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Burma "Cycles of the Sun" Jay Dunn 24 images Created 27 Mar 2008

Burma, 2003. "Cycles of the Sun" --

In Burma, the ordinary may be what keeps people sane. These are people who know how to do things, and for whom it seems the technology we take for granted means less and less the more they are denied access to it. Most of the toys I saw were handmade, tops made of wood, rope and a single well-placed nail, kites fashioned from bamboo strips and found plastic flown high, on cotton string wound round simple wooden reels.

It is a heavy burden, for instance, that electricity here is neither reliable nor inexpensive. Those who can afford it have generators. The fuel, of course, comes at its own price. But how sweet becomes the sound, in a village tuned down to the cycles of the sun, of an acoustic guitar, strummed lightly, of actual conversation, of people singing, and I heard this everywhere, unaccompanied by music, singing loud and unabashed, their favorite songs. Perhaps I betray my romanticism by suggesting there is something good to this, but in all I saw in the Burmese there is resilience, and strength, and humor.

-- More at www.jaydunn.org --
Humanitarian Issues & Cultural Tradition Worldwide
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  • Burma (Myanmar), Shan State, Nyaungshwe, 2006. Outside an Intha artisan's workshop, handmade parasols dry in the sun, which can be unforgiving  most of the year.
    Burma.JDUNN.1.cycles.jpg
  • BURMA (MYANMAR) Shan State,Nyaungshwe. 2006. Three young friends return home. Most monks in Burma practice Theravada Buddhism, and as a whole, the Burmese people are unswerving in their belief.
    Burma.JDUNN.10.cycles.jpg
  • BURMA (MYANMAR), Mandalay Division, Bagan, 2006.  Bagan?s rich spiritual history is marked by hundreds of shrines and temples. In an effort to attract tourists, the government relocated residents to "New Bagan," an uninspiring concrete town nearby.
    Burma.JDUNN.11.cycles.jpg
  • BURMA (MYANMAR) Shan State,Kalaw, 2006. A proud Pa-O mother shows off her child during a break in the January Sesame harvest. The hill country around Kalaw includes many Pa-O, Palaung and Danu tribespeople.
    Burma.JDUNN.12.cycles.jpg
  • BURMA (MYANMAR) Shan State, Nyaungshwe, Inle Lake. 2006. The tastefulness of these calendars on display at an Intha market gives a sense of an essential Burmese decency.
    Burma.JDUNN.13.cycles.jpg
  • BURMA (MYANMAR) Yangon Division, Yangon. 2006. Awaiting transport across the Yangon River, this Buddhist monk is a study in composure during the midday heat.
    Burma.JDUNN.14.cycles.jpg
  • BURMA (MYANMAR) Shan State, Kalaw. 2006. In public or in private, rituals of bathing and washing are an essential part of daily life in Burma. Rainy season is the only time of year relief from the heat comes during the day.
    Burma.JDUNN.15.cycles.jpg
  • BURMA (MYANMAR) Yangon Division, Yangon. 2006. Much of what can be done by hand is done so. Boats and river transport are crucial to the crippled Burmese economy.
    Burma.JDUNN.16.cycles.jpg
  • BURMA (MYANMAR) Yangon Division, Thanlyin. 2006. River transport is essential to the Burmese economy, whether it be on the great Irawaddy or the myriad smaller tributaries that gain strength during the rainy season.
    Burma.JDUNN.17.cycles.jpg
  • BURMA (MYANMAR) Yangon Division, Yangon. 2006. The great golden glory of Burma, Yangon?s Shwedagon "Paya", or temple, rises above the whole city.  This Buddhist temple is a national icon, a treasure of imagery and detail.
    Burma.JDUNN.18.cycles.jpg
  • BURMA (MYANMAR) Yangon Division, Thanlyin. For these brothers, life close to the Thanlyin River means at least some relief from the fierce heat that grips Burma most of the time.
    Burma.JDUNN.19.cycles.jpg
  • BURMA (MYANMAR) Shan State, Nyaungshwe, Inle Lake. 2006. A young Buddhist monk watches river boats ply by his temple, built half over the waters of Inle Lake.
    Burma.JDUNN.2.cycles.jpg
  • BURMA (MYANMAR) Yangon Division, Thanlyin. These rock breakers paused for only a moment during their punishingly difficult work. It is common to find women  and young men like these on road crews.
    Burma.JDUNN.20.cycles.jpg
  • BURMA (MYANMAR) Shan State, Kalaw. 2006. Many communities like this Pa-O village in the hill country around Kalaw have one great tree like this in the center. They are worshipped as "nats," or guardian resident spirits.
    Burma.JDUNN.21.cycles.jpg
  • BURMA (MYANMAR), Mandalay Division, Bagan. 2006. The brilliant gold of Shwe Gu Gyi beckons from across the Bagan plain. This temple is one of a small number that have an active caretaker.
    Burma.JDUNN.22.cycles.jpg
  • BURMA (MYANMAR) Shan State, Kalaw. 2006. : Friendly, curious and hard-working, these Pa-O students are on their way to school. A teacher in a village like this might make ten US dollars a month.
    Burma.JDUNN.23.cycles.jpg
  • BURMA (MYANMAR) Shan State, Kalaw. 2006. A Danu woman harvests the beautiful flowers their tribe is known for. The fertile hill country around Kalaw supports crops thee times a year.
    Burma.JDUNN.24.cycles.jpg
  • BURMA (MYANMAR) Shan State, Nyaungshwe, Inle Lake. 2006. An Intha villager tends to her plentiful produce, grown in ingenious gardens floating on the lake surface.
    Burma.JDUNN.3.cycles.jpg
  • BURMA (MYANMAR) Shan State, Nyaungshwe, Inle Lake, 2006. Trapping his catch between a conical net and the shallow lake bottom, this Intha fisherman?s hard work is not rewarded often enough.
    Burma.JDUNN.4.cycles.jpg
  • BURMA (MYANMAR) Shan State, Kalaw. 2006. In a variation on slash and burn agriculture, rural farmers in the hill country surrounding Kalaw rotate their plantings every season. This burned hillside is beginning to recover.
    Burma.JDUNN.5.cycles.jpg
  • BURMA (MYANMAR) Yangon Division, Yangon. 2006. Sisters sit in the shade near the Yangon River ferry crossing. For too many Burmese children there is simply not enough to eat.
    Burma.JDUNN.6.cycles.jpg
  • BURMA (MYANMAR), Mandalay Division, Bagan, 2006. Four young monks return home, in a rhythm unchanged for centuries. Only a small percentage of the temples on the Bagn plain have active communities.
    Burma.JDUNN.7.cycles.jpg
  • BURMA (MYANMAR) Shan State, Nyaungshwe, Inle Lake. 2006. An afternoon football match between monks, some sharing shoes or not wearing them at all.
    Burma.JDUNN.8.cycles.jpg
  • BURMA (MYANMAR) Yangon Division, Yangon, 2006. On the streets of Burma's capital city, Shiva's trident helps a young Hindu boy survive. Yangon receives from the government only a fraction of the electricity it needs to function.
    Burma.JDUNN.9.cycles.jpg