Influential factors in the design of religious monuments in ancient Bagan (original) (raw)
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Burmese Buddhist Imagery of the Early Bagan Period (1044 - 1113)
2006
Burmese Buddhist Imagery of the Early Bagan Period (1044 – 1113) Buddhism is an integral part of Burmese culture. While Buddhism has been practiced in Burma for around 1500 years and evidence of the religion is found throughout the country, nothing surpasses the concentration of Buddhist monuments found at Bagan. Bagan represents not only the beginnings of a unified Burmese country, but also symbolises Burmese 'ownership' of Theravada Buddhism. While there is an abundance of artistic material throughout Burma, the study of Burmese Buddhist art by western scholars remains in it infancy due to historical events. In recent years, opportunities for further research have increased, and Bagan, as the region of Buddhism's principal flowering in Burma, is the starting point for the study of Burmese Buddhist art. To date, there has been no systematic review of the stylistic or iconographic characteristics of the Buddhist images of this period. This thesis proposes, for the first ...
THE PYU: AN ANCIENT CIVILISATION OF UPPER MYANMAR
In the early first millennium, a civilisation based around large brick-walled cities began to emerge in Upper Myanmar. Known as the Pyu, this culture gained mastery over irrigation techniques at an early stage in its development. This allowed for increased agricultural production to support its burgeoning urban centres. Coupled with its adoption of the incoming religious currents of Buddhism, and to a lesser extent Hinduism, it rose to become the most prominent culture in the region for almost a thousand years. This essay traces its rise by exploring its art, architecture, and urban landscapes, focusing on the three main Pyu cities, Sri Ksetra, Beikthano, and Halin.
Research Article_ Open Access journal powered by Open Journal Systems_ e-ISSN 2586-8721 p-ISSN 1858-4101, 2019
The IRAW@Bagan project is aimed at developing an integrated socio-ecological history for residential patterning, agricultural practices and water management at the Classical Burmese (Bama) capital of Bagan, Myanmar (11th to 14th centuries CE). As part of this long-term research program investigations have been initiated in the Tuyin-Thetso uplands, located 11 km southeast of Bagan’s walled and moated epicenter. This mountainous area figures prominently in the chronicles of early Bagan, given that it was one of five places around the city that a royal white elephant carrying a Buddhist tooth-relic kneeled down, prompting King Anawrahta (1044- 1077 CE) to build a pagoda (i.e., temple) there. Numerous 13th century religious monuments were subsequently built on the Tuyin Range. Recent explorations in these uplands have drawn attention to an additional feature of historical significance, a rock-cut tank located along the eastern edge of the Thetso-Taung ridge. Referred to by local villagers as Nat Yekan (Spirit Lake), this reservoir appears to have been integral not only to the initial collection and subsequent redistribution of water across the Bagan plain via a series of interconnected canals and reservoirs, but also, through its associated iconographic imagery, it may have been intended to symbolically purify this water, enhancing its fertility prior to its flowing into the city’s peri-urban zone. Hydrological modelling, excavations, and both iconographic and epigraphic analysis are used to build a multilayered understanding of Nat Yekan’s economic, political, religious, and ideological significance during Bagan’s Classical era. Keywords: Myanmar, Bagan, Water, Ritual, Ideology
SPAFA Journal
The IRAW@Bagan project is aimed at developing an integrated socio-ecological history for residential patterning, agricultural practices, and water management at the classical Burmese (Bama) capital of Bagan, Myanmar (11th to 14th centuries CE). As part of this long-term research program investigations have been initiated in the Tuyin-Thetso uplands, located 11 km southeast of Bagan’s walled and moated epicenter. This mountainous area figures prominently in the chronicles of early Bagan, given that it was one of five places around the city that a royal white elephant carrying a Buddhist tooth-relic kneeled down, prompting King Anawrahta (1044-1077 CE) to build a pagoda (i.e., temple) there. Numerous 13th century religious monuments were subsequently built on the Tuyin Range. Recent explorations in these uplands have drawn attention to an additional feature of historical significance, a rock-cut tank located along the eastern edge of the Thetso-Taung ridge. Referred to by local villag...