Society and Culture
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Society and Culture - general studies
Individual Documents
| Title: | | THE BURMAN: HIS LIFE AND NOTIONS |
| Date of publication: | | 1882 |
| Description/subject: | | "The Burman: His Life and Notions (1882) is a book about the peoples and customs of Burma (now Myanmar). First published under the pseudonym Shway Yoe, the book was written by the Scottish journalist and British Colonial administrator James George Scott. The book caused a sensation when it was first published because it was considered impossible that a Burman could write so well in English - Shway Yoe's unbiased tone and positive curiosity is also one reason that the author was presumed Burmese by the British.
The book is most note worthy in the fact that the author made an extremely detailed and unparallelled description of the Burmese people and their culture, from their pagoda festivals to their lacquer, traditions, religion, dressing, food, and almost any category related." (Wikipedia) |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Shway Yoe (James George Scott) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (2.7MB - OBL version; 38MB - original scanned version) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs09/burmanhislife¬ions-scott.pdf
http://www.archive.org/details/burmanhislifenot00scotrich |
| Date of entry/update: | | 27 May 2010 |
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Religion
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Animism
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The Nats
Individual Documents
| Title: | | "Nats' Wives" or "Children of Nats": From Spirit Possession to Transmission Among the Ritual Specialists of the Cult of the Thirty-Seven Lords |
| Date of publication: | | 22 September 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | Transmission processes in the Burmese cult known as the cult of the Thirty-
Seven Lords are examined here through the analysis of three succession cases
among the ritual specialists of this cult. I seek to understand how transmission
works in a cult whose main ritual manifestation is spirit possession that
involves the logic of inspiration and vocation, rather than the logic of reproduction
and succession. A careful examination of contrasted cases reveals that
succession among spirit mediums, rather than obeying fixed rules, actually
involves the differentiated transmission of assets made of ritual property,
functions, positions, and knowledge. Various combinations -- of spirit possession
and affiliation or fictive kinship, of inspiration and tradition -- appear to
operate at different levels of the cult, with inversions of values sustaining both
its dynamics and its reproduction.
keywords: spirit possession--ritual specialists--transmission--succession--tradition |
| Author/creator: | | Benedicte Brac de la Perriere |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "Asian Ethnology" Volume 68, Number 2, 2009 via The Free Library |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Asian+Ethnology/2009/September/22-p52621 |
| Date of entry/update: | | 22 December 2010 |
|
| Title: | | A New Palace for Mra Swan Dewi: Changes in Spirit Cults in Arakan (Rakhine) State |
| Date of publication: | | 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | This article illustrates the relationship between religion and political power
in a particular process of contemporary Burmese nation building. I highlight
the symbolic appropriation of a specific national territory through the mediation
of a spirit, and the recent building of a sanctuary in Arakan state by
the wife of a Burmese military officer posted in the region, an action that is
akin to concluding an agreement with a local spirit and then establishing the
foundation of central authority over a local population. It highlights a process
whereby the use of religion by the Burmese in the configuration of territory
is observed as a way of maintaining or legitimizing hegemony over the country's
marginal population groups. The article also shows how this process is
made possible thanks to a specific segment of the local Arakanese elite, perceived
to be the referring authority...
keywords: Arakan state--spirit cults--nation building--territory--
locality--authority and power--tradition |
| Author/creator: | | Alexandra de Mersan |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture: "Asian Ethnology" Volume 68, Number 2, 2009 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Asian+Ethnology/2009/September/22-p52621 |
| Date of entry/update: | | 22 December 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Festival Time at a Nat Shrine |
| Date of publication: | | September 2004 |
| Description/subject: | | "A village celebrates its invisible rulers...
Text By Aung Lwin Oo and photos by Olivier Pin-Fat
Burma’s biggest nat festival takes place every August in the village of Taung Pyone, original home of two of the 37 original names in the nat pantheon.
For five days each year Taung Pyone village becomes a fairground.
Taung Pyone, 14 km north of Mandalay, has about 7,000 nat shrines, nearly 2,000 of them elaborate ones dedicated to the village’s famous sons—the brothers Shwe Phyin Gyi and Shwe Phyin Lay.
They are said to have been executed by the 11th century Pagan ruler King Anawrahta for failing to help in the construction of a chedi to enshrine Buddha relics. The story is kept alive today by the symbolic absence from the ancient chedi of two bricks which the two brothers were instructed to contribute..." |
| Author/creator: | | Aung Lwin Oo |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 12, No. 8 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.irrawaddy.org/print_article.php?art_id=4029 |
| Date of entry/update: | | 11 November 2004 |
|
| Title: | | Where Spirits Dwell |
| Date of publication: | | September 2004 |
| Description/subject: | | Ancient nat cult still rules in Burmese households...
The wedding announcement in a Burmese newspaper read like any other. But there was one startling discrepancy—the bridegroom was dead.
The bride, though, believed she was marrying someone who could support her as well as any living being. Her chosen partner was a nat, an influential member of the spirit world. She became a nat kadaw, or nat spouse.
Such “unions” are quite common in Burma, even though the country is devoutly Buddhist. As in neighboring Thailand, Theravada Buddhism exists happily enough alongside a widespread belief in the existence of a spirit world, and it’s commonly accepted that the Lord Buddha himself went through cycles of being a nat..." |
| Author/creator: | | Yeni |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 12, No. 8 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 11 November 2004 |
|
| Title: | | The Cult of the 'Thirty-Seven Lords' |
| Date of publication: | | October 2001 |
| Description/subject: | | "The cult of the 'Thirty-Seven Lords', known in Burma as the thirty-seven 'naq' is
commonly viewed as being a remnant of practices prevalent before Buddhicization, that is
to say, as superstitions having their origins in the obscure period predating the
establishment of Burmese civilization. This article will argue against this assumption and
will assert that this cult cannot be properly understood if it is not considered as a part of
the Burmese religious system still evolving with Buddhist society. The socio-religious
structure of the 'naq' cult shows that it is neither a pre-Buddhist remnant, nor is it
borrowed from India. Close analysis of the actual cult, of its legends of foundation, and of
the historical evidence, clearly shows that it is a construct of Burmese Buddhist kings or,
in other words, a produce of the localization of Buddhism in Burma..." |
| Author/creator: | | Benedicte Brac de la Perriere |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Newsletter, Issue 25, International Institute for Asian Studies (Leiden) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Friends in High Places (about) |
| Date of publication: | | 2001 |
| Description/subject: | | directed by Lindsey Merrison – Burma, 86 minutes.
56 minute version also available.
video sale $225 rental $65
“Buddhism and nat worship are like mangoes and bananas”
"...Whether contending with a deceitful daughter-in-law, forecasting financial prospects for a tea
shop, or freeing a husband from government detainment, Friends in High Places reveals the
central role of nats and spirit mediums in alleviating the day to day burdens of modern
Burmese life..". |
| Author/creator: | | Lindsey Merrison |
| Language: | | English |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.der.org/films/friends-in-high-places-preview.html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
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Buddhism
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Buddhist relics
Individual Documents
| Title: | | "Venerating the Buddha's Remains in Burma: From Solitary Practice to the Cultural Hegemony of Communities" |
| Date of publication: | | 2001 |
| Description/subject: | | The veneration of Buddha relics and images is a neglected, yet central organizing principle of Theravada culture and religious practice. My essay is informed by a historised understanding of Eliade's hierophany, a manifestation of a universal Buddhist sacred reality that defines and identifies cultural orders at the centers of local, historical contexts. I further rely on Bells' work on ritual and Gramsci's writings on hegemony to describe Burmese veneration of the Buddha's remains in diverse social and religious contexts. These range from the solitary practice, meditation and personal service in the Ananda mode to the Royal mode that defines social hierarchy in public rituals and expresses socio-religious aspirations of individuals and communities through culturally salient metaphors. |
| Author/creator: | | Juliane Schober |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Journal of Burma Studies Vol. 6 (2001) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (1.91MB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.niu.edu/burma/publications/jbs/vol6/index.shtml |
| Date of entry/update: | | 07 March 2009 |
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| Title: | | Sariputta and Moggallana in the Golden Land: The Relics of the Buddha's Chief Disciples at the Kaba Aye Pagoda |
| Date of publication: | | 1999 |
| Description/subject: | | In this article, the author reconstructs and documents the story of the relics of the Buddha's chief disciples, Sariputta and Moggallana, at the Kaba Aye Pagoda in Burma. Using previously unpublished archival materials, including first-hand archaeological reports and internal museum documents, as well as contemporary newspaper accounts, the author details the discovery of the relics by British military officers in 19th-century India, the subsequent removal of the relics to England where they were placed on museum exhibition, and their eventual reenshrinement in Burma and India 100 years later. |
| Author/creator: | | Jack Daulton |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Journal of Burma Studies Vol. 4 (1999) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (2.84MB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.niu.edu/burma/publications/jbs/vol4/index.shtml (Vol. 4) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 10 March 2009 |
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Burmese Buddhism outside Burma
Individual Documents
| Title: | | A Dying Presence |
| Date of publication: | | September 2007 |
| Description/subject: | | Monks from Burma may soon be just a memory in a corner of Thailand crowded with Burmese temples...
"The three women, clad in white, knelt before the elderly abbot and gently helped the forgetful old man recite his mantra as he accepted their alms. It was a scene that was to be found in many similar forms in monasteries throughout Thailand that day—the birthday of the country’s queen, when Thai women traditionally pay tribute to their revered matriarch.
What made this event so special, however, was that the 87-year-old abbot, Sayadaw U Dhamananda, is Burmese. His temple, Wat Tha Ma Oo, is one of nine built by wealthy and influential Burmese traders in the northern Thai city of Lampang in the 19th and early 20th centuries..." |
| Author/creator: | | Jim Andrews |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol 15, No. 9 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=8442 |
| Date of entry/update: | | 29 April 2008 |
|
| Title: | | Under an October Moon |
| Date of publication: | | November 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | Burmese exiles in western Thailand honor religious tradition and cultural heritage during this year’s Festival of Lights..."...Despite the challenges facing Mae Sot’s culturally diverse population, the city’s Burmese and Thai communities put aside their suspicions and came together under a full moon in October to celebrate an ancient religious festival. While the revelry of the coming evening’s festivities is a large part of the celebration, the day of October’s full moon begins on a solemn—and appropriately religious—note. Before dawn, the city’s monks emerge from their monasteries and walk single-file according to the rank of ordination to accept the day’s alms from crowds of devotees..." |
| Author/creator: | | Yeni |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 13, No. 11 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 01 May 2006 |
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| Title: | | In the Name of Mandalay |
| Date of publication: | | June 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | Preserving Burmese traditions in Thailand...
"In 1886 the British finally conquered Mandalay, the historic capital of the last independent Burmese kingdom. San Toe, a servant of the beleaguered King Thibaw and a devout Buddhist, fled the newly colonized city, bringing with him an image of the Buddha crafted by Mandalay artisans. He worked in the logging business as an employee of the Bombay Burma Trading Corporation before settling in the town of Mae Sariang in northern Thailand. There he built a Burmese monastery in 1909 to house his cherished Buddha image.
Historically, the Burmese have viewed the city of Mandalay as a source of pride and an important link to Burma’s rich cultural and religious traditions. The name of the monastery in Mae Sariang, Wat Mandalay, reflects this connection and honors the lineage of the monastery’s central religious artifact—the Mandalay-made Buddha image..." |
| Author/creator: | | Yeni |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 13, No. 6 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 28 April 2006 |
|
| Title: | | A Tale of Two Temples |
| Date of publication: | | November 2002 |
| Description/subject: | | "Religious restrictions and visa regulations for foreign monks threaten to put an end to the long tradition of Burmese Buddhism in Thailand...
Upon entering the compound of Wat Pafang in Thailand�s Lampang Province guests are greeted silently by its manicured green lawns palm trees and a golden stupa at the back. Inside the prayer room, centuries-old Buddha images meditate placidly while visitors admire the thick wooden poles covered with gold leaf.
The landscape may be fairly typical of other Buddhist temples around the country but as one of the oldest Burmese temples in northern Thailand, Wat Pafang has had a unique history. But now these temples and their monks are feeling the effects of government regulations passed over a decade ago, leaving the future of Burmese Buddhism in Thailand in doubt..." |
| Author/creator: | | Aung Zaw |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" vol. 10, No. 9 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
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Burmese Buddhist scholarship
Individual Documents
| Title: | | On the Ambivalence of Female Monasticism in Theravada Buddhism: A Contribution to the Study of the Monastic System in Myanmar |
| Date of publication: | | 22 September 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | "How have Buddhist nuns in Myanmar engaged themselves in monastic relationships
while being officially excluded from the monastic institution (the
Sangha) since the female order disappeared? This article examines the term
"nuns" and monastic status through the way it is embodied in everyday interactions.
I begin by presenting the main characteristics of the ambivalent status
of Buddhist nuns and the methodological problem this raises -- an analysis
of donation interactions between nuns and lay donors indicates the different
paths that lead to monastic identification. I then focus on the various relationships
in which nuns are engaged in Myanmar, with a description of the
combination of relationships between nuns, monks, and lay donors that highlights
the monastic system as a network of dynamic relationships in which
monastic social identity and its processes of legitimation can take place...
keywords: Theravada Buddhism--female monasticism--donation
interactions--monastic relational system |
| Author/creator: | | Laure Carbonnel |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture: "Asian Ethnology" Volume 68, Number 2, 2009 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.thefreelibrary.com/On+the+ambivalence+of+female+monasticism+in+Theravada+Buddhism%3A+a..... |
| Date of entry/update: | | 23 December 2010 |
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| Title: | | Power, Authority, and Contested Hegemony in Burmese-Myanmar Religion |
| Date of publication: | | 22 September 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | "THE INITIAL inspiration for this collaboration came from the experience garnered at an international conference on Burmese studies in 2002, titled "Burma-Myanmar Research and Its Future." (1) It was convened to reflect on social science and humanities-based scholarship on Myanmar in the past half century, which had started in earnest in the 1940s, and culminated in the first wave of publications based on empirical research in the 1950s and 1960s. (2) At the start of the millennium, the conference acknowledged a new era in engaging in constructive discussion amongst scholars in many areas of Burmese-Myanmar studies. Some of the articles in this special issue were originally presented as part of a panel on religion convened by the guest editors of this issue, Hiroko Kawanami and Benedicte Brac de la Perriere, whilst others were written anew to fit the theme of power, authority, and contested hegemony in the field of Burmese-Myanmar religion. Although most approaches are generally phenomenological or anthropological, some have undertaken analysis from a historical perspective or a hermeneutical approach to enrich the discussion. What must also be highlighted here is that the scope of this issue was restricted to those concerned primarily with social phenomena that have relevance to Buddhism, it being the religion of the majority population in Myanmar. Other religions such as Islam and Hinduism that are also adhered to by Myanmar people of other ethnic origins, as well as Christianity and indigenous religions practiced by minority groups, were left out here. (3)....." |
| Author/creator: | | Hiroko Kawanami |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "Asian Ethnology" Volume 68, Number 2, 2009 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Asian+Ethnology/2009/September/22-p52621 |
| Date of entry/update: | | 23 December 2010 |
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| Title: | | Relics, Statues, and Predictions: Interpreting an Apocryphal Sermon of Lord Buddha in Arakan |
| Date of publication: | | 22 September 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | "This article presents an apocryphal Buddhist text that contains a speech of
the Buddha listing the relics linked to his former existences in Arakan, as well
as prophecies regarding the historical succession of kings. Looking at various
aspects such as the geographical distribution of the relics and the typically
Buddhist representation of kingship, the author argues that the text can best
be understood in the eighteenth-century context of the political decline of
the Arakanese kingdom. As this article shows, apocryphal texts have authority
because they build on traditional concepts and beliefs and are still a poorlyexploited
source of historical enquiry."...
keywords: Arakanese Buddhism--history of Arakan--Buddhist relics--
apocryphal Buddhist texts--prophetical literature |
| Author/creator: | | Jacques P. Leider |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "Asian Ethnology" Volume 68, Number 2, 2009, 333-364 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 23 December 2010 |
|
| Title: | | The Cult of Thamanya Sayadaw: The Social Dynamism of a Formulating Pilgrimage Site |
| Date of publication: | | 22 September 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | "This article analyzes the cult of the monk Thamanya Sayadaw and examines
the process by which a community-based village-dwelling monk became a
forest-dwelling monk, and then a nationally prominent cult figure. Focusing
on the social dynamics which led to the community becoming a major
center for pilgrimage, I describe how a large-scale enterprise has emerged
around this monk. The materialization of such power suggests that the cult
of Thamanya Sayadaw emerged out of a dialectic transaction between the
donation of religious land, and a popular belief in the prosperity of the followers
as the realization of the material manifestation of the power of saints.
I also argue that we need to pay attention to the participation of his followers
as well as the practices of the monk himself, and also distinguish two types of
participation: the participation of the residents who have settled on this land,
and that of pilgrims...
keywords: cult of a saint--materialization of power--engaged Buddhism--
pilgrimage--religious land--forest-dwelling |
| Author/creator: | | Keiko Tosa |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "Asian Ethnology" Volume 68, Number 2, 2009 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 23 December 2010 |
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Burmese pagodas and other religious buildings
See also the Architecture and Archaeology sections
Individual Documents
| Title: | | A TIGRESS ON THE SHWEDAGON: A RESEARCH NOTE |
| Date of publication: | | December 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | "...Donald Stadtner brought the following piece of history regarding the Shwedagon to our attention and sent a
photograph of glasswork that recorded the event, together with the text below from Walter del Mar, The
Romantic East: Burma, Assam, & Kashmir (London: Adam and Charles Black, 1906, 27-28). We reproduce it
further below along with a detail of the glass painting, from a private collection in Yangon. The scene
depicts the incident quite literally , with the soldier climbing "to the roof of one of the smaller
shrines....." Although del Mar refers to the animal as a tiger, it was in actuality a tigress and the
events discussed below occurred on 3 March 1903, the tigress having moved to the vicinity of the
Shwedagon from Gyophu Lake..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research 6, 2008 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (292K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 October 2010 |
|
| Title: | | U Khan Dee: The Hermit on the Hill |
| Date of publication: | | June 2002 |
| Description/subject: | | "More than fifty years after his death, U Khan Dee, the hermit of Mandalay Hill, is still remembered as one of the most remarkable figures of Burma's late colonial period. During the latter half Burma's colonial rule, pious visitors to Mandalay Hill would recount their tales of the venerable hermit monk who possessed remarkable powers. Some spoke of his great height, others claimed he was invisible, still others said he could turn silver into gold. And although people all over Burma today still speak reverently of U Khan Dee, his life was marked by controversy. Also known as Yathee Gyi U Khan Dee (the Great Hermit U Khan Dee), his legendary status was achieved only through a long uphill struggle. In 1908, U Khan Dee first arrived at Mandalay Hill from Yamethin Township, Mandalay, after leaving the Buddhist monkhood where he spent 12 years. He was driven by the strong desire to reconstruct religious buildings and restore Buddhist statues that were severely damaged by the series of fires that ravaged the city around the turn of the century..." |
| Author/creator: | | Aung Zaw, Shawn L Nance |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 10, No.5 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 May 2008 |
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| Title: | | Text and New Contexts: Shwedagon and Kyaikhtiyoe today |
| Date of publication: | | December 2001 |
| Description/subject: | | "Texts and Contexts",
December 2001 Conference,
Universities' Historical Research Centre,
Yangon University...
Abstract:
The paper discusses the use of texts in current renovation of pagodas in
Myanmar, taking as examples aspects of work undertaken at the
Shwedagon and Kyaikhtiyoe in the last two years. Different types of
texts, from inscriptions and traditional accounts to contemporary
technical reports, are used to illustrate the complex tradition found in
the country today. These are presented in the context of past interaction
including Mon influence and the Hsandawshin (Sacred Hair) heritage,
as well as present links such as planetary aspects and the role of
renovation in encouraging the sustenance of Theravada practice. |
| Author/creator: | | Elizabeth Moore, |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Myanmar Historical Research Journal, University of Yangon [forthcoming] |
| Format/size: | | pdf (747K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Shwedagon Through the Ages |
| Date of publication: | | May 1999 |
| Description/subject: | | History has not always been kind to Shwedagon, Burma's most sacred pagoda, but after two and a half millennia, it still stands as a timeless monument to the spiritual aspirations of Burmese Buddhists. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 7. No. 4 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Remarks on the Subject [of the Senbyú Pagoda at Mengún] |
| Date of publication: | | 17 April 1879 |
| Description/subject: | | "In a paper describing what I had seen of architectural remains of Hindu character in
Java, which was read before the Asiatic Society of Bengal, in October, 1861, there
occurred the following passage in reference to that magnificent monument of
Buddhism, the Boro Bodor:—
“Mr. Fergusson, who gives a good account of the Boro Bodor in his
Handbook of Architecture, considers it to be a kind of representation of the great
Buddhist monasteries, which are described in the Ceylonese writings as having been
many stories high, and as containing hundreds of cells for monks....." |
| Author/creator: | | Col. Henry Yule, C.B |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 2, No. 1, Spring 2004, |
| Format/size: | | pdf (278 K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.soas.ac.uk/sbbr/editions/soas-bulletin-of-burma-research-volume-2-issue-1.html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 23 December 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Some Remarks upon COL. YULE'S Notes on the Senbyú Pagoda |
| Date of publication: | | 23 June 1869 |
| Description/subject: | | "With reference to the interesting account of the Senbyú Pagoda at Mengun, read at
the last meeting of the Royal Asiatic Society, and more particularly with reference to
the remarks by Col. Yule on the Buddhas of the Boro Bodor, I would, with the
greatest deference to the writer, beg to offer some suggestions derived from personal
observation of the manner in which many groups of figures of Buddha (Sákya Muni)
are sculptured in Bengal and the North-West Provinces of India..." |
| Author/creator: | | C. HORNE, F.R.A.S. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 2, No. 1, Spring 2004 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (17 K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.soas.ac.uk/sbbr/editions/soas-bulletin-of-burma-research-volume-2-issue-1.html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 23 December 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Some Account of the Senbyú Pagoda at Mengún, near the Burmese Capital, in a Memorandum |
| Date of publication: | | 06 January 1868 |
| Description/subject: | | "...1. The Pagoda was built in the reign of king Bodo Piyah,1 in the Burmese year 1178
(A.D. 1816), by his grandson, Noungdau Gyee, now known as Bagyeedau Piyah,2
which specifies his relationship as paternal uncle to the present reigning king.
2. It is situated at Mengoon, on the west bank of the Irrawaddy, a couple of
hundred yards only from the huge brick ruin which is known as the Mengoon pagoda..." |
| Author/creator: | | CAPT. E. H. SLADEN, Political Agent at Mandalé |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 2, No. 1, Spring 2004 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (260 K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.soas.ac.uk/sbbr/editions/soas-bulletin-of-burma-research-volume-2-issue-1.html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 23 December 2010 |
|
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History of Buddhism in Burma
Individual Documents
| Title: | | THE BUDDHIST KINGS OF CHIENGMAI AND PEGU, THE PURIFICATION OF THE SANGHA, AND THE MAHABODHI REPLICAS IN THE LATE FIFTEENTH CENTURY |
| Date of publication: | | December 1996 |
| Description/subject: | | "In the late fifteenth century two similar and interesting events took place. Two Southeast Asian kings, both claiming to be Buddhist world rulers, built replicas of the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodhgaya, India. The first king was Dhammacetti (1462-1492) of Pegu, who built the Shwegugyi Temple in Pegu in 1479. The other king was Tilokaraja (1441-1487), of Chiengmai, who began building the Wat Cet Yot in 1455 (although the building went on for over a decade). Both the Shwegugyi and the Wat Cet Yot are replicas of the Mahabodhi temple at Bodhgaya, India, in their general architectural design, their use of the seven stations in their layout, and their association with the bodhi tree.
The Mahabodhi temple is important to Buddhism, because it was built next to the bodhi tree under which the Buddha sat when he was enlightened. The seven stations at that temple refer to the seven different sites where the Buddha spent each of the seven weeks after enlightenment. This means that the Mahabodhi temple, the bodhi tree, and the seven stations there are directly tied to the foundation of the sasana and to the purity of the sasana. The construction of the two Mahabodhi replicas is even more interesting because only two other replicas of the Mahabodhi were built in Southeast Asia, one in Pagan built in 1215 by Nadaunmya (Htilominlo), and a minor one at Chiengrai, which cannot be dated or attributed.
It is difficult to find out, however, why two kings in neighboring areas built Mahabodhi replicas at about the same time and why such replicas were not built in Southeast Asia for the 250 years before this time or at anytime afterwards.6 The chronicles and inscriptions explain that Tiloka and Dhammacetti were performing meritorious acts by building the Mahabodhi replicas. The chronicles and inscriptions also claim that these two kings were trying to unify and purify the sangha in their lands. However, the chronicles and inscriptions do not say why Mahabodhi replicas were built by Dhammacetti and Tilokaraja around the same time and not by every king before and after who tried to gain merit or be a dhammaraja by purifying and uniting the sangha. I think it is important to find the underlying reasons for the similar event occurring in Chiengmai and Pegu in the late fifteenth century.
I will try, using the information that is available, and general information regarding the social, political, commercial, religious, agricultural, and demographic trends of that period, to provide the best possible answer to the questions (1) why the Mahabodhi replicas in Chiengmai and Pegu were built, (2) why they were built in these two places and not somewhere else, and (3) why they were built at this time.
My argument, which I will develop and explain more fully below, is that the most significant factor in the adoption of Mahabodhi replicas and the repurification of the sangha in late fifteenth century Chiengmai and Pegu was international trade. During the fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, mainland Southeast Asia was politically (small and numerous states) and religiously (small and numerous sects) divided and not many kings had the resources or power to prove their claims of being dhammarajas by unifying or purifying the sangha or support the construction of temples on the same scale as Pagan. During the same period, however, trade grew as did agricultural
cultivation and the population). By the late fifteenth century, central kings gained money for religious patronage of the sangha and for political patronage of (and more prestige in the eyes of) local rulers and probably better control of their kingdoms outside of the capital. The links that Chiengmai and Pegu had with international trade also brought ideas for rulers and monks. The religious reform and the building of Mahabodhi replicas of the late fifteenth century in Pegu and in Chiengmai came from ideas, brought along trade routes (maritime and within Southeast Asia), strengthening the prestige of Sri Lanka as a center of pure Buddhism. Also, Buddhist monks travelling along Southeast Asian trade routes seem to have spread beliefs in the royal capitals (as trade centers) that religious reform should also include a replica of the Mahabodhi temple. The monks who took advantage of these ideas won the support of the central ruler over rival sects since they had a better claim to religious purity. The central kings had more resources and control than their predecessors over their kingdoms and could make the selection of a particular sect and the religious repurification more significant throughout the kingdom. Finally, to reinforce their image as dhammarajas who unified and purified the sangha, and as cakravartins or world Buddhist rulers, Dhammacetti and Tilokaraja tried to replace Pagan with their own capitals as the chief center of Buddhism (which meant that their capitals also had to have Mahabodhi replicas)." |
| Author/creator: | | ATSUKO NAONO |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN |
| Format/size: | | pdf (1.2MB-low res; 2.3MB-medium res; 4.3MB - high res) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs09/Naono1996-ocr-mr.pdf
http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs09/Naono1996-ocr-hr.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 04 October 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Buddhism in Myanmar: A Short History |
| Date of publication: | | 1995 |
| Description/subject: | | Contents:
* Preface
* 1. Earliest Contacts with Buddhism
* 2. Buddhism in the Mon and Pyu Kingdoms
* 3. Theravada Buddhism Comes to Pagan
* 4. Pagan: Flowering and Decline
* 5. Shan Rule
* 6. The Myanmar Build an Empire
* 7. The Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries
* Notes
* Bibliography |
| Author/creator: | | Roger Bischoff |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Access to Insight |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | The Kalyānī inscriptions erected by King Dhammaceti at Pegu in 1476 A. D. - Text and translation |
| Date of publication: | | 1892 |
| Description/subject: | | "...In 1478, King Dhammazedi from the Mon kingdom of Ramannadesa, erected ten stone inscriptions written with Mon and Pali language. ... The stone inscription is known among scholars as the "Kalyani Sima" or "Kalyani Inscription". The inscription deal mainly with the the reform undertaken by the king to purify Theravada Buddhism in his kingdom..." |
| Author/creator: | | TAW SEIN KO,(trans) |
| Language: | | Pali, Mon, English |
| Source/publisher: | | Government of Burma |
| Format/size: | | pdf (3.38MB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924011724808 |
| Date of entry/update: | | 04 October 2010 |
|
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Monastic education
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Idealism and Pragmatism: A Dilemma in the Current Monastic Education Systems of Burma and Thailand |
| Date of publication: | | 23 May 2004 |
| Description/subject: | | Conclusion:
"In both Burma and Thailand the debate is far from over. While both the idealists and the pragmatists agree that the principal aim of the monastic education systems should be to train monks in the Dhamma and Vinaya, the two sides cannot agree whether or not steps should be taken to help fulfil some educational needs of the society by bringing in some secular subjects in monastic schools.
Today, in Burma, the curricula for the various monastic examinations focus exclusively, also narrowly, from the very beginning on the study of Pali and the TipiTaka. No English, mathematics, geography, philosophy nor history are included because they are considered secular subjects.[24] As a result, even educated monks find it difficult to relate the dhamma to lay people's lives.
In Thailand, too, the main curricula, such as the nak tham and the Pali parian, have remained exclusively religious. Although, since 1970 there has been a new curriculum, called sai saman suksa (lit. general way of education)[25], which combines the religious and the secular, it does seem this curriculum has been forced on the leadership and has not been a well thought through policy. This curriculum has too many subjects at each level means student-monks do not have sufficient time to learn properly either Pali and Buddhism or secular subjects.[26] In addition, this curriculum has been designed neither to replace nor to complement the traditional religious curricula, such as the nak tham and the parian curricula. It has thus the potential to distract, which I think it has done, the young monks from the nak tham and parian curricula. Indeed, its separate existence from the two highly regarded religious curricula, the nak tham and the parian, suggests that the idealists and the pragmatist have yet to work out the objectives of monastic education."...
Presented at the conference on "Burmese Buddhism
and the Spirit Cult Revisited - Revisiting Buddhism and the spirit cult in Burma [and Thailand]...
at Stanford University, USA by
Venerable Khammai Dhammasami, Oxford University, UK, 22-23 May 2004 |
| Author/creator: | | Venerable Khammai Dhammasami |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Stanford University, USA |
| Format/size: | | pdf (70.9 KB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.dhammadownload.com/images/Venerable-Dr-Khammai-Dhammasami-Biography.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 17 September 2010 |
|
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Wizzar cults
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Review by Bob Hudson of "Wonders of Mebegon Village" (Ashin Kunsal Kassapa (trans). |
| Date of publication: | | April 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | "...This account in English of a contemporary wizzar cult has been
translated from Burmese and edited by a Spanish-born Buddhist monk.
It is a sometimes loosely-linked compilation, comprising hagiographies
of three wizzars, a biography of the medium through whom they speak,
testimonials from devotees and a glossary. Its value is increased by the
amount of detail provided: lists of participants in ceremonies, the prayers
recited, the quantities of ingredients and offerings, the timing of rituals..." |
| Author/creator: | | Bob Hudson |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | SOAS BULLETIN OF BURMA RESEARCH 5 2007 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (113K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 01 October 2010 |
|
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Hinduism, Brahminism
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Specialists for Ritual, Magic and Devotion: The Court Brahmins (Punna) of the Konbaung Kings (1752-1885) |
| Date of publication: | | 2006 |
| Description/subject: | | Abstract: "Though they formed an essential part of Burmese court life, the Brahmins
have hitherto attracted no scholarly interest outside Burma. Based on a
study of royal orders and administrative compendia as well as recent
Burmese research, this article gives for the first time an overview of
the origins, the ritual and ceremonial functions and the organization
of the punna. The main section is preceded by an overview of sources
and research questions. Special emphasis is given in the last part to the
noteworthy role played by punna in King Bodawphaya�s reform policies." |
| Author/creator: | | Jacques P. Leider |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "Journal of Burma Studies" Vol. 10, 2005/06 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (804K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.niu.edu/burma/publications/jbs/vol10/index.shtml (JBS Vol. 10) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 31 December 2008 |
|
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Book collections and libraries in Burma
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Ex Libris |
| Date of publication: | | September 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | Behind the doors of a Rangoon collector’s amazing library...
"The catalogue alone is a work of art, its pages edged with gold and packed with rare photographs, pictures and maps covering the history of Burma and Southeast Asia from the 16th century onward.
Nearly 600 items are meticulously listed, described and illustrated within the catalogue’s hard covers. They belong to what must qualify as one of the most extraordinary private libraries in the region—the treasured property of a wealthy Burmese businessman, Moe Myint, under secure lock and key in his home on Rangoon’s University Avenue..." |
| Author/creator: | | Jim Andrews |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 17, No. 6 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 19 January 2010 |
|
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Broadcast Media
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Taking Over the Airwaves |
| Date of publication: | | January 2010 |
| Description/subject: | | Private FM radio stations are sprouting up all over Burma, offering listeners a variety of entertainment and, of course, government propaganda...
"Almost every household in Burma has a radio on nowadays. Many families fight over what program to listen to. Father wants to hear the news and sports; the kids listen to pop music and celebrity interviews; mum tunes in every day to the fortune-teller, while grandmother enjoys the Buddhist monks’ recitals.
Many Burmese own cheap, Chinese-made radios that can pick up both FM and shortwave broadcasts. (Photo: YUZO/The Irrawaddy)
FM radio is booming in more ways than one in Burma. The stale government broadcasts of the 80s and 90s have been replaced by popular independent stations all across the country, from Moulmein to Myitkyina.
The Ministry of Information renewed licenses in 2009 for eight private radio stations which transmit high-fidelity broadcasts on FM bands. Stations are licensed to broadcast daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and are allowed to solicit revenue from advertising..." |
| Author/creator: | | Ko Htwe |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 18, No. 1 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www2.irrawaddy.org/print_article.php?art_id=17504 |
| Date of entry/update: | | 28 February 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Maintaining the BBC Standard - An Interview with Tin Htar Swe |
| Date of publication: | | January 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | "The BBC’s Burmese Service is the most popular, and generally regarded as the most reliable, of the Burmese-language shortwave broadcasters. The Irrawaddy spoke recently with Tin Htar Swe, head of the Burmese Service...
Question: What sort of news do you feed to your audience inside Burma?
Answer: Our aim is to provide ground breaking stories, whether global or regional. We have a highly sophisticated audience who are well informed about the world events. One would have imagined that—given the limited access to foreign newspapers, periodicals and journals—people would be deprived of information. On the contrary, we realized that most people are very much up to date with what is happening in the world. When we put out a story we have to make sure that we explain the story well and that all angles are covered. When it comes to news we do not draw a line between global and Burma news. There are some exceptions of course; because Burma is a closed society we also try to put out stories which can be too local for the international audience but definitely not for the Burmese people inside the country..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 13, No. 1 |
| Format/size: | | pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 10 August 2005 |
|
| Title: | | Airing His Views - An Interview with Soe Thinn |
| Date of publication: | | October 2004 |
| Description/subject: | | "(Soe Thinn is the director of the Radio Free Asia Burmese Service in
Washington, DC. He also worked with the Burmese Service of the Voice of
America from 1992 until 1996 and with the Burmese Foreign Service from 1969
until October 1988. He spoke with The Irrawaddy about the challenges of
bringing information to the Burmese public and RFA's future plans.)..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 12, No. 8 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (19K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 28 April 2008 |
|
| Title: | | Keeping the Pulse of Burmese Airwaves |
| Date of publication: | | November 2002 |
| Description/subject: | | "A new radio station plying the airwaves in Rangoon offers listeners a limited, but significant alternative to state-run broadcasts...
The emergence of City FM ... has won the hearts and ears of entertainment-starved audiences in Rangoon. Run by the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) since November 2001, City FM (FM 89.00 MHz) has forged ahead with its commercial-style, entertainment-first broadcasts. "We started City FM with the YCDC�s own budget and we later received a lot money from advertisements. The funding source has nothing to do with the government," a high-ranking YCDC official told The Irrawaddy...With its limited outreach and entertainment-only scope, City FM is just a small drop in the ocean in regards to the country�s national broadcasting media. Yet, it has found a space on Burma�s airwaves�apolitical and free from the relentless state-broadcast propaganda. "When listening to City FM, I never hear the brazen announcements of government propaganda such as the �Three National Causes� and �Twelve [political, economic and social] Objectives� that you hear repeatedly on the state-owned media," says Ko Lin..." |
| Author/creator: | | Min Zin |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 10, No. 9 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
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Burmese Humour
-
Burmese comedy -- videos
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Myanmar satire upsets government - 13 Nov 07 |
| Date of publication: | | 13 November 2007 |
| Description/subject: | | Aljazeera documentary about and featuring the moustache brothers |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Aljazeera via Youtube |
| Format/size: | | Adobe Flash, (2 minutes 19 seconds) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 10 January 2009 |
|
| Title: | | Moustache Brothers - Mandalay - Myanmar |
| Date of publication: | | 18 August 2007 |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | AbuBox via Youtube |
| Format/size: | | Adobe Flash 2,38mins |
| Date of entry/update: | | 10 January 2009 |
|
| Title: | | Zagana's Beggars' National Convention (video) |
| Date of publication: | | 2006 |
| Description/subject: | | 5 sections follow each other automatically...Zagana, a famous Burmese comedian, and his team performed in 1990. Represented from DVB (Democratic Voice of Burma) in 2006.
www.dvb.no |
| Language: | | Burmese |
| Source/publisher: | | Zar Ga Nar via DVB via Youtube |
| Format/size: | | Adobe Flash (40 minutes) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 10 January 2009 |
|
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Burmese humour -- articles
Individual Documents
| Title: | | 'A Man Without a Head Can Run Burma’ |
| Date of publication: | | February 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | "Burmese comedians’ political satire reveals how the people think and how their rulers live in fear...
An American without legs can climb Mount Everest,” the American president said proudly at a gathering of statesmen. Immediately, the Russian president said, “A Russian without arms can swim across the Atlantic.”
The other world leaders were stunned by the two statements. But the leader of Burma came to the rescue:
“In my country, a man without a head can run the country for 20 years.”
That’s a joke by a well-known comedian known as Godzilla, and it drew loud applause from hundreds of Burmese in Bangkok in January.
Cracking such a joke irks Burma’s rulers and can lead to imprisonment for comedians..." |
| Author/creator: | | Kyaw Zwa Moe |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 16, No. 2 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 27 April 2008 |
|
| Title: | | Joking With the Generals |
| Date of publication: | | May 2001 |
| Description/subject: | | Humor is one of the few things that make life in Burma bearable for most people, but even this salve for the soul can rub the ruling generals the wrong way. |
| Author/creator: | | Aung Zaw |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 9. No. 4 |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Exiles Mock the Year Gone by |
| Date of publication: | | April 2001 |
| Description/subject: | | "The Burmese New Year, celebrated in mid-April, is traditionally an occasion for a good-humored send-up of social and political events of the past year. Troupes form as part of the Thingyan Water-Throwing Festival to give Thangyat performances, providing a running, rhyming commentary on the misdeeds of officials and others in high places. This year, Burmese exiles in India are keeping up the tradition with a recording of Thangyat performances that targets both Burma's military junta and opposition groups..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 9, No. 3 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
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Burmese information technology
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Reading the Cybertech Signposts - Burma’s IT drive slows on MI chief’s downfall |
| Date of publication: | | March 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | "Burma’s ruling generals like to present themselves as enlightened modernizers. Though they use outmoded methods to stifle information flows, they pay plenty of lip service to e-projects and IT initiatives of all sorts.
Burma’s main Internet service and satellite feed provider, Bagan Cybertech, is one example. Last October’s coup has placed a large question mark over its future—and consequently over the fate of Burma’s entire IT sector. For whatever happens to Bagan Cybertech could determine what the future holds for other enterprises that flourished when Gen Khin Nyunt was prime minister and military intelligence, or MI, chief..." |
| Author/creator: | | Shawn L. Nance |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 13, No. 3 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 29 August 2005 |
|
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Burmese social and political culture
-
Astrology, numerology, fortune telling, prophetic sayings etc.
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Pagoda Power |
| Date of publication: | | July 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | Looking for omens in a pile of rubble...
"IT was a sunny day, but a young laborer working on the renovation of the Danok Pagoda, near Rangoon, recalled: “It suddenly grew very dark and we saw a bright red light rising from the northern end of the pagoda, and we heard a strange, haunting voice coming from that direction.”
Then the ancient pagoda collapsed, reportedly killing 20 of the laborer’s fellow workers and naval personnel who were helping out.
The authorities blamed faulty renovation work, which they said was being hurried along because of the approaching rainy season. Many local people, however, have a less mundane explanation for the collapse of the historic pagoda. Supernatural forces, not shoddy workmanship, brought it down, they say..." |
| Author/creator: | | Arkar Moe |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 17, No. 4 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 11 August 2009 |
|
| Title: | | So What’s in Store for Burma in 2005? |
| Date of publication: | | January 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | "Political Turmoil, Military Intrigues, But Also Prosperity and Progress—Astrologers Hedge Their Bets...The tsunami that smashed into several Southeast Asian countries in December appears miraculously to have spared Burma the full fury of its preternatural power...
While many outside Burma cast doubt on the regime figures, the generals in Rangoon have a mystical explanation for them: Burma escaped the lethal waves relatively unharmed because they had earned merit with Lord Buddha by building pagodas...Burmese soothsayers saw the Sumatra earthquake as a bad omen and a harbinger of political upheaval, perhaps a change of government. The current year will certainly be a crucial one for the regime, they say.
Superstitious nonsense? Not for the overwhelming majority of the Burmese people, including their leaders. It’s no secret that top generals and their wives regularly consult astrologers. Even opposition figures have their astrologers—democratic-minded ones, of course..." |
| Author/creator: | | Aung Zaw |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 13, No. 1 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 10 August 2005 |
|
| Title: | | "A Preliminary Study of Burmese Prophetic Sayings" |
| Date of publication: | | 2002 |
| Description/subject: | | The Burmese people are known to be superstitious in many ways. One is a belief in prophetic saying known as tabaun. This paper explains how in the past, people placed importance on these prophetic sayings. It describes how learned Buddhist monks have reminded people not to be influenced by them. Rather, they should be concerned with their kamma. |
| Author/creator: | | Saw Tun |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Journal of Burma Studies Vol. 7 (2002) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (829K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.niu.edu/burma/publications/jbs/vol9/index.shtml |
| Date of entry/update: | | 07 March 2009 |
|
| Title: | | No Escape from the 31 Planes of Existence |
| Date of publication: | | February 2001 |
| Description/subject: | | Naypyidaw—the “Abode of Kings”—is Than Shwe’s monument to his own rule...
"I am not an astrologer, but I will venture one prediction about the year ahead: that the regime in Burma will hold its election as planned and formally introduce what it calls a “discipline-flourishing democracy.”
So far, however, the junta leaders remain tight-lipped about the how and when of the election. At this stage, the best anyone can offer is an educated guess.
But come what may, the election will happen—be sure of it.
Why am I so certain of this, when others have suggested that the junta will probably try to find some pretext to put the vote off indefinitely? Because the clearest evidence of the junta’s intentions can be found in Naypyidaw, where construction of new parliamentary buildings is proceeding apace.
This news is not entirely reassuring, however. According to a recent Reuters report, much work remains to be done on the new legislature, “from unfinished roads to painting many of the parliamentary complex’s 31 buildings, with pagoda-style roofs sheathed in scaffolding.”
But others who have been to the junta’s capital say that they are amazed at how much progress has been made since last March, when only the main building of the Hluttaw, or Parliament, had been completed. In recent months, the regime has ordered army engineers and construction workers to work even faster to meet their deadline—whenever that might be.
While some people are preoccupied with the question of when the buildings will be finished, I am more intrigued by the number being built—31.
In Buddhism, this number has a special significance. According to Buddhist cosmology, 31 is the number of planes of existence into which we can be reborn. Humans belong to the fifth plane, above other beings such as animals and hungry ghosts, but below the devas—the god-like beings who exist in the realms of form and formlessness.
The important thing to remember about the 31 planes of existence is that they are all subject to suffering. By following the Buddha’s teachings, however, one can escape the rounds of rebirth and attain a state that is completely beyond suffering, known as Nirvana..." |
| Author/creator: | | Aung Zaw |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 18, No. 2 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 28 February 2010 |
|
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Burmese political culture - books from the 1950s and '60s (most published by AFPFL)
Individual Documents
| Title: | | "Mao Ze Dong’s China and the Sovereignty of Myanmar" "ေမာ္စီတုန္းတရုတ္ႏွင့္ ျမန္မာ့ အခ်ဳပ္အခ်ာအာဏာ" |
| Date of publication: | | 01 August 1967 |
| Description/subject: | | A collection of articles in "Bo Ta Taung" newspaper about the relationship between Burma and China in 1967. This book is a ...... သိန္းေဖျမင့္ သည္ ၁၉၆၇ ခုႏွစ္က ဗိုလ္တေထာင္ သတင္းစာတြင္ တရုတ္ျမန္မာ ဆက္ဆံေရး အေၾကာင္း အခန္းဆက္ ေဆာင္းပါးမ်ားေရးခဲ့ၿပီး၊ ဤစာအုပ္ တြင္ စုစည္း ထုတ္ ေ၀လိုက္ျခင္း ျဖစ္သည္။ |
| Author/creator: | | Thein Pay Myint သိန္းေဖျမင့္ |
| Language: | | Burmese/ ျမန္မာဘာသာ |
| Source/publisher: | | "Bo Ta Taung" |
| Format/size: | | pdf (6.1MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 11 August 2012 |
|
| Title: | | "Communism and we Burmans" "ဘံု၀ါဒႏွင့္ ဒို႔ဗမာ |
| Date of publication: | | 25 January 1967 |
| Description/subject: | | First Edition 1954: Second Edition 1964: Third Edition 1967, ... Articles by: 1. Thakhin Ko Daw Hmai, 2. Thakhin Aung San, 3. U Nu, 4. Thakhin Soe, 5. Thakhin Than Tun, 6. Thakhin Ba Hein, 7. Thakhin Hla Pay (Bo Lat Yar), 8. Thakhin Kyaw Sein, 9. Thein Pay Myint, 10. U Ba Swe, 11. Thakhin Lay Maung, 12. U Thant (United Nations)..... ပထမအႀကိမ္ ထုတ္ေ၀ျခင္း ၁၉၅၄၊ ဒုတိယ အႀကိမ္ ထုတ္ေ၀ျခင္း ၁၉၆၄၊ ယခုတႀကိမ္ သည္ တတိယ အႀကိမ္ ထုတ္ေ၀ျခင္းျဖစ္သည္။... စာေရးဆရာ ေပါင္းစံုပါ၀င္သည္။ ၁. သခင္ကိုယ္ေတာ္ မႈိင္း ၂. သခင္ေအာင္ဆန္း ၃. ဦးႏု ၄. သခင္စိုး ၅. သခင္သန္းထြန္း ၆. သခင္ဗဟိန္း ၇. သခင္ လွေဖ(ဗိုလ္လက္ယာ) ၈. သခင္ ေက်ာ္စိန္ ၉. သိန္းေဖျမင့္ ၁၀. ဦးဘေဆြ တို႔ျဖစ္သည္။ |
| Author/creator: | | Thein Pay Myint သိန္းေဖျမင့္ |
| Language: | | Burmese/ ျမန္မာဘာသာ |
| Source/publisher: | | Thein Pay Myint သိန္းေဖျမင့္ |
| Format/size: | | pdf (13.92MB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs14/Book20-split.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 11 August 2012 |
|
| Title: | | "On The People's Democratic Dictatorship" “ျပည္သူ႔ဒီမိုကေရစီ အာဏာရွင္စနစ္” |
| Date of publication: | | 1966 |
| Description/subject: | | Translated into Burmese by Lwin Maung in 1966. Chinese original, 1949... Ka Laung Pyan Publishing House, Rangoon, Burma... ထုတ္ေ၀သူ ၏ အမွာ
ဤ “ျပည္သူ႔ဒီမိုကေရစီ အာဏာရွင္စနစ္” ဟူေသာ စာတမ္းကို တရုပ္ျပည္ကြန္ျမဴနစ္ပါတီ (၂၈) ႏွစ္ေျမာက္ အထိမ္းအမွတ္ အတြက္ ၁၉၄၉ ခုႏွစ္ ဇြန္လ ၃၀ ရက္ေန႔ တြင္ ရဲေဘာ္ ေမာ္စီတံုး ေရးသားျခင္း ျဖစ္ပါသည္။ |
| Author/creator: | | Mao Zedong |
| Language: | | Burmese/ ျမန္မာဘာသာ |
| Format/size: | | pdf (2.02MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 24 July 2012 |
|
| Title: | | "The Path of the AFPFL" "ဖဆပလ ၏ ေျခလွမ္း" |
| Date of publication: | | 01 September 1963 |
| Language: | | Burmese/ ျမန္မာဘာသာ |
| Source/publisher: | | Lanzin Newspaper လမ္းစဥ္ သတင္းစာ |
| Format/size: | | pdf (7MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 12 August 2012 |
|
| Title: | | "Thein Pay Myint - a threat to peace" "ၿငိမ္းခ်မ္းေရးႏွင့္ သိန္းေဖျမင့္ အႏၱရာယ္" |
| Date of publication: | | 15 August 1963 |
| Description/subject: | | ဤစာအုပ္တြင္- ၿငိမ္းခ်မ္းေရး အဖ်က္သမား သိန္းေဖျမင့္ အလုိမရွိ... ကြန္ျမဴနစ္ပါတီႏွင့္ သိန္းေဖျမင့္... ႏိုင္ငံေရး မ်က္လွည့္ဆရာႀကီး သိန္းေဖျမင့္... ျပည္သူ႔ ၿငိမ္းခ်မ္းေရး အဖြဲ႔ ေပါင္းစံု ႏွင့္ သိန္းေဖျမင့္... သိန္းေဖျမင့္ ၏ ႏိုင္ငံတကာ့ေရးရာ အျမင္မ်ား။ (လမ္းစဥ္ အယ္ဒီတာ အဖြဲ႔မွ ျပဳစုသည္) |
| Language: | | Burmese/ ျမန္မာဘာသာ |
| Source/publisher: | | "Lanzin Newspaper" လမ္းစဥ္သတင္းစာ |
| Format/size: | | pdf (7.69MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 12 August 2012 |
|
| Title: | | "Domestic Peace and Dialogue Movement" "ျပည္တြင္းၿငိမ္းခ်မ္းေရးႏွင့္ ေတြ႔ဆံုေဆြးေႏြးေရး အေရးေတာ္ပံု" |
| Date of publication: | | 1963 |
| Description/subject: | | Peace in Burma movement lead by Thakhin Ko Daw Hmaing: ... သခင္ကိုယ္ေတာ္မႈိင္း ဦးေဆာင္သည့္ ျပည္တြင္းၿငိမ္းခ်မ္းေရး လႈပ္ရွားမႈ အေၾကာင္း တင္ျပသည့္ စာအုပ္တအုပ္ျဖစ္ပါသည္။ လမ္းစဥ္ အယ္ဒီတာ အဖြဲ႔မွ ျပဳစု တင္ျပပါသည္။ |
| Language: | | Burmese/ ျမန္မာဘာသာ |
| Source/publisher: | | "Lanzin Newspaper" လမ္းစဥ္ သတင္းစာ |
| Format/size: | | pdf (4.93MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 12 August 2012 |
|
| Title: | | "The Advanced Socialism" "တိုးတက္ေသာ ဆိုရွယ္လစ္စနစ္" |
| Date of publication: | | 1963 |
| Description/subject: | | ပထစ ေခါင္းေဆာင္ သခင္တင္ေရးသားသည္။ |
| Author/creator: | | Thakhin Tin (A leader of the Union Party) |
| Language: | | Burmese/ ျမန္မာဘာသာ |
| Source/publisher: | | Thakhin Tin |
| Format/size: | | pdf (7.51MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 12 August 2012 |
|
| Title: | | "The Burma Workers Party's view on the BSPP" ဗမာျပည္ အလုပ္သမားပါတီ ၏ မဆလ ပါတီအေပၚ သေဘာထား |
| Date of publication: | | 09 August 1962 |
| Description/subject: | | The Burma Workers Party's view on the BSPP (Wi Du Ya Tha Khin Chit Maung and journalists: Press Release.) ဗမာျပည္အလုပ္သမား ပါတီ၏ မဆလ ပါတီ အေပၚ သေဘာထား (၀ိဓုရ- သခင္ခ်စ္ေမာင္ ႏွင့္ သတင္းစာ ဆရာမ်ား အေမး အေျဖ... တိုင္းေရးျပည္ေရး အျဖစ္စံု တင္ျပခ်က္မ်ား) |
| Author/creator: | | Vi Dhu Ra Tha-khin Chit Maung |
| Language: | | Burmese/ ျမန္မာဘာသာ |
| Source/publisher: | | Burma Workers Party Headquarters |
| Format/size: | | pdf (2.18MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 04 August 2012 |
|
| Title: | | "Collected speeches and his opinion on internal peace by Brigadier General Kyaw Zaw" |
| Date of publication: | | 01 December 1960 |
| Description/subject: | | First edition- November 1957: Second edition - December 1960: "ဗိုလ္မွဴးခ်ဳပ္ေက်ာ္ေဇာ ၏ ျပည္တြင္းၿငိမ္းခ်မ္းေရး သေဘာထားႏွင့္ လက္ေရြးစဥ္ မိန္႔ခြန္းမ်ား" ပထမအႀကိမ္ပံုႏွိပ္ျခင္း- ႏို၀င္ဘာလ ၁၉၅၇၊ ဒုတိယအႀကိမ္ပံုႏွိပ္ျခင္း- ဒီဇင္ဘာလ ၁၉၆၀။ |
| Author/creator: | | Brigadier General Kyaw Zaw |
| Language: | | Burmese/ ျမန္မာဘာသာ |
| Source/publisher: | | Brigadier General Kyaw Zaw |
| Format/size: | | pdf (4.42MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 14 August 2012 |
|
| Title: | | "AFPFL’s view on recognizing Buddhism as the State Religion" |
| Date of publication: | | 18 December 1959 |
| Description/subject: | | Publication of Man Dai Newspaper(14-12-59) "ဗုဒၶဘာသာကို ႏိုင္ငံေတာ္ဘာသာ အျဖစ္သတ္မွတ္ေရးႏွင့္ပါတ္သက္၍ ဖ.ဆ.ပ.လ အဖြဲ႔ခ်ဳပ္၏သေဘာထား" (၁၄-၁၂-၅၉) ေန႔ အထူးထုတ္ မ႑ိဳင္ သတင္းစာကို၊ သံဃာ့ တပ္ဦး အဖြဲ႔မွ တဆင့္ ကူးယူ ရိုက္ႏွိပ္ ေ၀ငွသည္။ |
| Language: | | Burmese/ ျမန္မာဘာသာ |
| Source/publisher: | | AFPFL |
| Format/size: | | pdf (1.01MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 29 July 2012 |
|
| Title: | | Seminar to evaluate the AFPFL's Programme ဖဆပလ အဖြဲ႔ခ်ဳပ္ လုပ္ငန္းစဥ္ျပန္လည္သံုးသပ္ေရး ႏွီးေႏွာ ဖလွယ္ပဲြ |
| Date of publication: | | 24 October 1959 |
| Description/subject: | | "Seminar to evaluate the AFPFL's Programme" (24 October 1959 ) ဖဆပလ အဖြဲ႔ခ်ဳပ္ လုပ္ငန္းစဥ္ျပန္လည္သံုးသပ္ေရး ႏွီးေႏွာ ဖလွယ္ပဲြ (၁၉၅၉-ခု ေအာက္တိုဘာလ ၂၄- ရက္) တြင္ ဖဆပလ အဖြဲ႔ခ်ဳပ္ ၀ါဒႏွင့္ လုပ္ငန္းစဥ္သေဘာထား လူမႈေရး အခဏ္ ကို ပညာေရးႏွင့္ ျပည္ေထာင္စု ယဥ္ေက်းမႈ က႑ ဖဆပလ အဖြဲ႔ခ်ဳပ္၊ အလုပ္အမႈေဆာင္ ဦးထြန္းတင္ ေဆြးေႏြးတင္ျပပါသည္။ |
| Language: | | Burmese/ ျမန္မာဘာသာ |
| Source/publisher: | | Education and Culture Section (AFPFL) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (2.07MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 04 August 2012 |
|
| Title: | | Step by Step Struggle Against Oppression ဖိႏွိပ္မႈ တိုက္ပြဲ အဆင့္ဆင့္ |
| Date of publication: | | September 1959 |
| Description/subject: | | First edition: July 1959 ... Second edition: August 1959 ... 1. Freedom of religion... 2. Freedom of expression ... 3. Freedom of organizing ...4. justice ... 5. Freedom of working and living... 6. Right to freedom through independence ... 7. Independence of Ireland ... 8. The American Revolution ... 9. The French Revolution ... 10. Italian solidarity... 11. Independence of Mexico ... 12. The hero of South American freedom ... 13. Independence of Philippines... 14. Various struggles... 15. Non-violence of the people of Korea... 16. Freedom and intelligence....... သန္႔ရွင္း ဖဆပလ အဖြဲ႔ခ်ဳပ္ ဥကၠဌ ဦးႏု ေရးသည္... ပထမ ႏွိပ္ျခင္း (၁၉၅၉ ဇူလိုင္)... ဒုတိယ ႏွိပ္ျခင္း (၁၉၅၉ ၾသဂုတ္)... ၁. လြတ္လပ္စြာကိုးကြယ္ခြင့္... ၂. လြတ္လပ္စြာေရးသားေဟာေျပာခြင့္... ၃. လြတ္လပ္စြာ စည္းေ၀းခြင့္ႏွင့္ စည္းရံုးခြင့္... ၄. လြတ္လပ္စြာ တရားစီရင္ခြင့္... ၅. လြတ္လပ္စြာသက္ေမြး ၀မ္းေက်ာင္းႏိုင္ပံု... ၆. လြတ္လပ္ခြင့္မွ လြတ္လပ္ေရးသို႔... ၇. အိုင္ယာလန္လြတ္လပ္ေရး... ၈. အေမရိကန္ေတာ္လွန္ေရး... ၉. ျပင္သစ္အေရးေတာ္ပံု... ၁၀. အီတလီျပည္စည္းလံုးေရး... ၁၁. မကၠဆီကိုလြတ္လပ္ေရး... ၁၂. ေတာင္အေမရိကလြတ္လပ္ေရးသူရဲေကာင္း... ၁၃. ဖိလစ္ပိုင္ လြတ္လပ္ေရး... ၁၄. တိုုက္ပြဲအမ်ဳိးမ်ဳိး... ၁၅. ကိုရီးယားျပည္သူတို႔၏ အႏုနည္း... ၁၆. လြတ္လပ္ေရးႏွင့္ ႏွလံုးရည္ |
| Author/creator: | | U Nu |
| Language: | | Burmese/ ျမန္မာဘာသာ |
| Source/publisher: | | Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League (AFPFL-Clean) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (5.00MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 07 August 2012 |
|
| Title: | | "Where is Parliamentary Democracy going?" "ပါလီမန္ဒီမိုကေရစီဘယ္လဲ" |
| Date of publication: | | 1959 |
| Description/subject: | | This is a criticism by Member of Parliament Tha Khin Chit Maung (Thar Yar Waddy) of Prime Minister General Ne Win's speech to Parliament on 16 February, 1959. ဤစာအုပ္သည္ ပါလီမန္အမတ္ သခင္ခ်စ္ေမာင္ (သာယာ၀တီ) က ၀န္ႀကီးခ်ဳပ္ ဗိုလ္ခ်ဳပ္ ေန၀င္း ၁၉၅၉၊ ေဖေဖၚ၀ါရီ ၁၆ တြင္ ပါလီမန္ သို႔ ေျပာသည့္မိန္႔ခြန္းကို ေ၀ဖန္ ခ်က္ျဖစ္သည္။ |
| Author/creator: | | Wi Du Ya Thakhin Chit Maung ၀ိဓူရ သခင္ခ်စ္ေမာင္ |
| Language: | | Burmese/ ျမန္မာဘာသာ |
| Source/publisher: | | Burma Labour Party (Rangoon District) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (2.46MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 24 July 2012 |
|
| Title: | | "Where is Social-Ni (Red-Social) going?" ဆိုရွယ္နီဘယ္လဲ? |
| Date of publication: | | August 1958 |
| Description/subject: | | Criticism on The Burma Workers Party. ..... အလုပ္သမားပါတီအားေ၀ဖန္ခ်က္။ |
| Language: | | Burmese/ ျမန္မာဘာသာ |
| Source/publisher: | | The comrades who want the Real Peace |
| Format/size: | | pdf (2.52MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 14 August 2012 |
|
| Title: | | "Interim Organizing Programme of the AFPFL (Clean)" ဖဆပလ(သန္႔ရွင္း) အဖြဲ႔ စည္းရံုးေရး ၾကားျဖတ္လုပ္ငန္းစဥ္ |
| Date of publication: | | 07 July 1958 |
| Description/subject: | | The AFPLF had split into 2 factions. The faction which published this paper called itself the "clean" AFPFL. It had to organise itself quickly because the other faction, the "stable" AFPFL, had already begun... ဗ.တ.လ.စ ပံုႏွိပ္တိုက္၊ အမွတ္ ၄ ၀ကၤဘာလမ္း၊ ဗဟန္း၊ ရန္ကုန္ၿမိဳ႔ |
| Language: | | Burmese/ ျမန္မာဘာသာ |
| Source/publisher: | | AFPFL (Clean) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (777K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 29 July 2012 |
|
| Title: | | Report of the Burma Workers' and Peasants' Party Central Committee |
| Date of publication: | | 01 February 1957 |
| Description/subject: | | The report was presented in "Countrywide Conference of Burma Workers' and Peasants' Party" hold in 5 - 7 September 1956) ဗမာျပည္အလုပ္သမား လယ္သမားပါတီ ဆဌမ အႀကိမ္ေျမာက္ ဗဟိုေကာ္မတီ အစီရင္ခံစာ" ဒုတိယ အႀကိမ္ေျမာက္ ႏိုင္ငံလံုးဆုိင္ရာ ပါတီ ကြန္ဖရင့္ တြင္ တင္သြင္းသည္။ (၁၉၅၆၊ စက္တင္ဘာ ၅ - ၇) |
| Language: | | Burmese/ ျမန္မာဘာသာ |
| Source/publisher: | | Burma Workers' and Peasants' Party |
| Format/size: | | pdf (7.24MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 09 August 2012 |
|
| Title: | | People’s Democracy Party - Burma (formerly Dobama Asiayone) ျပည္သူ႔ ဒီမိုကေရစီပါတီ (ဗမာျပည္) |
| Date of publication: | | 20 November 1956 |
| Description/subject: | | The history and constitution of the People’s Democracy Party (Burma) which changed from Dobama Asiayone (Our Burman Association). ယခုစာတမ္းသည္ ျပည္သူ႔ ဒီမုိကေရစီပါတီ (ဗမာျပည္) ၏ သမိုင္း ႏွင့္ ဖြဲ႔ စည္းပံု ျဖစ္ ၿပီး ၄င္းပါတီသည္ ဒို႔ဗမာ အစည္းအရံုးမွ အသြင္ေျပာင္းလာသည့္ ပါတီျဖစ္သည္။ |
| Language: | | Burmese/ ျမန္မာဘာသာ |
| Source/publisher: | | People’s Democracy Party (Burma) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (2.90MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 07 August 2012 |
|
| Title: | | "Various Affairs in Politics (First Volume)" "ႏိုင္ငံေရးရာ အျဖာျဖာ" |
| Date of publication: | | 09 October 1946 |
| Description/subject: | | 33 articles by U Ba Pay out of 98 in "Han Thar Waddy" newspaper from 23 April 1946... ဟံသာ၀တီ သတင္းစာ ပါ ေဆာင္းပါး ၃၃ ေစာင္ ကို စုစည္းခ်က္ ျဖစ္ပါသည္။ စာအုပ္ထုတ္ေ၀ခ်ိန္အထိ ဟံသာ၀တီ သတင္းစာတြင္ ေဆာင္းပါး ၉၈ ေစာင္ ေဖၚျပခဲ့ပါသည္။ ေဆာင္းပါးမ်ားကို ဦးဘေဖ ေရးသားၿပီး ပထမဆံုး ေဆာင္းပါးကို ၁၉၄၆ ခု၊ ဧၿပီ ၂၃ ရက္ေန႔တြင္ စတင္ေဖၚျပပါသည္။ |
| Author/creator: | | U Ba Pay (The Great Leader) |
| Language: | | Burmese/ ျမန္မာဘာသာ |
| Source/publisher: | | "Han Thar Waddy" newspapaper |
| Format/size: | | pdf (5.9MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 12 August 2012 |
|
| Title: | | The Monk and the Vote ဘုန္းႀကီးႏွင့္မဲ |
| Date of publication: | | 1946 |
| Description/subject: | | Presentation of the book is Monks should be right to Vote or not in election. ဤစာအုပ္တြင္ ဘုန္းႀကီးမ်ား အေနျဖင့္ ေရြးေကာက္ပြဲတြင္ မဲေပးပိုင္ခြင့္ ရွိသင့္ မရွိသင့္ ကို တင္ျပထားသည္။ |
| Author/creator: | | U Tint Shwe (Patama Jaw, Parli Mahar Wizar) |
| Language: | | Burmese/ ျမန္မာဘာသာ |
| Format/size: | | pdf (3.65MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 07 August 2012 |
|
| Title: | | "THE NEW BURMA IN THE NEW WORLD" |
| Date of publication: | | 1945 |
| Description/subject: | | Manifesto of the Anti Fascist People's Freedom League (Burma Patriotic Front)... Towards better mutual understanding and greater co-operation between the British and the Peoples of Burma... Radio Address by Colonel Naywin (7-5-45) to the People of Burma... Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League Statement... Queries and replies at the press interview given by Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League on 14th May 1945
... Programme of "National reconstruction through National service"... Policy and immediate Programme of the Anti- Fascist People's Freedom League (Burma Patriotic Front)... Provisional Rules for Supreme Council of Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League... Leaders Conference ... Letter to the Governor
... Resolutions passed at the Meeting of the Supreme Council of The Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League which was held in Session on the 6th, 7th and 8th October 1945... Statement of the Supreme Council of Anti- Fascist People's Freedom League on His Excellency tho Governor's speech on 17fn October 1945
Instrument of Instructions. ... Statement issued on 28th October 1945 by Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League ... The League's Rejonder... List of the nominees of the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League... Shwedagon Mass Meeting. Governor's Executive Council ... Gist of Major-General Aung San's Speech... THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENT IS MISSING: The report of Thakin Than Tun, General Secretary, AFPFL made at the mass meeting held at the Shwedagon Pagoda on the 18th November 1945 |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Anti Fascist People's Freedom League (AFPFL) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (2.6MB-OBL version; 7.07MB-original) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs13/Book19(en).pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 11 August 2012 |
|
| Title: | | "Manifesto of the Communist Party" ကြန္ျမဴနစ္ပါတီ ေက်ညာစာတမ္း (၁) |
| Description/subject: | | The title in Burmese translation is "Manifesto of the Communist Party (1)"... Translated to Burmese from the version "Translated: Samuel Moore in cooperation with Frederick Engels, 1888;" by Maung Maung Tin (No publication date in Burmese translation). Written: Late 1847; First Published: February 1848; Source: Marx/Engels Selected Works, Vol. One, Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1969, pp. 98-137; Proofed: and corrected against 1888 English Edition by Andy Blunden 2004; ... ျမန္မာဘာသာျပန္ ၏ ေခါင္းစဥ္မွာ "ကြန္ျမဴနစ္ပါတီ ေက်ညာစာတမ္း (၁)" ျဖစ္ပါသည္... ထုတ္ေ၀သူ၏ မွတ္ခ်က္တြင္ (၁၈၄၈ ခုႏွစ္ မူလ ဂ်ာမန္ဘာသာ စာမူမွ ၁၈၈၈ ခုႏွစ္တြင္ ဆမ္ျမဴရယ္မိုးက အဂၤလိပ္ ဘာသာျပန္ဆို၍၊ ဖရက္ဒရစ္ အိန္ဂ်ယ္စ္က တည္းျဖတ္ထားသည့္ အဂၤလိပ္ဘာသာ- "ကြန္ျမဴနစ္ပါတီ ေက်ညာစာတမ္း" ကို ျမန္မာ ဘာသာသုိ႔ ျပန္ဆိုထားျခင္းျဖစ္ပါသည္။ ယခု စာမူတြင္ ၁၈၈၈ ခုႏွစ္ အဂၤလိပ္ ဘာသာ ရိုက္စာအုပ္ႏွင့္ ၁၈၉၀ ျပည့္ႏွစ္ ဂ်ာမန္ဘာသာ ရိုက္ စာအုပ္တို႔ အတြက္ အိန္ဂ်ယ္စ္၏ မွတ္ခ်က္မ်ားႏွင့္ ဘာသာ အမ်ဳိးမ်ဳိး ျဖင့္ ရိုက္ေသာ ေက်ညာစာတမ္း စာအုပ္မ်ား၏ နိဒါန္းမ်ား အားလံုးလည္း ပါ၀င္ေပသည္။) ဟု ပါရွိသည္။ |
| Author/creator: | | Karl Marx and Frederick Engels |
| Language: | | Burmese/ ျမန္မာဘာသာ |
| Format/size: | | pdf (8.12MB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/index.htm |
| Date of entry/update: | | 05 August 2012 |
|
| Title: | | Guidelines for organisers on the rules and programme of the Union League |
| Description/subject: | | No publication date. This book was probably published in 1959 or 1960, (Page 6, paragraph 16). "ျပည္ေထာင္စု အဖြဲ႔ ခ်ဳပ္- စည္းရံုးေရး မွဴးမ်ား လိုက္နာရန္ စည္းကမ္းခ်က္ ႏွင့္ စည္းရံုးေရး လုပ္ငန္းစဥ္- ညႊန္ၾကားခ်က္" ... ဗ.တ.လ.စ ပံုႏွိပ္တိုက္ အမွတ္ ၃၉၇ ျပည္လမ္း ၊ ရန္ကုန္။ ... |
| Language: | | Burmese/ ျမန္မာဘာသာ |
| Source/publisher: | | Union League |
| Format/size: | | pdf (1.02MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 29 July 2012 |
|
| Title: | | Karl Marxism ကားလ္မတ္စ္ ၀ါဒ |
| Description/subject: | | Probably published in 1941(not sure): Recognized by the Nagani (Red Dragon) book club and the Nagani (Red Dragon) printing house. (The title in the cover of this book used "Karl Marx", but the title in first page is "Karl Marxism" and the book explain about Marxism ..... မ်က္ႏွာဖံုး မွ စာအုပ္ အမည္ "ကားလ္မတ္စ္" ျဖစ္ၿပီး၊ ပထမစာမ်က္ႏွာမွ စာအုပ္အမည္မွာ "ကားလ္မတ္စ္ ၀ါဒ" ျဖစ္သည္။ မာ့က္စ္ ၀ါဒအေၾကာင္းရွင္းျပထားေသာ စာအုပ္ျဖစ္သည္။) |
| Author/creator: | | Thakhin Bo သခင္ဗို |
| Language: | | Burmese/ ျမန္မာဘာသာ |
| Source/publisher: | | Na Gar Ni |
| Format/size: | | pdf (8.17MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 09 August 2012 |
|
| Title: | | Standard rules for registered trade unions |
| Description/subject: | | No publication date. The Burma Trade Union Congress was a central trade union organization in Burma, founded in 1950 as the trade union wing of the Burma Workers and Peasants Party (Wikipedia). |
| Language: | | Burmese/ ျမန္မာဘာသာ |
| Source/publisher: | | The Trade Union Congress (Burma) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (1.12MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 04 August 2012 |
|
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Culture of violence
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Voices for Change: Domestic Violence and Gender Discrimination in the Palaung Area (Burmese) |
| Date of publication: | | 25 November 2011 |
| Description/subject: | | Executive Summary: "This report documents how women in the Palaung area are affected by domestic violence and gender discrimination. Survey results collected by PWO show that almost all respondents had experienced or seen physical violence within families in their community, and that physical violence is occurring with alarming frequency, in many cases on an almost daily basis. PWO’s research shows that gender discrimination is widespread in the Palaung area, and that many people’s attitudes conform to traditional gender stereotypes which assume that women must fulfil the role of homemaker and accept sole responsibility for childcare duties. Since the 2010 election, Burma’s military-backed regime has failed to take any effective action to promote women’s rights and gender equality, or to uphold its commitments to CEDAW. Burma remains one of only two ASEAN countries lacking a specific law criminalising domestic violence, and PWO’s research has found that there are no government-led projects to raise awareness of domestic violence and women’s rights in the rural areas of northern Shan State, where the vast majority of the Palaung population live. The ‘new’ regime has yet to address the economic and social crises fuelling domestic violence in the Palaung area. The economic crisis afflicting the Palaung people as a direct result of the state’s monopoly of the tea industry, as well as the increase in opium cultivation and addiction in the Palaung area since the 2010 election have directly contributed to the problem of domestic violence, as males resort to physical violence as a means of expressing their anger and frustration with their situation. More than five decades of civil war have bred a culture of male domination, fear, and violence in Burma. Palaung people, especially males, have been socialised into this culture, and see violence as a necessary means of asserting their authority over their wives, in the same way as the state uses violence to assert its authority over Burma’s ethnic nationalities. The regime appears to have no intention of bringing an end to Burma’s culture of violence, and continues to wage war against ethnic rebels in northern Shan State. 5 Domestic violence has a devastating impact on individuals, families and communities. Apart from the obvious physical impact of domestic violence, women also suffer psychologically. Domestic violence threatens the stability of the family unit, often has a negative impact on children’s education, and acts as an obstacle to community development. Burma’s military-backed regime needs to recognise domestic violence and gender discrimination as obstacles to achieving a peaceful society in Burma, and to embark upon a program of genuine political reform which addresses the social and economic factors fuelling domestic violence and gender discrimination." |
| Language: | | Burmese |
| Source/publisher: | | Palaung Women's Organization (PWO) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (1.91MB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.palaungwomen.com |
| Date of entry/update: | | 25 January 2012 |
|
| Title: | | Voices for Change: Domestic Violence and Gender Discrimination in the Palaung Area (English) |
| Date of publication: | | 25 November 2011 |
| Description/subject: | | Executive Summary: "This report documents how women in the Palaung area are affected by
domestic violence and gender discrimination. Survey results collected by
PWO show that almost all respondents had experienced or seen physical
violence within families in their community, and that physical violence is
occurring with alarming frequency, in many cases on an almost daily basis.
PWO’s research shows that gender discrimination is widespread in the
Palaung area, and that many people’s attitudes conform to traditional gender
stereotypes which assume that women must fulfi l the role of homemaker
and accept sole responsibility for childcare duties.
Since the 2010 election, Burma’s military-backed regime has failed to take
any effective action to promote women’s rights and gender equality, or
to uphold its commitments to CEDAW. Burma remains one of only two
ASEAN countries lacking a specifi c law criminalising domestic violence,
and PWO’s’ research has found that there are no government-led projects to
raise awareness of domestic violence and women’s rights in the rural areas
of northern Shan State, where the vast majority of the Palaung population
live.
The ‘new’ regime has yet to address the economic and social crises fuelling
domestic violence in the Palaung area. The economic crisis affl icting the
Palaung people as a direct result of the state’s monopoly of the tea industry,
as well as the increase in opium cultivation and addiction in the Palaung area
since the 2010 election have directly contributed to the problem of domestic
violence, as males resort to physical violence as a means of expressing their
anger and frustration with their situation.
More than fi ve decades of civil war have bred a culture of male domination,
fear, and violence in Burma. Palaung people, especially males, have been
socialised into this culture, and see violence as a necessary means of asserting
their authority over their wives, in the same way as the state uses violence
to assert its authority over Burma’s ethnic nationalities. The regime appears
to have no intention of bringing an end to Burma’s culture of violence, and
continues to wage war against ethnic rebels in northern Shan State.
5
Domestic violence has a devastating impact on individuals, families and
communities. Apart from the obvious physical impact of domestic violence,
women also suffer psychologically. Domestic violence threatens the stability
of the family unit, often has a negative impact on children’s education, and
acts as an obstacle to community development.
Burma’s military-backed regime needs to recognise domestic violence
and gender discrimination as obstacles to achieving a peaceful society in
Burma, and to embark upon a program of genuine political reform which
addresses the social and economic factors fuelling domestic violence and
gender discrimination." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Palaung Women's Organisation |
| Format/size: | | pdf (1.5MB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.palaungwomen.com |
| Date of entry/update: | | 25 January 2012 |
|
| Title: | | VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN (Chapter from "Gathering Strength") |
| Date of publication: | | January 2002 |
| Description/subject: | | OVERVIEW;
WOMEN IN WAR;
RELOCATION & DISPLACEMENT;
SEXUAL VIOLENCE & ARMED CONFLICT;
SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN AREAS OF MILITARY OCCUPATION;
SEXUAL VIOLENCE ACROSS BORDERS: REFUGEES & MIGRANTS;
SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN THE COMMUNITY;
REPORTING & PUNISHMENT OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE;
FORCED MARRIAGE;
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE;
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN RELOCATION & REFUGE;
GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE;
FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS. |
| Author/creator: | | Brenda Belak |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Images Asia |
| Format/size: | | PDF (745K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
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Dress
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Nationalism by design: The politics of dress in British Burma |
| Date of publication: | | January 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | Colonial attempts to hem in racial and gender difference through practice, law and lore made dress a
potent field of resistance in British Burma, giving rise to new strands of nationalism by design. |
| Author/creator: | | Penny Edwards |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS) (Newsletter No. 46 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (580K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 07 March 2009 |
|
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Clothing
-
Fashion
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Short Skirts Raise Eyebrows in Rangoon |
| Date of publication: | | November 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | Rangoon’s street scene is changing as increasing numbers of young women in Burma’s largest city cast off their sarongs in exchange for miniskirts and hot pants. Low-cut blouses with “spaghetti” straps are also “in,” observers of the local fashion scene report. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 17, No. 8 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www2.irrawaddy.org/print_article.php?art_id=17146 |
| Date of entry/update: | | 28 February 2010 |
|
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Crafts
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Where Even Dead Flowers are Doomed |
| Date of publication: | | September 2007 |
| Description/subject: | | An ancient Burmese tradition faces decline...
The fishermen of Inle Lake are not the only ones going through hard times. one of the area’s major handicraft businesses, making so-called “flower-molded” Buddha figurines, is also in steep decline. Generations of craftsmen have been making the exquisite statuettes for centuries, molding them from the petals of dried flowers, mixed with powder, teak sawdust and resin. Figurines molded from the petals of flowers and donated to lakeside temples are invested with miraculous powers by the Pa-O, Shan and Intha people who live in the region. But they’re also sought after as souvenirs by tourists visiting the lake.
The rising cost of the raw materials, particularly the teak sawdust and resin, and encroaching competition from manufacturers of cheap wooden and plastic Buddhas have brought the local handicraft business practically to a standstill, however..." |
| Author/creator: | | Kai Wai |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol 15, No. 9 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=8465 |
| Date of entry/update: | | 29 April 2008 |
|
| Title: | | A Shan Kaleidoscope - a review of "The Shan: Culture, Art and Crafts" |
| Date of publication: | | March 2007 |
| Description/subject: | | The Shan: Culture, Art and Crafts, by Susan Conway. River Books, Bangkok, 2006. P212...
Factual errors fail to mar a beautiful book about a Burmese ethnic minority culture...
"This is the ideal book for anyone interested in Shan textiles, paintings and architecture. It also contains a wealth of unique historical photographs, many taken at the turn of the last century. Susan Conway, a research associate at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, has done a wonderful job presenting traditional Shan art and culture, and the outcome is a beautiful, coffee-table-style book, which in many ways is the first of its kind about the Shan peoples of upper and northeastern Burma. The book covers Shan history, princes and palaces, arts, crafts and even trade, and it contains detailed descriptions of Shan male and female dress and textile patterns..." |
| Author/creator: | | Bertil Lintner |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 15, No. 3 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 04 May 2008 |
|
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Ethnic Groups
See Separate Section "Ethnic Groups in Burma" and "Ethnic Discrimination" in the Human Rights Section
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Die verborgene Welt der Naga |
| Date of publication: | | 16 September 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | Im Dschungel Südostasiens lebt ein geheimnisvolles Volk
In der Abgeschiedenheit fast undurchdringlicher Regenwälder von Myanmar hat ein Volk ein einmaliges Kulturerbe bewahrt. Es beruht auf den Traditionen eines archaischen Heldentums. Auserwählte Krieger sollen die Stammesgemeinschaft vor allem Übel bewahren. Die Kraft dazu - so glauben sie - erhalten sie durch das Abschlagen eines Kopfes.
keywords: Naga, indigenous people, headhunting |
| Author/creator: | | Michael Leja |
| Language: | | Deutsch, German |
| Source/publisher: | | ZDF |
| Format/size: | | 82,5k |
| Date of entry/update: | | 13 December 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Human Rights, Forgotten Wars & Survival: Burma's Indigenous Peoples |
| Date of publication: | | 31 October 2000 |
| Description/subject: | | "...Burma is home to one of the world's longest-running civil wars, the victims of which have overwhelmingly been civilians living in rural areas. Every year, hundreds are killed, tens of thousands displaced, and the livelihoods of many more destroyed by the Burmese army. Hundreds of thousands of people from the Arakanese, Karen, Karenni, Mon, Shan, and other ethnic groups have sought asylum in neighboring countries, as refugees or illegal migrant workers. Widespread displacement, combined with government efforts to force fully assimilate ethnic peoples, has led many to fear for the survival of their unique languages, cultures, and traditions.
.." |
| Author/creator: | | Edith Bowles |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "Cultural Survival Quarterly" Issue 24.3 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/csq/csq_article.cfm?id=474B8D9B-60CD-41B5-8025-A9F0C89... |
| Date of entry/update: | | 08 July 2010 |
|
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Festivals
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Thangyat: Traditional Songs Hard to Suppress |
| Date of publication: | | April 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | "Thangyat is one of the oldest examples of Burmese folk art. Usually amusing and satirical, Thangyat combines poetry, dance and music and is sung to the beat of a traditional drum on festive occasions.
In the past, during the Burmese New Year water festivals, or Thingyan, young people would publicly recite humorous Thangyat lyrics, which freely criticize everything from politics to social behavior. But the Burmese military generals have changed all that.
In 1989, a year after taking power, the generals lost their sense of humor and banned public performances of Thangyat. However, Thangyat is still kept alive by exiled Burmese communities..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 16, No. 4 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 27 April 2008 |
|
| Title: | | When the British Lit up the Burmese Sky |
| Date of publication: | | November 2004 |
| Description/subject: | | Hot-air balloon contest dates back to colonial times...
"There can’t be many indigenous festive traditions in Burma that owe their existence to the British. One of the most popular festivals in Taunggyi, capital of Shan State, dates back, however, to Britain’s annexation of upper Burma in the late 19th century.
The British colonial and military officers stationed in Taunggyi at that time organized the first hot-air balloon contests, which are now a highlight of the Tazaungdaing festival of light, celebrated in late November. The first of the contests organized so enthusiastically by the British was held in 1894, nine years after the annexation of upper Burma..." |
| Author/creator: | | Nanda Chann |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 12, No. 10 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 31 January 2005 |
|
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Literature
See also "Freedom of Opinion and Expression" under Human Rights
-
Journalism
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Kyemon U Thaung and Ludu Daw Amar: Two Outstanding Journalists (Obituary) |
| Date of publication: | | May 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | "BURMA’s independent media scene lost two of its most outstanding figures in April, when Kyemon U Thaung and Ludu Daw Amar died within four days of each other..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 16, No. 5 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 01 May 2008 |
|
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Poetry
Individual Documents
| Title: | | The 'Great Guest' of Burmese Literature |
| Date of publication: | | April 2007 |
| Description/subject: | | Burma's best-loved poet Tin Moe passed away in California. Until his last breath, poetry was his love and life...
"Tin Moe served five years in prison for daring to write about Burma's democracy movement's ruling military dictatorship. |
| Author/creator: | | Khin Maung Sok |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 15, No. 4 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 04 May 2008 |
|
| Title: | | The Refugee Who Fled to Burma |
| Date of publication: | | June 2001 |
| Description/subject: | | Ashin Ananda was a unique refugee: Not only did he flee to Burma during the Ne Win era; he also became an important interpreter of Burmese culture for a Western audience. Thiri reflects on the legacy of this Buddhist monk from Estonia, who died just one year before his native country regained its independence from the former Soviet Union. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy", Vol 9. No. 5 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Interview & Poetry of U Tin Moe |
| Date of publication: | | December 2000 |
| Description/subject: | | "One of the country's leading writers and a Poet Laureate of Burma, U Tin Moe has published over 30 books. Born in 1933, he began writing poetry and essays in 1959 and has won numerous literary awards throughout his career. U Tin Moe became involved in the pro-democracy movement during 1988. As a result, he was imprisoned in Insein jail from 1991 until February of 1995. All his published works are banned in Burma. U Tin Moe left the country in April of 1999 and currently lives abroad.
The following interview was aired on Radio Free Asia (RFA) in September 2000, and conducted by RFA correspondent
Dr. Kyi May Kaung. The interview and poetry were translated for Burma Debate by Dr. Kaung. It appears here with the
permission of RFA." |
| Author/creator: | | U Tin Moe, Dr. Kyi May Kaung |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "Burma Debate" VOL. VII, NO. 4 WINTER 2000 |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | The Development of Political Themes in Minthuwun's Poetry |
| Date of publication: | | 1997 |
| Description/subject: | | Min-thuwun is perhaps the greatest of living Burmese poets. Over the past 70 years he has published more than 100 poems covering a broad range of topics, including young love, the hardships of village and student life, and Burmese nationalism. Following a brief biographical sketch of the poet, this article presents a series of readings of selected poems that show Min-thuwun to be a passionate promoter of Burmese culture and an astute and subtle social commentator whose political messages are conveyed in figurative verse notable for its depictions of the victims of injustice. By framing his discussion within the periodization of 20th-century Burmese literature put forth by the poet-critic Mya Zin, the author demonstrates how Min-thuwun's career can be taken to exemplify the development of modern Burmese literature as a whole. |
| Author/creator: | | Saw Tun |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Journal of Burma Studies Vol. 1 (1997) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (1.21MB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.niu.edu/burma/publications/jbs/vol1/index.shtml (Vol. 1) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 10 March 2009 |
|
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Stories
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Deeper Truths (Review of Win Pe's "Barafi and Other Stories") |
| Date of publication: | | January 2007 |
| Description/subject: | | Master storyteller Win Pe uses the framework of everyday life in Burma as a foundation for exploring the darker side of human nature... |
| Author/creator: | | Khin Maung Soe |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 15, No. 1 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 26 July 2008 |
|
| Title: | | Just Desserts |
| Date of publication: | | April 2001 |
| Description/subject: | | Translators note: The literal translation of the title of this story would be 'If you pull out a person's guts, his heart will feel immense pain' - that is, if you are viciously cruel to people they will feel such bitterness in their hearts that they will never forgive you. Although the events that have caused the old man in the story to be cast out by the villagers ostensibly occurred during the Japanese occupation in the 40s, most readers will easily draw parallels between his behavior and the behavior of the army and its ruling body, SLORC, during 1988-9, when this story was written. The author has succeeded in expressing the revulsion felt by vast numbers of ordinary Burmese towards the cruelty of the army, and indicates by the ending of the story her belief that those who choose to live by violence and cruelty can expect to die as violently as they live. The chosen companion of the old man is a tiger who turns on him, and in killing him, is itself killed. We can only assume that the censors failed to spot the subtext of this story, or else believed that it was sufficiently buried for
them to let it through without being accused of incompetence." |
| Author/creator: | | Daw San San Nweh (trans. Anna J. Allott) |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "Burma Debate" VOL. VII, NO. 3 SPRING 2001 |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | INKED OVER, RIPPED OUT: Burmese Storytellers and the Censors |
| Date of publication: | | September 1993 |
| Description/subject: | | A PEN American Center
Freedom-to-Write Report, with a preface to the Internet edition,
July 2003...
Here are two versions of Anna Allott's 1993 book: an html version without pagination and a Word version which seeks to retain the original format and pagination. Both versions contain the preface to the Internet edition.
"The purpose of this publication on Burmese writing and Burmese censorship is to enable the work of certain Burmese authors, writing since the imposition of military rule in 1988, to be read by a much wider audience than is usually the case, and also to show, through their own words (in translation), how they are continuing to find ways to express their true feelings about what is happening in their country in spite of the very strict and repressive system of censorship that exists there.
Of necessity, in a country where no direct criticism of government policy or of individuals who hold positions of power is permitted, writing is frequently allusive or ironical, so much so that even Burmese readers not keyed into the clues may not appreciate the point of a piece, still less those Burmese who have been living abroad for some time, and still less the foreign reader. A writer in Burma has, therefore, a constant dilemma: he is never quite certain how far he dare go, for, if his criticisms or his protest or his satire is too obvious it will not be approved by the censors and will be forced to lie unpublished in his desk drawer. Worse still, it may even bring about his arrest. On the other hand, if the work is too veiled, or couched in too allegorical or symbolic language, the message he is trying to convey will not be understood. Hence, in this selection for the English reader, it is necessary to provide background information about the writers and the works that have been included in this selection, setting them in the context in which they were written. And this context can be understood only with reference to Burma's recent history, and the system of government control and censorship that has evolved during the last thirty years.
The stories and poems selected for translation have been brought to my attention by a number of lovers of Burmese writing. Some of them have been identified by the readers as carrying a political message, often hidden to the casual reader or to anyone unaware of the issues being addressed in them. Where these pieces have been published in Burma, one assumes the censors either failed to spot the subtext, or if they did not fail, believed that it was sufficiently buried for them to let the pieces through safely, without being accused of being incompetent.
Many of the writers featured here already have their works subjected to close scrutiny by the censors and are identified as being persons to watch. The publication of their works in English, together with my interpretations of their works, may result in their future writings being submitted to even greater scrutiny for hidden meanings. I can only apologize for further adding to their difficulties and stress that the allusions and hidden meanings that I have identified in these stories are drawn from my own interpretation, supported by discussions with other readers, and do not represent explanations by the writers themselves.
Inevitably, the stories represent a very small part of all works written since 1988. They are untypical, in that the majority of pieces published in Burma today do not have any overt or hidden political message, as most works with even a hint of such messages are refused publication. The consequent trivialization of Burmese imaginative literature has been immensely discouraging to all serious and independent-minded writers. Some feel that they can now only produce work that is intrinsically without worth. Others have abandoned original writing and confine themselves instead to translating works from Western literature..." |
| Author/creator: | | Anna J. Allott |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | PEN American Center |
| Format/size: | | html (572k), Word (341K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs/INKED-OVER.doc |
| Date of entry/update: | | 27 July 2003 |
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Translations
Individual Documents
| Title: | | In Other Words |
| Date of publication: | | February 2010 |
| Description/subject: | | Publishers and writers debate how to resurrect Burma’s great translation tradition...
"Although the days are long gone when Burma’s publishers could produce such politically charged works as George Orwell’s “Animal Farm” in the Burmese language, the country’s literati still dream of establishing a truly independent and effective translation society.
Orwell and other Western authors were translated into Burmese when the country had an active Translation Society, founded in 1947 by the country’s first prime minister, U Nu, who also worked as a translator for a time at Rangoon’s Judson College.
The Translation Society was renamed Sarpay Beikhman—“Building Great Literature”—in 1963, one year after the coup that brought Ne Win to power. But it has never lived up to its grandiose title.
Although Sarpay Beikhman hands out annual awards, few translators are honored. No translation prize at all was awarded in 2008..." |
| Author/creator: | | Arkar Moe |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 18, No. 2 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www2.irrawaddy.org/print_article.php?art_id=17706 |
| Date of entry/update: | | 28 February 2010 |
|
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Martial Arts
Individual Documents
| Title: | | »Weg der stählernen Disziplin« oder die »Kunst des Kämpfens« |
| Date of publication: | | June 2004 |
| Description/subject: | | Kampfkünste aus Myanmar und das unbekannte Thaing
Byaung Pyan,welches ursprünglich nur Shan Prinzen unterrichtet wurde.
key words: martial arts, shan |
| Author/creator: | | Soe Moe Oo und Khin Myo Yu, Deutsch von Manuela Volkmann |
| Language: | | Deutsch, German |
| Source/publisher: | | Südostasien Jg. 20, Nr. 2 - Asienhaus |
| Format/size: | | pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 01 March 2005 |
|
| Title: | | "A Glimpse into the Traditional Martial Arts in Burma" |
| Date of publication: | | 2001 |
| Description/subject: | | The traditional martial arts are an aspect of Burmese culture that has been virtually ignored by Burma scholars. Yet these martial arts have a rich heritage dating back to the early days of Burma. Historic events, religion, political necessities, and, more have shaped them recently into economic realities. The traditional martial art came close to extinction during the British colonial period, but was revived during the Japanese occupation. In past times, they were utilized for warfare and self-defense. Today the self-defense element remains, while the combat element has been transformed into sports and artistic cultural expression. The present economic conditions and the spread of foreign martial arts pose a current threat to the survival of the Burmese traditional martial arts and require the attention of Burma scholars to document this important component of the historic cultural identity of Burma. |
| Author/creator: | | Michael Martin |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Journal of Burma Studies Vol. 6 (2001) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (908K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.niu.edu/burma/publications/jbs/vol6/index.shtml |
| Date of entry/update: | | 07 March 2009 |
|
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Performance Art
Individual Documents
| Title: | | An Unfinished Painting |
| Date of publication: | | March 2007 |
| Description/subject: | | How prison life honed Htein Lin’s skills as a performance artist...
"Silence enveloped the room as about 30 people watched a man in a white robe meditating before them. Beside him, tubes of oil paint lay on a mat. The man looked around and raised his hands as if he were a captive touching an invisible wall. He then began to pour red paint on the mat, his movements becoming faster and more forceful. Green paint followed the red, and his movements became calmer. Using his hands and feet, he painted the mat, finally taking off his outer robe and laying himself on it, on the colored surface. The painted mat, the robe and the artist himself were fused into one—in a creation called “Love and Anger” by Htein Lin, a pioneer of performance art in Burma..." |
| Author/creator: | | Ampika Jirat |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 15, No. 3 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 04 May 2008 |
|
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Performing Arts
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Motion Pictures |
| Date of publication: | | February 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | "Burmese artist captures traditional dances on canvas...
IN his latest solo exhibition, Nay Myo Say, one of Burma’s best known contemporary artists, has again demonstrated his outstanding skill in depicting the essence of Burmese classical dancing and Buddhist ritual..." |
| Author/creator: | | Yeni |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 17, No. 1 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 16 February 2009 |
|
| Title: | | Proud Dancers |
| Date of publication: | | April 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | "Burma’s Rawang keep one ancient tradition alive...The arrival of other ethnic groups in the Rawang homeland, the Putao plains of northern Burma, also threatens the future of Rawang culture, confronting the remaining young people with an identity crisis. Tourism is also making inroads into this remote, mountain-ringed region of Kachin State...
Happily, one Rawang tradition appears to be in no danger of dying: ceremonial dancing, or “azolom.”
The dance is structured in a snail shape formation in which each circle describes Rawang migration from the flood. Interestingly, a civilization-threatening flood features in Rawang mythology as vividly as in Judeo-Christian texts.
The dancers make waving motions with their arms like birds in flight, accompanied by cymbals and drums. The men wear colourful coats of white, red, green and black, colors that respectively represent purity, bravery, peacefulness and stability. They carry blunt swords edged with tiger teeth and wear rattan hats bearing wild boar tusks..." |
| Author/creator: | | Elizabeth Kalnin |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 13, No. 4 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 27 April 2006 |
|
| Title: | | Art for Politics’ Sake |
| Date of publication: | | January 2002 |
| Description/subject: | | "Burmese and Thai officials are using an alluring tactic in an attempt to heal a rift in bilateral
relations.
Thailand’s government and members of its business sector have worked hard with the Burmese government
to mend ties since relations deteriorated over a series of border skirmishes between the two countries last
February.
While the countries have engaged in several bilateral diplomatic exchanges, private initiatives sponsored by
members of the government and business sector are employing cultural diplomacy as a means to promote
business interests..." |
| Author/creator: | | John S. Moncreif and Greta Khiel |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 10, No. 1 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | A Story of the Myanmar Marionette Theatre |
| Description/subject: | | The Revival of a Dying Art_
Myanmar marionette theatre (Yoke They) -- once a highly esteemed royal pastime -- involves not merely stringed wooden dolls, but life-like human substitutes. The puppets are in fact wooden marionettes manipulated by of strings, but they can dance like subtle ballet stars.
The Myanmar puppet theatre still retains its own national characteristics and its original Myanmar tradition as it embraces all the artistic products of Myanmar such as dance and music, sculpture, sequin embroidery, and painting....." |
| Author/creator: | | Daw Naing Yee Mar |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS) |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 21 December 2010 |
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Sports
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Football Coach Gets the Boot |
| Date of publication: | | March 2010 |
| Description/subject: | | After just a few months on the job, the head coach of Burma’s national football team was sacked on Feb. 4 by the Myanmar Football Federation (MFF) for failing to bring success to the team. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 18, No. 3 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www2.irrawaddy.org/print_article.php?art_id=17935 |
| Date of entry/update: | | 17 March 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Get the Ball Rolling |
| Date of publication: | | June 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | "Move over Liverpool and Man United! Burma’s first ever professional football league has kicked off
THERE are no high-profile names like Cristiano Ronaldo or Leo Messi, and the stadiums might not generate the fever of an 80,000-crowd at Old Trafford or the Bernabeu. But the football-crazy Burmese public was finally given the chance to taste the atmosphere of live professional football matches when the new Myanmar National League Cup kicked off on May 16..." |
| Author/creator: | | David Paquette |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 17, No. 3 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 24 June 2009 |
|
| Title: | | Betting on Soccer |
| Date of publication: | | April 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | "EIGHT of Burma's leading tycoons, including Te Za of Htoo Company and Htun Myint Naing of Asia World - both of whom were recently targeted on a US sanctions list - plan to fund soccer clubs to compete in a new league, which may include foreign coaches and players.
Each team will be formed for around 200 million kyat (US $204,080), according to a press conference held in Rangoon in March.
The new Myanmar National League is expected to kick off in 2010..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 17, No. 2 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 02 April 2009 |
|
| Title: | | Stroke of Genius |
| Date of publication: | | March 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | A Canadian filmmaker gets a kick out of a Burmese sport where every player wins...
"...A Burmese academic once observed: No wonder our political culture is very antagonistic. Look at the games we have in Burma, like kite fighting. Almost all games are designed to crush your opponent.’’
His hypothesis overlooks Burma’s national game chinlone, which is the subject of the award-winning documentary “Mystic Ball.” Its Canadian director Greg Hamilton says: The most amazing thing about chinlone is that it is not competitive. There is no opposing team, no scoring, no winners or losers..." |
| Author/creator: | | Ko Ko Thett |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 16, No. 3 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 27 April 2008 |
|
| Title: | | It’s Only a Game |
| Date of publication: | | January 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | Chinlone is no competitive sport, but it’s winning prizes and accolades for Burma...
"The spirited performance by Burma’s sepak takraw team in last month’s Asian Games in Doha on the Persian Gulf has swung the spotlight on to one of the few sports in which the Burmese excel..." |
| Author/creator: | | Geoffrey Walton |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 15, No. 1 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 26 July 2008 |
|
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Visual and Plastic Arts
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The Art of Burma -- General studies
Individual Documents
| Title: | | THE ART AND CULTURE OF BURMA (Table of Contents) |
| Date of publication: | | 2002 |
| Description/subject: | | "The purpose of this on-line study-guide and course-outline is to make text and visual materials on the arts of Burma readily and inexpensively available, in particular to students and teachers. These materials assume college level reading skills so that the contents may be used for independent study courses, as a resource for teachers in secondary schools, as well as anyone interested in expanding and enriching their knowledge of the Arts and Cultures of Burma. Because the text is written for a general audience it does not contain the detail or footnotes that are found in scholarly publications. A select bibliography is provided at the end of each section for those who wish to pursue topics previously discussed. The illustrations are digitized from my own collection of color slides with the several exceptions are noted..."
TOC: Overview: Purpose, Extended Contents, Acknowledgements, and Geographical Overview;
Art History of Burma: Synoptic Overview;
Chapter 1 - Prehistoric and Animist Periods c. 1100 BC to c. 200 AD: Paleolithic and Neolithic sites, Animism, and Karen Bronze Drums;
Chapter 2 - The Pre-Pagan Period: The Urban Age of the Mon and the Pyu c.200 to c.800 AD: Mon and Pyu City states: Thaton, Beikthano, Halin, and Srikshetra;
Chapter 3 - the Pagan Period c. 800 AD to 1287 AD;
Part 1 - Introduction and City Plan of Pagan;
Part 2 - Architecture 1 - General Characteristics and Stupas;
Part 3 - Architecture 2 - Temples and Monasteries
Part 4 - Sculpture, Conclusion, and Bibliography;
Chapter 4 - The Post Pagan Period;
Part 1 - Introduction and the Ava Period;
Part 2 - The Konbaung Period: Amarapura;
Part 3 - Mandalay Period;
Special Section: 80 Scenes of the Life of Buddha. |
| Author/creator: | | Richard M. Cooler |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Northern Illinois University |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
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Architecture
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Hort der weissen Elefanten und feldgrünen Könige |
| Date of publication: | | 05 January 2011 |
| Description/subject: | | Vor fünf Jahren überraschte Burmas enigmatische Militärjunta mit der Ankündigung, im dünn besiedelten Landesinnern eine neue Hauptstadt zu bauen. Entstanden ist ein steriles Nebeneinander von Ministerien, Hotels und Wohnblöcken. |
| Language: | | Deutsch, German |
| Source/publisher: | | NZZ Online |
| Date of entry/update: | | 27 January 2011 |
|
| Title: | | Tiffin Time Again |
| Date of publication: | | January 2006 |
| Description/subject: | | Government involvement helps restore shine to Rangoon's Strand Hotel...
"Rangoon is a picture book of architectural gems from the years of British colonialism. But visitors have a frustrating time discovering them.
The city streets so carefully planned and built in the mid-19th century have been allowed by neglectful Burmese post-colonial governments to fade and crumble. Layers of soot and grime accumulated over the years make it difficult to detect exquisite art nouveau and solid Victorian and Edwardian features of buildings that, in their time, would not have looked out of place in bourgeois areas of London..." |
| Author/creator: | | Jim Andrews |
| Language: | | Engllish |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 14, No. 1 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 01 May 2006 |
|
| Title: | | Secrets of a Shan Palace |
| Date of publication: | | May 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | Does a protective curse prevent the regime from pulling it down?...
Yawnghwe Haw, the large wood and brick palace of Burma’s first president, Sao Shwe Thaike, near Inle Lake in southern Shan State, has survived the ravages of Burma’s turbulent history—unlike its ill-fated former occupant, who died in jail.
Some suggest that the palace owes its survival to a protecting curse on anyone daring to pull it down. That was the fate of the famous Shan palace Haw Sao Pha Kengtung, demolished by the Burmese military junta in 1991.
Now known as Yawnghwe (Nyaungshwe) Haw Museum, Sao Shwe Thaike’s palace has undergone superficial renovation to repair damage caused by years of neglect, when squatters occupied outbuildings and graffiti was scrawled on some of the walls. The exhibits themselves have been catalogued and explained by the museum’s curators with only a cursory nod to historical fact.
Built in the Mandalay tradition and completed in the late 1920s, Yawnghwe Haw is a fine example of Shan palace architecture, though perhaps not as impressive as the demolished Haw Sao Pha Kengtung. The museum’s collection contains precious and beautiful artifacts—elaborate royal thrones, teak tables, divans, sedans and palanquins. Also included are numerous costumes belonging to the Shan sawbwas, or rulers, from Yawnghwe as well as Kengtung..." |
| Author/creator: | | Tara Monroe |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 13, No. 5 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 27 April 2006 |
|
| Title: | | Remaking Rangoon |
| Date of publication: | | July 2003 |
| Description/subject: | | "Rangoon’s modernization drive in preparation for the 2006 Asean Summit is destroying the capital’s architectural heritage...
A house of teak and brick in Botataung Township in Rangoon is being razed to make way for a taller, more modern skyscraper. The house was full of charm at the turn of the 20th century, and was one of many buildings that earned the Burmese capital the reputation as the "Pearl of the Orient".
"My house was beautiful and in good condition considering it was nearly 100 years old," said the 50-year-old owner, as he watched his home being demolished. But now he is more pragmatic than sentimental. "As the new ones are coming, the old ones have to go," he added.
In the first half of the last century Rangoon was a model for other Southeast Asian cities. Famed for its many buildings of religious, historical and architectural significance, the city was a hybrid of colonial charm and unique Burmese splendor. The great traditional houses of the city were built from teak, with grand spired roofs, decorated eaves and crafted paneling. But now much of that has been thrown into the dustbin of history..." |
| Author/creator: | | Kyaw Zwa Moe |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 11, No. 6 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 06 November 2003 |
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| Title: | | THE ART AND CULTURE OF BURMA (Table of Contents) |
| Date of publication: | | 2002 |
| Description/subject: | | "The purpose of this on-line study-guide and course-outline is to make text and visual materials on the arts of Burma readily and inexpensively available, in particular to students and teachers. These materials assume college level reading skills so that the contents may be used for independent study courses, as a resource for teachers in secondary schools, as well as anyone interested in expanding and enriching their knowledge of the Arts and Cultures of Burma. Because the text is written for a general audience it does not contain the detail or footnotes that are found in scholarly publications. A select bibliography is provided at the end of each section for those who wish to pursue topics previously discussed. The illustrations are digitized from my own collection of color slides with the several exceptions are noted..."
TOC: Overview: Purpose, Extended Contents, Acknowledgements, and Geographical Overview;
Art History of Burma: Synoptic Overview;
Chapter 1 - Prehistoric and Animist Periods c. 1100 BC to c. 200 AD: Paleolithic and Neolithic sites, Animism, and Karen Bronze Drums;
Chapter 2 - The Pre-Pagan Period: The Urban Age of the Mon and the Pyu c.200 to c.800 AD: Mon and Pyu City states: Thaton, Beikthano, Halin, and Srikshetra;
Chapter 3 - the Pagan Period c. 800 AD to 1287 AD;
Part 1 - Introduction and City Plan of Pagan;
Part 2 - Architecture 1 - General Characteristics and Stupas;
Part 3 - Architecture 2 - Temples and Monasteries
Part 4 - Sculpture, Conclusion, and Bibliography;
Chapter 4 - The Post Pagan Period;
Part 1 - Introduction and the Ava Period;
Part 2 - The Konbaung Period: Amarapura;
Part 3 - Mandalay Period;
Special Section: 80 Scenes of the Life of Buddha. |
| Author/creator: | | Richard M. Cooler |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Northern Illinois University |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
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| Title: | | THE ART AND CULTURE OF BURMA - Chapter 3: The Pagan Period. Part 2 - Architecture 1 - General Characteristics and Stupas |
| Date of publication: | | 2002 |
| Description/subject: | | "Stupas are solid structures that typically cannot be entered and were constructed to contain sacred Buddhist relics that are hidden from view (and vandals) in containers buried at their core or in the walls. Temples have an open interior that may be entered and in which are displayed one or more cult images as a focus for worship. Although this categorization between Stupa and temple is useful, the distinction is not always clear. There are stupas such as the Myazedei that have the external form of a stupa but are like a temple with an inner corridor and multiple shrines..." |
| Author/creator: | | Richard M. Cooler |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Northern Illinois University |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.seasite.niu.edu/burmese/Cooler/BurmaArt_TOC.htm (Table of Contents) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
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| Title: | | Text and New Contexts: Shwedagon and Kyaikhtiyoe today |
| Date of publication: | | December 2001 |
| Description/subject: | | "Texts and Contexts",
December 2001 Conference,
Universities' Historical Research Centre,
Yangon University...
Abstract:
The paper discusses the use of texts in current renovation of pagodas in
Myanmar, taking as examples aspects of work undertaken at the
Shwedagon and Kyaikhtiyoe in the last two years. Different types of
texts, from inscriptions and traditional accounts to contemporary
technical reports, are used to illustrate the complex tradition found in
the country today. These are presented in the context of past interaction
including Mon influence and the Hsandawshin (Sacred Hair) heritage,
as well as present links such as planetary aspects and the role of
renovation in encouraging the sustenance of Theravada practice. |
| Author/creator: | | Elizabeth Moore, |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Myanmar Historical Research Journal, University of Yangon [forthcoming] |
| Format/size: | | pdf (747K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
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| Title: | | The Mandalay Palace |
| Date of publication: | | 1963 |
| Description/subject: | | Mandalay Palace - Historical Sites;
Mandalay - Description and Travel;
Mandalay - History;
Myanmar - History - Later Konbaung Period;
Contents:
(1) Foundation of the Palace and City p. 10-15;
(2) The City's Defensive Walls p. 16-19;
(3) Building outside the palace platform p. 22-24;
(4) The Buildings within the palace platform p. 25-35;
(5) Appendix - Kings of the Alaungpaya Dynasty p. 37;
This book was published with the grant of 1962 Asia; Foundation. Text by Mon C. Durosielle former Superintendent of the Directorate of Archaeological Survey. Supplemented with thirty one plates of photographs, plans and measured drawings of the palace structures and architectural motifs as preserved in the Archaeological Department. |
| Author/creator: | | Mon C. Durosielle |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | The Directorate of Archaeological Survey |
| Format/size: | | PDF (3.84MB) 57pages |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Zh_zzAF5zUgJ:https://www.myanmarisp.com/ABR/Ma... |
| Date of entry/update: | | 10 July 2010 |
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Ceramics
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Pottery in the Chin Hills |
| Date of publication: | | 1999 |
| Description/subject: | | During my research on contemporary pottery villages in Burma, I was given the name of one such village, Lente, by a native now living in the United States. Lente is located in the Chin Hills, a remote area of western Burma difficult to access, inhabited by many tribes speaking a large number of languages. Foreigners are rarely given permission to visit the Chin Hills, and although I obtained permission to travel to Lente, I was ultimately prevented by the authorities from going further than nearby Falam. I was nevertheless able to collect data from Lente in three ways: first, my guide Daw Moe Moe was able to visit Lente and take photographs of the potters there; secondly, Daw Moe Moe was able to return to Falam with a potter from Lente village and with enough of the proper kind of clay to facilitate a demonstration which I photographed and documented; and thirdly, I was given a copy of a videotape showing the potters working in Lente village. This tape was taken by a young man from Falam who is interested in recording local crafts processes. The tape allowed me to observe a process of making pots with which I was totally unacquainted, and which has otherwise escaped recent photographic or video documentation. This was a true "discovery" concerning the ways in which pots can be made, and still another indication of the imagination and ingenuity of humankind. |
| Author/creator: | | Charlotte Reith |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Journal of Burma Studies Vol. 4 (1999) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (1.4MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 10 March 2009 |
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| Title: | | Comparison of Three Pottery Villages: Shan State Burma |
| Date of publication: | | 1997 |
| Description/subject: | | During my visit from 1991-1994 to three pottery-producing villages in Shan State, I was struck by the differences in technology and product. Contrary to my assumption that this small area would evidence a shared technology and similar products, I found three distinctly differing pottery traditions. In some places in the world, membership in the same ethnic group seems to be an important factor in determining the techniques and products of the potters belonging to that group. However, two of these villages, Compani and Awe Yaw, are both populated by Danu and have distinctly different ways of making pots. While it is primarily concerned with the pottery-making processes in the three villages, this article is also interested in the lives of the potters and how they face the challenges inherent in their craft. |
| Author/creator: | | Charlotte Reith |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Journal of Burma Studies Vol. 1 (1997) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (2.2MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 10 March 2009 |
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Films and film-making
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Wanted: Actor to Play Aung San |
| Date of publication: | | September 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | Soe Moe, one of Burma’s best-known film directors, says he plans to make a movie about the Tatmadaw, the Burmese army, but he hasn’t yet chosen the actor who will play its founder, Aung San, father of Aung San Suu Kyi...
"The proposed film, which will carry the title “Kye Zin Maw Goon” (“Star of History”), will trace the Tatmadaw’s history back to the years of Burma’s independence struggle and the civil war that broke out shortly after British colonial rule came to an end in 1948..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 17, No. 6 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 19 January 2010 |
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| Title: | | Actor's Chilly New Film Project |
| Date of publication: | | August 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | "Burma's award-winning screen actor Lwin Moe is moving once again from in front of the camera to make a documentary film about the glaciers of northern Kachin State.
If the film proves as popular as his previous ventures into documentary production, Lwin Moe says he may ditch his acting career and become a full-time producer and director. For now, he is managing to combine all three areas of work..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 17, No. 5 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 26 December 2009 |
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| Title: | | Burma's Father of Political Cinema |
| Date of publication: | | August 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | Businessman, filmmaker, patriot "Parrot" U Sonny made a profound mark on Burma's early film industry...
"In Burma's modern history, there have been many artists who have taken great risks to tackle such challenging themes as nationalism, religion and social injustice. Some confronted the authorities of the day to produce works of art that reflected their political views, while others faced financial ruin to remain true to their convictions.
Among the many artistic risk-takers who have had a major impact on Burmese culture, one name stands out from all the rest: the acclaimed filmmaker U Sunny, whose company, Parrot Film Productions, was a pioneer in the field of politically inspired cinema, producing 92 films from 1931 to 1957..." |
| Author/creator: | | Arkar Moe |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 17, No. 5 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 26 December 2009 |
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| Title: | | The Rambo approach to Burma |
| Date of publication: | | 20 June 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | "Sylvester Stallone has claimed that his movie, Rambo 4, released internationally in February and available to Australians on DVD next month, has a serious purpose — to draw attention to the Burmese government’s long record of human rights abuses and to mobilize action against the military regime. Yet, its dubious entertainment value aside, this movie in fact has the potential to do Burma’s opposition movement considerable harm..." |
| Author/creator: | | Andrew Selth |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Interpreter" - weblog of the Lowy Institute for International Policy |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 04 March 2009 |
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| Title: | | Populism, Politics and Propaganda: Burma and the Movies |
| Date of publication: | | June 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | Abstract: "For almost a century, movies set in or about Burma, particularly those made by
the major American studios, have had a number of elements in common. While
emphasizing its more colourful and exotic characteristics, they have either
greatly romanticized the country or depicted it as a savage and untamed
wilderness. Also, Burma has usually served as a backdrop for dramatic
Occidental adventures, in which the local inhabitants played little role. More
recent movies pay the Burmese people greater attention, but they are still
secondary to the main plot, even when the movies consciously draw attention
to the current military regime’s human rights abuses. In recent films like Beyond
Rangoon and Rambo 4, however, complex issues are over-simplified, or
exaggerated to the point of unreality. While these movies have proven effective
at planting vivid images in the popular mind and helping to mobilize support for
the opposition movement, crude and misleading messages such as those sent
by Rambo 4 can actually hinder the resolution of Burma’s many problems." |
| Author/creator: | | Andrew Selth |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Southeast Asia Research Centre Working Paper Series, No. 100, 2008 (City University of Hong Kong) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (208K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 21 December 2010 |
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| Title: | | A Sad Cinema Scenario |
| Date of publication: | | August 2006 |
| Description/subject: | | Burma’s movie industry is in decline while an illegal video business booms...
In the heyday of Burma’s film industry about 80 movies were produced annually, enjoyed a golden heyday, some of them jointly with foreign production companies. But that was 50 years ago. Today, the industry is in the doldrums, with very few films making any money, cinemas struggling to survive and artistic standards at an all-time low..." |
| Author/creator: | | Yeni |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 14, No. 8 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 01 May 2007 |
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| Title: | | Lights, Camera—But Where’s the Action? |
| Date of publication: | | September 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | Burma’s B movie scene, where B stands for Bad...
"...Government participation in one form or another is inevitable in an industry so sadly lacking in outside investment. According to actors and directors, there are currently only two or three businessmen interested in producing films. Even the most popular Burmese-made films make little profit, if any.
In what might be seen as an enlightened bid to upgrade the quality of Burmese films, the regime is actually encouraging directors and film technicians to get overseas training and enter their films in international festivals. Industry insiders say the Burmese military hope that film festival success will help to attract investors and draw people back to the cinema, where audiences have reportedly dwindled by up to 50 percent in the past two years.
While few directors would risk trying anything political or religious, many want the opportunity to write scripts that deal with serious social issues; or at least something a little more experimental. They believe this would give local audiences new material and show international critics that Burmese films can be creative and make their mark on world screens..." |
| Author/creator: | | Toby Hudson |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 13, No. 9 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 30 April 2006 |
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| Title: | | Celluloid Disillusions |
| Date of publication: | | March 2004 |
| Description/subject: | | "Given that Burma’s movie industry is tightly directed by the government, suffers from a deficit of technical skills and technology—not to mention financing problems—it’s a small miracle anything gets produced at all...
Aye Aye, in her 40s, does not bother to hide her dislike of made-in-Burma m ovies. "Burmese films are not natural, their themes are boring and they never change plots. I hate to watch them."
She prefers Hollywood movies. Other members of her family like the Chinese and Korean soap operas that air on state-run TV. "In fact," she said, "karaoke is ahead of the [Burmese] movie."
Many educated Burmese in Rangoon told The Irrawaddy that they stopped watching Burmese films many years ago..." |
| Author/creator: | | Aung Zaw |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 12, No. 3 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 09 June 2004 |
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| Title: | | Digital Killed the Celluloid Star |
| Date of publication: | | March 2004 |
| Description/subject: | | "Burma’s film industry has lagged behind that of its neighbors as a result of outdated technology, government censorship, hackneyed screenwriting and mediocre acting. But a humble piece of plastic may soon change all that: the DVD..." |
| Author/creator: | | Min Zin |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 12, No. 3 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 09 June 2004 |
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| Title: | | Escapist Entertainment: Hollywood Movies of Burma |
| Date of publication: | | March 2004 |
| Description/subject: | | "Hollywood representations of Burma paint the country as an exotic, cruel land that serves as a backdrop for daring occidental adventurers and patriots...
The earliest Hollywood imaginings of Burma were romantic melodramas about white women in jeopardy, using the Southeast Asian landscape as an exotic backdrop. These and subsequent films about Burma have relegated Burmese characters to the sidelines.
A lurid, silent thriller about prostitution and murder, Road to Mandalay (1926), set the tone. Eight years later saw the release of Mandalay, in which the Sacramento Delta in California plays the part of the Irrawaddy River. It is a sordid tale of revenge, murder, a Rangoon nightclub hostess, and a drunken doctor on his way to a "black fever" outbreak. The Girl from Mandalay (1936) featured another nightclub entertainer, another epidemic, and a tiger attack.
Moon Over Burma (1940) is Dorothy Lamour’s turn as the nightclub chanteuse, with Burma depicted as a jungle paradise, the usual setting for her popular "sarong movies"—romances in which she sang, swathed in form-fitting batik. The central character in these early pictures was always the victimized, yet plucky, Western—or part-Asian—woman adrift in the mysterious Orient..." |
| Author/creator: | | Edith Mirante |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 12, No. 3 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 09 June 2004 |
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Photography
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Political Prisoners Remembered |
| Date of publication: | | September 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | A photographer documents Burmese former political prisoners and those who remain in jail...
"A British photographer has set out on a personal mission to publicize the plight of Burma’s more than 2,100 political prisoners by photographing former prisoners of the regime who now live in refugee camps or have emigrated..." |
| Author/creator: | | David Paquette |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 17, No. 6 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 19 January 2010 |
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| Title: | | Focusing on Harmony and Understanding |
| Date of publication: | | February 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | "A program offering photography courses to children from marginalized Burmese and Thai ethnic communities in Thailand is producing some promising talent.
Apart from teaching useful skills, the program aims to foster friendship between children and build bridges of peace and understanding, according to Jeanne Hallacy, director of Thailand-based InSIGHT Out, the organization that began the program three years ago... |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 16, No. 2 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 27 April 2008 |
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Sculpture
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Brothers in Bronze |
| Date of publication: | | April 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | AMERICAN sculptor Jim McNalis has added Mandalay's comedy trio, the Moustache Brothers, to his gallery of Burmese personalities. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 17, No. 2 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 02 April 2009 |
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| Title: | | Images of Steel |
| Date of publication: | | June 2007 |
| Description/subject: | | Burmese sculptors show they’re not out of touch with the world of modern art...
"Burma has a surprising number of outstanding sculptors, producing work of unexpected modernity and sophistication. But these are mostly big, heavy pieces. Moving them out of the country is a laborious, expensive undertaking—risky, too, if the work is judged by Burma’s government censors to have political undertones.
For those practical reasons alone, Burma’s sculptors have a hard time achieving the international renown they deserve. They are so thinly represented on the world art scene that when an exhibition of modern Burmese sculpture is mounted anywhere outside Burma it’s a big event. Big in every sense.
One Burmese sculptor, Sonny Nyein, is currently showing a selection of his work at important venues in Thailand, including Chiang Mai University..." |
| Author/creator: | | Jim Andrews |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 15, No.6 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 May 2008 |
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