Abstract
In this chapter, in order to discuss the relationship between Buddhism and village economy in Myanmar, I will focus on a great change that took place in one of the two villages mentioned above, Thindaunggyi Village. This village’s paya—pagoda or Buddha image—which in 1987 had been like those found in any other village transformed into a famous paya. It is now known to all Buddhists in Myanmar. This change came about partly because of changes in Myanmar’s socio-economic situation. I analyse the relationship between religious activities and economic development through the records of my individual household surveys in this village and the accounting books of the paya. In addition, I examine the economic ripple effect that the paya brought about on the village through a survey of the shops, restaurants, open-air stalls, peddlers, and so on in the shopping street that sprang up around the paya. This study expands the body of research on how the practice of Buddhism can have an enormous economic effect in Myanmar. It also shows a process of de-agrarianisation of this village, which has changed from a farming village to a shopping district.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Gandakudi is a Pali word meaning “fragment hut”, or “Buddha’s cabin”. “Câunhsaun” means “monks’ living quarter” and jî means “big” in Burmese. In the case of the Shwetheindaw Paya, it is obviously not a monk’s quarter, but if we regard Buddha images and stupas as the Buddha, we can say that it is a “gandakudi” in the sense that Buddha lives there.
- 2.
The wages of agricultural labourers include the cost of lunches and snacks provided by their employers. Plasterers are not provided with such meals.
- 3.
The donation amounts listed here are based on interviews with gawpaka and village elders and are approximate estimates.
- 4.
It is possible, of course, to interpret this as meaning that if we become wealthy in this life, we will be able to accumulate more merit and virtue for the next life, which will ultimately lead to the maximisation of utility in the next life. However, it is also true that with the advent of the market economy, there is a growing tendency to maximise utility in this life, without giving up on the next.
- 5.
When I visited the Shwetheindaw Paya on 11 December 2018, the Director General of Myanmar Police Force came to pray, but he was praying not in front of the Buddha statue but in front of the stupa with an offering. He said that the visit was to thank the Paya for his promotion from Deputy Director General to Director General, shortly after he had previously prayed here.
- 6.
In addition to motorcycle parking, a large parking lot was constructed in 2016, and car parking fees are now included in the revenue of the Paya.
- 7.
Myanmar has other episodes that do not allow for fungibility. One such example is the crop-based agricultural loan system. For example, if a farmer grows rice, he can get a low-interest loan according to the acreage of rice cultivation. There was also a system under which a certain amount of fertiliser was provided at low cost if a farmer planted sugarcane. However, since both the loans and the fertilisers were fungible, the money for rice was often used to grow other crops, to pay for children’s education, or to pay for alcohol. Fertiliser for sugarcane was also used for onions and chillies, which had better market prices, and did not increase the productivity of sugarcane. These crop-based agricultural loan schemes were introduced in many countries, but gradually fell into disuse due to the difficulty of monitoring their use. In Myanmar, however, this type of loan is still provided in increasing amounts, and the farmers expect them. There are some similarities with the tacit understanding that donated money to the Paya is used for specific purposes.
- 8.
The strength of forward and backward linkages among economic agents and sectors can be calculated using the inverse matrices of Ghosh and Leontief in the input–output table, respectively.
- 9.
See Table 5.2. In 2013, four of the eleven trustees, including the chairman and secretary general, received a monthly salary of 90,000 kyats. Two of them started to earn more money as prayer agents and gave up their salaries as trustees. At that time, four administrative and cleaning staffs were employed, and their monthly salary was 80,000 kyats. As mentioned above, in 2016, the salary of administrative staff was 150,000 kyats, which was much higher than that of Board members and other staff.
- 10.
Banana prices soared from around the summer of 2019, with a 3-bunch gadawbwe going from 3500 kyats in 2016 to 5000 kyats. Therefore, instead of selling at a fixed price, each gadawbwe shop had to compete in price. In this chapter, however, we focus on the situation in 2016, when the most data are available. In addition, coconuts, which had previously been disposed of for free, started to be priced around 2018.
- 11.
As mentioned above, the word lujî means “elder, community leader, important person, respected person”. While the majority of prayer agents fall into this category, there are some who do not. The criteria for selection are extremely vague, despite the fact that this is a position bringing in substantial income for a few minutes of incantation.
- 12.
See Takahashi (2012:105) for the story of another person, Ko Kyaung Ni, who came to Thindaunggyi Village without money or food and became a successful milker and influential figure in the village.
- 13.
A Myanmar sweet made by mixing milk with sugar, oil, and so on to make a solid. It is called nwânòugê in Burmese.
- 14.
In 2016, there were 105 Saturdays and Sundays, 25 Sabbath Days, and 236 weekdays. As previously mentioned, 20 villagers set up stalls and tables on Sabbath Days and weekends, and 5 villagers set them up on weekdays, with a net revenue of 10,000 kyats per person on Sabbath Days and weekends, and 5000 kyats per person on weekdays. This figure is calculated by subtracting the fee of 300 kyats per day paid to the Board, then multiplying by the number of shops and the number of days each shop was open.
- 15.
It was estimated that there was a net revenue of 8000 kyats on Sabbath Days and weekends and 5000 kyats on weekdays, with each person paying 300 kyats per day for a place to the Board of Trustees.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Takahashi, A. (2023). Revitalising a Village Through Buddhism: Thindaunggyi Village and Shwetheindaw Paya. In: Regime Changes and Socio-economic History of Rural Myanmar, 1986-2019. Studies in Economic History. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-3272-6_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-3272-6_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-99-3271-9
Online ISBN: 978-981-99-3272-6
eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)