The Buddhist Art of Ancient Arakan ( X )

By U SAN THA AUNG

Five Ancient Bronze Lamps

A lamp is a vessal for burning oil with a wick, and so giving light. The oil used may be animal, fish or vegetable oil.

Of all the forms of gifts to the gods (devadanam), there is perhaps none which can equal in merit-winning capacity, that which is offered in the form of lamps or dipan, (from the Sanskrit dipa ”to light”). All over the world, the lighting of lamps form an assential part of tample and shrine worship.

When such gifts (in the form of lamps) were made in ancient days, they were usually accompanied by the offering of cows, buffaloes, sheep or goats, from the milk of which the necessary clarified butter was extracted for the perpetual use of the lamps in the temples or shrines.

Many ancient bronze lamps have been found, in Arakan, wrought in various forms. I now present fives such lamps which were found in the vicinity of Vesali and Dhanyawadi. There of the lamps are in the form of human statuettes bearing the vessel for the oil in their hands. The other two contain the figure of birds in their design. Two of the lamps in the form of humans, represent women and the other represents a hero prince.

The first lamp with a human figure, ( See Picture. Go ) was found by the late U San Shwe Bu at Prinedaung village, about six miles north of Vesali. The height of the lamp, including the pedestal, is nine inches. It represents a woman holding out in front of her, a rather elongated spear-shaped receptacle, intended to hole the oil which is meant to be burned before the image of the Buddha, by means of wicks. We can notice six indentations at the edges of the receptacle for placing such wicks.
The woman stands on a high pedestal. Her features are sharp and pointed. The ears are large and the nose is long, prominent and well defined. The hair is coiled on the crown of the head, slightly pushed back. She wears a plain necklace and an amulet on each upper arm, fastened by a broad band. There is a bangle round each wrist and a similar one round the middle of each forearm. Apart from these few ornaments, the upper body is bare. A girdle encircles the waist, and another band lower down over the hips fastens the close-fitting drapery which falls in folds to a length which reached just below the knees. One end of the cloth is apparently brought from the back the thighs and after being slipped over the girdle, it is allowed to fall in front in graceful folds.

The statuette is similar to the South Indian statuettes. But the peculiar mode of wearing the hair in a top knot and the arrangement of the drapery, are unlike anything in the collections of India. Indeed the general impression suggests that the statuette is more inclined towards either the Egyptain or Assyrian rather than towards the Indian type in both design and executation.

There is a line of inscription in Arakanese characters, around the upper part of the pedestal. The inscription reads:

Ayana kaung Mu (the gift of Ayana). This name immediately reminds me of the name of the donor of the Vesali caitya bell, Kimmayana. If we remove the prefix Kim from that name we are left with Ayana, which seems to have been a common name in Arakan in olden days. The words Kim is a proto-western Tibeto-Burmese word meaning “house”.

The inscription is of particular importance especially when considered in relation to the statuette with which it is associated. For, to whatever age the statuette may have belonged, it is difficult to get away from the inference that Arakanese literature must have also been current at that time.

According to Arakanese historians, Vesali cased to be the capital of Arakan about the middle of the 10th century. So though there is nothing definite to go by in determining the age of this figurine, if any reliance can be placed on the data afforded by Arakanese historians, it may confidently be assumed that it must belong to the tenth century or earlier. The statuette is at present in Akyab.

The second lamp in the form of a woman ( See Picture. Go ) was found at a site near the Mrauk-Oo Vesali road just before one reaches Vesali. It is a little shorter than the first, being only about four inches high. Here also the figure is that of a woman. She is depicted in the act of holding out in front is that of her, some type of vessel (missing) intended to hold oil and the wick. She also stands on a pedestal which is only half an inch in height. Nothing is inscribed on the pedestal.

This second lady seems to be better dressed than the lady of the first lamp. She wears a headdress and her hair falls behind her back neatly and stylishly braided into a long single plait. Her features are also sharp and well-defined. She wears a pair of large circular earrings and a necklace with a small locket. ( See Picture. Go ) She is dressed in a short-sleeved blouse with an open neck. She has a bangle around each wrist. Her pants are a tight fit and reach down to her ankles where they are folded slightly. An apron with naturalistic folds is fastened above the hips. She wears a pair of ornamental ankles rings. The statuette is at present in Mrauk-Oo.

The third lamp (See Picture. Go ) was found in the vicinity of Dhanyawadi. It is about the same size as the second lamp. The figure is that of a hero-prince. He wears a helmet that has a mask covering the face. He appears to be wearing a coat of mail with air holes around the neck, shoulder and breast. He stands in a crossed legged posture on a pedestal of pyramid form. A pasoe (ceremonial longyi) is gracefully worn round the waist and falls in folds to vover the knees. One end of the pasoe is brought round from the back and allowed to fall in front in graceful folds. This end is held between the crossed legs. The figures has its arms outstretched as if holding out some sort of vessel to hold the oil and the wick. The vessel is missing, but as the arms are stretched quite far apart, it must have been a wide one. There is a handle fixed to the back of the figure. This lamp is at present in Kyauktaw town.

The fourth lamp is a hanging lamp with its bowl surrounded by birds in flight. The lamp has a hook or loop at the top by which it can be suspended.( See Picture. Go ) Below this is a cinquefoil handle. The upper and outer angles are decorated with arabesques. There are nine triangular projections for wicks coming out from the central circular oil-bowl. Each of these alternates with a bird in flight, with wings outstretched. Only two of the birds remain completely intact, the rest have lost their heads. The base of the lamp is also decorated with a wide band with holes punched through it to present a lacy effect. The lamp can also be placed on the table instead of being hung from the rafters. This lamp was found inside the old Vesali walls and is at present in Mrauk-Oo.

The fifth lamp ( See Picture. Go ) is also a hanging lamp. It has only one bird in its design, without feathers, but with its bones and spinal column prominently displayed. If we look at the lamp from above we will see that it resembles a four-pointed star, with the bird over one point. There is a ring for suspension at the back of the bird’s head. The bird itself is hollow, appearing like a skeleton, probably to allow free air circulation. Each of the four triangular projections can hold a wick. The whole lamp is ingeniously balanced so that while in a hanging position it will not be tilted. It can also be placed on a table instead of being hung. This lamp was also found somewhere inside Vesali together with the fourth lamp described above, and is at present in Mrauk-Oo.

It is a great pity that no competent authority has ever thought it fit to properly survey the site of this famous old city of Vesali and to excavate it. In days long gone by, more than a thousand ships are said to have annually put in at the harbour of Vesali, laden with merchandise of all descriptions extracted from the great emporiums of the Eastern World. One has simply to understand its past history, its former greatness, to enable one to form a pretty shrewd idea of the store of priceless art treasures lying buried beneath the soil of its site.