figure
which is half the size of the first
four looks like a dwarf clown
carrying a sack on its back. The
heads are large for the size of the
figures but the bodies are of fine
proportion. They are well dressed
and bedecked with ornaments. All of
them assume most animating postures
in consonance with the performances
they are engaged in.'
The earliest evidences of Myanmar
traditional dances
are
revealed from the old records and
the excavated antiques. This shows
that Myanmar dances have been firmly
established in Pyu period. Pyu
instrumental music, vocal music,
dance and choreography reached the
stage of a highly flourished
culture, paving the way to dance
forms of the forthcoming periods in
Myanmar.
These
five bronze figures seemed to
portray a troupe of doebat dancers
-- the dancers accompanied with the
music of flute, cymbal and
double-headed drum.
A stone
relief embossed with a figure of a
dancing couple was also unearthed at
the Myinbarhu Zedi before the Second
World War. The dancing figures on
the votive tablets of Myinbarhu
Pagoda are mentioned in "Votive
Tablets of Burma" part Q, written
and compiled by Thiripyanchi U Mya (Rtd.
Superintendent Archaeological Survey
officer on Special Duty). Myinbarhu
Pagoda was built by King Duttabaung
(Duttabaung Mingyi). He was also the
founder
