2. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Myanmar
Way of Life
Myanmar civilization is largely
an outgrowth of Indian
influences. For the majority of
Myanmar’s population,
Buddhism is the center of
individual life and the monastery
3. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Myanmar
(pongyi kyaung) is the center of
the community. This is especially
true in the villages, where most
of the population lives. Wisdom
is believed to reside at the
pongyi kyaung and refuge may
be sought there. A rite of
4. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Myanmar
passage for every adolescent
boy is the shinphyu, in which the
boy briefly relives the princely
life of Gautama, who became
the Buddha, and enters into the
life of the monastery as a novice
monk. At any later time in life he
6. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Myanmar
The daily life of the village
begins with the pongyis (monks)
making their rounds in the
morning with their begging
bowls. By donating that day’s
food, the villagers earn merit,
and the monks, who are
7. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Myanmar
forbidden to work, are
nourished. The annual cycle of
life follows the seasons, with all
hands put to work for rice
planting when the summer
monsoon brings the first rains.
The time during the three
8. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Myanmar
months of the most intensive
rain is the Buddhist lent, when
such activities as marriage and
hunting are put off, but nat
festivals can be enjoyed. Harvest
in the fall is again a busy time,
followed by the cooler season
9. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Myanmar
when the traditional form of
entertainment is the pwe, a type
of folk opera. In the evenings
during this season, a crowd
gathers on the grounds of a
temple to watch the pwe in
which dancers retell tales of
10. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Myanmar
royal times in Myanmar or
present such Indian epics as the
Ramayana. Dramatic music and
dance alternate with bawdy skits
by clowns, who often include
political satire in their acts. In
12. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Myanmar
The Myanmar orchestra that
accompanies the theatrical
performances in a pwe consists
of a bamboo xylophone, tall
bamboo clappers, many kinds of
tuned gongs, a small pair of
cymbals to keep time, and the
13. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Myanmar
hne, a six-reeded oboe that
carries the theme. The hne
mimics the sound of the human
voice speaking in the tonal
Burmese language. In cities and
towns music is piped into the
streets for the public’s benefit
15. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Myanmar
The core of the Myanmar diet is
boiled rice, combined with a
little spicy meat or fish and some
vegetables. Also popular for
breakfast is a hot noodle soup
flavored with coconut. A favorite
sauce is ngapi, which is made
16. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Myanmar
from fermented fish or prawns
and gives off a pungent odor.
Several varieties of bananas
along with coconut are the main
fruits, while a wide variety of
more exotic fruits are also
enjoyed, such as the
18. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Myanmar
A typical gesture of hospitality in
Myanmar is to offer guests the
materials and equipment for
making a chew of betel. This
chemical combination of a
chopped areca nut with lime and
spices, all wrapped in a betel
19. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Myanmar
leaf, cleans the mouth, sweetens
the breath, and settles the
stomach. Locally rolled cigars,
called cheroots, are smoked by
young and old, male and female.
20. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Myanmar
A popular form of recreation is
traveling by bus or oxcart to visit
a notable pagoda or attend a
festival. Soccer is a prominent
sport, even during heavy rains;
kites are flown in season; and a
frequent occurrence on any day
21. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Myanmar
is a local game of chinlon, in
which a small circle of men
keeps a ball of woven cane up in
the air with gentle blows from
the foot, knee, shoulder, or
head. Golf is particularly favored
among military leaders.
22. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Myanmar
Social Problems
Myanmar is poor by Asian
standards, and consequently
suffers from a number of social
problems. Inflation in the prices
of consumer goods has been a
continuing problem, particularly
23. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Myanmar
for poorer people in the cities.
Since a large number of young
women in the border areas have
been drawn into prostitution in
Thailand, acquired
immunodeficiency syndrome
(AIDS) has become a large-scale
24. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Myanmar
problem. For much of the period
since World War II (1939-1945),
poverty along with the
conditions of political unrest
have kept the population growth
rate quite low, lower even than
in neighboring Thailand, which
26. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Myanmar
Culture
The major population groups in
Myanmar migrated into the
Irrawaddy River Valley from the
north, bringing their spoken
languages, their gender roles,
and several varieties of food and
27. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Myanmar
medicine. From India on the
west came the institutions of
religion and government, but
without the Indian caste system
of social hierarchy. India was also
the source of Pali, the sacred
language, and of the devanagari
28. Socio-Cultural Setting:
Myanmar
script in which the popular
language is written, along with
astrology and some kinds of
food. The firm grounding of
Buddhism in Myanmar culture
contributed over the years to the
building of many pagodas
36. Republic of the Philippines
CAPIZ STATE UNIVERSITY
Dumarao Satellite College, Dumarao, Capiz
Theme: “Understanding Better the Political, Economic &
Socio-Cultural
Settings of Southeast Asian Nations for
Peace, Prosperity & People”
May 25, 2015 (8:00-11:30 am)
Campus Library