Homage Ceremony

I spent the morning at an Homage Ceremony at Rangoon University. This was a little unusual, for them and for me. The ceremony was for senior (over 60) members of the Rangoon University Mountaineering and Hiking Association, and the Myanmar Mountaineering and Hiking Federation. Homage ceremonies are common this time of year, around the festival of Thadingyut (see previous post). But I had never attended one, and I don't think this group had ever had a foreigner there, let alone an American.

I met some of my Burmese climbing buddies at a teashop near the university, then we walked together to the campus building where these ceremonies are often done. It's a religous building, with an altar and Buddhist shrine, and a religious ceremony. The dignitaries, about a dozen, sat in chairs across the head of the room, next to the altar. The audience sat on mats on the floor, crosslegged or kneeling. After a late start, and a few speeches, we knelt and bowed down towards the speakers, and were led in some chants. I don't know what I was chanting. I don't think I made any promises I can't keep, but we'll see. After this ceremony, the seniors were presented with gifts.

This was followed by more speeches and exhortations from the seniors. The senior members are quite important--doctors, academics, government officials. Some spoke out of their professional interests--a lecture on the immune system. Several were remarkable in speaking openly about the changes that are happening now in Myanmar, and the need for the Federation/Association to change too.

After the speeches, lunch was brought out on low circular tables. We sat around the tables, ate, and chatted. I spoke mostly with my fellow climbers. I was introduced to a few others, who dared to speak with me and had the ability to do so in English.

I feel like I am part of a process of desensitization. The organization knows about me, it tolerates me, now it invites me into its special ceremonies. I'm not sure where this is going. I hope into a formal relationship with these organizations, as technical advisor and trainer. But that may be too much to hope for. In the meantime, I'm enjoying this window into Burmese civic life, such as it is, and the ways it may be emerging from government control.