Myanmar’s child monks become royalty for a day
BAGAN: Riding elephants and horses in heavily bejewelled costumes, thick eyeliner and rouged lips, boys in central Myanmar parade through their village as ancient princes in a ceremony to mark their passage to monkhood.
The whole village of Myinkabar, nestled among the centuriesold pagodas of Bagan city, turns out for an annual lavish feast in their honour.
Everyone pays respects to the children giving up their worldly belongings – at least for a few days.
Buddhist tradition in Myanmar requires youths to spend some time in a monastery or nunnery before the age of 18, in what is viewed as an important comingofage ritual.
Most people undertake this tradition at least once in their lives.
The first step for both boys and girls is to have all their hair shaved off.
They adjust to a demanding daily schedule of alms collecting, chores, study and worship.
Perhaps the hardest aspect, however, is not eating from noon until sunrise the next morning.
Many “novices” are happy to exchange their robes – maroon or saffron for monks, pink for nuns – at the end of the week for their normal attire and return to their families.
Others, however, are there for the longterm, destined for a monastic life.
I’m doing good things in life and I’m happy about that. Tate Tha
“Sometimes I want to play football like other children in Yangon, but I can’t,” said 13yearold Tate Tha, who has been a novice monk in Yangon for five years already.
“I’m envious of them, but I’m doing good things in life and I’m happy about that.”
Monasteries and convents have traditionally offered the chance for children, particularly those from poorer backgrounds, to receive an education in the country, which is 87% Buddhist.
But as free places in government schools have become more widely available, the number of novice monks and nuns is in decline, a trend that worries some Buddhism experts.
“It is like a tree whose roots are being destroyed,” said Mya Thein, 50, a scholar at Yangon Buddhist University.
“We need to take care of it and we also need to find a solution. It is now in danger.” — AFP