Myanmar Wedding Traditions & Ceremonies
A researched guide to 13 traditional wedding ceremonies from 4 cultural traditions in Myanmar.
Bamar (Buddhist)
Pre-wedding
Paso tan tin
ပုဆိုးတန်းတင်Groom's family visits bride's family with wedding gifts, including a new longyi. The groom's longyi is hung to signify marriage.
Key elements
- Wedding gifts, new longyi
Wedding day
Joining of Hands(Let htat)
လက်ထပ်A master of ceremony joins the right hands of the couple in front of invitees to solemnize the marriage.
Key elements
- Joined hands, white cloth, silver/gold bowl, perfumed water, conch shell
Consecration by Master of Ceremony
The master of ceremony consecrates the couple by sprinkling their foreheads with perfumed water using Eugenia leaves.
Key elements
- Eugenia leaves, gold/silver bowl, perfumed water
Dali phwe
ဒါလီဖွဲ့The couple lowers their heads as a gold or silver alloy necklace chain and flower garlands are jointly hung over them.
Key elements
- Gold/silver alloy necklace chain, flower garlands
Exchange of Wedding Rings
The couple exchanges wedding rings.
Key elements
- Wedding rings
Groom's Bath and Change of Clothes
The groom visits the bride's parents' home, is bathed by the bride's family, and changes into new clothes.
Key elements
- New longyi, bathing
Let son sa
လက်စုံစားThe couple eats a morsel of cooked rice or snack from the same dish.
Key elements
- Cooked rice or snack, single dish
Pankon sut
ပန်းကုံးစွပ်The couple places floral garlands over each other.
Key elements
- Floral garlands
Chin (Christian/Animist)
Pre-wedding
Mopina Ceremony(Mopina)
Ceremony to take the bride from her family home, involving haggling and exchange of cash and gifts.
Key elements
- Cash, basket, blanket, mattock, axe, bottle (or money/jewels in modern times)
Zuthawl Pia
Groom's parents initiate engagement by gifting a bottle of alcohol to the bride's family.
Key elements
- Bottle of alcohol
Mon (Buddhist)
Pre-wedding
Engagement Ceremony (Mon)
Five elders from the bride's family host five sets of parents from the groom's family to negotiate financial terms and wedding details.
Key elements
- Negotiation of dowry, wedding costs, food, date
Wedding Invitation (Mon)
Young virgins are dispatched to invite wedding attendees, bearing wedding cards and gifts of betel nut or lahpet.
Key elements
- Wedding cards, betel nut, lahpet
Rakhine (Buddhist)
Wedding day
Thamet Tet Pwe
သမက်တက်ပွဲCeremony of the son-in-law's ascent, involving specific attire, a decorated wedding table, and symbolic food.
Key elements
- Groom's taungshay paso and gaung baung, bride's htaingmathein jacket, wedding table with paddy seeds and silver coins, steamed sticky rice, cooked prawns, fried fish, boiled duck eggs, sweet potatoes, ceremonial wedding headdresses, holy thread
Planning a wedding with these traditions?
Create a digital invitation that includes the ceremonies that matter to you.
Start your invitation