Abstract
(Burmese society knew no caste or class distinction, but naturally those in the service of the King enjoyed a certain amount of power, privilege and prestige. However, the average Burmese villager, who considered himself inferior to none, felt no envy of those in royal service, because their appointments, held at the King’s will and pleasure, automatically lapsed with the King’s death or deposition. In addition, he looked upon the royal court as a hot bed of intrigue, conspiracy, false words, and faithless friendships. This attitude is emphasised in the following two proverbs:
“Just as the contents of an egg and the clouds in the sky change their colour and design every moment, tne business of the King’s court is ever changing, inconstant and complicated.”
“The man who serves the King is as insecure as the tree which grows on the very edge of a shore.”
In the following letter the father who was already in the King’s service advised his young son on appointment to an important post.)
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References
It was customary and proper for a person in the service of the King to refer to his official rank even in a letter to his own son.
In Buddhist mythology, Brahmas are benign beings, superior to ordinary gods.
He was King from 1752 to 1760,
Sasa Jataka, E. В. Gowell, op. cit., No. 316, Vol. 3.
i.e. the needle of the compass, because it “quivers like a lizard’s tail.”
This is obviously in reply to a statement made by the son in his letter.
Pickled fish was a delicacy in Lower Burma, and the son must have acquired a taste for it while at Rangoon.
The five great enemies of mankind were, water, fire, rulers, robbers and ill-wishers,
Dabbhapuppha Jataka, E. B. Gowell, op. cit., No. 400, Vol. III.
These explanations of the hidden meanings of the songs are here given by the present writer, and were, of course, not included in the original epistle.
A Burmese boy, on reaching the age of sixteen, entered the Order of Buddhist monks as a novice, and his head was shaven. After a few months he left the Order and started to earn his living. He let his hair grow again, but it would be some time before he could flaunt a large hairknot. Accordingly, ‘little hair-knot’ was a term of endearment for a young man under twenty years of age,
The song was meant for Prince Tharrawaddy. The Prince of Toungoo was the King’s uncle who rebelled and was executed in 1820.
The three problems were 1) the border clashes with the British at Manipur and Assam which the Burmese had conquered, and 2) at Bengal-Arakan frontier and 3) intrigues at the King’s court.
i.e. from where he used to watch for wild animals. “Perfumed with wild flowers,” because such platforms were usually built on Hnan-Lone-Kyaing (botanical name: Vachellia) trees, whose flowers had a pungent fragrance.
Although the city of Mandalay was built only in 1859, the Hill had been known by that name for many centuries earlier.
Another “astrological measure” the King took, was to remove his court from the capital “anticipating, forestalling, and thus cancelling” his possible defeat and exile. The epistle, however, does not mention this.
All species of Indians would include the Assamese, Manipuris, Bengalees and the English East India Company, because Assam and Manipur were then part of the Burmese Empire; and also other Indian races who were represented among the East India Company’s troops. When war broke out in 1824, Siam took part in it as the ally of the British.
When war broke out, however, both the Mons and the Hill peoples showed the utmost loyalty to the King.
The maritime provinces of Arakan and Tenasserim, i.e., three quarters of the entire seaboard were lost to the British in 1826 as the result of the war.
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© 1968 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Aung, M.H. (1968). Four Epistles Dealing with Opportunities and Dangers of Royal Service. In: Epistles Written on the Eve of the Anglo-Burmese War. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-7171-9_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-7171-9_4
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