Making Myanmar-Colonial Burma and Popular Western Culture

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Making Myanmar-Colonial Burma and Popular Western Culture Making Myanmar: Colonial Burma and popular Western culture Andrew Selth RESEARCH PAPER Griffith Asia Institute Griffith Asia Institute Research Paper Making Myanmar: Colonial Burma and popular Western culture (Revised version) Andrew Selth i About the Griffith Asia Institute The Griffith Asia Institute (GAI) is an internationally recognised research centre in the Griffith Business School. We reflect Griffith University’s longstanding commitment and future aspirations for the study of and engagement with nations of Asia and the Pacific. At GAI, our vision is to be the informed voice leading Australia’s strategic engagement in the Asia Pacific— cultivating the knowledge, capabilities and connections that will inform and enrich Australia’s Asia-Pacific future. We do this by: i) conducting and supporting excellent and relevant research on the politics, security, economies and development of the Asia-Pacific region; ii) facilitating high level dialogues and partnerships for policy impact in the region; iii) leading and informing public debate on Australia’s place in the Asia Pacific; and iv) shaping the next generation of Asia-Pacific leaders through positive learning experiences in the region. The Griffith Asia Institute’s ‘Research Papers’ publish the institute’s policy-relevant research on Australia and its regional environment. The texts of published papers and the titles of upcoming publications can be found on the Institute’s website: www.griffith.edu.au/asia-institute ‘Making Myanmar: Colonial Burma and popular Western culture’ October 2020 ii Burma—land of mystery, of gilded Buddhas and almond-eyed dancing girls, of patient elephants piling teak, of shaven, yellow-robed priests, smouldering incense, and the silver tinkle of temple bells. The jungle—teeming with tropical life and potential death. Otis Adelbert Kline ‘Tam, Son of the Tiger’ Weird Tales , June-December 1931. iii About the Author Andrew Selth Andrew Selth is an Adjunct Professor at the Griffith Asia Institute. He has been studying international security issues and Asian affairs for almost 50 years, as a diplomat, strategic intelligence analyst and research scholar. Between 1973 and 1986 he was posted to the Australian missions in Rangoon, Seoul and Wellington. He later served in the Defence Intelligence Organisation and Office of National Assessments. He has been an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs at the Australian National University (ANU), a Visiting Fellow at the ANU’s Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, a Chevening Scholar at St Antony’s College, Oxford University, an Australian Research Council Fellow at Griffith University and a Harold White Fellow at the National Library of Australia. Dr Selth has written ten books and more than 50 peer-reviewed works, most of them about Myanmar (Burma). He has also contributed to the public debate on Myanmar through numerous articles, blogs and news commentaries, 97 of which have been collected in his forthcoming book, Interpreting Myanmar. Books by the Author 1986 The Terrorist Threat to Diplomacy: An Australian Perspective 1988 Against Every Human Law: The Terrorist Threat to Diplomacy 1996 Transforming the Tatmadaw: The Burmese Armed Forces Since 1988 2002 Burma’s Armed Forces: Power Without Glory 2012 Burma (Myanmar) since the 1988 Uprising: A Select Bibliography 2015 Burma (Myanmar) since the 1988 Uprising: A Select Bibliography (2 nd edition) 2017 Burma, Kipling and Western Music: The Riff from Mandalay 2018 Burma (Myanmar) since the 1988 Uprising: A Select Bibliography (3 rd edition) 2019 Secrets and Power in Myanmar: Intelligence and the Fall of General Khin Nyunt 2020 Interpreting Myanmar: A Decade of Analysis (forthcoming) iv Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................................................................................. vi Preface ................................................................................................................................................................................................... vii 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................................................1 2. Exotic Burma .....................................................................................................................................................................................3 3. The physical setting ..................................................................................................................................................................... 10 4. Burmese society ........................................................................................................................................................................... 14 5. The role of women ....................................................................................................................................................................... 21 6. Economies and cultures .............................................................................................................................................................. 26 7. The Second World War .............................................................................................................................................................. 33 8. After the war ................................................................................................................................................................................. 38 9. Burma today ................................................................................................................................................................................... 44 9. Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 48 Select bibliography ............................................................................................................................................................................ 50 Notes and references ....................................................................................................................................................................... 68 v Abstract Over the centuries, images of Burma in the Western imagination have been remarkably consistent. At the broadest level, they have emphasised Burma’s remoteness, strangeness and harshness, or offered a much more idealised, romantic view of the country and its people. Within these two broad schools there have been a number of recurring motifs that have helped confirm the idea of Burma’s dualistic nature, and contributed to its mixed reputation. It has been depicted as a rugged but picturesque tropical land of jungles, wild animals, trained elephants, pagodas, Buddhist monks, rural villagers, pretty girls and primitive ‘hill tribes’. Such tropes too have proven to be surprisingly resilient, the result in large part of their repeated use in the many vehicles of popular culture found in the West. By providing memorable, if selective and commodified, glimpses of colonial Burma and the Burmese, they have helped to reinforce stereotypes and strengthen clichés, many of which survive to the present day. This research paper surveys a wide variety of references to Burma in the popular culture of Great Britain, although to illustrate particular points it occasionally cites examples from other Western countries, notably the United States. For heuristic purposes, the paper is divided into seven sections. They look in turn at Burma’s exotic reputation, its physical geography, Burmese society, the role of Burmese women, and the economies and cultures of both the colony and metropole. The paper also looks at descriptions of Burma during and after the Second World War, to note continuities and contrasts with the main colonial period. Finally, it briefly relates all these trends to more contemporary developments. The paper concludes that the most enduring mental pictures of a country are formed not from a few key sources, however influential they may seem, but from the combination of many, often subtle, influences, accumulated over time. The perceptions of Burma found in the West, particularly since the 19 th century, have been derived in part from high culture, such as fine art and literature, but arguably the many and varied vehicles of popular culture have provided much more powerful vectors. For, despite their lowly social status and often ephemeral nature, they were highly influential social artefacts that portrayed Burma and the Burmese people in ways that helped them become part of an imaginative inner world. It was a distorted picture, characterized by inaccurate information, misleading stereotypes and naïve assumptions. However, the very crudity of the messages conveyed by movies, pulp fiction, comic books, postcards, trading cards, posters, advertisements and other such sources helped to ensure their impact, and durability. vi Preface It is related of a member of Parliament that some years ago he met at dinner a civilian from British Burma, home on leave. The conversation turned on that country, and the legislator remarked, “Burma—oh, yes, Burma. I had a cousin who was out there for some time, but he always called it Bermuda”.
Recommended publications
  • Karen-Burmese Refugees
    Karen-Burmese Refugees An orientation for health workers and volunteers Developed by Christine Dziedzic, Student Project Officer Community Nutrition Unit, Annerley Road Community Health Background Information • The Karen-Burmese live in mountainous jungle regions of Myanmar (southern and eastern), and Thailand • Myanmar is located in South- East Asia – Formally known as Burma – Developing and largely rural – Bordered by China, Tibet, Laos, Thailand, Bangladesh and India Source: cyberschoolbus.un.org Community Nutrition Unit, Annerley Road Community Health P: (07) 3010 3550 Myanmar - Background InformationWorld Health Organisation (2006) • Population: 50 519 000 • Life expectancy at birth: – 61 years • Infant mortality rate – Per 1000 live births: 106 – 4.7 / 1000 in Australia (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2006) • Language: Burmese – Indigenous peoples have their own languages Flag of Myanmar – Over 126 dialects Source: cyberschoolbus.un.org Community Nutrition Unit, Annerley Road Community Health P: (07) 3010 3550 History of Myanmar • 1886: Became a province of British India • 1948: Gained independence • 1962: Military dictatorship took power – Large outflow of refugees • 1988: Martial law declared – Increased refugee numbers • State of civil war for much of the past 50 years Community Nutrition Unit, Annerley Road Community Health P: (07) 3010 3550 Ethnic Groups • Major ethnic group: Burmese • Largest indigenous population: Karen • Other indigenous races include: – Shans – Chins – Mon – Rakhine – Katchin • Ethnic tension
    [Show full text]
  • Alter Ego #78 Trial Cover
    Roy Thomas ’Merry Mar vel Comics Fan zine No. 50 July 2005 $ In5th.e9U5SA Sub-Mariner, Thing, Thor, & Vision TM & ©2005 Marvel Characters, Inc.; Conan TM & ©2005 Conan Properties, Inc.; Red Sonja TM & ©2005 Red Sonja Properties, Inc.; Caricature ©2005 Estate of Alfredo Alcala Vol. 3, No. 50 / July 2005 ™ Editor Roy Thomas Roy Thomas Associate Editors Shamelessly Celebrates Bill Schelly 50 Issues of A/E , Vol. 3— Jim Amash & 40 Years Since Design & Layout Christopher Day Modeling With Millie #44! Consulting Editor John Morrow FCA Editor P.C. Hamerlinck Comic Crypt Editor Michael T. Gilbert Editors Emeritus Jerry Bails (founder) Ronn Foss, Biljo White, Contents Mike Friedrich Production Assistant Writer/Editorial: Make Mine Marvel! . 2 Eric Nolen-Weathington “Roy The Boy” In The Marvel Age Of Comics . 4 Cover Artists Jim Amash interviews Roy Thomas about being Stan Lee’s “left-hand man” Alfredo Alcala, John Buscema, in the 1960s & early ’70s. & Jack Kirby Jerry Ordway DC Comics 196 5––And The Rest Of Roy’s Cover Colorist Color-Splashed Career . Flip Us! Alfredo Alcala (portrait), Tom Ziuko About Our Cover: A kaleidoscopically collaborative combination of And Special Thanks to: three great comic artists Roy worked with and admired in the 1960s and Alfredo Alcala, Jr. Allen Logan ’70s: Alfredo Alcala , John Buscema , and Jack Kirby . The painted Christian Voltan Linda Long caricature by Alfredo was given to him as a birthday gift in 1981 and Alcala Don Mangus showed Rascally Roy as Conan, the Marvel-licensed hero on which the Estelita Alcala Sam Maronie Heidi Amash Mike Mikulovsky two had labored together until 1980, when R.T.
    [Show full text]
  • Myanmar Buddhism of the Pagan Period
    MYANMAR BUDDHISM OF THE PAGAN PERIOD (AD 1000-1300) BY WIN THAN TUN (MA, Mandalay University) A THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY SOUTHEAST ASIAN STUDIES PROGRAMME NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE 2002 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to the people who have contributed to the successful completion of this thesis. First of all, I wish to express my gratitude to the National University of Singapore which offered me a 3-year scholarship for this study. I wish to express my indebtedness to Professor Than Tun. Although I have never been his student, I was taught with his book on Old Myanmar (Khet-hoà: Mranmâ Râjawaà), and I learnt a lot from my discussions with him; and, therefore, I regard him as one of my teachers. I am also greatly indebted to my Sayas Dr. Myo Myint and Professor Han Tint, and friends U Ni Tut, U Yaw Han Tun and U Soe Kyaw Thu of Mandalay University for helping me with the sources I needed. I also owe my gratitude to U Win Maung (Tampavatî) (who let me use his collection of photos and negatives), U Zin Moe (who assisted me in making a raw map of Pagan), Bob Hudson (who provided me with some unpublished data on the monuments of Pagan), and David Kyle Latinis for his kind suggestions on writing my early chapters. I’m greatly indebted to Cho Cho (Centre for Advanced Studies in Architecture, NUS) for providing me with some of the drawings: figures 2, 22, 25, 26 and 38.
    [Show full text]
  • Burma – Myanmar
    BURMA COUNTRY READER TABLE OF CONTENTS Jerome Holloway 1947-1949 Vice Consul, Rangoon Edwin Webb Martin 1950-1051 Consular Officer, Rangoon Joseph A. Mendenhall 1955-1957 Economic Officer, Office of Southeast Asian Affairs, Washington DC William C. Hamilton 1957-1959 Political Officer, Rangoon Arthur W. Hummel, Jr. 1957-1961 Public Affairs Officer, USIS, Rangoon Kenneth A. Guenther 1958-1959 Rangoon University, Rangoon Cliff Forster 1958-1960 Information Officer, USIS, Rangoon Morton Smith 1958-1963 Public Affairs Officer, USIS, Rangoon Morton I. Abramowitz 1959 Temporary Duty, Economic Officer, Rangoon Jack Shellenberger 1959-1962 Branch Public Affairs Officer, USIS, Moulmein John R. O’Brien 1960-1962 Public Affairs Officer, USIS, Rangoon Robert Mark Ward 1961 Assistant Desk Officer, USAID, Washington, DC George M. Barbis 1961-1963 Analyst for Thailand and Burma, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Washington DC Robert S. Steven 1962-1964 Economic Officer, Rangoon Ralph J. Katrosh 1962-1965 Political Officer, Rangoon Ruth McLendon 1962-1966 Political/Consular Officer, Rangoon Henry Byroade 1963-1969 Ambassador, Burma 1 John A. Lacey 1965-1966 Burma-Cambodia Desk Officer, Washington DC Cliff Southard 1966-1969 Public Affairs Officer, USIS, Rangoon Edward C. Ingraham 1967-1970 Political Counselor, Rangoon Arthur W. Hummel Jr. 1968-1971 Ambassador, Burma Robert J. Martens 1969-1970 Political – Economic Officer, Rangoon G. Eugene Martin 1969-1971 Consular Officer, Rangoon 1971-1973 Burma Desk Officer, Washington DC Edwin Webb Martin 1971-1973 Ambassador, Burma John A. Lacey 1972-1975 Deputy Chief of Mission, Rangoon James A. Klemstine 1973-1976 Thailand-Burma Desk Officer, Washington DC Frank P. Coward 1973-1978 Cultural Affairs Officer, USIS, Rangoon Richard M.
    [Show full text]
  • Merit-Making and Monuments: an Investigation Into the Role of Religious Monuments and Settlement Patterning Surrounding the Classical Capital of Bagan, Myanmar
    MERIT-MAKING AND MONUMENTS: AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE ROLE OF RELIGIOUS MONUMENTS AND SETTLEMENT PATTERNING SURROUNDING THE CLASSICAL CAPITAL OF BAGAN, MYANMAR A Thesis Submitted to the Committee on Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfill of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences TRENT UNIVERSITY Peterborough, Ontario, Canada ã Copyright by Ellie Tamura 2019 Anthropology M.A. Graduate Program January 2020 ABSTRACT Merit-Making and Monuments: An Investigation into the Role of Religious Monuments and Settlement Patterning Surrounding the Classical Capital of Bagan, Myanmar Ellie Tamura Bagan, Myanmar’s capital during the country’s Classical period (c. 800-1400 CE), and its surrounding landscape was once home to at least four thousand monuments. These monuments were the result of the Buddhist pursuit of merit-making, the idea that individuals could increase their socio-spiritual status by performing pious acts for the Sangha (Buddhist Order). Amongst the most meritous act was the construction of a religious monument. Using the iconographic record and historical literature, alongside entanglement theory, this thesis explores how the movement of labour, capital, and resources for the construction of these monuments influenced the settlement patterns of Bagan’s broader cityscape. The findings suggest that these monuments bound settlements, their inhabitants, and the Crown, in a variety of enabling and constraining relationships. This thesis has created the foundations for understanding the settlements of Bagan and serves as a useful platform to perform comparative studies once archaeological data for settlement patterning becomes available. Keywords: Southeast Asia, Settlement Patterns, Bagan, Entanglement, Religious Monuments, Buddhism, Archaeology ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS For the past three years, I have been incredibly fortunate in having the opportunity to do what I love, in one of the most wonderful countries, none of which would have been possible without the support of an amazing group of people.
    [Show full text]
  • Fall 2020Fall 2020
    HarE JoHn HarE Students dressed is a freelance illustrator and in deep-sea diving graphic designer who works on Field Trip suits travel to the a range of projects. He lives in ocean deep in a yellow Gladstone, Missouri, with his submarine school bus. wife and two children. When they get there, they are introduced to creatures like T PRAISE FOR Field Trip to the Moon o luminescent squids and giant T he isopods, and discover an old ocean deep shipwreck. But when it’s time to return to the submarine bus, one student lingers to take a photo of a treasure chest and A Junior Library Guild Selection falls into a deep ravine. Luckily, A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year the child is entertained by a The Horn Book Fanfare List mysterious sea creature until ★ “Hare’s picture book debut is a winner . being retrieved by the teacher. A beautifully done wordless story about BOOKS FERGUSON MARGARET In his follow-up to Field Trip to a field trip to the moon with a sweet and funny alien encounter.”—School Library the Moon, John Hare’s rich, Journal, starred review atmospheric art in this wordless “[An] auspicious debut presents a world picture book invites children where a yellow crayon box shines Holiday House to imagine themselves in the like a beacon.”—Booklist story—a story full of surprises. MARGARET FERGUSON BOOKS BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE US $17.99$17.99 / CAN / CAN $23.99 $23.99 ISBN: 978-0-8234-4630-8 Holiday House Publishing, Inc. 5 1 7 9 9 HolidayHouse.com EAN Fall 2020 Printed in China 9 780823 446308 0408 Reinforced Illustration © 2020 by John Hare from Field Trip to the Ocean Deep HOLIDAY HOUSE Apples Gail Gibbons Summary Find out where your favorite crunchy, refreshing fruit comes from in this snack-sized book.
    [Show full text]
  • Back on the Tourist Trail After Almost 20 Years, Yangon
    FLY MYANMAR ORNING COMES early here. By 5am, the streets are full of vendors, all getting ready to cook breakfast for the city’s hungry workforce. Chai is the country’s GOLDEN morning drink of choice and is served in small glass cups, steaming hot and very sweet. !e little wooden chairs outside the vendors’ stalls are soon filled, as men and sarong-clad women stop for a hot drink before getting on with their day. MOMENTS It is a familiar scene in many cities across Asia, but this is not one of the continent’s more well-known visi- Yangon tor locales, such as Bangkok, Hanoi or even Beijing. Rangoon !is is Yangon, formerly known as Rangoon and, not Myanmar TEXT/ CORI HOWARD so long ago, the capital of Myanmar, a country still Burma more familiar to many as Burma. 2006 Supplanted by Naypyidaw as the country’s capital in Back on the tourist trail after almost 2006, Yangon remains Myanmar’s busiest and most 20 populous city. It is getting used to welcoming visitors 20 years, Yangon offers a whole new again, with various political wranglings, both domesti- generation a wonderful taste of cally and internationally, keeping it off the tourist trail for almost 20 years. Myanmar’s culture, cuisine and history !e drive from the gleaming, new international air- port into Yangon takes you through dusty, bustling roads where street hawkers sell piles of old shoes and 20 women walk by balancing heavily laden baskets of fruit on their heads. Barefoot monks in saffron robes shade their shaved heads from the hot sun with rattan fans, while bare-chested men in sarongs pedal rickshaws alongside diesel-belching buses and the occasional, somewhat incongruous, brand-new SUV.
    [Show full text]
  • Tarzan in the Early-20Th Century French Fantasy Landscape By
    Wesleyan University The Honors College The Missing Link: Tarzan in the Early-20th Century French Fantasy Landscape by Medha Swaminathan Class of 2019 A thesis submitted to the faculty of Wesleyan University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts with Departmental Honors in French Studies Middletown, Connecticut April, 2019 Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 Embracing the Invented in the “Benevolent” Colonial ................................................ 9 Imagining “Africa” ..................................................................................................... 19 Le Tour du Monde en Un Jour: Tarzan and the 1930s Paris Colonial Exhibitions .... 36 “Civilization” vs. “Civilized” vs. “Savage” ................................................................ 49 Homme Idéal or Missing Link? Fetish, Fascination, and Fear in French Eugenics ... 57 Sex, Youth, Beauty, Valor, and the Légionnaire ........................................................ 70 Saturnin Farandoul: Tarzan’s French Foil? ................................................................ 81 “Comment dit-on sites de rêve en anglais ?” .............................................................. 96 References ................................................................................................................. 100 Acknowledgements This project would not have been possible without an incredible amount
    [Show full text]
  • National Emblem of Major Countries List
    National Emblem of major Countries list Country Name Emblem Afghanistan Lion Albania Double headed eagle Algeria Star and crescent, fennec fox Angola Palanca Negra Gigante Anguilla Dolphin Argentina Sun of May (a sun with face symbol) Australia Kangaroo Austria Golden eagle Azerbaijan Flames of fire Bahamas The blue marlin; flamingo Bangladesh Water Lily Barbados Head of Trident Belarus Mounted knight known as Pahonia (the Chaser) Belgium Lion Benin Leopard Bermuda Red lion Bhutan Thunder dragon known as Druk Bolivia Llama, Andean condor Bosnia Golden lily Botswana Zebra Brazil Southern Cross constellation Bulgaria Lion Burkina Faso White stallion Burma Chinthe (mythical lion) Burundi Lion Cambodia Angkor Wat temple, kouprey (wild ox) Cameroon Lion Canada White Lily Canada White Lily, Maple Leaf Central African Republic Elephant Chad(North) Goat Chad (South) Lion Chile Candor and Huemul China Dragon Colombia Andean condor Comoros Four stars and crescent Democratic Republic of the Leopard Congo Republic of the Congo Lion ,elephant Costa Rica Clay colored robin known as Yiguirro Croatia Red white checkerboard Cyprus Cypriot mouflon (wild sheep), white dove Czech Republic Double tailed lion Denmark Beach Dominica Sisserou Parrot Dominican Republic Palmchat (bird) Ecuador Andean condor Egypt Golden eagle Equatorial Guinea Silk cotton tree Eritrea Camel Estonia Barn swallow, cornflower Ethiopia Abyssinian lion European Union A circle of 12 stars Finland Lion France Lily Gabon Black panther Gambia Lion Georgia Saint George, lion Germany Corn
    [Show full text]
  • Animal Agency, Undead Capital and Imperial Science in British Burma
    BJHS: Themes 2: 169–189, 2017. © British Society for the History of Science 2017. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. doi:10.1017/bjt.2017.6 First published online 24 April 2017 Colonizing elephants: animal agency, undead capital and imperial science in British Burma JONATHAN SAHA* Abstract. Elephants were vital agents of empire. In British Burma their unique abilities made them essential workers in the colony’s booming teak industry. Their labour was integral to the commercial exploitation of the country’s vast forests. They helped to fell the trees, transport the logs and load the timber onto ships. As a result of their utility, capturing and caring for them was of utmost importance to timber firms. Elephants became a peculiar form of capital that required particular expertise. To address this need for knowledge, imperial researchers deepened their scientific understanding of the Asian elephant by studying working elephants in Burma’s jungle camps and timber yards. The resulting knowledge was contingent upon the conscripted and constrained agency of working elephants, and was conditioned by the asymmetrical power relationships of colonial rule. Animal agency Writing in the interwar years about his life working in the timber industry of colonial Burma during the late nineteenth century, John Nisbet recalled how Mounggyi, having been one of the best-natured and tamest elephants he had known, became unmanageable due to a bout of musth.
    [Show full text]
  • Buddhist Art of Myanmar Press Release FINAL.Pdf
    News Communications Department Asia Society 725 Park Avenue New York, NY 10021-5088 AsiaSociety.org Phone 212.327.9271 Contact: Elaine Merguerian 212.327.9313; [email protected] E-mail [email protected] ASIA SOCIETY MUSEUM TO PRESENT FIRST EXHIBITION IN THE WEST FOCUSED ON LOANS FROM COLLECTIONS IN MYANMAR Buddhist Art of Myanmar on view in New York February 10 through May 10, 2015 Asia Society Museum presents a landmark exhibition of spectacular works of art from collections in Myanmar and the United States. Buddhist Art of Myanmar comprises approximately 70 works from the fifth through the early twentieth century and includes stone, bronze, and lacquered wood sculptures as well as textiles, paintings, and ritual implements. The majority of works in the exhibition on loan from Myanmar have never been seen in the West. On view in New York from February 10 through May 10, 2015, the exhibition showcases Buddhist objects created for temples, monasteries, and personal devotion, presented in their historical and ritual contexts. Exhibition artworks highlight the long and continuous presence of Buddhism in Myanmar since Plaque with image of seated Buddha. Pagan period, the first millennium, as well as the unique combination 11th -13th century . Gilded metal with polychrome. of style, technique, and religious deities that appeared 7 x 6.14 x 0.25 in . (17.8 x15.9 x 0.6 cm). Bagan Archaeological Museum. Photo: Sean Dungan. in the arts of Buddhist Myanmar. Buddhist Art of Myanmar includes loans from the National Museums in Yangon and Nay Pyi T aw, the Bagan Archaeological Museum, Sri Ksetra Archaeological Museum, and the Kaba Aye Buddhist Art Museum, as well as works from public and private collections in the United States.
    [Show full text]
  • Neil Sowards
    NEIL SOWARDS c 1 LIFE IN BURMA © Neil Sowards 2009 548 Home Avenue Fort Wayne, IN 46807-1606 (260) 745-3658 Illustrations by Mehm Than Oo 2 NEIL SOWARDS Dedicated to the wonderful people of Burma who have suffered for so many years of exploitation and oppression from their own leaders. While the United Nations and the nations of the world have made progress in protecting people from aggressive neighbors, much remains to be done to protect people from their own leaders. 3 LIFE IN BURMA 4 NEIL SOWARDS Contents Foreword 1. First Day at the Bazaar ........................................................................................................................ 9 2. The Water Festival ............................................................................................................................. 12 3. The Union Day Flag .......................................................................................................................... 17 4. Tasty Tagyis ......................................................................................................................................... 21 5. Water Cress ......................................................................................................................................... 24 6. Demonetization .................................................................................................................................. 26 7. Thanakha ............................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]