Buddhism in Inwa period (1)

The third dynastic period in Myanmar history was Inwa period which lasted from (1364-1555 AD), a span of 191years. During this period 19 kings ruled the kingdom and they were all promoters and patrons of Buddhism. 

The dynasty of Inwa kings began with the accession of King Thado Min Bya in AD 1364 and ended with the overthrow of King Sithu Kyaw Htin in AD 1555 a span of 191 years.

The capital was Inwa. Inwa literally means the mouth of lakes. All the confluence of five rivers and streams namely the Ayeyarwaddy, the Samon, the Duthtawady, the Zawgyi and the Panlong and four lakes (Oh Hne lake, Nga Gyi lake, Kyauk Hmaw lake, Inbu lake), that were drained off and land filled to build the capital. It was a strategic site for administration, defense, trade and commerce. Theravada Buddhism continued to flourish in this period because both the kings and the public embraced it and supported it. In 1440 AD, two Mahatheras from Srilanka came and settled in Inwa. They studied Buddhism under the learned monks of Inwa. One monk by the name of Ariyavamsa was famed for his knowledge of Abhidhamma pitaka. He had learnt Abhidhamma from a monk at Sagaing. His mentor monk who lived in an isolated recluse was well known as the Venerable water bearer in his mouth. He did not want to be engaged in meaningless chatting. So he always kept water in his mouth.

Ariyavamsa's Yote Sone Monastery (Sagain)

အရှင်အရိယာဝံသ၏ ဆရာတော် - ရေငုံဆရာတော် 

Ariyavamsa wrote many works in Pali, on Abhidhamma, Pali Grammatical subjects and jatakas. He was the first monk who wrote Buddhism in Myanmar vernacular, making Buddhism accessible to the commoners. Inwa period was the golden age of Myanmar literature. It was in this period that Myanmar verse form especially Pyo grew to perfection. Pyo is a long poem of epic proportion describing jataka story. It is a set of beautifully constructed verse with as many stanzas as its composer fancies. Its theme is always Buddhism. Therefore there is no wonder that Pyo composers of Inwa period were mostly bhikkhus of high erudition. A new literary movement emerged in this period. It was led by learned monks. Among many monk writers of this period, four monk poets were very outstanding. 

They were…

1. Shin Uttama Kyaw 
2. Shin Maha Thilawuntha 
3. Shin Ohn Nyo and 
4. Shin Khey Mar. 

These four monks were poets famous not only because of their literary output of high quality but also because of their association with the divine message which was prevalent in Inwa of that time.

In 1438 AD, at three villages near the town Taung Dwin Gyi in middle region of Myanmar there sprouted four shoots of Pei tree. Pei is a species of palm (toddy palm), with fruits and glossy leaves. On plam leaf Myanmar scribe letters. Pei leaf is the symbol of literature and learnedness hence Myanmar word for literature is “Sarpei” meaning letters on Pei leaf. 

People thought that the four Pei shoots were good omens bringing the divine message that four learned monks would be born there. All above mentioned four monk poets were the natives of those three villages where four Pei shoots came out. Was it a coincidence or a true divine ordination? 

"divine message"=  Burmese = Tabaung (တစ်ဘောင်)- It is a prediction of what happen in the future.

Pei Tree (Talipot palm) (Corypha umbraculifera) flowers only once, after 80 years, and then some seeds, before finally dying.	Pei Leaves
Abacus (Pei fruit) is smaller than palm fruit (toddy palm fruit) and tastes better than palm fruit.	Abacuses (Pei fruits)
ပေတစ်သီး၊ ကျီးတစ်သား	There are saying in Myanmar people “ပေတစ်သီး၊ ကျီးတစ်သား” The Pei tree bears fruit only once in a life time. Crows also breed only once in a life time.
palm fruit (toddy palm fruit)	palm fruit (toddy palm fruit)
Palm-leaf manuscripts	Palm-leaf manuscripts
Stylus Pen	စာပုလွေ (Bamboo-ribbed roll of cloth for wrapping up palm-leaf manuscripts

The writing of Pei (Palm-leaf Manuscript)

Before the emergence of book in Myanmar, Myanmar used to write on Pe with stylus and on Purapuik with soapstone. Usually palm-leaf was used to write religious works. Later it was also used for non-religious works like Astrology, Botany, Cosmology, Genealogy, History, Law, Medicine, Military Science, Proverbs, Stories, etc.

The average size of a Palm-leaf Manuscript is 18 inches long and 3 inches wide. On Palm-leaf would have six lines (in the minimum) to twelve lines (in the maximum). On Palm-leaf the pagination goes by the dozen (aṅgā) like Ka, Kā, Ki, Kī, Ku, Kū, Ke, Kai, Ko, Koau, Kaṁ, Kā:. After Ka series, the pagination continues with Kha series and so on. One leaf of Pe has two sides. When any work or records is used from a PLMS, the reference is usually given as Ka Wam: 7 meaning Ka obverse line 7. Usually PLMS has a colophon (at the end) in which the author explains why he has written this work and when he finishes it. It if were a copy, the clerk mentions when this copy is made. All these information were important.

The black scroll folded fanwise is called Parabike in old Myanmar and it was in use six hundred years ago or even earlier.

Soapstone (ကန့်ကူဆံ) is used to write white words on its black surface. It is handmade bamboo paper which is blackened by soot and rice glue.
Parabike long scrolls of paper folded fanwise in book albums is usually of paper.
Parabikes made of gold, silver, copper, brass and leather are often-mentioned in Myanmar literature.

For enshrinement in pagoda, metal Parabikes are used. Paper Parabikes are the most common. Paper is manufactured from wood pulp or bamboo pulp or rice-straw.
The wood pulp used in Myanmar proper is of the bark of a tree.

The white Parabike which is rarer than the black, is used for illustrations. The paper is easily destroyed in humid weather and they nearly survived after half a century.

In this parabike, the story of Vessantarā is illustrated. They are from the donation of white elephant to the donation of his son and daughter to a Brahmim Suzaka (Jūjakā).

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The pictures of bathing in the mingalar lake, resting on the stone mat, informing the birth of son Yahula, to prince Siddhattha from Royal palace are also drawn.

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The Tagu Thingyan festival, depicted in a Burmese manuscript, 19th century. (Source: British Library)

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Paying homage to the king on the New Year Day. (Source: British Library)

Shin Ottama Kyaw earned his literary fame only by one and the only literary product. It was a long poem tawla (a journey through the glades). Its theme was religion. It was the description of the long journey which the monk took during his pilgrimage to Shwesettaw Pagodas at Minbu. Shwesettaw Pagodas, one at the foot and one on the summit of Minbu hill range enshrined each a Buddha’s foot print. They are Pada cetis. 

See more: Shin Uttamagyaw and his tawla, a nature-poem (Vol 1 to 9). by Dr Ba Han, Journal of Burma Research Society (JBRS), Vol 7, Part 2, 1917 to Vol 10, Part 1, 1920 

Tawla (တောလား)

Tawla:  Taw means forest and La means journey. So Tawla means a journey through the glades (forest). Tawla is the lyric verses describing the natural beauty of the surroundings of forest.

Shwe Set Taw Pagoda	Shwe Set Taw Pagoda

The Shwe Set Taw Pagoda

Shwe Set Taw (The Golden Footprints) pagoda is one of the most venerated pagodas in Myanmar. Actually there are two pagodas: the Auk Set Taw Ya or the Lower and the Ahtet Set Taw Ya, the Upper.

The pagoda history tells us that in the 12th year after Lord Buddha attained his Enlightenment he came to this area with a retinue of 500 followers. At that time the present Mann Chaung (Mann Creek) was known as Namada and here lived a Dragon King. Once this Dragon King invited Lord Buddha to his realm for worship and at the request of this Dragon King, Lord Buddha left an imprint of his feet on the banks of the present Mann Chaung. 

This day this place is known as Auk Set Taw Ya(Lower Golden Footprint).

Definition of Linkā (လင်္ကာ), Pyo (ပျို့), Ratu (ရတု), Ka-chin (ကာချင်း), Mawkun (မော်ကွန်း)

Linkā (လင်္ကာ)

Linkā is the simplest form of Myanmar verse which has exact metre, rhyme and rhythm.
e.g:   The death song of Anantasuriya also called Myet Phay Linkā. In Burmese Myet means ‘anger’ and Phay means reduce or dispel.

A Poem Dispelling Anger, by Anantasuriya
A Poem Dispelling Anger of the King
On the eve of his death, he wrote this classical poem entitled Dhammatā (The Nature of Things).

Pyo (ပျို့)

Most popular and numerous literary product of the Inwa Period was 'Pyo'. Later generation called this Period "the Period of Pyo". "Pyo' is a set of beautifully constructed verse, but unlike ratu, 'Pyo' can have as many stanzas as its composer fancies. It is a poem of epic proportions. But 'Pyo' does not describe about the contemporary events. Its theme is always religious and it tells the stories selected form the Jatakas or Buddha's life and his births. 

Ratu (ရတု)

Ratu is a lyrical ode on any subject. It is an offshoot of Linkā verse. But in Linkā there is no limit on the number of stanzas, whereas in Ratu there could be no more than three stanzas. 
One Stanza Ratu is called Eka pike (ဧကပိုဒ်) or solo, two stanzas Ratu is Aphyi Khan (အဖြည့်ခံ) or Incomplete Ratu, and three stanzas Ratu is Pike-sone (ပိုဒ်စုံ) or Complete Ratu. 

Ka-chin (ကာချင်း)

Ka-Chin was a kind of war song. "Ka" means shield. When the army was on march or when war victory was celebrated, warriors both footmen and equestrians holding a weapon in one hand and a shield in the other danced a Ka-dance (shield dance) singing Ka-chin (Ka-Song) to the beat of martial music. 

The Ka-chin which appeared during the reign of King Thihathu (A.D 1312-24) by an anonymous composer described the dress, manner and life-style of the people of the time. King Thihathu himself was an excellent Ka-chin writer and performer of Ka-dance.

Mawkun (မော်ကွန်း)

Mawkun is another verse form. It is a historical record of an important event or events which had taken place but which were worthy of preserving for posterities.