Andrew Huxley: Legal Historian of Burma and Southeast Asia

Christian Lammerts

Journal of Burma Studies, Volume 19, Number 2, December 2015, pp. 267-273
(Article)

Published by University of Hawai'i Press

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/jbs.2015.0012

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https://muse.jhu.edu/article/604584

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The Journal of Burma Studies Vol. 19 No. 2 (2015), pp. 267–273 © 2015 Center for Burma Studies
Northern Illinois University

In Memoriam
Andrew Huxley: Legal
Historian of Burma and
Southeast Asia
Christian Lammerts

As a graduate student in 2003 my advisor handed me a copy

of Andrew Huxley’s article “Buddhism and Law—The View
From Mandalay.”1 In this and (as I would soon learn) many
other publications, and contrary to what almost every text-
book on Buddhism or comparative law would have you
believe—namely, that Buddhists have no culture of written
religious law like those found in Brāhmaṇical or Islamic
traditions save for the monastic vinaya—Andrew argued
forcefully, and persuasively, for seeing dhammasattha
(“dhammathat” in his transcription) as a genre of written
religious law that had jurisdiction over non-monastic
members of Buddhist society, as a sort of lay counterpart to
the vinaya. He writes in the first paragraph of this essay:

... the vinaya is nearly as central to the Buddhist religion

as the shari’a is to Islam. If we were to rank religions in
order of legalism, Theravada would come at the legalis-
tic end of the scale, near to Islam and far from, for
example, Taoism. But on direct comparison, Islam
appears more legalistic, more concerned with regulating
the day to day activities of its adherents, than the Ther-

1 Andrew Huxley, “Buddhism and Law—The View From Mandalay,”

Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 18, no. 11 (1995):
47–95.

267
268 CHRISTIAN LAMMERTS

avada: it is possible to be a Buddhist without adhering

to the vinaya but it is impossible to be a Muslim without
following the shari’a. Burma presents a challenge to
these generalizations about legalism and Buddhism. In
Burma this gap between Islam and Buddhism has nar-
rowed—perhaps even to the point of disappearance. In
pre-colonial Burma the monks adhered to the vinaya
while the laity adhered to its own distinctive legal lit-
erature, known as “dhammathat and rajathat” and to the
British as “Burmese Buddhist law.” My main aim in this
article is to persuade you that this law for the laity is, in
a deep sense, Buddhist.2

Andrew built on the pioneering work of Robert Lingat,

perhaps his closest intellectual ally (insofar as Southeast
Asian legal studies is concerned), who made similar points
in a rather hushed voice, but never quite gave up the conceit
that Burmese (and also Mon, T(h)ai, and Khmer) legal texts
were “Hindu” in origin and essence. In a series of publica-
tions beginning in 1990, including the opening article pub-
lished in the first issue of the Journal of Burma Studies (1997),
Andrew creatively marshaled extensive evidence from a
large number of dhammasattha and related sources to demon-
strate the profound influence of Pali Buddhist literature and
thought on Burmese and Southeast Asian legal culture.3 In

2 Andrew Huxley, “Buddhism and Law,” 47.

3 Andrew Huxley, “How Buddhist is Theravāda Buddhist Law? A
Survey of Legal Literature in Pali-Land,” in The Buddhist Forum, Vol. 1, ed.
T. Skorupski (London: School of Oriental and African Studies, 1990), 41–85;
Andrew Huxley, “The Reception of Buddhist Law in Southeast Asia 200
BCE–1860 CE,” in La Réception des Systèmes Juridiques: Implantation and
Destin, ed. M. Doucet and J. Vanderlinden (Bruxelles: Bruylant, 1994), 139–
237; Andrew Huxley, “When Manu met Mahāsammata,” Journal of Indian
Philosophy 24, no. 6 (1996): 593–621; Andrew Huxley, “The Importance of
the Dhammathats in Burmese Law and Culture,” Journal of Burma Studies
1 (1997): 1–17; Andrew Huxley, “Buddhist Law as a Religious System?”,
in Religion, Law, and Tradition: Comparative Studies in Religious Law, ed.
Andrew Huxley (London: Routledge, 2002), 127–47; Andrew Huxley,
“Legal Transplants as Historical Data: Exemplum Birmanicum,” Journal of
Imperial and Commonwealth History 37, no. 2 (2009): 167–82; Andrew Huxley,
Andrew Huxley: Legal Historian of Burma and Southeast Asia 269

addition to local customary practices (“the oral law of the

rice-plain”), he regarded as the primary source for Southeast
Asian law what he called the “Pāli cultural package,” a felici-
tous analytical framework that has since gained broader cur-
rency in Buddhist and Southeast Asian studies.
Given his commitment to the idea that mainland Southeast
Asian legal traditions drew on a shared reservoir of Pali
resources, it is no surprise that he approached legal history
as a discipline that necessarily crossed borders. He wrote
about testamentary succession and sanction, as well as the
development and cross-fertilization of texts, in comparative
perspective.4 His prodigious scholarship also addressed
issues of jurisprudence,5 the development of Burmese legal
institutions,6 Buddhist kingship and political philosophy,7

“Pāli Buddhist Law in Southeast Asia,” in Buddhism and Law: An Introduc-

tion, ed. Rebecca R. French and Mark R. Nathan (New York: Cambridge
University Press, 2014), 167–82; Andrew Huxley, “Is Burmese Law Bud-
dhist?” in Law, Society and Transition in Myanmar, ed. Melissa Crouch and
Tim Lindsey (Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2014), 59–76.
4 Andrew Huxley, “Sanction in the Theravada Buddhist Kingdoms of
S.E. Asia,” Recueils de la société Jean Bodin 58, no. 4 (1991): 335–370; Andrew
Huxley, “Wills in Theravada Buddhist S.E. Asia,” Recueils de la société Jean
Bodin 62, no. 4 (1994): 53–92; Andrew Huxley, “Thai, Mon, and Burmese
Dhammathats—Who Influenced Whom?” in Thai Law: Buddhist Law, ed. A.
Huxley (Bangkok: Orchid Press, 1996), 81–131.
5 Andrew Huxley, “‘The Traditions of Mahosadha: Legal Reasoning
from Northern Thailand,” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies
60, no. 2 (1997): 315–26.
6 Andrew Huxley, “The Burmese Legal Profession 1250–1885,” Recueils
de la société Jean Bodin 63, no. 2 (1996): 155–87.
7 Andrew Huxley, “The Buddha and the Social Contract,” Journal of
Indian Philosophy 24, no. 4 (1996): 407–20; Andrew Huxley and Steven
Collins, “The Post-Canonical Adventures of Mahāsammata,” Journal of
Indian Philosophy 24, no. 6 (1996): 623–48; Andrew Huxley and Ryuji Oku-
daira, “A Burmese Tract on Kingship: Political Theory in the 1782 Manu-
script of Manugye,” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 64,
no. 2 (2001): 248–59; Andrew Huxley, “Rajadhamma Confronts Leviathan,”
in Buddhism, Power, and Political Order, ed. Ian Harris (Abingdon: Rout-
ledge, 2007), 26–51.
270 CHRISTIAN LAMMERTS

law and gender,8 monastic law,9 and colonial legal conflict.10

One of his strong interests was the study of the study of
Burmese law, and he wrote several essays on influential colo-
nial-era and post-colonial legal scholars.11
Andrew’s contributions to the field of Burmese and South-
east Asian legal history cannot be overstated. He drew atten-
tion to and revitalized the study of textual archives and rich
domains of jurisprudence and legal culture that had been
nearly, if not in most corners entirely, forgotten. Importantly,
his scholarship cleared a space for the study of Burmese law
and legal literature within the field of Buddhist Studies,
where his influence has been widely felt. When I wrote to
him in 2003 after reading “Buddhism and Law,” his immedi-
ate reply was: “Welcome to the recherché world of dham-
mathat studies!” His work over the past twenty-five years has
demonstrated the importance of that world for diverse areas
of historical, religious, and jurisprudential inquiry, and
thanks to him it shall remain far less obscure.
Andrew passed away on November 29, 2014 at the age of
sixty-six. He was Emeritus Professor of Southeast Asian Law
at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of
London.
8 Andrew Huxley, “Gender and Power in Two Eighteenth-Century
Dhammasats,” Tenggara 47 (2004): 49–67.
9 Andrew Huxley, “The Vinaya: Legal System or Performance-Enhanc-
ing Drug,” in The Buddhist Forum, Vol. 4, ed. T. Skorupski (London: School
of Oriental and African Studies, 1996), 141–63; Andrew Huxley, “Buddhist
Case Law on Theft: The Vinītavatthu on the Second Pārājika,” Journal of Bud-
dhist Ethics 6 (1999): 313–30.
10 Andrew Huxley, “Positivists and Buddhists: The Rise and Fall of
Anglo-Burmese Ecclesiastical Law,” Law and Social Inquiry 26, no. 1 (2001):
113–42.
11 Andrew Huxley, “The Last Fifty Years of Burmese Law: E Maung and
Maung Maung,” Lawasia (1988): 9–20; Andrew Huxley, “Is Burmese Law
Burmese? John Jardine, Em Forchhammer and Legal Orientalism,” Austra-
lian Journal of Asian Law 10, no. 2 (2008): 184–201; Andrew Huxley, “Hpo
Hlaing on Buddhist Law,” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African
Studies 73, no. 2 (2010): 269–83; Andrew Huxley, “Mon Studies and Profes-
sor Forchhammer: The Admiration that Destroys,” Zeitschrift der Deutschen
Morgenländischen Gesellschaft 162, no. 2 (2012): 391–410.
Andrew Huxley: Legal Historian of Burma and Southeast Asia 271

Andrew Huxley: A Selected Bibliography

Huxley, Andrew. “The Last Fifty Years of Burmese Law: E Maung
and Maung Maung.” Lawasia (1988): 9–20.
____. “Khaek, Moro, Rohinga—The Family Law of Three South
East Asian Muslim Minorities.” In Islamic Family Law, edited
by Chibli Mallat and Jane Connors, 225–52. London: Graham
and Trotman, 1990.
____. “How Buddhist is Theravāda Buddhist Law? A Survey of
Legal Literature in Pali-Land.” In The Buddhist Forum, Vol. 1,
edited by T. Skorupski, 41–85. London: School of Oriental and
African Studies, 1990.
____. “Sanction in the Theravada Buddhist Kingdoms of S.E. Asia.”
Recueils de la société Jean Bodin 58, no. 4 (1991): 335–70.
____. “Wills in Theravada Buddhist S.E. Asia.” Recueils de la société
Jean Bodin 62, no. 4 (1994): 53–92.
____. “The Reception of Buddhist Law in Southeast Asia 200 BCE–
1860 CE.” In La Réception des Systèmes Juridiques: Implantation
et Destin, edited by M. Doucet and J. Vanderlinden, 139–237.
Bruxelles: Bruylant, 1994.
____. “The Kurudhamma: From Ethics to Statecraft.” Journal of Bud-
dhist Ethics 2 (1995): 191–203.
____. “Buddhism and Law—The View From Mandalay.” Journal of the
International Association of Buddhist Studies 18, no. 1 (1995): 47–95.
____. “When Manu met Mahāsammata.” Journal of Indian Philosophy
24, no. 6 (1996): 593–621.
____. “Thai, Mon, and Burmese Dhammathats—Who Influenced
Whom?” In Thai Law: Buddhist Law, edited by A. Huxley,
81–131. Bangkok: Orchid Press, 1996.
____. “The Buddha and the Social Contract.” Journal of Indian Phi-
losophy 24, no. 4 (1996): 407–20.
____. “Shylock’s Bad Karma: The Buddhist Approach to Law.” Law
and Critique 7, no. 2 (1996): 245–56.
____. “The Vinaya: Legal System or Performance-Enhancing Drug.”
In The Buddhist Forum, Vol. 4, edited by T. Skorupski, 141–63.
London: School of Oriental and African Studies, 1996.
____. “The Village Knows Best: Social Organisation in an 18th
century Burmese Law Text.” South East Asia Research 5, no. 1
(1997): 21–39.
____. “Studying Theravada Legal Literature.” Journal of the Interna-
tional Association for Buddhist Studies 20, no. 1 (1997): 63–91.
272 CHRISTIAN LAMMERTS

____. “The Traditions of Mahosadha: Legal Reasoning from North-

ern Thailand.” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African
Studies 60, no. 2 (1997): 315–26.
____. “The Importance of the Dhammathats in Burmese Law and
Culture.” Journal of Burma Studies 1 (1997): 1–17.
____. “Buddhist Case Law on Theft: The Vinītavatthu on the Second
Pārājika.” Journal of Buddhist Ethics 6 (1999): 313–30.
____. “Positivists and Buddhists: The Rise and Fall of Anglo-Burmese
Ecclesiastical Law.” Law and Social Inquiry 26, no. 1 (2001):
113–42.
____. “A Thammasat from Haripunjaya?” Tai Culture 5, nos. 1 and
2 (2001): 252–68.
____. “Buddhist Law as a Religious System?” In Religion, Law, and
Tradition: Comparative Studies in Religious Law, edited by
Andrew Huxley, 127–47. London: Routledge, 2002.
____. “An Antinomian Allegory.” Buddhist Studies Review 19, no. 2
(2002): 137–46.
____. “Gender and Power in Two Eighteenth-Century Dhamma-
sats.” Tenggara 47 (2004): 49–67.
____. “Rajadhamma Confronts Leviathan.” In Buddhism, Power, and
Political Order, edited by Ian Harris, 26–51. Abingdon: Rout-
ledge, 2007.
____. “Samuhadda Vicchedani: An Overlooked Source on the
Dhammathats.” SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research 5 (2007):
5–21.
____. “Is Burmese Law Burmese? John Jardine, Em Forchhammer
and Legal Orientalism.” Australian Journal of Asian Law 10,
no. 2 (2008): 184–201.
____. “Legal Transplants as Historical Data: Exemplum Birmanicum.”
Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History 37, no. 2 (2009):
167–82.
____. “Three Nineteenth-Century Law Book Lists: Burmese Legal
History from the Inside.” Journal of Burma Studies 13 (2009):
77–105.
____. “Hpo Hlaing on Buddhist Law.” Bulletin of the School of Orien-
tal and African Studies 73, no. 2 (2010): 269–83.
____. “Dr. Führer’s Wanderjahre: The Early Career of a Victorian
Archaeologist.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (Third Series)
20, no. 4 (2010): 489–502.
____. “Mr. Houghton and Dr. Führer: A Scholarly Vendetta and its
Consequences.” South East Asia Research 19, no. 1 (2011): 59–82.
Andrew Huxley: Legal Historian of Burma and Southeast Asia 273

____. “Lord Kyaw Thu’s Precedent: A Sixteenth-Century Burmese

Law Report.” In Legalism: Anthropology and History, edited by
Paul Dresch and Hannah Skoda, 229–59. Oxford: Oxford Uni-
versity Press, 2012.
____. “The Anglo-Buddhist War (1875–1905): The Circumstances
under which Christians Developed their Theory of Bud-
dhism.” Journal of Comparative Law 7, no. 2 (2012): 18–38.
____. “Mon Studies and Professor Forchhammer: The Admiration
that Destroys.” Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen
Gesellschaft 162, no. 2 (2012): 391–410.
____. “Pāli Buddhist Law in Southeast Asia.” In Buddhism and Law:
An Introduction, edited by Rebecca R. French and Mark R.
Nathan, 167–82. New York: Cambridge University Press,
2014.
____. “Is Burmese Law Buddhist?” In Law, Society and Transition in
Myanmar, edited by Melissa Crouch and Tim Lindsey, 59–76.
Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2014.
Huxley, Andrew and Steven Collins. “The Post-Canonical Adventures
of Mahāsammata.” Journal of Indian Philosophy 24, no. 6 (1996):
623–48.
Huxley, Andrew and Ryuji Okudaira. “A Burmese Tract on King-
ship: Political Theory in the 1782 Manuscript of Manugye.”
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 64, no. 2
(2001): 248–59.