An "Extraordinary Folly"? Author(s): Donald M. Stadtner Source: Archaeology, Vol. 53, No. 3 (May/June 2000), pp. 54-59 Published by: Archaeological Institute of America Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41779317 Accessed: 30-07-2015 16:27 UTC

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This content downloaded from 128.83.205.78 on Thu, 30 Jul 2015 16:27:33 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions /';-=09 )(8*=-0/']

This content downloaded from 128.83.205.78 on Thu, 30 Jul 2015 16:27:33 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions New evidence suggests that

Asia's greatest brick monument was not abandoned unfinished.

by Donald M. Stadtner

mall is beautiful" is a maxim unknownin Burma,where lavish and massive Buddhist temples reflected both royal piety and temporal power. It is therefore surprising that the Mingun pagoda, the nations largestshrine, symbol- ized neither.One colorfullegend has it that the pagoda was leftunfinished by a despotic king unable to meet the demands of the enormousproject, a fancifultale spread by the British,who were eager to discreditthe Burmese court to justify annexation of Upper Burma in the nineteenthcentury. The stuntededifice was a visiblemetaphor forBurmas regressivespiritual and material condition, which only rational European rule could ameliorate.One Britishvisitor, HenryYule, dubbed the pagoda an 'extraor- dinaryFolly" The Mingun pagoda was, in fact, the jewel in the crownof an ambitiousbuilding campaign sponsored by King Bodawpaya (ruled 1782-1819). Indeed, it is the largest bricktemple in Asia, its outlinedominating the westernbank of the IrrawaddyRiver in the hamletof Mingun.Its base is 256 feet square and it rises some 150 feet.But it is now viewedas littlemore than a "curiosity," enhanced by dramaticfissures in its wall created by an earthquakein 1839. Visitors climb to the top by a modern stairway mountedon the most ruinedcorner of the monument,but no access to the summit existed originally.Also at Mingun is Asias largestbell, 13 feet tall and weighing90 tons. Cast by Bodawpaya to complement the huge pagoda, it stands in its original

This content downloaded from 128.83.205.78 on Thu, 30 Jul 2015 16:27:33 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions locationsome 50 yardsto the northeast.The pagoda is still Yule attributedthe temples missingsuperstructure to a consideredunfinished, since it is withouta tower,the hall- prophesyhe heardfrom local people at Mingun:"Some say markof a Burmesetemple, as exemplifiedby the graceful that it had been foretoldto him [King Bodawpaya] that and loftybrick pagodas built between the eleventhand thir- when the templewas finishedhis lifewould come to an teenthcenturies at Pagan, a little more than 100 miles end." That the kingbowed to a mere portentsignified to downstreamon the Irrawaddy(see Archaeology, Septem- the Britishnot only Oriental superstitionbut cowardice. ber/October1992, pp. 34-41). "An unfinishededifice that Burmese,to the contrary,probably saw the prophesyas a impressesonly by its heaviness,"is how one blunt critic, moralimperative for the kingto completethe pagoda. Indian scholarNiharranjan Ray, described the pagoda in To quit workin orderto escape death would have the 1940s. But recentpublication by Burmesehisto- defied the fundamentalBuddhist law of imperma- rianThan Tun of hundredsof royaldocuments from nence, i.e., our demise is unavoidable. Another the era of Minguns construction,together with I Burmeseruler, Narathihapade, faced withan identi- accountsby foreigntravelers and Burmesecourt prophesy,contemplated haltingwork on his chronicles,suggests that its designlikely sacri- Lcal pagoda, but he was rebukedby his spiritualadvi- ficedheight for girth from the verybeginning, sor: "Must this countryand thou, its king, forsakinga tall,tapering tower for a massive abide foreverand not die?"The monarchrec- base. The pagoda we see todaywas, there- V ognized his errorand finished his pagoda fore,probably considered finished by Bodaw- withoutdelay, lest futurekings "laugh me to payaand his subjects. scorn."This incidentwas set in the Pagan period A pairof huge,crouching guardian lions on the but is foundin an earlynineteenth-century chronicle Irrawaddysbanks marks the beginningof the formal compiled by courthistorians in the reignfollowing processionalpath to the monumentthat leads to Bodawpayas. What Yule heard at Mingun in 1855 stairwaysset into fiveascending concentric square was probablypart of oral traditionthat developed brickbases. Each of the fourfaces of the pagoda has an afterthe kings death. ornamenteddoorway some 30 feet tall, leading to a tiny Yule also reportedthat the kingproclaimed him- roomwhose originaluse is unknown.Inside the chamber self a messianic Buddha, antagonizinghis chief facingthe riveris a new Buddha image that local people monkswho refusedto acknowledgehim as such. honordaily with candles and flowers. (A Buddha of the Futurewas believedto appear Pagodas were built to veneratesacred objects interred 5,000 years afterthe Buddhas death in the fifth beneaththem. Adoration of relicsconcealed withinmonu- centuryb.c.). The kings frustrationwith the monkswas ments had spread fromIndia throughoutthe Buddhist said to cause the monarchto flee Mingun to Amarapura. world by the fifthcentury A.D. These relics were never Yules colorfullanguage inspired generations of historians: meantto be viewed;worship occurred outside the temples. Bodawpaya "threwup his pretensions to Buddhahood, The word pagoda derivesfrom dagaba (relic chamber),a returnedto his seraglio [harem],and cherisheda lasting termadopted into English after it was encounteredin Bud- hostilityto the ecclesiastics."For this episode,Yule relied dhistSri Lanka. on an earlierand unreliableaccount by an ItalianCatholic missionary to Bodawpaya's Burma, Father Vincentio HE IDEATHAT THE PAGODAWAS NEVER FINISHED Sangermano.The cleric had never met Bodawpaya and stemmedfrom a visitby a Britishdelegation from neversaw the pagoda, but his storyof King Bodawpayas Calcuttato Upper Burma flightwas irresistibleto Yule since it T in 1855. By that time helped explainwhy the pagodawas Britainhad ruled Lower Burmafor leftwithout its tower.Yules fabri- 25 years and the annexation of cated accounthas been acceptedas Upper Burma appeared imminent. history and gone unquestioned The Burmese capital was then untilnow. Amarapurabut the delegationalso The legend of the Mingun visited nearby Mingun, derelict pagoda was elastic, however,and since the tremorsof 1839. Pho- bits and pieces could be graftedon tographsand watercolorsmade by to suit the outlook of later ob- British officials prove that the 3G servers.Some added, withno justi- had sustained the 38 that constructionceased pagoda already S fication, damage visible today. A popular % because the pagoda drained the account of the mission M and the was on the publishedM v treasury country threeyears later by HenryYule, its Í vergeof ruinand revolt.In Among secretary,was the firsttö propose SiS Pagodas and Fair Ladies (1896), the notion that the pagoda was I Gwendelon Cascoigne wrote that V abandoned beforethe completionť3 the Burmese"did not firstsit down ofits tower. oO and calculatethe cost of such a vast

56 Archaeology• May/June2000

This content downloaded from 128.83.205.78 on Thu, 30 Jul 2015 16:27:33 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions undertaking,and so afteraccom- plishinga portionof it,the funds were exhausted, and the great" pagoda was never completed. But thecommon thread was that this Oriental court and its monarchwere incapable of fin- ishingthe worldslargest pagoda. Even Burmesehistorians joined hands withBritish colleagues in affirmingthe legend, since it provided a contrast to the "golden age" symbolized by Pagan. This nostalgic view is capturedin Maung Htin Aungs I influentialsurvey of Burmese V history published in 1967: i "Unlike the great temples of I Pagan, the Mingun temple was 1 ■3 not a laborof love and its work-5 men...started to whisper,'When 5 the is the pagoda completed, I greatking shall die.'" M •c■a The unfinishedpagoda grewco to representthe kings delusionsI of grandeurand his weakness,since he caved in to both inspectthe pagoda under construction.None of the Eng- monksand prophecies.Since he identifiedhimself with the lish embassiesmakes any suggestion that work was delayed Buddhaone daybut retreatedto the seraglioon another,he or discontinued.It is onlyYule, reachingMingun decades was eithera hypocrite,a hedonist,or both. By any yard- afterthe kingsdeath, who believedthat the derelictpagoda stick,the kings clothes fit those of an Orientaldespot. was unfinished. Bodawpayas pride in the pagoda was matched by his traditional views need reexamining. hands-on involvementwith it fromthe outset. Even the Yule and othersignored the factthat the pagoda designof the monumentwas creditedto the king,accord- itself shows no physical signs that work was ing to FrancisBuchanan, a visitorfrom Calcutta, in 1795. These interruptedabruptly at any time. For example, Anotheroutsider wrote that lead beams protectingthe relic the brickworkof the pagodas summit,comprised of two chambers were an innovation "claimed by his present squat terraces,is completelyfinished. Moreover, a solid majesty,who has greatskill in these matters."Bodawpaya mass of brickmeasuring 1 4 feetsquare projectedfrom the also appointedas jointproject supervisor one of his favorite centerof the upper terraceby some ten feet.This block- sons, whomhe selectedbecause he was an "accomplished house was supportedby fourcorbeled arches,now made scholarand divine." visiblebecause of the fissurescreated by the earthquake.It One officialmission from Calcutta, headed by Hiram likelysupported a smalltraditional Burmese metal spire, or Cox, witnessedthe sealingof the vaultsin February1797. hti, the topmostcomplement to a Burmese pagoda. The That thefoundation bases werefinished at thattime proves blockhouseand its supportingarches make littlesense if thatthey took fiveyears to complete.Cox noted thatthe thebuilders had plannedto createa massivetower or addi- innermostrelic chamberswere "intendedfor the preserva- tionalsquare terraces. tionof the treasures[relics] dedicated by his majesty,while The chroniclesreport that groundbreaking occurred on the span around them is devoted to the oblationsof his September28, 1792, amid celebrationsfeaturing Bodaw- courtiers."Burmese chronicles describe thousands of relics paya layingsilver and golden bricks.Its startwas marked interredwithin the pagoda, rangingfrom alabaster, jade, also by the foundingof Mingunitself. The nextfive years and crystalimages to replicasof royalumbrellas and tiny saw the completionof all the brickbases surroundingthe shrinesmade ofprecious metals. foundation,while the remaining15 yearswere devotedto But even the sacredobjects drew ridicule from the Eng- thewalls. lish,beginning when Cox challengedthe Burmeseestimate Bodawpayaprobably feared that if he permittedthe pro- of the amountof certaingold and silverfigurines and gems. ject to falter,he would face a tremendousloss of prestige Cox also noted among the relics an importedsoda water, throughoutthe regionand among his own subjects. He machine ("Dr. Priestleys machinesfor impregnating water knew,for example, that officials in BritishIndia were mea- withfixed air"). Later, Yule highlightedCoxs low evaluation suring its progress, since envoys were encouraged to of the relicsand poked fun at the incongruityof the soda

www.archaeology.org 57

This content downloaded from 128.83.205.78 on Thu, 30 Jul 2015 16:27:33 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions watermachine among the "consecrated resourcesavailable for the project. valuables."The underlyingmessage was An incident on Cox's mission cap- that the Burmese were misguided in tures the kings testyrelationship with theirreligion and a trifleduplicitous in the Buddhist community.Before sun- overstatingthe value ofthe relics. rise monks were summoned to the king'stent, berated for their ignorance technologydid not of doctrine,and accused of resorting escape criticism. Cox felt "to a religiouslife froma love of indo- that the king's innovative lence," accordingto Cox. Bodawpaya's Burmeselead beams would not be solution was to institutereforms that strongenough to supportthe walls that centered on doctrinalexaminations of were about to be built. Cox wrotethat monks;however, the far-reachingcon- he "could easily secure the safety"of sequences of his proposals "alarmed the pagoda by advisingthe Burmese"to his courtiersvery much." By the time turnarches overthe hollowchambers." theyreturned to Mingun, these advi- Tact prevailed,and Cox kepthis mouth sors had dissuaded him fromenacting shut, but he could not resist another! the reforms.The kingwas out of step 5 dig at the Burmese:"It would be a dan- e with the Buddhist rank and file and gerous piece of impertinence for a -§ even his own court. strangerto offerany advice on these Despite Bodawpaya'sdissatisfaction sacred matters."Yule seized Coxs ì withthe he neverdeclared him- upon 3e clergy, pessimismabout the durabilityof the $a selfto be a Buddha,as Sangermanoand S pagoda by wildlyspeculating that "thist¡ Yule claimed.In reality,the king'sthink- device JI was a blend of traditional preciousengineering [the kings* ing complex lead beams] mayhave givenrise to vari-■S and surprisinglymodern ideas. For 2u ous patched cracks in the brickwork£ example, he insisted that the famous ãr which are evidentlyof older date than « defeatof a certaindemon by the Bud- the earthquake."This all added to the 8 dha never occurredin realitybut was sense thatthe kingsproject was, in his i only allegory,and he challenged the words,nothing more than an "extraordinaryFolly" widespreadbelief that it was auspiciousto leave foodoffer- The commencementof the walls in 1797 strainedthe ings in temple compounds fordogs and crows. He also kingdomscapacity to produceenough brick. Cox reported loved religiousdisputations, but those around him made thatshortages of fuelfor the kilnsprompted a royalexpedi- sure that he was alwaysthe winner.Bodawpaya modeled tionup the Irrawaddyfor "cutting down bamboos and fire- himselfon ancientmonarchs of India and Sri Lanka who wood" and sendingit back to Mingun."The kingrelishes reformedor "purified"the monkhood.Recalcitrant monks the hardshipsof camp life,"'Cox noted,but his courtiers weredefrocked, and theworst offenders were dispatched to "are disgustedwith their situation and labour,and ardently gatherfodder for his elephants.Such ceaseless oversightof sighfor his majesty'sreturn." That nearly10,000 men gath- the clergywas leavenedwith lavish donations to monaster- ered firewood for two months suggests the limitless ies- fosteringthe veryopulence and corruptionthat the kingcondemned. Few restraints existed on the court'sability to call up labor and materialsnecessary to completethe king'sfavorite project. The need for brickswas insatiable;Yule estimated the totalamount used to construct the pagoda as between six and seven million cubic feet. A royal orderof 1807 refersto 7,000 men assignedto make bricks.Each was expectedto produce 300 bricksper day for a daily total of more than two million. Young men were assignedthe hardertask of tramping i on the clay,while older men filled 1C/5 the molds. Royal decrees suggest -OS 1 that labor was largelydrawn from ¿ Burmesevillages.

Archaeology• May/June2000

This content downloaded from 128.83.205.78 on Thu, 30 Jul 2015 16:27:33 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Even Burmese believe the today pagoda

was not hut translated documents and finished, newly

look at the monument otherwise. afresh suggest

English observer to witness the on the pagodas two top terraces,is a final twistin this pagoda underconstruction was Michael Symes, tale. These colored tiles depictingBuddhist subjects bear an envoyfrom Calcutta who visitedMingun in no tracesof mortarand were mysteriouslynever installed. Another 1802. The walls were likelywell under way, The reasonmay lie in an unpublishedjournal belonging to since he likens"this most extravagantand enormousedi- HenryBurney, a Britishresident in Burmaafter the earth- fice"to the "largestEgyptian pyramid." The onlyoutsider quake, who recordedthat Mingun sufferedfrom a tremor witha favorableimpression of the pagoda,Symes promised in 1816. Perhaps this quake preventedthe installationof a monographon themonument that has neverbeen found. the tiles,since it mayhave damaged the top terraces.The After1802, referencesto workon the pagoda continue quake mayeven have strucka fewyears earlier, since Bur- sporadicallyin the courtdocuments. For example,the huge neyrelied only on the recollectionof local people, nothis- bell was transportedacross the riverand set up in a pavilion toricalrecords. The quake may have occurredjust at the near the pagoda early in 1811. This costly undertaking momentthe plaques were ready to be insertedinto the would scarcelyhave been contemplatedhad there been two finished terraces. Such a coincidence is the most even a remotepossibility of convincingexplanation for abandoning the pagoda why the tiles were never unfinished.Moreover, at the used. That the estimated end ofthe same yearhalf the number of tiles does not workforce assigned to the exceed the number of pagoda and the pavilionfor niches is anotherreason for the bell was transferred believingthat no additional downriverto work on the terraces were included in "east palace" in Amarapura; the originalplans. this suggeststhat work was Mingunand all of Upper farenough advanced on the Burma fell to Britishtroops pagodato permitthe start-up in 1886, and Bodawpayas of anotherproject. Finally, last rulingdescendant was referencesto construction exiled to India. But the leg- on the pagoda cease after end of the unfinished IC/5 the beginning of 1812, pagoda and its fanaticand implyingthat the project was 1 despotic patron persisted. complete. Indeed, it added fanciful Yule discovereda small brickpagoda with a towerat flavorto Englands perceptionof Burmese shortcomings Mingun that he and others assumed was a model or that efficientBritish rule would sortout. It also reminds replica for the full-sized monument. This temple was us that observersclosest to historicalevents are not nec- unlikelya prototypefor the big one, since its finished essarilythe mostreliable witnesses. In part,Yule and oth- appearancewould publiclyproclaim the kings failedpro- ers were quick to believe the Catholic priestsstory about ject nearby.Since this small pagoda is not mentioned the kings flightfrom Mingun to his seragliobecause this among the earlyEnglish accounts, it was probablybuilt missionarywas in Burmaat the timeof the pagodas con- sometime between the kings death in 1819 and Yules struction.Yule also erred by interpretingthe traditional visitin 1855. An earlytwentieth-centiiry restoration of the Burmeseprophecy through European eyes. One mistaken small pagoda imitatedminute decorativefeatures of the assumptionbegot anotherto forma theorythat became big pagoda, which only reinforcedvisitors' impressions "fact."How easily the past can be distorted.The Mingun that it was trulythe model for the other.But Minguns pagoda symbolizesthe religiousand politicalambitions of engineershardly required a replica nearbyon which to a rulerwho behaved with few restraints,but Bodawpaya pattern their work, since royal documents reveal that was farfrom being a religiousfanatic and his monument buildersused small-scalemodels and architecturalplans. is anythingbut an "extraordinaryFolly" ■ The late nineteenth-centurydiscovery by Englishoffi- cials at Mingun of hundreds of small glazed plaques, Donald M. Stadtner was formany years an associatepro- likelyintended for more than 1,000 closelyspaced niches fessorof art history at theUniversity of Texas,Austin. www.archaeology.org ^

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