From Religious Gathering to Ethnic Visibility: The Danu Son See Yar Day Festival and Identity Construction in Myanmar

Information from the abstract

This article examines how the Danu Son See Yar Day (DSSYD) festival functions as a religious-cultural medium for strengthening ethnic visibility and identity among the Danu community in Myanmar, addressing the limited scholarly attention to festival-based minority identity formation. Using a qualitative research design, the study draws on documentary materials, participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and group discussions, with the data analyzed thematically. The findings show that Danu identity historically had limited public visibility due to weak symbolic and linguistic differentiation, dispersed interregional connectivity, limited cultural promotion, and comparatively low public-political visibility. DSSYD created a recurring shared arena where dispersed Danu communities could gather, strengthen social connections, and reinforce collective belonging through religious rituals and cultural performances. The festival also contributed to clearer ethnic visibility and broader coordination associated with the Danu National Conference and the Danu National Affairs Organization. These findings demonstrate that religious-cultural festivals can function as mechanisms of social visibility, communal solidarity, and institutional consolidation among minority communities. The study contributes an original account of how recurring festival interaction can connect ethnic identity formation with relational coordination and more durable forms of minority representation.

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Related topics: Asian Geopolitics and Ethnography · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies · Cultural History and Identity Formation