I have attahed few maps just to show you the location of my village.
1st is map of world where I have indicated where India is.
2. is map of my country in which I show my state.
3. is map of my state where I show my district.
4. last is map of district where I have shown my village location.
In hope that I will learn something more about myself from all
this.
bye,
Vineet Birman. e-mail:
birman@engineering.ucsb.edu
Second e-mail:
Hi,
As I said in the mail that there are no official records and all
I
know is what I have heard from my father but if I had to make a
guess I would
say that my ancestors came to india from somewhere in Europe
because "Birman"
in India are not very common and are very localised to few places.
But when
did they get to this place I am not sure :). I know for sure that
we settled
in this village for approx 100-150 but where we were before that I
am not
sure. Also we are about 1000 or so "Birman" in the village now all
different
families but all had common ancestors.
No, I was not even aware to "birman" breed of cats till recently, so I guess if there is any connection between the cats and the name then I am not aware of it.
Sure you can post the letter on your webpage.
I have a webpage, but it's a rather professional one.
www.engr.ucsb.edu/~birman,
if you are anytime near my area (Santa Barbara
is
a very nice place for holidays :))it will be a real pleasure to
meet you.
bye,
Vineet
Sister Sylvia suggested that I do a google search on "L'Empire Birman". It yielded numerous references to "birmane" or "birman " empires in Burma. Apparently there was immigration from there into parts of India
I had never before realized there was an Southeast Asian dynasty (let alone Empire) named "Birman!"
Here is one page, translated (by Google) from the French:
"Birth of the martial arts birmans would date from the reign of Pyu, "the City of the great splendour", in the neighbourhoods of the birth of Christ (called later Sriksetra). The Buddhist monks, Ayeghi, were experts in boxing, in shooting with the arc, the sword and the stick. Certain historians think that the art of the Ayeghi monks was influenced by Chinese systems. These monks practised and taught their art in Ghaza Klunit Kyaung (school of seven arts) or in Kho Kyaung (school of nine arts). The noble ones and the soldiers received their teaching in these schools."
After the successive invasions of Mons and Tibéto-Birmans, much of the temples and treasures of Pyu were destroyed and burned, but the spiritual values of this period survived; in particular of the 9th century, the Oopali monks. This last is regarded as the founder of the Thaing system. Some initiated monks knew to preserve this system and continued to teach it through the centuries in Burma of north. Yoga and martial arts were practised in several monasteries of the north of Burma.
Boxing birmane becomes popular during the reign of king Anawaratha at the 11th century (1st Birman Empire). The lethwei became the national sport of old Burma. Engagements were organized a little everywhere through the country, and the combatants received many prices. At the 14th century, boxing birmane was practised by the warriors of king Ujana. Ancestralement, the boxers clashed on a beaten ground ground, in a circle approximately seven meters in diameter. The best boxers came from the ethnos groups Karen and Kachin. To King Thibaw, last king Birman (1878 -1885), the large combatants were designated "royal boxers". They were sharpened by the treasurer of the king.
Muay-thai (OR Thai-boxing)
In 1044, warlike king Anawaratha invaded the kingdom of Siam
(Thailand),
Mons and Shans, and melts the first empire birman. In 1551,
another warlike
king, Bayinnaung, join together the divided countries and
conquered
Thailand. The empire birman in the 16th and 17th centuries, was
larger than
Western Europe. Conflicts between Burma and the close
countries (Thailand,
Kampuchea, Laos, Malaysia, China, India, Tibet, etc.) were
frequent. A
Portuguese chronicler describes the invasion of Thailand in his
book "the
Kingdom and the People of Siam". He writes: "Birmans invaded
Thailand (Siam)
with an army of 1.500.000 soldiers and 6.000 elephants" .
Ayuthiya, the
capital of Siam, falls after one year from seat. Thousands of
families,
including King Mahin and Prince Naresuan, were taken along to
Burma like
slaves of war. With the conquest of Siam and nearby kingdoms,
Bayinnaung
establishes the second Birman empire."
There is an interesting map here, which might explain Vineet's
family's origins.
http://www.portsmouthbookshop.com/MapPage/MapPages531xx/53179indi.htm
Paul
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RGB VERLAG