(Thingyan Pot Illustration by Maung Yit.)
To welcome the Burmese New Year, having ‘Thingyan Pot’ plays the important part in our Burmese life. Placing ‘Thingyan Pot’ in front of our house, and to welcome Tha-Gyar-Min (King of the celestials), is one of our good deeds or it may be our propaganda to be written our names on his Golden plate!
(Tha-Gyar-Min comes on the first day of the Thingyan Festival and returned to his abode on the last day of the Thingyan Festival. He brings two kinds of parchments (Gold Plate and Dog-hide) with him. He notes down the names of the people who are good on the Gold plate and who are bad on Dog-hide.)
So, let there be Thingyan Pot, wish for the best and our thingyan pot be prettiest for the king of the celestials- Tha-Gyar-Min, and let’s hope we have ours on the gold! Let’s go to the market on the day (on 13th April of 2017), before Thingyan comes (14th April is the beginning of the Thingyan Festival), and find Thingyan pots! No need to worry, there were, in the market place, thingyan pots, and its flowers, and leaves are sold at every townships of Burma with a very cheap price. People loved to buy them with pleasure, and ready to welcome Tha-Gyar-Min.
(Thingyan pots seller.)
(Flowers and leaves for the Thingyan Pot.)
(Some sold both Thingyan pots, and its flowers, and leaves.)
The Pot with its set of flowers and leaves, is called ‘Thingyan Pot’. It welcomes our Burmese New Year, especially to the King of the Celestials- Tha-Gyar-Min. Whether he forgets to come or not, we never forget to welcome him with ‘Thingyan Pot’. We place Thingyan Pot at the suitable place in front of our house and hope that he will see it and let our names be engraved on his Gold plate.
(Placing Thingyan Pot in front of our house,…let Tha-Gyar-Min sees.)
(Note; Tagu: April – The first month of Burmese Year. Burmese New Year falls in the second week of April, the Water Festival (Thingyan Festival).)
Epilogue
Thingyan Pot sellers choose such flowers and leaves for Thingyan Pot obeying the law of Burmese Custom. Please note that they are not plucking randomly from the garden. They choose a set of flowers and leaves carefully with the knowledge of Burmese Alphabet and its days concerned. If you want to make your own Thingyan Pot, you will have to collect ‘flowers and leaves’ by obeying the law of Burmese custom as the sellers do. At first, you must have a little knowledge of Burmese Days, Burmese Alphabet and its letters.