The Soul of a People

by Harold Fielding-Hall (Primary Contributor)

This text provides insights into Burmese thought, based on long years of residence in the country as well as the author's deep understanding of Burmese Buddhism and his affection for the people.

314 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1899

About the author

Harold Fielding-Hall (1859-1917) was an Englishman who lived for some time in British Burma, serving as a high-ranking official in the colonial government. He wrote multiple books on religion, with a particular interest in Buddhism.

Reviews

[Perry Whitford · Rating 5 out of 5]

'The thoughts of his heart, these are the wealth of a man.'
Burmese saying.

Harold Fielding Hall was a high ranking British official in Burma (modern day Myanmar) at the time when colonial rule was first enforced across the whole of the country. He lived there a long time and this wonderful book is a testament to the love and respect he came to have for the country, its people, and Buddhism.

Hall briefly recounts the life of the Buddha, then does a great job of interpreting Buddhism from a Christian perspective. In summary, the soul is eternal, life is misery, we must strive to attain peace through thinking good thoughts and doing good deeds, therefore 'Man is as he has made himself; man will be as he makes himself.'

Hall doesn't pretend to understand everything about the religion, especially the often contradictory way in which the Burmese applied their beliefs in everyday life. Rather than compare Buddha to Christ, more than once he drew parallels with a very different figure:

'Even as Newton sought for the laws of God in the movement of the stars, in the falling of a stone, in the stir of the great waters, so this Newton of the spiritual world sought for the secrets of life and death, looking deep into the heart of man'

Buddhist law fundamentally opposes killing or any form of subjection, so when the English attacked the Burmese their religion 'was worse than useless, for it was against him.' The government fell without a shot being fired and only various brigands held out.

The king and central government were unusually weak, no meaningful heirarchy existed between classes. However, local government was very strong, each region was used to autonomy: 'Burma in those days was like a great untended garden, full of weeds, full of flowers too, each plant striving after its own way, gradually evolving into higher forms.'

Every village has at least one monastery and the monks were revered by the people because they tried to live like the Buddha, which all acknowledge to be extremely difficult. The relationship was a curious yet spiritually satisfying one; as Hall observes the monks 'are not honoured for their wisdom—they often have but little; nor for their learning—they often have none at all; nor for their industry—they are never industrious; but because they are men trying to live—nay, succeeding in living—a life void of sin.'

As for the women of Burma, nominally the Law of Manu was the custom, whereby men were considered superior, a slavish woman the perfect wife. In reality, however, by 'law she is absolutely the mistress of her own property and her own self.' Suffragettes back home in Victorian Britain would have been interested to learn that!

I can thoroughly recommend that you read the whole of this look at Burmese life at the end of the 19th century, as seen through the eyes of a sympathetic and, I would say, wise outsider. Failing that, Chapter VIII is worth reading on its own for an anecdote about a servant boy caught stealing from his master which perfectly illustrated the different attitudes towards crime and punishment in Britain and Burma. For the former punishment is a form of revenge for the crime, in the latter an opportunity for atonement.

Also worth a look for any folklorists is Chapter XXI. The Burmese believe that all trees, rivers, and mountains contain spirits ('Nats') that should be propitiated. Hall retells the moving story of the Popa Nats, a tragic brother and sister, the guardian spirits of the mysterious mountain.

Little more fifty years after Britain conquered Burma without firing a shot, the country was declared independent, renamed, and fell into the hands of the military. That's still the case today in Myanmar, despite the democratic window dressing.

Colonialism taught the Burmese some lessons which, after reading about the way things were before, they could have done without.

[Sanntint · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very insight facts of Myanmar in the past and the writer's voice on Myanmar had been reflected in this book !