393LANGUAGEGLOSSARYnat pwe – dance performance
designed to entice a nat to
possess a nat-gadaw
ngwe – silver
nibbana – nirvana or
enlightenment, the
cessation of suffering, the
end of rebirth; the ultimate
goal of Buddhist practice
oozie – elephant handler or
mahout
pagoda – generic English
term for zedi or stupa as well
as temple; see also paya
pahto – Burmese word for
temple, shrine or other
religious structure with a
hollow interior
Pali – language in which
original Buddhist texts were
recorded; the ‘Latin’ of
Theravada Buddhism
pa-lwe – bamboo flute
paq-ma – Myanmar bass drum
parabaik – folding Buddhist
palm-leaf manuscripts
parinibbana – literally,
final nibbana; the Buddha’s
passing away
pattala – bamboo xylophone
used in the Myanmar
orchestra
paya – a generic Burmese
term meaning holy one;
applied to buddha figures,
zedi and other religious
monuments
pe-sa – palm-leaf
manuscripts
pin – (bin) banyan tree
pi ze – traditional tattooing,
believed to make the wearer
invulnerable to sword or gun
pwe – generic Burmese
word for festival, feast,
celebration or ceremony;
also refers to public
performances of song and
dance in Myanmar, often all-
night (and all-day) affairs
pyatthat – wooden,
multiroofed pavilion, usually
turretlike on palace walls, as
at Mandalay Palace
Sanskrit – ancient Indian
language and source of
many words in the Burmese
vocabulary, particularly
those having to do with
religion, art and government
sao pha – ‘sky lord’, the
hereditary chieftains of the
Shan people
saung gauq – 13-stringed harp
sawbwa – Burmese
corruption of the Shan word
sao pha
saya – a teacher or shaman
sayadaw – ‘master teacher’,
usually the chief abbot of a
Buddhist monastery
shinpyu – ceremonies
conducted when young boys
from seven to 20 years old
enter a monastery for a short
period of time, required of
every young Buddhist male;
girls have their ears pierced
in a similar ceremony
shwe – golden
sikhara – Indian-style,
corncob-like temple finial,
found on many temples in
the Bagan area
sima – see thein
soon – alms food offered to
monks
stupa – see zedit’ămìn zain – (htamin zain)
rice shop
Tatmadaw – Myanmar’s
armed forces
taung – (daung) mountain,
eg Taunggyi means ‘big
mountain’; it can also mean
a half-yard (measurement)
taw – (daw) a common
suffix, meaning sacred, holy
or royal; it can also mean
forest or plantation
tazaung – shrine building,
usually found around zedi
thanakha – yellow
sandalwood-like paste, worn
by many Myanmar women on
their faces as a combination
of skin conditioner, sunblock
and make-up
thein – ordination hall; called
sima in Pali
Theravada – literally ‘Word
of the Elders’; the school of
Buddhism that has thrived
in Sri Lanka and Southeast
Asian countries such as
Myanmar and Thailand; also
called Southern Buddhism
and Hinayanathilashin – nun
Thirty, the – the ‘30
comrades’ of Bogyoke
Aung San who joined the
Japanese during WWII
and eventually led Burma
(Myanmar) to independence
thoun bein – motorised
three-wheeled passenger
vehicles
Tripitaka – the ‘three
baskets’; the classic Buddhist
scriptures consisting of the
Vinaya (monastic discipline),
the Sutta (discourses of the
Buddha) and Abhidhamma
(Buddhist philosophy)
twin – (dwin) well, hole or
minevihara – Pali-Sanskrit word
for sanctuary or chapel for
buddha images
viss – Myanmar unit of
weight, equal to 3.5lb
votive tablet – inscribed
offering tablet, usually with
buddha imageswa – mouth or river or lake;
Inwa means ‘mouth of the
lake’
wa leq-hkouq – bamboo
clapper, part of the
Myanmar orchestrayagwin – small cymbals
Yama pwe – Myanmar
classical dancing based on
Indian epic the Ramayana
ye – water, liquid
yodaya zat – Ayuthaya
theatre, the style of theatre
brought into Myanmar with
Thai captives after the fall of
Ayuthaya in 1767
yoma – mountain range
youq-the pwe – Myanmar
marionette theatre
ywa – village; a common
suffix in place names such
as Monywazat pwe – Myanmar classical
dance-drama based on
Jataka stories
zawgyi – an alchemist who
has successfully achieved
immortality through
the ingestion of special