Golden Earth
Page 30
As for the material basis for Burma’s future, it is excellent. The country is wonderfully fertile, and reasonably populated. That is to say that without much effort enough food can be grown for everyone. Even in the present state of tragic disorder the Burmese can still export annually several million tons of rice. All that is necessary, then, is to cure the people of their infantile craving for manufactured trash from overseas that fills their markets, and to import only essential medicines, hospital equipment, means of transport and agricultural machinery. If necessary a little teak could be cut, and oil pumped to help pay for this. While the population stays at its present level the Burmese need neither kolhozes nor Boulder Dams (nor, since they cannot afford an atomic pile, do they need armaments); and there is no mysterious natural law which compels a country to produce a greater population than its own soil can support. Above all, they do not need the glittering baubles described in the advertisement sections of American magazines. The Burmese way of life has never been based on unnecessary consumption, and there is no reason why it ever should. It is as good as any, as it is.
It now remains for the Burmese to compose their differences, to cease to be intoxicated by reach-me-down political formulae and to split doctrinal hairs while the dismemberment of their country goes unheeded. If this can be done (and as yet there is not the slightest sign of it), all that remains is to avoid as the plague all alliances that may lead to their country’s being crushed between the millstones of the East and West, and to settle down to the carrying out of those just agrarian reforms upon which all political parties seem to be agreed. Herein lies a simple blueprint for Utopia.
Index
Abadan, 1
Abraham Ba Nyunt Dashwood, 1
Aingto, 1
Alaungpaya, King of Burma, 1, 2, 3, 4
Amarapura, 1, 2, 3
Alfred, King, 1
Amat, The (at Nam Hkam), 1, 2, 3
America see United States of America
America, Central, 1
Anawrahta, King of Burma, 1, 2, 3
Anawrahta Pagoda, 1
Annam, Emperor of, 1
Annam, Central, 1
Annamese people, 1
Arakan Pagoda, 1
Arakanese people, 1
Asoka, Emperor of India, 1
Assam, 1, 2
Aurungzeb, 1
Ava, 1, 2, 3
Banyang people, 1
Bellamy, Mr (Princess Ma Lat’s husband), 1
Bellamy, June Rose, 1
Bghai Karen people, 1
Bhamó, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
birds’ nests, edible, 1
Bodawpaya, King of Burma, 1, 2, 3
Bogyoke Square, Rangoon, 1
Borri, Father (Jesuit writer), 1
Bramah, Ernest, 1
British army, Burmese recruits in, 1, 2
Brunnings, Mr (railway guard), 1
Buddha, The, relics of, 1, 2, 3, 4;
sayings of, 1;
Cakkravati sermon quoted, 1;
images of, 1;
and King Mindon, 1
Buddhism, and spiritual merit through charity, 1, 2, 3, 4;
mission shop in Rangoon, 1;
U Ba Thein on, 1;
Pali texts, 1;
and Arakan Pagoda, 1;
Anawrahta and, 1;
and nats, 1;
and Third Missionary Movement, 1;
Reverend Lokanatha and, 1;
in the Shan States, 1;
Mr Pereira and, 1
buffalo dance, 1
Burma Handbook, The, 1
Burma Union Day, 1
Burmah Oil Company, 1
Burman, The (newspaper), 1
Çakkhupala (devil buffalo), 1
Cambodia, 1
Canton, 1, 2
Cape, Jonathan, Ltd., 1
Centre of the Universe, Mandalay, 1
Ceylon, 1
Chettyars, The, 1
Chiang Kai-shek, 1
Chi’ing invasion, 1
Chin country, 1; see also Chin people
Chin people, 1; see also Chin country
China, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
Chinese Nationalist bandits, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Collis, Maurice, Trials in Burma, 1
Collocalia francica (Grey-rumped
Swift) see birds’ nests, edible
Colombo, 1, 2
Commissioner’s Road, Rangoon, 1
Communist forces, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
Cuba, 1
Dalat, 1
Dalgouttie, Mr (of the British Information Service), 1
De Brito, Felipe, 1, 2; see also Portuguese, in Burma
Dias, Maria, 1
disease, in Rangoon, 1; see also leper colony
dogs, in Mergui, 1
Dolland, Mr (author’s friend), 1
Domei Agency, 1
Duffy, Mr (British Consul in Maymyo), 1, 2
earthquakes, 1
East India Company, 1, 2, 3, 4
Edwin Saung Chin Stephen Min, 1
Einstein, Alfred, 1
Ela, 1
Elizabeth I, Queen of England, 1
Fitch, Ralph, 1, 2, 3
Forbes-Russell, Mrs (in Moulmein), 1
France, 1; see also French, in Indo-China
Fredericke, Caesar, 1, 2
French, in Indo-China, 1
Freud, Sigmund, 1
Gautama, 1
Gdynia, 1
George V, King of England, 1
gnapi (fish delicacy), 1, 2
Goa, 1, 2
Gokteik, 1
Golden Dragon, The (ship), 1
Grey-Rumped Swift see birds’ nests, edible
Haiti, 1
Hang-Chow, 1
Hao Yieng, 1
Hinduism, influence of, 1
Hindus, and Sule Pagoda, 1;
and asceticism, 1
Hong Kong, 1, 2
Hood, Thomas, 1
hotels, 1
Hsenwi, 1, 2, 3
Hsenwi, Sawbwa of, 1, 2
Hsipaw, 1
Hta Hta Paya, Princess, 1
Hukawng valley, The, 1
India, 1, 2
India, Viceroy of, 1
Indian community, 1, 2; see also Chettyars, The
Indo-China, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Indonesia, 1, 2
Irrawaddy river, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Ivan (the Terrible), Tsar, 1
Japan, 1;
see also Japanese, in Burma
Japanese, in Burma, 1, 2, 3, 4
Kaaba, The, 1
Kachin people, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13; language, 1, 2;
see also Kachin State
Kachin State, 1, 2, 3; see also Kachin people;
Kachin language
Kandy, 1
Karen, people, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7; Bishop of Tennasserim and, 1
Karenni States, 1, 2; see also Karen;
Mon-Karen State
Katha, 1, 2
Kemmendine, 1, 2, 3
Kentung, 1, 2
King Island, 1
Kipling, Rudyard, 1
Kublai Khan, 1
Kutkai, 1, 2
Ku’un Lun, 1
Kyaik Maraw, 1
Kyam, 1
Kyaukmyaung, 1
Kyaumke, 1
Lamour, Dorothy, 1
Land Nationalization Act, 1
Lashio, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
Lee, Mr (author’s friend), 1
Lee, Ma Pyo, 1, 2
leper colony, 1
Lishaw people, 1
Loi Kaw, 1
Lokanatha, The Venerable, of Hong Kong, 1
London Customs House, 1
Ma Lat, Princess, 1
Mahamuni image see Arakan Pagoda
Malaya, 1, 2
Malcolm, Rev. (writer on Burma), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Man Wing, 1
Manchester, cloth, 1
Mandalay, and Victorian colon
ists, 1; and Karen insurgents, 1;
railway to Rangoon from, 1, 2, 3;
author proposes to visit, 1;
puppets from, 1;
author journeys to, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6;
author leaves, 1, 2, 3, 4;
gharries in, 1;
silk from, 1;
and Irrawaddy river, 1;
capture of, 1
Manipur, 1
Manu, Laws of, 1
Mao Tse-tung, 1, 2
marriage customs, 1
Mary, Queen of Scots, 1
Maung Htin Aung, Dr, 1
Maya Quiché Indians, 1
Maymyo, 1, 2, 3
Mecca, 1
Mekong river, 1
Menam, The (boat), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Menam river, 1
Mengun Pagoda, 1
Mergui, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Meru, mountain of, 1
Mindon, King of Burma, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Mingaladon Airport, 1
missionaries, in Burma, 1; see also Buddhism
Mogaung, 1
Moi people, 1
Mon, people, 1;
Mon-Karen State, 1;
marriage customs of, 1;
insurgents, 1; see also Karen;
Talaing people
Mong Pang, 1
Mongli, 1
Mongols, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Morgan, Henry, 1
Morgan, Lewis see Norman, Louis
Moscow, 1
Moulmein, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Mu-Sé, 1, 2, 3, 4
Mudon, 1
Mussolini, Edda, 1
Myitkyina, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Myittha, 1
Nair, Mr (on Rangoon Express), 1, 2, 3
Nam Hkam, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
Nam Mi river, 1
Nam Yung river, 1
Nanchao (Yunnan), 1
Naples, 1
Narathihapate, King of Burma, 1
nats, 1, 2, 3, 4; see also Nat-ka-daws
Nat-ka-daws, 1; see also nats
Naungkhio, 1
Naw Seng, 1
New York, 1, 2
Nga Pyi, 1; see also nats
Norman, Louis (ps. of author), 1
North Africa, 1
Oh-oh, 1, 2
Ooria people, 1
P. V. O. (People’s Volunteer
Organization), 1; see also Communist forces
Pagan, 1, 2
Pakistan, 1
Palaung people, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Pali texts see Buddhism
Panama, 1
Papun, 1
Pauktan, The (boat), 1
Pegu, 1, 2
Peking, 1
Penang, 1
Pereira, Mr (on Rangoon Express), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Philip II, King of Spain, 1
Polo, Marco, 1
Portuguese, in Burma, 1; see also De Brito, Felipe
Puri coast (India), 1
Pwès, 1, 2
Pyinmana, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Pyinmana, Prince, 1
Pyu Sawhti, King of Burma, 1
Ramayana, The, 1, 2
Rangoon, author in, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; oil deliveries to, 1;
puppet show near, 1;
riverside in, 1, 2;
Europeans in, 1, 2;
hotels, 1;
prison, 1;
guardian spirit of, 1;
press, 1;
sights, 1;
rumours in, 1;
Seng in, 1;
and commerce, 1;
boats in, 1;
journey to, 1;
train to, 1, 2;
pagoda festival in, 1; see also Mingaladon Airport
Reader’s Digest (magazine), 1, 2, 3
Red-Flag Communists see
Communist forces
Robert the Bruce, 1
Royal Lake, 1
St James’s Park, London, 1
Sakra, Hindu Lord of Paradise, 1
Salween river, 1
Santander, 1
Saw Tapu Lay, 1
Sawbwa of Hsenwi see Hsenwi, Sawbwa of
Seng, 1, 2, 3, 4
settlers, in Burma, 1; see also East India Company
Shan, dissidents, 1; people, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12;
language, 1;
see also Shan States
Shan States, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Shinsawbu, Queen of Talaungs, 1
Shwe-Na-be, 1
Shwebo, 1
Shwedagon Pagoda, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Shwegu, 1
Shweli river, 1, 2
Shwepyi brothers, 1, 2; see also nats
Siam, 1, 2, 3, 4
Singapore, 1
Strand Hotel, Rangoon, 1, 2
Sule Pagoda, 1
Sunny Jim Than Myint, 1
Supayalat, Queen of Burma, 1
Sumprabum, 1
Symes, Michael, 1
Syriam, 1, 2, 3, 4
Szechwan, 1
Tabaung (Buddhist festival), 1
Tabinshweti, King of Burma, 1; see also nats
Taj Mahal, The, 1
Talaing, Prince of the, 1; see also Mon, people
Talaung people, 1
Tapeng river, 1
Tatkón, 1, 2, 3
Taungbyon, 1, 2, 3
Taunggyi, 1, 2
Taungthu people, 1
Taylor, Robert, 1
Tenasserim, 1
Tenasserim, Bishop of, 1
Thai people, 1, 2
Thakin Nu, Prime Minister, 1, 2, 3
Thakin Soe, 1
Thakin Than Tun, 1, 2
Thaton, 1, 2
Thazi, 1
Thibaw, King of Burma, 1, 2, 3
Thihadaw, 1
Tibetans, in Burma, 1, 2
Tin Maung, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Tit-Bits (magazine), 1
Tok Galé, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Tok Galé, Anne, 1
Tonkin, 1
Toungoo, 1, 2, 3
Turkestan, 1
U Ba San, 1, 2
U Ba Thein, 1
U Khanti, 1
U Maung Lat, 1
U Ohn, 1
U Sein, 1
U Shin Gyi, 1; see also nats
U Thant, 1, 2
U Thein Zan, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
U Tun Win, 1, 2
United States of America, 1, 2, 3
Victoria, Queen of England, 1
Vietnam, 1
Virgin Mary, 1
Wanting, 1
Weismuller, Johnny, 1
White, Samuel, 1
White-Flag Communists see Communist forces
Williams, Amelia, 1, 2
Xavier, St Francis, 1
Yamethin, 1, 2, 3, 4
Yok Seng, 1
Yunnan, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; see also Nanchao
About the Author
Norman Lewis’s early childhood, as recalled in Jackdaw Cake (1985), was spent partly with his Welsh spiritualist parents in Enfield, North London, and partly with his eccentric aunts in Wales. Forgoing a place at university for lack of funds, he used the income from wedding photography and various petty trading to finance travels to Spain, Italy and the Balkans, before being approached by the Colonial Office to spy for them with his camera in Yemen.
He moved to Cuba in 1939, but was recalled for duty in the Intelligence Corps during the Second World War. It was from this that Norman Lewis’s masterpiece, Naples ’44, emerged, a resurrection of his wartime diary only finally published in 1978.
Before that came a number of novels and travel books, notably A Dragon Apparent (1951) and Golden Earth (1952), both of which were best sellers in their day. His novel The Volcanoes Above Us, based on personal experiences in Central America, sold six million copies in paperback in Russia and The Honoured Society (1964), a non-fiction study of the Sicilian Mafia, was serialised in six instalments by the New Yorker.
Norman Lewis wrote thirteen novels and thirteen works of nonfiction,
mostly travel books, but he regarded his life’s major achievement to be the reaction to an article written by him entitled Genocide in Brazil, published in the Sunday Times in 1968. This led to a change in the Brazilian law relating to the treatment of Indians, and to the formation of Survival International, the influential international organisation which campaigns for the rights of tribal peoples. He later published a very successful book called The Missionaries (1988) which is set amongst the Indians of Central and Latin America.
More recent books included Voices of the Old Sea (1984), Goddess in the Stones: Travels in India (1991), An Empire of the East: Travels in Indonesia (1993) and The World the World (1996), which concluded his autobiography, as well as collections of pieces in The Happy Ant Heap (1998) and Voyage by Dhow (2001). With In Sicily (2002) he returned to his much-loved Italy, and in 2003 his last book, A Tomb in Seville, was published.
Lewis travelled to off-beat parts of the world well into his nineties, returning to the calm of rural Essex where he lived with his second wife. He died in July 2003 at the age of ninety-five.
61 Exmouth Market, London EC1R 4QL
Email: info@travelbooks.co.uk
Eland was started in 1982 to revive great travel books which had fallen out of print. Although the list soon diversified into biography and fiction, all the titles are chosen for their interest in spirit of place. One of our readers explained that for him reading an Eland was like listening to an experienced anthropologist at the bar – she’s let her hair down and is telling all the stories that were just too good to go into the textbook. These are books for travellers, and for those who are content to travel in their own minds. Eland books open out our understanding of other cultures, interpret the unknown and reveal different environments as well as celebrating the humour and occasional horrors of travel. We take immense trouble to select only the most readable books and many readers collect the entire series.