Institution: Mandalay Marionettes Theatre and Culture Group

Job title: Director, Mandalay Marionettes Theatre, Myanmar

Name: Kyaw Myo Ko

Email: kmk@myanmarupperland.com

Title of the case study

The impact of the natural disaster on the Tangible and Intangible Culture Heritage: Experience in the

Irrawaddy Delta in Myanmar

Introduction

In natural disasters people are often being displaced and the consequences and misery of those

displaced by natural disasters and conflicts are often very similar. People lose their home and their

possessions; they experience trauma and depression and are in need of similar protection and assistance

needs. In fact a natural disaster can be defined as: “the consequences of events triggered by natural

hazards that overwhelm local response capacity and seriously affect the social and economic

development of a region” (i).

Given this context, this paper shares personal experiences and evolving and emerging challenges in

preserving and promoting the Tangible and Intangible Culture Heritage, in particular in the field of

Myanmar traditional performing arts which can be lost by different means and causes. The paper, as an

example, discusses the experiences and lessons learnt from the work undertaken in Delta region where

Cyclone Nargis hit in Myanmar in 2008 and highlights what efforts can be made to prevent further

damage and to restore the traditional skills, knowledge, techniques and cultural related objects that have

been damaged and destroyed by natural disaster in the communities of Myanmar. Disaster management

for cultural heritage can be handled differently in each area or country. Therefore my aim here is not only

to describe the damage by the natural disaster but also I like to share my opinion and experience related

to cultural related objects, monuments and artists that have been affected by natural disaster.

Pagodas and monasteries and their significance

Myanmar is a country rich in historic places and monuments like pagodas and monasteries.

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Pagodas are houses of worship with religious and also communal functions. They are not restricted to a

particular religion. Pagodas originated in India where sacred relics could be kept safe and venerated.

Some are golden and towering Pagodas like the great Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon; others are small

and whitewashed, on hilltops or flatlands among green paddy fields and in almost every village. All these

places are deeply embedded in Myanmar culture and relate closely to the performing arts. Every pagoda

has an annual festival, and all such festivals are the place of trade fairs, clan gathering and cultural

diversity. Besides this, the Pagoda has an important role for artists because it is the place where

theatrical and dramatic troupes can perform. Activities like seasonal festivals, communal alms-giving in

certain seasons, family celebrations and novitiations continuously take place in here. Along with these

Pagodas and monasteries our performing arts, especially the Myanmar traditionally puppetry play a

memorable part in the life of every Myanmar Buddhist.

The majority of Buddhism as practiced in Myanmar is mixed up with spiritual worship and animism ( ii).

This animism is a belief that spirits exist and may live in all things, sentient and non-sentient and it is the

earliest identifiable form of religion found in Myanmar where it has developed into the cult of the Thirty-

Seven spirits or Nats as they are called. This form of animism is closely connected with questions about

everyday life, the here and now; little attention is focused on the afterlife.  

Also many other traditions, folk music, traditional songs and dances flourish in the pagodas and

monasteries. This cultural heritage still plays a major role in the local communities. Many works of art are

related to Buddhism, animism and to old traditions. And last but not least all this has an important

function for the continuity of the Intangible Culture Heritage. Therefore these tangible and intangible

heritages are an important part of a common past. It is of the utmost importance that these historic places

and monuments, traditional skills, beliefs, traditions, music, songs, dance, drama often unique and

irreplaceable, are bestowed not only for the presence but for the benefit of future generations (iii,iv,v,vi)

The disaster in the Irrawaddy Delta havocked by Cyclone Nargis

The rivers such as the Pathein River, Pyapon River, Bogale River and Toe River and many other streams

form the Irrawaddy Delta which lies in the south west of Myanmar. The densely populated area is mainly

a low-land just 3 meters above sea level, with a maximum height of about 300 meters. Because of regular

flooding the soil is very fertile, which makes this vast area important for the cultivation of rice having

basically two crop seasons a year. It is famous that cropping activities go on all the year-round in this

area. While an important economical function as one of the largest producers of rice in Myanmar, other

sources of income rely on the fishing industries and forestry.

Besides geographically surrounded by a series of rivers and streams, the townships are known for a very

rich and diverse culture due to its high numbers of ethnic groups, (like, Bamar, Kayin and Mon) making

religion and art play an important role in these communities. Among the religious and historical places

there are many theatres still exist and the religious stories are being played so that these stories can be

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passed from generation to generation. The communities are used to involve actively in various religious

and theatrical activities although modern media and telecommunication is still very limited and under

developed.

On 2 and 3 May 2008, the Nargis Cyclone was the worst natural disaster ever recorded to hit Myanmar

and devastated Myanmar's southern Irrawaddy delta, killing tens of thousands of people and ruined its

infrastructure, human lives and their communities. Many survivors remained vulnerable and traumatized,

and their livelihoods became uncertain. One of the worst affected areas were the Moulmeingyun (also

spelt Mawlamyinegyun and known as Mawgyun) and Bogale (also spelled Bogalay) Township in the

delta region, with huge flooding where more than 10,000 people lost their lives. In a small city of Bogale

located in the Bogale Township, almost 90% of the homes were destroyed by the tropical storm.

Emergency response programmes and approaches

Thanks to The Prince Claus Fund (PCF) from The Netherlands, The Cultural Emergency Response

program provided emergency relief for cultural heritage damaged and destroyed by Cyclone Nargis which

has given hope and consolation to affected communities. In order to identify the cultural needs and give

support to the area, CER initiated a research mission to identify the most pressing cultural needs. As a

result of this mission, CER supported a number of projects for restoring religious heritage and theatrical

infrastructure in the townships of Bogalay and Moulmeingyun. As reported in The Prince Claus Fund

(PCF) on

http://www.princeclausfund.org/en/activities/repair-of-heritage-in-the-irrawaddy-delta-myanmar.htm:

In order to identify the cultural needs and provide support to the affected communities, CER sought out a

local partner in a position to undertake a research mission and provide reliable information about

damages to heritage. An initial research mission was made possible through a CER contribution.

Investigations carried out in August-September 2008 resulted in the identification of a number of cultural

emergency relief actions. The role played by heritage sites as gathering places for the people and their

cultural traditions moved CER to provide funds in aid for restoration of the religious and monastic heritage

in the townships of Bogalay and Moulemeingyun in the Irrawaddy Delta. The restoration of these buildings

is essential for the continuity of cultural traditions and the daily rituals from which the affected community

draw their strength and identity. In line with this thinking, CER also supported the purchasing of

equipment and instruments for six orchestras with a grant, thereby enabling the continuation of

Myanmar’s unique puppet theatre tradition.

Overall, through the local partner the project primarily intended to identify the artists (individuals and

groups) and communities who have been affected by this disaster and their needs regarding their cultural

related objects, the objects of cultural related- contemporary or historical, formally or informally  - that

have been affected by this disaster (e.g., damaged monasteries or any other cultural heritage); the

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cultural value of those identified objects which represents for the individuals, groups or communities; and

the ways, and extent to which (education, coaching) to stabilizing the situation which prevents further

damage, and to implementing basic repairs in the local context.

The project involved planning meetings with local experts and participants and organizing field trips for

data gathering and regular update and reporting to PCF and feedback through the project implementation

at the community level. The methodology used was designed by the PCF according to the General

assessment and with the suggestions of the local Project Team.

By building upon longstanding initiatives with the national and international communities, the local partner

(author of this article) took full commitment in the project development as a Director of the Theatre who

has been actively involved in activities in the area of promoting traditional arts and culture; to preserve

various techniques as existed in the traditional theatre performance; to promote traditional puppetry as

means for ethical and aesthetic education; to set up information sharing networks internationally in

promoting and preserving traditional culture and arts; to facilitate research, educational programmes and

trainings. Overall, the project has fulfilled all of the requirements as documented and the stakeholders and

the people from every community who were connected to this project were satisfied that all outstanding

items had been satisfactorily addressed.

Selection of locations and goals

Based on set objectives, the locations were selected to implement the project. Under the category of

artistic related, monasteries and cultural heritages In the Moulmeingyun Township we took into our

restoration schema, the Restoration of the Kanner Monastery, the Restoration of the Kyunlone Kutkar

Pagoda, Sabbath and Mediation hall and Buddha Statue, the Rebuilding of the theatrical organization

office and promoted activities for Theatrical Support. In the Bogalay Township we took into our restoration

schema, the Restoration of the Shin U Pa Goata Shrine, the Restoration of the Koe Myo Nan Spirit

House, the Rebuilding of the theatrical organization office and also promoted activities for Theatrical

Support. The projects were headed under two main titles, the Reconstruction of the cultural Buildings

Projects and the Theatrical Supports Projects for restoration of Tangible Culture heritage and

i InterAgency Standing Committee, Operational Guidelines on Human Rights and Natural Disasters. Washington:

Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, June 2006.ii http://www.seasite.niu.edu/burmese/cooler/Chapter_1/Chapter_1.htm

iii http://www.ifacca.org/events/2008/05/28/preservation-cultural-heritage-and-local-community/

iv http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_heritage_management

v http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_heritage

vi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pagoda

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safeguarding of the Intangible Culture Heritage. These project activities were commenced in mid-March

2009 and finished at mid-October 2009.

Figures of partially or totally destroyed monasteries probably rise in the thousands. More exact

estimations of the damage of cyclone Nargis to monasteries are difficult to make. One of the reasons is

the huge devastated area in the south where the infrastructure is rudimentary and where the best way of

travelling is by using a traditional wooden boat with an outside motor.

Yangon Division

At the eastern extremity of the Irrawaddy Delta lies the Yangon Division. It is an important area of

groundnut, jute, pulses (mainly used for food and less for animal feed), rubber and sugar cane production.

The division is the most developed region of the country and the main international gateway. Also in this

division thousands of monasteries were partially or totally destroyed. Some of them renovated by the

Government, the public sector and also thanks to International aid organisations (NGOs).

During our Assessment trip, we selected one monastery, one meditation hall with Buddha statues, two

spiritual houses and two township level theatrical organization offices which were really in need to be

renovated.

According to the nature of this Irrawaddy delta region, the majority of the people earned their living in

fishing and farming. We assumed that there were artists who employ themselves as artists and some

artists also being a fisherman or farmer for their livelihoods. But due to lack of some original records, it

was difficult to discover the depth of their troubles. Thanks to support of township level theatrical

organizations, we could verify the most reliable data. There were no puppets and puppeteers affected by

Cyclone Nargis although the other performing art community from this effected delta region was

damaged.

Activities in Moulmeingyun, Myanmar: Restoration of the Kanner Monastery

The Kanner monastery was provided mostly with a new building with the previous design. The building

was in use to hold the examinations for the monks around this region and for the public community for

donation ceremonies and also for novitiate ceremonies and situated at the township centre. The head

monk of this monastery is also a chairman of the township level Monk association. These Monk

associations are official and legally acknowledged by the government.

This Kanner monastery is of particular value to the community of Maoulmeingyun and of social

significance for the people of the township. Not only for religious affair but also for the space of social

affairs like donation ceremonies and other traditions.

Restoration of the Kyunlone Kutkar Pagoda, Sabbath and Mediation hall and Buddha Statues

In this Sabbath hall from Kyunlone Kutkar Pagoda where the Buddhists learn the Buddha’s teaching once

a week of every Sabbath day, most of the Buddha statues were damaged in this cyclone Nargis.

The structure of the distorted Pagoda and the meditation hall were restored; Buddha statues were

repaired and also some Buddha statues had to be rebuilt or replaced. These activities helped the

continuity of religious belief which is of spiritual and social significance for the local community.

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Rebuilding the theatrical organization office

The theatrical office building was rebuilt completely according to the proposed plan to support and

maintain the intangible cultural heritage of the local community.

Restoration of the Shin U Pa Goata Shrine

The Shin U Pa Goata (the name of the Buddha’s disciple) Shrine was rebuilt completely. This is also of

spiritual and social significance for the local people since it was used to hold an important ceremony once

a year.

Restoration of the Koe Myo Nan Spirit House

The Koe Myo Nan spirit house was completely rebuilt in the original style, the walls and roofing were

repaired; a wooden stand to put on the Nat statues. This supports the religious belief of the township

people and is of spiritual significance for the local community.

Rebuilding of the theatrical organization office

The theatrical office building was rebuilt completely according to the proposed plan for the union of the

artists in this region. The theatrical office building is of significance for future communication to this

remote area and to support this specific community of Artists.

Activities for Theatrical Supports in the Region

Five Sets of perfect Traditional Orchestras were produced and delivered to entitled Orchestra bands that

had lost or damaged their musical instruments. Those entitled were selected by the previous decision of

the board of Myanmar Theatrical association, township theatrical associations and the project coordinator.

Sets of Orchestras have an important role in maintaining all branches of Myanmar traditional culture to

preserve and safeguard the diversity of Intangible Culture Heritage which is closely related to the

artists/musicians/dancers. One of the theatrical groups expressed their concern with regard to sustain the

traditional performing art, for them were necessary, replacement of theatrical related objects such as

sound box, amplifier and its accessories, performance curtains and lights settings. Those activities

supported the artistic and social significance for the Artists and the local communities.

Challenges and Lessons learnt 

The local community of artists and the owners of heritage places were not aware how these projects

worked and how they should respond to such coordination and restorations. After the devastations, the

community of the artists obviously does not have access to viable financial support for their profession

and are also lacking means for their survival needs and livelihoods. As there had never been such a

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large-scale disaster before in the area the core project team of the Myanmar Theatrical Association was

lacking experience of the method of assessment at Tangible heritage and especially in Intangible

heritage. In addition, lure of the telecommunication was the main challenge and also there has no public

Internet connection in this delta region.

Several factors turned out to be important in achieving positive results. In this aspect local trusteeship and

community heads played a crucial role in many ways. They could activate and involve the local

communities, and they helped together with the stakeholders, not only to access environmental damage

but were also crucial in implementing the support.

The activities of this project enhanced the capacity of the participants and in particular the Myanmar

Theatrical Association to establish collaborative activities to bring about fine strategies for integrated

conservation of tangible and safeguarding of intangible heritage.

And last but not least, coordination of the different actors in the field like local authorities, community

heads, trusteeship, stakeholders, the Myanmar Theatrical Association, was crucial for the good outcome.

Facing an underdeveloped and heavily damaged public infrastructure, and changing weather conditions

in these areas, time, money and schedules cannot always be met.

But eventually set objectives and intended deliverables of the project were successfully achieved.

Reaching the goals, social awareness has been raised among the local communities with regard to the

importance of preserving not only the tangible but also the intangible cultural heritage.

Conclusions

The traditional cultural community from the Delta region did really appreciate the support of the Cultural

Emergency Response program of Prince Claus Fund (PCF) and the support from the Local Actors since

there was no hope for them after the huge devastations done by Cyclone Nargis. The people from

traditional cultural communities, monks, caretakers and trusteeship of the concerning buildings were

really pleased and also expressed their gratitude and many thanks to the project.

One of the key factors of the success in bridging such opportunities to the local community was

collaboration among stakeholders like the members from the international organizations, Myanmar

Theatrical associations, artists, monks, heads of the communities and local authorities. They all played an

important role in preserving and promoting the Tangible and Intangible Culture Heritage, in particular in

the field of Myanmar traditional performing arts and their communities, which can be lost by different

means and causes.

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References

Kyaw Myo Ko (Director, Mandalay Marionettes and Culture Group), “Project Closure Report for

Reconstruction Buildings Projects and Project Closure Report for Theatrical Supports Project” to Prince

Claus Fund/ CER, The Netherland.

http://www.princeclausfund.org/en/activities/repair-of-heritage-in-the-irrawaddy-delta-myanmar.htm

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