Kammavaca

Kammavaca are among the most sacred of Burmese religious texts. Kammavaca consist of nine Khandakas from the Pali Vinaya Pitaka, each of which relates to a specific ceremony associated with Theravada Buddhism. Kammavaca were usually commissioned as works of merit to be presented to a monastery when a son entered the Buddhist order as a novice or became ordained as a monk.

The earliest Kammavaca, which date from the Pagan period (1004-1287) were either incised with a stylus or written in ink on plain unadorned palmleaf. The beginnings of decoration on Kammavaca appears to date from around the fourteenth century, and towards the end of the seventeenth century, a square type of writing inscribed in thick resinous black lacquer called ‘tamarind seed’ became the preferred script for Kammavaca. Folded, heavily lacquered cloth became the dominant medium for the production of ‘pages’ for Kammavaca. The most highly prized were those made from waistcloths of kings or from the robes of highly revered monks.

Like many other Burmese art forms, Kammavaca reached their highest point under the patronage of the Konbaung dynasty (1752-1885). Five to seven lines of script became the norm and the background decoration of floral sprigs and birds between the lines became more intricate. Covers and margin embellishment became more lavish, featuring intricate linked geometric patterns, hintha birds, and various Buddha and other sacred figures. This more modern Kammavaca consists of seven loose unbound ‘pages.’ It is made from folded layers of cotton or chintz cloth thickly covered with a few coats of orange and brown lacquer to create a smooth surface and inscribed with a stylus, then filled with ink or lacquer.

Kammavaca are read horizontally from left to right. Each page is turned away from the reader as it is finished and the next one begun. Like all Burmese books, they are handled with great care. In former times Kammavaca were placed on a small stand when read, and women were expressly forbidden from placing pages in their laps. After reading, the unbound pages were stacked and secured with bamboo pins passed through the two holes on each page. The book was then wrapped in a dust jacket of silk, satin or velvet. Finally it was bound by a long ribbon and placed in a gilded box for safekeeping.

This Kammavaca was written in the Burmese calendar year 1282 (1921) and contains the text of the Pabbajaniya-Kammavaca (Announcement of Driving Away). The front cover text reads “Donated by the supporters of the Sayadaw who passed away at nine o’clock in the morning of the 8th waning day of Nayon 1281 B.E.” The inside back cover reads “Saya U Maung Gyi made this Pabbajaniya Kammavaca of the powder of the bones of the late Sayadaw in 1282 B.E.”

Purchased at Bogyoke Market, Rangoon, in August 1988 and presented as a gift to Bruce and Sally Nelson.

“Please listen to me, Venerable Sirs. These nonhuman beings — ogres, goblins, demons and

dragons—are fierce, cruel, dreadful, merciless and harmful. Their fierceness, cruelty, dreadfulness,

mercilessness and harmfulness are not only seen but heard. The families ill-treated by them are not only seen but heard. If it is proper for the Sangha, these nonhuman beings are to be driven away by the Sangha, from this house and this compound, saying that they must not live here. This is the motion.

Please listen to me, Venerable Sirs. These nonhuman beings—ogres, goblins, demons and dragons—are fierce, cruel, dreadful, merciless and harmful. Their fierceness, cruelty, dreadfulness, mercilessness and harmfulness are not only seen but heard. The families illtreated by them are not only seen but heard. The Sangha drives them away from this house and this compound, saying that they must not live here.

For the second time listen to me… they must not live here.

For the third time listen to me… they must not live here.

The Sangha has driven these nonhuman beings away from this house and this compound, saying that they must not live here. All the members of the Sangha are pleased with this and keep silent. So I understand this is as such.”

Image: Lacquered cloth, teak, gilding, pigment, human ashesv (allegedly), yarn; each panel 13 x 45cm.