There are few commodities in India which serve for trade at Pegu, except opium of Cambaia, painted cottons from San Thome or Masulipatam, and white cloth of Bengal, vast quantities of which are sold here. They bring likewise much cotton yarn, dyed red with a root called saia, which never loses its colour, a great quantity of which is sold yearly in Pegu at a good profit. The ships from Bengal, San Thome, and Masulipatam, come to the bar of Negrais and to Cosmin. To Martaban, another sea-port in the kingdom of Pegu, many ships come from Malacca, with sandal-wood, porcelains, and other wares of China, camphor of Borneo, and pepper from Acheen in the island of Sumatra. To Siriam, likewise a port of Pegu, ships come from Mecca with woollen cloth, scarlet, velvets, opium, and other goods.
In Pegu there are eight brokers called tareghe, which are bound to sell your goods at the prices they are worth, receiving as their fee two in the hundred, for which they are bound to make good the price, because you sell your goods on their word. If the broker do not pay you on the day appointed, you may take him home to your house and keep him there, which is a great shame for him. And, if he do not now pay you immediately, you may take his wife, children, and slaves, and bind them at your door in the sun; for such is the law of the country. Their current money is of brass, which they call ganza, with which you may buy gold, silver, rubies, musk, and all other things. Gold and silver is reckoned merchandise, and is worth sometimes more and sometimes less, like all other wares, according to the supply and demand. The ganza or brass money goes by weight, which they call a biza; and commonly this biza is worth, in our way of reckoning, about half a crown or somewhat less. The merchandises in Pegu are, gold, silver, rubies, sapphires, spinels, musk, benzoin, frankincense, long pepper, tin, lead, copper, lacca, of which hard sealing-wax is made, rice, wine made of rice, [aruck], and some sugar. The elephants eat sugar canes in great quantities, or otherwise they might make abundance of sugar.
They consume many canes likewise427, in making their varellas or idol temples, of which there are a prodigious multitude, both large and small. These are made round like a sugar loaf, some being as high as a church, and very broad beneath, some being a quarter of a mile in compass. Within these are all of earth, faced round with stone. In these varellas they consume a vast quantity of gold, as they are all gilded aloft, and some from top to bottom; and they must be newly gilded every ten or twelve years, because the rain washes off the gold, as they all stand exposed to the weather. Were it not for the prodigious quantities of gold consumed in this manner, it would be very plentiful and cheap in Pegu. About two days journey from Pegu there is a varella or pagoda called dogonne, of wonderful bigness, gilded all over from top to bottom, to which the inhabitants of Pegu go in pilgrimage; and near it is a house where their talapoins or priests preach to the people. This house is fifty five paces long, and hath three pawnes or covered walks in it, the roof being supported by forty great gilded pillars, which stand between the walks. It is open on all sides, having a vast number of small gilded pillars, and the whole is gilded both within and without. Round about this there are many fair houses for the pilgrims to dwell in, and many goodly houses in which the talapoins preach, which are all full of idols or images, both male and female, all gilded with gold. This, in my opinion, is the fairest place in the world. It stands very high, having four roads leading to it, all planted on each side with fruit-trees, so that the people walk in the shade in all these avenues, which are each above two miles long. When the grand festival of this varella approaches, one can hardly pass any way, on account of the great throngs of people, both by land and water, as they flock from all parts of the kingdom of Pegu to be present at the festival.
In Pegu, there are many priests or talapoins, as they are called, who preach against all abuses, and many people resort to hear them. When they enter into the kiack, that is to say the holy place or temple, there is a great jar of water at the door, having a cock or ladle, and there they wash their feet. They then walk in, and lift their hands to their heads, first to the preacher, and then to the sun, after which they sit down. The talapoins are strangely apparelled, having a brown cambaline or thin cloth next their body, above which is another of yellow many times doubled or folded over their shoulders, and these two are girded round them by a broad girdle. They have a skin of leather hung by a string round their necks, on which they sit, bare headed and bare footed, as they wear no shoes. Their right arms are all bare, and they carry a large sombrero or umbrella over their heads, which protects them from the sun in summer, and from the rain in winter.
Before taking their orders, the talapoins go to school till, twenty years old or more, and then go before a head talapoin appointed for the purpose, called a rowli, who is the most learned of the order, who examines them many times, whether they will leave their friends, foregoing the company of women, and assume the habit of a talapoin. If any one be content, he is made to ride through the streets on a horse, very richly apparelled, accompanied by many drums and trumpets, to shew that he is about to quit the riches and vanity of the world. A few days afterwards, he is again carried through the streets, on a thing like a horse litter, called serion, mounted on the shoulders of ten or twelve men, and dressed in the habit of a talapoin, preceded by drums and instruments of music, and accompanied by many talapoins and all his friends. He is thus carried to his house without side of the town, and is there left.
Every individual talapoin has his own house, which is very small, set upon six or eight posts, and to which they have to go up by a ladder of twelve or fourteen staves. Their houses are mostly by the road sides, and among the trees in the woods. They go about, having a great pot of wood or fine earthen ware covered, and hung by a broad belt from their shoulder, with which they beg their victuals, being rice, fish, and herbs. They never ask any thing, but come to the doors, when the people presently give them, some one thing and some another, all of which they put into their pot, saying they must feed on their alms and be contented. Their festivals are regulated by the moon, their chiefest being at the new moon, when the people send rice and other things to the kiack or church which they frequent, where all the talapoins belonging to it meet and eat the victuals that are sent. When the talapoins preach, many of their hearers carry gifts to them in the pulpit, while preaching, a person sitting beside the preacher to receive these gifts, which are divided between them. So far as I could see, they have no other ceremonials or religious service, except preaching.
From Pegu I went to Jamahey, in the country of the Langeiannes, whom we call Jangomes, which is twenty-five days journey north from Pegu428, in which journey I passed through many fertile and pleasant countries, the whole being low land, with many fine rivers; but the houses are mean and bad, being built of canes and covered with straw. This country has great numbers of wild elephants and buffaloes. Jamahey is a large handsome town, well peopled, and the houses are well built of stone, with broad streets. The men are strong and well made, having a cloth about their middles, bareheaded and with bare feet, as in all these countries they wear no shoes. The women are much fairer than those of Pegu. In all these countries they have no wheat, living entirely on rice, which they make into cakes. To Jamahey there come many merchants out of China, bringing great store of musk, gold, silver, and many Chinese manufactures. They have here such great abundance of provisions, that they do not take the trouble to milk the buffaloes as they do in other places. Here there is great abundance of copper and benzoin.
In these countries, when people are sick, they make a vow to offer meat to the devil in case of recovery; and when they recover, they make a banquet, with many pipes and drums and other musical instruments, dancing all night, and their friends bring gifts of coco-nuts, figs, arecas, and other fruits, and with much dancing and rejoicing they offer these to the devil, giving him to eat, and then drive him out. While dancing and playing, they often cry and hallow aloud, to drive the devil away. While sick, a talapoin or two sit every night by the sick person, continually singing, to please the devil, that he may not hurt them. When any one dies, he is carried on a great frame of wood like a tower, having a covering or canopy made of canes all gilded, which is carried by fourteen or sixteen men, preceded by drums, pipes, and other instruments, and being taken to a place out of the town, the body is there burned. On this occasion, the body is accompanied by all the male friends, relations, and neighbours of the deceased; and they give the talapoins or priests many mats and much cloth. They then return to the house, where they feast for two days. After this, the widow, with all her neighbours wives, and female friends, goes to the place where her husband was burnt, where they sit a certain time lamenting, and then gather up all the pieces of bones which have not been burnt to ashes, which they bury; they then return home, and thus make an end of mourning. On these occasions, the male and female relations shave their heads, which is only done for the death of a friend, as they greatly esteem their hair.
427
Surely the bamboo, not the sugar cane. It may be noticed, that almost the whole of this account of Pegu seems to have been borrowed from the relation of Cesar Frederick. –E.
428
The names here used are so corrupted as to be utterly unintelligible. Twenty-five days journey north from the city of Pegu, or perhaps 500 miles, would lead the author into the northern provinces of the Birman empire, of which the geography is very little known, perhaps into Assan: Yet the