Dagon Shwe Mwe - Short Stories by Pinko

Ruby Devi Saw Mekyi

- Among the women in Burma who carried out the noble cause of Buddhism between 870 and 890, the great Rakhine woman we will be writing about, Queen Saw Mae Kyi, was one of the leading figures in Rakhine history. •

Just as the Shan queen of King Anawrahta, “Saw Mon Hla”, was a famous Shan queen in the history of pagodas in Burma, so was Queen “Saw Me Kyi”, not only famous in the history of pagodas in Rakhine, but also very interesting in her biography. Although her story has been around for about five hundred years, it has not been forgotten in the minds of the Rakhine ethnic people.

Around the same time as the above-mentioned period, the Rakhine kings established their thrones in the now-old city of "Mr. U Shwe", which is more than 300 miles away from the capital.

In a small village called "Theit Pyin" in the "Kan Tay" district, about 10 miles from Rammawaddy, a daughter named "Ma Me Kyi" was born to an obscure farmer and his wife.

When Ma Me Kyi was five years old, her father, U Phyu Thi, passed away. She had no other siblings, and she grew up in the hands of her widowed mother, Daw Me Tu, who was a farmer. In the rainy season, she worked hard to make a living by doing odd jobs, such as cultivating the fields of thorny weeds in the fields, and weaving cloth with her mother in the summer .

- Her mother was Daw Mae Tu, so she named her daughter Ma Mae Kyi. Ma Mae Kyi is a strong and powerful name, but the girl was not an ugly woman to match her name. She was not too fair, not too dark, but had a smooth and smooth body, a prominent nose, long black hair, and clear and bright eyes, all the characteristics of a beautiful woman. She had an elegant posture and a well-proportioned body. All in all, she was a girl who lived in the city rather than in the forest.

When she grew up, the fame of Ma Me Kyi's beauty spread not only to her hometown, "Theit Pyin", but also to the neighboring villages of Taung Sha, Mi Kyaw Taek, Kon Baung, Kaung Pyin, Thay Kyun Kyun, and Kanyeng Kok. Young men who wanted to win Ma Me Kyi's love came to her and courted her. She would come to help her with her weaving work. When the rainy season came and she had to work in the corn fields, there were many people who helped her as mentioned above. In this way, the beautiful woman Ma Me Kyi was very happy with the help of the courtesans. When the two of them met and had a chance to talk to each other, some of them would start talking to her and Ma Me Kyi would not be angry with the person who spoke, but she would tell him that she was still young, so that he would be happy. She answered quickly and clearly, without any sign of anger, that she had a heavy responsibility to support the huntress, and that she still couldn't think of a husband.

Among the 60 lovers of Ma Me Kyi, the one who was favored by her was “Maung Shwe Thedi.” Maung Shwe Thedi was a man of considerable physical and moral character. He was not as shy as other young men of his age, and he spoke very little. However, he did all the work that Ma Me Kyi had to do at Ma Me Kyi’s house with all his heart. Sometimes he would cut and collect saplings to weave and bring them to her in bundles. Thus Ma Me Kyi grew more and more fond of Maung Shwe Thedi. Her mother, Daw Me Tu, did not interfere in her daughter’s love affairs, but ignored them. Thus Maung Shwe Thedi did not come to Ma Me Kyi at night, when other young men of his age would come. He usually only visits after everyone else has gone, when the old man's head is down and people are quiet.

On moonlit nights, the two lovers spent time in the courtyard of their house, enjoying each other's company under the moonlight. That summer, when the summer was over and the rains began to fall, they had a traditional wedding ceremony, where they talked and talked, and decided to get married.

Thus, while they were thinking about their future, to work and eat like the poor peasants of the world, the following strange incident unexpectedly occurred, which would change the course of their love story in a way.

The poor girl Mae Kyi was very devoted to the Three Jewels. She was humble and respectful to her parents, teachers, and elders. Although she was a peasant, her mother's uncle Mae Tu taught her literature, so she could read and write. She was passionate about giving and maintaining good morals. She was also particularly interested in the affairs of the village and the donation system.

Although the villagers in the village hunted and caught wild fish themselves, Ma Me Kyi had no interest in that kind of work. Almost every house had fishing equipment, and the men used nets and the women used “yatsae” to catch them. Although almost every house had nets and yatsae, Ma Me Kyi’s house did not have any fishing equipment. Ma Me Kyi herself considered the work of killing and catching frogs and fish to be an unwholesome task, and never caught or killed them. Only when she was very hungry would she buy the young fish after paying as much money as she could. The whole village knew about Ma Me Kyi.

One day, Ma Me Kyi went into the forest with a group of her friends to collect firewood. After collecting firewood for a while, they returned home. Near a small stream, the girls were relaxing with bundles of firewood on their heads. Not far from where they were resting, some girls from their village were 'catching' fish with their hands. Ma Me Kyi went to her friend Aye Hla, who was without fish , and said:

“Yes, Mi Aye Hla, give me a little time to try it, I have never believed in fish, let me try it for a while.”

"Aung, I'm not worth it with this belief, my dear, with your letters, your fears of hell, my dear, the hell will be filled with more and more. Don't try to carry it."

"Just give it a try, I don't believe you, I'm asking you to try it once. If you don't get the fish, don't take it. If you get it, I'll release the fish."

“This girl is so funny, she won’t even let go of the fish she catches. She’s so funny, she’s so funny, she wants to see it so much, believe me, she’s so funny, but if she catches a fish, she won’t let go. Oh, put it in the basket.”

"Okay, I'll add it, wait."

So Ma Me Kyi reached out and took the handkerchief from Mi Aye Hla's hand.

"Do not enter the fish, big or small, and do not enter Mi Aye Hla, stay away from them."

Saw Me Kyi, with a snort and a gurgle, took one bite. Not a single fish came out of the bite. However, they saw a small, shiny red ball about the size of a peeled betel nut.

"Ha, I don't know what's going on, Mime Kyi, what a strange and strange creature!"

"Oh, it's not useless."

"As soon as Ma Me Kyi spoke, she grabbed the shiny red ball and threw it into the water. I don't know what will happen this time. Let's see, you little rascal."

When I used it a second time, I found that the red ball was still there.

"Oh, that's all, I'm back again."

He said and threw it into the water.

I pulled it out three times like this, and each time the big red ball came out, and all three times I shook it and threw it away. Then, Mi Aye Hla, who was watching from a distance, had a strange thought in her mind. She called out to her friends who were fishing a short distance away...

"Hey, hey, girls, come here, I have something to say."

"What the hell, why are you calling me so many times right now?"

"Oh, this good man, this poor man took my fishing rod and tried it on, but I didn't know what it was. It's a small, red, and white ball. I've thrown it away three times, saying that it's useless because it's beautiful and clean. This girl is not fishing like us. She's only doing it to feed her mother, observing the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Utsavs . I can't tell if the gods and spirits are good or bad."

"Aye, yes, yes, yes, we have never heard of anything coming from this stream. This guy is acting strangely. So let's all go to the place where he threw it and see. Where is it, Mi Aye Hla?"

(Mi Ma Na points to the place where Ma Mee threw the garbage)

"Hey, this place is just like a whisper, they're going to try to use us all"

So, Mi Aye Hla and the other fishless girls were all around the place where Ma Me Kyi had last thrown the fish, trying to catch it more than she could. But the little red ball was not included in anyone's catch.

Then Mi Aye Hla said to Ma Me Kyi...

"Hey, baby, try using that little black crow's beak again."

He called out.

"I said, 'What are you going to do with this? Even if I get it back, I don't want it. I'll just have to believe that you're going to use it again."

Even as she spoke, Ma Me Kyi took the | yasthae from Mi Aye Hla and looked at it again, and strangely enough, they saw that the previous big ball was still there. ' ' When everyone gathered around Ma Me Kyi ••• wa

"Hey, girl, don't let me get away with this again, girl, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, girl

Thus, the blacksmith put the large, shiny red ball in a bag and brought it home.

The news spread like wildfire in the village - the whole village knew that Ma Me Kyi had a small red stone in her hand. . At that time, in the village of Kan Taing Kyaw Pyin, about 10 miles from the present-day town of Rambree, there was a great man named U Myat Kyaw Oo, who was respected and admired by the entire district. That great man had studied medicine, magic, astrology, astronomy, and alchemy quite extensively, so he was also a great expert on various stones and gems. .

One day, U Myat Kyaw Oo arrived at Ma Me Kyi's house because of the above news. His mother, Daw Me Tu, and his daughter, Ma Me Kyi, welcomed him hospitably, and finally showed him the stone that the monk wanted to see. Then, the monk, who could judge gems well, said that this was no ordinary stone, that the red stone was a real ruby ​​that was priceless. He should not be sold, no matter how much anyone paid. He honestly told him that if this ruby ​​was kept in a clean place and kept with respect, it would surely bring benefits to the owner. Then, the monk asked if he had had any special dreams after receiving this item. Ma Me Kyi told him that she had dreamed that she was living in a very large house surrounded by her family and had to make great donations and good deeds.

After examining Ma Me Kyi's characteristics and horoscope, the teacher said that before long, Ma Me Kyi would surely reach a life of great wealth and greatness, and would perform meritorious deeds more than anyone else. However, one day, she felt that her heart would be troubled by a man who was older than her, and that she should therefore always be careful and diligent in her dealings with men. After giving a sermon, he returned.

The news of the precious ruby ​​in the hands of Ma Me Kyi's mother became a rumor not only in Kandy but also in Laytaung Kyauk, Chaung, Rampauk, Thinmakai and other districts. As people wanted to see the ruby, people from those districts and other nearby villages came to see it, and it became a big festival. Every villager who came to see it brought as much oil, rice, fish paste, dried fish, etc. as they could afford to give as gifts to Ma Me Kyi's mother.

And so, the blacksmiths' wives are now rich and prosperous.

At that time, the great ruby ​​was no longer hidden at home, but was placed in the center of the pavilion, wrapped in cotton, on a gold-plated stone-and-gold plate, by the village headman's monastery, with guards.

Then, “According to the request of the Kandy District Chief, he went to the golden palace of the governor “Ne Myo Thuriya” who was ruling in Rammawaddy (or) Rambree (at that time also called Ka-dan).

• Note: The city now called “Rambry” was then called “Rammarwaddy” and “Tanmyo”. At that time, Rammarwaddy was not a small town with just over 1,000 houses, but a very crowded city with over 30,000 houses. The inhabitants of the city were travelers and merchants who traded goods with big cities and countries such as Bengal, Madras, Ceylon, Malaya, and Malaya. The wealth of that time can be clearly seen by looking at the large pagodas and large lakes that still exist.

The governor, Nay Myo Thuriya, intended to take this precious ruby, which was not worthy of the poor and the needy, but only worthy of the nobles, from the hands of the mother of the king and give it to the king of the golden city of Mrauk-U, and with a large entourage, he went to the village and the village. Then, looking at the large ruby ​​from the inside, he realized that it was a very special ruby, and that it was not even in the royal palace. After knowing this, he called the two mothers of the mother of the king to him and said that this ruby ​​was not worthy of the poor and the needy, but only worthy of the nobles. He ordered that this ruby ​​be taken right away to be given to the king of Rakhine.

So, Governor Nay Myo Thuriya gave five thousand kyats of silver to the poor mother and father and took away the precious ruby ​​jewel.

Before the king could take him to the Golden City, the ruby ​​had already reached the center of the pavilion. But Nay Myo Thuriya, thinking that the ruby ​​was in the velvet box he had brought, went to the king at night to deliver it quickly.