3-077-956 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Sketches in Burmah: a Buddhist monastery - Burmese nuns or female servants of the pagodas, 1890. 'Among the many quaint and curious features in Burmese native life, the "Phoongyees," or Buddhist monks, soon attract the attention of European visitors on their arrival in the country. These monks wear a yellow robe, have to beg their food day by day, and may not marry...The kyoungs, or monastic dwellings, are usually line large wooden buildings, adorned with beautiful carving: occasionally they are built of brick. There are several kyoungs in the enclosure of a monastery, with sometimes a pagoda or two...There is also a class of female attendants on the pagodas, who may rank as "nuns," though we are not aware of the strictness of their vows. Our Illustrations are from photographs by Surgeon Arthur G. E. Newland, of the Indian Medical Service'. From "Illustrated London News", 1890.