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PRESENTATION IN ENGLISH 47

Presentation in English

With Mæt Lanka ( ,kª]\dk) or « Poem of Lanka », we continue the edition of
1
the unpublished Khün texts of the Shan State of Burma. This text is, in fact, a travelogue
and, as we know, it is the only work of this kind that we have read so far.

2
We are at the beginning of the twentieth century, a period when Keng Tung was
3
famous for the magnificence of its monasteries and where Chao Konekeo Inthaleng , the
reigning prince, was praised for his clear-sightedness and his faith in Buddhism. The
5
4
idea came to the prince to send monks to Lanka , not only to pay homage to Dantadhætu ,
the Tooth-relic, but also to collect information on the sacred texts in a country reputed to
have kept the Buddha’s teaching in its original form. A journey to a so distant country is
therefore a pilgrimage and the narrative left by the interpreter-guide constitutes an
account of the Khün people’s history.

Before reading the translations in the Thai, French and English languages, we
think that it would be useful to indicate the place of Mæt Lanka in Khün literature. For
that purpose, we shall give an overview with the headings on Sources, which gathers the
data on the manuscript used for this publication, on Text language and translation, which
explains the Khün versification in its main lines, on the History of the Buddha’s tooth,
which relates the tribulations of the relic through time, and on Analysis of the text, which

1
The Khün, or Tai Khün, belong to the great Tai ethno-linguistic family and are very close to the
Yuan of Northern Thailand (Lanna) whose history was tightly linked to theirs from the very beginning
of their existence as kingdoms of the Indo-Chinese Peninsula. They lived mainly in Keng Tung, the
Capital of former Tungapuri ( 96'•[6iu) principality, also known under the name of Khemarattha
( g-,iQ). In terms of area, the principality was, before the Word War II, the largest of Shan States.
2
Keng Tung, or Kayaing Tung ( k¥oic\;tuM), is the Burmese name given to Chiang Tung ( =πÆ96Æ),
the ancient capital of Khemarattha. The latter was part of the Shan states which were associated with the
Union of Burma on February 12, 1947, following the Pang Long agreement.
3
Chao Konekeo Inthaleng is regarded as one the greatest princes of the Shan State. His reign, from
1897 to 1936, was considered to be the Golden Age of Khün Country. Although a British protectorate,
Keng Tung enjoyed, at that time, some independence, which enabled this principality to save its cultural
heritage.
4
Before 1972, the island of Lanka, or Sri Lanka, was known as Ceylon. Its capital is Colombo
(Colombia in Khün language).
5
In Pæli Danta means “ Tooth ”, and Dhætu “ Relic ”. Dantadhætu refers to the Tooth-relic of the
Gotama Buddha.