Mary:

Sandar! May I ask a question about Myanmar customs and practices?

Sandar: Of course, you can! Please do.

Mary: I am not being impolite...but I am very curious.

Sandar. Please, feel free to ask!

Mary: Why do Myanmar people paint their faces yellow?

Sandar

: What do you mean?

Mary:

Everywhere I go, I see children, men, women of all ages with yellow paint on their cheeks and foreheads.
Who are they trying to hide from?

Sandar

: [laughing] Mary, no they are not trying to hide from anyone or anything!

Mary:

Do they wear it for religious reasons? Is the paint sacred? Does it come in other colours? Is the paint
imported from China?
Sandar

: Oh Mary, you have many questions! First of all, it is not paint. It is thanakha!

Mary:

Thanakha...

Sandar: Would you like to know more?

Mary: Thanks, I'd love to!

Sandar

: [takes a deep breath] Thanakha is a tree. The bark is ground on a flat circular stone with water to get a
paste. It is used as a beauty treatment sometimes, medicine. and

Mary:

This is very interesting. Do you know that I am a beauty and cosmetics specialist?

Sandar: My mother, who is an expert on

traditional medicine, taught me that thanakha helps protect the skin from the sun. Myanmar people
who work in the sun smear thanakha on their faces.

Mary:
I have also seen young women who do not work outside in the sun, with thin creamy thanakha spread
on their faces. What do you think about women of our age, putting thanakha on their faces?

Sandar:

Mary:

Sandar

I think it is a good practice. They are taking care of their skin.

Why do parents put it on the faces of their children?

: Thanakha helps protect the children's faces from the sun. It is also soothing to the skin and smells nice.
Parents, who have children, also do this to show their love.

Mary:

Sandar:

Is thanakha expensive?

The price depends on which product is used. It can be bought as pieces of wood or, 'ready- made', in the
form of creams, lotions, cakes or powders.