Gadaw (Burmese:ကန်တော့,IPA:[ɡədɔ̰]; also speltkadaw) is aBurmese verb referring to aBurmese tradition in which a person, always of lower social standing, pays respect orhomage to a person of higher standing (including Buddhist monks, elders, teachers and Buddha), by kneeling before them and paying obeisance with joined hands, andbowing.[1] This is usually done by students to theirteachers or children or grandchildren to their elders (parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents), in order to show gratitude and reverence and an opportunity to ask for forgiveness, often involving gift-giving.
It is traditionally done on New Year's Day ofThingyan and during the month ofThadingyut (roughly October), which marks the end ofVassa, the Buddhist lent.[2][3]
The tradition is widely believed to have Buddhist roots, as teachers and parents (မိဘ၊ ဆရာသမား) are honored as part of the Five Infinite Venerables (အနန္တငါးပါး), along with theThree Jewels, namely the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha.[4] Moreover, theMangala Sutta, the source of the 38 Buddhist Beatitudes, describes the importance of "honoring those worthy of honor" (ပူဇာ စ ပူဇနေယျနာနံ၊,pujā ca pujāneyyanānam) and lists respect, humbleness, gratitude and as among the highest blessings. Obeisance ceremonies are also held for neighborhood elders, and professional mentors, such as writers and actors.[5]
The collectivegadaw of teachers is called ahsaya gadaw pwe (ဆရာကန်တော့ပွဲ) or more formallyacariya puja pwe orasariya puzaw pwe (အာစရိယပူဇော်ပွဲ), usually done formally during the month of Thadingyut (orWorld Teachers' Day on 5 October) by students or alumni at schools and universities throughout the country.[6][1]
During the time of the Burmese monarchy, a ritualizedgadaw ceremony called thegadaw pwedaw (ကန်တော့ပွဲတော်) was practised at least three times a year at the royal palace, by tributary chieftains and rulers as well as subjects to the king, as a symbolic form ofallegiance.[7][8]Gadaw nay (ကန်တော့နေ့) was one such time, occurring at the end of the Buddhist lent, and when tributes and gifts are formally offered to the king.[9]
The traditional Burmese request of the Three Jewels (Triple Gem), a formulaic prayer (termedOkāsa or the "Buddhist common prayer" byPe Maung Tin) that precedes most Buddhist ceremonies, explicitly references thegadaw of the Five Infinite Venerables (Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha, parents and teachers):[10]
In order that any action I may have committed against theThree Jewels (with my parents and teachers) either physically, verbally and mentally may be effaced, and in order that I may acquire merit which will bestow upon me longevity, health, freedom from dangers and others; I raise my joined hands in reverence to the forehead and worship, honor, look at, and humbly pay homage to the Three Jewels: theBuddha, theDhamma, and theSamgha (with my parents and teachers) once, twice, and three times.
As a result of this meritorious act of prostration may I be freed at all times from thewoeful realms, the three kinds of catastrophes, the eight kinds of wrong circumstances, the five kinds of enemies, the four kinds of misfortunes, the five kinds of loss, the ninety six or ninety eight kinds of diseases, and the sixty two kinds of wrong views; and quickly attainthe Path, the Fruition, and the Noble Dhamma of Nibbāna.
A more ritualized form called thewai khru is found in neighboring Thailand. A similar tradition, calleddam hua is practiced in the Lanna region ofNorthern Thailand, especially duringSongkran, the Thai new year.[11]
