Ah-Tar-Oh (or) Thingyan Pot: One of the trademarks of Thingyan
Myanmar Brewery Limited
"To be the most excellent company in Myanmar moving forward together with people and society."
Ah-Tar-Oh (or) Thingyan Pot: One of the trademarks of Thingyan
“Ah-Tar-Oh” is the Myanmar word for “Thingyan Pot”. “Ah-Tar-Oh” (or) “Thingyan Pot” is a ceremonial pot of flowers prepared and arranged to welcome the Burmese New Year during Myanmar Maha Thingyan. In the Ah-Tar Pot, the seven flowers or leaves (aka) shoots ( A Nyunt) are chosen and represent the seven days of the week.
To welcome the Burmese New Year, having ‘Thingyan Pot’ plays an important part in Burmese people's life. Thingyan is changing from the Old Year to the New Year. Myanmar people welcome Thingyan by placing Atar or Thingyan pots in front of their houses. Atar pots are in good demand in the markets before Thingyan. Atar pot is filled with water and seven kinds of flora representing seven days of the week such as coconut palm leaves, Gantgaw, Khayay, plum, Ywet Hla, Myey Zar, and Dan. Tamar and Ingyin Leaves are also used. Eugenia leaves are also added because it is the symbol of victory for the Myanmar people.
The sellers annually put on sale of Atar pots together with Thingyan flowers as a tradition. We can simply buy Thingyan Pot from sellers. They choose such flowers and leaves for Thingyan Pot obeying the law of Burmese Custom. Please note that they are not plucking randomly from the garden. They choose a set of flowers and leaves carefully with the knowledge of the Burmese Alphabet and its days concerned. If you want to make your own Thingyan Pot, you will have to collect ‘flowers and leaves’ by obeying the law of Burmese custom as the sellers do. First, you must have a little knowledge of Burmese Days, the Burmese Alphabet, and its letters.
As Buddhist, we usually place Thingyan pots at our houses during the Thingyan period as a tradition. We are very pleased to celebrate Thingyan as we have to welcome the water festival with Atar pot and listen to Parittas. It is to welcome our Burmese New Year, especially to the King of the Celestials (Tha-Gyar-Min). We place Thingyan Pot at a suitable place somewhere in front of our house and hope that he will see it. It is one of the good deeds and it may be our propaganda to be written our names on his Golden plate! According to Burmese traditional folklore, every year on the first day of Thingyan (the Burmese new year), Thagyamin visits the earth while being invisible. He brings two kinds of parchments (Gold Plate and Dog-Skin) with him. There, he observes every person: he records the names of good people in a golden book and writes the names of evildoers in a book made of dog-skin leather. On the third day of Thingyan, he returns to heaven.
There is a tradition of welcoming the whole four Thingyan Festival days with "Atar Pot", after the Thingyan days, filling "Atar Pot" with white sand, and threads and reciting religious Parittas of invulnerability to enchant. "Atar Pot" and "Atar Flower" are changed into "Paritta Pot" and "Paritta Flower" respectively. And we believe that looping "Paritta Pot" and "Paritta Flower" around our residencies and houses to get the effects of invulnerability.