Читать книгу The Karen Apostle: or, Memoir of Ko Thah-byu - Francis Mason - Страница 5

Table of Contents

Burman oppression of the Karens.--Singular prophecy.--Arrival of the English.--Prophecies fulfilled concerning white foreigners.--Attachment to them.--Arrival of Teachers.--The Karens obtain books...

The remarkable traditions of Scripture doctrines and facts, which make the Karen nation a people prepared for the gospel in a manner above all other unevangelized nations, are well known, and will not be repeated here. But the following extracts from an unpublished address to the English Governor General, written by Sau Qua-la, a Karen assistant missionary, exhibit the local condition and anticipations of the Tavoy Karens so vividly, that, should they contain any thing irrelevant to the present subject, it will be overlooked, it is believed, from the consideration that every sentence is the unsuggested production of a Karen, who, when Ko Thah-byu entered the jungles, was wild as "the untaught Indian."

"Through the goodness of God, my nation, sons of the forest, and children of poverty, ought to praise thy nation, the white foreigners, exceedingly; and we ought to obey your orders, for the Karens, the sons of the eastern forest, have neither head nor ear. They are poor, and scattered every where; are divided in every direction; at the sources of the waters, and in the glens above them. When they fall among the Siamese, the Siamese make them slaves. When they fall among the Burmans, the Burmans make them slaves. So they live on one stream beyond another, and cannot see each other. They have had other things to do rather than visit. The Burmans made them drag boats, cut ratans, collect dammer, seek bees' wax, gather cardamums, strip bark for cordage, clear away cities, pull logs, and weave large mats. Besides this, they demanded of them presents of yams, the bulbo-tubers of arum, ginger, capsicum, flesh, elephants' tusks, rhinoceros' horns, and all the various kinds of vegetables that are eaten by the Burmans. The men being employed thus, the women had to labor at home. Sometimes the men were not at home four or five days in two or three months. Further, the young females had to secrete themselves, and affect rudeness, and blacken their faces; for if they did not, the Burman officers would drag them away and make them prostitutes. If any one was reputed handsome, and it came to the ears of the Burman rulers, she was taken away immediately; so that the young females dared not appear openly. Sometimes when a Burman asked, 'Is she a maiden?' the Karens would reply falsely, 'No, she has a husband.' The married women, also, that were handsome, had to conceal themselves. The men were compelled by the Burman rulers to guard forts, to act as guides, to kidnap Siamese, and to go from one place to another, till many dropped down dead in the midst of the jungle. Notwithstanding they did all this, they had their arms twisted behind them, were beaten with stripes, boxed with the fist, and pounded with the elbow, days without end.

"In the midst of these sufferings, they remembered the ancient sayings of the Elders, and prayed beneath the bushes, though the rains poured upon them, or the musquetoes, the gnats, the leeches, or the horseflies bit them. The Elders said, 'Children and grandchildren, as to the Karen nation, their God will yet save them.' Hence, in their deep affliction, they prayed, 'If God will save us, let him save speedily. We can endure these sufferings no longer. Alas! where is God?'

"Sometimes the Burmans would kidnap the Karens in Siam and carry them up to Ava, to the presence of the king; and thus separated from father or mother, husband or wife, child or grandchild, they yearned for each other, and many sickened and died on the way, before reaching the monarch's feet. Sometimes the Siamese kidnapped the Karens in Burmah, and subjected them to like treatment. The Karens in Siam knew that those whom the Siamese brought from Burmah were their relatives, and their tears flowed when they saw them; yet they dared not tell the Siamese, or supplicate for them. So those in Burmah, when they saw the Burmans leading away the Karens they had kidnapped in Siam, knew they were their cousins; yet they dared not speak or entreat for them; for if they said they were their relations, or begged for them, death was the immediate consequence. Moreover the Karens dared not dwell near the cities; for the Burmans took away all their rice and paddy, and every thing they had, and carried off their women by force. Hence they went far off, and dwelt on the streamlets and in the gorges of the mountains. After all, the rulers sometimes took their paddy; and in a state of starvation they would eat at random the roots and leaves of the jungle, and thus great numbers died. Sometimes the rulers assembled them together near the city, where, having nothing to eat, great numbers died of sickness and starvation. Sometimes they would have to carry rice for soldiers under march, and being unable to cultivate their fields, great numbers died of hunger from this cause. Then, those whom the rulers called, if unable to go, either from sickness in their families, or in their own persons, had to give money to the officers that came, and money for the rulers that sent them; and if they had no money, they were compelled to borrow of the Burmans, and thus became their slaves.

"Furthermore, the Karens were not permitted to go into the presence of the rulers. They were only allowed to hold a little communication with the Burman that was set over them. At one time, in the days of Diwoon, when the Karens were fast dying off with starvation, and were so employed that they could not cultivate the land, my uncle, who is a chief, determined to go and ask the governor to give the Karens liberty to cultivate the land and raise provisions to a small extent. So he went in to Diwoon; but he was thrown into prison immediately. His brethren had no rice to bring him, and they could feed him there only with the stems of wild plantain trees, the male blossoms with their spathes, and the young shoots of bamboos.

"Great Ruler, the ancestors of the Karens charged their posterity thus; 'Children and grandchildren, if the thing come by land, weep; if by water, laugh. It will not come in our days, but it will in yours. If it come first by water, you will be able to take breath; but if first by land, you will not find a spot to dwell in.' Hence. when the Karens were in the midst of their intense sufferings, they longed for those that were to come by water, to come first.

"Again, the Elders said, 'When the Karens have cleared the Hornbill city* three times, happiness will arrive.' So when the Burman rulers made them clear it the last time, they said among themselves, 'Now we may suppose happiness is coming, for this completes the third time of clearing the Hornbill city;' and true enough, for before they had finished, we heard that the white foreigners had taken Rangoon! Then the Burman rulers made the Karens carry stones and throw them into Tavoy river, that the foreign ships might not be able to come up. They compelled them also to become soldiers, and to muster, each one with a bow and quiver; and as they had no guns, every one had to arm himself also with a cudgel; for the Burmans said, that, when the foreigners got on land, they would be unable to walk, and might be beaten to death with sticks. When, however, the news came that the foreigners had entered the mouth of Tavoy river, the Karens let themselves down over the wall of the city by night, and fled into the jungles. Then the Karens all ran and secreted themselves, both men and women and children; cooking food only when the smoke could be concealed by the clouds and vapors; for they were apprehensive that if the Burmans were overcome, they would fly also, and trace them by the smoke. Some of the men in the city were unable to get away, and remained till it was taken; and some that fled were unable to find their families, they having previously secreted themselves. In a little more than ten days however, we heard that the foreigners had taken possession, and that those, who wished to go to the city, had liberty. Then the Karens rejoiced and said, 'Now happiness has arrived. The thing has come by water. Now we may take breath;' and those that were concealed returned to their homes with their wives and little ones.

[Footnote: * The site of an old city near Tavoy, which the Karens were called in to clear occasionally, when the trees grew up over it.]

"The Karens soon learned, that the foreigners were not vile like the Burmans; and they came to the city frequently, and the women with them. Formerly the women are afraid of the Burmans, and dared not come to the city; so they had never seen it. Besides, it was very pleasant to look at the foreign soldiers, standing in straight rows; and as they were quiet and civil, the Karens brought their wives and little ones to look at them. Then we remembered the words of the prophet, who said, 'See, see, the white foreigners! the white foreigners! They stand gracefully, sit gracefully, eat gracefully, drink gracefully, sleep gracefully, dwell gracefully, go gracefully, return gracefully, speak gracefully, talk gracefully;' and he had sung,

'The sons of God, the white foreigners, Dress in shining black, and shining white. The white foreigners, the children of God, Dress in shining black, and shining red.'

"And so we saw them. They came with black soldiers and white soldiers, and the rulers were dressed just as the prophet had said. We had never seen white foreigners before; but we had heard the Elders say, 'As to the white foreigners, they are righteous. They were the guides of God anciently, so God blessed them, and they sailed in ships and cutters; and can cross oceans, and reach lands.' The Elders said further, that the Karens were originally seven brethren, of whom the white foreigners were the youngest. Still the generation before us, that told us these things, had never seen them, and knew not how they looked. They merely related what the Elders said anciently. Through the goodness of God, my generation is permitted to see them. The Elders further sung, in relation to the white foreigners, as follows,

'The sons of God, the white foreigners, Obtained the words of God. The white foreigners, the children of God, Obtained the words of God anciently.'

"Great Ruler, afterwards we heard, that after staying three years, the white foreigners would return. Then we wept aloud. We said to each other 'If the foreigners go away, the race of the Karens will be wholly cut off;' for in the days of Alompra and Diwoon* they died like dogs; whole families often dying off together; and about the time the white foreigners arrived, the Burmans were preparing to make an end of them, having assembled them together near the city. But the Karens having heard reports that the white foreigners were coming, they prayed diligently for their arrival. The prophet too sung at worship,

'The city of Ava says, she is great; She is not equal to the heel of God's foot. The city of Ava says, she is exceedingly great; She is not equal to the sole of God's foot.'

[Footnote: * Alompra was a courageous chief, who, about a century ago, usurped the royal power among the Burmans. Of Diwoon I find no information. He was, doubtless, an individual of some distinction at a more recent date.--E.]

"Thus they sung, and prayed, that the white foreigners might come. When they arrived, the Karens in Burmah and Siam heard of each other, and saw each other.

"After the foreign rulers and their soldiers had been here a short time, the white foreign teacher Boardman arrived, and came into the jungles and preached the words of God. We gave attention and remembered, that the Elders said, the white foreigners had obtained the words of God, that they were our younger brethren, and that they were righteous. Again, the Elders said,

'Who created the world in the beginning? God created the world in the beginning. God appointed every thing: God is unsearchable.'

"All things in heaven and on earth, O children and grandchildren, God created them. 'Never forget God. Pray to him every day, and every night.'

And before the arrival of the white foreigners, a prophet singing, said,

'Great mother comes by sea, Comes with purifying water, the head water. The teacher comes from the horizon: He comes to teach the little ones.'

Hence not a few of the Karens believed.

"We next heard that teacher Wade, at Maulmain, had made Karen books; so teacher Mason sent up Kau-la-pau and myself, in a ship, to learn. Then many of the Karens, here and there, learned to read their own language; and we remembered, that the Elders had said again, 'Children and grandchildren, the Karen books will yet arrive. When their books arrive, they will obtain a little happiness.' Therefore, O great Ruler, God having given thee great goodness and kindness, we are very happy. Now, the Karens, though they be maidens, or mothers, or children, may come and dwell in the city; may dress as they wish; put on what they wish; and adorn themselves as they wish. It was not so in the days of the Burmans: we could never do so then. In the providence of God, how numerous are the reasons that we have to praise thy goodness, and thy beneficence! May God establish thy towns, and thy cities, thy lands, and thy territories. Through thy acts, the Karens, the children of poverty, and the sons of the forest, breathe with ease. May God, then, make great thy power and thy might, till thy government shall embrace all the children of poverty throughout the earth. And may God, whom thou worshipest, do good unto thee, and watch over thee, and thy children and grandchildren.

"Again, the Elders said, 'Children and grandchildren, when the white foreigners and the Karens fight, then happiness will arrive. And how will they fight? The white foreigners will come in ships, and shoot at the Karens; and the loads of their cannon and muskets will be changed to savory plantains, and sweet sugar cane; and the Karens will eat them. On the other hand, the Karens, armed with adzes, will go and make holes in their ships. Then the Karens and white foreigners will recognize each other as brethren; and one will say, O my younger brother! and the other will say, O my elder brother! And they will become real brethren, and there will be peace and happiness.' Now the white foreign teachers, that preach Jesus Christ the Son of God, came by ship; and before the people understood what they heard, they contradicted; but the teachers talked to them till they understood, and then they knew that God [whom the teachers preached] was the One God; and the teachers made us books, and were thus able to teach us. Great Ruler, formerly the Karens had no books, and when they wished to learn to read, they went to the Burmese, or Siamese, or Taling kyoungs.* There they made them pull up weeds around the pagodas, carry bricks to build new ones, and go out and beg food, and they beat them and whipped them; so that they could never learn well.

[Footnote: * Monasteries of the priests.--E.]

"Through thy favor and kindness, the people of my generation are very happy; and we hear again, and more perfectly, of God, of whom our ancestors told us. Great Ruler, though we heard anciently of God from our ancestors, yet through the persecutions of the Burmans and Talings, we gave random worship to images; but we still hoped that our God would save us, and we prayed to him on our pillows. Now, through thy goodness and beneficence, we worship God as we please. May God establish thy city and thy generation.

"Great Ruler, our ancestors said, that the white foreigners were our younger brethren, that they guided away God anciently and obtained books and ships, and that they are more skilful than all other nations, and are able to reach lands, and cross oceans. Furthermore, the Elders said, 'When their younger brother arrives, the Karens will be happy. Their younger brother was able to keep in company with God.' And now we see you! We are a worthless nation. We are the poorest of races. We are a tribe of wild men. We are a nation of slaves to all people. Among fools, we are the greatest fools. Now, through the goodness of God, the white foreign teachers have taught us to read, and I am enabled to write to thee.

"Great Ruler, thy goodness and beneficence to the Karen nation we shall never forget, down to the generations of our children and grandchildren. Great Ruler, forget us not; cast us not away into the hands of other nations. We are exceedingly happy in thee. Thou art as he of whom we sung anciently.

'The Great Chief, his words are bliss, As the impervious shade of the great Banyan.'

"We are happy in thee, far above all other nations that ever ruled us before; but we fear that the white foreigners will go back, and the Siamese and the Burmese will come and persecute us again. Great Ruler, we, the Karen nation, have no cities, no towns, no villages, no hamlets. We are now dwelling beneath thy shadow, and are exceedingly happy; and obtain our sustenance with great ease. Because thou hast been merciful, may God have mercy on thee, generation after generation. If thou givest us up again into the hands of the Burmans, our race will really be brought to an end. Formerly, we dwelt as in the midst of a thorn bush; but in thee, we dwell as on a mat spread down to sleep upon. May God make thee joyful and happy, generation after generation.

"The white foreign teachers have preached the words of God, and some of us have become disciples. Great Ruler, it is of thy goodness and beneficence. Further, the Karens, the sons of the forest, a nation of slaves, a people of the deepest poverty, thou hast freed from taxes. Thy goodness and beneficence is so great, that we rejoice till we can rejoice no more. And the people of thy nation, the white foreigners, that live with us here, the ruler of the city and the ruler of the provinces, the officers and soldiers, the doctors and teachers, are good men. Great Ruler, through thy acts I believe the words of the Elders. The Elders said, 'The white foreigners are righteous. They will not do any thing that is improper. They do not act regardless of every thing, like the Talings and Burmans. They never use compulsion. They dwell with truth. When they arrive, the Karens will be happy.' I believe these words. The Karens have been slaves, generation upon generation. When demands were made of us, we must give, whether we had whereof to give or not; when they called us, we must go, night or day, whether able to go or not; they made us sick, they persecuted us, they killed us like insects. But thou, Great Ruler, thou hast snatched us from the hands of an evil people. Truly, thou hast bought us, and then given us our liberty for nought. Truly, thou art righteous; truly, thou dwellest with truth, as our ancestors said. Verily, thou dost love; verily, thou art merciful. The goodness and beneficence of thince acts to us are so great, that they go far beyond what we could ever conceive. May God be with thee. Thy goodness and beneficence in freeing us and making us happy, we will never forget, but tell it to succeeding generations, as our ancestors told us of the white foreigners anciently. Great Ruler, may God watch over thee, and do good unto thee; and widen out thy kingdom and territories, generation after generation forever."