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The culture of Myanmar has been heavily influenced by Buddhism.
More recently, British imperialism has influenced aspects of Burmese
culture, such as language and education.
Historically, Burmese art was based on Buddhist and Hindu myths.
There are several regional styles of Buddha images, each with certain
distinctive characteristics. Temple architecture is usually made
of brick, and pagodas are layered with gold leaf. Burmese literature
is influenced by Buddhism. Since orthodox Buddhism prohibited fiction,
many works are nonfiction. An ancient form of dance called yodaya
is an imitation of formal Thai dancing, in which a woman uses only
the hands and feet to express emotions. The name yodaya most likely
derives from the name of the Thai kingdom, Ayutthaya. Pop music
dominates the music of Burma today. Other forms of Burmese music
use an array of traditional musical instruments, assembled in an
orchestra. Singing is usually of various legends in Pali.
Myanmar is a predominantly Theravada Buddhist country. Buddhism
reached Myanmar around the beginning of the Christian era, mingling
with Hinduism (also imported from India) and indigenous animism.
The Pyu and Mon kingdoms of the first millennium were Buddhist,
but the early Bamar peoples were animists. According to traditional
history, King Anawrahta of Bagan adopted Buddhism in 1056, importing
scriptures and monks from the Mon kingdom of Thaton in the south
of the country. The religious tradition created at this time, and
which continues to the present day, is a syncretalist mix of what
might be termed 'pure' Buddhism (of the Sri Lankan or Theravada
school) with deep-rooted elements of the original animism or nat-worship
and even strands of Hinduism and the Mahayana tradition of northern
India.
Islam reached Myanmar at approximately the same time, but never
gained a foothold outside the geographically isolated seaboard running
from modern Bangladesh southwards to the delta of the Ayeyarwady
(modern Rakhine, known previously to the British as Arakan, and
an independent kingdom until the 18th Century). The colonial period
saw a tremendous influx of Muslim (and Hindu) Indians into Yangon
and other cities, and the majority of Yangon's many mosques and
temples owe their origins to these immigrants.
Christianity was brought to Myanmar by European missionaries in
the 19th Century. It made little if any headway among Buddhists,
but has been widely adopted by non-Buddhists such as the Karen and
Kachin.
The Chinese contribution to Myanmar's religious mix has been slight,
even non-existent, but several traditional Chinese temples were
established in Yangon in the 19th Century when large-scale Chinese
migration was encouraged by the British. Since approximately 1990
this migration has resumed in huge numbers, but the modern Chinese
immigrants seem to have little interest in religion.
Some more isolated indigenous peoples in the more inaccessible
parts of the country still follow traditional animism.
The Roman Catholic Church, Myanmar Baptist Convention and the Assemblies
of God of Myanmar are the largest Christian denominations in Myanmar.
There are no totally reliable demographic statistics form Myanmar,
but the following is one estimate of the religious composition of
the country:
Buddhists: 87%
Animists: 5%
Christians: 4.5%
Muslims: 4%
Hindus: 1.5%
Myanmar allows complete freedom of religious expression, and there
appear to be no inter-religious tensions as such (although there
are ethnic tensions, particularly between the dominant Bamar and
the descendants of Indian migrants, which can find religious expression).
Nevertheless, the current regime's nationalistic policy of Bama
hsan-jin, which considers Buddhism a key element of Burmese-ness,
does provide a systemic bias in favour of Buddhists in terms of
preferment in the armed forces and other State structures.
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