Chin bamboo dance prepared for Union Day celebration

09 February 2013: A troupe of Chin dancers arrived in Naypyitaw to participate in a celebration of the 66th anniversary of the Union Day in Burma to be observed next Tuesday.

The group comprising of 27 including 12 males, 12 females and 3 supervisors from Hualngo Chin tribe in Falam Township, Chin State is to perform a traditional dance called ‘Bamboo dance’.

The team got assigned to prepare for the occasion by the government of Chin State following their performance during the first Chin cultural competition held in Hakha last year, according to the Chin World Media.

Bamboo dance, one of the most popular dances in Chin tradition, was historically performed for a mother who died in childbirth to ensure a safe passage for her soul to enter the City of the Dead.

Its name, variably known in different tribal dialects, is believed to have derived from long pieces of criss-cross bamboos used over which dancers would skip alternatively in and out in rhythmic beats with great care and precision.

Burma’s Union Day has got its origin dating back to the Panglong conference where an agreement was reached between Aung San-led Burmese government and Chin, Kachin and Shan ethnic leaders on 12 February 1947.

Reporting by Thawng Zel Thang
[email protected]