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came under British rule. But an account of their war-customs of the olden time-and which still prevail in the fierce forays of Karen-nee-will be of some interest.

War is never declared. A wrong having been committed, the avenging tribesmen never make any declaration of reprisals, nor intimate that war is to be waged. The great object is to take the enemy completely unawares. Nor is war waged ostensibly between one village and another. There is always an individual at the head of every war on whose account the war is made, and who acts as general, but never goes to the fight himself. If the season is deemed favourable, the head of the war kills a hog or a fowl, and, taking a portion of the heart, liver, and entrails, he mixes them up with salt and rolls the mixture up in a leaf. This symbolizes tying up the heads of his enemies. Then, after a prayer to the Lord of heaven and earth, he sends out spies to see how best the enemy's village may be attacked. If the spies report favourably for the attack, the head of the war sends out to collect volunteers for the foray, forty or fifty from each village of the tribe. When all have assembled, a feast is given, at which spirits are freely drunk. But before handing round the

spirits, the head of the war pours out some slowly on the ground, and prays, "Lord of the seven heavens and the seven earths, Lord of the rivers and streams, of the mountains and hills, we give thee spirits to drink and rice to eat. Help us, we entreat thee. We have tied the heads of our

enemies. Help us. Make their minds forgetful; make them to forget themselves-that they may sleep heavily, that their sleep may be unbroken. Let not a dog bark at us, let not a hog grunt at us. Let them not seize a bow, a sword, or a spear. And may the Lord keep my children and grandchildren that are going to attack our enemies, and deliver them from all harm. May they be delivered from the bow, the sword, and the spear." After this a fowl is killed, and its bones reverently consulted. If the omens are unfavourable, the tribesmen are dismissed to their homes to wait for a more auspicious day. If they are favourable, the head of the war leaps up exultingly and calls for two volunteers to escalade the first house of the enemy's village. The two volunteers come forward, and he addresses them thus: "You are a hunting dog; you are a wild boar. If you succeed you are worthy of a buffalo, and you shall have it. If you fail, if you are killed, let not those you leave behind

ask a buffalo of me; let them ask a fowl. Let them not ask of me a silk garment on account of your death. You say you are bold, you say you are fearless. You go the first, you return the last. If our enemies follow and you run away, and anything happens to the people, you are responsible.” After this address the tribesmen go off, singing war-songs:

"We march in order like white ants,

We cross a stream and trample it down;
We arrive at the foot of the house,
We reach the foot of the ladder :
Blood flows like a stream of water,
Blood flows down under the house.

"The mother cries herself to death;

The great hawk flies over the house,
Pounces down on the chief's red cock;
The great hawk swoops around the house,
Carries off its prey at the foot of the house;
The great hawk flies away,

Leaving the chief behind weeping."

When the party reach the house, the first rush is made by the two volunteers, and the rest follow. The house is stormed. All the men are killed, whether armed or unarmed. Such women as are thought likely to be useful or profitable as slaves are taken and bound. All the rest are killed. Infants are always killed, and children are often barbarously massacred. Their hands and feet

are cut off, and their bodies hacked into small

pieces.

Slavery is common amongst all the tribes, and one of the Bghai clans sell even their relatives. Defaulting debtors, captives in forays, confirmed thieves, widows and widowers who cannot pay the price of the deceased, those who have brought or are supposed to have brought infectious diseases,— are all sold into slavery. Elderly men and women find no purchasers; they cannot work. Men and women of middle age fetch as much as from two to three hundred rupees. Boys, girls, and children are valued at from three to four hundred rupees.

CHAPTER IV.

THEIR AGRICULTURE: PEE BEE YAW, THE

GODDESS OF THE HARVEST.

When com

THE Karens are tillers of the soil. They do not engage, as the Burmese do, in trade. munities descend into the plains, they take to the ordinary Burmese paddy-growing, in which they very soon outstrip the Burmans. Their villages are always the most prosperous-looking. Those in the hills still follow the primitive and destructive methods of their forefathers. Their system, briefly, is to cut down and burn the trees on a hillside, and then sow their crops on the mixed soil and ashes. Next year they migrate to another hill and repeat the same operation, leaving the first hill to recover its natural vegetation, till after six or seven years they return to it. They thus migrate annually to different hills, and each year finds one hill denuded of its vegetation, cultivated, and then forsaken for another. The proper cycle of rotation is usually

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