Waso Chinlone Festival Myanmar

The Waso Chinlone Festival is one of the most famous and biggest traditional sporting events in Myanmar. This traditional sports event is maintained as a symbol of Myanmar. The Waso Chinlone is a traditional non-contact sport similar to the sport named Hacky Sack. The festival is annually held during the Burmese month of Waso (mostly in July), specifically the day after the full-moon day of Waso, as part of the general Waso full moon festival to pay homage to the Buddha.

Waso Chinlone Festival

The ball they use for this sport is normally made from handwoven rattan, which sounds like a basket when they play it. Everyone can play Chinlone with a team of six members or less. Normally, a play team for the competition must have six members. The team will stand in a small circle and attempt to keep a small ball aloft using only their feet, knees, shoulders, and head. The way to play this game is pretty simple as the players perform their skills just like a form of dance or martial art.

Waso Chinlone Festival team

The main purpose of this traditional sport is not mainly about winning or losing, but it is about how beautifully the team performs. The players will pass the ball back and forth with their feet and knees as they walk around in a circle. One player will be at the center of the circle and perform how they keep the ball beautifully by creating a dance of various moves strung together. The winners are determined by the judge of how good they perform.

Every year, many teams gather from all over Myanmar for this traditional festival in Mandalay. Even this sport is not about direct contact and competing or opposition from other teams, it’s still an interesting event for the locals and tourists with every team and player attempting to perform their most amazing skills and moves to keep the tiny Chinlone ball in the air. Some basic skills that can be seen in this sport are backflips, spinning kicks, and handstands. These are just a few moves used in the game and there are hundreds of other performing skills by players.

Play beautiful is main pupose of Waso Chinlone Festival

The best time to plan a trip to Myanmar, visiting Mandalay and this festival is July. You should contact a travel agent to get a specific and exact date of the festival to plan the trip.

This ancient sport will be a nice activity for cultural lovers to learn more about local culture with an event dated back to 1,500 years ago of ancient Burma. The performance of the players will amaze you and it also is awe-inspiring and should not be missed while sightseeing in Myanmar.

The Waso Chinlone Festival is organized at the Mahamuni Buddha Temple in Mandalay, with many teams from all over Myanmar participating.

The Waso Chinlone Festival takes place inside the Mahamuni Buddha Temple campus, so it’s best to dress modestly when attending. Choose clothing that covers shoulders to knees in keeping with Buddhist traditions of mode

Hera Tran

Image Source: Internet