About the writer
The Reverend Khup Za Go, M.A., M.Th., had a
number of books published both in Tedim Chin and English to
his credit, namely, Tedim Lai Siangtho Hong Piankhiatna, Tedim
Pau leh Lai Khantoh Thu, Zo Minam Tawh Kisai Thu, Lai Zat Tangzang,
Khristian Khutzat, Leivui Panin, Christianity in Chinland, A Critical Historical
Study of Bible Translations among the Zo People in North East India, Zo
Chronicles, etc. This paper was prepared back in 1993
while doing his theological study at the UTC,
Bangalore.
I. Introduction of the Land and the
People
The Union of Burma, officially known as Pyingdaungsu
Myanma Naingandaw, with an area of 676,577 square kilometres, is the largest
country in the Southeast Asia. The population of Burma in 1992 is
43,466,000.(1) Burma shares long borders on the east with Thailand, on the
northeast with China, and the northwest with India as well as shorter borders
with Laos and Bangladesh on the east and the west. Politically the
country is divided into seven divisions, namely, Irrawaddy, Magwe, Mandalay,
Pagu, Sagaing, Tenasserim and Rangoon, and seven states of Arakan, Chin,
Kachin, Karen, Kayah, Mon, and Shan. Rangoon is the capital of the country
since British days. Burmese(2) is the official language of the country
and also the medium of instruction in schools and colleges. Besides, there are
several languages and dialects spoken in different regions and states of the
country.
Religiously Burma, famous as the land of Pagodas, is
the Buddhist country since the 9th century of Christian
era. As such Buddhism exerted great influence on the development of
Burmese life and culture. Islam is the religion of the minority Arakanese people who
inhabitat the southwest near the border with Bangladesh. Among the hill
tribes traditional religions and beliefs are still practised.(3) “Religion is
inextricably woven into the fabric of Burmese society; religious beliefs and
practices are integrated into the life of the family, the community, the tribe and
the nation. This is true both of the traditional faiths, Buddhism
and animism”. (4) Religious affiliations in Burma as recorded in 1983 is as
follows: Buddhist 89.4%, Christian 4.9%, Muslim 3.8%, Tribal religions 1.1%,
Hindu 0.5% and other 0.3%. (5)
Like many other Asian nations Burma also has bitter
experience with the British rule and Japanese invasion, and at last achieved
her independence from Britain on
4th January 1948.
With this brief background of the country and the
people now we turn to the coming of Christianity in Burma through the foreign
missionaries. We shall see the difficulties and hardships missionaries and
first converts were facing for the sake of the gospel and also the factors
which contributed to the growth and expansion of Christianity in the country.
II. History of Christianity
in Burma
A. Beginning and growth of
Christianity (1812 -1862)
The first “Christians” as recorded in Burma were
Portuguese soldiers and a few
traders and adventurers. In 1554 the first Catholic priests came to serve
as chaplains. But after three years they left the country for they were
not welcomed by the Burmese Buddhists. Therefore there was no record of
Christian conversion before the arrival of American Baptist missionaries in
1813. (6)
Rev Adoniram Judson and Ann Judson started
their journey by ship from United Sates of America on February 19, 1812 and
arrived on July 13, 1813. Within a few days of their arrival Judson began to
study the Burmese language. When he realised that much of the Buddhist
religious thought was expressed in Pali terms he started to compile a
Pali-Burmese Dictionary of 4000 words as well as a Burmese-English Dictionary.
Judson was a rare combination of meticulous scholar and utterly keen
evangelist. In his study of Burmese Felix Carey and his wife of Serampore
Mission who were already in Burma were very helpful. In January 1816
Judson began the translation of the New Testament in Burmese and also began to
translate the gospel tracts. After six years of hard work the first Burmese, U
Naw was baptised by Judson in 1819. The Lanmadaw Baptist Church in Rangoon
called later U Naw Baptist Church was built in honour of the first Christian
convert in Burma. In 1823 Judson completed the New Testament in Burmese and by
1834 the complete Bible. The first school was opened by Ann Judson in
1821 and in the same year the first medical missionary Dr. Jonathan Price
and his wife also arrived from USA. (7)
In 1823 the Burmese king invited the missionaries to
settle in Ava, the then capital of Burmese king in Mandalay. Soon after
their arrival at Ava the first Anglo-Burmese war broke out and Judson and Price
were taken into imprisonment. After 18 months Judson was released to act
as interpreter in the Anglo-Burmese peace
talks.
Regarding to the methods of evangelism Judson right
from the beginning decided to preach the gospel rather than
anti-Buddhism. He opened a small roadside zayat (rest
houses) where he talked about Jesus with anyone who would like to listen.
Later they moved to Moulmein the capital of Karen people, where a strong
educational and evangelistic programme was started. They soon realised
that Moulmein was differed from Rangoon in its large Mon population. In
1828 thirty-one persons were converted in Moulmein and another 28 more were
baptized the next year. Among this group were Burmese, Mon, Arakanese, Indian
and Karen. The first Karen convert Ko Tha Byu was included here. Within two
years the Moulmein Mon Burmese Church, the 45th Regiment
English Church and the Moulmein Indian church were started. In this way
the gospel spread to those with languages other than Burmese to the Karens, the Indians, and
the British soldiers and the Mons. “Down through the years
Burmese-speaking Mon Christians have enriched the growth of Burmese
churches. It is even said that U Naw, the first Burman to be baptized,
was actually a Mon”. (8)
During this period before the end of the Judson era
the church was organized among the Burmese, Mon and Karen in the Lower Burma. More
details about the evangelistic work and methods employed among these groups
would be discussed later.
B. Consolidation of the Church
in Lower Burma and Outreach to Minority Groups (1852-1886)
By 1852 the Baptist Mission work in Burma was forty
years old. During this perod Burma has passed through the threeAnglo-Burmese wars.
First Anglo-Burmese war from 1824 to 1826 brought Arakan and Tenessarim under
the British control. With the second 1852 to 1853 Lower Burma was added
to the British section and the remainder of Burma came under the British rule
in the third Anglo-Burmese
war of 1885. These wars and political changes caused hardships
as well as opportunities for the missionary work in Burma. During this
period the church was consolidated in many areas. Missionary convention
was held and ideas on methods of evangelism were discussed. Medical
practice or the establishment of dispensaries was included as a means of
evangelism. The use of tracts in evangelistic work was considered to be
of great use. They also agreed that preaching should be held at stated
times in the chapel, or in the rooms used for the chapel, but that this formal
preaching should be supplemented by preaching in the zayat and
from house to house in the villages. Another important discussion was
that there were then 117 churches connected with the Burmese and Karen
Missions, with a membership of some 10,000 converts. Yet there were only
11 ordained pastors. Besides 11 pastors there were more than 120 national
workers. So the ordination of more pastors was recommended to serve every
church. Also the need of more mission schools was also felt. During
this period the new Baptist compound was also secured in Rangoon and the centre
office was shifted from Moulmein to
Rangoon again. The Burma Baptist Convention comprising all the American Baptist
related Christians was organised in 1865 and was resolved to meet annually to
transact business and to have fellowship with one another.
The next Protestant group to arrive in Burma were
Lutherans and Methodist churches. Salvation Army, Seventh Day Adventist,
Assemblies of God, Church of Christ and Presbyterians came in the early part of
twentieth century. Regarding the Anglican Church though there were
Anglican chaplains in Burma as early as 1825 the founding of the church was
dated in 1877 when the first bishop of Rangoon was appointed. The United
Society for Propagation of the Gospel began its work first among the Burmese
and then extended it to Karens and
Chins.
The first Catholic contacts with Burmese were made
by the Portuguese in the 16th century. But today 90% of
the Catholism are Karen, Kachin, Chin and Kaw(9). Catholics, like in other
countries, were well-known for their charities, social services and education in Burma also.
They maintain leprosia, orphanages, homes for the aged and infirm. During
this period the non-Burmese ethnic groups like Chin, Kachin, Shan, etc. were
reached by the Protestant missionaries.
1. Contact with Asho Chins: In 1863
Maung Coopany an evangelist of the Bassein Pwo Karen association
has reduced the Asho Chin language to writing. He compiled and produced a
spelling book and a small hymn book which were printed in Rangoon. In
1866 Maung Coopany reported that twenty Chins had been baptized. (10)
2.The Carson and the Zomi Chins: Ann and
Arthur Carson s were the first missionaries appointed by the
American Baptist Mission to work among the Chins of Upper Burma who call
themselves Zomi. They
arrived to Chin Hills (the present Chin State) and started the work in
1899. The missionaries reduced the Chin languages to writing and prepared
small hymn books in different languages. Although Arthur met his untimely
death of appendicitis on April 1, 1908 Ann Carson continued the work till
1920. Elizabeth and Herbert J. Copes came to Chin Hills in December
1908. Herbert Cope gave 30 years to the Chin Mission and rendered a tremendous
service to the Chins. In addition to his evangelization work and tour he
translated the New Testament in Tedim Chin and published in 1931(11) and
prepared more than 35 small text books in several languages for schools.
In recognition of his outstanding service for the Chin people he was awarded
the Kaisar-I-Hind medal by the British government in 1927. Today
the Zomi (Chin)
Baptist Convention, with its baptized membership of 91,170 in 1988 is one of
the largest groups in Burma.
3.First contact with the Shans: Mr
Moses H. Bixby and his wife who had worked in Moulmein with the Burmese
and Mon churches from 1853 to 1856 were re-appointed in 1860 to work among
Shans. The first Shan convert was Maung Aung Myat, the son of
Swabwa. He was baptized in September 1862 and four months later two Shan
women were baptized. Mrs Bixly began a school for children and Mr Bixly a
theological class with ten students. They translated tracts into Shan and
prepared spelling book and vocabulary.(12) In 1866 Mr and Mrs Josiah Cushing,
another missionary couple from USA, Mr and Mrs Bixly in Shan Mission.
They made a tour of Shan country and selected Mongnai town as the best location
for the Shan Mission centre. Unlike Chins and Karens there was already
Buddhist influence among the Shans. Therefore Christian work among them
was making slow progress.
4. Beginning of the Mission to the
Kachins: We have already mentioned Mr Cushing’s involvement among the Shan
mission work. Besides that, he was also partly responsible for the
pioneering work among the Kachins. He reduced the Kachin language to
written form. In February 13, 1878 Mr and Mrs Lyon from USA reached Bhamo to
work among the Kachins. Unfortunately within a week of their arrival Mr
Lyon died of fever. Hearing the sad news William Henry Roberts,
a young pastor in Illinois, volunteered with his wife to take up the missionary
work. They arrived on January 12, 1879. The first baptism of Kachin
took place in March 19, 1882.The gospel work among the animistic Kachins was
successful. They form a strong church group in Burma today.
C. Joint activities of
Christians from 1866 to the present
Under this section we shall see the highlights of
the activities of the Christians in Burma with sub-headings as follows:
1. Higher Education: As already
mentioned here and there we know the pioneer missionaries were the people who
reduced the languages of the minorities into written form and prepared spelling
books, textbooks and dictionaries. Therefore when the number of Christians was
increasing they felt the need of the church. To meet this long-felt need
a junior college was started in 1909. In 1920 the college by the called
Judson College after the name of the first missionary in Burma, became a
constituent collge to the University of Rangoon.
2. Theological Education: As the church
was growing so also the need of the indigenous leadership. The first step
taken in this regard was that the Karen Theological seminary which was located
at Moulmein was shifted to centrally location at Insein in the suburb of
Rangoon to serve more students coming from different places in Burma. Also
under the initiative of Burma Baptist Convention in co-operation with Methodist
and other denominations, a new theological institution called Burma Divinity
School was established in Insein. This institution, now called Myanmar
Institute of Theology, is affiliated with the Association for theological
education in South East Asia, offering courses like B.Th., B.R.E., B.D.
Similarly regional Bible institutions such as Kachin Bible School at
Kutkai in Kachin State; Asho Chin
Bible School at Thayetmyo; Pangwai Bible School and Shan State Bible school in
Shan State; Zomi
Theological College, Falam; Union Theological School, Matupi; Baptist
Theological School, Tedim; in Chin State, were started. All these
institutions, to mention a few, become the back-born of the church for
leadership training and advancement of theological education in the country.
3. Healing Ministry: During this period
when the missionary work was expanded in various fields, the medical service
occupied the vital part of the Christian mission. As a matter of fact, Dr
Jonathan Price and Dr J. Dawson were medical missionaries appointed by the
American Baptist Mission in the early mission work in Burma. Yet
comparing with programmes in some other countries of Asia and Africa medical
work was not given enough emphasis in Burma. In 1890s medical programmes
were started in Shan State at Hsiphaw, Mongnai, Namkham and
Kengtung. Because of his dedicated and outstanding service Dr Gordon
Seagrave is still remembered as legendary Burma Surgeon. In
the farflung Indo-Burma border of Chin Hills Mr N. East
and Dr J.G. Woodin came in 1902 and 1910 respectively. Unfortunately due to
health reasons they could not continue the work and left for home. In Rangoon
with the initiative of Christian communities of Anglicans, Baptist, and
Methodist a Christian hospital was started. In the Sgaw Karen
area Sir San C. Po Memorial Hospital was maintained by the Bassein-Myangmya
Karen Association at Yedwinyegan.
4. Agricultural School:
As a part of the whole gospel missionaries started Agricultural School at
Pyimana in 1915. J.E. Case and his wife were responsible for this unique
ministry of the church among the rural poor in Burma. Case was very much
concerned about the hill peoples of Burma and their sub-marginal
existence. Maung Shwe Wa
in Burma Baptist Chronicle wrote his moving account on this
evangelism through agricultural as follows:
Staff and students were tireless in carrying the
gospel of better rural life not only took the graduating class on a launch tour
through the delta. They carried with them band instruments,
livestock, seeds, medicines, literature, and play costumes. On arrival at a
village, the first item on the agenda was an inspection of the nearby fields as
a demonstration to the students and as a basis for giving practical advice to
the farmers. During the noonday rest period, when the villagers returned
from the fields, the brass band would play and lectures on various subjects were
given. Free medical treatment was given to sufferers from itch and other
diseases, and small packets of medicines were sold. Charts and
demonstrations were prepared during the afternoon. Then more band music
at dusk would bring from two to five hundred villagers from the surrounding
fields and creeks. Agricultural and health talks, Burmese-style drams about the
Prodigal Son or the Good Samaritan, and the Christian testimonies filled the
evening and sent the villagers home with new ideas and new
invention.(13)
5. Ecumenical Co-operation: Among the
Baptist Christians back in 1865 the Burma Baptist Missionary Convention was
formed with an objective to accelerate the evangelistic work in Burma.
Later the name was changed to Burma Baptist Convention to which all the
regional and linguistic groups were affiliated. In 1963 when the
Sesquicentennial Celebration of the coming of the Judsons in Burma was held in
Rangoon the first Christian conversions took place among the tribes and races
of Burma were recorded chronologically as follows — Mon and Burmese in 1813,
English, Chinese and Indian in 1827, Sgaw Karen
1828, Pwo Karen 1836,
Pa-O 1838, Karen Hill Tribes 1853, Asho Chin 1856, Shan 1860, Kachin & Lisu
1877, Zomi Chin 1899, Lahu & Wa 1904, Akha 1936, Naga 1953. (14) Burma
Baptist Convention is a member body of the Asian Baptist Federation and the
worldwide Baptist World Alliance.
As regards to the ecumenical movement a regional
Christian Council for Burma was formed in 1914 under the National Christian
Council of India. When Burma became independent country in
1948 all Protestant groups in Burma formed Burma Christian Council which
became affiliated body to the East Asia Christian Council (now Christian
Conference of Asia). All the major denominations like Anglican, Lutheran,
Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist, etc are affiliated to the Burma Christian
Council. Christians form 4.9% of the whole population. (15)
III. Church and State
Buddhism is the religion of the predominant ethnic
and cultural group of Burmese who form the 89% of the whole population.
It was Theravada Buddhism which entered Burma in the first century of Christian
era. “A saying frequently repeated in Modern is: ‘To be a Burman is to be
a Buddhist’”(16) Therefore the relationship between the state and the
religion has been strongly influenced by the political development of the
country. From 1950 till military take-over in March 1962 Burma followed a
policy of close association between Buddhism and the state. During U Nu’s
government the Sixth Great Buddhist Council was held in 1954-1956 for promotion
of Buddhism. The proposal to make Buddhism the state religion became an
important election manifesto in the 1960 election. U Nu’s party came into
power and the constitutional amendment was passed to declare Buddhism as the
state religion of the country. It was done against the wishes of
religious and minorities in Burma. When the military regime under the
leadership of General Ne Win took the administration of the country the new
policy of ‘Burmese Way to Socialism’ under the Burma Socialist Programme
Party which did not recognise the state religion was introduced. Under
one-party state all the organizations including Christian organizations were
required to register with the government. All the Christian schools and
hospitals were nationalized in 1965-66. Government refused to renew the permits
of foreign missionaries. As a result 234 Catholic priests and nuns, 56
American Baptist, 29 Anglicans, 18 American Methodists, 15 British Methodists,
8 Salvation Army and 7 A.G. workers were expelled from the country.(17)
Christian literatures, journals and magazines could not be printed without
being officially censored. Supply of printing papers were controlled by the
government, permits was required to buy papers for books and magazines.
Under such a critical situation what was the life
and witness of the church? How Christians were living in such hostile
environments? These are important issues for Asian Christians who live in a
pluralistic society. In connection with this issue I would like to quote
the comment and observation Mr Kambawza Win has made on nationalism and
Christianity in Burma. Mr Win is the coordinator of the Institute
of Christian Participation in the Development of Shan, Kayah and Karen
State Communities. I believe what he has written in 1988 is still
relevant even today. I quote:
In 1965 the Christian Institutions like schools,
hospitals, training colleges were
nationalized. The military junta perspective was that these private
schools especially those run
by the Christian constitute a system apart from the government run schools
undermine the Burmese culture and does not promotion nationalism. Together with
these nationalization the foreign missionaries were asked to leave the country.
Several people thought that by these measures the Christians in Burma would
disintegrate and the church would only exist in name as in the
Burmese monarchical days. But soon they were surprised to discover
that the Church not only survived but flourished by leaps and bounds. The
Christian with a little 2% has now became 5%. The hand of Providence can be
clearly seen as the Burmese Christians were emancipated from the strangle
of the missionaries and could embark on its own program of
propagating and identifying with the people. This incident greatly changed
the notion of Christianity in Burma.(18)
Today after forty years of military regime the
political situation is still fluid. In 1990 multi-party elections for the first
time after 1962 were held and the opposition party the National League for
Democracy under the leadership of Mrs Aung San Suu Kyi, daughter of
General Aung San, won the majority of seats in Parliament, yet the
military government under the name of State Law and Order Restoration
Committee( SLORC) did not like to hand over power. Recently many of Arakanese
(Rakhine) Muslim minorities in Burma fled from their country and took shelter
in Bangladesh. Like minority Christians in Pakistan and Bangladesh Christians
in Burma also are silently struggling for the fundamental rights of freedom of
religion and worship as envisaged by the international laws.
IV. Conclusion
An attempt has been made to trace the history of
Christianity from the arrival of Adoniram Judson in
1813. As we have seen response to the gospel was slow from the Burmese
Buddhist. Great conversions took place only when the mission centre was started
in Moulmein in
the area of Karen tribesmen.
As regards to methods of evangelism, in addition to
personal evangelism with tract distribution, zayat preaching,
house visits, establishment of schools for children, hospitals and dispensaries
for the sick, agricultural evangelism among the rural poor, especially among
the frontier tribes, proved to be and useful instrument.
During U Nu’s government Buddhism, in spite of
strong protest from religious minorities, was made state religion in
1962. That was the beginning of the political trouble in Burma. Under the
military regime of General Ne Win secular and materialistic philosophy of
“Burmese Way to Socialism” was introduced in the country. Since then,
Christians and other religious minorities have been facing all sorts of
restrictions and hardships. In the midst of political turmoil and vicissitudes
the church has been growing steadily both in quantity and in quality. Again
this created another problem in the minds of majority Burmese. “Because
Christians in the minority groups have received more education and have arisen
as new leaders, they have often appeared to be anti-Burma and
anti-nationalistic.”(19) The question could be asked what is the role and
function of the Christian church as prophetic ministry in such a political and
religious environment prevailing in the present Burma? I believe this is the
relevant issue for discussion not only in Burma but also in other Asian
countries we Christians are in confrontation with.
Endnotes:
1. Encyclopeadia Britannica, 1993, p.
676.
2. I have adopted for this paper the term “Burmese”
as employed by D.G.E.
Hall in A History of Southeast Asia as a dominant
linguistic and racial group of Burma as distinct from the non-Burmese peoples –
Karens, Shans, Kachins and Chins, etc. See p. 708.
3. Barrett, David B., World Christian
Encyclopeadia, p. 202.
4. Hackett, William D., “Burma” in Church
in Asia, ed. Donald H. Hoke, Chicago, 1975, p. 119.
5. Encyclopeadia Britannica, p. 676.
6. Hackett, William D., op. cit. p. 123.
7. Ibid., p. 124.
8.Wa, Maung Shwe, Burma Baptist
Chronicle, Board of Publication, Burma Baptist Convention, Rangoon, 1963,
p. 66.
9.Barrett, David B., op. cit. p. 123.
10. Wa, Maung Shwe, op. cit. p. 199.
11. Johnson, Robert G., History of American
Baptist Chin Mission, Vol. II, Valley Forge, 1988, p. 1,302.
12. Wa, Maung Shwe, Op. cit. p. 204.
13. Ibid., p. 247-248.
14. Wa, Maung Shwe, op. cit., p. xiv.
15. Encyclopeadia Britannica, p. 676.
16. Smith, Donald E., Religion and Politics
in Burma, Princeton University Press, New Jersey, 1965, p. 83.
17. Barrett, David B., op. cit., p. 203.
18. Win, Kanbawza, “Colonialism and Christianity in
Burma (A Burmese Perspective)” in Asia Journal of Theology,
Vol. 2,No. 2, October
1988, Singapore, p. 278-279.
19. Hackett, William D., op. cit., p. 108.
Bibliography
1. Smith, Donald E., Religion and Politics
in Burma, Princeton University Press, Jew Jersey, 1965.
2. Manikan, Rajah B., Thomas, Winburn T., The
Church in Southeast Asia, Friendship Press, New York, 1956.
3. Hocke, Donald E., The Church in Asia,
Moody Press, Chicago, 1975, “Burma” by William D. Hackett, p. 103-127.
4. Manikam, Rajah B., ed. Christianity and
the Asian Revolution, Madras, 1954.
5. Cady, John F., Southeast Asia: Its
Historical Development, Mcgraw-Hill Book Company, New York, 1964.
6. Wa, Maung Shwe, Sowards, Genevieve, Sowards,
Erville, Burma Baptist Chronicles, Board of Publication, Burma
Baptist Convention, Rangoon, 1963.
7. Johnson, Robert G., History of American
Baptist Chin Mission, Vol. I and II, Valley Forge, 1988.
8. Latourette, Kenneth S., Christianity in a
Revolutionary Age, Vol. Pp. 338-343.
9. Hall, D.G.E., A History of South-East
Asia, Macmillan and Co. Ltd., London, 1960.
10. Seagrave, Gordon S., Burma Surgeon,
London, 1945.
11. Anderson, Courtney, To
the Golden Shore: The Life of Adoniram Judson, Boston, 1956.
12. Hall, Gordon L., Golden Boats from Burma,
Macrae Smith Company: Philadelphia, 1961.
13. Jessy, F. Tennyson, The Story of Burma,
Macmillan and Co., Ltd., London, 1946.
14. Barrett, David B., World Christian
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15. Encylopeadia Britannica, 1993.
Magazines and Journals
1. Asia Journal of Theology
2. International Review of Mission
