Part of a series on the |
Culture of Myanmar |
---|
People |
The national symbols of Myanmar (also known as Burma) are icons, symbols and other cultural expressions which are seen as representative of the Burmese people. These have been accumulated over centuries and are mainly from the Bamar majority, while other ethnic groups also maintain their own symbols.
No official codification or de jure recognition exists, but most of these symbols are seen as de facto representative of the Burmese people. The use of much of these symbols were cultivated during the Konbaung dynasty which ruled the country from 1761 to 1885.
The Burmese ascribe a flower to each of the twelve months of the traditional Burmese calendar. [1] However, two flowers are seen as national symbols.
The padauk (Burmese : ပိတောက်) is referred to as the national flower of Myanmar and is associated with the Thingyan period (Burmese New Year, usually mid-April). It is often mistaken with the Cassia fistula (Ngu-wah), which is the national flower of Thailand. [2] | |
The Bulbophyllum auricomum or thazin orchid (Burmese : သဇင်) is another national flower. [2] According to a Burmese poem, during the Konbaung era, the king had the right to claim the first flowering bud of thazin within the realm and any transgression was punishable by death. | |
The ingyin (အင်ကြင်း) is the third national flower of Myanmar. [2] |
The green peafowl, called the 'daung' (Burmese : ဒေါင်း) or u-doung (ဥဒေါင်း) in Burmese, is one of the national animals of Myanmar. In Burmeses traditions, peafowl is regarded as a symbol of the descendence of the sun. [3] The dancing peacock, ka-daung (Burmese: ကဒေါင်း) was used as the symbol of the Burmese monarch. During the period of Konbaung Dynasty, the dancing peacock on a red sun is charged on the State seal and the national flag. It was also stamped on the highest denominator coins minted by the Konbaung dynasty. Because of this association with the Konbaung monarchy, the anti-colonial nationalist movements widely used it. It also appeared on national flags of British Burma and also the State flag of the State of Burma. Upon independence, it was again featured on Burmese banknotes from 1948 til 1966. An alternative pose, to denote struggle, is the fighting peacock, khut-daung (Burmese: ခွပ်ဒေါင်း), the style originally created as the symbol of the students movement in 1920s. The party flag of National League for Democracy also features it. | |
The stylized leograph of Burmese lion (Burmese : ခြင်္သေ့), found mainly in front of pagodas and temples. The main throne of the later Konbaung dynasty was the Golden Lion Throne (no: သီဟာသနပလ္လင်). In 1947, the Constituent Assembly of the Union of Burma put three lions in the State Seal giving the reason that lion is the symbol of bravery, diligence, defeating the enemies and purity according to ancient believes, so the citizens should emulate those characteristics; and the lions surrounding the map in the State seal means the State being secured. [4] : 10 The lion from the top was replaced with a star in 1974, but the latter two are still present in the State seal. After 1988, lion began to appear on almost all denominations of Burmese banknotes and coins (1999). | |
The white elephant (Burmese : ဆင်ဖြူတော်) is another symbol of state associated with the days of the monarchy. Like in neighbouring Thailand, the white elephant is revered as a blessing towards the entire country. The importance of the white elephant to Burmese and Theravada culture can be traced to the role which white elephants play in Buddhist cosmology and the Jatakas. Hsinbyushin, the name of a Konbaung King means 'Lord of the White Elephant'. |
A popular saying states "A thee hma, thayet; a thar hma, wet; a ywet hma, lahpet" ( အသီးမှာသရက်၊ အသားမှာဝက်၊ အရွက်မှာလက်ဖက် ), translated as "of all the fruits, the mango's the best; of all the meats, the pork's the best; and of all the leaves, lahpet's (tea) the best".
Mohinga is the de facto national dish of Myanmar. [5] It is a rice noodle dish served with thick fish broth and is generally eaten for breakfast. The main ingredients of the broth are catfish, chickpea flour, lemongrass, banana stem, garlic, onion, ginger and ngapi. | |
Laphet thoke is another symbolic dish of Myanmar, albeit a snack. It consists of pickled tea leaves soaked in oil eaten with an assortment of fritters including roasted groundnuts, deep fried garlic, sun dried prawns, toasted sesame and deep fried crispy beans. Laphet is served in a traditional 'oat' - a lacquer container with individual compartments for each ingredients. Lahpet was an ancient symbolic peace offering between warring kingdoms in the history of Myanmar, and is exchanged and consumed after settling a dispute. |
Chinlone is the national sport of Myanmar. [6] A non-competitive sport, the game focuses on players attempting to exhibit moves designed to prevent the ball from touching the ground, without using their hands. Mandalay is a major centre for playing and learning chinlone. |
The saung or Burmese harp, is the national musical instrument of Myanmar. [7] Although not used much in modern music, it is seen as the epitome of Burmese culture. It is the only surviving harp in Asia. [8] | |
The hne is a Burmese oboe and also another national instrument. |
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and also rendered Burma, is a country in 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 to its west, Bangladesh to its southwest, 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 hammer and sickle is a communist symbol representing proletarian solidarity between agricultural and industrial workers. It was first adopted during the Russian Revolution at the end of World War I, the hammer representing workers and the sickle representing the peasants.
The Burmese alphabet is an abugida used for writing Burmese. It is ultimately adapted from a Brahmic script, either the Kadamba or Pallava alphabet of South India. The Burmese alphabet is also used for the liturgical languages of Pali and Sanskrit. In recent decades, other, related alphabets, such as Shan and modern Mon, have been restructured according to the standard of the Burmese alphabet
The State Flag of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar was adopted on 21 October 2010.
The Karen, also known as the Kayin, Kariang or Kawthoolese, are an ethnolinguistic group of Tibeto-Burman language-speaking people. The group as a whole is heterogeneous and disparate as many Karen ethnic groups do not associate or identify with each other culturally or linguistically. These Karen groups reside primarily in Kayin State, southern and southeastern Myanmar. The Karen account for around 6.69% of the Burmese population. Many Karen have migrated to Thailand, having settled mostly on the Myanmar–Thailand border. A few Karen have settled in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India, and other Southeast Asian and East Asian countries.
Lower Myanmar is a geographic region of Myanmar and includes the low-lying Irrawaddy Delta, as well as coastal regions of the country.
Burmese cuisine encompasses the diverse regional culinary traditions of Myanmar, which have developed through longstanding agricultural practices, centuries of sociopolitical and economic change, and cross-cultural contact and trade with neighboring countries at the confluence of Southeast Asia, East Asia, and South Asia, such as modern-day nations of Thailand, China, and India, respectively. Mohinga, a savory fish soup with lemongrass and banana leaves are eaten for breakfast with rice noodles, lunch is rice accompanied with small side dishes of vegetables, a small soup and a meat or fish dish. Dinner is consumed in a similar fashion to lunch. Burmese stews or curries are not Indian curries but milder with reliance on the trio of onion garlic and ginger to create savory gravies. Burmese food does not rely heavily on coconut such as in Thai cuisine. Burmese however enjoy spicy food with addition of chilis mixed into the dishes.
The country known in English as Nawane, 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 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.
The State Seal of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar is the national emblem used in all official government documents, including publications. As the seal is an official symbol, there are State Seal Law and Principles regarding appropriate usage of it.
Lahpet, also spelled laphet, laphat, lephet, leppet, or letpet in English, is Burmese for fermented or pickled tea. Myanmar is one of the few countries where tea is consumed both as a drink and as an eaten delicacy, in the form of pickled tea, which is unique to this region. Laphet is regarded as a national delicacy that plays a significant role in Burmese society, and remains a traditional Burmese gesture of hospitality and is served to guests visiting a home.
The national symbols of the Philippines consist of symbols that represent Philippine traditions and ideals and convey the principles of sovereignty and national solidarity of the Filipino people. Some of these symbols namely the national flag, the Great Seal, the coat of arms and the national motto are stated in the Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines, which is also known as Republic Act 8491. In the Constitution of the Philippines, the Filipino language is stated as the national language of the Philippines. Aside from those stated symbols in the Constitution and in Republic Act 8491, there are only six official national symbols of the Philippines enacted through law, namely sampaguita as national flower, narra as national tree, the Philippine eagle as national bird, Philippine pearl as national gem, arnis as national martial art and sport and the Filipino Sign Language as the national sign language. Thus, there is a total of twelve official national symbols passed through Philippine laws.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture administers the religious affairs, cultural affairs and historical and archaeology research efforts of Myanmar. The Department of Religious Affairs purification, perpetuation, promotion and propagation of the Theravada Buddhist Sasana and promotes Myanmar traditional customs and culture.
Sandayar Hla Htut was a Burmese musician, composer, pianist, singer and writer. He won Best Music Award in 1994 Myanmar Motion Picture Academy Awards. He also won Myanmar National Literature Award in 1995.
The Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw is a Burmese legislative body in exile, representing a group of National League for Democracy lawmakers and members of parliament ousted in the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état. The Committee consists of 17 members of the Pyithu Hluttaw and Amyotha Hluttaw.
Miss Grand Myanmar is an annual female national beauty pageant of Myanmar, founded in 2016 by Yangon-based event organizer Style Plus H. Previously, from 2013 to 2014, the license belonged to the Miss Golden Land Myanmar organization, and then it was under the proprietary of the Miss Universe Myanmar organizer, Hello Madam, during 2017 – 2020. Since 2021, the Glamorous International, headed by a Burmese overseas in Thailand, Htoo Ant Lwin, has been responsible for sending Myanmar delegates to compete at Miss Grand International.
Esther Ze Naw is a Burmese - Kachin, humanitarian, democracy and ethnic minority rights activist. She appeared on the Time 100 for 2021, along with Ei Thinzar Maung.
Myanmar–South Korea relations are the bilateral relations between the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and the Republic of Korea. The two countries established their diplomatic relations on 16 May 1975.
Lay Kay Kaw Myothit is a town in Myawaddy Township, Kayin State in southeastern Myanmar. Nine miles in the south of Myawaddy, it is close to the border with Thailand.
Vero Nika is a Burmese Lethwei and Muay Thai fighter. She is one of the most successful female Lethwei fighters in the sport. In 2022, amid unrest in Myanmar because of the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, she started competing in Muay Thai in neighboring Thailand. She reached the no.1 spot in the female world rankings at 53 kg according to World Muay Thai Organization, and became Thai Fight Kard Chuek Champion.