10 March
"EVERY progressive citizen reads and every citizen who reads progresses," said U Thant, the UN third Secretary- General. If we look at our neighbors we will see that China and India are in the lead when it comes to national interest in reading. Indeed, the amount of time their people spend on reading is quite admirable. A developing country needs learned and well-informed citizens along with a properly functioning government to lead the way.
The act of reading is the most basic and effective way to accumulate knowledge. We must develop a habit for it to see results in the long run. Like with any good habit, a love for reading can be best instilled during childhood but it is important for there to be opportunities to nurture this desired growth.
Acquiring good habits
The Ministry of Information(MoI) is upgrading libraries in government offices and installing separate reading rooms for children. Domestic and foreign NGOs are also offering their help to guide children and youths into good reading habits.The MoI and the Ministry of Education began collaborating with sub-national governments in 2016 to organize literary festivals aimed at children in the regions and states across Myanmar.
Appropriately named 'Children's Literary Festival' followed by the name of the state or region hosting it, the festivals aim to instill a love for literature in the hearts of children, breed aspirations to grow up into intellectuals, nurture the spirit of teamwork through participation in the festivals' many fun activities, and to pave the way for the youths who will become the future leaders of our country.
Some of the fun activities mentioned before include competitions for reciting poetries, storytelling, and impromptu or ad-lib speaking, paper-folding or origami, coloring, assembling toys and word game puzzle, and other team building activities.
On the literary side of things we have book exhibitions, sample children's reading rooms, book stores, and literary talks, seminars, and discussions. There are also plenty of other exhibits displaying things beyond literature that still aim to enhance children's understanding of their country and the world, plus a host of entertainment programs.
Plethora of ethnicities
Of all the children's literary festivals held so far, the one celebrated at Myitkyina University in Kachin State seems to be the most unique. The opening ceremony for that festival was held amid traditional songs of Manaw and Kachin accompanied by Shan, Yawan, Lisu, and Tailong dances. Cultural troupes performed these traditional dances in all three days of the festival in Myitkyina in addition to dances of the Zaiwa, Lacheik, Tailai, and Taisar.
The State Counsellor paid a visit to Kachin State before the festival was opened and gave guidelines to include ethnic languages to the storytelling and poem competitions in addition to the English language. Everyone followed suit and soon the festival held competitions in the local ethnic residents' native tongues. This allowed the ethnic races to raise the standards of their literature and share them with other people who may not have ever heard of them.
Students on the first day of the poem competitions participated in the languages of Jinphaw, Yawan, Lisu, Zaiwa, Lawwaw, Tailong, Taisar, and Tailai alongside Burmese renditions to enthusiastic applause from the audience.
Ethnic language exchange
Likewise, the Jinphaw, Yawan, Lisu, Zaiwa, Lawwaw, Tailong, Taisar, and Tailai students told stories in their ethnic language together with translations in Burmese on the second day of competitons with an equally active crowd showing support.
Ma Jar Naung Sai, a Jinphaw student from B.E.H.S. 1, said this of the contest: “Today, I entered the contest with a Jinphaw story ‘Cha-ga-rong Htae Sagu Kashar Alam’ which translates to ‘The wolf and the little sheep’ in Burmese. It was more about raising awareness of my language than competing. I’m happy to be able to participate in the contest and I want to know more about the stories from my other friends and ethinc races.”
Yawan ethnic student Chan Day Vis San Long from B.E.H.S. 8 competed in the storytelling contest using Yawan ethnic language. He said, “I have never told stories like this in front of friends from other ethnic races. We sing in our language in church. This was both exciting and happy for me. It was a story but I felt like I was speaking on behalf of the Yawan people. I wish for more events like this in the future.”
Ethnic Tailong student Sai Myint Oo entered the group storytelling using his Tailong language. He said, “I used my people’s language while my friend Nan Mai Mai used Burmese. We told the story of the monkey rescuing the moon, which is called ‘Lin Taung Lain’ in Yawan language. After the contests, I explored the festival with my father and friends. We have never seen something like this before and we were pleased. I will compete again if they hold the festival again.”
We find out that the teachers accompanying the students were just as excited themselves, when we heard Teacher Daw Jar Mai say, “We were notified that ethnic language could be used in the storytelling and poem contests. We teach Jinphaw language from Grade I to Grade 4 in school. The children were eager to enter the contests so we brought them here. The children are happy which makes me happy as well. It’s not just for the competition, they have a lot to learn from here too.”
Building a strong knowledge bank
Children's Literary Festival (Myitkyina) also had 36 exhibition booths including 11 booths for the ethnic literature and culture of the Jinphaw, Lacheik, Lawwaw, Zaiwa, Lisu, Yawan, Tailong, Tailay, Tailai, Taisar, and Taikhamti. Visitors looked in awe at the ethnic people's literarure written in books and parabeiks, their traditional clothings, household items, and souvenirs. The booth facilitators patiently answered to visitors' questions and enthusiastically offered explanations and background history. The entire festival was a beautiful sight to behold.
Riding off of these successes, a children's literature festival is planned to be opened in the city of Putao on the northern reaches of Myanmar, from 18 to 19 March. The ethnic langauges will be once again incorporated into the fesrival and it seems this practice is here to stay.
Similarly, local ethnic residents from Kayin, Mon, Asho Chin, Pa-o, Shan and Kayah races in Bago Region will have their native tongues heard in the Bago literary festival coming to Bago University on 28 March to 30 March.
In conclusion, it is both delightful and encouraging to see such bold steps taken to preserve and proliferate the ethnic languages of the diverse people of our beautiful nation. Like trees entwining to support each other, one day our Union Spirit will grow as strong and unshakable as a forest.
By Htet Ant Lin
(Translated by Pandarli)
