Dancing Elephant Festival

Myanmar  is  famous  for   a number of  festivals. The country has a rich culture. These festivals play a major part in the culture of the country.  Some of these festivals  are very  famous.  Many of  these festivals are regional  while  most others are celebrated  throughout the nations.  There are many festivals that have a connection with the religion while there are some festivals that can  be  considered as the folk  festivals. 

 

Dancing Elephant Festival is considered as one of the famous festivals in Myanmar. This festival is held in Kyaukse that is situated near Mandalay. This festival is one of the most significant festival of Myanmar.  In this  festival a  marvelous performance  by two  men in presented.  The two men dance with the rhythm. In this festival a huge life size   elephant figurine is made from paper and bamboo.  So it is pretty much lightweight. The two men take their place inside the figurine and they dance around the town. To accompany this dance dobats and drums are also played. The men dance to the rhythm of these instruments.  

The elephant dancers circle at the  foot of  the  hill for three  times.  It is a way to pay homage to the Shwe Tha Lyaung Pagoda. It is a difficult dance.  This dance requires precise rhythm and timing. Timing is very necessary for the elephant dancers to maintain the unity among the elephant dancers who remain inside the elephant figurine.  It is truly an unforgettable experience.  People from different parts of the country come to this town to take part inn the elephant  dance festival. You too can have loads of fun watching the elephant dance.  

Htamane festival

If you  are interested in  knowing the  culture of different countries then  you are  going  to have  a great time in Myanmar.  The beautiful country is well known  for  its  rich  cultural heritage. In different times  in  an  year different festivals  are held in  this country.  some  of these  festivals  are  celebrated with  joy  and   gusto by the  entire  country  while  some of the festivals  are regional festivals.  But the people of  Myanmar  celebrate these festivals with  equal  joy  and gusto.  If you are planning to visit Myanmar somewhere  in  near future  make  sure  you be  there during at least  one festival.  It is truly an experience to remember.

 

 If  you  are  planning to visit Myanmar  somewhere between the month  of February  and March  then  you  will  be  in at the right  time to take part in the famous Htamane festival.  This festival is also known as the festival of sticky rice. This festival is celebrated throughout country.  In this festival sticky rice is prepared as a ritual.  This sticky rice dish is made of sticky rice and sesame seed.  To prepare this dish a large pan is required along with four  small  baskets  of sticky rice.  Twenty coconuts a small basket of peanut and sesame seeds, oil  ginger and salt is  required.  Preparation of Htamane is not very easy.  It is indeed  an elaborate  process.  First of all  the  sticky  rice  is soaked  in water overnight.  On the  next day the small pieces  of coconuts as well as  other ingredients are  fried.  These ingredients are then  poured  over the soaked  sticky  rice in  a pan.  Then the  rice is stirred until it  is cooked. Once the delicious dish  is  prepared it is  offered  to the  Buddha  in  the  Pagodas.  After that it is given  away for  free to all the visitors  to the Pagoda. 

Kason Watering festival

Myanmar is  home  to a number of fairs  and festivals.  If you are  going  to Myanmar  somewhere  in the  near future  make  sure  to experience  at least one festival in this country.  every  year thousands of  tourists  visit this beautiful country and  experience the festivity. These  festivals  give  them an  idea  about the rich  cultural heritage  of Myanmar. if you love knowing  about  the culture of different  countries then you  are  sure to love  the  culture of  Myanmar. 

Many  of the festivals  in  Myanmar  have  a direct relation with the religious practice of the country.  A large  section of the population of the country follow  Buddhism.  So naturally many of the festivals of Myanmar  have a relation with Buddhism. Kason Watering festival is one of the well known festivals in Myanmar. It is regarded as a religious festival.  This festival  is  celebrated during the month of Kason.  During this month the length  of  day  is longer that  the length of  night.  This is one  of the  summer months  when due to scorching heat the water  of   ponds and  other water bodies  reduce  to the  minimum  level. In local believe the month of Kason is considered as the  Taurus season.  The zodiac of the Taurus season is considered as a ball. 

Kason festival  is  nothing but a water pouring ceremony during which  water is poured at the maha-Bodhi  tree. The Maha Bodhi  tree is the  holy  banyan  tree  at  the  which the Buddha attained  the  enlightenment or the  Buddha hood.   As  during the summer  the earth remains  extremely  dry and  all the  water bodies  dry out too people pour water  at the foot of  the Maha Bodhi  tree  so that it does  not die due to extreme heat or draught. It has  become a popular  culture  in Myanmar  that during  the full moon  day in  the  month of Kason  people will  pour  scented water to the Bodhi  tree  in  a large procession.   

Festival of the Shwedagon Pagoda

Myanmar is well known for its rich cultural heritage.  During your trip to Myanmar do not forget to experience the culture of this amazing country. The best way to know about the culture of the country is to take part in the festival of Myanmar.  There are a number of festivals and fairs held in Myanmar.  These festivals reflect the true color of the cultural scenario of Myanmar.  There are a number of religious festivals in Myanmar.  You can have a  great time taking a  part in this religious festival. 

The festival of the Shwedagon Pagoda is one of the most well known religious festivals in Myanmar.  Thousands of tourists  every year take  part  in this religious festival.  This beautiful festival is celebrated on the full moon day of the month of Tauaung or March every year. Many followers in the country contributes funds for the festival.  A  large  section of the population of  the country pay homage to this pagoda  everyday during the festival. During this festival  a great  many  rituals  are performed. In this  pagoda a great  number of festivals are also  performed.  These small festivals are also  given  prime  importance by the followers. These festivals include  the pouring water to the sacred Bo-tree, the overnight weaving contest for the yellow robes as well as the donation of gold leaves in a buck and many others are some well known festivals that are celebrated through out the year.

The Tabung festival is the greatest festival among the festivals that are celebrated in Shwedagon Pagoda.  A great deal of renovation work is done to prepare the pagoda for the festival. For the convenience of the tourists as well as people with walking disabilities a number of elevators have been set up.  Visitors from all over the country enjoy the festival.  If you visit the country somewhere in the month of March then you too can  be a  part of this amazing festival. 

Kachin Manaw Festival

Myanmar  is one of the most well  known tourist  destination in southeast  Asia.  every year millions of tourists come to  Myanmar  to see its  natural  beauty.  The beautiful  country however,  has  more to  offer than justs  its natural beauty.  The culture  of Myanmar is  also very rich.  If you are person who  loves to  know about the  culture of  the country you  are planning to visit  then you are sure to  have a  wonderful  time visiting  Myanmar. The richness  of the  culture of this country  will surely mesmerize you.  The  country also celebrated as number of festivals with joy  and  gusto. 

 The Kachin Manaw  Festival is considered among the most well known  festivals  in Myanmar.  Kachin is one of the states of  Myanmar that celebrates a delightful festival. This  festival is known as Manaw. The people  of Kachin live  in the hills  and they celebrate the Manaw  Festival with joy and gusto.  The  Manaw festival is one of the most popular festivals in Myanmar. This festival is generally held in the  month of January. This beautiful festival has been  held for more than three decades  now. This festival is seen as a  celebration of the New Year, Victory in battles as  well as  reunion of the tribes.  Dring this festival everybody in town joins a spiritual dance in which  they  line up behind one another.

During this  festival the traditional Manaw poles are decorated with colourful Kachin motifs.  These  poles are  then stationed in the middle of the festival ground. Every  person who attend the festival wear their best traditional costumes. The main feature of the festival is dancing around the erected Manaw poles.  This  dance is quite similar to the totem poles of North American Indians. 

Myanmar Religion

Myanmar is a well know country  is south east Asia.  a  large seciton of the total population of Myanmar follow Buddism.  Buddhism is the national religion of Myanmar. As a  result about 85 % of the total population of  Myanmar are Buddhists. But the  Buddism  in  Myanmar  has been  influenced by a  number of  other things.  Like  Thai  Buddhism the Buddhism  Practiced in Myanmar too  has a strong  link  with  spiritism.  You  are sure  to  find the practice  of  Buddhism  in Myanmar quite interesting.

Burma  or Myanmar is the first country in Southeast Asia  where the words of Lord Buddha were spread.  Bt  the  first   millenium  AD the words of Budhism reached Myanmar  with the Indian merchants. These Indian Merchants entered the delta  of  Ayeyarwaddy for doing  trades with the  country people.  And  these  merchants first  taught  the people of  Myanmar  about Buddhism. However, Budhism  has  become  popular  and  emerged as a dominant  religon in  Myanmar  only after King  Anawratha became  the  king of  the  Buremese Kingdom in Bagan.  He was  converted to Buddhism by  Shin  Arahan  who  was a  mon  missionary. 

In  Myanmar you will find two different schools of  Buddhism. They are  Teravada and Mahayana.  It is just like  Roman Catholic and Protestants  in Christianity. Teravada  Buddhism  is  often termed as the  orthodox Buddhism.  The  Teravada Buddhism  is the  most  prominent  form of Buddhism you can see in  Myanmar. There  are a  number of pagodas and shrines  in different parts of myanmar. These temples, shirnes  and pagodas  are  regularly visited by the  followers of  buddhism.  A  number  of Buddist festivals  also  take  place  in this country with joy and gusto. 

Culture of Myanmar

If  you are a person who love to know  about the  culture of a  country  that you are visiting then you are sure to find the culture of Myanmar  quite interesting.  the country  has  a long and  varied history. Hence the  culture of  the country has  also become very rich. Every year  thousands of tourists  visit  this  amazing  country and  there are  a  large section of these tourists have  found the culture of the country quite interesting.

If you  are  planning to visit Myanmar  in  near future, you  should have a  fair idea about the country  as well as the different aspects of it.  The country  is well  known  for its  natural beauty. Since  ages the natural  beauty of the country  has attracted the tourists and nature lovers  to this country.  recently  this country has  become a popular destination  for adventure tourism.  Apart from that Myanmar has  also been a  place for religious pilgrimage.  Buddhism  being the most  prominent religion  of the  country there are a large  number of pagodas as well  as shrines. 

From time to time a number of festivals also take place in  Myanmar. There are  a  number  of regional festivals that are very popular among the  tourists. These  festivals reflect the  rich culture of  Myanmar as a  country.  apart  from the  regional festivals there are a numberof regional festivals in Myanmar that are celebrated with joy and gusto. Some of the famous religious sites or pagodas  also  have their own  religious festivals.  During these festivals thousands of pilgrims from different parts  of the country come to take  part  in this  religious festival.  If you come to Myanmar  during any of these  religious festivals you will be  able to  see the  celebration  of the  festival all by yourself.