Girl wearing a pair of thanaka patches, Old Bagan, Mandalay Division
Mother and son wearing thanaka, Old Bagan, Mandalay Division
Schoolboy hitching a horse cart ride with just a trace of thanaka,
Inwa, Mandalay Division
Little girl wearing thanaka in Old Bagan, Mandalay Division
Little boy with a stripe and two patches, Kimpo village, Mon State
Flower dealer with thanaka circles, Yangon
Thanaka wood for sale, Taung Kalat village, Mandalay Division
BY ALL APPEARANCES applying Thanaka goes far beyond it's use as a cosmetic. Burmese people wear it sometimes to express their individuality, combining personal aesthetics with a little theatricality. Apart from showing that one might be unique, it is also regarded as a skin conditioner: qualities which include being astringent, providing sunscreen protection and having antiseptic properties. It is even used to control acne and remove blemishes. Finally, it keeps the wearer quite cool as well.
Thanaka is worn not only on the face—some people like to apply it all over the body. Woman mainly wear the paste, but grownups put it on children too and sometimes even men can be seen with it. I saw the yellow white markings everywhere. All though i knew about the cosmetic, before coming to Myanmar, seeing Thanaka so widely used at first, was fascinating. As the days passed i gave it less and less attention. Wearing it was simply a part of Burmese life.
Thanaka's use begins with a perennial found mostly in central Myanmar. The trees have to be more then 35 years old to be mature enough to provide a quality cutting. The little logs, are usually sold on the street, as small bundles.
Thanaka is worn not only on the face—some people like to apply it all over the body. Woman mainly wear the paste, but grownups put it on children too and sometimes even men can be seen with it. I saw the yellow white markings everywhere. All though i knew about the cosmetic, before coming to Myanmar, seeing Thanaka so widely used at first, was fascinating. As the days passed i gave it less and less attention. Wearing it was simply a part of Burmese life.
Thanaka's use begins with a perennial found mostly in central Myanmar. The trees have to be more then 35 years old to be mature enough to provide a quality cutting. The little logs, are usually sold on the street, as small bundles.
Good general resource:
Article from a pro-government English language newspaper, on Thanaka:
Decent video:
Making Thanaka Cream in Myanmar - Video DailymotionShort step by step process from grinding thanaka wood on a whet stone before applying it to the face:
Applying thanaka paste on face - YouTube
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