Burmese Women
Sham S.Misri
In theory, Burmese Buddhism is purest form
of religion, unchanged since it was brought to Burma by Asoka’s missionaries,
and it is possible that some of the more learned monks follow “the way”
indicated by Gawdama; but as a rule, the Buddhism of Burman is so lost in flood
of superstition that it is rarely found on the surface. The Burmese have,
however, learnt from their religion the virtues of tolerance, charitableness,
kind-heartedness, and hospitality to a degree beyond most other races. Even the
casual visitor to their country is impressed with their romantic character and
envies their happy disposition.
As in other Buddhist countries marriage in
Burma is purely secular affair. The parties agree to become man and wife and
that is quite sufficient. If there is any ceremony at all, the most important
observance is the eating out of the same dish, just as the Japanese drink out
of the same sake cup. The wife retains her maiden name and her separate
property. Divorce is equally simple and free. In the villages an application to
the elders by either party procures a divorce attested in writing: the party
claiming the divorce leaving the common home. Each retains the property he or
she had before the marriage and half of what has been accumulated during the
time they have been husband and wife. In any event, the wife takes the female
children and the husband the male children. There seems to be no law against
plurality of wives nor any stigma attached to having two or three wives under
the same roof. In these customs the Burmese and Japanese agree, and in Burma as
in Japan the family life of the peasants is open to the observation of any
traveller.
Burmese women have many attractions. They
are passionate and affectionate. They are cheerful, bright, clever in their own
affairs and n business, sharp in making bargain, excellent house keepers, and
generally faithful wives. They are seldom public prostitutes, but a girl may be
brought from her parents. The negotiations are usually conducted with the
mother, who is keener at driving a good bargain; and when the contact is made
the girl is kept as a concubine, and does not lose caste by assenting to such
an arrangement. During her concubinage she is treated as, and usually called,
a “wife,” and she frequently brings her
mother and the children of previous
“marriages” to live at the house of her new “husband.”
The costume of Burmese woman ordinarily
consists of two pieces; the engyi and lungyi. The former is a loose double
breasted jacket with mandarins sleeves and falls over the lungyi, which,
whenever the wearer can afford it, is of thin silk and is simply a square of about
five feet with ends usually sewn together so that it is put on like a petticoat
and folded in over the right hip. Women usually go barefooted, but sometimes
wear clogs resembling the Japanese geta,
or ornamental slippers with a pointed toe-cap which holds all but the little
toe. Decorated with a certain amount of jewellery,
with a scarf around her neck, a wreath of flowers in her well brushed hair, and
a bunch of “Christmas orchids” falling over her right ear, the Burmese girl
makes rather an effective picture; but you must be careful not to annoy her by
aiming your camera at her, as she has an idea that with it you may be able to
see through her clothes, a liberty which as modest and moral girl she can’t
allow. The older women generally wear one or two switches or tails of false
hair, and rub the face and neck over with white powder when making their
toilet.
Source:[The Romantic East, Burma, Assam and Kashmir-Walter Del Mar ]
Books by the Author(s)
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