Burma
Circus Problems and the Colonizer-Colonized Convergence in Late Colonial Burma
I recently came across some images from the 1930s that were advertising “giraffe-necked women.” Apparently in the 1930s there were Padaung women from Burma who
Dr. Francisco Africa and the Burmese Mission in WW II Southeast Asia
I was looking at a report that the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) compiled during World War II about Filipinos who were collaborating with the
A Documentary about U Dhammaloka, the Ex-Alcoholic Irishman who became the First Western Buddhist
I usually refrain from “advertising” on this blog, but a project came to my attention today that I feel, for various reasons, that I simply
The Silenced Mules of World War II Burma
In continuing to follow my interest in animals and animal-human relations in the Southeast Asian past, I was looking around the web site for the
King Thibaw’s Ascension to Rule Among the Gods
There is one episode in the history of modern Southeast Asia that I find endlessly fascinating, and that is the fall of the Burmese monarchy.
Remixing the Past: An Indian Guard, High on Ganja, at a Bus Station in Colonial Burma
In the 1890s, the British government commissioned a report on the use of cannabis (i.e., marijuana) in British India, which at that time included Burma.
Tigers, Trains and Lunatics in Colonial Burma
I woke up at 3am this morning and couldn’t fall back asleep. So I decided to read some of the Statistical Abstract Relating to British
An Irish Buddhist Monk, an Indian Policeman’s Shoes, and a Burmese Nationalist Narrative
I spent some time today reading about someone I had never heard of before – U Dhammaloka, described on Wikipedia as “an Irish-born hobo (migrant
Mattie Calogreedy, Anna Leonowens and Marie Vannier – Hapa Women at Mainland Southeast Asian Courts in the Nineteenth Century
The story of the overthrow of the Konbaung Dynasty by the British in the late nineteenth century is a complex one, but a simplified explanation
Win Min Than as a Hapa Actress
Today someone posted a picture on facebook of an Anglo-Burmese actress by the name of Win Min Than who made a movie in the 1950s
Staying Dreamflower-Fresh in 1954 Burma
I came across these images in some 1954 issues of The New Light of Burma newspaper. They are for Pond’s products, such as talcum powder,
Willoughby Wallace Hooper’s Photographs from the time of the Third Anglo-Burmese War (1885-86)
I was looking through the British Library’s online gallery of images from its Asia, Pacific & Africa Collections when I came across some amazing pictures
The Death and Afterlife of the Public Phone in Southeast Asia
I was in the Rangoon airport a while ago when I came across this scene here. It is a space for some kind of public
Serving the Japanese in Southeast Asia during WW II
The National Archives of Australia has quite a few materials on the activities of Japanese in Southeast Asia during World War II as the Australians
Burma in Blur
Driving from Pyin Oo Lwin down to Mandalay late one afternoon, the rays of the setting sun were lighting up parts of trees and catching
The “Buddhist” Cats & Dogs of Burma
I am a visionary! Last night before going to bed I saw an email that made reference to an opinion piece in the Chicago Tribune
The Other Jewel of Rangoon
If someone were to hear an expression like, “the Jewel of Rangoon,” what would undoubtedly come to her/his mind is the Shwedagon Pagoda, the most
Why is this Sign in Chinese?
A couple of weeks ago I was in a hotel in Mandalay, Burma when I noticed this sign near the elevator. It says that when
The 1948 Burmese Olympic Team
The Nation reported on 12 August 1948 that members of the Burmese Olympic team were entertained at Buckingham Palace by none other than Their Majesties
Viet-Nam Music Explained to the Burmese
I was looking at The Nation newspaper from Burma for 22 October 1948 when I came across this article about “Viet-Nam Music.” It is supposed
