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JUNE, 1893.)
FOLKLORE IN BURMA.
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the Någas and Asuras. His might and power was such that even Indra, 13 the Lord of the thirty-three gods of Tavatimsa, had to lendis his celestial aid to the consummation of his wishes. When darêkéttara was built both Sakra and the Nagas rendered valuable assistance, and on its completion Dutta baung was inducted to his throne by Sakra, 13 who conferred on him celestial weapons. One of these was a wonderful spear, which carried royal messages to the king's tributaries. Sakra also presented Duttabaung with a wonderful drum, which, when beaten, could be heard on the utmost confines of the empire, thereby indicating that the time for paying tribute had come.
Duttabaung ruled with justice tempered by mercy, and great was the amount of tribute received by him. He was loved by his subjects and feared by his tribntary chiefs, and was, in short, blessed in all respects except one. That was, although he was extremely fond of his wife Pekdano, he was treated by her with coldness, haughty disdain, and inveterate hatred, dissimulated under the cloak of feigned obedience and respect. Her one object in life appeared to be to foil his designs wherever possible, to effect the reduction of his power and influence, and to bring ignominy and shame upon him in all that he undertook. But so long as the king observed the precepts inculcated by Gautama Buddha, supported the monks, and looked after the interests of the religion, the designs of this malicions queen were frustrated by the occult power of the nats (spirits).
One day, however, in an evil hour, the king, without due investigation directed the confiscation of a piece of rice-land measuring 5 pès (a pè is a measure of land which may be taken for the purposes of the story at an acre), which a widowed sweet-meat seller had presented to her preceptor. Henceforth, owing to this sinful deed committed against the religion, the king's power declined.15 His satraps and governors grew refractory and eventually threw off their allegiance: tribute was withheld: the wonderful spear would no longer go on its wonted errands : and the drum would sound no more. To add to this long series of misfortunes Queen Pekanð hit upon a plan, which was doomed to be successful in fulfilling her evil desire. She had an old skirt16 of hers washed clean, and obtained some rage from a cemetery, and then had a towel woven with these materials for the use of the king. Duttabaung placed too much confidence in the love and fidelity of his wife, and not suspecting anything wiped his face with it, when lo! on account of the extreme uncleanliness of the towel, bis third or middle eye became blind! Simultaneously with his blindness his celestial spear and dram disappeared ! Not convinced that his power had diminished, the foolish king in his dotage set ont on a progress through his dominions with the object of re-establishing his government on its former basis. He was cruising near Cape Negrais, 17 when by spitting into the sea he excited the wrath of the Nagas, who carried him and his brazen boat to their country under the earth.
Thns perished the three-eyed king, Duttabaang, and the oath of his wife Pekand, in her previous birth, was fulfilled.
18 Bakra, the Recording Angel of Buddhism, is known to the Burmans w Pary-min. Min is pure Burmese, signifying an important personage : for Magyd (= Sakra), see ante, Vol. XX. p. 422.
14 Burmans have a saying that, when a king is powerful, even rulers of nata (spirita) have to render him Assistance.
16 Native histories are mostly the work of Buddhist monks, or of monks who have turned laymen; and overy opportunity is seized upon to improve their position, and to impress on the secular rulers the unwisdom of interfering with the Buddhist Religion, as inculcated by the monkish brotherhood. The Mahayaxaroin was put into its present shape by body of learned monks and ex-monks after the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824 A. D.).
16 Skirts of women and clothes from a cemetery are regarded by the Burmans to be specially unclean for men. [In the uncleannons of the former we have a most interesting survival of a custom of tabu.-ED.)
11 The Burmese name for Negrais is Nagayit = Nkga-coiling. [The symbols for yit may, however, be rach, ra. or ris according to the pbonetics adopted. The usual PAři form of the word is Nagardi.-ED.)
