Smile As They Bow

by နုနုရည်အင်းဝ, Nu Nu Yi, Alfred Birnbaum (Translator)

As the weeklong Taungbyon Festival draws near, thousands of villagers from all regions of Burma descend upon a tiny hamlet near Mandalay to pay respect to the spirits, known as nats , which are central to Burmese tradition. At the heart of these festivities is Daisy Bond, a gay, transvestite spiritual medium in his fifties. With his sharp tongue and vivid performances, he has long been revered as one of the festival's most illustrious natkadaws . At his side is Min Min, his young assistant and lover, who endures unyielding taunts and abuse from his fiery boss. But when a young beggar girl named Pan Nyo threatens to steal Min Min's heart, the outrageous Daisy finds himself face-to-face with his worst fears. Written in lyrical, intoxicating prose, Smile as They Bow is, like the works of Arundhati Roy and Ha Jin, an unexpectedly whimsical, illuminating, and above all revealing portrayal of a culture few Westerners have ever witnessed. Over the past twenty years, Nu Nu Yi has become one of Burma's most acclaimed authors--and in 2007, she became the first person living in Burma to be nominated for an international literary award. Smile as They Bow was censored for more than twelve years by the Burmese government. It is fitting, then, that this is her American debut.

Genres: Fiction, Asia, LGBT, Queer, Asian Literature, Contemporary, The World

146 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

မြန်မာမင်းနေပြည်တော်ဟောင်း မြို့တစ်မြို့ဖြစ်သော အင်းဝမြို့တွင် ဦးဘမော်၊ ဒေါ်တင်ရွှေတို့မှ ၁၉၅၇ ခုနှစ်၊ မေလ ၁၈ ရက် စနေနေ့တွင် မွေးဖွားခဲ့သည်။ မောင်နှမ ၄ ဦးရှိသည့်အနက် သမီးဦးဖြစ်သည်။ ယခုအခါ နုနုရည် (အင်းဝ) သည် သရုပ်မှန်စာပေ၊ ပြည်သူ့အကျိုးပြု စာပေများရေးသားရင်းဖြင့် ခင်ပွန်းဖြစ်သူ ဦးအောင်ကျော်တိုး လက်ထောက်ကထိက၊ စိတ်ပညာဌာန၊ ရန်ကုန်တက္ကသိုလ် (ပင်မ) နှင့်အတူ အမှတ် ၄ ပထမထပ်၊ အခန်း ၅ တက္ကသိုလ်ဆရာများ ရိပ်သာသစ် လှိုင်တက္ကသိုလ်နယ်မြေ ရန်ကုန်မြို့တွင် နေထိုင်လျက်ရှိသည်။

ပညာရေး

အင်းဝမြို့ ကျုံးထိပ်ရပ် အစိုးရမူလတန်းကျောင်းတွင် ပညာစတင် သင်ယူခဲ့ပြီး တံတားဦးမြို့ အခြေခံပညာအထက်တန်းကျောင်းမှ အောင်မြင်ခဲ့သည်။ မန္တလေးဝိဇ္ဇာနှင့်သိပ္ပံတက္ကသိုလ်မှ သိပ္ပံဘွဲ့ (သင်္ချာ) ကို ၁၉၇၉ ခုနှစ်တွင် ရရှိခဲ့သည်။ ၁၉၈၃ မှ ၈၅ အထိ ရန်ကုန်တက္ကသိုလ် စာကြည့်တိုက်ဒီပလိုမာသင်တန်းကို တက်ရောက်သင်ကြားခဲ့သည်။

စာပေခရီး

၁၉၈၄ ခုနှစ် မတ်လထုတ် ပေဖူးလွှာမဂ္ဂဇင်းတွင် ထဘီလေးတစ်ထည် ဝတ္ထုတိုဖြင့် စာပေလောကသို့ စတင်ဝင်ရောက်လာသည်။ ယင်းဝတ္ထုတိုကိုလည်း ဂျပန်နိုင်ငံ တိုယိုတာဖောင်ဒေးရှင်းမှ ဂျပန်ဘာသာသို့ ပြန်ဆို ထုတ်ဝေခဲ့သည်။ ဝတ္ထုရေးသားရာတွင် စာပေသည် ခေတ်ကြေးမုံပြင် သရုပ်မှန်ဟူသော အယူအဆကို လက်ခံယုံကြည်စွာဖြင့် အကျိုးပြု ရေးသားလျက်ရှိသည်။ ဝတ္ထုတိုများစွာ၊ ဝတ္ထုရှည် ၁၂ အုပ်၊ ဝတ္ထုတိုပေါင်းချုပ် ၄ အုပ် ရေးသားထုတ်ဝေပြီး ဖြစ်သည်။

ဆုများ

၂၀၀၇ ခုနှစ်၊ နိုဝင်ဘာလတွင် ပထမဆုံး ဆုချီးမြှင့်သည့် The Man Asia Literary Prize စာပေဆု ပထမဆင့် ဆန်ကာတင် ရွေးချယ်စာရင်းကို ၂၀၀၇ ခုနှစ် ဇူလိုင်လ ၂၀ ရက်နေ့တွင် ကြေညာရာ အိန္ဒိယ၊ တရုတ်၊ ဂျပန်၊ ဖိလစ်ပိုင်စသော အာရှနိုင်ငံများမှ စာရေးဆရာ ၂၃ ဦးအနက် မြန်မာစာရေးဆရာမ နုနုရည်အင်းဝ လည်းပါဝင်ခဲ့သည်။

စာပေလက်ရာများ

၁။ ကာလာရောင်စုံ အမြန် (၁၉၉၀)
၂။ ကြောင်ညိုပါးရယ် စားတတ်လှတယ်နှင့် အခြားဝတ္ထုတိုများ
၃။ ခေါင်းမော့လိုက်တော့မင်း ခေါင်းငုံ့လိုက်တော့သူ (၁၉၈၈)
၄။ တချို့အဆင်းလှ၊ တချို့အဆင်းမလှ (၁၉၈၆)
၅။ ဒိုးကြေးနှင့် အခြားဝတ္ထုတိုများ (၁၉၉၁)
၆။ ၂၈ နှစ်ရှိပြီဖြစ်တဲ့ မိန်းမတယောက် (၁၉၉၀)
၇။ ပြုံး၍လည်း ကန်တော့ခံတော်မူပါ၊ ရယ်၍လည်း ကန်တော့ခံတော်မူပါ (၁၉၉၄)
၈။ ဖိုးရွှေလ မဂ္ဂဇင်း ဝတ္ထုရှည်များ (၁၉၉၃)
၉။ ဗိုလ်ကေတစ်ထောင်မှာ တစ်ယောက်လောက်တော့ စွဲကောင်းပါရဲ့ (၁၉၈၆)
၁၀။ မရဲတရဲ ဘာဝယ်မလဲရှင်
မင်းသားသုံးသိန်း၊ မင်းသမီးတစ်သိန်း လူကြမ်းတရာ (၁၉၉၂)
၁၁။ မြစိမ်းပြာ ကမာရွတ် (ပ၊ ဒု၊ တ) (၁၉၉၃)
၁၂။ လဝန်းစက်ဝိုင်း ထက်ပိုင်းဖြတ်ကြွေ (၁၉၉၁)
၁၃။ လက်ရွေးစင် မြန်မာဝတ္ထုတိုများ ပေါင်းချုပ် (၁၉၉၆)
၁၄။ သောက်တော့ ဒူးယား၊ ဝတ်တော့ မလေးရှား နေတော့ ချုံကြား (၂၀၀၀)
၁၅။ အနီလား အဝါလား အစိမ်းလား (၁၉၈၉)
၁၆။ အမှတ်မရှိ လမ်းမရှိ ကီလီဘောတံတား (၁၉၈၈)
၁၇။ အိပ်နေရင်ည နိုးနေရင်နေ့ (၁၉၉ဝ)
၁၈။ အို ကိုဖိုးမြနှင့် မစ္စတာ စမစ် မင်္ဂလာပါရှင် (၂၀၀၁)

ကိုးကား။ ။
နှစ်ဆယ်ရာစု မြန်မာ စာရေးဆရာများနှင့် စာစုစာရင်း၊ ပညာရွှေတောင် စာအုပ်တိုက်

Reviews

[Stacia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow. This story opened my eyes to an entire culture that I really didn't know existed (the natkadaws or spirit mediums/spirit wives at festivals in Myanmar). I was also surprised to learn that many of the natkadaws are gay men who openly dress as women, which is something I would have expected to have been illegal (or at least very dangerous) in a conservative society like Myanmar. Even though the story is fiction, a lot of the details seem to be very accurate (based on some additional reading I did spurred on by this story).

The story itself is fairly simplistic & not only revolves around the natkadaw Daisy Bond, but also his love for his assistant/helper Min Min. But then Min Min has his heart stolen by a girl visiting the festival. So part of it is cultural tale, part an unrequited love story. Daisy is one fiery, feisty, & flamboyant character, which keeps the story rolling along at a quick pace.

If you are interested in learning more about natkadaws, here are some of the resources I read or watched:

A 10-minute 'preview' clip from the documentary Friends in High Places. (Click "watch a preview".)

A 1.5 hour documentary on YouTube that covers the festival in Taungbyon.

An article from Guernica: After the Green Death.

A stage drama adaptation of the book.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had trouble getting into this. The festivals of Taungbyon were hard to imagine until I hit the internet. More difficult, though, was the voice. The narrative changes from first person to third and the first person changes. Some of the characters have two names and the gay men may have a feminine and/or masculine pronoun. Once I stopped trying to figure out who was who I could get into the story.

What a story it is! Daisy Bond (U Ba Si), like other gay men, has made a career of providing processions and festivals (this is where the internet helps). He provides food, entertainment (music and dancing), risqué conversation, prayers and fortune telling. These festival providers have a staff that, as we say in the west, “pass the hat”.

This is a love story. Daisy is feeling his 50+ years. He loves his young servant Min Min (Ahpongyi) whom he bought as a boy from his indigent mother. Now that Min is a grown man, and not gay, he wants another life.

I was surprised about this gay sub-culture in Myanmar/Burma. I was further surprised that such a book featuring it exists and that the author lives in Rangoon – not elsewhere as an ex-pat (and not in jail). The book had been censored, but I presume it is now available in its home country.

It is interesting for the portrayal of the festival (I advise someone to get pre-reading background to appreciate it). Similarly, the story of U Ba Si, how he is aging, how he manages his production and competes with other providers and his sad relationship with Min is food for thought.

[☕Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm impressed with how the author was able, in such a short book, both to teach me about the Taungbyon Festival in Myanmar and make me feel immersed in the setting and to create characters in Daisy Bond and Min Min that were well-drawn and sympathetic, if highly imperfect.

Ratings

Writing 5
Story line 4
Characters 5
Impact 4

Overall rating 4.5

[Pann Hnin Nay Chi]

why do burmese book bloggers act like daisy james is the victim here? they literally bought an underaged kid, groomed him, made him their boy toy and emotionally manipulated and abused him for so many years. this is not some tragic love story. daisy james is an abusive pedophile. ppl have got to stop glorifying daisy james.

[Sébastien · Rating 3 out of 5]

Smile as They Bow by Nu Nu Yi (Inwa) is a story of Daisy Bond and his* life as an illustrious natkadaw (spirit medium). The book was translated to English in 2008 by Alfred Birnbaum and Thi Thi Aye. Set during the yearly Taungbyon Festival held near Mandalay, the book tells more about the colourful cultural and religious activities at the Festival as well as the various lives of people who go there.

Fifty years old Daisy Bond is one of the respected natkadaw at the festival with several followers despite his outspoken personality with a filthy mouth. Min Min is his personal assistant and also his lover. Daisy brought Min Min to his side 7 years ago and there's been ups and downs in their companionship. Daisy being the boss, the young lover has endured many abuses and gibes in public. Sometimes, Min Min sneaks behind Daisy and meets with girls. One day during the festival, he meets a begger girl and falls for her. When Daisy finds out, Min Min tries to get away with the girl. The drunk-in-love Daisy is furious and afraid that his lover would leave him.

Nats are similar to deities or spirits that have been worshipped for centuries long by many people in the Myanmar. For these Nat believers or worshippers, there are natkadaws (spirit mediums ) who are possessed (in trance) by Nats. They offer and pray to these various deities provided by their worshippers and in return, they give out prophecies or guidance for the worshippers. The natkadaws are one big part of gay community in Myanmar. Myanmar is quite a conservative country when it comes to queer community but being natkadaw is a respectable profession for gay men for nat-worshipping is part of the religious circle.

The book was originally written in Burmese in 1995 and it's likely to be the earliest novel with a gay character as a main protagonist without travestying the queer community. Although the book doesn't represent the majority of gays in Myanmar's lgbtqia+ community, it fairly described the natkadaws. For this book, Nu Nu Yi (Inwa) was nominated for the 2007 Man Asian Literary Prize.

I read the Burmese original back in 2008 and I picked it up last week before I read the English translation. In early parts of the book before Daisy's character is introduced, there are several narrators and I believe it is to illustrate the vibrant scenes of Taungbyon Festival. However, there are some new narrators coming in midst of Daisy's narrative, too. I feel like the narrators are all over the place and the pages are crowded just like the festival is crammed with its pilgrims. You could easily get lost. If you're unfamiliar with spirit worshipping, the story is a make-or-break for the unseasoned reader, I suppose.

Despite all this, the story is absorbing and its English translation is suave and lyrical. Daisy is as chatty and sharp tongue as he can be in both languages. The character is brilliantly portrayed and eloquently translated. It is not a strong and evocative in terms of storytelling but it sure shows the (non-Burmese) reader a culture unseen in a corner of the ever busy world. I'm glad it was translated into English. An enjoyable read in both Burmese and English.

* male pronoun is used and as it was translated in 2008, I guess language and concept related to transgender were quite unknown. Daisy character used non-gender pronoun in Burmese original.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Around the World Reading Challenge: MYANMAR (formerly BURMA)
===
3.5 rounded up

This was such an interesting read and basically *exactly* the kind of book I am most excited to read about for this challenge! Written by a woman who was born & raised in Myanmar, with queer themes and covering an event that is cultural important and unique to the country! I thought the author did a great job of providing some of the history and context for the Taungbyon Festival that's at the center of this novel (of which I had previously been unaware!) without bogging down the narrative with exposition. It provided just enough information so that the story made sense, and absolutely triggered a bit of a research rabbithole after I'd finished!

The writing style here is quite unique, with the POV switching between first and third and between various characters from one paragraph to the next with no clear delineation to the change. This is the kind of thing that would normally drive me bonkers, but it actually wasn't at all confusing here and felt very purposeful/lent itself well to the story.

We get glimpses of several different characters for whom this weeklong festival is important, but the one we spend the most time with is Daisy Bond, who is, according to the summary, "a gay, transvestite spiritual medium in his fifties." Myanmar is a deeply conservative country (indeed, this book was banned there for many years) and becoming a natkadaw is one of the few respectable professions open to gay men and/or trans people. It was a really interesting juxtaposition to see Daisy live in a very out/camp/extravagant way in relative acceptance, but then to also quite clearly see the deep-rooted homophobia and misunderstanding of the spectrum of gender/sexuality, not only by several of the characters (such as Daisy's young lover who longs to be with a "real" woman as is natural) but also, apparently, by the author herself. Throughout the book Daisy is thought of as a gay transvestite man (as evidenced by the summary) and given male pronouns even when in his female garb, but it felt quite clear to me that, more accurately, Daisy is a trans woman. This book was written in 2008, so I would not think it was so long ago that the concept and language in regards to transgender people would be so unknown, but then again, in a country as conservative as Myanmar, that very well could be the case, and perhaps if the same book was written today, the language around Daisy would be different.

A relatively quick read, a fascinating look into Myanmar and a very specific sub-culture, and I felt the people were quite beautifully and realistically rendered.

[Mona · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been trying to understand about Burmese Nats. "Smile as they Bow" draws the reader headlong into the annual August festival in Taungbyon where the Nats are worshipped by way of the Natkadaws. Men, dressed in fancy clothing and jewelry in what we might view as like transvestites, offer their patrons promises of good fortune in exchange for money. Daisy Bond, the main character in the short novel, is an aging Natkadaw who feels he's always been a female born in a male body. He's more transgendered than gay even though he "bought" his years younger lover, Min Min some time ago. When Min Min decides he's had enough of this life and sees a young girl he's attracted to, the story's universal theme of lost love emerges. On a hunch I searched YouTube for Taungbyon and hit the jackpot. A traveler in Burma lucky enough to be in that town for the week-long festival posted terrific videos. I could hear the "music", see the dressed-up Natkadaws in their finery and catch glimpses of the offerings to the Nats. Last year I saw Nat statues in several pagodas in Burma and saw how serious their worshippers were as they offered prayers, fruits and money. Actually there are 37 main Nats. The festival in Taungbyon, from what I understand, honors two of them. I'm hoping to climb the 777 steps to the top of Mt. Popa in January. It's the home of all of the 37 spirit Nats. I've rated the book highly because the author brought me to the village festival and let me experience it from a Natkadaw perspective. The author is a popular writer in Burma as noted on the book jacket. This is her first book in translation. I would surely buy another were it available in English.

[Pedro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vamos/ subiendo la cuesta/ que arriba mi calle/ se vistió de fiesta
(Fiesta, Joan. M. Serrat)

Como cada año, comienza la Semana del Festival de la ciudad santa de Taungpyon, cerca de Mandalay, para rendir tributo a los nats, divinidades tradicionales birmanas. La gente va llegando por miles desde todo el país, en automóvil, en tren, o incluso caminando. Además del Palacio Real, en honor a los nats mayores, los hermanos Bobogyi y Bobolei, se alzan una gran cantidad de santuarios, algunos modestos y otros suntuosos. La gente llega con sus peticiones, y sus ofrendas de telas, joyas, alimentos o dinero; y muchos de ellos, desesperados.

En los santuarios los esperan los natkadaws, mediadores con las divinidades; escuchan las peticiones de los peregrinos, entran en trance, y peticionan: "Señor, responde con una sonrisa cuando se inclinan con humildad" (Smile as they bow); complementan sus reuniones con alocuciones floridas, acompañadas de música y baile. En esta tarea son cada vez más frecuentes los meinmashas (hombres-mujeres), que para muchos de los devotos son seres especiales, más sensibles a lo divino.

"Se compadece de estas ancianas natkadaws. Tienen tan pocos seguidores hoy en día; ya quedan pocas en Taungbyon. Los gays son mucho mejores para complacer a la gente, dan un mejor espectáculo. Los tiempos han cambiado: ser un natkadaw hoy en día es ser gay."

En el centro de la historia se encuentra Daisy Bond, meinmasha y natkadaw muy popular, y actúa con desparpajo e histrionismo, con una lengua filosa y malhablada, y con la asistencia de Min Min, su maestro de ceremonias y concubino. Es también una de las cabezas de un gran sistema de flujo de dinero, que beneficia a comerciantes, arrendatarios, músicos, mendigos y ladrones.

Hay peripecias amorosas, y varios otros entuertos mientras se desarrolla la semana. Pero al terminar, como si fuera una función de circo ambulante, muchos de sus protagonistas comienzan los preparativos de viaje para otro Festival, y la luz de Taungpyon se va apagando.

Una novela muy buena, con personajes muy interesantes, y una radiografía minuciosa y verosímil de algunos aspectos de la sociedad birmana, con sus contradicciones sincréticas entre las divinidades milenarias, el desapego que predica el budismo, y la avidez humana.

Nu Nu Yi nació en 1957 en Myanmar (anteriormente Birmania o Burma), y es la escritora más reconocida y popular en su país, aunque poco conocida fuera de él. En algunos períodos su obra ha estado prohibida e incluso ha sido encarcelada, pese a lo cual siempre ha vivido en Myanmar, y sólo ocasionalmente ha viajado fuera del país.

[sweet pea · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book is an amazing glimpse into a world few outside of Burma could witness. all the more amazing is that this is the first novel by an author living in Burma to be translated and published in the US.

the novel takes place during a week-long festival featuring natkadaws who channel spirits (nats) to give guidance to festival-goers. natkadaws can be either male or female. but the majority are queer males who dress in elaborate costumes to channel particular nats and dance for offerings. the novel focuses on Daisy Bond,one of the most illustrious. s/he's also notoriously bitchy and insanely jealous as well as strong (standing up to the police) and wildly successful. the plot centers on the festival and her husband Min Min and his attraction to a beggar girl.

an absorbing snapshot of a festival i hope exists. the writing is evocative and takes you right to the setting. history lessons are sprinkled throughout to add context. humor is weaved in the plot as well. my favorite quote is, "...and Daisy returns the standard meinmasha greeting: "What's it to you, fatherfucker?"" i feel privileged to have read this chronicle of life in Burma.

[Shomeret · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have seen comments from readers that indicated that they thought the author was portraying gay identity in general as being trans-gendered. This book has nothing to do with gay identity. There is common cross-cultural prejudice that men can't surrender to spirit possession. So men who become spirit mediums are perceived as being either two spirited (see the work of anthropologist Walter Williams)or transgendered. As a result, spirit mediumship is a sanctioned cultural role for gay transvestites and transgendered individuals. This can be seen in some Native American tribes, African Diasporic traditions and other Asian cultures that have a tradition of spirit mediumship. So this novel is authentically portraying a cultural institution as it has been practiced for centuries.

On the other hand, I felt that the author was distancing readers. The book lacked immediacy. I also got no new insight into Burmese spirituality.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book club pick. One of the 170+ books read by Ann Morgan as a part of her year of reading a novel from every country, SMILE AS THEY BOW was her Myanmar pick by Nu Nu Yi. This was also allegedly one of her favorites, which makes sense given the novel’s rich, evocative account of a traditional festival unique to Burmese culture. Beyond that it can feel somewhat slight (and, according to some Yi fans, not as politically charged as some of her other works), but this certainly fits the bill for readers seeking exposure to world literature from an author and country that’s rarely in the conversation.

[Katie M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book's credentials: Nu Nu Yi is one of the only contemporary writers living in Burma to be published in translation in the western world; she is also the first author living in Burma to be shortlisted for an international prize; she is also an AIDS activist; and this book was banned for 12 years by the Burmese government. Uh huh.

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating, frequently manic story of Burma's gay, transgender natkadaw community that provides a peak into a very different world. Well worth the read. Smile requires a bit of patience initially, however, as it frequently shifts narrators, and without clearly identifying each.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5⭐️ for me. I did enjoy the glamor, the plot and the drama between the Natkataws but from time to time, the way the story is told is quite confusing. The POV kept switching from first to third, without warning. Sometimes in just one paragraph.

I only just found out after I finished reading, that this book has been used as a reading material at London university? This has me completely in shocked cause in the first few pages, the author described a verbal harassment to girls as “romantic” and a “lovely custom that we now don’t do anymore”. I find this quite infuriating cause the author, herself is a female. She should know better that it’s not ok. How did she find that these verbal harassment; calling out a girl, “sexy” or “love” or “the kids are at home, why are you here” is ok? I’m even more shocked to learn that people who are not Burmese would be reading this and thinking, “this is one of Burmese custom”.

As authors, especially as female authors, they should do better.

[⭑Angélica˙✧⭑ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una mirada poco esclarecedora a la cultura gay y la religión animista en Myanmar (antigua Birmania).

Amazing, hay un mundo tan gigantesco que desconozco afuera, y esta obra solo muestra una pequeña pero muy importante parte de la tradición de Myanmar. De hecho para poder traducirlo tuve que apoyarme en muchos otros documentos (uno de ellos un ensayo super bueno sobre la importancia de la música en estas tradiciones) para tener un contexto muchísimo mejor de esta cultura tan distinta pero en igual medida interesante.

[Bogdan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a nice reading, with some humor and a lot of cultural insights for readers which where not accustomed with Myanmar's traditions. It was just I am not too interested in the social niche which is greatly explored in the novel.

[Maria]

this book was not always enjoyable, it has a tragic but also sinister feeling to it, but i feel like I learned a lot!? I had to look up so much stuff to understand this book and what was going on with the Nat and Natkadaws that I really feel like I've learned something interesting.

[Rubí Santander · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The day you stop loving me, just go. What can I do about it? Take all my jewelry, I can live with that. You’ll get what you deserve. I’m not one to obsess over material things."

[Victoria Celeste · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first ever Burmese-language book to be translated into English, if I’m correctly informed! A glimpse into the lives of natkadaws and nat worshippers at the yearly Taungbyon Festival. Nats are spirits from Burmese folk religion that have been incorporated into Buddhism, and natkadaws, usually translated as ‘spirit wives’, are women and meinmasha or trans women and gender non-conforming or gay men (the boundaries are not that strong in most of Southeast Asia and many individuals straddle the line between LGBT identities) who are believed to have the ability to channel the nats and help people gain their spiritual or material favor. In the modern day, the profession has mostly been taken over by meinmasha, as this is one of the only ‘respectable’ life paths they can take while being open about their sexuality and gender identity. Most of the book follows Daisy Bond’s daily obligations during the week of the Taungbyon Festival and her tumultuous push-pull relationship with her boyfriend/husband/assistant/wayward purchased child slave Min Min. What a crazy description for a character. U Ba Si a.k.a. Daisy Bond is a successful and wealthy natkadaw in her fifties with a very dirty mouth, a bold personality, and more bravery than a U.S. marine, which makes her an intensely interesting protagonist to follow. She got the nickname Bond, after James, because she once kicked some serious policeman ass. Despite her success and strength, she devotes much of her time and energy to chasing Min Min around and worrying about his possible infidelity. She has very good reasons to worry.

The book portrays this toxic relationship with a lot of truth and nuance without glorifying it in any way, and it was captivating to read. I finished the book with lots of sympathy for both of them — Min Min has years of trauma and abuse to unpack, doesn’t even consider himself gay, and wants to escape this lifestyle, but he feels a great sense of obligation towards Daisy and can never seem to go through with weaseling out of her iron grip; Daisy’s paranoia, deep insecurity, and continuous one-sided obsession with Min Min are just sad to read about, despite her arguably deserving her suffering for, well, buying and grooming a child slave. Min Min’s creepy romantic arc with the implied to be very young cisgender (in his words, ‘real woman’) girl singer Pan Nyo acts as a partial mirror to their relationship, except with Min Min now in the position of the aggressor, effectively illustrating how the cycle of abuse continues to perpetuate itself. The duality between Min Min’s servitude and continuous tolerance of Daisy and his (internalized?) homophobic feelings about their relationship adds fascination and complexity. The book examines the identities of meinmasha and their sexually confused lovers through a local lens without sanitizing or whitewashing, which I greatly appreciate, and was surprised to see (newly) uncensored from a country I thought of as fairly conservative.

I thoroughly enjoyed learning about and immersing myself in the rich world of the nats and the Taungbyon Festival. The background of the festival and the general belief in nats is described well and thoroughly in the book, and I found it very valuable to learn more about Burmese people, their folk religion, and their culture. Through my Filipino lens, Myanmar is a country that feels both near and far — although we’re supposed to be more familiar and cooperative with each other as members of ASEAN, we’re taught so little about them in school, the kinship between us isn’t thoroughly felt like it is with Indonesia or Malaysia due to less cultural overlap, and the local news only reports on the junta and other dire things. Reading this book expanded my horizons a bit and made me remember we’re undoubtedly from the same region after all, with many things about the theatrics of religion and social dynamics portrayed in the plot striking me as immediately familiar.

Through the depictions of Daisy’s subtly manipulative interactions with her well-paying nat worshipper customers, Min Min’s countless managerial duties, and the thorough description of pilgrim transportation methods, temple fees, Daisy’s easily dissolvable trances, and the different performance capabilities of established natkadaws and poor, upstart natkadaws, the book provides a fascinating look into the blurring between performance and divine inspiration, the commercialization of religious practice, and the resources and money that go into large religious displays like the Taungbyon Festival. Many of these natkadaws seem less motivated by spiritual connection and more entranced by flamboyant displays and the freedom to dance and express themselves with makeup and female clothing, and even the ones like Daisy Bond with a lot of spiritual zeal are very shrewd about it, refining their performances of each nat possession and making sure to lure their followers into donating as much money as possible for them to commune with the nats and fulfill their followers’ wishes.

Although my opinion on this book is obviously strongly positive, one thing I can’t place my feelings about that I assume only exists in the English translation is the narration��s frequent use of male pronouns to refer to Daisy Bond and the other meinmasha natkadaws who refer to themselves using female pronouns. This seems to be an editorial decision on the part of the translator because Burmese only has gender neutral third person pronouns. As I said previously, the boundaries between gay, gender non-conforming and trans are much blurrier in Southeast Asia and this could potentially be an expression of that, but if they refer to themselves in the feminine — Burmese has a gendered first person — why contradict it? It feels mildly condescending, but society is condescending and cruel towards meinmashas, so I guess I can understand if it’s for realistic purposes.

I would strongly recommend Smile as they Bow to anyone with an interest in learning about world cultures, world religions, and/or the lives, struggles, and statuses of LGBT people worldwide. Based on how good this is, I’d love to read more from Nu Nu Yi but it seems that her other work isn’t available in English. I hope this will be rectified soon.

[Alex MacFarlane · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Burmese novel about spirit mediums at the Taungbyon Festival. Daisy Bond, an elder medium, walks the world between man and woman in performance and reality. Min Min, Daisy’s young assistant and lover, wants to get away and be in a more ‘normal’ relationship. The novel deftly balances the extravaganza of a major festival with the minor — and nasty — mundanities of everyday life, which certainly don’t get left behind. Daisy’s gender defies easy definition. In places Smile As They Bow is not pleasant — Daisy treats Min Min abusively, made worse by the fact that Min Min was bought from his parents by Daisy. The purpose is not, however, to portray sympathetic people but to offer a week-long slice-of-life, and at that Smile As They Bow succeeds compellingly. It is beautifully written/translated. I enjoyed aspects of it.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad read. It may take some people a while to get used to the way it is narrated, which is just the nature of the beast when you are working from a translation. Asiatic languages just have such a different structure that sometimes they don't translate very well. At least not without the risk of completely changing the meaning. I'm glad they did as straight a translation as possible.

Many readers wouldn't enjoy this as much as I did. The subject matter is unusual (just read the description on the book's main page), but those who are willing to expirement and, again, work through the sometimes labored language will find an enjoyable read and characters that, though sometimes you just want to smack them, you still feel for.

[Katelyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm sorry to say I really did not like this book because I admire the author's attempt to describe Burma through one of its festivals. The opening pages gave interchanging perspectives of the beautiful sides and the dark sides of the religious festivities - those who come to ask selfishly for wealth, those who ask humbly for good health, and those who prey on aging grandmothers to pickpocket their gold.

But the story followed a bitchy gay transvestite who dresses up to participate in the week long festival, and the predictable story line is stuffed with rambling, crude dialogue between the main character and the other gay transvestites. I enjoyed the cultural details of the festival but I wanted more: descriptions of daily life or their homes or their society.

[sarote · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story itself is fairly simple but it provides a nice framework on which to hang a vivid description of a fascinating subculture I knew nothing about. Daisy Bond really comes alive as the foul-mouthed aging queen of the super-camp natkadaw world, although the other characters have little depth. Four stars is a bit generous but it's an enjoyable little book, nicely translated, and Burmese novels in English are so rare that it's worth a read.

[Nway · Rating 5 out of 5]

i like how the author portrays the life of each different ppl in the introduction. even though i kinda knows how the ending will be, it is a really great book with full of knowledge about life, our underrated festival and natgadaw myar.

[Mindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a really great look into a not much talked about sub-culture in Myanmar. I learned a lot and now I really want to go to the festival next year.

[Dana Schmidt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinated by the story which gave interesting insights on Burma. Narrative style was difficult to get into; I wonder if it has to do with some things being lost in translation.

[Hellen]

Selection for Myanmar/Burma

[Ye Thu Lwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good one! Got the knowledge of "Taung Pyone" traditional festival. The words and usage between characters are interesting.
The book also has the English translated version.
*4.4 out of 5

[Charles Sheard · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I love the framing of the novel around the week-long religious festival, both for structure and for the evocative setting. It also starts off promising, shifting from person to person to show some of the varied attendees. But instead of building up a tapestry of multiple threads, it quickly focuses on the main story and never looks back, and that simply isn't a story that is terribly interesting to me, nor filled with terribly likeable or interesting characters. If I want a love triangle where the youngsters leave the aging woman, I'll listen to Der Rosenkavalier. I don't however, enjoy a farcical aging drag queen who masquerades as a religious channeler to take pilgrims' money.

And frankly, that last part is probably what I fundamentally dislike most about this novel: the overwhelming and unceasing focus on money, both those preying upon the dupes seeking religious favor, and those seeking that favor themselves who inevitably are merely asking for supernatural intervention to make more money.

Unfortunately, there are so very few available options of Myanmar literature in English translation. I do like the author's writing, so perhaps if more of her works get translated I will give her another shot in the future.

[Johan D'Haenen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Waar het in dit verhaal om draait, is het Taung Pyone Nat Festival dat elk jaar gehouden wordt in Taung Pyone, een dorp in de buurt van Mandalay. In Myanmar is het geloof in "Nats" (geesten) heel belangrijk. De mensen vragen hen alles, vooral rijkdom en succes, en "offeren" geld aan hen via hun tussenpersonen, de "natkadaw" of "vrouwen van de geesten". Eigenaardig genoeg bestaat die gemeenschap van "vrouwen van de geesten" volledig uit homofiele mannen, en dat in een conservatief land waar de LGBTQ gemeenschap nog altijd buiten de wet staat.
Het festival zelf is een bonte, wervelende mengeling van dansen, circusacts, magische shows, toekomstvoorspellingen, en andere vormen van entertainment waar zo ongeveer alles mogelijk is.
Tegen die achtergrond speelt zich een "liefdesverhaal" af van een "natkadaw" van gevorderde leeftijd en zijn jonge geliefde annex slaaf die verliefd wordt op een jonge bedelares, tot groot verdriet van de "natkadaw".
Het boek zelf leest als een trein met vinnige dialogen, kleurrijke beschrijvingen en een opeenstapeling van waanzinnige gebeurtenissen. Een echt divertissement...