NOTE ON A TOUR IN BURMA IN MARCH AND APRIL 1892, 
 
 BY 
 
 F. 0. OERTEL, a.r.i.b.a., f.s.a., Scot., Assistant Engineer on 
 Special Duty, P.W.D., N. W. P. and Oudh. 
 
 RANGOON : PRINTED BY THE SUPERINTENDENT, GOVERNMENT PRINTING, B.URMA. APRIL 1893. 
 
 [Price,— Re. o-io-o without photos] 
 
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NOTE ON A TOUR IN BURMA IN MARCH AND APRIL 1892 
 
 BY 
 
 F. O. OERTEL, a.r.i.b.a., f.s.a., Scot., Assistant Engineer on 
 Special Duty, P. W. D., N. W. P. and Oudh. 
 
 In the cold season of 1891-92 the Government of the North- Western Prov- 
 inces and Oudh deputed me to go on a tour in India for the purpose of making 
 architectural and archaeological studies. 
 
 As I had first to visit a number of places in Northern and Central India it 
 was unfortunately rather late in the season before I could start from Calcutta for 
 Burma ; a circumstance which not only obliged me to curtail and hurry my tour 
 there, but also occasionally prevented me from making full use of my time. 
 
 I had not been in Burma before and was greatly struck with the picturesque 
 scene on the Rangoon river as we steamed up on the morning of the 9th of March 
 1892. The quaint-looking Chinese junks and graceful Burmese river-boats with 
 their vast expanse of light sail and high ornamented stern — the light bamboo huts 
 on the banks, and occasional monastery with its gabled roof s and pinnacles — here 
 and there the graceful spire of a white Pagoda glistening in the sun — the Syriam 
 Pagoda conspicuous on the right and the magnificent Golden Pagoda of Rangoon 
 rising before us in gorgeous splendour — all combined to make up a+picture not 
 to be easily forgotten. 
 
 In Rangoon Mr. Taw Sein Ko, now the Burmese teacher at Cambridge and 
 then employed on special archaeological duty, kindly assisted me in drawing up 
 a list of the places containing the most characteristic indigenous Burmese archi- 
 tecture. I decided to visit as many places as possible in Burma proper and the 
 ancient Talaing kingdom of Pegu, as these two countries have always been closely 
 connected in their architectural and religious history. 
 
 Arakan I had to exclude from my list as its exploration would have taken up 
 too much time. The late Dr. Forchhammer has, moreover, already thoroughly 
 explored this part of the country and reported upon it. 
 
 My object was to study the characteristics of indigenous Burmese architec- 
 ture, and to trace to some extent its relation to the ancient Indian styles with 
 which I was familiar. With this object in view I visited the following places. 
 Starting from Rangoon I went to Upper Burma, beginning with Mandalay, 
 Amarapura and Sagaing, and proceeding from there down the Irrawaddy to Pagan 
 and Prome and then back to Rangoon. After this I made a tour in the Talaing 
 country, including the late capital of Pegu, and Syriam, as well as Moulmein, 
 Martaban, Thaton and some of the cave temples in the neighbourhood of Moul- 
 mein. I took but few notes at the time of visiting these places as I was not 
 required to furnish a special report of my Burma tour. I am therefore obliged to 
 write this memorandum almost entirely from. memory. 
 
 I may repeat here that I am only concerned now with indigenous Burmese 
 architecture, and not with the many fine buildings in European style which have 
 sprung up in the country since our occupation of it. 
 
 Burma has practically no buildings of any importance, antiquity or archi- 
 tectural pretensions, which are not connected with the religion of the country. 
 The only notable exception to this is the Royal Palace at Mandalay. Of Burmese 
 domestic architecture there is very little to say. This is no doubt due to the 
 sumptuary laws which in Burma have from ancient times restricted the use of all 
 durable building materials such as brick and stone masonry, and all architectural 
 adornments to religious and royal edifices. The people live now, as they pro- 
 bably always did, in single-storeyed huts, raised a few feet above the ground and 
 constructed of bamboo frame work with split bamboo floors and mat partitions. 
 A rough fence generally surrounds the house enclosing a small court-yard. 
 The richer people use teak posts and boarded partitions instead of bamboo. 
 
( 2 ) 
 
 The roof is thatched, tiled or in some cases covered with wooden shingles. Under 
 such circumstances there was of course no scope for any architectural elaboration. 
 There are three distinct types of buildings in Burma which may be classed 
 as follows : — 
 
 I. — Solid pagodas or topes enshrining relics, such as the Shwe Dagon 
 Pagoda, Rangoon. 
 II. — Ornamented wooden monasteries (pongyi kyaungs), including the 
 Royal Palace at Mandalay, rest-houses (sayats), wooden shrines 
 (tazaimgs), &c. 
 III. — Masonry temples, such as the " Ananda " and others, peculiar to 
 Pagan and other old sites in Upper Burma. 
 
 I.— Pagodas. 
 
 Of these three classes the first is the most interesting both from the num- 
 ber and importance of the buildings belonging to it, as from the fact that it 
 includes the major part of the most ancient remains in Burma. As we shall see 
 further on it is in most cases impossible to ascertain the exact age of these build- 
 ings, although it is possible that structures of this class were erected in Further 
 India as far back as King Asoka's time, namely, the middle of the 3rd century 
 B.C., as he is said to have sent missionaries to Thaton and is known to have been 
 a very keen builder. We cannot, however, expect to find any remains of an 
 earlier date, for even in India nothing has yet been discovered which can be 
 placed further back with any degree of certainty. 
 
 Burma is par excellence the country of pagodas : they are found everywhere 
 and are still being erected from one end of the country to the other of all sizes, 
 varying from a few feet in elevation to the colossal dimensions of the Shwe Dagon 
 Pagoda at Rangoon which rises to the noble height of about 370 feet. Their super- 
 abundance gives one an idea of the strong hold which Buddhism has on the country. 
 There is hardly an eminence which is not crowned with one or more of these 
 shrines bright with whitewash and guilding. They give in fact quite a character 
 and peculiar charm to the country occupying as they do the most striking and 
 picturesque positions. Coming down the Irrawaddy with its delightful scenery 
 and pagoda-studded hills lining the banks one cannot help recalling visions of the 
 Rhine with its ancient castles : but while these last are sombre and frowning the 
 pagodas of the Irrawaddy are gay and bright, — true creations of the sunny East. 
 
 The word " pagoda " is probably a corruption of the Sinhalese " dagaba " 
 which is derived from the two Sanskrit words dhdtu, a relic, and garbha, a 
 womb or shrine. It denotes the same class of buildings as are known in India 
 as topes or stupas, namely, relic shrines or solid masonry piles raised over relics 
 of Gautama or some Buddhist saint. The word is in some instances misapplied 
 to buildings not properly belonging to this class, eg., the Arakan Pagoda in Man- 
 dalay which contains the sacred Mahamuni image and should, therefore, be more 
 appropriately styled a temple. Again, the so-called Incomparable (Atftmashi) 
 Pagoda at Mandalay is not really a pagoda but a monastery or kyaung. In 
 these memoranda I shall strictly confine the term " pagoda" to the solid masonry 
 stupas (such as the Golden Pagoda, Rangoon) known as zedis by the Burmese. 
 
 General Fytche arranges the pagodas into four classes*: — 
 
 (1) Dattaw-zedis, or those containing supposed relics of a Buddhaf or 
 
 Rahanda. 
 
 (2) Paribauga-zedis, or those containing supposed implements or gar- 
 
 ments which have belonged to Buddhas or sacred personages. 
 
 (3) Dhamma-sedis, or those containing books or texts. 
 
 * See foot-note, page 165, Volume II of '• Burma. Past and Present." 
 
 t " Before attaining to the state of a Buddha Gautama passed through 550 different phases of existence, 
 the history of which is contained in the Jatakas, and, as Dr. Korchhammer has pointed out, the relics of Gaut- 
 ama are not necessarily those of his last human existence, but may be remnants of the many stages of ani- 
 mal life he had previously passed through. Thus the many bovine tooth-relics, ascribed to him, are 
 accounted for by his having been four times born as an ox or bull. The same applies to many other relics 
 both in India and Burma; later generations forgetting the original nature of the sacred remnants and the 
 tradition connected with them pronounced them to be relics of the body of Buddha in which he lived out his 
 last existence." 
 
( 3 ) 
 
 (4) Udeksa-zedis, or those built from motives of piety and containing 
 statutes of Buddha or models of sacred buildings. 
 
 The last two classes are by far the most numerous, as the erection of one of 
 these shrines is accounted a work of the greatest possible merit, the pious builder 
 gaining for himself the coveted title of a paydtagd, and with it the assurance of 
 future bliss and the approbation of his neighbours. 
 
 Most of the Burmese pagodas are constructed of brickwork covered with 
 stucco, though stone is also used, as in the case of the ancient laterite pagodas 
 of Thaton, but this is very rare, especially in modern examples. The outside is 
 usually whitewashed, and in the case of the richer pagodas gilt, either the whole 
 or only the spire. Gilding is quite a passion with the Burmese. Their most 
 sacred pagodas, images, and fiongyi kyaungs are all richly gilt. The worshippers at 
 the shrines are forever plastering new gold leaf over the old, until some of the more 
 sacred images are thickly coated with it much to the detriment of their features. 
 
 It is interesting to note how pagodas gradually grew in size from a humble 
 relic shrine to such noble monuments as, e.g., the Shwe Dagon Pagoda in Rangoon ; 
 for what we now see is by no means the original structure, but merely an outer 
 shell of comparatively recent date, being the last of a number of pagodas, one 
 built over the other. Probably the first pagoda, enshrining the original relics, 
 was quite a humble structure of small dimensions and of a very different shape 
 from the one we see now. A new and larger pagoda was erected over this, en- 
 casing the first, and the process repeated from time to time as long as pious per- 
 sons came forward to meet the expense in order to do further honour to the sacred 
 relics. At each new addition more relics and treasure were usually deposited, and 
 no doubt changes took place in the style of the buildings as time went on. 
 
 The great Buddhist chronicles of Ceylon, the Mahawanso, give a detailed 
 description of the gradual erection of the great Dagaba at Bintenne, near Kandy 
 in Ceylon, which illustrates the way in which all these great shrines have risen* — 
 
 " The chief of the Devos, Sumano, supplicated of the deity worthy of offerings 
 for an offering. The Vanquisher, passing his hand over his head, bestowed on him 
 a handful of his pure blue locks from the growing hair of the head. Receiving 
 and depositing it in a superb golden casket, on the spot where the divine teacher 
 had stood, he enshrined the lock in an emerald dagaba and bowed down in wor- 
 ship. The hero Sarabhu at the demise of the Supreme Buddha, receiving at his 
 funeral pile the thorax bone, brought and deposited it in that identical dagaba. 
 This inspired personage caused a dagaba to be erected 12 cubits high to enshrine 
 it and thereon departed. The younger brother of King Devenampiatisso (B. C. 
 259) having discovered this marvellous dagaba, constructed another encasing it, 
 30 cubits in height. King Duttagamini (B. C. 161) while residing there during 
 his subjugation of the Malabars, constructed a dagaba encasing that one 80 
 cubits in height," thus completing the Mahiyangana Dagaba. 
 
 It is this peculiar method of construction which makes it so difficult to study 
 the development of pagoda-building in Burma and to determine the original dates 
 of erection of these monuments, for the oldest and most interesting remains are 
 all hidden from view. It is only by breaking into the pagodas that we could real- 
 ly find out anything about them. This is of course impossible in the case of 
 those which are still revered and tended by the people. But there are some 
 ancient pagodas in out-of-the-way places which are quite neglected and where 
 there would be no objection to exploration. At Pagan especially there is a great 
 field for scientific investigation in this respect, and there can be no doubt that 
 this would settle many obscure and disputed points in the ancient history of 
 Burma. 
 
 The modern Burmese pagoda is unquestionably the direct lineal descendant 
 of the ancient Indian Buddhist stupas and through them of the sepulchral tumuli 
 of the Indo-Chinese or Turanian races, although it now bears no resemblance to 
 the low round mounds from which it originally sprang. We have, however, in 
 India and Ceylon a fairly complete series of topes and dagabas, dating from the 
 3rd century B.C. to about the time when Burmese architecture may be said to 
 begin with rise of Pagan in the 9th century A.D. The chain is continued in 
 
 * From Fergusson's Indian Architecture, page 58. 
 
( 4 ) 
 
 Burma up to the present day and we can therefore follow the evolution of the 
 pagoda through the immense period of over 2,000 years. 
 
 A few of the older forms of pagodas are given in Photographs Nos. 16, 20, 
 21 and 32, which unmistakably show their Indian origin, and in fact would hardly 
 cause any surprise if met with in India. It will be seen that these older forms 
 are much more massive and simple in outline. As time went on they became 
 more elaborate and slender, so much so that one can generally fairly accurately 
 judge of the modernness of a pagoda by the degree of attenuation it has attained. 
 The modern pagodas are all so alike in general appearance that one descrip- 
 tion will nearly suffice for all. A few well known examples are represented in 
 Photographs Nos. 6, 28 and 33. As will be seen they exhibit quaint slender 
 conical piles, the chief peculiarity of which is the inward curvature of the con- 
 tour on both sides. This form is opposed to the ordinarily accepted principles 
 of European osthetics and makes the structures look very weak. The Greeks, 
 our great masters in architecture, were especially careful to avoid anything like 
 an inward curve, so much so that even the lines which they intended to look 
 straight, as, e.g., the outlines of their columns and the horizontal lines of the en- 
 tableture, were always given a slight outward bulge, though not generally percep- 
 tible to the eye. 
 
 A comparison of a few of the accompanying photographs will, I think, make 
 my meaning clear. The Sule Pagoda, in Rangoon, Photograph No. 6, may be 
 taken as an example of the weak contour, so characteristic of the modern pagoda. 
 This will be at once apparent when it is compared with the simpler ancient form 
 of the Kaunghmudaw Pagoda, near Sagaing, No. 16, so massive and powerful. It 
 may be urged that the modern pagoda has gained in elegance what it has lost in 
 grandeur ; but the loss seems greater than the gain, and the result of all the ex- 
 cessive refining and elaborating is scarcely an improvement. In fact, I fear, that 
 the Burma pagoda style is well advanced on the downward path of decline and 
 is doomed to die a natural death, a fate which even architectural styles in 
 common with all things cannot escape. Probably the superior fascinations of 
 European art will prove too much for it and hasten its decay. In all parts of the 
 world this has been the case and Italian art is everywhere supplanting the indig- 
 enous styles with which it has been brought into contact. Signs are not wanting 
 to show that Burma will probably not escape this fate. An Italian arcade is 
 shown in Photograph No. 27 forming the front of a shrine in the sacred precincts 
 of the Shwemawdaw Pagoda in Pegu ; while cast iron columns, probably from Mac- 
 farlane's Foundry in Glasgow, support the roof of the tazaung'm Photograph No. 
 
 35- 
 
 Although the Burmese pagodas do not immediately take one's fancy, still it 
 
 must be confessed that they grow upon one as the eye becomes more accustomed 
 to their peculiar shape. It is not long before one learns to appreciate their refined 
 grace and owns to a charm which is no doubt partly due to the clear sky and 
 bright surroundings. Moreover, they do not all exhibit that weak contour which 
 I take to be a mark of very modern date ; the Shwezigon Pagoda, near Pagan, for 
 instance, Photograph No. 19, appears tome a much more substantial -looking and 
 pleasing form. It would be very interesting to ascertain the exact date when all 
 these pagodas assumed their present shape. As already stated it is almost im- 
 possible to discover the date of first erection of the ancient pagodas, but the time 
 of the last addition to the pile should not be difficult to determine and would be 
 valuable, as something definite to go upon. This should, I think, be made a special 
 point of enquiry in the official statistics which, I believe, are now being collected 
 about these buildings. 
 
 All the larger pagodas stand on a wide open platform on which various objects 
 and a number of buildings and sheds of different kinds are erected round the main 
 structure, such as smaller pagodas, shrines or tazaimg-pyathats, crowded with 
 images of Buddha rest-houses or zayats for the convenience of worshippers, altars 
 for lights, incense and flowers, bells of all sizes, flagstaffs carrying metalwork 
 crowns or tis, sacred birds and nats, drinking water stands or yeozins, and so 
 forth. All these numerous articles are placed there by pious donors who hope to 
 gain merit {kittho) by doing so. On the four sides of the pagoda, facing the cardinal 
 
( 5 ) 
 
 points, porchlike image shrines are usually erected. The entrances are generally 
 guarded by a couple of large grotesque lions, while the parapets, flanking the steps, 
 are sometimes formed into the image of dragons with scaly bodies and tails. 
 
 The pagoda itself can be usually divided into four distinct portions, all of 
 which have their counterparts in the ancient Indian stupa, from which they sprang, 
 namely : — 
 
 i. — A square masonry terrace, on which are generally placed a ring of 
 small pagodas surrounding the main one and taking the place of 
 the ancient Buddhist rail. Steps ordinarily lead up to this terrace 
 on the four sides. At the corners are frequently found the strange 
 winged human-headed lions with double bodies, known as man- 
 ussiha or " man lion" and recalling the ancient Assyrian winged 
 lions. At Pegu there are two such terraces with a double ring of 
 miniature pagodas. 
 
 2. — A high plinth of a boldly-moulded stepped contour, and generally of 
 elaborate polygonal form in plan, reminding one of the outlines 
 of Hindu temples. 
 
 3. — The bell-shaped body of the pagoda, divided into two portions by an 
 ornamental band. 
 
 4. — The spire, consisting of a number of rings ; a lotus leaf band with 
 a bead moulding in the centre and leaves above and below, point- 
 ing in opposite directions ; a terminal carrot-shaped cone sur- 
 mounted by the gilt metal work crown or ti, indicating the 
 sanctity of the building. The ti or umbrella is made of pierced 
 ironwork, generally of beautiful design and richly gilt. It consists 
 of several rings rising in diminishing stages and finished off with 
 a long iron rod, the appearance being something like the Pope's 
 tiara or triple crown. Small bells are usually hung to these rings 
 which tinkle sweetly with every movement of the air. 
 
 The portions 3 and 4 above are no doubt the modern representatives of the 
 hemispherical body and masonry ti of the ancient stupa. They are generally 
 circular in form, an exception being the Sule Pagoda, Rangoon, which is octagonal 
 throughout. 
 
 II.— Monasteries or Pongyi Kyaungs. 
 
 Next to the pagodas the monasteries or pongyi kyaungs are the most numer- 
 ous and characteristic buildings in Burma. Being, however, entirely constructed 
 of woodwork they are neither of any antiquity nor of special architectural value, 
 for the material does not admit of the solidity and grandeur so essential to the 
 higher class of architectural effect. Moreover, the Burmese have fallen into the 
 error of excessive and extravagant ornamentation, a fault which the use of a sub- 
 stance so easily carved would naturally lead them into. The result is that these 
 buildings, though sometimes very pretty, are entirely lacking in dignity and repose, 
 and leave a confused and unsatisfactory impression on the mind. One of the finest 
 pongyi kyaungs is that of Queen Supyalat at Mandalay, properly called the 
 Myadaung kyaung, shown in Photograph No. 1 2, which exhibits all the beauties 
 as well as defects of the style. The light pavilions with their profusion of gabled 
 roofs and the graceful spire rising in diminishing stages make a very pleasing- 
 group of most picturesque outline, though somewhat bewildering to the eye from 
 the wealth of ornamentation lavished on gables, ridges, eaves, finials and balus- 
 trade. 
 
 The pongyi kyaungs are generally erected for the sake of quietude at a little 
 distance from the lay buildings and if possible in the shade of a clump of trees. 
 Every village has its little monastery while the neighbourhood of the larger cities 
 is crowded with them. The finest specimens were at Mandalay, but unfortunately 
 many of them have been destroyed during the great fire which took place there at 
 the end of last March, a few days after I had left the place. They are never very 
 large being only intended to accommodate three or four monks or pongyis with 
 their superior or saya, besides a few novices and lay scholars. But several of these 
 
( 6 ) 
 
 establishments are frequently placed in the same enclosure together with sub- 
 sidiary buildings, such as galleries for walking exercise, shrines or tazaungs, rest- 
 houses or zayats, ordination halls or theins, canopied wells and drinking stands 
 (yeozins). 
 
 As the Photograph No. 12 shows, each pongyi kyaung consists of several 
 wooden pavilions connected together and standing on an oblong, wooden platform 
 raised on teak posts some 8 or 10 feet above the ground, with a gallery and balus- 
 trade all round. A few flights of steps leading up to this platform and a low wall 
 surrounding the whole form the only brickwork about the building, the rest is all of 
 teakwood. Huge posts made of entire trees support the roof dividing the rooms 
 into a centre portion with an aisle all round, the ceiling of the centre being higher 
 and flat while the surrounding aisles have a sloping ceiling at a lower level. The 
 floors and roofs are boarded and the walls, partitions, and ceilings panelled. 
 
 Most pongyi kyaungs are erected on a uniform plan with only four rooms, one 
 containing a seated image of Buddha {see Photograph No. 15), another reserved 
 as a state room for the superior, a general living room for the pongyis and a 
 school -room. Though outwardly presenting the appearance of several storeys 
 they are in reality never more than one storey high, as the Burman strongly objects 
 to have anybody's feet over his head. The open pillared hall underneath is for 
 this reason, never utilized, except as a playground by the school-boys who have not 
 yet arrived at any notions of personal dignity. 
 
 The most characteristic feature of the pongyi kyaung is the py at hat or many- 
 storeyed spire which, like the umbrella, was a mark of great distinction and religi- 
 ous sanctity. The pyathat has either 3, 5 or 7 roofs according to the dignity of 
 the building to which it is attached. It was only used for Royal Palaces and mo- 
 nasteries, and occasionally, though rarely, in the private residences of a few of the 
 highest officials by special permission of the King. At one time the sumptuary 
 laws in Burma determined for everybody what sort of house to live in, what to 
 wear, and what furniture to have, as also whether an umbrella of a certain colour 
 or a pyathat of a fixed number of roofs could be used. 
 
 In addition to the carved ornaments the wooden buildings are frequently 
 richly covered inside and out with red paint, lacquer and gilding, as well as with 
 tinsel work and a sort of coloured glass mosaic reminding one of the Indian shish 
 or mirror-work to be seen in the Shishmahals of Agra and Lahore. This gives 
 them an appearance of barbaric splendour which, however, even at its best, must 
 have looked tawdry to the European eye. 
 
 The wood carving which covers the buildings in such profusion is generally 
 of superior execution and finish, and the figure carving of nats, bilas and human 
 beings often very successful, in good proportion and full of spirit and action. I 
 may instance the group of figures surrounding the balustrade of the monastery 
 near the court-house at Pagan, representing scenes from domestic life and the 
 remarkable figures of the " four visions " of Buddha from the South Pagoda at 
 Moulmein, shown in my Photograph No. 34. 
 
 Photograph No. 26 is interesting as exhibiting the unornamented structure of 
 a wooden tazaung with pyathat. In the finished buildings it is ordinarily difficult 
 to trace the structural features owing to the superabundance of ornamentation. 
 In Photograph No. 7 is a brickwork tazaung pyathat, in which the wooden forms 
 above described are imitated in elaborate stucco. How faithful a copy it is can 
 be seen by comparing it with the wooden pyathat shown in the same view in the 
 back ground. This class of brick buildings is not uncommon, and I need hardly 
 say that it shows a great want of artistic taste to use the forms suitable to one 
 material in another to which they are absolutely unsuited. The slightest touch 
 will break off the elaborate plaster ornamentation and the building will soon be 
 in a very dilapidated condition. Views of the Royal Palace at Mandalay and of a 
 rest-house or zayat are given in Photographs Nos. 13 and 17 which exhibit exactly 
 the same style. This Burmese monastery style so strongly resembles that of he 
 wooden temples of Nepaul that there can be little doubt of their having a common 
 origin, and it is very probable that the general form and the character of some of 
 the ornamentation is derived from Tibet ; but we know so little of the build- 
 ings of that country that it is impossible to speak with certainty. 
 
( 7 ) 
 
 Although all the monastic buildings in Burma ate> as I have pointed out above, 
 necessarily modern in date still they are interesting, as they have probably carried 
 on to some extent at least the traditional forms of the ancient wooden architecture 
 which preceded the stone buildings of India, Assyria, and other countries, and should 
 help us to realize the descriptions of the temple of Solomon built of the cedars of 
 Lebanon and the ancient wooden palaces of Ninevah 
 
 III. — Masonry Temples of Pagan. 
 In this class are included the large square brick temples, such as the Ananda, 
 the Thapinya, the Gaudapalin and many more, peculiar to Pagan, the character- 
 istics of which have been so fully described by Colonel Yule in his " Mission to 
 Ava in 1855." They were constructed to contain large images of Buddha and rise 
 up in gradually diminishing terraces finished off on top with a bulging spire, exactly 
 like the sikras of Hindu or Jaina temples in Northern India. They are mostly large 
 structures, some of which attain a height of nearly 200 feet. The Thapinya has 
 cnly one cell in the centre of the building right under the sikra, while the Ananda 
 has four, with large standing images of the four Buddhas of the present world- 
 cycle or kalpa, facing the cardinal points. 
 
 Pagan was the capital of Burma from the middle of the 9th to the end of 
 the 13th century A.D., and all the great religious buildings there were, 
 according to Phayre,* erected between the years A.D. 1057 and 1227. The 
 square temples of Pagan are almost unique in their way and are found scarcely any- 
 where else. We know nothing of the original source from which their general 
 design was derived, though some of the details are traceable to India and Ceylon. 
 The bulging spire or sikra is apparently derived from Northern India and probably 
 from Behar or Magadhadesa, which we know to have been in communication 
 with Burma at that time. 
 
 Temples, in the strict sense of the word, seem to have been rare in Buddhist 
 countries, at least in earlier times. The only Buddhist structure of this kind 
 still extant in India is the celebrated temple at Buddha Gaya, believed to be 
 erected about A.D. 500 and a copy of which is to be found at Pagan, see Photo- 
 graph No. 24. The adoration of images of Buddha does not appear to have been 
 part of the original ceremonial, if we may judge from the fact that no representa- 
 tions of Buddha are found on the earliest extant Buddhist sculptures. It is very 
 probable that the general use of images and the subsequent erection of temples 
 was not introduced till some time after the Christian era. At present, however, 
 Burma abounds with images of Gautamaf and Mandalay is a great place for their 
 manufacture. They are ordinarily made of brass, alabaster and wood ; or, in the 
 case of the larger ones, of brick and plaster. The brass images are cast in one 
 piece on top of a clay core moulded to the shape of the image. This core is 
 covered first with a layer of bees-wax of the intended thickness of the metal and 
 over this again comes a thick outer layer of clay mixed with chopped straw. The 
 molten metal is then poured in through a series of holes taking the place of the 
 bees-wax which it melts and which is allowed to flow out at the bottom. 
 
 There are three kinds of Gautama images in Burma, of which the first is by 
 far the most numerous, namely : — 
 
 (1) Seated images, called by the Burmese tinbingni, in which Gautama 
 is represented sitting cross-legged with left hand open on his 
 lap and the right hand resting on his right knee and pointing 
 downwards, see Photograph No. 15. This is the conventional 
 attitude of Gautama sitting in meditation under the Bodhi-tree 
 {ficus religiosa), when he attained to Buddhaship or supreme 
 wisdom. The original of this class of images is probably the 
 one which once stood in the temple at Buddha Gaya, a temple 
 erected near the very pipal tree under which Buddha is said to 
 have received his divine enlightenment. The oldest and most 
 
 * See Phayre's History, page 51. 
 t "The word Buddha, meaning the Enlightened, is not properly speaking a name but a title, like Christ 
 the Anointed, or Mahomed the Praised. Gautama is the name by which the last Buddha is usually known 
 to the Southern Buddhists of Burma, Ceylon, Siam and Anam. and Sakya-Muni, the Sakya Sage, is the 
 name by which he is known to the Northern Buddhists of China, Japan, Tibet and Nepaul." See foot-note, 
 page 2. 
 

 ( 8 ) 
 
 sacred of this class of images in Burma is the Mahamuni image 
 in the Arakan temple near Mandalay, which is said to have been 
 cast under Buddha's personal supervision. 
 
 (2) Standing images, called mayattaw, representing Buddha in the 
 attitude of teaching, with the right hand raised ; to which class 
 the huge images in the Ananda temple belong. This class of 
 images is far less common. 
 
 (3) Recumbent images, known as shinbinthdyaung, of the conventional 
 attitude of Buddha at his death, when he attained to the blissful 
 state of nirvana or nekban. In these images Gautama is shown 
 resting on his right side, the head supported on the right hand, 
 while the left arm is lying at full length on his left leg, which is 
 crossed over the right leg. An example of this is the colossal 
 figure, 181 feet long, near Pegu, represented in Photograph No. 
 29. These images are also far from common. 
 
 These are the only types of the modern figures of Gautama found in Burma, and 
 the conventional attitude of these images never varies. The face is usually well- 
 formed, of a calm and dignified expression, especially in the older images ; the 
 quite modern ones have not unfrequently a disagreeable simpering cast of features. 
 The lobes of the ears are long, reaching down to the shoulders in the modern speci- 
 mens. The hair is tied in a knot on top of the head and represented in peculiar 
 little curls or points all close together, and somewhat resembling the rough exterior 
 of a jack-fruit. The images are of all sizes from a few inches high to the colossal 
 dimensions of the brick-figures at Pegu and elsewhere, the standing and seated 
 images reaching a height of about 90 feet, while the colossal recumbent image, 
 just referred to, is actually double that in length. From the curly hair and thick 
 lips of the ordinary type of images it has been conjectured by some that 
 Gautama Buddha must have been of African extraction, but this is by no means 
 borne out by some of the earlier Buddhist images in India, as, e.g., some of the 
 Gaudhara sculptures, at present in the Lahore Museum, the classic features of 
 which have neither thick lips nor curly hair. 
 
 Near Mandalay there is a large image-temple, to which I have already refer- 
 red as the Arakan temple, containing the famous Mahamuni image, which was 
 carried off from Arakan by King Bodawpaya in A.D. 1 784. The present temple is 
 of the wooden monastery type and need not, therefore, have been mentioned here. 
 It is, however, intended to replace it by a more substantial brick building of a 
 similar style to the old Pagan temples. Large sums of money have already been 
 collected for this purpose and two designs are on exhibition at the temple, one of 
 which has been selected by the trustees. The design is pleasing, but has, as far 
 as I remember, unfortunately a lower arcade in a sort of debased Italian style. 
 As this temple is to contain the most sacred image in Burma, and a large sum 
 of money is to be spent on it, it would be most desirable, if the trustees could be 
 induced to adhere throughout to their own national style of architecture, as found 
 in the Ananda and similar temples at Pagan. They would do well, if they sent 
 their architect to study the details of this style on the spot. 
 
 1 will now proceed to give a few notes of particular places and buildings 
 visited on my tour. 
 
 Rangoon. 
 
 This town was previously known as Dagon in Taking history. The 
 present port was founded by Alompra in A. D. 1755, who repaired the Shwe Da- 
 gon Pagoda and named the place Rangoon (End-of-t he-war) to commemorate his 
 subjugation of the Takings. But it was a small town until it was occupied by 
 the British in 1852, who raised it to its present commercial importance. 
 
 The most ancient and magnificent building in Rangoon is the Shwe Dagon 
 Pagoda, a distant view of which is given in Photograph No. 1. This is the most 
 revered of all the Buddhist shrines in the Further East, its peculiar sanctity arising 
 from the tradition of its containing relics of all the four Buddhas who have 
 appeared in our present kalpa, namely, the staff of Kakasanpa, the water-dipper 
 of Konagamana, the bathing-garment of Kasyapa, and eight hairs from the head 
 
 
( 9 ) 
 
 of Gautama. The age of the pagoda is unknown. It is fabled to have been 
 erected during tne lifetime of Buddha or about 500 B. C, but this is impossible. 
 It is, however, pretty certain that it assumed its present form during the repairs by 
 Sinbyuyin about 1775. A view of the south entrance, the'most important,* with 
 the long flight of steps leading up the hill, on which the pagoda stands, is shown in 
 Photograph No. 2. A couple of enormous brick lion images, over 30 feet high, 
 guard the approach, behind which are two seated bilus or demons, and behind 
 these again two small niche-shrines with standing images of Buddha. The gate 
 has a semi-circular arch, with the royal signs of the sun (a peacock) and the moon 
 (a hare) in the spandrils, and surrounded by a stucco representation of the bliss- 
 ful seats of the nats on Mount Meru. The long assent of worn steps is covered 
 in by a pillared wooden gallery with a high central passage and two narrower 
 side aisles, in which pagoda slaves and others expose various articles for sale in- 
 tended for offerings at the shrine, such as sweetmeats, fruit, flowers, wax-candles, 
 ► gold-leaf, inscribed paper flags, earthern-oil lamps, incense and scented wood. 
 These pagoda slaves, or payd-kywon, belong to a peculiar class of outcasts in 
 Burma, who are the regular servitors at the pagodas, and receive all the food 
 offerings. They are the descendants of criminals and captives of war who have 
 been dedicated by the King to the service of the pagoda in perpetuity, and are 
 held in very low estimation by the people. No priests are ever in attendance 
 upon a pagoda, which is entirely in the care and under the management of the 
 elders of the town, forming a committee of trustees consisting, in the case of the 
 Shwe Dagon pagoda, of six leading citizens of Rangoon. The income of this 
 shrine during the year 1 891 , derived from money gifts and the sale of valuable 
 offerings, amounted to something over Rs. 52,000. It is curious to note that 
 the caretakers or chaukidars, appointed by the trustees, are all Hindus from 
 India and not Burmans, the reason being probably that the pagoda slaves cannot 
 be trusted and Burmans will not take pagoda service. 
 
 The stairs lead on to a large paved platform 160 feet above the surround- 
 ing country and 900 feet long by 680 feet wide. In the centre of this, from a 
 high masonry terrace, rises the sacred pile to the noble height of nearly 370 feet, 
 richly gilt from top to bottom. A multitude of miniature pagodas encircle it, 
 and it is surmounted by a richly jewelled, gilt metal ti of priceless value which 
 was presented in 187 1 by King Mindon. Each ring of the ti is hung with 
 numerous jewelled bells of silver and gold. A mass of images of all varieties, in 
 brass, wood, alabaster, and brickwork, dimmed with the smoke of countless wax- 
 lights and candles, are crowded together in the four chapels at the base of 
 pagoda. Brick lions and- manussihas keep guard at the foot of the pile, 
 facing which are a multitude of stone altars and alms bowls, supported on 
 elephants and kneeling figures of worshippers. The outer edge of the paved 
 court is crowded with a host of pagodas of all sizes, image houses of wood and 
 brickwork, sacred flagstaffs, rest-houses, and library and treasury buildings. In- 
 terspersed between them are numerous bells suspended to sturdy cross beams. 
 The finest among these is the Mahaganda, erected under a wooden shed on the 
 eastern side of the court-yard, and shown in Photograph No. 3. It was present- 
 ed by King Tharawadi and weighs 42 tons. It is 14 feet high and 7^ feet across 
 the rim. The Burmese have a remarkable love of bells and gongs, and are very 
 clever at casting them, the smaller bells, in particular, being frequently very 
 artistic in design. There is a monster bell at Mingun, 9 miles above Manda- 
 lay on the right bank of the river, cast in 1 796 and 90 tons in weight, which is 
 said to be the largest in the world with exception of the great bell at Moscow. 
 It will be seen from the photograph referred to, that the Burmese bells are 
 slightly . different from the usual European shape, as they do not widen out as 
 much at the rim. They have moreover no tongue, but are struck on the outside 
 of the rim with a staghorn or wooden club, several of which lie always ready for 
 use near the bell. 
 
 The next photograph, No. 4, exhibits a very interesting group of nat and 
 bilu figures surrounding the base of a flagstaff or tagdndaing. These sacred 
 poles are commonly found near pagodas and carry images of sacred birds, devas, 
 
 * The main entrance is generally on the east side. 
 
( io ) 
 
 and its or umbrellas. Two very fine specimens of these tis or metal umbrellas 
 are shown in Photograph No. 5. These were presented by Shan worshippers, 
 and are of gilt iron screen-work of very beautiful design. 
 
 Another remarkable pagoda at Rangoon is the Sule Pagoda, Photograph 
 No. 6, which is much smaller than the Shwe Dagon, but is interesting as being 
 octagonal in shape, instead of round, which is very unusual. It is said to be as 
 old as the Shwe Dagon Pagoda, but its present form is quite recent date, as may 
 be judged from the very slender outline. 
 
 With the exception of these two pagodas, there is little of architectural and 
 archaeological value in Rangoon. I have given photographs of a few bas reliefs 
 and terra-cotta panels at the Phayre Museum, see Photographs Nos. 9, 10 and 
 11. These represent almost all there is in the museum of Burmese art and 
 antiquity, which is greatly to be regretted, as it would be easy to make very 
 valuable collections, and many of the most precious antiquities are fast being lost 
 or removed from the country. All the district officials should, I think, be 
 strongly encouraged to send portable objects of interest to the museum, such as 
 inscriptions, old manuscripts, ancient sculptures and terra cottas, as well as other 
 articles illustrative of the history and arts of the various races in Burma and the 
 adjoining countries. I would strongly urge that such measures be taken without 
 delay, for it is a matter of common knowledge that all sorts of most valuable an- 
 tiquities are sent out of the country every day and find their way into drawing- 
 rooms and ladies' boudoirs where their value for scientific purposes is entirely 
 lost. The present accommodation in the Phayre Museum appears, however, to 
 be very limited and it will no doubt be found necessary to add to it if it is to 
 serve a useful purpose. As the chief city of the only Indo-Chinese country 
 country under British rule Rangoon should have a particularly good museum. 
 Care must, however, be taken that all the objects in it are properly marked with 
 the exact locality they come from and such other information as may be known 
 about them. Without this they are practically useless. This has unfortunately 
 not been done in the case of many of the archaeological exhibits in the museum 
 and it will now be difficult if not impossible to obtain this information. It is not 
 known for instance where the interesting figure panels in Photographs Nos. 9 and 
 10 come from, and some specimens of Gandhara sculptures, which have been 
 no doubt received from the Lahore Museum, are also unmarked and might be 
 Burmese for all one can tell. Wherever possible the name of the locality should 
 be at once marked on the specimens before they are sent into the museum so 
 that they cannot be mixed up afterwards. 
 
 A few days after landing in Rangoon I witnessed a very curious ceremony, 
 namely, apongyi byan, or the cremation oia.rahan (lit. perfect) or senior monk who 
 stood in repute of great learning and sanctity. The body had been kept 
 embalmed at the monastery for nearly a year, while money was being collected to 
 meet the expenses of a suitable funeral. The occasion was made one of great 
 rejoicing, for had not the saintly man gained the reward of a spotless life and 
 entered upon nirvana, an existence of eternal bliss ? The preparations had been 
 going on for some days and multitudes had collected from all parts in their holi- 
 day attire, bright with the gayest colours, to witness the goodly sight ; while 
 booths and tents were pitched on the plain in which hospitality was freely dis- 
 pensed to all comers. The gilt coffin rested on a car under a gay tinsel canopy 
 surmounted by the sacred seven-storyed spire or py at hat. Ropes were attached 
 to both sides of the car and a great tug-of-war took place ; every body striving 
 amidst shouts and laughter to gain the honour of pulling the body to the funeral 
 pyre. There were apparently no fixed rules as to which side to take; everybody 
 rushed in to help the weaker, till all were tired out with the merry contest ; and 
 the coffin was raised on its final resting-place under the sacred tinsel spire on 
 a high platform piled round with combustibles. This was fired by discharging 
 huge rockets at it from distant points, and the falling of badly aimed missiles 
 among the crowd gave fresh cause for merriment. It was indeed a strangely gay 
 and theatrical scene, very different from our European notions of an impressive 
 funeral. Buddhism has been styled the " religion of despair," but sights like this 
 give by no means the impression of a gloomy view of the future state; on the 
 
( II ) 
 
 contrary nirvana appears to be an existence of the highest bliss, free from all pas- 
 sion and care and of the purest spiritual enjoyment. It must, however, be owned 
 that the average Burman does not immediately look forward to nirvana. His 
 aspirations do not soar so high and he hopes to first join the throng of happy 
 nats* or spirits who dwell on Mount Meru, exempt from all cares and bodily ills, 
 in a ceaseless round of sensual pleasures. 
 
 What struck me most on this occasion were the subjects of the paintings 
 adorning the tinsel pavilions. Besides scenes from the Jatakas or Legends of 
 Gautama the artists had given vivid representations of the horrors of Buddhist 
 hell, where hideous devils with pitchforks are tossing the unfortunate victims 
 about in hell-fire or flaying them alive : while dogs, birds, and loathsome maggots 
 feed on their ever-renewed flesh ; and poor fishermen, guilty of the heinous offence 
 of taking life, are dangling over leaping flames, suspended by hooks through their 
 upper lip. But what appeared to me most interesting, were scenes from the great 
 Sanskrit epic the Ramayana, in which Rama and Sita and the popular monkey 
 leader Hanuman, as well as Ravanaand his host of rakshasas or bilus could easily 
 be recognized although in Burmese guise. It is noteworthy that in Burma, in a 
 strictly Buddhist ceremonial, these episodes from Hindu mythology should have 
 found a place, and it would seem to show that even now the Burman has not yet 
 lost all remembrance of the older religious system which preceded Buddhism in 
 Burma as well as India. 
 
 MANDALAY. 
 
 From Rangoon I proceeded by rail to Mandalay in Upper Burma, which is 
 situated on the left bank of the Irrawaddy, two miles away from the river. The 
 capital was removed here from Amarapura, some six miles to the south, by 
 Mindon Min, the father of King Thebaw, in i860, so that the town is now but 
 little over 30 years old. It was occupied by the British in November 1885. 
 
 With the exception of the pagoda on Mandalay hill and some of the Taw- 
 gyaung structures at the south-west corner of the palace, all the buildings in Man- 
 dalay have been erected since 1858, when the construction of the fort and palace 
 were commenced. However, many of them are very interesting, not only from 
 their intrinsic beauty and their connection with the late Royal family, but also in- 
 asmuch as they doubtlessly carry on the traditional features of the older styles. 
 
 The town was laid out on the ancient plan of Indo-Chinese capitals, as found 
 at Amarapura and Ava, and at the older capitals of Upper and Lower Pagan, 
 Prome, Pegu and Thaton, as far as one can judge from descriptions and remains. 
 This plan consists of a number of squares, one within the other, facing the cardi- 
 nal points. In the very centre is the palace square, next the fortified square 
 citadel, and about this the town, which again is sometimes, though not in the case 
 of Mandalay, surrounded by outer defences in the form of a square. The main 
 roads run in straight lines, due north and south or east and west, thus crossing 
 each other at right angles. At Mandalay the portion of the town within the fort 
 or citadel walls was formerly known as the " city " and contained the houses and 
 huts of the nobles and their followers, as well as quarters for troops and the vari- 
 ous hangers on about the King's Court. All these buildings have now been 
 cleared away to make room for the cantonment. A battled brick wall and a deep 
 moat still surround the fort as before. The wall is about 9 furlongs long 
 on each side, 24 feet high and 3 feet thick, backed inside by an earthen rampart, 
 and protected by a number of projecting square bastions, surmounted by grace- 
 ful five-storyed pyathats or watchtowers of the ordinary type. There are 12 gates 
 through the fort wall, three on each side, equally spaced. 
 
 In front of each gate stands the wooden image of a guardian nat, and a 
 massive teak post, bearing the name and sign of the gate. It is under or near these 
 posts that the bodies of the unfortunate victims rest, who are said to have been 
 
 * According to Buddhist theology there are 31 seats or abodes, through which a being must advance to 
 reach final beatitude in Nirvana : namely, 4 seats of punishment, the first of which is hell and the last animal 
 life ; 1 of trial, the human life ; 6 of nats (spirits or angels) ; 16 seats of rupa, where only enjoyments of a 
 refined and spiritual nature are participated in ; and, finally, 4 seats of arupa for beings entirely freed from 
 all attachment to matter and given up to spiritual contemplation. See " Bigandet's Life of Gaudama," p. 5. 
 
( 12 ) 
 
 buried alive in order that their spirits or nat-thens might watch over the gate and 
 keep out evil-intentioned people. The moat is crossed by five wooden bridges, 
 namely, one in the middle of each side and an extra one on the west or river face 
 opposite the south-west gate which was formerly reserved for funeral processions. 
 
 Exactly in the centre of the Fort stands the Royal palace or Nandaw. I 
 have attached a plan of it to a scale of 200 feet to the inch, which was prepared 
 in 1887 by the Intelligence Branch Office, and shows the disposition of the palace 
 buildings as they were when we took possession of them in November 1885. As 
 will be seen the plan exhibits a square fortified enclosure somewhat over three 
 furlongs long, defended by an outer palisade of teak posts 20 feet high and an 
 inner brick wall, with an open esplanade of about 60 feet width between them 
 running all round. This walled square was cut up into numerous courts sur- 
 rounded by high walls, and in the very centre, to make it as secure as possible, 
 was an inner enclosure containing the palace. The late kings were in constant 
 dread of treachery and hardly ever dared to leave the palace, the loss of which 
 practically meant the loss of the whole kingdom. To the north and south of the 
 " Inner Palace Enclosure " are two large walled-in gardens containing royal pavi- 
 lions, and laid out with canals, artificial lakes and grottoes, very different from the 
 usual stiff oriental plan and no doubt designed by the Italians in Mindon Min's 
 service. The outer stockade and all the brick walls have now been removed, as 
 also many of the minor structures ; the chief palace buildings, however, are still 
 standing though in many instances sadly out of repair. 
 
 Four strongly guarded gates led through the outer defences, the main entrance 
 being through the eastern one. The large gates were only opened for the king, 
 all other people had to squeeze through the tagdni or red postern at the side, 
 which obliged them to bow lowly, as they drew near the Royal precincts. Enter- 
 ing the eastern gate, which is still standing, one had to cross a large outer court, 
 extending along the whole of that side and about 425 feet wide. This is styled 
 the " Eastern Enclosure " on the plan and contained a number of subsidiary 
 buildings, such as the armoury, printing press, mint, post office, quarters for ser- 
 vants and the guard, the Royal Monastery, King Mindon's Mausoleum and the 
 houses of a few of the highest officials. Beyond this was another spacious court 
 in front of the palace, about 1,100 feet long and 330 feet wide, entered on the plan 
 as the " Outer Palace Enclosure," at the northern end of which races and various 
 sports on horseback used to take place before the King. In the centre of this 
 Court, straight in front, stands the Great Audience Hall : I on plan), projecting 
 out boldly from the face of the palace with which it is connected at the back. 
 The private part of the palace is behind this on an elevated oblong platform some 
 8 or 10 feet high, in an inner enclosure, which was entered through two jealously 
 guarded gates on both sides of the Great Audience Hall. At the western end of 
 palace platform is a Private Audience Hall with the Lily Throne (VIII on plan) 
 where ladies were received, and between these two audience halls are numerous 
 wooden pavilions, formerly occupied by the various queens and princesses, as 
 shown in detail on the plan. The general arrangement reminds one very much of 
 the old Moghul palaces at Delhi and Agra, with the Public Audience Hall or 
 Diwan-i-am, standing in a vast court where tournaments used to be held, and the 
 private part of the palace immediately behind, containing the Diwan-i-khas or 
 Private Audience Hall, besides various garden and other courts. Of course the 
 style of the buildings is entirely different, nor is the same amount of seclusion for 
 the women's apartments observed in Burma. The Great Audience Hall in the 
 Mandalay Palace or Yondaw is a long columned building extending along the 
 eastern front of the palace, and has steps leading up to the platform in front of it 
 at the foot of which the English Resident had to leave his boots before proceed- 
 ing into the presence of the king. The great throne called the ' Lion Throne,' 
 stands at the back of a western transept opening into the centre of the hall. It 
 is approached by steps from behind, as in the case of the thrones in the Diwan-i- 
 am at Agra and Delhi, through a folding door of gilt iron screen-work. In shape 
 it is like the ordinary pedestals attached to images of Buddha, narrowing 
 in at the centre and expanding above and below. The niche or doorway 
 behind it is in the characteristic Burmese flamboyant style, with peculiar 
 
( r 3 ) 
 
 horn-like ornaments, the whole richly covered with gilding and glass mosaic. 
 Over the Lion Throne rises the high seven-storeyed gilded spire or shwepyathat, 
 the external emblem of royalty, to which loyal Burmans had to shikho in the 
 dust on approaching the sacred precincts of the court. The Burmans used to 
 call this spire the " Centre of the Universe," arguing with true national arrogance, 
 that it is the centre of Mandalay, which is the centre of Burma, and hence of the 
 Universe. A view of it is given in Photograph No. 13, from which it will be seen 
 that it is a very striking and pleasing feature of the palace buildings, grouping well 
 with the gabled roofs clustering round it. The view also shows that the style of 
 the buildings is exactly the same as that of the wooden monasteries already de- 
 scribed, and a specimen of which is given in the previous photograph, No. 12. 
 All the palace buildings are of this type, single-storeyed and elaborately carved, 
 and in the case of the audience halls and reception and throne rooms richly 
 decorated with red paint, gilding, and glass mosaic. The pavilions in which 
 the various queens and princesses lived are raised on posts 3 or 4 feet above 
 the platform, while the more public buildings are either level with the platform 
 or have a very low plinth. In Photograph No. 14 is given a copy of a plan 
 originally prepared by Mindon Min's Architect for the buildings of the palace 
 proper. The design has not been strictly followed, but is interesting as 
 showing what was considered necessary. The original of this plan is in the 
 possession of Major R. C. Temple, who also kindly supplied me with the plan 
 of the palace and stockade, prepared in 1887, hereto appended. A plan of the 
 whole palace square, as it stood in the late king's time, showing the exact dis- 
 position of the buildings, with detailed references and full descriptions, would be 
 of the greatest scientific value, not only as a guide to this particular palace, but 
 also as throwing light upon the probable arrangement of other Royal palaces in 
 Burma which are now in ruins. As far as I know the only plan of this kind at pre- 
 sent in existence is the one attached, which is unfortunately to so small a scale and 
 so carelessly drawn that it is not easy to follow it. I would therefore strongly 
 recommend that a larger scale plan, say, 50 feet to the inch, giving as much 
 detailed information as possible, be prepared while we have still some data to go 
 upon which a fire of a couple of hours' duration might at any moment sweep away 
 for ever, and while we can yet obtain accurate information from people who have 
 personal knowledge of the matter. A small index plan showing the position of 
 the palace relatively to the citadel and town would also be interesting, and might 
 be added in a corner of the larger plan. If such a record were kept there would 
 then be no great objection to a gradual removal of some of the buildings as occa- 
 sion requires, for it would be hopeless to attempt to preserve all these wooden 
 structures. I need hardly say that a copy of this plan would also be an interest- 
 ing exhibit in any Burman or Indian Museum. In connection with this I would 
 draw attention to Fergusson's bitter lament, on page 594 of his Indian Archi- 
 tecture at the destruction, for military purposes, of all the inner arrangements of 
 the Delhi palace, 'without even making a plan or preserving any record of what 
 was being destroyed. I believe that the preservation of the palace buildings at 
 Mandalay has occupied the attention of the local Government, and although I did 
 not know of this when in Mandalay, and hence did not then specially consider 
 this question, it may be useful to say a few words on the subject. On the palace 
 platform the most interesting buildings appear to be the Great Audience Hall 
 with the Lion Throne and Shwepyathat to the east {see I on plan), and the Pri- 
 vate Audience Hall with the Lily Throne to the west, marked VIII on plan. If 
 these two buildings were preserved as specimens of the style I think the rest 
 might be dismantled. 
 
 The palace platform itself should, I think, be preserved as marking the site 
 of the palace, and the space between the two audience halls could be laid out in 
 public gardens with tennis courts and a bandstand, while the military club might 
 remain in the Private Audience Hall as at present. It would also be highly 
 desirable if one of the buildings, as, e.g., the old theatre with the porch in front 
 (marked I on plan) could be provisionally reserved for a local museum in 
 which all articles of interest found in the palace and elsewhere could gradually be 
 collected, and the plan of the palace stockade, above suggested, be exhibited, 
 
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 until such time as a more substantial building, secure from all danger of fire, can 
 be erected for the purpose. 
 
 Besides these there are some other buildings belonging to the old palace 
 stockade which should, if possible, be preserved, e.g., the small pavilion in the 
 south garden (see Z Z in the plan), used as a summer-house by King Thebaw, and 
 in the verandah of which he surrendered to General Prendergast and Colonel 
 Sladen on the 29th of November 1885. A small tablet, placed there by Major 
 Temple, records this event and the structure might be kept up on that account as 
 a garden-house. Again, the richly carved pongyi kyaung where Thebaw went to 
 school and passed the period of priesthood {see A-3 on plan) now used as a 
 chapel, would be worth preserving on account of its historical associations, as 
 well as a specimen of the usual style of kyaungs in Upper Burma. 
 
 King Mindon's Mausoleum to the north-east of the palace (see plan) might 
 also be kept up mainly for its historical interest. It is a brick and plaster struc- 
 ture consisting of a square chamber surmounted by a seven-storeyed spire in 
 imitation of the ordinary wooden pyathats. Mindon Min, Thebaw's father, was 
 buried here in 1878. The eastern gate with the bell and relic towers near it (see 
 A- 1 and A-2 on plan) might also be left standing ; in fact all the palace brick 
 buildings. 
 
 Mandalay contained the finest monasteries in Burma, many of which were 
 unfortunately destroyed in the great fire in March 1892, a few days after I left 
 the palace. No expense and labour was spared in their ornamentation and they 
 were liberally endowed by the king and the public. I have given before a general 
 description of wooden monasteries and need not therefore enter into any details 
 here, as they are all so alike. One notable deviation, however, from the usual 
 style, though not to its advantage, from an artistic point of view, is the " Atumashi " 
 or Incomparable Kyaung, now also destroyed by fire, which is built up in brick- 
 work and has no spire, though the structure itself is raised in diminishing terraces 
 or stories apparently in imitation of a pyathat. The details outside are in 
 debased Italian style, but the interior is finished off in the usual way with huge 
 posts and wooden panelling adorned with very handsome wood carvings. Near 
 the Incomparable Kyaung is a remarkable group of small pagodas or shrines 
 containing inscribed stone slabs encircling a larger pagoda. These were erected 
 by Mindon Min and are locally known as the 450 pagodas.* 
 
 On Mandalay Hill, picturesquely placed, are several small pagodas which, 
 when I saw them, had apparently quite recently been broken into in search of 
 treasure. The breach exposed portions of several older structures inside, which 
 bears out my description of the gradual growth of pagodas, and also shows that 
 these pagodas are of some antiquity. It is a pity that structures of this sort, 
 which, moreover, add to the beauty of the town, should be allowed to be thus dis- 
 figured. On the same hill is also a huge wooden and impressive standing figure of 
 Buddha (about 35 feet high) with his right hand pointing to the Shwepyathat 
 while at his feet kneels Ananda his favorite disciple. I would also recommend 
 that these be taken care of. I noticed the roof of the shelter required repairs. 
 
 Amarapura. 
 
 Six or seven miles below Mandalay, on the same side of the river, are the 
 ruins of the old Capital, Amarapura, the " City of Immortals," where King Bodaw- 
 paya first established his court in A. D. 1783. It was deserted for Ava in 1823 
 and became once more the capital in 1837 to be finally abandoned for Mandalay in 
 i860. This frequent changing of the Royal residence is a custom peculiar to the 
 East, and we have similar examples of it in Fattehpur — Sikri, Agra, Delhi and 
 Lahore, which were by turns the capitals of the Moghul Emperors. 
 
 The palace at Amarapura was apparently laid out on a similar plan to that 
 of Mandalay, in the centre of a square citadel which is now in ruins and overgrown 
 with jungle. There are, however, several fine pagodas and a colossal sitting 
 figure of Buddha remaining in fairly good preservation. My visit was very 
 
 * The real number is 729 and they contain a copy of Bidagat or Buddhist Scripture. The whole work 
 is known as the Kuthodaw and the Pagoda as the Lawkamayazin. 
 
( i5 ) 
 
 hurried and I did not see this image, but I should think it would be worth pre- 
 serving so as to have as much as possible to mark the site of the old capital. 
 There is a settlement of Chinamen at Amarapura who refused to migrate to 
 Mandalay in i860 with the rest as they had erected substantial brickhouses for 
 themselves. These possess a very fine joss-house there (much larger than the 
 one in Rangoon, shown in Photograph No. 8) which is said to have been put to- 
 gether without a single iron nail. It contains three courts, one behind the other, 
 with a few images in the centre one and the real shrine at the back of the third, 
 crowded with quaint bearded images in glass cases, Chinese jars and lanterns and 
 other curios. One of the images represents a woman with a child strangely like 
 the figures of the Virgin Mary in Roman Catholic Churches. A curious feature 
 is the outer doorway of the joss-house which forms a complete circle and is 
 flanked by two figures of extraordinarily grotesque-looking lions. 
 
 Between Amarapura and Mandalay is the Arakan temple which I have 
 spoken of before, with the huge brass image of a seated Buddha known as the 
 Mahamuni image carried away from Arakan by King Bodawpaya in A. D. 1784. 
 The image is about 12 feet high and said to be put together out of three pieces, 
 but it is so thickly overlaid with gold leaf that it is difficult to verify the statement. 
 It appears to be held in almost as great reverence as the Shwe Dagon Pagoda in 
 Rangoon, and the Burmese had long desired to gain possession of it. As early 
 as the end of the 10th century King Anawrata is reported to have invaded 
 Arakan in order to obtain this image, but was persuaded to retire without it. A 
 few curious ancient bronze images of elephants one three-headed, and human 
 figures, unfortunately broken, are placed in the court-yard. These are also said 
 to have been brought away from Arakan in 1 784. In some of the corridors leading 
 to the image shrine bright frescoes adorn the walls and ceilings in which scenes 
 depicting the torments of hell are conspicuous. They are not, however, of any 
 artistic value. 
 
 Sagaing. 
 
 Several miles below Amarapura on the opposite bank of the Irrawaddy lies 
 Sagaing which also once was a Royal capital. Away behind stretches a range of 
 hills crowned with a multitude of pure white pagodas and with monasteries on 
 the nearer slopes — a beautiful view, showing with what taste Burmans know how to 
 select sites for their religious edifices. From these hills is, I believe, obtained 
 the white brittle marble used for the images of Gautama. There is a curious gal- 
 lery in one of these hills containing 49 huge seated images of Buddha hewn out 
 of the living rock which are, however, so covered with plaster and whitewash that 
 it is difficult to know what they are made of. 
 
 Similar figures are, I am told, found below Prome carved out of the steep 
 rocky face overhanging the river. There are said to be about 50 of all sizes, 
 standing free in the open and strongly recalling the Jain figures at Gwalior and 
 other places in India. 
 
 About six miles from Sagaing is the Kaunghmudaw Pagoda, shown in Photo- 
 graph No. 16. It closely resembles in shape the ancient hemispherical topes of 
 Ceylon and India as found at Sanchi and other places, which would lead one to 
 give it a very old date were it not for a marble slab recording its construction A.D. 
 1636 m the square Burmese lapidary characters. The lower relic chamber is said 
 to contain a golden image of Buddha, equal in weight to that of King Thado- 
 dhamma Raja in whose reign the edifice was erected. It is probable that this 
 pagoda was copied from an old Sinhalese model, for to judge from the pagodas at 
 Pagan the usual form at the time of its construction must have been much more 
 attenuated. Bishop Bigandet mentions having heard of a similar shaped pagoda 
 near Bhamo. If this could be found it might help to elucidate this question, 
 unless he alludes to the tall structures, known as the Bhamo Towers, which are 
 really immensely elongated stupas. 
 
 Opposite Sagaing is the ruined city of Ava or Ratanapura (City of Gems) 
 which became the capital in 1364. Unfortunately I had no time to visit this 
 place and only caught a glimpse of its broken ramparts from the river on my way 
 to Pagan. 
 
( 16 ) 
 
 Pagan. 
 
 Pagan is situated on the left bank of the Irrawaddy and abounds with brick 
 and plaster buildings of all kinds. It is said to contain close upon a thousand 
 pagodas and temples scattered over an area of eight by two miles. Pagan 
 appears to have been the capital of Burma from the middle of the 9th to the 
 end of the 13th century, and, as I have stated before, all its great religious 
 buildings were erected between the years A. D. 1057 and 1227, a period of less 
 than two centuries. This was a time of great religious revival induced by the 
 pious King Anawrata who detested the superstitious practices of snake and spirit 
 worship, then largely prevailing, and conquered Thaton for the express purpose 
 of gaining possession of all the sacred relics and Buddhist scriptures kept there. 
 Such a profusion and magnificence of religious edifices, erected in this compa- 
 ratively short period, is probably unprecedented in the world's history. I had un- 
 fortunately only a few days to give to Pagan and had therefore to confine my 
 attention to a few of the best known buildings. To explore Pagan with any 
 degree of thoroughness would occupy several months, but would fully repay any 
 amount of trouble taken over it. 
 
 I have already spoken of the large temples peculiar to this place, of which 
 the " Ananda " is the earliest and perhaps most interesting. It contains four 
 colossal statues of the four Buddhas of this world-period, probably over 40 feet 
 high, namely, Kakusanda in the east, Konagamana in the south, Kasyapa in the 
 west, and Gautama Buddha in the northern image chamber. In the narrow in- 
 terior corridors are sculptured bas reliefs in niches illustrating scenes from 
 Buddha's life which seem to be of Indian workmanship. As I have already 
 pointed out the bulging* spire or sikra surmounting these temples is also 
 Indian in design and 1 should imagine derived probably from Behar (Magadha- 
 desa), with which Burma must have been in communication at this period, as is 
 perhaps shown by the Bodhi temple (Photograph No. 24I which is beyond doubt a 
 copy of the celebrated temple at Buddha Gaya. Moreover, from a Burmese stone 
 inscription at Buddha Gaya itself, we know that the temple there was repaired 
 about A. D. 1 100 at the instance of the Burmese King of Pagan. 
 
 From what Mr. Donald Smeaton, tine Financial Commissioner, told me it 
 appears that there are to this day colonies of Indians settled in the Upper Irra- 
 waddy Valley, and it is possible that their forefathers came from Behar and assist- 
 ed in the construction of many of these temples. 
 
 A few of the temples and pagodas at Pagan are still looked after by the peo- 
 ple in the neighbourhood, but there are hundreds of them, completely neglected 
 and all more or less ruined. Time has done much to bring about the decay of 
 these brick-buildings, but it has been helped on in most instances by the wanton 
 destruction of treasure-hunters. It will be difficult to find a single pagoda here 
 except the few still tended, which does not show the marks of these marauders. 
 This was probably mostly done during the Chinese occupation and destruction 
 of the city in A. D. 1284. As a result many of the older structures, inside the 
 outer pagodas, have been exposed to view and we have here the largest variety of 
 pagoda shapes of any place in Burma. A thorough scientific exploration of these 
 would be most valuable, especially as we can fix the dates of erection within very 
 narrow limits. Further excavation into some of the pagodas would also probably 
 bring to light many inscriptions and other objects of historical and archaeological 
 interest. In the album accompanying these notes are few photographs I took at 
 Pagan, namely, Nos. 18 to 24. Photograph No. 19 shows the Shwezigon Pagoda 
 which is said to have been erected at the beginning of the 1 ith century by King 
 Anawrata, the famous religious reformer, whose memory is still cherished by the 
 people. The present shape is, however, probably of much later date, for it still 
 continues to be revered and kept in repair. The original appearance was pro- 
 bably something like the small pagodas in Photographs Nos. 20 and 21 which 
 are in the vicinity of this shrine. Behind the two huge lions at the entrance to 
 the sacred precincts, shown in the photograph, is a rude stone image of a serpent, 
 
 * This form of sikra, with bulging outlines, is never found in the Dekhan or Ceylon, but characterizes 
 all the older Hindu and Jaina temples of Hindustan, from Orissa to the Indus. 
 
( *7 ) 
 
 for it is fabled that a sacred nag a or dragon raised the mound on which the pa- 
 goda stands from the bed of the Irrawaddy ; near this pagoda is a nat or spirit temple, 
 a survival of older cults. It is curious to observe how nat worship is still prev- 
 alent in all parts of Burma in spite of the early introduction of Buddhism there. 
 At Thaton is another of these temples with an image of the nat Popo, represented 
 as a grey-bearded old man. There are some interesting terra- cotta tiles with bas 
 reliefs, let into panels, round the square terraces on which the Shwezigon Pagoda 
 stands. The heavy gilding, however, makes it difficult to trace the scenes on 
 them. But there is another large pagoda in a more or less ruined condition, the 
 name of which I have not noted, about a mile beyond the Ananda temple, 
 which has a very fine set of these terra cotta tiles. They are of red burnt clay, 
 about two feet square and covered with groups of very well executed figures in 
 low relief, some representing different scenes from Buddhist legends and mytho- 
 logy, while others show distinct traces of tree, serpent and fire worship, but their 
 chief value lies in their having all inscriptions which will probably enable the sub- 
 jects to be identified. It would be very interesting if some account of these bas 
 reliefs could be published in the same way as has been done for the Bharhut and 
 Sanchi sculptures in India, as they probably contain valuable records of the early 
 Buddhism of Burma, and the spirit and serpent worship supplanted by it. I would 
 therefore recommend that the whole of the remaining tiles be removed without 
 delay to the Rangoon Museum, where they would be safe and could be examined 
 at leisure, for at present they are entirely uncared for and at the mercy of any 
 curio-hunter. A great many have already been taken away, while others have 
 been broken in clumsy attempts to remove them, and are lying about in fragments. 
 Similar terra cotta tablets are found adorning the square terraces of the Thagya 
 Pagoda at Thaton from which these Pagan tiles have no doubt been copied. The 
 old bricks lying near this ruined pagoda at Pagan are all marked with some letters 
 which it would be interesting to decipher. Similar stamped bricks have been found 
 among the ruins of Tagaung with Buddhist images and ancient Pali inscriptions.* 
 Portions of the older town walls and gates of Pagan are still existing as also 
 traces of the palace buildings. Several shrines have fresco paintings on the walls. 
 There are a number of interesting artificial caves cut into the soft sandstone rock 
 near Pagan. Most of these are now deserted, but I found one, near the barracks, 
 still occupied by a few hermits. These caves consist of corridors and small 
 rooms with semi-circular or waggon-headed vaults. Some interesting objects are 
 frequently found preserved in the monasteries. Mr. S. L. Aplin, the Assistant 
 Commissioner, showed me some small terra cotta tablets with seated figures of 
 Buddha surrounded by little pagodas, strongly resembling the burnt-clay seals 
 found at Buddha Gaya, Yusufzai and elsewhere ; also a couple of curious heads 
 made of fine beaten gold which were deposited by one of the monasteries in the 
 Government Treasury for security. 
 
 PROME. 
 
 The next place I passed through was Prome. The Mahdydzawin or Great 
 Royal Chronicle records that more than four centuries before Christ the capital 
 of Tharekhettara was founded here which continued to be the religious centre 
 till a century after Christ when Upper Pagan on the Irrawaddy near Tagaung 
 was founded. Some ruins of this ancient capital, I believe, still exist some five 
 miles to the east of Prome and are known as Yathemyo or " Hermits' Town." 
 I had not time to visit these, but their exploration would no doubt be of interest. 
 
 Prome was occupied by the British in 1852. The most conspicuous object 
 in it is the Shwesandaw Pagoda. Like so many of the Burmese pagodas, it is 
 fabled to have been erected by two brothers, who obtained four hairs from Gau- 
 tama Buddha which they enshrined there. t It is one of the largest and most 
 sacred pagodas in Burma. A distant view of it is given in Photograph No. 25 and 
 some of the structures near it are shown in Photograph No. 26. At the foot of 
 
 * Journal of Asiatic Society of Bengal, Volume iv. 
 
 t The story of having been erected by two brothers and enshrining sacred hair-relics of Gautama Buddha 
 is related in connection with so many of the Burmese pagodas, varying only in such details as to the names 
 and positions of the brothers and the number of hairs they received from Gautama, thai: it cannot be doubted 
 that they have all a common origin and are only variations of the same fable, which first occurs in the Jata- 
 kas preserved in Ceylon, as that of the Shwe Dagon Pagoda of Rangoon. 
 
 5 
 
( i8 ) 
 
 the Shwesandaw Pagoda are some inscribed stone slabs recording the presentation 
 of new treasure to the pagoda. 
 
 Pegu. 
 
 During the rest of my tour in the ancient Talaing country of Ramanyadesa 
 I had the great advantage of Major R. C. Temple's company, an experienced 
 and well known archaeologist. 
 
 Pegu was one of the places we visited together. It is of special interest as 
 the late capital of the Talaing or M on monarchy, and is said to have been founded 
 in A.D. 573 by emigrant princes from Thaton, the older capital. Traces of the 
 old town walls still remain and numerous ruins. Pegu contains also several large 
 pagodas, among which the Shwemawdaw Pagoda is specially revered by the 
 Takings and ranks next in sanctity to the Shwe Dagon Pagoda in Rangoon. It 
 is said to have been erected by two Takings and to contain two hairs of Gautama 
 Buddha. Like most of the Burmese pagodas, it is picturesquely situated on an 
 eminence overlooking the town, and, owing to its commanding position, was the 
 scene of severe fighting in the Second Anglo-Burmese War, the marks of which 
 are still plainly visible. 
 
 Views of the pagodas are given in Photographs Nos. 27 and 28, which differ 
 considerably from the illustration on page 62 1 of Fergusson's Indian Architecture. 
 A detailed description seems unnecessary as the building is of the usual modern 
 
 type- 
 To the west of Pegu, in the Zainganaing quarter, is the Kalyanisima or Or- 
 dination Hall erected by King Dhammocheti in A.D. 1476, a very interesting 
 building where the Buddhist priests from all parts of the peninsula used to be 
 ordained. Near this are the stones with the celebrated Kalyani inscriptions. 
 There are 10 of them, about 12 feet high, 4 feet wide, and 15 inches thick ; three 
 with Pali inscriptions and seven with Talaing translations of the first, giving de- 
 tails of the ordination ceremony and accounts of the intercourse of Pegu and 
 Burma with Ceylon and Southern India in the 15th century A.D. Most of the 
 stones are broken, but the fragments are still lying on the ground and could easily 
 be pieced together. As the inscriptions are of great value, it would be desirable 
 to have the stones restored and put under a shelter. 
 
 Some distance further on is a very fine colossal recumbent image of Gautama 
 Buddha (see Photograph No. 29) locally known as the Shwethayaung. It rep- 
 resents Buddha in the conventional attitude of attaining to nirvana. The im- 
 age is 181 feet long and 46 feet high. It was hidden under rubbish and jungle 
 till discovered in 1881 by men in search of laterite. The whole figure is con- 
 structed of brickwork in regular courses and is remarkably well proportioned. 
 The face alone is covered with stucco and has very good features, with a placid 
 and dignified expression. 
 
 Not far from this is the Kyaikpun Pagoda which consists of four colossal 
 sitting figures of Buddha, placed back-to-back, Cambodian fashion, said to be about 
 90 feet high and representing the four Buddhas who appeared in this kalpa or world- 
 cycle. These I had unfortunately no opportunity of seeing. 
 
 Low mounds covering the ruins of ancient pagodas are dotted about the 
 plain. From one of these in Mr. Jackson's garden a number of square glazed 
 terra-cotta tiles were excavated which no doubt at one time occupied panels round 
 the plinth steps of a pagoda, as we still see them in the Shwezigon Pagoda at 
 Pagan and the Thagyapaya at Thaton. On these terra-cotta panels are bas re- 
 liefs of grotesque human and animal figures similar to those shown in Photograph 
 No. 10 in the Rangoon Museum, which probably came from this locality. They 
 are now lying uncared for about the garden, and as we were assured that the 
 owner had no objection to their removal, it would be well if arrangements could 
 be made to have these also deposited in the Museum. 
 
 Syriam. 
 
 The word Syriam is said to be an Anglicised version of the Burmese 
 Thanlyin, by which name it is still called by the natives, while its Pali* name is 
 
 * The Burmese and Talaings usually have a Pali as well as a vernacular name for their towns and 
 districts. Pali is a Sanskrit dialect, once generally in use in Behar, the cradle of Buddhism, and is the 
 scriptural language of the Buddhists. 
 
( i9 ) 
 
 Khoddadippa. ' It once was the principal port of Pegu and continued to be so up 
 to the time of foundation of Rangoon and the utter destruction of the former 
 by Alompra in A.D. 1756. It is fabled to have been founded nearly six centuries 
 B.C., but did not take a prominent place in history until the end of the 16th 
 century, when the adventurer Philip de Brito, better known as Nicote, seized it in 
 the name of the Portuguese. Their dominion, however, did not last long, as the 
 town was soon retaken by the Burmans under Mahadhamma Raja, in 161 3. 
 Subsequently the Burmans allowed some Dutch, English, and French traders to 
 settle in Syriam, but their factories were finally destroyed by Alompra, and nothing 
 now remains of these settlements but the ruins of a church, some tombs and 
 traces of walls. Interior and exterior views are given in Photographs Nos. 30 and 
 31 of the remains of the Portuguese church, which is said to have been the first 
 Christian church in Further India. It was erected in 1750 by Monsignor Nerini, 
 the second Vicar Apostolic of Ava and Pegu and a member of the Barnabite 
 Mission. In plan it consisted of a single nave and apsidal end in Italian style, 
 constructed of pointed brickwork. The apse and side walls are still standing, 
 though much ruined and overgrown with pipal trees. 
 
 A village now occupies the site of the old town and near it are the remains 
 of several ancient brick pagodas of small dimensions, one of which is shown in 
 Photograph No. 32, and, judging from its shape, it is probably of considerable age. 
 Compare Photograph No. 33 representing the Kyaikkauk or Syriam Pagoda, situ- 
 ate 2 or 3 miles to the east of the former, which shows the modern type. This 
 last pagoda also is fabled to have been erected over sacred hair relics of Gautama 
 Buddha. 
 
 MOULMEIN. 
 
 Moulmein is situated at the mouth of the Salween river on its left bank. Its 
 Pali name is Ramapura and it is said to have been originally founded by Hindu 
 colonists. The present town, however, was built on the ancient site since the 
 annexation of the country by the British in 1826. A low hill runs through it 
 crowned by several fine pagodas of the usual type. In the precincts of one of 
 these, namely, the Uzina or South Pagoda, are some remarkably well-carved modern 
 figures of life size, representing the four visions of Gautama Buddha (see Photo- 
 graph No. 34), the sight of which determined him to become a hermit, namely, a 
 decrepit old man leaning on a staff ; a man suffering from a loathsome disease ; 
 a putrid corpse ; and, lastly, a recluse, in yellow garments, gentle and meek in 
 manner, his face expressing perfect contentment and absence of worldly care. 
 These figures are so startlingly life-like (excepting the hermit), that even on close 
 inspection one can hardly realize that they are mere wood carvings. The interior 
 of an image house close to the same pagoda is shown in Photograph No. 35. In 
 front of the image is a very good specimen of modern wood-carving in the shape 
 of an archway surrounded by vine foliage, with an amount of elaboration which 
 might suit bijou work in ivory, but is hardly satisfactory in wood. 
 
 Numerous natural caves are found in the district of Moulmein in submarine 
 limestone hills rising abruptly out of the plain. Many of these have from ancient 
 times been used for religious purposes and filled with a multitude of small pagodas 
 and images of all varieties. 
 
 Of these the Farm Cave, 10 miles east of Moulmein, is the best known, though 
 unfortunately its easy accessibility has led to its being rifled of all the portable 
 images within reach. 
 
 The cave consists of a main hall rounded at the further end, with a passage 
 running up the centre, and broad platforms with images on both sides. A long 
 corridor, also with image platforms, branches off on the right, running parallel to 
 the face of the rock, with another entrance at the further end. Views of the two 
 entrances with pagodas in front are given in Photographs Nos. 36 and 37. The 
 cave must originally have contained an enormous mass of images. There are still 
 a large number left, though mostly very much injured, some of them being of 
 considerable size, reaching, in the case of the recumbent figures, a length of some 
 45 feet. _ The coved ceilings and walls are still covered, where they are out of 
 reach, with numberless small terra-cotta and plaster images of seated Buddhas. 
 
( 20 ) 
 
 There is also a beautiful natural limestone cave in the same hill, half a mile 
 further on, with splendid stalactites and stalagmites shaping themselves into 
 noble columns supporting the high vauked roof above, but this does not appear 
 to have been utilized for religious purposes, probably because it is too dark. 
 
 The country about Moulmein is intersected by rivers, so that many of these 
 cave temples in remoter parts of the district can only be reached by boat. We 
 had therefore to hire a steam launch to go about in, and our excursions up the 
 rivers took us through some of the most delightful tropical scenery imaginable. 
 Just opposite Moulmein is the charming little islet of Gaungsekkyun (Head- 
 washing Island), with its gleaming pagoda and wooden monastery surrounded 
 by fine trees. This rocky islet is fabled to be suspended from the skies by 
 an invisible cord, and derives its name and sanctity from a spring of clear water 
 on its surface, from which the kings of Burma formerly obtained the necessary 
 supply of water for the solemn function of washing the King's head, a ceremony 
 which took place at the capital once every year at New Year's feast. 
 
 Opposite Moulmein, on the right bank of the Salween river, is the old town of 
 Martaban, Pali Muttama, now dwindled down to a village. The old walls and 
 ramparts are still visible from the river, as also a few neglected pagodas. One of 
 these is overlaid with small square pieces of lead, covered with a brightly 
 coloured kind of lacquer (brown, grey, yellow, gold and green) attached to the 
 plaster with English tin tacks, proving its modern date. A similar kind of orna- 
 mentation is found on one of the pagodas at Thaton, which is said to be old. 
 
 Going up the river one cannot help marvelling how the building materials 
 for the white pagodas ever got up the precipitous hills on which one sees them 
 perched, rising up sometimes perpendicularly to above a thousand feet in height. 
 One of these rocky limestone hills is particularly conspicuous from its resem- 
 blance to the outline of a face and is known as the " Duke of York's Nose." A 
 tiny pagoda rests on the very tip of it, which can only be reached by climbing the 
 bare face of the rock and up frail bamboo ladders over yawning abysses, and yet 
 worshippers are not wanting to face this perilous ascent and lay their humble 
 offerings before the shrine. 
 
 About 28 miles from Moulmein by river is the Kawgun Cave, near the village 
 of Pagat, up the Kawgun stream. The cave is in an isolated limestone hill, with 
 the entrance about 30 feet up, and reached by an inclined way sheltered by the 
 overhanging rock. The outer appearance of the cave is shown in Photographs 
 Nos. 38, 39 and 40, in which will be seen some of the innumerable small terra-cotta 
 images of seated Buddhas, interspersed with occasional larger alabaster and 
 stucco figures, some standing and some reclining, which encrust the face of the 
 rock right along to a height of about 50 feet. The terra-cotta images are all 
 small, from 2 to 12 inches high, set in a bed of mortar in regular rows. Some of 
 them are gilt and a few have inscriptions on the back in Taking characters, setting 
 out the names of the donors. In between these rows of smaller images are occa- 
 sional groups of larger figure-subjects set in ornamental plaster niches, the subject 
 of one of which was remarkable, representing Buddha preaching to a serpent under 
 the Bodhi tree. Large modern images under wooden shelters and several small 
 brick and plaster pagodas, mostly dug into for treasure, line the outer edge of the 
 ascent. One of the latter is shown in Photograph No. 40. Close to this small 
 pagoda is a stalagmite formed into a curious chaitya or shrine on a square base, 
 with a cylindrical body about 10 feet high, the whole surface of which is covered 
 with small images and which is surmounted by a standing Buddha figure under 
 a canopy. The pendent stalactites above are profusely ornamented with stucco 
 Buddha images in every attitude. 
 
 The cave runs about 100 feet along the rock, north and south, and about 
 50 feet into it to westward. A large recumbent Buddha image occupies the 
 further end of the inner cave, and all available space within is taken up with a 
 mass of images of all sizes, and a multitude of shrines and Buddhist remains in 
 brickwork, stone alabaster, wood and terra-cotta of all ages, from apparently 
 a thousand years back up to this century, and accordingly of the greatest interest. 
 
 All the newer images are of the ordinary Burmese type already described, 
 but the cave is full of unmistakably old images, a small collection of which is 
 
( 21 ) 
 
 shown in Photograph No, 41, which, however, by no means exhausts the different 
 kinds there. Most of those in the photograph are carved of wood, a few of 
 which are covered with a varnish of thitsi or wood-oil. I found several in the 
 cave with little but the outer varnish shell left, the wood within having almost 
 entirely disappeared through many centuries of decay. As will be seen, the 
 general appearance of most of the images in Photograph No. 41 is very unlike 
 the ordinary Burmese type. Several of them have, for instance, three snakes 
 coiled round the pedestal, the large hood and grotesque head of the centre one 
 sheltering * the figure from above, while the two smaller ones keep guard on 
 each side. Similar snake canopies are found in other parts of Burma, though 
 very rarely. Other images, again, wear peculiar high-peaked crowns resembling 
 pyathats, and have curly wing-like ornaments at the shoulders not unlike the nat 
 figures shown in Photograph No. 4. They are, however, seated cross-legged in 
 the conventional Buddha attitude on a regular image throne, and give the im- 
 pression of deified nats or spirits. In several instances a couple of these figures 
 are placed together on the same throne or pedestal, either of the same size, or 
 one a little larger and with a higher and more elaborate head-dress. These 
 double figures I have not met with anywhere else in Buddhist sculptures either 
 in Burma or India. Another remarkable thing is the peak on top of the head of 
 the upper centre figure, which is, strangely enough, formed into the shape of a 
 flame as usually represented in sculpture. Some of these peculiarities are pro- 
 bably of Sinhalese and Dravidian origin, while others no doubt come from Cam- 
 bodia or Siam, for Ramanya was under Cambodian rule from the 6th to the 
 10th century A.D. and under Siamese rule in the 14th century. A thorough 
 examination of this and other caves in the district would, however, be highly 
 interesting and desirable, and it would be easy to stock a whole museum with 
 valuable antiquities from them, not to speak of the prehistoric fossil remains which 
 excavation in these caves would most probably bring to light. These cave 
 temples are apparently quite neglected and no objection was raised to our remov- 
 ing a few of the images from the Kawgun Cave, although there happened to be a 
 fair and crowds of people present when we visited it. 
 
 Another of these caves is the Dhamatha Cave on the Ggain river, about 18 
 miles from Moulmein and half a mile from the village and pagoda of the same 
 name. The cave passes right through the hill from east to west, and has numer- 
 ous stalactites pendent from the caverned roof. It is ornamented with brick 
 and plaster work, and contains a multitude of small pagodas and images of all 
 kinds, similar to those described above. The brick and plaster pagodas and 
 large images are, however, in a very ruined condition, and many of the smaller 
 ones have apparently been removed. The great age of some of the structures in 
 this cave is proved by the formation of stalactites over them. There is a funnel- 
 like hole high up in the vaulted roof of the cave above one of the chaityas, the 
 mouth of which is boarded over, and which is said to contain a collection of 
 ancient manuscripts in sadaiks or carved wooden boxes placed there long ago for 
 safety. It would be interesting to verify the truth of this report. Another similar 
 hole or funnel is just outside the eastern entrance. 
 
 Four miles south of Duyinzek up the Dundami river, about 50 miles from 
 Moulmein, is the Bingyi Cave, of much the same type as the others, but of better 
 preservation than the Dhamatha Cave. A pool of water is at the end of it 
 flush with the floor, in which the roof is reflected, and near it are some hot 
 springs. 
 
 Thaton. 
 Thaton is about 60 miles travelling distance north of Moulmein. It was 
 in ancient times a very important seaport and trade centre, but, owing to the 
 recession of the sea, has long ceased to be a port and lost its pre-eminence. 
 Tradticin ascribes its foundation to Indian colonists, who are said to have come 
 over at a remote time from the mouths of the Kristna and Godavery and to have 
 
 * It may be as well to mention here that the serpent is considered a protecting and benignant deity in 
 the East and the snake canopy here has no doubt reference to the legend of the Naga (which lived in a 
 large pool near the Bodhi tree) sheltering Gautama Buddha from a great storm. 
 
( 22 ) 
 
 formed settlements in the delta of the Irrawaddy and the adjoining coast. This 
 part of the country was known to the Buddhists as Suvarna Bhumi, the " Golden 
 Land," and has been identified with the Golden Chersonese or Aurea Regio of 
 classic writers. From Buddhist writings preserved in Ceylon and elsewhere it 
 would appear that Buddhism was introduced here long before it reached Burma 
 proper. At the third great synod held in Pataliputra, the modern Patna, about 
 B.C. 241, it was determined to send missionaries to all lands to preach the 
 doctrines of Buddhism, and accordingly two missionaries, Sona and Uttara, were 
 despatched to Suvarna Bhumi (later known as Ramanya), the country of the Mon 
 or Talaing race, whose chief city was then at Thaton. There were, however, 
 no written records kept at that time of these doctrines, and the Talaings did not 
 obtain a written copy of the Buddhist scriptures until it was brought over from 
 Ceylon about the middle of the 5th century A.D. by Buddhaghosa (the Voice of 
 Buddha), a learned native of Behar, so named from his great eloquence.* After 
 that Thaton seems to have kept up a close intercourse with the mother church in 
 Ceylon and to have become a great stronghold of Buddhism, possessing a learned 
 priesthood and many sacred relics and precious manuscripts. It continued to be 
 the great religious centre until it was conquered and destroyed in the nth 
 century by Anawrata. the Burmese king of Pagan, who burnt and sacked the 
 place and took away with him many elephant-loads of relics and manuscripts, 
 as well as the most learned of the priesthood. It is therefore at Thaton that we 
 may expect to find some of the earliest archaeological remains in Burma, as also 
 the models from which the religious edifices at Pagan have been copied. 
 
 Unfortunately there is now but little left and what there is has not yet been 
 properly explored. Traces of the old fortifications and walls are still visible 
 and, from Mr. St. John's description, the town would appear to have been erected 
 on much the same plan as Mandalay with a square citadel surrounded by the 
 outer town and the royal throne room occupying the very centre of all. Between 
 the citadel and south town wall some remains of ancient laterite pagodas are 
 still in existence, three of which are in fairly good preservation and very like some 
 of those found at Pagan. They have three diminishing square terraces on which 
 the round pagodas rest ; the latter are modernized with brick and plaster, but 
 the old laterite terraces have preserved their original appearance. Terra-cotta 
 panels, with curious scenes depicted thereon in bas relief, were let into these 
 terraces in the same manner as already described in the case of similar pagodas 
 in Pagan. Only a few of these panels now remain. As far as I know nothing 
 has yet been found at Thaton which would account for the large temples at Pagan, 
 though they probably also came from here. 
 
 The three stone slabs with Hindu bas reliefs now in the Rangoon Museum, 
 shown in Photograph No. 11, were found in Thaton, and it is probable that the 
 two Hindu sculptures shown on the left-hand side of Photograph No. 9 also 
 came from this neighbourhood, though unfortunately nothing is recorded about 
 them. We know that Brahmanism preceded Buddhism here as in other parts of 
 Burma, and fierce struggles for supremacy are believed to have taken place 
 between the two parties during the first eight or ten centuries of our era in which 
 Buddhism eventually gained the day. 
 
 In digging a well about a quarter mile from the railway station a standing 
 image, about 3 feet high, was lately discovered 14 feet below the sur- 
 face. It is very like the Jain images of Southern India, with long arms, broad 
 shoulders, curly hair with a fillet or band on the forehead, under the left arm a 
 book, with the fingers of the left hand resting on the shoulder. The lucky finder 
 has set it up under a new shrine and the people are crowding in to worship it, as 
 it is considered a divine manifestation of good omen. 
 
 * The Burmese as well as the Talaings received their alphabet with their religion from India, and 
 although the two languages have no affinity, their alphabets differ but slightly, both being a circular variety 
 of the old Devanagari or Pali characters. The older Burmese and Talaing inscriptions are in square 
 characters, which have assumed a rounded shape in modern writing from being scratched with a style on 
 palm leaves. The oldest inscriptions so far discovered in Burma are, I believe, those on the inscribed 
 bricks found among the ruins of Tagaung, which are in the Gupta characters of the first two centuries of the 
 Christian era. It is, however, prohable that the present alphabets of Burma and Pegu are entirely derived 
 from the Pali scriptures brought to Thaton by Buddhaghosa in the 5th century A.D. 
 
( 2 3 ) 
 
 This religious propensity has been put to good account by the far-sighted 
 proprietor of the small local railway* here, who, requiring a settlement of villagers 
 at the Duyinzek terminus of his line, invested in an image of Buddha and after 
 giving it a coat of luminous paint, had it secretly placed on the spot where the settle- 
 ment was required. The discovery of the luminous image at night-time produced 
 a great sensation in the surrounding country and pilgrims crowded in to see the 
 miraculous manifestation. With a little judicious management a story soon 
 circulated that Buddha had appeared in this guise to show his anger at there 
 being no shrine for him in that locality. The consequence was that a pagoda 
 was soon erected over the image, and the wished-for settlement followed as a 
 matter of course. 
 
 Here my short tour in Burma ended, and I departed with much regret from a 
 country so full of natural beauty and objects of artistic, historical and archaeolog- 
 ical interest. From the occasional remarks on that subject made above, it will 
 be seen that there is no time to be lost for taking measures to preserve and col- 
 lect the more valuable archaeological remains of the country before it is too late, 
 and for this purpose an early and scientific exploration of all parts of Burma seems 
 necessary. 
 
 Meanwhile I would add, in conclusion, a few general remarks which may be 
 found useful in the preservation of archaeological remains. The object of conser- 
 vation should be to preserve and not restore. Restoration is almost under any 
 circumstances to be deprecated, and should at all events not be attempted with- 
 out obtaining the best advice. As to preserving, until a proper archaeological 
 survey is made in Burma and a list prepared of all the most valuable antiquities, 
 the best thing that can be done is to keep everything as far as possible in 
 statu quo, that is to say, to prevent any interference with such objects, as for 
 instance ancient buildings, sculptures and images, old brick heaps and mounds, 
 town walls, and any other remains on the sites of ancient cities, and so forth. 
 Much mischief is done by treasure-hunters and railway and road contractors, far 
 more than through the natural agencies of decay and vegetation. I have already 
 noticed the handiwork of the treasure-hunters in rifling pagodas. This is bad 
 enough, as it hastens the fall of the buildings, but what is far worse, is ihe whole- 
 sale destruction and removal of old brick and stone remains by contractors, as they 
 find the materials handy for their work. The mischief so done is quite incalcul- 
 able, as it often results in the entire eradication of all traces of the most valuable 
 remains. The outward appearance of old remains is no criterion of their archaeo- 
 logical value ; a mere brick heap or low mound overgrown with jungle may cover 
 the most ancient and valuable antiquities, and, in fact, these mounds are the very 
 places where we can hope to find them. Any prohibition, therefore, against 
 interference should extend to all old remains, however insignificant in appearance, 
 and be specially brought to the attention of all the officers in charge of building 
 operations in the country. The danger is particularly great at the present time 
 when so many new railways, canals, buildings, and roads are in progress, and the 
 temptation to pick up cheap and convenient material is naturally great. 
 
 The instructions should also provide for the collection and preservation of 
 all pieces of sculpture and inscriptions which may be discovered in excavations for 
 canals and railways, the most valuable of which should then be sent to the Phayre 
 Museum. 
 
 I do not think anything further can be done at present until a detailed survey 
 has been made, as it is of course impossible until then to say what is worth pre- 
 serving permanently and what measures should be adopted in each particular 
 case. In determining this I would once more insist that the guiding principle 
 should be, not to attempt any restoration, and to restrict the repairs to what is 
 absolutely necessary to keep the structure standing. The aim of conservation 
 should be to preserve authentic specimens of the ancient arts and historical anti- 
 quities of the country as we find them, and the less they are added to or hidden 
 by ill-advised attempts at restoration the better. 
 
 F. O. OERTEL. 
 
 The 20th December i8g2. 
 
 'The oldest line in Burma (2-feet gauge, I believe), S miles long-, leading from That6n to Duyinzeik 
 on the Dundami river, used for the transport of rice. 
 
List of Photographs accompanying the Note on a Tour in Burma by Mr. F. 0. Oertel. 
 No. Subjects. 
 
 i. Shwe Dagon Pagoda, Rangoon, from the Cantonment Gardens. 
 
 2. South entrance to the Shwe Dagon Pagoda, Rangoon. 
 
 3. The great bell at the Shwe Dagon Pagoda, Rangoon, cast in 1842 by_King Tharra- 
 
 wadi when on a visit to Rangoon, and weighing 42 tons. 
 
 4. Group of figures round the base of a flagstaff {tagondaing), Shwe Dagon Pagoda, 
 
 Rangoon. 
 
 5. Sacred gilt iron-work umbrellas or tis, presented by Shan worshippers, Shwe Dagon 
 
 Pagoda. 
 
 6. Sule Pagoda, Rangoon. 
 
 7. New stucco shrine or tazaung-pyathat , Sule Pagoda, Rangoon. 
 
 8. Small Chinese Temple, Rangoon. 
 
 g. Glazed terra-cotta figure panels (said to come from Pegu), Phayre Museum, Rangoon. 
 Lower two sculptures to left show Hindu figures. It is not known where they 
 came from. 
 
 10. Glazed terra-cotta panels with grotesque figures (probably from Pegu), Phayre 
 
 Museum, Rangoon. 
 
 11. Hindu bas-reliefs from Thaton. Phayre Museum, Rangoon. 
 
 12. Pongyi Kyaung or Monastery of the Myadaung Queen, Mandalay. 
 
 13. The Palace, Mandalay, from the south-east corner, showing the Shwe-pyathat or 
 
 "Centre of the Universe.'' 
 
 14. Original plan made for the Royal Palace at Mandalay, with references giving the 
 
 object of each building. 
 
 1 5. Image of Gautama in the Incomparable Kyaung, Mandalay. 
 
 16. Kaunghmudaw Pagoda near Sagaing. 
 
 1 7. Rest-house or zaydt near the Kaunghmudaw Pagoda. 
 
 18. View of Pagan from above the Court-house. 
 
 19. Shwezigon Pagoda, Pagan. 
 
 20. Small old brick pagodas near the Shwezigon Pagoda, Pagan. 
 
 21. Old brick pagoda near the Shwezigon Pagoda, Pagan. 
 
 22. Modern pagodas, Pagan. 
 
 23. General view of Pagan. 
 
 24. Pagoda at Pagan, with Bodhi temple to the left, intended to be a copy of the Budha- 
 
 Gaya temple. 
 
 25. *General view of Prome, with Shwesandaw Pagoda on the right. 
 
 26. Wooden image shrine or tazaung-pyathat, Shwesandaw Pagoda, Prome. 
 
 27. Shwemawdaw Pagoda, Pegu. 
 
 28. Shwemawdaw Pagoda, Pegu. 
 
 28. "Shwethayaung" or colossal recumbent image of Gautama, 181 feet long and 46 feet 
 high, Pegu. 
 
 30. Interior view of the ruined Church at Syriam, the oldest in Burma, erected in A.D. 
 
 1750. 
 
 31. Exterior view of the ruined Church at Syriam. 
 
 32. Old brick pagoda, Syriam. 
 
 33. The Kyaikkauk or Syriam Pagoda. 
 
 34. Carved wooden figures at the Uzina or South Pagoda, Moulmein, representing the 
 
 . four visions of Buddha. Modern. 
 
 35. Interior of a shrine or tazaung, Uzina Pagoda, Moulmein. 
 
 36. North entrance of the Farm Cave, 10 miles east of Moulmein. 
 
 37. South entrance of the Farm Cave, Moulmein district. 
 
 38. View of Kawgun Cave from below, 28 miles from Moulmein. 
 
 39. Entrance of Kawgun Cave, Moulmein district. 
 
 40. • Ruined pagoda at entrance of Kawgun Cave, Moulmein district. 
 
 41. Images in Kawgun Cave, Moulmein district. 
 
 42. Collection of images from the Kawgun Cave and elsewhere in the possession of 
 
 Major R. C. Temple. 
 
 * This photograph is not reproduced as the plate has been lost. 
 
 G. B. C. P. O.— No. 1327, B. S„ 2-5-93—150. 
 

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No. 6.— BTJLB PAQODA, BANGOON. 
 
No. 7.— NEW STUCCO SHRINK OR TAZJUNG-PYATBAT, SULB PAGODA, RANGOON. 
 
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No. 13.— THE PALACE, MANDALAY, FROM THE SOUTH-EAST CORNER, SHOWING THE SHWE-FYATHAT OR "CENTRE OP THE 
 
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No. 16.— IMAGE OF GAUTAMA IN THE INCOMPARABLE KYAUNG. MANDALAY. 
 
No. 17.— REST-HOUSE OR ZAYAT NEAR THE KAUNOHMUDAW PAGODA. 
 

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No. 21.— OLD CRICK PAGODA NEAR THE SHWEZIGON PAGODA, PAGAN. 
 

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No. 39.— ENTRANCE OF KAWGUN CATE, MOULMEIN DISTRICT. 
 

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