Increasing exposure in the UK: Shan events in April

Mai soong kha.
Although the search continues, I am always surprised at the amount and diversity of information on the Shan that is increasingly available. And most of it, however, hidden, can be uncovered with just a little creative research.

However, instead of my usual off-the-wall postings - I am writing on Shan cuisine in Tokyo, which will follow shortly - the following post is a mini-list of upcoming events. April is an integral time in the Shan cultural calendar, and these events will be of particular interest for Shan, Thai, Burmese peoples as well as those from other mainland South East Asia ethnic groups and cultural enthusiasts alike. Have a look below:

15 April: The annual Songkran ('Water Festival' or Thai New Year) celebrations in London are upon us (Songkran is known as Thingyan for the Burmese*). However, this year, amid the usual bustle and endless events, members of the Shan Cultural Association of the UK (SCA_UK) and other enthusiastic volunteers will perform a 'Sip Song Pana**'-style dance at the main festival location: Wat Buddhapadipa in Wimbledon, South West London. The festival is a fantastic event visited by thousands each year. The temple grounds are transformed with the festival atmosphere, and there is everything from Thai (and other cultures that celebrate Songkran) music, dancing and other performances to food and drink booths, which sell Thai and other specialties; other cultural items are also for sale. Last and most importantly, if you plan to visit Wat Buddhapadipa for Songkran, please give generously: the temple relies on the patronage and support of everyone for its livelihood. And, to make this more authentic, a traditional Thai temple donation booth/shrine is available where people can make an offering to monks who bless well-wishers.

*The Burmese New Year, which is called Thingyan, also falls in April. For a more local and personal opinion on modern Thingyan, please visit here for thoughts on water throwing: is it for fun or in malice?
**Sip Song Pana (also written Sipsong Panna, Sipsong Banna and, in Chinese, Xishuangbanna) is an area of what is now labelled The Golden Triangle. Officially, for the Chinese at least, this area of southern Yunnan Province is called Xishuangbanna Daizu Zizhizhou (Xishaungbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture), and it is home to many groups of the Tai (or Dai) ethnic family as well as other groups including the Yi. There is a long and confuisng history about the area, including the many variations on its name, which I will avoid here. Simply put, it is an area that the Shan are historically linked to. I will write more on this in a future piece.

22 April: Shan celebration of Songkran in Oxford. This annual event allows devotees, trustees, observers and cultural enthusiasts and onlookers to gather and raise funds for the Oxford Buddha Vihara (OBV), a Buddhist study centre established in 2003 by the abbot, the Venerable Dr Dhammasami. These events, which are a true reflection of traditional, religious observance of Songkran, are a wonderful event, and the centre, in addition to its devouted practitioners and visitors, is a great place to experience this celebration. Everyone is welcome.

Once again, thank you for visiting.

Khun Naw Liang

Note: The photo above is of Shan celebrations of Songkran in 2006 along the Sino-Burmese border. For further details, please visit Shanland.org website. The link is also available on the rightside links toolbar under news.

60th Shan National Day
7 February 2007

Mai soong one merng tai kha everyone...

Once again, I must apologise for the hiatus from All about Shan Studies postings. Life has been extremely busy, and I often cannot find the necessary time - for reading, writing and thinking about as well as sharing my (and many others') Shan interests and insights - to keep the blog up-to-day. However, despite these 'excuses', today (or, rather, yesterday) was an exception - an event that needs to be given its due attention.

Shan National Day: in brief
Shan National Day is celebrated on 7 February and symbolises a remarkable event in Shan history. It was on this day that all Shan saopha (sometimes written sawbwa, "lords of the sky") united on 1947 prior to signing the Panglong Agreement with the Burmese. Through their efforts, the saopha brought together the separate Shan fiefdoms (or 'kingdoms') to create the foundation of a modern-day Shan State; less momentously, their efforts included the adoption of the Shan flag (see above) and a national anthem.

One week later, on 14 February 1947, the saopha, along with other ethnic leaders (Kachin, Chin, Palaung, Mon and others), signed an agreement with Burmese leader and hero Bogyoke Aung San to petition the British government for independence, all the while being reassured that their ethnic rights would be protected in the fledgling and predominantly ethnic Burmese nation. Soon after, a constitution was drafted and passed in 1948, reiterating the stipulation that each ethnic state had the right to cede from the Burma following a ten-year preliminary period, the Union of Burma was born.

However, despite the positive first intentions of the agreement and the subsequent constitution, which guarranteed ethnic diversity and equality in the new Burma, the atmosphere quickly changed following independence, most significantly with the assassination of Aung San and many other leaders by a group of soldiers led by General Ne Winon on 9 July; Aung San (and many others), who had fought unendingly for Burmese independence, witnessed only five months of hard-fought freedom. The 'air of equal ethnicity" in Burma, so yearned for by everyone, ended in one quick, bloody act, a pivotal turning point in Burmese and Shan modern history. The constitution was quickly 'shevled' (rather: disregarded) soon after, and the Panglong Agreement, devalued and ultimately destroyed, was destroyed, erasing any nurtured trust between the Burmese and the Shan and other ethnic minorites of Burma.

Ethnic groups and Burmese activists have continued to fight for the return of Aung San's intended Burma since 1948 (and 1962), but with little success. However, the significance of the Panglong Agreement and, more specific to the Shan, the prior unification of their saopha and people, continues to be revered as "most important event in the history of the Shan State"- its lasting importance cannot be underestimated.
(For evidence of this, please read The New Panglong Iniatitive.)

However, despite the hardship and mistrust at the hands of the Burmese military government, the Shan continue to respect the unification of its saopha on 7 February 1947 and celebrate this day as a symbol of their enduring brotherhood. It is also a shining legacy to the future realisation of a true and independent Shan State. It is for these (and many other) reasons that we celebrate the 60th annivesary of the founding of the Shan State.

Thanks to Sai Merng and the SCA UK, readers are also luck enough to watch a variety of videos (see here (courtesy of Google Video) and here and here (courtesy of YouTube, with more available through the user's library) of 2101 Shan New Year festivities in Muse, Shan State (across the Chinese border from Ruili).

Happy Shan National Day to everyone,

Khun Naw Liang

**There are several Shan National Day greetings available on the internet, some recent and some not. Each has its own purpose or agenda, but all should be read to gain an understanding of the importance of 7 February for the Shan people. Please visit S.H.A.N., Shan Orphan Support and ThaiNGO for their past and present announcements and for background information. It is important to mention, however, that the political and other views mentioned in these websites are not that of myself or this blog. Thank you.)