L’expression du particularisme arakanais dans la Birmanie contemporaine

Abstract

In Arakan, an ancient independent Buddhist kingdom and one of the seven states of modern Burma, the town of Mrauk U, the capital city of the last Arakanese dynasty (1430-1785), has undergone important changes under the military regime in power since 1988, in connection with national policies promoting Buddhism and tourism. The development of Arakan’s historical heritage, focused on the old Buddhist kingship and symbolized by Mrauk U, by a local elite supported by wealthy urban Arakanese, has recently triggered the emergence of a feeling of “Arakaneseness,” which this article attempts to grasp through contemporary artistic and literary productions. In today’s political context, it is only through the theme of an Arakanese Buddhist civilization that the Arakanese can express their specificity in the midst of the Burman nation, with fear of repression stifling any other expression. This revival of Arakanese culture through its ancient history, however, appears detrimental to other groups in Arakan, especially the Moslems, whose long-standing local residence and relations with Buddhists are now negated or downplayed, which could lead to the “ethnicization” of an original local society.

Keywords

• Burma
• Myanmar
• Arakan
• economic and social change
• nation building
• ethnicity