Wai Yan Hpone

FOR Westerners, Cupid, the Roman god of love, is the one who helps them open their hearts. For Myanmar Buddhists, naphuza , or the Brahma’s writing on the brows of every baby on the sixth day after birth, is the main factor that predetermines their future better-halves. Whether fixed by Cupid’s arrow, the Brahma’s brow writing or one’s kamma from a past life, marriage is seen by most Myanmar Buddhists as one of three enduring things in one’s life. Along with the other two, the building of a pagoda and tattooing, it is regarded as a once-in-a-lifetime occasion. So significant is marriage for Myanmar people that planning for and conducting the wedding day’s ceremonies and celebrations is one of the most important tasks of an entire lifetime. Modern lifestyles and needs, however, are beginning to change many of the traditional wedding practices that have held forth among Myanmar’s couples for generations. First among the changes is how a new marriage is recognised by the communi

Mandalay royal moat and city wall (Pic: Tourism Myanmar) Come to Mandalay It’s an enjoyable place, it’s our iconic city So beautiful with waters shimmering And emerald-green palace walls With turrets and banquettes Surrounded by the moat All bright in the sunlight reflecting HUMMING this famous song in praise of Mandalay, I set foot on the grounds of our former royal city. Surrounded by the dark Shan Plateau far to the east, Mandalay Hill to the north, and the Sagaing Hills across the Ayeyarwady River to the west, enchanting Mandalay immediately captivated me, a Yangonite. My former doubts about the city’s reputation, expounded in many songs and poems, suddenly disappeared. I was like a foreigner visiting Myanmar for the first time. Women riding motorcycles; old, nearly empty buses; beautifully designed buildings; clean streets crossing each other at right angles – everything was interesting. Township names had royal bearings. Locals looked more carefree. Their use of the Burmese lang