DATE POSTED: May 29, 2023.
Part I: The Research
Bawi opened her presentation with a brief abstract, sketching its scope and content.
ABSTRACT:
Grieving is a sociocultural phenomenon that is heavily influenced by the cultural background of the individual experiencing it. For instance, some cultures express mourning through loud wailing and public displays of grief, while others prefer a more private and subdued approach. The COVID-19 pandemic has not only challenged existing mourning experiences but has also brought about new practices for people worldwide. Myanmar, which has been grappling with political instability and an economic crisis, has been particularly hard hit by the pandemic, with the third wave causing significant damage in 2021. This research focuses on an ethnically fragmented community in Myanmar, the Laizo Chin, and examines how they have adapted their grieving rituals from in-person to online. Through an analysis of the sociocultural and linguistic aspects of grief among the Laizo people, drawing on the anthropological theories of death rituals, this study sheds light on the adaptability of cultural practices in the face of crises. Specifically, the research argues that the Laizo people’s death rituals were blended before the pandemic, with the display of identity, mourning practices, and cultural beliefs of the afterlife all integrated into one week of in-person funeral services. However, the pandemic has resulted in the categorization of the three aspects of death rituals into specific timelines: pre-need, at-need, and post-need. As a result, the Laizo people were able to have a complete grieving experience even when in-person meetings were not allowed.
Bawi sharing the abstract of the research paper. Photo by Nancy Pulido.
After Professor Kuipers introduced me to the research purpose of the CIC team, he asked if I had any personal experience with COVID-related deaths. . . . [in the spring of 2021] I attended numerous funeral services week after week, as our culture holds funeral services for the deceased wherever their family members are located.
How it came to be:
My interest in this topic arose when I joined the Rituals in the Making’s “CIC” team, also known as the Contesting and Inscribing Claims about Death team. After Professor Kuipers introduced me to the research purpose of the CIC team, he asked if I had any personal experience with COVID-related deaths. This prompted me to reflect on how COVID had impacted my community and my personal experience with it.
In February 2021, the military in Myanmar seized power from the National League for Democracy (NLD) in a coup. The military accused the NLD of electoral fraud in the 2020 election and mishandling the COVID crisis, which led to the declaration of a state of emergency and countrywide lockdown. Ironically, around May 2021, the third wave of COVID hit Myanmar, and the military’s handling of the situation worsened. Furthermore, there were deaths due to the conflict between the people and the military. During this period, I attended numerous funeral services week after week, as our culture holds funeral services for the deceased wherever their family members are located. Some services were within my family and others for those in my community. This continued until I returned to campus in August 2021.
I experienced immense grief during that time and struggled to come to terms with it. Moreover, everything happened so quickly that I did not have enough time to process my grief fully. Therefore, when Professor Kuipers asked about my personal experience, I decided to participate in the research, partly to assist with the research and also to gain closure.
The writing process was a personal journey for me.
Part II: The Writing Process
The writing process was a personal journey for me. I was born in Chin, Myanmar, but I left the country when I was eight years old in 2008. When I left, I had only completed first grade, which did not give me enough time to learn much about my country’s history. However, the adults in my life always told me that the textbooks in school were not going to tell me the full truth about the past anyway. They said that the schools and textbooks were only going to glorify the military and the government. Therefore, when I entered college, I gave myself the mission to uncover the truth about Myanmar’s past, not just the surface level but also the hidden truths. What I started doing was choosing Myanmar as the topic in every class that I could. As a result, in the span of three to four years, I taught myself everything about my country, from the culture, politics, economy, to the environmental challenges it was facing. I also gathered substantial data during this process, which served as the foundation for my research paper.
In analyzing the impact of the change from in-person to online death ritual practices, I explore the Laizo people’s identity, mourning practices, and cultural beliefs of the afterlife.
The flow of my paper starts with an explanation of the religion, ethnicity, and nationalism in Myanmar, focusing on the Chin community and the Laizo ethnic subgroup. I then unpack the experience of the Laizo community, with a focus on the pandemic and how it affected their death rituals. In analyzing the impact of the change from in-person to online death ritual practices, I explore the Laizo people’s identity, mourning practices, and cultural beliefs of the afterlife. I discovered that community became the central focus associated with identity. Furthermore, the mourning practices were now catered to the digital world, with the ritual cry, which was previously performed at length in person, now taking place in the comment section of the grieving announcement. Lastly, the cultural beliefs of the afterlife revealed the influence of Christianity and the belief in the eternal.
Left: Bawi sharing the slide on the percentage of different ethnic groups that exist in Myanmar Right: Bawi sharing the slide that focus on the Laizo Chin Community. Photos by Nancy Pulido.
Part III: The Presentation (April 28, 2023):
I was extremely excited to present my paper and I am immensely grateful to Professor Kuipers, the Rituals in the Making team, the Sigur Center for Asian Studies, and the Stimson Center for making it possible. I would also like to express my gratitude to Professor Christina Fink for serving as a discussant. Though I was quite nervous at the beginning, the presence of many of my friends and loved ones in the room helped alleviate my anxiety and gave me the confidence to deliver the thirty-minute presentation. I am also grateful for the support of my loved ones who could not be there in person, including my parents, siblings, and relatives who provided valuable information and participated in interviews. I couldn’t have accomplished this without the support of everyone.
Bawi concluding her presentation. Photo by Nancy Pulido.
Part IV: Reflection
Concluding my undergraduate career with the writing and presentation of this research has been one of the best experiences I could have hoped for. What started as a simple mission when I entered college has blossomed into a beautiful fruition beyond my imagination. The pandemic has brought about so many changes in so many people’s lives, and we are all finding our own ways to cope with these changes. I am grateful for the opportunity to have found closure for the grief that the pandemic brought to my community, my family, and my life through taking on this research challenge.
Audience at the research presentation. Photo by Adam Bubanich
Left photo: Friends who came to support Bawi Par. Photo by Payton Prewitt. Right photo: CIC team and professors. From left to right: Bill Wise from the Stimson Center, Gregg Brazinsky from the Sigur Center from Asian Studies, Professor Christina (4th person), and the Ritual in the Making CIC team. Photo by Sarah Choi.