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Useful "Dos and Don'ts ▼
With her great potential for economic development and her
wide range of tourist destinations as yet "unpolluted" by
commercialisation, Myanmar today sees a steady increase in
the number of foreign visitors, be they tourists or business
people. If you happen to be one of those visitors, there are
some things you should know about the customs and beliefs of
the Myanmar people that will go a long way toward making
your stay more pleasant. The knowledge will also help you
get a lot more out of the country’s tangible assets, like
her numerous and ubiquitous Buddhist pagodas, as well as her
"intangible" assets like people’s deep-rooted tradition of
kindness towards strangers. Myanmars are a mixture of many
different races, so the nation is made up of many diverse
cultures. But however diverse we may be racially, we have
many things in common with one anther. A key concept for
Myanmars is cetana, an originally Pali word that occurs
frequently in the teachings of the Lord Buddha. Although the
word has no exact translation in English, it is generally
employed in the sense of goodwill, good intention or
benevolence. Cetena is manifested in a thousand ways. In the
life of a Myanmar, it is applied everywhere and all the
time. It is practised in both his religious duties and daily
dealings with others. Since any act performed out of true
centana is greatly appreciated in Myanmar society, you also
should never hesitate to ask for help whenever you feel the
need for it. Anybody would be happy to help you, without
harbouring any selfish desire for material gains. Belief
that merits, i.e doing good deeds for others, especially
strangers, will accrue is widespread. It even makes us feel
enraptured. Thus, gift of money or things should, if at all,
be given courteously to a Myanmar who helps you. You should
be aware that the help is cetana, regardless of whether it
actually involves expenses. Most Myanmars feel that cetana
can be repaid with gratitude rather than money. Tipping as a
system us thus confined to such service people as taxi
drivers, porters, bellboys and waiters, since they expect a
small extra payment if they are indeed, of service to you.
In other instances, a Myanmar would most certainly feel
offended by "tips" and the like, feeling his cetena has been
cheapened.
FEELING OF RESPECT
In Myanmar, feelings of respect are spontaneous in almost
any situation. Deeply rooted in our hearts, this attitude
has become second nature to us. We pay respect to whomever
honour is due. In our society, Tisarana, literally meaning
the Three Gems, refers to the venerable trinity of Buddha,
Dhamma (His Teachings) and Sangha (members of the Buddhist
Order). Among the Three Gems, Buddha is the most exalted. So
much so that each Buddha image must be treated as reverently
as a Living Buddha himself. Also to be revered are shrines
housing the images, and precincts where in shrines, stupas,
temples, monasteries and any other religious edifices stand.
So what does a visitor do? "Observe decorum and protocol"
when seeing places and meeting people. Other than socks and
stocking, footwear is strictly prohibited on sacred
religious grounds. Too much bare skin is considered
sacrilegious in public places where religious ethos,
prevails, such as on the grounds of a pagoda or temple.
SOCIAL ETIQUETTE
Let’s see how the above consideration would apply when you
visit a Myanmar friend or acquaintance at home. You will see
the household shrine, kept usually in the front room, which
means that the whole house is sacred ground. Remembering the
etiquette about footwear, you try to take off your shoes. To
your surprise, you will almost certainly be invited to keep
your shoes on as "You have already shown respect for what we
revere." You should also remember that carpets, mats and
other kinds of floor covering are meant to be sat upon, so
you should avoid walking on them, especially if you have
kept your shoes on. In Myanmar, as in many other Asian
cultures, the head is considered the most sacred part of the
human body, with the degree of sacredness diminishing as you
go down the body until you get to the feet, which are the
least clean part. So you should be aware that to pat
somebody, even children, on the head or to pass something
over his head, is considered offensive, even if you mean no
harm. Similarly, if you happen to be sitting and your feet
should, however unwittingly, be pointing toward, say, a
Buddha image or a monk or an older person, it would be
considered offensive. Whenever you sit at a table or in a
room, where there are higher and lower places according to
the rules of protocol, you should be careful not to take a
seat above Buddhist monks or older persons, as that would be
considered a breach of etiquette. It is also worth bearing
in mind that, apart from the clergy, age, rather than wealth
or professional position, is the most important criterion of
social standing. In short, respect for elders above all.
INTRODUCTION AND GREETINGS
When meeting someone for the first time, there are no stiff
exchanges of formalities and cliched phrases. Instead,
careful smile or a graceful bow would do nicely. The
originally western custom of shaking hands when introduced
has, by now, become something of a vogue among urbanised
Myanmars. But this applies only to men who are not of the
clergy. If you are introduced to monks, you would bow or
bring your palms together. If you, a man, are introduced to
a Myanmar lady, you should not stretch out your hand to
shake hers – unless she does so first. As demure and shy as
a Myanmar lady might appear at first to a foreigner, she is
the upholder of centuries-old traditions that make up the
fabric of Myanmar society. To remain unblemished and pure –
this is a virtue considered to be the ideal of womanhood.
Thus a proper Myanmar woman will most certainly be reluctant
to have any sort of social intercourse with a man who is not
intimately related to her. In urban areas, once again,
better- educated ladies are less likely to adhere rigidly to
such a conservative code of behaviour. Even then, they would
not feel comfortable about a male stranger or acquaintance
touching any part of her casually. It would be considered
impolite at best and, more likely, downright offensive.
EATING AND DINING
Why not try the local cuisine while in Myanmar? Available
virtually anywhere, it is usually a mixture of rice with two
or three kinds of curry, sauces and green salad. As in other
Asian cultures, the custom is to eat with the thumb,
forefinger and middle finger of your right hand, up to the
first joints. The clean left hand is used for handling
serving spoons. Spoons and forks, for the usual eating style
of Southeast Asian coffeehouses, will of course be provided
for foreign guests. In all city quarters where tourists
gather, you will encounter eateries offering a good
selection of Myanmar, Chinese, Indian, Thai and European
cuisine. There are also small roadside food stalls, where
prices are about a quarter of what you pay in restaurants,
but you would be eating at your own risk, as such stalls pay
little attention to food hygiene. For those with a strong
stomach.
HAVE A GREAT TIME
We have barely scratched the surface of the complexity of
Myanmar social customs, but the information herein may serve
as an orientation for the uninitiated visitor. We hope that
this basic knowledge of the etiquette and customs will help
new visitors enjoy themselves more in Myanmar, the so-called
"Golden Land" of splendiferous cultural treasures and
genuine cetana-based kindness of the people.
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