The House itself was built in 2009 in the traditional local style, and using wood reclaimed from an older structure. The Burmese cats have their own section of the building, including a small island, with all sorts of little houses, climbing pedestals, sleeping nooks and toys to keep them happy. The cats are short-hair, mostly a rich brown color – corresponding to the British breed of Burmese cats, rather than the American Birman (which have longer fur, and a mostly cream colored coat). They were once cats of the royal palaces, as well as guardians for the many temples and sacred sites. The Burmese Cats breeding program here began with cats imported from UK and Australia, and their goal is to re-introduce these cats to Myanmar.
There are many legends around the origin of Burmese or Birman cats – this one is my favourite:
The legend of the Birman cats begins in the beautiful temples of ancient Burma. The imposing statues of Buddha are an illustration of the deep religious faith of the people, their belief in the reincarnation of souls and the profound respect and love for their Priests. It was believed that, after death, the Priests returned in the form of white cats and so each temple was home to many of these sacred cats.
A most venerable priest (Kittah) known as Mun-Ha was living in the Temple of Lao-Tsun.
Mun-Ha had lived his entire life in contemplation of the golden image of Tsun-Kyankse, the goddess with sapphire eyes who presided over the transmutation of souls. The Goddess made sure that the Kittahs would be reborn as a cat, after which the soul would be in Nirvana shining with a golden halo.
Mun-Ha had an oracle who dictated his decisions – the oracle was his faithful temple cat Sinh. As the holy priest prayed, Sinh sat alongside his master in contemplation of the goddess, his yellow eyes gazing into her sapphire eyes.
As the moon shone, one night, Mun-Ha entered a transcendental state which was so deep that he felt no pain when Siamese invaders murdered him. At the moment of Mun-Ha’s death, Sinh placed his placed his gentle paws on the monk’s robes and faced the golden goddess. Immediately the hairs of his white body were as golden as the light radiating from the beautiful golden goddess, her beautiful blue eyes became his very own, and his four white legs shaded downwards to a rich velvety brown; but where his feet rested gently on his dead master, the whiteness remained white, thus denoting the purity of the Priest’s soul passing into the cat.
The Kittahs, though in a state of panic due to the invasion, obeyed Sinh’s commanding but serene look, and closed the heavy bronze doors of the temple, thus saving it from the invaders.
Sinh did not move from the place of his master’s death, and exactly seven days later, he died, carrying with him the soul of Mun-Ha, which it was his duty to present to Tsun Kyan-Kse who would reward him with Nirvana.
The next morning, when the kittahs assembled before the goddess to chose the successor to Mun-Ha, a great wonder was observed – all the one hundred temple cats came in procession, and all had sapphire eyes, golden coats, and snowy white feet.Thus the Birman breed has its origins.
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The Inthar Heritage House dans le village Inn Paw Khon sur le lac Inle est le foyer de plus de 30 beaux chats birmans. La maison fut construite en 2009 dans le style traditionnel local, en utilisant du bois récupéré d’une ancienne structure. Les chats birmans ont leur propre section du bâtiment, y compris une petite île, avec toutes sortes de petites maisons, niches, coins et jouets pour les amuser. Les chats ont des poils courts, la plupart du temps une riche couleur brune – correspondant à la race britannique de chats birmans, plutôt que le Birman américain (qui ont une fourrure plus long, fréquemment de couleur crème). Ils étaient autrefois des chats des palais royaux, ainsi que les gardiens de nombreux temples et sites sacrés. Le programme d’élevage ici a commencé avec des birmans importés du Royaume-Uni et d’Australie, et objectif est de réintroduire ces chats en Myanmar.
On raconte beaucoup de légendes autour de l’origine des chats birmans – celui-ci est mon préféré:
La légende des chats Sacré de Birmanie commence dans les magnifiques temples de l’ancienne Birmanie. Les imposantes statues de Bouddha sont une illustration de la profonde foi religieuse du peuple, leur croyance en la réincarnation des âmes et le profond respect et d’amour pour leurs prêtres. On croyait que, après la mort, les prêtres retournaient sous la forme de chats blancs et ainsi chaque temple était habité par ces chats sacrés.
Un moine vénérable (Kittah) connu sous le nom Mun-Ha vivait dans le temple de Lao-Tsun. Mun-Ha avait vécu toute sa vie dans la contemplation de la statue dorée de Tsun-Kyankse, la déesse aux yeux saphir qui présidait la transmutation des âmes. La déesse faisait en sorte que le kittahs allait renaître comme chat, après quoi l’âme passerait dans le Nirvana, avec un halo doré.
Mun-Ha avait un oracle qui dicté ses décisions – l’oracle était son fidèle chat du temple Sinh. Lors que le saint homme priait, Sinh restait assis aux côtés de son maître dans la contemplation de la déesse, ses yeux jaunes plongeaient dans les yeux de saphir de Tsun-Kyankse.
More.. https://magnificentmyanmar2014.wordpress.com/2015/02/05/burmese-cats-of-lake-inle/
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