Junta demolished Kachin Manau monument
The Kachin Post / November 13, 2009

Burmese military authority has wrecked a newly constructed Kachin Manau construction site in Bahmo township of Kachin State in northern Burma on yesterday, local sources said.

The Manau pillar, the dancing ground and overall compound was devastated by using heavy machinery, the local said. The action was administered by a combine unit of township authority and local police in Bahmo, also known as Man Maw in Kachin, without giving any prior notice to Kachin community.

Kachins in town are astonished the local authority’s ad-hoc action against the Kachin culture symbol, said a local Kachin who is in condition of anonymity.  The Burmese authorities don’t want to see building the Kachin National symbol (Manau monument) in town, he added.

The 90% accomplished Manau construction site was invested over 20 million Kyats (estimated US $20,000) by the local Kachin community in Bahmo. The Manau pillars were transported from the Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State, Myitkyina where the biggest Manau monument and dancing grounding in the world.

The Kachin community in Bahmo also plans to celebrate Thanksgiving Manau festival on November 26-29 for this year.

The Manau dance stands for the high value of Kachin culture. It stands for the Key of unity and nationalism. The Manau Dance is one of the most significant dances in the world. Thousands and thousands of people can dance together in the same dancing style.

In 1996, Junta’s No. 2 leader Gen. Maung Aye ordered the immediate dismantling of Kachin Manau pillars, which were erected on private land in Mandalay during the centennial celebration of the creation of Kachin written language, also known as Jinghpaw language.