| Part of a series on the |
| Culture of Myanmar |
|---|
 |
| People |
Burmese traditional festivals are based on the traditional Burmese calendar and dates are largely determined by the moon's phase.[ citation needed ] Burmese culture is most evident in villages where local festivals are held throughout the year, the most important being the pagoda festival. [1] [2]
| Month | Festival(s) | Day | Significance | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tagu (April) | Thingyan | Mid-April | Marks the beginning of the Burmese new year | Gadaw (paying obeisance to elders), water games, observation of the Buddhist Sabbath (Uposatha), parades |
| Kason (May) | Bo tree watering festival | Full moon of Kason | Marks the birth, enlightenment and death of Gautama Buddha (Vesākha) | Watering of the Bo tree |
| Nayon (June) | Tipitaka Festival | Nationwide Pariyatti Sasana examinations for Buddhist monks [3] | ||
| Waso (July) | Robe Offering Festival, [4] Dhammasekya Day | Full moon of Waso | Marks the beginning of the Buddhist lent (Vassa); anniversary of Buddha's first sermon on the Four Noble Truths | Donation of monk robes, shinbyu ceremonies |
| Wagaung (August) | Taungbyon Nat Festival [5] | |||
| Tawthalin (September) | Regatta Festival | Boat rowing competitions | ||
| Thadingyut (October) | Festival of Lights | Full moon of Thadingyut | Marks the end of the Buddhist lent (Vassa) | Gift exchanges, gadaw (paying obeisance to elders), lighting of candles, pagoda visits |
| Tazaungmon (November) | Tazaungdaing Festival of Lights [6] | Full moon of Tazaungmon | Marks the end of the rainy season | Lighting of hot air balloons by the Shan people in Shan State, and lanterns nationwide |
| Kyi Ma No Festival | Mischief-making | |||
| Kahtein Thingan Offering Festival | Between Thadingyut and Tazaungmon | Offering of Kathina robes to Buddhist monks | ||
| Nadaw (December) | Karen New Year | Marks the new year of the Karen people | ||
| Nat festivals [7] | Ritual feasts honoring Burmese nats (spirits) | |||
| Pyatho (January) | Kachin Manaw Festival | Marks the new year of the Kachin people | ||
| Tabodwe (February) | Harvest Festival [8] | Celebration of rice harvests | Cooking of htamane, a special sticky rice made with sesame seeds, peanuts and ginger | |
| Tabaung (March) | Shwedagon Pagoda Festival [9] Nationwide pagoda festivals | Nationwide pagoda festivals | Celebrations on Singuttara Hill |
Edited by TZWK (Dastan Fitz)
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and also rendered as Burma, is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has a population of about 55 million. It is bordered by India and Bangladesh to its northwest, China to its northeast, Laos and Thailand to its east and southeast, and the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal to its south and southwest. The country's capital city is Naypyidaw, and its largest city is Yangon.
The Jingpo people are a Southeast Asian ethnic group who are the largest subgroup of the Kachin peoples. The greater name for all the Kachin peoples in their own Jingpo language is the Jinghpaw. Other endonyms include Zaiwa, Lechi, Lisu, Maru, Hkahku, etc.
Mizoram is a landlocked state in northeastern India, with Aizawl as its capital and largest city. It shares 722-kilometres of international borders with Bangladesh to the west, and Myanmar to the east and south, with domestic borders with the Indian states of Assam, Manipur, and Tripura. It covers an area of 21,087 square kilometres which 91% of the area is covered by forests, making it the most heavily forested state in India. With an estimated population of 1.25 million in 2023, it is the second least populated state in India. With an urbanisation rate of 51.5% it is the most urbanised state in northeast India, ranking fifth in urbanisation nationwide. One of the two official languages and most widely spoken tongue is Mizo, which serves as a lingua franca among various ethnic communities who speak a variety of other Tibeto-Burman or Indo-Aryan languages. Mizoram is home to the highest percentage of scheduled tribes in India, with the Mizo people forming the majority.
The Meitei people, also known as Meetei, Manipuri people, are a Tibeto-Burman ethnic group native to the Indian State of Manipur. They form the largest and dominant ethnic group of Manipur in Northeast India. They speak the Meitei language, one of the 22 official languages of the Republic of India and the sole official language of Government of Manipur. The Meiteis primarily settled in the Imphal Valley region in modern-day Manipur, though a sizeable population has settled in the other Indian states of Assam, Tripura, Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Mizoram. There is also a notable presence of Meiteis in the neighbouring countries of Myanmar and Bangladesh. The Meiteis represents about 53% of Manipur's population.
The culture of Myanmar (Burma) has been heavily influenced by Buddhism. Burmese culture has also been influenced by its neighbours.
Mawlamyine, formerly Moulmein, is the fourth-largest city in Myanmar (Burma), 300 kilometres (190 mi) south east of Yangon and 70 kilometres (43 mi) south of Thaton, at the mouth of Thanlwin (Salween) River. Mawlamyine was an ancient city and the first capital of British Burma. The city is currently the capital and largest city of Mon State and the main trading centre and seaport in south eastern Myanmar.
Nagas are various Southeast Asian Tibeto-Burman ethnic groups native to northwestern Myanmar and northeastern India. The groups have similar cultures and traditions, and form the majority of population in the Indian state of Nagaland and Naga Self-Administered Zone of Myanmar (Burma); with significant populations in Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in India; Sagaing Region and Kachin State in Myanmar.
The Irrawaddy River is the largest river in Myanmar. Originating from the confluence of the N'mai and Mali rivers, it flows from north to south before emptying through the Irrawaddy Delta in the Ayeyarwady Region into the Andaman Sea. Its drainage basin of about 404,000 square kilometres (156,000 sq mi) covers 61% of the land area of Burma, and contains five of its largest cities.
The country known in English as Burma, or Myanmar, has undergone changes in both its official and popular names worldwide. The choice of names stems from the existence of two different names for the country in Burmese, which are used in different contexts.
The Bamar people are a Sino-Tibetan-speaking ethnic group native to Myanmar. With an estimated population of around 35 million people, they are the largest ethnic group in Myanmar, accounting for 68.78% of the country's total population. The geographic homeland of the Bamar is the Irrawaddy River basin. The Bamar speak the Burmese language which serves as the national language and lingua franca of Myanmar.
Naxi, also known as Nakhi, Nasi, Lomi, Moso, Mo-su, is a Sino-Tibetan language or group of languages spoken by some 310,000 people, most of whom live in or around Lijiang City Yulong Naxi Autonomous County of the province of Yunnan, China. Nakhi is also the ethnic group that speaks it, although in detail, officially defined ethnicity and linguistic reality do not coincide neatly: there are speakers of Naxi who are not registered as "Naxi" and citizens who are officially "Naxi" but do not speak it.
The Internet in Myanmar has been available since 2000 when the first Internet connections were established. Beginning in September 2011, historically-pervasive levels of Internet censorship in Burma were significantly reduced. Prior to September 2011, the military government worked aggressively to limit and control Internet access through software-based censorship, infrastructure and technical constraints, and laws and regulations with large fines and lengthy prison sentences for violators. In 2015, internet usage significantly increased to 12.6% with the introduction of faster mobile 3G internet by transnational telecommunication companies Telenor Myanmar and Ooredoo Myanmar, later joined by national Myanmar Post and Telecommunications(MPT). While the Internet situation in Myanmar has undergone change since its introduction in 2010 and reduction of censorship in 2011, laws such as the 2013 Telecommunications Law continue to restrict citizens from total freedom online. Despite restrictions, internet penetration continues to grow across the country.
Internet censorship is the legal control or suppression of what can be accessed, published, or viewed on the Internet. Censorship is most often applied to specific internet domains but exceptionally may extend to all Internet resources located outside the jurisdiction of the censoring state. Internet censorship may also put restrictions on what information can be made internet accessible. Organizations providing internet access – such as schools and libraries – may choose to preclude access to material that they consider undesirable, offensive, age-inappropriate or even illegal, and regard this as ethical behavior rather than censorship. Individuals and organizations may engage in self-censorship of material they publish, for moral, religious, or business reasons, to conform to societal norms, political views, due to intimidation, or out of fear of legal or other consequences.
Thuzar is a 1940 Burmese black-and-white drama film directed by Chan Tun starring Ba Tint, Khin Maung Yin and Khin Khin Yee.
The Ao or Central Naga languages are a small family of Sino-Tibetan languages spoken by various Naga peoples of Nagaland in northeast India. Conventionally classified as "Naga", they are not clearly related to other Naga languages, and are conservatively classified as an independent branch of Sino-Tibetan, pending further research. There are around 607,000 speakers of the languages in total.
The Tazaungdaing Festival, held on the full moon day of Tazaungmon, the eighth month of the Burmese calendar, is celebrated as a national holiday in Myanmar and marks the end of the rainy season. It also marks the beginning of the Kathina season, during which monks are offered new robes and alms.
The Burmo-Qiangic or Eastern Tibeto-Burman languages are a proposed family of Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in Southwest China and Myanmar. It consists of the Lolo-Burmese and Qiangic branches, including the extinct Tangut language.
Tabaung is the twelfth and final month of the traditional Burmese calendar.
Burmese Australians are Australian citizens or permanent residents who carry full or partial ancestry from Myanmar, also known as Burma, a country located in Southeast Asia. The majority ethnic group of Burma is the Bamar people but there are also numerous Burmese ethnic minorities.
Burmese folk religion refers to the animistic and polytheistic religious worship of nats and ancestors in Myanmar (Burma). Although the beliefs of nats differ across different regions and villages in Burma, there are a handful of beliefs that are universal in Burmese folk religion.
