Contemporary Lives of Burmese Manuscripts in Monastic Custody, Art Markets, and Western Institutions

Pwint Phyu Maung

This paper is offered as a tribute to Professor Elizabeth. H. Moore, whose scholarship and mentorship shaped my study of Art history and heritage practices. I will discuss Burmese manuscripts, including palm-leaf texts (pe sa), folding books (parabaik), and lacquered works or Kammavācā. The latter in particular, were important as ritual, pedagogical and merit-making objects within Buddhist monastic communities. They were actively used for chanting, examinations, donation ceremonies and monastic lineage transmission. However, their status and significance was transformed after they were commodified as collectible artworks from the 19th century onwards. In Western institutions they were catalogued as research materials, and valued for linguistic, ethnographic and other data related to Southeast Asian studies. This paper examines contemporary practices and perceptions of Kammavācā “inside” and “outside” their original socio-religious contexts. I will draw on field observations in monastic communities, and analysis of the Thai art market, a frequent point of transition. This paper asks: how do source communities balance or negotiate preservation and sacredness today? How do markets and museums reshape the identity of these objects? Finally, why do these changes matter for understanding and managing Burmese cultural heritage today?