People walk around with glutinous rice steamed in banana-leaf parcels, sweet rice-flour pancakes, and sticky rice bars with palm sugar and coconut shreds, and sport garnish fake gold necklaces and bracelets — all pushing and shoving towards huts where their two Lords and Papa Kyaw keep manifesting. But at the big house near the Grand Palace, the nat who possesses our Daisy Bond is neither Brother nor Papa, but the “Crude Mama” Amé Gyan whom womenfolk especially enjoy.
The novel starts with the start of the festival in honor of the Taungbyon brothers in Burma, it is celebrated to remember the fragile deaths suffered by the two brothers. Their spirits (and other spirits), to which people pray and pay respects are called nats, and the mediums that help people contact past spirits and ask for wishes are called natkaws (usually gay, trans and older women). After a vivid description of how the festivals starts over a full moon in August, with cars, cakes, sweat and perfume, Nu Nu Yi presents us to Daisy Bond (who named herself after Bond, Daisy Bond), a well-known natkaw and one of the main characters of the novel. She is always accompanied by Min Min, her slave, responsible for booking appointments, getting her ready for performances and all other operations needed during the festival.
After the first few chapters, which I found profoundly interesting because they describe a festival and culture that I did not know, the story focused on Min Min and Daisy’s relationship. As a natkaw, Daisy is expected to perform in the evening dances, to visit temples and to listen to people’s wishes and their ancestors. She holds Min Min very close to her heart, even loves him, but he is a young man searching for his freedom to love. Through their relationship, the readers navigate the festival’s different activities, main characters and main events. Despite the novel being rather short, Nu Nu Yi is able describe a powerful relationship between the two characters that has strong ties from the past, but will also suffer ruptures in the future, especially as Min Min discovers love on his own.
I enjoyed reading about the festival, nats, and natkaws, from a local author, yet I was expecting more. The storyline has enough elements for it to be a longer novel, exploring deeper into the character’s feelings and personalities. I would of loved to explore more and dive into the lives of the secondary characters, how their stories combined with Daisy’s and Min Min’s, how their relationships can change of the years and even over the festival itself. Nevertheless, it is a short novel from a different culture worth reading.
About Nu Nu Yi
Nu Nu Yi was born in Inn Wa, Burma in 1957. She writes short stories and novels about everyday life in Myanmar. “Smile as They Bow,” censored by the Burmese government for over 12 years, was nominated for the Man Asian Literary Prize in 2007.
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