The culture of Myanmar (Burma) ( ) has been heavily influenced by Buddhism. Owing to its history, Burmese culture has significant influence over neighboring countries such as Laos, Siam, and in the Assam state of India, and Xishuangbanna region in China. It has also been influenced in various ways by its neighbours.
Since the fall of the Konbaung dynasty to the British in the Third Anglo-Burmese War, British colonial rule and westernisation have altered various aspects of Myanmar culture. Today, Myanmar's culture is characterized by the rich diversity of its ethnic groups, each contributing to a unique cultural identity, combined with its potent body of national characters that came into development over the millennia of monarchical history.
Fine and applied arts
Historically, Myanmar art was based on Buddhist themes and was primarily patronized by royalty. Through different eras, it evolved through different styles and uses. There are also several regional styles of Buddha images, each with certain distinctive characteristics. For example, the Mandalay style, which developed in the late 1800s, features an oval-shaped Buddha image with realistic features, including naturally curved eyebrows, smaller but still prominent ears, and a draping robe. There are 10 traditional arts, called pan sè myo (), listed as follows:
Blacksmith ( ba-bè) Woodcarving ( ba-bu) Goldsmith ( ba-dein) Stucco relief ( pandaw) Masonry ( pa-yan) Stone carving ( pantamaw) Turnery ( panbut) Painting ( bagyi) Lacquerware ( panyun) Bronze casting ( badin)
In addition to the traditional arts are silk weaving, pottery, tapestry making, gemstone engraving, and gold leaf making. Temple architecture is typically of brick and stucco, and pagodas are often covered with layers of gold leaf while monasteries tend to be built of wood (although monasteries in cities are more likely to be built of modern materials). A very common roofing style in Burmese architecture is called pyatthat (), which is a many tiered and spired roof.
Literature
Burmese literature had been in existence for millennia, visibly since the Bagan period in the 11th century AD. Buddhism, notably the Jataka Tales, has greatly influenced Burmese literature. Many historical works are nonfiction. Poetry features prominently, and there are several forms of poetry unique to Burmese literature. However, British colonization introduced many genres of fiction, which have become extremely popular today.
By 1976, only 411 titles were published annually, compared to 1882, when 445 titles were published. Various factors, especially the lengthened bureaucratic process to obtain printing permits, censorship, and increasing economic hardship of consumers because of the socialist economic schemes, contributed to the decline of Burmese literary output.
Popular novels have similar themes to Western novels, often involving adventure, espionage, detective work, and romance. Many writers also translate Western novels, especially those of Arthur Hailey and Harold Robbins. The flourishing translation sector is the result of the Burmese government, which did not sign the Universal Copyright Convention Agreement, which would have forced Burmese writers to pay royalties to the original writers.
Short stories, often published in magazines, also enjoy tremendous popularity. They often deal with everyday life and have political messages (such as subtle criticisms of the capitalist system), partly because, unlike novels, short stories are not censored by the Press Scrutiny Board. Poetry is also a popular genre today, as it was during the monarchical times. However, unlike novels and other works, which use literary Burmese, poetry uses vernacular rather than literary Burmese. This reform movement is led by left-leaning writers who believe laymen's language (the vernacular and colloquial form of Burmese) should be used instead of formal Burmese in literature.
One of the greatest female writers of the Post-colonial period is Journal Kyaw Ma Ma Lay. Khin Myo Chit was another important writer who wrote, among her works, The 13-Carat Diamond (1955), which was translated into many languages. The journalist Ludu U Hla was the author of numerous volumes of ethnic minority folklore, novels about inmates in U Nu-era jails, and biographies of people working in different occupations. Prime Minister U Nu himself wrote several politically oriented plays and novels.
Other prolific writers of the post-colonial era include Thein Phae Myint (and his The Ocean Traveller and the Pearl Queen, considered a Burmese classic), Mya Than Tint (known for his translations of Western classics like War and Peace), Thawda Swe and Myat Htun. Distinguished women writers, who have also been an ever-present force in Burmese literary history, include Kyi Aye, Khin Hnin Yu, and San San Nweh. Burmese Historians: Ba Shin, Than Tun, Thant Myint-U, Htin Aung, Sao Saimong, Myoma Myint Kywe, and San C. Po were famous in Burma.
Dance
Dance in Burma can be divided into court, drama(Anyeint and Zett), folk and nat dances, each having distinct characteristics. Like many arts in Burma, Burmese dance is infused with different dance traditions. Mandalay dance school would have different nuances from other dance schools, such as those of Yangon. In addition to its own styles, (), is also popular in Myanmar. Yodaya is the name that was given by the Burmese for Thailand. The dance is the only dance with for entertaining the royal families at the royal court. It retains unique qualities that distinguish it from other regional styles, including angular, fast-paced and energetic movements and emphasis on pose, not movement.
Music
Various types of Burmese music use an array of traditional musical instruments, assembled in an orchestra known as hsaing waing which the Burmese saing saya Kyaw Kyaw Naing has made more widely known in the West. Burmese traditional music is atypical in Southeast Asian music, as it is characterised by sudden shifts in rhythm and melody as well as changes in texture and timbre. It employs different ways and occasions of playing music in Myanmar. Historically, the Hsaing-wine is played for the auspicious ceremonies and royal presence. Byaw is well familiar to the village environments. Different forms of music are accompanied by different kinds of instruments. An instrument unique to Burma is the saung-gauk, an arched harp that can be traced to pre-Hittite times.
Classical traditions of Burmese music are found in the Mahagita, an extensive collection of classical songs and are typically divided into indoor and outdoor ensembles. These songs tend to be about various legends in Pali and subsequently in Burmese intermingled with Pali, related to religion or the power and glory of monarchs, and then the natural beauty of the land, forests and the seasons, eventually feminine beauty, love, passion and longing, in addition to folk music sung in the paddy fields. Pop music, both adopted and homegrown, however, dominates the music of Burma today.
Customs
The "traditional" Burmese greeting is mingalaba (, from Pali and roughly translated as 'auspiciousness to you'). This is, however, a comparatively recent form of greeting, first emerging during British rule in Burma during the 19th to 20th centuries, coined as a Burmese language equivalent to 'hello' or 'how are you.' More informal rhetorical greetings such as "Have you eaten?" ( Htamin sa pi bi la) and "How are you?" ( Nei kaung la) are still common. "Hello" is also a popular greeting nowadays, whereas it used to be confined to answering the phone.People in Myanmar usually say ( Twae ya tar wan thar par dal) to tell them it was nice meeting you.
Clothing
The typical garment of the Burmese is the lungi or , a long garment worn by both men and women. For business and formal occasions, Bamar men wear a Teik-pon shirt () over an English collar shirt (sometimes donning a headwear called gaung baung), while Bamar women wear a blouse buttoned at the front, called () or to the side, called (), and a shawl. In urban areas, skirts and pants are becoming more common, particularly among the young.
During the British colonial era, Burmese nationalists associated traditional clothing, in particular Yaw longyi (), a type of longyi from the Yaw region, and pinni taikpon (), a fawn-coloured collarless jacket, with anti-colonialism and nationalist sentiment, because of a clampdown in the 1920s over increasing dissent. Wearing "traditional" clothing was seen as a mode of passive resistance to the cultural infiltration among the Burmese. British rule nonetheless influenced hair fashion and clothing. Cropped short hair, called bo ke () replaced long hair as the norm among Burmese men.
Similarly, women began wearing hairstyles like amauk (), consisting of crested bangs curled at the top, with the traditional hair bun (). The female sarong (htamein) became shorter, no longer extending to the feet, but to the ankles, and the length of the sarong's top decreased to reveal more waistline. This period also saw the introduction of a sheer muslin blouse for women, revealing a corset-like lace bodice called za bawli ().
Speech The Burmese language is very age-oriented. The use of honorifics before personal names is the norm, and it is considered rude to call a person just by their name without the honorific unless they are known from childhood or youth or in the case of a younger underling. Young males are addressed as Maung or Ko (lit. brother), and older or senior men as U (lit. uncle). Likewise, young females are addressed as Ma (lit. sister), and older or senior women as Daw (lit. aunt), regardless of their marital status. 'Aunty' or 'Uncle' is commonly used as well today. The first and second person pronouns vary depending on whom one is speaking to and are age-dependent. Elders are spoken to in a more respectful manner and a special vocabulary exists for speaking to Buddhist monks.
Manners
Burmese society operates on ana (), a characteristic or feeling that has no English equivalent. It is characterised by a hesitation, reluctance, or avoidance to perform an action based on the fear that it will offend someone or cause someone to lose face or become embarrassed. Also, there is the concept of hpon (; from Sanskrit bhaga), which translates to "power". It is used as an explanation for the varying degrees of ethnic, socioeconomic, and gender differences between people in a society. Hpone refers to the cumulative result of past deeds, an idea that power or social position comes from merit earned in previous lives. This idea is used to justify the prevalent view that women are lesser than men, who are considered to have more hpon.
Age is still considered synonymous with experience and wisdom, hence venerated. Parents and teachers are second only to the Three Jewels ( yadana thoun ba), together making up the Five Boundless Beneficence ( ananda nga ba), and are paid obeisance (called gadaw) at special times of the year such as Thingyan, beginning and end of Buddhist Lent, and usually parents before one leaves on a journey. Elders are served first at meals, and in their absence, a spoonful of rice is put aside first in the pot as a token of respect ( u cha) before serving the meal. Young people would avoid sitting on a higher level than the elders or passing in front of them unless unavoidable, and then only treading softly with a slight bow. Things would be passed to the elders using both hands together. Men may cross their legs sitting on a chair or a mat, but women generally would not.