Although supported chiefly by charity, their
habitations are always the handsomest, and
are built on the most favourable site of the
whole village. They never beg; but a certain
number of them go out two or three times a
week with a large earthen vase, held under
the arm in a singular manner; walking
slowly through the villages one after another,
never raising their eyes, and silently stopping
a few minutes before each house as they pass.
Every villager contributes a portion of food;
and on their return to the poughy-houses,
the Poughies put part of what they have
received in an open box or trough, placed in
front of the Poughy-house, for their poorer
brethren.

The Poughies wear a yellow robe, exactly
resembling the Roman toga, made of cotton,
silk, satin, or velvet, according to their rank.
They are forbidden to hold any communication
with women; who are not even allowed
to enter any place of worship, but are obliged
to transmit their offerings through their
husbands, or any male relative, to the poughy, to
present to their guadinah or god. This deity
is a hideous earthen figure painted white, and
represented in a sitting position. Sometimes
the face is painted black; and, not
unfrequently, half of the face is gilt, as a token of
gratitude from some rich Birman, who has
recovered from an illness, or some other
misfortune. On one occasion, the Commissioner
of Moulmeyne, assisted me to mount on a sort
of raised bamboo terrace, on which a number
of Poughies were squatted, in order to
witness a boat-race. In passing by, a part of
my dress accidentally touched one of them.
The priest immediately rose in a violent rage,
muttering unheard-of anathemas against me;
and he and all his brethren retired in great
disgust. I heard afterwards that the poor
priest I had innocently victimised, was obliged
to undergo severe penance to purify himself
from the contamination of my unlucky
garments.

When a Poughy of the highest order dies,
they place the body in honey, and
proceed to make a funeral car; which, as they
beg great part of the material, takes some
months to finish. The English blue and
green finger-glasses, and pieces of broken
glass and porcelain, are much prized by them
tor this purpose. I watched for many weeks
the construction of a magnificent car they were
building for the ceremony of burning the body
of a Poughy of the highest rank, and was
astonished by the taste and elegance
displayed by these half savage Birmans. The
pieces of coloured glass had been cut into
leaves, and were inlaid in a graceful wreath
round the body of the car; whilst the canopy
or baldequin, which was supported by four
columns ornamented in the same manner,
was raised in the centre into a pinnacle, and
attached by glittering chains to four smaller
columns at each corner. On the day appointed
for the ceremony, the body—which was
carefully enveloped in a common yellow robe—
was placed on the car, to which a number of
stout ropes had been attached before and
behind, and the ceremony of drawing it to
the open space where the funeral pile had
been erected, commenced. The women seized
the ropes in front, and the men those behind.
At every attempt of the women to draw the
car onward, the men responded by drawing
it back again, amidst shrieks and shouts of
laughter. This extraordinary scene is
supposed to typify the struggle between the good
and bad spirits who had influenced the
Poughy while living, for the possession of
his body after death. After some hours,
the fair sex came off victorious, and the car
proceeded quietly on its journey. Whilst
this scene was going on, the chiefs or head
men of the neighbouring villages,
accompanied by their respective followers,—who
were distinguished by the peculiar colour of
a kind of tartan silk, which is made in Birmah,
and which the men wear round their
loins—conducted the immense rockets
destined to blow up the funeral pile, to the open
space. These rockets are formed of the
trunk of a tree, which is hollowed out and
filled with gunpowder of the coarsest kind,
and which is laid on a rude carriage with four
wheels. On the top of the rocket is placed,
in a standing position, a large figure of a
horse, an elephant, or a warrior; also filled
with gunpowder. On this occasion, the white
elephant—supposed to be a fac-simile of the
far-famed and sacred one at Ava—was
destined to be the cause of a tragical event
and loss of life.

The car, having reached its destination,
the body was taken from it and placed on
the pile, which had been previously
prepared. The rockets intended to ignite the
pile were ranged, at a distance of about eight
hundred yards, and either side of this
space was crowded with spectators. The
day was beautiful, and the position selected
for this ceremony most picturesque. The
glittering spires of the snow-white pagodas
that crowned the neighbouring hills gleamed
brightly through the trees; the gay-
coloured silk dresses of the Birman women—
in which red and yellow always predominate
—and the scarlet coats of the British soldiers,
added to the brilliancy of the scene, and gave
it an appearance of gaiety little in accordance
with the presence of death. At a given
signal, a match was applied to the touch-hole
of the first rocket, which had been placed
opposite the pile but pointing in a diverse
direction. On the application of the match, it
suddenly wheeled round and rushed with great
velocity towards the pile, amidst the shouts
of the Birmans and cries of " Roundhi!—
roundhi! " ( " Good!—good! " ) Several
others were fired in succession, and at last
the white elephant rocket, which was of
extraordinary dimensions, was placed in
position. Every eye was turned towards it, and