{"id":708,"date":"2015-04-25T02:42:25","date_gmt":"2015-04-25T02:42:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eng.moemaka.net\/?p=708"},"modified":"2015-04-25T05:00:04","modified_gmt":"2015-04-25T05:00:04","slug":"the-burmese-word-bo-and-the-various-meanings-by-khin-maung-saw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/2015\/04\/the-burmese-word-bo-and-the-various-meanings-by-khin-maung-saw\/","title":{"rendered":"The Burmese Word \u201cBo\u201d and the various Meanings by Khin Maung Saw"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>The Burmese Word \u201cBo\u201d and the various Meanings\u00a0<\/b><\/span><span class=\"s2\"><b>by <\/b><\/span><span class=\"s1\"><b>Khin Maung Saw<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #800000;\"><b>1.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Introduction<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\">Nowadays, if one asks a new generation-Burmese on the meaning of the Burmese word \u201cBo\u201c, no doubt his\/her answer will be a Military Officer or a Lieutenant of an army unit.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Though it is not an incorrect answer, a Burma Scholar with a wider view would say immediately that it is not a complete answer. So does the present author, because \u201cBo\u201c has other meanings too, both positive and derogatory.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\">One cannot blame the present generation for giving the meaning from military jargon only because Burma was ruled by the military since September 1958 (with the break of 22 months from April 1960 to 1<\/span><span class=\"s3\"><sup>st<\/sup><\/span><span class=\"s1\"> March 1962) with various names.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Hence, the word &#8216;Bo&#8217; is more or less monopolized by the military.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>2. Etymology<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\">Nowadays, almost everybody believes that the Burmese word <\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u1017\u102d\u102f\u101c\u1039 <\/span><span class=\"s1\">&#8216;Bo&#8217; is derived from the Pali word <\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u1017\u101c <\/span><span class=\"s1\">&#8216;Bala&#8217;.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Even in the Burmese dictionaries, the etymology of the word <\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u1017\u102d\u102f\u101c\u1039 <\/span><span class=\"s1\">&#8216;Bo&#8217; is given as the Pali word <\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u1017\u101c <\/span><span class=\"s1\">&#8216;Bala&#8217;.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>However, some experts in the Stone Scripts of the ancient city Pagan like U Tin Htway M.A., M.Phil.(Lond.), the retired lecturer of Burmese language and literature, University of Heidelberg, Germany, did not share that view. He stated that it is a pure Burmese word and derived from <\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u1015\u102d\u102f \u201cPo\u201d.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>In some Stone Scripts of Pagan such as \u101e\u1061\u102d\u1004\u1039\u1005\u102c\u1001\u102e\u1015\u102d\u102f\u101c\u1039 (\u101e\u1001\u1004\u1039\u1005\u102c\u1001\u103a\u102e\u1017\u102d\u102f\u101c\u1039) \u201cThikhin Sakhipo\u201d Stone Script one can see the word \u1015\u102d\u102f\u101c\u1039 &#8220;Po\u201d which is the origin of \u1017\u102d\u102f\u101c\u1039 <\/span><span class=\"s1\">&#8216;Bo&#8217;.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>3.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Usages<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\">The Burmese word &#8220;Bo&#8221; means a military officer or a civil servant with administrative authority, in some cases, chief or head or leader of a gang; sometimes the word &#8220;Bo&#8221; can<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>also have a bad meaning.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>During the Colonial Era all Europeans, especially British, were either military and armed forces officers or civil officers.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Hence they were called &#8220;Bo&#8221; by the natives at that time.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>In that way the Burmese term &#8220;Bo&#8221; can also have meaning<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>a male &#8220;European&#8221; or \u201cCaucasian\u201d (mainly British) and Bo-ma for females. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Bo can also have a meaning of a champion of a tournament.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>3.1.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cBo\u201d used as military terminology<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>3.1.1. \u201cBo\u201d used for a military officer or an officer of any armed force<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\">The followings are some examples:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/eng.moemaka.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-24-19.29.13.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-713 size-large\" src=\"http:\/\/eng.moemaka.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-24-19.29.13-705x1024.png\" alt=\"Screenshot 2015-04-24 19.29.13\" width=\"705\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-24-19.29.13-705x1024.png 705w, https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-24-19.29.13-207x300.png 207w, https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-24-19.29.13-560x813.png 560w, https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-24-19.29.13-260x378.png 260w, https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-24-19.29.13-160x232.png 160w, https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-24-19.29.13.png 986w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 705px) 100vw, 705px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/eng.moemaka.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-24-19.29.32.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-712\" src=\"http:\/\/eng.moemaka.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-24-19.29.32-783x1024.png\" alt=\"Screenshot 2015-04-24 19.29.32\" width=\"752\" height=\"983\" srcset=\"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-24-19.29.32-783x1024.png 783w, https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-24-19.29.32-230x300.png 230w, https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-24-19.29.32-560x732.png 560w, https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-24-19.29.32-260x340.png 260w, https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-24-19.29.32-160x209.png 160w, https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-24-19.29.32.png 990w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><b>3.3.\u00a0 \u201cBo\u201d used as chief or leader or head of a gang<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\">The followings are some examples:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/eng.moemaka.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-24-19.29.52.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-711 \" src=\"http:\/\/eng.moemaka.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-24-19.29.52.png\" alt=\"Screenshot 2015-04-24 19.29.52\" width=\"725\" height=\"723\" srcset=\"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-24-19.29.52.png 986w, https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-24-19.29.52-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-24-19.29.52-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-24-19.29.52-560x559.png 560w, https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-24-19.29.52-260x259.png 260w, https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-24-19.29.52-160x160.png 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 725px) 100vw, 725px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/eng.moemaka.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-24-19.30.04.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-710\" src=\"http:\/\/eng.moemaka.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-24-19.30.04-747x1024.png\" alt=\"Screenshot 2015-04-24 19.30.04\" width=\"747\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-24-19.30.04-747x1024.png 747w, https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-24-19.30.04-219x300.png 219w, https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-24-19.30.04-560x768.png 560w, https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-24-19.30.04-260x356.png 260w, https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-24-19.30.04-160x219.png 160w, https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-24-19.30.04.png 1008w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 747px) 100vw, 747px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\">Anglo-Indians are called <\/span><span class=\"s4\"> \u1000\u102f\u101c\u102c\u1038\u1017\u102d\u102f\u101c\u1039 <\/span><span class=\"s1\">&#8220;Kalabo&#8221; meaning Indian-British Hybrid&#8221;.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Some &#8220;pure&#8221; Indians converted to Christianity, especially Madrasis and Goanese also wanted to be called <\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u1017\u102d\u102f\u101c\u1039\u1000\u103b\u1015\u102c\u1038 <\/span><span class=\"s1\">Bo-kypya (Anglo-Burmese) or <\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u1000\u102f\u101c\u102c\u1038\u1017\u102d\u102f\u101c\u1039 <\/span><span class=\"s1\">&#8220;Kalabo&#8221; (Anglo-Indian) and not <\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u1000\u102f\u101c\u102c\u1038 <\/span><span class=\"s1\">&#8220;Kala&#8221; (Indian).<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Those people were ultra favoured by the British colonial authorities according to their &#8220;Divide and Rule&#8221; policy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\">Here I would like to cite Dr. Htin Aung, the former rector of the University of Rangoon in the 1950&#8217;s who wrote on the Diarchy Reforms introduced by the British in 1923: \u201c<i>In addition, they divided the people in the plain into racial groups, namely Burmese, Indians, Anglo-Indians, and the Karens, on the excuse that racial minorities were entitled to special protection by the British government.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Anglo-Indians included Anglo-Burmese, whose number was small because intermarriage between the British and the Burmese was not common.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>The total population of Anglo-Indians themselves was small and the majority of them had come from India; except that they wore trousers and coats and had English names, they were really Indians and could have been classified as such<\/i>\u201d. (See details: Maung Htin Aung, <i>A History of Burma<\/i>, Columbia University Press, 1967, p. 286)<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\">Due to the \u201cDivide and Rule\u201d policy of the British, even the recreation centres and clubs were divided into three categories. \u201cThe First Class Ones\u201d were for Europeans or \u201cCaucasians\u201d only. \u201cThe Second Class Ones\u201d were for European-Hybrids or a mixed-blood of a \u201cCaucasian\u201d and a native, in which \u201cIndo-Indian Christians\u201d (&#8220;pure&#8221; Indians converted to Christianity) were included. The Third Class Ones\u201d were for the natives (here the<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>natives of Burma and India).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\">Most of those so-called &#8220;Anglo-Indians&#8221; (&#8220;pure&#8221; Indians converted to Christianity) did not realize the inappropriateness of that policy. They were so proud of their status and over-acted as if they were more British than the real Englishmen.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Some of them behaved as though they were superior to the natives and their attitudes towards the natives, especially towards the majority Buddhists were terrible and thus antagonism towards them evolved. Therefore they were given a very demeaning nick-name <\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u1017\u102d\u102f\u101c\u1039\u107e\u1000\u1000\u1039\u1031\u1001\u103a\u1038\u1000\u102f\u101c\u102c\u1038<\/span><span class=\"s1\"> &#8220;Bo-kyetchee-kala&#8221; which can be roughly translated as &#8220;the Indians who call themselves Englishmen but who have the skin colour of chicken shit&#8221;.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\">Not only the natives of Burma but also the Indian (people from the subcontinent) community in Burma (Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs etc.) could not stand the behaviour of those &#8220;Anglo-Indians&#8221; and typified them with a harsher form of abuse &#8220;Suwak-ka-bacha&#8221; or &#8220;Suwaki-ki-bachi&#8221; according to their gender (literal meaning &#8220;son\/daughter of pig&#8221; but here &#8220;bastard&#8221;) in the Urdu language. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>3.6<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cBo\u201d as champion or grand-master of a tournament<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\">The followings are some examples:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-709 \" src=\"http:\/\/eng.moemaka.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screenshot-2015-04-24-19.30.13.png\" alt=\"Screenshot 2015-04-24 19.30.13\" width=\"593\" height=\"335\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>4.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Deviation of the meaning &#8216;Bo&#8217;<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>in Burmese Army nowadays<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\">As mentioned earlier, <\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u1017\u102d\u102f\u101c\u1039 <\/span><span class=\"s1\">&#8216;Bo&#8217; was a commander of 565 men in the Royal Burmese Army, however, nowadays <\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u1017\u102d\u102f\u101c\u1039 <\/span><span class=\"s1\">&#8216;Bo&#8217; is only a Lieutenant of an army unit. Hence, in the modern Burmese army, <\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u1017\u102d\u102f\u101c\u1039 <\/span><span class=\"s1\">&#8216;Bo&#8217; is a commander of about 50 to 100 men. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\">The term<\/span><span class=\"s4\"> \u1017\u102d\u102f\u101c\u1039\u1019\u1089\u1038 \u201c<\/span><span class=\"s1\">Bo Mhu\u201d had the meaning &#8216;Supreme Commander&#8217; or &#8216;Commander in Chief&#8217; of the &#8216;Royal Armed Forces&#8217;, so the rank was roughly equivalent either to a general or even to a field marshal.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>The title of the famous Burmese general during the First Anglo Burmese war (1824-26), Maha Bandoola,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>was <\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u1017\u102d\u102f\u101c\u1039\u1019\u1089\u1038 \u201c<\/span><span class=\"s1\">Bo Mhu\u201d.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>The second-in-command under Bandoola was <i>Myawaddy Mingyi<\/i> U Sa.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>His rank was<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u1005\u1005\u1039\u1000\u1032<\/span><span class=\"s1\"> Sitk\u00e8, which could roughly be equivalent to a Lt. General.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Only the third in hierarchy was called <\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u1017\u102d\u102f\u101c\u1039\u1001\u103a\u1033\u1015\u1039 <\/span><span class=\"s1\">&#8216;Bo Gyoke&#8217; which could be equivalent to Major General nowadays.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>A rank lower than <\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u1017\u102d\u102f\u101c\u1039\u1001\u103a\u1033\u1015\u1039 <\/span><span class=\"s1\">&#8216;Bo Gyoke&#8217;<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>was called <\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u1017\u102d\u102f\u101c\u1039\u1019\u1004\u1039\u1038 <\/span><span class=\"s1\">&#8220;Bo Min\u201d, which most probably could be equivalent to a Brigadier or Brig. General.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s5\">Since Burma became a British colony in 1886 there was no army for the Burmese.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Later, when the British-sponsored &#8216;Burma Rifles&#8217; were established, t<\/span><span class=\"s1\">he bulk of the soldiers in the British-trained Army were of minority ethnic groups such as Chins, Kachins and Karens.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Most of them were \u201cConverted Christians\u201d from their natural beliefs.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It cannot be ruled out that it was part of the &#8216;Tactic and Strategy&#8217; or &#8216;the Policy of Divide and Rule&#8217; of the Colonial Masters then.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>In any case, the British Rulers never trusted the majority Buddhists population of Burma, especially the majority ethnic group, the Burmese.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>The Burmese were rarely accepted in the armed forces before the First World War.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\">As a result, the new generation of Burmese born at the beginning of 20<\/span><span class=\"s3\"><sup>th<\/sup><\/span><span class=\"s1\"> century did not know the \u201cBurmese Military Jargon\u201d anymore.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>When Aung San established the Burma Independence Army (BIA) with the help of Japanese in 1941 the top leaders of that army did not know the \u201cBurmese Military Jargon\u201d anymore and translated <\/span><span class=\"s4\"> \u1017\u102d\u102f\u101c\u1039\u1019\u1089\u1038 \u201c<\/span><span class=\"s1\">Bo Mhu\u201d as the rank of &#8216;Major&#8217; instead of &#8216;General&#8217;.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>In fact, Aung San would have got the title <\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u201c<\/span><span class=\"s1\">Bo Mhu\u201d instead of \u201dBo Gyoke\u201d,as he is known later.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\">Since that time the military rank &#8216;major&#8217; is translated into Burmese as <\/span><span class=\"s4\"> \u1017\u102d\u102f\u101c\u1039\u1019\u1089\u1038 \u201c<\/span><span class=\"s1\">Bo Mhu\u201d<\/span><span class=\"s4\">,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><span class=\"s1\">the meaning of<\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u1017\u102d\u102f\u101c\u1039\u1019\u1089\u1038 \u201c<\/span><span class=\"s1\">Bo Mhu\u201d given in many Burmese \u2013 English Dictionaries is &#8216;major&#8217; only.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>They just ignored the historical terminology.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Assuming one would use those dictionaries and translated the royal order of 1824 at the beginning of the First Anglo Burmese War: <\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u1019\u101f\u102c\u1017\u108f\u1076\u1033\u101c\u1021\u102c\u1038\u1017\u102d\u102f\u101c\u1039\u1019\u1089\u1038\u1001\u1014\u1039\u1094\u1021\u1015\u1039\u107f\u1015\u102e\u1038\u1005\u1005\u1039\u1019\u103a\u1000\u1039\u108f\u103d\u102c\u101e\u102d\u102f\u1095\u1001\u103a\u102e\u1031\u1005\u101b\u1019\u100a\u1039\u104b<\/span><span class=\"s1\"> \u201cMaha Bandoola is promoted to the rank of <\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u1017\u102d\u102f\u101c\u1039\u1019\u1089\u1038 \u201c<\/span><span class=\"s1\">Bo Mhu\u201d (here supreme commander or field marshal) and he will be sent to the front\u201d, would have come out the wrong translation as: \u201cMaha Bandoola is promoted to the rank of &#8216;Major&#8217; and he will be sent to the front\u201d.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>What should a Burmese historian exclaim?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAlas, our most respected field marshal is demoted to a major almost 200 years after his death?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>5.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cBo\u201d monopolized as military terminology after 1962<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\">Burma was ruled by the military since September 1958 (with the break of 22 months from April 1960 to 1st March 1962) with various names.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Hence, the word &#8216;Bo&#8217; is more or less monopolized by the military, and in some cases even the orthography was changed into homonyms.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>For example the orthography for &#8220;European&#8221; or \u201cCaucasian\u201d (mainly British) <\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u1017\u102d\u102f\u101c\u1039<\/span><span class=\"s1\"> was changed to <\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u1018\u102d\u102f <\/span><span class=\"s1\">during (and also in post) Ne Win&#8217;s Era, however, the orthography for other words which were derived from \u201cBo\u201d as &#8220;European&#8221; or \u201cCaucasian\u201d such as<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u1017\u102d\u102f\u101c\u1039\u1005\u102c\u1038\u1015\u1032 <\/span><span class=\"s1\">French bean or Kidney bean (The bean which was eaten mainly by \u201cEuropeans&#8221; or \u201cCaucasians\u201d),<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u1017\u102d\u102f\u101c\u1039\u1005\u102c\u1038\u1004\u103d\u1000\u1039 <\/span><span class=\"s1\">Snipe (The bird which was eaten mainly by \u201cEuropeans&#8221; or \u201cCaucasians\u201d), <\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u1017\u102d\u102f\u101c\u1039\u1031\u1000 <\/span><span class=\"s1\">cropped hair cut (that hair style was brought to Burma by \u201cEuropeans&#8221; or \u201cCaucasians\u201d) were unchanged.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Hence, some pages in their new orthography book<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>as well as in the dictionaries are contradicted!<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s6\">A civil servant with administrative authority was not called &#8216;Bo&#8217; <\/span><span class=\"s1\">\u1017\u102d\u102f\u101c\u1039 <\/span><span class=\"s6\">anymore, instead the ranks were replaced with the term \u201c<\/span><span class=\"s1\">\u1026\u1038\u1005\u102e\u1038\u1019\u1089\u1038&#8221; \u201cOo-see-mhu\u201d or in short &#8216;Hmu&#8217;, for example the chief of a water dam or weir is not called \u1006\u100a\u1039\u1017\u102d\u102f\u101c\u1039 \u201cHsei Bo\u201d instead \u1006\u100a\u1039\u1026\u1038\u1005\u102e\u1038\u1019\u1089\u1038 &#8220;Hsei Oo-see-hmu\u201d or \u1006\u100a\u1039\u1019\u1089\u1038 &#8220;Hsei Hmu\u201d. Post master<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>is changed from \u1005\u102c\u1010\u102d\u102f\u1000\u1039\u1017\u102d\u102f\u101c\u1039 \u201cSartaik Bo\u201d to \u1005\u102c\u1010\u102d\u102f\u1000\u1039\u1026\u1038\u1005\u102e\u1038\u1019\u1089\u1038 \u201cSartaik Oo-see-hmu\u201d or \u1005\u102c\u1010\u102d\u102f\u1000\u1039\u1019\u1089\u1038 \u201cSartaik Hmu\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\">From the Burmese independence until 1958 the Inspector General of Burma Police was called &#8220;\u101b\u1032\u1017\u102d\u102f\u101c\u1039\u1001\u103a\u1033\u1015\u1039&#8221; \u201cY\u00e8 Bo Gyoke\u201d in Burmese and it had the military rank of Major General (Two Star General), however since the (Military) Care- taker Government in 1958 it was called only<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>&#8220;\u101b\u1032\u1001\u103a\u1033\u1015\u1039&#8221; \u201cY\u00e8 Gyoke\u201d (without Bo).<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>After the military coup d&#8217;\u00e9tat in 1962,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>the Inspector General of Burma Police, U Bo, was forced to retire.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>The Police Commissioner of Lower Burma U Khin Maung Maung and his brother U Tin Maung Maung who was the Police Commissioner of Upper Burma were detained by the Military Intelligence.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Apart from that, the military rank of the Inspector General of Burma Police was demoted to the rank of Brigadier General (One Star General) in Burma Army.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\">Similarly, the officers from the rebel forces were never mentioned as<\/span><span class=\"s4\"> \u1017\u102d\u102f\u101c\u1039<\/span><span class=\"s1\"> nor their ranks in their forces like general, colonel etc. etc. were neither recognized nor mentioned.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>For example, the name of General Mya of the Karen Forces were written only as \u201chomonym\u201d in other orthography <\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u1018\u102d\u102f\u103b\u1019 <\/span><span class=\"s1\">instead of<\/span><span class=\"s4\"> \u1017\u102d\u102f\u101c\u1039\u103b\u1019<\/span><span class=\"s1\">, the correct spelling.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>When the liaison officer Colonel Hla Min of the Burmese Army met the Karen General, Bo Mya, for peace talks at the early 2000s he addressed Bo Mya as \u201cUncle Mya\u201d.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It seemed to be a very polite addressing because Bo Mya could be at the same age of an uncle of Colonel Hla Min, however, in the reality he neither wanted to address a general of a rebel force with the military jargon \u201cGeneral\u201d nor wanted to salute him.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\">The same thing happened later when General Khin Nyunt, Chief of the Burmese Military Intelligence and the then prime minister of the military regime met Bo Mya in Rangoon.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Khin Nyunt called Bo Mya \u201cPha-htee\u201d (Uncle in Karen language).<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>This time Bo Mya retaliated back by calling Khin Nyunt &#8216;Pho-doe&#8217; (Nephew in Karen language), instead of addressing him Gen. Khin Nyunt, as \u201ctit for tat\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>5.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Senior General and Vice Senior General<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\">After 1988 the Burmese Military Junta invented two new ranks in the army namely <\/span> <span class=\"s1\">Senior General<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>(<\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u1017\u102d\u102f\u101c\u1039\u1001\u103a\u1033\u1015\u1039\u1019\u1089\u1038\u1080\u1000\u102e\u1038 &#8216;Bo Gyoke-mhu Gyi&#8217;)<\/span><span class=\"s1\"> and <\/span><span class=\"s4\">Vice <\/span><span class=\"s1\">Senior General (<\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u1012\u102f\u1010\u102d\u101a\u1017\u102d\u102f\u101c\u1039\u1001\u103a\u1033\u1015\u1039\u1019\u1089\u1038\u1080\u1000\u102e\u1038 &#8216;Dutiya Bo Gyoke-mhu Gyi&#8217;)<\/span><span class=\"s1\">.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Those terms are neither mentioned in English dictionaries nor in Wikipedia.<b> <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\">A rank higher than a Four Star General is Field Marshal. The definition given in Wikipedia is: <i>\u201c<\/i><b><i>Field Marshal <\/i><\/b><i>is a very senior military rank ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually it is the highest rank in an army<\/i><\/span><span class=\"s7\"><i>,<\/i><\/span><span class=\"s1\"><i> and when it is, few (if any) persons are appointed to it\u201d.<\/i><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>There is no Field Marshal in the US Army, instead that rank is called a Five Star General . Gen. Douglas MacArthur<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>and Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower were Five Star Generals.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Promotion to the rank of Field marshal or Five Star General required extraordinary military achievement by a general<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>such as a wartime victory.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Until 1988, Field Marshal was translated either <\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u1005\u1005\u1039\u101e\u1030\u1080\u1000\u102d\u102e\u1038 &#8216;Sit-thu-gyi&#8217; or \u1017\u102d\u102f\u101c\u1039\u1001\u103a\u1033\u1015\u1039\u1019\u1089\u1038 &#8216;Bo Gyoke-mhu&#8217;, however, the latter translation was rarely used, the first one was more common.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Some famous Field Marshals during the First Wold War, Paul von Hindenburg (Germany),<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Philippe P\u00e9tain (France) as well as some famous Field Marshals during the WW II Bernard Montgomery (Great Britain), Erwin Rommel (Germany), Hisaichi Terauchi<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>(Japan), Georgy Zhukov (Soviet Union) were translated as &#8216;Sit-thu-gyi&#8217; .<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\">There is another army rank called Generalissimo, which is the military rank of the highest degree, superior to field marshal and other five star ranks<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>in the countries in which they are used. Chang Kai-shek from China and Fransisco Franco were Generalissimos. Generalissimo was transliterated into Burmese as \u201c\u1002\u103a\u1004\u1039\u1014\u101b\u101a\u1039 \u101c\u1005\u1039\u1007\u102e\u1019\u102d\u102f&#8221;.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\">Hence, here are some riddles to solve! <\/span><\/p>\n<ol class=\"ol1\" style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<li class=\"li13\"><span class=\"s1\">Is the newly invented term <\/span><span class=\"s6\">Senior General<\/span><span class=\"s1\"> (\u1017\u102d\u102f\u101c\u1039\u1001\u103a\u1033\u1015\u1039\u1019\u1089\u1038\u1080\u1000\u102e\u1038 &#8216;Bo Gyoke-mhu Gyi&#8217;) equivalent to Generalissimo and Vice <\/span><span class=\"s6\">Senior General <\/span><span class=\"s1\">(\u1012\u102f\u1010\u102d\u101a \u1017\u102d\u102f\u101c\u1039\u1001\u103a\u1033\u1015\u1039 \u1019\u1089\u1038\u1080\u1000\u102e\u1038 &#8216;Dutiya Bo Gyoke-mhu Gyi&#8217;) equivalent to <\/span><span class=\"s6\">Field Marshal or Five Star General?<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li5\"><span class=\"s1\"> If yes,<b> <\/b>why didn&#8217;t they use internationally well-known terms?<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li5\"><span class=\"s1\">Or<b> <\/b>these Burmese generals did not have extraordinary military achievement such as a wartime victory which needed to get the rank of field marshal?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li5\"><span class=\"s1\">What are other reasons?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\">I will leave these open questions for you, dear readers!<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>6. Conclusion<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\">The Burmese word &#8220;Bo&#8221; means a military officer or a civil servant with administrative authority, in some cases, chief or head or leader of a gang; sometimes the word &#8220;Bo&#8221; can<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>also have a bad meaning.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>During the Colonial Era all Europeans, especially British, were either military and armed forces officers or civil officers.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Hence they were called &#8220;Bo&#8221; by the natives at that time.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>However, since Ne Win&#8217;s Era, the military wanted to monopolized that terminology only as a military jargon and they even tried to change the orthography of \u201cBo\u201d <\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u1017\u102d\u102f\u101c\u1039<\/span><span class=\"s1\"> to the homonym <\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u1018\u102d\u102f <\/span><span class=\"s1\">if the word is used for other meanings apart of the military jargon and a champion. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\">Bibliography<\/span><\/p>\n<ol class=\"ol1\">\n<li class=\"li5\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\">Department of the Myanmar Language Commission, <i>Myanmar English Dictionary<\/i>, Yangon,1993<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li5\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\">Maung Htin Aung, <i>A History of Burma<\/i>, Columbia University Press, 1967<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li15\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\">U Tin Htway, Word-Borrowing and Word-Making in Burmese Language, South Asian Digest of Regional Writing, Vol. 4: Essays on Transliteration, University of Heidelberg, Germany, 1975<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li15\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\">\u1015\u102b\u1031\u1019\u102c\u1000\u1061\u1026\u1038\u1027\u1031\u1019\u102c\u1004\u1039\u104a \u1015\u102f\u1002\u1036\u1031\u1000\u103a\u102c\u1000\u1039\u1005\u102c\u101c\u1000\u1039\u1031\u101b\u103c\u1038\u1005\u1004\u1039\u104a \u101b\u1014\u1039\u1000\u102f\u1014\u1039\u104a \u1041\u1049\u1045\u1048<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li16\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\"> \u103b\u1019\u1014\u1039\u1019\u102c\u1005\u102c\u100c\u102c\u1014\u104a \u103b\u1019\u1014\u1039\u1019\u102c\u1021\u1018\u102d\u1013\u102c\u1014\u1039\u1021\u1000\u103a\u1025\u1039\u1038\u1001\u103a\u1033\u1015\u1039\u104a \u101b\u1014\u1039\u1000\u102f\u1014\u1039\u104a \u1041\u1049\u1049\u1041\u104b<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li15\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"s1\">\u1014\u1010\u1039\u1031\u1019\u102c\u1000\u1039\u1018\u102f\u1014\u1039\u1038\u1031\u1000\u103a\u102c\u1039\u104a \u1031\u101b\u103d\u1038\u1031\u1001\u1010\u1039\u103b\u1019\u1014\u1039\u1019\u102c\u1037\u1010\u1015\u1039\u1019\u1031\u1010\u102c\u1039\u1019\u103d\u1010\u1039\u1005\u102f\u1019\u103a\u102c\u1038\u104a \u1005\u102c\u1031\u1015\u1017\u102d\u1019\u1014\u1039\u104a \u101b\u1014\u1039\u1000\u102f\u1014\u1039\u104a \u1041\u1049\u1046\u1047<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Burmese Word \u201cBo\u201d and the various Meanings\u00a0by Khin Maung Saw 1.\u00a0 Introduction Nowadays, if one asks a new generation-Burmese on the meaning of the Burmese word \u201cBo\u201c, no doubt his\/her answer will be a Military Officer or a Lieutenant&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link-p\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/2015\/04\/the-burmese-word-bo-and-the-various-meanings-by-khin-maung-saw\/\">Read more &rarr;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":680,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[31,29],"tags":[77],"class_list":["post-708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture-tradition","category-for-the-records","tag-khin-maung-saw"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/map_burma.png","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3RDLm-bq","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=708"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":715,"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708\/revisions\/715"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}