1

2

Table of Contents

Thesis Details 3

List of Figures 3

List of Illustrations 3

Abstract 4

Introduction 4

Methodology 5

Literature Review 6

1. Preface 6

1.1 Geography 6

1.2 Bagan Mythology 6

1.3 Significant Architecture Periods 8

1.4 Pre Bagan Kingdoms 8

2. Origin Theories 9

2.1 Vaisya Theory (Trade Theory) 9

2.2 Brahama Theory 10

2.3 Multi Period Locality Theory 10

3. Origin of Bagan Monuments 10

3.1 Origin of Bagan Temples 10

3.2 Origin of Bagan Stupa 13

3.3 Origin of Bagan monastery 17

Research Results 18

Conclusion 18

Acknowledgement 19

References 19

Appendices 21

1. Appendix 1. Glossary 21

2. Appendix 2. Information on some of the Authors 22

3

List of Figures

1.1 Geography Figure 1.1 Pyu City States shown within present boundary of Myanmar 4 1.2 Bagan Mythology Figure 1.2 Shwedagon Pagoda c.6th-10th century CE 5 1.3 Significant Architecture Periods Figure 1.3 Map of the Gupta Empire, 4

th cen. CE 9

1.4 Pre Bagan Kingdoms Figure 1.4 The Rakhine State shown on a current map of Myanmar (Burma). 5 3. Origin of Bagan Monuments Figure 3.1 Nat-Hlaung-Kyaung, Plan 8 Figure 3.2 Corbelled Arch Vs Radiating Arch 9 Figure 3.3 Mahastupa at Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh, India 9 Figure 3.4 Plan of the Sapada Pagoda 9 Figure 3.5 Ground Plan and Reconstrution of KKG3 Stupa, Beikthano 9 Figure 3.6 KKG18 east section, Beikthano, 5

th century CE 9

Figure 3.7 Mohra Moradu stupa south section, India, 4th

century CE 9 Figure 3.8 KKG2 Monastery, Beikthano. 4

th century CE 9

Figure 3.9 Buddhist Monastery, Nagarjunakonda. Early 4th

century CE 9

List of Illustrations

1.3 Significant Architecture Periods image 1.1 Terra Cotta Surya Sculpture, Gupta Period 4 3. Origin of Bagan Monuments Image 3.1 Nat-Hlaung-Kyaung Temple, West Facade 5

Image 3.2 A cinquefoil Torana (Flame Pediment) above the entrance of a later Bagan Era Temple 9 Image 3.3 Mahastupa at Sanchi, India 9

Image 3.4 Jetavanarama Dagoba, Sri Lanka 9 Image 3.5 Nga-Kywe-Na-Daung stupa, Bagan 10th century CE. 9 Image 3.6 Baw-Baw-Gyi Stupa, Prome 9 Image 3.7 Photograph of Sapada Stupa 9 Image 3.8 Shwedagon Pagoda, Yangon, Myanmar 9 Image 3.9 Thuparamaya Dagoba, Sri Lanka 3

rd cen. BCE 9

4

Influential factors in the design of religious monuments in ancient Bagan

INTRODUCTION It is evident that the historical importance of Myanmar is currently under appreciated by the historical and scientific community, as compared to other countries in South and South East Asia such as Cambodia, Thailand, India or Vietnam, Myanmar is seemingly the lesser known of all the countries. Historians can say with much confidence that Cambodian temple designs such as those which were built at Angkor show connections with Indian Architecture Ideologies, but when the historian looks to Myanmar, any clear links between the architecture of ancient Myanmar and their possible antecedents become less apparent. The Pyu and the Burmese were talented and unique architecture, with elements of their designs rarely seen throughout other parts of South East Asia. The appearance of the Cinquefoil Torana, otherwise known as a flame pediment, of which the earliest extant example is found on the Hindu Temple Nat-Hlaung-Kyaung in Old Bagan, built around the 10

th century CE., is

unique to the temples built in Myanmar. The Burmese who built the Kingdom of Bagan from the 9th century CE. and the preceding

Pyu architects were familiar with the scientific construction concept of the Radiating Arch and used it in their temples while their neighbouring Kingdoms belonging to the Indians and Khmers built mostly using the less scientific Corbelled Arch. This is not to say that the Indian builders did not know of the Radiating Arch as it is evident in some temples which will be covered later. The building practices of the civilisations that occupied ancient Myanmar are well known, given that many examples of the thousands of monuments that were built across the ancient landscape are still in good enough condition to be measured and researched, but what appears to be lacking in accounts of Myanmar history is how the ancient architecture of the nation related to their surrounding kingdoms, what solid evidence is there to explain what influenced the development of early Myanmar architecture, whether it derived from Indian, Ceylon or other kingdoms connected to the ancient landscape by either land or sea. Current Literature lends to several theories regarding the movement of religion and architectural ideologies from the surrounding kingdoms (predominantly India) into Myanmar. The most common theory being that the architecture was introduced to the region by merchants who travelled along the many land and water bound trade routes leading into and through Myanmar. Another theory surrounds the development and expansion of the Buddhist religion, claiming that it was the sojourning Buddhist Monks or Priests from India or Sri Lanka who brought with them the knowledge of Architectural concepts when travelling to Myanmar. But of course both of these theories revolve around a bilateral process, in which not only would merchants or priests be travelling to Myanmar from Sri Lanka or India, but early inhabitant of Myanmar, be they Pyu or Mon would also have been travelling to their neighbouring countries, potentially bringing back knowledge of new religions and building practices. This thesis will look at the plausibility of several theories that are commonly referred to as being responsible for the development of the architecture of early Myanmar, as well as overview several monuments which show apparent scientific reasoning behind why architectural archaeologists have chosen to link early Bagan settlements such as sites found at Beikthano in central Myanmar, with another excavation site located in the Andhra region of India known as Nagarjunakonda. The importance of these sites and the details behind the aforementioned Migration theories will be discussed again throughout the duration of this thesis.

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1. Preface 1.1. Geography

As any current map would show, Myanmar is a nation in South East Asia bordering Bangladesh and India to the west, China to the North, Laos and Thailand to the east and the immense Bay of Bengal to the South. As will soon be explained, the Geographic composition of the country has played an important role in not only the influx of its trade, people and religion to the area, but also in the movement of both religious and architectural ideologies during the nations development.

As explained by Michael Aung-Thwin and Maitrii Aung-Thwin in A History of Myanmar, Since Ancient Times the nation of

Myanmar was split both longitudinally and latterly into plains areas of which the geographical makeup of these plains make travel across the lands from north to south (from China for example) quite possible, while lateral movement from east to west (Lateral movement from India into the central Myanmar region) quite a difficult task (Aung-Thwin et al 2012 p. 37) . as Aung-Thwin et al continue, This is due to the location of Myanmars mountain chains Arakan, Pegu, Chin and Shan running North to South and sloping east to west, and the natural course of the nations largest river, the Irrawaddy (also spelled Ayeyarwady)(Aung-Thwin et al 2012, p 37). The Irrawaddy, which runs longitudinally down the centre of the nation from the Mali River (Mali Hka) and the NMai River in the upper north of Myanmar close to the Chinese border, empties through the Irrawaddy Delta into the Andaman Sea and thus creates a natural geographical division separating the western and eastern regions of the nation.

Source: Google Maps/ Morris 2014*

Figure 1.1: Pyu City States shown within present boundary of Myanmar. Sri Ksetra (Sri-Khit-Tra), Bagan, Halin

& Tahaung can be seen located along the Irrawaddy which runs through the centre of the Nation

Despite this natural land separation making lateral land travel more difficult, the presence of the Irrawaddy, since ancient times has been an ideal passage for trade passing both from north to south and from south to north, this, as explained again by Aung-Thwin et al, is due to the natural flow of the river towards the south, and ideal winds blowing to the north to take trade ships upstream (Aung-Thwin et al 2012, p. 41) . Not surprisingly, the nations most fertile agricultural land is also situated along the length of the Irrawaddy(Aung-Thwin et al 2012, p. 41). The presence of trade ports, the natural fertility of the land along the Irrawaddy and its connection with other natural river systems throughout South and South East Asia led to the Urbanization and growth of Civilisation within ancient Myanmar mostly originating from settlements that sprouted along the Irrawaddy River including Sri Ksetra, Halin, Bagan and Tahaung, as shown in figure 1.1 above.

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1.2. Bagan Mythology

Bagan mythology is often closely associated with actual accounts of events which may provide clues as to what were influential factors in the design and technology used in Bagan religious monuments. The following accounts of Buddhist mythological events which occurred in ancient Myanmar will now be explained by professor of History and Buddhist Art at the International Buddhist Missionary University, Yangon, Dr Khin Maung Nyunt. In some cases, these fables can often be linked with actual accounts of historical events such as, for example, the documented visiting of the Buddha to Myanmar as recorded in Pali scripts which still can be read in our present time as they are currently preserved in Sri Lanka. What does differ however and is important to consider, is that typically the timeframe associated with mythological accounts of history do not reflect realistic evidence regarding when monuments where actually built. Such as the mythological accounts of the building of Shwedagon Pagoda would suggest its construction to be around the time of the Buddha, many centuries before actual archaeological accounts of the Pagodas construction which is dated to much later around the 6

th to 10

th centuries CE.. however, to gain an appreciation of

how Buddhist mythology accounts for the construction of some early Bagan monuments, these fables will now briefly be discussed. 1.2.1 The King Dhammaceti Inscriptions

According to Buddhist Mythology as explained by Dr Khin Maung Nyunt in The Arrival of Buddhism in Myanmar, the lands

of Myanmar already had a connection with the kingdoms of India, in particular Kushinagar located in present day Uttar Pradesh in Indias North. Texts written in Pali Scripts which are presently preserved in Sri Lanka, and Inscriptions made by 15

th century King

Dhammaceti at Pegu describe how when the Buddha visited Burma before his death, he prophesized that in the future, one of his teeth would return to that country (Burma) and be in 33 places in the Mon Empire (Snodgrass 1992, p 76). Other sources go on to explain how after the cremation of the Buddha, one of the Arahat Khema (Arahat meaning perfect person, or in Pali Arahant which means one who is worthy; and Khema being one of the two female chief disciples of the Buddha) took one of the holy teeth from the Buddhas pyre and brought it to Sri Lanka upon which was built the Holy Tooth Relic Temple at Kandy. Similarly, a Burmese Monk by the name Gavampati who had attained the status of arhatship, took another of the Buddhas teeth and brought i t back to Burma where the single tooth proceeded to multiply into 33 teeth on which were built the 33 Tooth Relic Pagoda of Thaton in the then Mon Kingdom.

As previously mentioned, the issue that arises here is a discrepancy in the chronology of historical accounts. According to

Akira Hirakawa in A History of Indian Buddhism: From kyamuni to Early Mahyna, the Buddha met his demise in the year of our Christian calendar 483 BCE (Hirakawa p. 19), however archaeological evidence shows that the Tooth Relic Pagodas of Myanmar were built many centuries later, thus, although accounts of the Buddha visiting early Myanmar may be correct, the association between these visits and the building of later monuments in Myanmar does not prove to hold much credit. 1.2.2 The visiting of the Buddha

According to Dr Khin Maung Nyunt The Buddha visited Myanmar several times in the Maha Sakarit years 103, 111, 123, 235, and 930 of the Buddhist calendar (approximately 600 bc to 400 CE Christian calendar), spreading the religion to the early inhabitants of the land (Khin Maung Nyunt, web). Potentially, this could mean a connection with ancient Myanmar and kingdoms of India from where the Buddha and his priests would have traveled from may have already existed. This could potentially have led to an introduction of building practices being introduced by traveling Buddhists priests, a concept which will be discussed shortly. 1.2.3 Shwedagon Pagoda

As explained again by Dr Khin Maung Nyunt, when the Buddha first visited Myanmar in the Buddhist year 103 (approximately 588 bce) he was visited by two merchant brothers Tapussa and Bhallika from Ramanya (the land of the Mon), who began worship of the Buddha. The Brothers requested eight sacred hairs to be given to them by the Buddha to be used as relics, and on returning home, the brothers built on a hill a Ceti (Pagoda) which they called Tampaguta (Khin Maung Nyunt, web). Of course, this account of the building of a sacred ceti by merchants to house the relics of the Buddha does bare some chronological inaccuracy, since the ceti referred to in this legend is better known by its more common name, Shwedagon Pagoda (Image x below), which although it is believed to be the oldest Historical Pagoda in Myanmar, Archaeologists suggest that its build date would be closer to between the 6

th and the 10

th centuries CE.

7

Source: Chihara 2012

Figures 1.2: Shwedagon Pagoda c.6th

-10th

century CE.

1.2.3 The Tooth Relic Pagodas of Thaton

Dr Khin Maung Nyunt also writes about the construction of the 33 Tooth Relic Pagodas of Thaton, explaining how inscriptions on the Shwedagon Ceti, the Mon inscriptions of King Dhammaceti and several other inscriptions found at Thaton recollect upon the visit of the Buddha once more to Myanmar in the Buddhist Year 111. The inscriptions speak of how the formerly mentioned Burmese Monk Gavampati entreated the Buddha to return to Thaton, upon his return, the Buddha was welcomed warmly and his teachings of the Dharma influenced the people of Thaton to become Buddhist. Once again the Buddha offered hairs from his head to be used as relics to 6 hermits from Thaton, but more importantly, thirty seven years after the second coming of the Buddha, The Buddha met his demise and was cremated in Kushinagar from where his teeth (originally one tooth) were brought back to Thaton by Gavampati, upon which each tooth was enshrined by King Thin Nathawke in one of 33 Tooth Relic Pagodas (Khin Maung Nyunt, web).

Considering the above mythological accounts surrounding the building of some of the Mons and early Bagans important

Tooth Relic Pagodas, it is possible to conclude that even from an early time, as is recorded in the Pali texts still available and in a state of preservation in Sri Lanka, that the lower Irrawaddy regions of early Myanmar, mostly associated with the early Mon Kingdoms, already had some connection with kingdoms of Northern India, namely Uttar Pradesh. Whether this connection had stronger influences on the construction of early Mon Architecture may be a hypothesis to look into with further research that is beyond the scope of this thesis.

1.3. Significant Architecture Periods 1.3.1 The Gupta Period

The Gupta was an Empire that emerged around 320CE in India and expanded to conquer approximately twenty one of their surrounding Kingdoms both inside and outside of India Proper including the bordering Persian tribes of the Parasikas, the Hunas and the Kambojas who were an Indo-Iranian tribe associated with Indias Iron Age and are often mentioned in both Sanskrit and Pali literature. According to well known Indian archaeologist and art historian Dr Swaraj Prakash Gupta who co wrote Elements of Indian Art, Including Temple Architecture, Iconography & Iconometry, The Gupta Period of Art in India concentrated on the development of the fine arts which focused on everything from literature, painting, music and sculpture, just to name a few, with everything seemingly working in such close collaboration that their mutual interaction is more than clear from their actual products(Gupta, 2002 p, 84). Gupta explains how in the art of the Gupta period the representation of limbs in sculpture showed softness and a subtleness, which could also be seen in similar representations portrayed in Gupta period paintings (Gupta 2002, p.84). The importance of the Gupta period will become evident in later sections of this thesis and is mentioned by authors such as Paul Strachan, who will be introduced properly in a later chapter.

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Source: westmifflinmoritz.com Source:www.truelles-pixels.mom.fr

Figures 1.3: Map of the Gupta Empire, 4th cen. CE. Image 1.1: Terra Cotta Surya Sculpture, Gupta Period

Note the apparent softness of the texture as described by S.P. Gupta

1.4 Pre Bagan Kingdoms

1.4.1 The Pyu & The Mon

The Bagan Kingdom is believed to have a history that goes back prior to the 8th century CE. Before Old Bagan was even

developed as a city. Radio Carbon dating puts the earliest human settlement in Bagan as early as 650CE Prior to the general scholarly belief that Bagan, as a city-state, was founded in the 9

th century CE., it is suggested by Aung Thwin in The mists of

Ramanna: The Legend that was Lower Burma, that small settlements of the ancestors of later Bagan people were likely already inhabiting the Lower Irrawaddy region under the rule of not Kings, but Chiefs prior to the coming of King Anawrahta as the first ruler of Bagan as a Kingdom. This coincides with historical accounts of a Nanzhao Invasion of the Upper Irrawaddy that is believed to have begun in the mid 8

th century and lasted until the mid 9

th century. It is during these invasions that the Burmese are believed to

have migrated from China in the north and occupied the lands which then belonged to the Tibeto-Burmese speaking Pyu people along the Irrawaddy. Thaw Tar Aung in his paper Architectural Aspects of Temples in Myanmar also support these claims

explaining how Pali (a Indo-Aryan language first recorded in Sri Lanka in the 1st century BCE. and considered the holy language of

Theravadan Buddhism), Sanskrit (another Indo-Aryan language which was used as the primary holy language of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism and one of the most commonly used in ancient Indian culture) and Pyu inscriptions on tablets found at Bagan are dated prior to the alleged coming of the bamars (Burmese) in the 10

th century, Tar Aung further proposing that early

Bagan had connections with the Pyu culture as early as the 7th century CE (Tar Aung, p 8)

Prior to the invasion of the Pyu kingdom by the Nanzhao, The Pyu people occupied the land surrounding the Irrawaddy from as early as the 2

nd century BCE. building city states and urbanizing the Myanmar landscape, notably founding the northern

Pyu city-state Halin in the 1st century CE which would be the largest and most influential of Pyu cities until the 7

th century when it

was superseded by the city-state of Sri Ksetra in the nations south. While the Pyu were beginning to Urbanize the landscape of the Upper Irrawaddy towards the end of the pre Christian era,

to the south west of the nation in the Rakhine state of early Myanmar (Figure 4 below), another tribe of people known as The Mon were developing the south western regions of the nation from as early as the 3

rd century BCE forming themselves into a Kingdom

as early as the 2nd

century BCE. Both the Mon and the Pyu played a key role in the emergence of the Hindu, Buddhist and Brahmin religion on the ancient Myanmar landscape, but the events that occurred to influence the architecture that was being built by these early civilizations of Myanmar are open to debate from scholars. This paper will now look at several theories which attempt to explain how early Myanmar architecture may have been influenced by outside sources.

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Source: www.voanews.com

Figures 1.4: The Rakhine State shown on a current map of Myanmar (Burma)

2. Origin Theories 2.1. Vaisya Theory (Trade Theory)

the Pyu Kingdom was connected as far west as the Persian Empire and the ancient near east, but mostly would have traded with their closer Northern Indian and Tibetan neighbors who were spreading Buddhism, Brahmanism and Hinduism east to China. In the South, The Mons had close ties with both Southern Indian traders and traders from Ceylon (Sri Lanka), both of whom are believed to have had an influential role in the movement of Theravada Buddhism and Hinduism onto the landscape of the Lower Irrawaddy, still perpetuating the development of Buddhist architecture even after the demise of the religion in India Proper.

Sree Padma, who wrote material Culture and the emergence of Urban Buddhism in Andhra, which is the first Chapter in a

book co written by A.W. Barber titled Buddhism in the Krishna River Valley of Andhra, talks about how important trade was in the

spread of Buddhism from India to other parts of South East Asia. Padma writes, the literary tradition avers that the first converts of the Buddha after his enlightenment experience were not monks, but merchants who became the first lay supporters to take refuge (Padma, p. 26). As was read in section 1.2.3. in this thesis, it is said that when the Buddha traveled to Burma he encountered two merchants named Tapussa and Bhallika who were the first followers of the Buddha and according to Padma were responsible for the spread of Buddhism to Afghanistan, Burma and Sri Lanka among other countries (Padma, p. 26). Padma does state that the legend of the two merchants is more metaphorical than factual, however she mentions the importance of trade several times in regards to how Andhra was well connected not only through land routes to different parts of the Indian subcontinent, but also via the sea and river trade routes which allowed increased trade contact between the kingdoms north of Andhra and other parts of the subcontinent (Padma, p. 22). The role of the merchants in bringing not only Buddhism but also Hinduism and Brahmanism to Myanmar is mentioned briefly by Paul Strachan in his publication Imperial Pagan: Art and Architecture of Burma, where he mentions briefly that the temple Nat-Hlaung-Kyaung located in Old Bagan would have been the temple of the Brahmans, in the pay of the king and court, and the Indian merchant community at Bagan (Strachan, 1989 p.39) suggesting that some early temples erected in Myanmar, most likely were constructed for the practice of the religions brought to Myanmar by the traveling merchants. Nat-Hlaung-Kyaung will be covered in more detail later in this thesis.

Francis D.K. Ching et al also refers to an Indian merchant influence on the city of Beikthano in their publication A Global History of Architecture where they state that Southeast Asia, which would be inclusive of Myanmar, was influenced by both the indianisation of its culture and its trade routes which ran from the bay of Bengal across to southern China(Ching et al, p246) which we also know through a previous chapter ran through the centre of Myanmar along the Irrawaddy connecting various cities that developed along the Irrawaddy with trade coming from the Bay of Bengal through to China. Ching et al go on to explain that this Indianisation of Southeast Asia began in Burma around the 1

st century CE. before eventually reaching the southern coast of Vietnam around the

6th

century CE. (Ching et al, p. 246). Regarding the architecture of the early Myanmar Kingdoms, which is the main focus of this thesis. Ching et al suggest also that with the movement of the new religions of Buddhism and Hinduism across the Kingdoms of Southeast Asia, this also brought new concepts of temple architecture which were a mix of Indian temple concepts with local woodworking traditions (Ching et al, p. 246), this ties in with another origin theory introduced by another author, explained below, known as the Brahama Theory.

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2.2. Brahama Theory The Brahama theory is mentioned by Chihara in Hindu-Buddhist Architecture in Southeast Asia as a theory that supposes

that the introduction of Buddhist and other religious ideologies and architectural concepts may have traveled to other countries such as Myanmar via the presence of religious monks or priests whom spread forth their religion. This theory is similar to that of the vaysia theory in that in both theories, it is a foreign presence that brings with it the knowledge of new ways of religion and buildings technology, however, in the Brahama theory, it is not traders who carry the knowledge, but religious persons. The following account as explained by several authors is a good representation of the Brahama theory.

Buddhist iconography at Beikthano is a proposal by Francis D.K. Ching et al in A Global History of Architecture that the city was occupied by a sect of Buddhists known as Andran Buddhists, who are an earlier form of Buddhists whom did not adopt the use of any iconic representations of the Buddha for worship (Ching et al p.247). although the spelling is different, as it can be in most accounts of ancient names due to discrepancies in the translation of ancient sources, Ching et al may be referring to a sect of Buddhism talked about by Sree Padma and A.W. Barber in their text Buddhism in the Krishna River Valley of Andhra, more commonly known as Andhra Buddhists. According to Padma & Barber, Andhra (referring to Andhra Pradesh, where Pradesh basically means state) and the practices and beliefs of the people who occupied Andhra, were important precursors to what would eventually become the backbone of the Buddhist religion. Padma & Barber explain that prior to the development of the Buddhist religion, The people of Andhra built stupas for their dead, possibly containing relics of dead monks, which predate the stupa being used as a built form to represent worship of The Buddha (Padma & Barber, p. 20). These megalithic burial practices which are explained by Padma & Barber occur between the 8

th and 13

th centuries BCE and are focused mainly along Andhras Krishna River

Valley which include locations such as Nagarjunakonda which is a site linked with several monuments found at Beikthano in Myanmar. In fact, Padma & Barber themselves quote another historian by the name Gregory Schopen in their text, who explains

if we look at the internal chronology of narrative time taken for granted in our Buddhist literary sources, it would appear that their redactors also considered stupas for the local monastic dead to predate those of the Buddha. Both of the stupas mentioned in Udana and Apadana, and that referred to in the Pali Vinaya, for example, long preceded according to the narrative time assumed by our texts those erected for the Buddha.

This quote from Schopen suggests that the stupa was not always a symbol of the Buddha, nor was it a structure of which its existence was dependent on or a result of the Buddhist belief, but rather, as once again Padma & Barber state, Buddhism in Andhra was most likely developed even during the lifetime of the Buddha himself with the religion being literally built on indigenous religious cults that preexisted prior to the development of the Buddhist religion (Padma & Barber, p.25), therefore the Stupa and its symbology in regards to worship of the dead was absorbed into the Buddhist religion rather than being a product of it. Similar one might say to how the crucifix was existent prior to the birth of the Christian faith, but it is through its use in the death of Christ that the crucifix becomes synonymous with Christ, as the stupa became synonymous likewise with the Buddha. Once the Stupa was solidly embedded in the symbology pertaining to the Buddhist religion, then its presence soon appeared across other regions of South East Asia as the religion also expanded into new territories as a result of the missions of the Buddhists priests. 2.3. Multi Period Locality Theory

Elizabeth Moore in her paper Place and Space in Early Burma: A New Look at Pyu Culture, mentions the Thet as being the most numerous and cultured people of Pyu times (Moore, p6). Moore explains how the important Pyu city-state of Beikthano was not always only associated with the cultures of the Pyu (and later the Burmans), but existed as part of a multi period highly localized systems (Moore, p6) meaning that the site of Beikthano had influence from several tribes throughout the Myanmar history. One such tribe being that of the Thet.

The Thet are a lesser known but more ancient Tribe of people who still presently occupy the northern part of Rakhine

State and Southern Chin State in western Myanmar. They are considered to be the oldest tribe in Myanmar and speak a language that is part of the Tibeto-Burman linguistic family, similar to that of the Burmans who didnt arrive in Burma until later in Myanmars chronological history. Some historical sources claim that the Thet are the same people as those who belong to another ancient Bangladeshi tribe known as the Chakma who are also Buddhist, but it is important to note as part of this thesis that focuses on origins, that the Chakma speak a language that is part of the Indo-European family of languages, so the likelihood of these two tribes being related would be quite unlikely. Given the historical importance of this early tribe located in Myanmar, it would be logical to assume that further research on the Thet and their potential influence on the building of the early Myanmar Urban landscape might fill some gaps in current research relating to who were the potential builders of some of Myanmars earliest monuments, and where the design philosophies and building techniques may have originated from.

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3. Origin of the Bagan Monuments 3.1. Origin of the Bagan Temple

The Bagan monument has probably not been studied in more depth by western researchers than by Pierre Pichard, whom wrote an 8 volume collection titled Inventaire des monuments, Pagan or in english Inventory of Monuments at Pagan, in which

Pichard recorded every ruined mound and extant temple, stupa, monastery or other historically significant structure that could be found in Bagan. The most ancient account of the number of monuments to be found at Bagan was calculated to exceed 4,000 in the 15

th century CE. by King Mohnyin of Ava (Pichard, p.3), but as Pichard explains, a devastating earthquake which hit Myanmar

on the 8th

of July 1975 was to leave many monuments at Bagan in ruin or in even worse states of repair. Working from previously documented photography and his own data collected on the monuments of Bagan, Pichard on completion of his study recorded just over 2,000 extant Buddhist brick monuments present in Bagan upon completion of his research (Pichard, p.3). Of the temples that remained following the devastating earthquake, certain clues still remained that can assist historians in answering the question of where the architecture of Bagan took its influence from, these clues come in the form of several monuments which still survive, known as Nat-Hlaung-Kyaung, KKG2, KKG3 and KKG18, which will soon be the focus of attention for this thesis. Another author who has written several publications himself on the subject of the Bagan monuments, and has lived in Myanmar studying its culture and its architecture is Paul Strachan, who compiled a noteworthy text titled Imperial Pagan: Art and Architecture of Burma. In his publication, Strachan talks often about a potential link between several older monuments found at Bagan and temples Be-be and Lei-myet-hna, which although were Pyu temples located in Sri Ksetra, are mentioned by several authors studied for this thesis as being prototypes of later Pagan era monuments (Chihara, p. 63). We will now discuss the connection between these aforementioned monuments and several other examples in detail. 3.1.1 Nat-Hlaung-Kyaung

(Alternative Spelling: Nathlaung Kyaung, Nat-Hlaung-Gyaung) Religious Association: Primary: Hindu Secondary: Brahman, Buddhist Build Date(Approx.) 931-964 Name Meaning: Shrine Confining the Devas Former Names: Nat-daw-Kyaung (Shrine of the Sacred Divas) Nat-hle-Kyaung (Shrine of the Reclining Deva) Location: Anawrahta road, Bagan (located in the boundaries of Old Bagan), Myanmar. State of Repair: Semi Restored Notable Features: Only extant Hindu Temple to be found at Bagan First use of the Cinquefoil Torana (Flame pediment) on a Bagan Structure First use of the Semi-Circular Radiating Arch in a Bagan Structure

Source: Strachan 1989 Source: Strachan 1989/ Morris*

Image 3.1: Nat-Hlaung-Kyaung Temple, West Facade Figure 3.1: Nat-Hlaung-Kyaung, Plan Note the semi circular Radiating arch hidden behind What remains of the cinquefoil Torana (Flame Pediment)

12

According to Paul Strachan the Nat-Hlaung-Kyaung temple was originally built as a Hindu Temple possibly by Indian Merchants located in Bagan, the original naming of the temple would have been either Nat-daw-Kyaung, meaning Shrine of the Sacred Devas, or probably more likely, the original name may have been Nat-hle-Kyaung, which means the Shrine of the Reclining Deva relating to a former centerpiece of the temple which would have been an image of a Vishnu anantasayin (Strachan 1989, p39).

On the exterior of the Nat-Hlaung-Kyaung temple are found stone reliefs of the avatar of Vishnu which would be consistent with the original intention of the temple that it be used for the practice of the Hindu religion. Strachan suggests that the style of the carving of these Vishnu reliefs are clearly derived from the Guptan sculptural tradition (Strachan 1989, p39) which was described briefly at the beginning of this paper. By Strachans accounts, the Nat-Hlaung-Kyaung does not conform to the same topology found in the superstructure as became popular with later Pagan temples built from the time of King Anawratha (Strachan 1989 p. 39), however, the temples high plinth and an absence of a hall, as Strachan suggests, might indicate that a timber mandapa (a pillared outdoor hall) may have been present on this temple as was common with many later Pagan Temples (Strachan 1989 p.39). the presence of Kalasa mouldings (water pot mouldings) running along this high plinth also suggests that the Nat-Hlaung-Kyaung shares some association with temple design from the Gupta period of Art and Architecture in India, while also similarities between the Stone Threshold, Lintels and Door jams on the Nat-Hlaung-Kyaung suggest some association to similar South Indian temple designs (Strachan 1989 p.39). despite Strachan previously stating that the superstructure does not conform to the typology of later Bagan temples, he does explain that the central shrine itself with an inclusion of an eastern facing central recess does seem to bear resemblance to the later Bagan practice of cutting an inner cella out of the central block that carries the superstructure above (Strachan 1989 p. 41)

The Nat-Hlaung-Kyaung is an important link in the chronology of Myanmar temple design in that it is a midpoint between

Architectural styles and construction technology that can be traced to possible connections with both North and South Indian design, such as the presence of the aforementioned Kalasa mouldings and style of the Threshold, Door jams and lintel, but it is also a prototypical temple that shares much in common with later Pagan era temples. The plan itself of the temple is based on the Lei-Myet-Hna temple typology, of which the Lei-Myet-Hna is both a construction typology which means four faced referring to temples built on a square ground plan, a common plan used to construct many early Bagan temples(Strachan 1989 p.39), but also refers to the temple by the name Lei-Myet-Hna (alternatively spelt Leimyethna) which is a Bagan temple built by the minister of Bagan Anandathura in the 13

th century CE.

Some elements found in the Nat-Hlaung-Kyaung are the first to be found in any extant temple found in Bagan. Notably the

iconic Cinquefoil Torana, or flame pediment is for the first time seen in the Nat-Hlaung-Kyaung and would become an element that is repeated in many later built Bagan temples and monuments. Another element that is first witnessed in the Nat-Hlaung-Kyaung temple is the presence of a semi circular radiating arch, which is found concealed behind the cinquefoil torana, and can be seen clearly on the western faade of the temple in image 3.1 above. These elements become quite unique to Bagan era temple design and their appearance becomes even more mysterious since the cinquefoil torana is seen nowhere else throughout south or south eastern Asia during the earlier periods of temple construction; also, the semi circular radiating arch is used rarely in Indian Temple design, as the Corbelled arch is the most typical to be found throughout India and other South East Asian Kingdoms. These elements and the presence of the sacred kalasa will now be discussed in greater detail. The Cinquefoil Torana

Source: web

Image 3.2: A Cinquefoil Torana (Flame Pediment) above the entrance

of a later built Bagan Temple, Bagan

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A notable feature Strachan draws to attention on the Nat-Hlaung-Kyaung is the inclusion of the first cinquefoil arched

torana to be used as a decorative feature on any temple in Bagan (Strachan 1989, p40). The above image is of a Cinquefoil torana belonging to a later built Bagan temple, this represents more clearly the detail of the flame pediment (which is seen often on many temples photographed by Pichard in his Inventory), it is most unfortunate that the torana above the entry to the Nat-Hlaung-Kyaung temple, although it has been restored, like most restored temples in Bagan it does not show the previous stucco coating, which is where the majority of temple decoration is present. In the above image, the detail of the flame pediment is still visible, and thus shows a more accurate representation of how the original torana on Nat-Hlaung-Kyaung may have appeared). As Thaw Tar Aung explains in his paper Architectural Aspects of Temples in Myanmar: an appreciation of spatial composition, the flame pediment is believed by some historians to resemble a mark found on Pyu coins which is called a Srivatsa or holy house which closely resembles the shape and profile of the flame pediment (aung, p. 98). Aung also continues to explain in his paper that the flame pediment is also believed by some other historians to be derived from the palm leaf convention in a timber bargeboard and the scroll ornament below the palm leaf (aung, p 98). Another explanation also is given suggesting that the flame is influenced by symbology found in Buddhism and forms the shield of the trident (Aung p. 98).

Although in all the texts read for this thesis, there was no explanation evident for how the flame pediment came to be a

decoration on the early Pyu and most of the later built Bagan era temples and even some stupas, to break down the symbology within the flame pediment, it is suggested by Aung, that the vertical flames are actually symbolic of banana buds. it was not uncommon for the banana bud to be present on some South and South East Asian temples with the more common Lotus Flower, which is also seen often on the ceilings of some Indian temples and represents the Buddhas purity, so perhaps it might be logical to assume that the architects of Bagan decided to adopt the Banana bud as their own symbolism, replacing the Lotus, as they did with other aspects of their culture such as the adoption of the worship of the sacred mount Poppa in their culture. As explained by Eric Stratton in The Evolution of Indian Stupa Architecture in East Asia, the use of Mount Poppa as a Burmese spiritual icon is believed to be the Bagan adaptation of the worship of the sacred Mountain Meru which is present in the Buddhist, Brahman and Hindu religions belonging to the Indians and the Khmer(Stratton p. 58). Evidently, it was not uncommon for the Burmese to alter existing worshiping practices to form unique parts of their own culture.

Regardless of where the possible influence came from for the design of the Burmese Flame Pediment, it was present for

the first time (at least on any extant temple in Bagan) on the Nat-Hlaung-Kyaung, and was to become a defining element of the majority of all Bagan era monuments that were to be built throughout the following centuries, seemingly putting the Nat-Hlaung-Kyaung at a turning point of a unique form of Bagan temple design which took from possible Indian origins, yet incorporated new iconography which was an original Pyu and later Pagan creative innovation.

The Sacred Kalasa and the Hamsa

Present on both the Nat-Hlaung-Kyaung (c. 931-964) and the later built Nan-Hpaya (c. 11th century CE.) Temples found in

Bagan are profiled kalasa, or, sacred water pots. These pot mouldings are found running in a continuous band around the base of both of the temples is iconic of kalasa decoration first seen in early Gupta period Hindu architecture (Gupta 2002, p.12) which emerged around the 4

th century CE in India. The symbolic meaning of the water pot stemming from the Hindu belief that water is

the basis of all creation, also being the sustained of all that is created (Gupta 2002, p.12). On the later Nan-Hpaya temple, above the kalasa there appears a subtle dado frieze which has been carved from stone bricks and comprises of a band of tandos. On each tando is a framed figure of a mythical aquatic bird known as a hamsa (Strachan 1989, p. 47), which is representative of Brahmas (the creator of the universe) mount, the swan (Hamsa) which is symbolic of the highest wisdom of the Brahma in separating milk from water or virtue from evil, this belief being central to Hindu ideology (Gupta 2002, p.35). This portrayal of the hamsa in carvings on the Nat-Hpaya temple shows that Hinduism was still influential in early bagan architecture possibly due to the presence of Indian traders in old Bagan, prior to the cities adoption of later architectural styles during Bagans middle period (12

th

century CE.) which saw the end of the use of the Pyu language written on temple walls, and a reduction in the occurrence of the early Mon language being present on Bagan architecture (Strachan 1989, p. 79). The Semi Circular Radiating Arch

Another element of Bagan architecture which first emerges at Nat-Hlaung-Kyaung is the inclusion of a semi-circular radiating arch (Figure 3.2 below) which according to Strachan, is not yet used as an aesthetic element in this temple, but is hidden within the structure of the temple itself (Strachan 1989, p.40). The arch, or rather true arches, were a characteristic that is for the most part unique to the Burmese style of temple building. Diagoro Chihara, in his text Hindu-Buddhist Architecture in Southeast Asia explains more about the occurrence of the true arch in relation to other arches present throughout the rest of Southeast Asia. According to Chihara, the use of vaults, and true arches which consists of genuine voussoirs is a rare occurrence in Indian temple design, and virtually not present at all even in the richly ornate Hindu-Javanese and Khmer architecture found to the east of Burma (Chihara 1996, p 49). This is not to say that true arches were not present in archaeological sites of India, but rather they were used infrequently and the majority of early Indian and Khmer architecture adopted instead to use corbelled false arches

to cover

openings and corridors in their buildings (Chihara 1996, p 49).

14

Referring back to Strachan, he suggests that the emergence of the semi circular radiating arch may be controversially associated with similar arches found in India, China, Mesopotamia or even kingdoms north of India (Strachan 1989 p. 40), which would include possibly the influence of the Kushan Empire of even the Persian Empire which we do know had some influence on early Indian Kingdoms. Although there are several potential origins of the semi circular arch that is present in Bagan for the first time in the Nat-Hlaung-Kyaung temple, ultimately there is still research needed to ascertain a clear antecedent to the presence of the semi circular arch in either Pyu or Bagan era architecture.

Source: Chihara 2012

Figure 3.2: Corbelled Arch Vs Radiating Arch

3.1.2 Lei-Myet-Hna

The Lei-Myet-Hna as previously mentioned is both a temple typology which means four faces and indicative of temples built on a square ground plan, and is also the name of a 12

th century Bagan temple built by Bagan minister Anandathura in 13

th

century. Paul Strachan mentions a link between the Lei-Myet-Hna temple design in several monuments that are highlighted in his book Imperial Pagan. The four sided temple becomes a common theme in Bagan temple typology and the presence of this plan in the Nat-Hlaung-Kyaung would suggest that although this temple, as Strachan suggests was built by Hindu Merchants during the Pyu era of building construction (Strachan 1989 p.39), it may possibly be one of the first examples of traditional Bagan style temple design, or if the temple was not built by early Burmese settlers, then the Burmese who later occupied the region seemingly adopted much of the building concepts found in Nat-Hlaung-Kyaung for use in their own temples in the following centuries. 3.2 Origin of The Bagan Stupa

The Stupa, when traced back through its own history, emerged first in the form of a tumuli, being monuments which were built to serve as burial mounds placed over the top of funeral pyres or the remains of monks or significant dead persons. As previously discusses, the stupa was not originally conceived as a Buddhist structure as the first stupas predated the birth of the Buddhist religion and were most likely associated first with the Jain religion which preceded the Buddhist religion in India. With some authors noting that stupas were being constructed in the Andhra region of India by cults which later merged their practices with that of the then emerging Buddhist religion. With the development of the stupa across the Asian kingdoms and progressing through the centuries in which they were constructed, the stupa took on several transformations. In its original form, the stupa was often a large dome shaped solid construction, or may have been hollow although they would never be constructed with any orifices to lead inside the stupa shell. These original stupas were representative of the original burial mounds from which they were fashioned, although later their domed shape would take on other meanings depending on where, or who built them, taking on cosmological meaning such as becoming a representation of a sacred mountain Meru which is a cosmological mountain associated with the Jain, Hindu and Buddhist religions. Later, as the stupa was absorbed into the mainstream of Buddhist symbology, the stupa would come to represent either the Buddha himself, or be symbolic of the teachings of the Dharma.

15

As the stupa traveled from India to Sri Lanka and on to Burma and other parts of South East Asia, its cupola, or Dome,

altered in form, first being seen as a bowl shaped dome iconic of Stupas such as Mahastupa at Sanchi (Image 3.3 below) constructed around the 2

nd century bc built in Madhya Pradesh in India, and the Sri Lankan dagobas Jetavanaramaya (Image 3.4

below) constructed in the 3rd

century BCE and Ruwanweli Maha Seya constructed in the 2nd

century BCE.. The Stupa form went through a transformation, becoming in some cases a Long Cylindrical form with such an example being found in the Nga-Kywe-Na-Daung stupa built during the 9

th century CE. in Bagan, or a Bell shaped form commonly associated with the Burmese Ceti (Zedi).

Ultimately, architecturally speaking, so long as the structure is built to have no internal space, or at least a non accessible internal space and its intent is that it be used for religious worship or to show adulation to whomevers remains shall be buried within the mound, then the structure within reason can be classified as a stupa.

3.2.1 The Pyu Era Stupa Bowl Shaped Stupas

According to again to Eric Stratton, the original form of the stupa was symbolic of the sacred mound, a mound that represented many things from the mother mountain (the cosmic mountain, seen as Mount Meru in the Buddhist, Hindu and Brahmin religions), and the Goddess, of which images of the Goddess are seen many times on the gateways at Sanchi stupa (figure 3.3 below) (Stratton, p. 11). Stratton continues to explain that often, the Stupa would serve as a marker for a dead saint (Stratton p. 11) similar to how a stupa was used to mark the importance of the Buddha, and they were seldom used for the purposes of marking important dead persons to do with the Royal Palace, indicating that the stupa had far more a religious meaning behind them than a political one. In later chapters in his text, Stratton goes on to cover an important aspect of how the Stupa came to appear in Myanmar, stating that from as early as the 5

th century CE., close contact existed between India and the Mon kingdom of Dvaravati, while their

neighboring kingdom the Pyu shared a similarly close contact with Indian colonists mostly from the Indian state of Orissa (presently Odisha) who had settlements in lower Myanmar (Stratton p. 56). The influence of Orissan architecture on the landscape of ancient Prome was evident in the emergence of a Long Cylindrical Stupa which became unique to the Myanmar style of stupa design (Stratton p. 56)

Source: www.nistads.res.in Source: imatraveller.livejournal.com

Image 3.3: Mahastupa at Sanchi, India Image 3.4: Jetavanarama Dagoba, Sri Lanka

Source: Chihara

Figure 3.3: Mahastupa Stupa at Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh ,India

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Cylindrical Shaped Stupas

Stratton mentions in his text that the Long Cylindrical Stupa which became unique in Myanmar was influenced by the architecture from Orissa, due mainly to the presence of Indian settlers from the state occupying the region of ancient Myanmar during the Pyu era. To go to the source of Strattons quote, George Coedes, a 20

th century French scholar of southeast Asian

Archaeology, in his original text titled The Indianized States of Southeast Asia, wrote that ruins in Prome which bear the name Bobogyi (Possibly an alternate spelling of Baw-Baw-Gyi, a very early Cylindrical shaped stupa found in Prome), Payama, and Payagyi where 8

th century cylindrical shaped stupas of which their origin was from the coast of Orissa in North East India (Coedes

1968 p. 87). If what Stratton and Coedes are both suggesting is correct, then as early as the 8th

century CE., the Pyu who inhabited early Myanmar around Prome, were gaining influence from Orissan settlers co-inhabiting Prome who brought with them architectural styles from India which were being integrated into the Pyu culture. Some examples of Pyu era cylindrical shaped stupas can be viewed below in images 3.5 and 3.6.

Source: Chihara Source: Myanmar-image.com

Image 3.5: Nga-Kywe-Na-Daung stupa, Bagan 10th

century CE. Image 3.6: Baw-Baw-Gyi Pagoda, Prome

Bell Shaped Stupas According to Donald N. Seekins who wrote the Historical Dictionary of Burma (Myanmar), The Bell Shaped Stupa which is a common stupa form built throughout ancient Myanmar, is traceable back to earlier stupas built in Sri Lanka (Ceylon) (Seekins, p. 350). Later in the 12

th century, a Bagan monk by the name Sapada spent 10 years in Sri Lanka studying to be a monk, returned to

Bagan and built the Sapada Pagoda (Image 3.7 & Figure 3.4 below) which was designed in the influence of the Singhalese style Stupa found in Sri Lanka which bears a square relic chamber atop the main bell (cummings 1999 p. 327). Going by a description of the Sapada Stupa found on a Myanmar website source, the Sapada Zedi (Stupa) was modeled off of a Sri Lankan Zedi called Rama, located in Anuraddha Pura (Sapada Zedi, web source) however a more credible source for this information was not attainable prior to the publishing of this thesis. Although the Sapada stupa was built well into the Bagan era of construction and slightly later than would be considered relevant to this thesis, it does show that even in later centuries, Bagan held a strong relationship with Sri Lanka which was directly influencing their building design.

Source: Chihara Source: Myanmar-image.com

Figure 3.4: Plan of the Sapada Stupa, . Image 3.7: Photograph of the Sapada Stupa, Prome

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Possibly one of the first Bell shaped Stupas built in Sri Lanka which may have been the influence of later bell shaped Pagodas of Myanmar is the Thuparamaya Dagoba built in the 3

rd century BCE in Sri Lanka (Image 3.9 below). To study the

transformation of stupa design across south and southeast asia, one can easily see a progression towards the bell shaped stupa becoming more common especially in Myanmar, with more examples of the bell shaped Pagoda still existent and in use today, with Bowl shaped and Cylindrical stupas mostly appearing to be in states of ruin and in lesser numbers.

Stratton also explains how Burmese architecture possibly also took examples of Sri Lankan temple design and merged it into their own architecture. King Anawrahta of Bagan had a close relationship with King Vijayabahu of Ceylon, who built the temple of Shwezigon around the relic of the famous tooth of Ceylon. The Tooth was awarded to King Anawrahta after helping King Vijayabahu defend and rebuild his kingdom after the invasion from Chola in 1056ad (Stratton, p. 59). Again, this account is much later than what is the desired era to research for the thesis, but again strattons accounts reinforce the strong relationship that early Myanmar had with the kingdom of Ceylon (Sri Lanka).

Source: gogostartravel.com Source: gogostartravel.com

Image 3.8: Shwedagon Pagoda, Yangon, Myanmar Image 3.9: Thuparamaya Dagoba, Sri Lanka 3rd

cen. BCE

KKG3 Stupa

KKG (Figure 3.5 below) is a cylindrical brick stupa of which the main cylindrical structure is 9.3 meters in diameter and 3 meters in height. At each cardinal point of the stupa there are present 4 near square protruding brick platforms each 3.3 meters by 3 meters. The complete outside diameter of KKG inclusive of the circulating outer walls that surround the main stupa has an overall diameter of 42 meters (Aung, p 95). Aung explains that while attempts have been made by scholars to compare KKG with site at Nagarjunakonda, the comparison is unconvincing due to the stupa at site belonging to a class of southern stupa which is highly distinctive because of its base being laid out in a pattern symbolic of spokes on a wheel (Aung, p 95).

Source: webshus.ru

Figure 3.5: Ground Plan and Reconstruction of KKG3 Stupa, Beikthano

Referring now to Adrian Snodgrass in his comprehensive text The Symbolism of the Stupa, Snodgrass explains that the

symbology of a wheel in Stupa plan is representative of the cosmos in cross section (Snodgrass 1992, p79). Snodgrass explains further how the spokes of the wheel act as the axial radii that join beings to their principial centre (Snodgrass 1992, p79). The wheel occurs in several religions, but most importantly for this thesis, it is symbolic in the Brahman religion of the Sun Wheel, which is the wheel of time (Snodgrass 1992, p79), while in the Buddhist religion, the wheel can either be a representation of the Buddha himself or symbolic of the Dharma wheel which represents different aspects of the religion (Snodgrass 1992 p. x).

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Returning back to Aung Tar Thaws argument on the comparison of KKG and site, Aung states that there is no

representation of the wheel in the plan of KKG at Beikthano which directly associates it with site. Furthermore, Aung explains how in similar stupas located in India and Sri Lanka, it is common for the ayaka platforms to be the focus of detailed ornamentation typically constructed of stucco or stone but there appears to be no evidence of ornamentation constructed of any durable materials present at KKG (Aung, p 95). Aung does go on to say that merely because there is no evidence of detailed ornamentation at KKG, this does not rule out that ornamentation may have existed which was constructed of less durable materials such as timber or plaster (Aung, p 95).

Considering the evidence seemingly against the possibility of Stupa KKG at Beikthano being influenced by the Stupa at site in Nagarjunakonda, Aung does state that If a direct comparison with stupa 8 cannot be sustained, it is nonetheless true that the Andhra school of stupa architecture to which Nagarjunakonda belongs was the inspiration of KKG (Aung, p 95). How Aung justifies this statement is not really elaborated on, however to quote Gupta once more on his discussion on Elements of Indian Art, (the) Stupa, as an object of veneration in its own right, as a replacement of Buddha himself, became very popular with Buddhists (Gupta 2002, p 8), so one could argue that any stupa which preceded another could potentially be inspiration for the next as each stupa, whether inclusive of the symbology of the wheel or not, is still representative of The Buddha himself and his teachings. 3.2.5 KKG18 Stupa

Thaw Tar Aungs paper suggests that Bagan and Pyu Architecture took much of its influence from the earlier temple designs found in India and Sri Lanka, which Aung contends by giving some noteworthy comparisons between early Pyu stupas and Indian stupas inclluding 5

th century Beikthano stupa KKG18 (figure 3.6), and 4

th century Indian stupa Mohra Moradu (figure 3.7) in

Taxial, India. Through the use of visual comparisons and data collected on the temples its easy to conclude that the similarities between these two stupas, and other temples compared in Aungs study, show that it is most probable that earlier Indian stupas and religious architecture might have had a direct influence on the development of later Pyu and Bagan architecture.

Source: Aung 2012/ Morris* Source: Aung 2012/ Morris*

Figure 3.6: KKG18 east section, Beikthano, 5th century CE. Figure 3.7: Mohra Moradu stupa south section, India,

4th century CE. 3.3. Origin of the Bagan Monastery

Although the later monasteries built in Bagan probably showed little association with the monastery layout associated with site KKG2 located at Beikthano, it is important to consider the similarities between this early monastery found in the old Pyu city and another monastery that was unearthed at Nagarjunakonda in Andhra Pradesh in India. The reason for this is that it could provide a link which supports claims made by Ching et al and discussed further with Padma and Barber in an early chapter in this thesis. If Buddhist colonists from Andhra Pradesh were present in the early period of Beikthanos development, then this might explain why KKG2 monastery does share some uncanny resemblance to a similar monastery built during the same century in Nagarjunakonda, a similarity which will below be explained in further detail 3.3.1 KKG2 Monastery, Beikthano

At an archaeological site located at Nagarjunakonda, in the Andhra Region of India, there are several examples of ancient Indian Monastery and Stupa designs which have been likened to examples of ancient monuments also found in Bagan (aung) including Bagan archaeological site KKG which is an early monastery dating to the 4

th century CE., and KKG which is an early

stupa believed to have been constructed between the 4th

and 5th

centuries CE..

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In Thaw Tar Aungs paper entitled Architectural Aspects of Temples in Myanmar: An Appreciation of Spatial Composition, Aung mentions KKG (Figure 3.8 below) as showing similarity with the layout of another earlier 4

th century monastery (Figure 3.9

Below) that is found at Nagarjunakonda known as site (Aung, p 71). KKG has a plan that is based on a long rectangle with a separate entrance chamber located off the central hall on the east side of the main structure which is approximately 29 meters by 10 meters from the outside of the external walls. The main rectangle is divided in half by a central wall running along the north-south axis of the monastery with the west partition being divided further into 8 cells and a long hall remaining on the east side (aung p 96). Although Aung does not elaborate in as great a detail about the dimensions of the comparative monastery found at site in Nagarjunakonda, by a visual comparison it is evident that similarly site is constructed in the form of a long rectangle, similarly separated by a partition running down its longest length, this time having one partition separated into 5 smaller cel ls connected to the long communal hall that remains on the opposite side of the central partition, as can be seen in figures below.

Source: Aung 2012 / Morris* Source: Aung 2012/ Morris*

Figure 3.8: KKG2 Monastery, Beikthano. 4th

century CE. Figure 3.9: Buddhist Monastery, Nagarjunakonda.

Early 4th

century CE.

Similar though these plans may be, it is important to note that the evidence present in the example for KKG is not irrefutable. The similarities shown ideally require much further research than what Aung has provided before a truly conclusive assumption can be made regarding the similarities between these two monuments.

RESEARCH RESULTS The results of this research were not surprising, in that from the outset, it was anticipated that connections would be made between the architecture of early Myanmar and its neighbouring kingdoms of Ceylon and India. What was surprising though was the lack of a clear direction or fluidity of information that was present throughout all the literature which was reviewed for this topic. As much as the basics of the information attained from most authors were generally following the same direction, discrepancies arose regarding specifics of the information available. In most cases, monument names were difficult to trace as spelling may be altered from one author to the next, one such case that could lead to misinformation is the naming of the Andran Buddhists by Ching et al in A Global History of Architecture, where in most other sources, if we are to believe that all authors are talking about the same tribe, then the spelling alters to Andhran Buddhists. From the research, it is apparent that the site of excavations at Beikthano may have plausible connections with a similar culture unearthed at the Indian Archaeological site at Nagarjunakonda in the Andhra region of India, with some authors suggesting apparent links between several monuments found at each site, and other authors suggesting plausible connections with a sect of Buddhist priests who originated from the Andhran region of India and settled in Beikthano. This would fall into the realm of proving the Brahama theory as proposed by Chihara true, in that it may be very well possible that Architectural practices were brought to Beikthano by Buddhist monks from India. But this does not disprove the Vaisya Theory that suggests that Architectural Influence was brought to Myanmar by ancient merchants, as is most likely evident in the case of the Nat-Hlaung-Kyaung temple built most likely by Hindu merchants who were present in Old Bagan during the Pyu era of construction. There is no reason to suggest that the influence of early Myanmar architecture didnt come from many sources which infiltrated the region simultaneously. It is also important to consider that influence may not only have come from the presence of foreign persons within Myanmar, but also that through the travels of early inhabitants of Myanmar such as monks or merchants who sojourned to India, Sri Lanka or other parts of South or Southeast Asia, they may have discovered themselves new methods of design and construction which they brought back with them and influenced the construction of their own indigenous architecture.

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Of all the literature read on the subject, it appears that the strongest influencers of early Myanmar architecture came from the Andhra Pradesh region and Orissa state of India, with other connections being clearly present between Pyu sites such as Prome , Sri Ksetra and the kingdom of Ceylon. Even the later Bagan kingdom still maintained a close relationship with Ceylon both militarily and culturally. More connections could potentially be made between Ceylon and the early Mon kingdom than were discussed in this paper, however as one source mentioned, the number of existent ancient Mon monuments are lesser than what Pyu or Bagan era monuments can still be found, due to the higher rainfall in the lower Irrawaddy causing more erosion and destruction of what Monuments may have existed in the region. If one was to suggest a period of architecture or art in which to associate early Myanmar architecture, then the Gupta period that emerged in 4

th century India may still be evident in the design and architecture found in early Myanmar monuments.

This is most likely due to the influence that the Gupta period had on the religion of Hinduism itself, so it might be appropriate to say that Hindu architecture was highly reflective of the Gupta period of Architecture. This might explain why examples of Gupta Period design may be present in the Hindu temple Nay-Hlaung-Kyaung found in Bagan. However, to look at the influence that India had on the Burmese stupa, might lead the observer to conclude that the influence of Indians on the design of the Burmese Stupa was less prominent than the influence that Ceylon had on the development of the Burmese Stupa. Ultimately this paper is an extremely brief overview of just some examples of potential influence that may have guided the development of early Myanmar religious monument design. Nothing was discussed in this paper about any possible connections with Chinese design considering that the Burmese who came to inhabit the Irrawaddy Plains would have originated from the north in China. But to look at the subject superficially, there are not a lot of visual indicators to suggest any strong ties between early Myanmar architecture and the elaborately decorative Chinese architecture. It is also apparent that from research that dates back to early in our previous century, India and Ceylon have seemed to be the main focus for Archaeologists and historians in attempting to draw connections between early Myanmar and their architectural antecedents.

CONCLUSION Unfortunately, the results of this research are somewhat inconclusive. Although this paper serves as a reasonable summary of what are the general theories that have been written about the topic of Myanmar Architectural antecedents, in some aspects, a definitive conclusion is lacking to be able to confidently discuss irrefutable details about the development of religious architecture across the ancient Myanmar landscape. Although there are many examples of literature that cover the subject, many accounts of specific monument details were briefly described by the authors, and some sources seemed to lack any solid background to how certain monuments where connected with their respective antecedents. Many examples of Myanmar monuments that could show clear linearity between their construction and earlier prototypical designs come much later in the chronology of Myanmar, placing them in the Bagan era of monument construction (approximately the 9

th century CE onward),

leaving details about previous monuments built from the 1st century CE up to the 9

th century CE to be based on scientific theory.

One thing to be said about the early Myanmar architects is that they were incredibly creative in adapting the religious and architectural concepts of previous civilizations into their own form of indigenous architecture. This can clearly be seen in the development of the Cinquefoil Torana, otherwise known as the Flame Pediment (incorporating the Banana bud) which could potentially be an adaptation of the common Lotus bud, and the adoption of Mount Poppa as their own form of religious mountain, taken most likely from the concept of Mount Meru which belonged to Buddhist, Hindu and Brahman mythology. Another point that is clear, is that architectural and religious influence in ancient Southeast Asia appeared to travel East. Many authors refer to this as the Indianization of Southeast Asia. The full extent of how Myanmar was Indianized in their culture and Architecture is briefly discussed throughout this thesis.

In conclusion, it might be appropriate to assume that indigenous Myanmar architecture was the result of the Indianization of the region, mixed with a creative desire that was present in the early Myanmar architects to form their own unique designs based on concepts borrowed from previous civilisations.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Id like to acknowledge the help and support of my supervisor, Dr David Beynon, of Deakin University. His own personal research and interest in the topics of both historical architecture and Asian architecture has guided the writing of this thesis since our initial meetings and without his input, it would be safe to assume that the quality of the content of this thesis would be of a lesser standard if it were not for his knowledgeable input and personal understandings regarding the development of ancient Myanmar architecture.

I would like to also acknowledge architectural historian and archaeologist Michael W. Meister who was kind enough to return some correspondence during the early phase of this research, making his own suggestions about where to possibly look for clues and discussing his own personal interest in the early architecture of Myanmar.

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REFERENCES Hirakawa Akira, 2007. History of Indian Buddhism: From Sakyamuni to Early Mahayana (Buddhist Tradition). Edition. Motilal Banarsidass. Aung-Thwin and Maitrii Aung-Thwin 2012. A History of Myanmar, Since Ancient Time, Reaktion Books Ltd, London. Adrian Snodgrass, 2007. The Symbolism of the Stupa. New edition Edition. Motilal Banarsidass. S.P. Gupta, 2006. Elements of Indian Art. 2nd Edition. DK Print World Pvt.Ltd,India. Michael A. Aung-Thwin, 2005. The Mists of Ramanna: The Legend That Was Lower Burma. Edition. University of Hawaii Press. Aung, T.T., 2012. Architectural Aspects of Temples in Myanmar: An Appreciation of Spatial Composition. Doctorate. Stuttgart: University of Stuttgart. Padma, S., Barber, A.W. 2009. Buddhism in the Krishna River Valley of Andhra. Edition. State University of New York Press. Paul Strachan, 1990. Imperial Pagan: Art and Architecture of Burma. illustrated edition Edition. Univ of Hawaii Pr. Mark M. Jarzombek, 2010. A Global History of Architecture. 2 Edition. Wiley. Daigoro Chihara, 1996. Hindu-Buddhist Architecture in Southeast Asia (Studies in Asian Art and Archaeology, Vol 19). Edition. Brill Academic Pub. Pierre Pichard, 1993. Inventory of Monuments at Pagan: Monuments 1-255. 0 Edition. Unesco. Stratton, E. (2000) The Evolution of Indian Stupa Architecture in East Asia, Vedams ebooks, New Delhi. George Coedes, 1968 The Indianized States of Southeast Asia, East-West Center Press George Coedes,, 1983. The Making of Southeast Asia. Edition. University of California Press. Donald M. Seekins, 2006. Historical Dictionary of Burma (Myanmar) (Historical Dictionaries of Asia, Oceania, and the Middle East). Edition. Scarecrow Press. Sirisena, W.M. , 1978 Sri Lanka and South-East Asia: Political, Religious and Cultural Relations from A.D. C. 1000 to C. 1500. Brill Archive, Sri Lanka University Press, The Netherlands Kulke, H., Kesavapany, K., Sakhuja, V., (2009) Nagapattinam to Suvarnadwipa: Reflections on the Chola Naval Expeditions to Southeast Asia, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore Buswell, R.E., 2004 Encyclopedia of Buddhism, Volume 2, Macmillan Reference USA, New York Pichard, P., 1991 The Pentagonal Monuments of Pagan, White Lotus, Phuoc, L.H., Le, H.P. 2010 Buddhist Architecture, Grafikol, United States Reid, R., Grosberg, M. 2011 Myanmar (Burma) Lonely Planet Travel Guide, 11

th Edition, Lonley Planet Publications Pty Ltd

Swearer, D.K. 2010 The Buddhist World of Southeast Asia: Second Edition, State University of New York Press, New York Chihara, D., 1996 Hindu-Buddhist Architecture in Southeast Asia, Leiden, New York. Longhurst, A.H. 1936 The Story of the Stupa, Asian Educatinal Services, New Delhi De Laet, S.J., Herrmann, J. , (1996) History of Humanity: From the seventh century B.C. to the seventh century A.D., United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, Paris. Soni, S., (1991) Evolution of Stupas in Burma: Pagan Period, 11

th to 13

th Centuries A.D., Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Pvt. Ltd.

Dehli Chandra, M. (1977) Trade and Trade Routes in Ancient India, Abhinav Publications, New Delhi Aung-Thwin, M.A., Hall, K.R., (2011) New Perspectives on the History and Historiography of Southeast Asia: Continuing Explorations, Routledge, New York Joe Cummings, 1999. Lonely Planet Myanmar Burma: Travel Survival Kit. 7th Edition. Lonely Planet Publications.

Strong, J.S., (2007) Relics of the Buddha, First Indian Edition, Princeton University Press K. V Soundara Rajan, 1998. Rock-Cut Temples Styles; Early Pandyan Art and the Ellora Shrines. 1 Edition. Somaiya Publications. John Keay, 2001. India: A History. Edition. Harper Perennial.

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George Michell, 1977. Hindu Temple: An Introduction to Its Meaning and Form. Edition. HarperCollins Distribution Services. Stella Kramrisch, 2007. The Hindu Temple (2 Volumes) (Pt. 1 & 2). New edition Edition. Motilal Banarsidass. Donald Stadtner, 2006. Ancient Pagan. Edition. River Books Press Dist A C. Adam Hardy, 2007. The Temple Architecture of India. 1 Edition. John Wiley & Sons. Michael Freeman, 1998. Guide To Khmer Temples In Thailand And Laos. Edition. Weatherhill. Michael Freeman, 2008. Ancient Angkor (River Books). Edition. Thames & Hudson Ltd. Elizabeth Moore, Place and Space in Early Burma: A New Look at Pyu Culture . 2014. . [ONLINE] Available at: http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/7823/1/EMoore_SpacePlace-JSS09.pdf. [Accessed 29 march 2014]. The Arrival of Buddhism in Myanmar / kmnyunt1.htm. 2014. The Arrival of Buddhism in Myanmar / kmnyunt1.htm. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.thisismyanmar.com/nibbana/kmnyunt1.htm. [Accessed 2 April 2014]. PERSPECTIVES ON PAN-ASIANISM: Darshan of Sacred Bone of Buddha on Buddhajayanti Day. 2014. PERSPECTIVES ON PAN-ASIANISM: Darshan of Sacred Bone of Buddha on Buddhajayanti Day. [ONLINE] Available at:http://ariseasia.blogspot.com.au/2011/06/encountering-buddha-now.html. [Accessed 5 April 2014]. Thet. 2014. . [ONLINE] Available at: http://asiaharvest.org/wp-content/themes/asia/docs/people-groups/Myanmar/Thet.pdf. [Accessed 26 May 2014]. Bagan : Sapada Pagoda, Myanmar(Burma). 2014. Bagan : Sapada Pagoda, Myanmar(Burma). [ONLINE] Available at:http://bagan.travelmyanmar.net/sapada-pagoda.htm. [Accessed 9 April 2014]. Bagan : Sapada Pagoda, Myanmar(Burma). 2014. Bagan : Sapada Pagoda, Myanmar(Burma). [ONLINE] Available at:http://bagan.travelmyanmar.net/sapada-pagoda.htm. [Accessed 12 May 2014]. U Win Maung "Evolution of stupas in Myanmar (1st century BC to 19th century BC) . 2014. ( 1- .. 19- ..) . [ONLINE] Available at: http://webshus.ru/?p=10847. [Accessed 1 May 2014].

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APPENDICES 1. Appendix 1: Glossary

Glossary of Key Terms

Ajanta Caves Built from the 2nd

century BCE. to the 7th

century CE., the Ajanta Caves are a UNESCO site located in Maharashtra, India where 30 monasteries, Shrines and Chaityagrihas have been cut out of the directly out of the rock caves. These temples, monasteries and religious caved monuments being known as the great Rock-Cut Temples of Maharashtra, and are the predecessors to later free standing religious monuments in India, and possibly Bagan.

Bagan Alternative name for Bagan. Bagan seizing to be used following the 19

th century CE.

note: both naming conventions may be used interchangeably throughout the thesis.

Beikthano Also known as The Vishnu City, Beikthano is one of the original Pyu City States that still remain in present day Myanmar. It is so far the oldest site located in the ancient Pyu kingdom to be scientifically excavated and is believed to be dated back to around the era of the 2

nd century BCE.

Beikthano was a fortified city, built much like similar cities found around its time in other areas of Myanmar and India, although Beikthano was built using a rectangular wall enclosure, while other cities of similar sizes may have adopted circular or oval shaped perimeter walls.

Brahma Brahma is one of three Trimurti, the others being the forms of Vishnu and Shiva, the three

Hindu Gods who make up the Great Trinity, each God ultimately being a different form of the one Hindu Lord known as Krishna.

Buddha The Buddha was a real person who was born and lived in Nepal around the 6

th to the 4

th

century BCE.. His human name being Siddhartha Gautama, he would later become known as the enlightened one after he finally attained enlightenment following a lifetime of experimentation and meditation in order to achieve a clearer vision and awareness about his existence and the greater universe. His methods and teachings became the foundation for a religious movement dedicated to him now known as Buddhism which is a belief system that still exists in our present day.

Burma the Correct naming for Burma is the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, although presently it is

acceptable to call the region of South East Asia just Myanmar. Burma is a land in South Asia which Is located to the east of Indian and Bangladesh, South of China and Nepal and is west of Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand. To the south of Burma is the vast expanse of coastline known as the Bay of Bengal. Burma is the location for the ancient civilizations of the Mons and the Pyus, which are covered in this thesis, with the development of a Bagan civilization coming later in the history of the land, around the 9

th century CE.

Ceylon Ceylon is the former name of an Island in the Northern Indian Ocean at the southern point of

the Indian land mass. Ceylon later became known as Sri Lanka after its name was changed officially in 1972. Ceylon had friendly ties with early Bagan Kings, including Anawrahta, who helped the King of Ceylon repel an attack from Chola invaders around the 11th century CE.. to repay Anawrahta for his help in defending and rebuilding his city, King Vijayabahu handed Anawrahta the relic of the famous tooth of Ceylon, and built a temple known as Shwezigon around the relic in the city of Sri-Khit-Tra in his honour.

Chaityagrihas an alternative name for Temples with its roots in Sanskrit, derived from the word Chita which

means a pyre (language unknown)

Ellora Caves Built similarly to the Ajanta Caves of Maharashtra, the Ellora Caves is another world heritage site which is home to 34 cave temples carved out of the hillside from the 5

th century to the 10

th century

CE. Gu Burmese word for Temple, meaning Cave.

Gupta A style of Indian Art & Architecture typically associated with heavy symbolic Hindu and Brahman decoration built between the 4

th and 6

th century CE.

Hamsa A mythological aquatic bird, considered to be a swan, relating to Brahmas Mount, the Swan,

which symbolically represents the highest wisdom in separating milk from water or virtue from evil. A central belief in the Hindu religious philosophy.

Irrawaddy Basin the Irrawaddy Basin is a river that flows from North to South, running through the entire length

of Myanmar. The Irrawaddy (or more correctly Ayeyarwady) River was the location for many of the Pyus and Mons first cities, with the Pyu developing their civilisation in the upper Irrawaddy basin and the Mons developing in the Lower Irrawaddy. The ancient Pyu cities of Halin, Bagan and Sri-Khit-Tra were all built either along, or in close proximity to the great Irrawaddy River.

24

Kalasa the Sacred Water Pot, important to Hindu Religion as water is considered the provider and sustainer of all creation. Kalasa are often found at the base of Gupta style temple pillars from the 4

th

century CE., were seen to be emerging from a border of kalasa in profile (Gupta pp. 12). This symbolic representation of the kalasa later seen at Nat-Hlaung-Kyaung and Nan-Hpaya in Bagan.

Mon The Mon were possibly the first civilization to develop in ancient Myanmar and had strong

connections with both Indian and Ceylon. The Mon coexisted with their northern Pyu neighbours for centuries prior to the emergence of the Bagan Empire around the 9

th century CE., after which time most

of what remained of the Mon was integrated into Bagan culture. Mon people still exist today with 8 million Mons currently living in Burma and over 100,000 Mons living in Thailand.

Mount Meru the mythological cosmic mountain at the centre of Hindu belief. In Hinduism, Mount Meru is

considered to be the centre of the Universe, and all other spiritual, physical and metaphysical life, as well as being home to the Hindu God Brahma.

Mount Poppa A dead volcano located in Burma which became central to Burmese belief, similar to how

Mount Meru is central to Hindu Belief. It is considered that the Burmese took the concept of the Mythological Mountain from the Hindu belief when creating their own Mountain cult centred around Mount Poppa (Stratton pp. 58)

Myanmar the accepted naming of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar located in South East Asia, also

known as Burma (See Burma)

Nagarjunakonda located in the state of Andhra Pradesh, Nagarjunakonda is a site which is home to many great examples of Indian Buddhist Architecture. The name Nagarjunakonda means the Hill of Nagarjunakonda, who was a Buddhist scholar who lived around the 3

rd century CE. many sites and

ancient monuments at Nagarjunakonda have been compared to similar monuments in Myanmar, suggesting that architecture from this site may have been possible influence for later Bagan built Temples.

Prototypical Temple Temples which were known to be the first of their typology, the antecedents of later built temples

Pyu The Kingdom that preceded Burma was that of the Pyu. Between the 1st century BCE. and the

9th century CE., speakers of Tibeto-Burman languages known as the Pyu established city-kingdoms in Myanmar at Binnaka, Mongamo, Sri-khit-tra, and Halin which were the foundations for their empire which thrived in the Irrawaddy Valley until they were later superseded by the Burmese around the 9

th

century CE, The Burmese then building upon the Pyus culture and assimilating it into their own

Sri-Ksetra one of the original Pyu city states located in central Myanmar. Sometimes alternatively spelt Srikshetra or Sri-Khit-tra

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2. Appendix 2: Information on some of the Authors 2.1 Associate Professor Maitrii Aung-Thwin

National University of Singapore B.A. (Northern Illinois University); PhD (Michigan, 2001)

Maitrii Aung-Thwin is Associate Professor of Myanmar/Southeast Asian History and Coordinator of the Comparative Asian Studies PhD Program. He has written on social movements, law, colonialism, nation-building, and intellectual history. RESEARCH INTERESTS:

Dr. Aung-Thwins research has been concerned with the histories of domination, resistance, and identity in Southeast Asia during

the late colonial age. He has pursued these interests through studies on intellectual communities, historiography, and the

production of knowledge. His first monograph, The Return of the Galon King: History, Law, and Rebellion examined colonialisms

role in the historical construction of resistance in British Burma.

His approach to studying the region has been influenced by scholarship on transnationalism, colonialism, ethno-history, socio-legal

studies, oral history, and public history. These conversations have deepened his interest in the development of legal, business,

and religious networks in South and Southeast Asia.

Other Publications:

- A History of Myanmar Since Ancient Times: Traditions and Transformations, with Michael A. Aung-Thwin, Reaktion Books,

2013 (Updated and Expanded Edition).

The Return of the Galon King: History, Law, and Rebellion in Colonial Burma, (Ohio University Press, 2011).

- A New History of Southeast Asia, with M.C. Ricklefs, Bruce Lockhart, Albert Lau, and Portia Reyes, (Palgrave-Macmillan,

2010).

- Information from National University of Singapore (www.fas.nus.edu.sg)

2.2 Michael Aung-Thwin Ph.D

University of Hawaii at Manoa

B.A., Doane College, 1969 M.A., University of Illinois, 1971 Ph.D., University of Michigan, 1976

Dr. Aung-Thwin is Professor of Asian Studies and Chair of the Asian Studies Program of UH Manoa. His research specializations are on the history of Myanmar, myth and historiography of early Myanmar, the classical states of Southeast Asia. Distinctions:

- Paradigms, Primary Sources and Prejudices: selected for Choice List of Outstanding Academic Books of 1998

- Director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois

- John D. Rockefeller III Fellowship

- Social Science Research Council/American Council of Learned Societies Fellow.

Other Publications:

A History of Myanmar Since Ancient Times: Traditions and Transformations [with Maitrii Aung-Thwin] (London, Reaktion

Books, 2012).

New Perspectives in the History and Historiography of Southeast Asia: Continuing Explorations, With - Kenneth R. Hall

(London, Routledge Press, 2011).

The Mists of Ramanna: The Legend that Was Lower Burma(Honolulu, University of Hawaii Press, 2005).

26

Pagan: The Origins of Modern Burma. Honolulu, University of Hawaii Press, 1985.

- Information from University of Hawaii at Manoa (www.manoa.hawaii.edu) 2.3 Dr Khin-Maung-NNyunt

Yangon University

B.A Degree 1952. Mandalay College

B.A (Hons.) Political Science and Modern History 1954, Yangon

M.A C