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The Depository documents 38 techniques in Myanmar; by risk level: 17 critically endangered, 20 endangered, 1 vulnerable. Each record opens with a public summary; the full research record is free to view once registered.
Chin textile weaving (ချင်းထည် chin hte) encompasses the diverse weaving traditions of the Chin people — a group of closely related but culturally distinct communities occupying Chin State in western Myanmar.
Kachin textile weaving is the weaving tradition of the Kachin people (ကချင် Kachin) — specifically the Jinghpaw (Jingpho) sub-group, the largest of the six Kachin groups — producing the distinctive Kachin women's skirt (htamai) and…
Karen textile weaving is the back-strap loom tradition of the Karen people (ကရင် Karen) — one of Myanmar's largest ethnic minorities, occupying Karen State, Tanintharyi Region, and the Thai-Myanmar border.
Kayah (Karenni) backstrap weaving is the textile tradition of the Kayah people (ကယား) of Kayah State (formerly Karenni State) — one of Myanmar's smallest states and home to multiple culturally distinct Kayah sub-groups.
Luntaya acheik (လွန်တာ အချိတ် — 'one hundred shuttles interlock') is the most technically demanding silk weaving tradition in Myanmar — and one of the most complex in Southeast Asia.
Mandalay luntein (လွန်တိမ် — 'lifted pattern') is the tapestry and brocade weaving tradition of Mandalay — producing the heavy ceremonial textiles used for Buddhist monastery decoration, royal audience hall hangings, and ceremonial…
Pa-O textile weaving is the identity textile tradition of the Pa-O people (ပအိုဝ်း) — the second-largest ethnic group in Shan State — producing the immediately recognizable black-ground cloth with orange and red supplementary weft stripes…
Rakhine silk weaving is the textile tradition of the Rakhine (Arakan) people of Rakhine State — a tradition influenced by the Arakan Kingdom's historic position as a major maritime trading state connecting South Asian and Southeast Asian…
Shan silk weaving is the broad textile tradition of the Shan State plateau — practiced by multiple ethnic communities centered on Inle Lake including Shan, Pa-O, Intha, and Danu weavers.
The forging of the dha (da) — the single-edged, guardless curved sword or long knife that is Myanmar's most historically significant edged-weapon tradition and one of the ten canonical 'Pan Sel Myo' craft categories (Panbe, blacksmithing).
Burmese silver repoussé (ငွေပုံ ngwe pon — 'shaped silver') is the silversmithing tradition of Myanmar — producing ceremonial bowls, betel containers, Buddha image stands, and personal ornaments through combined repoussé and chasing with a…
Kachin silver jewelry is the metalwork tradition of the Kachin people — producing the elaborate silver ornament systems worn at the Manaw festival and other ceremonies.
The Kayan brass neck coil (လည်ကော့ lae khoe) is one of the most recognized and most ethically contested craft objects in Southeast Asia — the spiral brass coil worn by Kayan (Padaung) women from childhood, adding rings progressively over a…
Mandalay bronze casting (သံကြောင်း than kyaung) encompasses two related traditions: Buddha image casting using lost-wax technique, and temple bell casting using a clay mold system — both producing objects essential to Burmese Buddhist…
Mandalay gold leaf beating (ရွှေစာ shwe sar) produces the thinnest gold leaf in the world — sheets measuring approximately 1/10,000mm (100 nanometers) thick — used by Buddhist devotees to apply gilding directly onto Buddha images and…
Pyu period bronze casting revival (ပျူယဒနာ pyu yadanar — 'Pyu treasure') is the contemporary craft tradition of reproducing bronze objects from the Pyu civilization (1st century BCE–9th century CE) — one of Southeast Asia's earliest urban…
Shan silver ornament making (ငွေကောင် ngwe gaung) is the silversmithing tradition of the Shan people of eastern Shan State — centered in Kengtung (Kyaingtong) and strongly influenced by adjacent Tai Lue, Thai, and southern Chinese silver…
Bagan yun (ယွန်းထည်) is the supreme lacquerware tradition of Myanmar — produced in and around Bagan and Mandalay for over a thousand years and widely considered the finest lacquerware tradition in Southeast Asia.
The sadaik (စာဒိုင်း) is the lacquered wooden chest used to store Buddhist palm-leaf manuscripts (parabaik) and paper manuscripts in Burmese Buddhist monasteries — one of the most functionally and aesthetically significant craft objects in…
Mon lacquerware (မွန်ယွန်း mon yun) is the lacquer tradition of the Mon people of Mon State and the Bago Region — a tradition older than Bagan yun (CRAFT-0422) since the Mon civilization preceded the Bamar in the lower Irrawaddy.
Shan lacquerware (ရှမ်းယွန်း shan yun) is the regional lacquer tradition of Shan State — distinct from Bagan yun (CRAFT-0422) in its use of a thicker bamboo coil base (less flexible than Bagan), a different engraving vocabulary (Shan…
The Burmese parabaik (ပုရပိုက်) is the traditional accordion-fold manuscript book of Myanmar — a long strip of Shan sa paper (CRAFT-0444) or lacquered cloth folded into pages and painted with Buddhist manuscript text (in traditional…
Pathein hti (ထီး — 'umbrella/parasol') is the traditional paper umbrella making tradition of Pathein (Bassein) in Ayeyarwady Region — Myanmar's primary umbrella-making center for over 200 years.
Shan paper making (ရှမ်းစာ shan sa) is the handmade bark paper tradition of Shan State — using mulberry (sa tree, Broussonetia papyrifera) and local plant fiber to produce paper for Buddhist manuscript copying, folded book (parabaik)…
Kalaga (ကာလဂါ) is the Burmese tradition of producing large embroidered and appliqué wall hangings depicting scenes from the Jataka tales, royal court narratives, and mythological subjects — used to decorate Buddhist temples, royal…
The Naga people of the Sagaing Region (western Myanmar) and Nagaland (India) maintain one of the most visually dramatic ornament and textile traditions in Southeast Asia — historically associated with headhunting ceremony and now…
Burmese traditional river boat building (လိပ်ကြော leik hkyaw) is the craft tradition producing the distinctive flat-bottomed, high-prow teak river vessels of the Irrawaddy River system — from small fishing craft to the large trading boats…
The Intha people of Inle Lake maintain two interlocking craft traditions central to their lake-based livelihood: the construction of the flat-bottomed teak dugout canoe (hkwe a-hkwei) adapted for the one-leg rowing technique unique to Inle…
Inle Lake lotus fiber weaving (ကြာသီးထည် kyar thi hta — 'lotus stalk textile') is one of the rarest textile traditions in the world — practiced only on Inle Lake in Shan State, Myanmar, and in a small number of locations in Cambodia.
The Palaung (Ta'ang) people of northern Shan State are Myanmar's principal highland tea growers — and their craft tradition encompasses both the carrying basket system for tea harvest transport and the distinctive Palaung women's textile…
The carving and finishing of jadeite (kyauk sein) in Mandalay, the principal cutting and trading center for jade mined at Hpakant in Kachin State — the world's dominant source of gem-quality jadeite, sometimes described in trade literature…
Mandalay marble Buddha carving (ကျောက်ဆစ် kyaukse) is the sculptural tradition centered in the Sagyin and Kyaukse districts north of Mandalay — using white Sagyin marble to produce Buddha images in the Mandalay style: seated in meditation…
Burmese marionette making (ရမတ်ဇတ်ပွဲ yama zatpwe — 'Ramayana performance') is the craft tradition producing the articulated string puppets of Myanmar's classical marionette theater — a tradition that predates Burmese contact with Thai and…
The Chin facial tattoo tradition (မျက်နှာတက် myin dat) is the practice of tattooing the faces of Chin women with sub-group-specific patterns — historically a coming-of-age practice for Chin women beginning around age 11–15, producing…
Danu pottery is the traditional earthenware tradition of the Danu people — a small Tibeto-Burman group on the Shan plateau near Pindaya, Southern Shan State.
Mandalay Buddhist temple woodcarving (မြောက်တပ် hmyaw tat) is the architectural relief carving tradition decorating Myanmar's wooden Buddhist temples, monasteries (kyaung), and royal pavilions in teak, ironwood, and pyinkado (Xylia…
Shan cheroot making (လပတ်ရေ laphet yei) is the hand-rolling tradition producing Myanmar's distinctive green leaf-wrapped cheroots — cigars rolled from a combination of cured tobacco leaf, dried tamarind, palm sugar, and corn flour wrapped…
The Wa people of northern Shan State (on the Myanmar-Yunnan border) maintain a bamboo musical instrument making tradition encompassing the bamboo flute set (khong — played in ensemble), the buffalo horn trumpet (used in headhunting…