Burmese story dha restored by Battara

Mark · 15th June 2005, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew

I'm dying to have these swords translated! I have also read (can't recall where, specifically) that the "stories" are Buddhist. The panels at the forte may be much more interesting.

I'll post pix of the knife you sold me for comparison, as the story that appears there is different than any I've personally seen. It actually depicts a forge.

A forge? I bet I know what that one is. Remember that monograph on the iron & steel industry in turn-of-the-century Burma that I sent you a while back? There is a story in there of the Burmese "father of smithing" (sort of a Vulcan-like figure -- the Roman god, not Spock!). He was big and strong and married a princess, but the king got jealous and had him killed. The author says that it is a common theme on story dha, but I have never seen one I was sure showed it. I will look up the specifics when I get home tonight.

The stories are scenes from Buddhist Jattaka (stories of the life of Gautama Buddha, and I think of his previous lives as well), as well as stories from Burmese folklore (like the swordsmith one). I am pursuing leads for translation in Burma. Slowly, unfortunately.

CharlesS · 16th June 2005, 12:59 AM

I remember seeing this in March. Gorgeous piece, and beautifully restored!!

Mark · 17th June 2005, 11:26 PM

I found the story of the Burmese "patron saint" of smiths. I had a few details wrong (the king married into the smith's family, not the other way around), but here it is.

“Maung Tin De, the legendary hero of the Popa myth, is represented as a blacksmith of prodigious strength. His date by the chronicles is the fourth century A.D. The son of a blacksmith, Maung Tin De could wield in his right hand a twenty-five viss hammer, and a twenty-viss hammer in his left: and under his blows the anvil roared like thunder and all the people around were struck with panic. His great power was a source of fear to the King of Tagaung where he lived, who to secure himself married his beautiful sister Saw Me Ya, and afterwards seized by treachery the smith, whose funeral pyre was shared by his sister: the pair of them thereafter became the most powerful Nats, the Mahagiri Maung Hnama Daw of Popa.” Bell, E.N., A Monograph on Iron and Steel Work in Burma, Superintendent of Printing, Rangoon (1907), p. 2.

Mt. Popa is an extinct volcano closeby the old Burmese capital Pagan, and is the legendary birthplace of smithing (as an early source of iron ore). A viss is a unit of measure used throughout SEA, but I can't remember its equivalent in grams or ounces. Tagoung was a pre-Pagan Burmese kingdom, and Nats are guardian spirits pre-dating Buddhism in Burma, and still greatly revered.

I am willing to wager that it is the story of Maung Tin De that is on your dha, Andrew.

16th June 2005, 12:59 AM	#2
CharlesS Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Greenville, NC Posts: 1,854	I remember seeing this in March. Gorgeous piece, and beautifully restored!!

17th June 2005, 11:26 PM	#3
Mark Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 987	I found the story of the Burmese "patron saint" of smiths. I had a few details wrong (the king married into the smith's family, not the other way around), but here it is. “Maung Tin De, the legendary hero of the Popa myth, is represented as a blacksmith of prodigious strength. His date by the chronicles is the fourth century A.D. The son of a blacksmith, Maung Tin De could wield in his right hand a twenty-five viss hammer, and a twenty-viss hammer in his left: and under his blows the anvil roared like thunder and all the people around were struck with panic. His great power was a source of fear to the King of Tagaung where he lived, who to secure himself married his beautiful sister Saw Me Ya, and afterwards seized by treachery the smith, whose funeral pyre was shared by his sister: the pair of them thereafter became the most powerful Nats, the Mahagiri Maung Hnama Daw of Popa.” Bell, E.N., A Monograph on Iron and Steel Work in Burma, Superintendent of Printing, Rangoon (1907), p. 2. Mt. Popa is an extinct volcano closeby the old Burmese capital Pagan, and is the legendary birthplace of smithing (as an early source of iron ore). A viss is a unit of measure used throughout SEA, but I can't remember its equivalent in grams or ounces. Tagoung was a pre-Pagan Burmese kingdom, and Nats are guardian spirits pre-dating Buddhism in Burma, and still greatly revered. I am willing to wager that it is the story of Maung Tin De that is on your dha, Andrew.