60launching a balloon for the family
team. For Than Zaw, the danger is half
the fun. “It is no different than the
running of the bulls in Spain,” he says.
“People have a deep longing to be
close to peril. It makes them feel alive.”
Taunggyi native Dr Aye Aye Aung,
an anthropologist at Yangon University
who has studied the festival tradition,
does not buy into the fire master
mystique with the same devil-may-care
enthusiasm. She describes a culture
of machismo that pushes fire masters
to pour vast sums of money into one-
upping each other with bigger – and
riskier – displays.
The balloons have a weight limit,
but teams are beginning to abandon
traditional techniques, and are turning
to high-tech imported compounds
to get more bang for their kilogram.
“There is not a limit to what they will
do,” says Aye Aye Aung.The festival, which began in the
1950s, was not always extravagant. Aye
Aye Aung recalls her family launching
their own modest lantern from the town
square as an offering to the heavenly
Sularmani Pagoda. Together, the town
would fill the sky with small, beautiful
lights. Today’s event features more
than 100 large fire balloons each year,
and the launching ground has been
moved three times in the last decade to
accommodate the growing crowd and
merchant tents, carnival rides, concert
stages and party pavilions erected by
the country’s biggest brands.
Corporate sponsorships don’t
encourage restraint from the fire
masters, argues Aye Aye Aung. Even
the gentler sein na pan balloons,
which carry works of art composed of
thousands of individual candles, often
feature logos. “Our traditions are more
important than money,” she says.Today’s event features
more than 100 large fire
balloons each year, and
the launching ground
has been moved three
times in the last decade
to accommodate the
growing crowd
below Showers of sparks
rain down from an early-
exploding balloon
top right Candle balloons
are the favourite of corporate
sponsors
bottom right For many
spectators, the excitement of
a crashing fire balloon is half
the fun