ASEAN Literature:

Discovering Identity Amidst

Diversity
MAIN TOPIC 1: PHILIPPINES
○ PEARL OF THE ORIENT
The Philippines is called Asia's pearl of the
orient for the richness of its culture and the
beauty of its landscape. It is home to
centuries old churches, turn of the century
mansions, ancient forts and modern
museums. The Philippines is an archipelago
comprising 7,100 islands. With its extensive
coastline, the country offers the best of island
beaches, white sand blue water teeming with
marine life, corals and lush foliage. The
Philippines is blessed with a moderate
climate making it an ideal sun holiday
2 destination.
 Manila
• Manila, capital and chief city of the Philippines. The city is the
centre of the country’s economic, political, social, and cultural
activity. It is located on the island of Luzon and spreads along
the eastern shore of Manila Bay at the mouth of the Pasig
River.

• The city’s name, originally Maynilad, is derived from that of

the nilad plant, a flowering shrub adapted to marshy
conditions, which once grew profusely along the banks of the
river; the name was shortened first to Maynila and then to its
present form. In 1975, by presidential decree, Manila and
its contiguous cities and municipalities were integrated to
function as a single administrative region, known
as Metropolitan Manila (also called the National Capital
Region); the Manila city proper encompasses only a small
proportion of that area.

3
 CULTURE

○ The culture of the Philippines comprises a blend of

traditional Filipino and Spanish Catholic traditions,
with influences from America and other parts of Asia.
The Filipinos are family oriented and often religious
with an appreciation for art, fashion, music and food.

4
○ TRADITIONS

5
○ 1. Competitive Karaoke- Having
originated in Japan, this fun pastime
found itself on Philippine shores very
quickly. With karaoke studios
peppered across every municipality,
there’s always room for everyone’s
favourite sport: competitive singing!

6
○ 2. Bayanihan - As a country that is prone to typhoons
and volcano eruptions, Filipinos have seen their fair
share of natural calamities. Always resilient and light-
hearted, Philippine culture often entails
a bayanihan character, best expressed during times
of crisis.

7
○ 3. Fiestas
Having been colonised by Spain for more than 300
years, a large number of Filipino citizens identify as
Christians. Most provinces have a patron saint and
celebrate fiestas or festivals in their honour.

8
○ 4. Four-month Christmas
○ Filipinos love an excuse to party, and
Christmas is the biggest, longest party of
all. In the Philippines, they start celebrating
three months early, giving them the longest
Christmas season in the world! It starts as
soon as the "Ber-Months" do — SeptemBER,
OctoBER, NovemBER and … DecemBER!

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○ 5. Filipinos love to eat. . . and drink!
○ Although this rings true for all cultures and
countries, the jovial Filipino character is definitely
best expressed through food.

○ Trivia: "tagay" is the oft-used Pinoy equivalent

for cheers!, though you may also hear the call-out
"kampay" often, which is a localised form of the
Japanese "kanpai", meaning to 'empty the glass'.
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○ LITERARY
WORKS
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12
13
14
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 After Reading

Narration:
○ 1. Who is telling the story?
○ 2. What point of view is used?
○ 3. Why is she telling the story?
○ 4. How is the story told? What technique is used?
○ 5. What do you think if the story is told in another
perspective?

16
○ An author uses narrative conventions in writing fictions. They are the techniques used by the author in
making meaning in the fiction. These may be particular to characters, development of plot, settings,
point-of-view, or style.
○ With regard to plot convention, it has a number of techniques. These are backstory, tells the events of
the story that happen before the present story; Chekhov’s gun, tells of an inherent object inserted in the
narrative;in medias res, narration that starts at the middle of the story; narrative hook, tells a catchy story
opening to hook the attention of the readers; story within a story or hypodiegesis, tells a story within a
story; deus-ex- Machina,tells a good character in a bad situation ensures character wins with an
unexpected or implausible used to resolve the situation; plot twist, tells a surprise ending; poetic justice,
tells a reward to the good characters and punishes the bad characters; cliffhanger, tells and abrupt ending
which places the main characters in a perilous situation with no resolution; flashback, tells an interjected
scene of the story that takes it back in time from the current point in the story and often used to tell the
events that happened before another important event; flash forward tells a scene that takes the narrative
to a future time from the current point of the story ; foreshadowing, indicates or hints something is
coming in the latter part of the story.

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○ Point-of-view is a narrative convention which tells from whose perspective is the story told. It may be a
character, first person point-of view; third person narrator, telling the story by an impersonal narrator not
affected by story situations; and unreliable narrator, telling the story by an insincere narrator, misleading
the readers; stream of consciousness, exposing the character’s mind to the readers through his
monologue; audience surrogate, character who expresses queries or agitations which are the same
questions that readers would ask.
○ Another convention is style. There are also a number of techniques under this convention. Figures of
speech like hyperbole, metonymy, euphemism, oxymoron, and many more are style techniques. Pathos
or emotional appeal is another style technique used to inspire or pity a character.
○ In addition to these techniques for style are sensory detail, which forms mental images of scenes using
descriptive words; Leitwortstil, which repeats on purpose the words that usually express a motif or
theme important to the story; dramatic visualization, which presents an object or character with much
description or gestures and dialogues making scenes vivid for the audience.

18
 Theme

○ 1. What reality of life is shown in the story?

○ 2. Which parts of the story reveal this?
○ 3. If you were Mabuti, how will you react to people’s
negative comments to you?
○ 4. If you knew your teacher’s secret, will you react the
same as the student who said “Gaya ng kanyang ama?”
○ 5. If you were Mabuti, how will you respond to this
reaction?
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○ The theme of the story is the underlying message or the central idea. It is about life that the author is
conveying in the story which is universal in nature.it is about human experience.
○ Short stories often have one theme. The theme is entwined in the story which is reflected in the
characters’ words and actions, events, and other elements. The reader can ask himself the following to
get the theme:
○ What is the author trying to convey in the characters and events of the fiction?
○ What are the key phrases or sentences? Repeating symbols or motifs is a writer’s way of revealing the
theme.
○ What’s the big idea - love, hate, war, passion, peace, friendship, crime ? Does the title suggest the
theme?
○ What does the story tell about human life?

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 Literary Approach: Feminism

1. Is Matute’s creation of Mabuti moral?

2. Does Matute elevate or not women’s role in society through Mabuti?

○ Feminism uplifts women goals by defining and establishing equality in the family,civil, social,
political, and economic arena. Feminist literature is often associated with literary pieces written by
women that deal with women in the society. It also involves characters or ides which chide the
common gender norms dominated with masculinity. This approach gives an impact to the voice of
women.

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 ASEAN Literature:
Discovering Identity Amidst
Diversity
MAIN TOPIC 1: PHILIPPINES (part 2)
 Tata Selo
ni
Rogelio Sikat
○ Nagsimula ang kwento sa Istaked na kung saan pinagkakaguluhan ng mga tao si Tata Selo sa kadahilanang
napatay nito ang Kabesang Tano na nagmamay-ari ng lupang sinasakahan ni Tata Selo, na ayon sa kanya ay
pag-aari niya noon subalit naisanla niya at naembargo.

○ Nataga at napatay ni Tata Selo ang Kabesa sa kadahilanang pinaalis ito sa kanyang lupang sinasakahan subalit
tumanggi at pinagpilitan ni Tata Selo na malakas pa siya at kaya pa niyang magsaka, subalit tinungkod ito ng
tinungkod ng Kabesa sa noo paliwanag ni Tata Selo sa binatang anak ng pinakamayamang propitaryo, sa
Alkalde at maging sa Hepe na nagmalupit sa kanya sa loob ng istaked na pawang mga kilala ng Kabesa.

○ Nang makalawang araw, dumalaw ang anak niyang si Saling na dati’y nakatira at nanilbihan sa Kabesa,
subalit umuwi ito sa kadahilanang nagkasakit ito makalawang araw bago ang insindente, Nakakahabag si Tata
Selo nang maisipan nalang nitong pauwiin si Saling sa kadahilang wala na silang magagawa, pinatawag si
Saling nang Alkalde sa kaniyang tanggapan at pinuntahan niya iyon at hindi nakinig sa ama nito, dumating
muli ang bata na dumalaw sa kanya at inutusan upang pumunta sa tanggapan ng alkalde subalit hindi ito
papasukin pahayag ng bata, hindi ito inalintana ni Tata Selo at sinabi nalang nito na "inagaw sa kanya ang
lahat 23
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25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
 Theme

1. What reality does the fiction present?

2. What makes you think about it? What clues
does the author use to show the theme?
3. As a young person, what can you do about it?

34
 Narration

1. What narration is used in this fiction?

2. Is there any other narration that will make this

fiction more appealing?

35
 Literary Approach
(Feminism)

1. What do you think is the illness of Saling?

2. How is Saling depicted in the fiction?
3. What do you think the mayor did to her? Why didn’t she want to go home?
4. What does the author want to tell of the role of the mayor towards Saling?

36
VIETNAM
LITERATURE
VIETNAMESE LITERATURE

Vietnamese literature was

developed at an early
date. Despite the harsh
trials of history in the form
of repeated foreign
invasion, its own
characteristics remain.
2
VIETNAMESE LITERATURE

It is includes two major

components which have
developed simultaneously
and are profoundly
interrelated: Folk
literature and written
literature
3
FOLK LITERATURE

Legends, fairy tales,

humorous stories, folk
songs, epics and so on
have a tremendous vitality
and have live on today.

5
FOLK LITERATURE

the Moon Man Folktale

6
FOLK LITERATURE

Vietnamese folk literature

came into being very early
and had a profound effect
on the spiritual life of the
Viet’s.

the Moon Man Folktale

6
WRITTEN LITERATURE

First appeared around the

10th century. It had a
leading role and bore the
main traits of Vietnamese
literature.

7
WRITTEN LITERATURE

From the 10th century,

literary works were written
in Han (classical Chinese)
and chu nom.

8
WRITTEN LITERATURE
Well-known works written
in chu nom included Chinh
Phu Ngam by female poet
Doan Thi Diem, the Kieu
story by Nguyen Du, and
chu nom poems of female
poet Ho Xuan Huang.

9
EXAMPLE OF
POETRY
WRITTEN LITERATURE
In the 20’s, and the
following decades, the
country’s literature was
written in Vietnamese quoc
ngu (Romanized national
language)

11
VIETNAM LITERATURE
the Vietnamese literature
developed constantly,
particularly during the two
wars of resistance for
national liberation.

12
VIETNAM LITERATURE
Traditionally,
Vietnamese Literature
always featured
patriotism, national
pride and humanism. It
was not by chance that
great cultural
personalities such as
Nguyen Trai, Nguyen
Du and ho Chi Minh
 VIETNAM LITERATURE

• Is a literature, both oral and

written, created largely by
Vietnamese speaking
people.
• Although Francophone
Vietnamese and English-
speaking Vietnamese
authors in Australia and
United States are counted
by many critics as part of the
POEM

Types of Poetry
Limerick Figurative Devices:
Lyric Poetry Ballad Simile
Ode Metaphor
Narrative Poetry
Personification
Sound Devices: Irony
Descriptive Poetry
Alliteration Metonymy
Subtypes Assonance Synecdoche
Consonance
Sonnet Onomatopoeia
Rhyme
Shakespearean or English
Rhythm
Petrarchan or Italian

Haiku
ESSENTIAL PHRASES YOU'LL NEED IN
VIETNAM

Dạ / Không (yah / comb) — Yes / No

Xin Lỗi (sin loy) / Excuse Me
Tôi không hiểu. (toy comb hey-oo) / I don’t

understand
Hẹn gặp lại (hen gap lie) / See you again
Nhà vệ sinh ở đâu? (nah vey sin uh dow) / Where is

the bathroom?
Rẽ trái / Rẽ phải (ray-uh try / ray-uh fy) — Turn left /

Turn right
 The Cherished Daughter

Mother, I am eighteen this year

and still without a husband.
What, Mother, is your plan?
The magpie brought two matchmakers
and you threw them the challenge:
not less than five full quan,
five thousand areca nuts,
five fat pigs,
and five suits of clothes.

Mother, I am twenty-three this year

and still without a husband.
What, Mother, dear, is your plan?
The magpie brought two matchmakers
and you threw them the challenge:
not less than three full quan,
three thousand areca nuts,
three fat pigs,
and three suits of clothes.

Mother, I am thirty-two this year

and still without a husband.
What, Mother, darling, is your plan?
The magpie brought two matchmakers
and you threw them the challenge:
not less than one full quan,
one thousand areca nuts,
one fat dog this time,
and one suit of clothes.

Mother, I am forty-three this year.

Still without a husband.
Mother, look, Mother,
will you please just give me away?
1.Do you believe that the daughter is
cherished? Defend your answer.

2. What is the present day equivalent of magpie

from the context?

3. What culture of the Vietnamese is shown in

the poem?
Valuing:
1.What family, economic, education, and social values
should be cherished based on the poem?
2. Does obedience always give optimistic result?
Sound Device:
1. What sound device is used in the poem?
2. Expound on the use of repetition.
Poetry type:
1. What poetry type is The Cherished Daughter? Support
your answer
 The Cherished Daughter

The poem ends in a question. Answer it or

give it your own ending by adding three to
four line verse after the last stanza.
 Shrivel - to become dry, smaller, and covered

with lines as if by crushing or folding

Dewdrop – a drop of dew. Dew is small drops

Vocabula of water that form on the ground and other

ry at surfaces outdoors during the night.

Work: Partitioned - to divide into parts or shares

 A School Boy’s Apology
By Le Thanh Huan

If sometimes I fall asleep in a lecture

Or shout and scream as if alone
Please forgive me, please don’t be angry
For I have no place to play.

I’m growing up I want to be a sailor

I’m wishing for a giant arena, a stream
I feel like yelling my life is beginning
Every minute I want to hold tight to my dreams.

But the fires of war have shriveled my joys

At every step I see guns turned on me
At every word I hear the crash of steel
Not believing, not understanding I only stare.
The slaughter goes on and on,
Blood and bones and hatred all strained red.

People running from the front to look out for themselves

Cheating, lying, stabbing others in the back
Some of my friends have fallen.
No one knew, no one cared, they were dewdrops that’s all.
My home will be burnt to the ground
The way back cut off, partitioned...
Understanding
1. Why is the persona in the poem apologizing?
Is it a proper act?
2. What does the second stanza tell about the
persona?
3. What does this (stanza three) tell about the
persona?
Valuing:
1. With the persona’s situation in class, many Filipino classmates
might laughat thisboy or bully him. How would you react in the
situation?
2. If you were a foreign teacher in Vietnam, knowing there was war
in the country, what
preparation would you do before facing your students?
Elements of Poetry:
1. How effective are the imagery in the piece?
2. What are used by the author to touch the readers’ emotions?
Poetry type:
1. What poetry type is A School Boy’s Apology? Why is it so?
 Inside Submarines
by Phan Nhien Hao
tr. Linh Dinh

We live inside odd-shaped submarines

chasing after secrets and the darkness of the ocean
on a voyage toward plastic horizons
where vague connections can never be reached
and hopes are not deployed

before the storm arrives and the alarm command starts

to rouse the last illusions to stand up and put life jackets on
looking to each other for help

Once I was at the equator

trying to slice the earth in half along the dotted line
but someone held my hand and said:
“If you do that, friend, water will fall into the void,
and then our submarine
won’t have any place to dive
Brunei
ASEAN LITERATURE
Brunei’s
Flag

• Yellow-Symbol of
Generosity
• White-Peace and Honesty
 ○ Bandar Seri Begawan,
formerly (until 1970)
Brunei Town, capital
of Brunei. The city lies
Capital along the Brunei River
near its mouth on Brunei
Bay, an inlet of the South
China Sea on the northern
coast of the island
of Borneo.
Econom
y • Major oil producer
• 1.4 Bruneian Dollars =1
US
 • Flat coast with mountain regions
in the East
• Natural disaster are common
• Prone to tsunamis on the
Geograph Northern coast
y
 • Muslim is the
office religion
• Others religions
are allowed, but
are restricted
Religion • Some Christian holidays are
recognized
• 67% Muslim, 13% Buddhist,
10% Christian
 • Mostly consists of
Muslim clothing
• Strict rules, no
Clothin Western-like clothing
g • Some people
can wear shorts,
T-shirts, etc.
 ○ The official language
is Malay, with English
as a major second
Languag language. Many Chinese
e speak southern varieties
of Chinese, and many
learn Mandarin in
school.
 • Constitutional
Monarchy
Governmen • Based on the English
t common law
• Shariah Law can exceed
constitution at times
• Sultan is Hassanal Bolkiah
 • Heavily influenced by South
East Asian countries
• Slight influence from East
Asian countries
• Fish and rice are the staple

Food
foods
• Beef and other meats are
• expensive
Alcohol is
banned
 • Sultan of
Brunei ruled
from 16th

History • century
Originally had more territory such
as the Philippines
• European influence ended the
Sultan reign
• Had a war with Spain for
independence
 • Influenced by Sultanan rule and
Traditional heritage
Art / • Mix of modernized art and
traditional art
Literatur
e
Currency
• Have the Bruneian dollar
• Divided from the US dollar
• 1.4 Bruneian Dollars = 1 US
THE OILFIELD LABORERS
 Distraught - deeply upset and agitated.

Conflagration - an extensive fire which destroys a great deal of land or

property.
Suspended - to stop something from being active, either temporarily or
permanently

Mist - water in the form of particles floating or falling in the atmosphere at or

near the surface of the earth and approaching the form of rain
Stumps - the part of something such as a tree, tooth, arm, or leg that is
left after most of it has been removed

Vocabulary at Smouldering - burn slowly with smoke but no flame.

Derrick - a kind of crane with a movable pivoted arm for moving or lifting
Work heavy weights, especially on a ship.

Taunting - intended to provoke someone in

an insulting or contemptuous manner.

Emblazoned - conspicuously inscribe or display a design on.

Protrude - extend beyond or above a surface.

Akimbo - with hands on the hips and elbows turned outward.

Frantic - wild or distraught with fear, anxiety, or other emotion.

 After Reading

1. What role does Yasid play in the story? Is it major or minor?

2. Who does he interact with? Who is/ are important to Yasid?
3. What possessions does Yasid have?
4. What character is Yasid?

Culture:
1. What cultures of Brunei are shown in the fiction.
2. 2. Are there any similarities with the Philippines?
BONEO’S GREEN HEART
 Den - a wild animal's lair or habitation.

Oasis - a fertile spot in a desert, where water is found.

Tranquility - the quality or state of being tranquil; calm.

Vocabulary at
Neoclassical - of, relating to, or constituting a revival or
Work adaptation of the classical especially in literature, music, art, or
architecture.
Comport - conduct oneself; behave.

Sultanate- A sovereign or vassal princely state—usually

Muslim—where the ruler is styled sultan. The office or position
of sultan.
1. What is the intention of this of this
piece? Why do you think it is created?
2. Does it serve its purpose?

Elements of Poetry:
1. Is there any element that makes the
poem appreciative?
Travel Brunei Darussalam
Poem - Bandar Seri
Begawan
by John Tiong Chunghoo
 Jungle - an area of land overgrown with dense forest and tangled vegetation, typically in
the tropics.
Produce- make or manufacture from components or raw materials.

Gleaming - (of a smooth surface) reflecting light, typically because very clean or polished.

Flora and fauna - refer to plants and animals in the broadest sense of the words, encompassing
pretty much all life on earth.
Subjects - a person or thing that is being discussed, described, or dealt with.

Sampan - a flat-bottomed skiff used in eastern asia and usually propelled by two short oars.

Vocabulary Stilt - either of a pair of upright poles with supports for the feet enabling the user to walk at a

at Work distance above the ground.

Poignant - evoking a keen sense of sadness or regret.

Rucksack - a bag with shoulder straps that allow it to be carried on someone's back, typically
made of a strong, waterproof material and widely used by hikers; a backpack.
Baju melayu - a form of traditional wear worn by the malay community.

Egret - a heron with mainly white plumage, having long plumes in the breeding season.

Cutlery - knives, forks, and spoons used for eating or serving food.

Harem - (in former times) the separate part of a muslim household reserved for wives, concubines,
and female servants.
 Understanding:
1. Why do you think the concert of Michael
Jackson is mentioned in the poem?
2. What is the focus of the second stanza?
Why do you think it is added in this piece?
3. How come there are filling stations in the
river?
4. Newlyweds speed away in their boats,
After Reading what does this mean? What is the
implication?

Culture:
1. What does all the description tell about
the country?
2. How the persona in the poem value the
country?
 Main Topic 4:
Myanmar Literature
 ASEAN
Country Map
(MYANMAR)
 ❖Burmese - the mother tongue
of the Bamar and official
language of Myanmar.

❖It is written in a script consisting

Language of circular and semi-circular
letters, which comes from the
Mon script.
 ❖ Mon script - The Mon language is a
recognized indigenous language
in Myanmar as well as a recognized
indigenous language of Thailand.

Language
Sample text

ဇၟာပ်မၞိဟဂ ် ် ကတဒ ဵု က
် ၠုင်လဝ် နကဵု ဂဵုဏသ် ကၞိ ခၟာကဵု နကဵု အခ ေါင်အရၟာကဵု တဵုပ်သဟ်
ခရင်သကအ် သည ဵု းဖအၞိဵုတရ ် ၊၊ ခကၟာန်မၞိဟတ ် အ်ဂ် ဟၞိတ ဵု မ
် ောံၠုကအ
ဵု ခ ၟာောံသတၞိ မပါ်ပေါါဲ ဟၞိတ
ဵု ဖ
် ၞိဵုလ်
ခကဵုၟာောံ ၞိဵုဟပ် ခရအ်တအ်တါဲဵု ညးမါဲခကဵုၟာောံညးမါဲ သဒးဆက်ခဆၟာောံ နကဵု ၞိဵုတခ ် ကၟာခဒအ်ရ၊၊
(ပၞိဵုဒ ် ၁၊ လခလၟာင်တရး အခ ေါင်အရၟာမၞိဟ် ဂးကဝ်)

Translation
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are
endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one
another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
 ❖ From 15th century up to the 19th
century, palm leaf (scratched with
the stylus) and fold paper literature
became common. Such work were
filled with Buddhist piety and courtly
Literature refinement of language. The authors
were monks, educated courters and
court poetesses. Prose works during
this period were few, mostly Buddhist
scriptures and chronicles of kings.
Palm-leaf and Folded Paper
 ❖ It was in the form of drama and epistles or
missives, written in verse. Works on law and
history were written in prose. Many dramas
were written during the 16th to 18th centuries,
while in the 19th century, poems, drama, and
chronicles were produced.
Literature
❖ Novels were a later development; the first
Myanmar novel was an adaptation of
Alexander Dumas' The Count of Monte
Cristo, but written in a Myanmar setting.
 ❖ Modern Myanmar literature can be
said to have had its beginnings in the
1930s when the University
of Yangon was founded and the
Department of Myanmar Studies
Literature established. There was a new
development in literature known as
the khitsan movement whose writers
used a simple and direct style that has
continued to this day.
 ❖ Burmese literature has historically been a very
important aspect of Burmese life steeped in the
Pali Canon of Buddhism. Traditionally, Burmese
children were educated by monks in monasteries
in towns and villages. During British colonial rule,
instruction was formalised and unified, and often
bilingual, in both English and Burmese known as
Literature Anglo-Vernacular. Burmese literature played a
key role in disseminating nationalism among the
Burmese during the colonial era, with writers
such as Thakin Kodaw Hmaing, an outspoken
critic of British colonialism in Burma.
Culture of Myanmar • Myanmar's traditional culture is an amalgam of folk
and royal culture.
• The most conspicuous manifestation of Buddhist
culture is the magnificent architecture and sculpture
of Myanmar's many temples and monasteries,
notably those at Pagan, Mandalay, andYangon.

• The most popular dramatic form is the pwe, which

is performed outdoors.
• Jatakas, the stories of the former lives of the
Buddha.
Myanmar • In Union of Myanmar majority of the population are
Religion Buddhist, Theravada Buddhism is professed widely.
Religious intolerance or discrimination on grounds
of religion is non-existence in the Union of Myanmar
throughout it's long history. The main religions of present
day Myanmar are Buddhism (89.20%),
Christianity (5.05%), Muslims (3.78%), Hindus (0.55%),
and Animism (1.27%) and other faiths such as Bahai Sikhs,
Lipian fujianhal, Chinese, etc.(0.61%). Theravada
Buddhism flourishes in Myanmar .With reference to stone
inscriptions, palm leaf inscriptions and court chronicles tell
us that Buddhism arrived in Myanmar not once but many
times.
• Its two main branches are the Theravada and Mahayana doctrines.
• The Agar Mha Panditta Ashin Thittila said, "Theravada Buddhism is
not a religion in a sense in which that word is commonly understood,
it is not a system of faith or worship. It is a path to follow for
harmonious living and its essence is Metta, loving kindness to all
creature and self".
• Buddha means "Enlightened One" and refers to northern Indian prince
Siddharta Gautama (c. 563-483 B.C.). Prince Siddharta left a life of
privilege to wander the world as a poor, religious man in search of the
meaning of life. After many years of seeking and a period of intense
meditation, he finally reached a peaceful state of mind that was free
from all worldly desires. Buddhists call this plane of existence
nirvana, or the state of Enlightenment.
Shin-byu: The Making of a Monk
• Shin-byu is a religious ceremony that all Buddhist boys are expected to
undergo. It is considered the highest merit-earning act for the family. During the
ceremony, would-be monks, or novices, are dressed in fine clothes to imitate the
Buddha's early life as a prince. The boys are then carried, paraded on a horse, or
taken in a car around the neighborhood. Their families hold elaborate feasts.
Then comes the head shaving rite, which symbolizes giving up a life of luxury. A
boy's parents usually hold out a white towel to collect his hair as his head is
shaved. Newly shorn novices say prayers in Pali with monks, then enter a
monastery, usually only for a few days or a week - shin-byu monkhood is
temporary. At the monasteries, the novices learn to meditate, read the Buddhist
Scriptures, and do humble tasks, such as sweeping the premises and running
errands for the monks.
Festivals of Myanmar

• Among the many festivals in Myanmar, Thingyan is the

merriest and one of the few observed all over the country.
Thingyan welcomes the Myanmar New Year by washing
away the dirt of the body and bad memories of the old year.
Everyone who ventures out of the house risks getting doused
from head to toe by enthusiastic revellers. As it so very hot no
one minds this a bit. Young people enjoy it most of all.
Although they act scared of being soaked, it is a fine way of
showing off to the opposite sex.
 Thingyan Festivals
• Thagyamin, King of the Celestials, visits earth
every year at this time in human form. The festival
starts on the day of his descent, and ends with his
ascent back to his celestial kingdom four or five
days later. It is believed that during his stay on
earth Thagyamin examines every human being and
inscribes the names of all the good on a golden
tablet, while the bad are recorded on a dog-skin.
Parents warn their children to behave and not kill
or steal or tell lies because 'Thagyamin is
watching'. Thagyamin is also custodian of the
Buddha's teachings. He is a good-hearted god who
helps all those in need. The word Thingyan comes
from a Sanskrit word meaning 'the passing of the
sun from Pisces into Aries'. The day of Thagyamin
ascent marks the beginning of the Myanmar New
Year, and usually falls at the end of the second
week of April.
 Thadingyut fes
tival
•Thadingyut, Myanmar festival of
lights, is celebrated at the end of
Lent (September/October). Houses
and state buildings in Myanmar are
ablaze with lantern, candles, or
electric bulbs. Young people show
their respect for elders by formally
presenting them with gifts of food or
longyi. This festival observes the
event when the Buddha came down
to the earth after the end of Lent. At
the festival, there are concerts and
zat (Myanmar traditional theater) in
every cities. People are usually
crowded in the stalls near those
concerts.
Myanmar Traditional • Because Myanmar has diverse geographical
features, favourable seasonal conditions and is naturally
endowed with fertile soil and water resources, it boasts
Foods an abundant supply of food in a great variety all year
around. Myanmar people enjoy rice as their main food
and it comprises about 75% of the diet. Rice is served
with meat or fish, soup, salad and vegetables all cooked
in their own ways, and some relishes to complement the
meal.
 The Kindergarten Teacher
~by Aung Thinn
Narration: •Valuing:
1.Who is telling the story? •1. Does the kindergarten teacher
2. What point of view is used? love his pupils?
3. Why is he telling the story? •2. What is the relevance on pupil
4. How is the story told? What skills of the drawing and plum
technique is used? lessons?
The
Wedding
Reception
by Nyi Pu
Lay
•Culture:
1.Aside from the imagery used, what other factor makes you easily understand the wedding culture of
Myanmar?
2. Is the wedding culture comparative to our wedding in Philippines?
3. Which are similar? Give details.
4. What factors make our wedding cultures similar?

•Characterization:
1. How is Mar Mar Tin as a bride and a daughter-in-law?
2. How is Sein Hla as a groom and son?

•Theme:
1. What is the focus of the story?
2. How does the author make you see this? What are used?
3. Is it realistic?