N 51     Continuation of Bamboo Artisan 

 

  The monk is not young. He may be about 70 years of age by now. He is a “ Lu “ man ( a tribe of Shan ) from the Shan –Thai border. He is aiming to weave 108 Buddha images .( The number 108 being a sacred number for Buddhists. )Out of this number he had finished over 70. He goes wherever people want to make a Buddha image, not asking for a price for weaving it , but accept what is offered to him only.

      

On hearing about this monk my mind started to wander. I asked what about weaving other things such as what people regard as art objects like the bamboo objects they make in Merng Naung . We are a people who doesn’t have much art skills. She said he can easily make them , even his assistants can do so. His assistants are also priests like him. I thought then he should pass his skills , his craftsmanship to the young generation. So they would not become extinct. She told me that he is ready to teach whoever wants to learn from him.

     Bamboo works are a  kind of craft the Shan people can master.Shan people don’t have much distinctive creation in art and craft. As I have mentioned above there is the bamboo weaving of Merng Naung, where they make objects like rice  or trinkets containers, and hats and khamouks for women. But the handiworks are crude and there are no new creations. There is the earthern ware of Merng Kaing. which are not much in use now. I don’t know if  the ironware of Som Taung , Kengtung which was mentioned in “Quiet Skies on Salween “ thriving or not. But I don’t think I will be wrong for what I said about we don’t have much skills in art and craft.

    

     

  But what the monk is doing can be called a work of art beside meritorious deed. He is a craftsman , an artisan. Young people from our creation lacking land should learn from him ,should take advantage of his skills and based on this skills should enhance this form of art and craft. If this craft flourish the livelihood of the Shan people will be better and they may contribute to the few craftsmanship that the Shan people already have.        

     

N50      Bamboo Artisan

There is a wide variety of bamboos in our country. And they are also plentiful  and grow well in most parts of our country. So people learned how to use bamboo from long ago. In fact it can be said to be the most basic material for people to use in our country.

    

  The most important use of bamboo is making houses, mostly in rural areas. Everything from the pole to the roof can be made with bamboo. And then people uses bamboo to make their everyday needs. Things that are needed to use in agriculture works, in kitchens, in markets and even toys for children. Tender shoots of bamboo are eaten as food called hmyit. There are stories about people who lost their way in thick forests and survive by eating bamboo shoots.

    

  So bamboo has a very important role in Myanmar people’s lives. Our forests are nearly gone now due to excessive logging. And our bamboo groves will be the next to be depleted as China is buying tender bamboo shoots and people are extracting them as much as they can, according to greediness and lack of rule of the law.  There are some people who are worried that bamboo will disappear and I have posted about it in my facebook page  written in Burmese. But I know it will not have much effect. When will our people come to their senses…..?

     

My actual aim in writing this piece is about one extraordinary use of bamboo and the man who uses it.

   

   He is not a layman but a monk. The relative who told me about him does not know his real name. They called him “  Sao Pu  “ only. She said she know him because he had made images of Lord Buddha in her village. Two of them and each about    13   feet in height.      

 To be continued…..  

      

     

N48            Tree Lover

Today I watched a documentary film on CCTV. The title is “  The Ancient Dove  Tree”. Lately I have been one of the citizens who has awareness and concerns about our  environment. So forests and trees have become one of my interests, and have been expressing my concerns about them in my blogs and facebook.This is the only thing I can do . My wishes about trees are to limit cutting and do replanting more intensively. Tree planting ceremonies in towns and cities to mark the tree planting season will not be enough . Trees need to be grown in the inner country where logging had taken place widely.

        

Another thing I have been thinking lately is to introduce new trees to our country. The documentary I watched today suits my wishes . So I want to relate about it.

     

  It is about efforts made by some people to get a plant from one place and spread it to another places. During the 19^th century a missionary who was working in China sent a picture of a tree’s leaf with its flower to a botanist in Paris. They thought that the leaf looked like the fossil of an ancient tree they found in Europe . So the tree in China should be that tree that had  become extinct in Europe. The flowers when they bloom are white in colour and looks like butterflies or doves . So they called it the Dove Tree.

To find the tree an Englishman named Ernest Wilson was sent to China. Ernest was working in a botanical garden in Kew by then. But he went to China in 1899 by ship. With the hint given to him by some missionary Ernest finally located the tree though it was not an easy work. Life in China was harsh by then but he stayed three years doing researches, collecting plants and trees and taking photos. In 1902 he returned to England with some seeds of the Dove Tree.

      

But when they planted the seeds they wouldn’t sprout. When they cut the seeds in half they found out that the outer covering was very thick that it would take 3 years for the seedling to come out. But gradually they succeeded in getting some plants to grow.

The plants later spreaded to other European countries and even to North America where  one tree can be seen  in the compound of the White House now.

     

  Ernest even went back to China another 4 times to collect plants and trees . He brought back about 1000 plants and 1000 photos.

   

   In 1954 Chinese premier Chou En Lai attended a summit in Geneva, Switzerland. He saw the tree with it’s flowers and was impressed by it and asked what tree was it/ He was told it was Dove tree and that it came from China. So Chou, when arrived back in China gave directions to look for the trees, do research on them  and spread them to other parts of the country, which they did also with some difficulties.

     

I think my wish to introduce new trees comes from my observation of nature. My mind doesn’t let anything I see pass away easily. When I see something nice I will appreciate it and when I see the opposite I have to try hard to erase it from my mind. So when I see beautiful trees I come to like them and am greedy enough to bring them to my land.

to be continued……

  N49             continuation of Tree Lover

  

  Here are some of my likes;

In the book “ Silk Road “ there are some places where they mentioned poplar trees. It is said to be tall and not wide spread. When I looked up for its images I saw that they are pretty trees. When they are planted on roadside in rows they look magnificent. I would like to plant Poplar trees in our country.

   

As I have often written in my blogs and articles I would like to plant new species of Cherry trees in Taunggyi. The few trees that we can see in Taunggyi are some of the leftovers after destroying and cutting down by people who do not love nature and use them for their own purpose. But this year people of Taunggyi has become alert and are starting to plant new trees and Cherry trees as well. But as I have said it will be better if we can plant new species from abroad to adorn our roadside and make them into boulevards for people to enjoy when the blooming season come and maybe we can have Cherry blossom festivals like in Washington and Kyoto.

   

  When I see beautiful trees I always appreciate them. When I went to Shwe  Li some years ago I saw some pine trees there. They cover the whole hill where the Shan monastery we visited situated. The pines or maybe Spruce are so beautiful with the perfect shape of Christmas trees  that I want to bring some home. But I did not put some efforts to do so. So the images of the trees remains only in my mind.

   

  While in Australia I saw some beautiful trees . They have beautiful perfect shapes of a tree and the colours are so green and lustrous. Maybe the environment is so clean that even the trees are not covered with dust like ours. Their parks are generally green lawns dotted with big trees and benches to sit on. There are not even colourful flowers but they are perfect places for strolls and leisure.

   

  In Tasmania we visited a place call Plenty. It is a fish hatching plant where they raise Trout and Salmon. The fish ponds are not just rectangular ponds but with different shapes and sizes to suit the eyes. Beside those pretty fish ponds and green lawns they also have big trees in their compound. They were brought there from many countries a long time ago and they have grown big. They take care of their trees and put label on each tree like Englisha Elm, Japanese Spruce and so on.

     

Big trees in our country , whichever can be used for something have been cut down. I think only Banyan trees remain as they cannot be used for people’s uses.

People  have been moving from place to place since the start of civilization. In this way plants and trees, cultures, religions had spread throughout the world. Trees also had spread from place to place through the efforts of tree loving people like Ernest Wilson.There is no harm in having new trees. In fact they benefit people in many ways. So we should we should 

 welcome new  trees to our land. But it can be realized only if there are people who are willing to bring them in. So I hope tree loving people like Ernest Wilson or some institutions will emerge in our country to make it more greener and livable with green and beautiful trees.

N 47  …… Continuation of Environmental Awareness

I like this programme. There are lots of spare lands in our country. The government should impose such law on the citizens. To plant one tree and take care that it grow well in one’s life. To plant them anywhere , where it is convenient, and not only in their compound. But if so there will be some difficulties for people who live in big cities. But then most people who are living in big cities have their own hometown. They can plant their trees in their own hometown.

    

  Imagining that it will be good if the government impose such law, I in advance planted 4 trees for 4 members of my family, in a school compound near our house in Taunggyi after obtaining permission from the headmistress. Anyway they have some spare land and  are in need of trees which the children had been planting last rainy season but were unsuccessful because there were no fencing. I hope my trees grow well.

    

  One thing I want to add is about the cause of cutting trees. The trees around our town are not part of a big forest , so they  can not  be used for  commercial purposes.  But only  local people cut and  who uses them for firewood. And sometimes fire break out on the mountain devouring patches of the remaining forest.

    

  I heard someone suggest that the government should not sell the country’s gas to neighbouring countries. Instead they should build gas factories and produce gas tanks and let the people use for cooking. This way will save many of our trees and also promote our standard of living.

     

  If we think about the future of our country there are many things to do. Most of them can be done only by the government. But people, individually or by forming groups or organizations can also be of  much help.

     

So I welcome all activities that aim for the good of the country. I welcome the Shan Cherry tree planting group, the foremost Greenland group and all groups involving in all charity and welfare activities.  

 

N46     Environmental Awareness

There is a saying in Myanmar. That is “ One who looks sees “ meaning if we lookwe see and if we turn a blind eye we will not see anything. About our environment some are aware about it and are concerned and worry and are doing something to save it while other people , mostly due to ignorance do not see , do not put them in mind and are even destroying it.

   The earth itself is full of troubles. Beside man made troubles  such as conflicts and wars and many other things it is also  facing troubles concerning the environment. There are natural disasters, pollution of all kinds, climate changes, and  deforestations , to mention a few.   

   The governments are doing as much as they can within their power. People who have awareness are also doing something to save their environment. I think there have been some alertness in Taunggyi about trees lately. I myself did a kind of participation by writing an article in the Ashe Yoma journal about the disappearance of cherry trees in Taunggyi referring to Ellen Thorp’s book “ Quiet Skies on Salween.`”Not long ago I saw an article  written by Shi Ingyin about deforestation in Taunggyi. And I heard about a group called Shan Cherry was also formed and that they had started planting trees on the mountain range on the east of Taunggyi.

  Our country is one of the countries that has deforested most of its wooded areas due to overlogging of trees beyond sustainable yield . But I think most of the proceeds do not go into the Government’s budget. Most of our lands were depleted of its trees and forests and it is only the people who will have to bear its consequences.

    The government is not doing enough to replace the lost forests and trees. There are some good examples we should follow. Let us look what China is doing. In  1981 a law that requires every citizen over the age of 11 plant at least one tree a year was  enforced.  As a result China currently has the highest afforestation rate of any country or region in the world with 47000 sq kl of afforestation in 2008.

To be continued……..

N45   Water Wasting Festival   (Part  2 )

    

But if we think of the water they use for pleasure we will see that it is very wasteful and senseless . Generally we can say  that water is not scarce in our country , but one place and another place , one region and another region are not the same. Water is more plentiful in Lower Burma than the middle part where it is arid. But even then I heard that in some parts of the Irrawaddy Delta drinkable water is scarce.

     

   If we look more widely at the world there are many places where water is a problem. Half of the world’s population does not have access to save pure drinking water and there are many places where using of water is limited. Even some developed countries like Singapore do not have enough usable water resources, so that she has to buy from neighbouring countries . In  Australia too water is not plentiful, so use of water for a single person is limited. There had been countries that went to war because of unequal devision of water like Syria and Jordan.

    

 

  I had once watched a documentary film about Indian women who have to carry water. As is their custom Indian men do not care to carry water for household use. So the burden fall on the weaker sex , the women. Women old and young had to carry water for household use and also for their animals, whether it may be near or far. The northwestern part of India Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are arid regions where water is very scarce . Women have to carry water from very far places like 7 or 8 kilometres by balancing pots and pans on their heads. One time is not enough for the entire household. They have to do that tiring errand many times a day. Girls start to go with their mothers from about the age of 8 carrying the amount of water they can. But in that region water is not pure. They can only get salinated water which is salty and bitter and there are people who haven’t taste a drink of pure drinkable water all their lives. Pity them.

     

  So, what I want to say is, “Should we waste our water because it is plentiful “ And plentiful is not even the right word . People in big cities Yangon and Mandalay and Taunggyi all have experienced times when there is not enough water to use. At such times we have to buy water from cars and carts . But even if we have money to buy, if there is no place to draw water from who will come and sell to us? Water is a resource that can be depleted. We can see and hear about streams and lakes that have gone dry.

    

     If we look at countries which celebrate Thingyan such as Thailand, Laos , Cambodia , China no country uses pipes or hoses to throw water on each other. They just use buckets and bowls and water guns only. Splashing water this way will save much water.

   

  So should we follow customs and traditions that will make our lives become difficult, that is futile for the sake of pleasure? This way of water splashing came into life not very long ago in our country and we can change it back to our old ways again.

    

  But if only we have the sense and heart to do so……..