Myanmar

Myanmar (Burma) — Why does that person have yellow paste on their face?

Nick Morris

Nick Morris

— 2 min read

The use of Thanaka in Myanmar (Burma)

March 2015

That was the question I asked myself the first morning I was in Myanmar (Burma). Why does that person have dried yellow paste on their face?

As I walked out of the hotel, I saw a person with what looked like dried yellow paste smeared on both cheeks. At first, I thought it was a one-off, someone who had left the house too early and left their overnight face-pack on. Then I saw another and another. Some sort of sunblock? Religious marking?

OK, I thought it was only women with the paste on their faces, but then I saw men and children. It was all confusing.

It turns out it is Thanaka, which is made by grinding up the bark of the Thanaka tree (Murraya spp), and sometimes bark from the Wood Apple Tree (Limonia acidissima), and it is a beauty product that is supposed to be good for the skin. It is not sunblock (although I guess it would work for that), and it is not some religious marking.

If you go to Myanmar (Burma), you will see numerous people wearing the paste. Below is a collection of photos I took of people wearing Thanaka.

Photo by Author — mother and child with thanaka on their faces — Myanmar (Burma)
Photo by Author — mother and child with thanaka on their faces — Myanmar (Burma)
Photo by Author — food seller with yellow paste, thanaka — Myanmar (Burma)
Photo by Author — food seller with yellow paste, thanaka — Myanmar (Burma)
Photo by Author — train passenger with yellow paste, thanaka — Myanmar (Burma)
Photo by Author — train passenger with yellow paste, thanaka — Myanmar (Burma)
Photo by Author — train passenger with yellow paste, thanaka — Myanmar (Burma)
Photo by Author — train passenger with yellow paste, thanaka — Myanmar (Burma)
Photo by Author — waitress wearing thanaka — Myanmar (Burma)
Photo by Author — waitress wearing thanaka — Myanmar (Burma)
Photo by Author — young flower seller — yellow paste, thanaka — Myanmar (Burma)
Photo by Author — young flower seller — yellow paste, thanaka — Myanmar (Burma)
Photo by Author — flower seller with yellow paste, thanaka — Myanmar (Burma)
Photo by Author — flower seller with yellow paste, thanaka — Myanmar (Burma)

At one of the temples I visited, they had a grinding stone with some small Thanaka tree (Murraya spp) logs. I tried making the paste. I placed a small amount of water on the stone and then rubbed the bark against the stone. It was easy to make the paste.

The Thanaka tradition also explains the baskets I saw at some markets containing small logs. The logs looked too small to use on a fire and were Thanaka logs for making the paste.

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