Htamein: Traditional Beliefs on Women’ Clothes
Longyi is a sheet of cloth with about 2m long and 80cm wide, and sewn into cylindrical shape, wrapped around the waist running to the feet or sometimes shorter to the knee for comfort. Generally, men and women wear it in different ways. To differentiate them, the longyi for men is known as "pasoe", and for women, "htamein". Over 153 ethnicities in Myanmar have their respect national costume, but eight majors groups have the similarity in clothes wearing long sheet of cloth called “Longyi”. In the big city like Yangon, over 80% of people, including men and women wear “longyi” in everyday life. So, Longyi is most wearing costume in daily life in Myanmar.
Unclean Women’s Clothes?
In the household, women and men belongings, especially clothes cannot place together because of hpon (spiritual status). Myanmar Buddhist believes that Men are considered as superior to men by phon (spiritual Status). They are phon gyi (higher spiritual) or possessor of great glory or power. A man clothes must hang higher than women clothes particularly “Htamein”. My uncle always warn my brothers not to go under the line where women’s clothes are hanging in the back yard. As a girl, I can go wherever under the clothes. For a boy, you will lose your spiritual status if you go under the women’s lower part belonging. To prevent not to lose men’ spiritual status or boys, Women who are the housewife have responsibility. If you are not a good housewife, you put your husband’s clothes carelessly that made your husband’ spiritual status lower.
I always wonder why we have a lot of a washing bowl and had to put our clothes in different. We do wash our clothes by hands. My mother strongly disagrees with my careless behaviors on using washing a bowl that my brother use. I was not supposed to wash my “Htamein” (lower skirt) and underwear in that washing bowl because women clothes are unclean.
Moreover, Women “Htamein” (lower skirt) should never hang in front of the house of higher than men shirt. All women skirts and underwear hang at the back of the house, lower. Sometime, there were no sunlight, it is not good for hygiene. Even in a city lifestyle in central Myanmar, it is an excuse to hang women lower skirts in front but no one does it. The social pressure is very powerful. If someone visit your house and saw women skirts in front of the house, it will make losing your husband’s face and regard as a man who does not even know how to show power on his woman. So, I have experienced this sensitive situation in city life as well.
As a result, Women are excluded from certain areas of religious buildings, such as the middle platform of the Shwedagon Pagoda which is the biggest holy place for Myanmar Buddhists. Myanmar is the only Buddhist country that women are not allowed to enter the holy places of the temples or pagodas. This is a religious denigration of woman’ Body and women’ identity. Traditionally, Myanmar Men believe that women’s bodies are unclean and it degrades to all men if she stand higher than men. The husband is considered the spiritual head of the Myanmar household because of his hpon (spiritual status).
Moreover, traditional believes that women do not possess (spiritual) “phon” and they are thought as weaker sex. The value of phon is judged by woman’ body. Women are believed as the cause of suffering. So, Women need to reborn as men to be equal spiritual enlightenment. Instead of following and practicing Buddha doctrines, they must be reborn as men before pursing Nirvana. Female rebirth, was thought to be unfortunate. Women’s spiritual and intellectual capabilities were considered to be lower than those of men and their female bodies not disposed to religion practice.
To conclude, there is a Burmese saying the addresses to a woman’ body “Pong malar, Pan malar”, it means “No Menstruation in a bad body shape”. If you were a woman, you must have attractive body shape and have regular menstruation. Women’ bodies have been presented as sexual objects in daily life behaviors including women’s clothes. As a result of seeing through hegemonic patriarchy eyes, women’s bodies are extremely sexualized and discriminated. It becomes culture of sexualizing on Women’s bodies and belongings.
