lonely-planet-myanmar-burma-11-edition

392LANGUAGE GLOSSARYWordsacheiq longyi – longyi wovenwith intricate patternsand worn on ceremonialoccasionsa-le – opium weightsa-nyeint pwe – traditionalvariety of pweBamar – Burman ethnic groupbetel – the nut of the arecapalm, which is chewed as amild intoxicant throughoutAsiaBodhi tree – the sacredbanyan tree under whichthe Buddha gainedenlightenment; also ‘bo tree’Brahman – pertaining toBrahma or to early Hindureligion (not to be confusedwith ‘brahmin’, a Hindu caste)chaung – (gyaung) stream orcanal; often only seasonalcheroots – Myanmarcigars; ranging from slim tomassive, but very mild, asthey contain only a smallamount of tobacco mixedwith other leaves, roots andherbschinlon – extremely popularMyanmar sport in which acircle of up to six playersattempts to keep a rattanball in the air with any partof the body except the armsand handschinthe – half-lion, halfdragonguardian deitydeva – Pali-Sanskrit word forcelestial beingsdhamma – Pali word for theBuddhist teachings; calleddharma in Sanskriteingyi – traditional longsleevedshirt worn byMyanmar menflat – covered pontoon usedto carry cargo on a river;often up to 98ft longfurlong – obsolete Britishunit of distance still usedin Myanmar; one-eighth ofa milegaung baung – formal,turbanlike hat for men;made of silk over a wickerframeworkgu – cave templehaw – Shan word for‘palace’, a reference to thelarge mansions used by thehereditary Shan sao phahgnet – swallow-tailed boathintha – mythical, swanlikebird; hamsa in Pali-Sanskrithneh – a wind instrumentlike an oboe; part of theMyanmar orchestrahpongyi – Buddhist monkhpongyi-kyaung –monastery; see also kyaunghsaing – traditional musicalensemblehsaing waing – circle of drumsused in a Myanmar orchestrahtan – (tan) sugar palmhti – umbrella-like decoratedpinnacle of a stupahtwa – half a taungin – lake; eg Inle meanslittle lakeJataka – stories of theBuddha’s past lives; acommon theme for templepaintings and reliefskalaga – embroideredtapestrieskamma – Pali word for thelaw of cause and effect;called karma in Sanskritkammahtan – meditation;a kammahtan kyaung is ameditation monasterykammawa – lacqueredscriptureskan – (gan) beach; can alsomean a tank or reservoirkaraweik – a mythical birdwith a beautiful song; alsothe royal barge on Inle Lake;karavika in Palikutho – merit, what youacquire through doing good;from the Pali kusalakyaik – Mon word for payakyauk – rockkyaung – (gyaung) MyanmarBuddhist monastery;pronounced ‘chown’kye waing – circle of gongsused in a Myanmar orchestrakyi – (gyi) big; eg Taunggyimeans big mountainkyun – (gyun) islandlàn – road or streetlei-myet-hna – four-sidedbuddha sculptureLokanat – Avalokitesvara,a Mahayana Bodhisattva(buddha-to-be) andguardian spirit of the worldlongyi – the Myanmar unisexsarong-style lower garment;sensible wear in a tropicalclimate; unlike men in mostother Southeast Asiancountries, few Myanmarmen have taken to WesterntrousersMahayana – literally ‘GreatVehicle’; the school ofBuddhism that thrived innorth Asian countries likeJapan and China, and alsoenjoyed popularity for a timein ancient Southeast Asiancountries; also called theNorthern School of Buddhismmakara – mythical sea serpentmi-gyaung – crocodile lutemudra – hand position; usedto describe the various handpositions used by buddhaimages, eg abhaya mudra (thegesture of fearlessness)Myanma let-hwei – Myanmarkickboxingmyit – rivermyo – town; hence Maymyo(after Colonel May),Allanmyo (Major Allan) oreven Bernardmyomyothit – ‘new town’,usually a planned newsuburb built since the 1960snaga – multiheaded dragonserpentfrom mythology,often seen sheltering orprotecting the Buddha; alsothe name of a collection oftribes in northwest Myanmarnat – spirit being with thepower to either protect orharm humansnat-gadaw – spirit medium(literally ‘spirit bride’);embraces a wide variety of nat