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Art. II.—History of Tennasserim

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2011

Extract

The people of this coast are of three distinct classes,—the Burman, the Món, and the Karean, and they are distinguished also by speaking different languages. The Burmans of Mergui speak a dialect of the language of Ava, as do those of Tavoy.

Type
Original Communications
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Asiatic Society 0000

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References

page 42 note 1 One by Dr. Carey, and another by Dr. Judson. The Dictionary by Dr. Judson.

page 43 note 1 Independent of ou, om, ah, áh.

page 44 note 1 Nearly the pronunciation of the third person plural of the P. of the Indicat, of the Hindústani verb, to be; hueen, hein.

page 50 note 1 I am indebted for the Burman music to Lieut. Sherman, Madras Infantry, who has also favoured me with some useful information, regarding the state of and improvement on the Tennasserim Coast, since I left it, in Sept. 1825. The Siamese and Malayanairs have been set to music by Che Draman, an inhabitant of Penang, who has been long known to the settlement as their Niel Gow; and Lieutenant Sherman has also favoured me.by revising them.

page 50 note 2 The popularity of these words depends on their idiomatic peculiarity of expression; any translation of them, therefore, into English must have a burlesque effect. They have little of poetry in them.

page 50 note 3 The original has “seedy plantain,” in allusion to that fruit being given to children on account of its nutritious quality.

page 71 note 1 1825.

page 74 note 1 The Burmans beliere that certain incantations render them invulnerable, and their arms irresistible.

page 78 note 1 From information obtained at Martaban, Pegu, &c.

page 78 note 2 The rolls alluded to are in my possession.

page 79 note 1 A curious Siamese history is in my possession in which the art is treated of; and a variety of adventures related which befell two rival Indo-Chinese princes, while digging to circumvent and entrap each other.

page 81 note 1 Agreeable to their mode of reckoning, as before noticed.

page 83 note 1 Allowing for three grown-up persons.

page 85 note 1 Mr. Maingy.

page 85 note 2 Major Burney.

page 85 note 3 Since the above was written, it has been discovered that the alleged cause of the revolt, the revenue arrangements, put forth by the Chief Maungda as an excuse for his rebellion, cannot be admitted; since it is known that this revolt was a partial one, and was confined to a refractory and seditious set of men, who paid hardly any revenue, and who expected to be great gamers by a change.

Maungda was well known to have been a traitor on several occasions to his own government; and those who joined him in this last attempt had been for the most part officers of the Burman government. The lower classes were overawed after having seen our troops evacuate the town. Had the officer in immediate charge at the time been sufficiently experienced (for he was only acting in the absence of Major Burney), the affair would not have proceeded to the extremity it did. By not instantly seizing Maungda and the other ringleaders, and remaining in the town, every advantage was given to them. That this might easily have been done is quíte evident from the fact, that the same force which thus evacuated the town retook it six days afterwards, although Maungda and his followers had increased from a handful of men to about 1300 strong, and had teen enabled to collect guns, jinjals, ammunition, and other means of offence and defence, in which they were before wanting.

The execution of Maungda and his principal adherents was fully merited by them. It will also have the salutary effect of rescuing the people from those retaliative measures, with which that chief or his associates would have visited them, in the event of these provinces being given up.

It came out on the trials that Maungda was in correspondence with the Court of Ava.

page 90 note 1 He was killed by a shell when superintending the operations at Denobyú.

page 92 note 1 The Malayan title for a throne.

page 93 note 1 The expression, “British Government,” here and elsewhere used in this work, is perfectly applicable; although the local administration be that of the East India Company; for other nations naturally look to the fountain of power for the responsibility attached to the local exercise of it.

page 96 note 1 The Siamese, so long ago as 1511, claimed Malacca from Albuquerque.

page 96 note 2 A Malayan state, bounding the British territory of Wellesley Province at the Krean river, on the south.

page 97 note 1 The Sanscrit scholar will here observe, that the natives of these regions had long ago adopted Indian titles, this one being the name of a Hindú prince, Darmasoka Rájá.

page 98 note 1 Every third year ambassadors go to Pekin from Siam, tearing a tree of gold and another of silver, as marks of nominal vassalage. They assume the Chinese dress.—Crawford's Siam.

page 102 note 1 The firat under John Anderson, Esq., of the Penang Civil Service; and the last one under the writer of this account.

page 103 note 1 It has been stated by an author, whose name does not occur to me at present, that the Malacca Peninsula could not have been the golden Chersonese, because it does not yield gold. This, however, is an error: many thousands of persons, both Chinese and Malays, are annually employed in working the gold-mines of Patani and Calentan. There used to be a considerable importation of gold-dust from these to Penang; but, since the Siamese influence has prevailed down to the fourth parallel of N. latitude, this trade has been destroyed.

page 103 note 2 In Europe the same extent of population might require 800 births, at least—while the deaths would probably be greater in many places.