Mythologies of the Bamar Tribe

“To be Burmese is to be Buddhist.”

The name Burma was given to the country during British colonial rule presumably after the ‘Bamar’, who were and remain to be the majority ethnicity in the country. Today, of course, the United Nations recognizes Myanmar as the country’s official name. The Bamar are a Sino-Tibetan ethnic group that takes up roughly two-thirds of the population of Myanmar at nearly 40 million people in total. Bamar people mostly live in the Irrawaddy River basin and are traditionally wet-rice farmers, having migrated here originally from Yunnan Province in China back in the 7th century. The Bamar are where most widely-recognized elements of Burmese culture and identity are derived – such as their traditional clothing of long sarongs (longyi for the men and htamain for the women). On their feet, velvet sandals are worn (although leather and plastic are also used) – these are called gadiba phanat. Bamar women often put a yellowy white powder called thanaka onto their faces to protect their skin from the sun. For formal occasions, gold jewelry and silk scarves are put on, and the men often wear turbans and jackets with mandarin collars. Western clothing is making its inroads in the Bamar culture (t-shirts and jeans appearing more frequently) but not as much as in some other Southeast Asian cultures, and mainly in the country’s cities. The traditional Bamar cuisine is normally rice, noodles, and fish with plenty of salad. They practice Theravada Buddhism which is a vital part of their culture, and they speak the Burmese language. Two important rites of passage take place to celebrate Bamar children coming of age – a Buddhist novitiate ceremony for the boys called shinbyu, and a ceremony of ear-piercing for the girls called nar tha. Festivals are popular, such as the regular pagoda festivals. Another interesting custom is the naming of Bamar children. This is done according to the day of the week the child is born – and the Burmese week is divided into 8 to include Yahu (Wednesday afternoon!). The Bamar are actually made up of nine different ethnic groups in total, including one rather unique nomadic minority called the Moken. The Moken are made up of between 2000 and 3000 people that inhabit the waters around a group of islands called the Mergui Archipelago off the southern coast of Myanmar. They are often called ‘sea gypsies’ (or Salon in Burmese), living on wooden boats and leading a hunter-gatherer lifestyle, living completely off the sea. Their traditional fishing methods are still practiced today – they dive up to 60 meters to gather shellfish, and use a long pipe for oxygen. Isn’t that incredible?

The Bamar (Burmese: ဗမာ လူမျိုး; MLCTS: ba. ma lu myui:, IPA: [bəmà lùmjó]; also known as the Myanmar), are a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Myanmar. They are a Sino-Tibetan ethnic group of approximately 35 million people who constitute Myanmar's largest ethnic group, accounting for 68% of the country's population. The geographic homeland of the Bamar is the Irrawaddy River basin. Burmese is the native language of the Bamar, as well as the national language and lingua franca of Myanmar. In the Burmese language, Bamar (ဗမာ, also transcribed Bama) and Myanmar (မြန်မာ, also transliterated Mranma and transcribed Myanma)

have historically been interchangeable endonyms. Burmese is a diglossic language; "Bamar" is the diglossic low form of "Myanmar," which is the diglossic high equivalent. The term "Myanmar" is extant to the early 1100s, first appearing on a stone inscription, where it was used as a cultural identifier, and has continued to be used in this manner. From the onset of British colonial rule to the Japanese occupation of Burma, "Bamar" was used in Burmese to refer to both the country and its majority ethnic group. Since the country achieved independence in 1948, "Myanmar" has been officially used to designate both the nation-state and its official language, while "Bamar" has been used to designate the majority ethnic group, especially in written contexts. In spoken usage, "Bamar" and "Myanmar" remain interchangeable, especially with respect to referencing the language and country. In the English language, the Bamar are known by a number of exonyms, including Burmans and Burmese, both of which were interchangeably used by the British. In June 1989, in an attempt to indigenise both the country's place names and ethnonyms, the military government changed the official English names of the country (from Burma to Myanmar), the language (from Burmese to Myanmar), and the country's majority ethnic group (from Burmans to Bamar).

Bamar people are the predominant ethnic group at 68% of the Myanmar population. They dominate Myanmar's government and the military. The population of Bamar in the country is estimated to stand at 35,010,600 people. Their culture is a dominant culture in Myanmar. The term Burmanisation is used to refer to the influence of Burmese culture on the minority cultures. Bamar people have Tibetan and Chinese ancestry. They are mainly found in areas near the Irrawaddy and Sittang rivers. Rice and fish are their favorite diet. Puppetry is a common way of entertainment used in shows and festivals. Most Bamar community practice Theravada Buddhism. A popular ceremony whereby young boys turn into novice monks is celebrated annually by the Buddhist followers. Bamars speak Burmese, the official language of Myanmar.

The history of Myanmar (also known as Burma; Burmese: မြန်မာ့သမိုင်း) covers the period from the time of first-known human settlements 13,000 years ago to the present day. The earliest inhabitants of recorded history were a Tibeto-Burman-speaking people who established the Pyu city-states ranged as far south as Pyay and adopted Theravada Buddhism. Another group, the Bamar people, entered the upper Irrawaddy valley in the early 9th century. They went on to establish the Pagan Kingdom (1044–1297), the first-ever unification of the Irrawaddy valley and its periphery. The Burmese language and culture slowly came to replace Pyu norms during this period. After the First Mongol invasion of Burma in 1287, several small kingdoms, of which the Kingdom of Ava, the Hanthawaddy Kingdom, the Kingdom of Mrauk U and the Shan States were principal powers, came to dominate the landscape, replete with ever-shifting alliances and constant wars.

Burmans (also known as Bamar) are the largest ethnic and linguistic group in present-day Myanmar, accounting for approximately two-thirds of the population. They live primarily in the Irrawady Basin and speak Burmese. A distinction must also be made between Burman and Burmese; the latter term refers to any citizen of Myanmar, not just those of the Burman ethnic group. Almost without exception, Burmans are Buddhist, a fact that has influenced its relationships with other ethnic groups for centuries. Non-Buddhist ethnic groups such as the Karen were viewed as uncivilized, in part because they were not adherents of Buddhism. The intimate relationship between Burman identity and Buddhism deeply influenced Burmese nationalism under colonialism, giving birth to such slogans as “To be Burmese is to be Buddhist.”

The Bamar (Burmese: ဗမာလူမျိုး bama loo-myo), Burmese or Burmans are the largest ethnic group in Myanmar. The Bamar live around the Irrawaddy River. They speak the Burmese language, the official language of Myanmar. The Burmese-speaking people first migrated from Yunnan, China to the Irrawaddy valley in the 7th century. Over the following centuries, the Burmese absorbed other groups like the Pyu. DNA tests show that the Bamar are East Eurasian, related to Southeast Asian and Northeast Asian people. But they also have "Indian influences". The Bamar speak Burmese, a Sino-Tibetan language. So basic words are related to Chinese language and Tibetan language. Many words related to Buddhism are borrowed from Pali. The Burmese alphabet itself is based on Indian scripts.

In an attempt to build a common identity, successive governments and the Tatmadaw have tried to promote the identity of the majority—Bamar. This can be classified as Burmanization: “processes of cultural assimilation that reinforce [Bamar] cultural identity as the norm of Myanmar national identity” (Walton, 2013, p. 10). The state nationalized Bamar cultural elements intertwined with Buddhist religious values and practices. For instance, Myanmar’s only official language is Burmese (the language of the Bamar), and the state promotes the majority’s religion which is the Bamar way of Buddhism—Theravada Buddhism influenced by cultural elements of Bamar people. As a result, a collective and inclusive national identity representing all diverse communities was never created. Rather than coming in the form of an overtly declared policy, the process of Burmanization emerged from the Bamar-centric approach manifested in the state structure and state building during the previous military regimes. Houtman (1999) used the term “Myanmafication”, especially in discussing the name changes done in 1989, calling the shift from the name Burma to Myanmar a means “to represent the ultimate illusion of unification of the country”, together with numerous historical commissions to “develop and study Myanmar identity” (Houtman, 1999, p. 53-54). This kind of assimilationist character is also discussed “as an “internal” form of colonialism” (Boutry, 2015, p. 6). For instance, government policy of development of non-Bamar ethnic groups living in border areas viewed them as “primitive, backward and in need of guidance” (Walton, 2013, p. 11). This is exemplified by the establishment of designated schools under the Border Affairs Ministry to educate and effectively communicate Burman-ness to students of other ethnic and religious backgrounds.

A diverse range of indigenous cultures exist in Myanmar, with majority culture primarily Buddhist and Bamar. Bamar culture has been influenced by the cultures of neighbouring countries, manifested in its language, cuisine, music, dance and theatre. The arts, particularly literature, have historically been influenced by the local form of Theravada Buddhism. Considered the national epic of Myanmar, the Yama Zatdaw, an adaptation of India's Ramayana, has been influenced greatly by Thai, Mon, and Indian versions of the play. Buddhism is practised along with nat worship, which involves elaborate rituals to propitiate one from a pantheon of 37 nats.

The Bamar people (also simply known as "Burmans") are the dominant ethnic group of Myanmar, numbering approximately 30 million people. The Bamar speak the Burmese language and primarily live in the Irrawaddy basin, which covers the Magwe, Sagaing, Mandalay, Bago, Yangon and Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) divisions. Since the Bamar people constitute the majority of Myanmar's population, their customs and identity are closely intertwined with the Burmese national identity as a whole. Traditional dress for the Bamar constitutes a type of sarong called a longyi (male) or htamain (female), with gold jewellery, silk scarves, cloth turbans and Mandarin-collared jackets often worn on special occasions. Though you will still see many Burmese wearing traditional dress today, in urban centres especially the trend is increasingly toward Western-style clothing and make-up. Traditional music of Myanmar consists of an orchestra mainly of percussion and wind instruments but the saung gauk, a boat-shaped harp, is often symbolic of the Bamar. Other traditional instruments include pattala (Burmese xylophone), walatkhok, lagwin, and hsaingwaing. Traditional Bamar dancing is similar to Thai dancing. Puppetry is also a popular form of entertainment and is often performed at pwés, which is a generic term for shows, celebrations and festivals.

The Bamar (Burmese: ဗမာလူမျိုး; MLCTS: ba. ma lu myui:, IPA: [bəmà lùmjó]; also known as the Burmans) are a Sino-Tibetan ethnic group native to Myanmar (formerly Burma) in Southeast Asia. With approximately 35 million people, the Bamar make up the largest ethnic group in Myanmar, constituting 68% of the country's population. The geographic homeland of the Bamar is the Irrawaddy River basin. Burmese is the native language of the Bamar, as well as the national language and lingua franca of Myanmar.