13 - Hospitality

Summary

Hospitality is a common quality of the Burmese people. This statement is applicable particularly, though not exclusively, to those in rural areas where the inhabitants are less sophisticated and more open-hearted, as well as more open-handed, than urban dwellers. Guests, visitors and even strangers who arrive at a house at any hour, unannounced and often uninvited, are wont to have a roof over their heads, and such fare as the host can concoct by exercising his talents on whatever is available in such unexpected situations.

Burma is a country where Buddhism has been established for the last nine hundred years or so. One of its ten principal tenets is charity, meaning giving away the necessities of life such as money, food and clothes to those who need them. This tradition, which is still very strong, pervades the fabric of the Burmese Buddhists' life.

It may be assumed from these observations that there would be no paucity of Burmese proverbs on hospitality, but the number, contrary to one's expectations, is comparatively small. The dearth of such sayings may perhaps be ascribed to the fact that Burmese proverbs generally do not deal with the obvious: they are cast in the form of aphorisms or principles of conduct, which reflect the ethos and, to a certain extent, the wisdom of the community as a whole.

To give as wide a spectrum as possible to the proverbs the subject will be treated under two categories: content and form.

Hospitality and Generosity

Many Burmese Buddhists are hospitable and generous by nature, and others through nurture. In both cases they seem to derive more pleasure out of giving than receiving. There are, however, always exceptions – people who practise these two virtues with ulterior motives. Some proverbs on hospitality and generosity are:

ò-thun hkwet-hmauk kyweì

eik-thun hpa-hmauk peì

Empty out pots and bowls to feed;

Empty out bags and boxes to give.[…]