Indian Antiquary Vol 48

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarkar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 41

April, 1919]
NOTES ON CURRENCY AND COINAGE AMONG THE BURMESE
37
NOTES ON CURRENCY AND COINAGE AMONG THE BURMESE.
BY SIR RICHARD TEMPLE, Bt. IN 1887-something over thirty years ago-I commenced making notes and selections I for a series of elaborate articles on the currency and coinage of the former Kingdom of Burma, as I felt myself to be in a position to rescue from oblivion an ancient system which was inevitably passing away beyond recall, and as at the same time that system had in it a great deal that explaine.l the more advanced methods obtaining in other parts of the world, while it retained much that threw light on the methods of ancient and even primitive times. The point of special interest was that I could study going on around me in Upper Burma the ways of a civilised people that was still carrying on its domestic life and its commerce without coin of the realm as its medium of exthange. The ideas as to money and money values involved in such conditions are so entirely at variance with those that have prevailed in the western world and even in the Near and Middle East for many centuries, that it seemed to me, for the sake of a scientific knowledge of the true meaning of habits of such transcendent importanoe to mankind as the modes of conducting commercial relations, to be worth while to make what collection of facts and comments thereon I could before it was too late.
The heavy obligations of a busy official life, however, prevented my putting my notes an l observations into print until 1897, in wbich year I commenced the contemplated series of articles in this Journal (Vol. XXVI, p. 154). I-then examined firstly, currency without a coinage, taking peasant ourrency for my first detailed subject (p. 157), passing on to the use of chipped bullion (p. 160), the effect of bullion currency (p. 197) and valuation by weight (p. 204). Next I considered the evil of bullion currency (p. 211), an important and muchm isunderstood point, as articles in the daily papers of England alone show to this day. After this, I examined the age of bullion currency in Burma (p. 232) and made a coinplete enquiry into the history of the terms dinga (p. 235) and tickal (p. 253).
Retracing my steps somewhat, the next subject examined was the general one of barter and metallic currency (p. 260), considering barter generally (p. 261) and then the many special articles which have been used by man 4g the medium of exchange, both natural (p. 281) and manufactured (p. 285). This led me to the study of conventional non-metallic articles used for money (p. 290), which was followed by brief notes on the history of exchange in the Far East (p. 309), with some additional notes on barter (p. 311).
The research into the above questions led to an historical consideration of the vast subiact of bullion weights (p. 313), commencing (p. 314) with the all-important fundamental low denomination or standard found in the seeds of the abru (ywé) and the adenanthera (yw5ji, ywégyí). This enabled me to examine the Burmese weights and compare them usefully with those of India and the surrounding nations (p. 318). I then (in Vol. XXVII) found myself deeply involved in the question of the history of the bullion weights used in many countries and at many times, commencing with Siamese and Shan weights frorn English and French sources (p. 1) and going on to Chinese weights (p. 29) and Malay weights (p. 37). To complete the subject, I examined the weights used in Southern India (p. 57).including those reported by many early European travellers (p. 63 and again, p. 85).
Going back to Burma, the next subjects taken up were those of the Pali and old Burmese weights (p. 113) and the standard weights of the Burmese Kings (p. 141).