Local traditions and culture in Burma

The photograph shows a selection of papier mache golden owls and figures which I christened "eggmen" for sale in Yangon. You will see these all over the country and apparently they are supposed to bring good luck .

The principle of the "eggmen" is that they are weighted in the bottom so you can knock them over but they always right themselves - a bit like the Weebles toys I remember as a kid. For those of you who are wondering what exactly Weebles are, try the link provided.

Myanmar puppetry is the string type. The stage provides the performance area, as well as the shelter for the marionette masters and musicians and their belongings. The performance area has a bamboo bar at which the marionette masters stand to manipulate the figures. The excellence of a marionette master is judged by his skill in singing and manipulating the figures.

"The standard total number of marionette figures in the show is twenty eight, namely two nat votaresses, one horse, one monkey, one parakeet, two ogres, one necromancer, one dragon, one garuda, (mythical bird), one deva (deity), four ministers (two red gowned and two green gowned), one king, one queen, one prince, one princess, two prince regents, one astrologer, one hermit, one old woman, and two court jesters. They are the regular characters who appear in the marionette show, because the themes and plots are invariably taken from the Jatakas or the Buddha's birth stories. Occasionally fables and historical episodes are presented. Only woodcarvers who have the marionette tranditon are entitled to make marionette figures and they are required to follow the rules regarding the use of the prescribed type of wood for making particular marionette figures, the prescribed proportions of the figures befitting their roles, with the correct anatomy including sex organs."

This must be my favorite sunblock of all time. I do have rather sensitive skin and the sun and i have been on rather shaky terms during most of my life. And here in Burma, the sun is something that is quite difficult to ignore. But Thanaka is the Burmese answer to my plight. Whenever i wear Thanaka (and i do so often, almost every day actually), i never have sunburn. Unfortunately it is impossible to swim with but i've braved the plain of Bagan in mid-april (summertime with a soaring 40-something degrees celsius) on a bicycle and no bodily harm has befallen me. If i do forget to put it on, i use it to cool my skin. And i have given it to people with sunburn who claim it helps enormously.

Then again, i do also use it on occasion when my skin feels tired, badly taken care of, dry whatever. It is as much a conditioner as it is a sunblock. And it smells wonderful. I always used the Thanaka that comes in a pot to which you only need to add water to make it the consistency you want (thinner for an overall layer on face and arms, thicker for the added 'make-up' on cheeks and nose). A small pot should cost about 500 ks and can be bought everywhere. Nowadays i ise the 'real' Thanaka since 2 of the assistent teachers at my school have given me Thanaka. I now have a big earthen 'grinder' and make fresh Thanaka every day before i go to school. i think i have enough bark for another year or 2....

I found a great tip the other day in Thailand (where nobody uses Thanaka as far as i know but still). They suggested to mix Thanaka powder with yoghurt & honey and leave on for about 10-15 minutes. A great conditioner apparently. As soon as i've put my hands on some new Thanaka i'll let you know how it is.

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I was lucky enough to be in Myanmar (Burma) on 07/02/2006, which is Shan National Day. Although I was later to visit, and greatly enjoy, Shan State, I was actually still in Yangon at the time. I was doubly lucky to be invited by some Shan people to attend a festival held at the monastery situated at 9 1/2 miles on the Pyay Road.

When we got there, the place was abolutely crowded for what was essentially a music festival held in the grounds of the monastery. There was a wide selection of musical styles, and I was told some of the performers are national stars. As well as the usual light pop covers, there were a few Burmese "hip hop" acts (like the two girls pictured) as well as traditional dancing and music.

Obviously, being Myanmar, there were food stalls everywhere as well as a number of souvenir stalls set up.

What I found slightly surreal was the fact that a good proportion of the audience were young monks. There is just something very odd about seeing Buddhist monks whistling and shouting like any other teenagers at a pop concert. I hope the photos give you some of the flavour of what was a wonderful night.

If you are in the country on this date, ask around and see if there are any celebrations going on.

I write this tip since i've seen it happen here in Burma once (but also once in Thailand where the same thing goes like in all buddhist countries). Women aren't allowed to touch monks! So you can't go and sit next to them in a bus, train or anywhere else. Also, and this is not only for the women, you can't sit higher than a monk. Monks are revered all throughout Burma and parents have to pay respect to their sons. Even if that son is only a 7 year old novice!. Usually monks sit higher than everybody else but if they can't, then at least pay attention and don't point your feet towards them. You should not do this towards anybody but it especially goes for monks.

At the MTT office (at least in Yangon) you can get free maps of Myanmar, Yangon, Mandalay and Bagan (that i know of). The website offers more maps but i haven't tried printing them yet (though i had a look at a few of them) . Handy for if you want to get around. Or if you find the maps in your LP not very useful. I use the 2 Yangon maps a lot. There is a normal Yangon map and a more detailed Yangon map.

One of my favorite things in Burma is pickled tea salad. It is the prepared version of what you see on the picture. The salad can usually be ordered as a side-dish in restaurants and such (be careful if you don't like fish and/or fish paste since some places have the habit of putting this into the salad. Order it without then.
Many (good) places to eat will put the 'salad-box' on the table after you've finished eating. It is like a dessert. You can either spoon some tea and extras into your mouth (without touching your lips) or you can use a small bowl, your hand or anything that is left on the table to mix your own spoonful. Usually you can find the following around the pickled tea: dried shrimp, sesame seed, peanuts, dried beans and garlic or something like that.

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Many of the local men and women in Burma like smoking the local cigars. Very common to see old ladies sit and gossip or doing daily job while they smoke those big cigars with a big smile.
I took this pohot of smoking ladies in Inle lake. They looked happy. You can find small shops who sell the local cigars and try it your self.