“The men of this nation,” says a good authority,[161] “have a singular custom of tattooing their thighs, which is done by wounding the skin, and then filling the wound with the juice of certain plants, which has the property of producing a black stain. Some, besides both their thighs, will also stain their legs of the same colours, and others paint them all over with representations of tigers, cats, and other animals. The origin of this custom, as well as of the immodest dress of the women, is said to have been the policy of a certain queen; who, observing that the men were deserting their wives, and giving themselves up to abominable vices, persuaded her husband to establish these customs by a royal order; that thus by disfiguring the men, and setting off the beauty of the women, the latter might regain the affections of their husbands.” In speaking of the military institutions of the Burmese, I quoted from Sangermano a passage in which the food of the soldiers was mentioned.[162] To the account then given, I have little to add here. The food of the people is mean and bad indeed; in fact, as they eat all kinds of reptiles and insects, we may very well agree with Malcom,[163] and call them omnivorous. They make two meals in a day, one at about nine in the morning, and the other at sunset. The rice, or whatever the dish may be, is placed on a wooden plate, raised upon a foot, and the eaters squat round it on the bare ground, or perchance on a few mats, using their fingers in the feast. Their usual beverage is water. The bed consists of a simple mat spread on the ground, and a small pillow, or piece of wood, precisely in the manner of the Polynesians. The rich occasionally have a low wooden bedstead and mattresses. Their mode of kissing is again like that of the Polynesians. Instead of touching the lips, they apply the mouth and nose to the cheek, and draw in the breath, and instead of saying, “Give me a kiss,” they say, “Give me a smell.” Children are carried astride the hips as in some other parts of India. When a young man has made his choice of a wife, he first sends some old persons to the father to propose the marriage. If the family and the girl are agreed to the match, the bridegroom immediately goes to the house of the father-in-law, and resides there for three years. At the expiration of that period, he may, if he choose, take his wife and reside somewhere else. The first night of the marriage is one of considerable hazard, for a large number of persons will collect together and throw stones and logs on to the roof of the house. Sangermano, on whose authority I mention the custom, could obtain no reason for it.[164]