Thu Maung - Kuan Sagar 5

Yatua

Our elders criticize the youth of today for not following traditional culture. They think that foreign cultures are invading. They also think that young people are comfortable with foreign cultures. It is normal for adults and young people to have different opinions, but the above is generally true. However, sometimes, like a witch, we see some young people who are too attached to traditional culture. Some young people go against our educated elders and go too far in violating traditional culture. I would dare to say that this is a good sign. This means that it is worrying that they are adopting very conservative and outdated ideas and concepts, but in the future we can support and guide them. No matter what kind of tradition they are currently following, we should watch and forgive them. Then we should mix traditional and modern methods and create conditions that are useful for them.

Let me show you a small example.

Yesterday morning, it was early in the morning. I usually sleep late at night, but I woke up in the middle of the night. I drank water and went to bed, and I woke up at eight o'clock and sat in the tea shop. When I got up to drink water, the whole family was still sleeping. That day, I drank water and went back to the bathroom and went upstairs.

Suddenly, I saw a tall, long-haired, dark-skinned man standing upright. At first, I was very scared. I wondered... was he a thief or a demon? Why did this happen? As I said earlier, the housemates were always asleep, so it couldn't be a housemate. And his body and limbs were

It was obvious that it was a man. There were two tall sons at home, but they didn't have long hair. It was dark, but I knew it wasn't two sons. Also, it couldn't be a friend of the sons who stayed at home and stayed up late at night. The brothers studied with their sons until midnight, played TV games, and got up at sunset, right?

So who is the "team"?

“Hey...who is it?” I asked, and he laughed in a way that sucked in air, “Mine, mine, mine.” I didn’t know what to do. I was afraid. As I approached him, his white teeth were still protruding from his dark face. Suddenly, I remembered and turned on the switch nearby, and the light on the stairs came on. I was sure that he was my son’s friend, “Htin Htin Thar.” I was sure that he was not a regular visitor (he had never been here before). Because he was like the youth of today, in the way he dressed, ate, lived, sat, and spoke. He was like “Htin Htin Thar.”

"My son, is he a friend of mine?" he nodded, laughing. "'Phoe Sane' is the nickname of 'Htin Htin Tha.'"

"Kai...Kai, I'll make you look fresh, have some coffee, whatever you want."

I said and went back to bed.

* * *

I woke up and went to a tea shop to sit down.

The incident from earlier in the morning had also been forgotten. When I returned from the tea shop, I sat down to write a letter as usual. Then, “Aye Bon sat down opposite me and said, ‘Now… before I write, let me tell you a little story about what happened this morning.’” I said, laughing.

“In the morning, Waili Waili got out of bed and went out to the bathroom because she was tired. On the stairs, she saw a tall, long-haired man, a boy, standing upright in the darkness like a giant stone. When she suddenly saw him, she was shocked and shivered with fear.”

"I already knew what happened, so I laughed along. But I was also worried about Aye Bon. "Aye Bon is a braver person than me, but he had to undergo major abdominal surgery recently, so he's a little scared of blood, isn't he?" But he continued laughing, so I had to tell him that I already knew about it.

"Very funny boys"

"What are you doing, my friend?"

But this kid never came home. He never stayed home at night. So at first I was scared. The problem was that I knew he was a friend of mine, so I told him to have breakfast, but he didn't say anything back. He didn't move. He just stood there on the stairs. When Aye Bon came back from the bathroom, he just stood there, still like that."

"Well... it's the same when I met you. So it seems like you've been standing there since before I got out of bed."

"First of all, I wonder if there are many boys and girls in Ae Bon. So I peeked in from the room and saw that he was still standing there, his form intact."

"Oh... now what?"

"Let's leave the tea shop with Poh Sanay and Shwe Kyi."

"What's so special?"

"No problem. His friend laughed and joked around, pretending nothing had happened since early this morning."

* * *

When the children returned from the tea shop, I had to ask them.

"What is your son's name?"

"Senegal"

"Hey..."

"It's my last name. My friends gave me a nickname."

"Leave it alone. You've never been to U Thu Maung's house, have you?"

"Yes, sir."

"You slept at home last night, didn't you?"

"Yes. I sleep with my father-in-law."

"Huh.. how are the three of you sleeping in such a small bed?"

“Phoe Sanay and Shwe Kyi slept on the bed and I slept on the floor next to the bed.”

"Hey - the floor next to my son's bed is dirty. How do you sleep on it? The blanket, the mosquito net, the pillows?"

"No. I deliberately slept on a dirty bed. I wasn't allowed to sleep with a blanket, mosquito net, or pillow."

"Ha.. who said you can't sleep? Is it the old man or the old man?"

"No, sir, the astrologer said so."

"Hey...

To explain the whole story. One day, a group of friends went to the house of a TV game shop run by Po Sane to ask fortune tellers to expand their business. In this way, the young people asked fortune tellers about their girlfriends, exams, etc. for fun. When it was the turn of the young man "Senego" (he also seemed to believe in fortune telling), he asked about real life issues, and the fortune teller said that he saw "the fate of the body". The poor man was very scared and scared. Suppose his life was in danger .......

"That's it, Master, you have to sleep overnight in someone's house you've never been to before. You have to sleep quietly so that the hosts don't know. You can't sleep on a bed. You have to sleep on the floor that's covered in dirt and sand. You can't sleep with a blanket, mosquito net, or pillow. And you have to keep your mouth shut until dawn. You can't talk about keeping your mouth shut, U Thu Maung."

"But... right? If you're mute, you can't speak at all."

“That’s it.. I apologize for not letting U Thu Maung know last night, and for standing by the stairs this morning.”

"No need, son. You have to do it according to the rules of astrology."

“No. U Thu Maung, I apologize for the startle this morning.”

"That's it."

"Ha.. U Thu Maung isn't that scared. Your aunt Aye Bon is just recovering, so he's the only one who's worried."

"Hee..hee, Auntie Aye Bon doesn't look that scared."

I was embarrassed because it was a young man's comment. But when an adult is embarrassed, it's like laughing.

"Hey.. don't call me Auntie. Call me Daw Lay."

"I had to say it out loud," he said, embarrassed.

* * *

As I wrote at the beginning of my essay, the educated youth of the modern era who believe in traditional culture are like witches. Therefore, I will not immediately attract them to the scientific, practical, and modern way of thinking. In the future, I will gradually explain and lead them to the right path. For now, I will leave “Senegal” as it is. Senegal is not a sacrifice. As I said, we should be grateful for even a little bit of traditional culture. There is a good way to bring them in. There is no other way. I myself believe in astrology and astrology very much and replace it with modern astrology that is imposed by religion such as “God’s astrology”, “Dharma’s astrology”, “Sange’s astrology” and so on.

Full Moon Magazine, October 2004.