File:Shans at home. With two chapters on Shan history and literature (1910) (14577658648).jpg

Identifier: shansathomewitht00miln (find matches)
Title: Shans at home. With two chapters on Shan history and literature
Year: 1910 (1910s)
Authors: Milne, Leslie, Mrs., 1860-1952 Cochrane, Wilbur Willis
Subjects: Shan (Asian people)
Publisher: London : John Murray
Contributing Library: University of British Columbia Library
Digitizing Sponsor: University of British Columbia Library

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even oclock ;occasionally men plough in the afternoon as well, butmost of the work is done in the morning. At thisseason the hills are purple in colour beyond the ricefields, and heavy masses of clouds obscure the sun.Sometimes for days the distance is blotted out inmists and torrents of driving rain. Each agriculturistploughs his own fields. Naked, except for his greatbamboo hat—worn above his turban—and a wisp ofcloth round his loins, he moves backwards andforwards, guiding his buffalo as it drags the ploughthrough the soft mud : both plough and harrow workunder water. Man and beast plod along laboriously,the water closing behind the plough with a gurglingripple. Buffaloes are strong, and in the Northern ShanStates only one is yoked at a time to plough or harrow.The coulter is sometimes of wood, but more often itis made of iron. British Shans do not work in iron, but Yun-naneseShans, who know how to do blacksmith work, comein the dry season into British territory, where they set
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PADDY PLANTING 151 up rude anvils, making their furnaces out of doors, inthe open spaces of villages. There they make theblades of hoes—large as spades, but set at right anglesto the hafts—mend ploughs, or make new coulters.Harrows are generally of wood ; the large rakes thatare used in collecting cut grass and weeds are entirelyof wood. When the little paddy plants are thirty days oldthe agriculturists meet and arrange to help eachother; they like to work in company. If a Shan hasa large number of fields, he may hire Palaungs orChinese Shans to help him, but more often tne assist-ants are his own friends and relatives. Before thetransplanting begins a feast is given to all the helpers,who bring their own rice but are given meat andvegetables by the owner of the paddy fields. The young plants are pulled up very roughly out of the nursery soil. It is true that the ground is soft, but the roots are often much broken; this does not seem to make any difference to the growth of the pad

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