A Unique Culture, A Unique People

by U Win Han

(reproduced from "Myanmar Perspectives", January 2004)

Among all the members of the ASEAN, the Union of Myanmar is unique in that it possesses the largest collection of traditional manuscripts in the form of ancient palm-leaf manuscripts and folded paper parchments. Other South-east Asian countries like Cambodia and Laos, although possessing similar traditional manuscripts have lost them through the ravages of man and nature.
The reason why the Union of Myanmar possesses such a rich and rare collection of these traditional manuscripts is due to the following:- The Government of the Union of Myanmar is fully aware of the intrinsic value of these ancient manuscripts and have thereby caused them to be preserved in well established libraries, archives and museums.
The people of Myanmar are also conscious of the infinite value of the palm-leaf manuscript and the folding paper parabaik and have formed literary and religious associations which have preserved them in private libraries and museums.
There are also rare collections of these ancient manuscripts kept by private collectors.
The Buddhist monasteries scattered all over the Union of Myanmar have always been the rich repositories for these palm-leaf manuscripts and paper parabaiks.

The following is a rough estimate of the number of palm-leaf manuscripts and folding paper parchments in the possession of government libraries and institutions.

Yangon University Central Library (12,000) palm-leaf manuscripts and (4000) paper parabaiks.
Yangon National Library (6360) palm-leaf manuscripts and (1830) paper parabaiks.
Department of Religious Affairs Library (11370) palm-leaf manuscripts and (1240) paper parabaiks.
Yangon University Library (190) palm-leaf manuscripts.
Mandalay University Library (2740) palm-leaf manuscripts and (400) parabaiks.
Department of Archaeology Library (400) palm-leaf manuscripts and (50) parabaiks.
University Historical Research Commission Library (950) palm-leaf manuscripts and (1000) parabaiks.
National Archives Department (1787) palm-leaf manuscripts.

There are also palm-leaf manuscripts and paper parabaiks in the State and Division Cultural Museums scattered all over the country. In the libraries belonging to religious associations and other bodies, the following number of traditional manuscripts maybe found.

Shwe Dagon Pagoda Pitaka Taik Library (1330) palm-leaf manuscripts.
Mandalay Mahamuni Buddha Image Library (500) palm-leaf manuscripts.
Thaton U Po Thi Pitaka Taik Library (1340) palm-leaf manuscripts.
Pyay Shwe Bon Pwint Pitaka Taik Library (600) palm-leaf manuscripts.
Mingun U-Pu-Gyi Taung Pitaka Taik Library (1000) palm-leaf manuscripts.
Amarapura Maha-Wai-Yan-Bon-Tha Bargaya Monastery Library (5000) palm-leaf manuscripts and (300) parabaiks.
Mandalay Taung Kwin Taik Thathanabaing Taung Kwin Sayadaw Pitaka Taik Library (2000) palm-leaf manuscripts.
Yangon Athiti Monastery Pitaka Taik Library (2000) palm-leaf manuscripts.

Therefore a total of (40,000) to (50,000) traditional manuscripts are fairly well preserved in the hands of private religious associations and Buddhist monasteries.
Apart from these listed traditional manuscripts which have been preserved in the private collections of religious associations, there are also unlisted palm-leaf manuscripts and paper parabaiks scattered allover the Union of Myanmar.
Most of the traditional palm-leaf manuscripts and the folded paper parabaiks are found in the Buddhist Phongyi-Kyaungs or monasteries. There are over 20,000 Buddhist monasteries scattered throughout the land. In all the monasteries presided over by a learned Sayadaw or Buddhist abbot there are about a hundred to five hundred palm-leaf manuscripts and paper parabaiks. Fifty percent of all the palm-leaf manuscripts found in the Union of Myanmar may be classified under the heading of the Buddhist Tipitakas or Scriptures and their Commentaries. The rest of these traditional palm-leaf manuscripts may be classified as secular literature under such headings as grammar, poetry, history, astrology, astronomy, ancient herbal medicine, the occult arts, fortune-telling, charms and verses to ward off evil, the characteristics of good and evil elephants and horses, proverbs, classical literature, the ancient art of massage, mathematics, alchemy, prayers, carpentry, architecture etc etc. Classified under the heading of secular literature maybe found palm-leaf manuscripts dealing with classical songs and music. There are also palm-leaf manuscripts dealing with Myanmar translations from the Pail, such as, the 550 Jataka Tales (Birth Stories), Lives of the Lord Buddha, Lives of Buddhist Saints, historical romances like the Ramayana and famous plays performed at the Myanmar Court such as the Ai-Naung Nan-Twin Zat-taw-Gyi, Pa-Ba-Hein Drama and Deva Khon-Ban Pya Zat etc. Some of the Myanmar palm-leaf manuscripts are written with a kind of stylus, or with ink. We can find beautifully decorated palm-leaf manuscripts written in gold. There are palm-leaves with printed letters. Mon, Bama, Shan, Kayin, Thai, Sri Lankan, Bengali or Nagari letters have also been found on palm-leaf manuscripts in the Buddhist monasteries in Myanmar. There are palm-leaf manuscripts called Loka Kunchar model in the shape of an accordian. These contain drawings of the traditional Buddhist Cosmos with the figures of Mount Meru in the centre and the four great islands and their surrounding islands. Palm-leaves with pictures of the Thirty-One Lokas or Worlds, which include the worlds of men, animals, ghosts, hells, gods and Brahmas, are also called Loka Kunchar manuscripts.
Although the ancient Myanmar peoples wrote their sacred Scripture, their history and literature and music on the traditional palm-leaf manuscript, they jotted down their daily social and economic affairs upon the paper parabaiks. Their debit and credit accounts, mortgages of lands and houses, legal matters concerning the ownership of slaves, inheritance, revenue, census, royal orders, marriage and divorce, birth-certificates, Buddhists prayers and other random jottings were noted down on Parabaiks. The paper parchments therefore contain ancient Myanmar economics, social and religious affair, customs and traditions, judicial affairs, foreign relations, culture and fine arts, dress and beliefs etc. They can therefore be likened to the diaries of the common people where they jotted down their daily affairs. Those who wish to do research work on the social and economic history of the ancient Myanmar peoples would do well if they had access to the parabaik.
The ancient Myanmar people believed that if the traditional palm-leaf manuscript and the parabaik were well preserved they would last a thousand years. The earliest palm-leaf manuscript found in Myanmar, dates from 1492 and contains "the science of Mathematics and its relation to the Earth". This ancient manuscript, now more than 500 years old may be seen in the Yangon University Central Library. The art of writing on palm-leaf manuscripts was brought to Myanmar along with Buddhism in the 10th century A.D. from India and Srilanka, and the ancient Pyu and Mon peoples had beautifully decorated palm-leaf manuscripts made of gold. Then in the 11th century A.D with the introduction of Theravada Buddhism to the great city of Bagan, the art of writing on palm-leaf manuscripts reached its peak. In 1940, when the Second World War broke out many learned Buddhist monks in Myanmar were still writing their religious treatises on the palm-leaves. Even today when a Myanmar child is born, the astrologer will write down his or her name, inscribe the date, month and year of the birth and draw a beautiful horoscope of the baby on a palm-leaf. The Buddhist monks who gather in Buddhist homes for a house-warming ceremony will usually recite their parittas or protective holy verses, by referring to the palm-leaf manuscripts. At the Buddhist ordination services and at the fortnightly recitation of the Patimokkha or Confession, the Buddhist Monks will use the Pali stanzas written on palm-leaf in their ceremonies. Many of these palm-leaf manuscripts date from the early Colonial Period, about 1900 A.D. They are therefore more than a hundred years old. Due to the hot humid weather prevailing in Myanmar and the ravages of insects and white ants, many of these palm-leaf manuscripts have been totally destroyed. The Second World War and the civil unrest which followed the Independence of Myanmar in 1948, also caused much of the destruction of these invaluable palm-leaf manuscripts and the parabaik.
Although the traditional palm-leaf manuscript and the parabaik are well preserved in government owned institutions like the University Central Library, the National Museum and the National Archives Department the many unlisted palm-leaf manuscripts and parabaiks scattered all over the country in Buddhist monasteries and private homes are not so well preserved. Due to the inclement weather and the ravages of time, man and nature they will soon be destroyed. In many a modern Buddhist monastery where printed books are now used by the learned monks to teach the Buddhist Scriptures to their young scholars, the traditional palm-leaf manuscript and the parabaik are neglected and left to deteriorate. Some of these beautifully decorated ancient manuscripts are deliberately destroyed by ignorant village folk who do not know their intrinsic value.
Therefore it is very important for the sake of preserving the cultural heritage of the Myanmar people that all these precious palm-leaf manuscripts and the paper parabaiks be conserved for future generations. The first step to be taken is to make lists of all the Buddhist monasteries in Myanmar which possess these precious traditional manuscripts. This may be accomplished by enlisting the help of government officials. The second step is to choose to send teams of conservation experts to those places where a large collection of these traditional manuscripts have been discovered. These teams of experts shall make lists of the manuscripts under their proper headings and try to conserve them in their natural environment. Rare palm-leaf manuscripts shall then be microfilmed or copied by hand and some will be typed out and printed on paper and thus brought back to the public libraries or archives to be preserved under ideal conditions. The original palm-leaf manuscripts shall then be repaired and conserved by using both the traditional and the latest technical methods of repair and conservation. To fulfil all these different works of repair and conservation, time, money, material and a lot of technical know-hows is needed. Therefore the Myanmar government and people would be extremely happy if the UNESCO (United Nations Economic Scientific and Cultural Organization) Organization will decide to place under its Memory of the World Programme, the care, repair and conservation of the rare palm-leaf manuscript and the paper parabaik in Myanmar which belong to the precious cultural heritage of mankind.