Burma: What Secrets Lie Hidden Among Its 2,000 buddhist pagodas? | Documentary - AMP

An aquatic journey. A journey of discovery in Southeast Asia's most secretive country, Burma. At a crossroads between several great civilisations, home to over a hundred ethnic groups, Burma has nonetheless managed to forge its own identity. Its inhabitants, renowned for their hospitality, live in harmony with the elements that surround them. Its thousands of years of history have left their indelible architectural and cultural imprint on the country. Inward-looking until the 1980s, Burma has now opened its doors to the rest of the world, proud to show off its riches. Idyllic landscapes. Thousands of pagodas and temples. Encircled by China, Laos, Thailand, Bangladesh and India, Burma, now officially known as Myanmar, covers a surface area of 675,000 square kilometres, the equivalent of twice the surface area of Great Britain. Mandalay lies on the dry plains in the centre of the country. Immortalised in Rudyard Kipling's famous poem, the city is now the country's second largest centre of population, with 2.5 million inhabitants, of whom 40% are Chinese, who came here during the 1990s. Founded in 1857, the city only retained its capital status for three decades, until the British replaced it with Rangoon. Mandalay has had more than its share of calamities. It was completely razed during World War II and then partially destroyed by two huge fires in the 1980s. The city is in a permanent state of regeneration. Its anarchic architecture is reflected in its expert blend of endless avenues, decrepit buildings, colonial mansions and gilded temples. Such as the Kutodo Pagoda, built in 1857. Around the huge main stupa, there are 729 whitewashed stupas. Each of them houses a stone monument, upon which is engraved a page of Buddha's writings. The whole structure forms the world's biggest book, the Tripitaka, containing every text in the Buddhist canon. The great Mahamuni Buddha is one of the country's most venerated. Legend has it that it was modelled on the living Buddha himself. Every single day, it is meticulously cleaned by the temple's monks. Four metres tall and made from over six tonnes of bronze, its shape is deformed by thousands of leaves of gold foil, 15 centimetres deep. Only men are allowed to apply gold leaf to the statue, while the women pray at a distance. Applying a leaf of gold to a statue of Buddha is a meritorious act which promotes better karma. Mandalay is home to the country's finest gold beaters, a highly skilled trade passed down through the generations. An ingot weighing 48 grams is heated. It's then flattened between the rollers of a press. This operation is repeated until the gold becomes a three metre length of thin ribbon. The ribbon is then cut into small, one centimetre squares. Each of these is then laid on a sheet of bamboo paper. They are then stacked and put into a leather case and beaten for half an hour to increase their surface area fourfold. The women then cut and beat them again to flatten them further. The gold sheets are then placed into larger dividers and compressed for five hours. This gradual mechanical procedure produces leaves just a few microns thick. The women are responsible for finishing and conditioning. What started out as a small ingot has been converted into 7,200 sheets of gold leaf. They are carefully placed into small bamboo paper wallets and then sold in the pagodas and across the whole world. Another local speciality, tanaka is a yellow cosmetic paste made from the bark of several shrubs. Its use dates back over 2,000 years. Sold in little bundles, the bark is grated into a powder and then thoroughly ground before being diluted. The resulting salve is then painted onto the face in varyingly elaborate patterns, often in the form of a disc on each cheek and a line down the bridge of the nose. While these decorative motifs may be a sign of female vanity, this is not just an aesthetic ritual. Tanaka also offers protection from sunburn while softening and hydrating the skin. It is also thought to heal acne and slow signs of ageing. Its smell is redolent of that of sandalwood. The tanaka tree is native to Burma. It's notably found in the Bagan region, the historic heart of the country. The cradle of Burmese culture, Bagan was founded in the 9th century by the kings of the Bamar dynasty. At a crossroads linking the commercial hubs of India and China, Bagan became the capital of a vast empire which reached its peak during the 11th and 12th centuries. In just over two centuries, over 4,000 buildings covered in frescoes, barrel-leafs and gold rose out of the soil of Bagan. In the late 13th century, the Mongol hordes put an end to the first great Burmese empire and its capital fell victim to pillaging and earthquakes and gradually disappeared from view. The architectural wonders of Bagan are equaled only by the beauty of its landscapes. It's virtually impossible to guess at the exact number of temples. An inventory put together by a French team between 1992 and 2002 counted 2,834, some of them in ruins. It was partly when Myanmar opened its doors to tourism in the 1990s that this remarkable architectural heritage emerged from the shadows and this led to a campaign of preservation and restoration. An ever-increasing number of tourists now roams the area, but the presence of pilgrims and Buddhist monks serves as a reminder that this is no mere open-air museum. As well as being the country's pride and joy, Bagan is also the beating religious heart of a devoutly Buddhist nation. There is no better way to discover Burma than to look down on it from above. From the sky, these ancient temples reveal themselves in all their majesty. The Irrawaddy River crosses Burma from north to south for over 2,000 kilometres. It stretches from the border between India and China to the Andaman Sea. As vital an artery as the Nile is for Egypt, it's still the main axis of transportation for the country's people and merchandise. The country's history was built on the shores of this river. Nowadays, its hydroelectric potential makes it so valuable. The Irrawaddy is also at the heart of a number of ecological and socio-economic issues. Since time immemorial, it has inspired the country's musicians and poets. It's said that the art of playing the harp is an ancestral art, dating from the days of the monarchy. People started playing the harp because the kings demanded it. During the shows in that period, the harpists were the ones who would play the music so that the dancer could perform her dance. With my harp, I would love to share Burmese culture with the rest of the world. In my view, Burma isn't just about seeing beautiful landscapes and meeting people. There's also its history. Its history and its culture. Burmese traditional dance dates from the days of the Burmese monarchy. At that time, dancers were merely the preserve of the king. Over the years, elements of Thai dance were introduced. It's quite similar to Burmese dance. You use your hands, the same gestures. You turn your hands, you put them in the air, and you open them. They're moves you make with your hands, quite simply. If a young girl needs to do her hair, instead of telling her how to do it, you dance to show her how it's done. The dances we perform during shows tell the stories of Buddha's last 550 lives and everything that Buddha experienced during his previous lives. Dance is a part of Pue, a popular form of entertainment that can sometimes last until the early hours. It's accompanied by an orchestra of percussion, wind instruments and harps. But the main part of the performance is the puppet show. This form of theatre, thought to be the country's first significant form of expression, came to life in the 5th century. It reached the height of its popularity between the 17th and late 18th centuries. Its 28 characters teach, tell stories and preach values. It takes its inspiration from the 547 lives of Buddha, the history of the kingdoms of Burma and legends originating from India, with their cast of benevolent spirits and fantastic creatures. Some of the puppets are up to a metre tall and some of them require around 50 strings to animate them. The wooden figurines are made by craftsmen, each of whom has their own specific style and signature. I've been a traditional puppeteer for over 35 years now. Before, I was a farmer. I came to the city on a pilgrimage and I noticed how much visitors were enthralled by Burmese craftsmanship, especially puppets and embroidery. I liked puppets, so I bought one, completely dismantled it to see how it was made. Then I put it back together. That's how I learned my trade, 35 years ago now. In these plays, there are a lot of different characters, the king, the queen, the prince, the young princess, monkeys, bad characters, spirits, ogres and mythical animals. We try to maintain the traditional way of doing things as well as the historical costumes. I teach my kids my craft every day. When we were young, children were always excited about the puppet show. Nowadays, they're virtually non-existent. If we don't make sure that we preserve this heritage, we'll no longer be able to demonstrate to future generations what a traditional Burmese puppet show is. It's vital that it's preserved and that's what I'm trying to do. Here in Burma, Buddha is everywhere, in a thousand and one guises, like here in the Sadan Grotto, which he shares with the bats, or the caves of Kogum in Pa'an, where the walls and ceilings are festooned with clay effigies. Five percent of Burma's population is Christian, like the Karen, four percent is Muslim, like the Rohingyas, and 90 percent is Buddhist. It is the Buddhist country with the greatest proportion of monks and revenue devoted to religion. Burmese Buddhism comes from the Theravada tradition, which is the most orthodox and conservative form of Buddhism. Strictly speaking, Buddhism is neither a religion nor a philosophy, as it recognizes no creator god and purports no theory. Rather, it's a doctrine based on a belief in reincarnation, karma, and the natural laws of cause and effect. In reality, though, Burmese Buddhism bears all the hallmarks of a religion, as evinced by the fervor of the faithful frequenting the countless pagodas and holy sites. Its customs coexist with elements of Tantric Hinduism and ancient animist belief in the spirits, known as Nat. Spirituality is omnipresent in the country. As well as the 500,000 monks and nuns who make up one percent of the population, each Burmese village has at least one pagoda or temple devoted to worship or teaching. And statues of Buddha and of saints are everywhere, even in the middle of nowhere. In the heart of these tropical forests, there's a good chance of an even more impressive encounter. Burma is home to the largest population of Asian elephants outside India. There are thought to be about 8,000. They're located to every corner of the world. My name is Mang Mang. I'm 55. I'm an Uzi. I work with elephants. You see that young man behind us? That's my son, and I'm teaching him my trade, showing him the ropes. When I was a lad, my father taught me and now I'm doing the same for my son. My working day starts at 6 a.m. When I wake up, I go and fetch the elephants who've spent the night outside. I have my breakfast, I give them a wash, and then we all go to work. The more you work with elephants, the more attached you get to them. We take good care of them. We wash them twice a day. The elephants seem to enjoy this little bit of pampering. We start training the elephants when they're 4 to 5 years old, and they start working when they're about 18 years old. Elephants are workers. Before they get to that age, they're just for riding and helping to get around. Each year, adult males equipped with harnesses and chains transport over a million tons of wood. They can move around in places too narrow for cranes and bulldozers without causing any harm to the environment. Using their trunk and their tusks, they manipulate tree trunks weighing up to 5 tons and ferry them to waiting trucks or to river shores. My elephant is a 32-year-old female. She's called Timpine. We work them until they're 35 or 40 years old. I started working at 16 too. I can still work, so I carry on doing it. I'm passionate about this job, and because it's my passion, I don't get tired of it. I only ever work with elephants. You get attached to them, and I don't plan to give up anytime soon. The indisputable backbone of the country, the Irrawaddy River flows through the Great Lands shared by the 135 ethnic groups officially recognized by a government census. The Bamars make up 70% of the population. Among the main ethnic groups are the Shan and the Kachin in the north, the Chin and the Arakanes in the west, the Bamars and the Kayas and the Mohingas have never been recognized as a Burmese minority. The authorities see them as Bengali immigrants. Other groups include the Chinese, Indians and Nepalis. The disparate states were only united in the 18th century and fell under the British yoke from 1824 until 1943. This complex ethnic mosaic allied to the hundred or so languages and dialects that minorities have in integrating. In 2005, Rangoon lost its status as the nation's administrative capital and was replaced by Naypyidaw. But it remains its economic nerve center and its biggest city with a population of almost 4.5 million. Founded by the Mon people in the 6th century, it only achieved after the Japanese war. The city was absorbed into the British Raj and became the capital of colonial Burma. Burma remained British until the 4th of January 1948, on which date it became independent thanks to national hero Aung San. He was assassinated without having seen his dream come true. Burma then experienced a rapid decline in the country into poverty and isolationism. In 1988, pro-democracy demonstrations ended in bloodshed. Aung San Suu Kyi, daughter of the hero Aung San, returned from exile and founded the National League for Democracy. In 1991, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. A hugely popular opposition figure, she began moves towards democracy but had to contend with the army, which held the vast majority of decision-making posts and the country's economic resources. Since 2016, she has been bitterly criticized because of her inaction in response to the army's abuses of the Rohingya. A world away is a place behind agriculture and logging. The Burmese eat fish with virtually every meal, even at breakfast, when they enjoy the ubiquitous mohinga. This national dish is a fish broth garnished with rice noodles and flavored with lemongrass and ginger. It's eaten on street corners and is sold in little kiosks or by street vendors In the very heart of the city, the spectacular Shwedagon Pagoda is the country's most sacred building. Legend has it that it was built 2,500 years ago to house eight of Buddha's hairs. It's said that the Buddha Gautama himself gave the sacred relics to two merchants and instructed them to build the pagoda. When the box containing Buddha's hairs was opened, they started to glow, the trees started to flower, and precious stones fell from the sky and embedded themselves in the gold of the pagoda. Archaeologists think it's more likely that it was built because it's difficult to date it accurately. The pagoda dominates the skyline and rests on a five hectare paved marble terrace. The brilliance and glory of the pagoda are beyond compare. The hundred meter high central stupa is covered with thousands of gold sheets and as many small bells. It's surrounded by temples and devotees pray and leave offerings from dawn till dusk in this holiest of sites. My monk name is Hunyanavunta. I come from a small village called Taton and I've been a monk for a little over 13 years. I'm 34 now. Becoming a monk is a way of releasing yourself from life's suffering. But it isn't enough just to want to be a monk. You have to follow Buddha's teachings. We wake up every day at four in the morning and we pray in the monastery. Then we go off to collect offerings and when we return we have a short rest. We have something to eat around 5.40 and then we do our washing and after that we all meet up with our books for lessons in the monastery. At about half past nine we go back to the village and ask for food for lunch. We come back at about 10.40 and prepare and eat the meal. We take a nap until one o'clock and then we study our texts again and at about quarter to six we pray again. According to our rules there's a quarter past nine curfew and then we have to go to bed. That's a typical agenda in the day of a monk. Burmese Buddhists are in permanent contact with their faith. As a boy he hears his parents reciting sacred texts when they wake up and then sees his mother preparing offerings for the monks. Between the ages of nine and twelve he temporarily leaves the family home to embark on his novitiate. This ceremony is an essential rite of passage. A meal for the monks unites the family for one last time. The following morning his head is shaved for a lecture reading and is a symbolic renouncement of childhood. He will be able to rejoin the community later at any stage of his life. Men and women often take their monastic vows at a key moment in their lives such as a bereavement, separation or even a success. They will be full-time monks and nuns for as long as is necessary for them to achieve On a mountain rock precariously suspended over a precipice is Burma's third most sacred site. Each year thousands of pilgrims make the 1200 meter ascent to show their devotion. The most courageous make the journey on foot which takes almost five hours. According to legend it's one of Buddha's hairs embedded in the stupa of a hermit who kept it in his bun. Feeling that his death was imminent he entrusted the relic to the king and told him to build a pagoda in the shape of his head. With help from the god Tagyamin the king found the perfect rock at the bottom of the ocean and hauled it to the top of the mountain. This is the reason the rock is known as Kaik Thio which means the pagoda on the hermit's head. The rays are soon replaced by those of votive candles which are lit during the chants and prayers. From daybreak the rock and its small chapels are full of worshippers. and attention is constant. The site is surrounded by panoramic terraces where the women congregate. They are not permitted to touch the rock let alone stick gold leaf to it. According to tradition only men are able to reach Buddha's state of enlightenment while women can only reach the lower stages of spiritual awareness. There is water and just beneath it there was Buddha. The pagoda was built on that very spot but women aren't allowed in. I know that according to the scriptures men are holier than women. They are more sacred but the women aren't according to the scriptures. Women are forbidden to enter the pagodas otherwise bad things befall them. There would be thunder, lightning. My nun name is Dao Dawadi. I come from a village called Palukyun. I'm 70 years old and I've been a nun for 70 years. For a Buddhist woman to become a nun is the most noble and sacred calling imaginable. As a nun I learn the prayers and I meditate. When you become a nun you learn Buddha's doctrines how to live and abide by the basic laws. You are more cultivated than ordinary women. Here the monastic orders have a social and intellectual standing. They're also a guarantee of a long and complete education. Lying in the east of the country Lake Inle is the main tourist destination It's 22 kilometers long and 10 kilometers wide covering an area of 12,000 hectares. Its depth varies between 2 and 4 meters depending on the season. On its shoreline lie the villages of the Inta people. 70,000 of them live in wooden and bamboo houses built on stilts. Life drifts gently by along with the seasons. After their meal they return home unaccompanied. This mode of transport is as natural to them as the bicycle is to western children. The number of Burmese who go to school is still very low. The main reason for this is the deep poverty endured by the majority of Burma's 52 million inhabitants two thirds of whom work in agriculture. This atrophied education system that prevents going to school is an increasingly realistic and fervent hope in the hearts of the Burmese. Farming on Lake Inle is unusual in that it takes place on floating gardens. Carpets of vegetation about a meter thick made of silt, roots and aquatic plants are moored to the lake with bamboo poles. This farming method is the most common but the most commonly found crop on these long floating kitchen gardens is tomatoes. Avid consumers of water and sunshine everything they need is here. Therefore, inter-farmers have turned to intensive single crop tomato cultivation. The yield from Lake Inle is markedly higher than in the rest and the effect on Inle's ecosystem is dramatic. Chemical fertilizers encourage the proliferation of algae and water hyacinth which are threatening to smother the lake's fauna. The growing population has also engendered the deforestation of the surrounding slopes increasing the level of silt. One of the lake's many aquatic plants is a unique species of lotus. It's a type of silk which is found nowhere else in the world. It's used to produce luxury fabrics which sell for sky-high prices. Manufactured by hand it's a long and painstaking process. A month of labor and 4000 lotus stems are required just to make a single scarf. Even though they are gradually turning towards other activities like welcoming they maneuver their canoes in a unique and remarkable fashion standing at the stern. They use a single oar around which they wind their leg to scull leaving their hands free for fishing. The surface area of Lake Inle is decreasing alarmingly as are its reserves of fish. Those worst affected are of course the fishing community who are finding it increasingly difficult I was born on Lake Inle. I grew up here got married here. The lake feeds me. The fish help me to survive even though it's getting harder and harder. I've had some unforgettable times on the lake of many fond memories like my school days with all my friends I had to give up my studies when my father became ill. I took over from him and became a fisherman myself. I spent some wonderful evenings rowing on the lake. I was born on Lake Inle. I grew up on it and I'll die on it. Then it'll be my children's turn to live from it and help it survive.