The Serpent and the King: The Dutch-Arakanese Relationship (Re-submitting)

by Stephan Van Galen

Remains of Dutch factory in Mrauk U, Arakan

D.G.E. Hall, the eminent historian of Southeast Asia, in his ‘’Studies in Dutch relations with Arakan’’, was the first to point out the importance of the Dutch language sources for a study on the history of Arakan. Hall pieced together a preliminary overview of the Dutch-Arakanese relationship on the basis of the published Daghregisters or diaries of Batavia. In his history of Southeast Asia Hall even based his description of 17th century Arakan almost entirely on the Daghregister and further source publications: the Corpus Diplomaticum Neerlando-Indicum and De Jonge’’s Opkomst van het Nederlandsch gezag in Oost-Indie.

Myanmar court passed harsh judgement

One of  Arakanese youths, who set off hot air balloon into sky on the birthday of Arakan Army’s General,was handed two years in prison by Burma or Myanmar law court in the lost Arakan to Myanmar,western so-called Myanmar, on 26.11.2018.

One of Arakanese youths who printed photo of Arakan Army’s General and wrote "happy birthday to general" on the hot air balloon before he set off into sky in the late evening.

Myanmar Army and police arrested him immediately and sent him into the cell of the jail. After one year of confinement as a under trial in prison, he was handed two years imprisonment by Myanmar judge.

THESE BUDDHIST KINGS WITH MUSLIM NAMES

by Dr Jacques P. Leider

 

A discussion of Muslim influence in the Mrauk-U Period

‘Shut off from Burma by a hill range, Arakan has a separate history, but it is the same in kind’, is one of those unhappy generalizations of Geoffey, Harvey, the British colonial historian, which are waiting to be shaken by thorough research.

If Arakanese history were the same in kind, why should we care to study it in lengthy detail? It might turn out to be a case study of general Myanmar history and as such be local history. But can Rakhaing history be reduced to be a case study of Myanmar history?

If Arakan has a separate history, while having a common past with the country it belongs to, I wonder why there has been so little interest in Arakanese history.

Arakanese History

The Arakanese history records the early Arakanese to migrate in Arakan and settled down in their true land since time immemorial. The independent and sovereign Buddhist Kingdom of Arakan had been splendidly flourishing from 3325 B.C. till the Burman invaders occupied it in 1784. The history of Arakan can be divided in to four major period throughout its thousand-years-long history.
They are:
- Dhannyawaddy Period

• The 1st Dhannyawaddy Period (King Marayu, BC. 3325 – BC. 1483)
• The 2nd Dhannyawaddy Period (King Kanrazagree, BC. 1483 – BC. 580)
• The 3rd Dhannyawaddy Period (King Chandra Surya, BC. 580 - AD. 326)

- Vesali Period (King Dvan Chandra, AD. 327 – AD. 1018)
- Laemro Period (King Nga Tone Munn, AD. 1018 – AD.1406)
- Mrauk-U Period (King Munn Saw Mwan, AD.1430 – 1784)

Dhannyawaddy Era [?????????]
The 1st Dhannyawaddy Period (BC. 3325 – BC. 1483)
According to the legend, Dhanyawadi [????????????????] (the first independent Arakan kingdom) was established in 3325 B.C by King Maryu [?????] (the Arakanese legendary hero-ancestor). It is said that King Rarayu [?????] had married the daughter of the chief of Mro [????] tribe and had founded Dhanyawadi [????????????????] after defeating the bilus [??????] (demon-like creatures) who arrived earlier in the area.

The Lost of Chittagong and Twelve Bengal Districts
Even though Arakan had reached zenith of power in the Bay when it was under the rule of the skilled and powerful kings, the country's glory and fame has steadily declined when it was succeeded and ruled by the unqualified kings. Chittagong and other districts of Bengal were invaded and occupied by the Moghal in 1666 AD.

The Lost of Arakan Kingdom, its nation and national identity
After the Moghal invaded and annexed part of the Arakanese territories, internal instability and dethroning of kings had happened very often in Arakan Court. Taking opportunity in the overall weakness inside the country, the Burmese King U Wine violated the good-friendly neighbour's ethics and dispatched his invading forces into Arakan in mid-November, 1784 and occupied it by the end of 1784.

Arakanese newborn babies and children are suffering from malnutrition

Under the Myanmar rule, in the lost Arakan to Myanmar, which is situated in the western

side of so-called Myanmar, newborn babies and children have poor condition of health caused

by a lack of food. This is malnutrition which babies and children are to face nowadays while the amount of money that parents have to pay for everything including food is rising formidably.

Government of Myanmar does not take care of Arakanese babies and children and does not give them assistances regularly. Malnutrition is increasing day by day in Arakan. It seems that

systematically, Arakanese children are being created to suffer malnutrition because government

of Myanmar does not want them to be healthy and outstanding youths near in future to lead free Arakan from Myanmar.

And hospital in Sittwe, capital of Arakan , Roughly, four in every hundred patients is dying because of insufficiency of doctors and nurses. The situation is actually deplorable. No Myanmar administrator takes pity on them.

Myanmar remains worst place in ASEAN for doing business, World Bank ranking shows

Myanmar remains unfriendly territory for businesses.

THOMPSON CHAU

Myanmar has failed to improve its ease of doing business ranking for the third consecutive year, with the latest figures from the World Bank showing that the country remains the worst place in ASEAN to conduct business.The newly-released 2019 Doing Business rankings by the World Bank showed that Myanmar ranks 171th out of 190 economies in the overall ease of doing business, unchanged from last year’s position.Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business, from 1-190, based on the average of each economy’s ease of doing business scores for the 10 topics included in this year’s aggregate ranking.The country occupies the same ranking with Iraq (171st), lower than Sudan (162nd) and above Angola (173rd).

EU mission assesses human rights and labour rights situation in Myanmar

A monitoring mission of experts from the European Commission and the European External Action Service visited Myanmar from 28 to 31 October. This follows deeply worrying developments highlighted in various United Nations reports, in particular as regards human rights violations in Rakhine, Kachin and Shan States and concerns around labour rights, according to an EU statement.

The high-level mission was part of the broader engagement that the European Union (EU) has launched to monitor Myanmar's respect of fifteen fundamental UN and International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions. In order to continue to benefit from duty -free, quota-free access to the EU market through the Everything But Arms (EBA) scheme, Myanmar must uphold and respect the principles enshrined in these conventions.

Arakan oil lamp dance

The brass open-oil lamp found in the city of Vesali

          The second open-oil lamp can be found in the ancient city of Vesali. It is made of brass. It measures 9 inches high from the plinth to the edge of the statue. It is a female figure and stretching her hands in parallel. The brass open-oil lamp in the form of hemisphere of the gourd, is held with her fingers. The front edge of the open-oil lamp was used to put the loop of the wick. The oil to light the open-oil lamp, was not gasoline, coconet oil and wood oil, but the butter made from the milk.

Why the open-oil lamp was used

          Nowadays, lighting offering to Buddha becomes a traditional custom in Rakhine state because Rakhine people made lighting offering to Buddha from time immemorial as they believed that light offering dedicating to the three gems called Buddha, Dhamma and Samgha(or) gods, was superior to any other offerings.

The history of the open-oil lamp

          The historians believe that Greek and Roman arrived in the southern part of India in order to trade goods bringing the female statues with the oil lamps in the 2 century AD. Besides, they also believe that the southern Indian cast the oil lamps with their wanted figures modeling the statues the European took.

Full moon day at Arakan Army's Headquarter

On 27.10.2018, Arakan Army posted a video on its facebook page that showed how its

members celebrated Arakanese religious festival of wagyut at Headquarter of Arakan Army.

Wagyut festival is full moon day. On this day ,Lord Buddha descended from a celestial abode

to our planet after he preached his deceased mother Ultimate True three months. Lord Buddha’s

mother reborn in celestial abode before he became the enlightenment one as Lord Buddha.

On this full moon day, people across the lost Arakan to Myanmar also celebrated  wagyut festival

by fasting at monasteries, donating dry ration to monks and nuns and paying respects to elders . At night, they set off hot air balloons into sky and illuminated oil lamps at home, temples and pagodas.

At Arakan Army’s Headquarter, fighters and members held competitions of individual capability,

traditional sports and musical concert on this full moon day. Allis of Arakan Army   - KIA, MNDAA,

and TNLA -  joined  to participate this event.

AA, TNLA and MNDAA will meet Myanmar Army’s officers in China in first week of next month to talk

cease-fire process. But, it is most likely to be superficially talk because Myanmar Army has to do it

while international community pressurizes  Myanmar Army  on human right violation inside of ethnic

regions.

Buddha statues are being vandalized in Arakan

In ancient city of Mrauk Oo ,the lost Arakan to Myanmar , there was Buddhist

temple named Lemyethna. This temple was built by Arakan(Rakhine)King

Min Saw Mon after he founded Mrauk Oo in AD 1430.

On 18.10.2018, an act of vandalism to Buddha statues of Lemyethna temple,

committed by a Myanmar Army Officers –backed anti-social group, surprised and

pained all Arakanese people.

According to local youths, vandals held meeting in early evening near the temple.