NotesonArakan

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Notes on Arakan: By the Late Rev. G. S. Comstock, American Baptist Missionary

in That Country from 1834 to 1844

L. Stilson; Barnas Sears; G. S. Comstock

Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 1, No. 3. (1847), pp. 219+221-258.

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NOTES ON AR AK AN :

BY THE LATE REV. G. S . COMSTOCK,

AMERICAN BAPTIST MISSIONARY IN THAT COUNTRY FROM 1834 TO 1W.

W I T H A M A P O F THE P R O V I N C E ,

DRAWN TO ACCONPANY THEM :

B Y R E V . L. S T I L S O N ,

MISSIONARY COMPANION OF THE AUTHOR.

COMMUNICAT E D T O T A E AME B ICAN OB IE NT AL IOCIE T Y,

B Y B A R N A S S E A R S , D . D . ,

PRESI DENT OF THE THEOLOGICAL INSTITUTION, NEWTON, MASS.

W I T H N O T E S ,

BY THE CORRESPONDING SECRETARY.



NOTES O N ARAKAN .

$ 1. General L)escript ion o the Count ry.

THEname of Arakan is derived from Rakaing, the nativeappellation of th e country , of w hich Mug au thors give severaldifferent derivations. Of these, the most probable is one whichmakes it to be a euphonic change from R a k a k , sometimesalso written Rakaik, the name of a fabulous eater of humanflesh, supposed to have been applied to the country on account

of the reported cannibalism of the savage tribes, who inhabitthe moun tains of the interior.' T h e province extends from153 531 to 210 30' north latitude, and from 920 15' to943 45' east longitude, and is bounded on the north by theriver Naf, and a range of m ountains which divide it fromChittagong ; on th e east, by the Yomadoong, or Yo ma mount-ains, which separate Arakan from Burma ; on the south,the province comes to a point, called Pagoda Point; andthe w estern boundary is th e Bay of Bellgal.* It s greatest

' Formerly, according to Captain Phayre, Senior Assistant-commissioner inArakan, only the northern portion of the country now called by this name, wasknown among the nat ives as the Raliainqdye, or Rakaing-land,--a fact of im-portance with reference to the origin of ih e population. It has been sugg ested,with much plausibility, that Rakak is derived from Yekkha, for the SanukritYaksha,signifying, in popular usage, a monster, half man, half beast, whichdevours hu ma n flesh; and that it wa s adopted as their national appellation bythe Arakane se, from the superior strangers who communicated to then1 thereligion of Bu ddh a. T h e Buddhist missionaries from India, whose narratives w ehave, cal l Arakan Yekhapura. See Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society ofBengal , XI I . p. 24. [E. E. S ]

"he same principal boundaries are assigned to the cou ntry by oth erwrite rs; but its ex ten t in degre es is variously stated, probably, in part, because

the measure has been taken sometimes on the line of the sea-coast, and some-*





gable thirty or forty miles for vessels of two or three hundredtons, there are th e Ta lak or Dalet, the Aiag, and the San-do wa y, w hic h are navigable to a ny considerable distanceby native boats alone. Smaller streams abound in the prov-ince, and furnish nearly the only m eans of commun icationbetween the different villages.

T h e soil near the sea-shore is sandy ; but on the nuiner-ous alluvial flats, intersected by creeks, ly ing betw een th ecoast or the rivers, and the hills, it is dark clayey mould ;

an d on the higher lands in the interior, it is red an d mu chmixed w ith stones. T h e most productive land yields tothe cultivator more than a hundred fold, while much th at iscultivated is not half so ~roductive.II know of no one who has paid particular attention to thegeology of the province. T h e rocks nearest to the primitivein the geological order appear to be mostly slate. T h e low erhills consist chiefly of sand-stone, mixed occasionally with astiff clay, and on m an y parts of the coast coral and shell limeare abund ant. Iron is found at the iiorthern extrem ity of

Ram ree island, and lime at the southern ; the latter is alsofound near Ak yab and S ando wa y. Coal has been discoveredin several places, and it is highly probable that the mount-ains of Arakan contain treasures which a more intelligentV -and persevering people than the present inhabitants willdraw forth.

T h e botanical productions of the province have never beenthorou ghly examined and classified. On the mountains, farin the interior, are found the teak, a kind of oak, and othertimbers, which would be highly valued, were it not impos-

sible to transport them to any place where they can be used.T h e jarrul, toon, praing, and many other useful trees, aboundin Arakan ; he bamboo, ratan, etc., are also abundant ; themango, guava, orange, (called by Europeans here sweetlime ,) and o ther fruit trees, an d several flowering shru bs arefrequently found.

Among th e wild animals of the province, are the elephant,rhinoceros, tiger, leopard, bear, deer of various kinds, and th ewild hog, w hich are found principally on th e mountains and

in t he forests ; the wild buffalo, wild cat, a species of rac-coon, the wild dog, a kind of civet, w ith a variety of mon-



keys, and other smaller animals, are found on the hills andin th e jungles.-Of birds, a great variety of suc h as frequen tthe surrounding countries, are found in Arakan ; some of

the m are h igh ly prized for their splendid plumage, and othersfor their excellent flavor.-The boa constrictor, cobra capel-la, and indeed snakes and reptiles of nearly every kind, arecommon.-Of fish, there is an abundan ce of all th e kindsusua lly fou nd in tropical seas and rivers. Sha rks and alliga-tors abound, and turtle, sole, pomfret, mullet, skait, bumalo,crabs, lobsters of a small kind, shrimps, oysters, and variousoth er species of fish, are no t unfrequ ently taken. T h e Mugsenumerate more than two hundred kinds of fish ; though th emarkets of th e province seldom furnish m an y tha t are par-ticularly palatable to Europeans.

$2. N u d e r o the Inhabitants, and their Races ;with a Sketch o theH k l o y o the Mugs.

T h e population of Arakan at th e present time (18 42) is

estimated at about 250,000. Of these, about 167 ,000 areMugs, 40,000 are Burmese, 20,000 are M u s ~ u l m a n s , ~0,000are K yens, 5,000 are Bengalese, 3,000 are T oungm roos,2,000 are Kemees, 1,250 are Karens, and the remainder areof various races, in smaller num bers. T h e Mugs are th eearliest inhabitants of the country, at least of the plains, ofwh ich we have any knowledge. T h e name of Mugs , asapplied to inhabitants of this country, originated with for-eigners, an d I never found an Arakanese who could give a n yaccount of it.5 T h e people call themselves "Rakaingthas,"

that is, '[sons of Arakan." T h e y are eviden tly a part of th eMyonma family, to w hic h belong also the present inhab-itants of Burm a, including the Sh an s, etc., and the Karens,Kyens, and other r~umeroushill tribes of A rak aa 6 T h etraditions of all the branches of this fam ily refer to " the far

4 In official returns, speaking of the Arakanese, " Mussulman" denotes theKummanchets,w ollowers of Moham med, and no others. Th e Mussu lmansand Hindoos of the western peninsula are comprehended under the generalterm nativesof Bengal," or <' Bengalees." [Noteby Rev. R. A . Fink. ]

6 Europeans have borrowed this name from India. [E. E. S.]

6 Accord ing to the geographer Ritter, the original form of the family nameof al l these was Marama, which became contracted to Mranma, and by the



north " as the original seat of their ancestors ; and the struc-ture of their languages, together with the Mongolian cast oftheir physiognom y, confirms these traditions, and indicatesthe Mongolian origin of the family.

W h en Arakan was first settled by its present inhabitants,w e have no means of know ing. T h e history of the cou ntryis carried back in th e royal records " to the remotest an-tiquity ; but the grossest fiction so abounds in these records,and withal is so intimately blended with the few facts theycontain, that scarcely any reliance can be placed upon them.T h er e is a tradition, that Gautam a, the last incarnation ofBoodh, visited Arakan in th e sixth cen tury before C hri st;and that the famous temple of M ahim uni, the ruins ofw hic h still exist about tw en ty miles n orth of the tow n ofArakan, was then built by the reigning king to his honor ;and that the same king caused a brazen image of him to becast, or rather tha t suc h an image was, in th e reign of th isking, miraculously formed by the Nuts. That the templeof M ah im un i is very ancient cannot be doubted, and that th e

great idol wa s coeval w ith it is hig hly probable ; but thereis little reason to believe that Boodhism has flourished inArakan tw o thousand four hun dred years, or that auth enticrecords of events, w hic h transpired in this coun try so longsince, are now in existence.

An article prepared b y Charles Paton , Esq., Sub-comm is-sioner in Arakan, and published in vol. xvi. of the AsiaticResearches comprises, I am inclined to believe, the moreinlportant facts in the history of the country ; an d from it is

taken most of the brief sketch of Mug history, whichfollows.

T h e first king on record, after a long and happy reign,

change of r into y, was made Myanma. From Marama he derives the modernname of Burma. S. Ritter : Erdk. v. Asien., IV . 1. p.201.

T he Burmese refer to Arakan as " th e old country. The establishment ofthe two separate kingdoms of Arakan and Ava, is referred by the Arakaneseannals, to about the year A . D . 1061. Idem, p. 323.

Th e Shans are a peculiar people, scattered over all Farther India, perhaps itsaborigines. T h e y live under chieftains of their o wn, in dependence uponBurma , Siam, Cochin China, or China. The ir language is the Siamese. For

a particular account of them, S. Ritter: Erdk. v. Asien., 111. p. 1229, &c.[E.E.S.]



died A. D. 7 0 lO7From that time to the conquest of Arakanby the Burmese in 1784, the throne was occupied by onehundred and twenty dserent kings, some of whom obtainedit by violence, and reigned but a few days. Between 1168

and 1168, a part of China, and the whole of Ava, Siam andBengal, are said to have been made subject to the Arakanese,

-a statement of " the royal records," probably too highly

colored, in reference to Siam, and certainly so in respect to

Bengal, of which only Chittagong and Tippera ever belong-

ed to Arakan.8 Some time near the close of the twelfth

century, the possessions of the Mugs in China, Ava and Siam

7 Under tKis king, whose name, according to Mr. Paton, was Chanda-smeu-gdta, Buddhism is said to have been introduced into Arakan. But there aredifferent computations of the date of his reign. A statement of Mr. Paton onMug authority, that the commencement of the present era of the Arakanesewas established in honor of Gautama and that A. D. 1826 corresponded to theyear 1188 of that era, seems to imply that Buddhism was generally adopted inArakan within the first half of the seventh century after Christ. This wouldgive some part of the same century to the reign of Chanda-aorea. On the otherhand, if we reckon from the commencement of the history of Arakan B. C.2658, as fixed by Ngami, a native Arakanese employed by Capt. Phayre to

make for him an epitome of the chronicles of his nation, the accession of thisking, whom Ngami, adopting the Burmese pronunciation, calls Tsaada-thuriya,is brought down to A. D. 146, and his death to A . D. 198. The correctness ofthis computation, however, depends upon the historical accuracy of the lists ofancient dynasties which N ami compiled, and is therefore less to be confidedin than a date given to tfe event, as that of Mr. Paton is, according to anera which still continues in use among the Arakanese. It may be doubted,however, whether Mr. Paton is entirely correct in saying, as he does, thatChanda-sorea died in the 65th year of the present Mug era, or A. D. 701, for ifthe period of fifty-two years is properly assigned to his rei n in the native an-nals, and if Buddhism was introduced by him in A. D. 638, kis death must haveoccurred a few years earlier than A. D. 701.

Mr. Comstock, following Mr. Paton, errs in saying that Chanda-sorea is c 6 thefirst king on record ;" he is only the first of whom we know any thing, after the

cotnmencement of the present Arakanese era. With his reign the modern hi-tory of Arakan begins. S. Asiatic Researches XVI. pp. 355, 356; and J. R. A.S. of B., XII. pp. 35, 36. [E. E. S.]

8 In an " Account of Arakan," published in the J.R. A. S, of B., X. p. 687,it is stated, on the authority of "the royal records," that from the time ofTsanda-thooveeya, who is the same as Tsanda-thuriya, to the conquest of thecountry by the Burmese, one hundred and thirty-five kings reigned.

The king of whom Mr. Paton speaks as havin ruled over parts of China,Ava, Siam and Bengal, between A. D. 1158 and f168, had his reign, accordingto Ngami's compilahon from the native annals, from A. D. 11% to 1153. Hisname as given by Ngami was Gaulaya. Mr. Paton calls him Kowolea. S. J.

R. A. S. of B., XII. p. 40. It is proper to state here, that Ngami's dates, afterthe time of Tsanda-thuriya, are in years of the present Arakanese era.[E.E.S.]



appear to have been wrested from them.g In the year 1430,the seat of governm ent w as fixed at the present tow n ofArakan, which was surrounded by a strong wall, measuringabo ut nine miles. ' L The labor of this work must have beenimmense, as in m an y places mounds of earth are throw n upto fill the spaces betw een contig uous hills, in o ther places th ehills are joined togeth er b y a m ound faced on both sides w ithstone work, averaging in height from fifty to one hundredfeet." lo About the year 1730, Chittagong and Tip pera seemto have become independent." After this, internal feudsarose, and intrigues comm enced o n the part of som e M ug offi-cers to deliver th e c ou ntry itlto th e hand s of the king of Ava.T h e first kin g to w hom these disaffected officers made over-tures, rejected them ; but they were accepted by his succes-sor, w ho sent his three sons, at the head of three divisionsof his arm y, to take the c oun try, an enterprize w hich provedsuccessful. I n 178 4, the conquest was completed b y theseizure of the k ing of Arakan, who, w ith his family, jewelsand treasure, together with the famous brazen image of

Gautam a, wh ich had for centuries been "t he idol"

of Arakan,were conveyed to Ava. Thenceforw ard the cou ntry contin-ued subject to Burma, althou gh frequent attemp ts w ere m adeby the Mugs to expel their invaders, till it was taken by the

0 Acco rding to N gam i, this exte nt of empire was lost under a grandson ofGaulaya between A. D. 1167 an d 1169. S. Ioc cit.

'0 Mr. Paton gives the name of Jum uw ai to the king who first made Ara ka ntown the capital, and dates the commencement of his reign from A. D. 1404. I nthe list of N ga m i the same ptm on is called Nen.ptsau-mrun-a nam e com-pounded of the honorary prefix, Meng, and Tsuu-mwun, th e Bu rme se formcorresponding to C ho-ma -in, or C'ho-mwa-in, ar cco rdin g to th e pronunciation of

Arakan , f rom whic h comes Jum uw ai . S . J. R . A . S o f B., X I I . p 52 . T h e" Account of Arakan" places the accession of this sovereign in A.D. 1385,apparently by mistake, asno other authority than the native annals is referred to,and Ngami's epitome agre es on this point with M r. Paton's state me nt. [E.E S. ]

1 Th ese countries between Bengal and A rakan we re, for some centuries,possessed alternately by th e Mog ul em perors and the kings of Aralian. T h eflight to Ara kan of Suja, one of the brothers of Au run gz eb who refused to ow nhis authority, was the occasion of that emperor's seizin$ Chittagong and T ippera,in the latter part of the seventeen th century , af ter which they w er e only for a~ h o r time, again attached to Araka n. S As . Res. XVI. pp . 363,364. T h e n am el'setlogoung, or according to th e Arakan ese pronunciation, Chittagon g, belongsto the language of the Myanmas,-which is a proof of their early occupation ofthat country. S. J . R. A . S, of B., X, p 689. Tipprra is a corrnption of Tri-pura, the nam e of an ancient Hin du kingdom on the eastern side of the del ta ofthe Ganges. S. Rit ter : Erdk . v. Asien , IV . 1. p. 313. [E.E. S.]

VOL. I . NO. 111. 30



East India Company in 1825,with which event Mug historyends.

Most of the Burmese probably, came into the countrywhile it was a dependency of Ava, although m an y haveimmigrated since. T h e Mussulmans are supposed to be th edesce ndan ts of Bengalee slaves, imported w he n the king s ofAva held Chittagong and Tippera. T h e y have retained forth e most part the language an d customs of their forefathers ;bu t have partially adopted the dress of the country. W ith in

a few years past, m any Bengalee Mussulmans have immi-grated to A rakan, to get high er wages and better living ,than they could procure in Chittagong : these constitute thefive thousand Bengalees mentioned in enumerating thepopulation of the province. A part of the Mussulman popu-lation, one thou sand or more, residing principally in R am ree,are th e descendants of some people, wh o came from De lhi,in comp any w ith one of the Mogul princes, wh o havingfailed in an attemp t upon the throne, fled for refuge to the

c o ~ ~ r t Th ey were his guard , and as the ir weaponf Arakan.was a bow, were called Kamonihas, or bowmen, whichname their descendants still retain. T h e y have adopted thelanguage and dress of th e Mugs, and a part of t he m havebecome Boodhists.12

T h e Ky ens have a tradition that they are direct des-cendants of some Burmese refugees, or of the remnants of anarm y, that was lost in the m ountains, w he n attempting topenetrate to the westward ;" and the y are found in largenumbers throughout the whole Yoma range, only a small

portion of the m being w ithin British jurisdiction. T h e y areeviden tly of the Myonma family, and it is probable tha ttheir forefathers left their original seat, earlier than those ofthe Mugs.13

1%Thes e are probably the descendants of the followers of Suia, Aurunewb's. . "brother. [E E. S ] "

'3 S . J. K A. S. of B., X . p. 684. An extended account of the Kyensmay be found in R~tter'sE r d k . v Asien IV. 1. 279, &c., according to whichthey have the tradition, that they once occupied the whole of Ava and Pe gu ,but were at length forced from the plains to the mountains by a race from thenorth, who came among them peaceably, but afterwards attempted to subduethem ;and this may be what is alluded to in the tradition mentioned in the text ,of their descent from the remnants of an army lost in the mountains, when at.tempting to penetrate to the westward. A very important particular in Ritter's



T h e Toungm roos, w ho are also mountaineers, are foundon ly in the northern part of the province : the y are veryslightly affected by the civilization around them, and aresaid to be revengeful and barbarous. T h e y are descendantsof people bro ught in former times from Tippe ra, and callthemselves Tripura ; their language appears to be not at allallied to the Burmese.

T h e Kem ees are hill-people, and appear m uch like Mugs,on ly in a ruder state. T h e y give no account of their origin,but the traditions of th e Mugs refer to them as already in thecountry, when their ancestors entered it : they undoubtedlybelong to the sam e great fam ily of the huma n race, of whic hthe Mugs, the Burmese and other kindred people are alsobranches ; and their ancestors probably settled in the mount-ains of Arakan, before its plains were inhabited.14

T h e Karen s are a part of the race of that name so widelyspread throughout the Burmese empire, who have been oftelldescribed by missionaries and others ; any further notice ofthem here is unnecessary.

A few hundred Hindoos and Munnipoorees15 are alsofound in A rakan, and a small num ber of Chinese, Sha ns, etc.T h e y do not, however, differ from the same people in theiro w n coun tries, and it is needless to enter into particularshere respecting them.

W hat the population of th e king dom was in its palmydays, we have no m eans of kn ow ing ; but in marly places,especially in the Alryab district, are traces of a far morenumerous population than it now contains. '' The ruins ofth e anc ient temple of BIah$muni, built entirely of stone, thesites of former cities, sho w n by the remains of tan ks an druined pagodas, the extensive stone walls at the old capital,certainly tell of a more flourishing kingdom, than what theBritish found it." l6 It was then said to contain only onehundred thousand inhabitants.

account of this people, is , that their langua ge differs entirely from the Burmese,whichis irreconcilable with the supposition adopted by Mr Cornstock, that theybelong to the Myanma family. [E. E. S ]

I4S. J . R . A . S . o f B . , X . p . 6 8 3 .l5 The seat of this race is NnnipiLr, a tahle-land in the northern part of the

kingdom of A v a ; th ey are a pparently kindred to the Shans, but profess theBrahman religion. S. Ritter: Erdk. v. Aslen. IV. 1 . 359, &c. [E . E. S.]leS. J . R . A . S . o f B . , X . p . 6 8 9 , & c .



$ 3. Agriculture, Contnaerce, Mech . i c Arts, and ProJessions.

Nearly all th e Mugs, and a considerable portion of theBurmese and Mussulmans, are engaged in agricultural pur-suits. Before giving an account of th e agriculture of theprovince, how ever, it is desirable to say something of itsclimate. T h e year m ay be divided into tw o seasons, thewet and the dry ; but it is more usual to divide it into three,th e rainy, the cold, and the hot seasons. T h e rains usually

set in about the first of May, though the showers for am on th after that are seldom severe, and are only occasional.During the m onths of Ju ne and July , especially the latter, itof ter~ ains for many day s together, and at times literallypours dow n. T h e greatest fall durin g twenty-four hours,that I have measured, was about eight inches, bu t in onemonth, July 1841, it was ninety-five inches. I n Au gustand September the rains moderate ; during the latter monthvery considerably, a nd in October showers are few andgentle. T h er e are occasionally very slight showers out of

the mo nths above named. T h e average annual fall of rainis about two hundred inches. T h e thermom eter during therainy season seldom varies much from 800 ; wh ile the rainsare breaking up in October, and during the first half of No-vember, it rises three or four degrees. T h e latter part ofNovember and the montlis of December and January, and apart of Febru ary , are delightfully cool, particularly in th emorning an d evening. On some of the coolest mornings th ethermometer sinks below 500 ; but it usually ranges, at th e

coolest, between500

and 600 ; during the day it rises to 800,an d frequently from four to six degrees higher. Early in

February the heat begins to increase, and continues to doso, un til the rains fairly set in. At th is season of th e year,th e thermom eter often rises to 950, and occasionally higher,especially during the month preceding the rains, and th eaverage heat for that m onth is about 910. At the sametime, nearly all vegetation perishes, and the whole countrypresents a desolate and sadd ening appearance. T h e ther-mometrical observations here recorded were made at Ramree,

wher e refreshing breezes from th e Bay of Bengal, springingup after noon and con tinuing most of the nlgh t, mod erate



th e heat very considerably, as they do every w here near th esea shore ; farther in the interior the heat is doubtless moreintense.

A few w ords as to the health of the province have theirmost appropriate place in this connection. Changes of tem-perature are frequent and sudden, and as the natives arethinly clad, much exposed both to the sun and rain, poorlyhoused, and indulge freely in eating crude vegetables, andoth er indigestible and unwholesome food, their health suffers

not a little. T h e most prevalent diseases are fevers remit-tent and intermittent, especially the latter, bowel affectionsof severe character, enlargement of the spleen, pulmonarydiseases, small-pox, and of late years cholera of a fatalsort.

I will now return to the subject of agriculture. All theland in Arakan belongs to the East India Company; butcultivators procure as much as they wish at a fixed annualrent, and retain the land which they have once leased,as long as they cu ltivate i t , and regularly pay the stipulated

rent to Government. " T h e cultivated rice lands are dividedinto three classes, which pay at the rate of twelve, ten, andeight rupees per doon. T h e first sort will produce from onethousand to twelve hundred baskets of dh an , the rice threshedfrom the stalk, but not husk ed, w hic h will sell, on an aver-age, a t from ten to twelve rupees for a hundred baslrets."T h e second and third classes of larid are less productive, inabout the ratio indicated by the diminished rent. " Oneman with a pair of buffaloes will cultivate a doon of landwith ease." l7 Buffaloes are used almost exclusively in cul-tivating the soil ; the y cost from forty to six ty rupees a pair ;

about ninety thousand are found in the whale country.Oxen, which cost from forty to fifty rupees a pair, are usedin carts, of wh ich there are one thousand in the province,

17 S. J. R. A. S. of B ., X. p. 695. The value of a rupee is about 453 cents,and a doon is equal to 64 acres. T he basket of Arakiln contains about one thirdof a bushel. [Note of M r. Comstock.]

To what Mr. C. says of the proprietorshipof the soil, it may be added, thatalthough the existing Government is recognized as the rightful owner of it, yetin practice, land taken to cultivate is inherited by the cultivator's heirs, as if it

wer e his own, only that it must continue to be occupied and cultivated, and theprescribed l-ent to be paid to overn ment. The tenure resembles a perpetuallease. S . J . R . A . S . o f B . , # . p p . 6 9 3 . [ E . E . S . ]



an d sometimes for ploughing, etc. T h e whole number ofcows and oxen in Arakan is about eighteen thousand. T h eagricultural implemen ts of th e Mugs are of the rudest con-struction, and cost but a trifle : a cart costs but tell rupees,yet few farmers prize them enough to purchase one ; aplough and a drag, both entirely wood, cost but orle rupee,whi ch is also th e price of a sickle ; these, together with thedah, or knife, wh ich every native has, are all the imp lementsof agriculture, except a hoe about two inches wide, and a

sort of spade equally narrow, w hich are used in gardens andtobacco-fields, worth both together about one rupee.T h e staple product of the province is rice, of wh ich

only one crop is raised in a year. As soon as the rain hassufficiently softened the ground, t h e farmer, having dividedhis rice land into little plots, throw s u p around each alow mound of earth, to preveut t he water tha t falls uponthe m from runn ing off. Soon after this he comm encesscratching the ground with his sharp po inted stick, called aplough ; the land is ploughed two or three times before it is

fit for the seed. T h e seed, wh ich is sow n broadcast, usuallyin th e latter part of June , or in Ju ly , springs up in a few days,an d rapidly arrives at maturity. T h e harvesting commencesin October, and continues through November, and into De-

cem ber, the crop being ready for the sickle earlier in someparts of th e province than in others. As soon as the harvestis gathered, th e grain is threshed out by buffaloes or oxe n,an d the dahn, or paddy, either removed to the granary for

home consumption, or taken to the numerous vessels, whichare

waiting to receive it, for exportation. W ha t qua ntity ofrice is annually raised in Arakan, I have had no means ofaccurately determining ; but some idea of it m ay be formedfrom the fact, that th e value of rice exported from theAkyab district alone is nearly one million one hundred andfifty thousand rupees per annu m. It should be no ted here,however, that not more than eight or ten vessels load withrice in any other district.

W he n the rice crop is gathered in, those who cultivatetobacco prepare the ground for this plant, the alluvial flats

near st re an ~ s eing selected for the purpose. T h e seed isusually sown in November, and as soon as the plants are



eight or ten inches high, they are transplanted. I n March,the most forward leaves are cut, and in April or May thoseremaining are gathered, w he n the whole crop is cured, an dmade fit for use in a short time. H o w mn ch tobacco is

raised in Arakan annually, I have not been able to ascertain;but as nearly every man, woman and child in the provincesmokes immoderately, the home consumption must be large ;

and several thousand pounds are exported, principally toCalcutta, where Arakan tobacco is highly prized.

H em p is cultivated, but only for home use ; which is ren-dered considerable by the dem and for twine to m ake fishnets, and th e qu an tity of cord and rope of different sizesrequired for boats, etc. T h e seed is sow n in November orDecember, and the hemp is usually pulled in March. Sm allpatches of ground, here and there, are devoted to sugarcane, indigo, cotton, red and black pepper, ginger, turmeric,etc., all of good quality, except the cotton , w hic h is coarseand short. Arrow root grows wild at Chedu ba, as does theblack pepper in th e s outhe rn part of the province. A little

wheat has been raised ; and , it is believed, th e soil is capa-ble of y ieldin g in great perfection all that can be expectedin a moist and tropical climate. T o gardening the nativespay but little attention ; nothing can be raised of any value,except in the rains, wi thout a great deal of care an d labor,of which the people of Arakan are very sparing ; besidetha t garden land is charged w ith an annu al rent of sixteenrupees per doon . Pumpkins, squashes of different kinds,cucumbers, brinjals, a few melons, sweet potatoes, yams andonions, are the principal vegetables cultivated; the three

last are raised only to a very limited extent. A few flowersare also raised, some of w hic h are worn b y th e men in the irears, some by the women in their hair, and others areoffered to th e gods. T h e principal fruits, to whic h theMugs pay attention, are the mango, jack, guava, plantains ofvarious kinds, papaia, sweet lime, cocoa-nut, pine-apple,tamarind, and a few others not very abundant; most ofthose named are of good quality, and in abundan ce in theirseasons.

T h e natives of Arakan manifest very little skill or ene rgyin agricultural pursuits ; manure is seldom used, and indeed





be, the great mart for the trade of Arakan, especially in rice.This trade, it is believed, is capable of almost indefiniteextension.

After rice, th e most impor tant article of com merce is salt,of w hic h large quan tities are manufactured on th e islandsnear Kyo uk Phyoo, and on Ramree. T h e annual consump-tion in the province is about eight million two hundredthousand pounds ; and tw o or three times tha t quantity isexported to Chittagong on account of the East India Com-pany , by whom this article is monopolized. T h e manufac-turer receives but little more than half a rupee for onehundred pounds, and the whole al ~l ou nt aid for salt an-nually by the Government is less than one hundred andthirty thousand rupees. T h e salt is shipped from K yo ukPh yo o, usually in Chittagoilg vessels, of which twenty-fiveor thirty are freighted with it yearly; but these bringscarcely any thing for sale, and their crews b uy nothing.

Vessels rarely visit Arakan, except those above mentionedas com ing for rice and salt. A considerable trade is carried

on with Bengal, by large native boats, and with Burma,principally over land. T h e boats are manned b y tw en ty,thi rty , forty or more oarsmen, according to their size, andmake on ly one trip a ye ar; they sail when the w ind is favor-able, and at other times are propelled by the oar. T h eoverland trade w ith Burm a is carried on through passes inthe Yoma mountains, of which the principal one is at Aing,the merchandize being usually carried on the baclrs of bul-locks ; but when of little weight, by men. T h e details ofthis trade I have not been able to ascertain, nor of that bynative boats. A statement of the exports from Akyab toBengal and Burma during the years 1838-9 and 1839-40,

which I have seen, sho w s their value for the tw o years tohave been five hundred and forty-three thousand two hun-dred and thirty-one rupees. T h e principal products ofArakan exported to these countries, were cotton, ivory,beeswax, dried fish, hides and buffaloes' h or ns ; their valuewas only seventy-four thousan d six hund red and fourteenrupees. T h e other articles included in the statem ent were

cash, British piece goods and birds' skins, from Bengal,gold an d silver bullion and teak planks, from Burma, betel

VOL. I. NO. 111. 31



from Penang, etc. T h e value of exports through the Aingpass to Burina was,

In 1837-38 . . 134,567 rupees." 1838-39 . . 201,776 '(ii 1839-40 , . 120,671 "

T h e value of imports to Arakan from Bu rma was,

In 1837-38 . . 214,571 rupees.

" 1838-39. .

271,976" 1839-40 , , 221,617 '(

T h e principal articles exported were British piece goods,betel, ngahpee, or small fish partially dried and poundedinto pulp, birds' skins and edible birds' nests. T h e impor tswere bullion, cotton, silk, pawn boxes, palm leaf books,gold tinsel, etc. T h e carriers in this trade are principallyBurm ese arld Shans. A small foreign trade is carried onfrom other parts of the province, of the value of which I

have not been able to inform myself.The natives of Arakan own no vessels, I believe, and

none of them are engaged in trade to a large amo unt. Asomewhat extended traffic is carried on within the province,the centres of which are Akyab, Aing, K yo uk Phyo o, andRamree ; perhaps San dow ay also should be included, but I

believe its trade is very inconsiderable. T h e whole stockof many of the petty shopmen is not worth ten rupees, andsome, I presume, beg~nheir business with a much smallercapital than that. A few individuals invest tw o or three

thousand rupees in trade ; and perhaps the average value ofstock on hand at an y one time among all the traders inArakan is about fifty rupees. I n the large tow ns are fishan d vegetable markets.

T h e commerce of this province is evidently far less ex-tensive and valuable than it m igh t be, and speedlly wo uldbe, were i t prosecuted with skill and enterprise.

T h er e are no manufactures, except that of coarse cotton

cloths for home consumption. These are made in nearlyevery house, and constitute the chief clothing of the people.



Mechanics and artizans of every sort are very scarce : a

few blacksm iths, wliose chief etnployrnen t is to m ake a ndrepair the dahs, or knives, ow ned in their respective neigh-borhoods ; a few silversmiths employed chiefly in makingthe unc ou th ornaments, universally morn by women an dchildren on their ancles and wrists, and occasionally inmaking idols ; and a few carpenters and carvers, who makebook cases, ornamented with stick lac, colored glass and goldleaf, for the keoicngs, and carve idols to place upon them, arethe principal artizans in the province. A small number areenga ged in making the shoe or sandal, usually worn by theBurmese and Mugs ; and a very few in manufacturing um-brellas of paper, coated w ith Burmese varnish, which are ingeneral use among the natives. A few oil-mills of the sim-plest construction are found in the province, arid three orfour saw-pits. T h e natives generally understand how tomake boats, with the necessary rigging, and almost everything else required by their rude state of society, except thearticles above mentioned, for w hich the y are indebted to

special artizans.Astrologers and conjurors are numerous, and there is a

sufficient number of musicians, actors; dancers, etc.T h e professional me n are doctors, lawy ers an d priests.

Doctors require no license, nor is an y fixed term of stud y,or certain am ount of medical know ledge, requisite to com-menc ing practice in the healing art. A few medical books,briefly me ntion ing the sym ptom s of different diseases, andgiving prescriptions for them, are found in the country ;

and public sentiment demands that a person have someknow ledge of the se, before declaring himself a doctor. T h eprinciple medicines used are the roots, bark and seeds ofdifferent vegetables, which do riot appear to be active orthorough in their operation either as cathartics or emetics,nor indeed for an y other valuable purpose. Neither bleeding,nor any other surgical operation is ever performed. T h edoctors can not be said to be very successful in their prac-tice : most persons who are seized with violent illness, orwhose diseases are particularly obstinate, die ; in many

cases, probably, for want of a prompt and judicious adminis-tration of active medicines ; niilder cases are cured, or the



patients recover in spite of the doctor, I hardly know which.Fro m the fact that I have often found doctors in Arakanseeking their living by other means, I judge that the med-ical profession is crowded ; at the best it is not ordinarily a

lucrative business, tho ug h a few eminent practitioners se-cure a good living. Midwifery is practiced only b y wom en,whose know ledge too frequently fails, w he n most needed ;

and the consequence is, tha t most cases of preternatural la-bor terminate fatally. T h e regimen after delivery is notuniform ; some prescribing a cold shower bath three tim esa day, for several days after confinement, while others irn-mediately place the patient before a large fire, which is keptburning day and night for about a week.

It will be convenient to speak of the lawyers of thecountry in connection with what I have to say of its cou rts ;

an d so of the priests, w he n its religions are considered. I

might have observed, while speaking of the enlployments ofth e people, tha t there are some thousan ds of fishermen in

the province, principally Mussulmans. T h ei r exac t num ber

I have not ascertained ; but it must be large as the y hav etwe nty-five hundred nets in use.

$ 4. Religions of the Inhabitants.

T h e Mugs and Burmese are Boodhists, and of course im-ages of Gua tama and pagodas erected to his honor are t h eobjects of their worship. T h e moral precepts to be observedb y all th e worshippers of Gu atam a are these five : L T h o ushalt not steal : thou shalt not kill, ( a comm andmen t under-stood to forbid t he killing of all animals, as well as ofmen :) thou shalt riot violate th y neighbor's wife, or dau gh-ter : thou sh alt not lie: thou shalt not drink an y intoxicatingliquors." W ere these requirements bu t obeyed, how differ-en t would be the sta te of society iu Boodhist lands ! Otherprecepts are enjo ined upon priests, alid all those w ho w ishto acquire the highest degree of merit. But, as Boodh-ism, in its precepts and practices, has been so fully andfrequently described by missionaries and others, it is un-

necessary to go into details respecting it here. T h e day s ofworship, of wh ich there are four in every mo nth , one at



each quarter of the moon, are observed by very few inA ra ka n; an d the same may be said in reference to all th eBoodhist rites. T h e Mugs are far more parsimonious in ex-pending mo ney in honor of Gautama, than their neighborson the eastern side of the moun tains. W hile great num bersof pagodas, temples an d idols are fast going to decay, ne wones are seldom erected. T h e reason often given for this is,tha t idolatry flourishes only wh en supported b y Governm ent;and it is true, that ma ny of the pagodas, etc., in Arakan werebuilt by the king and his officers, as is still the case in Bur-ma. T h e people here, however, frequently give ano therreason : the y say that a man under the former rule had nosecurity for his money , as it was liable to be seized a t a n ytime by the officers of G overnment, so that those w hohad money preferred to exp end it in L L ~ ~ r k sf merit,''hoping to reap a corresponding reward in their next state ofexistence ; but that now, as every man is secure in the pos-session of all he has, the people prefer to invest their moneyin trade, etc., and make su re of their profit in the present

state. Both of these reasons und oub tedly operate, and to-gether, perhaps, go far to account for the decay of Boodhismin this country. I would, however, add another, wh ich is th elack of confidence an d interest in t he religion of Gautama,clearly discernible more and more am ong th e people. Se ct sand parties also are multiplying ; and many of the more in-telligent and thoughtful of the natives acknowledge that th eysee indications in the signs of the times, tha t Boodhism issoon to lose its influence here, entirely. T h e Mugs are moreignorant and superstitious than the Burmese : the worship ofNats is far from being done aw ay w ith am ong them ; many,wh o at other times are strictly orthodox, w he n visited byalarming illness, wh ich bids defiance to the skill of their doc-tors, turn to those w ho profess the art of expelling thesesupposed authors of disease : Nat feasts are very common.A large part of the population hav e recourse to amu lets, toward off and heal diseases ; use charms to protect them fromevil spirits; and practice many other puerile and superstitiousceremonies, wh ich are seldom kno wn among the Burmese.

On t he w hole, Boodhism is evide ntly far from flourishing inArakan. T her e are, however, about six hundred Poongees,



or priests, in the province, for wh om the inhabitants erectcomfortable dwellings, called keoungs, and to whom theymake offerings of rice, vegetab les, etc., sufficient for theircomfortable support. T h e priests a tten d funerals, and per-form oth er religious rites. and teach the child ren of their

U

parishioners to read and write : the y profess c hastity, poverty,and severe self-denial ; an d are grea tly reverenced by thepeople, insom uch that parents bow do w n before their ow nsons, and treat them as va stly their superiors, th e mo me ntthey assume the yellow robes of the priesthood. W hen apriest divests himself of his sacred garment, as he is a t libertyto do, whenever he chooses, he c L becomes a man," an d istreated like other men.

T h e Mussulrnans in Arakan profess the same faith as thefollowers of Muhammed elsewhere ; but their practice isvery lax and far from orthodox. T h e y have the Koranonly in Arabic, w hich none of them understand, thoug h afew can read it ; they are very ignorant of the tenets of theirown faith, many knowing only the name of Allah ; and the

notions and practices of the idolaters around them areadopted by great numbers ; indeed, several have entirelyrenounced the religion of their fathers, and embraced Boodh-ism. On th e other hand, a few mosques are foun d hereand there :Muhammedan festivals are usuallv observed: andthere are, I thin k,o ne hundred or more nlini&ers of the MUS-

sulm an faith in the province. Still the Muslem prophet hasno very strong hold here, and not a few of his followers areready to acknowledge, that the worship of the Eternal willsoon become extinet in Arakan, unless preserved by Chris-tianity . Most of the Mussulman m inisters of religion pursuesecular callings, and exercise the ir clerical func tions orllyoccasionally.

T h e K ye ns appear to vary very little from Karens in theirreligious belief and practice. T h e y have a confused idea ofa great self-existent Being, sub ject neither to disease, oldage, nor death, who is the creator of all things ; but I neverheard that they offer an y worship to him. T h e y makepropitiatory sacrifices to the Eats , and all the friends of the

offerer meet to eat the animal sacrificed, in com pany , a s issupposed, w ith the Nats. I t is said that the Kye ns also



sacrifice dogs and eat the m , imagining thu s to regain someof the religrous knowledge w hich dogs took from their fore-fathers, by eating their sacred books, written on dried skins !

Of a futu re state, in w hic h there will be a difference betweenthe condition of th e good an d th e bad, they have some vagueideas. l8

I have learned nothing of the religion of the Toungmroos;but it must be of the rudest kind.

T h e religious notions and practices of the K eme es appearvery m uc h to resemble those of the K ye ns, though theirideas of the great Being, superior to all others, are morevague. T h e y too confine their worship to the Nats, whomthey suppose to reside in the mountains, and to have an in-fluence over their hea lth, lives and crops. T o propitiatethese spirits they sacrifice buffaloes, hogs and fowls, espe-cially at seed-time and harvest. W he n a K em ee is ill, afowl is offered to the Nat supposed to cause the illness, no tby killing it, but by sending it loose into the jungle. The

Kemees have no definite ideas of a future state of retribu-

tion, tho ug h th ey believe in transmigration. Th ei r mode ofproviding for th e w ants of the departed, after their bodiesare burned, is peculiar. Near the bu rning ground the y selectfor eve ry deceased person a small spot of land , wh ere th eyerect a neat miniature house, in which they deposit a portionof all th e goods of the deceased, co ok ir~ gutensils, spinning-wheels, fishing-nets, tobacco-pipes, etc. ; adding a smallportion of rice, and even a few fowls in a little cage, withpaddy enou gh to keep them alive a few days.

T h e religion of the Kare ns in Arakan is identical with thatof the same race in Burma, and the Tenasserirn province,which has been so often and so fully described, that nothingneed be said concerning i t here.

$ 5. Education.

While th e Burmese held Arakan, the M ugs were oppressedand degraded to such a degree that they are far less inquisi-

18 Some additional particulars respecting the religion of the Kyens may befound in Ritter's Erdk. v . Asien. IV . 1. p. 231, &c. [E. E. 81



tive and intelligent than the Burmese. Tile proportion ofmen here who cannot read is far greater than in Burma.Intelligent Burmese have told me that in their country nineout of every ten can read ; but in Arakan, I should thinkth at less than one half of th e me n can read, and am not surethat one fourth can. F e w w omen learn to read in eithercountry ; not one in a thousand, I should say, amon g theMugs. Under the milder rule of th e Ea st Ind ia Companyth e Mugs are rising from their degradation, and more oftheir children are taugh t. T h er e is still, howeve r, a dis-tressing neglect of th e educa tion of children on t he pa rt oftheir parents ; and this remark applies to all classes. I haveno returns of th e num ber of teachers and scholars in anyother than the Akyab district, and I should hope that theyare not a fair criterion of the state of education in the rest ofthe province ; yet it cannot be vastly more favorable in theother districts. Among the one hundred an d thirty-slxthousand, or more, inhabitants of that district in 1841, therewere only

21 4 Poongees w ith 1,066 scholars.45 Mug teachers t r 337 '(119 Muhamm edan teachers 404-

in all 378 teachers

T h e mou ntain tribes have no written language, and havenot learned to read Burmese, so that the y are of course im-mersed in the grossest ignorance. But the circumstances of

those who can read only Burmese, are not much better, forth ey have access to no books wh ich teach true science, oran y thing scarcely th at is true : absurd tales of Gautama,Nats, Beeloos, Nigban, etc., are all tha t there is to read. Alearned man, in the Burmese sense, is one w ho can repeatPali by the hoar, the meaning of which not one in fivethousand usderstands.

Som e of the more intelligent natives here are beginningto perceive the errors and absurdities of their systems ofastronomy an d geography ; but the great mass most firmlybelieve that the sun goes in a circuit over th e four great



islands, an d that nig ht is occasioned by his passing behindMyenmo mount ; that the stars are a sort of spangles stuckupon the sky ; that we live upon the great southern island,which is nearly four hundred thousand miles in circum-ference, and other things similar, stated in their sacredbooks.lg So m e of the people profess to be very acute meta-physicians respecting a man's different minds, their severalpowers, etc. ; othe rs are sub tle casuists, and apportion gu iltto different acts with the utm ost precision. Many of theMugs are fond of discussion, bu t the y are very apt to jum pto conclusions, without having established their premises,an d for hours tog ether w ill reason in a circle, even after theirfault has been clearly pointed out to them ; it must be con-fessed, however, that sonie are rather able in argument, andshre w d to detect faults in the reasoning of others. Althou ghbooks are tolerably abundant, and there are not a few menhere who consider themselves very learned, and are so con-sidered b y others, ye t ignorance the most profound reignsthroug hou t the province.

T h e Government has made sonie provision for the educa-tion of its subjects, whic h promises to do a 11ttle good, andultimately, perhaps, will prove an essential benefit. In 1838,

two schools were established, one at Akyab, and the other atRamree, the Honorable Company appropriating five hundredrupees per m onth to their support, T h e Alryab school has hada head master and a junior master, both of whom were Eng-lish, w ith several native teachers, and from eig hty to onehun dred scholars, but it is no w en tirely broken up, principallyon accoun t of the unfitness and unfaithfulness of the Eng lishteachers. T h e Ramre e school, of w hic h a son of the Rev. Mr.F i n k is now the head m aster, is flol~rishing it contains onehundred scholars, the full tiumber allowed by the committeein charg e of it, of wh om forty stu dy E nglish, thirty-fivethe vernacular, an d twenty-five Oordu. T h e first Englishclass stu dy grammar, geog raphy , arithmetic, and history,translate from English into Burmese, and vice versl, are

1s Accord ing to the Buddhist cosm ography, our earth consists of four greatislands, placed at the cardinal points, encircling the sacred mount of the gods,around which the sun makes it s courses. [E. E. S 1

V O L . . N O .I I I . 32



improving their reading a nd writing, both in E nglish a ndBurmese, and pay some attention to original composition.I n all schools under Go vernm ent in India, Christian booksare systematically withh eld from the En glish classes, and theteachers are forbidden to comm unicate to their scholars theknowledge of G od, or any of th e trut hs of the Christianreligion ; at the same time, in some schools, all books in thevernacu lar languages are he athe n, arid consequently teac honly wh at is fitted to becloud and degrade the mind of thelearner. T he se restrictions exis t in Arakan. A little ha sbeen done by individuals, towards educating the people;but the statement of particulars on this point belongs to thehistory of missionary labors in the province.

6. Domutic Relations.

Dom estic happiness is scarcely know n am ong th e Mugs.Marriage contracts are frequently made by parents for the ir

children, while yet very young. Widowers, and young menof full age, however, usually choose for themse lves whomth ey will m arry, and seek to secure some return of affectionby a regular suit, before the conserit of the parents is solicit-ed. Am ong the Mugs as well as the Burmese, the suitor isalw ay s expected to pay a certain price to the parents, and tomake a present of clothing and jewelry to his betrothed,according to his ability. After all the preliminaries h avebeen settled, a day is fixed for the wedding , and the rela-tives and friends of the parties are invited to a feast, atthe house of th e bride's father, w he n th e bride and groomeat out of the same dish, and are declared to be husband andwife b y tha t act. In m an y cases marriage has taken placebu t a few days, before those violent family quarrels com -mence, which are so comm on in Arakan. I t is not veryunusu al for the husba nd, in a fit of rage, to dra g his wifeabout the house by the hair, a t the same time kicking orbeating her most brutally, even to such a degree, at times,as to endanger her life ; and on the other ha nd , the wife

often uses to her husband the most loathsome and irritatinglanguage . One can no t be surprised, therefore, tha t divorces



are extremely common ; and there is scarcely an y obstacle inthe w ay of procuring the m , wh eth er both parties or only oneof them desire to break the marriage bond. If bo th partiesdesire a divorce, they have only to go before a village assem-bly, and make a declaration of their wishes ; their propertyis then equally divided, and th ey separate, probably to re-unite as soon a s their displeasure at one another abates.Should the husband desire to divorce his wife, he must giveup to her all their property, assume the wife's debts, andleave the house w ith no thing bu t th e clothes he h as on.Shou ld the wife desire a divorce from her husba nd, she hason ly to tender him twenty-five rupees before some of thevillage authorities, w hic h in ordinary cases he is bound toaccep t, or at most, she returns the ornam ents given to her b yher husb and. and restores the mone y he paid to her parents ;

after which the divorce is completed b y the wife's breakinga paw n leaf into tw o parts, eating one of the m , an d givingthe other to her husband. In all these cases, the children areallotted according to their sexes, the boys being given to the

father an d the girls to the mother. As migh t be expected,considering the character of parents, the children grow uppassionate an d vicious. A parent occasioilally chastises hi schild, but only in anger, by stamping upon him, or cruellybeating him w ith w hatever comes first to hand, and the childis usually rescued from th e enraged parent,either by th e other,or by the neighbors ; if he can manage to run aw ay, andkee p aloof till th e passion of th e parent subsides, he hasnothing to fear, whatever may have been his fault.

I migh t have observed before, tha t polygamy, although

perfectly lawful and respectable, is not generally practiced inArakan. One of th e Thugees at Cheduba has three wivesliving in the same house ; another at Cheduba, beside onea t Ram ree, has tw o w ives wh o live in different houses amile or two distant from each other ; and I have known oneman who had three wives living at as many different places,where his business called him from time to time. Besidethese, I have not met with a half dozen men who had morethan one wife. I presume, however, that the actual number

of polygamists in the province is not so very small, andthat there would be more, were it not for the inability of



the people generally to bu y a nd support more w ives thanone.

Pare nts and children, both married and unmarried, oftenlive in the same house, and not unfrequently three genera-tions constitute but one family. But too ma ny causes ofdiscord exist to permit such a family, or indeed an y in Ara-kan, to be truly and permanently happy.

$7. DweUings, Dress,and

Modeof

Living.

T h e houses of all classes in this province are built ofbamboo, and covered wi th leaves. T h e posts are set in thegroun d, abo ut tw o feet, and th e floor is usually raised five orsix feet abov e it . I n each house is an eating room of eon-siderable size, a small cooking room, one or two sleepingrooms, and frequently a small room or tw o, in w hic h rice a ndother things are stored. T h e average cost of these housesm ay be estimated at about thirty or forty rupee s; an d althoug h

they are in many respects wretched habitations, yet thenatives having never been accustomed to be tter, appear to besatisfied with them. A full and very decent dress for a m ancosts three or four rupees, and tha t usually wo rn, not morethan half so much ; the expen se of a w oman's dress is aboutthe same. Children do not usually wear clothes, till th eyare six or eight years old. Men, wo me n and children gen-erally have but two suits of clothes a year, and are most ofth e time very filthy in their dress. T h e expense of food

varies slightly in different places, butI

think it is on anaverage, three o r four rupees per mo nth, for a man and w ifew ith three or four children. Of course, man y expend forhouse, clothing an d food far more than th e am ounts men-tioned, while not a few spend even less. AH the houselioldfurniture of a respectable ~ ia ti ve s, in general, not wo rthmore than five or six rupees.

Many of the people w ho live near streams, have boatswhich cost twelve or fifteen rupees, and several have thosethat are worth four times that amount; a few, about

twenty I believe, have large boa ts that cost one hun -dred arid fifty or tw o hun dred rupees, in which they go to



C a l c ~ t ~ t a , Mostangoon and other distant places, to trade.farmers ow n one or tw o pair of buffaloes, or oxe n, tho ug hm an y do all their work with hired cattle. A few cows arekept for breeding, wh ich are milked only whe re there is a

foreign population to whom milk can be sold ; in suchplaces, a few goa ts are also kept. Around most of th ehouses a few fowls are found, which are raised to sell to for-eigners, as Boodhists seldom kill anim als, particularly do-mestic ones.

Beside the above mentioned articles, few of the people ofArakan possess any property of value ; nearly all complain oftheir poverty, and the co m pla ~n t s to a very considerabledegre e we ll founded. Still, most farnilies ke ep a string ofrupees to ornam ent the necks of their naked children, an dalso furnish them with silver ornaments for their wrists andankles ; and w hen th e children are ten or twe lve years old,an expensive feast, w ith music and dancing, is made, at theceremony of boring their ears ; considerable expense too,attends the marriage feasts, as well as those made w h e l ~ oys

assume the yellow clo th, for the purpose of pu rsuing the m oreadvanced studies a t the keoungs. Feasts are often made011othe r occasions also, and those who can afford it, some-times g ive theatrical ente rtain n~ en ts, wh ich consist of a nexhibition of puppets on the stage, while the dialogue isrecited by players behind the scenes. W ith these entertain-me nts the natives are delighted, and they often sit the w holenig ht to witness them . Most persons are sure to la y b y asufficient sum of money to ensure them a decent burial orburning,-the latter being the more common, at least in the

case of persons of much respectab ility : this money is ex-pended in gilding and ornam entin g the coffin, hiring musi-cians to attend the funeral, purchasing offerings for the at-

tending priests, and ma king a feast, a few days after thefuneral. Som e leave to their heirs a few hund red rupees,and a very small number some thousands; the majorityhave nothing to leave. On the whole, wh ile it must be ac-

know ledged tha t most of the inhabita nts of Arakan are poor,th ey seldom suffer for a ny thing wh ich their habits have

rendered necessary to them , an d the circumstances of m an yare yearly improving.



5 8. The British Governvtent in firakccn.

T h e civil adm inistration of the British Go vernm ent inArakan is c ondu cted by a Comm issioner, with four SeniorAssistants and on e Junior Assistant. T h e Com missionerha s a general supervision over the wh ole province, an d hisrecomm endations usually decide the amo unt of taxes, an dall other questions pertaining to revenue , as we ll as th eexpe nditures for improvemerits w ithin th e province, an d

almost every point touching its interests. H e resides atAk yab , and holds a cou rt there daily for the trial of appealsfrom t he decisions of his Assistants ; and in cases of murder,arson and some othe r crimes, he has original jurisdiction.H e usually visits each station of the province, that is, theplaces of residence of the Senior Assistants, tw ice a ye ar j toattend to such causes as may be broug ht before h im ; hissalary is tw o thousand rupees per month. T h e SeniorAssistants ha ve charge of the four districts into w hi ch th eprovince is divided, as will hereafter be m enti one d; th ey

atten d to th e assessment a nd collection of taxes, tr y civiland revenue causes, and minor crimes, and are consideredchiefly responsible for the peace and prosperity of the ir dis-tricts; their salary is half as much as that of the Commis-sioner. T h e Junior Assistant, whose salary is o nl y onefou rth as mu ch as the Com missioner's, is employed prin-cipally in the department of criminal judicature at Akyab,where a native judge also, has a place in the civil depart-ment.

A small number of sail and row boats are attached toth e province, for the convenience of civil and m ilitary offi-

cers, an d to transport troops and supplies from place to place.These are under the supervision of a Marine Assistant to theCommissioner, whose salary is four hundred and forty rupeesper month.

T h e medical staff consists of a Civil Assistant-surgeon a tAkyab, on a salary of four h undre d and thirty rupees permonth, one at Ram ree whose salary is three hundred andfifty rupees per month, and one at Kyouk Phyoo, on a

salary of thre e hu ndred rupees per mo nth. At Sandoway,the medical officer is a Sub-assistant-surgeon who receives



one hundred and fifty nipees per mo nth. At each of thesestations is a native doctor, usually a Hindoo, educated at theMedical College of Calcutta, whose salary is from twenty totwenty-five rupees.

T h e province is divided, for the purposes of go vernm ent,into four districts, the Arak an, more freque ntly called theAkyab, and the Ramree, Aing and Sandoway. Of these,Ak yab is far the most populous and impo rtant ; it containsabou t one hundred and thirty-six thousand inhabitants, andnine hundred and fifty villages ; the Ramree district con-tains sixty-three thousand inhabitants, and four hundredand twenty-four villages; the Aing, twenty-four thousandinhabitants, and one hundred arid fifty-six villages; theSa nd ow ay , thirty-four thousan d an d fifty-three inhabitants,according to the census taken at the close of 1842, and onehundred and sixteen villages. T h e tow n of Akyab, con-taining five tho usand inhabitants, is the capital of th e districtof th e same name. T h e civil courts of that district are heldthere, as well as the Commissioner's Court, and there are the

head quarters of th e Arakan Loc al Batallion. T h e capitalof the Ram ree district is a tow n of the same nam e c ontainingsix thousand five hundred and eighty inhabitants. T h etown of Aing, near the foot of the Y om a mountains, wasformerly the residence of the Assistant in charge of the Aingdistrict, but a few years since Kyouk Phyoo, which nowcontains about tw o thousand inhabitants, was added to thatdistrict, and made its capital ; this town is also the head-quarters of the regiment of Sepoys stationed in the province,and of the Departments charged with the superintendence of

the Marine, and of the m anufa cture of salt. Sandoway, atown of one thousand six hundred and fifty-eight inhab-itants, is th e capital of th e district of tha t nam e.

T o give an idea of the governmental establishment of theCommissioner and his Assistants, I will describe that main-tained at Ram ree, with the details of wh ich I have becomemore particularly acquainted. T h e arrangements for theadministration of gove rnm ent in the other districts, are on a

larger or smaller scale,as

required by th e circumstances ofeach.



At Ram ree, one W riter on a salary of a hund red rupeesper month, keeps the treasury and revenue accounts; an-other whose salary is sixty rupees per month, has charge ofth e judicial accoonts, reports, etc. Both of these are E u r a -s i a n ~ . ~ ~n officer called Myothugee, receiving eightyrupees per mon th, w ith three assistants, w ho severally re-ceive fifteen, twelve and ten rupees per m on th, has chargeof mak ing up the yearly reven ue settleme nts, preparingrevenu e suits, etc .ll In small suits, the witnesses are exam-ined before the Myothugee, who reports the evidence, withhis opinion, to the Assistant-commissioner. All the revenueofficers are Mugs. A Sheristadar, on a salary of sixtyrupees per month, w ith three assistants on salaries of thirty ,tw en ty and fifteen rupees, condilcts the civil and criminalcauses in c ourt, corresponds with natives, and inspects thepolice reports ;-the Sheristadar himself exam ines witnessesbefore the Bssistant-commissioner, but give s no opinion onth e causes. A native R ecord-keeper, on a salary of thirtyrupees per month, keeps all the records in the Persian

language.12 A Mug Interpreter whose salary is twenty-five rupees per month, with his assistant who receivesfifteen rupees, writes Mug subpcenas arid writs, and conductsall the correspondence in th e Mug langua ge. A Treasurerw ho receives thirty-five rupees per m on th, wi th his assist-an t, w ho receives fifteen rupees, ha s charge of th e receipt,custody and disbursement of all the mo ney w hich passesthro ug h the Assistant's hands. A Nadhir, whose salaryis twenty-five rupees per month, superinten ds the serving of

m Persons of Indo-British descent. [E. E. S21 T h e Myothugee and his assistants have under them, in the m anagement of

revenue affairs, a class of officers styled K wnaops, of whom th ere a re one hu n-dred and sixty, according to the nu mb er o ft h e circles, into which, a s M r. Com-stock afterwards tells us, the whole province is divided; and whose business it isto receive the revenue from the hands of the Rai~ngounusor village-heads, whoar e the d irect collectors, an d to aid th e police officers 07 the several circles inth e discharge of their duties. T he y ar e the same otficers, afterwards mentionedby M r. Cornstock, as Th ug ee s presidiu over circles.

T h e im mediate sup erior of th e ~ y o k u ~ e e ,o whom h e is amenable, is theSenior Assistant-commissioner in each district. S. J. R. A. S. of B.. X. DD.

690,91. [E . E. S.], a .

9% Th is is to be understood only of the records of civil and criminal affairs;

the reven ue records are kept in the Burmese language. 8. J. R. A. S, of B.,X p. 691. [E.E.S.]



subpenas and writs, the levying of executions, the inflictionof punishments, the receipt of all monies paid into court, fordeposit in the treasury, etc. He is assisted by twenty depu-ties, who receive fees for servir~gprocesses, and for all theother duties they perform, paying over one fourth to theNadhir. Attached to the establishment at Ramree, are fourVakeels whose duties are similar to those of Coutisellors atLaw in America: they manage causes in court, hut havenothing to do with preparing the papers ; their fee is five percent. of the amount in suit. There are no licensed attorneys

here : any one who knows enough may draw the plaint, andother writings in a suit, and on such terms as he and hisemployer may agree upon. T o complete the list of officersof Government at Ranlree, I may mention a Duftree whosesaIary is eight rupees per month, arid whose duty it is totake care of the stationery, bind books, rnake pens, etc. ;also six Chuprassees, personal attendants upon the As-sistant-commissioner, who receive each five rupees permonth.A memorandum of the civil business of the courts, for the

three months ending September 30, 1840, shows that a hun-dred and forty-seven causes, in the first instance, were disposedof by the Assistant-commissioners and native judge, and that ahundred and thirty-nine were pending. Of causes carried up,fifty-one were disposed of by the Commissioner, and a hun-dred and thirty-eight were pending. I n civil muses, theplaintiff's costs are two rupees for stamp paper for plaint,half a rupee for stamp paper for the Vakeel's power of attor-ney, five per cent. of the amount in suit to Government, five

per cent. to the Vakeel, fees for serving processes, and dailysubsistence to witnesses. The defendant's costs are similarto the plaintiff's, except that he has not to pay the five percent. to Government. In most cases, the defeated party inthe end, pays all the costs.

Over every one or two thousand inhabitants, more or less,called circles, are appointed Thugees, who assess arid eollectthe revenue, and exercise a general supervision. Under themare Rooagoungs, or village-heads, varying in number ac-cording to the population of the circles, also Rooasayas, or

VOL . I . NO. 111. 33



village-clerks." The 'I'hagee receives fifteen per cent. ofthe amoilnt of the taxes he collects, the Rooagoung fourper cent., and the Rooasaya two per cent.

T o prevent and to aid in punishing crime, police officers,twenty-five in number, are established at convenient and im-portant points, throughout the province. The whole policeforce, including that in charge of the jails at Akyab, KyoukPhyoo, Ramree and Sandoway, and forty-five men attachedto the guard-boats, numbers more than eight hundred men,who are disciplined and well armed. The highest police

officer, the Darogah, receives thirty rupees per month, andthe common police men, five rupees. The greatest check tothe efficiency of the police force, is the disposition, almostuniversal with the natives, to take bribes: many criminalsare in consequence not apprehended, or if arrested, escapeunpunished. Still, the police establishment is a restraintupon crime, for criminals in most cases are known, and musteither suffer punishment, or pay well for exemption. Duringthe three months ending September 30, 1840, two hundred

and thirty-seven cases of crime were disposed of by the As-sistant-commissioner in Arakan, and thirty-one cases wereat that time pending.

When the East India Company took possession of theprovince, taxes were imposed upon nearly every body andevery thing in it. Conjurors and astrologers, of whom thereare from four to six hundred, and prostitutes, unhappilynumbering as many as eighty or one hundred,-almost, ifnot quite all of whom are Bengalees, and drummers and

dancers were taxed, as well as the various classes of personspursuing laudable occupations. Boats and nets, forests, shops,and other means of income were also taxed. But a fewyears since, all these taxes, except that on fisheries, werediscontinued, and a capitation tax was established, one ru-pee less that1 that which had been levied. This measurerelieved the people at once of a taxation of nearly one hundred

" The Burmese pronunciation gives to these village-clerks th e title of Rawa-tso.res, wh ich is another instance of an T-sound in the Burm ese, for the sound ofy in the pronunciation of Arakan. S. J. R. A . S , of B., X. p. 690. [E. E. S . ]



--

thousand rupees, and has been high ly conducive to the in-terests of the province. T h e only tax imposed by the Bur-mese and no w retained, beside th at on fisheries, is one offour rupees per an nu m on all m arried people, and of tw orupees on widowers ; the old and infirm being exempt, andth e hill tribes being taxed at only half tha t rate. T h e fol-lowing abstract of the assessment of the province for the year1839-40, show s the amou nt of th e taxes then paid by th epeople, as well as th e reven ue derived from other sources :

Rupees.

M u g h o u s e t a x , . . . . . 245,540Hi l l . . " . . . . . 1 1,086Rice land assessment, . . . . 295,731

''i l l ' . . . . 8,325

Miscellaneous cultivation, . . .Orchards, . . . . . .Fisheries, . . . . . .

D e d u c t 21 per cent. for collecting,

Edible birds' nests, . . . .Tawree licenses,24 . . . .Bengal shrub" '< . . . .Opillm . . . .Gunjah " 6‘

" . . . .Profit on the sale of opium, . . .Fin es and forfeitures, . . . .Escheats, . . . . . .Prem ium on drafts , . . . .Stamp paper, . . . . .Por t dues , . . . . . .F e e s on civil suits, . . . .F e r ry funds ,

. . . . .Miscel laneous, . . . . .H il l Circles, not systematically assessed,

Total ne t revenue,

8,659

16,508--,620592,469

124,418

468,051

509,761

T h e revenue of the province is increasing from year toyear, and is already sufficient to meet its ordinary expenses,

i . e. Lice nce s to sell palm-w ine ? [E. E . S.]*3 i . e. Licences to sell an intoxicat ing l iquor made from the sugar-cane?

[E . E. S.]

i . e . Licenc es to sell he m p for smoking ? [E. E. S.]



while at the same time the mode of assessing it is such thatit bears equally and not severely, upon all ; and setting asidethe opium licenses and grog shops, and the sale of opium,the sources of revenue seem liable to little objection. Thesame cannot be said of the road tax, if tax it can be called,being irregular and unequal. When a road or bridge isto be made or repaired, the people in its immediate vicin-ity are ordered to do the work, so that one village is sub-ject to a heavy road tax, while another has scarcely anyhurthen of this sort, and a similar inequality often exists inthe same village. The people of Aralran are also occasion-ally forced to furnish laborers and supplies, as needed byGovernment, in a manner which in many countries wouldbe considered extremely arbitrary ; but such a course maybe unavoidable here.

The people generally are well pleased with British rule,and often contrast the security of property and life whichthey now enjoy, with the extortions and violence so com-

mon in former davs. As far as the intentions and efforts ofthe English functionaries are conceriled, little complaint ismade by the people, but they still suspect the native officers,from the highest to the lowest, of bribery and injustice, andI fear in very marly cases, with good reason. Still, that avery decided change for the better has been manifest sincethe province fell into the hands of the East India Com-pany, no one can deny. At that time, agriculture waslimited by the wants of the inhabitants, and commercewas unknown. Now. there is rice grown for ex~ortat ion.

which gives employment annually to six or seven hundredthousand tons of shipping ; a considerable trade in salt iscarried on ; and commerce in several other articles is begun.The effect which these changes must have to increase thewealth and happiness of the people of Arakan is apparent ;

and the rice exported to the Madras coast furnishes mostdesirable relief to the inhabitants of that part of India, some-times actually saving them from starvation ; the trade insalt, too, confers substantial benefit upon the people of Chit-tagong, Dacca, etc. Gang robberies and other acts of vio-

lence and bloodshed, so frequent in former days, are now



almost unknown ; taxes are for the most part moderate anduniform ; trade is unfettered. The Yoma mountains are sodistinct and indisputable a line of demarcation between theCompany's territories and Burma, that border difficulties arescarcely possible. These and other causes combine to givethe people confidence in the stability and protection of theGovernment, and the consequence is a marked improvementin the condition of the inhabitants, and a rapid increase ofthe population.

l ( Numbers of the descendants of those who fled in troub-

lous times from their country, and settled in the southernpart of Chittagong, the islands of the coast, and even thesunderburis of Bengal, are gradually returning. During thenortheast monsoon, boats filled with men, women and chil-dren, with all their worldly goods, may be seen steeringsouth along the eastern coast of the bay of Bengal, to theland their fathers abandoned thirty or forty years before."*'Individuals and families are also constantly coming in fromBurma, and numerous Bengalee immigrants from Chittagong

are every year settling in the Akyab district. The ratio ofincrease by births I have had no means of ascertaining. Inthe Ramree circle, containing seven thousand six hundred in-habitants, the births for the year ending December 16, 1837,were,-of males, one hundred and twenty-eight:-of femalesone hundred and fifty-nine, that is, two hundred and eighty-seven in all. The deaths during that year were a hundredand thirty-three, of which thirty-nine were of persons fiveyears old, or under, twenty-five of those between five andten years of age, and sixteen of those between ten and

twenty. It is to be remembered that the censils is takenby native officers, who, though very correct in their returnsof taxable inhabitants, are very lax and careless in givingthe number of the old and infirm, and of bachelors, womenand children. These are always rated, as I think, far toolow. Probably the present population of the province is notfar from three hundred thousand. Very liberal measureshave recently been sanctioned by Government, which are



adapted greatly to extend the cultivation of wild lands ;and a better quality of rice and cotton has been introduced.

These improvements will conspire with other causes already

mentioned to increase the population, wealth, and happiness

of the province.



NOTE ON T H E ACCOMPANYING MAP.

T h e coas t f rom Chit tagong to Sandoway, inc luding numero uscreeks, is a very carefully reduced copy, from the best charts yetpublished. F o r that part below Sandoway , as no regular and accu-rate survey ha s yet been made, a tolerably correct map by Pemb er-ton an d oth ers has been mainly followed. F o r su5d ry additions andcorrections in that part I am indebted to notes by Captain A. P.

Pha yre and R ev. Mr. Abbot t . T o the former gent leman, I amalso indebted for the best sketch of th e Koladon, above the mouthof the M ee river, and for the sour ce of the M ee river. I n f il lingout the inter ior, a sco re of maps have been consulted, some of whichwere draw n by Euro peans, and others by natives. Con sultation

with natives who are familiar with the numerous creeks and islands,has served to co rrec t some mistakes as to names, and in som e cavesas to th e positions of small rivers ; yet I seldom trust to their judg-men t for distances. I t will of course be understood, that no accu-rate survey of the interior beyond th e deep waters of the creeks hasever been made.

W it h a view to f ixing points in the map as to latitude, I havealways improved every opportunity, when visiting different partsof the province, to tak e a merid ian altitude of some heavenlybody, and thereby to determ ine the lati tude of the place. Bu t mytravels have been too l imited to enable me to add much to the

map, from personal observation. W it h care, I have obtainedamong others, (not important t o be mentioned,) the followinglatitudes :

Chitsa's Village, . . 210 6/ 301/N.Lat .Sa n K w a n's . 200 32' 001''

T a r o k e , . 200 34' 001' " Arakan , . 200 351 00" < I

T o n k o , . . ,200 15, 30" ('

Cruda , . . 200 18/ 0O1/ " Sandoway, . . . 180 28' 1911 "



T h e following lati tudes and longitudes are given in the chart ofD. Ross, corrected and published in 1839:

Akyab, . 20" 8/ 12'' N. Lat. . 920 56' 0011Long. Kyou k Phyoo, 190 26' 2 8 / / . 930 35100/l "

R a m r e e , . 190 5' 35'' " , 930 54' 0011 Sandoway, . 160 28' 401/ " . 940 56' 3011 "

Arakan , . 200 35' 00'1 . 930 3' 3011 Aing , . . 190 49' 35" " . 940 4' 30"

On the whole, much care has been taken to render every part ofth e map as correc t as possible ; but that i t contains no error, i twere folly to pretend , sin ce only a minor portion of t he provincehas yet been surveyed, or even visited, by Euro peans . I t is believedthat the coast and all the principal inner waters are very correctlylaid down, and that the whole gives a more accu rate representationof A rak an than any map yet published. I t was drawn in cornpli-an ce with the special and urgent request of our departed friend,Rev. Mr. Comstock, and was designed to accompany his Notes onArakan.

Explanations of the Orthography of the Map.

a . . . . . a in America, and sometimes a in father.

d . . . . . a in n a w .

d . . . . . o in note .

ei . . . . . ei in vein, in all cases.

ey . . . . ey in they .

&i . . . . . injd,n all cases.

Akyab, May 26, 1845.















S(.cilr ot' I i r * i l is l~Vilt!s . 31 %o 111 oil Inclr.





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NotesonArakan