Indian Antiquary Vol 58

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Charles E A W Oldham, S Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarka
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 234

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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
[DECEMBER, 1999
An instance of the mental unity of the people is afforded by their general religious belief and practice. Outwardly the vast majority are professed Buddhists of the Southern or Puritan School. In reality they are all, from the highest to the lowest, from the most to the least cultured, animists of the pronounced Indo-Chinese type. In Burma, Animism takes the form of what is known thoro as Nat-Worship. Nat is a generic term for all kinds of supernatural beings, and the belief in the Nats is the basis of the faith of the whole population, whatever form the superstructure may take. It is Indo-Chinese in origin and pervades the entire country. It colours all customs, ceremonies, beliefs, superstitions, and practices, what. ever the professed religion. The differences observable, and they are many, may be perhaps bost described thus the educated accept the demonolatry which accompanied the importation of Buddhism, and reject the inherited nature and ancestor worship, and the uneducated accept the imported domonolatry, while adhering to their inherited worship as their chief cult; the wild tribes depending on descent and environment for their beliefs.
Another strong instance of montal unity occurs in the attitude of the whole people towards the idea of divinity. Even when tutored, and readily adopting outside teaching, as in the case of the Karens in regard to Christianity, there is a difficulty, which is typically Indo-Chinese, in grasp. ing what, to Europeans and many other types of the human mind, is almost an instinctive idea. The fact is that the Indo-Chinese mind does not tend towards a belief in a single universal God, inilols, or in priests and interpreters of divinity, or towards the worship of stocks and stoncs.
Unity is again visible in the feeble dovelopment in the untutored of ideas as to a future life, and it is not difficult to show that such notiona as exist of heaven and hell are due to the imported Buddhism. There is also a universal way of regarding the human soul. It is looked on in a true animistic manner. It is immaterial, but it can be materialised, and is essential to the normal conditions of the body. Its temporary absence throws the body into an abnormal condition, and its departure causes death. It is in some undefined way the human Nat.
To this unified conception of the fundamentals of religious belief must be added another universal phenomenon of the indigenous mind. It is commonly said of the people that all their Nats are malevolent. This is not the case in fact, but what has happened is that the good and kindly spirits are not regarded as requiring propitiation and worship. They are treated indeed as a negligible quantity, and the efforts of the people in their Nat-worship are all concentrated on keeping the evil spirits, or spirita likely to do them harm, in a good temper. This attitude of mind has governed all the domestic and religious ceremonies, the whole object of which is everywhere to ward off the evil producible by supernatural, invisible power that are believed to exist practically in every surrounding of mankind.
Again, the enormous variety of indigenous ceremonies and facts relating to that phase of Animism known as Nat-Worship, which have been reported by inquirers in Burma, exhibit two universal phenomena, showing unity of mental equipment in the various peoples(1) Among tho uncultured, ceremonies and in a drinking bout, and some have been instituted. not to procure the assistance of the supernatural powers, but to induce them not to interfere with mankind. (2) The Burman's capacity for adapting foreign notions to his own apsthetic ideas and for making his proceedings attractive and beautiful, has so covered over Buch festivals as he has absorbed from outside as to make them appear to be indigenous and peculiar to himself. But I regret to say that, nevertheless, the Water-Feast, so well known to Europeans, and the like, are all imported from India with Buddhism.
The evil spirits of the people are legion, but they have one characteristic in commonirresistible power. Upon their non-interference, therefore, depends the fulfilment of desires. This is the fundamental argument that has led to all the forms of Nat-Worship. Any num ber of ever-varying ceremonies are also brought about by another general idea that of ven. geance on the living for the misfortunes which the dead have suffered during life, leading to such notions as that death and epidemics are caused by the spirits of the unfortunate. AU these things show unity in unconscious reasoning.