TEMPLES AND RELIGION
Burma has been called the "Land of Pagodas," and nothing could be more
true, for from Syriam, below Rangoon, to Myitkyina, in the far north,
is one long succession of these beautiful temples. Not only on the
river-banks do these pagodas crown the hills, but in every town and
village throughout the country; and in many remote districts, far from
present habitations, some shrine, however simple, has been raised.
We have seen something of the great Shwe Dagon pagoda in Rangoon, but
there are many others almost equally beautiful, if not so large: the
exquisite Shwe Tsan Daw at Prome, the Arracan near Mandalay, while in
old Pagan, Pegu, Moulmein, and a host of other places, are temples
which one might well think could not be surpassed for beauty. I have
told you that these pagodas are usually bell-shaped--a delicate and
most elegant form of design, which gains very much in effect from the
habit the Burmese have of building their temples on a hill, so that
the gradually ascending ground, on the different levels of which the
pinnacles of the "kyoungs" are visible above the trees, leads
gradually upward from one point to another until the temple itself is
reached, towering gracefully above the other forms of beauty with
which the hill is sometimes covered. Another pretty effect is gained
by building them close to the water, either on the river-bank or
beside some artificial pool or "tank," in which they are reflected.
Nothing could be more beautiful than the effect of these golden piles
glittering in the sunshine among the deep green of the trees,
especially when repeated in some placid sheet of water, dotted over
perhaps with pink and purple lotus.
And, then, the little bells which hang from every "ti"--how they
tinkle as they swing in the breeze, in their numbers forming one
general harmonious note, most musical, and with a strange sensation of
joy and contentment in its sound.
These little bells are not the only ones in the temples, however, for
in all of them are others of very large size, which, raised a foot or
more from the ground, hang between two posts set in the platform which
surrounds the "zedi," as the bell-shaped temple is called.
These are used by the worshippers, who, with a stag's horn, strike the
bell after praying, to call the attention of the "nats" of the upper
and lower worlds to the fact that they have done so. You will see
these bells in one of the pictures, but there are some others of
immense size, that at Mingun weighing eighty tons; but, as a rule, the
tone of the very large bells is poor, and not to be compared with that
of those of more moderate size.
There are one or two places in Burma particularly rich in
pagodas--Pagan, Sagaing, and Mandalay. I want to tell you just a
little about each.
Let us go to Mandalay first, for I have no doubt that you have been
wondering why I have not already told you something about the capital
of Burma.
As a matter of fact, Mandalay is little better than an enlarged
village, and is built much in the same way as the towns I have already
described, and has really only two points of great interest--its
religious buildings and the "fort."
I am referring, of course, to the _Burmese_ town, for surrounding the
fort are a large number of well-built bungalows, and streets of shops
built of stone or brick; but these are for the use of Europeans and
Indian or Chinese traders, the Burmans here, as elsewhere, contenting
themselves with their thatched houses of timber. It may appear
surprising that a people who could erect their marvellous temples
should be satisfied with such poor dwellings. The reason is to be
found in their custom of removing their capital on each change of
dynasty, and since A.D. 1740 the capital of Burma has been moved no
less than eight times! Mandalay itself is only fifty years old, so
that it hardly appeared to them worth their while to build more
substantial dwellings, which might so soon have to be deserted; and in
this way they came to regard their homes as temporary, expending their
energies and wealth in the building of temples and monasteries
instead.
The streets of Mandalay are wide, and laid out in rectangles, as in
Rangoon, and, like all towns in Burma, the roads are heavily shaded by
trees. Foreign types are common in Mandalay, but the Burmese life here
is very pretty. Nowhere else are the people better dressed, and the
ladies rival the silk bazaar in the variety and beautiful colour of
their clothing. Until recently this was a royal city, and the ladies
pay great attention to the demands of fashion, whether it is in their
delicately-tinted garments, their embroidered sunshades or fan, or the
lace handkerchief with which they love to toy; and nothing in the way
of crowd could be nicer than these daintily-dressed and usually
prepossessing men and women. Fashion, however, has always _some_
drawback. The ladies in many cases smear their faces with a paste
called "thannakah," which has the effect of whitening the skin. The
result is very unfortunate, for it is not always put on evenly, and
only serves to make the ugly more forbidding, while it destroys the
soft warmth of colour and skin texture which so often makes these
women beautiful. Another unfortunate custom is their habit of smoking
such huge cheroots, which no mouth of ordinary size could possibly
hold without distortion.
All roads in Mandalay lead to the fort, lately the residence of the
Court. This consists of a huge square, 1-1/4 miles each way, entirely
surrounded by battlemented walls, and further protected by a wide and
deep moat. Quaint bridges cross the moat, and lead to gateways, each
surmounted by a "pyathat." Within the walls are the palace of the
King, and many other buildings of highly ornate and purely Burmese
character. Many of them have lately been destroyed by fire; but what
will interest us most is the rambling but most picturesque palace, the
lofty "pyathat" which is erected over Thebaw's throne being the finest
in the country, and so much admired by the Burmans as to be called
"the centre of the universe."
All these buildings are of timber, only the finest teak being used,
and the many columns which support the roofs of the halls of audience
consist of single tree-trunks of unusual size and great value.
The moat serves to supply Mandalay with its drinking-water, and is fed
by a conduit from the hills. I am afraid the water is not very clean,
but it is a very pretty sight to see the people coming to fill their
jars from the little stages which jut from the banks, while the whole
surface is at some seasons of the year a mass of purple lotus and
white water-lily, and, although in the middle of the city, paddy-birds
and other ibis wade about its margins.
Mandalay is a station for our troops, who are quartered inside the
fort, which was only captured after severe fighting. The stockade,
which offered so great an obstacle to our men, has been swept away,
and "Tommy Atkins," as well as Indian troops, now inhabit the palaces
of King Thebaw's time! But it is an unhealthy station, and nowhere in
Burma have I seen such crowds of mosquitoes, the common cause of fever
in Europeans.
The most beautiful of Mandalay's pagodas, "the Incomparable," has been
destroyed by fire; but a large number remain, one of which is very
interesting. This is the "Kuthodaw," a temple built by Mindon Min,
King Thebaw's father. The central dome is not remarkable, but on each
side of the large flagged space which surrounds it are rows and rows
of miniature temples, each with an ornamental cupola, supported upon
pillars. Each of these 729 cupolas contains a slab of alabaster, on
which is inscribed a chapter of the Pali Bible. The entrance-gates,
also, are large, and unusually ornate in design.
Each quarter of the town has one or more large pagodas, and others
surround its outskirts from the river-bank to the top of Mandalay
Hill; but these differ from the others we have noticed in one respect,
being covered by carved plaster-work, each stage of which is
beautified by some elaborate or striking pattern, so that the dome of
pure white, broken by sharp contrast of light and shade, is quite as
rich in effect as the gilded temples of Rangoon or Prome.
Most remarkable of all the buildings in Mandalay, however, are the
monasteries, of which there are a large number, many of great
interest, the principal one being the "Queen's Golden Monastery," for
beauty of design and elaborate embellishment unquestionably the finest
structure of its kind in Burma.
Across the river from Mandalay is a very pretty scene. Low conical
hills rise from the banks of the river, each crowned by a pagoda,
around which are many "kyoungs" and "zeyats." Scattered over the
hill-sides are many others, gleaming white against the warm earth
tints and the foliage which surround them. This is old Sagaing, once a
capital of Burma; but the city has gone, and only its temples now
remain. Crossing the river in sampans painted red, blue, and yellow,
or landing on the pearly shingle of the beach, are crowds of
well-dressed Burmans from Mandalay and Ava, bent on a pilgrimage to
one or other of the many shrines, which are reached by long flights of
steps, whose entrance is guarded by enormous leogryphs.
A pretty legend gives the origin of these monsters, which, often of
enormous size, invariably guard the entrance to a temple. Long ago in
the dim past a Princess was stolen by "nats," and hidden away in the
dark recesses of the forest. The King made every effort to find the
hiding-place of his daughter, but without success, until one day a
lioness rescued the Princess, and restored her to her home. Ever since
then the lion, which in the course of centuries has gradually become
changed into the leogryph (or half-lion, half-griffin), has been
accepted by the people as the emblem of protecting watchfulness.
Close to Mandalay on the south is Amarapura, another of Burma's many
capitals, and though we cannot hope to see all the many interesting
monuments that remain, it has one pagoda in particular which well
repays us for our long and dusty journey.
This is the Arracan pagoda, one of the most famous shrines in Burma,
and the one most frequented by the Shans and other hill tribes, whose
time of pilgrimage occurs "between the reaping and the sowing."
There is no ascent to this temple, which, through a series of
ornamented doorways, is approached by a long flat corridor, which, as
usual, serves the purpose of a bazaar. Here perhaps the best Burmese
gongs may be purchased, and the stalls for cut flowers display a rich
profusion of blooms, whose scent fills the whole temple precincts. The
temple itself is different in design from any others we have seen,
being built in the form of a square tower, above which rises a series
of diminishing terraces, each beautified by carved battlements and
corner pinnacles, the whole being richly gilt.
[Illustration: THE SHWE ZIGON PAGODA, PAGAN. _Page 82._]
Beneath the central tower is the shrine, before which a constant
stream of devotees succeed each other in prayer. This contains an
enormous brass image of Buddha, 12 feet in height, thickly plastered
with the pilgrims' offerings of gold-leaf. Behind the temple are the
sacred tanks, whose green and slimy water is alive with turtles, too
lazy or too well fed to eat the dainty morsels thrown to them by the
onlookers, but which are pounced upon by hundreds of hawks, who often
seize the tit-bits before they reach the water.
The courtyards are, as usual, thronged, and pastry-cooks and
story-tellers, soothsayers and musicians, provide refreshment and
amusement to the ever-moving crowd of happy people, at whom we never
tire of looking.
And now, having seen something of the principal pagodas, with their
crowds of worshippers or loiterers, let us take one glimpse of the
ancient city of Pagan.
Splendidly placed upon a commanding site on the river-bank, Pagan was
at one time a populous and wealthy centre. To-day it is the city of
the dead, and the domes and pinnacles of its temples, which cover an
area of 16 square miles, remain silent monuments to its former
greatness. Save for a few priests and scattered families of the
poorest of the people, its population has disappeared centuries ago,
and the land, once fertile, is now covered with aloe, cactus, and
thorn, while an air of weary heat and desolation envelops it. Some
idea of its size may be formed when I tell you that a thousand of its
pagodas are known by name, while as many more are little but a heap of
ruinous brickwork.
Many of its temples are of the greatest historical interest. The
Ananda, built 800 years ago, is larger than St. Paul's, and its
elongated dome and innumerable pinnacles render it as graceful as it
is imposing. There are other temples even larger, while the picture
facing page 80 will give you some little idea of the beauty and
interest of the Shwe Zigon.
Throughout the country temples abound, and in lonely places where no
temple has been built, the lofty "tagundaing" marks some holy spot.
You will find no statues to her Kings in Burma, but in every temple,
in little wayside shrines, and even in the most unfrequented wilds,
the Burmans have erected images of Buddha, founder of their faith.
Nearly one-third of the world's population are Buddhists, and this
fact alone would seem to show how beautiful is the religion they
profess. Buddhism was founded by an Indian Prince called Gautama,
about 600 years before the birth of Christ. This Prince, though heir
to a kingdom, and surrounded by every luxury, left his palace and his
beautiful wife and their little son, to become a wanderer in the
search for truth, and for six years he lived as a hermit in the
wilderness, attended only by a few disciples. One day, while seated
beneath a "bo" tree, lost in contemplation, revelation came to him,
and from that time he became a preacher, striving to raise men and
women to his own lofty and pure standard of what life should be.
Few Europeans really understand Buddhism, but many of its principles
we can all appreciate. Thus, men are taught truthfulness, purity,
obedience, and kindness, which forbids the giving of pain to any
living creature. Charity, patience, humility, and the habit of
meditation are early instilled into the minds of the boys, who,
without exception, spend at least a portion of their lives as inmates
of a monastery, and with the priests and novices are not ashamed to
collect the daily offering of food.
In their consideration for animals, their love for their children, and
great respect for age, as well as in their consideration for each
other, the Burmans act well up to the beauty of their faith; for a
beautiful religion it is, beautifully expounded in Arnold's "Light of
Asia," which I hope many of you will presently read.
It is not difficult to understand how their religion, combined with
their own happy, contented natures, and the enervating effect of
climate, renders the Burmans little able to withstand the pressure
from without which has lately been brought to bear upon them.
Largely content with what Nature provides for them, and without social
grades to spur them to ambition, their sports and races and amusements
of many kinds occupy the chief attention of the men, who quickly
succumb to their more energetic and businesslike rivals from India or
China. The women, more capable and rather despising the idleness of
the men, are more and more prone to marry among other races, while
Western civilization also is doing much to destroy the primitive charm
of the people.
Sad it is to think that the Burman as a pure race is slowly
disappearing, and there are few, I think, who know them but will view
this prospect with sincere regret. But if it is inevitable that this
picturesque and lovable people must be in time replaced by others, at
least their beautiful country always will remain.
And now, as I close this chapter, there recurs to my mind a pretty
picture which embodies so much of the spirit of the country that it
may well form our last peep at Burma.
Far away in the jungle on the crest of a lonely hill stands a ruined
pagoda. The white ornamental plaster-work which once beautified it has
long since disappeared, and in the rents and fissures which seam its
rich red brickwork venomous serpents hide.
The niche which formerly contained a Buddha is unoccupied, but, as
though to soften its decay, kindly creepers have covered its rugged
exterior with a bower of foliage and flowers, while the leogryphs
which once marked the entrance to its enclosure are buried in
vegetation. All around are trees of many kinds, which tower above the
jungle, among which large and beautiful butterflies flit among the
flowers, while birds of gay plumage gambol among the tree-tops to the
distant song of the bulbul. It was a pretty scene, but sad in its
loneliness, to which a touch of pathos was added by the figure of a
solitary priest praying before the empty shrine. Wondering what had
brought him so far from any known habitation, I watched him long as
he prayed. Just as the sun set and the day closed he plucked a lovely
flower from the scrub and placed it reverently on the shrine where
Buddha once had stood, and as I turned my pony's head in the direction
of my distant camp, the slowly-retreating figure of the "hpungi"
became lost in the glory of the sunset.
THE END
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