Saya San

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Saya San or Galon Saya San (born 24 October 1876, executed 16 November 1931) was a noted monk, a Burmese medicine man or shaman and the leader of the Burmese peasant revolt of 1930-1931 and pretender to the Burmese throne.^[1] He led the first concerted effort to forcefully resist British domination.^[2]

1 History
2 Notes
3 External links
4 Bibliography

[edit] History

In 1924 the General Council of Buddhist Associations appointed the 45-year old Saya San to head a committee surveying the living conditions of the Burmese peasantry. In the course of the 1927 survey, Saya San (along with a growing number of urban activists and political monks) changed the focus of their work and began inspiring the peasants to resist British forces. This was an attempt to rebel against the British Administration and its tax policies in particular.

In 1929 the British proposed new taxes on the Burmese people as well as a forestry bill that would forbid the cutting of trees (Burma’s prime asset) without British consent. In December 1930, Saya San allegedly organized a local revolt against the payment of the capitation tax (poll tax) which quickly grew beyond his control and turned into an uncoordinated national revolt. The series of movements spread from the district of Tharrawaddy (three and a half hours from Rangoon) to neighboring districts throughout Lower Burma. Official reports claimed that Saya San was a "minlaung" or pretender-king who would restore the monarchy and revitalize the declining Buddhist religion. Seeking to resurrect traditional institutions and networks, Saya San reportedly built a palace on the mountain Alantaung and held a coronation ceremony complete with symbols of the Burmese court. Followers of Saya San were said to have been tattooed with a special image of the Garuda (Galon) that not only would protect them from bullets, but symbolized their mission to rid the kingdom of the British and other foreigners. While some scholars have suggested that economic hardship was at the heart of the revolts, others have suggested that initiating a new golden age of Buddhism was an important reason.^[3]

The resulting uprising required more than two years and 10,000 British troops to quell, ending with Saya San’s execution by hanging. Recent scholarship has raised many questions about Saya San's role in the revolt. It is thought by some now that the British falsified and overstated Saya San's role in the revolt so as to make his execution seem more meaningful than it actually was.^[4] Several details of the trial, including a diary produced by the police which outlines Saya San's plan, are not considered to be trustworthy. In addition, focus on the traditional character of the rebellion has been argued to have ignored the growing connections between urban nationalists and rural communities since the 1920s.^[5] Nationalist associations (wuthanu athins) and politicized elements of the monkshood had been interacting with local leaders for some time, introducing new strategies and ideas concerning reform.

While Burmese Buddhists considered the uprising a failure, it did mark a turning point for some in Burmese politics. The uprising led to the formation of a new generation of political leaders such as Ba Maw and U Saw who participated in the trial for the defense. Additionally, it helped demonstrate the sangha’s ability to mobilize the local people to resist the colonization movement. Saya San is remembered as a nationalist hero who led the masses against the colonial state.

[edit] Notes

^ Saya San and the Burmese Rebellion. Retrieved on 2006-12-27.
^ History - The British colonial period. Retrieved on 2006-12-27.
^ James Scott, Moral Economy of the Peasant, New Haven: Princeton Press, 1977 and Michael Adas, Prophets of Rebellion, Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1979.
^ Maurice Collis, who narrates the early stages of the rebellion in his memoir Trials in Burma, fails to supply any background for "the man Saya San"; noting that by Government sources the idea that the rebellion "could have had economic causes ... was scouted", Collis offers no independent opinion of its purpose (unless, indeed the whole book gives his opinion). Collis does not mention Saya San's trial or execution. See Collis chapter 7 section 7 "The Rebellion".
^ Patricia Herbert, "The Hsaya San Rebellion: Reappraised", Melbourne: Monash University Center for Southeast Asian Studies, 1982