Posts tonen met het label Bogyoke. Alle posts tonen
Posts tonen met het label Bogyoke. Alle posts tonen

donderdag 15 februari 2018

#Myanmar (Burma) - Birthday bullocks for Bogyoke


  Some build statues in honour of their national heroes. In Natmauk, they race bullocks.
On the ground it was hot enough to fry an egg, but the boisterous crowd hanging off the fence around the dusty race track didn’t seem to mind, their cheers erupting loudly every time a bullock cart crossed the finish line. 


Bullock cart racing, an age-old tradition of upper Myanmar, is being revived by residents in Natmauk, Magwe Region, the hometown of Bogyoke Aung San, the revolutionary leader who won Myanmar’s independence from the British. 


The three-day-long bullock cart racing festival is held every year on a dusty field called Yin Chaung in Natmauk to celebrate Bogyoke Aung San’s birthday which falls on February 13. This year marks his 103rd birthday.
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28-year-old Ko Aung Thaung Oo, a middle-school headmaster from Chauk township, Magwe Region, could barely contain his excitement at crossing the finish line first during the first round of the race. Every year since 2015 he has made the 140 kilometre journey with his prize bullocks from his village down to Natmauk to participate in the birthday celebrations. 
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