U Kala () was a Burmese historian and

chronicle A chronicle (, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events ...

r best known for compiling the ''

Maha Yazawin The ''Maha Yazawin'', fully the ''Maha Yazawindawgyi'' (, , Pali : Mahārājavaṃsa) and formerly romanized as the ,. is the first national chronicle of Burma/Myanmar. Completed in 1724 by U Kala, a historian at the Toungoo court, it was the ...

'' (lit. 'Great Royal Chronicle'), the first extensive national chronicle of Burma. U Kala single-handedly revolutionized secular Burmese

historiography Historiography is the study of the methods used by historians in developing history as an academic discipline. By extension, the term ":wikt:historiography, historiography" is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiog ...

and ushered in a new generation of private chroniclers, including Buddhist monks and laymen. U Kala was a wealthy descendant of court and regional administrative officers from both sides of his family. His father, Dewa Setha, was a banker from Singaing, a village south of

Inwa Inwa (, or ; also spelled Innwa; formerly known as Ava), located in Mandalay Region, Myanmar, is an ancient imperial capital of successive Burmese kingdoms from the 14th to 19th centuries. Throughout history, it was sacked and rebuilt numerou ...

, and descended from regional administrative officers () of the crown. His mother, Mani Awga, of mixed Shan and

Burman Burman is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Anneli Burman (born 1963), Swedish curler *Barney Burman, American make-up artist *Barry Burman (1943–2001), English figurative artist *Ben Lucien Burman (1896–1984), American aut ...

noble descent, came from a prominent family of courtier-administrators who served the

Taungoo Dynasty ''taungnguumainn saat'' , conventional_long_name = Toungoo dynasty , common_name = Taungoo dynasty , status = Empire/ Kingdom , event_start = Independence from Ava Kingdom , year_start = 15 ...

since the mid-1500s. In compiling the ''Maha Yazawin'', U Kala likely had access to Toungoo court documents, including royal correspondence,

parabaik Folding-book manuscripts are a type of writing material historically used in Mainland Southeast Asia, particularly in the areas of present-day Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. They are known as ''parabaik'' in Burmese, ''samut thai'' in Thai o ...

, notebooks of daily court schedules prepared by astrologers and scribes, official records of military affairs, and royal genealogies. He supplemented his sources with private local chronicles, inscriptions, biographies, and religious histories held in monastic or royal collections at the royal capital.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kala, U People from Mandalay Region 18th-century Burmese historians 1678 births 1738 deaths Burmese Shan people