Who are the Burmese people in Myanmar?

Answer 1

The upper and central plains of Myanmar are the traditional home of the Bamar(Burmese). In 1882 Augustus Henry Keane said the Mongolic type included the following races: Tibetans, Burmese, Tai, Koreans, Japanese, Lu-Chu, Finno-Tatars and Malays.The Burmese was Mongoloid race. Keane said the following peoples are mixed Mongolo-Caucasic varieties: Anatolian Turks, Uzbegs, and Tajiks of Turkestan.Keane said the Kazaks are intermediate between the Túrki and Mongolian races.Keane said the Mongolian race is best represented by the BuriatsThey are a Tibeto-Burman people who migrated from the north and China-India borderlands long before they established their greatest capital at Bagan on the banks of the Ayeyarwaddy River between 1044 and 1287 AD. Later capitals were built at Inwa, Amarapura, Sagaing, Mandalay and Taungoo. Today (Burmese) Bamars form the largest ethnic group in the country, with 50 million people - about 70 per cent of the population - speaking only their language, Bamar. The rich culture of the Bamars, who are staunch Buddhists, shows influences of Indian civilisations. These include Pali script (derived from Sanskrit), cosmology, philosophy and statecraft, art, medicine and architecture. Mon State is home to the Kyaikhtiyo Pagoda, an extraordinary golden rock perched precariously on a mountain outcrop.

The Burmese language, the official language of Burma, is widely spoken by many of the ethnic minorities as well as the majority Bamar. Its core vocabulary consists of Sino-Tibetan words, but many terms associated with Buddhism, arts, sciences, and government have derived from the Indo-European languages of Pali and English. The Rakhine, although culturally distinct from the Bamar, are ethnically related to the Bamar and speak a dialect of Burmese that includes retention of the /r/ sound, which has coalesced into the /j/ sound in standard Burmese (although it is still present in orthography). Additional dialects come from coastal areas of Tanintharyi Division (including Myeik (Beik) and Dawei (Tavoyan)) as well as inland and isolated areas, like the Yaw region on the hills of Chin State and include Yaw. Other dialects are Taungyoe, Danu, and Intha in Shan State. English was introduced in the 1800s when the Bamar first came into contact with the British as a trading nation and continued to flourish under subsequent colonial rule.

The Bamar(Burmese) are of East Asian descent, and speak a Sino-Tibetan language (related to Tibetan, and more distantly to Chinese). They migrated from the present day Yunnan in China into the Ayeyarwady river valley in Upper Burma about 1200-1500 years ago. Over the last millennium, they have largely replaced/absorbed the Mon and the earlier Pyu, ethnic groups that originally dominated the Ayeyarwady valley.

Bamar cuisine contains many regional elements, such as stir-frying techniques and curries which can be hot but lightly spiced otherwise, almost always with fish paste as well as onions, garlic, ginger, dried chilli and turmeric. Rice is the staple, although noodles, salads , and breads are also eaten. Green tea is often the beverage of choice, but tea is also traditionally pickled and eaten as a salad called lahpet. The most well-known Bamar-originated dish is mohinga, rice noodles in a fish broth. Dishes from other ethnic minorities (Shan, Chinese, Indian) are also consumed.

Traditional Bamar music consists of an orchestra mainly of percussion and wind instruments but the saung gauk, a boat-shaped harp, is often symbolic of the Bamar. Modern Bamar music is typically Westernized, with influences particularly from American Country Music. Rites of passage are also of cultural importance to the Bamar. These include shinbyu, a novitiation ceremony for Buddhist boys, and na htwin, an ear-piercing ceremony for girls. The Bamar of both sexes and all ages also wear thanaka, especially on their faces, although the practice is largely confined to women, children and young, unmarried men.

The majority of Bamar are Buddhists of the Theravada tradition. People are expected to keep the basic five precepts and practise dana (charity), S'i-la (morality), and bavana (meditation). Most villages have a monastery and often a pagoda maintained and supported by the layfolk.

Supplementary to the Buddhist worldview are belief systems involved in crisis management, prediction and divination. Spirits ("Nats") are the most important of these systems. These spirits are mainly malevolent and must be propitiated at stated times and places to avoid harm and evil. Many Buddhist pagodas are either built on old Nat shrines, or else the Nat shrines are incorporated into the Buddhist structure. Astrology is another important element in the belief system. Astrologers are consulted for any important event or crisis in one's life.