_ report by Kyaw Tha Hla
_ photos by Dave JC, Htay Bu, Ledavida, Lee Snider, Mark Horn & S Turneltaub

On Sunday, July 13, 2008, from 11am to 4pm, ThinGyan Association - Burmese Arts and Culture held its Fourteenth Annual Rakhaing Thingyan - Burmese New Year Water Festival on New York’s Lower East Side.

Admission was free. This year’s celebration continued the Association’s long tradition of promoting awareness and interpretation of Burma’s richly diverse culture for both the American Burmese community and the general public. By choosing a venue on the Lower East Side, the Association paid homage to the thousands of immigrants who have so profoundly contributed to America’s cultural and economic development.

ThinGyan Association’s festival — based upon the version celebrated in Burma’s Rakhaing State — focused on the Laung Hlay, the traditional racing rowboat, which was decorated with ornate traditional abstract floral designs on both ends.  The Laung Hlay was housed in a Mandat occupied by uniformly dressed maidens who hosted many rounds of water play.

As always, the event featured performances of traditional music and dance. This year the Karen community from Utica, New York, performed a Dhone dance with live musicians for the first time.  The Rakhaing and Burmese communities from Utica, Rensselaer, and New York City also performed traditional dances and songs with colorful customs.

The Utica Rakhaing community dance troop performed Thut-gri Re Puzaw (elder respect water giving) dance for the second time to the awe of the audience. Ten elders were honored; among them Burmese writer poet U Thar Ya from Las Vegas, U Khaing Ray Lunn Aung and U Mann Thaung Tin from Utica, and Daw Ama Rhee who is visiting from Bangladesh.

A delectable array of Burmese culinary treats would not be complete without the ever-popular traditional New Year drink Shwe Yin Aye which was a welcome delight during the unseasonable heat wave.  There were about 21 food stalls with over 30 varieties of gastronomic delicacies.

The attendees and supporters took a chance at raffle drawings — top prizes included a white gold diamond ring, a pair of roundtrip Delta Airline tickets to anywhere in the continental United States, two Broadway show tickets, four passes to the Natural History Museum, dual membership to the Film Society at Lincoln Center, a Shell Gas Card (a welcome for out-of-towners), and a lunch for two at Café Amirta.

Tot-see-toe a uniquely Burmese team game has become familiar to attendees, and this year three teams, consisting of both sexes, played.

There were awards given out, Shannon Zin age 14 from Stuyvesant High School, daughter of U Ko Thant Zin, MD and Daw Sandra Zin, won the annual essay contest titled “Giving Back to the Community”.  Marcie Gitlin was given an “Outstanding Community Service” award for her dedication to the service of the Burmese community.

ThinGyan Association also sponsored a fundraiser for victims of Cyclon Nargis by Sasana Moli, an organization of Buddhist monks abroad. Five monks representing the organization attended the event briefly to explain and appeal to the attendees about their work and the situation in Burma.  Monks have succeeded in distributing and getting needed aid to the survivors far beyond that which the Burmese government and international agencies have been able to accomplish.

ThinGyan Association is a not-for-profit, volunteer-based organization, which this year was assisted by young international volunteers from The Door, whose iPower program was instrumental in making the 14th annual event a joyful moment for its nearly 3,000 attendees.