Thursday, March 22, 2012
NASDAQ – Myanmar: the coming investor paradise?
NASDAQ – Myanmar: the coming investor paradise?
After decades of ruthless and oppressive leadership, Myanmar’s (Burma’s) ruling military junta is all of a sudden increasingly willing to modernize and liberalize its laws governing both its people and its economy.
In the past year, President Thein Sein’s government has undertaken a serious commitment to reform , including the release of hundreds of political prisoners and ending high profile democracy-advocate Aung San Suu Kyi’s 30-year house arrest.
These reforms are not confined to the political sphere; newly proposed economic reforms by Thein Sein’s administration will attempt to catalyze Myanmar’s stunted growth. As outlined by the Financial Times , new economic initiatives include:
“provisions for foreign businesses to set up in Myanmar without local partners, as previously required; government guarantees against nationalisation; easing of restrictions on private land use and repatriation of profits; and a five-year tax exemption for foreign companies.”
Further, the government will start a “managed float” of the nation’s currency – the kyat, starting April 1, in order to both gain control over the troubled currency and instill confidence for potential foreign investors.
Unlike previous, disingenuous reform rhetoric that went nowhere, these attempts to change Myanmar for the better are proving to be legit. The international diplomatic community has strongly approved of President Thein Sein’s liberalization, evidenced by Secretary of State Clinton’s late-fall visit to Myanmar , the first by an American Secretary of State in over 50 years.
Diplomatic approval is important for American investors in order to gain access to Burma; the U.S. government first has to repeal the sanctions that prevent American investors from putting new capital into Myanmar. With Norway removing its investment restrictions in January, and the European Union strongly considering repealing their economic sanctions , it’s reasonable to assume the American government is strongly mulling the possibility too.
In terms of development, due to the aforementioned sanctions, the nation has fallen far behind neighbors India, China, and Thailand. However, because it sits at a crossroads of major 21st century powers, its potential for growth is enormous.
With its abundant natural resources and unspoilt landscapes, Myanmar could become a hub for oil and gas, transportation, and tourism – and a boon for investors.
Because of the embargo, no Burmese stocks trade on U.S. exchanges.
Investors looking for exposure to neighboring countries in southeast Asia that will benefit from Myanmar’s liberalization can look to country-specific ETFs such as those for Vietnam ( VNM , quote ) and Thailand ( THD , quote ).
Myanmar Hearing Calls to Reform Telecom Market
Myanmar Hearing Calls to Reform Telecom Market
By : Patrick Barta
Myanmar is considering plans to open its under-developed telecommunications market to large-scale foreign investment, a senior regulator said.
Khin Maung Thet, director-general of Myanmar’s Post & Telecommunications Department, said in an interview that a new communications law is being studied to create four new telecommunications licenses in the country, with the licenses available both to local and foreign investors. Currently, foreigners are not allowed to hold telecom licenses in Myanmar, he said.
The new law was sent to Myanmar’s attorney general last month, he said, and is awaiting his approval now. Once that is obtained, Mr. Khin Maung Thet said, the law will then be sent to Myanmar’s cabinet and then on to Parliament for approval. Mr. Khin Maung Thet said he was not sure when the attorney general would finish reviewing the law.
“The AG is very busy looking at so many other laws” right now, he said. But if the law is changed, the new licenses would “be open to both local and foreign investors,” he added.
The Post & Telecommunications Department is a division of Myanmar’s Ministry of Communications, Posts and Telegraphs, and regulates communications in the resource-rich Southeast Asian country. The plans to revise Myanmar’s telecom laws were also highlighted recently in a research report by analysts at Nomura Securities issued last week.
Efforts to revise Myanmar’s telecommunications laws come amid a flurry of other reforms designed to bolster the country’s under-developed economy and bring in more outside capital, even though the country remains subject to Western economic sanctions. U.S. and European officials have signaled they may be willing to start lifting some of the key sanctions as early as next month, following a year of major changes in Myanmar – including the release of hundreds of political prisoners – after it held its first election in 20 years in 2010.
Among other steps, Myanmar’s government is working to unify the country’s unwieldy multiple exchange rate system, which pegs the Myanmar kyat at about six kyat for every U.S. dollar despite unofficial street rates of about 800 kyat per dollar. People familiar with the situation say officials may float the kyat as early as April – a move that would greatly reduce the complexity of operating in the country.
The government has also just implemented a new law giving workers the right to form unions and it continues to develop other investment rules that could make it easier for foreigners to start businesses there.
Revising the telecoms law, though, could open a huge new field of investment in a country that’s better known for other opportunities, especially its massive natural resources, including natural gas and gems.
Despite having a population of about 60 million people, Myanmar only has around two to three million mobile phone subscribers, according to the recent report from Nomura. Some other sources, such as the U.S. CIA World Factbook, put the number even lower at about 600,000 as of 2010 – fewer than Somalia.
The number of Internet users is also still tiny at about 110,000, according to both sources. Visitors coming from other countries generally aren’t able to use blackberries or other roaming devices, while local residents in recent years have had to pay as much as $1,800 for mobile phones, though prices have come down considerably over the past two years.
The Myanmar government has set a target of having 50% wireless penetration by 2015, Nomura said. Myanmar officials have made clear in conversations with regional diplomats that they hope to make significant progress in developing the local communications industry – including possibly having blackberry service – by as early as 2014, when the country is scheduled to host a regional summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
If the market does develop, it could begin to look more like Thailand, which has about 65 to 70 million people, though incomes there are much higher. By Nomura’s estimates, the three main phone operators in neighboring Thailand have a combined market capitalization of US$23 billion, though they note that Myanmar’s gross domestic product per capita is just US$1,300, compared to US$9,700 in Thailand.
Myanmar’s government has historically dominated the sector, leaving foreign players largely out of luck. The harsh military regime that dominated Myanmar for decades after taking over in 1962 was suspicious of foreign involvement in sensitive sectors such as communications, and largely insisted on running phone services itself, though foreign companies at times sold equipment there and local companies have begun providing some services.
To be sure, it would be difficult for major Asian or global telecom companies to rush into Myanmar soon, even if a new telecom law is passed. Shareholders of major foreign companies remain wary of Myanmar’s unpredictable legal system as well as its inadequate electricity, transport and other infrastructure. Many companies would like more time to gauge the government’s track record on reforms before deciding to commit large sums.
Still, the country remains a tantalizing market in the long run in a region where many other countries have already seen widespread adoption of mobile devices. By Nomura’s estimation, expansion in Myanmar would fit several regional companies’ business plans, including Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. and Axiata Group Bhd. in Malaysia.
A statement from the Axiata Group said that the company “does continuously consider opportunities which may arise,” with the caveat that any potential business opportunity would have to meet their “strategic criteria and strict financial hurdles.”
A SingTel spokesperson said the company had no comment.
Myanmar invites international election observers
Myanmar invites international election observers
By Hla Hla Htay | AFP
Myanmar has invited US, European and other observers for by-elections next month, an official said Wednesday, allowing international scrutiny of polls seen as a major test of its reform credentials.
The vote, which will see Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi stand for a seat in parliament for the first time, comes a year after a quasi-civilian government took power following the end of decades of outright military rule.
“We welcome the invitation of observers,” said a spokesman for Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party, Nyan Win. “They should be allowed to watch and assess freely.”
Observers from the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have been invited for the April 1 polls, said a Myanmar government official who did not want to be named.
“It will be up to the countries whether they send people from overseas or inside Myanmar,” he told AFP, without specifying how many monitors would be allowed.
The US embassy in Yangon described the move as “encouraging”.
“Clearly we feel the elections are important for this country’s reform process,” said embassy spokesman Mike Quinlan.
But he said reports of irregularities in the voting process and cases of alleged intimidation also needed to be addressed.
“Having observers is one step, but to have a free and fair election there really should be no violence and intimidation as well,” he said.
There was no official reaction from the European Union, but an EU official in Bangkok who did not want to be named said that at least six months of preparations were usually needed for an observation mission.
A 2010 election in Myanmar which swept the army’s political allies to power was marred by widespread complaints of cheating and intimidation.
Foreign election observers and international media were not allowed into the country for that vote, which was denounced by Suu Kyi’s opposition party and Western powers as a
sham.
Since then the regime has surprised observers with reforms including welcoming the opposition back into mainstream politics, signing ceasefire deals with ethnic minority rebels and releasing hundreds of political prisoners.
Suu Kyi’s party cannot threaten the ruling party’s majority even with a strong result in next month’s vote to fill 48 parliamentary seats.
But experts believe the regime wants the pro-democracy leader to win a place in parliament to give its reform drive legitimacy and encourage the West to ease sanctions.
“It is in the interest of the government that the election is free and fair, so it is only logical that there are some observers,” said Myanmar expert Aung Naing Oo with the Thailand based think-tank Vahu Development Institute.
“It is important for a country like Myanmar to get used to complaints in the election, to get used to cheats, to get used to monitors coming in, and to get used to the election commission doing its job,” he added.
Suu Kyi’s political party on Monday decried what it described as “unfair treatment” by the authorities ahead of the by-elections, saying voters in one village had been forced to attend a meeting of the ruling party.
Her National League for Democracy (NLD) also said that in the constituency of Kawhmu near Yangon, where Suu Kyi is standing, the names of hundreds of dead people were found on the voter list.
The NLD won a landslide victory in an election in 1990, but the then ruling junta never allowed the party to take power, and instead kept Suu Kyi under house arrest for most of the time since then.
She was released from her latest stretch in detention just days after the 2010 vote.
Myanmar port faces growing public backlash
By Hla Hla Htay | AFP
Public anger is rising in Myanmar over a planned deep-sea port set to displace thousands of villagers, as recent political reforms galvanise grassroots opposition to industrial mega-projects.
The multi-billion-dollar Dawei development is a key part of the impoverished country’s plans to transform its economy, giving wealthier neighbours such as Thailand an outlet to the Indian Ocean and markets to the West.
But with a new government pursuing a series of dramatic reforms in the country formerly known as Burma, villagers living near the sleepy stretch of southern coastline are daring to speak out in opposition.
“We don’t want to move. Our region has coconuts, betel nuts, cashew nuts, tamarinds. We have everything we need,” San Nyein, a 53-year-old farmer in the village of Mayingyi, told AFP.
Up to about 20,000 people are set to be relocated in the verdant stretch of land along the Andaman coast near the border with Thailand, according to an official estimate.
The authorities have promised to resettle the villagers in new homes with access to schools, hospitals and shops, as well as running water and electricity.
The Dawei plan includes a 250 square kilometre (100 square mile) industrial area with a steel mill, petrochemical plant and oil refinery.
It is among a number of ambitious foreign-funded projects which started before the long-ruling junta handed over power last year to a new quasi-civilian government whose ranks are filled with former generals.
Locals initially felt powerless to refuse to move for the development — led by Thai industrial giant Ital-Thai — in a country where the junta was for decades able to snatch land at will.
But people are now testing the new government’s vow to listen to public opinion.
“We do not want to go anywhere,” said Tin Hlaing, a 56-year-old fisherman from the village of Ngapitet. “The sea has fed us since we were young. Where should we go to fish if we have to move to a new town?”
Last September environmentalists won a rare victory as President Thein Sein suspended construction of a $3.6 billion Chinese-backed hydropower project in the northern state of Kachin in a rare response to public opposition.
The government has also announced that it is blocking a 4,000-megawatt coal-fired plant that was to be built at Dawei.
The villagers living near the port site now hope their homes and land will be spared from the bulldozers. And their cause may be helped by apparent funding troubles at the developer.
There is little evidence of construction yet apart from access roads, and villagers said the amount of money they were initially offered had been drastically reduced.
Ital-Thai is “having trouble raising the funds and that is of no surprise at all because the numbers that they are talking about are absolutely vast”, said Sean Turnell, a Myanmar expert at Macquarie University in Sydney.
“There’s been a real turnaround of investor sentiment in the project and I think that’s the thing which is really slowing it.”
The developer insists all is going to plan, with negotiations under way to raise investment of $4.5 billion for the first phase of development, which it says will be followed by a second phase requiring an additional $8.5 billion.
It also says the final project could eventually be worth up to $50 billion.
“The funds are coming in,” said Somchet Thinaphong, who oversees the project for the Thai industrial giant.
The Myanmar authorities “have actually urged us to accelerate the plan and supported us with globally competitive laws and regulations. There’s nothing to be worried about”, he added.
But locals fear their way of life will change forever, and are anxious about being relocated to an urban setting.
“I was born here. I want to stay here,” said 64-year-old farm owner Than Myint. “We do not understand cities — they are all the same.”
US invited to send observers to Burma's elections
The invitation was for two election representatives plus three journalists to receive permission to observe on election day, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said. The Association of South-East Asian Nations said Tuesday that it had been invited to send a delegation of about 25 monitors for the vote. Nuland called the invitation a "welcome" move by the Burmese government. "This is a good first step. Burma hasn’t allowed international observation before," she said. "But it does fall short of international complete transparency on an election, and we hope they’ll continue to keep the system open and open it further." The vote is being held to fill 48 vacant Parliament seats.//DPAWashington - The Burmese government has invited the United States to send observers for the country's April 1 parliamentary by-election, the State Department said Wednesday.
Thailand welcomes Burma's decision to have int'l observers
Thai Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul said that the move demonstrates Burma's efforts to promote credibility of the upcoming poll. Surapong said in a statement issued Wednesday that Thailand welcomes the Burmese invitation for international representatives from the Asean Secretariat, Asean member states, together with the accompanying media, as well as representatives from all diplomatic missions, United Nations and international organisations in Rangoon to observe the April 1 by-election. Opposition leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is contesting the by-election, which will be held in 48 constituencies. He said the move was considered an effort by the Burmese government to demonstrate to the international community its strong commitment to promoting the transparency, accountability, and credibility of the by-elections. The minister said Thailand was very encouraged by the on-going progress in Burma's democratisation and national reconciliation process and reaffirmed Thailand's strong support for Burma's reforms and development efforts for the benefit of the Burmese people and the successful future of the country. Surapong said he encouraged the international community to provide more support in concrete terms to Burma's efforts in its democratisation and national reconciliation as well as its economic reforms. The international media reported that Burma's President Thein Sein confirmed on Wednesday that his country would allow some foreign election observers to monitor next month’s polls, considered a crucial test of reforms in the country. Cambodian government spokesman Khieu Kanharith was quoted as saying that Thein Sein, now making an official visit to Cambodia, had said each of the 10 member countries of the Asean would be allowed to send two official delegates to watch the April 1 by-elections.
Thailand has welcomed the Burmese government's invitations for international representatives as observers for the parliamentary by-election on April 1.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Mai Soong Kha on Tai National Day
The Shan National Day, the 7th. of February symbolises the day when all the Shan Leaders and the peoples of the Shan State got together in 1947 to adopt the Shan flag and the National Anthem. This was a very important occasion because we, as a nation, were about to embark on the most important decision in the history of the Shan State. On the 14th. of February 1947 Shan and other Non-Burman ethnic Leaders signed the "Panglong Agreement" with Bogyoke Aung San, who represented the Burman ethnic state, Burma Proper, to ask the British government for joint independence. A Union Constitution was drafted and passed in 1948, which was witnessed by the British Government Officials. Thus the Union of Burma came into existence.
According to the Agreement and Constitution the Union of Burma was made up of several states and not one single state"Myanmar or Burma" as termed by the military junta, and as perceived by most international communities. The Agreement also stated that all member states should have equal status and equal opportunities and that the Shan State and Karenni State have the right to secede from the Union after a period of ten years which was the year 1958. The Shan and other non-Burman ethnic states put their faith and trust in their more experienced partner, the Burman politicians and were ready to work with them for the benefit of the Union. Alas! The non-Burman ethnic nationals were betrayed and the Panglong Agreement" was dishonoured when the military staged a coup and immobilised our Leaders by putting them in prison. The Costitution was also destroyed and the Union of Burma was dissolved
By destroying the Constitution the military regimes thought they could put the states together by using brutal force but they have not succeeded in the forty years of their regime. The country has not progressed. The only claim that the military dictatorship can make is that they have brought sorrow and suffering to millions of people.
THE PANGLONG AGREEMENT, 1947 (7th February 1947)
A conference having been held at Panglong , attended by certain Members of the Executive Council of the Governor of Burma, all Saohpas and representative of the Shan States, the Kachin Hills and the Chin Hills:
The Members of the conference, believing that freedom will be more speedily achieved by the Shans, the Kachins and the Chins by their immediate co-operation with the Interim Burmese Government:
1.A Representative of the Hill Peoples, selected by the Governor on the recommendation of representatives of the Supreme Council of the United Hill Peoples (SCOUHP), shall be appointed a Counsellor for Frontier Areas shall be given executive authority by similar means.
2.The said Counsellor shall also be appointed a Member of the Governor's Executive Council, without portfolio, and the subject of Frontier Areas brought within the purview of the Executive Council by Constitutional Convention as in the case of Defence and External Affairs. The Counsellor for Frontier Areas shall be given executive authority by similar means.
3.The said Counsellor shall be assisted by two Deputy Counsellors representing races of which he is not a member. While the two Deputy Counsellors should deal in the first instance with the affairs of their respective areas and the Counsellor with all the remaining parts of the Frontier Areas, they should by Constitutional Convention act on the principle of joint responsibility.
4.While the Counsellor, in his capacity of Member of the Executive Council, will be the only representative of the Frontier Areas on the Council, the Deputy Counsellors shall be entitled to attend meetings of the Council when subjects pertaining to the Frontier Areas are discussed.
5.Though the Governor's Executive Council will be augmented as agreed above, it will not operate in respect of the Frontier Areas in any manner which would deprive any portion of those Areas of the autonomy which it now enjoys in internal administration. Full autonomy in internal administration for the Frontier Areas is accepted in principle.
6.Though the question of demarcating and establishing a separated Kachin State within a Unified Burma is one which must be relegated for decision by the Constituent Assembly, it is agreed that such a State is desirable. As a first step towards this end, the Counsellor for Frontier Areas and the Deputy Counsellors shall be consulted in the administration of such areas in the Myitkyina and the Bhamo Districts as are Part II Scheduled Areas under the Government of Burma Act of 1935.
7.Citizens of the Frontier Areas shall enjoy rights and privileges which are regarded as fundamental in democratic countries.
8.The arrangements accepted in this Agreement are without prejudice to the financial autonomy now vested in the Federated Shan States.
9.The arrangements accepted in this Agreement are without prejudice to the financial assistance which the Kachin Hills and the Union Hills are entitled to receive from the revenues of Burma, and the Exeutive Council will examine with the Frontier Areas Counsellor and Deputy Counsellors the feasibility of adopting for the Kachin Hills and the Chin Hills financial arrangement similar to those between Burma and the Federated Shan States.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
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Friday, November 30, 2007
Nam Pid Aung
Chili Paste
-7 large dried chilies, soaked in warm water until soft
-3 peeled shallots
-1 head of garlic, peeled
-2 tablespoons chopped lemongrass (using only lower white part)
-2 tablespoons of shrimp paste
-1 teaspoon salt
-1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
-2 large cloves of garlic, chopped
-1/2 cup ground pork
-3 tablespoons vegetable oil
-1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
Fresh, crispy vegetables such as cucumber, long beans, wing beans, cabbage, sliced or chopped into bite-size pieces
Pork rinds
Using a mortar and pestle or food processor, blend curry paste ingredients together finely.
With the mortar and pestle, mash the tomatoes into the curry paste.
Heat oil in a wok over low heat. Add chopped garlic and fry until crispy. Add curry paste and tomato mixture and fry, constantly stirring, until the mixture begins to become fragrant, and oil begins to rise and accumulate, 5 to 10 minutes. Add pork and continue to stir until pork is fully cooked and the oil again begins to rise. If mixture seems dry at any point, add water, 1/4 cup at a time. Nam Pid Aung should have the consistency and appearance of a thick, oily spaghetti sauce.
Serve in a bowl, sprinkled with cilantro, and serve with fresh vegetables, pork rinds, and sticky rice.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Shan New Year Story Background
Maisoong Pee Mai Tai 2102!May the New Year bring good health, security, prosperity, harmony and success to all Tai! And, may the blessings of the Triple Gem be upon and with all Tai!
One may notice I use the word Tai in the title of this email and in the first paragraph. This use is NOT just to keep the way we traditionally call ourselves: we always call ourselves Tai. But this is also to follow the now established international scholastic tradition, which has been studying about "the various Tai people in general".
The international scholars on Tai, use the word "Tai" to mean not only what the Burmese call "Shan" but to include also "Thai" "Laotian" "Tai-Dam" in Vietnam, "Tai-Lue" in Xixuangpanna, China, "Tai-Assam" and so on. Regarding this term, Professor David K. Wyatt of Cornell University, Ithaca, NY says: "[T]he word Tai," is "a cultural and linguistic term used to denote the various Tai people in general, peoples sharing a common linguistic and cultural identities. ..... The Tai peoples [note the plural form] today are widely spread over several million square kilometers of the southeastern corner of the great land mass of Asia.... we arrive at a total of about 70 million people, a linguistic and cultural group comparable in number to the French or Germans." (David K. Wyatt, "Thailand, A Short History", Yale University Press, 1982, pp.1-2.)
This scholarly term is important, indeed vital, if we are to try to understand about Tai New Year. This is exactly because the Tai New Year began long before "the various Tai peoples" started migrating to South and Southeast Asia in 2nd and then 8th AD. The fact that the Tai people had established themselves, more than two thousand years ago, linguistically and culturally is now well known to at least scholars. On this Wyatt, again, writes: "By the last centuries of the first millennium B.C., we must presume that the major linguistic and cultural families of the people that we regard as Southeast Asian had become differentiated, and to some extent physically separated, from one another." (Thailand, A Short History, p. 5).
Peter Simms and his wife Sao Sanda Ywanghwe, in their acclaimed work The Kingdoms of Laos echo this opinion when they write: “When we come to the earliest accounts of the Tai, which are to be found in the Chinese chronicles in the sixth century B.C, around the time of the Buddha, the Tai had already created a distinct way of life.” (Peter and Sanda Simms "The Kingdoms of Laos: Six Hundred years of History", Curzon Press, London, 1999, p.2.)
In fact, the identification of this distinctness of the Tai in the "middle of the sixth century B.C" was also earlier made by William Dodd, the author of "The Tai Race, Elder Brother of the Chinese". (See also, Joachim Schlesinger, "Tai Groups of Thailand", White Lotus, Chiang Mai, 2001, Ch. 3: Hypothesis about the Origins of the Tai Race.)
This culturally distinct feature would have to include the way we communicate among ourselves. Among them were an administration system, agricultural know-how, a belief system and a calendar. The Tai were, until recently, known for their feudal system of administration. On agriculture, even the Burmese acknowledge that they had learnt agricultural know-how such as farming and horse breeding from the Tai. (For more see Maynmar Nain-gnan thamaing by U Hla Pe for the middle schools in Burma. This textbook was replaced after 1974.)
Little known though is about our calendar. Not about its existence but about its extensive use and its influence. How could we have a distinct administration system if we did not have our own system of calendar? The Tai calendar, I deduce, must have been similar to the Chinese in some way but differed from it in another. The similarity may be in the way we calculate the year using animals as symbols. For instance, pi sur, pi ma (Tiger Year, Horse Year) etc. which the Thai and the Chinese still use. We Shan people also use this. There are 12 animals, indicating, perhaps, the Chinese must have had a 12-months year.
The difference between the Tai and the Chinese calendar though may lie in the way we calculate months. The way the months are formed in Tai calendar (I do not know about the Chinese on this.) is well explained by Professor Wyatt in his other work Nan Chronicle (Cornell University, Ithaca, 1994) which is the translation and remarks on the chronicle of the province of Nan, in the present northern Thailand. He has an appendix on the way we calculate the months. We WERE very fond of the number 60 (sixty) and one month HAD 60 days. So, there were only six months a year.
The fact that we were FOND of the number 60 is also evident in the Tai-Khun's particular way calculating "one round of years". According to the Tai-Khun chronicles extant today, there was one round/cycle of years every sixty years. (Now in Thailand, 12 years is one round/cycle, and if you are thirty six year old, you complete the third round. There was, for instance, a big Birth Day celebration for Princess Sirindhorn on her 36th Birthday. This may even be argued as the Chinese influence on the Thai on this matter.)
For many Tai peoples, however, this use of sixty cyclical-years was retained even after the Tai-Khun had adopted the Chula Sakkaraja from the Mon through Lanna. Sao Saimong Mangrai, a Cambridge graduate, in his famous work, Padaeng Chronicle and The Jengtung State Chronicle TRanslated (University of Michigan, 2002, Second Edition, pp. 53-57) has a note on this. There is also a chart of the sixty cyclical year provided in this book.
The way the sixty cyclical years is calculated in the Tai-Khun calendar is, however, far from being unique to this important branch of the Tai. In fact, as indicated earlier, the Tai all over used this system in their calculation of days that form a month: there were sixty days in one Tai month. The terms used in the Tai-Khun chronicles and those employed by the Tai peoples in other parts of Asia were exactly the same. This is evident in Sao Gang Sur's famous book, Jatissara Nyan (The Knowledge of Past and Future Lives).
In his book, the Tai scholar Sao Garng Sur explained how to form days into month by matching “mother-year” and “children-year”. There are "ten mother-years" (mea pi), and "twelve children-years" (luk pi). Despite their names as "the mother-" and "children- year", the terms were in fact used to count days and months, not year, at least by the time he wrote his work, which was about one hundred and sixty years ago. (The author of a Shan novel, Khun Sam Law Nang Oo Pem, was his daughter. Her name, as you all know, was Nang Kham Gu.).
One scholar, Sai Fa, told me that Pi Mai Tai was officially in use in the two of the six famous Tai kingdoms, Mong Loong and Mong Pa. However, I have yet to search find any evidence either to support or reject it. However, not just how it all began but also how we stopped using our Tai Year remain a puzzle awaiting to be resolved through further study. Our get-together on this New Year should create us some impetus for this important historical and anthropological work.
Buddhism in Keng Tung
Preface:This article undertakes to explore the history of Buddhism in Kengtung for two reasons: first, to celebrate the award of the Aggamahasaddhammajotikadhaja title to the most Venerable Khemacara, the abbot of Wat Jeng Yuen and the head of the Kengtung Theravada Sangha, by the government of Myanmar on 4th January 2002 (for his biography, please refer to a separate article), and secondly to preserve the rich history of Buddhism in Myanmar as a whole.
The subject, the history of Buddhism in Kengtung, is a challenging one that requires extensive research on the part of many scholars and the dedication of many hearts. Sao Saimong Mangrai, once a visiting professor at Cambridge University, England, and research scholar at Cornell University and Michigan University, USA, and Professor Donald Swearer have done some important work related to this subject. To describe my own effort in writing this article, I can but quote the words of Sao Saimong Mangrai: “A beginning has been made” and “it is for future scholars” to advance the subject further.
Kengtung
Since the 13th century, Kengtung has been the largest muang2 in Shan State with an area of 12,00 square miles3, and remains so at present in the eastern Shan State of the Union of Myanmar. Lying between two famous rivers, the Mekhong and the Salween, Kengtung “is a series of (mountain) ranges running north and south, (and) of an average height of 5000 feet, with peaks rising to above 7000”4 Sir James Scott, the British political commissioner in Shan States during the colonial rule, recorded that Kengtung used to export cotton to China and that gold was panned in most of the streams of Kengtung.5 The city was built by King Mangrai6 in 1262, who also became ruler of Chiangsen Kingdom with its capital at Chiangrai from 1296, and then Lanna Kingdom at Chiangmai.7 this followed the destruction of the Nangchao kingdom8 of the Tai by the Mongol Emperor, Kublai Khan in 1253.9 For over eight hundred years, Kengtung was ruled by a Saopha. The last one, Sao Sai Luang, passed away peaceful in Yangon in 1997. saophas of Kengtung where fondly addressed by their people as Braya (lord), Somdej Bra Pensao, “his roya masjesty”, Sao Yodkhamom, “lord above the head”, Saonurho, “lord above the head” or Saopendin, “lord of the earth”10. as described above, Kengtung was the biggest princedom in the former Shan States. Her successive rulers were pious Buddhists who energetically supported the religion of the Buddha. The Tai of Kengtung have developed a culture of their own distinct from their Tai brethren elsewhere. They came to be known as Tai-Khun or Khun after the river Khun situated outside the city, and culturally shared many common features with sibsongpanna and Lanna.
The introduction of budddhism to Kengtung
The Mahavihara Tradition of Arahat Mahinda
The exact date of the arrival of Buddhism in Kengtung is still a subject that awaits scholarly investigation. So far, we can only state that since the Nanchao period (8th-13th A.D) the majority of the Tai people, to which the Tai-Khun belongs, have not professed any organized faith other than buddhis,.11
Historical and archaeological evidence shows that King Mangrai, the founder of Kengtung, was a “staunch supporter” of Buddhism. Among the Buddhist monuments he built was “Wat Chiangman (Chiangman Monastery) in the northeast corner of the modern city of Chiangmai.”12 The fact that he was not a convert suggests the earlier existence of Buddhism in Kengtung and his other Kingdoms.
Buddhism in Kengtung has its root in the great Theravada tradition of the Mahavihara in Ceylon, established by Arahat Mahinda, son of Emperor Asoka, who came to teach the Dhamma in the Island under King Devanam Piyatissa in the 3rd B.C.13 The tradition came to Kengtung via Martaban (now Moktama, in Mon State) and Chiangsen, Thailand.14
The Ramannadesa, of which Martaban formed a part, was earlier known as Suvannabhumi and became the centre of Buddhism after it had adopted Buddhism from one of the Asokan missions led by Thera Sona and Uttara. (King Anawratha (Anirudha) (1044,77), who took 32 sets of the Tipitaka from Thaton, Ramannadesa in 1057, had been in touch with the development of Buddhism in Ceylon throughout his reign.) Kalyani Sima in Bago, built by King Dhammazedi (1472-92), is the most visible landmark of the King Dhammazedi of Pegu sent monks to Ceylonese Theravada tradition in Myanmar. In fact, even before King Dhammazedi of Pegu sent monks to Ceylon for a re-ordination, the Ceylonese Theravada traditions were followed in the Ramannadesa. Four of the five old fraternities mentioned in the kalyani insvriptions were traditions from Ceylon. 15 They are reported to have been banned by King Dhammazedi, who subsequently established a fresh contact with the Ceylonese Theravada order.
Chaingsen, the earliest thai kingdom, was contemporary to Dvaravati (6-11th A.D), the Mon principality within the Khmer Empire. The Sinhalese tradition of Buddhism, known as lankavamsa, came to Chiangsen first via Sukhothai and then Ayuthaya. Sukhothai (1219-1350 A.D) first adopted Ceylonese Theravada buddhism in 1276 from Kakhon Sridhammarat, where monks of Ceylon began propagating the Dhamma a decade or so earlier, together with the local monks who had been educated in Ceylon. This Ceylonese sect was invited to Sukhothai (Sukhodaya) by the king who had heard of their good practice and thorough knowledge of the Tipitaka. King Ram khamheng Inscrption (dated 1276) thus say: “King Ram Khamheng gave donations to the Supreme Patriarch, to every senior monks and to wise monks learned in the Three Baskets – of all whom are greater than any previous teachers of old in the city. Every one of these monks came from Nakonsridhammaraj.”16 Jinakalamali, composed in Pali in 1516 A.D, relates the important missions of the monk Sumana, who had visited Martaban, Ramannadesa, where he had learnt Sinhalese Buddhism, which he later introduced to the newly emergent kingdom of sukhodaya.
Theravada Buddhism came to Chaingsen through the effort of Sumana Mahathera (1030-110 A.D) who with another bhikkhu named Anomadassi studied the Tipitaka in Martaban before returning to Sukhothai. Professor S.J Tambiah writes in his ever popular work, the World Conqueror and the World Renouncer that a Pali chronicle of Thailand, Mulasasana, recounts “Sinhalese sect in Ramannadesa at Pan near Martaban, the leader of the forest dwelling sect honoured by Sinhalese king with the title of Mahasami”, and then speaks “of the two Taai monks, Anomadassi and Sumana who made a visit to Pan to study under Mahasami and to be re-ordained (their action followed by other Thai monks) and of Sumana returning to Sukhodaya at King Lo Tai’s request in order to found the order of Sinhalese monks”. 18 Sumana Mahathera later came to Chiangmai to propagate the Dhamma.
According to padaeng Chronicle written in Mong (Tai-Khun) scripts in Kengtung, Buddhism as practiced in Martaban was brought to Kengtung via Chiangmai around the turn of the 10th ventury A.D by Sumana Mahathera. 19 This suggests that when King Mangrai made himself the ruler of Kengtung, there had already flourished Theravada teachings among the people. But, at the same time this statement appears contradictory to the historical fact that Chiangmai came into existence only “on Thursday, 12 April 1296” 20 And so how could Buddhism have sxisted in Kengtung when Kengtung itself had not been founded? If we take into consideration that the northern part of Thailand had prospered long before 1296 as a part of Dvaravati, Chiangmai therefore must have been in existence before King Mangrai made it the capital of his kingdom. This may be called Pre-Mangrai Chiangmai where people had good connections with Ramannadesa as far as Buddhism was concerned. Charles F.Keyes argues that “the earliest mention of Tai is in an inscription of the eleventh century A.D, but it is almost certain that Tai had been moving into the area of central mainland Southeast. Asia well before that time, perhaps since the seventh century, there was most probably a substantial Tai-speaking population living in the domains of the Mon-Buddhist kingdom of Dvaravati.” And that they “may have been organized as tribal peoples under petty chiefs?”
So, Pre-Mangrai Chiangmai may have been under small chieftains and culturally was much influenced by Haripunjaya (Lampun) which was, according to Camadevi, founded in the 8th A.D.22 This logic applies, also, to Buddhism in Kengtung in the Pre-Mangrai era.
We have lernt of the development of Buddhism in Kengtung through the writings of the Red Forest Sect. as no written record by lineage of Sumana Mahathera himself was left, it is hard to determine the actual monastic practice in the Sunmana Mahathera tradition. Nevertheless, a general understanding of the state of Buddhism in the early tradition can be obtained by studying sources on history of Buddhism n neighboring countries. But that is beyond the scope of this paper. We may therefore rely on the Padaeng Stone Incvription (PSI), Padaeng Chronicle (PC) and Jengtung Chronicle (JC) which, no doubt, favour the second mission led by Somacitta Thera because they were written by the disciples of Somacitta Thera. The PSI dates 1451 A.D and is in the Ramkhamheang Tahi scripts. But we have no verified information as to the dates of the two chronicles.
The Second Mission and Present Sangha in Kengtung
The second mission of the Ceylonese Theravad fraternity from Chiangsen arrived in Kengtung in the early year of the reign of Braya (also pronounced as Phya) Dhamma Culamani (1441-1456). 25 It is said that the father of Dhamma Culamani, Braya Rattabheri (1416-1441), buit the city in a new site in the south of the old one with moats and walls for the defence of the city. There was a demon in the vicinity who was so angry with the king’s encroachment of his area that he haunted the new palace for over ten years. The Braya invited bhikkhus of Sondok Jenlom and Jenglae, one after another, to come and recite the holy suttas to expel the demon. But that was to no avail and the bhikkhus were defeated. On learning of this incident, Nanagambhira Mahathera, now the head of the Sangha in Chiangsen, deputed his senior disciple Somacitta and four other bhikkhus to Kengtung where they first stayed at Hroy-yen. They came to be heard of by the Braya Dhamma Culamani after their encounter with boys of Sondokgham grazing cattle where they resided. They where invited to the palace by Braya Dhamma Culamani and asked to do holy changing for three days and three nights. Medical protection was now given to the Graya and his people because of their strict adherence to the vinaya, “the monastic rules”, and their correct way of chanting the suttas. Their effective chanting protected the people twice later from fire and flood. The Bray built them a monastery called Mahavanaram. Soon, Somacitta thera and his party informed the Braya of their wish to return to Chaingsen. The Braya, instead, persuaded them to stay saying that he would invite their teacher, Nanagambhira Mahathera to come to Kengtung. On their arrival, a new monastery was built by Bray Dhamma Culamani and the populace for Nanagambhira Mahthera and his disciples. The monastery was know as Sihalarattarama, or Wat Padaeng, where the famous chronicle of Buddhism inKengtung seens to have been composed. As Alesander B. Griswold writes in his preface to the translation work by Sao Saimong that this chronicle may be studied with Jinakalamall and “several of its dates can be verified or corrected by reference to those given in a stone inscription whichis preserved in the Red Forest (Padaeng) Monastery itself.” Wat Padaeng thus has been the focus of history of Buddhism I Kengtung since the reign of Braya Dhamma Culamani. Wat Padaeng was also the name of the monastery of Nanagambhira Mahathera in Chiangsen. As we shall see in the next paragraph there was yet another. Wat Padaeng in Chiangmai where the Sangharaja resided. During the founding of the Mahavihara tradition of Ceylon in Kengtung for the second time, we can note the emphasis non the learning of the holy scriptures in this forest tradition, because at Wat Padaeng two libraries wehre constructed almost immediately inside the monastery. 24
Nanagambhira MahatheraNanagambhira Mahathera, who established the Ceylonese Mahavihara Theravada tradition for the second time in Kengtung, went to Rohana Janapada of Ceylon to study the true doctrine after he and his colleagues had doubts on some Pali grammatical points that were considered to render the ordination procedure inbalid. On the recommentdation of his preceptor, Dhammakitti Mahathera, he went to Sulhothai with five other bhikkhus. There he met the king and his religious tutor, the rajaguru who then asked him to go to Ceylon to lern the true teaching to solve the above dispute. He was given a courtier and another five bhikkhus to accompany him to Ceylon in 1419. having consulted with the members of the Order in the Rohana Janapada led by surinda Mahathera, he and his colleagues decided to seek a new ordination under the head of the Rohana Janapada Sangha, Maha Sudassana Mahathera. 25 Grammatical correctness of the natticatuttha khammavaca seems to have formed the focus of the discussions Nanagambhira had with many Ceylonese monks. 26 As can be expected, the Padaeng chronicle blames Sumana Mahathera for everything that went wrong. From Ceylon and then Ayuthaya, Nanagambhira arrived back in Chiangsen in 1434. here a monastery called Wat Padaeng (Red Forest monastery) was built for him by the Braya, local chief. 27 The name of the monastery indicates that a revival of forest traditions was underway. The situation of the monastery outside the city also suggests that they belonged to the Ceylonese sect. on the structure of the monasteries, Prince Damrong remarks: “The monasteries (outside the town) were regarded as important for the Ceylonese sect. they included the Mango Grove Monastery where the Supreme Paiarch of Sukhothai redided and the Red Forest Monastery, the residence of the Pariarch of Chiangmai”28
As Prince Damrong observed, there came to be two fraternities when a Ceylonese sect, langavamsa, was established in sukhothai and Chiangmai. Kengtung also came to have two traditions, Sondok fraternity and Padaeng fraternity, with the arrival of the second mission. As the two traditions gradually merged in Sukhothai and Chiangmai, only one fraternity was to remain in Kengtung. But, according to the Padaeng Chronicle, this was because the Sondok (Garden or Puppharama sect) left their monastery on recognizing the superiority of the newly established Padaeng (Rd Forest or Sihalarattarama) tradition. This new form of Buddhism is reported to have spread to Tai people of other areas such as Sibsongbanna, Lu, Monglaem, Mongka, Mongmaen, Mongting, Kungma.
Some Salient Features of Buddhism in Kengtung
This topic deserves a separate article on its own. We may cite but a few examples here. Following in the traditions of Nanagambhira Mahthera, who sailed to Ceylon because of a dispute on Pali grammatical points and Pali pronunciation, the Kengtung and Sinhalese Sangha have similar pronunciation of Pali. The pleasing chanting of the great meditator and forest dweller, Khuva Woonzoom, also known as Mong Pong Sayadaw, belongs to this great tradition. Chanting of the paritta among the Sangha in Myanmar generally differs from one monastery to another. This is not the case with the Kengtung Sangha, who has preserved chanting with great care.
In the Kengtung tradition, the begging for forgiveness, Okasa or Awkatha, is in Pali. So is the offering of homage to the Triple Gem, Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha.
The structure of every monastery is the same, with cetiya (pagada), vihara (main hall) and bodhi tree, as in Ceylon. This subject is discussed in detail by Sao Saimong in his pioneering work on the Padaeng Chronicle. Most important of all is that the Sangha in Kengtung have a well-formed administrative structure, the head of which is called Annadhamma (pronounced as ayatham), “the most well versed in the Dhamma”.
The Budhhist Literature of Kengtung is vast and was, possibly, until the turn of the last century, one of the most progressing branches of Buddhist literatures in Southeast Asia. According Sao Saimong Mangrai, the Visddhimagga, by the great Pali commentator, Buddhaghosa Mahathera, had long been translated into Tai-Khun language probably before its counterparts in Thai, English and the Myanmar language. Among the transtations of the Visuddhimagga in the latter three language, the English translation, by Professor Pe Maung Tin, was the first. It was completed in 1923. GABamoli bhikkhu, an English monk ordained in Sri Lanka, transtated it for the second time in 1956 and is now widely in use. The transtations into Myanmar and Thai were undertaken only a few years after the celebration of the 2500th Years of Buddhism (1956). However, it is yet to determine the exact date of the Tai-Khun translation.
Extensive quotation of Kaccayana’s Pali grammar n the Padaeng Chronicle shows the impressive scholarship of the Sangha in Kengtung at the time. kaccayana’s Pali grammar, simply known at present as great grammar (thatda-gyi) is one of the most studies texts in Myanmar since the Pagan prriod. professor Madhav Deshpande, a Pali scholar at the Linguistic Department, Michigan University, “was often surprised to find the rules accurately quoted in the text (Padaeng Chronicle) in spite of (the) repeated copying that it must have undergone”. 31 Judging from the way the Vessantara Jataka has been developed, it is not hard to imagine that active buddhist scholarship existed before in Kengtung. the Kengtung version of the Vessantara jataka is now being studied by a postgraduate student as a part of his research at the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. we hope to learn more of the Kengtung Buddhist literatures as the scholarship on the subjects advances.
End note:
1. The Thai pronounce and thus spell as Chiangtung. Sao Saimong Mangrai uses also Jengtung in his transtation of Jengtung Chronicle (for his explanation see p. 200), which is the pronunciation of the city and state by the people of Kengtung themselves. however, he also employs Kengtung in the text itself. The Burmese pronounce it Kyaington. In this article Kengtung is used throughout because if has long been a standard spelling. Kengtung has a classical name in Pali, khemarattha, "Safe Kingdom" or "the Kingdom of Peace" to translate khema in the light of the famous Mangala Sutta of the Suttanipata. Kengtung city itself is known classically as Tungapura.
by : Sao Dr. Dhammasami
Friday, November 23, 2007
Mai Soong Pee Mai Tai (Happy Shan New Year)
Welcoming the Shan New Year 2102
Welcoming the New Year is one of the oldest and gayest customs celebrated the world over. In the concept of the world, the definition of “The New Year” means that the time of the previous year has passed by and the Happy New Year has begun. The New Year Festival is celebrated in various countries according to the customs and traditions of the people there. “Pee Maue Tai” is the traditional New Year of the Tai (Shan) people. For this year, this event falls on 8 December 2007, which corresponds to the first day of the first lunar month (the first waxing moon of the Loen Tseng). All the Tai will celebrate the festival with special greetings and best wishes for the Tai New Year 2102 (Tai Era) with full happiness.
“Mai Soong” means to be progressive, be advanced (as in status, well-being) and is used as a greeting phrase. “Pee” means year, “Mai” means new, and “Tai” for Tai people in the world. All the Tai welcome all nationalities to visit “Tai New Year Festival” in every Tai villages, Tai towns, Tai cities, and Tai countries.
In most countries, depending on the different national traditions, people celebrate the New Year on different days and in different manners. Some celebrate in April, some in January, etc. During New Year’s Day, some throw water on each other, some pray for best wishes, some dance together, some perform a ceremony of pouring water on respected persons or the objects of worship, some enjoy a playful festival, some shoot off guns and fireworks at dawn or midnight.
For some the New Year involves scaring away evil spirits, thus giving the new year a fresh start. It marks the beginning of the year. New Year’s Day is thought of as a good time to make New Year’s resolutions – the resolve to do better in the year just beginning than you did in the year just ended. Although they differ as to the time from which they reckon the commencement of the year, Egyptians, the Jews, the Romans, the Islams, the Chinese, the Japanese, the Tai and others all regard it as a day of special solemnity.
Wat Pa Pao (Shan Temple in Chiangmai, Thailand)
In February 1997, the Abbot of the temple, with other community leaders, set up a foundation at the temple with the aim of promoting the education of Shan people and the preservation of their culture.
The foundation, which is officially registered with the Thai government, is named the Wat Pa Pao Foundation to Support Education, Art, and Culture. With support from the Japanese Embassy, the foundation was able to start an adult education school at the temple.
The Wat Pa Pao Adult Education School was officially opened on 11 October 1998, in conjunction with the Thai Non-formal Education Department. When the school opened, there were 131 students. This has increased to over 187, with a waiting list of many more.
The school teaches a basic Thai curriculum and is intended to provide Shan youth in Chiang Mai with literacy skills that will enable them to improve their job opportunities and future in Thailand. While the classes are in Thai, the various extra-curricular activities are all aimed at promoting the Shan culture. The school has thus proved extremely popular among the Shan youth in Chiang Mai, who have flocked to the classes both to improve their education and to join in community activities aimed at preserving their own culture.
The initial grant from the Japanese Embassy was sufficient only to cover the initial start-up costs of the school, including the building of classrooms and purchase of equipment. Since the opening of the school, the operating costs of the classes, including the teachers' salaries have been covered by private donations to the foundation. Funding is urgently needed to continue to cover the salaries of the teachers, to purchase teaching equipment and to build more classrooms at the temple, so that more students can be accepted. Anyone wishing to donate to this worthwhile project, please contact the following address:
Wat Pa Pao Foundation Wat Pa Pao 58 Maneenopparat Road Sriphoom Sub-district, Muang District, Chiang Mai Thailand
As the focal point for Shan culture in Chiang Mai, Wat Pa Pao hosts many events each year. One of the biggest celebrations each year is the annual Poi Sang Long festival. This year it will be celebrated at Wat Pa Pao during the first week of April.
Wat Pa Pao also has Shan books and magazines available for purchase.
If you would like to contact Wat Pa Pao, you may write, call, fax, or E-mail:
58 Maneenopparat Road,
Sriphoom Sub-District,
Muang District, Chiang Mai
Tel/fax (053) 418046
E-mail: intaviro@ksc.th.com
Shan New Year, Postcard
I make some Shan New year post card for using in Shan New year season for all, more cards and design you can download on http://www.zorpia.com/group/shan_people_group
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Shan New Year songs, 2102
is
Leader
Today even we have good opportunity inside of Burma we even can't help or support anything to bring Burma to be Democracy country because we have nothing on hand. Yes, we all thinking we work hard for nation but in real, that not enough for make any change in Burma or even in Shan state.
How many people can work full time for nation ? in the other side there has over 400,000 soldiers with full weapon and ready for kill us anytime plus we not only fight with Burma army, we also fight with powerfull countries China and Russian that hiding to backup Burma in United Nation as well.
Please don't get me wrong, I am not blame anyone. I just try to point what is the position we are standing now and how much we have to work hard for our nation.
We talk so many for the word "UNITY" it's enough for talk let build and make it come true. So, give me your hands and I will give mine to work hard for our nation.
by : Sai Sai Tip (Maisoongkha.com)
Letters from Shan State
If it’s about delicacies, the following titles are your meat and drink: Khao Buk and Khao Yaku, Tai Sar Mei Shan, Nam Phit Phoo and Green Tea.
If it’s about festivals, go read “The Poy Sang Long Festival,” “The Taunggyi Hot Air Balloon Festival,” “Flowing Christmas Day”, Water Festival in Kengtung”, “Thamanae Festival,” “New Crop Ceremony”, “Manau Dance Festival” and “Akhar traditional wedding”.
Then there are compositions on politics, life in Shan State, hunting and a true love story plus two poems, many of which are quite poignant, especially when you remember that they had been written by youths who had just started to learn to write in English 9-months earlier.
A few of them I really enjoyed as I went through the 93-page booklet published by the School for Shan State Nationalities Youth (SSSNY), popularly known as Charm Tong’s School, a tribute to its founder and administrator.
One was about a girl student’s reminiscences on her life on a bus in Taunggyi. “I hurried on to the bus,” she wrote, “and already the bus was extremely full. I only had room for my two feet… The smell on the bus was terrible, like a mouse that had been dead for three days… I had to push and also pull people to be able to get out of the bus”. In the evening, it was the same scene.
It was like that day in and day out. But then though long being away from all of what she wrote about, she still “remember them and miss them much: the bad smell, the smell of Thanakha (Burmese traditional makeup), the innocent faces, hungry faces, guilty faces, selfish faces, and the views from the windows of the bus…”
Another is about a boy student’s life on the village when he was younger, young enough to enjoy playing Ma Tong Tang (Stilts) and racing it with other boys. “In my childhood days, ma-don-dang was my life,” he remembers.
But then one day Burma Army soldiers arrived at the village with their guns blazing. “Some one grabbed my hands and took me into a trench. It was my father… (I thought) “Where is my ma-don-dang?” Without thinking, I got up to go out of the trench. My father held me tightly with anger. “Where are you going?” he asked. “I am going to (bring in) my ma-don-dang,” I replied. “Are you crazy? You are going to be killed doing such bullshit!” he roared like a hungry tiger. The happy evening had turned into a bloody evening. The village had nearly turned into a graveyard.
Then there is a rather strange story about a boy who became a novice monk in order to escape being a fighter in the Mong Tai Army led by the late Khun Sa (1934-2007). However when the MTA surrendered in 1996, the expected peace did not come. What followed were the forced relocations that were to displace at least 300,000 people from 1,500 villages, an event reported in full by the Shan Human Rights Foundation’s “Dispossessed”.
Then one day he did a strange ting. One day, I saw the news about SSA-S (Shan State Army-South) fighting with SPDC around the Thai-Shan border. I was excited and I decided to go to Loi Tai Leng, a camp on the border, to be a soldier. When I arrived, I asked to become a soldier. They said, “You are still young-you cannot be a soldier. To be a soldier you must be 18 years old.” So, they put me in school first.
There are 2-3 other accounts I really liked, but I suggest you to read them as I did while I waited at the Chiangmai airport for my delayed flight to Bangkok.
For further information, please email to sssny@loxinfo.co.th
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