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Earlier in the month I attended the Myitkyina Manau festival commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the establishment of northern Burma’s Kachin State. Over the coming days I expect to post a range of material from the festival that will give readers a taste of this major cultural, political and economic event.
If there are specific issues that New Mandala readers would like to see discussed, please post a comment. I have hundreds and hundreds of images, hours of video footage and fairly copious notes. There should be plenty that will be of interest. Long-time readers may recall that I have previously written about a Manau festival here (and here and here).
Did you find that the festival was more militaristic this year than in previous years?
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Sorry, that’s a bit sensationalist. Maybe I should rephrase: did you find that the festival was celebrated with greater ebullience than in previous years? It’s just I remember reading about the kids with toy guns and the particular emphasis on militaristic symbolism from Mandy Sadan’s thesis extract.
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One question would be, was this a predominately Jinghpaw affair, or were there large numbers of Maru, Lashi, Atsi, Lisu and Rawang in attendance as well?
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Thanks Grasshopper and Aiontay,
These are great questions.
1) The festival was certainly a tense and emotional affair. For most of its duration one could sense the unease in the crowds (and in conversations) about the presence of so many Burmese soldiers. The celebrations were, nonetheless, executed with much gusto and, as some of the forthcoming images should highlight, gave the various Kachin groups a chance to flex their muscles and show off their numbers and support.
The huge significance attributed to the 60th Anniversary of the Kachin State was a dominate feature. As a result of this milestone, the celebrations were probably about as big as a Manau can get. The only comparable (or bigger) Manau that I am aware of in recent years was the 2001-2002 Manau when the new Myitkyina Manau ground was first used. But I am very happy to be corrected if readers know of larger (or more ebullient!) Kachin celebrations.
2) The Manau was not just a Jinghpaw affair. The full range of “Kachin” groups (including “Myitkyina Lisu”, Rawang, etc) plus big contingents of “Shan” from both the Shan and Kachin States were all out in force.
When I post more pictures I will be sure to include some that highlight the diversity of groups that participated.
Thanks for these questions. And please do let me know if you have others in mind.
Best wishes to all,
Nich
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