Basics - The Rough Guide to Myanmar - page 65

the big three festivals - Thingyan, Thadingyut and Tazaungdaing - these are likely to
pass largely unnoticed by casual visitors.
As well as the major national festivals, many towns have their own pagoda festival ( paya
pwe ), a kind of Burmese equivalent of a country fair, with impromptu day and night markets
andfoodstallsmushroomingaroundthepagoda,accompaniedbyperformancesoftraditional
dance, drama, comedy and music. Notable pagoda festivals are held at the Ananda Paya
and Shwezigon Pagoda in Bagan; at the Shwedagon and Botataung pagodas in Yangon; at
Kyaiktiyo (the Golden Rock); and at the Shittaung Paya (Mrauk U), Shwesandaw Pagoda
(Twante) and Shwemawdaw Pagoda (Bago).
The second major type of traditional Burmese festival is the nat pwè . This is like a more
raucous version of the homely pagoda festival, dedicated to the country's revered nat spirits
and featuring copious drinking, dancing and music, as well as appearances by Myanmar's
colourful nat kadaw . Major nat pwè festivals are held at Mount Popa and at a number of
places near Mandalay including Mingun, Taungbyone and Amarapura.
Festival dates are set according to the Buddhist lunar calendar, typically shifting by a week
or two year on year (with the exception of the Thingyan Festival, which has now been given
fixed dates). Public holidays are listed under “Travel essentials”.
THE BURMESE BUDDHIST CALENDAR
The Burmese Buddhist calendar , like the Western calendar, has twelve months, consist-
ing alternately of 29 and 30 days (each equivalent to a lunar month), totalling 354 days.
Leapyears(ofeither384or385days,featuringasecondWasomonth)areinsertedroughly
everyfouryearsinordertokeeplunarandsolarcyclesinsync.Thetwelvemonths(corres-
ponding,extremelyroughly,totheWesternJanuary,Februaryandsoon)are:Tagu,Kason,
Nayon, Waso, Wagaung, Tawthalin, Thadingyut, Tazaungmone, Nadaw, Pyatho, Tabodwe
and Tabaung.
A FESTIVAL CALENDAR
The following is a short list of countrywide festivals or local festivals of national signific-
ance; other local festivals are covered throughout the Guide.
NagaNewYear NorthwestMyanmar;Jan15.AuniquefestivalinMyanmar'sremoteNaga
tribal districts during which all Naga tribes converge to celebrate the harvest and welcome
in the new year with dancing and singing. A rare and remarkable glimpse into a vanishing
world, to which some operators run tours.
Irrawaddy Literary Festival Mandalay; three days in Feb irrawaddylitfest.com .
Burmese and international writers descend on Mandalay for three days of talks and discus-
sions - 2014 guests included Ian McEwan and Julian Barnes .