CALL FOR PAPERS |
| CONFERENCE INFORMATION|
International Burma Studies Conference
October 3-5, 2008
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3
ART HISTORY: PAINTING AND ARTIFACTS
"NAGAS, ALCHEMISTS, MAGIC AND HELL IN SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURY BURMESE WALL PAINTINGS"
|Seventeenth- and eighteenth- century Burmese murals are
conservative in their subject matter. The twenty-eight previous
Buddha's, the life of Gotama Buddha, including the Seven Stations,
the Eight Victories, and the waso seasons, the Jataka stories,
lotus pools, and floral and geometric decorations comprise
the main imagery painted onto temple and cave walls and ceiling.
Occasionally, in doorways, window niches, and on the ceilings,
however, other elements were also incorporated into the program;
these include images of nagas, the thuyaung or 'fake person'
tree associated with the practice of alchemy, hell scenes
not associated with the Nemi Jataka, and both magic squares
and circles. In this paper, I will describe this material,
which is fairly standardized, explore where it is located
and the format in which it is presented to the viewer, and
assess its meanings. Of particular interest is the reason
why such imagery has been included with canonical material,
for which there are a number of explanations, including the
embeddedness of these concepts in Burmese religious beliefs
and the necessity of protection.
"NINETEENTH CENTURY BUDDHIST CLOTH PAINTING FROM BURMA"
|Apart from several rare exceptions, such as the scroll painting
dating from the twelfth/ thirteenth century discovered in
Pagan in 1984 and now on permanent display at the Pagan Museum,
very little is known about Burmese Buddhist painting on cloth.
Their history and their specific usage have received little
attention, yet the existence of this art form has been recorded
at least since the sixteenth century in the Royal Orders of
Burma. Buddhist cloth paintings could be seen represented
in murals temple or on palm-leaf and on parabaik,
shown as a partition/divider or as a banner, and they appear
to have formerly played a role in Buddhist merit-making, where
such donations were displayed either at the entrance to, or
within the interior of a temple compound. Or they may have
been alternatively produced for some other public function,
or even to provide personal protection.
In recent years the NIU Burma Art Collection had received
two separate donations of Buddhist cloth paintings, usually
on cotton coated with a thin whitish priming. We now possess
four remarkable examples of such paintings dating to the nineteenth
The subjects vary from a distinctive cosmological representation
superimposed on a superb shedawya, or "footprint
of the Buddha", to depictions of his celebrated disciples
Shin Thiwali and Shin Upago, and to certain events in the
life of Buddha.
The objective of this paper is to present the artistic and
iconographic affiliations of Burmese Buddhist cloth paintings,
contextualized both historically and geographically, vis-a-vis
the neighboring Buddhist countries, towards better understanding
their larger social and religious significance.
"THE PONGYIBYAN: FUNERAL CEREMONIES OF SENIOR MONKS IN 19TH CENTURY BURMA AND ASSOCIATED ARTIFACTS"
|This paper describes the Burmese festival of pongyibyan,
the ceremonies at the cremation of a senior monk, mainly by
collating written accounts and photographs by Europeans who
witnessed pongyibyan in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Possible canonical precedents for certain rites of the pongyibyan
may be found in accounts in the Parinibbanna Sutta of the
Buddha's own funeral. The paper cites descriptions of the
evisceration, embalming and gilding of the monk's corpse;
the simple inner coffin, and elaborate outer coffin; the mortuary
chapel (neiban-kyaung) where the body lay in state
awaiting cremation; the architecture and symbolic significance
of the tall funeral pyres with figures of mythical beings;
and the role of the sat-hsaya, the craftsman in bamboo
and cut paper, who built them. The lonswethi, the
tug-of-war for merit, is described. Numerous foreign observers
reported the Burmese passion for rocketry. At least three
types of rockets (don) were used at pongyibyan for
kindling the funeral pyre. Rockets commonly caused injury
or death to spectators, and were discouraged by the British
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3
CAPITOL ROOM SOUTH
"THE SLIDE GUITAR IN POST-COLONIAL BURMA: LOCAL ADAPTATIONS TO A GLOBAL INSTRUMENT"
|Since the 1920s, the slide guitar has been a prominent fixture
in Burma's music culture. Introduced in the early part of
the century, it was quickly adapted to accommodate Burmese
thachin gyi (classical), colonial period khit
haung (popular oldies), and kalabaw (modern
traditional) music (1930-1960). Owing to its ability to mimic
Burmese vocal melodies the slide guitar was used extensively
to accompany popular singers and as a central instrument in
movie soundtracks for nostalgic and romantic scenes. Today,
the popularity of the slide guitar is waning as youth turn
their attention to International folk and rock guitar styles,
though several government institutions (radio, national competitions,
and universities) have provided contexts that preserve this
style of playing.
This presentation will describe the manner in which the Hawaiian
slide guitar has been adopted into Burmese music. Observation
of techniques drawn from other Burmese instruments, repertoire
choice, tunings and unique approaches to harmony will show
how thoroughly Burmanized the instrument has become in the
hands of Burmese musicians. In contrast, the paper will also
discuss the guitar's role in fostering changes to Burmese
musical aesthetics as Western Tin Pan Alley and Jazz repertoire
becomes popular amongst guitarists and composers in the 1940s
"THE FORMATION OF GENRE DIVISION OF BURMESE CLASSICAL SONGS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO SONG ANTHOLOGIES IN PALM LEAF MANUSCRIPTS"
|In this paper, I aim to demonstrate the basis on which certain
songs were classified as Burmese classical songs or thachingyi
and the manner in which these songs were categorized according
to genre. Songs that are classified as thachingyi
are regarded as being Burmese "classical" songs. There are
over one thousand songs listed under this category, and they
are categorized into approximately 20 different genres in
the song anthologies publication. According to the conventional
literature on thachingyi, it is evident that almost
any song can be classified under a certain genre. However,
these studies do not address the basis on which these song
anthologies are complied and the criteria that determine the
genre of a song. Song manuscripts that were written from 1788
to 1849 did not revise all the songs, albeit the revisions
made to certain kind of songs or certain author's songs. Many
songs that were listed in U Sa's song anthology, written in
1849, were not classified depending on their genre; however,
these songs have been categorized in the 1870 manuscript,
which compiled the song titles. Following this, in all manuscripts
and publications pertaining to songs that were published after
1870, the songs were edited comprehensively and compiled according
to their individual genres. However, some songs can be still
categorized under two different genres. Therefore, the relationship
between songs and their genres is not absolute; this relationship
is determined when the song is edited and compiled in anthologies,
and not at the time of inception.
"ADAPTABLE SONORITIES: GITA LU LIN U KO KO'S DEPARTURE IN SUNDAYA TONE AND STYLE"
|Often, improvising pianist-composers will be recognized
for their ingenuity in creation of material. Less observed
is their identity through craft in touch and timbre. Because
this art is elusive and resists discursive presentation, it
gets overlooked and 'under-heard'. Yet it is precisely U Ko
Ko's sandaya touch and technique which produced concomitantly
a great elation and studied indifference among some of his
U Ko Ko (1928-2007) was extraordinarily articulate about and
proud of his evolution of a personal piano style which combined
"international fingering" with a Burmese musical sensibility.
Yet many Burmese listeners - both musicians and music aficionados-
while acknowledging U Ko Ko's stature and genius as a composer
and pianist, would confide that he wasn't really playing Burman/Myanmar
music with a "true" Burman sound. What would that authentic
sound is which listeners wanted? And how would listeners with
these aural expectations both be disturbed by U Ko Ko's sandaya
playing yet enticed by his art?
I will play some short musical examples (cd and on keyboard)
contrasting some aspects of U Ko Ko's technique with that
of other pianists. In conclusion I will raise some points
about what constitute listening habits as 21st Century Burmese
musical culture embraces both notions of nostalgic return
and a perceived foray into "the new" among different generations
of musicians and audiences.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3
ART HISTORY: ICONOGRAPHY AND ARCHITECTURE
"THE ROCK-CUT TEMPLES OF SHWE BA TAUNG - CENTRAL BURMA"
ANNE MAY CHEW
|The religious complex of Shwe Ba Taung, closed to the archaeological
site of PWT, is located in the heart of central Burma, on
the west bank of the Chindwin River. Shwe Ba Taung, studded
with temples-shrines accessible from ground level through
narrow stairways and alleyways, contain several colossal standing
images of Lord Buddha. Its uniqueness relies in the fact that
all of it is dug out from the rock by human hands.
The temples-caves of Shwe Ba Taung are dated from the colonial period (1886-1948). Among a hundred of grottoes of different sizes at the site, about 50 are considered as temples-shrines. Others are designated as monastic residences or living accommodations of the laymen. These temples-caves contained over 200 Buddha sculptures belonging to Mandalay style, are chiselled from soft volcanic stone.
According to the inscriptions found, the shrines at Shwe Ba
Taung, were mostly constructed during the first quarter of
the 20TH century. The majority have two or three entrances.
These contemporary temples are partially built in solid stone
blocks on the upper part of the shrines so as to give the
façades monumental appearance. The height of the façades can
rise up to 6 meters. The main feature of Shwe Ba Taung is
the architectural ornamentation on the façades, imitating
the traditional wooden architecture and buildings constructed
during the colonial period. This paper focuses on the artistic
creation of the facades: compositions, diversities and influence.
"THE POINTED ARCH AT PAGAN: WHAT SHAPE JAMBUDVIPA?"
|One of the most arresting sights encountered by a visitor
to the ancient city of Pagan, is the widespread architectural
use of the pointed arch, or, as it is known in the west, the
Gothic arch. This architectural preference becomes all the
more intriguing upon a realization that Pagan is the only
site in Asia where the pointed arch is extensively used for
structural purposes. Although the pointed arch was known in
India, it was employed for small niches, never for wide spans
as was its use during the Medieval Ages in Europe. Hindu-Buddhist
buildings did not require a large interior space because worship
in these religions is not congregational as in the west, but
processional, so that small interior spaces were adequate
for worship. Therefore, devices to span large spaces were
not needed. However, the use of pointed arch began during
the reign of King Kyanzittha and continued throughout the
remainder of the Pagan Period. This paper seeks to answer
how the pointed arch became the preferred spanning device
during the Pagan Period, how it expressed an ardent wish for
the future Buddha, Meitreya, to return to Burma and why it
was later forgotten.
Since no contemporary written records exist that address themselves
to these questions, this paper will review the evidence of
sculpture, wall paintings, and various aspects of the temple
architecture that are relevant to these issues.
"A PYU TRANSITION AT BAGAN: ICONOGRAPHIC LINKS"
|Bagan's origin as a Pyu settlement has gained general support
in recent years through the integrated analysis of archaeological
research and historical records. However, until the partial
excavation of Temple 996 around 2002 there was only scattered
physical evidence of Pyu presence at Bagan, all pre-dating
Bagan's emergence as the centre of a major Southeast Asian
empire in the 11th century. This material exists principally
in the form of votive tablets, while the Nga-kywe-na-daung
and Bu-hpaya stupas are linked to the Pyu through their design.
Concurrently there has been further excavation and evaluation
of the artifacts found at the major Pyu sites, with the majority
of objects being found at Sriksetra. The artifacts and architectural
design elements at Temple 996 have been linked to the Pyu
and represent a significant increase in the amount of Pyu
related material found to date at Bagan. This 'discovery'
has provided a bridge which offers for the first time the
opportunity to evaluate the material remains from both sites
in relation to each other. This in turn is a potential starting
point for determining an origin from which the distinctly
Burmese aesthetic emerged. Stylistic and iconographic links
between Srikshetra and Bagan are identified, and these connections
are used to infer that Pyu cultural models were a significant
influence in the development of Bagan period artistic expression.
In addition, through the similarities in decorative elements
between some of Bagan's early temples and acknowledged Pyu
design it is proposed that there is evidence which supports
a Pyu transitional phase at Bagan which possibly extended
through to the early 12th century.
"THE MAKING OF A BUDDHA IMAGE IN ARAKAN"
|The paper is about the making of Buddha's Image today, in
the Arakan State of Burma. The Buddhist Kingdom of Arakan
was independent until 1785, the date of the Burmese conquest.
Although their kingdom did not exist for more than two centuries,
today the Arakanese still refer to it and its palladium, the
protective Mahamuni Buddha Image, maintaining a strong sense
of historical and religious community amongst Arakanese. During
fieldwork conducted mostly in Arakan State, starting in the
late nineties, I came to note the vitality of Buddhist statuary.
Looking at this along with many oral and written narratives
on the images of Buddha in Arakan, I wondered why these images
of Buddha are so important.
Today in Arakan, in producing new Buddha images connected
to the Mahamuni one, as well as through devotions, rituals
and donations, this society perpetuates, what I have called
its "mythical space" but also its particular social and religious
The paper is based on ethnographical data, which cover the
whole process of making the Buddha's Image, step by step,
from the original drawing of the future Image to its ritual
consecration. Most of the studies on ceremonies associated
with Buddha's images in Theravada societies are concerned
with the consecration ritual and fewer on venerating the Buddha
Images or remains. However in one case, they were several
ceremonies and rituals while making the image, before its
consecration. Theses data constitute new ones as there were
few if any before. They concern both the study of material
religion, Buddhist rituals and the general knowledge of the
It appears that most of Buddha images are believed to contain
power, not only through consecration ritual but also, as the
analysis reveals, in the process itself.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3
NINETEENTH CENTURY HISTORY AND CULTURE
CAPITOL ROOM SOUTH
"BURMA STUDIES ON TOUR: BAPTIST PORTRAYALS OF BURMA IN 1830S AMERICA"
|In 1833, the American Baptist missionaries Jonathan and
Deborah Wade returned from Burma to the United States with
two assistants, Ko Chet-thing, and Maung Shwe Maung. They
toured the country speaking at churches and conventions raising
money for missionary schools, they spent several months in
residence at the Hamilton Theological Institute in New York.
While in Hamilton, Maung Shwe Maung and Ko Chet-thing led
classes in Burmese and Karen language for students preparing
to go to Burma as missionaries. As well as occasioning the
first Burmese language classes in the Western Hemisphere,
the Wades' tour undoubtedly portrayed Burma and its culture
in a new light to those who attended their fundraising talks.
This paper will attempt to discern the impact of the 1833-34
tour on American Baptist discourse about Burma as reflected
in the periodical press.
"BUILDING THE 'CITY OF DHAMMA': KING MINDON'S FOUNDATION OF MANDALAY IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY"
|This paper examines the nature of King Mindon's extensive
building program for Mandalay at the time of its founding
against the backdrop of preceding Konbaung royal capitals
(Shwebo, Ava and Amarapura). The purpose of this study is
to highlight the strong correlation between textual tradition,
contemporaneous royal records and actual building practice
in Mindon's undertaking. It is also to apprehend the 'historical
thickness' of a 'Theravadin landscape', a dimension that too
often goes unnoticed in traditional Burmese historiography.
In doing so, we hope to contribute to the larger question
of Buddhist kingship in Burma and its final evolution during
the Konbaung dynasty under the influence of great external
The argument here proposed is that the founding of Mandalay
is not so much equated with the building of the royal palace
and its 'shwe myodaw' as was the case in the preceding Konbaung
capitals than with the building of an outer city, 'hsin kye
hpoun', and its extensive building program of Buddhist relics
To support this view, this paper will examine how King Mindon's
building program was designed to: (1) make the 'presence'
of the Buddha ubiquitous and conspicuous throughout the city;
(2) provide the population with a network of infrastructures
aimed at improving their welfare and facilitating their engagement
with religion; (3) and establish the new royal capital as
one of the main centers for scholarship in the Buddhist world.
This study draws on field and archival data gathered in Mandalay
and Yangon since October 2007.
"A NEW THEORY ON THE EVOLUTION OF BURMESE PUPPETRY"
TIN MAUNG KYI
|Traditionally, U Sa, a multi-talented man and minister at
the court of Bagyidaw during the Konbaung dynasty, is credited
with the invention of puppets in 1837 when he became a vanquish
in a court intrigue and went into solitary confinement where
he entertained himself with puppets. Such a full scale invention
is more a probability than a possibility, as proved by Lieutenant
Pemberton's travel account written a decade earlier when,
sent from Manipur to Ava to discuss a border dispute with
Burmese authorities, he noted a puppet and was very much fascinated
by its performance. Prior to this, there are evidences in
Burmese literature as early as the 15th century. Historical
development in itself cannot achieve abruptly to a full scale
as indicated by a long time span. To consider its evolution
to a broader sense of judgment we have to include: 1) the
puppet's anatomical structure and material, 2) its size, and
3) methods of manipulation.
The presentation will first present the historical context
in which art of puppetry develop in Burma and secondly address
the different questions of its technical development. So far
no extensive research has been done on these different aspects
and cultural specialists studying performing arts are left
with the impression that puppetry was borne out from a single
man's invention when clearly the process involves a very long
time. All these aspects are also believed to take a rather
long time to achieve the present state in which art of puppetry
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4
MIGRATION WITHIN AND OUT OF BURMA: HOW TO COPE AND TO WHAT EFFECT?
"REFUGEES AS TRANSNATIONAL ACTORS: THE IMPACT OF BURMESE DIASPORA ENGAGEMENT"
|In contrast to the popular depiction of refugees as 'vulnerable
victims', their creative agency needs to be stressed. Refugees
are continuously developing new strategies to cope with their
displacement, some of which are transnational in nature. In
this paper, the economic, social, cultural and political transnational
activities of Burmese refugees in Thailand are expounded.
The second and main part of the paper analyses the cumulative
impact of these activities on several stakeholders: the families
and community back home and in exile, the Burmese junta, the
Thai government and the international community. This analysis
aims to contribute to a wider understanding of the involvement
of refugees in transnational activities and the subsequent
effect on conflict as well as development.
"RECENT RESETTLEMENT OF PEOPLE FROM BURMA AND THE (RE) EMERGENCE OF THE 'BURMESE' COMMUNITY IN AUSTRALIA"
|People from Burma have migrated to Australia over two reasonably
distinct periods - from the late 1940s to the mid 1970s, and
the early 1990s to the present. Those that arrived in Australia
more recently have been sourced from a number of different
ethnic groups, including the Burman, Karen, Mon and Chin.
This paper will utilize oral history testimony and additional
archival research to canvass the resettlement experiences
of these groups, many of whom came to Australia through its
refugee and special humanitarian visa programs. In doing so
it will explore shifts in Australian migration and resettlement
policies, including the recently announced refocusing of its
humanitarian resettlement program from Africa to Asia, which
will ensure that the number of people from Burma resettling
in Australia in the near future will steadily, if not dramatically,
Despite the long established nature of the "Burmese" community
in Australia it is not until very recently that this community
has received significant attention from academics, service
provider groups and Australian governments. The paper will
offer an examination of the emergence of the "Burmese" community
as a focus for the work of such groups, and more broadly in
the consciousness of the wider Australian community. It will
conclude with a discussion of the impact of the anti-regime
protests of 2007 in Burma on this growing awareness.
The research presented in this paper forms part of a larger
PhD study on the migration of people from Burma to Australia.
The project aims to produce a transnational history that explores
the ways in which both Australia and Burma have participated
in larger international exchanges, highlighting how the histories
of both nations intersect and can be fruitfully combined.
"THE 'EVERYDAY POLITICS' OF IDP PROTECTION IN KAREN STATE"
|While international humanitarian access in Burma has opened
up over the past decade and a half, the ongoing debate regarding
the appropriate relationship between politics and humanitarian
assistance remains unresolved. This debate has become especially
limiting in regards to protection measures for internally
displaced persons (IDPs) which are increasingly seen to fall
within the mandate of humanitarian agencies. Conventional
IDP protection frameworks are biased towards a top-down model
of politically-averse intervention which marginalizes local
initiatives to resist abuse and hinders local control over
protection efforts. Yet such local resistance strategies remain
the most effective IDP protection measures currently employed
in Karen State and other parts of rural Burma. Addressing
the protection needs and underlying humanitarian concerns
of displaced and potentially displaced people is thus inseparable
from engagement with the 'everyday politics' of rural villagers.
The present article seeks to challenge conventional notions
of IDP protection that prioritize a form of State-centric
'neutrality' and marginalize the 'everyday politics' through
which local villagers continue to resist abuse and claim their
"CYBER SPACE: THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN MOBILIZING DISPLACED KAREN IN THE THAILAND-BURMA BORDERLANDS"
|In today's world mobilizing people for action has taken
on new spatial forms as we come to terms with the idea of
a cyber space. We find ourselves living in a paradox: the
shrinking of space requires an expansion in consciousness
related to ideas, knowledge and accessibility to the greater
world. The result of this nexus is the capacity to mobilize
large or small groups of people across vast geographical distances.
Building on Stanley Brunn's work on 'virtual communities'
this paper will look at how the Karen, an ethnic group from
Burma, have utilized new technology and communications infrastructure
to support their claims of ethnic persecution and injustice,
and to mobilize a dispersed Karen population. Since the nineties
the Thailand-Burma borderlands has been defined by the influx
of this new technology. Blogs, chat forums, cyber groups,
video, digital, and sound recordings are increasingly common
mediums in which the Karen document and disseminate information
- largely political and cultural in nature. Communications
technology has also allowed the Karen to tap into international
networks that have the potential to change not only the way
in which the Karen conflict will be viewed but also how possible
solutions to the problem might be found. While this paper
will focus on the solidarity aspects enabled by this new technology
in the borderlands, it will also offer some observations on
how this might change the nature of the Karen resistance movement.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4
QUESTIONS OF HISTORY AND HISTORIOGRAPHY
CAPITOL ROOM NORTH
"THE RAJAWANGSA KATHA: WRITING AND TELLING MON NARRATIVE HISTORIES"
|This paper is a preliminary discussion of a close reading
of a collection of Mon-language historical texts, known as
the Rajawangsa Katha in Mon and the "Pak Lat Chronicles" in
English, that raise a number of questions and open possibilities
for writing new kinds of histories of Mon speakers, Lower
Burma, and the interactions between Burmese-, Mon- and T(h)ai
Thought to originate from the Mon communities of 19th-century
Siam, Mon tradition holds that these texts are the earliest
known records of Mon history written in Mon. The largest component
text is the story of Rajadhiraj, known in Mon, Thai, and Burmese-language
versions. Although the Rajawangsa Katha is written in Mon,
the language reveals extensive interaction with the Burmese
and Thai languages, and in fact a large tract appears to have
been translated directly from Thai.
Not only have these texts survived until the present, but
Rajadhiraj is a central historical narrative in no less than
three vernacular traditions of Mainland Southeast Asia. Why
are this narrative and its contents so compelling? While the
Burmese and Thai versions are highly regarded for their literary
merit, the Mon version challenges the modern Mon reader with
difficult language and syntax, and the events depicted do
not always agree with the other versions.
Leaving aside the question of the ultimate origins of these
texts, I discuss what this particular telling in this collection
of historical narratives might reveal to us, including transmission
of the texts over time and through speakers of different languages
in different places. They suggest alternate chronologies and
depictions of events considered seminal in the Mon and Burmese
"COLLASOPHE, HISTORICITY AND THE DECLINE OF PAGAN: CYCLICAL HISTORY AND HISTORICISM VERSES GENERATIVITY IN THE HISTORIOGRAPHY OF PRE-MODERN MYANMAR"
|The writing of this essay was stimulated by an observation
made by Michael A. Aung-Thwin in Myth and History in the Historiography
of Early Burma: Paradigms, Primary Sources, and Prejudices
(1998). A statement that simply put, in contrast to earlier
historiographical paradigms, suggests that there was more
continuity than discontinuity between the Pagan and Ava dynasties.
Mythbusting has political implications and uses that Aung-Thwin
addresses in his book, but not in a way that has satisfied
his subsequent critics. Revision is an important tool for
the historian because it allows for new evidence and methods
to be applied to history writing, allowing for a more intelligible
and meaningful understanding of the past. However, as Karl
Popper noted, "all description is necessarily selective."
Historicity or historical fact really has little basis beyond
the consensus of scholars. If politics is taken to refer to
the process of decision making, then historiography is inherently
political. This infers that history writing is susceptible
In Myanmar studies (here implying Burma studies rather than
Burmese studies) the works of Michael A. Aung-Thwin, including
The Mists of Ramañña (2005) and more pertinent to this essay,
Myth and History in the Historiography of Early Burma, have
created a crisis in consensus because Aung-Thwin's conclusions
are far enough removed from the preexisting literature to
threaten a revolution in Myanmar historiography. A large part
of Aung-Thwin's critique revolves around the dialectic or
rise and fall basis of previous history writing (cyclical
history), and the perception that earlier historians fit the
evidence to the paradigm rather than letting the evidence
inform the paradigm. On the other hand, a large part of the
criticism directed at Aung-Thwin implies he relies on historism
or historicism (tradition) as the basis for his own paradigm-a
paradigm which seems to privilege his "dry zone paramountcy"
and its majority ethnically Myanmar population over peripheral
areas (in particular littoral and highland areas) and other
ethnic contributors (e.g. Mon, Rakhaing and Shan) in the continuum
of Myanmar culture and history.
Generativity is the idea that forces unrelated to and independent
of the origins of a system (in this case a cultural system
or culture) can nonetheless change the system from the inside,
adding onto and creating new aspects that are a cohesive and
integral part of that system as a whole. This suggests that
new or adapted practices and symbols are not merely a veneer
or an imperialism of some sort, but part and parcel of historical
change. This concept suggests continuity and adaptation as
a historiographical paradigm. In regards to Myanmar history
between the final end of the Pagan Dynasty sometime around
1364 AD and the end of the Ava Dynasty in 1531 AD, I suggest
there was a minor collapsophe or loss of knowledge, and then
a subsequent reinscription of ritual knowledge as a means
to continuity and legitimacy. By looking at changes in regnal
titles as opposed to practices found in donative inscriptions
over the course of the period, it is evident that Hindu-Buddhistic
Indian titles were replaced by more Buddhistic Indian titles
in the transition, while at the same time a continuous ritual
basis was maintained. This suggests that those who wielded
the specialist knowledge associated with the Pagan court,
most likely Brahmin imported from India, either did not make
the transition to the Ava court (suggesting a new group of
Brahmin) or the ritual needs of the Ava court required a slightly
different set of specialized knowledge for some reason. Though
this question is left unanswered, the result of a shifted
epistemological and methodological understanding of the processes
of history writing in this case is an emphasis on continuity
and adaptation, in which the past influences historical change,
but does not necessitate or determine it. This shifted historiographical
paradigm can help clear up some of the political disagreements
that can form during the process of history writing, allowing
for the integration of new knowledge into the historiography,
while also allowing for an emphasis on people as the agents
of historical change rather than structures, while allowing
for more soundly based claims of historicity at the same time.
"LETWE NAWRAHTA (1723-1791): RECORDER OF MYANMAR HISTORY READ BY DR. TOE HLA"
U THAW KAUNG
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4
CAPITOL ROOM SOUTH
"BLASTING THE PAST: OR WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE SILVER SCREEN PROMOTES BURMAN-CENTRIC HISTORY AMONGST ETHNICALLY DIVERSE VIEWERS"
|In her detailed ethnography of television viewing practices
in India, the anthropologist Purnima Mankekar argues that
the semiotic skills of viewers are shaped by their positions
along multiple axes of power. In post-independence Burma,
we can see a growth and expansion of the culture industries,
and particularly following Ne Win's coup of 1962, a consolidation
of media production and content at the behest of the Burmese
Socialist Programme Party. How these shifts in the culture
industries of Burma were meted out by their consumers demands
closer examination. The film Shwezayan released in 1963, ostensibly
about the history of the 11th century Shan princess, Sao Mon
La, who was given to the Bagan King Anawrahta, incited some
Shan viewers to protest. Although, arguably, most representations
of King Anawrahta at this time could be considered examples
of Burman-centric, revisionist history, it was the (mis)representation
of the Shan princess which struck a chord amongst some Shan
viewers. In examining Shan language sources on the history
of Sao Mon La, I have found there are key differences in the
framing of the Mao King Sao Hom Mong's motivations for giving
his daughter to Anawrahta's court, the notions of civilization,
and the role of this Shan princess once she arrived in Bagan.
Exploring these differences in Shan and Burmese-language history
texts, and looking at the particularities of the film, Shwezayan
this paper will flesh out this example as a "hot button" issue
in comparative historiography and popular culture representations
of history which continue to have relevance to ethnic relations
in Burma today.
"WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE SHAN? SHIFTING ETHNIC MARKERS FOR SHAN IN NORTHERN THAILAND"
|The recent influx of Shan migrants from Burma into northern
Thailand has prompted a fresh reappraisal of what it means
to be "Shan" by those with a claim to that identity on the
Thai side of the border. In this paper, I will explore some
of the ways Shan ethnic identity is being cultivated, displayed,
and marketed by various groups in Mae Hong Son province and
in the city of Chiang Mai. I am especially interested in drawing
attention to the increasingly complicated connections that
exist between different "kinds" of Shans in this region and
how these connections contribute to emerging views of Shan
"THE CHAIN OF CHIANG AND VIANG: QUESTIONS FOR LINGUISTICS AND ARCHAEOLOGY"
|According to the U.S. Library of Congress Country Studies
1994 Laos webpage, (http://hdl.loc.gov.gdc/cntrystd.la), the
origin of the toponym chiang (Chiang Rung) and cognates, such
as keng (Kengtung) and xiang (Xiangkhuang) derives from the
Nan-chao administrative practice of organizing its ten prefectures
into kien-a Sino-Tibetan, not a Tai term. The purpose of this
presentation is largely to investigate the linguistic and
environmental geography of the term, which extends in chain-like
fashion from Jing Hong, Yunnan; Kengtung, Burma; Chiang Mai,
Thailand; Xieng Khuang, Laos and into Vietnam. The Tai Dam
area of northwest Vietnam has many places named chiang. Hoang
Luong (2004) has brought to light the obscured history of
Tai places named chiang in Vietnam. He points out that even
Hanoi was once called Chiang Lo3i. Even more tantalizing are
the ruins of a 6500 year old village, Chiang-chao of the Yang-shao
culture in North China. Maps reveal a regional pattern of
historically important chiang located along the Mekong river
and tributaries in one unified zone, and near the Red and
Black rivers in northwest Vietnam in another concentration.
Allied with chiang is the toponym viang, but much less prominently.
Anthropologists such as Condominas and O'Connor have paid
a great deal of attention to the significance of mu_ang in
their theory of "emboxment" of mandalas but have largely overlooked
the place of chiang in a moving chain of trade and marriage
alliances among the elites of these emergent urban centers.
Borrowing of the terms chiang and viang is at play; mu_ang
is a native/proto Tai term which simply meant "basin" before
it acquired political reference. A cursory look at older sketches
of the remnants of walls in some of these chiang reveal a
circular/oval pattern with as many as twelve gates in the
case of Kengtung. The question raised in this paper is what
triggered the chain of these linguistic and archaeological
events-the Mongol invasion? A corollary question is what curtailed
further dispersion of the linguistic and archaeological form?
"A BOOK FOR THE DEAD: A SHAN BUDDHIST TRADITION BEING A MEANS FOR THE PRESERVATION OF THEIR CULTURAL IDENTITY"
|In Shan Buddhist communities when a member of a family dies,
the remaining members of the family do some good deeds and
then transfer the merit of their good deeds to their departed
relative. They believe their departed relative will receive
the merit and as a result he/she will be reborn or have a
better life in a future rebirth. One of the common methods
of merit-making for the departed one is that a formal ceremony
comprising many kinds of ritual performances such as giving
feast the whole village, making offerings to monks and listening
sermons. The ceremony is usually starts at the house of the
family of the dead first and then ends at the village temple.
One of the most important things to do in the ceremony is
to donate a Buddhist text. The text is usually composed in
Shan poetry in the form of manuscript. The poetic text is
performed at the ceremony in which is attended by older people.
In Thailand, there is a tradition of producing text called
"cremation volume" published in remembrance of a dead person.
There is also a Pali saying: The gift of the dhamma excels
all other gifts. In this paper, I shall examine the Shan tradition
of producing Buddhist texts and compare it with that of the
Thai and other similar Buddhist traditions. The centre point
of this paper is an analysis of the Shan tradition of presenting
Buddhist text as a way of preserving Shan Buddhist identity.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4
POLITICAL SCIENCE: NATIONAL, STATE AND ECONOMY
"BURMA'S ECONOMY 2008: DECLINE, DISASTER….AND WAYS FORWARD"
|'Economic development' is not a process that is currently
taking place in Burma. Indeed, and notwithstanding the windfall
gains from natural gas exports that are currently accruing,
present day Burma is perhaps best described as an 'un-developing'
country, as the modest gains made in the early 1990s are steadily
wound back. In 2008, and in the immediate period ahead, some
growth in GDP will be apparent, but this will largely be the
result of the gas windfalls that otherwise mask an economy
that is regressing in every important respect. This paper
will present the current state of Burma's economy, and explore
the reforms that will be necessary if Burma is to achieve
any measure of economic prosperity.
"THE WAR ON DRUGS IN MYANMAR"
|The international community has evinced a desire to reduce
drug production in Myanmar. There is controversy concerning
the extent of production over the last twelve years. This
obfuscates debate as to how best to proceed.
With the cooperation of the Burmese Government, both the United
Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the United States
have conducted opium surveys over the 10 years ended in 2005
and the UNODC has continued through early 2007.
Because of even greater obstacles to accurate measurement,
Myanmar, the United States and the UNODC have not attempted
to survey, much less publish, any precise numbers on the annual
production and distribution of amphetamine pills. The last
two have offered only estimates.
Those surveys conclude that opium cultivation and production
has decreased dramatically since 1996. Narcotics interdiction
by the Burmese government has increased substantially in that
time. The total area under poppy cultivation has diminished
between 75 and 80 percent since 1996. The decrease in total
yield is equally dramatic. This trend was reversed in both
categories only in the 2007 growing season.
The cessation of opium cultivation in many areas of the Shan
State has caused farmers' incomes to diminish precipitously.
The decreasing acreage and tonnage through 2005-6 increased
the per kilogram price substantially for the opium actually
harvested in 2006 and 2007. This, together with the lack of
adequate assistance to farmers who terminated cultivation
and suffered diminished income, prompted a minority of them
to re-locate and to resume poppy growing given the price incentive
and lack of assistance to act otherwise.
The failure of the international community, especially the
United states, to render adequate assistance to these cultivators
threatens to drive more of them to resume poppy farming.
The refusal of the United States to certify Myanmar as making
substantial efforts to interdict drugs continues. Were the
policy reversed and American assistance calibrated to continue
suppression by Myanmar and to additional aid by other countries
and, to the extent appropriate, the relevant cease-fire groups,
and the cultivators' dire straits would be ameliorated. Moreover,
an alteration in the impasse between the American and Burmese
Governments might be commenced.
"BUILDING A BRIDGE: LITERAL AND METAPHORICAL BUILDING OF NATIONAL UNITY IN BURMA"
|The 'Desire for National Unity' has been at the forefront
of political slogans of the Burmese government for decades.
This desire is integral in justifying continued military rule
and it has manifested itself in numerous programs that cater
to a homogenous vision of society in an ethnically diverse
and conflicted nation. The human adaptation of Burma's physical
landscape, with its multitude of waterways and diverse topography,
has also reflected this desire for unity through the construction
of roadways, bridges and the like. To some extent, this has
integrated outlying and inaccessible regions into the central
economic and administrative zones. Bridge building, in particular,
has played an significant role in this physical adaptation
under the present government, it is part of a wider campaign
to promote the image of Burma's progression towards 'a modern
and developed nation', but it also can be understood as a
salient metaphor for the government's ideological program
of cultural and political hegemony. Within the physical and
social landscape, bridge building has become manifest both
in form and word. This paper will examine connections between
the literal construction of bridges by the present government
and bridge building as metaphor in the government's nationalist
discourse and its impact on ethnic relations in Burma. It
will propose that bridge construction, as a move towards a
'modern and developed nation', also reinforces the desire
for national unity and a singular as opposed to multi-nationalist
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4
CAPITOL ROOM NORTH
"RECOGNITION OF IDENTITY AS CONTROL OF DIFFERENCE IN CONTEMPORARY BURMESE STATE HISTORY TEXTBOOKS"
|It has long been recognized that one of the primary functions
of schooling is to reproduce state ideologies (Althusser,
1971; Bourdieu & Passeron, 1977), and in particular to interpolate
the conceptions of citizenship and identity that benefit dominant
groups (Luykx, 1999). With these insights in mind, I will
examine the language and images in contemporary Burmese state
history textbooks. I will argue that the metaphors, metonyms,
and images used to describe identity (ethnicity, nationality,
and religion) reveal underlying ideologies of inclusion, exclusion,
and boundary maintenance. In order to make this argument,
I will draw on Frederic Schaffer's (1998) method of "language-centered
conceptual analysis" and Sara Ahmed's (2004) readings of the
emotional performativity of texts in public domain. My argument
will illustrate how these textbooks display what Mary Callahan
(2004) calls the simultaneous homogenization and differentiation
of ethnic identity in the post-Socialist era in Myanmar. Furthermore,
I will suggest that these texts reveal a specific governmental
strategy: recognition of difference in order to control identity
formation and "manage" diversity (Markell, 2003). Finally,
I will assert that history textbooks appropriate for a federal,
democratic, post-dictatorship Burma would need to present
multiple perspectives on identity while making room for student
"NGO'S IN BURMA/MYANMAR: THE CONSTRUCTION OF KNOWLEDGE AND ETHICAL PERSONHOOD IN CAPACITY BUILDING ACTIVITIES"
|Ideas of empowerment, self-reliance, and capacity building
are ubiquitous in today's development, humanitarian and other
aid efforts. While many aid workers show enthusiasm for these
concepts, social science scholars have tended to critique
them for being neoliberal forms of governmentality (Duffield
2001; Sharma 2006). In this paper I circumvent an analysis
that takes such positions of idealism or cynicism. Rather,
I follow anthropologists who study NGO activities such as
capacity building as social practices that generate forms
of collective knowledge and ethical personhood (Bornstein
2003; Feldman 2007; Fortune 2001; Redfield 2006; Riles 2000).
That is, instead of assessing whether particular capacity
building efforts truly enable people or in fact ensnare them
in structures of domination, I ask: What kinds of knowledge
do NGO workers create in capacity building activities, and
how do these activities cultivate particular affective responses
and bodily practices in order to form ethical forms of personhood?
How might NGO workers incorporate technical NGO tools, particular
cultural values, or other concepts such as trust (Lahtaw 2007)
in their activities? This exploration of knowledge-making
and ethical personhood in NGO capacity building activities
is an initial effort towards understanding the effects of
the rise of civil society groups in Burma/Myanmar (Heidel
2006), as well as the most recent active work of international
and local aid organizations after cyclone Nargis.
"AT THE INTERSECTION OF EDUCATION & POLITICS: HOW TEACHERS NEGOTIATE CIVIC EDUCATION IN BURMA"
|This paper explores how teachers' political and educational
contexts have affected their practice of civic education between
1988 and the present. Government sanctioned civic education-related
curricular content is discussed followed by an analysis of
how teachers determine what civic education material to deliver
to their students and how to deliver it. Based on this analysis
two key questions will be considered (1) what degree of agency
do teachers have to encourage or discourage their students
to dissent against the government? (2) to what extent have
teacher-student interactions determined students' choice to
engage or not engage in political activism against the Burmese
This study is based on field work carried out from May to
August 2008 in which the author interviewed former teachers
and students from Burma. Former teachers include those who
taught at government schools as well as those who taught at
private tutoring centers.
"MYANMAR UNICODE: COMPARATIVE STUDY ON USING ADHOC FONTS AND STANDARDIZED ENCODING FOR MYANMAR SCRIPTS"
WUNNA KO KO
|Burmese language is used by about 50 million people who
live mostly in Myanmar as well as in Singapore, Thailand,
Malaysia, Australia and United States. The font using True
Type Technology has been developed more than 2 decades ago.
However, the True Type Font can only be used for Desktop Publishing
purposes. Due to the lack of standard encoding, different
vendors used different mapping. Unicode 5.1 was published
in the first week of April, 2008. It is the first ever standard
encoding for Myanmar scripts, which as to be used by Burmese,
Mon, Shan, Karen, and Arakanese. Some local and international
developers started work with fonts based on this standard
encoding. With this development the Burmese Language Project
at OpenOffice.org published its' beta version of Burmese language
Office Suite in timing with Unicode 5.1. Wikipedia is the
major web developer who uses Unicode 5.1 compliant Burmese
language web pages. Though it has only been a little more
than six months since the standard encoding was published,
major developers are still improving the software. There are
many more things that need to be done.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4
CAPITOL ROOM SOUTH
"BEING SHAN ON THE THAI SIDE OF THE BORDER: CONTINUITIES AND TRANSFORMATIONS IN SHAN CULTURE AND IDENTITY IN MAEHONGSON, THAILAND"
|My focus is on Shan in Maehongson Province who are long
term residents in Thailand and are Thai citizens. This separates
them from more recent Shan refugees and illegal immigrants
as well as those Shan who no longer live in Maehongson and
have acquired other Thai regional identities. Since I began
my research in 1977, many aspects of the community's social,
economic, and cultural lives have changed. They've gone from
being a relatively isolated community to one entangled in
the larger political and cultural systems that entail being
both Shan and Thai. Their political rituals have shifted in
a parallel with the shifts in the larger political and economic
context. While ceremonies that focus on the community as a
bounded political unit continue, other ceremonies have been
added that relate the community to the larger Thai nation
state. Here "being Shan" is an ethnic identity that is counterbalanced
with being Thai citizens. In this paper I explore the contours
of being Shan and being Thai citizens the ways in which these
categories and identities play out in the larger political,
social, and economic contexts.
"AT THE CONFLUENCE OF ETHNIC REIFICATION AND ETHNIC NEUTRALIZATION: TWO CONTRAST CASES IN NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN SHAN STATE"
"PORT POLITIES IN THE HILLS: SHAN STATES AND TRADE IN THE CHINA-BURMA (MYANMAR) BORDER REGION"
CHIT HLAING (F.K. LEHMAN)
|This paper draws on work I have done on the China-Burma
border between 2001 and 2007 as well as my earlier research
on Shan in Burma and northwestern Thailand. Shan traders cross
national boundaries and interact with a wide range of ethnic
groups. They serve as key cultural and knowledge brokers facilitating
the trade in precious gems. These trading relationships help
structure the political, economic, and social relations with
Shan polities. As such, these polities resemble the "port
polities" on the coasts. Here I support my argument by showing
how Shan polities interacted with a broad range of uplanders.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4
POLITICAL SCIENCE: INTRA-ASIAN FOREIGN POLICY
"IMPORTANCE OF EMERGENCE OF TAIWAN ON THE FOREIGN POLICY OF BURMA"
|I would like to argue that though Burma adopted active and
independent neutral foreign policy to involve in international
affairs like Bandaung Conference and Non-aligned movement
up to early 1960s, it had to accommodate isolationist policy
to defend intrusion from PRC and to avoid a proxy war between
US and PRC in 1960s to 1970s. This introverted xenophobic
nature of generals was related to Burmese response to cold
war politics i.e., PRC had to resist KMT remnants in Burma
supported by CIA through Thailand. Thus Burmese social democratic
government who had been already chaotic in multi-insurgency
born with independence became more nervous to handle this
crisis. Though they expected to get diplomatic intervention
from UN and USA, the main supporter of Taiwan, they only had
to fight back KMT till 1960s by strengthening Burma army.
The most fearsome foreign threat for Burma was PRC invasion
to follow KMT. Thus their foreign policy became more attentive
and stuck to the strict non-aligned policy. In 1962, the army
took control the power to suppress ethnic attempted federal
issue as they were suspected to be close to SEATO. Then they
imposed isolationist policy and not active in non-aligned
movement and refused to join ASEAN as its members still held
west military bases. Its impacts are still influential on
current junta in dealing with international community to show
suspicion and aggressiveness to protect national unity and
sovereignty integrity from foreign influence. It is a great
obstacle in Burmese road to democracy and national reconciliation.
"DILEMMAS OF THAILANDS' FOREIGN POLICY TOWARD MYANMAR FROM 2001 TO 2004: A COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS"
|Border skirmishes in 2001 and 2002 marked the worst relationship
between Thailand and Myanmar. In order to alleviate the relationship,
Thaksin Shinawatra's government provided a series of economic
agreements to Myanmar. The Thai government named this strong
economic-oriented foreign policy, "Forward Engagement." Apparently,
the relationship between Thailand and Myanmar has improved
after both governments had signed 'Pagun Declaration' in 2003.
Conflicts and confrontations between the two neighbors were
eased. Even though Thailand has gained a greater amount of
economic benefits, this paper argues that Thailand has to
pay a normative cost of democratic value in exchange of a
better relationship with Myanmar. At that time, Thailand was
accused of neglecting the democratic principle on which Thailand
has always relied. This situation presents a dilemma of Thai
foreign policy. This paper will apply the cost-benefit analysis
technique to explain this nature of foreign policy by using
Thaksin Shinawatra's government as a case study. This paper
concludes that border proximity and different regime types
between Thailand and Myanmar cause such a policy dilemma which
none of Thai governments could be indifferent.
"INDIA'S BURMA POLICY IN QUESTION - ACHIEVEMENTS AND SETBACKS OF THE NEW INDO-BURMESE PARTNERSHIP"
|Since 1993, India has opted for a smooth diplomatic engagement
of the Burmese military regime, dropping its initial open
support to the civil democratic opposition led by Aung San
Suu Kyi. At the dawn of the 21st century, India was facing
new strategic stakes at its Eastern borders. Not only China's
obvious thrust into Burma, which was kicked off by the 1988
changing of guards in Rangoon, but also the rise of insurgency
along the Indo-Burmese borders and the willingness of Indian
liberal thinkers to catch up the booming economies of Southeast
Asia, made India rethink its approach of a neighbouring Burma.
The proposed paper intends to discuss the achievements of
fifteen years of an Indian constructive engagement of the
Burmese military regime and the setting up of a new Indo-Burmese
relationship. Has this new Burma policy paid off in the strategic,
commercial and political fields?
Based upon many fieldworks in and around Burma, this paper
will thus postulate that while China seems well entrenched
in Burma's strategic and economic space, India still faces
many obstacles in its tentative thrust eastward and struggles
to get there a credible toehold. Though limited successes
have been obvious with a rising bilateral trade and mutual
understanding in military cooperation, strong geopolitical
obstacles, political mistrust and historical legacies impede
the swift establishment of a close and valuable partnership
between Burma and India, the latter appearing much less influential
in a yet neighbouring country than China or even Thailand.
WEAKNESS IN THE TRADITIONAL AREA STUDIES APPROACH AND BURMA.
KYI MAY KAUNG
|Burma Studies has been traditionally organized as a subject
discipline as Area Studies. In this approach what happens
within the national boundaries of a country (only) is implicitly
treated as relevant to the study of the problems of that country.
At least two decades to four decades of Burma Studies has
shown that these parameters are too limited. It has resulted
in scholars not talking or collaborating with each other as
much as they should, and not paying enough attention to systemic
and regional matters, not to mention the international setting
in which Burma needs to operate and Burma studies needs to
For instance academic articles and journalistic ones are event
driven and have time only to speak about the most micro-economic
of matters, whereas it is macro economics that we need to
understand. The historians, some of whom hark back to an ultra-nationalistic
model, have also failed us, as they are unable to handle the
problems of the moment and apparently see nothing wrong with
the SPDC's paradigm. Most of the Burma scholarship is focused
on subject matter which is limited to Burma only without enough
cross-system, cross-national, intra and inter-regional and
international analysis. That this approach has failed is widely
evident from how the junta has taken advantage of the misguided
approach of Friends of Burma and the international community
to "depoliticize" Burma strategy during Cyclone Nargis. As
a result the aid has disappeared into the junta's pockets,
Ban ki-Moon's visit did not succeed, nor did that of Mr. Gambari
during the Saffron Revolution last year, nor have any of the
UN Rapporteurs since 1988. At the same time Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi is still under house arrest, NLD leadership and members
and other dissidents have been under arrest or under severe
oppression, and the junta is continuing with "business as
usual" - in fact even has windfall profits from natural gas
My 1994 dissertation and my article in Asian Survey that summarized
this, mentioned that we need to look at systems which were
then similar to Burma's such as the then Soviet Union and
the PRC and economic and hopefully political reforms there.
We also need to look at China and India now and their preferred
position as economically strong neighbors of Burma, and China
and India; the United States and the western world and China
and India as strongly emerging powers in this world as we
knew it. The dissident community is now highly conscious of
this, but the academic is not.
I would like to propose that the Burma academic community
reach out to other approaches, including the dissident community,
and the artistic and writerly ones, which are now at the forefront.
This would result in much more cogent advice, and much less
waste of economic and human resources in the international
responses to ongoing and recurrent major crises in Burma.
That the crises will continue and also continue to escalate
is beyond doubt.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4
SINO-BURMESE LIVES AND CULTURES
CAPITOL ROOM NORTH
"THE SOUNDSCAPES OF ETHNIC CHINESE IN RANGOON BETWEEN 1949 AND 1988"
TASAW HSIN-CHUN LU
|This paper explores the soundscapes formed between 1948
and 1988 by a group of Chinese migrants in Rangoon. The concept
of soundscapes allows us to undertake a flexible and inclusive
approach. That is to study the cultural process through which
people engage in music. Consider that music has been traveling
transnationally to reach a broader range of new audience.
Most places today support a wide range of disparate music
that might be rooted in different cultures, but now reinterpreted
in new ways. I embrace these ideas in this current study.
Drawing on extensive ethnographic and archival research, I
attempt to show how the soundscapes of the Chinese community
in Rangoon were constructed.
By the early 1950s, a confluence of transnational forces had
helped form diverse soundscapes in Rangoon's Chinatown. Sundry
musical ideas, ensembles, and organizations were thriving.
The primary force derives from their strong connection to
the ancestral homeland. In particular, the conflicting nationalistic
ideologies of the Kuomintang (KMT) in Taiwan and the Chinese
Communist Party (CCP) China brought most music into the bipolar
political arena. Yet the later anti-Chinese riots and the
Burmese government's nationalization in the 1960s called a
halt to such musical prosperity. Then this "dark era" of Chinese
musical scene did not last too long. It is found that, in
the mid-1970s, the soundscapes in the Chinese community re-constructed
through the group's new cultural experiences.
"LIFE HISTORY OF TWO KOKANG CHINESE IN BURMA"
|Applying the approach of individual-centered ethnography, I attempt to look into the life history of two Kokang Chinese in Burma. Kokang is located in northern Shan state adjacent to Yunnan province of China. It is primarily a Chinese inhabited area. The ancestors of many residents came here from Yunnan a few hundred years ago. The Kokangnese are recognized as an ethnic group in Burma. The two individuals treated here are father and son; the time span of their life history covers from the 1960s to the present day. Through their narrative accounts, I highlight the intricate intertwinement of the subjectivity of these two people with the historical contingent circumstances. Their life experiences reflect the social history of the Shan state as well as a broader picture of the socio-political scenario of Burma. Their personal development illustrates their dynamic agency that is characterized by expansion of social connections.
"THE CHINESE IN BURMA: TRADITIONAL MIGRATION OR STRATEGY FOR A
|Stretched between China and India, Burma, the only Indochina
country to share a common border with the two Asian giant
nations, has been preserved by its mountains, deep jungles
and swampy shores from the influence of his powerful northern
neighbour. For two thousand years this land had a history
of its own, progressing from a loose organization of petty
tribal chiefs to a series of independent indigenous emperors
ruling on most of the territory of the actual Burma.
Following the British intervention and annexation (1824-1886),
Burma was exposed to a steady immigration of Indian and Chinese
workers needed by the colonial administration to control and
develop the country. For nearly a century, newcomers poured
into Burma with the British colonizers blessings. After the
independence (1948) the new republican rulers pushed both
Indian and Chinese communities to leave Burma, go back to
their countries of origin or emigrate elsewhere. That nationalist
policy, formulated to preserve "the purity of the Burmese
race," was reinforced by the "Burmese Way to Socialism" headed
by the military regime of General Ne Win from 1962 to 1988.
Since the advent of the new junta that policy, although not
officially abandoned has been reversed. While the border relations
with India were kept at a minimum level, the generals rapidly
and quietly removed administrative obstacles to facilitate
the establishment of the Chinese immigrants. The Yunnanese
and the inhabitants of Shan State of Chinese ancestry took
immediately advantage of this favourable political environment.
The consequences are that, for a decade, a strong Chinese
immigration is taking place in Mandalay where the first "Chinatown"
of Burma seems to be in the making. The process also started
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4
CAPITOL ROOM SOUTH
RESPONDENT: CHIT HLAING
"BUDDHISM, LAW, AND SACRED SPACE"
|Focusing especially on case study materials that concern
Burma and the wider South and Southeast Asian Buddhist world
of which it is a part, this paper addresses how some Buddhists
have understood the intersections between law and sacred space.
To accomplish this task, the paper explores relationships
between sacred space and law that were established by Buddhist
monks and lay people alike well before the advent of Burma's
colonial and post-colonial periods (periods which witnessed
the destabilization of Burma's traditional legal systems).
In particular, the paper examines the themes of law and sacred
space as established in the Kalyani Inscriptions. Ultimately,
drawing on the evidence in the Inscriptions, the paper argues
a series of points about Buddhism, law, and sacred space in
South and Southeast Asia. It also concludes by arguing that,
in regard to Burma itself, a particular kind of emphasis on
Buddhist identity, law, and sacred space has not only survived
in but flourished because of certain developments (e.g. military
rule) in Burma's tumultuous post-colonial history.
"CLASSIFICATION OF BUDDHIST LITERATURE IN BURMESE INSCRIPTIONS AND "HISTORIES OF PITAKA" (PITAKAT THAMAING)"
|Large scale donations of manuscripts and establishment of
libraries was an important form of elite merit-making in Burma
at least since the eleventh century. Recopying of manuscripts
which was necessary in this case and donations themselves
were described in lithic inscriptions and in manuscript inventories.
The ritualization of manuscript recopying sponsored by Avan
overlords and their chief consorts in the Nyaungyan period
(1597-1752) resulted in development of a specialized genre
of Burmese literature called "histories of Pitaka" (pitakat-thamaing)
defining the domain of sacred texts that the court and other
pious patrons of sasana should have helped to preserve. All
these documents taken together comprise a unique source of
information on the history of Buddhist teaching in Burma.
A comparative analysis of these documents reveals a number
of significant changes in the ways pitakat literature was
conceived and what texts were understood as comprising it.
The paper analyses two inscriptions listing manuscripts donated
to religious establishments in the thirteenth and fifteenth
centuries (Singhavira Sujjabala or Theingaweit Thotzabo Inscription
of 1223 and Tetnwe-kyaung Inscription of 1442) and compares
their data with several pitakat-thamaings of the sixteenth
(?), seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It suggests that
changes in classification of texts and the structure of manuscript
inventories reflect shifts in authority assigned to certain
classes of texts and individual works. It also discusses possible
links between these changes and more general trends in the
history of Buddhism in Burma and identifies some implications
this may have for our understanding of textual Buddhism and
Buddhist practice in Burma.
"HYBRID BUDDHISM IN EARLY PAGAN"
|Recent scholarship has undermined various truisms about
Myanmar's history, including the 'purity' of Pagan's Buddhism
classified by the country's current historical memory as "Theravada."Guillon's
discovery of Mulasarvastivada traces in one temple, and Gillman's
linkage between a famous image and Sanskrit sources, reflect
innovative contestations. The question is whether such traces
instantiate the co-existence of different Buddhist paths in
Pagan's history. I will argue that though such paths may well
have been co-present, evidence insinuates something else.
It suggests a capacious Pali defined construct harboring what
are now regarded as non Pali components.
To prove this contention, I will examine the presence of beings
like Rahu, featured in images of Mara's Attack and Retreat
on the Night of Enlightenment. Though embedded in the Nidana-katha,
Pali informed, Buddha biography, they derive from non Pali
narratives. Such details have broader significance because
the name of Siddhartha's son Rahula is differently interpreted
by various Buddhist paths. The absence in Pagan era temples
of images depicting Siddhartha's last look at his sleeping
wife and child, indicates deliberate omissions of conflicting
components from Pali sources in favor of information from
Sanskrit ones. An extended depiction of the Buddha's visit
to his son, in an early temple, opposite the image containing
Rahu, sheds light on early Burmese monasticism for which Rahula
is a paradigmatic monk. Such visual clues echo an inclusive
late11th century Buddhist sensibility governed by a slightly
differently redacted Pali Vinaya that harbored details now
associated with different trans local languages and Vinayas.
"DHAMMAZEDI AND THE WRITING OF MON BUDDHIST HISTORY"
|The inscriptions erected by the Mon king, Dhammazedi, in
the 15th century are arguably the earliest examples of historical
writing in Burma, and without a doubt they have exercised
a greater influence on Mon and Burmese religion-political
historiography than any other sources. Partly because of their
importance, the historical veracity of Dhammazedi's inscriptions
has been much debated in western scholarship, and in recent
years the king's role in constructing a history for the Mon
kingdom has been the subject of renewed critical scrutiny.
In this paper I will examine the narrative in Dhammazedi's
Kalyani Inscription erected in 1479 and compare it with what
is found in several inscriptions installed by the king subsequently
at pagoda restorations elsewhere in his kingdom. By applying
a method of redaction criticism to these materials, I hope
to suggest what of Dhammazedi's "Mon history" was adapted
from existing indigenous sources, and what were his own innovations
to the narrative that has come down to us today.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4
ROUND TABLE: RESEARCH IN BURMA: DIFFICULTIES AND DILEMMAS
ARDETH MAUNG THAWNGHMUNG
TIN MAUNG MAUNG THAN
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4
STATE INFLUENCE ON SOCIETY AND CULTURE
CAPITOL ROOM NORTH
"INFLUENCES AND NON-INFLUENCES OF ASPECTS OF WESTERN THINKING AND LAW REGARDING MADNESS AND (CRIMINAL) RESPONSIBILITY IN BURMESE SOCIAL AND LEGAL DISCOURSE"
|The presentation will include
- excerpts from a traditional Burmese medical text describing
the causes, symptoms and remedies for mental diseases
- a query as to whether or not some of the critiques
of the foundations or 'paradigm' of the concept of 'madness'
made by Michel Foucault in his Madness and Civilization
can be extrapolated and applied in the Burmese context
- survey of and comments on modern Burmese elites' (psychologists,
psychiatrists, writers) 'primers' and novels concerning
mental diseases, concept of madness and the portrayal
of mental patients
- an analysis as to why some dissident Western elites'
criticisms such as those of Foucault and Thomas Szasz
(author, among others, of The Myth of Mental Illness)
of the Western foundation of the concept of madness or
mental illness have not seeped through into modern Burmese
- a brief exposition of the legal concept of insanity
and criminal responsibility as can be gleaned from the
Burmese apex courts decisions since the 1950s
- an analysis as to why some of the legal issues such
as proposals to abolish the 'insanity defense' (in criminal
cases) altogether on the one hand or to adopt a more liberal
approach as regards the insanity defense (benefiting,
in general, alleged offenders or the accused in criminal
cases) on the other which are some issues that can be
discerned in aspects of Western legal literature are 'non-issues'
in the current Burmese social and legal discourse.
"RE-EXAMINATION OF THE RELATION BETWEEN "THE UPPER BURMA VILLAGE REGULATION (1887)" AND THE LOCAL SOCIETY"
|Many historians who describe the change that took place
in the society in Upper Burma under the British colonial administration
have focused on the Upper Burma Village Regulation. Enacted
in 1887, the purpose of this regulation was to establish a
"village system." Under the village system-or in brief, the
"one village, one headman system"-a new administrative unit
called the "village" was instituted, and a village headman
was appointed by the government. With this system, the colonial
government aimed to follow the local society efficiently in
terms of security and revenue collection. It appears that
the village system is considered to have led to transformations
in every part of Upper Burma because the position of the myothugyi,
the local official in the precolonial period, was abolished.
Moreover, the social ties among the local people dissolved
as well. However, upon a reinvestigation of the documents
pertaining to the situation before and after the enactment
of the regulation, it was found that the system was forced
to adapt itself to the prevailing administrative circumstances
of the districts. Some district officials claimed that they
faced great difficulty in applying the principle of the village
system to their jurisdictions, while others stressed on the
administrative usefulness of myothugyis, whose influence over
the people still persisted. The additional rules eventually
included in the regulation in 1890 contained provisions allowing
the incumbent myothugyis to retain their positions for a certain
period of time. Thus, colonial administrative policies like
the village system never penetrated into the local society
without some modifications in response to the circumstances
of the local society, which varied among the districts.
"SOUTHEAST ASIAN SLAVERY AND SLAVE GATHERING WARFARE AS A VECTOR FOR CULTURAL TRANSMISSION: THE CASE OF BURMA AND THAILAND"
|Southeast Asia has long been understood as a place where
cultures hybridize and interact. Global trading networks,
migration, religious pilgrimages, and labor diasporas are
just a few of the globalizing forces that are critical to
understanding the political, economic and cultural development
of Southeast Asia as a region. Yet, I believe that this framework
has contributed to another feature of Southeast Asian studies:
the general sense that the region is incoherent; that it essentially
contains many wildly heterogeneous culture groups that share
some common cultural features due to a shared contact with
foreign groups and foreign ideologies, but relatively little
due to intra-regional relations.
In this paper I will argue that the region's endemic slave
gathering warfare should be examined in the very same ways
that we study the movement of "foreign groups" within the
region and demonstrate that slave gathering warfare should
be considered a significant force or vector for cultural exchange
and adoption amongst populations located in Southeast Asian.
To make this argument I will focus on warfare between kingdoms
located in what are today the modern states of Burma and Thailand
and examine two art forms that appear to have moved into Burma
via Thai captives: the Ramayana dance tradition and lacquer
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4
BUDDHISM IN EARLY 20TH AND 21ST CENTURIES
CAPITOL ROOM SOUTH
"THE RISE OF THE LAITY AND THE ORIGINS OF INSIGHT MEDITATION"
|Group practice of insight meditation among lay people, though
today a world-wide phenomenon began in a particular place:
early twentieth-century Burma. This paper will explore what
happened in colonial Burma at this time that set the stage
for the mass meditation movement. Specifically, I will examine
how the Burmese monk Ledi Sayadaw responded to perceived threats
to Buddhism in Burma by forming social organizations for common
lay people that played a key part in preparing them to do
something that had not been done before: to take up the serious
practice of insight meditation on a large-scale basis. Paying
close attention, on the one hand, to the Buddhist intellectual
resources and cosmological worldview upon which Ledi relied
to create these organizations will allow us to consider the
role of tradition in responding to change and why this led
to the promotion of meditation. On the other hand, considering
the colonial context in which Ledi formed these groups will
allow us to assess the relationship between Ledi's actions
and Western influence, particularly from the British.
This paper argues that Ledi's traditional worldview formed
the basis for his understanding not only of the means to deal
with challenges to Burmese Buddhism, but his understanding
of what those challenges were. Challenges defined in this
way, through a particular Theravada cultural modernity, allowed
insight meditation to take root in Burma and, ultimately,
to spread throughout Southeast Asia and beyond.
"SHOES AND SHIKHOS: BUDDHISM, RITUALS AND BOUNDARIES OF RELIGION"
|British colonialism brought challenges to the categories
and concepts that organized daily life in Burma, challenges
that were often experienced and confronted through Buddhist
discourse and practice. The interactions between Buddhism
and colonial rule in Burma offer valuable purchase for investigating
issues of how local movements negotiate the constraints of
colonial categories and how they reinterpret these categories
for local needs. This paper will investigate these issues
by looking at a series of conflicts between colonial officials
and Buddhist leaders in Burma over proper rituals of respect.
On a number of different occasions the Burmese objected the
ways in which British policy required them to demonstrate
their respect and the contrasting ways in which Europeans
were expected to demonstrate respect-specifically issues of
wearing shoes at pagodas and public buildings and performing
the prostration shikho versus a hand shake. While these conflicts
have been read as nationalist struggles for autonomy, at their
core they centered around differing conceptions on the nature
of rituals and symbols. Buddhists came to define certain instances
of these rituals as coming inside the boundaries of the category
of religion, and defended one set of rules for rituals for
these, while acceding and often asserting the European understanding
of rituals for those area labeled outside of religion. In
doing so they negotiated boundaries for the category of religion
that both asserted Buddhist sovereignty over certain areas
and promoted a locally inflected Buddhist vision of modernity.
"THE SAFFRON REVOLUTION AND BUDDHIST SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT IN MYANMAR"
|In September 2007, the world watched "the Saffron Revolution"
unfold as tens of thousands of Buddhist monks marched in defiance
of military rule. My paper examines the event surrounding
the Saffron Revolution by locating them within a broader struggle
for political legitimacy, civil society and moral authority
in Myanmar. The analysis speaks to competing visions in the
politics of national building and to fragmentation within
the sangha and the military regime. Further concerns address
the role of socially engaged Buddhism in the context of globalizing
economies and the emergence of China's consumer society. In
the case of Myanmar (and Tibet), these economic trends brought
Buddhist monks into violent confrontations with the military.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4
ROUNDTABLE: BURMA'S CONSTITUTIONAL REFERENDUM: FACT OR FANTASY?
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4
LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
CAPITOL ROOM NORTH
"BURMESE LANGUAGE USED IN KYAE GAUNG & SHWE LI"
PHYU PHYU WIN
|This paper explores a specific situation in which use of
Burmese language is currently spreading due to the growing
trade between Burma and China. Shwe Li, a small town of Yunnan
State in China and Muse, a small town of Northern Shan State
in Burma is the two main regions for trading in Upper Burma
today. Most Chinese products come into Burma through the road
linking Muse and Mandalay. This road sees a lot of ethnic
minorities (Shan, Burmese, Lisu, Coo-Kant, Wa etc.,) migrating
for work to Muse and Shwe Li. There are two immigration check-points
between Muse and Kyae Gaung where immigration staff works.
Interestingly at the Chinese border most of the staff and
workers can speak Burmese well.
This presentation will be divided into three parts:
I will explain why Burmese language spreads in Kyae Gaung
& Shwe Li regions, what kinds of specialized Burmese are currently
being used. This paper draws in research done in the field
over three different stays.
- a brief background of economic conditions between these
two border towns
- Burmese language used in Kyae Gaung
- Burmese language used in Shwe Li
"REREADING BURMESE DAYS IN THE EARLY 21ST CENTURY"
EDITH PINESS AND OLIVER POLLAK
|If George Orwell had lived long enough would he like Doris
Lessing, an anti-colonial fiction writer, have received the
Nobel Prize for Literature? The novel Burmese Days published
in 1935 was based on Orwell's life experiences as a policeman
during the 1920s. Burmese Days has never been out of print
and has been translated into several languages. Eighty years
later this story still evokes intense interest. Most recently
book length publications have included Why Orwell Matters
(2002) by Christopher Hitchens, and Finding George Orwell
in Burma (2004) by Emma Larkin, as well as scholarly journal
literature. The presenters, Edith Piness and Oliver B. Pollak,
initially read Burmese Days in the 1960s. They earned their
doctorates at Claremont Graduate School and UCLA, respectively,
during the 1970s with dissertations regarding British policy
and Burmese response during the nineteenth century. We propose
to take the opportunity of the 2008 Burma Studies Conference
to reevaluate the reading of Orwell's Burmese inspired work
in the light of post colonial studies, the genre of travel
narratives, anthologies, and the ideology of anti-colonialism
expressed in fiction authored by the oppressor.
"THE YOUNG REVOLUTIONARY AND THE SKEPTIC NATIONALIST: A PILOT STUDY TOWARDS A TYPOLOGY OF BURMESE POLITICAL THOUGHT AND THINKERS"
|The paper will present some information about the writings
of two keen political thinkers which were published in the
late colonial period before World War II, (Thakin) Ba Hein
and (Fabian U) Ba Khine. The information will be connected
to some consideration on a typology of Burmese (and Myanmar)
political thinking shaping the politics of the country until
The paper evaluates and compares the writings of both authors
which were published by the Nagani Book Club and its "sister
enterprise", U Tun Aye's Burma Publishing House. Both publishing
houses were closely connected to the Do Bama Asiayone.
Ba Hein (1917-1946) wrote "Students' Rebellion" ,
"World of Capitalists" and "World War and Burma's Future"
in 1939. Ba Khine (1906-1940) contributed "Political
History of Myanma" in 1938, "Internal Affairs of Germany"
and - together with (Thakin) Hla Pe (later: Bo Let Ya) - "War and
Socialism" in 1940. Further, he contributed to a small volume on
"World War and Burma" together Aung San and Ba Maw.
The authors' writings will be compared with their respective
political activities as a basis for suggesting a typology
of Burmese political thought and thinkers.
"DEFINING PERSONHOOD, SERVANTHOOD AND JURISDICTION: SOUTHEAST ASIAN POLITIES VS. EAST AND SOUTH ASIAN POLITIES KYUN, KHA, NGA
CHIT HLAING (F.K. LEHMAN)
|Some years ago I published a paper on Freedom and Bondage
and its vocabulary in Burma and nearby countries. I want,
now, to elaborate and refine part of that work in the light
of later work. In particular, I want to argue that words like
Burmese kyun, and Shan (and Thai and Lao) kha basically refer
not to servanthood, as I claimed earlier but rather to something
more resembling clientship. True, they refer to a form of
'bondage', but it is specifically a matter of proper jurisdiction
rather then simply subordination. I want to examine, in this
regard, how such words were used (or, as in Burmese, not used)
to refer to upland ethnic groups in the context of varying
systems of political relations with such groups. In addition,
refining a point made earlier, this will help make clear why
such words tended to replace etymological first-person pronouns.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4
CAPITOL ROOM SOUTH
"DISEASE CONCEPTION AND TRADITIONAL MEDICAL PRACTICE IN ARAKAN"
|Concepts of sickness and practices of protection and cure
existing nowadays in Arakan are at a crossroads of different
traditions, which reached this country over centuries, each
contributing its own concepts and practices. These traditions
are Buddhism, astrology, sprits cult, magic, and traditional
I wish to show that different concepts of sickness are mixed
up in discourse and practice and that this whole makes sense
because this crossroads is coherent with a conceptual context
shared by many Asian cultures, which consider the cosmos in
a harmonious and holistic way, i.e. as a complex of elements
linked to and affecting each other. Actually, when a perturbation
takes place in the system, this perturbation affects the individual
and his components. The individual is a microcosm and his
sickness is the symptom of a disorder which goes beyond him.
These are the four aspects on which I will focus my interest:
Firstly, every tradition considers sickness as a disorder
and therapeutic practices as aiming the restoration of the
Secondly, practices aiming to prevent or restore order will
operate on the individual and all his components, relying
him to the cosmos.
Thirdly, the healers even if defined by a specific reductive
vernacular term, never exercise only one kind of practice
but mix many, to accumulate many powers and to act at different
levels to give an holistic protection and cure.
Finally, people confronted with sickness always have recourse
to many practices and healers at the same time, to increase
their luck by different means, at different levels. Personal
"parcours thérapeutiques" show that logical consistence is
considered as less important that practical efficiency.
"WHY ARE TRANSVESTITIES BETTER THAN WOMEN AT MAKING WOMEN BEAUTIFUL IN MANDALAY?"
"THE ANNUAL CEREMONY OF AN ARIYAWEIZZADHOUR SECT"
|Most of the Buddhist organizations in Burma concerned with
the belief in weizzadhours (P. vijjadhara) hold an annual
ceremony attended by their members. Although these ceremonies
may be of utmost importance to the organizations and their
members, they have not yet received much scholarly attention.
A conspicuous feature of the cult of the weizzadours, which
will be discussed and illustrated in this paper, is the use
of royal symbolism, insignia and symbols pertaining to the
cakkavattin ideal, the "world emperor", as well as alleged
connections to past royal dynasties.
The aim of this paper is to delineate and render how some
of the rituals are performed during the annual ceremony at
the spacious temple compound of an ariyaweizza sect, and to
unravel the various objectives for holding it. By holding
the ceremony, the participants believe, for instance, that
certain results will be produced, such as fulfillment of wishes.
These may be a wish to bring about a set of cosmological effects,
to be able to successfully propagate the Sasana (thathana-pyu),
to be able to save beings (thatta-wa-keh), to have the opportunity
to meet the future Buddha's (Arimetteyya Buddha, Rama Buddha
etc), and a variety of other wishes. Most of the members have
taken a vow to become an hpayalaung, that is, a bodhisattva,
in order to attain buddhahood in a very distant future. All
the higher weizzadhours and natbyahmas (devas from the Brahma
heaven) are invited to attend the ceremony, to make the participants
wishes become fulfilled.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 5
RESPONSES TO CYCLONE NARGIS
"NARGIS RELIEF AND THE ENTRENCHMENT OF MILITARY POWER IN BURMA"
"GITAMEIT MUSIC CENTER UNLEARNING AVOIDANCE SHAUN SHA DA"
|One of many obstacles encountered in starting Gitameit Music
Center in 2003 was a rash of criticism by both friends and
detractors in Yangon that the school would never get off the
ground, be closed by the government, suffer internal fracture,
or that Burmese students were not "ready" or fit for such
an endeavor, that resources and Burmese society lacked sinews
to support an institution with goals in music-making and teaching
similar to many all over the world.
With all due respect to the nay-sayers -acknowledging that
at any moment there could be a collapse for unpredictable
or predictable reasons - Gitameit has prospered, developed
a fine secular chorus, several a cappella vocal groups, jazz
band, string ensemble, Burmese music ensemble, sponsored theatre
performances and new compositions, sent students for exchange
study abroad, participated in community outreach projects
and performed more than 400 concerts in Yangon, Mawlamyaing,
Mandalay, Myitkyina, Mogok and elsewhere and had supportive
journal coverage since 2004. All this with an amicable combination
of both foreign and local teachers, visitors from 'outside'
and the tenacity of the adult musicians on the 'inside'.
This paper addresses that tenacity on the part of the Burmese
students - Burman, Mon, Shan, Zo, Karen, Buddhist and Christian
- to become musicians in a supportive community and take on
- rather than avoid - challenging issues in musical and social
2008 The Center for Burma Studies. All
rights reserved. | Northern Illinois University | DeKalb, IL 60115