Literature—Myanmar
Burmese literature falls into three periods: monarchic (until 1885), colonial (1886–1948), and postindependence (1948 to the present). Although Burma was a parliamentary democracy right after independence, most of its subsequent history has been of military rule, one-party rule, or both.
The earliest example of writing using Burmese script is probably the Prince Raja Kumar's stone inscription, written around 1112 in four languages: Pyu, spoken by a group related to the Burmese; Mon, spoken by settlers of Lower Burma; Pali, the Indian language of Theravada Buddhism; and Burmese. The Burmese alphabet in this inscription is ultimately derived from the ancient Indian Brahmi script.
Appearing later solely in the Burmese language, these inscriptions are mostly records of donations. They mention the kinds of donations, the identity of donors, the occasions, and the locations. The inscriptions end with prayers or curses, written to scare people and prevent them from destroying the donor's act of merit. At this time, there were also texts written on terra-cotta plaques and in ink on stucco. Both of these forms usually appear beneath depictions of scenes from the Jataka tales (Burmese Zat, didactic stories of the Buddha's past lives).
Although the early stone inscriptions are written in prose, verse began to replace the prose after the thirteenth century, especially in palm-leaf manuscripts and in parabaik (folding tablets made of paper, cloth, or metal). This resulted in the appearance of longer forms of verse, including pyui' (epics), mo'kvanʿ″ (poems on historic occasions), yadu (lyrical odes on the seasons, love, and so forth), and e″ khyanʿ″ (poems for the young princes and princesses).
At first, the writers were usually monks writing religious tales, such as the life story of the Buddha and the Jataka tales in pyui' form. Later writers wrote non-religious tales in pyui' form. Moʻkvanʿ″, on the other hand, is a verse form that courtiers used to record and eulogize the exceptional achievements of the king. E″ khyanʿ″ is a verse form used in composing success stories of a child's parents and grandparents; these were sung as lullabies for princes and princesses to give them confidence and encouragement. Yadu is the shortest verse form, the style adopted by kings, monks, and those in the palace, including laypeople. Writers used the yadu form to write about personal affairs, the beauty of nature, and weather. Still other verse forms include "khyui" (four-stanza verse), te"thapʻ (lyric of eighteen lines), boȳ layʻ (plaintive song), and lvamȳ khyanʿȳ (poem or song of longing), which are closely related to songs.
Verses on country life and verses composed by people in the countryside begin to appear in the seventeenth century. Padāsa Rājā (1684–1744), a minister of the king, wrote verses about the countryside in the form of ʻkhyanʿȳ (classical song). Some country people themselves also wrote about village youths in the style of auin' khyanʿȳ (folk song) addressed to their close friends.
After 1300, prose was written on many subjects. Buddhist monk RhanʻMaha Silavamsa (1453–1518) wrote Pārāyana vatthu (Stories Leading to Nirvana) based on Buddhist sermons and Buddhist texts, and many narratives based on Buddhism followed. The entertaining Buddhist narrative sermons of U" Punna (1807–1867), a literary figure known for his humorous writings, allowed people to enjoy both literary style and stimulating thoughts on Buddhism. While Pārāyana vatthu became the basis for Buddhist narratives, RhanʻMaha Silavamsa's Rajavanʻky U (Famous History) became the forerunner of later Burmese historical texts.
To satisfy the Burmese readers' thirst for knowledge, expositional texts also began to appear. Among those, the Rājadhamma sanʻgaha (Precepts Incumbent on a King), written by Yo" Atvanʿ"van U" (1729–1823), was a suggestion for modern administration. Also, travelogues such as Pūtākē Capīn′ Ītālyam sva″ mhat′tam″ (Journal of a Trip to Portugal, Spain, and Italy) by U" Khrim′ʼ (1828–1883) and Lanʻdanʻ sva″ ne zinʻ hmatʻ tamʻ″ (Journal of a Trip to London) by Kanʿ" vanʻ Manʿ" kri" U" Konʻ" (1821–1908) appeared in the nineteenth century.
Rhvēton′ Sīhasū (1708–1748), a palace attendant,
on the other hand, wrote Ratana' kre" mum vatthu (Treasured Mirror Stories) purely to entertain readers. Scholars consider this original composition the first Burmese legend, since the characters in the narrative are human beings, nats (supernatural animist beings), and dragons.
In the later part of the monarchy, plays and dramas to be performed in the palace were written both in prose and verse. U" Kran′ U (1773–1828) and U" Punna wrote plays that lasted all night—the former based on the author's own ideas and the latter on Buddhist literature.
In the mid-nineteenth century, printing technology came to Burma, and printed materials replaced palm-leaf and parabaik literature. Newspapers and books were published both in Lower and Upper Burma. By the time the British conquered Burma (1885), printing was already well underway.
Literature During British Colonial Rule
Under the British, the Burmese began to translate Western literature. Readers came to understand more about Western popular literature when, in 1902, U" Phui" JU translated Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe into Burmese. In 1904, James Hla Kyō (1863–1913) added his own story to sections of Alexandre Dumas's The Count of Monte Cristo and turned it into Mōnʻ Ranʻ Mōnʻ Ma Mayʻ Ma Vatthu (The Story of Maung Yin Maung and Ma Me Ma), which scholars consider the first modern Burmese novel.
Many other Burmese novels appeared at this time. Most were romantic with moral lessons until 1920. However, Cabayʻ banʻ vatthtu ( Jasmine Plant Story) and Rhve Pran nʻ Cui" vatthu (The Story of Shewei Pyi So) by U" Latʻ (1866–1921) were unusual in that the characters were true to life. After the anticolonialist movements in 1920, people started to write with a political or social agenda in mind.
Around 1930, university students created khetʻ camʿ" ("test the age") literature, whose style and topics differ from those of earlier times. Sippam Monʻ Va (1899–1942) became a successful khetʻ camʻ writer. Books on Western political thought published by the the Naga"nī Association, founded by young people in 1937, opened the political eyes of the Burmese.
While prose was developing, verse also bloomed. Sa khanʻ Kuitoʻmhuinʿ" (1875–1964) was the most famous poet of the colonial period; he wrote about Burmese culture and the fight for independence, and he encouraged anticolonialist movements. His Le" khyui" kri" (Longer Four-Stanza Verse) poems followed ancient forms, but the language was closer to that of the countryside. Students from Rangoon University writing khetʻ camʿ" literature focused on writing in a simple style so that literature would be accessible to most people.
Burmese Literature After Independence
After independence, various literary styles appeared in response to the unstable political situation. A struggle developed between those who believed in literature for literature's sake and those who leaned toward leftist themes.
In 1962, the Revolutionary Council took power, and freedom of the press declined under the Burma Program Socialist Party. A Censorship Board was established so that literature that attacked party policy could be banned. Literary awards were presented only to authors whose topics supported party policy.
At present, the Censorship Board still controls publishing policy, but Burmese literature is alive despite the tight censorship. Authors must now write about political and social conditions indirectly to make their works acceptable to the Censorship Board, and the quality of the literature has even improved. Currently, literary criticism is playing a new role in Myanmar. Literature is now being viewed from the perspective of literary skills and values instead of from political perspectives, as before. In line with developments in world literature, the terms "modern" and "postmodern" have appeared in the Burmese literary world.
Further Reading
Allot, Anna. (1988) "Burmese Literature." In Far Eastern Literature in the Twentieth Century, a Guide Based on the Encyclopedia of World Literature in the Twentieth Century, edited by Leonard S. Klein. Harpenden, U.K.: Old Castle, 1–8.
Badgley, John H. (1981) "Intellectuals and the National Vision: The Burmese Case." In Essays on Literature and Society in Southeast Asia; Political and Sociological Perspectives, edited by Tham Seong Chee. Singapore: Singapore University Press, 36–55.
Bode, Mabel Haynes. (1966) The Pali Literature of Burma. Prize Publications Fund, no. 2. London: Royal Asiatic Society.
Esche, Annemarie. (1979) Marchen der Volker Burmas. Leipzig, Germany: Im Insel-Verlag.
Herbert, Patricia M., ed. (1991) Burma. Oxford, U.K.: Clio Press, 206–213.
Pe Maung Tin, U. (1977) Mranʻ m, c, pA s, muinʻ" (History of Burmese Literature). Yangon, Myanmar: Khittaya Press.
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