the crooked line

Hip hop.
It’s a little unexpected to hear it’s an increasingly popular style used in Burma’s music scene. But then perhaps not. Hip hop has a history of being the style of choice for the disaffected. Angry statements of injustice and a refusal to succumb to conventional forms of presentation. The bling hasn’t transferred across as yet but the stories of injustice have. Continue reading ‘Hip Hop for the disaffected’

This week 7 protestors were released from custody after a week of detention for participating in an anti-government protest. 25 people took part in the protest which called on the Burmese regime to lower commodity prices, provide better healthcare and education and give 24-hour electricity.

Anti-government protests are rare in Burma, or perhaps just rarely reported. We are often guilty of presuming a sense of lethargy inside Burma, a passive acceptance of the current oppressive conditions. However this is far from true, the protest at the beginning of March is one example but so are a plethora of others, from liteary events to performance artists, the protest is alive and kicking in Burma’s streets. And those participating do so with courage, for they rarely walk away free from such visibly confronting behaviour.

Continue reading ‘The grand old tradition of a protest’

Some additional documentation of tattooing can be found in colonial encounters. These documents are useful for descriptive purposes but can aso be highly critical and ill-informed of the supposedly backward nature of tattooing.

A good example can be found here where John Crawfurd, a British diplomat writing in 1829, describes tattooing as “One barbarous practice, that of tattooing or staining the skin of indelible tint…”

It seems to be a common theme to view tattooing as barbaric, backward and a sign of inferiority. Little is written from the perspective of those who use it and this is a shame, especially in a historical sense.

There are some great proverbs the Karen and the Burmese have, the one’s I’m about to share with you are pretty explicit in their political undertones. Actually let me rephrase that, once the proverb has been explained to you it’s message is explicit, the proverb itself is often an abstract what the?

Continue reading ‘“The dog wants to eat the elephants penis” - a burmese proverb’