The Inya Institute
Quarterly Newsletter Fall 2023
T
he impact of international sanctions on Myanmar’s financial institutions and banking system has recently pushed the State Administration Council (SAC) to adopt age-old measures that had proved, in earlier periods, devastating for the economy and the well-being of the population. The printing of a new banknote denomination, arrest of foreign-exchange firm representatives, tightened control of foreign currency flows and remittances from overseas migrants have propelled inflation to new heigths and caused a dramatic decline in the value of the Myanmar kyat which lost almost 300% against the US dollar. In this issue, Crystal, a pseudonym of a Mandalay resident and long-time collaborator with the Inya Institute, describes how SAC’s economic ineptitude is affecting people’s daily lives. She also addresses issues of security which are noticeably worse than in Yangon. Also, in this issue, Chengpeng Li offers an account of the fieldwork organized by the institute in the Mae Hong Son area (Northwest Thailand) from late July to early August as part of our preliminary survey of monastic collections of Shan manuscripts. This last leg of the project helped us to put into perspective the two previous field surveys conducted in the Taung-gyi and Kengtung areas in late 2023. It helped us understand how important it is to conceive of manuscript collections not simply for their content In this issue Call for Papers Testimony Insights New Fellow at Inya Recent Activities at Inya Current Opportunities at Inya Upcoming Events in the U.S. and beyond New Books on Myanmar
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and historical value but also for the ecosystem sustained around them by the monks and care, laymen who recite manuscripts on special occasions of the Buddhist calendar, and their transnational moves across the Thai-Burma border. We now look forward to the next step of the project — the actual digitization of manuscript collections in these three areas — and to further collaboration with Thailand-based institutional partners, such as the Tai Yai Studies Center in Mae Hong Son and the Lanna Studies Center, Chiang Mai Rajabhat University. Also in the collaboration pipeline is our international and interdisciplinary conference on ‘Myanmar’s Borderlands: Past, Present and Future’, to be organized with the Institute of Asian Studies, the Asia Research Center on Migrations, and the Faculty of Political Sciences, Chulalongkorn University. The conference will be held on June 17-19, 2024, and will build on the learning gained from the Mentoring and Research Workshop Series currently developed with eight groups of junior researchers. More information about the Call for Papers is on p. 3 of this issue! Lastly, let’s congratulate James Cerretani, our new CAORC-INYA fellow who will conduct research on Malaysia-based communities of migrants coming from Myanmar. The Inya Institute team
1st International Interdisciplinary Conference on Myanmar’s Borderderlands (IICMB) “Lives of Mandalay Residents under the Coup” by Crystal “Unraveling Buddhist Monastic Manuscripts: Texts, Scripts, and Cultural Exchanges” by Chengpeng Li
Address in Myanmar: 50 B-1 Thirimingala Street (2) 8th Ward Kamayut Township Yangon, Myanmar +95(0)17537884
Library: It currently holds a little more than 830 titles and offers free access to scholarly works on Myanmar Studies published overseas that are not readily available in the country. It also has original works published on neighboring Southeast Asian countries and textbooks on various fields of social sciences and humanities. Optic fiber wifi connection is also provided without any charge.
Address in the U.S.: c/o Center for Burma Studies 101 Pottenger House 520 College View Court Northern Illinois University DeKalb, IL 60115 USA +1 815-753-0512
Library digital catalog: Access here. Working hours: 9am-5pm (Mon-Fri)
Director of Publication: Dr. François Tainturier
Digital archive: It features objects, manuscripts, books, paintings, and photographs identified, preserved, and digitized during research projects undertaken by the institute throughout Myanmar and its diverse states and regions. The collections featured here reflect the country’s religious, cultural, and ethnic diversity and the various time periods covered by the institute’s projects developed in collaboration with local partners.
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Digital archive: Access here.
The Inya Institute is a member center of the Council of American Research Centers (CAORC). It is funded by the U.S. Department of Education under Title VI of the Higher Education Act (2020-2024).
Academic Board
Board of Directors
Maxime Boutry, Centre Asie du Sud-Est, Paris Jane Ferguson, Australian National University Lilian Handlin, Harvard University Bod Hudson, Sydney University Mathias Jenny, Chiang Mai University Ni Ni Khet, University Paris 1-Sorbonne Alexey Kirichenko, Moscow State University Christian Lammerts, Rutgers University Mandy Sadan, University of Warwick San San Hnin Tun, INALCO, Paris Juliane Schober, Arizona State University Nicola Tannebaum, Lehigh University (retd) Alicia Turner, York University, Toronto U Thaw Kaung, Yangon Universities’ Central Library (retd)
President: Catherine Raymond (Northern Illinois University) Treasurer: Alicia Turner (York University, Toronto) Secretary: François Tainturier Jane Ferguson (Australian National University) Lilian Handlin (Harvard University) Nicola Tannenbaum (Lehigh University)(retd) Thamora Fishel (Cornell University)
C all for Papers Myanmar’s Borderlands: Past, Present, and Future 1st International Interdisciplinary Conference on Myanmar’s Borderlands (IICMB) jointly organized by
Institute of Asian Studies | Asia Research Center on Migration | Faculty of Political Sciences | Inya institute at
Chulalongkorn University Bangkok June 17-19, 2024 online | in-person
Myanmar’s currently expanding crisis is bringing to the fore long-standing developments and narratives about its borderlands, which now assume additional critical relevance. Of particular significance are the socio-economic and political dynamics of communities living in areas that have been often described as “peripheries.” These communities have long been challenging the physical and administrative barriers imposed by successive government administrations and have developed their own forms of governance. The interdisciplinary conference’s theme is deliberately broad in the time span it covers and will offer presenters and the audience an opportunity to pursue an inclusive conversation on Myanmar’s borderlands; to consider alternate framings of these territories and their populations, not just through the typical lenses of geographical and methodological borders; and to emphasize the unique contributions of these communities to the ecosystems, history, economy, and cultures of the Southeast Asia Region and their interconnectedness. With this in mind, we are inviting proposals for individual papers, thematic panels, and roundtables on the following themes: • legacy of colonial knowledge of borderlands and their communities • ethno-history of borderlands • natural resources and challenges to environmental protection in borderlands • communities, networks, and trade across borders • legal and illegal border migration • humanitarian relief to refugees and public health in borderlands • borders at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic • border regimes and governance • infrastructure(s) and illicit economies and activities • non-human mobility in borderlands • formal and informal governance of borderlands • externalized economic development of borderlands • formal and non-formal education in borderlands • other themes related to borderlands. The Institute of Asian Studies, the Asia Research Center on Migrations, the Faculty of Political Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, and the Inya Institute invite scholars and students to submit original research papers covering any of the topics listed above, both historically and contemporary, and spanning any area of Myanmar borders with China, Laos, Thailand, Bangladesh, and India. In order to preserve the confidentiality of the presenters, the conference program will not be available for circulation beyond the group of conference presenters and registrants. Conference presenters and attendees will be also expected to follow the Chatham House Rule. Submission of Abstracts All abstracts must be downloaded and use the pre-formatted template available here and sent to the following address: myanmarborderlandsconference@gmail.com Call for Papers Deadline: January 15, 2024 Decision Notification by: February 29, 2024 Information about registration fees coming soon! 3
Testimony Lives of Mandalay Residents under the Coup Crystal, the pseudonym of a native long-term resident of Mandalay, describes the current situation in Mandalay which is noticeably worse than in Yangon. Her contribution is purely based on her own experience and casual conversation with street vendors, shop keepers and wet-market vendors and their accounts of their daily hardships, struggle for survival in the midst of economic collapse, and resilience despite the never-ending oppression and restrictions imposed by the military administration. With 12 years of work experience in the non-governmental sector and humanitarian fields, Crystal has also been working closely with local Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and INGOs, including the Inya Institute. An active citizen, she has also been serving, for the past seven years, as a member of various steering committees advising a number of local CSO networks in their advocacy for legal reform, promotion of the rule of law, basic human rights, minority rights, interfaith harmony, peace and social cohesion.
Over two years and eight months into the February 2021 coup, the impact and consequences of the coup on the everyday lives of people can be seen vividly in many parts of the country, from the war torn, burnt down, abandoned villages of central Burma, mostly in Sagaing and Magway Regions, to many villages in the ethnic areas like Kayah, Kayin, Kachin and Chin States, as well as in the big cities. Though people in urban areas may seem to be far away from the ongoing battles, they are also suffering all kinds of hardship and difficulties under the coup and Mandalay, a once flourishing and vibrant trade and business center, is no exception.
gold and foreign currency exchange rate as SAC would have us believe), have caused a steep depreciation of the Myanmar currency, as well as the continuous increase of inflation, through higher prices of basic commodities, food items, medicines, fuel prices and other goods. The announcement by SAC of the issuing of a new 20,000 Myanmar kyats banknote in late July 2023 has also caused the inflation to jump its highest rate in the history of Myanmar. This also triggered chaos for the US dollar/Myanmar kyat exchange rate that came close to 3,900/4,000 kyats for 1 US dollar; the gold price jumped from 30 lakhs per 1 tickle to nearly 40 lakhs. The peak happened in August. In response to these erratic trends, SAC arrested a number of money changers and gold shop owners and, for those who were not arrested, it ordered them to sell gold and dollars at a lower price. As the few remaining money changers were afraid to do business or decided to close down their shops and stay low profile, US dollars are now hard to buy or sell at the black-market rate while the official exchange rate at the government banks and private banks remains around 2,100 kyats for 1 US dollar. As a consequence, the basic living cost for a daily meal and prices of basic goods and commodities have shot up, especially for items such as rice, cooking oil, meat and veggies & fuel: their price having gone up to two to three times. All this has made it almost impossible for most to survive daily and to make ends meet. At the market, the price of first grade rice jumped to 6,500/7,000 kyats per one Pyie (ြပည်) (from over 3,000 kyats), cooking oil (sunflower oil) jumped from around 7,000 per 1 liter to 8,500/8,700 kyats/liter, and the peanut oil from 11,000 kyats per one viss to 16,000/17,000 kyats per one viss. All imported items such as sunflower oil, soap, toothpaste, as well as medicines are now much more expensive and beyond the reach of the majority of people. Once the most essential and most consumed food item for commoners and the poor families, egg is now the
Economic situation and hardship under the coup Since the coup of February 2021, various forms of arrest, oppressions and restrictions imposed by the State Administration Council (SAC) have taken a toll on people’s lives; these developments have occurred together with rising unemployment (including the CDMers from various government sectors who deliberately resigned from their jobs) and decreasing income for staff from all sectors, including NGO staff to daily wages workers. Many businesses and factories went out of business or closed down; schools also closed down including private schools. All this led a large part of the population to lose jobs and live again under the poverty line. Money and jobs have become a scarce commodity and most people barely meet the costs of necessities for their daily life. To fan the blaze, a number of restrictive laws and directives recently imposed by SAC’s financial institutions, including control of transactions and money flows for various business sectors to the private banks, the tightening of SAC’s grip on all economic and financial sectors, and the arrest of money changers and gold shop owners (in order to control the rising price of 4
After a month or so, the street vendor was no longer visiting our street or selling her steamed rice and boiled peas in the early morning anymore. So I assume that she decided to stop her business or changed her line of business. The once crowded Shan noodle shop near my house has fewer customers than before: recently they have raised the price for a bowl of Shan noodle from 1,000 to 1,200 kyats for a small bowl and from 1,300 to 1,500 kyats for a big bowl with pea-sized chicken cubes. A price hike of just 200 kyats has led most customers to think twice about spending their money for a bowl of Shan noodles on a daily basis. As a guy who bakes and sells chapati at the street corner puts it:
food item that most average families have to eat everyday even though the price for one egg has also jumped to 250/300 kyats/ piece (from an earlier 150 kyats/piece). Meanwhile, poor families can’t even afford to buy eggs anymore. Eating daily morning breakfast has become unaffordable for the majority of people, as the price of breakfast items has also been going up. Tea shops cannot sell daily breakfast items at the usual price as the basic raw material items, like wheat flour, pea, cooking oil and tea leaf have doubled or tripled in the past few months. One piece of prata (ပလာတာ) or htattayar (ထပ်တစ်ရာ) are now sold at 1,000 kyats for plain ones and 1,500 kyats with boiled peas or potato curry. Fried donuts (အီၾကာေကြး) are now sold 1,000 kyats (from 700 kyats), one nan 800 kyats, and a cup of coffee or tea with milk costs 1,300 kyats, if you are eating at a fine tea shop with good quality food. While the majority of tea shops are trying to maintain their prices as low as possible, due to the rising price of basic raw material items, they still have to raise their prices from 200 to 500 kyats per item. One piece of fried fritter (အေၾကာ္, which is
“I want to raise the price of chapati as I have to buy the wheat flour and cooking oil at double the usual price now, but I do not have the heart to raise the price of my snacks, since the majority of daily wage workers and commoners cannot afford to buy if I raise even 200 kyats per piece.”
Pic.1: 80th street with little day traffic
the traditional breakfast eaten with either fried rice or sticky rice, a typical morning breakfast) becomes 300 to 400 kyats/piece in some shops. But some small shops still try to maintain the price and try to sell အ ေၾကာ္ at only 200 kyats/piece. More and more street vendors are selling fruits and vegetables on wheel drawn carts on the streets, calling out for customers on the street and selling their goods to the doorsteps of people’s homes: they hope to attract more customers, rather than keeping a shop or selling at the wet market waiting for customers. Street vendors who sell steam sticky rice and boiled peas (ပဲျပဳတ္)for breakfast, raise the price to 500 kyats for one portion of steam sticky rice (formerly 200 kyats per portion), and boiled peas to 300 kyats per portion. As one street vendor puts it:
So, he maintains the usual price of 500 kyats per piece of chapati with boiled peas or potato curry. He is worried that if he raises the price to 700 kyats, he will lose most of his customers. Those shops which raise the price of their items usually experience a drop in sales and fewer customers come on a daily basis. More people are now preparing breakfast at home to reduce their daily cost for meals and do not buy snacks outside anymore, though there are a few affluent people who can still afford to buy things with the rising price and who are still coming to visit tea shops as before. Daily shopping for groceries or buying at the wet market for meat and veggies has also become a headache for most housewives too. People’s struggle to keep the balance of their daily budget for household spending is now part of the daily scenes at the market. The effect of inflation can also be seen on imported items such as medicines. People have to pay double or triple the price of certain types of medicines: this obviously causes a great burden and difficulty to those who have chronic disease and who have to take medicines on a long term basis. Many small and medium-sized shops are also disappearing and running out of business, partly due to a decrease in customers, partly due to the difficulty in paying high rental charges
“I cannot sell at the usual price since the price to buy the raw sticky/glutinous rice and peas is rising and I have to pay these items at a high price. I am not making any profit now if I am selling at the usual price and I also do not have enough money to buy the raw item back. Though it is hard to earn any profit, I have to pay higher school fees for my son, and this even though we are not relying on a double income. I don’t know whether I can continue selling my snacks.” 5
for the shop, especially the clothing shops. I indirectly learned from certain shop owners that they are not making any profit to cover their capital and to buy new stocks that will be sold at the usual price. Also, some shop owners cannot pay their staff and have to lay them off since sales decrease. As a result, some shop and store owners stop renting any physical space and instead choose to do online shopping through Facebook or Youtube. Online shopping is increasingly popular. However, some shops are still operating physically, especially those which sell grocery and basic food items like rice, cooking oils, sugar, salt, milk powder, dish washing liquid and soap etc.,
leaders have pardoned and granted amnesty to a total of 7,749 prisoners on the Full moon day of Waso (a major Buddhist Religious Day in August). This country-wide amnesty included foreigners, members of ethnic armed groups, criminals but only very few political prisoners. This has created a lot of chaos and led to an increase in crime in recent months. Looting, theft, burglary and murder attempts have become common occurrences on the streets of Mandalay. People feel very insecure when they commute to work on motorbike, especially in the early morning hours and late afternoon when they get back home from work. People’s lives are no longer secure anymore. Apart from criminal attacks, frequent checks of people on motorbike and bicycle on the streets including checking people’s phones, by SAC military & police forces, in search of hidden weapon or bomb or to identify any PDF members in the city, are also common practices on the streets of Mandalay. Sometimes, such practices lead to the confiscation of the phone for the unlucky person, who is ac-
Security and safety of the general public Over more than two and half years into the coup, lawlessness rules the streets and quarters of Mandalay with former criminals pardoned by SAC now roaming freely in the city. SAC
Pic. 2: A three-wheeled motorcart typical of those used in Mandalay
cused to share a political post, or to follow and like the pages of resistance forces or NUG members. The unluckiest ones can be arrested on the grounds that they are in contact with terrorist groups. Occasional bombing or shooting here and there are also frequent events, especially when they target township or ward GAD offices by the resistance forces, or shooting back and forth with the SAC forces, in the city. Day time theft and burglary are also a frequent occurrence: they may be committed either individually or in groups. A shop owner that sells dry noodles, soy sauce and related items at the street corner had his small generator stolen in broad daylight while he and the salesgirls were taking their lunch break. Witnesses at the street corner said that a number of people came with a three-wheeled motorcart and stole the small generator (that was kept outside of the shop at mid-day) even though tuk tuk drivers at the corner and passers by were close to the scene. No one dared to intervene, especially since no one knew whether the thieves had weapons with them. In recent months, a number of shops which sell mobile phones and accessories have also been raided and both their stock and cash stolen by a group of unidentified criminals who were armed with weapons and wore masks, as reported by witnesses and independent local media. Likewise, a number
of gold shops (not affiliated to the military family members or to cronies) have also been raided, their stocks and cash being also robbed. In some cases, people say that police and military men are involved in these robberies. Recently, there have also been surprise raids by a group of military men in uniform at tea shops, raids which led to the arrest of customers, without any reason. Overall, people are constantly living under very insecure circumstances and in fear of being robbed, arrested or killed on the streets or even at their home. People have to take care of themselves for their own safety, since there is no place where one could turn to for help and protection or to file a case to take action, as people don’t trust police anymore. As earlier mentioned, it is also widely believed that police and military forces are themselves involved in these criminal acts. Apart from these, the closing down of five famous private hospitals and private clinics in December 2022, on the grounds that CDMers known to be specialist doctors worked there, has also caused a lot of chaos and difficulty for the general public. People with chronic disease or people in emergency situations who need to be hospitalized have been facing difficulty ever since: to get a room at the remaining private hospitals and clinics has become a challenge as the hospitals are now over6
crowded and operate with only few doctors. Scarcity of medical professionals and a reduced number of operating health infrastructures have caused tremendous challenges for the public.
ity of people are no longer interested or care about the planned election by SAC. No one cares about it or talks about it on the streets; what is most prevalent, however, is people’s lament and complaints related to rising prices and the difficult living conditions under SAC. For the majority of people, survival, safety of their families and enough income to share a meal are the most pressing issues in their life.
Despite this risky and challenging situation and while experiencing all these difficulties in their daily lives, people still have to go out of their home to go to work and to earn money for the family’s daily survival. The major-
Pic. 3: Unlike in Yangon, motorbikes are not banned in the center of Mandalay
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Insig hts Unraveling Buddhist Monastic Manuscripts: Texts, Scripts, and Cultural Exchanges Chengpeng Li is currently a master’s student at the Center for the Study of Manuscript Cultures at the University of Hamburg in Germany. He previously received training in Buddhist Studies within the framework of Transcultural Studies at Heidelberg. His current research interests focus on identifying intertextualities among Buddhist texts of various Tai groups in Mainland Southeast Asia and their connections with a broader Buddhist world. He explores how these texts were applied and performed within local linguistic, literary, and ritual contexts. Additionally, he is particularly concerned with understanding the historical distribution of different Tai groups and how they engage in dialogue across various texts, written scripts, and Pali or vernacular languages within Theravada Buddhism. Chengpeng was part of a field survey of manuscripts in the Mae Hong Son Area (Northern Thailand) organized by the institute on July 27-August 5, 2023, and funded by UCLA’s Modern Endangered Archives Program.
Our journey into a monastery’s hidden chambers often begins in a dusty, forgotten nook. Upon opening the closet doors, we uncovered old Buddhist manuscripts recording the textual traditions along with the time and place of their transcription. These manuscripts serve not merely as written records but as gateways to endangered Buddhist written cultures. However, in this technological age, these handwritten treasures are rapidly being supplanted by printed materials. At risk of disappearing are not just the manuscripts, but also the traditional Buddhist scribes and reciters who breathed life into them. This encapsulates my experience
during a field trip to probe monastic libraries in the Mae Hong Son province of Northern Thailand, organized by the Inya Institute. While my formal education in Buddhology primarily focused on the transmission of texts by ancient Buddhist scholars, this trip introduced me to the vibrant practices of everyday Buddhists. It revealed their unique linguistic traditions and the intricate relations between texts, manuscripts, and practitioners. Furthermore, this immersed experience enriched my understanding, presenting a mode of learning that starkly contrasts with the confines of a university classroom.
Pic. 1: The exterior of the main hall at Wat Huai Khan, one of the temples we visited.
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Before embarking on this field trip, my understanding of Buddhism in the Mae Hong Son province was shaped by my ongoing research project. Currently, my study is centered on the Uṣṇīṣavijayādhāraṇī-sūtra, a scripture derived from Mahayana Buddhism. The transmission of the scripture encompasses not only translations and further compilations from India to China but also its disseminations from Mahayana regions to Theravada regions of Mainland Southeast Asia. I am particularly intrigued by how the scripture was reinterpreted as Uṇhassavijaya and assimilated into local rituals, most notably the widely practiced life-prolonging ritual (Süp Chata), in Northern Thailand. During my research, I observed that the earliest known written record of the text Uṇhassavijaya is found in the Mae Sariang district, situated in the southern part of the Mae Hong Son province. According to the findings by Charles Keyes, these copied palm-leaf manuscripts, which include Uṇhassavijaya, are written in Tham Lanna script of the Tai Yuan group and were stored in a concealed cave. Interestingly, during Keyes’ investigation in 1968, there was no Tai Yuan community residing around that cave (Keyes 1970, 221-250). Consequently, with my interest in both Buddhist manuscripts and the distribution of Tai groups, I approached this field trip with a heightened sense of curiosity. Questions arise: How are the Tai Yai (Tai Long or more broadly Shan, as referred to in Myanmar) and Tai Yuan distributed
Pic. 2: Researching manuscripts at Wat Mae Sanga with Acan Ke from the local Tai Yai Studies Center.
in the current Mae Hong Son region? If they coexist, is there any cultural interaction between them? For instance, do the Buddhist text Uṇhassavijaya of the Tai Yuan group and its rituals also appear in the Tai Yai group? This field trip extends the Inya Institute’s previous investigations into Shan manuscripts in Taunggyi and Kengtung, located in the Shan State of Myanmar. In this phase, we conducted a preliminary survey of manuscripts belonging to the Shan ethnic group (Tai Yai) in Mae Hong Son province near the ThailandMyanmar border. The findings will guide the selection of temple manuscripts for upcoming digitalization. Working with the institute and the local team together, we delved into long-sealed temple closets to uncover old manuscripts, read some colophons together, cataloged the quantity of pap sa manuscripts across temples, honed fieldwork interview techniques, learned to draft cataloging worksheets, and strategized the design of a field research project to investigate on manuscripts. Alongside these tasks, I was also keenly attuned to the physical characteristics of Buddhist manuscript, the interplay between scripts and ethnic identities, the cultural interchanges among various ethnic groups in this frontier, and the current roles of cares for copying and reciting manuscripts for the local Buddhist communities. Before heading into the field, I had assumed that, being part of Northern Thailand, this region would inherently reflect the Lan Na culture. I anticipated an even distribution of Buddhist temples associated with both the Tai Yuan and Tai Yai ethnic groups, given their integral roles in Lan Na heritage. However, to my
surprise, in the Mae Hong Son district and its surrounding areas, namely northern part of the entire province, only Tai Yai Buddhist temples and their own script writing are prominent. It was only when we went to the more southern part of Khun Yuam district that we encountered temples linked to the Tai Yuan, as indicated by temple names inscribed in the Tham Script. Even in Khun Yuam district, despite the visible interplay of ethnicities and communities, the Tai Yai remained dominant, founding numerous temples. However, their dedication to preserving Buddhist pap sa manuscripts and the distinctiveness of Tai Yai culture was not as evident as in the northern region of the province. For example, during our investigation in Khun Yuam, I noticed that within their manuscript storage
cabinets in the Tai Yai temples, they also stored modern printed Buddhist texts from Chiang Mai and Lamphun belonging to the Tai Yuan tradition. Intriguingly, these texts had been transcribed from the Tham script to the central Thai script and were bound in the style of palm-leaf manuscripts. In the Mae Hong Son district located in the northern region, almost all the temples primarily upheld the Tai Yai Buddhist and linguistic traditions. In contrast to the Tai Yuan group in Northern Thailand and the Tai Khün of the Kengtung region in Myanmar, who primarily use palm-leaf manuscripts to copy Buddhist texts, we found that the Tai Yai exclusively utilized pap sa manuscripts. Their textual traditions also appeared distinct from those of the Tai Yuan and Tai Khün Buddhists. For instance, during my interviews, I learned that the Uṇhassavijaya and related rituals, which I was particularly interested in, were not disseminated or practiced within the Tai Yai community. Meanwhile, we discerned a significant connection between the texts housed in Tai Yai temples in Mae Hong Son and those of Myanmar. These temples retained chronicles associated with significant Burmese landmarks, such as the city of Mandalay and the iconic Shwedagon Pagoda. Notably, many manuscripts were directly copied in the Shan State indicated by their colophons. Our visit to Care Òn’s residence revealed an extensive collection of Buddhist texts written in Shan State. One text that particularly piqued my interest recounts the story of Upagupta. John Strong has
Pic. 3: Visiting Care Òn's home to investigate his personal manuscript collection, accompanied by Acan Ke.
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extensively studied the narrative, tracing the transmission and evolution of the cults and tales associated with Upagupta from India to Myanmar and subsequently to Northern Thailand (Strong 1992). This specific version collected by Care Òn was copied in Pinlon, located in the Southern Shan State, back in 1988. From our conversation with Care Òn, we knew that he relocated to Mae Hong Son province from the Shan State during his youth, taking these manuscripts along. This tale subtly hints at recent migration patterns and the continuous spread of Shan Buddhist writings directly from Myanmar into Mae Hong Son. Additionally, while conducting our survey at Wat Huai Pha near the central district, I came across a particularly intriguing pap sa manuscript. At first glance, noting the text was inscribed with the Tham script—a script I am familiar with—the temple abbot generously gifted it to me. Upon closer examination, I found it as a trilingual document, encompassing
Burmese, Tai Yai, and Tham Lanna. Intriguingly, the content frequently presents vocabulary comparisons across the three languages or scripts and includes illustrations depicting Yantra (Yan) patterns. Even more interesting are the annotations written in modern Tai Yai language using a ballpoint pen, suggesting that a Tai Yai learner utilized this manuscript. While such manuscripts are quite rare, they provide a unique insight into how different ethnic groups transmit Buddhist knowledge from Burmese to both Tai Yai and Tai Yuan. In conclusion, the Buddhist manuscripts in Mae Hong Son province are vibrant reflections of cultural evolution, migration, and human narratives. Each manuscript and practitioner holds a piece of the intricate tapestry of Buddhist traditions. In a world increasingly dominated by technology, it is crucial for scholars and enthusiasts to advocate for the preservation of these rich legacies. Consequently, our field trip investigating Tai Yai or Shan Bud-
dhist manuscripts substantially enriched both my understanding of Buddhism in the Mae Hong Son province and my skills in temple-based manuscript research. This journey bears significant implications not only for my personal exploration into the Tai groups and their diverse Buddhist practices but also for broader initiatives focused on preserving and digitizing manuscripts of Tai groups across Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and China in the coming years. References: Keyes, C. (1970). “Northern Thai Frontier History.” In In Memoriam Phya Anuman Rajadhon. Tej Bunnag and Michael Smithies, Ed. Bangkok: The Siam Society, Pp. 221-50. Strong, J. (1992). The Legend and Cult of Upagupta: Sanskrit Buddhism in North India and Southeast Asia. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
New Fellow at Inya
James Cerretani is a 2023-2024 Fulbright Research Student to Malaysia. Upon completion of the Inya and Fulbright research periods Cerretani will pursue a Ph.D. in Anthropology at the University of Southern California (USC). Cerretani’s project entitled, Myanmar in Malaysia: Community & Education, asks: how do community schools provide education tailored to transnational
youths’ imagined futures? This project considers education broadly and schooling specifically, as the critical sites where ideas of belonging and futures—in relation to various actors’ projects of inclusion and everyday forms of exclusion—are imagined and constructed among transnational communities. James’ research will be conducted in Fall 2023 in Malaysia. 10
Recent Activities at Inya 2023 Languages of Myanmar Course Series: A review by Pyae Phyoe Myint The institute started its second ‘Languages of Myanmar’ course series on June 19, 2023 with the Kachin Jinghpaw Language course which was then followed by the Karen S’gaw and Shan Tai Long language courses on 1st July 2023. Unlike the previous course series of 2022, all three courses were offered for three weeks with a teaching period of one and a half hours. In addition, the three courses were free of charge for Myanmar participants while international participants had to pay a fee to cover the cost of the language teachers’ tuition. Our language teachers taught their languages to a very diverse group of participants from Myanmar, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, China, Thailand, and Bangladesh. 17 Myanmar participants joined the Kachin Language course; a total of 20 participants joined the Karen Language course with seven International participants and 13 Myanmar participants; and a total of 13 participants joined the Shan Language
course with four International participants and nine Myanmar participants. Building on the ‘Training of Trainers’ session led by Prof. San San Hnin Tun (INALCO, Paris) in September 2022 and based on the lessons learned and participants’ feedback from the 2022 course series, our language teachers modified each set of lessons in terms of practice materials, homework, and diverse assessment techniques. This was done with the support of Yu Yu Khaing, a Senior Lecturer teaching the Burmese Language at Cornell University. Our language teachers used different types of teaching materials such as audio files and videos for short conversations, songs for effective listening and speaking skills, and poems and proverbs at the end of each day for effective reading skills. In addition, our groups of language teachers have also designed a wider range of assignments and assessments that course participants are invited to do outside course hours in order to develop their language skills.
The range of assignments and assessments includes the following items: a written piece after each lesson or at the end of the week, true or false statements, multiple-choice questions, and writing short answers. All this is made possible through the use of online platforms. The 2023 round of our three-week language courses successfully offered all participants an opportunity to acquire the essential skills to communicate confidently and effectively in the language they had chosen and this in a broad range of situations. The feedback received from the participants is now helping us fine tune sections of the curriculum that need improvement. Once this is done with the collaboration of our groups of teachers, we will be ready for the next language course series in 2024! Following feedback from participants, we also hope to offer intermediate-level courses for the three languages in 2025. More info on this in the next issues of the newsletter!
‘Effective Learning Strategies’ Training Course: A Presentation by Pyae Phyoe Myint Committed to providing free educational opportunities for Myanmar students at this time of the Myanmar’s crisis, the Inya Institute offered its very first free online four-day training course ‘Effective Learning Strategies’ facilitated by Pyae Phyoe Myint, Education and Training Junior Manager, in the first week of July 2023. The course’s objective is to help participants to become acquainted with the fundamental concepts of effective learning and learning strategies, and apply those knowledge in their different fields of learning. The course is mainly open to young adult learners of any ethnicity in Myanmar. The syllabus was designed to cover different topics such as philosophy and learning, setting learning goals, learning theories, adult learning principles, and tips for learning strategies throughout four days of training. In particular, it was designed in a way
that young adult learners gain practical learning outcomes from the course, such as working confidently individually or in groups, taking notes from the texts or lectures in a more effective way, using concept maps for brainstorming problems, thinking critically about what and how they learn from different resources, and making informed decisions during project designs and project development. In terms of reading and practice materials, scholarly articles from different research journals such as the Independent Journal of Myanmar Scholarship, Inya Economic Journal, and some topics from the ‘Inya Bilingual Research Methodology Series’ were used for the practical application of knowledge and concepts gained through lectures and discussion. Many participants with diverse educational and professional backgrounds 11
residing in various states such as Shan, Kachin, Chin, Rakine, Kayah and Mon; and in Yangon, Mandalay and Sagaing Regions joined the first batch of the training course and actively participated in the in-class activities conducted around specific topics. Pyae Pyae and the participants developed a good rapport and had active, open discussion on their learning experiences, challenges, and difficulties as young adult learners. According to the participants’ feedback, the course is very much beneficial as participants will apply the learning for both their studies and also their work. Recently, a second batch of this training course was also successfully completed on 7th September, 2023. The institute is planning to run the next round of this training course in early November and offer a new online training course on critical thinking skills and decision-making in early 2024.
Current Opportunities at Inya
Application Contents The application to be completed in the CAORC Survey Monkey Application Portal (orcfellowships.smapply.org) requires the following items: • Information about the Applicant: first name, last name, mailing address, email address, phone number, citizenship, major field of study, department, date and year the PhD degree was obtained, university where it was obtained, current occupation, dates (if any) of previous research in Myanmar, length of award requested, tentative dates of project; • A Curriculum Vitae; • Description of the proposed study with the following sections: 1. Project title 2. Project abstract (max. 100 words) 3. Approach and research methodology (max. 500 words) 4. Significance of the project (max. 500 words) 5. Work done to date (max. 300 words) 6. Work to be accomplished during the fellowship period (max. 500 words) 7. Third Country selected and list of places where research work will be conducted (max. 300 words) 8. Budget narrative describing how the award will be expended • Project Bibliography • One Reference Letter
The program is funded by CAORC through a grant from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. State Department.
The Inya Institute announces the 2024 CAORC-INYA Scholars Fellowship competition for research that will contribute to studies on Myanmar in any aspect of its wide linguistic, cultural, religious, and ethnic diversity and to a better understanding of the country’s past or present political and socio-economic situation. Applicants must be U.S. citizens who have obtained their PhD degree in the last 10 years (at the time of submitting application). The 2024 CAORC-INYA Scholars will have until September 30, 2024, to complete their research work in a Third Country of their choice. Information about the fellowship competition • Research must contribute to studies on Myanmar in any aspect of its wide linguistic, cultural, religious, and ethnic diversity and to a better understanding of the country’s past or present political and socio-economic situation. Any field of research will be considered, including the arts, humanities, social sciences, economics, political sciences, law, environment studies, and public health; • Research must take place in a third country outside of the U.S. and Myanmar (due to the current closure of Myanmar’s international borders); For example, it may be conducted at the British Library and other U.K. libraries, or among Myanmar communities living in India, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, etc… • Joint research projects are not eligible for this competition. Only individual research projects will be considered; • Applicants must be U.S. citizens. U.S. permanent residents are not eligible for this competition. Fellowship Benefits • Award from $4,000-$4,400 for a maximum of 3 months; • A transportation stipend of up to $1,900 for the round trip airfare from the U.S. to a third country and in-country transportation expenses. Terms and Conditions • Fellows must submit a one-page Final Report to the Inya Institute within a month completing their fellowship; • During the tenure of their fellowship, fellows must present their research project through an online presentation and write a short blog which will be featured in this newsletter; • Fellows are responsible for obtaining the appropriate research permission and visas; • Air Travel from the U.S. must meet the conditions of the Fly America Act. Deadline, Selection, and Notification Applications must be sent by January 5, 2024 (11:59 PM EST). Awards will be announced by March 8, 2024.
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Current Opportunities at Inya
Application Contents The application to be completed in the CAORC Survey Monkey Application Portal (https://orcfellowships.smapply.org) requires the following items: • Information about the Applicant: first name, last name, mailing address, email address, phone number, citizenship, major field of study, department, institutional affiliation, dates (if any) of previous research in Myanmar, length of award requested, tentative dates of project; • A Curriculum Vitae; • Description of the proposed study with the following sections: 1. Project title 2. Project abstract (max. 100 words) 3. Approach and research methodology (max. 500 words) 4. Significance of the project (max. 500 words) 5. Work done to date (max. 300 words) 6. Work to be accomplished during the fellowship period (max. 500 words) 7. Budget narrative describing how the award will be expended 8. Name of the Third Country where research on Myanmar will be conducted 9. List of places that will be visited in Third Country • Project Bibliography • One Reference Letter
This program is funded by CAORC through a grant from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. State Department.
The Inya Institute is now opening the call for the 2024 CAORC-INYA Short Term Fellowships competition for research that will contribute to studies on Myanmar in any aspect of its wide linguistic, cultural, religious, and ethnic diversity and to a better understanding of the country’s past or present political and socio-economic situation. Applicants must be U.S. citizens currently enrolled in a graduate program (Master’s or Doctoral level) at an institution of higher education in the U.S. or elsewhere. The 2024 CAORC-INYA Fellows will have until September 30, 2024, to complete their field work in a Third Country (outside of the U.S. and Myanmar). Information about the fellowship competition • Research must contribute to studies on Myanmar in any aspect of its wide linguistic, cultural, religious, and ethnic diversity and to a better understanding of the country’s past or present political and socio-economic situation. Any field of research will be considered, including the arts, humanities, social sciences, economics, political sciences, law, environment studies, and public health; • Field research in a Third Country must be for a minimum of two months and a maximum of four months; • Joint research projects are not eligible for this competition. Only individual research projects will be considered; • Applicants must be U.S. citizens. U.S. permanent residents are not eligible for this competition; • Students enrolled at Minority Serving Institutions are especially encouraged to apply. Fellowship Benefits • Award from $3,200 to $4,200 for a maximum of 4 months; • A transportation stipend of up to $1,400 for the round trip airfare from the U.S. to Third Country and in-country travel expenses. Terms and Conditions • Fellows must submit a one-page Final Report to the Inya Institute within a month completing their fellowship. • During the tenure of their fellowship, fellows must present their research project through a virtual presentation and write a piece of writing which will be published in the institute’s quarterly newsletter. • Fellows are responsible for obtaining the appropriate research permission and visas. • Air Travel from the U.S. must meet the conditions of the Fly America Act. Deadline, Selection, and Notification Applications must be sent by January 5, 2024 (11:59 PM EST). Awards will be announced by March 8, 2024.
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Become a Member of the Inya Institute Me m b e r s h i p o f t h e Iny a In s t i tu t e i s n o w a v a i l a b l e fo r In s t i tu t i o n s a s w e l l a s In d i v i d u a l s ! Despite Myanmar’s current multidimensional crisis, the Inya Institute continues to operate in Yangon providing educational and training opportunities to Myanmar students, supporting scholarship by Myanmar and International researchers in Myanmar and in third countries, and offering language learning opportunities for those interested in Myanmar’s linguistic diversity. It is also one of the few libraries currently open to the public in Yangon. Interconnectedness between Myanmar, the U.S., the Myanmar diaspora in the U.S. and elsewhere is more important than ever and the institute is keen to support this value as shown by its activities listed above. You can be part of this so please consider becoming a member of the Inya Institute!
Contact us at: contact@inyainstitute.org INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERSHIP
INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIP
Any recognized academic or educational institution in the United States or Canada may become an Institutional Member of the institute. If a representative of an institutional member chooses to send a delegate to serve on the board of directors, he/she has an opportunity to shape the institute’s programs and activities.
Anyone may become an Individual Member of the institute, upon application and acceptance by the institute. Benefits: (1) Inclusion in the institute’s listserv of those institutions and individuals receiving the quarterly’s newsletter; (2) Invitation to join online events, including conferences or webinars, organized by the institute; (3) Reduced fees for the language learning opportunities developed by the institute.
Other benefits include: (1) Recognition of institutional member status in the institute’s quarterly newsletter; (2) Publishing of members’ scholarly events in the institute’s quarterly newsletter; (3) Invitation to join online events, including conferences and webinars, organized by the institute.
Annual individual membership dues are $25.
Annual institutional membership dues are $400.
Upcoming Event at Inya From Monarchy to Bourgeoisie: Origins of the Shwedagon Pagoda Trust Peter Alexander
MA student, History Department, Northern Illinois University
November 9, 2023, 8:30 PM (CST) November 10, 2023, 9:00 AM (MMT) Register at https://forms.gle/uxLhx7KqZodKkh2x8
Webinar series organized by the Inya Institute and funded by CAORC through a grant from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S State Department.
In the early 20th century, Pagoda trustees (or gopaka) played an important role in many anticolonial and nationalist conflicts, particularly around the “shoe question,” in which Europeans refused to remove their shoes while walking on sacred grounds in Burma. But who were these men, and how did they come to occupy such a pivotal position in Burma? Thanks to funding from the Inya Institute, I was able to work at the British Library this summer and explore the origins of the Shwedagon Pagoda Trust, which served as a model for other pagoda trusts. In the final decades of the 19th century, this novel institution was the object of heated public debate, scandal, and long-lasting feuds, culminating in a democratic election of trustees in 1898. In order to contextualize the rise of Buddhist lay societies as well as activism around shoe-wearing, the Shwedagon Pagoda Trust must be understood more clearly. Peter Alexander is an MA student in the History department at Northern Illinois University. Since his service with the Peace Corps in Burma was cut short in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he has been pursuing further study in the USA. The results of his research at the British Library will form the backbone of an MA capstone paper to be completed in spring of 2024, which deals with Buddhist modernism, urban history, and nationalism in Burma. He also hopes to use this material in the future in research and study towards a PhD. 14
Upcoming Events across the U.S. and Beyond November Event
1. Rights Refused: Grassroots Activism and State Violence in Myanmar
Location: Rockefeller Hall, 374 Central Campus, Cornell University Date: Thursday, November 9, 2023, 12:20 PM Speaker: Elliott Prasse-Freeman For decades, the outside world mostly knew Myanmar as the site of a valiant human rights struggle against an oppressive military regime, predominantly through the figure of Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. And yet, a closer look at Burmese grassroots sentiments reveals a significant schism between elite human rights cosmopolitans and subaltern Burmese subjects maneuvering under brutal and negligent governance. While elites have endorsed human rights logics, subalterns are ambivalent, often going so far as to refuse rights themselves, seeing in them no more than empty promises. In this presentation, Elliott Prasse-Freeman describes his recent book on the topic, in which he documents grassroots political activists who advocate for workers and peasants across Burma, covering not only the so-called “democratic transition” from 2011-2021, but it also the February 2021 military coup that ended that experiment and the ongoing mass uprising against it. Taking the reader from protest camps, to flop houses, to prisons, and presenting practices as varied as courtroom immolation, occult cursing ceremonies, and land reoccupations, the talk shows how Burmese subaltern politics compel us to reconsider how rights frameworks operate everywhere. More info here.
2. Association of Southeast Asian Studies Annual Conference
Location: Faculty of Social and Political Sciences Universitas Indonesia Date: 27–30 November 2023 ASEAS is dedicated to fostering a culture of diversity and inclusion. They prioritize panels that reflect the diversity of their field in terms of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and institutional affiliation. Panel and roundtable proposals should be submitted by the panel chair and should include a proposed title, a 250-word abstract for each constituent paper, and an abstract of no more than 250 words describing the panel session
as a whole. Proposals should also include a 200-word biography (including institutional affiliation, where appropriate, and preferred pronouns, if desired), and an email address for each participant. More info here. Registration here.
3. Unheard Voices: Conflict Related Sexual Violence in Myanmar Location: Room 203, Luce Hall 34 Hillhouse Avenue, Yale University Date: November 29, 2023, 12:00 PM Speaker: May Sabe Phyu May Sabe Phyu is the Director of the Gender Equality Network (GEN), a coalition of more than 100 organizations collaborating to advocate for women’s rights to end discrimination against women and ethnic and religious minorities in Myanmar. Myanmar/Burma has obligations under international humanitarian law, human rights treaties, international criminal law and as a UN member to take effective measures to prevent and respond to CRSV. However, since the coup on February 1st, 2021, military and other security forces have carried out extensive human rights abuses, including sexual violence. She will provide a more nuanced understanding of patterns of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) and survivor experiences in selected areas of Myanmar/Burma and to help understanding the evidence-based policymaking to address and combat CRSV, qualitative research that GEN was conducted in late 2021. She will focus on sharing the findings pointed to pervasive sexual violence experienced throughout the country, especially at the hands of state security forces, as well as a lack of support services and deep and long-lasting psychological, social, economic and physical impacts from the violence. More info here.
December Event
4. Agents of the State or Society? Resistance, Accommodation, Violence and the Role of Local Administrators in Post-coup Myanmar Location : 110 Weiser Hall, CSEAS, University of Michigan Date : Friday, December 8, 2023 at noon-1 PM Speaker: Ardeth M. Thawnghmung This talk focuses on how state govern15
ing structures have evolved in different local contexts in the post-coup period, and how local authorities in Myanmar responded to the military’s coup. Dr. Thawnghmung focuses particularly on the role of ward/village tract administrators (WA/VTAs). Who officially serve as the first point of contact with the government. In contrast, perceived “agents of the revolution” are who remain politically neutral or are respected and trusted by both sides, or who half-heartedly implement military’s ordinances, while condoning the underground resistance movement and warning resistance groups of impending searches by security forces. More info here. Registration here.
January Event
5. Migrations and Mobilities along the Belt and Road: Emergent Geographies in Asia and Beyond
Location : Hybrid (Online via Zoom) 10 Kent Ridge Crescent, Singapore Date : 11-12 January 2024 This workshop is jointly organised by the Asian Institute at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto; and the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore. The workshop invites empirically grounded papers that analyse migration and mobilities set in motion by elements of the Belt and Road, including: -cross-border commerce and trade -work opportunities across different sectors -entrepreneurship and deskilling -education and vocational training -marriage and family reunion -lifestyle migration -precarity and displacement. This two-day interdisciplinary workshop aims to bring together international, regional, and local scholars to reflect on how the conditions of mobility have changed along the Belt and Road by addressing a range of salient issues on the emerging geographies of migration, such as migration regimes and conditions of (im)mobility, various implications of emerging flows of migration, and the dynamics of sociocultural exchange and knowledge circulation. more info here.
New Books On Myanmar
Empire, Gender, and Bio-geography: Charlotte Wheeler-Cuffe and Colonial Burma
Nuala C Johnson Routledge, 2023 This book explores the relationships between empire, natural history, and gender in the production of geographical knowledge and its translation between colonial Burma and Britain.This book highlights Wheeler-Cuffe’s production of scientific knowledge about Burma in the context of her relationship, as a white Western woman, with local, indigenous actors and details her practice of fieldwork and its embodied geographies in different parts of Burma, while she maintained the domestic superstructure of a colonial wife.This book will be of interest to advance-level students and researchers in historical and cultural geography; the history of science; feminist geography; women and natural history; colonial Burma and imperialism; and botanical art and illustration.
Andrew Ong Cornell University Press, 2023 Stalemate reveals the history and contemporary politics of the United Wa State Army (UWSA), Asia’s strongest insurgent army on Myanmar’s border with China. This ethnographic tale recounts how a highland group, often dismissed as rebels or narcotraffickers, maintains a relational autonomy between two powerful lowland states. Stalemate illuminates how seemingly ambiguous and disorderly practices of political signaling, economic regulation, and military governance produce relative stability, challenging our assumptions about state-like processes at the peripheries.
Forging the Nation: Land Struggles in Myanmar’s Transition Period
SiuSue Mark University of Hawaii Press, 2023 SiuSue Mark examines how democratic institutions were fought over and built from 2011 to 2020 through the lens of land politics. This book explains how the differences in outcomes in the contest over land are situated in the specific historic and political contexts of Myanmar’s states and regions, despite them being subject to the same national dynamics.
Stalemate: Autonomy and Insurgency on the China-Myanmar Border 16
Outsourcing the Polity: Non-State Welfare, Inequality, and Resistance in Myanmar
Gerard McCarthy Cornell Southeast Asia Program Publications, 2023 Outsourcing the Polity offers a new account of social outsourcing in postindependence Myanmar, demonstrating how the bankrupt post-socialist junta mediated market reform in the 1990s and 2000s and forced private and nonstate actors to take the burden for social welfare. Informed by research during Myanmar’s decade of partial civilian rule (2011-2021), Gerard McCarthy examines how ideals and practices of non-state welfare can both sustain democratic resistance and undermine social reform over time. With non-state social actors more important than ever following Myanmar’s return to dictatorship in 2021, Outsourcing the Polity casts new light on the lasting legacies of outsourcing for distributive politics.