Illustrations of Myanmar_sample

musée national des arts asiatiques – guimet, paris

Illustrations of Myanmar This newly conceived presentation of an exhibition of Burmese artifacts at the Musée Guimet in Paris showcases the vibrant art and manuscript traditions of Myanmar. The central pieces displayed in the exhibition were three richly illustrated manuscripts called parabaiks. The vivid paintings, which show lively festivals and the pageantry of daily religious and courtly life, are a window into the culture and customs of nineteenth-century Burma. Also in the exhibition were a number of other manuscripts, inscriptions, diagrams, and even an ornate wooden model of a traditional Burmese monastery.

The accompanying essays—translated from the original French exhibition booklet—explore complexities of the Burmese language, manuscript production, and background of the exhibited items as well as explaining the festivities and other spirited scenes illustrated in the parabaiks.

Silkworm Books

william pruitt is a Pali scholar and expert in Burmese religious and cultural history.

ISBN 978-616-215-148-4

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www.silkwormbooks.com 420-471

Manuscript Treasures of the Musée Guimet Edited by

WILLIAM PRUITT

CONTENTS Acknowledgments v INTRODUCTION 1 William Pruitt AN EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY ACCOUNT 2

Silkworm Books LANGUAGES AND SCRIPTS IN MYANMAR (BURMA) 9 Cao Thi Liêu BURMESE BOOKS: FORMS AND MATERIALS 28 Francis Macouin

THE PAGEANTRY OF A VANISHED KINGDOM 35 Pierre Baptiste BURMESE MONASTERIES 118 Francis Macouin

THE BURMESE MODEL OF A MONASTERY BUILDING 120 Pierre Baptiste A MAP OF AVA 126 Cao Thi Liêu Catalog Numbers and Illustration Credits 130

INTRODUCTION William Pruitt

MUSEUMS, libraries, and private collections around the world possess a vast quantity of Burmese manuscripts, sculpture, lacquerware, and other arts and crafts. They came out of Burma in a number of different ways.

Some were purchased, some were given to missionaries and diplomats, some were looted as the spoils of war, some were stolen.

A number of the Burmese treasures in the collection of the Musée national des Arts asiatiques–Guimet in Paris were given to French people working in Burma. For example, Philibert Bonvillain, an engineer who worked in Mandalay from 1875 to 1885, was given illustrated manuscripts

by King Thibaw. The French diplomat Frédéric Haas was in Mandalay for eight months in 1885. He collected a number of items which he offered to the museum.

The essays here are from a booklet in French that was published in connection with the exhibition De lacque et de d’or, manuscrits de Birmanie held in the Guimet Museum between October 19, 2011, and January 23, 2012. This exhibition was the first time many of the manuscripts had been on display in the museum, as they are stored in the French Bibliothèque nationale.

Dr. Cao Thi Liêu translated her articles, and I am responsible for translating the rest of the booklet. In editing the book, I have made a number of corrections in the texts. I am responsible for the final version.

Thanks are due to Mr. Peter Nyunt for his help with the original booklet.

Silkworm Books

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AN EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY ACCOUNT

AN EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY ACCOUNT

Silkworm Books Figure 2. .(pp. 4–7). Front cover, title folio, and folios with text in square Burmese script of the Papañcasūdanī (Majjhima-nikāyaaṭthakathā, Mūlapaṇṇasā-aṭṭhakathā) by Buddhaghosa. Bamboo manuscript, 9.5 x 53.5 cm, between AD 1763 and 1776.

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LANGUAGES AND SCRIPTS IN MYANMAR (BURMA)

LANGUAGES AND SCRIPTS IN MYANMAR (BURMA)

Figure 14. Dhammapada-aṭṭhakathā nissaya. Palm-leaf manuscript, 6 × 47.5 cm, second half of 18th century. This is a word-for-word translation from Pāli into Burmese of the commentary on the Dhammapada (The word of the doctrine), a collection of verses attributed to the Buddha. The unusual design using gold, black, and vermillion on the edges of the leaves is especially beautiful.

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THE PAGEANTRY OF A VANISHED KINGDOM: THE COLLECTION OF PARABAIKS IN THE MUSÉE GUIMET

scenes taking two, four, six, or eight leaves. The first scene (fig. 26) shows an assembly for a “monk’s festival” (according to the title); it seems to correspond to funeral rites for the head of a monastery, judging from the pageantry that is depicted. The catafalque is highly decorated, with receding pinnacles and with a kinnara and kinnarī (beings who are halfhuman, half-bird) on either side. It is set off by posts holding up the canopy inside the enclosure for the cremation. Chariots used in the procession are close by, near the guardian’s tent. Exceptionally, cremations of this type, organized long after the death of the head monk, were occasions when the entire community could participate in the festivities.

Silkworm Books Figure 26. Funeral of a monk.

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THE PAGEANTRY OF A VANISHED KINGDOM: THE COLLECTION OF PARABAIKS IN THE MUSÉE GUIMET

Silkworm Books Figure 39. The king on palanquin, accompanied by his ministers, officers, and cavalry.

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Similar scenes are found in the second parabaik in the Bonvillain collection (MA 4807), though the manuscript is arranged a little differently. There is no text to help us identify the scenes, and it is not as large or as richly produced as the other parabaiks, but it is of great interest nonetheless. Other aspects of court life are depicted in its nine scenes.

The royal monastery shown in the first scene (fig. 45) is reminiscent of the ones that were built at the end of the dynasty by Princess Salin, who had the Salin Kyaung built in 1876, and above all Queen Su-hpaya-lat, who had the Mya-taung Kyaung built in 1881. This last monument stands out because of the extensive gilding that covers the entire surface of the sculpted wood, just as can be seen in the parabaik. On the terrace, monks are bent over their palm-leaf manuscripts, attentively listening to the instructions of the teachers (acariya). All around the monastery are depicted the day-to-day activities of a large monastery: novices are tending to the grounds, helped more or less efficiently by active boys, furious that they cannot take part in the games of the other boys. A pious layman approaches the monastery with his offering in his hands.

Figure 44. (Right) Parabaik MA 4807, folded.

Figure 45. Royal monastery.

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THE PAGEANTRY OF A VANISHED KINGDOM: THE COLLECTION OF PARABAIKS IN THE MUSÉE GUIMET

THE PAGEANTRY OF A VANISHED KINGDOM: THE COLLECTION OF PARABAIKS IN THE MUSÉE GUIMET

The next scene (fig. 51) is a spirit festival (nat pwe). It takes place in a monastery, and the number of peddlers, fortunetellers, mediums (nat kadaw), people with offerings, dancers, and courtesans shows how popular it is. It may be possible to identify where this is; it could well be Yadanagu in Amarapura, which is not far from Mandalay. An important festival was held there every year in honor of Popa Medaw—mother of Mount Popa, an extinct volcano—and her two sons, the lords Taungbyone Min Nyinaung.

The statuettes on the altars that have been erected would suggest this is the festival in the illustration. It is not unusual to find the presence of nat worship in Buddhist monasteries in Burma, a phenomenon found all over Asia, showing a syncretism that can surprise Westerners.

Figure 51. Nat festival.

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THE PAGEANTRY OF A VANISHED KINGDOM: THE COLLECTION OF PARABAIKS IN THE MUSÉE GUIMET

The last parabaik (MA 1661) was acquired by the museum in 1955 and was studied by Marguerite-Marie Deneck, who worked at the Guimet Museum at that time. She was able to connect this impressive manuscript with another Burmese manuscript in the museum that relates a former life of the Buddha, the Nimi Jātaka (MA 565)—a manuscript with the artist’s name, Saya Ko Kya Niun, and dated 1869. The impressive manuscript has carved wooden covers (fig. 54) that are lacquered and feature four devatā in relief who are shown flying and armed with batons. Colored glass is inlaid in the ornamental borders. Four carved ivory buttons in the corners protect the covers when laid flat so that the decorative elements are not crushed when the miniatures are viewed.

Figure 54. Lacquered wooden covers of parabaik MA 1661.

Figure 55. (Below) Audience hall at the Mandalay royal palace.

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THE PAGEANTRY OF A VANISHED KINGDOM: THE COLLECTION OF PARABAIKS IN THE MUSÉE GUIMET

Silkworm Books Figure 58. (continued)

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THE PAGEANTRY OF A VANISHED KINGDOM: THE COLLECTION OF PARABAIKS IN THE MUSÉE GUIMET

Silkworm Books Figure 58. (continued)

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THE PAGEANTRY OF A VANISHED KINGDOM: THE COLLECTION OF PARABAIKS IN THE MUSÉE GUIMET

Silkworm Books Figure 58. (continued)

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