lonely-planet-myanmar-burma-11-edition

HISTORY OR LEGEND?157A lack of primary sources means the ‘histories’ attached to Burma’s early kingdoms areoften a matter of opinion and creative interpretation. ‘The best way to treat any legendarystory is as a legend’, says Sydney University’s Dr Bob Hudson, an archaeologicalexpert on Myanmar. He points out that some contemporary scholars have quite differentinterpretations of the story of Bagan.‘Michael Aung-Thwin, in his book Mists of Rammana (University of Hawaii Press),proposes that there was no conquest of Thaton, and that a Mon element in the populationof Bagan got there because they had been pushed westward out of Thailand by theexpansionist kings of Angkor. The appearance of Indian art styles at Bagan also did notneed to come via Thaton. Following the conquest of Buddhist and Hindu principalities ineastern India by the image-shunning Muslims, the logical destination for an Indian artistwho specialised in painting or carving human figures was the economically booming anddevoutly Buddhist Bagan. The Indian art style became modified by local tastes and techniques,creating a distinctive Myanmar style.‘And the idea originally proposed by the 20th-century historian G H Luce, that theearly, dark temples represent the brooding nature of the captive Mon, while the laterhigh, airy temples show the outgoing nature of the Burmans, has an explanation thatrelies on architecture, not on imagined ethnic traits: the engineers of Bagan simply gotbetter over time at using the arch, which they had adopted from India, and thus couldbuild more spacious interiors.‘Doubt has also been cast on the tale of a Buddhist king of Bagan irreligiously tearingdown temples to build fortifications against the advancing Mongols. This is more likely a‘cautionary tale’ about the kinds of things that kings should never, never do. And while therewas certainly a Mongol invasion of the northern borders of the kingdom in the late 13thcentury, there is no real evidence that they attacked the capital. There is indeed a painting ofa Mongol archer on a pagoda wall at Bagan, but he is cheerfully shooting at a duck, while hissenior officer lounges under a tree. The provincial lords in the north, who actually did fightoff the Mongols, were so successful that, as the economy of Bagan deteriorated under theburden of temple construction, a new series of capitals slowly grew up around Mandalayand Ava. Bagan was not so much destroyed as relegated to the second division.‘Some of these interpretations remain contentious. You might find the discussions onsome of the Burma/Mon history websites highly entertaining, especially if you thoughtacademics are all full of reasoned arguments and civilised discourse!’Thought to have been built between 1090and 1105 by King Kyanzittha, this perfectlyproportioned temple heralds the stylisticend of the early Bagan period and the beginningof the middle period. In 1990, on its900th anniversary, the temple spires weregilded. The remainder of the temple exterioris whitewashed from time to time.The central square measures 58yd alongeach side. Upper floors are closed to visitors.The entranceways make the structure a perfectGreek cross; each entrance is crownedwith a stupa finial. The base and the terracesare decorated with 554 glazed tiles showingJataka scenes, thought to be derived fromMon texts. Look back as you enter to see thehuge carved teak doors that separate interiorhalls from cross passages on all four sides.Facing outward from the centre of thecube are four 31ft standing buddha statues.Only the Bagan-style images facing north andsouth are original; both display the dhammachakkamudra (a hand position symbolisingthe Buddha teaching his first sermon).The other two images are replacements forfigures destroyed by fire in the 1600s. All fourhave bodies of solid teak, though guides mayclaim the southern image is made of a bronzealloy. Guides like to point out that if you standby the donation box in front of the originalsouthern buddha, his face looks sad, whilefrom a distance he tends to look mirthful.The western and eastern standing buddhaimages are done in the later Konbaung, orMandalay, style. If looked at from the rightangle, the two lions at the eastern side resemblean ogre. A small, nut-like sphereheld between the thumb and middle fingerof the east-facing image is said to resemblea herbal pill, and may represent the buddhaTHE TEMPLES TEMPLESOF BAGAN NORTH PLAIN