Nationalism, Culture, and Gender in Myanmar: Unraveling Power Structures through Zat Pwe

This book employs zat pwe —a popular performance art event—to examine how nationalist concepts of culture and gender shape and sustain power relations in Myanmar society. The focus is on the performance events, including the ten-hour nightly shows, the professional troupes that stage them, the Bama-speaking village and ward communities that organise and attend them, and the absent intellectuals who discuss them. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork with several traveling zat troupes based in Mandalay, but performing across various states and regions, as well as with residents of different wards in Mandalay, the study uncovers a nationalist discourse that reaches beyond political arenas and into the everyday life of Bama society. This discourse is transmitted through concepts of culture and gender that influence the power dynamics between the educated elite and ordinary citizens, as well as between men and women. The research illustrates how these concepts, embedded in nationalist discourse, intersect with one another and with ideas from other discourses, reinforcing hierarchical relations. By focusing on zat pwe events, this book sheds light on a significant yet frequently overlooked aspect of Bama society, precisely due to the very power structures under examination.

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements vii

Note on transcriptions and usage of Bama, Myanmar, and Burmese ix

Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations xi

List of Figures xv

1
Introduction ……………………………..1
1.1 Zat pwe as a Field of Research ……………………………..4
1.2 Zat pwe in the Literature and my Research Approach ……………………………..7
1.3 Looking through the Lens of Zat Pwe at Nationalism, a Concept of Culture and Gender ……………………………..12
1.4 The Core Concepts: Discourse and Nationalism ……………………………..14
1.5 Methods ……………………………..15
1.6 Field Research ……………………………..21
1.7 Chapter Outline ……………………………..26

2
Zat Pwe – A Popular Performance Event ……………………………..29
2.1 Brief History of Zat Pwe ……………………………..31
2.2 Contemporary Zat Pwe ……………………………..45
2.2.1 Social Functions of Zat Pwe ……………………………..47
2.2.2 Zat Pwe Today – Performing until Sunrise ……………………………..50
2.3 Conclusion ……………………………..70

3
Nationalism ……………………………..73
3.1 Historical Background ……………………………..75
3.1.1 Nationalism and the Bama Kingdoms ……………………………..76
3.1.2 The Emergence of a National Movement Under Colonial Rule ……………………………..79
3.1.3 From Anti-State to Pro-State Nationalism in a Parliamentary System ……………………………..88
3.1.4 Dictating the Discourse – The Socialist Period ……………………………..91
3.1.5 Culture as New Focal Point of Bama-Centred Nationalism ……………………………..94
3.2 A Recent Nation-Image Taught at School ……………………………..97
3.3 Nationalism in Transition – Nationalism During the Time of Research ……………………………..104
3.4 Conclusion ……………………………..114

4
Nationalism and Zat Pwe ……………………………..117
4.1 Nationalism on Stage: Zat Pwe’s Reflection of Nationalist Discourse ……………………………..119
4.2 The Subtle Power of Educational Elites: Influence on Zat Pwe Content ……………………………..125
4.2.1 A Nationalised Concept of Culture ……………………………..126
4.2.2 The Impact on Zat Pwe ……………………………..136
4.3 Transnational Aspects of Power in the Elite’s Concept of Culture ……………………………..148
4.4 Conclusion ……………………………..156

5
Gender, Nationalism and Zat Pwe ……………………………..159
5.1 Gender on Stage ……………………………..161
5.1.1 The Traditional Dancing Parts ……………………………..162
5.1.2 The Drama Parts ……………………………..166
5.1.3 The Concert Parts ……………………………..173
5.1.4 Conclusion of Part One ……………………………..177
5.2 Opera and the Buddhism-Related Gender Concept ……………………………..178
5.3 The Nationalist Gender Concept ……………………………..182
5.3.1 Empirical Examples of Role Allocations ……………………………..184
5.3.2 Historical Impacts of Nationalism on Gender Concepts ……………………………..187
5.4 Gendered Power Relations in Zat Pwe ……………………………..193
5.4.1 Combined Concepts ……………………………..193
5.4.2 Performing and Restraining Sexuality ……………………………..198
5.4.3 Zat Pwe: A Men Dominated Women’s Event……………………………..211
5.5 Conclusion ……………………………..218

6
Conclusion ……………………………..223
6.1 Powerful Concepts ……………………………..224
6.1.1 Culture ……………………………..224
6.1.2 Gender ……………………………..229
6.2 Zat Pwe Matters ……………………………..231
6.3 Main Findings ……………………………..233
6.4 Developments after 2017 ……………………………..233

REFERENCES……………………………..241