Research Article
Iconography and Its’ Function of Bhon-zin Parabaik in the late Konbaung dynasty : Focusing on Mount Meru and Tavatimsa
서강대학교 동아연구소
Published: January 2020 · Vol. 78, No. 0 · pp. 109-146
Full Text
Abstract
Parabaik is a paper-folding book, which appeared since the 18th century in Myanmar. Parabaik was, for various purposes, used to describe Royal paintings as well as Buddhist narratives, such as Jataka and life story of Sakyamuni. Among many kinds of Parabaiks, the parabaik, which depicted Buddhist cosmology, is called "Bhon-zin Parabaik" in Burmese. These Bhon-zin parabaiks were published especially in the late period of the Konbaung Dynasty, the last kingdom of Myanmar. Of various scenes, depicted in the Bhon zin parabaik, the paper is focusing on two scenes, describing Mount Meru and Tavatimsa heaven, because original iconography of both scenes was found since the Bagan period. Besides, it was shown that new iconography and style were added to both scenes. For example, Sun worship by Burmese was reflected as one of the new iconographies in the scene of Mount Meru. In the scene of Tavatimsa, the king of Konbaung was also linked to Sakka(Thagyamin in Burmese), who controls Tavaimsa heaven. The production of the prabaiks can capture the intention of the Konbaung Kings to break it in the chaotic situation at the end of the 19th century. This is revealed through the symbolic representation of the political ideology of the real world through the image of Mount Meru and Tavatimsa heaven. Thus, the Konbaung Royal Family was able to control the aristocracy, which could be a threat of rebellion to them anytime, and promote political stability.
