Novitiations for boys and ear boring for girls
Description: Novitiations for boys and ear boring for girls
Every Myanmar Buddhist boy is proud to become a novice, and when he is over twenty he will enter the Order again as a monk. At least twice in his life he becomes a member of the Order; and sometimes even more. The stay at a monastery is not considered a hardship and it is not a lifetime commitment. Monks or novices can stay as long as they wish.
A formal novitiation ceremony involves a parade around the pagodas on the first day with the boys all dressed up as princes. In the afternoon their heads will be shaven and they will enter the Order.
On the same day or the next there will be a feast for monks and invited guests. Sometimes a feast is held on both days, and sometimes it can go on for a week but it can be a simple affair with no guests.
Apart from her wedding, the ear-piercing ceremony is the most important occasion in a girl's life when at puberty her earlobes are pierced with a gold needle. The ceremony is usually held at the same time as her brothers' novitiations when they will all be decked out in formal court attire. It is normal for related families or friends to hold the ceremony together with fathers and uncles entering the Order for a second or third time.
Book Title : Myanmar Hotels & Tourism Directory 2007-2008.