Duck Egg Fighting Fare

There are certain cultural activities that originates from one place and spread to other parts of the nation or other parts of the world. Soccer being a prime example of such a case, where a sport from a single nation, i.e. England, has become the most widely played game in the world.

However, the same cannot be said of the ‘Bare Oo Tite Pware’ (Duck Egg Fighting Fare), a century old local ritual, which takes place in one small part of a small town called Sagaing, in central Burma, on the full moon day of 'Ta Po Tware'. To this day it remains the only place in the world where this fare takes place.

In a square next to a small pagoda, tens of duck egg vendors with their wicker baskets full of duck eggs, sittings no more than 4 or 5 feet apart from each other, shouting out for players to come and play. The whole place is lit by nothing more than the light of the moon and the lights from the candles from each of the vendors.

The game consists of 2 players sitting around a duck egg vendor. The vendor has, in his/her wicker basket, boiled duck eggs cooked for different amount of time. The vendor randomly pulls out 2 eggs from the basket and places them on the cover of the basket. One of the players chooses an egg and he’ll either decide to be a cracker (the one to crack the opponent’s egg) or a sitter (the one to let the opponent crack his egg).

The loser is the one who’s egg crack first and is then has to pay for the cost of 1 egg to the vendor. The winner gets to keep the loser’s (cracked) egg. The vendor takes away the winner’s egg and set it aside (for resale to street hawkers and shops), not to be played again. But it is not uncommon for unscrupulous vendors to put the winner’s good egg back into the basket.

Seasoned players of this game would often add excitement to the game by laying down extra bets, such as cash or in most cases eggs (that he already won) and the opponent is forced to follow suit. The winner then gets not only the loser's egg but everything else that's one the table. The vendor keeps the scores of the games being played by means of counting tamarind seeds, as they are hard wearing and commonly available.

Apparently, there is certain amount of skill involved in making sure that you have a winning egg. This involves inspecting the egg for its hardness, position of the air sack and thickness of the shell.  The various means for performing such inspection includes placing the egg against the candle light, shaking it against the ear, lightly scratching the shell with the teeth or licking the shell. So, there’s more to egg cracking than at first appears…if you are into that sort of thing.

Hta-Ma-Nae Festival

Hta-Ma-Nae festival always take place on the full moon day of the month of 'Ta Po Tware' in Burmese lunar calendar (which usually falls in January or February of Julian calendar). The fun is not so much in eating Hta-Ma-Nae but in cooking of it.

Hta-Ma-Nae is made from glutinous rice cooked in a large wok with plenty of cooking oil (rather than water). Once the rice is cooked, it is then mixed with coconut chips, sesame seeds and peanuts.

To be called a Hta-Ma-Nae, the cooked rice has to be turned into mash. This requires a team of 4 people working in unison around the wok. Two people with large spatulas stand around the wok and provide the kneading motion through the glutinous rice, whilst the other 2 people squatting around the wok, hold the neck of the spatulas and squeeze the rice between the two blades of spatulas to turn the rice into mash.

This could go on for long minutes with people taking turns around the wok and this way cooking is what makes the festival a great social occasion.

More photos available here.

Burmese Chinlone (Cane ball)

Chinlone is the traditional sport of Burma (Myanmar). Chinlone is a combination of sport and dance, a team sport with no opposing team. In essence chinlone is non-competitive, yet it is as demanding as the most competitive ball games. The focus is not on winning or losing, but how beautifully one plays the game.

 

The ball is woven from rattan and makes a distinctive clicking sound when kicked that is part of the aesthetic of the game. Players use six points of contact with the ball: the top of the toes, the inner and outer sides of the foot, the sole, the heel, and the knee. The game is played barefoot or in chinlone shoes that allow the players to feel the ball and the ground as directly as possible. The typical playing circle is 6.7 meters (22 feet) in diameter. The ideal playing surface is dry, hard packed dirt, but almost any flat surface will do.

Chinlone is over 1,500 years old and was once played for Burma royalty. Over the centuries, players have developed more than 200 different ways of kicking the ball. Many of the moves are similar to those of Burma dance and martial art.

Some of the most difficult strokes are done behind the back without seeing the ball as it is kicked. Form is all important in chinlone: there is a correct way to position the hands, arms, torso, and head during the moves. A move is considered to have been done well only if the form is good.

(Ref: wikipedia)

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nnB42yX-kA

Charity --- Burmese Way

Burma being a Buddhist country, the Burmese society is very closely intertwined with the Buddhists monks and their monasteries. The people rely on the monks to provide religious functions at social occasions (e.g. marriages, weddings, house warmings, deaths, etc.) and the monks in turn rely entire on the lay people to provide for the needs of the monks, such as daily meal, personal effects, transport, and the upkeep of the monasteries.

Whenever a new monastery is to be built or a new building erected, donations would pour in from the local people. One would think that such selfless act of giving to a worthy cause should go unnoticed, but not in Burma. Here, the names of the donors are chiselled in the stone walls surrounding the monastery for posterity.

(The inscription says "From the generosity of Mr and Mrs XXX from England)

And if you are fortunate enough to be able to donate the entire building (e.g. monks’ residence, dining hall, meditation hall, etc.) or a water storage tank then your good deeds are etched in bright colours on the main façade of the structure for all to see.

You know you've been a generous giver, but you also want everyone else to know how generous you are! This is the Burmese way of doing charity with a large dose of ego massaging thrown in for good measure.