For a boy in Myanmar it is customary to enter a monastery between the age 10 and 20 as a Buddhist novice for at least one week. Sometimes the boys are even younger, and in rare cases they are only 5 or 6 years old. For Burmese people, the novice hood initiation is a very important ceremony and a big event as a family. The novitiation ceremony is called "Shinbyu" in Burmese language. Shinbyu ceremonies are held throughout the whole country, in villages as well as in big cities. Often families send their sons at the same time to the monastery and celebrate the Shinbyu ceremony together. Celebrating together saves costs, because the event with music and traditional dresses is expensive. But it is also a wonderful opportunity for the families to organize a procession through the village as a kind of village festival.
This is Htang Ling Khaw Kay a 70 year old man from the village of Kyardo. Htang is one of only two men in his village who still wears traditional clothing. However Htang changes into more contemporary clothes when he visits Mindat. He explains how he feels out of place in Mindat if he wears his usual attire. He has had his trusted bow and arrow for many years which he uses for defence and hunting, However Htang cultivates his own food. Myanmar, 2017.
A young girl from the Kayan tribe. Kayah State, Myanmar,2017
