Spring / Fall 2014-15

Bulletin of the Burma Studies Group

Southeast Asian Council Association for Asian Studies

Contents Introduction Patrick McCormick...... 2

Burma: Rivers of Flavor cookbook review Rosalie Metro...... 3

International Conference and Workshop on New Approaches to Myanmar History Chie Ikeya...... 4

An Inside View of the Approaches to Myanmar History Conference Tharaphi Than...... 5

Translation Project The JasonKalyāṇī A. CarbineInscriptions:...... New Text and 6

A Two-Week Fieldtrip with My Students Tom Patton...... 8

Ward Keeler...... 10 The Traffic in Hierarchy

A Research Update FieldworkCharlotte at the Galloway Sri Ksetra...... Museum: 12

and religious practices in Burma and Thai- “Pilgrims, healers, and wizards: Buddhism Alexandra Green...... 15 land”: An exhibition at the British Museum

A Modest Critique BurmaGwen Studies Robinson Conference...... 2014: 18

Number 93 & 94 Introduction

By Patrick McCormick

I am pleased that we have such a variety depending on the topic—often largely non-Burmese who were speaking. Burma scholars telling us about their At the same time, 2014 also individualof pieces for projects this issue: and we research, hear from while saw a number of conferences and 12th International others tell about their colloborative workshops inside Burma itself. The Southeast Asian Linguistics Society Burma Studies Conference review that the Bulletin has seen in a (SEALS) had their annual meeting at Traditions while,projects. a review We also of have a cookbook. a the first book Yangon University in May, and in July, and Two thousand fourteen proved to Rutgers held a joint workshop with the Challenges be an eventful year for Burma studies. History Department, as Chie Ikeya and Perhaps most importantly was the Tharaphi Than tell us about. Burma Studies Conference in Singapore Celebrating the 30th in August. For those of us who have issue, I would like repeat that I always Anniversary of the Center for been going to the conference regularly welcome Looking submissions, forward to especially our next from Burma Studies at NIU over the past years, the change to such inside Burma. If you or someone you an upscale venue was unprecedented know is doing something that the rest Oct 6th-9th – gone was indifferent canteen food, of us should know about, please write Northern Illinois University replaced by all manner of fried and us. Our style is meant to be informal – DeKalb, Illinois steamed Chinese snacks. Attendance think less “works cited” and footnotes was good, despite the costs. The and more how you would talk to your organizers of the conference this year friends and colleagues about what For details please visit: www. made special efforts to bring in a you’ve been up to. burmaconference2016.com number of prominent representatives from the Burmese government, civil society, and literary world, who spoke at both the opening and closing sessions. These voices from the inside helped bring a kind of balance to the actual sessions, where it was—

Patrick McCormick Researcher and Representative

(EFEO, “French School of the Far East”) InstitutÉcole Française Française d’Extrême-Orient en Birmanie (former Alliance Française) 340 Pyay Road, Sanchaung Township, Yangon [email protected]

2 Bulletin of the Burma Studies Group in recipes such as “Panir in Tomato Burma: Rivers of Flavor Sauce.” Duguid also includes recipes Duguid, Naomi (2012), New York: Artisan for móunhìngà from Rangoon and the western Delta, and notes the criticisms By Rosalie Metro people from each region have about

Until recently, Burmese cuisine has been Rangoon mohinga is “thin and watery,” largely inaccessible to outsiders. While what Duguid calls “Succulent Grape- the others: Tavoyans complain that Thai restaurants abound worldwide, fruitflour (orcomes Pomelo) in handy Salad.” when It is preparing a classic While she doesn’t include a recipe from Burmese restaurants are rare. Few eachwhile of Rakhaings the eight mainsay it ethnic lacks flavor. groups, people have had a chance to taste the - she does seem to have made an effort - miliarexample ingredient of what makes is transformed Burmese from to be comprehensive. For instance, mi Duguid’s Burma: Rivers of Flavor may acuisine boring so breakfast exciting tofood outsiders: into a savory a fa although she couldn’t travel to Chin changemixture that of flavors by bringing of Burmese Burmese food. cook Nao- treat. The pumpkin curry and grilled State, she gives a general description ing to an English-speaking audience. This eggplant salad recipe also stands out. of the Chin food she had in neighboring artfully produced cookbook provides a One challenges of making Burmese Rakhaing State. Apparently, Chin food detailed, culturally-informed guide to - is fried in goat butter instead of oil, and preparing dishes from many regions. dients. Duguid provides many solutions features millet instead of rice. It is no surprise that Naomi Duguid -food for instance,outside of she Burma includes is finding instruc ingre- Duguid presents a great deal of has been able to create such a valu- tions on how to make ngapi, fermented material to complement the recipes. able book. She has been travelling shrimp paste, and Shan tofu, which The glossary includes papayas and hog the world and studying food culture plums, with entries relevant to culture, for twenty years, and has been the recipes, however, remain a tease. I calls again for chickpea flour. Some enjoyed using several of them, includ- havesuch asnothing a brief to explanation do with food, of Buddhism.as in ingco-author Mangoes of six& Curry previous Leaves: books. Culinary I’ve Columbia,crave banana Missouri. flower salad, but I haven’t herInterspersed account of we a dhamma find descriptions by Thidagu that Travels through the Great Subcontinent, succeededReaders in familiar finding bananawith Burma flowers in Sayadaw she attended by Thidagu, or Seductions of Rice, and Hot Sour Salty thanaka patterns Sweet, a well-informed Southeast Asian recipes, such as her idiosyncratically illustrated with photos. These features cookbook which won the James Beard namedmay have “Punchy-Crunchy small quibbles: Gingera handful Salad,” of inmake her Duguid’sexplanation cookbook of read like a Foundation’s Cookbook of the Year are subtitled with romanizations (gy- travel journal, and give a window into award in 2001. Burma: Rivers of Flavor inthout), but it’s not clear why the rest how Duguid researches food “as an are not. For this recipe, she advises us- aspect of culture,” as she puts it, with an for unpretentious home cooking, her ing pickled ginger—the pink stuff you ethnographic bent. Both the bibliogra- willingnessis Duguid’s first to engage solo effort. with ordinaryHer search get with sushi—which is decidedly not phy and the historical overview reveal people, and her curiosity about the cul- what they use in Burma. She includes a Duguid’s social and political perspective. tures from which food emerges make recipe for “pickling” ginger, but in the I am an avid cook, and over the her cookbooks interesting to read, past I’ve just soaked slivered ginger years Burmese friends have shown me beautiful to look at, and easy to use. in lime juice for an hour, and I thought how to make staples such as móun- The recipes in this book are di- the taste was more like what I’ve been hìngà and òunnó hkauk hswè, but when vided into categories such as salads, served in Burma. I prepared Burmese dishes at home, soups, condiments, meats, and vegeta- - bles. “Burma Basics” includes instruc- pared to what Duguid has achieved. tions on how to prepare staples to use Impressively,These deficiencies she has gathered are small recipes com they often lacked the right mixture of in the recipes, such as “Shallot Oil,” her from many regions of the country. andflavors. leave The out recipes key ingredients Burmese friendsthey version of hsigyet usually made with There are several Shan recipes such as tookprovide for tendgranted to lack that exact I would quantities add on garlic or onions. Several entries in this laap pla (a Thai, not Shan name) “Her- my own. Cooking techniques proved

pehmóun) this new cookbook, which, based on sectionis the secret were ingredient a revelation: that it turnsgives out Poundedbed Catfish Beef Laap,” with perhaps Herbs” soundsreflecting thedifficult dozen to recipes describe. I’ve I’m tried, happy produces to have that roasted chickpea flour ( her expertise in Thai cooking. “Kachin reliably tasty results.

Burmese salads their nutty flavor. This tempting, and Indian influence shows Spring / Fall 2014-15 3 International Conference and Workshop on New Approaches to Myanmar History

Chie Ikeya, Rutgers University

The international conference on “New reer faculty at various universities in the history of arts and architecture, Approaches to Myanmar History” was Myanmar, which Rutgers University, transnational histories, and women’s held on July 24, 2014 at the University Northern Illinois University, and the and gender history. In the afternoon, of Yangon in Yangon and was jointly University of Yangon jointly organized. nine local scholars presented and inter- organized by Rutgers University—New Eleven faculty members in history and national scholars discussed each paper. Brunswick and University of Yangon. related disciplines circulated their Topics of the presentations ranged The co-organizers, Chie Ikeya, Asso- papers among the conference partic- from the paleolithic culture of Burma, ciate Professor in the Department of ipants ahead of time. Each of them to Pyu religion, to the introduction of History at Rutgers University and the prepared a brief presentation of their the parliamentary system in Burma. Chair of the Rutgers Myanmar Studies work and received comments from two Initiative, and Margaret Wong, Chair of designated discussants as well as other the Department of History at Universi- conference participants. ty of Yangon, envisioned the conference While all papers were presented in press coverage: as a small but meaningful step towards English, feedback from the participants reviving strong and deep academic and audience were often delivered http://www.mrtv4.com.mm/news/local/ relationships among scholarly commu- in Burmese. This format facilitated others/detail/item:27904 nities in Myanmar, the United States, lively translingual and transcultural and beyond. - http://www.myanmarinternational.tv/ The conference brought together swer periods and over tea breaks, news/making-history-discussion- local and international scholars in lunches,exchanges and during dinner. the The question-and-an presentations among-local-foreign-universities Burma studies to engage in multi- and ensuing discussions illuminated disciplinary dialogue about recent areas for future research and scholar- interventions in the history and ship on the history and historiography historiography of Myanmar. Organized of Burma. All of us who organized the around four themes—Buddhism, art conference hope that the connections and architecture, transnational and made among scholars at the conference intra-Asian history, and women’s and and workshop will generate fruitful gender history—twelve researchers interactions and collaborations that from France, Myanmar, Russia, US, and cross generational, national, and disci- Thailand presented on a wide range of plinary boundaries. The conference and workshop Buddhist legal literature (dham- were open to the academic commu- mathattopics, such), the as tradition Pāli-Rakhaing of constructing language nity in Burma and attracted over 180 royal cities, the “century of warfare” attendees, mostly from Burma but also (circa 1550-1683), Sino-Burmese and various parts of the world including Indo-Burmese marriages and families, China, France, Germany, United King- and women wage-laborers and strikers dom, and United States. in the oil industry in British Burma. In the morning, international and The day after the one-day con- local scholars gave presentations in ference was a workshop for early-ca-

five panels on the history of Buddhism,

4 Bulletin of the Burma Studies Group An Inside View of the Approaches to Myanmar History Conference

Tharaphi Than, Northern Illinois University

There was a mini-crisis in the Arts room for some basic student dorm rooms, of Culture, not the Ministry of Educa- on the main campus of Yangon Universi- visitors have to pay, and it is the norm. tion. One can now easily see the danger ty a day before the international confer- With the opening of the country, of letting this continue. ence, Approaches to Myanmar History. Myanmar universities have started to Being a true scholar was the cho- There were not enough namecard have more interactions with foreign in- sen profession of a handful brave souls holders for each participant. Then I saw stitutions and individuals. But the lat- in the past. To conform is to survive. a piece of paper with my name on it in ter are received and treated as guests, But I like to think that with the chang- the hands of one of the professors. The and overwhelming hospitality is show- ing circumstances, the intellectual head of the history department came up ered upon them. Hosts, including facul- community inside Myanmar is now to me and said, “Let’s give priority to the ty members, do not view themselves as guests. The Bamar will understand.” At scholars or educators. They put on the that moment I felt validated to remain a role of good, polite, hospitable hosts, tofinding communicate ways to conduct with the independent public within bamar, a holder of a Myanmar passport. often undermining their capability and andresearch without and the finding country. their own voice I am still a legitimate local in my coun- potential as researchers, scholars, and The group formed for the inter- try, and am treated as such. Our hosts educators. national conference which Chie Ikeya did not feel aanade for me. It is true that research and teach- led was sympathetic to Yangon Uni- But that incident also led me ing still face many challenges, but versity’s needs, and everyone gave so ponder many other things. One is how Myanmar universities could start to much of their time to the junior faculty the local academic community sees think and feel that we can reclaim our members by reviewing their work and themselves in their relations to the providing feedback. The two-day con- outsiders. I once had a conversation towards that goal may well be that ference and workshop boosted the con- with the then rector of Yangon Univer- localsplace in start world treating academia. visitors The as first col -step sity. He wanted to provide free housing leagues and not as special guests whom importantly strengthened the trust for visiting foreign professors. His then the host country must please. We need betweenfidence of the the hosts young and faculty the visitors and more to to reclaim our lost identity as scholars, plan further collaborations. did not think the visitors deserved free rather than sustaining an Orientalist I was asked to conduct another accommodation.international relations But to avoid liaison challenging officer perception of Myanmar as the land of workshop, and besides hoping to see him openly, they arranged a meeting smiles. Let the Ministry of Culture take many more junior faculty taking part for me with the rector, during which I in the future, I hope that they will start - Myanmar Historical Commission is riences emphasizing the fact that even nowcare underof that. the But tutelage there is of an the irony: Ministry the and speak like true scholars. tactfully narrated my conference expe to feel confident and safe to act, write,

Spring / Fall 2014-15 5 The Kalyāṇī Inscriptions: New Text and Translation Project

By Jason A. Carbine, Whittier College

Going Kalyāṇī degree, however, those other projects published in modern printed editions Some time in the later part of the and life matters are only part of the and translations, in both Southeast 1990s, during our grad student days, - Asia and Sri Lanka. Pat Pranke came to the University of lation project has become much longer From the perspective of Buddhist Chicago to give a talk or something thanreason anticipated. why my Kalyāṇī Text and Trans studies and history of religions per- of that nature. Pat was already well spec, the Inscriptions are a hybrid of seasoned in things Burmese, and I was with me making comparisons between in the process of changing over from manuscripts, As my textual modern sleuthing print editions, continued, vinaya (discipline), katikāvatta (“the a focus on Sri Lanka to one on Myan- and original stone fragments of the observanceseveral literary of an genres—for agreement”), example, and mar. Some of my professors thought I Inscriptions, and then carefully work- vaṃsa (history). They detail Dhamma- was crazy for wanting to do this. The ing through and attempting to address thought entered into my mind as well, problematic areas of Taw Sein Ko’s Lankan monks to found what became given that I had already lived in Sri cetī’s efforts to secure the helpsīmā, of Sri the Lanka for two years in different capac- material became its own kind of “time - ities that included a one-year stint as zone.”translation, Working the latesheer in complexitythe evening of on the sultantknown aslineage. the sacred Like theKalyāṇī Inscriptions, a junior Fulbrighter studying healing my project has on more than one occa- theKalyāṇī ordination ordination hall hashall, persisted and its re as rituals related to yakkhas, who are sion led me to mutter to myself that I an ongoing site of socio-religious and almost akin to nats. Why change over - when I’d already invested so much into sīmā was repaired and Sri Lankan culture and history? Being was “going Kalyāṇī”. Anyone who has rebuiltsocio-political in pre-colonial expression. Burma For by exam kings inspired by the research possibilities in struggled with intense, close textual andple, thethen Kalyāṇī in later times by lay people, Myanmar, my basic thought was that, comparison in the hopes of figuring outI mean. matters of complex historical and earthquake, the elements, or perhaps dissertation concerning Burmese mo- cultural significance will know what people.despite Thebeing most variously recent ruined rebuilding by fire, nasticin addition authority, to finding later aon workable I might alsoPh.D. Why the Inscriptions Matter occurred in the early 1950s, with the tackle a research project related - blessings of the then prime minister, to both South and Southeast Asia, tions are among the most important U Nu. sourcesThe fifteenth-century for studying Buddhist Kalyāṇī Inscriphistory, All this I told to Pat Pranke in the Inscriptions are also basically a sīmā Divinityspecifically School Sri Lankagrad student and Myanmar. lounge production in Southeast Asia and Sri Although a textual hybrid,sīmā—ritual the that fateful day. Lanka.culture, Inscribed politics, ritual, on ten law, stone and slabs textual in boundary—regulation and reform. Pat’s response was something like, Bago in lower Myanmar in the latter Commontext, that inis, thea text Buddhist about cultures of mainland Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka, Inscriptions”? He handed me a copy of sīmās are traditionally consecrated Taw“have Sein you Ko’s ever 1892 looked seminal at the transla Kalyāṇī- (r.part 1472–1492), of the fifteenth the Inscriptions century under have physical boundaries for Buddhist mo- tion right then and there. That was the remainedthe direction a cultural, of King religious,Dhammacetī and po- nastic ordinations and other ecclesi- karmic moment that set me on what litical touchstone in a number of ways. astical ceremonies. Sīmās legitimate has become a much longer project than lineages, and can function in many I had initially foreseen, and have been as palm-leaf manuscripts, the Inscrip- other social, religious, cultural, and dabbling at here and there for more tionsIn addition were absorbedto circulating into laterextensively reform political ways. Often, but not always, than a decade as other projects sur- movements, incorporated into polem- sīmās have physical structures built on faced and got in the way. To a certain ical and historiographic writings, and them, and the structures themselves

6 Bulletin of the Burma Studies Group may be called sīmās, as in the case of Publication and Use, and Current sīmā. Status of the Project There are many types of sīmā the Kalyāṇī - texts My text and translation project is under suchin Southeast as the parabaik and South with Asia. ornate For expic- agreement with the Pali Text Society. turesample, depicting there are sīmās many and Burmese rules about texts, replaceMy goal Tawis to Seinproduce Ko’s aas new the editedstandard Pāli them. Unlike many of those sīmā English-languagetext and a new English reference translation source. to however, it is possible to locate the texts, at undergraduate and graduate levels, with a high degree of accuracy. The fromThese aiding new texts classroom will have teaching multiple about uses tenoriginal stone Kalyāṇī slabs set text up in in time Bago and consist place such topics as Buddhist ritual, law, and sacred places to facilitating scholarly Mon version also contains three ap- research about Buddhism in Southeast pendices,of three in one Pāli of and which seven provides in Mon. a Thelong Asia and Sri Lanka. This project is also list of sīmās all over the region, estab- intended to complement research other lished by the monks who dedicated the scholars are doing on the spread of sīmā.1 The partially restored Southeast and South Asian Buddhism. Pali stones, along with the remaining Kalyāṇīfragments of the Pali and Mon, are as many know now housed in a shed and Thecomment. new Pāli I have text included is close toan being in- sīmā. The focus of a troductionready to send with out remarks for external on the review nature growing body of scholarly literature, a and content of the manuscript tradition greatnear the deal Kalyāṇī- of research and translation and how it differs from the stones, the work remains to be done on the many different types of sīmā sacred places related to them.2 manuscriptPāli text with tradition, annotations a manuscript and notes, texts and the additional textual material from the - notated bibliography. My new English comparisontranslation is chart, also wellan index, underway, and an but an the speed has been structured by my

work on the Pāli text. 1

have attempted to identify sīmās in use today that are connected to inscriptions, as a way to help contextualize the historical and cultural significance of the inscriptions and - the reforms they describe. In addition to the Kalyāṇī Sīmā in Bago, there are other sīmās currently still in use that are traced to Dhammacetī, including the Nagawun, Neibban Ka detailsline, and remain Narani obscure. sīmās and the Kalyāṇī sīmā in Daik Wun Kwin Yat Kwet. Sorting through the2 history of these and other sīmās could be illuminating in their own right, but many results I’ve sought in this to regard locate was any meetingadditional a weikza cultural master data that in Bago could whose be of significancefollowers claim for heany is further follow-up project after the text and translation project is completed. One of the the rebirth of king Dhammacetī. Spring / Fall 2014-15 7 A Two-Week Fieldtrip with My Students

Tom Patton, City University, Hong Kong

This year I did a two-week (May 10th- to introduce these graduate students equally-annoying last minutes changes 28th to some of the “real world” issues they I made. Our agent also provided us with twelve of my university students. I had spent months reading and the- two mobile phones for the trip, which , 2014) fieldtrip to Myanmar with orizing about in the comfort of their proved to be invaluable when one of my with the readers of the Bulletin, espe- classrooms. The course was meant to students had to read a medical email on thoughtcially for I thosewould who share might my experiencebe planning be three parts study-tour and one part the desolate highway between Bagan a similar study abroad trip to Myanmar site-seeing, so I had to come up with an and Mandalay. in the future. academically rigorous program to sat- Once our program started, we When my university asked me isfy the requirements of the university, - to organize and run this course, I as well as provide the students with a ing members of such organizations as jumped at the opportunity. I had bit of fun. spent the first week in Yangon visit always wanted to bring a group of Muslim Interfaith Network on AIDS, students to Myanmar and share with the world of development in Myanmar, Savethe HIV the Positive Children, Sex Burnet Workers Institute, Group, and As I knew next to nothing about Religions for Peace. On our last day in February 2014 on Yangon, we visited Christophe Muni- aI flewreconnaissance over in early er, a PhD student from the Sorbonne mission seeking studying art history, at his home to out people and learn about mural paintings. Christo- organizations phe and his wife put together a fun and that I could make engaging morning that was, as some of appointments for my students remarked, the highlight of my students to their trip to Yangon. We were all grate- meet. I called upon ful to Christophe. The star of the visit, friends who had however, was Christophe’s son, Hugo— relationships with all the students wanted pictures taken NGOs and religious with him. organizations, and After putting the students on the also upon free- overnight bus to Bagan, I went to the lance consultants airport to take the plane. I’ve taken them the country that has inspired to help me put together a program. enough overnight buses over the years to never want to put myself through my life to. When my department head that again. toldme to me devote that this the two-weekpast fifteen study years trip of bookings, The first bus obstacle reservations, I encountered and secur - would count as a semester’s worth of ingwas a organizing tour van to the transport logistics: us hotel around. touring the pagodas of Bagan and teaching, and that I would therefore Luckily, Jason Carbine, who had run taking The a nextbus trip three to daysMount were Poppa. spent By a similar program, recommended an this point, day eight, the students were following semester, I was all the more agent with he had worked with in the beginning to show signs of fatigue and eager.be excused from teaching a course the a couple of them came down with high The course was open only to only did she put together an itinerary fevers. I realized I needed another per- those students who were enrolled in perfectpast. She for proved budget-minded to be exceptional. university Not son to help me with the remaining sev- the Master of Social Sciences in De- students, she also dealt patiently with en days and called upon my best friend, velopment Studies program at City some, in my view, annoying requests Ko Toe Win from Sagaing, who runs University Hong Kong, and was meant from my students, in addition to some bike trekking tours for foreigners. He

8 Bulletin of the Burma Studies Group doctors from a Japanese NGO which third will return in December to enroll the rest of the trip with us. Before that, provides free medical care at a mo- in a Buddhist university. Also, due to Igot had on been the nextthe one bus to to answer Bagan andall the spent nastic hospital, and spent time playing increased interest among undergrad- students’ questions and translate be- with children at a monastic orphanage uates to take study trips to Southeast tween English and Burmese and so had where many of the children were HIV Asia, my university asked me to lead a been feeling pretty run down. But Ko positive. After a daytrip to Pyin Oo similar course in December 2014 spe- Lwin for some respite from the relent- guided tours, was able to answer most less Mandalay heat, the students left It looks as if I will be leading study ofToe the Win, questions, who has which a lot of let experience me catch in on an overnight bus to Yangon, from cifically for undergraduate students. my breath. It also gave the students an where they would then head back to in December for undergraduates and opportunity to spend time with a local Hong Kong the following morning. I againtrips to in Myanmar June for graduate twice a year: students. once I person and make a new friend. stayed on for a couple of more days to would be open to invite any readers After three days in Bagan, we visit with friends and do some re- who might want to lead student trips headed to Mandalay. The students, who search. of from your own universities to join were ethnic Chinese, really enjoyed I am still waiting to receive the Mandalay and were happily surprised formal evaluations, but based on some to see so many Chinese businesses in informal student feedback, the course studentsus. My students from other would universities greatly benefit from the neighborhood of our hotel. Al- seems to have been a success. One aroundfrom cross-cultural the world. Please exploration contact with me if though the students spoke no Burmese, student has already begun applying for you are interested. they were able to get around easily jobs at Myanmar-based NGOs, another with their Mandarin and Cantonese. plans to pursue a PhD in the growing banking system of Myanmar, and a By lunchtime, the students began to sufferWe spent from the that first inevitible full day sight-seeing.disease that or “Pagoda Fatigue Syndrome.” After theafflicts pagodas most ofvisitors Bagan to and Myanmar: Mandalay, PFS, the students had had enough. This was something I was not prepared for. I had allotted long stretches of our free time to spend at pagodas and religious com- - cape the mid-day heat. But my students onlyplexes, wanted where to we spend could as relax much and time es at those places as it took to snap pictures of themselves making peace signs in front of Buddha statues before rushing back onto the air-conditioned bus. I had withto do variousa lot of on-the-spotorganizations. planning to fill up timeIn Mandalay, before our we next visited appointment Phaung Daw Oo monastic school, followed

Spring / Fall 2014-15 9 The Traffic in Hierarchy

By Ward Keeler, University of Texas at Austin

When I arrived as a Fulbright fellow must have sometimes also been drivers, in Rangoon in 1987, I was given a copy and in any case, they had had a fair bit those behind them. At the same time, of a pamphlet the U.S. Embassy dis- of time to reconceive their relationship sinceboth literallylarger vehicles and figuratively, enjoy precedence over tributed to new members of their staff with the far greater number of cars on by virtue of their size, they can always containing tips about living in the city. the road. - They had not done so. In a time-hon- cedence at whim. As soon as a passing astonishingly risky behavior of pedes- ored anthropological tradition, I have vehiclepass lesser gets vehicles: beyond thethey vehicle can take being pre triansOne point on the stood city’s out: streets. it concerned Although the I gone native enough to take on Bur- passed, the latter becomes irrelevant. had lived several years in Indonesia and mese street-crossing habits that would In Mandalay, where motorcycles had stayed on occasion in some of the horrify people elsewhere. In another and bicycles are ubiquitous, their riders region’s biggest cities—Bangkok, Jakar- time-honored anthropological tradition, behave in ways that car drivers could ta, and Singapore—I had never seen pe- not easily emulate. Motorcyclists start- destrians engage in such death-defying odd, seemingly irrational ways of the ing up at the side of the road did not look practices as I did in Rangoon. Jaywalk- nativesI will now when explain crossing what the motivated road in Bur the- ma. The key to understanding what pe- so would undermine the impression of for nothing; stepping out in front of destrians do when they set off across a theirback beforeintention they to entered enter the traffic. game. To Only do ing was the rule; traffic lights counted broad avenue in Rangoon, one in which once they are in motion do they begin of brash young men or matronly ladies there might be a number of private to gauge the possibility of moving out oron-coming parents graspingtraffic, whether the hands on theof young part children, was very much the norm. motorcyles) coming straight at them, is glancing to the side rather more than The pamphlet’s author suggested tocars, see taxis, the way buses, they and enter trucks into (but an overall not tointo the the rear. stream Motorcyclists of traffic. andThat bicyclists implies system, one in which they occupy the alike, should they wish to move into the lowest rung, but still do have a place. that this extremely dangerous behavior Like virtually all elements of Burmese motorizedcould be explained vehicle and by the therefore fact that had few no society, that system is fundamentally lane of traffic on the far side of the road, Burmese had any experience driving a sidewalk,will, if no breakwaiting in fortraffic a chance presents to cross itself, stop a vehicle travelling at speed. By the principle of relative standing, not rights. over.start Whenmoving such against cyclists traffic meet near others the lateappreciation 1980s the of Burmese how difficult economy it was had to hierarchical:Relative standingit is characterized can incorporate by the coming toward them, no rule applies to been in bad straits for some time and complicated, sometimes cross-cutting, which side either of them will take to there were very few cars on the road. sometimes ambiguous, often contest- pass. It has to be negotiated separately, An American friend, John Badgeley, who able features of a person’s identity or on the move, as it were, in each case. had spent time in Burma in the 1950s, ​ role. In the anonymous realm of street In Rangoon, drivers are forbidden to use their horns, a remarkable form Rangoon’s streets back then than when simple. Size mattered. Larger, heavier, of social control. Everywhere else in wetold met me therethat there in 1987. was Getting more traffic behind on fastertraffic, vehicles however, take things precedence were quite over Burma, horns enable drivers to indicate the wheel of a car or truck was some- smaller, lighter, and slower ones. Trucks that they are approaching and lesser thing very few people ever did. Despite and buses enjoy a pre-eminence compa- usually observed, but when streets has increased precipitously, pedestri- know better than to defy them and crossvehicles in thehave absence to yield. of Traffic a light lights(as is theare ansthe factcontinue that amount to engage of trafficin behavior in the that city scurryrable to out that of of the elephants: way as they smaller approach. beasts rule in Mandalay), vehicles do not stop looks little short of suicidal. By then No one is obliged to look back—many but only slow down, while drivers sound 2012, when I was in Burma most recent- drivers have no rear-view mirror—be- their horns. Drivers slow down less if ly, at least a few of those pedestrians cause vehicles in front have precedence, their size empowers them to assume

10 Bulletin of the Burma Studies Group control of the road. Horns are graduated the reckless assertiveness of such play- about fundamental rights. Pedestrians, in their sound to indicate the relative ers. But it is very much the high stakes certainly, enjoy no “right of way.” No size of the vehicles to which they are at- option and not one that many pedestri- ans opt for. Much more frequent is a ma- from the game as long as they remain in a few motorcyclists attach car horns to neuver by which a pedestrian indicates motion.one, by the What same everyone token, isdoes ever at excluded all times deceivetached. Someother cheatingdrivers ahead takes ofplace them, here: the intention to cross by looking into is enter into negotiation with all other and owners of some small vehicles put players, and do so cognizant of what the in horns appropriate for trucks. But for and distance of the closest vehicles. the most part, horns provide accurate Theyincoming may trafficdecide and to run gauging for it; the they speed indices to the size and therefore stand- may decide they can simply walk; they Driverscharacteristics are not they“thoughtless” bring to the or “mindspecific- ing of the vehicles whose approach they may decide to hold out where they are, less”context or evenimposes “rude.” upon Truck and affordsdrivers, them. in a announce. which can be at any point between the kind of noblesse oblige, often use their sidewalk they had left behind and the turn signals to indicate to other large one they are approaching. Drivers do vehicles behind them that they had a precedence The order over of carstraffic and is, minivans, therefore, chance to pass. What drivers, pedestri- whichperfectly take clear: precedence trucks and over buses motorcy take- close to pedestrians that Western driv- ans, and cyclists all have in common is a cles and scooters (if present), which not display the anxious dread of coming ceaseless alertness to chances, ones that takes precedence over bicyclists and, their features (size, weight, speed) allow closeers often to pedestrians, evince: Burmese often driversat fairly show them to take up or preclude them from conditions allow for considerable wiggle completehigh speed. equanimity passing extremely doing so. room.finally, Smaller pedestrians. vehicles At theare, same after time,all, Little thought is given, for that Burma is undergoing much-antic- capable of getting into spaces larger matter, to what may make things ipated change. Debate as to the appro- vehicles cannot enter. This means that convenient for pedestrians. Sidewalks priate foundations upon which Burmese - torbikes and bicycles surge forward to initiated. But we must not be com- placewhen themselvestraffic halts around, at a traffic between, light, mo and oftenare often to great extremely depth, high. the roads Their during height placentsociety shouldabout our be basedown assumptions, has finally been monsoonraises them rains above (because the water of the that inade floods,- or dismissive of Burmese ones, if we starts up, the smaller vehicles will lose quate drainage of the streets), and the are to appreciate how things are now. theahead bit ofof largeradvantage vehicles. they When momentarily traffic One type of complacency we should be enjoy, but that is no reason not to pursue times. But that height also means that particularly alert to is an easy Western it when the chance arises. height benefits pedestrians at such idealization of egalitarianism’s virtues That includes pedestrians. Anyone driveway that put a break in the side- and its corollary, the denigration of who stands by the side of the road wait- walkwalking requires is at all that times pedestrians hard work: make every a hierarchy’s shortcomings or disadvan- big step down and a big step up if they tages. If we assume that all humans feel Only once they start moving—into traf- are going to remain on the sidewalk. the same distaste we have for hierarchy, ing to cross may just as well not exist. In Burma (indeed in Southeast Asia we risk misapprehending much of what and so start the delicate dance of dar- generally), making conditions easier goes on in Burma. Any outsider who ne- ing,fic—do negotiation, pedestrians and enter assertion into thethat game will glects to consider what the world looks result in their reaching the other side. to have access to any vehicle is no one’s like from inside Burmese society as it is One particularly risky ploy is simply to remit.for people The toostanding poor and of pedestrians insignificant is now constituted should get out of their refuse all eye contact and stride across such that they didn’t have to. big white SUV and try making their way No one, as noted above, enters across the street. behavior have no choice but to cede to the road: drivers confronted with such Burmese traffic with any assumptions

Spring / Fall 2014-15 11 Fieldwork at the Sri Ksetra Museum: A Research Update

Charlotte Galloway, Australian National University

steles, but which is now used as the tures and workshops to the students at sabbatical from the Australian National museum storage room. However, things the Archaeology Field School as part of University.During the firstAt ANU half we of call2014 this I was “OSP,” on have been changing. Sri Ksetra, along their Museology course. Third, I would or Outside Studies Program. When I with Beikthano and Halin, have been write a guidebook for the museum. was preparing my application, I knew put forward for UNESCO world heri- There was a fourth part to the project I wanted to spend time in Burma, but tage listing. U Thein Lwin, whom I had was not quite sure what my research met over the years and is now Deputy hoped to use the catalogue as the base program would be. It was after a dis- Director General of Archaeology, was forwhich a much was largermuch more project ambitious: that would we cussion with Bob Hudson, who many very supportive of my project. While bring together all Pyu material into a will know is a Sydney-based archae- the UNESCO documentation required central database. This last would be a ologist who has been researching in the sites to be fully researched, there much longer undertaking. Burma since the 1990s, that a plan was no requirement for detailed doc- Of course, things didn’t quite go started to form. My own PhD research according to plan. I had received email had focused on the early Buddhist art material. Resources were limited, and of Bagan. More recently I’ve started to myumentation proposal of was the very existing timely, excavated as this approved by the Ministry of Culture, - confirmation my project had been facts at Pyu sites, as I am interested in recording Pyu artifacts. was hoping for a longer visa, but had to thedelve early into spread the first of millenniumBuddhism through arti was Ingoing September to be one 2013, of the I visited next steps the in makebut did do not with receive an initial my official four week letter. visit. I Southeast Asia. Bob suggested I look at On arrival in February, I was given my cataloguing the material in the Sri Kse- museum was in the middle of being tra site museum at Hmawza, near Pyay. refurbishedsite to finalize before arrangements. UNESCO was The to visa. However, this and some other come to inspect the site. I was a little minorofficial hiccups letter, but aside, could I ended not change up in Pyay, my surprised, as I was not aware this was and then moved to the Field School of alongIt was with a terrific my own idea, research bringing interests. together happening. But my surprise was no Archaeology (FSOA). I bought a bicy- Itmy certainly museum made and curatorial for a good experience, OSP appli- more than one of those very frequent cation, with the research being directly “surprise” moments that seem to for transport to and from the museum related to my teaching in Asian art go with working and researching in eachcle, as day, I wanted and settled to be self-sufficientinto a routine. history and curatorial studies. - I started work on 21 February when I I was familiar with the Sri Ksetra alogue, which was essentially a ledger met with staff. We agreed on a plan to Museum, having visited a few times thatBurma. listed I was materials shown theas they existing had comecat catalogue all objects in the museum, before in the 2000s. The museum is into the collection. It was incomplete, and then move on to objects in storage about eight kilometers from Pyay in not all objects were clearly listed, and as time permitted. the middle of the Sri Ksetra walled city there were no images to help identify When we started, the staff showed site. It has been sitting there pretty objects. We agreed that the scope of my me the previous catalogue material. As much unchanged for decades. In the research would be three-fold. First, I it turned out, quite a bit of work had 2000s, visitors were a rare occur- would catalogue all of the material in been done since the previous year and rence. Getting permission to take the museum. I would do this with local there were now basic computerized photographs was always uncertain staff as a capacity-building project. The records of the collection. While ini- and access to the adjacent Kyaukka staff would become familiar with inter- tially a little taken aback—I wondered Thein store was almost impossible. national museum registration prac- what I would then be contributing—it The “store” is the original museum site, tices. As time allowed, we would also turned out to be very valuable to have built in the 1920s on the grounds of the catalogue objects in Kyaukka Thein this information in place. We were able local monastery over three large stone store. Second, I would give some lec- to check everything, update measure-

12 Bulletin of the Burma Studies Group ments and discuss cataloguing proto- to ensure understanding by all parties. teaching period began. I only had about cols. In retrospect, this was a better The staff members were great to work seventeen days’ more work—my visit approach than introducing something with and we quickly developed a good coincided with Thingyan, and the Field from scratch. I was working with a working routine. School would be closed. This did give system the Burmese had introduced, The cataloguing system for the me time, however, to spend a week in so it already had approval. The current museum is materials based, broken Bagan for my own research, and I visit- cataloguing was in Burmese and hav- ed many of the early temples, focusing ing an English version would be of help gold, silver, and terracotta. All objects on those that perhaps might link to to a wider audience. Checking informa- ininto the six collection categories: have stone, been bronze, given the iron, the Pyu sites. While I had seen most year number 2013, the starting point of them before, I was looking at them for the catalogue system, and a sequen- with different eyes, and it proved very informationtion against existingthey had, data and also to be gave com the- - useful. fortablestaff confidence changing in information the accuracy that of the was On my return to Sri Ksetra, I found incomplete. I had developed a standard intial 2013. number New for material each group. coming For into exam the that a computer had now been installed template using Microsoft Word for the collectionple, “2013/1/1” will be is given the first similar stone numbers. object in the museum. Staff were now entering cataloguing, which I changed slightly There were a number of catalogu- the data I had left into their cataloguing - system. I’m delighted this is happening. was not necessary, and other areas alogue a group of more than 300 beads, I delivered three teaching sessions, after our first day. Some information ing challenges for the staff: how to cat including a morning at the museum on practical condition reporting. Students notneeded everyone expansion. is able I tochose use Word,it. Compat as it- is generatedfor example, good or fragments discussions of and a roof I am tile. worked in small groups preparing a ibilityeasy to with use. differentExcel is more versions versatile of the but Cataloguing these unusual examples detailed condition report of an object. software is also an issue. the principles underpinning sound mu- At the museum we focused on catalogu- We worked daily during the open- confidentseology practices the staff in are cataloguing. able to follow An- ing objects in the store. This has been a fantastic opportunity to record material catalogue information. I questioned the that has either not been looked at for ing hours of the museum, from 9:30- other issue arose in relation to existing many years, or has not been recorded at visit,12:30 Daw in the Myint morning Myint and Thein, then Assistant 1:30- the upper section of a stone stele that all. While mostly fragments of objects, Director,4:30 in the Department afternoon. ofDuring Archaeology this first hadtitles been of some named of the “Vishnu.” works, I for could example, not - and National Museum, Pyay Branch; see any iconography related to that edge of Pyu culture. Daw Mya Mya, Lecturer at FSOA Pyay; attribution. Changing titles is never they do add significantly to our knowl and Daw Nyo Nyo Yin Mauk, Tutor of easy, and fortunately U Win Maung Museology, FSOA Pyay, along with junior (Tampawaddy) visited the museum staff, took part in our activities. We one afternoon with U Win Kyaing, head looked at every object in the museum. of the Field School, and we reviewed We recorded measurements, conditions, a few objects. We all agreed on the any information we had about the loca- proposed changes. It’s not unusual to - cation information. While a time-inten- early twentieth century to have been sive,tion ofthis the approach find, and proved any previous very effective publi misinterpreted.find that objects I first was cataloguedin fact surprised in the from an educational perspective. I am very familiar with Western terminology relating to iconography and descriptive visit,to find we so discussed few. the terms for the material, but this was teaching At the plan end for of thismy return first in April, when the FSOA relevant to Burma. I encouraged thenot staffalways to easilytell me expressed what the bestin terms terms were for some of the descrip- tors. We included both Western and Burmese terms where needed

Spring / Fall 2014-15 13 visitors from Yangon, while foreign hard at making sure we understood part of my Outside Studies Program, to- tourists tend to be those who arrive by each other accurately. We had many gether When we hadI had completed finished the404 formal catalogue boat and spend a day in Pyay. Infra- lively discussions regarding icono- records and reviewed 4,664 objects, structure is not keeping pace, with graphic interpretation of objects. There including groups of votive tablets and the road from Pyay to the site being were also necessary interruptions inadequate for bus coaches and heavy when tour groups and other visitors of objects that had had no previous arrived and staff had to attend to core cataloguebeads. We information.had sixty-three We new were records un- Field School and Museum is by neces- business. But these are only minor sitytraffic. on theseWhile grander focus of plans,the people it was, at Ithe things. I am looking forward to con- think, a very welcome break for them tinuing my work at Sri Ksetra. The cat- able to finish cataloguing the Kyaukka to spend some time continuing the aloguing system is being used across bricksThein Store—Iand other focused fragments on the of imageryfigurative the Pyu sites. I visited the museum at thatmaterial appeared and left to thebe post-Pyu finger-marked period. store inventory, though I am avoiding Beikthano in September and there is a There were still more objects I wanted thosecataloguing. bricks! We I have just set about up a finished research the great array of material there that also to check, but time did not allow. database through ANU and am slowly - On my return to Australia, I went resenting a quite different type of Pyu straight into teaching. I returned to visualneeds extensivecultural material. documentation, rep Burma in September 2014 for nine inentering the Department the data. The of Archaeology next step is atto Things are changing quickly in days during our semester break. Of Pyayexpand that the are cataloguing not at the museum.to other objects A Burma. Even three years ago, get- course everything was different. On published catalogue of the museum and ting projects like this off the ground June 22nd, the UNESCO listing had been store collection is an immediate goal, would have been almost impossible, as - as so little of this material is available navigating the bureaucracy was just ment, we are all aware that while the to researchers. approved. While there is much excite I feel very fortunate to have had this piece, I thought about how hard it is another. The staff at the Field School the opportunity to work with the local wastoo difficult. to do research When Iin started the 2000s, to write and listing is one thing, what happens next staff. It has been a collaborative proj- how many of us nearly gave up. But we are carparks to be built for tourist ect, and a very productive one. From didn’t. The potential that we all saw, busses,and Museum upgrades are allto inundated:the site facilities, there and our genuine interest in Burma’s tourist management plans to imple- challenging at times. Working condi- history continues, and I for one am ment and much more. Visitor numbers tionsa fieldwork were not perspective, easy–it was it wasof course rather looking forward to being part of what are increasing, though access to Pyay very hot, and my poor Burmese lan- is still a challenge. There are more guage skills meant we all had to work Burma’s development. I hope will be an exciting period in

Shwedagon, 2014 Charlotte Galloway also took a few pictures at the Shwedagon during her most recent trip to Burma, as she discussed in the preceding piece. Here are just a few of the changes and developments one can see on the platform. For those who have been there, the contrasts with holy sites in Bangkok and India are striking. –ed.

14 Bulletin of the Burma Studies Group “Pilgrims, healers, and wizards: Buddhism and religious practices in Burma and Thailand”: An exhibition at the British Museum

By Alexandra Green, British Museum

Collections without a curator have in Gallery 91 in autumn 2014, a short a tendency to become disorganized. time frame. The Southeast Asian collections at the I planned the show to demonstrate the diversity of beliefs and practices that people in the region engage with. subjectBritish Museumat the institution, are no exception, I spent a andgreat The focus was to be Thailand and Bur- as the first curator dedicated to the job sorting objects out and improving are shows to present British Museum theirdeal of database time during entries. my Ifirst was year very on keen the objectsma, because that wouldexhibitions not otherwise in Gallery be 91 Pilgrims, healers and wizards - seen. The museum has very little ma- Buddhism and um has not had a Southeast Asian show terial from Laos or Cambodia relevant religious practices sinceto produce Ralph an Isaacs exhibition, and Richard as the Blurton’smuse in Burma and Thailand Visions from the Golden Land: Burma and 2 October 2014 the Art of Lacquer in 2000. In total only to the subject of the exhibition, and – 11 January 2015 Thaitherefore and Burma they had collections. to be excluded. The Room 91 Southeast Asia have been mounted in exhibitionGiven thedraws religious on the variety strengths found of the Free three exhibitions dedicated to mainland- in Burma and Thailand, no museum ing the collection that I catalogued the collection could possibly be comprehen- museum’sthe past 260 substantial years. It was body while of popu examin- lar prints from Thailand and Burma My aim therefore was to try to convey (Myanmar). Some were of pretty poor sive, and certainly, an exhibition cannot. offerings,There are biographyconceptually and five cosmology, quality, and I asked the Keeper of the overwhelming the viewer. However, payingspaces inhomage, the exhibition: powerful an beings, altar and and Department of Asia, Jan Stuart, the the complexity of the landscape without power and protection. The vestibule to purpose of holding them in the muse- like an art display. Instead, I wanted a crowdedI did not want feeling the to exhibition replicate, toas lookfar as Gotama Buddha’s history in the form of British Museum was not one of art, but possible in a museum environment, the painting,the exhibition sculpture, space andincludes a poster some of ofthe ratherum’s collection. was a museum She explained of civilization, that the and busy spaces of Buddhist temples in the Buddhas of the Past—twenty-eight in therefore their inclusion made sense. At two countries. Of course, the ideas about Burma and twenty-four in Thailand. On the same time, a number of interactions religion are not identical in the two the other side of the space is a case that I had had with the public made it clear countries, so to ensure that the concepts that people, in Europe at least, thought - 91 never notice. The challenge was to of Buddhism as a religion focused on tialized, I choose broad themes that can getmost people visitors to payto exhibitions attention to in it. Gallery Because meditation. I began to wonder whether beof the found two in were both. not Within conflated each andsection, essen it was not possible to include non-muse- - the objects, ranging in date from the late um objects with ones from the museum, tion that brought religious practices and I used this space to display some of theit would British be Museum’spossible to eclectic mount collectionan exhibi demonstrate some of the ways in which the many types of ephemeral offerings of mainland Southeast Asian objects Burmeseeighteenth and to Thaithe twenty-first people have century, engaged made to the Buddha, monks, and other together in order to counteract the - powerful beings, including incense, stereotype of Buddhism as an austere tioning of pieces from both countries religion. I submitted a proposal, and showsin religious how similaractivities. concepts The juxtaposi have been and a money tree, some from Thailand approval came in April 2013 for a show andflowers, some scent, from daily Burma. requisites, water,

expressed differently. Spring / Fall 2014-15 15 in Burma and Thailand, no museum space, the visitor encounters the muse- collection could possibly be comprehen- um’s Upon Buddhapāda entering with the maina nāga exhibition surround and the 108 marks brought back from My aim therefore was to try to convey sive, and certainly, an exhibition cannot. war in the 1820s by Captain Frederick overwhelming the viewer. However, Marryat.Burma during We positioned the first Anglo-Burmese the footprint the complexity of the landscape without so that the toes point towards a case like an art display. Instead, I wanted a replicating a Thai altar at the other end crowdedI did not want feeling the to exhibition replicate, toas lookfar as possible in a museum environment, the between the two that Burmese and Thai busy spaces of Buddhist temples in the of the room. There is sufficient distance two countries. Of course, the ideas about presents a number of Buddha images, religion are not identical in the two offeringideas are vessels, not conflated. and a large The candle,altar itself countries, so to ensure that the concepts all from Thailand. There is a two-fold - reason for this. First, the Thai collection tialized, I choose broad themes that can beof the found two in were both. not Within conflated each andsection, essen does it contain as many items related the objects, ranging in date from the late is not as extensive as the Burmese, nor- er, collections without a curator have demonstrate some of the ways in which ato tendency the themes to becomeof the exhibition. disorganized. Howev Burmeseeighteenth and to Thaithe twenty-first people have century, engaged The Southeast Asian collections at the Tablet of a standing Buddha mounted in a wooden - panel, c. mid 19th century, Thailand, pottery and tioning of pieces from both countries wood, 1894,0926.18 Acquired from Sir Augustus showsin religious how similaractivities. concepts The juxtaposi have been Wollaston Franks. subjectBritish Museumat the institution, are no exception, I spent a andgreat as the first curator dedicated to the of Buddhism as a religion focused on job sorting objects out and improving meditation. I began to wonder whether expressed differently. - theirdeal of database time during entries. my Ifirst was year very on keen the - ings, There biography are conceptually and cosmology, five payingspaces - tion that brought religious practices and homage,in the exhibition: powerful an beings, altar andand offerpower um has not had a Southeast Asian show theit would British be Museum’spossible to eclectic mount collectionan exhibi - sinceto produce Ralph an Isaacs exhibition, and Richard as the Blurton’smuse of mainland Southeast Asian objects to- hibition space includes some of Gotama Visions from the Golden Land: Burma and gether in order to counteract the stereo- Buddha’sand protection. history The in thevestibule form of to painting, the ex the Art of Lacquer in 2000. In total only type of Buddhism as an austere religion. sculpture, and a poster of the Buddhas I submitted a proposal, and approval of the Past—twenty-eight in Burma and Southeast Asia have been mounted in came in April 2013 for a show in Gallery twenty-four in Thailand. On the other three exhibitions dedicated to mainland- 91 in autumn 2014, a short time frame. side of the space is a case that most vis- ing the collection that I catalogued the I planned the show to demonstrate museum’sthe past 260 substantial years. It was body while of popu examin- the diversity of beliefs and practices notice. The challenge was to get people lar prints from Thailand and Burma that people in the region engage with. toitors pay to attention exhibitions to it.in BecauseGallery 91 it was never not (Myanmar). Some were of pretty poor The focus was to be Thailand and Bur- possible to include non-museum objects quality, and I asked the Keeper of the with ones from the museum, I used this Department of Asia, Jan Stuart, the are shows to present British Museum space to display some of the many types purpose of holding them in the muse- objectsma, because that wouldexhibitions not otherwise in Gallery be 91 of ephemeral offerings made to the Bud- seen. The museum has very little ma- dha, monks, and other powerful beings, British Museum was not one of art, but terial from Laos or Cambodia relevant ratherum’s collection. was a museum She explained of civilization, that the and requisites, water, and a money tree, some therefore their inclusion made sense. At fromincluding Thailand incense, and flowers, some from scent, Burma. daily the same time, a number of interactions to the subject of the exhibition, and I had had with the public made it clear Thaitherefore and Burma they had collections. to be excluded. The space, the visitor encounters the muse- that people, in Europe at least, thought exhibitionGiven thedraws religious on the variety strengths found of the um’sUpon Buddhapāda entering with the maina nāga exhibition surround

16 Bulletin of the Burma Studies Group and the 108 marks brought back from a monastery. A banner from northern is a large kalagà (shwe chidò) of the Nemi - war in the 1820s by Captain Frederick Burma.Jataka, encapsulating Also on display the for entire the first story time pa and shrine from the same region. Marryat.Burma during We positioned the first Anglo-Burmese the footprint in scenes of the heavens and hells. A Manuscripts,Thailand hangs votive next tablets, to a model and stu stupa so that the toes point towards a case 1990s poster of the Buddha meditating deposits complete the section. While replicating a Thai altar at the other end surrounded by the ten jātakas indicates the selection is not in any way compre- the continuing popularity of the stories hensive, it shows how people can offer between the two that Burmese and Thai in Burma, especially in their protective objects connected with the Buddha and of the room. There is sufficient distance function, as chanting the names of the the Dhamma, support to the Sangha, presents a number of Buddha images, stories is a paritta. The representation offeringideas are vessels, not conflated. and a large The candle,altar itself of this imagery on a poster makes it a pilgrimage to sacred sites. all from Thailand. There is a two-fold visual paritta, and as such it links the and Therepersonal are exertions many individuals in the form and of reason for this. First, the Thai collection biography and cosmology section with spirits who are important actors in the one on power and protection across Thai and Burmese religious practices, does it contain as many items related to the room. including spirits, famous historical is not as extensive as the Burmese, nor The paying homage section pres- and mythological monks, wizards, and the Thai collection has a good variety ents a few of the many ways that people alchemists. They are powerful beings, ofthe Buddha themes images of the exhibition. and altar vessels However, not have honored the Buddha. Posters of some of whom need to be propitiated replicated in the Burma collection. Fur- famous pilgrimage sites, such as the and others of whom are sources of Phra Chinarat Buddha in Phitsanulok, merit. For instance, a Thai sculpture from the two countries on one altar be- Thailand and Kyaiktiyo, Shwesettaw, of the Buddha and the god Shiva vying causethermore, it would I did be not confusing want to mix to visitors objects and the Shwedagon Pagoda in Burma, for supremacy is on display for the unfamiliar with the region. contrast with contrast with a 19th-cen- Each side of the room contains two tury monk’s robe and a poster of the collection in the late 19th century. It Thai annual robe-giving ceremony. A showsfirst time the since Buddha the standingpiece entered on the the the sections on biography and cosmol- handsome black lacquer tiered hsùn-out head of a multi-armed Shiva who rides ogyparts and of thepaying exhibition. homage. On The the museum’s left are would have been used to take food to on his mount Nandi. The base of the Burmese cosmology manuscript and a Thai cosmology painting set the scene, may indicate the relevance of the piece - tofigure those contains born in felines the year and of deer,the tiger. which pressed differently in visual form. A late Burmese nat spirits are represented eighteenthshowing how or similarearly nineteenth-century ideas are ex by modern wood sculptures of Lady Burmese gilded stone image of Sakka Buffalo, her son, and the buffalo herder, (in Burmese, Thagyà) recording peo- as well as by a reverse glass painting of ple’s karma indicates the relationship U Min Kyawzwa, the nat associated with between behavior and the condition of alcohol and gambling. There are posters current and future lives in the thir- of the Burmese wizard and alchemist Bo Bo Aung and the Thai rice goddess. this are scenes from the Buddha’s life Mythical monks on display include whichty-one demonstraterealms of existence. how he Followingattained Shin Thivali and Shin Upagout, and a enlightenment and the ten great jātaka āyana, stories in which the Buddha-to-be per- - fected the virtues necessary for awak- dha’sbronze teachings, sculpture from of Mahā Thailand. Kacc Famous ening. The museum’s rare northern monksthe monk from best Thailand able to explainand Burma the Budare Thai painting of the Vessantara Jataka, seeb on posters, in a magazine, and on showing the scenes where the prince amulets, the latter providing a reference gives away his children, is on display, Figure of a Shan tattooed man of strength, early demonstrating how art produced in Lan 20th century, Mong Nai, Shan State, Burma, Stucco, Na contains elements from Thailand and As1930,1018.1. Donated by H. N. C. Stevenson. sermonsto further demonstrates amulets in the the final up-to-date section of the exhibition. A 2013 CD of monks’ Continued on back page

Spring / Fall 2014-15 17 Burma Studies Conference 2014: A Modest Critique

By Gwen Robinson, Institute of Security and International Studies, Chulalongkorn University, and editor of the Nikkei Asian Review.

diversion through Singapore), and cul- quirky, the better. The presentations on at the International Burma Studies contemporary concerns, from the mili- ConferenceThe first thing are that the contradictionsstrikes an outsider in Twante ceramics, beauty contests). In- tary’s role in parliament to the develop- style and form, rather resembling the tellectually,ture (ethnic thistextiles, variety contemporary distinguished art, ment of “Burmese economic thought,” country’s transition itself. The resolute the event from comparable conferences China’s investment misadventures and use in conference communications I have attended on other regions, for communal violence in Rakhaing State, of the term “Burma Studies,” was in contrast to many of the presentations discussion. – and much of the discussion – on a juniorexample professors Middle East and and well-known China forums. added significantly to the level of authors, Alongside were anyleading number Burma of “indepen experts, - panels that bracketed the three-day title highlighted this contradiction, dent scholars,” together with museum So, too, did the two high-profile country called “Myanmar.” The official curators, lawyers, gallery owners, country’s future, “Myanmar Today,” Burma Studies Conference 2014 – even Burmese presidential advisors withevent: Kyaw the introductory Yin Hlaing, Zaw panel Oo, on Thant the no doubt deliberately: “International and ministers and a lone businessman. Myint-U, and Ma Thida, and the closing Identities.” This diversity seemed unusual for an panel on scenario-building, “Vision for EnvisioningA blurb fromMyanmar: the conference Issues, Images, guide academic conference and reinforced Myanmar,” with Than Swe, Kyaw Win, - the impression that the main criterion Zeya Thu, and Tin Maung Maung Than. edging the huge changes in Myanmar for presenting a paper was enthusiasm reflected a tone of transition, acknowl and an abiding interest in Myanmar. cut above the usual “wither Myanmar” Burma studies has been late to initiate I heard mutterings about the offeringsThe lively at and run-of-the sharp exchanges mill conferences. were a ain conversation recent years: that “Across questions the disciplines, many of quality of presentations. Indeed, they Was the bar too low? On a purely ac- the concepts, categories, and frame- ranged from ramblingly mediocre to ademic level, possibly so. But ultimately works that have informed the scholar- top notch. It was a delight to attend a the cornucopia of topics and speakers ship of the past decades. These con- sent an overwhelmingly positive mes- cepts have informed not only scholarly focused on investment or contem- discussion, but have formed part of the Myanmar-relatedporary politics, although event not there exclusively was affairs that academic conferences so fabric of wider understanding of the substantive discussion on the consti- oftensage: ratherare, the than Burma the Studiesrarefied, Conference earnest politics and society of the country.” As tution, the 2015 elections, economic seemed to embrace diversity – a philos- a newcomer, it was hard to gauge, but reform, foreign investment, human ophy that the country’s own policymak- going by the views of veteran partici- rights and ethnic issues. I revelled in ers should follow more closely. pants, it seemed that this conference the jumble of topics and presentations There was, however, a glaring

For me, one of the surprises was event entirely about a popular inter- reflected that sense of transition. socialon archeological and cultural excavations, issues. Where musings else absencenational innews the themethrong: like the Myanmar, media. At an - couldon art one and catch in-depth a presentation examinations on theof the remarkable mix of speakers and and government representatives, the choicethemes: of their topics, designations ranging from and the qual beauty pageant or the preservation of completeone which lack featured of media prominent coverage experts was academicifications (archeologicalseemed as varied digs, as monastic their oldtrue Burmese significance manuscripts of the Miss and Myanmar lithic wholly surprising, and to this (re- architecture, history of tobacco pipes) formed) journalist, a relief. There was to contemporary politics (sectarian vi- immigrants in Indonesia, perceptions one lone writer from The Economist, olence, constitutional reform, national oftexts? Mon The history, attitudes or the of role Myanmar of Chinese illegal who presumably had not been allowed census); business (plans for a commod- merchants in nineteenth-century upper in for free as members of the media Burma? The more esoteric, obscure or usually are. There were also some se- ity futures exchange, analysis of export

18 Bulletin of the Burma Studies Group nior Burmese journalists, Ma Thida and budget hotels within realistic distance ic relationships. Instead, in Singapore, Zeya Thu of The Voice among them, but began at $140 or so per night. everyone was left to their own devices, they were there to speak on panels. For There is some irony in the fact and while most people seemed to know once at a Myanmar-related event, there that the Burma Studies Conferences in other attendees, some were left look- were no pushy hacks pursuing minis- ing lost. For them, it was not an easy - this Southeast Asian location. The con- conference, working against the instant ers with microphones and cameras. ferenceaffluent feeWestern in DeKalb countries was $220 undercut with camaraderie that these conferences can Theters, two no experts main reasons or presidential for the absence advis a near-60% discount for full or part- generate, and that was a shame. time enrolled students with all meals, In the end, shared interests did receptions and entertainment included; much to foster some kind of communica- Conferences,of the media, whichI was told, are notwas advertised first, the accommodation at the university’s tion. I was impressed with how gradu- beyonddiscrete Myanmar-specialist profile of the Burma circles. Studies ate students and museum curators had Western media covering Myanmar did $65 for single or double occupancy. Go- equal billing alongside veteran academ- inghotel back tower, to the while 2010 utilitarian, BSC conference was a flat in ics. I liked the way senior presidential Marseilles the entry fee was €180 with advisors and even a deputy minister wasnot seem the $300 to know entrance - or bother fee, with to findno dis - the offer of arranging hotels from €80. appeared alongside strong critics of countsout - about or free the passes. event. More In this significant respect, As a senior academic remarked, government policies and practices, the conference organizers should be “there are always the haves and have while a top minister sat quietly in the commended for holding their ground nots at such events.” In this case, the audience, listening to presentations. The on media requests for free entry. “haves” were those whose institutions non-academic presentations surely pro- Less favorable were comparisons paid all costs, including conference fees vided a valuable way for participants to between the Singapore and previous and the near-$1,000 cost of a three-day hear views from researchers, workers stay at the venue. Among the “have to shape government policy. Perhaps the anconferences, impact on andwho the could extent attend to which the challenge—andin the field, and seniora place officials with room helping for conferencethe expenses and and the lack potential of subsidies hardships had anots”: $60 ticketa young and Burmese told me postgraduatehe was sharing vast improvement—is the actual quality facing those who did. The conference astudent, single room who hadwith flown four friendsto Singapore in the on of the research and presentations. lacked the usual hospitality of recep- tions and group meals that help break beers a symbol of the “new Myanmar”? the ice and foster discussion. The 2014 cheapestThere hotel was theya larger could aspect find, to taking the Taking Were the the Burma luxurious Studies venue Group and Con $20- conference took place in one of Singa- absenceturns to ofsleep conference on the floor. dinners, recep- ference upmarket, even for just a year, tions, and group lunches. While no fan perhaps gives Myanmar studies more - of the buffet reception, I have seen how of the attention it deserves. Yet the atelypore’s preceding swankiest conference, venues, the in five-star October conference networking can encourage conference risked pricing itself beyond 2012,Pan Pacific was in Hotel, the rather while morethe immedi modest – more robust debate and create academ- the reach of many participants. and strictly academic - surroundings of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, far from the bright lights of Chicago. The choice of a top hotel in South- meant rooms over SGD $280 per night; facilitieseast Asia’s including most expensive a bar selling country $15 beers; and a café where the cheapest main course was close to $30. There were no lunches or receptions as at previous conferences, although some day.of the For five-to-a-room those who wanted attendees to stay could somewherefill up on the cheaper, snacks offered even the twice cheapest each

Spring / Fall 2014-15 19 Continued from page 17 nature of religious practices. Shin Upagout, other powerful beings, of the many types of religious practic- - including nāgas and chinthés, the guard- es found in mainland Southeast Asia, ians of the directions, and the zodiac. particularly Burma and Thailand. It activities The final that section practitioners of the exhibiengage in Besides chanting protective formu- makes evident that religion in Southeast totion draw provides on the examples power emanating of a few of from the las, wearing amulets, or hanging potent Asia is not primarily about meditation, the Buddha, monks, wizards, spirits, diagrams in a space, people have also and it emphasizes the fact that religious the cosmos, and sacred sites and to attempted to incorporate power direct- practices are combined to suit personal protect themselves from the vagaries of ly into their bodies through tattooing and the insertion of charms under the tattooing, amulets and charms, power- skin. On display are a tattooing needle needs, goals, and financial abilities. fulexistence. diagrams, Explored divination, here arehoroscopes, the uses of and manual, as well as a group of thirty medicine, and the days of the week and silver charms taken from one Shan man the zodiac in protection against malev- who had been incarcerated in the Port olent forces and the generation of good Blair Penal Colony in the Andaman Is- luck. There are posters of paritta in vi- lands. They are accompanied by a stucco sual form, as well as a large cloth canopy sculpture dating to the early 20th painted with a protective diagram also century of a Shan man covered in red and black tattoos and with dots indicat- and described as diagrams on soldiers’ ing where charms are located under his turbansextant in in 18th-century the Gazetteer wall of Upper paintings Burma skin. and the Shan States. The imagery draws its potency from the Buddha and his “Power and Protection,” a title deemed eight main disciples, the Pañcavaggi, The exhibition, originally called

too politically sensitive, explores a few

Bulletin of the Burma Studies Group Spring / Fall 2014-15

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