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Pulling up his longyi, Naung Naung proudly shows us the tattoo of a rabbit on his right thigh, surrounded by a faded swirl of Pali inscriptions. "This one makes me jump higher", he explains, his face deadly serious, before pulling open his tattered shirt to reveal a tiger on his chest. "And this one gives me courage!" This goes on for a few minutes, as he shows us a succession of significant tattoos - each located on a specific part of the body - and tells us the blessing each one bestows. I'd read a little about this custom before, (sometimes precious stones and amulets were inserted just beneath the skin to complement the inks and enhance the mystical significance), but hadn't realised it was still practised. I'd read that in times of war, many Burmese soldiers asked for tattoos over their hearts, as this was believed to render the wearer impervious to bullets. Another man told me that some monks are allowed even more powerful tattoos, such as one which can make them invisible when they wish it.

Burma Three: Lingering a little longer with the lotus-eaters

Michael Meadows
2007-03-08 16:37:11

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Pulling up his longyi, Naung Naung proudly shows us the tattoo of a rabbit on his right thigh, surrounded by a faded swirl of Pali inscriptions. "This one makes me jump higher", he explains, his face deadly serious, before pulling open his tattered shirt to reveal a tiger on his chest. "And this one gives me courage!" This goes on for a few minutes, as he shows us a succession of significant tattoos - each located on a specific part of the body - and tells us the blessing each one bestows. I'd read a little about this custom before, (sometimes precious stones and amulets were inserted just beneath the skin to complement the inks and enhance the mystical significance), but hadn't realised it was still practised. I'd read that in times of war, many Burmese soldiers asked for tattoos over their hearts, as this was believed to render the wearer impervious to bullets. Another man told me that some monks are allowed even more powerful tattoos, such as one which can make them invisible when they wish it.

We're in Nyaungshwe now, the largest town on the shore of Inle Lake. True to form, our bus here had suffered
a blow-out and broken down - we all waited under a shady tree while our driver crawled under the bus with a grin & an ice-cream container full of greasy nuts & bolts. It had been a relatively uncomfortable ride, at least at first. The seat I'd been directed to had so little leg room I had to sit with my knees drawn up almost to my chest. Luckily, just when I was starting to cramp badly, someone got off and I scrambled gratefully across into the more spacious seat they'd vacated. =)

Bus rides in Burma can be uncomfortable, or at least occasionally unnerving, for another reason. In 1970, the military leader Ne Win was advised by his soothsayer to "move to the right". It's not clear exactly what he meant by this, but Ne Win decided to follow it very literally with regards to traffic; he ruled that all vehicles had ...