Myanmar is a country that has a calculated trijunction spot between South East Asia, China and South Asia. Its people are keen to not let go of its traditions. This paper will mainly focus on marriage and family life in Myanmar. It will also discuss in great length of the Myanmar custom of weddings, life after wedding, average number of children, child discipline, dating and engagement, differences in family life between the rich, middle class and poor, divorce and care for the elderly.
The Myanmar people take the dating and engagement process seriously. In the ancient days, the female would take up to three years to give an answer to a suitor who had approached her but times have changed and it does not necessarily take that long. Most of there relationships are matched according to the day of birth. For instance, someone born on Sunday is believed to be well matched with someone born on Friday. In the present day and there is no exact way in meeting of the young people of differing gender. When the two young people decide to make there union official, a third party comes to the picture that is normally an older aunty or grandparent to the male or female of the dating couple. Next, a delegation comprising of the uncles, aunties and parents is prepared to go and ask for the girls hand in marriage. There is an authorized speaker on both sides whose responsibility is to praise qualities of the intending couple. The other main role of the authorized speaker from the man’s side is to make the proposal for marriage, which is accepted. When the spokesperson is handing in his proposal, it is expected of the groom to be to present gold or diamonds for his wife to be. This action will ultimately lead them to setting a date for the wedding. Members of the family and not the dating couple do the process of engagement in Myanmar (Tu 1).
Weddings in Myanmar are not necessarily religious occasion hence the bridal team does not exchange vows in the eyes of an all-powerful God but rather they bless their union by exchanging vows courtesy of their relations in addition to parents. The wedding day is a big event in the life of a Myanmar girl thus; they take every step with a lot of caution. The accepted bridal colors to be used in the wedding are yellow, cream, pink and white. Small flower girls who carry customary gilded cups normally lead the procession team. The parents of the groom follow closely after the groom with the grooms’ men following by. On the left side of the podium, the family of the groom encircles him while he is seated on a round pillow. Only after this is done is when the parents of the bride get in. The bride then comes in with her bridesmaids following closely then she sits on the right hand region. The wedding is ready to commence at any time when all this is put in place. The wedding ends when an elder gives a verbal communication on the expected actions of marriage. On the way out, the newly weds proceed out the door and they are met with friends who stand at either side of the door holding gold necklaces so that the groom can pay his way out (Tut 1).
After the wedding, life begins for the newly weds and there are three vital things that is expected of them. The first thing is faithfulness. At all, times they are advised to stick to the partner that the particular person got married to because they believe if you really love each other then you should not cheat around. Respect in the marriage is also expected of them as the second important thing. Tolerance is a pillar they are told to maintain so that the respect lasts in the marriage. The last thing they are told to maintain is leaving within there income. It is advised of them not to exceed in their expenses what their income cannot afford (Wedding Talk 1-3).
The average number of children in Myanmar is two per household. From a tender age, children were allocated different types of responsibilities. In the past, children were disciplined with all the relevant authorities and it would not cause any problems. In Myanmar, there are lots of signboards that keep on reminding people to stay disciplined. This is ironic because nowadays, discipline looks like a far-fetched reality because it has been alternated with human rights. Even the small children are not disciplined at home or in school because they say they have rights that protect them from any form of discipline (Thunderbolts 1).
In the previous two decades, the middle class have become a significant factor of the rich. The middle class families have been able to compete hand in hand with the rich families thus making no huge difference in the two. This on the other hand has caused the poor families to look like they are sinking deep in poverty. The main difference now comes between the middle class families and the poor families because they have not been able to match there standards. When it comes to education, the rich and the middle class get almost the same type of quality education but the poor get the lowest quality (King 1).
Divorce rate in Myanmar is low because they are responsible citizens. The teachings they go through before marriage and during marriage is also a key factor to the low rates. The Myanmar woman is the foundation of the family and they ensure that the family stays intact. Divorce brings huge shame to a woman she is considered weak if she does not make the efforts to make her marriage work. A wedding is one of the big occasions in a woman’s’ life thus it is a duty to guard marriages with zeal (Rizvi 1).
Caring for the elderly is done mostly by the government, which is funded by public contributions. They are considered eligible for the care if the elderly give proof they are not capable to care for themselves or if they have a medical repot that shows they have poor health. Care given to the elderly is in harmony with the United Nations main five ethics. This ethics include self-fulfillment, care, dignity, participation and independence (Zaw 1).
On a final note, Myanmar is a group of people who value marriages and families. They take their time in making a family hence they hardly go wrong on the choices they make. The responsibility virtue is instilled in them from a tender age ensuring that it does not fade in old age and that is why people in governments can take care of the old without being biased.
Works Cited
King T. Victor. The middle class in south East Asia. 2008. Web.
Rizvi Haider. Divorce in Myanmar. 2008. Web.
Thunderbolts. Discipline or not to discipline. n.d. Web.
Tu Sein. The Myanmar family: Courtship..n.d. Web.
Tut Tin Wyn. “Enchanting Myanmar : A Guide to Tourism Destinations and Beyond.” A Myanmar Wedding (1),2 N.pag. 2010. Web.
Zaw, Minh. Government cares for the needy. 2005. Web.
Wedding Talk.15. 2000. Web.