MYANMAR CULTURE

WELCOME TO MYANMAR!

Min-gala-bar!

Contents

• Introduction• Language, Music and dance• Religion and festivals• Sports• Food• Travel and people• Conclusion

Introduction• Myanmar (pronounced MEE’- an -

mar) is a country in southeast Asia that shares borders with China, India, Laos, Bangladesh and Thailand. It was formerly known as Burma.

• With a total area of 261,970 square miles, Myanmar is the largest country in mainland southeast Asia, and the 40th largest in the world.

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LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

Myanmar Scripts and

Alphabet• There are 33 consonants in the Myanmar

alphabet combined with twelve vowels. The Myanmar script was originally adapted from the Mon language. Both scripts were derived from Pali, the ancient Indian language of the sacred text of Theravada Buddhism.

RELIGION AND FESTIVALS

Buddhism Christianit

y Islam Hinduism Others

RELIGIONS

Religions in Myanmar

Buddhist Christian Roman CatholicMuslim Animist Others

FESTIVALS

We also have various of festival by season and month such as Summer season (Thingyan), Raining season (Buddha Land Day), Winter season (Katangpoi or Dasoungdai).

TRADITIONAL SPORTS

Myanmar traditional boxing has no specific rules, except that the boxer is not allowed to bite or scratch the opponent or kick him in the groin. The winner is the boxer

who draws blood for a fourth time, after the opponent has been allowed to wipe away blood three times. This game is so cruel even to Myanmar people.

MYANMAR BOXING

CHINLONE

Chinlone is a traditional sport played with a rattan or cane ball measuring about 4 inches (10 cm) in diameter. The purpose of the game is to keep the ball in the air, using only feet, knees, elbows, shoulders, or heads - but not hands. The game can be played alone or with others standing in a circle.

Myanmar martial includes bando, banshay and thaing. These arts were more popular in the ancient times.

MYANMAR MARTIAL ARTS

Myanmar Thaing Bando

COCK-FIGHTING

• In the countryside, villagers organize traditional cock-fights, with spectators laying bets on the bird they hope will win. Bird owners sometimes attach sharp spurs to the legs of their roosters, which are trained to attack the opponent.

MYANMAR CUISINE“Myanmar food, a cuisine that highlights local delicacies as well as Indian and Chinese influences.”

Burmese cuisine includes a variety of salads (a thoke), centred on one major ingredient, ranging from starches like rice, wheat & rice noodles, glass noodles & vermicelli, to potato, ginger, tomato, kaffir lime, long bean, lahpet (pickled tea leaves), and ngapi (fish paste).

Tea leaf salad

A popular Burmese rhyme sums up the traditional favourites:

… "A thee ma, thayet; a thar ma, wet; a ywet ma, lahpet" (အသီးမှာ

သရက်၊ အသားမှာဝက်၊ အရွက်မှာလက်ဖက်။)”…

translated as “ Of all the fruit, the mango's the best; of all the meat, the pork's the best; and of all the leaves, lahpet's the best "

“No conversation about Myanmar food is complete without a mention of mohinga. This tempting dish is made from round rice noodles served in a hearty, herbal-based broth, often supplemented with the crunchy pith of the banana tree. It is a favorite breakfast dish, but also a common snack at any time of day or night.”

Mohinga is the traditional breakfast dish and is Burma's national dish.

Shan-style rice

Rice and Curry

A typical meal in Myanmar includes steamed rice, fish, meat, vegetables and soup served at the same time. Locals use their fingertips to mold rice into a small ball and then mix it with various dishes.

Shan-khout-swal (Shan Noodles)Myanmar Pancakes Tea leaf salad

TRAVEL AND PEOPLE

Balloon flight over Bagan (Mandalay)

Shwe Dagon Pagoda (Yangon)

Mandalay Palace (Mandalay)

U Being Bridge, The longest Teak bridge in the world (Mandalay)

Hsinbyume Paya Pagoda in Mingun (Mandalay)

Inle Lake (Shan State)

View of the Sule Pagoda and City Hall (Yangon)

The Myanmar people pride themselves on proper etiquette.

PEOPLE – CUSTOMS, MANNERS AND ETIQUETTES

“Mingalarbar” – is a word of greeting in Myanmar. Greeting with a smile or slight bow with the palms pressed together is accepted. ( Physical contact such as a handshake is not the norm in Myanmar )

CLOTHING The traditional Burmese dress is the longyi, a wraparound skirt worn by men and women.

Men tie theirs in the front and women fold the cloth over and secure it at the side.

MEN AND WOMEN• In Buddhism, men have a higher status than women – (Buddhists believe

in reincarnation, and a woman has to hope that, in her next life, she is reborn as a man)

• The husband is considered the spiritual head of the Myanmar household because of his hpon (PONE), or spiritual status. In public, women let men take the lead, often walking behind their husbands or fathers. At home, however, a husband usually hands his earnings over to the wife, who manages the family budget and often runs her own small business, too.

- Women are excluded from certain areas of religious buildings, such as the middle platform of the Shwedagon Pagoda.

Marriage

- dependent on family and friends. - Children in Myanmar will almost always

live with their parents up until the day they marry and if that said marriage doesn’t make out good, then the kids move back in with the parents.

Do remove your shoes and socks before entering religious buildings, compounds, andprivate homes.Do bow your head slightly when passing elderly people as a sign of respect.Do use your chin to point instead of your finger.Do turn your head away from others before yawning as showing the inside of one’smouth is considered impolite.Do give people things with both hands, which necessitates a respectful bending forward body pose.

Do and Don’t

Don’t turn the bottoms of your feet towards a Buddha statue.Don’t touch a Burmese person, adult or child, on the head.Don’t sit at the head of the table unless you are the senior person

THANK YOU!THANK YOU! Kyay–zuu-par!