Fernweh~8: Myanmar
fernweh
/ˈfɛʁnveː/
farsickness or longing for far-off places
Most of my fernweh conversations revolved around the distinction of home and house. I believed, and still believe, that travelling is a pursuit of temporary houses that we can settle the sense of home we carry within us in.
Recently, in a psychology class of mine, I came across strong arguments claiming that the feeling of happiness is something we teach ourselves by training our cognition to experience pleasure. We motivate ourselves to be happy in consideration of our past. So, similar to this idea, we may be novice to feeling at home, but as long as we reminisce about the memory of the past, as long as we long to find a house that also will be a home to our singularity, we may allow ourselves to root for the new.
This fernweh travel is with Elaine, who currently resides in the same “house” that I live in. As strange as living in a place that is arbitrarily called a house, coincidentally, the time I decided to interview Elaine was when we went to watch the film Nomadland, a film that discusses the idea of carrying a home with us. Initially, Elaine was going to talk about her Taiwanese roots. However, she decided to “draw on her other culture- Myanmar,” as the Chinese clothing history was covered in another interview of the Fernweh series. Before diving into the interview, I would like to add the side note of Elaine, as I believe it is important to include how people associate themselves with the culture they are talking about. Elaine wanted to preface that “She is not as in touch with her Burmese side as she is with her Taiwanese side, but she does know a bit.”
I truly enjoyed your perspective Elaine, thank you!
SK: What does it mean to you when I say “Burmese clothing”?
Elaine: I imagine sarongs (which on Google is called longyi). As a little girl, I remember my dad prancing around the house in the few sarongs he managed to keep from Myanmar. Here are a few pictures of this on men and women:
Normally for women, the sarongs have more pretty patterns and flowers on them, while the men tend to have more muted, plaid colors. Also notice that most of them wear sandals- it’s really hot and humid in Myanmar, so sandals are definitely preferred over sneakers or other types of shoes.
SK: How would you describe the traditional clothing in Myanmar?
Elaine: It suits the hot, humid climate very well! They definitely favored practicality and adaptability to the environment.
SK: Considering there may be a positive correlation between the history and the clothing, are there any specific historical challenges that the clothing was exposed to?
Elaine: Sarongs are apparently an adaptation of Indian/Malay clothing after the British colonization of Myanmar. They are much easier to wear than the older traditional clothing of Myanmar (namely, paso and htamein) so it eventually caught on with everyone.
Image via
SK: How would you describe today’s clothing? Are there any major contributions to fashion, such as designers, trends, labels, weeks…?
Elaine: People still wear it daily on the streets today in the suburban/rural areas, whereas in big cities like Yangon and Mandalay more Westernized clothing is favored. However, for important ceremonies like weddings, dinner banquets, etc., everyone wears a more glamorous version of the traditional clothing.
SK: Some of the people have preconceived notions about other nations’ clothings. Have you experienced such a thing? How do people perceive your nation?
Elaine: Definitely! But these preconceived notions are not necessarily negative- they are for the most part correct. But not everyone wears this everyday. They also favor Westernized clothing because it’s trendy and rather practical too.
I’m not exactly sure how people perceive Myanmar. It is a country that is battling for democracy right now against the military regimen, so the common sentiment I get right now is sympathy for their fight.
Thumbnail image via
