History & Legend
The Legend
The real origin of Sacred Birman is rather uncertain and full of empties, giving by the time life to a suggestive legend, inspired certainly to this particular and ethereal magnificent cat.
It is told that in the old Birmania (the actual Myanmar), by the people of the Khmer there was a temple dedicated to the cult of Tsun-Kyan-Kse goddess, protectors of the souls during the transmigration. In the temple there were leaving the Kitten monks, whose master was the older and wise Mum-Ha monk. Inside the temple there was a valuable gold statue, representing the goddess, having in place of the eyes two big thick blue sapphires.
The monks were looking after at 100 white cats, with gold colour eyes. Among them there was a cat called Sin, preferred but Mun-Ha.
One day the temple was plundered by some robbers, killing Mun-Ha who tried to defend the statue of the goddess. The cat Sinh leaped on the monk lifeless body, glancing deeply to the goddess statue.
Suddenly his coat took gold shades, the eyes become blue, like those of the goddess and the legs took the earth colour. Only the legs, leaned on the monk’s body, become snow-white. The robbers terrorized by the wonder, ran away took and the temple was saved. But Sinh didn’t want touch food any more and after 7 days, died. In the same time the remained 99 cats turned into the same way as Sinh. Their eyes turned into blue, the legs white and the coat took gold shades.
Since then, the cats become sacred of the temple.
History
The story itself of the birman has different versions.
One version says that in the year of 1918 two samples, a male and a female, were imported into France. Unfortunately the male during the trip died. The female, however, remained pregnant, delivered a kitten brood giving origin to the birman breed.
Another version, on the other hand, says that the Birman was born from outcross, taken place in 1924 in the blue coast between a Siamese and a Persian (nobody knows whether it happened accidentally or through arrangements)
The fact is, however, that in a Paris Feline Expo taken place in 1926, every one remained enchanted by a cat whose origin was before unknown. The cat called Pupèe de Madalpour was the first birman of the history, direct descent of the sacred cats of the temple.
Thereafter, in the year 1930, a superb seal point male, named Dieu d’Arakan received the highest awards in all feline expositions.
The Second World War put under hard proof all selections carried out by the breeders up to that time.
However, only two birman couples survived, from which it has been the start of obtaining the breed recognition, taken place in 1966.
The first selected colour was for long time the seal point and the blue point dilution.
Only in the year 1974 the chocolate point colouration and the lilac point dilution have been introduce, which have been obtained by the inbreed of Persians and Siameses colorpoint.
In the year of 1978 the selection of the red point colour started and afterwards between 1983 and 1984, the tabby point variety was introduced.
