Myanmar's History and Background

The Mon is considered to be the first inhabitants of Myanmar possibly as early as 3,000 BC.  The Mon
people settled in central Myanmar and on down along the Bay of Bengal covering the eastern coast. 
Irrigation systems were created and contacts, both cultural and commercial were established with India. 
In addition to keeping in contact with India, the Mon people had contact and influence upon their Mon
neighbors in Siam (current day Thailand).  As with the others who followed, the Monshad gone down the
Irrawaddy River to set up their establishments.  Following the Mons, were the Pyu, although they arrived
much later in time.  They started a capital in AD 628, near modern day Prome, but in the mid-ninth
century, the arrival of the Burmans absorbed the communities of the Mon and Pyu people that were in
their path.

The Pagan Kingdom brought about the first unified state of Myanmar, through King Anawrahta (r 1044-
1077).  The state compared to a Hindu kingdom, with support coming from household taxes.  By the
thirteenth century though, Myanmar was starting to decline in part due to large amounts of money and
time being spent on building pagodas.  In 1287, Kublai Khan ransacked Pagan thus starting a period of
continual conflicts that continued for many centuries.  The appearance of Europeans had little effect on
Myanmar due to their internal (and external) conflicts until they infringed on the Raj in Bengal.  This
brought about British occupation to keep peace on the borders of these countries and after 60 years, took
over all of Myanmar.  A positive result of this was that Myanmar became the world's major exporter of
rice.  The downside is that there was also an influx of Chinese and Indian immigrants, who tended to
exploit the Burmans.  There was also slow social disintegration due to the British rule and it brought about
a nationalist movement.

The start of World War II was a time for political development among individuals.  A student leader, U
Aung San, put together the Burma Independent Army (BIA), a group who had been previously trained by
the Japanese.  In 1942, when the Japanese invaded Myanmar, the BIA joined the Japanese forces. 
Although they didn't fight many battles, their numbers greatly increased eventually enabling them to
overthrow the then weak Japanese government at the end of the war.  By now they were known as the
Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League (AFPFL), with U Aung San still being the leader.

After the war, the AFPFL talked with the British in an attempt to gain the independence of Myanmar and
in April 1947 they won a majority of the constitutional assembly seats.  Three months later, U Aung San's
political adversary U Saw had him, along with most of his cabinet, assassinated.  Myanmar's leader, as
well as the AFPFL's, during its early years of independence was U Nu, a former student leader and the
foreign minister of Ba Maw.

In 1962, an army takeover by General Ne Win, threw out U Nu's government and put U Nu in prison for
four years.  General Ne Win's idea was to turn Myanmar into a socialist country.  This was called the
"Burmese Path to Socialism" and only went downhill from there with everything, even retail stores, being
nationalized.  The economy quickly crumbled and as a result a very profitable black market evolved. 
Even when Ne Win turned over the presidency to San Yu, life didn't improve for the populace.  Some
citizens lost their status with a ruling creating "associate citizens," which were simply people whose
ancestors weren't from the "original" Myanmar races.  Those targeted were the Sino-Burman and Indo-
Burman communities and their rights included being able to vote, but they weren't allowed to be elected
 or hold government positions above a certain level.

Enough was enough and the people finally revolted after a devaluation of the currency, thus wiping out
any monetary surplus people may have had.  There were antigovernment riots and public letters
criticizing Ne Win and declaring he needed to leave.  He did eventually step down and retire in July 1988,
but not until after the antigovernment riots in March and June of 1988.

After Ne Win's retirement, Myanmar had a few months of great turmoil.  There were protests, looting, and
a brutal police responses (the leader of the riot police was in change of the government) that led to up to
a thousand people dead in Yangon, with thousands dead in other parts of the country.  Maung Maung
took charge and tried to appease those who resented the military rule and was successful in gaining a
partnership with Brigadier Aung Gyi, General Tin U, and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi (the daughter of U Aung
San).  The armed forces appeared to side with this group thus causing the military to stage a coup
against their government.  In September of 1988, the Defense Minister (Genreal Saw Maung) declared
the establishment of a State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) that promised to re-establish
law and order among other key items, but meeting the first item resulted in hundreds, possibly even over
a thousand deaths.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, which brought great pressure on
the SLORC.  The SLORC had placed her under house arrest and General Tin U in prison in July 1989,
since they were the leaders of the National League for Democracy (NLD).  Although the NLD had won 80
percent of the seats and 60 percent of the votes, the SLORC retaliated by arresting a lot of them and
declaring that a non-military government couldn't be established without a new constitution being written.

In 1992, General Than Shwe took over as SLORC chairman, prime minister and minister of defense. 
Many political prisoners were released and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was allowed visits from her family,
with visits from a U.S congressman, a UN official and an American reporter two years later.  Since she
would not leave Myanmar (be exiled), she was detained for longer than the legal limit (which the
government then changed).  Finally, in August of 1995 she was released from house arrest and was
permitted to stay in Yangon, where she conversed weekly with thousands of people, both citizens and
foreigners outside her front gate.

In 1993, the SLORC selected a national convention to start drafting a new constitution and told the
convention to give the military a major government role.  Obviously, since the convention was not being
conducted democratically, the NLD party members walked out the convention and as of 1998, a new
constitution had yet to be completed.  

In 1996, the SLORC increased tensions between the two groups (SLORC and NLD) by arresting over
200 members of NLD on their way to a part congress and doing it again in May 1997.  In November 1997,
the SLORC was disbanded and replaced with the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), which
still had the same leadership as the SLORC.   

Geography
Slightly smaller than Texas, Myanmar occupies the Thailand/Cambodia portion of the Indochinese
peninsula. India lies to the northwest and China to the northeast. Bangladesh, Laos, and Thailand are
also neighbors. The Bay of Bengal touches the southwest coast. The fertile delta of the Irrawaddy River in
the south contains a network of interconnecting canals and nine principal river mouths.
Government
Military regime.
Head of State: Senior Gen. Than Shwe (1992)
Prime Minister: Lt. Gen. Thein Sein (2007)
Land area: 253,954 sq mi (657,741 sq km); total area: 261,969 q mi (678,500 sq km)
Population (2010 est.): 53,414,374 (growth rate: 1.0%); birth rate: 19.5/1000; infant mortality rate:
50.7/1000; life expectancy: 64.5; density per sq km: 72
Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Rangoon (Yangon), 4,344,100
Naypyidaw (administrative capital)
Other large city: Mandalay, 1,147,400
Monetary unit: Kyat

The Mon Era

Humans lived in the region that is now Myanmar as early as 11,000 years ago. The first
identifiable civilization is that of the Mon. The Mon probably began migrating into the area in
about 3000 BC, and their first kingdom Suwarnabhumi, was founded around the port of
Thaton in about 300 BC. Spoken tradition suggests that they had contact with Buddhism via
seafaring as early as the 3rd century BC, though definitely by the 2nd century BC when they
received an envoy of monks from Ashoka. Much of the Mon's written records have been
destroyed through wars. The Mons blended Indian and Mon culture together in a hybird of
the two civilizations. By the mid-9th century, they had come to dominate all of southern
Myanmar.

The Pyu Era

The Pyu arrived in Myanmar in the 7th century and established city kingdoms at Binnaka,
Mongamo, Sri Ksetra, and Halingyi. During this period, Myanmar was part of an overland
trade route from China to India. Chinese sources state that the Pyu controlled 18 kingdoms
and describe them as a humane and peaceful people. The Pyu capital of Halingyi fell to the
kingdom of Nanchao in the mid-9th century, ending their period of dominance.

The Bagan Kingdom

To the north another group of people, the Burmans began infiltrating the area as well. By
849, they had founded a powerful kingdom centered on the city of Pagan and filled the void
left by the Pyu. The kingdom grew in relative isolation until the reign of Anawrahta (1044 -
77) who successfully unified all of Myanmar by defeating the Mon city of Thaton in 1057.
Consolidation was accomplised under his successors Kyanzittha (1084-1112) and
Alaungsithu (1112-1167), so that by the mid-12th century, most of Southeast Asia was
under the control of either the Bagan Kingdom or the Khmer empire. The Bagan kingdom
went into decline as more land and resources fell into the hands of the powerful sangha
(monkhood) and the Mongols threatened from the north. The last true ruler of Bagan,
Narathihapate (reigned 1254-87) felt confident in his ability to resist the Mongols and
advanced into Yunnan in 1277 to make war upon them. He was thouroughly crushed at the
Battle of Ngasaunggyan, and Bagan resistance virtually collapsed. The king was
assassinated by his own son, but the dynasty was soon brought to an end in 1289, when
the mongols installed a puppet ruler in Myanmar.
Inwa and Bago

After the collapse of Bagan authority, Myanmar was divided once again. The Burmans had
restablished themselves at the city of Inwa by 1364, where Bagan culture was revived and a
great age of Burmese literature ensued. The kingdom lacked easily defendable borders,
however, and was overrun by the Shan in 1527.
To the south, the Mons reestablished themselves at Bago, and under their king,
Dhammazedi (reigned 1472-92), entered a golden age as well, becoming a great center of
commerce and Therinwada Buddhism.

The Taungoo Dynasty

Surviors of the destruction of Inwa eventually established a new kingdom centered on

Taungoo in 1531 led by Tabinshwehti (reigned 1531-50), who once again unified most of
Myanmar. By this time, the geopolitical situation in Southeast Asia had changed drastically.
The Shan gained power in a new kingdom in the North, Ayutthaya (Siam), while the
Portugese had arrived in the south and conquered Malacca. With the coming of European
traders, Myanmar was once again an important trading center, and Tabinshwehti moved his
capital to Bago due to its commercial value. Tabinshwehti's brother-in-law, Bayinnaung
(ruled 1551-81) succeeded to the throne and proceeded on a campaign of conquest
conquering several states, including Manipur (1560) and even Ayutthaya (1569). His wars
stretched Myanmar to the limits of its resources, however, and both Manipur and Ayutthaya
were soon independant once again. Faced with rebellion by several cities and renewed
Portugese incursions, the Tourngoo rulers withdrew from southern Myanmmar and founded
a second dynasty at Inwa. Bayinnaung's grandson, Anaukpetlun, once again reunited
Myanmar in 1613 and decisively defeated Portuguese attempts to take over Myanmar. His
successor Thalun reestablished the priciples of the old Bagan kingdom, but spent too heavily
on religious expenditure and paid to little attention to the southern part of his kingdom.
Encouraged by the French in India, Bago finally rebelled against Inwa, further weakening
the state, which fell in 1752.

The Konbaung Dynasty

It did not take long for a new dynasty to arise and bring Myanmar to its greates power yet.
A popular Burmese leader named Alaungpaya drove the Bago forces out of northern
Myanmar by 1753, and by 1759 he had once again conquered Bago and southern Myanmar
while also regaining control of Manipur. He established his capital at Rangoon. In 1760, he
briefly conquered Tenasserim and marched on Ayutthaya, but his invasion failed and he was
killed. His son Hsinbyushin (ruled 1763-76) returned to Ayutthaya in 1766 and had
conquered it before the end of the next year. Even China took notice of Myanmar now, but
Hsinbyushin sucessfully repulsed four Chinese invasions between 1766 and 1769. Another of
Alaungpaya's sons, Bodawpaya (ruled 1781-1819), lost Ayutthaya, but added Arakan
(1784) and Tenasserim (1793) to the kingdom as well. In Jaunary 1824, during the reign of
King Bagyidaw (ruled 1819-37), a general named Maha Bandula succeeded in conquering
Assam, bringing Myanmar face to face with British interests in India.

War with Britain

In response to the continued conquests of Myanmar, the British and the Siamese joined
forces against Myanmar in 1824. The First Anglo-Burmese War (1824-26) ended in a British
victory, and by the Treaty of Yandaboo, Myanmar lost Assam, Manipur, Arakan, and
Tenasserim. As the century wore on, the British began to covet the natural resources of
Myanmar and wanted to secure their supply route to Singapore. As a result, they provoked
the Second Anglo-Burmese War in 1852, annexing Bago province and renaming it Lower
Burma. The war resulted in a revolution in Myanmar, with King Pagin Min (ruled 1846-52)
being replaced by his half brother, Mindon Min (ruled 1853-78)). King Mindon tried to
modernise the Burmese state and economy to resist British encroachments, and he
established a new capital at Mandalay, which he proceeded to fortify. This was not enough
to stop the Birtish, however, who claimed that Mindon's son Thibaw Min (ruled 1878-85)
was a tyrant intending to side with the French and declared war once again in 1885,
conquering the remainder of the country in the Third Anglo-Burmese War.

During the British Ruling

Britain made all of Burma a province of India in 1886 with the capital at Rangoon.
Traditional Myanmar society was drastically altered by the ending of the monarchy and the
separation of church and state. Though war officially ended after only a couple of weeks,
resistance continued in northern Myanmar until 1890, with the British finally resorting to a
systematic destruction of villages and appointment of new officials to finally halt the guerilla
activity. The economic nature of society also changed drastically. After the opening of the
Suez Canal, the demand for Burmese rice grew and vast tracts of land were opened up for
cultivation. However, in order to prepare the new land for cultivation, farmers were forced
to borrow money from Indian moneylenders at high interest rates and were often eveicted
for failure to pay back the loan. Imported Indian labor ended up with most of the jobs, and
whole villages became lawless dens full of the unemployed. While the Burmese economy
grew, all the power and wealth was in the hands of several British firms and the Burmese
people did not reap the rewards.

A new generation of Burmese leaders arose in the early twentieth century from amongst the
educated classes that were permitted to go to London to study law. They came away from
this experience with the belief that the Burmese situation could be improved through
peaceful protest and negotiations. Peaceful strikes in the early 1920s led to a constitutional
reform in 1923 that created a partialy elected legislature with limited powers, but some
people began to feel that the rate of change was not fast enough and the reforms not
expansive enough. Some of these dissatisfied students founded a new group called Thakin
(an ironic name as thakin means "master" in the Burmese language, and this was the term
that students were required to use when addressing their British professors, whom they
were coming to resent). A peasant rebellion led by Saya San that started in 1930 and lasted
for two years gave the Thakin their chance. Though they did not actually participate in the
rebellion, they did win the trust of the peasants and displaced the older generation of
London-educated elites at the head of the Burmese nationalist movement. They staged a
strike in 1936, which was notable because it was during this strike that Thakin Nu and Aung
San joined the movement. The British seperated Burma from India in 1937 and granted the
colony a new constitution calling for a fully elected assembly, but many Burmese felt that
this was just a ploy to exclude them from any further Indian reforms. Ba Maw served as the
first prime minister of Burma, but he was forced out by U Saw in 1939, who served as prime
minister from 1940 to 1942.

Burmese nationalists saw the outbreak of World War II as an opportunity to extort

concessions from the British in exchange for support in the war effort, but the British would
have none of it, issuing an arrest warrant for Aung San, who escaped to China. The
Japanese offered him support, and he briefly returned to Burma to enlist the aid of twenty-
nine young men who went to Japan with him to receive military training as the so-called
"Thirty Comrades." The Japanese quickly declared Burma independant, and when they
occupied Bangkok in December 1941, Aung Sang announced the formation of the Burma
Independence Army (BIA) in anticipation of Japanese liberation. The Japanese duly moved
into Burma in 1942 and disbanded the BIA, forming the smaller Burma Defense Army in its
place with Aung Sang still at the head. Ba Naw was declared head of state, and his cabinet
included both Aung Sang and Thakin Nu.

It soon became apparent that Japanese promises of independence were merely a sham and
that Ba Maw was just a puppet. As the war turned against the Japanese, they declared
Burma a fully sovereign state in 1943, but this was just another facade. Disillusioned, Aung
San began negotitations with Lord Mountbatten in October 1943 and officially joined the
Allies with his renamed Burma National Army (BNA) in March 1945. During this period,
Anung San sucessfully created a broad-based coalition of political parties called the Anti-
Fascist Organization, renamed the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League (AFPFL), to govern
the country. The Japanese were routed from Burma in May 1945.
The defeat of the Japanese brought a military administration and demands to try Aung San
as a traitor for his early collaboration with the Japanese. Lord Mountbatten realized that this
was an impossibility considering San's hold on the BNA and his popular appeal and sent the
conciliatory Sir Hubert Rance to head the administration, who was able to win back the trust
of both San and the general populace. After the war ended, the former civilian governor
returned, and San was duly arrested. This nearly touched off a rebellion, but the British
backed off and sent Rance back to restore order and faith. Negotiations began for Burmese
independence, which were completed sucessfully in January 1947. The agreement left both
the communist and conservative branches of the AFPFL dissatisfied, however, sending the
communists underground and the conservatives into opposition. Another who was
dissatisfied by the agreement was U Saw, who felt that Aung San had conceded to much in
the negotiations. Consequently, he engineered the assassination of Aung San and nearly his
entire cabinet in July. Thakin Nu was asked to form a new cabinet, and he presided over
Burmese independence on January 4, 1948.

Religion

Burma is a predominantly Theravada Buddhist country. Buddhism reached Burma around

the beginning of the Christian era, mingling with Hinduism (also imported from India) and
indigenous animism. The Pyu and Mon kingdoms of the first millennium were Buddhist,
but the early Bamar peoples were animists. According to traditional history, King
Anawrahta of Bagan adopted Buddhism in 1056 and went to war with the Mon kingdom
of Thaton in the south of the country in order to obtain the Buddhist Canon and learned
monks. The religious tradition created at this time, and which continues to the present day,
is a syncretalist mix of what might be termed 'pure' Buddhism (of the Sri Lankan or
Theravada school) with deep-rooted elements of the original animism or nat-worship and
even strands of Hinduism and the Mahayana tradition of northern India.

Islam reached Burma at approximately the same time, but never gained a foothold outside
the geographically isolated seaboard running from modern-day Bangladesh southward to
Irrawaddy Delta (modern Rakhine State, known previously to the British as Arakan, and
an independent kingdom until the eighteenth century). The colonial period saw a huge influx
of Muslim (and Hindu) Indians into Yangon and other cities, and the majority of Yangon's
many mosques and temples owe their origins to these immigrants.

Christianity was brought to Burma by European missionaries in the 1800s. It made little if
any headway among Buddhists, but has been widely adopted by non-Buddhists such as the
Chin, Karen, and Kachin. The Roman Catholic Church, Myanmar Baptist Convention
and the Assemblies of God of Burma are the largest Christian denominations in Burma.
Burma is home to the second largest population of Baptists in the world, after the United
States.

The Chinese contribution to Burma's religious mix has been slight, but several traditional
Chinese temples were established in Yangon and other large cities in the nineteenth century
when large-scale Chinese migration was encouraged by the British. Since approximately
1990 this migration has resumed in huge numbers, but the modern Chinese immigrants
seem to have little interest in religion.

Some more isolated indigenous peoples in the more inaccessible parts of the country still
follow traditional animism.

There are no totally reliable demographic statistics form Burma, but the following is an
estimate of the religious composition of the country:

 Buddhists: 89%
 Animists: 1%
 Christians: 4%
 Muslims: 4%
 Hindus: 2%

Burma has nominal guarantees of freedom of religious expression, although religious

minorities (Christians and Muslims), particularly those in the countryside are subject to
discrimination. Sporadic riots between Burmese Buddhists and Burmese Muslims are not
uncommon, and tensions between the two religious groups are high, particularly in major
cities. In 2001, after the Taliban's destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan, religiously
motivated riots broke out between Buddhists and Muslims across major cities in Burma,
including Sittwe, Pyay, Taungoo and Bago. The current regime's nationalistic policy of
Bama san-gyin, which considers Buddhism a key element of Burmese-ness, does provide a
systemic bias in favour of Buddhists in terms of preferment in the armed forces and other
State structures.

Customs
An ear-piercing ceremony at Mahamuni Buddha in Mandalay.

The "traditional" Burmese greeting is mingalaba (from Pali mangala and roughly translated
as 'auspiciousness to you'), which is relatively recent as the custom started in schools in the
1960s effectively replacing the English "Good morning/afternoon, teacher" in the newly
nationalised missionary schools; it is also considered formal and used in formal situations.
Greetings such as "Have you eaten?" (Htamin sa pi bi la) and "How are you?" (Nei kaung la)
are still more commonly used as they have always been. "Hello" is also becoming a popular
greeting nowadays whereas it used to be confined to answering the phone.

Dress

The traditional garment of the Burmese is called longyi, a sarong still worn by both men
and women. Traditionally, Bamar men wear a short collarless jacket over a white
mandarin collared shirt, while Bamar women wear a blouse and a shawl. However, these
are mostly worn on more formal occasions in modern times. In urban areas, skirts and
pants are becoming more common particularly among the young. They also wear something
called a Hwein Shu on the males privates.

Speech

In language, the Bamar are very age-oriented. The use of honorifics before personal
names is the norm, and it is considered rude to call a person just by their name without the
honorific unless they are known from childhood or youth or in the case of a younger
underling. Young males are addressed as Maung or Ko (lit. brother), and older or senior
men as U (lit. uncle). Likewise, young females are addressed as Ma (lit. sister), and older
or senior women as Daw (lit. aunt) regardless of their marital status. 'Aunty' or 'Uncle' is
commonly used as well today. The pronouns 'you' and 'I' vary depending on whom one is
speaking to and are age-dependent. Elders are spoken to in a different and more respectful
manner and a special vocabulary exists for speaking to Buddhist monks.

Manners
Age is still considered synonymous with experience and wisdom, hence venerated. Parents
and teachers are second only to the Three Jewels (yadana thounba), together making up
the Five Boundless Beneficence (ananda ngaba), and are paid obeisance at special times of
the year such as Thingyan, beginning and end of lent, and usually parents before one
leaves on a journey. Elders are served first at meals, and in their absence a spoonful of rice
is put aside first in the pot as a token of respect (oocha) before serving the meal. Young
people would avoid sitting on a higher level than the elders or passing in front of them
unless unavoidable when they would tread softly and with a slight bow. Things would be
passed to the elders using both hands together. Men may cross their legs sitting on a chair
or a mat but women generally would not.

Children are taught from young 'to venerate one's elders, to respect one's peers, and to be
kind to the young and weak' (kyeethu go yothei, ywedu go layza, ngethu go thana). Parents
are believed to be solely responsible for their children's behaviour as reflected by the
expressions mi ma hsoumma, hpa ma hsoumma (undisciplined either by mother or by
father) and ami youk tau hnoukkyan, ahpa youk tau ko amu-aya kyan (bad language from
bad mother, bad body-language from bad father). Saying "thank you" however is not
Burmese custom between friends and within the family.

It is considered rude to touch a person's head, because it is the "highest" point of the body.
It is also considered taboo to touch another's feet, but worse still to point with the foot or
sit with feet pointing at someone older, because the feet are considered the lowest. Also,
pointing a finger at Buddha images is considered blasphemous, although this custom has
slowly eroded. Shoes are always taken off upon entering homes and temples. A custom of
the Burmese is to perambulate clockwise (let ya yit) around a pagoda, rather than counter-
clockwise (let wè yit).

Physical demonstrations of affection in public are common between friends of the same
gender or between members of the family, but seldom seen between lovers. It is thus
common to see friends walking together holding hands or with arms round each other, but
couples rarely do so except in major cities.

Marriage
Traditional Burmese folklore considers love to be destiny, as the Hindu god Brahma writes
one's destiny in love on a child's brow when he or she is six days old, called na hpu za. A
Burmese wedding can be religious or secular and extravagant or simple. Traditionally, a
marriage is recognized with or without a ceremony when the man's paso (sarong) is seen
hanging from a rail of the house or if the couple eats from the same plate. Dowries are
typically unheard of, and arranged marriage is not a custom of the Burmese.

However, many Burmese couples opt for more extravagant affairs. Generally speaking,
Buddhist monks need not be present to conduct the wedding and solemnize the marriage. A
more extravagant wedding requires months of preparation, including consultation with an
astrologer in choosing the most auspicious time and setting of the event. Also, a master of
ceremonies, typically a Brahmin, is hired to preside over the ceremony. The bride and
groom sit on cushions next to each other. At the beginning of the wedding, the Brahmin
blows a conch shell to commence the ceremony and joins the palms of the couple, wraps
them in white cloth, and dips the joined palms in a silver bowl. The Burmese word let htat
i.e. to marry literally means to join palms together. After chanting a few Sanskrit mantras,
the Brahmin takes the couple's joined palms out of the bowl and blows the conch shell to
end the ceremony.Afterward, entertainers perform, and the wedding is ended with a speech
by a guest of higher social standing. Wedding receptions at a hotel, serving tea and ice
cream, are common in urban areas.