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Handicraft Workshops
About Myanmar Mainly to make Cheik Longyi, special garments worn by both men and women. The model worn by men is called Pasoe which sarong-like attire and the model worn by women is called Htamin which is like a skirt. Both Pasoe and Htamin have a distinctive wave pattern.
Cheik Longyi have been in fashion and popular with royalty and commoners for many centuries. It takes great skill to weave these fabrics with their varied colors and intricate designs. Weaving to form traditional designs to produce a distinctive and elegant pattern can only be done by hand. Cheik Longyi were especially favored during King Mindon’s reign.
Skeins of silk thread are boiled in water and then washed clear of starch in cold water. Once the silk has reached the desired soft and delicate texture is dyed and readied for the loom. The young women weavers must have great skill even three years of training may not be sufficient for a weaver to become a proficient artisan. A Cheik Longyi takes 180 times longer to weave than an ordinary longyi. The weavers working together can complete only four centimeters of fabric per day and it takes almost one month to finish a single longyi of this type. Myanmars are justly proud to dress themselves in such prestigious and artistically crafted material to attend official functions, religious and social occasions, weddings and ceremonies. Various artists on the Myanmar stage also wear these resplendent garments. The main center of Cheik longyi weaving is in Amarapura, close to Mandalay.
Wood Carving
Distinctive woodcarving is one of the traditional arts and crafts of Myanmar. The others are crafts in gold, silver and iron, bronze, brass and copper casting, relief work in stucco, turnery; drawing and painting, lacquer ware, sculpting in stone or marble and lapidary work. Traditional skills are carefully preserved in families and passed down from generation to generation. Carved wooden figures found in the stupas and shrines of the Bagan period, 1057-1287, suggest Myanmar carvers raised the standards of the woodcarving skills introduced from India in the 9th and 10th Century Traditional designs include the Kanoke pan depicting intricate lotus buds, blossoms and stems, scrollwork with a floral arabesque, Chu or stylized figures resembling lions with flowing manes, Keinnaya and Keinnayi,mythical male and female birds with human heads and torso, Beloo or ogre, and gallon or Garuda, the mythical king of birds. Carved wooden figures and brass-relief works are usually found on the covered stairways or Zaungdans of pagodas, in monasteries in highly embellished teak panels and in
Distinctive woodcarving is one of the traditional arts and crafts of Myanmar. The others are crafts in gold, silver and iron, bronze, brass and copper casting, relief work in stucco, turnery; drawing and painting, lacquer ware, sculpting in stone or marble and lapidary work. Traditional skills are carefully preserved in families and passed down from generation to generation. Carved wooden figures found in the stupas and shrines of the Bagan period, 1057-1287, suggest Myanmar carvers raised the standards of the woodcarving skills introduced from India in the 9th and 10th Century Traditional designs include the Kanoke pan depicting intricate lotus buds, blossoms and stems, scrollwork with a floral arabesque, Chu or stylized figures resembling lions with flowing manes, Keinnaya and Keinnayi,mythical male and female birds with human heads and torso, Beloo or ogre, and gallon or Garuda, the mythical king of birds. Carved wooden figures and brass-relief works are usually found on the covered stairways or Zaungdans of pagodas, in monasteries in highly embellished teak panels and in many religious buildings and residences.
Even household furniture, fixtures and utensils are decorated with woodcarvings. Today there is a tremendous diversity in the subjects that are carved. There are Buddha images, altars and other religious figures, Nats or spirits; elephant, oxen, buffalo, tiger, bullock cart and peacocks as souvenirs for tourists, Chinthes and other objects of Myanmar legends. Myanmar carvers prefer to work with rosewood, ironwood, teak, tamala and yamanay. The only tools are one or two razor-sharp knives and a chisel. Once a carver can manipulate a set of chisels, basic figures are decorated with more elaborate ornamentation. There are no limits to the artists’ imagination. Tigers, crocodiles, ceremonial bullock carts with some nicely carved bulls in front and elephants are produced. Similar objects are produced elsewhere but most of these are carved to some extent by machine.
Stone Works
Stone sculptors’ workshops line a street near the Mandalay Mahamuni Pagoda. Crafts people employing essentially the same methods used by their fore bearers, turn out religious objects in alabaster or marble from the Sagaing hills. Very early stone sculptures have been unearthed in excavation site of ancient Pyu cities such as Beikthano, which flourished between the 1st and 5th century BC. Sculptures found in Beikthano include two huge sandstone blocks with a pair of human feet in high relief, a fragment of stone sculpture and a stone seal. Interestingly, no Buddha's statute was found. In Hanlin, stone sculptures dating from the 5th to 9th century BC have been uncovered.
These include two stone epitaphs inscribed in Pyu and Brahmi languages and a third illegible inscription between two panels of a sculptured stone slab showing a damaged seated figure on one panel and some fifty figures of seated worshippers on the other panel. Many fine sculptures and relief were found in Srikshetra. These include a Buddha, a Bodhisattva or future Buddha, a stone pedestal, the funeral urn of 4th century of King Sihavtkama, scenes depicting Buddha’s first sermon and a nativity scene. Other sculptures found here depict the Dharmacakra or full moon day of Waso, the beginning of Buddhist Lent, the Buddha taming the Nalagiri elephant and sculptures of a Dvarapala, or temple guardian.
Sculptures of Vishnu and Lakshmi 5th Century and Vishnu stands on a Garuda, were also found. The Bagan Museum includes a collection of 10th -11th century Buddha images, a small dolomite slab carved in fine detail with the eight principal scenes of Buddha’s life, dated Mon and Pyu stone inscriptions and clay votive tablets. The Museum houses the Myazedi Pillar, 1113 AD, inscribed in Pyu, Mon, Pali and Myanmar languages. This enabled Pyu script to be deciphered for the first time. The Mon capital of Bago, founded in 1369 AD, and the Rakhine capital of Myohaung or Mrauk U founded in 1433 AD, have also yielded cultural treasures including many sculpture of artistic merit. The high quality of Myanmar sculpture is very evident at Po Win Taung on the west bank of the Chindwin River, 22 km from Monywar. The site features a complex of three temples carved out of volcanic rock, a rock carved model of Mr. Meru, considered the center of the universe in Myanmar cosmology, Buddha images, delicate floral design relief on roofs and ceilings of cave temples, and Bagan period stone inscriptions. Mandalay the last Myanmar royal capital boasts the largest stone Buddha image in the country, housed in the Kyauk-tawgyi Pagoda. The 8.2 meter high image was carved in 1865 from a single block of alabaster from the nearby Sagyin quarry. The World’s Largest Book, comprising 729 marble slabs on which the entire Tripitaka or Buddhist canon, was inscribed in Pali in 1872 during the Fifth Buddhist Synod, is arranged around the Kuthodaw Pagoda, each slab housed in its own pagoda.
Embroidery, Tapestry [kalaga]
Centuries of Myanmar people to develop portable art forms and embroidery works is one of their specialties. From early childhood a Myanmar girl learns to sew and her needle skills play an important role in helping her win a good husband. Embroidery is a highly respected art form. Fine gold thread, silver sequins and colored glass or imitation jewels were traditionally stitched in to cotton or wool garments for royalty and other dignitaries. Kalaga is decorated with appliqué in cotton, damask and satin embellished with silver spangles, silver - gilt thread and glass. Kalaga in gold and sequins is common in Myanmar. These embroideries often depicting figures from Buddhist mythology and hung in the temple or on bullock-carts as decorative during the festivals. Design often reflect tribal legends passed down the generations and
geometric designs are stylized images of flowers, trees, rivers and mountains with floral design. Group of girls sit hunched over a piece of embroidery stretched over a frame. They use old sequins and thread to create the intricately embroidered Kalagas. A medium size of embroidery piece will take a team of six girl some 20 days to complete.
Lacquerware
Lacquer-ware is perhaps the most distinctive of all Myanmar handicrafts and the most widely produced and used. Lacquer ware was long a favorite of royalty for storing documents and precious jewellery. Common households employed it for everyday use such as keeping betel nuts and leaves or as soup bowls. Monks use a black lacquer bowl known as Thabeik collecting alms. Lacquer ware was highly treasured that Myanmar kings often presented lacquer objects as gifts to foreign emissaries. Little is known of how the making of lacquer ware started in Myanmar. What is certain is that lacquer ware is a traditional Myanmar craft that dates as far back as the 13th century. Valued for its artistic beauty and practical qualities, it is light and watertight condition. One can find lacquer ware ash trays, bowls, water jars, vases, salvers for temple offerings, cups, jewellery boxes based on an ancient design that double as pillows, traditional betel boxes, plates, storage chests, tables and chairs. Considering the time and work involved it takes five to seven months to make even the smallest item. The center of lacquer ware manufacture is Bagan.
It is a cottage industry and some 600 households produce lacquer ware in the village of Myinkaba alone. Visitors are welcome to watch the process, a skill passed down from generation to generation. The process begins with the making of bamboo frame for the lacquer ware item, a bowl for example. For objects of the highest quality, fine horsehair, taken from the tail, is woven around the frame. Bamboo wicker or horsehair are traditional materials employed for lacquer ware products. After the frame is made and bamboo wicker or horsehair has been woven around it, the first coating of lacquer is applied. The lacquer paint used is black and it comes from a resin of a particular tree found around Inle Lake region. The lacquer paint is applied by hand which makes an even coating. The object is then left to dry for a week in an underground cellar; drying in the sun in the early stages causes pockmarks. The object is then taken out for a second coating of lacquer. It is left to dry for yet another week in the cellar. The next stage involves covering the object with a paste made from a mixture of pulverized buffalo bone, teak sawdust and lacquer to fill up any nooks or crevices. It is left to dry for a week. The object is polished with pumice stone to remove rough surfaces. Lacquer paint is again applied and the object put aside to dry. After another week, the object is polished again, both on the inside and outside, using a mixture of clay and stone. The polishing is done three times before the object is stored underground for one month. Then a long process of painting and drying begins. First, the inside of the object is painted with lacquer and left to dry for a week; then the outside is painted and the object is again put aside for drying. At that stage the object is polished again with water and stone, dried in the sun for two hours, another coat of lacquer is applied and the object is dried underground for a week. For the next seven weeks, a layer of lacquer is applied at one-week intervals. The result is a shining lacquer product made even glossier by careful polishing with a chamois soaked in sesame oil. At this stage, the desired color and designs are worked onto the object.
Usually traditional designs are etched onto the surface by very fine instruments. Then one color is applied, the lacquer ware is left to dry for a week, it is polished with rice husks, washed with water and painted with acacia glue to fix the color. If another color is required, more details are etched and coated with the second color, left to dry for a week, washed and then fixed with acacia glue again. More etchings are made and a third color is added and this time, the object is left to dry for a month. Later, it is polished first with teakwood ash and water and then with a piece of cotton cloth. It is washed and dried again for ten minutes in the sun and finally polished with a powder made from pulverized petrified wood. That’s not all. The object is painted once more on the inside with red lacquer, left to dry for one week and is finally ready for sale. It takes five months to produce lacquer cups, seven months to make betel boxes and at least a year to produce tables and chairs. But the final result is without a doubt, a thing of beauty and a fine testimony to Myanmar craftsmanship.
All glittering indeed are gold
Not to surprise Myanmar regarded as the Golden Land. Gold are mine in Myanmar at various places and use very widely as for social status, saving and of donation which again considered as a kind of saving for future life since Buddhists believe circle in birth. The gold leaf is the major instrument, which make the saying goes The Golden Land. It is a very very thin foil of gold which readily available at the most Pagodas and monasteries in the country for individual donor. People rich as well as poor buy those gold foils and stick to the surface of Pagodas, Buddha Image or monastery to guild the country with glittering gold. This unique of gold leafing process is locate in Mandalay.
The instrument require are simple and nature object such as a large stone slab, good size of hammers, Deer's leather rappers, specially made bamboo paper and a water clock simply made of the half shell of a coconut etc.
Firstly you need a small pieces of gold roughly half an inch in square fitted 100 of them by partition with bamboo paper, wrap tightly with deer skin belt and is ready to be pounded. The coconut shell here serve as water timer as make a tiny hole in the bottom and place on the water in a regular size bowl. It is timing as the shell is filled with water every 120 stroke of the harmer. After one and a half hour of study pounding the gold than become one square inch. Thus the lady worker will separate the gold from it partition, cut in to half inch square, rapped with new paper and pounded as before to transformed thin gold foil of one inch square. Now the process will become very sensitive and need expert handling. Thus the already thin foil of gold taken in to sealed room, women again carefully shift them in to a larger plates of paper, rapped as usual and pound to make a very fine and thin three inches square foils. This process takes about 2 to three hours and at this stage the gold foils are so thing and become sticky. As final stage women team than carefully take the gold foil out of the paper and place in to commercial wrapping paper in various size and seal to make ready made gold leaf product. Thus in every Pagoda and monastery you visit you will notice people offer gold and they are readily available as little in price as 1 US$.
Myanmar ruby, sapphire and jade
Since the days of the ancient Burmese kings, foreign traders and merchants have been drawn by the country’s superb gems. The story goes that the first French gem merchants were astounded by the quality of Padamyar Nga Mauk rubie and declared it to be priceless. The awe of the French gem traders is best captured in a magnificent mural that decorates the lobby of the Gems Emporium Hall. The esteem for Myanmar gems continues to this day. For this reason, hundreds of visitors arrive each year in Yangon to participate in the gems fair ever since first held in 1964, which is now held twice annually. Many reference books on gems acknowledge Myanmar to be the foremost producer of first-class rubies, sapphires and jade.
Mogok in Upper Myanmar is the center of ruby and sapphire mining where rubieshave been found for 800 years. the area is also well known as source of sapphires, which may be violet, green, yellow or orange in addition to the usual deep blue. Star sapphires and star rubies, reflecting a six-pointed star in the light, are particularly attractive. Myanma gold and silver pearls are grown in the ocean surrounding the unspoiled islands of the Myeik archipelago in the south. The giant pearls are available either as cultured or natural baroque. The most coveted is the deep Gold Pearl, produced only in Myanmar.Traditional dance
Although the performing arts of Myanmar have been influenced by the arts and culture of India, China, Sri Lanka and Thailand, Myanmar has preserved and developed its own culture including traditional dance. Myanmar “Ahak” can be traced back to the first century A.D. Records show that as early as A.D. 802 a “Pyu” music and dance troupe including 35 artists and 22 musical instruments was sent on a goodwill mission to China. After the Pyu period, Bagan became the focus of cultural activities and Indian, Sri Lankan, China, Pyu, Mon, Myanmar and indigenous national cultures were celebrated during the Bagan period. The “Bon-shay” or long drum dance featuring two long drums, a pair of cymbals, a bamboo clapper and a “Hne,” a wind instrument similar to an oboe. The “Ozi” or pot drum dance includes a drummer who may carry and play from one or many drums, two bamboo clappers, a cymbals player, an oboe player and an “Ozi” dancer usually garbed as a prince or a royal page body. The “Dobat,” or two-faced drum dance is performed by two drummers, one bamboo clapper, a cymbalist, an oboist and a dancer. This dance is always performed in village festivities with very little music. Folk festivals also feature “Toenaya” dance. The Toenaya is a mythical figure made up of jute, coarse paper and strips of bamboo. The dancer dons the framework of the gaily painted and decorated Toenaya figure and performs the dance together with the “Dobat” or “Ozi” music.
The “Mingalarbar” dance, a greeting dance bestowing blessings upon the audience, is very graceful dance on the “Nat” votaress.
The “Si-Mi-Kwet dance or oil lamp dance, features dancers carrying lighted oil lamps on their palms paying homage and reverence to the Buddha. The suppleness and skill of the dancer enables her to move hands, feet, body and head without upsetting the lamp or extinguishing the flames during the performance. Other popular dances are the “Tabin-Taing,” traditional solo dance; “Zawgyi,” or alchemist dance; “Anyeint,” a solo, artistic dance performed together with story telling, humor, jokes and shows; “Ahpyodaw,” maid of honor dance; “Wun,” minister dance; “Yokethe,” or marionette dance, where the dancers perform imitating the movements of puppets; the “Nay-yar-dawkhin” or royal page dance; the “Sidaw,” or royal drum dance and others. The Myanmar orchestra, called a “Saing,” in which percussion instruments dominate, provides the musical accompaniment for the traditional dances. The orchestra consists of the “Patt Waing,” a circle of 21 drums in the center, the “Kyay Maing,” a circle of gongs, a “Patt-Ma,” single large drum, “Lingwin,” cymbals, a “Hne,” wind instrument similar to an oboe, a “Palwe,” bamboo flute, “Wah-Let-Khoke,” bamboo clappers and a “Pattalar,” bamboo xylophone. Sometimes there may also be a “Saung-Gauk,” Myanmar harp, to complete the ensemble.
Novices
When the Buddha’s son, Rahula, asked for his inheritance, he was initiated into the Order of the Sangha as a samanera or novice by his father. Following this tradition, every Myanmar Buddhist boy average age between 7 and 13 is expected to enter the monastery as a novice for a period of a few weeks to months. Parents spend lavishly for the occasion of this extravaganza of novitiation or Shin-pyu. The occasion is considered to be the most important day in the boy’s life. The young novice-to-be is dressed up in finery to resemble Prince Siddhartha who become Gautama Buddha. Mounted on someone’s shoulder, a horse or a car with parents, relatives and friends in attendance. He is paraded in grand procession through the village or town, ending up at the local monastery. Head shaved, dons the robes of a monk, and is given a Pali name as well as paraphernalia of a monk including an alms bowl and enters the monastery to begin his novitiate. Thus he has been initiated into the Order, is now a “son of Buddha” and has gained the legacy of the Sassana or teachings of the Buddha. He must collect for his food and observe the ten basic rules of Buddhis conduct during his monastic life.
Through religious education and application of the ten precepts or basic rules, the novice gains merit for himself and his family. The novitiate may last only a few days however the novice may re-enter the monastery at any time but he can only become an ordained monk or rahan, only when he is 20 years old. Then he must renounce the world, devote the rest of this life to meditation, learning and teaching the scriptures. The 227 vows of the Order, including those of poverty, chastity and the vow not to hurt or offend any living creature must be taken and observed. An elderly Thilashin who has renounced the secular life and like her male counterpart leads a life of austerity, chastity and purity. Nuns are not ordained and few women choose to enter the Order.
Paving the way to Nirvana
The ultimate goal of a Buddhists is the attainment of Nirvana, a state where all desire and suffering have been eliminated and in which the endless cycle of rebirths or samsara through which all living things must pass, ceases. Lord Buddha preached Four Noble Truths: all life is suffering is caused by desire, suffering ends when desire is eliminated and believers must follow the Nobel Eight-Fold Path to achieve this end. The first stage in this Path is Sila or morality, which means right speech, right conduct and the right way of life.
A Buddhist gains Sila on observance of the Five Precepts, which forbid killing, lying, stealing, sexual misconduct and taking intoxicants. The second stage is Samadhi or true mental discipline, which means the right endeavor, right mindfulness and right meditation. The third stage is Panna or wisdom and insight, made up of the right views and the right intent.
This Noble Eight-Fold Path has been summarized in verse by the Buddha: “to refrain from all evil, To do what is good, to cleanse one’s mind, This is the advice of all Buddhas.” With Wisdom and Insight will come Enlightenment, leading on to Nirvana. About 80 percent of Myanmars are Theravada Buddhists, where great stress is placed upon individual achievement - one must work out one’s own salvation. All good Buddhists must traverse the slow and tedious path of purity with diligence and patience. Buddhism emphasizes love, tolerance, compassion and devout Buddhists strive to make merit through good actions such as charitable deeds and to refrain from evil or bad deeds, which will earn demerit. Karma is the law of cause and effect under which good begets good and evil begets evil in this or the next existence. The Buddha established the Order of the Sangha or Bikkhu (monks) and the Order of Bilkkuni (nuns) for men and women wishing to renounce the world and live a life of purity, austerity, perseverance and self-discipline. Not everyone is expected to lead the life of a monk or a nun to achieve one’s goal although one’s spiritual progress is expedited by this process. A lay follower can also become an Arahta (Saint) and proceed to his or her final destination.
8 days of the weeks?
The day that one has born is the most important in daily life in Myanmar. Every individual soul is being named after the day that he or she has born. Thus in Myanmar history there is no generation hand down by the family name since Myanmar do not carry family names. For example if you were born on Monday and are named Maung Kyi Win, that doesn't mean that your name is Maung and your family name is Kyi Win, but it is simply because that you were born on Monday of the week.
Thus your other family member may born different days of the week and all will have different names in possess. Myanmar strongly believe in astrology and the day you born is playing a major factor to tell your fate, match making, business dealing, house whole building, in worse case to buy a car or to apply a job, Myanmar do consult with astrologer or Buddhist Monks who then refer to your birth day to tell you the do's and don'ts. Myanmar chronology define 8 days in a week, which Wednesday is being divided in to morning, and evening. This is why reason you can notice there is 8 cardinal points in every Pagodas which represent the people according to their birth day to worship to. Those 8 planetary posts are also named by the compass order. Normally at each corner there is a Buddha statute on a small shrine where people worship, pour water, offer candlelight etc
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