for
providing me with particulars of herself! How we
should welcome each decade if we all were remunerated
at the enumerations !

I bought several pieces of a black, stick-like growth
of a limestone nature. It grows up like reeds from
submerged rocks.

Taking the Census of Sea Gypsies 183

Upon this occasion I found that each boat contained
an average of seven occupants. Sometimes I found as
many as ten people in a boat. On rare occasions there
were only three or four.

During this cruise of the Archipelago I found
four different Chinamen who had taken to themselves
Mawken wives. These men were trading, as had
done U Shwe I, and they each dominated a fleet of
Mawken.

We were unable to visit the westernmost islands, as
we found the rollers far too mighty for our small craft,
and so badly were we buffeted in an attempt to reach
a distant island that we had to turn and flee.

On some of the islands we saw the flowering trees,
so common in the tropics, ablaze with blossoms — mauve,
orange, white and vermilion. Alamandas and other
flowering creepers were plentiful, and niger piper was
discovered.

After going down to the westward, we passed inside
of Elephant Island, which is one of the sights of the
Archipelago. I was unable to visit it, but my uncle
did so, upon the occasion of a gubernatorial inspection,
and here is his account of it, taken from A Civil Servant
in Burma :

" Perhaps the most notable sight was Elephant Island.
It stands alone, its green slopes narrowing to the sky.
At low water- we approached the shore ; our boat with
difficulty and strenuous effort pushed over sands hardly
covered by the shallow sea. So we came to where the

1 84 Taking the Census of Sea Gypsies

water deepened, at the mouth of a gloomy cavern.
Entering, we found a low, winding tunnel, just wide
enough for our boat, with a glimmer of daylight at
the far end. Emerging, we reached the middle of the
island, a still lagoon, encircled by smooth marble walls.
A magic scene from fairyland : a snow-white ring, with
an opening like the crater of a volcano ; in the midst
the purple lake. One pictured it as the secret refuge
of buccaneers, who here might hide in safety. Our
time for admiring this lovely landscape was limited ;
too long a stay would have imprisoned us for hours, till
the tide fell and left the tunnel navigable."

Then we went on to Victoria Point. The S.D.O.
was a Mr Buchanan, a Eurasian, who, with his wife,
extended a wonderful hospitality. My diary tells me
that when I departed Mrs Buchanan gave me a
"little present" — truly Eastern in its plenitude —
twenty-six small loaves of bread, eight pawpaws, some
bananas, three large currant cakes, some tins of peas,
some beans, some walnuts and some eggs.

Readers will hardly believe me when I say that I had
neither a subscription list nor the hat-of-begging with
me, yet when I had dined, a farewell dinner, with
Captain Williams (who had a rubber plantation at
Victoria Point) he added to my gifts some eggs,
jams, butter, dholl, biscuits and salt! Such is colonial
hospitality !

Before leaving Victoria Point I was kindly invited
to visit the rubber estate of Captain M'Cormick, at

Taking the Census of Sea Gypsies 185

Paul-a-tum-tum. He took me out in his buggy. It
was the most beautiful drive I had in Burma. The
road zigzags about the hills, through thick jungle of
trees, bushes, creepers, palms and ferns. There were
birds of many kinds and of sweet song. From certain
vantage-points views of the sea could be obtained, where
the jungle was not. On the estate tigers abound, and
I was shown where wild elephants had been playing
nine-pins with the fencing-posts. Turkeys, geese,
ducks and fowls were thriving. Oranges and guavas
and pine-apples were growing, as were bananas;
beautiful orchids (Burma is an orchid country) and
kalladia were plentiful. In going round the estate I
saw a reaper at work cutting the grass, and a gang of
men including five nationalities ; one man was a negro ;
the others were Malay, Chinese, Burmese and Siamese.

It would be possible to write pages about this
pleasant visit to Victoria Point : I must recollect,
however, that the Mawken and their habitat are my
principal theme.

Passing up towards the Gregories, we camped for
Sunday at an island where a few Mawken boats were
drawn up on the beach. Cashew-nut trees were grow-
ing in profusion. In the evening I went ashore and
doctored the sick, so far as my knowledge and my
equipment allowed. I was told that some more Mawken
were at another island, and a boat was dispatched to
fetch them in. It was a picturesque sight to view
nineteen boats come in, with sail set, skirting the island

1 86 Taking the Census of Sea Gypsies

and arranging their stations. The old micha-blen was
very friendly, and he presented me with a Mawken
mat and a bottle of wild honey. I gave him some
marmalade, cake and biscuits. He did not tell me, as
had two Mawken boys, when offered cake : " I do not
know how to eat it."

At night our anchor cable seemed to be of gold, and
we saw the golden outlines of a small fish chased by
the golden outlines of a larger one beneath the surface.
These effects were phosphorescent.

The Mawken here asked me to give them " letters "
which would introduce them to Government officials,
should they wish to report molestations by the
pearlers or other adventurers. These letters were
given, and, as the Mawken were far from the main,
were probably never used.

At another island visited I gave away some rice to
a needy Mawken, and administered medicine to a little
child. In gratitude the mother gave me a fowl. I was
loath to take it, yet I felt that even she should not be
deprived of the opportunity of giving expression to the
gratitude she felt.

This is the entry in my diary :

"Went ashore and gave rice and medicine. A
mother gave me a fowl for medicine given to her child.
Paddled back in a Malay boat. Saw a crane. After
breakfast paddled ashore and walked along the coast
to another Mawken * settlement.' Crossed a creek
and saw a buffalo clear into the jungle. Then crossed

Taking the Census of Sea Gypsies 187

a rocky stretch behind a mangrove swamp. Found a
long hut with two projecting platforms in front.
Climbed up and sat under the shade of the over-
hanging trees. Through a small opening in the shore
jungle the sea was visible. No one at sea could sight the
settlement. Found three families here. The men were
Malays and the women Mawken — so it was not really
a Mawken settlement. Discussed my mission and the
language, Nbai and his family, his doings and travels;
plants, trees, fowls, and the children, the buffalo sighted
and the Karens. I was informed that the Karens on
the west of the island have seventy buffaloes, and that
snakes and tigers abound. I saw the pugs of a tiger at
about ten yards from this hut. On the return I cut
a path through the jungle, and found many plants of
interest, including wild jessamine. I found that the
Mawken had an extensive botanical nomenclature.
Upon revisiting Ibrahim's settlement a Malay boy
climbed a tree and twisted off seven coconuts. A
Malay woman gave me these, together with five
' ripe ' ones. We opened two and drank the milk
from the nut. While engaged in these pleasantries,
two buffaloes rushed through the settlement, and
scattered all the Mawken engaged in making mats,
and their children, and the fowls and dogs. One
buffalo was chasing the other. After paddling back to
the launch I saw one buffalo come out of the jungle far
along the coast and bathe in the sea. There had been
some goring, and it is probable that the buffalo which

1 88 Taking the Census of Sea Gypsies

did not come out to bathe its wounds had been
killed."

The next day we rounded the island, and 1 landed
and marked out an extent of land which had been
applied for, as a free grant, for a proposed Industrial
Settlement. I found another sick child on the shore,
and after giving it medicine the mother made me
a present of a fowl. She had procured this from
Ibrahim's place. This fowl almost immediately laid me
an egg.

On the northward run hence we sighted three
Mawken boats, which fled before us. I chased them
in the launch's boat, and came up with them hiding
amongst some big rocks on a headland. Enumerated
here thirty-two people. I have it on record that by
this time the remaining loaves of bread presented at
Victoria Point were too sour to eat, and so I took to
cake and biscuits. These loaves were a fortnight old.
We could do no bread-making on the way, as we had
no baker aboard, and in those days I had not mastered
the art myself. My instruction at a Sawston bakery
had not yet been received.

On this cruise I added considerably to my dictionary.
I shall not, however, try anyone's patience by giving
more language examples.

The Mawken actually entered on the sheets num-
bered one thousand eight hundred and ninety-three.
The probable number is five thousand at least, and
my reasons for saying this may in part be given.

Taking the Census of Sea Gypsies 189

Before making that explanation it may be of interest
if I give a few of the names we encountered : Chichai,
Puzu, Choli, Maduan, Lawong, Kape, M'in, Nyamya
and J'mi. The reader may amuse himself, or herself,
by trying to decide which are the names of males and
which of females.

From the necessarily inadequate information gleaned
with respect to ages, I should say that the average age
attained is somewhere between fifty and sixty. The
women would seen to be as long-lived as the men.

CHAPTER XVI

REASONS FOR COMPUTING THE NUMBER OF MAWKEN

IT has been explained how the census-taking was a
privilege accorded to me, and some idea of the
work has been afforded. It remains, however,
to give such particulars as will account for my estimate
of the real number of Mawken amongst these islands.
The tract which comprises the islands is classed as non-
synchronous, and it has been shown how unsettled are
the people. They are diving in this bay to-day ; hunting
wild pig upon that larger island to-morrow; and they
will be seeking turtle amongst those islets the day
after. The different groups, or clans, know how to
find each other's boats, as each clan has its secret code,
and " telegraphs " are arranged, which enable friends
to find friends. The devices are as simple as those
used by Boy Scouts and Girl Guides ; the Scouts and
Guides do but copy those whose whole life is the
Scout life.

Of the total entries on the sheets, one thousand eight
hundred and ninety-three, the males numbered nine
hundred and sixty-eight, and the females nine hundred
and twenty-five.

As upon previous occasions, the Archipelago, from
Tavoy Island to Victoria Island, was, like "All Gaul,"

190

Computing the Number of Mavvken 191

divided into three parts. Each part had its enumerator,
and the charge superintendent had a launch. This
enabled the superintendent to tow the Burman who had
the northern section to the south of Domel Island.
Here, under direction, he entered the names of the
occupants of four Mawken ships and the members of
a small fine-weather encampment. He was instructed
to work the islands back to Mergui ; but upon
being left he made a bee-line for Mergui ! His
sheets showed only eighty-two names. A glance at
the map of the Archipelago would show that this
enumerator was useless. On my way down my sheets
showed six hundred and fourteen names taken in this
division, yet most of the islands were unvisited by
me. I accounted for a thousand missed on my run
through, and information was received of over nine
hundred more who had not been approached. During
the fine weather the Mawken scatter greatly, and
companies of from thirty to a hundred may be found
bivouacking on different islands. They are hidden
from sight, and boats passing through the Archipelago
would be unaware of their existence. The number of
the wanderers cannot be guessed. If, however, we
accept the six hundred and fourteen plus eighty-two
recorded on the sheets, the thousand known to have
been missed, and the nine hundred of whom information
was given, one is justified in asserting that the Mawken
population of the northern division (from Tavoy to the
south of Domel) is at least two thousand five hundred.

192 Reasons for Computing

There are known to be large companies which hover and
bivouac around Elphinstone and Ross Islands and the
islands to the westward of them. These islands were
not visited ; nor were the islands to the south of them
visited. King's Island, on the western shore of which
bands of Mawken work through the fine weather,
was not touched. Bentick Island and those west and
north of it were unvisited, and only the south of
Domel Island was approached. It was not the
superintendent's duty to enumerate (although he did
so), and two thousand five hundred may be taken as
a low computation of the number of Mawken in this
division.

The middle division, from South Domel to the
Gregories, was allotted to a young Eurasian, who
succeeded in entering four hundred and eighteen
names. It is worthy of note here that his entries
showed an average of seven persons to each kabang. I
found boats with ten, and even twelve, occupants. This
enumerator was picked up at South Domel and towed
to the Gregories, which, however, he did not reach.
That is to say, he did not go amongst them. He
passed up to the east of Lampi Island, and, running
short of food, he shot an arrow for Mergui. He re-
ported that for three days he lived upon bananas and
water, as no settlements were encountered. His crew
did not understand rationing, and because the rice was
there it was used prodigally while it lasted. Down
here the Mawken are much molested by the Malays.

the Number of Mawken 193

It is clear that all but a small section of this division
was unworked, and the unworked parts included the
extensive habitats to the west of Lampi. Upon my
return trip two summer camps were visited by me, and
over three hundred names were recorded on my sheets.
One of these camps was on Tawi Island. Owing
to the unwillingness of the serang of the launch to
let his men cut cord-wood on the islands, the Mawken
camps on Jting and Jtaw were left unvisited. Over three
hundred were thus missed. From these facts, and from
information received from the Mawken, it is safe to
compute the number of Mawken in this division at one
thousand five hundred.

Attention may be drawn to the fact that the Dung
division — the northern — has more Mawken than the
middle and, it will be seen, the south. This may
perhaps be taken as confirming the Mawken statement
that they entered the Archipelago from the north. I
do not lay too much stress upon the coincidence of the
larger numbers with the statement.

In the southern division the Burman enumerator
"completed" his work, for which he was allowed a
month, in eight days ! He entered two hundred and
thirteen names. About one hundred of these were
obtainable at the settlement, which exists on the mud-
flat, at Victoria Point itself. He thus listed just over a
hundred in the whole of his district outside. Incident-
ally, he reports having missed about fifty boats, which
fled away from him. Large numbers of Mawken are

194 Reasons for Computing

reported as hovering about St Matthew's, St Luke's
and St Andrew's Islands. The fact is known to
Government officials, and it was corroborated by Nbai,
who had a good knowledge of the entire Archipelago.
Two boats from these islands were met with while we
were at Victoria Point, and the occupants stated that
no one had been out there to count the people. These
boats did not fly the red and white pennant, which
would indicate that they had been dealt with.

Each of the three enumerators was supplied with
tracings of the map of the Archipelago. It was
arranged that on the tracing they should mark X on
every island visited, and §) with a circle round it on
those islands where Mawken were found.

The entries made by the enumerator of the southern
division showed geometrical inexactitudes. In the first
place, the course marked as having been taken could
not have been followed out by a country boat in the
time. Besides this, one of the islands marked as
"Visited — no Mawken," was taken by myself on the
return trip. I found and enumerated a fine-weather
camp of over a hundred people. From that island I
sent a micha-blen to another island similarly marked,
and he brought in twenty boats, with occupants
numbering one hundred and thirty people. These
Mawken told of two neighbouring islands with large
camps, and they stated that Loughborough Island was
the home ground of still larger numbers. Lough-
borough Island was marked as " Visited — no Mawken."

the Number of Mawken 195

In making computations I have allowed one thousand
as the number of Mawken in the south division, from
Victoria Point to the Gregories. This is, I think,
absurdly low.

Allowing the validity of the safe and timid calcula-
tions given above, the entire Mawken population of the
Archipelago, from Tavoy Island to St Matthew's
Island, is at least five thousand.

My method of computing numbers was to multiply
the number of kabang seen flying, or reported to be
located anywhere, by five. Seven might be a truer
average. I preferred to risk under-estimation rather
than to exaggerate, for census purposes.

The census-taking (regarding this as the entering
of names upon sheets) was, as on previous occasions, a
failure. Whereas, however, the people were thought
to number under two thousand, and to be dying out,
it has been shown that they number over five thousand,
and are not dying out.

The work of enumeration is difficult, and a thorough
census-taking under present conditions is not possible.
The difficulties arise from the wandering habits of the
people and from their great fear of strangers. Here
are a few instances illustrative of this fear.

At Cantor Island, where the misnamed " Prince of
the Mawken" has his little plantation (the Mawken
name of this island is Dala), we were told of a camp
of over fifty at Polly Island. We reached the place at
nightfall. Upon waking up and preparing to go ashore

196 Reasons for Computing

to enumerate, it was found that every Mawken had
fled. During the night they had packed up all their
things and gone off.

We proceeded to Maingy Island. Here we were
held up by a bahun, or sand-bank. Getting word from
some Burmese living on a rock of the presence of four
or five Mawken who were jungle-cutting, we pulled in
towards the shore in a small boat. The launch had to
anchor a mile out. Getting out of the boat, we waded
nearly another mile, through mud and water, walking
gingerly over sharp rocks and barnacled boulders, and
we reached, with lacerated feet, the mouth of a small
creek. A little way up, hidden in the jungle, we found
four huts and thirty-two people. Each hut had its
kabang.

When the tide flowed we reached another camp, to
the east of Maingy, and there heard that our Mawken
of Polly Island had crossed the shallows to King's
Island. We were making a course westward, so we
had to leave them unentered. At Polly Island we
heard of fifty kabang on an island to the east of
Elphinstone. We reached this spot at sunset, just in
time to catch a glimpse of kabang doubling back round
the island. So we missed between two and three
hundred. We could not double, as I was not an
enumerator, and had we tried to double back after all
the fleeing kabang, we might not have finished our
work at this date, ten years after we had begun it.
As the enumerator did not visit these islands, but made

the Number of Mawken 197

a bee-line from Domel to Mergui, all these Mawken
were unentered.

Passing round Elphinstone Island, we made for
another island upon which we saw a large fire burning.
At our approach some Mawken boats which were
coming in from a neighbouring islet turned tail and
fled to the open sea. When we landed not a soul
could be found.

When about to anchor at Merghi Island, towards the
end of my cruise, we saw three Mawken boats at rest
in the bay. As soon as the nose of the launch appeared
round the headland they were "up anchor and off."
We jumped into the little boat and gave chase. About
a mile and a half away we came upon them, hiding
amongst large boulders, round an elbow of the island.
When asked, "Why did you run away?" they replied,
" Nakot ka" which means " Being afraid."

A few days previously, as we skirted the rocks and
shallows of the Gregories, two Mawken kabang in sail
were seen coming towards us. Upon sighting the
launch they rolled down the sail, pulled in amongst the
rocks, and we saw them scudding away as fast as they
were able. We could not follow them.

There are two notes that I would add :

When running down towards Victoria Point we
passed through a regiment of jelly-fish. These were
of various colours, of brilliant and delicate tints. As
the prow tossed up the water the fish were rolled away
from the launch, and it was seen that they were formed

198 Computing the Number of Mawken

of two discs, one over the other, the tentacles being
attached to the lower. Some of these fish, which we
drew up for examination, floating in buckets of water,
measured just over a foot in diameter. While in the
sea they formed the haven of refuge for companies of
baby fishes of the vertebrate orders. These little fish
swam round each of the jelly-fish, and darted between
the discs for safety when the water of the sea was
disturbed. There were hundreds of the jelly-fish, and
each one we could see had its company.

Throughout the Archipelago we frequently dis-
turbed a long knife-like fish which flapped along the
surface of the water on its tail, the body out of the
water, slanting at an angle of about sixty degrees. It
would often travel like this for twenty or thirty yards.

After my report on the census-taking the Govern-
ment of India wrote requesting me to compile a
brochure on the Mawken for the new series in the
Ethnological Survey of the Indian Empire. The letter
followed me to England, and as I was preparing to go
out to British Guiana to take up work in the Hinter-
land, I had to reply that the honour could not be
accepted.

CHAPTER XVII

BIRTHS & MARRIAGES

THE Mawken are monogamists. I did not come
across a single instance in which the man had,
after the manner of Abraham and Jacob, taken
to himself a second wife and concubines. I am not in
a position to say that no case exists, nor that an instance
of a man so doing has never been known amongst the
Mawken.

It is clear from all accounts that the Mawken are,
like many peoples living the simple life, remarkable for
their fecundity. Those questions of feeding, clothing
and educating which harass parents in countries under
the iron heel of Western civilisation are not known to
the Mawken. The number of children he has bears
no relationship to his probable ability to send them to
Oxford or Cambridge (in these days it would be
his probable inability !).

This renders the whole marriage relationship one of
simple freedom ; and there being no artificial restraints,
there is a natural self-restraint.

In many instances it was found that the Mawken

women give birth to a child once in twelve to eighteen

months; and but for conditions prevailing, which will

be described in a succeeding chapter, these Gypsies of

199

200 Births & Marriages

the Sea would, like the Israelites in Egypt, multiply
exceedingly.

I could find no trace of puberty ordeals so common
amongst other primitive peoples. This inability, on
my part, is not conclusive evidence that no such ordeals
exist.

Upon one occasion I came across a party of Mawken
bivouacking upon the sands of an island. The palm-leaf
coverings of the kabang had been lifted off and placed
on the sands as shelters from the heat. These quaint-
looking little " cubby-houses," as we would have called
them in our childhood's days, dotted about on the sands,
with the green of the jungle behind, and the blue of
the limpid sea in front, together with knots of children
squatting in the shade, some of the old folk and nursing
mothers sitting beneath the shelters, and groups of men
standing or sitting in conversation, or helping some of
the women with the camp fires, made a charming
picture. In the shadow of one of these shelters was
a woman reclining and in the pains of child-birth. I
rendered such help as I could to make her more
comfortable, having to proceed on my way without
waiting for the event. I had no reason to doubt that
the Mawken women present were not sufficiently versed
in the art of midwifery. The Burmese customs (such
as applying hot bricks) attending child-birth are not
in vogue with the Mawken. During the rough weather
of the south-west monsoon, and upon other occasions,
the birth of children takes place in the kabang. The

Mawken Women.

■ thi v carry tb isti eii hips

Births &? Marriages 201

whole process is regarded as perfectly natural, and the
children see in it no occasion for curious prying and
mysterious whisperings and indecent mirth. These
unnatural tendencies amongst civilised peoples are the
result of an improper "modesty" and persistent lying
on the part of parents to their children, an unhealthy
state out of which we are fast extricating ourselves.
Mawken youths and maidens grow up with a nice
modesty, and an entire absence of that dangerous
curiosity which comes of being kept in a state of
blameworthy ignorance, stupidly confused in the past
with child-like innocence.

Some there may be who would resent such expres-
sions of opinion, yet one feels it to be almost a duty
to draw the comparisons and to assign the causes.
The sex atmosphere in England is often aggressively
unwholesome.

Mawken women carry their children either in a
sling, or on the left side, suspended from the right
shoulder, or astride the back. The latter way is
customary amongst the men, who, like the males of all
the Eastern races I have known, take pleasure in their
children. This habit of carrying the children, together
with the pitching motion of the kabang, gives to the
Mawken men a strange gait ashore. We are familiar
with the rolling gait of our Jack-tars, due to the rolling
of their vessels at sea. The kabang are too shallow to
roll, and they make up for it in pitching. When ashore
the Mawken men walk with the body lurched forward

202 Births ®P Marriages

from the waist. The effect is striking, though scarcely
graceful.

During the whole of the census operations and my
other trips to the Archipelago I came across only one
barren woman. The fact was especially mentioned to
me before I could inquire about the number of children
in the family, and her condition was regarded as
specially worthy of remark. She did not seem to be
proud of her distinction. It is noteworthy that her
husband had not taken to himself a second wife.
Generalisations from this single instance coming to my
knowledge cannot safely be made, for usually the one
exception to monogamous marriages amongst primitive
peoples is the result of the childlessness of the first
wife (ab initio, or when it ceases to be with her after
the manner of women).

At the island of the camp described above the
Mawken made me presents of shells and stalactite.
There are grottoes, similar to the Cheddar Grottoes, in
the hills of some of the islands.

No elaborate marriage ceremonies exist, as amongst
the Burmese. As with the Jews of old, there is
nothing in the manner of a "religious service," or
solemnisation of marriage. The attraction between
youth and maiden is almost immediately observed.
When the girl is of the same group there are many
occasions when they can be naturally thrown together;
and if the attraction for the man is to be found in a
kabang of another group, the swain may easily find it

Births & Marriages 203

convenient to make a prolonged visit to that group,
living and working with it. I know of several instances
of Mawken of the Ja-it division (comprising many-
groups) paying extended visits to Mawken of the Dung
division ; and it was on account of this that I had at
different times Mawken of the Middle Archipelago with
Nbai at Maulmein.

When it is time to bring matters to a definite con-
clusion, "joiners" are sent by the young man to the
kabang of the young woman. The general custom is
for them to talk the matter over with the girl and her
parents. Should the answer be favourable, the young
man comes in person to fetch away his bride. It
seems to be the common custom of Eastern peoples
for the bride to go to the bridegroom's home. It is
the custom amongst the Burmese, Indians and Chinese.
The reasons are, of course, economic. Domestic
economy rules where it is often least suspected of
holding sway.

Amongst the Dung Mawken, who are taking to the
Burmese habit of betel-chewing (the areca nut being
wrapped in the betel leaf), the custom is coming into
vogue of the joiners offering to chew betel nuts with
the father of the girl and any other members of the
family who are to take part in the ceremony. If the
offer is accepted, agreement is signified ; and if it is
declined the joiners cannot fulfil their task.

Probably even a Mawken youth feels that he is more
gently let clown if the joiners return and announce,

204 Births & Marriages

" They will not chew nut with us," than if they had to
blurt out the unpleasant truth in so many words, " She
has no wifely glances for you."

Whether there is nut-chewing, or whether the older
custom holds good, it may be the case that a marriage
feast is given. This will depend entirely upon cir-
cumstances. In view of the hard lot of most of the
Mawken during the cyclonic season, one may safely
assume that most of the marriages take place during
the fine weather.

Then the wife returns to the kabang of her husband :
she will live with his people until he strikes out for
himself by fashioning a kabang. This step may not
be taken for years, or it may follow close upon the
birth of the first child.

Matters are so arranged, however, that the old
people are not left in a kabang to themselves when
their children grow up and marry. Mawken need not
to be enjoined to "love, honour and succour" their
father and mother. It comes naturally to them. So
far as I could ascertain, no such custom existed amongst
them, as amongst the Nicobarese, of the Nicobar
Islands, farther out in the Indian Ocean — namely, that
of taking the old folk out to sea and dropping them
overboard to make meals for the sharks.

The reason for any such custom, which found its
counterpart in the sending of the old folk down the
Kaieteur Fall (British Guiana), was that the decrepit
aged were a nuisance to others and to themselves, and

Births SF Marriages 205

the best thing to do with a nuisance was to get rid of
it ! Logical in the extreme ! !

Although one must not succumb to the strong
temptation to discuss Divorce Laws as existing amongst
civilised peoples, it may be in place to make a few
comparisons with regard to outlook and practice.

In civilised countries to-day marriage is taken to
consist of a civil rite, at a registrar's office, or a com-
bined civil and religious rite, in a place of worship. It
is held that people are married when they have procured
the Legal Recognition, or this recognition combined
with a religious blessing, or Solemnisation. It is held
that there is no marriage without one, or both, of
these. And a woman may give birth to a dozen
children and still be unmarried. She is called an
" unmarried mother." This definition of marriage is
based upon the grounds that marriage is not a physical
thing, but a legal and religious thing. In our state
of life it is insisted that there must be mental and
spiritual affinities. The physical relationship alone is
not marriage. This enables men to go abroad, to
cohabit with women of other races, have several
children by these women, and to come back home
and be married to a woman of their own race.

The Mawken (and the Makuchi, of Guiana) regard
marriage as a physical relationship for the procreation
of children. A living together without this (where
physical defects do not exclude the possibility) is merely
friendship — the love which all human beings should

206 Births & Marriages

have for one another, where possible. The first
physical relationship is marriage consummated. And
if this relationship is not maintained until the death of
one of the parties there is sin. The second relationship
is the sin. The Mawken do not claim that nothing but
the physical intercourse should be required ; they insist
that there should be love. But physical intercourse
per se is marriage, and a first marriage may be dissolved
by either party taking another partner. Such a course
of action is regarded as sinful ; and the Mawken and
the Guiana Indians are very jealous of their women.
Unlike the polygamists of Africa, who regard marriage
as the relationship of one man with several women (to
all of whom he must be truly husband ; promiscuity
being sinful), the Mawken and the Makuchi Indians
regard the taking of a second woman as not good.
" Amona ha ! " the Mawken say. To both Mawken
and Makuchi, to talk about an unmarried mother is a
contradiction in terms; mere nonsense, in fact. The
birth of a child is proof of marriage. Harlots are
unknown — until civilised races introduce this disgrace.
Mawken and Makuchi are, in their natural state, careful
to safeguard their girls for a proper relationship. And
it was found in Guiana, as it has been found in Africa,
that where missions start boarding-schools, and con-
gregate girls and boys separated from their home life,
youthful connections are likely to occur. If they are
" interfered with " and repressive measures taken,
promiscuity results.

Births dF Marriages 207

The wise missionary tells such people as the Mawken
and the Makuchi that their relationships, even before
Legal Recognition and our Religious Solemnisation,
are true marriage. He points out that under civilised
government the legal formalities (which are unneces-
sary to them) will safeguard property rights, in case of
disputes brought to our courts, and that as Christians
this relationship should receive the religious blessing,
or solemnisation. He makes it clear that these things
do not constitute the marriage — they are accompani-
ments. Marriage consists of the relationship, as it is
for this world only. But there should be love (mutual
friendship), which is capable of eternal persistence. A
second relationship, after the death of a first husband or
wife, would not " make things awkward " in the next
Life, in which the personality, freed from this bodily
form, is neither male nor female, but " as the angels."

If the first relationship is marriage, and the second
(in the lifetime of both parties) is the sin, very much
more care is taken about this first relationship ; and
Europeans, who base their action upon the idea of a
legal contract, do harm of which they do not conceive
when they cohabit with these women and yet regard
themselves as " unmarried."

Because it is recognised that the vinculum carnis
alone should not constitute marriage, we have illogically,
it seems to me, arrived at a denial that the vinculum
carnis is marriage. We have made the Legal take the
place of the Natural, to the confusion of morality.

208 Births & Marriages

And yet at least one pope and at least one of our
present-day judges have pronounced nullity of marriage
in cases in which the vinculum carnis was not, or could
not be, effected.

The Mawken regard us as having pretended to
deprive marriage of that which makes it superbly
natural to man, in this life ; and neither they nor the
Makuchi Indians regard us as being sincere when we
claim that truest holiness in this life is found only in
celibacy, since all sex relationship is of the nature of
the unclean. I found, however, that they would recog-
nise that it might be the duty of some to abstain from
marriage entirely.

These primitive peoples, living their simple lives, in
many instances " give one furiously to think."

Often they show us that civilised peoples are more
ingenious than true.

CHAPTER XVIII

KINDRED <&• AFFINITIES

OUR table of kindred and affinities giving pro-
hibited degrees is of poor sort when compared
with the nice distinctions in relationships
observed by some Eastern peoples. The Burmese have
a remarkable table of relationships (not to be confused
with prohibited degrees) ; and the Mawken are careful
to mark distinctions which we take no trouble to
observe. With them primogeniture is regarded as
being of considerable importance, in accordance with
ancient Eastern ideas, transferred to the West, of the
rights and the privileges of the first-born. It would be
of great interest to know the grounds, physical or
psychological or social, for this idea, which so entirely
ignores merit and efficiency, and does such injustice to
the members of a family who could not all have been
first-borns.

The Mawken are very careful to distinguish between
an elder and a younger brother, though their present
mode of living would seem to carry with it no advantages
whatever for either. They differentiate between the
wife of an elder and the wife of a younger brother in
a family, and between the husband of an elder and
the husband of a younger sister. And yet, although
o 209

210 Kindred & Affinities

they mark all these distinctions, they would seem to
possess no word for cousin. The case is similar amongst
the Burmese, I am told. We know that in olden days
first cousins, because they were the children of brothers
and sisters, were also spoken of as if they too were
brothers and sisters. The relationship was regarded
as being very close, and we can admit there was
some reason in this way of looking at things. Physically
and sentimentally they might be regarded as of one
family, even though neither the physical nor the
sentimental " grounds " might be tenable were the
question examined scientifically. It is rather surprising
to find that, with the Mawken, cousins, even first
cousins, are not considered to be of the "inner circle "
of the family; and a cousin is referred to as ja,
which is the ordinary word for friend.

The principle upon which the differences are based
has not been discovered, unless we can call "primo-
geniture," which is nothing more than a descriptive
term, a " principle." It has been customary for so
long and in so many countries to accord the first-born
peculiar rights and privileges that we have almost
deceived ourselves into the belief that he is the heir
to such rights and privileges as being necessarily the
rightful recipient of them, and that almost to the
degree of sub specie aternitatis. The Mawken are still
free from the chains of legalisms, and it should be
possible to obtain from them, ere it be too late, the
principles which at present guide them. It is a question

Kindred <§f Affinities 211

into which I did not think of inquiring when the
opportunity was mine. Like that of the average
traveller, my obliviousness to opportunities must have
been "colossal."

For the purposes of comparison and of record I shall
now give a list of the relationships to which distinctive
names are given by the Mawken.

The word for wife is binai, which is the same term
as for woman or female. When any woman can be
referred to as bis woman, or when any woman can be
" coupled," in speech, with any man, it becomes self-
evident to Mawken that such woman is, ipso facto,
a wife. Similarly the word for husband, kanai, is
identical with the terms for man or male, and the mere
fact of coupling any man with any woman indicates the
relationship of husband. If this be borne in mind as
the list of expressions is studied, the terms employed
will easily be understood.

During my census work, whenever I took the name
of a man and of the woman who accompanied him, or
seemed to me to be related to him, the question was
always decided for me when a Mawken, pointing to
each in turn, explained : " Kanai ku binai" Literally
this would be " man and woman " ; actually I knew it
to mean " husband and wife."

The word for father is apon<^ and that for mother is
cnong. Grandfather is ibap, and grandmother ibum.
Children in general are chan&t. As there are no
inflexions, the singular and the plural are identical. A

212 Kindred & Affinities

man's own child is anak. If the child be a son it is
anak kanai, and if a daughter, anak binai.

If an uncle be a father's or a mother's elder brother
he is alluded to as tawha kanai ; while an uncle who is a
father's or a mother's younger brother is called nyi kanai.
We must not confuse a tawha uncle with a nyi uncle.

The case of aunts is similar. The elder sister of
one's father or mother is tawha binai, and the younger
sister of either is wa binai. It is interesting to find
that while tawha stands for both uncle and aunt, if they
be elder brother or elder sister (the addition of kanai or
binai showing whether the personage is male or female),
the word nyi does not serve for both. The reason for
this needs to be ascertained.

There would seem to be no general term for brother
or sister, but I was given general terms for uncle
and aunt, kamon and ua. When the reasons for the
existence of such general terms can be ascertained,
light upon the past history of the people will probably
be thrown, revealing some interesting facts.

It is always necessary to speak of elder or younger
brothers or sisters, and so of their wives and of their
husbands. We cannot assert that the Mawken have
a proverb, " Age before Honour," though it is quite
clear that in all their relationships primogeniture is
carefully marked.

An elder brother is aka kanai (whether he be the
brother of a girl or of a boy), and a younger brother
is uui kanai. An elder sister is aka binai, and a

Kindred &* Affinities 213

younger sister is nui binai. In this we notice that aka
and uui may mean either brother or sister (elder of
younger) so far as the relationship goes; and the
adjectival use of kanai and binai denotes of which sex
the relationship consists.

We must realise that the Mawken, having no writing
of their own in general use (although the language is
now committed to writing, it is not in general use),
have no written code of laws. Their laws are simply
their unwritten customs. Strictly speaking, therefore,
they can have no term for hrother-iti-law. The
relationship is, however, by custom, noted as a distinct
one, so an elder brother's wife is lua, and a younger
brother's wife is ipan binai. The husband of an elder
sister is biai, and the husband of a younger sister is
ipan kanai. This use of a single term for the elder
and diverse terms for the younger in the relationship
(as in the case of the aunt and the uncle) arouses
interest and calls for further inquiry.

It would appear that nephews and nieces are not
distinguished, as only one word is given for each,
regardless of their being the children of elder or
younger brothers or sisters. A nephew is kawman
kanai, and niece is kawman binai.

A father-in-law (as we should call him), on either
side, is tawka kanai, and a mother-in-law is tawka binai.

It is well to notice the change from h to k in the
middle of the words for uncle and aunt, and those for
father-in-law and mother-in-law.

214 Kindred ^f Affinities

In the event of a man's wife dying and his taking to
himself a second wife, this second wife is described as
binai nt?k. N2k means small, or lesser, when applied to
children or to things ; and the idea seems to be that
the rule of primogeniture should be applied here also,
and that the second wife occupies a position similar to
that of a second son as compared with the first wife
and the first-born. The term nek is applied right
through the relationships and I need not list them
here. It is sufficient to remark that a boy or a girl calls
his or her stepmother enong n?k, and the stepfather
(for widows may remarry) apong nek.

Chocho kanai and chocho binai are the terms for
grandson and granddaughter respectively. Grandfather
and grannie have the same soft heart for their grand-
children amongst the Mawken as is the case amongst
us Westerners; though it is not the case with the
Mawken, as with the people of India, that the grand-
mother (being the senior woman) "rules the roost."
With the Mawken the natural rights of mothers seem
to be intact.

A daughter-in-law is a nyatoi binai, and a son-in-law
is nyatoi kania.

I discovered that it was the usual custom for a man
to have only one wife, and although I do not know
enough to be able to assert that such an event rarely
takes place, I can place it on record that I did not find
a single instance in which a widower had remarried, and
Nbai, whose wife had been dead for some years, never

Kindred &f Affinities 215

showed the slightest indication of a desire to marry
again. The terms for stepfather and stepmother in-
dicate that second marriages do occur. If the figures
given in my returns of the proportion of females to
males amongst the Mawken indicate the true propor-
tion throughout the race, it is evident that second
marriages are rather limited, unless widowers and
widows pair. Polyandry is unknown to the Mawken :
not that I should have expected to find it existing.

The whole Mawken idea of family relationships is
pure and very simple. If Westerners could revert to
it, in practice as well as in theory, many of the
complications now troubling us would be dispelled.
Some may like to assert that the Mawken idea is non-
moral rather than moral ; but as morals are simply
customs which have come to be regarded as right and
true, it seems to me that such an assertion begs the
whole question. We cannot assert that morals are
the mechanical application of mechanical law arbitrarily
imposed upon man, even if we would like to go on to
claim that the imposition of it had been Divine.

The Mawken regard the doings amongst them of a
few men of the fair-skinned races as marriage, followed
by heartless desertion, and, impelled by past experi-
ences and their own simple outlook, they are particularly
careful to remove their women to a place of safety
when strange men of other races are encountered.
For these reasons no women were allowed in the boat
which took me for the voyage to Dala Island. For

216 Kindred &* Affinities

these reasons the women in the hut drew away when
I ventured to address them directly. And for these
same reasons, when I came up with Mawken who had
had no previous knowledge of me, I would find the
men and the boys on the sands of the islands, while
the women and the girls were in hiding in the jungle.

CHAPTER XIX

THE SICK &- THE DOCTOR

LIKE most, if not all, primitive peoples, the
Mawken bear pain and sickness with fortitude.
They have not formulated a stoic philosophy,
however !

They have names for several ailments and symptoms.
Whenever it is limited the seat of pain is located,
and the sickness takes its name from the part affected
by the pain. We could not expect that they would
realise that fever is not a sickness but a symptom,
so it is not surprising to find them alluding to the
epidermic temperature, or to the quaking when ague
accompanies it.

Malaria is not uncommon. Its cause is unknown,
save to the few instructed by myself, and no pre-
cautions are taken against the anopheles. Unlike
many Africans and many of the peoples of India, the
Mawken do not anoint the head or the body with oils;
nor do they use the face paste fancied by the Burmese.
A common prescription for fever and ague is powdered
stalactite in a draught of water. The stalactite, being
a marvellous thing, should have marvellous powers:
this seems to be their line of reasoning. As it is of
limestone formation, and on that account hardens the
217

218 The Sick &> the Doctor

water, there is " something in it." This physic is given
also for dysentery.

Bubonic plague does not seem to have occurred
amongst the Mawken. In Burma it is fast travelling
southward. It is endemic at Maulmein, and there are
outbreaks at Tavoy. Quarantine regulations staved it
away from Mergui, which is ninety miles lower down,
and the Mawken may be immune so long as it does
not make Mergui its home. Plague was introduced
into Burma from India by the numbers of coolies
coming over to work in the paddy-fields, and at the
rice and timber mills.

Small-pox, another epidemic disease, has reached the
Mawken. It has been devastating in its effects amongst
them ; and being ignorant of its nature, they spread it
rapidly by flying together to another area when it
breaks out in one district. But for periodic outbreaks,
causing high mortality amongst the children, the
Mawken would number many more thousands than
they do to-day. The cause of small-pox is supposed
to be an evil influence, and safety is supposed to lie in
flight from the place of first occurrence.

Similarly with cholera. That also is attributed to
an evil influence, and the safest thing to do is to fly.
In their ignorance they do not realise that they are but
spreading these ills and infecting the shores of all the
islands they visit in their terror-stricken flight.

In spite of their exposed life, lung troubles do not
seem to be common. I did not find a single instance

The Sick ftf the Doctor 219

of a Mawken with a cold, a cough, or phthisis. But
it cannot safely be inferred from this that such things
are unknown to them. Scientific comparisons have
shown us that primitive peoples suffer from fewer
sicknesses than civilised nations. An artificial life
multiplies our maladies. We learn that the beating
of the big drum of "the deadly climate" of tropical
countries is much overdone, since in these countries
the number of enemies is fewer; and with due pre-
cautions and sober living the white man can be " safer "
in these parts than in England. Exercise, moderation
in all things, the prevention of constipation, and pro-
tecting the abdomen from chill are the simple rules of
health in these places. The Mawken have exercise of
necessity. They must hunt and search for their food
for the most part. They have no dinner if they catch
no fish. While they fear dysentery, they are not
seriously concerned about constipation. Their scant
clothing reduces the risk of chill.

Owing to malnutrition and to the insanitary condi-
tions of the kabang, such as I have previously described,
not a few of the Mawken suffer from skin disease.

One entry in my diary reads : " Found a two-moons
child literally eaten up with sores. Washed it in Lysol
and water, and applied sulphur ointment and a clean
dress."

I have no recollection as to whence the dress came,
whether I or the mother produced it. My recollection
is clear, though, that this little babe had not two square

220 The Sick &* the Doctor

inches of wholesome flesh on any part of its anatomy
— head, arms, body or legs. I have not seen such a
mess before or since. This case was found in a camp
on an island where the Mawken were at work boat-
building. I spent Saturday afternoon and evening and
the whole of Sunday there, and opportunities were
afforded for imparting knowledge and acquiring it
myself.

My notes for this week-end refer to ammoniated
tincture of quinine (not for colds), cajaput oil, smelling-
salts and hot milk ! They include also a reference
to Hole's Life of jfesus of Nazareth, and the record
that Nbai took up the explaining himself, thus showing
that he knew and recollected the subjects thus painted
and illustrated.

Upon the first occasion of my outing with Mawken,
when we had the picnic on the island sands, a micha-
hlen was induced to show me how he treated the sick ;
and subsequent to the tour for the census-taking I was
able to get a photograph of this micha-blen, who posed,
with a boy, for my edification. In the photograph the
old man — for such he was — is seen squatting beside
the boy, who lies prone upon a mat. It is supposed to
be a case of fever. The cause is attributed to an evil
influence inhabiting the body. So the micha-blen
borrows a fan (in the islands, in primitive state, he would
have a palm leaf or a bunch of leaves) and vigorously
fans the boy. Near by he has a small carved tray,
rather deep, with horned corners. Upon one edge of

The Sick SP the Doctor 221

this is stuck a small candle, made from beeswax, which
is lit. The tray contains parched rice. From time to
time some of this parched rice is thrown across the body-
in the intervals of fanning (which is to cool the hot
and evil influence), and incantations are repeated.
This ceremonial may last for some time, the aid of
unseen powers being invoked earnestly. At last the
micha-blen, on the supposition that the aid has been
forthcoming, bends over the body, places his mouth
to the boy's chest, sucks vigorously at the skin and
violently expectorates. The boy should now get well,
for the evil influence has been sucked out and spat to
the winds.

It recalls the physicians' books of Elizabeth's reign
and the curious remedies then applied. And it makes
one delight in the days of Homocea and Zam-Buk !
— pray be not too cynical.

From all accounts it would appear that the incanta-
tions are couched in an esoteric language. I found a
similar claim made amongst the Makuchi Indians, with
regard to the language of their peazung thame and their
heroes of prehistoric times.

Here is an incantation as given to me, together with
the explanation as furnished :

Tawlawn bawa . . Help ! Take away !

Mana baiva
T awlawng bawa
Tawlwang otan .
Taw law ng gucbing

Whither taken?
Help ! Take away !
Help ! Possess (me) !
Help ! Tremble (me) !

2 22 The Sick <Sf the Doctor

Machut badan . . Thoroughly use me.

Tawlawng, Gului

Pana chabut

Tawlawng kakun

Tawlwang tangu badan

Chio badan nawla

Tanga jali .

Bula bachung

Chma pulu jali

Help! Gului!
Quickly extract !
Help! Grace!
Help to get up well.
Slightly well ! Set free !
Make strong the arm !
(It) must depart.
I put my arms together.

The explanation is, of course, a rough paraphrase,
since the verbs are not conjugated, and pronouns are
omitted altogether. The word implying a request for
the sickness to be taken away is the same as in the
question as to whither it has been taken. The request
to be " trembled " is due to the fact that the micha-blen
look for a state of ecstasy, during which the body
quivers or trembles. This is a psychological phenom-
enon not confined to the Mawken. Gului is the
personal name of the assisting power, who is a good
spiritual influence, capable of taking possession of the
healing medium. Kakun, translated " Grace," refers
to that inflowing something which effects the cure.
The statement that the sickness must depart is an
"act of faith." And the placing of the arms together
from the elbows to the finger-tips accompanies the
words relating to this action, and implies supplication.

My personal knowledge of the Mawken and the
Makuchi and Akawatho Indians would preclude my
endorsing the statement of a writer who asserts :

The Sick &P the Doctor 223

" A wizard is one who is endowed above his fellows
with natural acuteness, knowledge of the phenomena
of nature, insight into character, and with an
abnormally developed capacity for roguery."

I am not in a position to challenge the truth of the
statement as regards the particular experiences of
the writer of that statement ; I can assert only that the
wizard meets a need, is, in fact, the subject of curious
psychological states, believes in himself, and considers
it fatal to his work to allow even the slightest suspicion
of a lack of self-confidence or impotence upon any
occasion, and makes his appeal to the imagination and
the will.

I do not justify his refusal to admit lack of ability
when he himself knows there is such a lack, any more
than I should justify the teacher or the parson who
refused to admit ignorance on any point of his special
subjects to his pupils or his congregation. And these
appeals to imagination and to will, which are made in
such vast ignorance of realities and truth, strike me as
being deeply pathetic, and as calling for a helpful
sympathy and understanding, rather than for a superior
denunciation. It is not possible for me to forget the
history of Mesmer (the inaugurator of mesmerism),
with the French Academy's cavalier dismissal of the
whole thing as " mere imagination " ; nor can I ignore
the cures effected in my own presence, and proved to
be "permanent" for succeeding years, by hypnotic
suggestion ; nor can I dismiss the embryo science and

224 The Sick & the Doctor

art of psycho-analysis with a contemptuous wave of
the hand. Wizards amongst the primitive races have
a partial and implicit knowledge of certain psychical
processes which we are now beginning to investigate
scientifically, and to make of them subjects of explicit
knowledge. People other than "heathen wizards"
are given to devious devices when attempting to " save
their face."

A refusal to believe in a possibility renders impossible
some psychological phenomena with their physical con-
sequences. In a subsequent chapter it will be shown
how I had to make an appeal, not to " the will to
believe," but to the " will to ^//.rbelieve." It was, we
may say, the obverse of the same shield.

Amongst the Mawken the number of minor ailments
and accidents is large. One man was encountered who
had lost an eye. He told me he had been attacked by
a sea-bird whose nest he was robbing.

En passant, I may mention that the Makuchis regard
an egg as a living thing, and in their language the
plural is the plural for animates. They would parse
"eggs" as being "common gender." Many of them
will, however, eat turtles' eggs raw. The Mawken
would parse " egg " — did they do any parsing — as
" neuter gender." I think we have to admit that we
must class ourselves, in this case, with the Mawken,
amongst the thoughtless. As the Makuchis do not
pen up hens apart from roosters, the question has not
arisen in the past as to the gender of an unfertilised egg.

Mawkex Children

By no means scared at being " taken " for the first time
in their lives.

Gathering ["heir D i n n

Mawken children picking limpi '

ilnv -li w ill. in • I vci very • upei t.

The Sick gf the Doctor 225

The Mawken have not any idea as to the nutritive
value of eggs; and their micha-blen will not be
found recommending lightly poached eggs for invalids,
and small baked custards for convalescents. Is it
superfluous to mention this?

So far as I could ascertain, surgery is entirely
unknown amongst the Sea Gypsies. The feats of a
Horsley or a Molyneaux would astound them. A
surgeon would find abundant scope for his skill amongst
these people, and in his early days he would be
acclaimed as a wonder-worker.

In one of the photographs taken specially for me by
Mr Kinch, who may be classed as an artist photo-
grapher, some children are shown gathering limpets
from rocks while the tide is at ebb, and in this
photograph the patches of white, indicating skin diseases,
are plainly visible.

I did not find any blind Mawken. The old people
(" old " as applied to Mawken may be, for all I know,
merely comparatively true) possessed good sight. Nor
did I meet with any deaf or dumb. It must be under-
stood that I am recording my own findings, and that I
do not mean any general conclusions to be drawn from
them. To say that blindness, deafness and dumbness
are unknown amongst the Mawken might be untrue.
All I can safely say is, "Not known to me." I did
observe a single instance of pronounced astigmatism,
in a man.

It can be readily understood that the roving life of

226 The Sick &* the Doctor

the Mawken, for so many years, yea, for so many
generations, has resulted in the disappearance of skill
and the loss of knowledge, simply from lack of
opportunity to make use of them. And an advance in
knowledge and skill has been prevented by unfavour-
able conditions for experiment. Capacity is there.
Nbai was a quick learner, and it did not take him long
to judge the proportion of Lysol to water, and how to
apply a rolled bandage to a limb.

All instruction was given orally and visually, and I
am convinced that this method is more rapid and more
effective than the study of books. Questions can be
asked and answers given by the way. Mistakes can
at once be corrected, and very often entirely avoided.
We really must disabuse our minds of the fallacy that
an illiterate person is necessarily an ignoramus and
inefficient. It is often the case that an illiterate person
("unlearned and ignorant") is well informed and
competent.

Perhaps the day will dawn when there will be
well-trained Mawken doctors and nurses.

CHAPTER XX

DEATH & BURIAL

DEATH is the greatest mystery of life. This is
a paradox which hints at a great truth. Right
through the world, wherever man treads,
births, marriages and deaths are regarded as matters
of outstanding interest and importance. Therefore,
when one comes across a people such as the Mawken
one is inquisitive to know what are their ideas about
these great events, and what are their customs connected
therewith. The Mawken, as we have seen, are a
remnant of a people formerly inhabiting the mainland
of Burma. The chief, though not the only, people of
Burma are the Burmese, who for the most part are
Buddhists. Their ideas of death and "after death"
are fairly well known. We have to keep the fact
clearly in our minds that the Mawken are neither
Buddhists, nor are they an offshoot of the Burmese
people. But for the fact that they found a " last
trench " amongst the islands of the Mergui Archi-
pelago they had disappeared from the face of the
earth, as a separate people, years ago. Their hav-
ing taken to the roving life of boat-dwellers, the life
of Gypsies of the Sea, has been the cause of their
persistence until the present time.

These people face death daily. Although this state-
ment may be said to be true of all races and of every
227

228 Death & Burial

individual, yet it has a particular application to the
Mawken. As they are almost amphibious people —
the men at any rate — they add the dangers of the sea
to those of the land.

The Mawken, with the exception of those who visit
the ports, have no shops and bazaars where they may
buy their food. They have to procure it often under
conditions of danger to life and limb. Such dangers
peoples in civilised countries do not have to face.

Owing to the unsettled life and to the inability of
the Mawken to keep their own poultry and cattle, such
things as eggs, if desired, must be diligently searched
for and taken from the nests of wild birds. The eggs
mostly sought after are those of sea-birds, which build
on the rocky parts of islands which are dangerous to
scale. I recollect upon one occasion, when census-
taking, off one of the islands of the northern area, the
habitat of the Dung Mawken, my attention was
attracted to a man who had only one eye. There was
an empty socket where the second eye should have
been. I called him to me and made inquiries as to the
cause of his loss of an eye. In explanation he told me
that he had been climbing some precipitous rocks, on a
bird-nesting expedition, when he came across a sea-
bird's nest with eggs. These he proceeded to take.
Simultaneously with his realising what was happening,
there was a swift swoop, a fierce peck, and his eye was
burst open. Fortunately for him his foothold was
good, as otherwise he would have pitched backwards

Death @* Burial 229

down the rocks and come to an untimely end. I
inquired it" such cases were common, and I was told
that several instances of similar accidents had been
known. Sometimes death resulted, either (apparently)
from shock or from the fall. I failed to discover which
is the sea-bird that attacks in this way. Whatever it
is, it instinctively aims at the eye.

We do not have to face death when we go to collect
eggs for our breakfast, if we keep fowls of our own.

Although the Mawken are subject to the power of
suggestion, which may induce bodily ailments resulting
in death, they do not "just lie down and die" as do
many of the people of India. Not infrequently,
however, they are kept in constant fear of death, in
such cases as those in which the micha-bap, or wicked
man, works with the jaws of the jumping fish. In the
little bag which Nbai took away from the micha-bap,
or, more correctly, which the micha-bap handed over to
Nbai, besides the objects already enumerated, was a pair
of the jaws of a jumping fish. The jaws, like the fish,
were originally of a greenish hue; now they are dried
and faded almost to olive-brown. The micha-bap did
not always use a wax figure. Instead he would upon
occasion take out from his conjuring bag a pair of jaws
of a fish ; holding one in either hand, he would manip-
ulate them to represent jaws opening and closing, taking
care to do this in the presence of his victim, and he
would foretell the death of this victim in the jaws of a
crocodile. It was a simple and fairly safe thing to do,

230 Death SP Burial

as he set no time-limit to the tragedy. The roving
life of the Mawken would prevent those who heard
the prophecy from witnessing its fulfilment, or, owing
to death coming some other way, proving its fallacy.
Should a man meet his death in the jaws of a crocodile,
then, of course, somebody would recollect that it was
foretold, and the fame of the micha-bap would be en-
hanced. As in betting, we hear of the prize-winners,
while the thousands of losers pass unobserved. Where
there are no reminders memory soon fades, and
numerous unfulfilled predictions pass unnoticed.

In an intensely interesting and very enlightening
chapter in School of the Woods Long instances some
manners of death, and deduces important truths.
So here I would make reference to ways in which
death comes to the Mawken, in order to give some of
the facts upon which they base their theories. When
Man stops to consider how he dies, he is led, upon
reflection, to inquire why he dies. Then he cannot be
at rest until he has found, or feels satisfied that he has
found, the meaning and the hope of death.

Death may come to the Mawken by the peck of a
sea-bird. It may come in the jaws of a crocodile. It
may come in the swift attack of a shark. These are
all accountable, and easily so. Crocodiles abound in
the mangrove swamps, and in the mangrove-belted
shores of some of the islands. Generally speaking, the
islands nearer to the mainland are the ones fringed with
mangrove, for it is there that the mud brought down

Death SP Burial 231

in suspension by the rivers is deposited, as the current
of the stream meets the flow of the tide. Mud-fish
and crabs may be found here, and in search for these
things one may accidentally tread upon the head of a
submerged crocodile before noticing that it is not a
gnarled log like others lying about. It is unnecessary
here to portray the details of such an accident.

In diving for the pearl oyster, unprotected by a
diving-suit, and in diving for the green-snail dangers
from attacks by sharks are constant. The Mawken are
quick and observant ; but the sharks are swift in their
attack. I recollect an occasion upon which I was watch-
ing two men diving off some rocks. They plunged and re-
appeared several times. Then they dived in again and
came up no more. All that one could see was a spread,
which was evidently blood, on the surface of the water.

Sometimes, especially in the deeper diving, a man
may be seized with cramp. Before he can be rescued
he is drowned. Or a man may unwittingly weigh down
upon some sea-urchins on the ocean floor. The spines
of these creatures press into his flesh, and he is drowned
by being disabled. I was told of two white men who
were bathing off "The Gregories," a group of islands
in the Archipelago, who dived down to a sea-urchin-
infested bottom and, being disabled, were drowned.

The commonest cause of death would appear to be
malaria. Death in this way raises an entirely different
question to the Mawken. It is not an accountable
accident. The theory which covers accidents with

232 Death &* Burial

birds, crocodiles, sharks, snakes or tumbles will not
cover deaths caused by sickness. There is need for
further theorising. The Mawken, like all humans,
ponder these things.

Throughout the Archipelago there are many islands
upon which I did not encounter a trace of any of the
one hundred and twenty-three species of the mosquito
which I am told exist in the world. On other islands
which have flats and damp and swampy patches
mosquitoes multiply exceedingly. In countries where
people sleep in hammocks, the hammocks are slung over
smouldering embers and the mosquitoes are smoked
away. The Mawken sleep on mats, without any cover-
ing. Their boats may be drawn up on to the sands,
or tied or anchored near the water's edge. There is
no knowledge of the danger of the mosquito, and no
precautions are taken. Over and over again during
the tours of the islands I have found Mawken shiver-
ing with ague like aspen leaves in a breeze, and upon
taking their temperature have found it to be in the
danger zone. Prophylactics are not conceived of, and
measures are not adopted to prevent the existence
of contributory causes. The precarious existence of
these people during the rough weather of the south-
west monsoon precludes their taking the precaution of
keeping the body well nourished. Malnutrition results
in enfeeblement of the system, and the phagocytes
of the blood are unfitted for resisting the attacks of
malaria and other germs. It is saddening to learn of

\ Grandfather

An old m. in with .1 pear, rope and (tone anchor 1) eet used for i rin the A abang.

Death SP Burial 233

the numerous cases of avoidable deaths, especially
amongst children and adolescents.

In a tropical area, especially where water is drunk
from streams almost evaporated during months of
sunshine and then fouled by the floods which wash
putrid and decaying matter into them, we should expect
that people who know nothing of sterilising, or filtering,
water should suffer from dysentery. If the Mawken
ever knew of medicinal barks, infusions of which would
counteract this disease, they would seem to have lost
all knowledge on this score. I cannot assert that the
knowledge is non-existent anywhere amongst them.
All that I can say is that I could find no trace of such
knowledge. I could not feel satisfied that my directions
as to dieting would be faithfully carried out after my
departure, for until the Mawken were convinced of
the reason for it, they would doubt its necessity. I
have seen patients suffering from dysentery eat the
ordinary foods, without any apparent realisation that
food had anything to do with it.

Of all the horrors, small-pox is the most dreaded.
Probably because its revolting effects can be seen.
From time to time an epidemic breaks out. Those
who become too ill are left upon some island to die ;
those who are in the early stages are carried off by the
fleeing party. They do not know that they are taking
the horror with them and are spreading the dread
disease. Small-pox has not become epidemic amongst
the Mawken, I think one is right in saying. Epidemics

234 Death §P Burial

seem to be caused by the contact of some of the
Mawken with people on the mainland.

It may be of interest to mention that leprosy, which,
like plague, was introduced into Burma, was not found
amongst the Mawken. Nor did I see any lupus. Skin
diseases, however, are common, especially amongst the
children. These diseases are aggravated by the filthy
condition of the kabang and the often insufficient
nourishment. In children one may frequently see the
arms and legs blotched with scabs, sores and patches.
Sometimes blood-poisoning takes place in an open sore
and death ensues.

Deaths by accident, deaths by disease, deaths by
prayer, or prediction.

The theory which the Mawken believe fits all but
accidents is the theory of evil influences, or, if we will
have it so, evil spirits. It may be an evil spirit which
causes an alligator or a shark to attack, though it is
not necessarily so. The Mawken eat fish, birds and
animals, when they can get them ; so the wild creatures,
or some of them, eat human beings, when obtainable.
It is a question of diet. The theory which predicts
evil spirits is a theory of Life ; and that includes a theory
of Death. The evil spirits are without bodies. They
cannot be seen, yet they see and know. Further, they
may be invoked. So death of a physical body does not
exhaust the possibilities of spiritual life. And the
Mawken are very clear in their minds that when we
look at each other we do not see each other with the

Death &> Burial 235

physical eyes. All that we see thus is the body, in
which the true self dwells, and from which it departs
at death. So it comes that death is merely a gate to a
different kind of life.

The Mawken believe in the persistence of life after
death.

The following incident, recorded in my notes made
while in Burma, throws light upon the Mawken ideas
with regard to body and soul, or the personality and
its temple.

One morning I was sitting at my desk writing letters
in my newly built parsonage at Maulmein when Nbai
came into the room, bringing me a chit which my man-
of-all-work, Anthony, a Tamil "boy," had written.
It was an order for some stores from one of the shops in
the town. Nbai was to go for these things and to bring
them back with him. He asked me to sign the chit ; but
instead of wording the request as we should do, he asked
that I should put the name of my body to the paper.

More than once I had noticed the use of this expres-
sion when I was endeavouring to ascertain the name
of some child. A typical instance is the following.

In taking down names I had secured Chonoi, the
father, Nya, the mother, and Dami, the name of a
little boy. There was a younger boy whose name also
was required. I put the question to him in Mawken :
" Banyan hiing banong ka ? " (" Name your what is ? ")
The little fellow looked abashed, then he hung his
head, and squirmed himself away through the little

236 Death & Burial

knot of people gathered round me. " Nanyan biing
hanong ka ? " I repeated. " Makao ! " (" Speak ! ") I
added. There was no result. Then I turned to some
of the adults present and asked them what was the
little fellow's name. Instead of telling me themselves,
one of them went after the boy, took him by the arm
and led him back to me. I repeated my question.
Still no answer. The boy began to look frightened.
Presently a man chimed in with a dominating tone of
voice; but his question was not : " What is your name ? "
It was : " What is the name of your body ? " Then we
learned that the name of his body was Jana.

While there are grammatical reasons for this, into
which it would be useless for me to enter unless readers
possessed a knowledge of the language, there is the dis-
tinct understanding that the name is given and belongs to
the bodily part of one, as being that part by which we
are identified in this life. Not infrequently the names
are the result of some physical characteristic. I do not
think that the Mawken belief about the future includes
a belief that Jana here will be Jana hereafter. The
label for the body will be unnecessary for the spirit ;
and though there had been thousands of boys named
Jana in this world, the spirit of each will be so distinct
hereafter that confusion cannot be possible.

One thing worthy of remark is the belief that the spirit
of the departed does in many cases become an agent of
hurt and evil when once it and the body have dissolved
partnership. This unaccountable belief, as it appears to

Death @Sf Burial 237

me to be,exists in many parts of the world. Man conceives
of something in the nature of a spook, and then fears
the spook. Even though the spirit is that of one who
has been very loving and much beloved in this life, the
idea still holds sway that after death the spirit of that
loved and loving one may be an agent of evil. Even with
such wise people as the Chinese this belief is prevalent.
From ideas of death we are led on to study the
customs of burial. When first the Mawken took to
the islands there was no burial of the dead. When a
child or a woman died the corpse was taken to one of
the selected islands, a barbecue of sticks was erected
and the corpse was laid upon it . . . and left. The
islands so selected were the smaller, well-wooded ones,
upon which no game for hunting was to be found, and
no spring of fresh water existed. Such islands not
being of use in these ways could well be devoted as
cemeteries for the dead. Except when a body had to
be placed upon them, these islands were studiously
avoided. Were the dead person a man who was the
owner of a boat, this boat would be hacked into two
portions, the corpse being laid in one and covered with
the other. This was done when the man had owned
a cbapdn or small boat, or when his kabang was of
small dimensions. Having so arranged the corpse, with
weapons and other belongings laid beside it, the coffin
was taken to a cemetery island, a barbecue was built
and the coffin was placed upon it. One end was, of
course, open. For a few days, or for a few weeks,

238 Death &P Burial

afterwards the relatives would pass within hail of the
island and call out the name of the deceased. This
was to make sure that death had actually taken place,
and that it had not been a case of trance. The custom
suggests that the Mawken had known cases in which
the supposedly dead had revived. The possibility of
burying people alive was avoided.

Two things led to the Mawken, with but few
exceptions, abandoning this practice. I do not know
how long ago it was that burial superseded the
barbecue. It was found that the crocodiles would
clamber up the low stagings and carry off and devour
the corpses. It was also discovered that the Malays,
who were Mohammedans, and had no fear of corpses,
often robbed the cemeteries. And as a result of these
discoveries the Mawken have gradually abandoned the
practice of placing corpses on barbecues. This is a
general statement. Some few Mawken, I was told, still
continue the practice. They are the Mawken who rove
about the more distant islands of the Archipelago.

In place of the islands of platforms one may now
see a burial-ground. Such exists at the south of
Kissering Island, where a Mohammedan man, Ibrahim,
has taken to himself a Mawken wife. This marriage
has resulted in other Mawken gathering round and
seeking the protection of the Malay, working for him
and being paid by him. Ibrahim has a large Malay
house, with compartments for living and sleeping.
The Mawken have erected their aerial dog-kennels in

Death ftP Burial 239

a line with this house along the shore, just above high-
water mark ; and behind these dwellings, or shelters,
not fifty yards away, I saw the slabs of wood, standing
like steles, which mark the graves of the departed. I
admit that I neglected to inquire if they have any
custom of orientation, and whether the slab is placed
at the head or at the feet of the corpse. One often
fails to be inquisitive enough when there are very
mines of information waiting to be explored !

When burial takes place the hole in the ground is dug
to a depth of four or five feet. The spot chosen is one in
which the soil is sandy and light. The digging is done
with paddles (used for the chapari) and with nature's
forks. Mawken, as a rule, have neither spade nor shovel.

The corpse is placed in the hole with nothing more
over it than the clothing worn during life. And the
belongings are not buried. Once again I must admit
neglect to makes inquiries. It would seem to be
reasonable, however, to suppose that the placing of the
belongings with the corpse on the barbecues was in
order that, if the corpse revived, necessary weapons and
utensils would be at hand. The possibility of revival
of a corpse buried without any shell in Mother Earth,
and the consequent need of weapons, does not exist.

I found that while diseases are dreaded — it is
probably the accompanying pain which is feared — there
is no fear of death.

Life's greatest adventure they have learned to face
with equanimity.

CHAPTER XXI

CHILDREN'S GAMES 6- OCCUPATIONS

MAWKEN children know nothing of school
terms and holidays, or separate periods of
time set apart for learning and for playing
respectively. Having no writing and no books in use,
they cannot grind at reading, writing and arithmetic-
Their school is the school of observation. Each
Mawken boy and each Mawken girl has to be a little
pioneer. This is why they are such serious little
people, although, as we shall discover, la joie de vivre
is theirs equally with other children in the world.
While many of their common experiences and hardships
would make the average child of civilised countries
miserable, they grow up hardened to take things as
they come, and they do so with remarkable and un-
complaining stoicism. There is one thing in particular
which I have noticed about peoples brought up in this
way : they learn to use their language accurately. While
pronunciation may be indistinct and, in some cases, even
wrong, I have not come across a single sentence in which
words were given a wrong position. To give a simple
illustration : a Mawken child would not make the mis-
take of saying : " I only caught one fish." He would,
with unhesitating accuracy, say: " I caught one fish only."
Much of the children's " play " consists of learning to

240

Children's Games §F Occupations 241

Much of the children's " play " consists of learning to
use the things which their elders employ in the routine
of daily life. There is a real pleasure in doing things.
We know that this is natural to most children ; but we
are now learning that the savage races, unspoiled by the
conventionalities of civilised life, have retained these
pleasures which we ourselves have, to a great extent, lost.

But little thought is needed to enable us to realise
that people living such hunting and hunted lives can-
not waste much time on those occupations dissociated
from necessary work which we regard as the pleasures
of life. Yet there is a strong sense of humour even
amongst the adults; and whenever I associated with
Mawken who for the time being were care-free, this
sense was allowed full play. It was especially so with
the children. Some charming scenes stand out in
vivid colouring in my recollection.

During the prolonged cruise of the Archipelago,
when the glorious weather of the north-east monsoon
prevailed, when the seas were safe for Mawken kabang
and chapan, when there was no need to be apprehensive
about the weather, I happened upon a Mawken camp.
It was a camp made for purposes of boat-building, and
it was situated on the southernmost point of Domel
Island. I had accomplished all the recording I in-
tended to do that day, and we aboard the launch were
on the look-out for a pleasant spot in which to bivouac.
The sea was beautifully calm and the snow-white
launch, built to graceful lines, must have made a

f 2

242 Children's Games Sf Occupations

pleasing sight as it threw up the blue sea into a white
foam at its bows. There was an air of serenity about
everything. We were coming up to Domel Island from
the south, and as we found a little island abeam of us
to port, Nbai suggested that we should turn and run in
between it and the larger island of Domel. Accord-
ingly the serang was asked to make for the passage, and
we soon found ourselves in a most exquisite bay, the
southern bend of which was completely hidden from
the view of persons passing up or down the outer sea.
The island was well mantled with the green of jungle,
in a freshness of shades unspoiled by the dust of
roads. The golden sands, in a sweeping arc, sloped
easily down from the edge of the green to the ripples
of the blue. The water of the bay was clear and of a
lovely colour. In the sky overhead not a fleck of cloud
could be seen. A delightful place and ideal conditions
for a picnic, and before us was a picnic party !

Several Mawken kabang were drawn up on the
sands, not in line, but in irregular picturesqueness. A
little away from them was the larger boat, of different
build, of a Chinese trader. It transpired that this man
had taken to himself a wife from amongst the Mawken,
and her relatives and some friends of the family had
gathered round, seeking such protection as the China-
man could render, while diving for him, scraping up
sea-slugs and collecting edible birds'-nests. (By the
way, I was subsequently informed that he had three
large balls of opium in his possession.)

Children's Games SF Occupations 432

We had camped a little earlier than usual, as it was
a Saturday and I wanted a comfortable place in which
to spend Sunday. As it was about tea-time when we
dropped anchor, I partook of tea on board and went
ashore afterwards. It was not long before I found
myself seated on a convenient log chatting with such
of the Mawken as gathered round. As usual, my
knowledge of their language was a ready introduction.
The children were at first a little curious and not a
little shy of me. It did not take long, however, to
assure them that I was no ogre and not even a kill-joy,
and, being set at ease, they ran off to play. This was
exactly one of those experiences I greatly valued, and
such a natural demonstration was much more enjoyable
than would have been the worming out of information
by means of numerous questionings. The Mawken
names of three of these games I find recorded in my
notes — jubi, pachaw, nyelu.

yubi is, I think, the name given to a game some-
what similar to tiggy-tiggy-touch-wood. It can be
played by any number of children, and it requires no
equipment. One child consented to be the starter, and
immediately this was arranged all the others scattered
from him and bobbed about like jumping beans. The
starter made a dash in an effort to touch one of these
others. He failed, as the other child sprang quickly
aside and ran ofE Then the starter made a wild rush
at another child, only to meet with similar failure.
After man) tries he succeeded in touching one of the

244 Children's Games & Occupations

other children, who then took his place, and started off
to touch someone else. The children — girls as well
as boys — were very game, and persisted bravely with
their twistings and dodgings and spurts. Evidently the
game had been played before on those sands, as I had
not seen any previous consultation or arrangements for
recognised sanctuaries. Sanctuary did not consist in
touching wood. The sanctuaries were places selected,
as we select stops in the game of rounders. The
Mawken children showed almost a scorn of sanctuary,
and sought it only when the game had been too fast
and furious, and a panting player needed a little rest
in order to recover his breath. It was a pretty sight
to watch their lithe brown bodies bending and darting
about over the golden sands, and it was a pleasant
sound to hear the peals of children's laughter breaking
the stillness of the air.

An even more interesting game was that which I saw
being played a little later on by half-a-dozen children
who still had some " go " left. My curiosity was aroused
by observing a girl select a smooth expanse of sand and
clear it of obstructions, such as bits of loose wood. This
done, the girl picked up a piece of stick and proceeded
to trace a circle in the sand. The circle was probably
two feet six inches in diameter. Having finished the
circle, she drew a line away from one side of it to a dis-
tance of about ten feet. Other children joined her,
and they drew other lines of similar length. In all,
eight such lines, or radii, were drawn. They were not

Children's Games (§f Occupations 245

equidistant from one another, as are the spokes in a cart-
wheel. Instead of this they were more in pairs, like the
eight legs of a spider, rather splayed. Having completed
these radii, the girl who began the drawing took up her
position within the circle, and she called to the other girls
and boys to take up their positions for the game which was
to follow. Each of these other children was stationed
at the terminus of one of the lines, and as there were
six children, three of the termini were left unoccupied.
The name of this game was given to me as pachaiv. I
find it more convenient to write of it as if it were a
game of spider-and-fly, which it was really supposed to
represent. The play began by the spider rushing out
of her parlour (the circle) in an attempt to reach one
of the vacant termini. She must be foiled in this
attempt by a fly dashing to occupy the position before
she could reach it. The first attempt failed. The
spider then ran back up the line and stood in the
circle, turning round, and occasionally feinting to start
off down another line. Presently another dash was
made. This time the fly was beaten, with the result
that " fly " became converted into " spider." In this
game there was no collision between fly and fly, as the
running was always with the sun ; so that when the
spider dashed down a vacant line the duty of blocking
up that particular terminus devolved upon the fly at
the end of the line next to it, who in running forward
would travel with the sun. The spider was not allowed
to make short cuts. Failing to reach a terminus first,

246 Children's Games §P Occupations

the spider had to return to the parlour along the line
down which he or she had run. Many were the
shouts of laughter as the spider was foiled over and
over again in attempts to convert fly into spider. The
Mawken children played this game, as they did all
other games, with a joyful abandonment.

To my mind it is a happy adaptation from a study of
natural history — the study of the spider and its web.
Perhaps it was taken from that species of spider which
one often saw in Burma — a species which, when weav-
ing its web, makes four sets of treble lines, as part of
the pattern, well marked. The spider then takes its
place in the centre of the round web, and extends its
legs in pairs, each pair resting along the spaces in each
set of triple webbing. As this design is extended to
the circumference, it is an aid to the spider in the great
art of camouflage. It occurs to me that did the children
of England know of this game of pachaw, as played by
the brown children of the Mergui Archipelago, they
would find in it a delightful addition to the games of
the sea-side, to which they are accustomed to flock
during our summer months.

Nyelu was a game I did not see ; nor did I learn how
it is played. And my opportunities for study came to
an end before I had exhausted my inquiries upon this
and other subjects.

Opportunities for set games, such as those described,
are rare, and for the most part children are occupied in
making themselves useful. The search for food is an

Children's Games & Occupations 247

ever-present necessity, and when the tide ebbs the
kabang may put in to a rock-bordered island and boys
and girls will scramble about the boulders in search of
limpets. Some strength of fingers is required to detach
these limpets from the rocks to which they firmly
adhere. The children learn to become adepts at it,
and soon collect a good boiling.

While searching for limpets a look-out must be kept
for crabs, which, in some places, are very numerous.
Even the small crabs are not despised. I know from
experience that these searches are not all fun. Rocks
are sharp and many are barnacled, and walking over
them unshod one's feet have been lacerated. On the
larger islands, where monkeys abound, the children have
to dispossess the monkeys of their hunting-grounds
before they can get to work. There is no need for a
fight, as the monkeys run off, though under protest,
when the children approach them.

When crabs and limpets have been collected, some
of the children will take the cooking-pots to a spring
and fill them with water in readiness for the cooking ;
or if there be no spring they will search the shore for
a likely place, scrutinising the sand for signs of a
subterranean flow of water, and scratching a hole at the
foot of an embedded boulder, dip out the water which
wells up into the basin thus formed. Next there will
have to be an excursion into the jungle to collect dry
boughs and branches which have rotted and been
blown off from the trees during the hurricane season.

248 Children's Games ^f Occupations

If the elders happen to be collecting boulders, the
children will assist them by carrying the smaller stones,
helping to load the kabang with such a cargo of dead-
weight as it will safely carry. And when a move has
to be made the children are the ones who take the
oars and speed the kabang on its way. No one teaches
them how to handle an oar, and on no occasion have I
seen Mawken children pull to stroke.

Children will help to collect the material for mat-
making, and the girls will learn to do this work by
observing their elders. Before mat-making is begun in
earnest the little girls will pick up some of the stuff
and " play " at this work, squatting beside and closely
watching some older person who knows how it is done.
There is not the slightest attempt at showing, nor is
there any such procedure as setting the children a task.
The children, being observant, see those things which
need doing, and take their part in the doing of them
without admonitions. The presence of older people
makes no difference whatever in their conduct and
games and occupations. During all the time I was
with them I did not hear a single " Don't," and on the
rare occasions when it was necessary "Anion ha!"
(" Not good ! ") was sufficient warning.

Speaking generally, it is not possible to pick out
occupations as being particularly those of children. So
completely do they share the life of the adults that a
line cannot be drawn.

CHAPTER XXII

HOW THE WOMEN LIVE

WHEN one bears in mind that the kabang is
the home, questions which would occur to
one to ask with regard to the life of woman,
ordinarily situated, are immediately recognised as futile.
It might be correct to say that the women's chief work
is the bearing of children. Yet people have to eat and
sleep, and provision for these things must be made.

The only piece of furniture which a Mawken requires
is a mat upon which to sleep. Although this class of
work is not everywhere in the world delegated to them,
yet amongst the Mawken the plaiting of these mats is
definitely the work of the women. The cutting of
the palms is not the work of the women ; but when the
palms are cut they unleaf and peel them, shape the
ribbons and place them to soak. After this the ribbons
are spread in the sunshine, by means of which they are
thoroughly dried and bleached. Sometimes the actual
plaiting will be done in the kabang. At other times
it will be done on the sands of some island, under the
shadow of the trees, or in the shade of the roof of
the kabang, removed from the ridge-pole and set down
upon the shore. These mats are made in two sizes,
one for the young people and the other for the adults.
249

250 How the Women Live

The larger ones are an arm's-stretch. The Mawken
have discovered that the mats made as long as the
distance between the finger-tips when both arms are
stretched out, one on either side of the body, are of
sufficient length for the body from head to feet. The
shorter mats are equal in length to the distance from
the left shoulder to the finger-tips of the right hand of
that arm when extended. The mats used for sleeping
are very soft, and even if crumpled in the hand will
not crack. Some are finished off at the ends with
ornamental lacings of narrow ribbons, while others have
similar lacings with broad ribbons. These endings are
strongly finished off, but frequently the corners are not
evenly done, perhaps on account of their often being
finished hastily. Some coarser, harder mats are made
and are used for coverings, being laid upon the bamboo
deck under the shelter of the kabang, the sleeping-
mats being rolled out upon these coarser mats at night
and rolled up and put away by day. Some Mawken
do not take the trouble to put the sleeping-mats away
at all. The various kinds of mats are used also for
barter by the Malay and Chinese traders, who, roaming
the Archipelago, will collect such articles for sale at
Mergui, Bokpyin or Victoria Point, and will pay the
Mawken in rice or cloth.

In this mat-making are the possibilities of a developed
and remunerative industry which might become the
means of improving the conditions of life of these
Sea Gypsies.

How the Women Live 251

During one of my quarterly trips from Rangoon to
Mergui, on that part of the run between Tavoy and
Mergui, I found myself as fellow-passenger with the
then Director of Commercial Intelligence of the Indian
Empire. Nbai and the two boys were aboard the
steamer with me, and as usual I was frequently in
converse with them. The Director of Commercial
Intelligence became interested enough to ask me who
they were, and upon my telling him he at once began
to question me with regard to their technology, and
the possibilities of developing industries which might
supply Indian and European markets. I told him of
the mat-making, and he asked to see a mat ; so I called
Nbai and instructed him to bring up his sleeping-mat,
which he had with him on the lower deck. The
uneven finish was commented upon as a fault which
could easily be remedied ; and then the Director
suggested that the Mawken might be shown how to
make fish-bags, which could easily be placed upon
European markets. It would be necessary to install
hydraulic plant, and to pack the bags under hydraulic
pressure. The demand for such bags was, he informed
me, almost unlimited.

The sun-drying of food is another occupation of the
women- folk. When there has been a nga-u hunt, and
one of these large fish has been speared and drawn
ashore, the flesh is apportioned amongst the boats
which took part in the chase. Some of this flesh
the women will cook, with little or no delay. The

252 How the Women Live

remainder they will fillet, cut into strips and spread in
the sunshine to dry. Usually this flesh is spread upon
the shelter of the kabang\ and if the boat has to
make a hasty departure no time is lost in collecting the
fish.

Another article of diet which is sun-dried is the
pawpaw. Only those few of the Mawken who seek
the protection of the traders, or other Burmese, Malay
or Chinese settlers, grow the pawpaw themselves.
The others procure the fruit by barter or in the
bazaars of Mergui. It is cut open, the little black
seeds are cleaned out and the pawpaw is cut into
strips, which, like the fish, are spread upon the roof
of the kabang. Dried in this way, pawpaw will keep
for a long while. Sometimes the smaller varieties of
bananas are peeled, sliced and treated in the same way.
" Lady's-fingers," the smallest of the bananas, can be
peeled and dried whole. They have a flavour not un-
like that of preserved figs. Barter has enabled all the
Mawken to become possessed of knives and dahs, and
the slicing of fish or fruit is an easy matter. Barter,
too, has brought to very many of the hearths the iron
skillet to replace the earthen pot. Pottery, the making
of which is women's work, is likely to become extinct
as a Mawken art. Such earthen pots as I have seen
were of a dark colour, almost black, of simple, utilitarian
design, and wholly without decoration. They are
brittle things, and the Mawken boat-wives must be
very gratified when they have succeeded in procuring

How the Women Live 253

an iron pot, which will the better stand the bouncings
received by the kabang during rough weather.

Aided by the children, the women get the water for
drinking and cooking, and usually collect the wood
for the fire. When the family is feeding, all eat
together, helping themselves out of the one pot. Any
who may possess enamelled plates will use them, and
others may sometimes make use of the large leaves of
an epiphyte. " Fingers were made before forks," and
the Mawken do not despise them.

Mothers must feed their offspring themselves, or, if

they are unable to do so, which is very unusual, get

other women to come to the rescue. There are no

dairies, and their manner of life prevents their keeping

cows and goats. Even could they procure it, they

would be unable to afford tinned milk. Mawken

mothers carry their children even after they can walk.

In the kabang it is much safer to do so than to leave

the toddler to his or her own devices. The arm is

relieved of some of the weight of the child's body by

the simple device of using a sling of cloth. This passes

over the right shoulder and under the left arm. The

child sits in the sling with its legs astride the mother's

body, one leg passing in front and the other behind.

While going about their everyday duties the children

are not put down, the mothers having become so

accustomed to carrying their children in this way that

they seem to be almost unaware of the burden. They

will sleep with the little ones still slung to them, taking

254 How the Women Live

care, of course, that neither of the legs is crushed
beneath their body. No pillows are used. Mawken
men and women, if they want their heads raised, just
double one arm underneath and lie upon that. It is
usual to sleep in the boat, even when there is a
temporary camp on an island; it is their home for
work and play during the daytime. The only exception
to this rule is in the case of those Mawken who happen
to have shelters raised on sticks, which are scarcely
worthy of the name "huts." The Mawken take as
few risks as possible, and are ready to push off their
kabang and to hurry away at very short notice.

In the morning there are no carpets to be swept and
floors to be polished. The deck mat is brushed with
the hand, with a few twigs, or with a grip of grass
upon occasion, nothing in the way of a broom or a
whisk being made by the Mawken. Perhaps in course
of time visits to Mergui, on the part of some, will lead
to their purchasing the Indian whisks, made of rice-
straw, and sold in the bazaars at two for one anna
two pice (three halfpence). Until then such of the
Mawken women who have fits of tidiness must do as
I have described. I am reminded of a certain visit to
the Malay-Mawken settlement at the south of Kissering
Island. I had been doctoring two or three children
for constipation, biliousness and low fever, together
with usual cases of skin disease, and having done this,
I lingered to talk about things in general. It would
have been useless to inform them at that stage that

How the Women Live 255

" cleanliness is next to goodliness " (I must ignore
the " authority " of a mistranslation) ; but it was not
too premature to dissertate upon the ill effects of dirt
and garbage breeding flies and giving forth unsavoury
odours ; and it was decidedly opportune to draw attention
to the condition of the ground round about those huts.
There were various exclamations, punctuating my re-
marks, such as "Anion ! " (" Good ! ") and " Tawkaw! "
(" Truly ! ") ; and one young woman was so inspired that
she went in search of a paddle, and taking one from a
kabang drawn up on the sands, proceeded with much
vigour and but little effect to "sweep" up the rubbish
lying about. If seed had fallen upon really good
ground, I may hope that it would not be many days
before she invented a more effective broom, made,
perhaps, of leafy branches bound together. The
making of brooms and besoms should be quite a novel
and entertaining occupation for the Mawken women.
It would certainly be a change from the monotonous
routine of many generations.

References have been made to the diving for green-
snail. These are of large size, either spiral or dome-
shaped. The shells are of mother-of-pearl substance,
and find a ready market for button-making and other
such purposes. When they are brought up from the
floor of the ocean they are handed over to the women,
who prepare a pot, or even, it may be, a cauldron of
water, and boil them. The fish within is boiled out,
and after being sun-dried it becomes a marketable

256 How the Women Live

commodity. The Chinese readily buy these things, as
well as the sun-dried sea-slugs.

Mawken women are not troubled with a coiffure.
They do not, like the islanders of the Pacific, need to
sleep with their necks upon a wooden stand in order to
preserve the arrangement of the hair. The girls leave
their hair hanging down. As they have no brushes,
it is never brushed, and most of them know nothing of
combs. The women twist up their hair in an untidy
knot behind, tucking the ends in to keep the bob in
position. It is not usually let down when they are
bathing in the sea. If women thus neglect their glory
there need be no surprise that they are shorn of much
of their beauty. When the Mawken women make
the acquaintance of hair powders for washing their
heads, and learn to use combs and to brush out the hair
thoroughly, a transformation scene will take place which
will surprise them even more than others. Our nurses
who are inspectors of schools would have a busy time
amongst the Mawken children and their parents.

While the Burmese women delight in the use of
flowers to adorn their hair, the Mawken make no
attempt at adornment. True, I have seen one old
Mawken woman wearing a back comb, similar to that
worn by Chinese women, but as she was the spouse
of a Chinaman it is easy to account for this oddity.
Neither do the Mawken women take pains to adorn
the body. Sometimes one may see a young girl wear-
ing a necklace made of coloured seeds of flowering

How the Women Live 257

trees and climbing plants. When they are married
these are dispensed with, or the baby makes the
wearing of necklaces impracticable. Some few of the
women wear beads which are made from a black,
calcareous growth taken from the ocean. This growth
is like a leafless stem. It is scraped of its outer
roughness and reveals a highly polished surface.
These " stems " are broken into convenient sections
of the size of which the beads are to be, and each
piece is carefully bored. Such beads are strung into
necklaces on threads of twisted fibres. A few of the
women would seem to regard them as mascots. There
is no prevailing belief in their efficacy. The boring of
the beads is done with a hard and pointed fish-bone
when a drill of metal cannot be had for the purpose.
Care has to be taken in the boring or the piece will be
splintered. Owing to the roving life cotton is not
grown for cloth, and the art of weaving, if known
in the dim past, is not practised. This places the
Mawken at a further disadvantage, as they cannot
make their own dress material, and their state of
poverty is such that they cannot manage to keep even
a change of skirt which shall be respectable. Such
bits of clothing as they procure are worn to rags. I
did not see one such bit of clothing which had the
appeanince of being clean.

Under the head of this chapter I must include the
dances. The reason for this will become obvious.

Once again I was encamped with a party of Muwkcn

258 How the Women Live

on one of the islands. I had finished my dinner on the
launch, and the Mawken had cooked and consumed
their last meal for the day. I went ashore and joined
a small party around a camp-fire. The moon was well
up and was shedding its soft silver light over water,
trees and sands. The wood of the camp-fire was
green and in the burning it gave out a pleasant aroma.
Conversation turned upon the lighter side of Mawken
life, and I sought information about songs and dances
and musical instruments. As upon other occasions, I
was told : " These are the days of sadness. Mawken
people seldom dance and play now. We do not make
the musical instruments as in the long ago." I asked
to be allowed to see what the dances were like, ex-
plaining that I had never seen a Mawken dance. After
a good deal of coaxing by their elders some girls and
boys were persuaded to come forward into the fire-
light and to give an exhibition of their dancing. The
clinching argument had been to the effect that I had
given the Mawken medicine and had been kind to
them, and now my request should be granted. It was
an appeal to clan gratitude, and it was not in vain.
The children formed into an irregular group and went
through various contortions of the body, pacing forwards
and backwards the while. While this was going on a
conversation had been taking place near by which
resulted in two of the women stepping forward and
letting down their tresses. Loosening the skirt from
the waist and drawing it up and hitching it under the

How the Women Live 259

arm-pits, so as to cover the body from the arm-pits to
the knees, they prepared for action. The children
dispersed and sat about amongst the spectators. Stand-
ing side by side, the women raised both hands aloft
and began to do step-work with the feet and finger-
work with the hands. Being suddenly seized with
shyness, they hid their faces in their hands and ran
away into the shadows of the jungle. There were loud
and insistent calls for their return. After a time they
came back into the fire-light, and with shy shruggings
of the shoulders they began again. I do not know
how to describe the dance so as to enable readers to
make a mental picture of it. There was a great deal of
foot-work, consisting of steps forwards and backwards
and to either side. The body was frequently raised
on the toes and lowered again. And all was done to
perfect rhythm, in four-time. While this foot-work
was taking place, there was body-bending and body-
swaying, working from the waist. Shoulders, elbows
and wrists, all were brought into the movement, and
the fingers were never idle. More complicated exercise
in a course of physical culture can scarcely be imagined.
It was simple, graceful and modest. The dance by
these two women continued at intervals until they were
tired out. The men took no part in the movements.

There was the band ! It was an improvised one,
the players being men. The chief performer was the
drummer of the empty kerosene tin, borrowed from
the Chinaman, who used it as a receptacle for holding

260 How the Women Live

water. The drummer succeeded in making a con-
siderable noise. The noise did not matter: it was
the rhythm which was of importance. Another man
manipulated two pieces of flat wood, which served as
"bones" or as castanets. They produced a not un-
pleasant clacking. And there was the bamboo horn.
All of these sounds were subdued and harmonised in a
humming of human voices, in crescendo and diminuendo.
The general effect was pleasing, and the spirit of the
whole movement influenced and swayed the emotional
part of one's nature.

The Mawken explained that they had other dances,
in which women only took part. These I had no
opportunity of seeing, nor were they described to me.

It is pleasant to think that in the life of the women
there is meant to be a place for recreation.

CHAPTER XXIII

THE LIFE OF THE MEN

FOR the most part, the work of the men is done
in the water. Such things as boat-building and
hunting must, of necessity, take place upon land.
It is not given to many Europeans to see the Mawken
at work ; for those of the Mawken who do overcome
their dread of other peoples, and venture to pay periodic
visits to the ports, come there for the purpose of barter,
to secure food and clothing, while those of the Mawken
who shun the ports and remain about the more distant
islands of the Archipelago get away and hide when
they espy launches or other boats of strangers. I was
privileged to see the Mawken both at work and at play.
In my description of the life of the women it was
necessary to include a reference to the men, because,
while the women do the dancing, the men make up the
band, and they are the ones who make the musical
instruments, whenever such are made. One of these
musical instruments is the drum, which would seem to
be ubiquitous the world over. To make this drum the
man will cut a log from a tree which has been felled.
He will select a tree of comparatively soft, light wood.
Having cut out his log, he will sit down and bark it.
He will then lift it over a fire, on a tripod of stones,
261

262 The Life of the Men

and burn the middle. Next he will take a hard, sharp
fish-bone, something like a paper-knife, with a good
edge and point, and gouge out the charred part. Or
he will use a punch of shaped and sharpened rock. In
these days, when steel and iron may be procured from
the mainland, he may employ a metal gouge. By
repeated processes of burning and punching the log is
at length hollowed out. The man will go on scraping
it inside until he has made the wall of the thickness
he deems to be suitable. The man will not, of course,
essay to make a drum unless he has previously been
able to secure a deer or a wild pig in the chase, or has
killed a tiger. He hunts solely for food, and the drum
is simply the utilisation of that which would be other-
wise a waste product. The skin is taken by the man
and scraped clean of all hair and membranes until he
has made of it a coarse parchment. This he takes to
the edge of the sea, scrapes out a hole in the sand
into which water quickly flows, and places the parch-
ment to soak. When it is sufficiently soaked he cuts
with a knife two pieces of required size, draws them
over each end of the wooden body and secures them
with grass cordage and supple twigs. The drum is
placed to dry, not in too great heat, which might split
the body ; and in the process of drying the skin would
be drawn taut, and the man's work would be completed
by the sun.

To be able to possess a skin which can be utilised for
the making of a drum there must have been a successful

The Life of the Men 263

hunt. Even given good dogs, which have been taught
to hunt by being left upon an island to fend for them-
selves, it is not an easy thing to hit a fleet deer, as it
dashes past, with nothing better than a spear. The
Mawken have no other hunting weapon, so far as my
knowledge goes. I did not see nor hear of one of
them possessing a gun. The Mawken would come
under the Government Regulations which prohibit the
possession of fire-arms by the peoples of the country,
in the administered districts, unless they were in
military or police service, or had secured special
permission. The use of bows and arrows, as I have
previously mentioned, does not seem to have occurred
to the Sea Gypsies. The drums are exceedingly rare,
and some of the men do not even know how to set
about making them.

Clearing of the primeval jungle has taken place, in
patches, on some of the islands, and in this secondary
growth the Giant Bamboo may be found. While it is
not the case that bamboo always grows where virgin
forest has been cut, it is true that bamboo appears only
amongst secondary growth. Like the graceful crowns
of palm-trees of various kinds, the bamboo is one of
the distinguishing features of tropical landscape. The
Giant Bamboo, which may have stems from twenty to
thirty feet long, are of much use to the Mawken ; but,
as it occurs in only a few pkices, the men have to
search for it. Perhaps it may be true to say that the
Mawken know exactly where to search, as they have

264 The Life of the Men

explored the islands throughout. When a water-storer
is needed, a man will go in search of one of the clumps
of Giant Bamboo and cut one of the pieces with the
greatest diameter. From this he will remove all leaves,
and will carefully lt ring " a section of about six or
seven feet in length. He will break off the unrequired
ends carefully, so as not to split the piece he wants to
use ; and he will, as carefully, punch out all the nodes
except the last one, which is left to form the bottom
of the bucket. He then cuts away a half-section of
the top internode, so as to form a spout, or chute, for
pouring out the water; and he has a receptacle for use
which will contain about a gallon of fresh water. As
he does not think of making a bung for it, though he
might go so far as stuffing in a handful of leaves, the
bamboo must be stood in a perpendicular position
when containing water. Such bamboo water-holders
are seldom seen, as it is customary to keep a supply of
drinking-water in the cooking-pot when there is any
intention of not visiting a fresh-water-bearing island
for any length of time.

The smaller bamboos are utilised for flute-making.
The man cuts a piece about fifteen inches long and
punches out all the nodes save the top one. He cuts
a hole near the top, across which to blow so as to
produce a sound, and the flute is finished. There
seems to be no idea of stops. The Mawken flute is
the primitive " very first flute of all." It is possible to
inquire of the occupants of a hundred kabang without

The Life of the Men 265

meeting with a single possessor of a flute in these
days; for "these are the days of sadness," and the
men are seldom occupied in the making of musical
instruments.

Two pieces of smoothed wood serve for clappers,
and the making of these needs no description. Having
no metals, the Mawken are limited in the number of
their musical instruments ; and I could obtain no infor-
mation whatever about stringed instruments. It would
seem that they are not to be found at all.

Mention has been made of one use to which the
Giant Bamboo is sometimes put. Its chief use is for
the decking of the kabang. With the aid of dahs,
now easily procured by barter, the cutting down of
numbers of stems is an easy task, though care must
be taken to avoid snakes, which delight to make
bamboo clumps their habitat. A party of men and
boys will enter a bamboo jungle and in a com-
paratively short time return to the shore dragging a
good supply of stems. Squatting on the sands, they
will set to work to split and to cut them to length; and
when the kabang is ready for decking the men and
boys will soon have the bamboos placed in position
and lashed to the bars already fixed athwart the ship.
This bamboo forms a very light deck, or staging, and
so adds but little to the weight of the ship. Often it
is placed in position when green; and as it shrinks
considerably in the process of drying, the decks allow
of a good deal of ventilation. It is well that the evil-

266 The Life of the Men

smelling slush usually to be found in the bilge of the
kabang should not be bottled up. The men's most
arduous work is, undoubtedly, the building of the
kabang. To begin with, they have to go to one of
the larger islands where they can find not only the
hard, durable wood of a tree of sufficient height and
diameter, but also make a camp, well hidden from
boats passing up and down through the islands. To
fell one of these hardwood trees is no light task.
When it is accomplished, a straight length of twenty,
twenty-five or thirty feet is cut out, which the men
haul to a clearing and set up upon logs. Beneath it
they light fires, and keep them burning, without allow-
ing them to flare too much. When the wood is burned
enough, it is turned over, and the men set to work
upon it with axes or hatchets and hew out the charred
portion. I should have mentioned that all the outer
bark is peeled oif before the burning is begun.
Several times the wood will be turned over and burned,
and re-turned and hollowed out. All trace of charring
is eventually removed. The keel, for such it is to be,
is weighted in the middle and warped, so that the bows
and stern curve upwards. After this the men hack
out the scalloped " gangways " fore and aft, and the
work on the keel is complete. The next thing to do
is to make an expedition to an island upon which
may be found growing some of the palms the stems
of which are needed for building up the sides of the
ship. These are prickly things and have to be handled

The Life of the Men 267

with respect. The collectors remove the leafy parts,
load a full cargo and return to the " ship-yard."
There the work of removing the bark and the spines
proceeds. No time is wasted when the work of
kabang-buWd'mg is begun, as it is slow work at the
best. That is a special reason why the Mawken select
for their camp and ship-yard an island which has a
secret bay, where, free from molestation, the summer
camp may be a very pleasant thing. Although the
kabang, when completed, will be the property of one
man, the primitive co-operative principle which is
adopted by such peoples allows that the eventual
owner shall be assisted by other men. Perhaps he
has done a like service himself; if not, he will be
prepared to pay the debt in service at some future
time. In those cases in which a man's kabang is worn
out and one of his married sons is setting up house for
himself, with the intention of giving his father a roof
over his head, the old man will readily assist in the
work. And should there be any unmarried brothers,
who also will share the kabang, there is no difficulty
whatever in securing such co-operative effort. It is
unnecessary to describe how the crooks are driven into
the keel, how the palm stems are built up to form the
walls of the ship, and how the men apply the caulking
of resinous matter with their fingers. An interesting
part of the work, even to them, must always be the
laying of the rib of Giant Bamboo, one on either side
of the kabang, at about nine inches from the sill of the

268 The Life of the Men

gunwale, to perpetuate their sad history in the structure
of* their home. I do not think that it suggests sadness
to them. Rather it has come to be regarded, as some
ancients regarded the rainbow, as a symbol of safety
or deliverance.

At the close of a hard day's work, hacking at the
hardwood, or droughing and preparing the stems of
palms, the men will file down to the sea and cool,
refresh and disport themselves in the water. They
are as fond of a frolic in the sea as are any English
schoolboys. They thoroughly enjoy play after their
work, when it is possible to have play.

It may be of interest to mention that the Mawken
drink water only. They make no intoxicating
beverages, and they have no such stimulants as tea
and coffee. Cocoa also is unknown to them. I am
writing of the Mawken generally, of course. Some of
the visitors to Mergui and Victoria Point, as well as
those Mawken who company with the Chinese traders,
will have been introduced to these things, and it is not
unlikely that in course of time, unless the selling of
intoxicants to them is prohibited, they will be induced
to become frequenters of the toddy-shops.

"With some of the Mawken it has become a common
task to go out into the islands and to bring in ship-
loads of bark to Mergui for tanning. They have
been shown which barks are required, and the men
will work diligently blazing it off, loading, transporting
and unloading it. During the showery seasons the

The Life of the Men 269

work is rendered uncomfortable, owing to the presence
of multitudes of leeches, which affix themselves to the
men's scantily clad bodies and drink their blood with
gusto.

Another work which occupies a considerable portion
of the men's time is the making of the different kinds
of spears required for harpooning and for hunting.
The first step is to go into the jungle and to select
saplings of hardwood with straight stems. The men
will disbranch them on the spot, and bring them out to
a clearing to peel and cut them to lengths of about six
feet. When the harpoon is to be made, the butt end
of the shaft is ringed, or grooved, to enable a cord to
be affixed to it without slipping off. The spear-heads
may be of hard fish-bones ; but nearly all spear-heads
now are of iron or steel. It is possible to secure a
piece of a broken dah, or to get a bit of hoop-iron
from one of the go-downs where bales of rice-bags are
unpacked. The men laboriously grind the metal to
shape by rubbing it upon a piece of hard rock. The
head of the harpoon is made with one barb, or with
two barbs, as is thought well. It is driven firmly into
the end of the shaft and bound there. Files are very
rare, and the tedious work of grinding the metal to
shape will occupy parts of several days. If a head be
lost or broken, it does not become a matter of spending
another sixpence or a shilling ; it is a matter of another
quest for a piece of metal, and the prolonged effort
of fashioning it as required. Sometimes it may be

270 The Life of the Men

necessary to dive for shell, which can be bartered for
the metal. The oft-recurring need of tedious work of
this kind is easily overlooked by Westerners, who see
but the simple and limited stock-in-trade of such
people as the Mawken. Westerners who know no
more, who do not see the Mawken at work, and who
do not use their imagination, may easily be tempted
to condemn these people ofthand as a lazy lot. The
spear used in the hunt has a diamond-shaped head, and
it can easily be withdrawn from the body of a deer or
wild pig. Other spear-like weapons are made having
two long points or prongs. They are useful in lifting
fish out of the water, and they can be used for reaching
down wild fruit from the trees of the jungle.

I do not think that there is need to do more than to
make mention of the manufacture of cordage, lanyards
and cables, which gives the men a change of occupation.
Some of these are made of grasses, others of lianas,
and others, again, are of the inner bark of trees.

One of the most interesting pieces of work is that
of the slug-rake. A straight sapling is selected for the
handle, being cut to length and peeled. It is of light
wood. A broad strip of wood is prepared, into which
this handle is fixed; and the broad piece is held in
position by two stays, forming a triangle with it as the
base. At the apex of this triangle these stays are
fastened to the handle. Into the broad strip, which is
over four feet long and is fixed at right angles to the
handle, long " teeth " of pointed bamboo are fastened.

The Life of the Men 271

Longitudinal strips of bamboo run the length of the
rake, and are so fixed to cross-pieces that they form a
pocket the whole length of the rake. Into this pocket
the slugs slip when dislodged from the sand-banks by
the teeth of the rake. The slugs partially bury them-
selves in the sand, and the rake catches the protruding
part and so drags the creatures from their burrow.
This rake is used in the shallower waters only.

Mention has been made of Nbai's going down to the
floor of the ocean feet first. This is the method
usually adopted when the men are diving for pearl
oysters and sea-snails. If the water is not too deep
the men will go right down in this way, and walk
about the ocean floor, looking and feeling for their
spoil. In deeper waters it may be necessary to turn
and to descend head first, examining the floor and
the submarine rocks, while the body is poised in the
posture of an acrobat upon parallel bars. Care must
be taken not to grip nor to tread upon sea-urchins.
Crocodiles must be avoided, and the divers must ever
be on the alert for sharks.

Upon one occasion I arrived, by launch, in the ofHng
of a bay in which some Mawken were diving. The
kabang were kept more or less stationary by means of
the large stones which served for anchors. Even if
this did not touch the bottom, it would prevent much
movement. The work was proceeding quietly and
without any excitement. The men just slipped over
the bows of the kabang, and disappeared, feet first,

272 The Life of the Men

into the sea. When they had collected enough shells,
or had been below as long as they could manage, they
quietly came to the surface again. If they had shells,
these were placed on the deck of the kabang. And
frequently the men would climb the " gangway " and
sit in the bows to recover breath. In one kabang a
young fellow was lying prone upon the fore-deck.
His ears, eyes and nose were bleeding profusely. It
was explained to me that he had not been diving for
some time and was out of practice. One's system has
slowly to become inured to the deeper diving; and
after a long break in this kind of work it is necessary
to resume it gradually, just as in the case of a long fast
the return to normal diet must be gradual. I knew
of nothing which would afford him relief, and I could
offer nothing but my commiserations. Maybe they
were not altogether worthless.

I may conclude these remarks by making the re-
minder that, since the conditions of life of the Mawken
are so unsettled and precarious, it is not to be wondered
at that their occupations should be limited in number,
if not in duration.

CHAPTER XXIV

PSYCHOLOGICAL PHENOMENA, OR HOW-
SUGGESTION WORKS

IT was customary for Nbai and the other Mawken
who lived with me at Maulmein to accompany me
on my trips to Mergui. By this means they kept
in touch with their relatives and friends, and at Mergui
they assisted me greatly in my further investigations.
To see me in company with some of their own people,
and on familiar terms with them, dispelled the fear of
the others, who had not forgotten the days when
Mawken visiting Mergui and going to draw water from
the public wells were pelted with mud by the Burmese
inhabitants of the town.

Upon the occasion of my last visit but one Nbai left
me to pay a visit to his father-in-law, who usually roved
about the more distant islands, in order to see how his
other two boys were getting on. His trip occupied
rather more time than I had anticipated, and I began
to be concerned about him. On the morning of the
day on which we were to catch the coasting steamer
back to Maulmein Nbai turned up at the circuit house,
and at once I noticed by the expression of his face
that something was seriously amiss. It is not the
custom of the Mawken to conceal their feelings, and
their faces are sure indices of their state of mind,
s 273

274 Psychological Phenomena, or

" What is the matter, Nbai ? Why do you look
like that?" I inquired. And his first reply was a brief
" Manut anion ha ! " (" A man is not good ! ") " What
man ? " I then asked. " Inglit ? Tnow ? " (" English ?
Burman?") " Ha, Mawken J '" ("No, Mawken ! ")
he rejoined.

He explained that amongst these distant islands
where his father-in-law lived there was a Mawken man
who was addicted to evil practices, who terrorised and
victimised his fellows, and did much harm. He said
that the Mawken there were much agitated ; but they
could not free themselves from the cruel tyrant, because
wherever they went he followed. Amongst the victims
of this man who was working bad works was the
father-in-law of Nbai. He, Nbai, was afraid lest his
father-in-law should be killed and his two little boys
left without a guardian. I tried to learn what was the
nature of the happenings which produced such disturb-
ing effects, but all that I could gather was that the
wicked man stole things and killed people. Nbai was
so concerned that he decided not to return to Maulmein
with me, and gave me clearly to understand this. I
tried to dissuade him at first, urging that perhaps after
all he was mistaken in thinking that any harm would
befall his father-in-law; then when I saw that there
was something more serious than I was able to compre-
hend, I bowed to the inevitable and acquiesced, obtain-
ing an assurance that Nbai would find out from
Mr Walkem the day of my next visit to Mergui, and

How Suggestion Works 275

would come to see me. I was resigning myself with
some composure to the situation when Nbai made the
disturbing remark : " If he kills my father-in-law, I shall
kill him." It had so happened that, quite recently, I
had presented Nbai with a new, well-sharpened dah,
and he was thus provided with a very effective weapon
for his purpose.

I called Nbai aside, out of earshot of others, and
quietly reasoned with him, reminding him of the teach-
ing he had received from me, and showing him that,
although the man's doings were wrong, yet, if he
carried out his expressed intention, there would be two
bad men instead of one. He hung his head and listened
patiently, and acknowledged the truth of the statement
that two wrongs cannot make one right. He made no
promise, however, and I was careful not to attempt to
extract one from him. I knew that if his conscience
accepted the truth he would follow its dictates. It
would be, from the psychological viewpoint, a case of
self-discipline, instead of a discipline imposed from
without by the extraction of a promise. I confess that
I was not sure of the course he would decide to take,
and I let him go, not without some qualms, hoping for
the best.

It is not well here to go into fuller details.

I took particular care to notify Mr Walkem of the
date of my next visit to Mergui, and I was some-
what chagrined at not finding Nbai awaiting my landing
on the steamer jetty. I was even more concerned

276 Psychological Phenomena, or

upon reaching the circuit house to find he was not
waiting for me there, and had not put in an appearance
at all.

My luggage was brought up, my unpacking was
done, and my Tamil boy prepared and brought me
breakfast. The Hindu had run in early, and we
were able to land immediately after chota hazri.

It was just as I had finished my repast that Nbai
came up into the verandah. He came very quietly, and
there was a serious, yet calm, expression on his face.

" Well, Nbai," I said, " what about your
father-in-law ? "

" Matai ka " (" Is dead "), he replied.

" What did you do ? "

" Here," he replied, at the same time handing me a
" curiosity " which I treasure to this day.

It is a bag of plaited palm-leaf. The leaf has been
soaked in water for days, then sun-dried and beaten,
and cut into strips of the right width, which is about
one-fifth of an inch. It is soft and pliable like a so-
called " Panama." I say " so-called " because the
Panama is made in Jamaica ! The bag measures seven
inches by five, being without box edges. The front is
extended beyond the mouth when the bag is opened,
and the extension folds down when it is closed. The
back is also extended, and is of such a length that it
can be folded over the front and form a wrapper. The
bag is kept closed by means of a length of plaited inner
bark of a tree.

How Suggestion Works 277

Upon opening this interesting envelope I found a
small bamboo phial measuring three and a half inches
in length, with a diameter of an inch and a quarter. It
is neatly fashioned, and the top pushes over the bottom
after the manner of a pill-box. I found this to contain
some maroon sand, which, to one who knows the
Archipelago, tells its own tale. Besides the bamboo
phial there are several twists of dirty rags, each twist
containing about a small thimbleful of sand. I find that
one of these has white sand, which also tells its tale.
There is also a pair of jaws, cut off from the elongated
fish which jumps along the surface of the water on its
tail when disturbed. And perhaps most interesting of
all is a little image, made of wax, representing a man,
around which is wound a piece of string. The image
measures two inches and a half.

Upon examining these contents of the bag my
curiosity was, as anyone might suppose, keenly aroused.
Whatever was the meaning of it all !

This is the explanation given by Nbai and afterwards
corroborated by other Mawken.

The Wicked Man — I must call him that, as I do
not know his name — lived by blackmail, or something
akin to it. He did no work himself; but he went
about amongst the people and demanded gifts of rice
and fish, of shells and nests, of mats, or anything else
he happened to desire. Not infrequently he succeeded
in obtaining anything for which he cared to ask.
Sometimes there was an attempt to resist his inordinate

278 Psychological Phenomena, or
and extortionate demands. When, for instance, the
occupants of a kabang had just obtained a small supply
of rice in exchange for hard-won spoils of the sea
(oysters or slugs), and the Wicked Man demanded
this rice, he would meet with a refusal. Or when the
occupants of another kabang had worked hard, diving
for oysters, scraping for slugs, or climbing dangerous
rocks for nests, they were loath to hand these things
over at the mere behest of the Wicked Man. When-
ever such resistance to his demands was encountered
he would wait his chance and, when it occurred, he
would take his revenge.

Although the Mawken, as has been explained already,
live in their kabang^ it becomes necessary for them to
land sometimes in order to obtain fresh water or to
collect fire-wood. The Wicked Man (perhaps I should
explain that this is how the Mawken alluded to him)
would mark his victim, and when he stepped on to the
sands he would follow and pick up some of the sand
from the imprint of his foot. This sand he would
wrap up in a twist of rag or paper, or deposit it in a
bamboo phial. The idea being that if one takes sand
from the imprint of the foot of another, the one who
takes the sand — if he be possessed of "powers" —
obtains an influence over the person from the imprint
of whose foot the sand has been taken. In some
cases the mere knowledge that the Wicked Man had
done this would reduce the terrified victim to sub-
mission, and he would " hand over the swag." Some

How Suggestion Works 279

Mawken ignored this preliminary action, and some
were ignorant that it had taken place.

Having secured the necessary " control " by the
taking up of the sand, the Wicked Man would then
go in search of a hive of wild bees. Such hives may
be found in the hollows of trees in the jungle which
mantles most of the islands. If the tree could not be
climbed it was cut down. The honey would, of course,
be taken, it being regarded as a delicacy by all the
Mawken. It was not, however, the honey that was
being sought. It was the wax of the honey-comb.
Some of this wax would be pressed and worked up
into a ball, and into this ball of wax the sand taken
from a footprint would be mixed. The wax would
then be rolled out between the palms of the hands,
broken into convenient lengths and modelled in the
form of a man — head, body, arms and legs complete —
like a " sexless " boy doll. The next step was for the
Wicked Man to obtain a piece of string (sometimes to
be found round packets of goods secured by barter in
Mergui), or, failing that, some long grass, the pliable
inner bark of a sapling, or the shreds of a garment.
Anything which could be wound round the image
representing the victim would do. Apparently women
were never victimised. I could learn of no instance in
which a woman had been singled out. The Wicked
Man would return with the image and the winding,
seek out his victim, and inform him that he was going
to wind up his image, and that he would fall ill. The

280 Psychological Phenomena, or

image would then be taken to an island supposed to be
the abode of a spirit who would do as requested. It
was placed on the ground between two candles, also
made of beeswax, and the request would be made to
cause the victim to fall ill. The victim would fall ill,
invariably, so far as my inquiries could ascertain.
Sometimes, in order to enhance his reputation, and add
to his powers of securing instant obedience to his
demands, the Wicked Man would inform his victim
that he was about to wind up the image from head to
feet and he, the victim, should die. Invariably, so it
appeared from evidence, the victim died.

The white sand in the twist of cloth is evidence
that the Wicked Man had taken sand from a footprint
on one of the distant islands in the north of the
Archipelago; while the maroon sand was similar evi-
dence of his having worked down to the south, in the
neighbourhood of Victoria Point. And these samples
of sand are corroborative evidence that his beat knew
no bounds throughout the Archipelago !

Nbai's father-in-law had been one of the victims,
and had died. There can scarcely be any need for me
to explain that imagination (as distinct from fancy) is
a great power in our life. And if superstition (an
extravagant regard for the inexplicable and unknown)
be allowed to act upon our fear, serious physical as
well as mental results can be effected. We know how
fear will cause a trembling of the legs and cold shivers
down the back, and a blanching of the face. I doubt

How Suggestion Works 281

if anyone who has had any Christian teaching what-
ever, even though he proclaim himself an atheist or an
agnostic, is capable of the intense fear of people whose
superstition is great because their ignorance is colossal.
Such a fear, especially under the conditions of tropical
living, does produce serious physical results. It induces
a hopeless abandonment (against which, to give a
classical instance, Mrs Dombey was urged to fight —
though her abandonment was not superstitious, but a
simple resignation). Doctors who have worked in
India bear witness to the effect of this when an
epidemic of cholera occurs. The people simply lie
down and die. Intestinal and nervous disorders are
also produced, and the victim sooner or later departs
this life. We know something of the dangers of
hypnotic suggestion ; and it is not difficult to realise
the potency of suggestion, when there is an unshaken
belief in the ability of a man to invoke the aid of the
powers of evil.

How did Nbai come to have this bag in his posses-
sion? The explanation is equally interesting from a
psychological viewpoint, if all other viewpoints must be
excluded.

The result of years of residence with me and con-
tinued teaching was that Nbai was freed from the
usual superstitions of the Mawken. He had outlived
them. The change was physically evident, as his face
bore no trace of a hunted expression, his glance was
frank and fearless, and his bearing was that of one

282 Psychological Phenomena, or

who had "found his manhood." When he revisited
Mergui with me each quarter he was the centre of an
interested and admiring crowd of Mawken. He had
many things to tell — things he had seen, things he had
heard, and things he had done. The abandonment of
the opium habit had naturally worked wonders in his
physical condition. When he returned to find that
his father-in-law was dead, he made inquiries as to the
whereabouts of the Wicked Man, and he followed him
up. I would have given much to have seen that
meeting ! The Wicked Man was overmatched. Here
was a fellow-Mawken who showed not the slightest
sign of fear, and, moreover, a Mawken who was, com-
paratively, a moral and spiritual giant. The Wicked
Man was simply cowed. He submissively acceded to
the demand to hand over his " whole bag of tricks,"
and Nbai was thus able to delay, if not to prevent, the
ills intended for those other Mawken the sand of
whose footprints had not yet been worked into an
image. After this and other experiences of happen-
ings amongst peoples whose psychological and spiritual
conditions conduce to such things, I can see some mean-
ing in the story of an arrest in which one narrator
mentions that those who were about to make the arrest
" went backward and fell to the ground."

No blows were struck by Nbai. Of this there was
ample evidence. My great regret in connection with
this matter is that I was unable to make an important
experiment, and to ascertain what eventually happened

How Suggestion Works 283

to the Wicked Man. Such knowledge will by this
time be difficult of attainment.

I am gratified that, as with the opium question, Nbai
was able to exercise a proper j-^discipline. (But I
should give an entirely erroneous impression did I not
express my honest conviction that he did it not in his
own unaided strength.)

Below the verandah in which our conversation had
taken place, after breakfast, several Mawken were
congregated. It had become usual for the Mawken to
make inquiries of the times of my arrival, and for some
of them either to meet the steamer or to come up to
the circuit house to greet me. To these people we
went down, and I asked them to go with me down the
town to the smaller jetty, near to which, as I had
ascertained, some others were assembled in their
kabang. Nbai and I led the way, and the Mawken
trailed after us. Near to that jetty stood a large pipul-
tree, under the shade of which I took my stand ; then
calling all the Mawken there to me I told them that
I had something important to say. I referred to the
story I had heard from Nbai, and showed them the
bag and its contents. Then I went on to explain that
if they did not believe what the Wicked Man said to
them nothing would happen.

This was not understood. Several of the Mawken
shook their heads dolefully, and exclaimed: "Chan* baf"
(" He understands not ! ") Someone broke in to explain
that she had lost her husband ; another said that he had

284 Psychological Phenomena, or

lost his brother, and yet another that she had lost her
son. I listened patiently, and when they had finished
speaking I said, speaking to them in Mawken:

" I am not saying that I do not believe you. I do believe
you. I know that these things about which you tell me
can happen. And I believe that they have happened
as you say. I want you to know, however, that when
the Wicked Man tells anyone he will fall ill, if the
man does not believe him he will not fall ill. And when
the Wicked Man tells anyone he will die, if that man
does not believe him he will not die."

My general impression was, as I looked at their faces,
that they did not perceive my meaning ; so I turned
to Nbai and asked him to try to make things more
comprehensible to them. He spoke earnestly and at
some length, and, by such exclamations as " Anion ! "
(" Good ! ") I was led to conclude that some had at
last followed my meaning. This alfresco conference
broke up with expressions of genuine satisfaction,
mingled with a deep concern. The latter was occasioned
by my assuring them that when next I visited Mergui
I should go out into the islands in search of the Wicked
Man, insist upon his taking sand from my footprint,
work it into an image and call upon the evil spirit to
do his worst. I knew full well that it was a course of
action not devoid of some risks, because auto-suggestion
may work positively when one seeks to exclude all but
a negative. And had I fallen ill the result would have
been disastrous !

How Suggestion Works 285

But, as it transpired, I made no other trip to the
Mergui Archipelago. To my great disappointment
then, and ever since, a train of circumstances led to my
not returning to work in Burma for a second period ;
and in order to make things easier for the man who
was to fill my post when my time expired, I exchanged
with him for my last three months, and allowed him
and his bride to come into the parsonage at Maulmein,
instead of setting up house for three months at Bassein
and at the end of that time moving over.

I left the Mawken looking for my return. What
can they have thought of me since ? My successor
felt no call to include this work in the work of the
chaplaincy — it entailed learning the Mawken language.
He, as it happened, held the post for about two years,
and there have been several changes since.

The incident I have related is but one of many which
occur amongst these Mawken ; and one has left them
with the knowledge that, without knowledge and
without help, they are still subject to such consequences
of their ignorance and superstitions.

From the psychologist's point of view, it is an
interesting instance of how Suggestion works.

CHAPTER XXV

A COMPARATIVE STUDY

EVEN in these days of Comparative Studies it is
still advisable to write an apologia for making
comparisons. It is, we may say, an "accident"
that I should have worked in Burma and in British
Guiana. And it is an " accident " that I had to learn,
and to commit to writing, the Mawken language and the
Makuchi language. And comparisons made between
the two peoples may be said to be fortuitous. Let
all this be admitted ; yet it remains true that such a
comparison — however fortuitous — brings to light some
things which would not otherwise be noticed. We
have to-day comparative philology, comparative religion,
and all the comparative work of anthropology.

I would begin with a strikingly simple comparison.

The Mawken of Burma-Malaya find that the season
of the monsoon is the favourable season for them. In
place of torrents of rain, high winds and cyclones,
bringing in their train discomfort, starvation and even
death, they enjoy fair weather, freedom of movement
over the waters, and opportunities for obtaining the
necessaries of life. In counting years they employ
the word used for the good season, or summer
months. They do not keep long count of years and
cannot tell their exact age. It is easy to recollect,

286

A Comparative Study 287

however, for a few years, how many " summers " a
little child has lived. There is a word for Rainy
Season, and there is a word for Fine Season. No
word to combine both periods exists, as a separate term.
So the word for the Fine Season comes to indicate the
full year, just because the age of the little one is
counted by that little one's Fine Seasons.

To the Makuchi the months of fine weather are
the months of scarcity. Their provisions do not yield
plentifully, and sometimes they run very short of all
but farine. During the Rainy Season there is
abundance. The field, or forest-clearing, yields in
abundance bananas, pine-apples, maize, yams, tannias
and cassava. Game is driven from the nullahs, often
being flooded out. Fish come up in numbers to spawn,
and spread, with the floods, over the country. It is,
indeed, especially towards the latter end, a time of
plenty. Now the Makuchis have a word for Dry
Season and a word for Wet Season. In counting the
years of their children they use the term for the Wet
Season. Being on land, and not on sea, the rain-storms
and high winds do not endanger their lives, and,
having wind-proof houses, they can be safe when they
wish to be under cover. The Mawken "shelter" on
the boat, has no wall and no door. It is simply a rain-
splitter, with the gable-ends open.

In England it has been customary to speak of
children as being so many summers old, in such ex-
pressions as : " She was a little maid of seven summers."

288 A Comparative Study

I am not myself in a position to continue the com-
parison. So far as I can begin it, taking the cases of
peoples in the East and in the West, it is seen that
even such diverse people as the Mawken and Makuchi
agree in ignoring the unpleasant period of the year
and in marking time by the period which, in each case,
is the Time of Plenty.

In Religion the Mawken had no conception of God.
Their language has no word for God, the Ultimate
Source, the Creator. The word Thida, now used for
God, has come to them from the Siamese, and it has
come within comparatively modern times. In Siamese,
however, Thida is the name of the wife of Brahma, so
I am informed by a Siamese student in England. It
would be interesting, therefore, to learn how the term
came to be used of the Creator by the Mawken.
There were the spirits, who could help or hurt. And
in the inicha-blerfs incantation we have the name of
the chief of the spirits who can help. This spirit is
supplicated, but not adored. There is nothing in the
nature of worship. And there are no tabus. Evil
spirits are not worshipped ; they may be avoided or
propitiated, or their aid sought in working harm.
Thida is still afar off. He (note the sex pronoun) will
not harm, and he may be ignored in ordinary life.

The Makuchi has the term Peku Thekatong, mean-
ing the Great Spirit. The word thekatong is ordinarily
used of shadow, as well as of the inmost of Man's
supposed quadruple personality. The Makuchi idea

\ Sor< mker's " Bag or Tricks."

iss bag of the Micha iiap or witch-doctor contains l>u -- of rag
and paper and a bamboo bottle, with the lid off, each containing
~and trom a man's footprints; also a wax image ol th< person
whom he desires to influence, wound round with string.

With h

5CAM \-. i \ i i r
hi i tail I h >li Iribullo inimal

A Comparative Study 289

of personality, I should explain, is that of a quadrinity,
not a trinity. The Great Spirit, being harmless, is
ignored, and there is no worship, and no supplication.
There are evil spirits, to be avoided, and to be warded
off by charms, the smearing of anatto over the body
being especially efficacious. Anatto symbolises blood.
The help of good spirits may be sought, as by the
peazung 1 ; and well-disposed genii may also be invoked.

In both cases, Mawken and Makuchi, " Creation
Stories " bear the marks of comparatively modern
times ; and in both cases they fail to go back to " the
beginning."

The comparison, although not exhaustive, is interest-
ing in showing that, so far as language and folklore go,
these two very different peoples managed without a
conception of God, for a long period at least, in the
distant past — the period in which their languages were
being evolved. The age-long belief in spiritual beings
seems to have satisfied the " instinct " for communion
with " powers beyond us," powers not subject to death.
And, in both cases, the belief in the persistence of the
human spirit after the death of the body would seem
to be as old as the language. Now that we realise
that Adam and Eve (Eve being the later name of the
female, or child-bearing, Adam — the original pair,
male and female, both being at first called Adam)
were the typical founders of the Semite race, and now
that it is no longer a sin to wonder if humanity sprang

1 Peaxung= wizard.

290 A Comparative Study

from a single pair, or from several pairs, in different
parts of the world, these early ideas of spiritual
beings and the persistence of human life are of even
greater interest than they were before. Although we
may " wonder " or surmise much, we cannot settle the
question now.

With regard to language. Many are the times I
have been questioned as to the size and quality of the
vocabularies of the Mawken and the Makuchi. A
general impression in England seems to be that peoples
who live a simple life of this kind must possess a very
poor language. The supposition is reasonably based
upon the thought that the less complex the life, and
the less of science and art, the fewer will be the words
needed to express names for objects and terms for
abstractions. We might be led to reason that while
this is likely of a people which has not developed much,
a people which has got into a " backwash," it would not
be improbable to find that a people now living a simple
life, descended from ancestors who lived a more complex
life, would, in spite of their simple life of to-day, retain
a large vocabulary. If this line of reasoning be sound,
it would appear that the Mawken belong to the former
category and the Makuchi to the latter.

It has already been shown that the Mawken language
knows neither inflection nor conjugation. Chi may be
I, me or my. Lakow may be go, shall go or went,
and may be first, second or third person, and either
singular or plural. It is the simplest form of language

A Comparative Study 291

of which one can conceive. And yet it boasts of a
term in oceanography which we had not thought of
coining, to which reference has already been made.

Makuchi, on the other hand, is a remarkably rich
language. While it lacks the dual, it possesses a fuller
verb than Greek. It has an ordinary imperative, such
as may be used by a parent to a child. It has an im-
perative which brooks no alternative, which is very
useful in times of stress and danger ; it has imperatives
of nearness and imperatives of distance. The termina-
tion of a verb will tell a Makuchi whether he is to light
the camp-fire where he happens to be, or where you
happen to be. The imperative termination will explain
to a man whether he is to remain where he is and call
someone whose presence you need, or go forth and
call that person. To the Makuchi a boat is neither in
the water nor on the water, so there is a special pre-
position. So, too, a person is not in a doorway, under
a doorway, nor through a doorway; again there is a
special preposition. A bird on a branch is not in a
tree nor upon a tree, it is "without" the tree (outside
its bark). In place of relative pronouns there are
prepositional pronouns and verb-participle pronouns,
which allow of nice distinctions which cannot be made
in Knglish without a great deal of circumlocution.
There are words, or names, for that which no longer
exists among them ; such is the word for " trained
soldier." It is not a word for "warrior" or "brave,"
us an individual, but the term for a man definitely

292 A Comparative Study

trained with other men to fight. As the Mawken
have taken words from the Burmese and the Malay, so
the Makuchi have adopted words from the Germans,
through the Dutch, and from the Portuguese, through
the Brazilians. The word Siundaka is, evidently,
Sonntag (Sunday).

In another respect, a comparison, though fortuitous,
is enlightening. It is a subject upon which we have
much evidence in these days. The number of diseases
was limited. This number has been increased by con-
tact with civilised peoples, and the new diseases have
played, and continue to play, havoc with the peoples
of primitive, or " uncivilised," life. Small-pox is from
time to time a scourge amongst Mawken and Makuchi.
Phthisis is working havoc amongst the Makuchi, being
"assisted," though, as we know, not caused, by the
taking to European dress. So far the Mawken seem
to have escaped this contamination. I need go no
further in this matter, save to mention that, as with the
Makuchi, so with the Mawken, monogamy is the rule.
The Mawken would seem never to make an exception,
though occasionally a Makuchi will take a second and
younger wife while the old one is yet alive. In both
cases, Mawken and Makuchi, promiscuity and harlotry
are being introduced by the " civilised " peoples, with
the attendant horrors. From these things the Mawken,
being so timid of all strangers, are so far almost immune.

With regard to diet, Mawken and Makuchi recognise
(when they are obtainable) three regular meals a day,

A Comparative Study 293

one of which is but a light repast. The preparations
for these, and the partaking of them, are easy matters,
and the complications of the commissariat department
of the European home are unknown. Fish and game,
frizzled or boiled (nothing fried and nothing baked),
with rice (Mawken) or farine (Makuchi), with occasional
wild honey and some fruits, roots and vegetables,
comprise the menu, which may be read from the top
to-day and from the bottom to-morrow. Like most
American Indians, of whom one has read, the Makuchis
will sometimes gorge. I have not heard of an instance
in which the Mawken have been able to do so, should
they have had the inclination. I never found Nbai and
the other Mawken with me attempt to overeat.

This reminds me that Europeans have often cursed
a tropical climate as being unhealthy, or a tropical
country as being a " white man's grave," when all the
time neither the climate nor the country is to blame.
The white man's dress, the white man's diet and the
white man's undisciplined life have been chief causes
of trouble, together with the innocent ignoring of the
" contemptible little mosquito." To Europeans tropical
heat is enervating, and, apart from this, neither climate
(as such) nor country (as such) should be blamed. We
know that colour is protective from the actinic rays of
the sun; and when we make allowance for the white
man's lack of this protection (during early days, anyhow)
we are forced to inquire, when we study Makuchi or
Mawken, why they have persisted, and would have

294 A Comparative Study

multiplied exceedingly but for " accidental " influences
which have nothing to do with climate or country.

From the serious to the trifling, I would refer once
more to tinned salmon. When the Mawken, on the
occasion of our picnic, took the plates of rice and salmon
to the water's edge and solemnly wiped the salmon into
the sea, it was natural that I should have recalled my
first meeting with the Akawatho Indians (Aka wuratho
- Heaven-man), upon the upper reaches of the
Masaruni, in Guiana, on my trip to the diamond fields
there in 1902. On that occasion it was a case of boiled
rice and tinned salmon, some of which we gave to the
Akawathos. They took the plates, looked at the salmon
and quietly wiped it into the river. Evidently experi-
ence has taught that strange foods are to be avoided.

And one final comparison. It did not occur to me at
that time to question Nbai as to the Mawken idea of
the gender, or nature, of stars, when he said, in looking
at the " flying stars," that they were going to lie down
with wife-stars. It did not occur to me that there was
anything but picturesque language in it. On taking
up Makuchi and doing translation work my eyes
were opened to a possible misconception amongst the
Mawken. Usually my wife and I wrote hymns and
composed the melodies for them when we were working
amongst the Makuchis. Sometimes we gave them a
version of one of our hymns. One of the hymns
selected for a version was, " Praise the Lord, ye
Heavens, adore Him." When I came to the passage

A Comparative Study 295

which runs, "Sun and moon, rejoice before Him," I
found that the stanza scanned better if, in Makuchi,
I rendered it as, "Sun, moon and stars, rejoice before
Him." And when I came to translate the word
" stars " I found that in Makuchi the plural would be,
"Chirike thame." "Chirike" means "star," and
"thame" is the plural. But my knowledge of the
language, at that time, told me that while gong (or, for
euphony, kong) is the plural for inanimates, such as
tegong (rocks), thame is the plural of animates, such as
haka thame (cows), kariwina thame (fowls), and poinga
thame (wild pigs). This led me to inquire as to the
Makuchi idea of a star.

" Do you think that a star is a living thing — living
like a fowl, a cow or a peccary ? " I asked.

" Yes," came the reply ; " it moves."

The conversation which followed need not be given
here. It is enough to say that I convinced the
Makuchis that their idea was wrong and, in conse-
quence, their plural was wrong. They, then, agreed
that their language in this respect must be corrected ;
and now the plural for star is not Chirike thame. It is
Chirike gong.

I am left wondering!

What is the Mawken idea of a star ?

CHAPTER XXVI

"science &- art" amongst the mawken

ONE night as we were sitting out upon the
balcony which extended in front of my
parsonage at Maulmein several meteorites,
or " shooting stars," were seen. I turned to Nbai,
who was sitting on the floor beside me, and asked him
what he thought about them. He entered into an
excited explanation, the gist of which was to explain
that these " flying stars " (so he called them) were on
their way to lie down to rest with female stars. The
word for female is the same as that for wife, and it
is possible that I should translate his words as " wife
stars." The idea behind this "explanation" eluded
me, and I am not able to express an opinion as to
whether or not the Mawken regard the stars as living
beings, with a life similar to that of birds and animals.
This idea exists amongst other peoples, and, in order
not to perpetuate a wrong notion about the nature of
stars, I found it necessary to correct the plural form
in a language the users of which regarded stars as
living things similar to cows and fowls.

The Mawken possess no pseudo-science of astrology.
They have not grasped the fact that every part of the
vast universe is, in a wonderful way, dependent upon,

296

Mawken " Science &> Art" 297

and influenced by, every other part; much less have
they thought of connecting the appearance of a star,
or other celestial object, with special influences upon
the birth of a particular child. They have not yet
learned from the Burmese to cast horoscopes before a
name is selected and given to a child, and the giving of
a name does not call for the exercise of any mathe-
matical gymnastics, as amongst the Burmese. It would
appear that often they pick up names in the streets of
Mergui and apply them to their offspring, regardless
of stars and dates. So one may find amongst the
names of Mawken people and children some taken
from Burmese, others from Chinese, some from English,
and others from Indians or Malays.

Further conversation upon this and upon other
occasions revealed the fact that the Mawken's Science
of Astronomy is very small. We can recognise the
stars which they call "the fighting cocks." The
regular appearance of certain stars is observed; and
the position of the moon in the sky and of Orion's
Belt are guides to direction. It may be unnecessary
to explain that the geocentric theory of the universe
prevails, and colours all their conceptions.

Geography is "a very little thing" with them. The
world consists of the Mergui Archipelago and the sea,
with islands far to the west (the Nicobar), India to
the north, other islands to the south, and Burma,
China and Siam to the east. Their ignorance cannot
be regarded as blameworthy, much less can it be taken

298 Mawken " Science &> Art"

as an indication of lack of intelligence. It is simply due
to the lack of opportunities for acquiring more extensive
knowledge. Having no literature, they cannot read
of these things for themselves. Those who take know-
ledge to them find that they assimilate it with avidity.

Of shells and fish there is little which can be known
by observation which they do not know. That they
should have names for the various kinds of oysters,
crabs and shrimps is not at all remarkable ; but that
they should be careful to distinguish the numerous
small shell-fish and the tiny denizens of the sea is note-
worthy. It means that they have an extensive nomen-
clature ; and this is accompanied by intimate knowledge
of the species. A conchologist would be able to have
a delightful and profitable time were he to tour the
Archipelago in company with such a Mawken as was
Nbai. Scientists might, with advantage, make use of
such people as these, and unless their services are
secured soon they may ere long be unobtainable. The
Mawken know where the various things are to be
found, and they know the best ways of securing them
when wanted. It was only because I was not a con-
chologist that I failed to secure and record a mass of
information, and neglected to make a collection which
would probably have brought some new species to light.

In a churchyard in a small village in Suffolk there
is a monument inscribed to Orlando Whistlecraft,
"Weather prophet and poet." Tradition has it that
his brother knew it would be wet when the prophet

Mawken "Science &* Art" 299

said it would be fine, and was safe in leaving his
umbrella at home when his brother said it would rain.
The Mawken have a better knowledge of weather
than that ! Where the seasons are regular, prophecy,
in a general way, is easier than in places where people
have only "samples of weather." When squally
weather was about, the Mawken, owing to years of
close observation, rendered keener because upon their
judgments their very life might depend, could give
forecasts which were often astonishing. Many were
the times when I consulted Nbai as to the advisability
of taking a change of shoes and an umbrella and
waterproof if invited out to dinner; and several times
did he amaze me by an assurance, in spite of lowering
clouds, that there would be no rain until just before
midnight, which would allow of my getting home quite
safely after dinner. His assurance was, upon every
occasion, justified. Sometimes it would be the case
that I would feign disregard for a few fleecy clouds,
and he would warn me that rain would fall before I
should return home. He was correct, whichever way
he prognosticated.

Botanical knowledge covers a wild field, but it is
superficial. The names of numerous trees, shrubs
and plants can be obtained from these people ; and
they know which are the durable and which are the
soft woods. They have learned which barks are
required for the tannery at Mergui; and they know
which trees to cut down for the keels of their boats.

300 Mawken "Science @f Art"

They can tell which are the deciduous and which are
evergreen trees. They can identify trees and plants
by their leaves, without requiring to see the growth
itself. These are, I think, the limits of their botanical
knowledge. I began a collection of pressed leaves;
and it was in making this collection that I discovered
the long list of names they possess. My next step was
to have been the noting of trees and shrubs which
bore edible fruits, and the listing of edible roots.

They did not appear to know of edible fungi, and it
would seem to be likely that their ignorance on the
subject is as vast as that of the average person in
England, who would assure you that the Giant Puff
Ball is poisonous, and would be horrified if you
suggested their eating a Ruddy Warted Cap, a Parasol
Mushroom or a Boletus.

In the neglect to inform aboriginal peoples, in time,
many rare and valuable trees and plants are destroyed
by them, in their ignorance. Even a little knowledge
may be a useful thing in this respect. Living such
an unsettled life, the Mawken naturally are limited in
the amount of damage they do, yet they cannot avoid
doing some. Burma is an orchid country, the home of
dendrobiums, and rare orchids may be found on some
of the islands of the Archipelago. An orchid is of no
value to a Mawken in his present condition of life, and
with his existing ignorance of botany as a science.

The Science of Comparative Religion is beginning
to dawn upon some of them. It must not be assumed,

Mawken "Science &P Art" 301

however, that a Mawken boy whose head gives
evidence of the adoption of the tonsure of a low-caste
Hindu possesses any knowledge of caste. He has but
paid a visit to a street barber — a Hindu — squatting
by the roadside and plying his trade alfresco, and has
been marked in this way according to the barber's
ideas of the fitness of things. Or a Mawken man,
a copyist of the roadside barber, may have, in his
innocence, inflicted this mark upon him. Contact with
Buddhists must be puzzling to the Mawken, who
are Deists (though not Theists) ; and they may, un-
wittingly, become idolaters, which the understanding
Buddhists are not.

It has already been shown that they have nothing
which can be termed a Science of Medicine. And
surgery is wholly unknown to them. Some of the late
Sir Victor Horsley's surgical feats would have astonished
the Mawken beyond measure. Bone-setting is not
dreamed of; and broken limbs are left to take care
of themselves. Scientists might make some use of the
Mawken in getting them to locate and to collect
medicinal plants and barks.

To suggest a Science of Chemistry is futile.

It is knowledge which the Mawken need. They have
the capacity for acquiring it, and they quickly learn how
to apply it. They are, some of them, within very sight
of certain of the applied sciences. They are looking
through a glass door, of which we keep the key.

With regard to some things they possess the

302 Mawken "Science &? Art"

knowledge, the value of which they do not understand.
Other knowledge they have, which they know how to
apply.

When I am asked, " Have the Mawken any
science?" it is difficult to give an answer. So far as
" the sciences " are concerned, the Mawken are in the
innocent condition of not knowing that they know.
In other respects, they are unaware of their ignorance.

As with Science, so with Art. Carving is of the
most elementary kind, and even in this form it is done
only in wood. The katoi ka-e and the tray of the
micha-blen are the only carved objects I could find.
And it is rather stretching the term carving to apply
it to the former at all. Although the Mawken have
been diving for pearl oysters for generations, they
have not developed an art in the fashioning and en-
graving of the beautiful shells. This is done to-day
by the Burmese and Chinese of Mergui ; and the
Mawken are ignorant of the fact that were they to
acquire this art they would add considerably to their
earnings. One may buy in Mergui dessert-plates of
mother-of-pearl, cut out from the large shells and
finely chased with artistic designs. The Mawken
dispose of the " raw material " at a ridiculously low
figure. The bows and the stern of a kabang cannot
be distinguished until the shelter is put on, and then
it marks the stern. There is not the slightest attempt
to decorate the bows, in carving or in colour.

I found no colours in dyes or in paints in use. The

Mawken " Science &? Art" 303

katoi ka-e are daubed with some black stuff, and that
was the only " colour " for decorative purposes which
I saw in use. Orange and red could easily be obtained
from trees and plants in the jungle: the roving life of
the people has caused them to neglect these things.
Perhaps in the past their ancestors knew how to make
colours. Their mat-work makes no attempt at design
in colour, and one does not find such a simple thing as
a piece of bi-coloured plaited work. Designing is an
art unknown. If they ever practised drawing figures
to represent objects, animate or inanimate, they have
given up the practice. When one knows the proclivity
of little children, in Western and Eastern lands alike,
for scribbling, it is all the more remarkable that even
the grown-up children of the Mawken are not addicted
to the habit. The straight lines on the katoi ka-e result
from the ordinary observance of straight tree trunks
and straight saplings. Curves are, the world over,
suggested by the heavenly vault. And the sun and
moon and the stars suggest circles and dots. The
wavelets of the sea easily suggest undulating lines.
And this is about as far as Mawken art, so far as
drawing is concerned, has arrived.

And since there is so little of either Science or of
Art, there is not much to be said about either in any
description of the Mawken.

CHAPTER XXVII

FUTURE POSSIBILITIES

WE have become accustomed to the remark,
whenever a discussion takes place as to the
future in store for the remnant of a primitive
people, backward in civilisation, "They will die out."
It seems to be possible for people to make this remark
without even a pang of regret. Can it be that there
lingers a trace of the idea of a previous generation
which, acting upon the thought that the best thing to
do with aboriginals in Australia was to rid the earth
of them, organised hunting parties, as fox-hunts are
organised to-day in this country, to kill them off?
Are we content that the world should be rid of them?
Those of us who know the story of the Tierra del
Fuegans cannot view the prospect of the extinction of
a people with equanimity.

During my census-taking I found that some of the
Mawken took fright at my seeking to record their
names, as someone had put it into their heads that when
their names were secured the men would be called up
for military service ! That was a future to which they
could look forward with no pleasure. I had much work
in assuring these people that I had no such sinister
designs whatever.

3°4

Future Possibilities 305

Those who have given thought to the facts I have
been able to record will, I think, have arrived at the
conclusion that unless the Mawken are definitely helped
to develop on their own lines, and are afforded effective
protection from oppressive conditions of life and work,
they will be assimilated by the Chinese and Burmese
in the north, and by the Malays in the south. Inter-
marrying with Burmans, Chinese and Malays has
already begun. These, being dominating races in
numbers and in character, will not be absorbed by the
Mawken. Already it is noticeable that the Mawken
in the north are adopting Burmese dress and style.
The men are taking to wearing the lungyi, and the
women copy the Burmese women even to the manner
of doing the hair in a coil at the top of the head. Some
of the men, also, have adopted the koungboung, or
head-dress of the Burmans, the hair being allowed to
grow long for the purpose. The Mawken head of the
little " settlement " of four huts, on Cantor, or Dala,
Island, of whom I had a photograph taken by a Burmese
photographer, could not be distinguished from a Barman
in dress.

Together with the dress, they are adopting the
speech. Nearly all the men who visit Mergui pick up
a smattering of Burmese. Some speak it quite well,
if we overlook carelessness with regard to the tones.
Such Mawken will address one as Tbakin, a Burmese
equivalent for Sir, instead of as Micba, which is the
Mawken word of similar meaning. It is useful for

306 Future Possibilities

them to learn Burmese, as it is the language of the
bazaars, in which they obtain such things as they can
afford, when they receive coins, in place of negotia, in
payment for their labours or their products.

Absorption by the Malays, who were formerly their
tormentors, may be even more rapid. The Mawken,
owing to their past associations with the Malays, by
no means always of a pleasant nature, have taken many
Malay words into their language.

Intermarriage with the Chinese traders is resulting
in a mixed race, and in the adoption of Chinese habits.
The Chinese of these parts speak Burmese, for con-
venience, and the Mawken take over Burmese words
from them.

Perhaps we may be tempted to feel that, as they are
not being shot down, all is well if they are being
peaceably assimilated, or absorbed. This cannot be
accomplished in a generation; and in the meantime
some thousands of these people are being left to live
a life of great privation, a life of fear, a life of sadness.

My knowledge of their language and my scant
knowledge of their folklore lead me to wish ardently
that those things which they have to contribute to the
knowledge of the past should be rescued ere they are
lost ; while my experience of their capacity for develop-
ment impels me to desire that this capacity should be
developed to the full.

In another direction the Mawken may be absorbed.
In the Renong district of Siam, just across the Packchan

Future Possibilities 307

river, which divides Burma from Siam, dredging for tin
is being developed, and tin mines are being opened up.
Mawken are induced to work in these; and I found
that Mawken labour was being drawn away from the
Mergui Archipelago into Siam. The Burma Critic
took up this point, when I had mentioned it in my
report, and suggested that it would be bad policy to
allow the Mawken to drift off in this manner, while we
did nothing for them.

Not only do I value the Mawken for their very
primitive language — no inflections and no conjugations
— and their untold tales of the past ; but I know that
their knowledge of the present is of much worth. As
a people they know the Archipelago islands and sea
" inside out." They are the people who can develop
the almost unknown resources of the islands. They
can stand the climatic conditions. They are a simple,
and they may become a delightful, people. I found
them adaptable and quick to learn.

Rubber-growing and coco-nut cultivation have been
begun, in a small way, upon some of the islands. There
is some tin, and I have seen a piece of silver ore brought
in from one of the islands. The rubber plantations
could be extensively developed, and the Mawken, if a
considerate scheme of work were allowed until they
could become used to a more settled life, would become
workers and might, like the Chinese, become planters
themselves. They know a good deal about insect life,
and they could soon be taught to deal with pests. At

308 Future Possibilities

coco-nut growing they could succeed, though on the
larger islands they would have to find ways of circum-
venting the wild pigs, which are destructive of the
planted nuts, and the mischievous monkeys. From the
growing of coco-nuts, they could go on to the making
of coco-nut oil, for which there is a great demand by
shipping companies, as it burns well in the " lights."
And coco-nut fibre-work might be taken up, with good
results, financially and otherwise. Coco-nut trees usually
take five years to yield ; but on an island off Bokpyin
I was shown some trees which were said to yield nuts
at the end of three years.

I do not see that we can regard with indifference
even a small race within the Empire; and I am of
opinion that the Mawken can be saved from extinction,
if we will take but a little trouble. It seems to me
that the Government of Burma should regard the care
of the Mawken as a part of its duty, and see that an
Industrial Settlement is started amongst them. Such a
settlement must, of course, have organisation — that is to
say, it must be worked upon a definite plan. It must,
however, be entirely free from officialism. We English
people still confuse autocracy with authority, and our
methods are frequently wrong on this account. It is
a matter which calls for this passing reference, as any
steps taken to ameliorate the present deplorable con-
dition of the Mawken are doomed to failure unless it
is recognised clearly that while there must be leading,
there must be no driving.

Future Possibilities 309

Another question which must be considered when
thinking of the possible future of these Sea Gypsies is
that of our penal system. There have been travesties
of justice throughout our Empire, on account of our
having applied our laws and their penal clauses before
we have taught peoples. I could give a striking
instance of this, from personal knowledge of the facts.
Many students of humanity have come to be convinced
that penal measures are wrong, and that they mar
character. Even where they may be claimed as being
a deterrent to others, they are admittedly useless to
reform character and to cultivate self-discipline, upon
which basis alone the world can be secure. Primitive
people, like the Mawken, have no courts of law. To
the Mawken the sudden application of law would be
demoralising, since law, in order to try to be fair, must
of necessity be mechanical ; so in spite of its intention
it is often in its application far removed from justice.
The application of our marriage laws is a case in
point, and on this subject I have important evidence.
The publication of some of this evidence secured the
passing of a special Ordinance in one of our colonies.
(This Ordinance dealt with the matter as it affected
some aboriginal Indians in South America.)

With such passing reference to questions which will
arise as soon as we begin to see and act upon our
responsibility to the Mawken, I shall pass on to a day-
dream which has been cherished for years.

In this dream I see the Mergui Archipelago, one

310 Future Possibilities

of the beauty spots of the East, not denuded of its
jungle and laid bare, but planted with flourishing
settlements laid out with a proper attention to esthetics.
There would be no clearing of all the trees and bushes
from the water's edge. The beauty of the bays would
be preserved. The few settlements of Malays, Karens
and Chinese, with those of the Burmese in the north,
would be left undisturbed. New settlements would
be made for and by the Mawken, divided into village
areas, with their own Micha Ada (or Headmen).
They would work in rubber plantations of which they
themselves might be the owners. I can see picturesque
palm-thatched and palm-walled houses (no bricks and
slates and corrugated iron) dotted amongst the grace-
ful coco-nut trees. I can see garden patches well
stocked with bananas, pine-apples, ochroes, maize and
sorrel — to name but a few of the possible things.
Maize and banana flour will be made and used. On
the suitable lands there will be quins of paddy and
plantations of cotton. Goats will be bred, and kept to
supply milk for the children and "real goat mutton"
for the adults. Stocks of good poultry will be reared,
and will supply nourishing food in eggs and flesh.
Rest-houses, in keeping with the settlements, will be
dotted here and there, and be available for officials on
tour, or for visitors to the islands. The show places,
such as the marble-encircled lagoon in Elephant Island,
and the stalactite caverns elsewhere, will be preserved.
The fisheries will be extended and conserved. Myriads

Future Possibilities 311

of fish come to the Archipelago to spawn, and their
young may be seen in massed formation in the
shallower bays. Shark-fishing will become an industry,
and its valuable products be exported. The Mawken
boats, while retaining their characteristic features, will
be improved ; and the Mawken themselves, so used to
the sea, will move about as freely as before, without,
however, the impulse of fear. I can see Rangoon-
wearied officials taking furlough in the Archipelago,
enjoying its cooler atmosphere and its refreshing
breezes, and revelling in fishing and yachting, in
season. Short leave, after a bout of fever at Minbu,
might become a very pleasant thing. And the Mawken
would soon learn to man a yacht. Their knowledge of the
waters and the products of the sea will be invaluable.

It would be a delightful spot in which to make an
experiment in development, in accord with the now
known principles of evolution, and the sympathetic
understanding of a primitive people which has resulted
from the Science of Anthropology. We should,
perhaps, gain from the practical application of an ideal
more than we should give. And, in these days of
Garden Cities and Model Villages, such an experiment
as that of my daydream could not be dismissed as
Utopian and impossible.

The alternative to definite measures must be the
absorption of the Mawken by the more dominant races,
and the placing of one more race in the category of
the Mohicans and the dodo.

INDEX

Abraham, 18, 199

Absorption of the Mawken, 306,

3ii

Accidents, 231

Achinese, 47, 49

Adam, 289

Adams and Eves, 52

Africans, 48, 53, 217

Ages, average, 189, 286-288

Ague, 217

Akawatho Indians, 222

Akkadians, 141, 156

Amherst district, 56

Amherst, Lady, 24

AmherstiaNobilis, 22, 24

Anatto, 91, 289

Anchor, Mawken, 78, 92, 271

Andaman Island, 47, 49, 52, no

Anderson, Dr, 56, 85-87, 155-156

Andrew, G. P., 174

Anopheles, 217

Ant-eater, scaly, 27

Anthony, 87, 93, 94, 96, 235

Appearance of the Sea Gypsies, 50-

51, 101
Arakanese, 19, 47, 49
Archipelago, Mergui, 4, 29, 115,

122, 190, 191, 202
Archipelago, Nicobar, 47
Art, Burmese, 20
Asia, 27

Assimilation of the Mawken, 305
Astronomy, 124, 297, 304
Australia, 30
Ava, 19, 132

Ba, 121

Bag of tricks, a conjurer's, 276-277

Bah Thet, 74-76, 82

Bamboo, 26, 39, 21, 44, 263-264,

277
Bamboo rib, 60
Bananas, 57, 96, 112
Bark for tanning, 109, no, 299
Barrenness, 202
Barter, 106, 110-112, 124-127, 250,

265
Batuk, 56-58
Bay of Bengal, 23, 47, 49

Bead apron, 72

Beads, 257

Beard, 51

Beauty sense, 230

Betel-chewing, 52, 203

Bird-nesting, 228

Birds, 177-178

Births, 199

Bishop of Dornakel, 53; of Ran-
goon, 174

Blackmail, 277-278

Blagden, Mr, 155

Bleeding, 272

Blisters in oysters, 67, 106, 181

Boat building, 177, 261, 266-286

Boats, 37-39

Bokpyin, 26, 35, 57, 113, isy^ 8 .
170

Bombay, 21

Botany, 124, 299-300

Bougainvillaea, the, 22

Boys and girls, 77, 90, 96, 100-102,
in, 200-201, 225, 240

Brayton, Dr, 132

Bread and butter, 94

Bread-fruit, 57

Bread, lava, 109

Breezes, 76, 88

Britain, 30

British, the, 19, 20, 67

British and Foreign Bible Society,

151

British Guiana, 22, 52, 54, 64, 76,

174, 198, 205-206
British India Company, 36, 120
Broadfoot, Major, 58
Brohma Somaj, 99
Broth, 108, 109
Brushes, 122

Buchanan, Mr and Mrs, 108,184
Buddha, the, 33
Buddha's Laws, the, 29, 145
Buddhist, 21, 36, 69, 227
Buffaloes, 173, 186-187
Burial, 227
Burma, 17, 18, 22-28, 36, 43, 47,

50, 59, 64, 69, 79, 113-116, 123.

218, 227
Burma-Malaya, 57, 109

312

Ind

313

Burmese, 17-23, 27, 34, 35, 39-52,
56-57, 94, 107-112, 121-124, 173,
185, 196, 203, 209, 217, 227, 297

Burmese boats, 36, 43

Business morality, 68, 181

Cambodians, 47, 50

Camps, 194-195, 241

Cantonments, 24

Cantor Island, 195

Capacity and wit of the Mawken,

117, 127, 151, 226, 301-302
Cardinal points of the compass, 166
Carrapiett, Mr W. J. S., 46, 49, 141
Carrying methods, 201, 253-254
Caste men, 80
Cat, fisherman, 26
Cats, 172

Catechist, Chinese, 36
Cathedrals, 23
Cattle, 228
Cavern, a fairy, 184
Celibacy, 208
Census preparation, 168
Census reports, 54-56, 154
Census-taking, 55, 69, 177, 195, 211
Ceylon, 30, 151
Chai-an, 57, 59
Chali, 101

Chandra Sen, Mrs, 99
Chapan, 58, 241
Character, Chinese, 64
Charms, 103

Chota hazri, 32, 78, 88, 95
Chaung, 32
Chek Chin, 28
Cheroots, 66
Children, 77, 90, 96, 100-102, III,

200-201, 225, 240
China, 18, 19, 45, 109, 113, 116, 134
Chinamen and Chinese, 35, 47, 50,

54, 78, 99, 107-109, 113, 116, 124,

134, 172, 176, 182, 185, 203, 237,

242, 256, 306-307
Chinese junks, 35, 112
Chiroki Indians, 136
Cholera, 218
Christians, 20
Churches, 23
Circuit House, 32, 88, 97, 175,

273-279
Civilisation, 199
Civil Servant in Burma, A, 183
Clappers, 265
Climate, 25, 219, 293
Coconuts, 33, 57, 79, I23,'i7i-i73,307

Coffins, 237
Coinage, 125-126
Coin Island, 182
Colour, absence of, 53
Combs, 121
Commissioner, 115
Comparative study, 286
Confucius, 63, 68
Conchology, 124, 298
Continent, submerged, 27
Conventions, 95
Coral, 179
Cordwood, no
Corpse, burial of a, 237-239
Correction of children, 123
Council, Provincial, 28
Courts, Burmese, 19
Courtesy, 63, 64
Courtship, 202-203
Cousins, 210

Crabs, 35, 111-112, 231, 247
Craft, sea, 35-36, 58, 62
Crocodiles. 179, 230-231, 271
Crown Rubber Estates, 34
Crusades, 28

Cultivation, 57, 96, 173, 307
Customs, 121, 129, 145
Cyclones, 59

Dah, 123

Dala Isle, 84-96, 148, 178-180, 195,

215
Damsels, 51
Dances, 257-260
Dane, Sir Richard, 117
Dawson, Mr W. H., 115
Death, 102, 166
Decalogue, Mawken, 150
Deer, in
Demerara, 192
Deniker, Dr, 46-49
Deputy Commissioners, 55, 58
Devil-master, 76, 88-90
Devil posts, 95, 148, 178, 302
Dialects, 157-159
Diamond mines, 22
Diary, extracts from, 75, 112, 113,

177-178, 186-188, 219, 220
Diet, 292-293
Diphthongs, 138
Director of commercial intelligence,

251
Dirzi or tailor, 121-122
Diseases, 292
Dispositions, 101
Divers, 107

314

Index

Diving, 171-172

Divorce laws, 205

Doctor, the, 118, 185, 217

Dogs, 40, in

Domel Island, 191, 197, 241-242

Dover, Mr O., 115

Drainage, 128

Drawing, 303

Dreams, 309-311

Dress, 52-53, 96, no, 121 122, 257,

3°5

Drinks, 268

Drum, 261-262

Drummond, Henry, 63

Dug-out, 58

Dung Island, 57, 228

Dunnee, 43

Earth-oil, 62

Edible nests, 108, 109

Education, 127-128

Eggs, 225, 228-229

Elephant Island, 109, 183, 310

Elephants, 185

Elphinstone Island, 192, 197

Enumerators, 169, 191-194

Epidemics, 218, 233

Ethnological Survey, 198, 228-229

Eurasians, 115, 192

Evil powers, 92

Eyes, colour of, 51

Fairyland, 177, 184

Fatalism, 190

Fauna, 26, 27, 185

Fear, 53, 175, i95-*97> 2Sl

Fecundity, 199

Festivals, 76

Filial care, 204

Filipinos, 160-161

Finger-nails, 66

First-born, 207, 210

Fish, 34-35,85,111,177-178,197-198,

229, 233 ; bags, 251 ; traps, in
Flora, 22-24, 26, 33, 183
Flutes, 264-265
Flying stars, 294
Folklore, 141- 144, 306
Food supplies, 57, 60, 111-112, 228,

251-253
Football, 26
Foreheads, 51
Fraser, Mr J. D., 55
Freeboard, 60
Freeman, Colonel, 178
Friendly overtures, 98

Friends, 83, 122, 210
Fruits, 18

Gait, 201

Games, 240

Gardening, 129

Geography, 197-198

Ginger beer, 81, 82

Girl Guides, 190

Glass mosaic, 20

G. M. O., 117

Goats, 120-121

God, 288-289

Government, Christian, 28 ; house,
24, 117; of Burma, 46, 68, 71,
107, 114, 174, 308; of India,
43 ; officials, 194 ; policy, 28 ;
steamer jetty, 37

Governor-General, 24

Gratitude, 186

Great spirit, 288-289

Green snail, in, 255

Gregory's Island, 109, 185, 192, 197,
231

Grierson, Dr, 161

Grottoes, 202

Habits, 190

Hair, 19, 51, 101, 256

Hall, Fielding, 21

Hardships, 240

Harpoon, no, III

Head- hunting, 17

Headman, 57

Heaven-folk, 54

Height of gypsies, 50

Hermit, Christian, 70

Hewers of wood, 122

History of the gypsies, 57, 156-157,

193
" Holy," 147-148
Homes, 39, etc., 58
Horoscopes, 297
Hospitality, 184-185
House-boats, 45, 106
Houses, 33, 57, 58, 62, 63, 79, 93,

103, 106, 238-239
Hti, 34
Hunting, in, 219, 263

Ibrahim, 170, 187, 188, 238
Ideas, 121, 130, 141
Ideograms, 163, 164
Idioms, 73, 102, 149, 165
Ignorance, 105
Incantations, 92, 221, 222

Index

315

India, 113, 114, 214, 217, 218, 229,
281

India, government of, 43

Indians, 23, 203

Industrial settlement, 188, 308

Industries, 308

Infidelity, 205, 206

Insects, 173

Intermarriage, 242, 306

Interpreter, 85, 151

Islam, 28

Ivor}', 20

Islands : Andaman, 52 ; Cantor,
195 ; Coin, 182 ; Dala, 84, 91,
92, 95. 96, 148, 178, 180, 195, 215 ;
Domel, 191, 197, 241-242 ; Ele-
phant, 109, 183, 370 ; Elphin-
stone, 192, 197; Gregories, 109,
185, 192, 197, 231 ; Kalagyan,
74, 78, 79, 88; King's, 33, in,
192, 196; Kissering, 57, in,
170, 175, 238; Lampi, 158,
192, 193 ; Loughborough, 194 ;
Maiden, 42, 98 ; Maingy, 196 ;
Merghi, 197 ; Nicobar, 47, 49,
204 ; Palaw, 33, 88 ; Polly, 195-
196; Reef, 31; Ross, 57, 192;
St Andrew's, 194 ; St Luke's,
194 ; St Matthew's, 109, 195 ;
Tavoy, 190, 191, 195 ; Turret,
109 ; Victoria, 190

Jack Tars, 201
Jacob, 29, 199
Jakuns, 47, 49
Japanese pearls, 180-181
Jehovah, 18
Jelly-fish, 197
Jetty, 37-38, 275
" Joiners," 203
Jubi, 243-244
Judson, Dr and Mrs, 18
Junks, 35, 112

Kabang, 45, 58, 60, 73, 75-77. 8 4-
87, 90, 91, 93, 96, 100, 106, no,
in, 120, 172, 192, 195, 196, 202-
204, 241

Kala, 27

Kalagyan, 74, 78, 79, 88

Kamaw, 39

Karens, 18, 187

Kaloi Ka-e, 95, 148, 178, 302

Kelly, Talbot, 21

Kinch, Mr E. O. N., 225

Kindred and affinity, 209

Kings, 19, 21, 25, 57, 192, 196

King's Island, 33, in

Kissering Island, 57, in, 170, 175,

238
Koshan, 101
Kyanan, 26, 62

Ladders, 93

Lager sir cemia, 22

Lagoon, 184

Lampi Island, 158, 192-193

Language, 71, 99, 224, 225, 240,

290, 305
Language carelessness, 23
Language, esoteric, 221
Language identification, 56, 57 ; and

origin, 154
Lao Tsze, 68
Laterite, 22
Latex, 31

Launch adventure, 1 70
Launches, 36, 74, no
Lava bread, 109
Laws, 309
Lectures, 21
Leeches, 173
Leprosy, 234
Letter, a Chinaman's, 74
Licences, 113, 114
Lightning, 59
Lima, Captain, 31
Limpets, ill, 247

MacCormick, Captain, 184

Madagascar, 27

Maiden Island, 42, 98

Maingy Island, 196

Makuchi Indians, 48, 51, 141, 154,

205-207, 221-224, 286
Malaria, 217, 231
Malay, 28, 36, 47, 50, 56-58, 103,

111-112, 121, 125, 172, 185-187,

192, 238
Malaya, 26-29
Mandalay, 19, 25
Mangrove, the, 109, no, 179, 230
Markets, 108-112, 251
Marriage, 115, 199
Mascot, 90
Mast, 40-41

Mats, 63, 87, 94, 187, 248
Matthew's Island, St, 109, 158, 249-

250
Maulmeiu, 19, 23, 25, 29, 36, 06,

96, 99-103, 117-110,235, 273-286;

life at, 120

316

Index

Maungmagan, 31

Maw, 60, 86

Measures, 126

Medicines, 233, 301

Men and women, 77, no

Men of Might, 28

Men's life, 261

Merghi Island, 199

Mergui Shell Co., 180

Mesmerism, 223

Micha-blen, 76, 91, 92, 186, 220-221,

288
Mindon Min, 26
Mirrors, 53, 122
Mission schools, 206
Missionary societies, 28
M'lit, 34, 57
Modesty, 201

Mohammedans, 28-29, 238
Molyneaux, Dr, 225
Monkeys, 247
Monogamy, 199, 202, 292
Monolatrists, 18
Monotheists, 18
Monsoons, 29, 43-45, 58, 88
Moonlight, 33, 92
Moons, 122, 177
Morals, 145
Moslems, 28, 36
Mosquitoes, 129, 217
Mother-of-pearl, 67, 71, 106, 107,

181, 302
Mud-fish, 34, 35, 231
Municipal High School, 47, 74
Music, 259-260

Name, derivation of, 60

Names, 54, 56, 117-119, 121-123,

171-216, 187, 189, 235, 297
Nbai, 101-105, 220, 226, 229, 235,

242, 273-284
Nests, edible, 108, 109, 113
Nga-u, in

Nicobar Archipelago, 47, 49, 204
Nicobarese, 47, 49, 204
Noses, 51

Numeration, 165, 188-189, 190
Nyelu, 246

Oars, 38, 88

Occupations of children, 240
Ocean, Indian, 27
Oceanography, 27, 165
Ochan and Ochau, 107
Ochroes, 96

Odours, 86

Offal, 89

Oil, earth, 62 ; Rangoon, 22

Open doors, 115

Opium, 104, 105, 106, 120, 131, 182,

242
Orchids, 185, 300
Orung Laut, 157
Oysters, 107, in, 180-182

Pachaw, 244-246

Pachumba, the, 31

Packchan, 306

Paddles, 239

Padouk, 24

Pagodas, 19, 32-34, 62, 69

" Painter," the, 72

Paints, 303

Pal aw, 33, 88

Palms, 33, 39, 43

Pangolin, the, 27

Paralysis, 107

Paramats, 69, 70

Passions, localisation of the, 137

Pawpaw, the, 112,

Peacocks, 17, 26

Pearl fisheries, 67, 71, 107-108

Pearling boats, 36, 75, 78

Pearls, 67-71, 106, 160-161, 180-182,

231
Persecution, 53, 58, 192
Personality, 235-236
Petrels, 92
Pets, 172

Pheasant, Argus, 26
Philosophy, 129
Phosphorus, 186
Photographer, 75
Photographs, 71
Phthisis, 29
Picnic, a, 73, 242
Pigs, in

Piles, buildings on, 19, 63
Pillows, 45
Pinang, 29
Pineapples, 57, 96
Piracy, 58, 157
Plague, 218, 234
Plantations, 30, 57, 96
Poems, 24

Polly Island, 195-196
Polyandry, 215
Pope, the, 20
Poppies, 116
Poultry, 228
Powers, evil, 92 ; good, 96, 178

Index

Prejudices, 38, Si, 86, 104, 107
Presents, 184-186
Primer, a, 132
Primogeniture, 207-210
" Prince of Mawken," 84, 94
Prisoners, 118
Products, 22, 67, 70
Prophecy, 230

Pronunciations, 23, 56, 58, 137
Protected lists, 114, 116
Psychological phenomena, 223
Pun, a Mawken, 168

Races, 46, 49, 57

Raids, 58, 1 80

Rainfall, 25, 31

Rakes, 108

Rangoon, 22, 23, 25-28, 62, 117

Rangoon Gazette, 24

Red, 90-91

Reef Island, 31

Relationships, 209

Religion, 23, 144-145

Remarriage, 214-215

Renong, 206

R. G. S., 18

Rice, 67, 80-81, 85, 110-112, 21!

221
Rocks, 178
Roots, 112
Ropes, 41, 93, in
Ross, Dr, 155
Ross Island, 57, 192
Rubber, 30, 34
Rubies, 22
Rupee, the, 114, 176

Sails, 41, 42, 89, 90, 96
Salmon, 80, 81, 105
Salons, the, 55, 56, 75, 85
Salu, red, 90
Salvation, theory of, 20
Salween, the, 18, 24, 294
Sampans, 35, 96
Sands, 177-179, 277
Sapphires, 22
Sawston, 188
Scalps. 18
Scavengers, 89
Scenery, 177-179
Schooling, 139. 140
School of the Woods, 37, 230
Science and art, 296
Script, 18, 99, 132,213
Sea-drowned, the, 60

Sea-serpents, 31, 32 ; slugs, 108,
no; snails, 107, in; urchin,
179, 231, 271 ; weed, 109

Seasons, 286-288

Self-discipline, 140, 283, 309

Selone, Selongs, Selungs, 55, 56

Sequoia, 136, 137

Settlements, 57, 84, 85, 93, 170, 186,
310

Sex, 94, 95, 201

Sexual equality, 66

Seychelles, 27

Shans, 18

Shark, 79, 87, 166, 230-231, 271,

Sheep, 120, 121

Shells, 113, 176, 202

Shelters, 200

" Ships," 36

Show places, 310

Shwe Yoe, 2 1

Siam, 26, 33, 306-307

Siamese, 28, 33, 47, 50, 185

Sickness, 217, 232, 234, 237

Silken East, the, 17, 21

Silong, 56

Silver carving, 20

Sitting, 78

Skin colour, 50

Skin disease, 219, 225

Skirt, 22, 52

Slaves, 58

Sling, 253

Slug- rake, 271

Small-pox, 218

Soap, 122

Soldier crab, 112

Soul of a People, 21

Spears, 85, 269-270

Spelling, 134, 130

Spider and fly, 244-246

Spirit-propitiators, 143

Spooks, 237

Stalactites, 202, 217

Star, gender, 295

Star marriage, 294

Steamer, coasting, 36 ; jetty, 37,

62
Stevens, Mr, 132, 134
Storms, 59, 89
Straits Settlements, 109
Sumerians, 141, 150
Sunday, 292
Sun-drying, 252
Superintendent of Excise, 115
Supreme Being, 69, 119

3 i8

Index

Survey, 170

Swahili, 164

Swallow, 109

Swamps, 109

Swifts, 108, no

Syllabary, a, 136

Sympathy, 86, 98, 99, 153

Verandahs, 63,

Victoria Island, 190

Victoria Point, 25, 30, 84, 103, 121,

158, 175. 179. 184, 188, 193. 197.

280
Village, 170
Villages, Karen, 19

Talipot, 33

Tamil, 80, 87

Tanning, 109

Taoist, 68

Tavoy, 25, 30

Tavoy Island, 190, 191, 195

Tavoy river, 31

Teak, 20, 22, 26

Technology, 20, 39

Teeth, 51

Telaings, 56

Telaing Karens, 70

Tenasserim, 19, 25, 28, 29, 31, 36,

37. "5
Tenasserim river, 34

Thatch, 43, 63

Thibaw, 25

Thibet, 18

Thida, 119, 145. 288

Thumb-prints, 115

Ticks, 174

Tierra del Fuego, 304

Tigers, 187

Times, The, 30

Tin, 107

Tinao, 56, 57

Tints, prevailing, 21, 22

Tola, 114, 115

Towels, 122

Traders, 69, 112, 242, 250

Tradition of Karens, 18

Treatment of disease, 220, 221

Trinidad, 104

Trocla, 24

Trousered race, 20

Tungstic acid, 30

Turret Island, 109

Unwritten languages, 64

U Shwe I, 47, 50, 55. 61, 73-7°' 8 3.

84,85, 99, 100, 103-105, 171, 176,

183

Wales, South, 109

Walker, Mr, 47, 50, 62, 74, 78, 274-

275
Wallich, Dr, 24
Warning, 99, 102-103
Waterholder, 264
Waterspouts, 59
Wax figure, 229, 279-280
Weather, 25, 59, no
Weather prophet, 298-299
Webb, Mr Morgan, 58, 174
Weights, 127
Whale Bay, 59
Whales, 178

Whistlecraft, Orlando, 298
White Elephant, 70
White man's grave, 102
Whitehead, Rev., 135
Williams, Captain, 184
Wind bells, 62
Wind-whistling, 92
Wintering and summering, 94
Wit, 117
Wizard, 223
Wolfram, 30
Women, 77, no
Women's life, 249
Wood-lice, 89
Wood-skin, 58
Works of merit, 69, 75
World, plate-like, 19, 20
Worship, 143
Writing, 213

Yangon. 39
Yin-gan, 23
Years, 286-288
Yellow Peril, 66

Zanzibar, 27
Zone, dry, 23, 25

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DIPLOMAT IN JAPAN

The Inner History of the Critical Years in the Evolution

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