According to information from the Myanmar Equestrian Federation, a
special procession of brightly decorated horses will be included in the
Opening Ceremony of the 27th Myanmar SEA Games.
“In Myanmar Buddhist tradition, every family with a male offspring has to consecrate their male child to Buddhism. This consecration introduces the child into the Buddhist monk society where they learn reading and writing skills through Buddhist scriptures. For all Myanmar people, it is a very auspicious occasion for them and they try to make the ceremony as grand as possible.
In ancient days, animals were the only means of transportation and horses are thought to be of highest value after the elephant. So, they use horses to carry their sons to monasteries where the boys spend a few days of monkhood after the inauguration ceremony,” explained U Win Aung, head of the Myanmar Equestrian Committee.
“Today, horses fit for this kind of ceremony are hard to find and it is even harder to see this kind of procession because people are replacing horses with motor vehicles. For the SEA Games, we will use three dressage horses from Shan State and 30 local men and women for the display called Shin Laung,” he added.
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