Burmese mythology ( my, ရှေးမြန်မာ့ဒဏ္ဍာရီ) is a collection of myths,

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

, legends, and beliefs traditionally told by the

Burmese Burmese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Myanmar, a country in Southeast Asia * Burmese people * Burmese language * Burmese alphabet * Burmese cuisine * Burmese culture Animals * Burmese cat * Burmese chicken * Burmese (hor ...

people of

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

. These stories have been passed down orally and have only rarely appeared in written form. Burmese mythology is largely associated with and influenced by

Buddhist mythology The Buddhist traditions have created and maintained a vast body of mythological literature. The central myth of Buddhism is the life of the Buddha. This is told in relatively realistic terms in the earliest texts, and was soon elaborated into ...

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

, and several other ethnic traditions. Most myths and legends concern the ancient Pyu era; the lives and activities of gods,

Bodhisattvas In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...

, heroes, kings, mystics, and

mythological creatures A legendary creature (also mythical or mythological creature) is a type of fictional entity, typically a hybrid, that has not been proven and that is described in folklore (including myths and legends), but may be featured in historical accoun ...

. Burmese mythology is the cornerstone of modern Burmese culture and explains the origins and significance of Burmese rituals.

Overview of mythic history

Cosmogony

The most influential account for Burmese

cosmogony Cosmogony is any model concerning the origin of the cosmos or the universe. Overview Scientific theories In astronomy, cosmogony refers to the study of the origin of particular astrophysical objects or systems, and is most commonly used i ...

is the Book of Adikalpa (

: အာဒိကပ္ပကျမ်း၊ ) which is apocryphal in Buddhism but supported by the canonical statement in

Aggañña Sutta Aggañña Sutta is the 27th Sutta of the Digha Nikaya collection (Pāli version). The sutta describes a discourse imparted by the Lord Buddha to two brahmins, Bharadvaja and Vasettha, who left their family and vanna to become monks. The two brahm ...

. In the beginning, there was apparently nothing left after an old cosmos was destroyed by the great cataclysm. Soon, a new cosmos ( Kalpa) was born out of the expansion. The four Highest Ones ( Brahmas; my, ဗြဟ္မာ) descended from the Coruscant Heavens ( Abhasvara) and were reborn on the primordial world as the 'Luminous Ones'. At this time, the Luminous Ones were glorious celestial beings who just feed on their own delight, flying over the primeval ocean. Since the Sun and the Moon didn't exist yet, these Luminous Ones were the only light source in the

darkness Darkness, the direct opposite of lightness, is defined as a lack of illumination, an absence of visible light, or a surface that absorbs light, such as black or brown. Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low lu ...

. Sometime later, the creamy soil emerged on the ocean, and the Luminous Ones became curious and ate this newly delicious food. Because of their greediness and gluttony, they lost their self-luminous nature and fell from their grace. At this time, the Sun (

Surya Surya (; sa, सूर्य, ) is the sun as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchayatana puja and a m ...

; သူရိယ), the Moon(

Chandra Chandra ( sa, चन्द्र, Candra, shining' or 'moon), also known as Soma ( sa, सोम), is the Hindu god of the Moon, and is associated with the night, plants and vegetation. He is one of the Navagraha (nine planets of Hinduism) and ...

; စန္ဒ) and the Stars ( Nakshas- Tara; နက္ခတ်တာရာ) were born from the darkness to replace as the primary light sources of the world. They became corporeal beings after eating all the creamy soil until it was gone. Then, several other super-vegetated plants emerged for the sake of their hunger. After a long period of serial gluttony, all the supernatural resources went extinct and the beings became known as full

humans Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

The Rise of Civilization

People have different views on how to solve a hard life, thus creating the

Caste system Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...

(အမျိုးဇာတ်စနစ်). Later, they elected a wise man called Manu and appointed him as their first and foremost ruler. He is known as Mahasamrat (မဟာသမ္မတမင်း; ), the first king of the earth. As a king, he constituted the order of the city-state, the code of the Laws, the various duties and offices defined for the state and the boundaries of armies of their defense. He will be often referred to as a standard king type by many Burmese writers.

References

{{reflist Asian mythology Southeast Asian culture Mythology by culture Burmese culture Sino-Tibetan mythology Southeast Asian mythology

Overview of mythic history

Cosmogony

The Rise of Civilization

See also

References