(Mis)Interpretations of Burmese Words:Part I
In the case of the term
Kala
(Kula)
By U Khin Maung Saw
I. Introduction:
"Burma Studies" constitute a relatively small field within the larger field of SoutheastAsian Studies. In my experience as a Burma scholar of many years I have come torealize that the amount of material written in foreign languages about Indonesia andThailand, especially on language and literature, far exeeds the material avaible onBurma. Moreover, on reading material available in foreign languages, I have noticedthat some information is either incorrect or misleading. This wrong or misleadinginformation is often quoted and disseminated by subsequent authors, leading to asituation whereby it eventually acquires the status of being true and correct.There is, in fact, a great deal of material available on the subject of Burmeselanguage and literature; however, it exists only in Burmese. For most non-BurmeseBurma Scholars these standard sources are, unfortunately, beyond their reach.Unable to speak, read and write Burmese fluently they are obliged to rely only onmaterials written in one of the European languages.To emphasize this point I would like to cite the Burma scholar U Tin Htway, who isone of the most experienced Burmese intellectuals teaching abroad, who writes: "For the scholars and students of Burmese language and literature, the field of study isenormous and the resources are abundant. But, for non-Burmese scholars, say,almost all, the abundant resources of Burmese inscriptions and classical Burmeseliteratures are, seemingly, beyond their limit, even up to this very day. Most of them,if not nearly all, had done their work with "hearsay knowledge", through theinformant(s) and unfortunately, for many information they got, they were not able toscrutinize or to check with standard Burmese literary sources, which are well-established and had existed for centuries now. However, their achievements shouldnot be ignored, not even the ones with dubious merit".1 Although some contributions on the subject of Burmese language and literature,written by some Burmese intellectuals in English, do exist, unfortunately, thesepersons are mainly scholars of English language and literature rather than scholarsof Burmese language and literature. Hence they are more familiar with the English
language and its literature than with their mother tongue.2Their contributions haveoften been referred to by the non-Burmese Burma scholars; as a result, falseinterpretations, predictions and conclusions occur.One specific example is the (mis)interpretation of the Burmese word
ku la;
Kala
(Kula). Though the word had and has a harmless meaning, some non-BurmeseBurma Scholars misinterpreted this term and given it an unsavoury meaning. In thisarticle I would like to point out its interpretation according to standard Burmesesources, the correct usage of the term used by respected scholars and others as wellas misinterpretations used by some scholars unwittingly, as a result of having basedtheir work on informants who were not scholars and provided information on thebasis of "hearsay knowledge".
II. Interpretations according to the literature:The first hypothesis
postulates that the word
ku la;
Kala
(Kula) came from the Paliword
ku l
Kula
meaning "noble race" (this is a short form of
ku lpu t†
Kula Putta
which means "son of the noble race"). The word was used for the Indians (Peoplefrom the subcontinent) by the early Buddhist people of Burma (Mons, Burmese,Arakanese, Karens and Shans etc.) because the Lord Buddha himself was anIndian.Listed below are some literature sources which support this hypothesis:(1) The Myanmar Language Commission, Myanmar-English Dictionary, Yangon,1993, p. 10.
ku la;
/ kala/
n 1.
native of the Indian subcontinent.
2.
court-card; picture card.
adj
of foreign origin. See also
qeBç a
[Pali
ku l
](2) The Myanmar Language Commission,
®mn\ maABi Dan\
( Myanmar-Myanmar Dictionary), Yangon, 1991, p. 9
ku la;
/kla;/
n
1
'
Ai N
∂
i ytu i k\ cy\ edqm
˙
laeqaq¨ ¨ m¥a;"
2
'
qamn\Aa;®Pc\ .®mn\ maNu i c\ cM f
Aenak\ Pk\ R
˙
itu i c\ ;Nu i c\ cM m¥a;m
˙
laq¨ ¨ m¥a;
3
'
sk
˚
ooP´ t
∑
c\g¥k\' k
∑
c\ ;' kc\ ; P´ K¥p\ ku i eKÅeqaska;"
nw
i- Nu ic\ cM ®Ka;m
˙
alaeqa" Nu i c\ cM ®Ka;m
˙
®Ps\ eqa"
[
på' ku l
]
Translation:
ku la;
/kala/
n 1
. people from the Indian subcontinent.
2
. The termgenerally used for the natives of the countries west of Burma. 3. Jack, Queen andKing in the playing cards:
adj
of foreign origin [Pali
Kula
]
(3) U Wun,
tk
˚
qu i l\ ®mn\ maABi Dan\ \' Apu i c\ ;
1
(The University Burmese-BurmeseDictionary), Rangoon, 1952, vol.1, p. 22.
ku la;
-
nM
1'
Ai N
∂
i yNu i c\ cM qa;m¥a;"
2"
qamn\ Aa;®Pc\ . ka; ®mn\ maNu ic\ cM
Aenak\ Pk\ edqm¥a;m
˙
laq¨ ¨ m¥a;" - - - -
nMwi
Nu i c\ cM ®Ka;Ò®Ps\ eqa" Nu i c\ cM ®Ka;m
˙
laeqa" [m
∑
n\' gla" på' ku l]
Translation:
ku la;
N 1
. Indians.
2
. General term for the people who came from westof Burma. -------
adj
of foreign origin [Mon
Gla
; Pali
Kula
](4) U Hoke Sein,
påLi -®mn\ maABi Dan\duti ypu i c\ ;
(The Pali-Burmese Dictionary),Rangoon, 1956, vol. 2, p. 329.
ku l [ku l] (n) Am¥i o;" ®mt\ eqaAm¥i o;" Ai m\" mi BAi m\" Alu p\ AekÁ;dåyka"
Translation:
kul [kula] (
n
) race; noble race; house; parent's house; male donor or layman.(5) Judson, A., Burmese-English Dictionary, Baptist Press, Rangoon, edited 1953. p.173 (First Edition: 1836).
ku la;
(Pali) n, a race
Am¥oi ;
; one whose race is distinctly marked, a caste person; anative of any country west of Burma; a foreigner, ........etc.In fact, the Burmese use the Pali word
Kula
(meaning holy, great, noble,distinguished etc.) in various forms. The following are some examples:(a
) ku lqmg©
(Kula Thamagga)great/noble organizationUnited Nations(b)
ku la;Au t\(kul”q™)
(Kula Oatta)distinguished camelcamel, the distinguished animal(c)
ku lku m
μ
ar^
(Kula Kumari)noble young ladyyoung lady of the noble race(d)
ku lpb
∫
t
(Kula Pabbata)great/distinguished mountainmountain range
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