Wednesday, March 02, 2016

The poetry of Bayinnaung's court rituals

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(Photo: Bayinnaung's Kanbawzathadi Palace built in 1556 as reconstructed in 1992 in Pegu/Bago, Source: Wikipedia) THE POETRY OF BAYI...
Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Succession crises of late Toungoo Burma (1648-1752)

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One hears much of elite politics in the present-day politics of Burma and Thailand. Future royal succession is a major factor influ...
Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Rajadhirat, a classic Mon epic

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This is a translation of chapters from the Mon-Burmese epic Razadarit Ayeidawpon . Both the Burmese and an English translation are given. Th...
Monday, January 14, 2008

1. The overconfidence of Prince Minyekyawsa

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2. King Mingaung admonishes his son

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3. The Lord of Salin warns Prince Minyekyawswa

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4. An auspicious day is chosen for battle with Minyekyawswa

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5. Emuntaya’s deception to lure Minyekyawswa into battle

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"Rajadhirat then wondered how Minyekyawswa might be advised that he would be in Dala. Emuntaya volunteered to have this accomplished by...

6. Emuntaya deserts from the Mon to the Burmese

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Dala was heavily surrounded by Myanma troops on both the river side and the land side. When Emuntaya arrived, at Dala's port Chinthe (li...

7. Emuntaya deserts from the Burmese back to the Mon

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At dawn, some Mons were seen outside the city gate near the palisade erected to prevent elephants from rushing the gate. Emuntaya accompanie...

8. Emuntaya escapes from Dala

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Meanwhile Emuntaya handed over the gold that he had been entrusted with to Binnya Dala as instructed by the king. He had a raft constructed ...

9. Minyekyawswa sends an envoy to Rajadhirat with gifts

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A fairly literal translation to English: In the evening Minyekyawswa sent his men to Prince Banya Dala and Awa-na-naing to speak with them. ...

10. King Mingaung of Ava marches south on Salat

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When king Mingaung heard that King Rajadharit had returned to Pegu, he set off for Salat in the south with prince Minyethihathu and Thado ea...

11. A young warrior fails to carry out orders and is punished

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King Rajadhirat erected a stockade at Kyat Le near Dala. From there he mounted the elephant sired by Hsin Ye and escorted by 1,000 troops en...

12. The elephant Bagamat's mahout refuses to do him harm

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On arriving back at his stockade, Rajadhirat summoned Nga Pyan, the former mahout of the elephant Bagamat. Rajadhirat knew that no other ele...

13. Preparations for war

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On Wednesday, the 4th waxing day of the moon in the month of Tagu, Rajadhirat readied himself for the coming battle by planning how the troo...

14. On the verge of battle at Dala, 1416

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When Prince Minyekyawswa learned that the Mons were preparing to lay siege to his stockade, he called together his ministers, and addressed ...

15. Prince Minyekyawswa's headlong charge

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Minyekyawswa's headlong charge separated him from the rest of his troops. The lord of Kale tried to catch up with him, but his elephant ...

16. The search for Minyekyawswa

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In the billowing dust raised by elephant hooves and the feet of men, Minyekyawswa seemed to have vanished. It was only after the third nigh...
Tuesday, January 01, 2008

Introduction to Rajadhirat translation

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To date the Rajadhirat epic has not received much attention either as a historical text or as literature. Only the Burmese version, the Raz...
Monday, December 10, 2007

Judson's Burmese dictionary free at Google books

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Judson 's Burmese to English dictionary, which is still the only dictionary that has some of the archaic vocabulary found in old Burmese...
Friday, April 27, 2007

Why not making Buddhism part of the Thai constitution may actually make Buddhism stronger

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Forest Recollections: Wandering Monks in Twentieth-Century Thailand . By Kamala Tiyavanich. University of Hawaii Press, 1977, xxi + 410 pa...
Thursday, April 26, 2007

John Strong on King Ashoka

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Collection of readings on King Ashoka This freely downloadable collection of readings on King Ashoka includes an article written by scholar...

John Strong's The Buddha, a biography

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John S. Strong. The Buddha: A Short Biography . Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2001. xv + 203 pp. Illustrations, tables, Sanskrit glossary, ...

Tai Lue script manuscript (NIU)

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Tai Lue manuscript for reading practice Just spotted a Tai Lue script manuscript that could be used for reading practice. Linguist John Hart...
Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Upakhut , Upagupta - Saint and Spirit

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Wonderful photographs of spirit and saint Upagupta or Upakhut at Australian National University 's New Mandala blog which offers a sho...
Monday, April 23, 2007

Inka (pre-modern macro-) Economics

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"A Network Analysis of Inka Roads, Administrative Centers, and Storage Facilities," by David Jenkins, University of Arizona, Ethno...
Thursday, April 12, 2007

The laws of King Mangrai as myth or history? (Kirsch)

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Thomas Kirsch review of: Wichienkeeo, Aroonrut and Gehan Wijeyewardene, translators and editors. The Laws of King Mangrai (Mangrayathammasar...