Residents of the Texas Panhandle embrace their traditions as ways to impart history and culture to younger generations. For 2,000 members of the Burmese community in the Panhandle, it’s just as critical to pass on lessons about their homeland.
It was a celebratory atmosphere as the Burmese New Year was recognized Sunday afternoon at the Wat Lao Buddharam temple, about a five-minute drive up the Fritch Highway from Amarillo.
The temple hosted the New Year’s Dance and Water Festival, which is traditionally celebrated over a three-day period in the middle of April, but for Panhandle residents all the joy of the event was squeezed into one day.
For those who’ve never seen their homeland in southeast Asia, but attended Sunday’s event, it was an opportunity to experience the country’s culture and share in its traditions.
Burma, known officially as the Union of Myanmar, and bordered by India, China, Bangladesh and Indonesia, is geographically the largest country in southeast Asia. With all those influences, it contains a mix of ethnicities and traditions.
That mix was evident Sunday with painted faces, handheld fans and the brightly colored silk robes girls wore as they sang, swirled and danced to celebrate the Buddhist new year.
But it was also evident in the spicy smell of seasoned shrimp and sauted vegetables wafting from a large buffet table inside the pavilion at the temple.
Outside the pavilion, laughing children dashed about with bottles of water and welcomed newcomers to the event by dousing them with water. As part of the water festival, celebrants are encouraged to throw water on one another. Legend says the water washes away sins and mistakes from the past year, but also represents the blessings of the previous year, said Min Aung, one of the event organizers.
With sunny skies and warm temperatures, some recipients of the blessing apparently needed more water than others.
Even adults let themselves be caught up in the festivities, occasionally breaking into dance.
Thirty-one-year-old Than Naing of Amarillo said he was excited about the chance to sing traditional songs. Members of the Panhandle’s Burmese community took turns singing and dancing for an audience of about 400. He said there’s a purpose to the singing, beyond entertainment.
Burma is controlled by a military government that maintains tight control over its citizens.
Naing said after the celebratory singing and dancing, he looked forward to the “Than Chat” – political songs of defiance.
Aung said Than Chat is an important part of the annual festival. Particularly since the military took over Burma in 1962, following a military coup, the songs are used to express dissatisfaction with the government, Aung said. He said they’re forbidden in Burma.
“It’s not like a song, it’s like a classical rap,” Aung said. “They say something in rhyme critical of the government’s failings, and their own trials.”
Win Soe, a 20-year-old Amarillo resident, has never seen his homeland. He said Sunday that the annual celebration was important for young people like him who have to learn about their culture from a distance.
“The dance shows young people like me the culture of Burma,” he said. “Come every year, my favorite part is the dance.”
Source : http://www.amarillo.com
