DAW Hla Kywe readily admits her age, but her smooth skin and bright complexion do nothing to reveal her 75 years. A thanakha vendor with a stand at Bogyoke Market,
Daw Hla Kywe is one of many Myanmar women who swear by the yellow wood paste they use in place of modern make-up.
“I have never used cosmetics,” she said, proudly rubbing the yellow powder that covers her fine wrinkles.
Daw Hla Kywe was born in Pakkoku, a town famous for its thanakha trees. She still owns a tree farm near the village of her childhood home, where she returns once a year to harvest more thanakha to sell in Yangon.
Her business nets K500,000 a year, but she is as much a cultural symbol as a savvy businesswoman. Few images are as classically Myanmar as the sight of yellow-faced men and women going about their daily routines.
As all Myanmar (and well-prepared tourists) know, thanakha paste is made by grinding the bark of a thanakha tree against a whetstone and adding a splash of water. In addition to its cosmetic use, thanakha is claimed to offer sun protection, tighten pores, cool the skin and prevent acne.
Thanakha use is believed to date back as far as the 11th century. Khin Win Kyi, owner of Khin Win Kyi Thanakha Shop, explained that the paste has an ancient, documented place in Myanmar history.
“Thanakha has been used since the times of the Asian kings and queens. It is mentioned in songs and poems written long, long ago,” she said.
This is the stuff of National Geographic photos and Lonely Planet Guides, and one might expect young Myanmar women to forgo thanakha street vendors and head for the nearest L’Oreal counter. Yet thanakha remains extremely popular even among the young urban crowd.
One reason may be that thanakha has evolved into a mini industry within Myanmar and is packaged and sold like any modern cosmetic. Khin Win Kyi’s shop, for instance, sells exclusively prepackaged thanakha and offers a dizzying array of forms and scents. Bad acne? Try medicated thanakha with spirulina. Dull skin? Gold-laced thanakha adds shimmer.
The many powders, liquids, creams and lotions available also come in a variety of flowery scents, such as jasmine and rose.
Nevertheless, even many modern women prefer to grind their own thanakha the old-fashioned way. Ma Ni Ni Win, a salesperson at Pierre Cardin cosmetics, makes a living selling prepackaged beauty. Yet when she sees a jar of pre-made thanakha, she balks.
“This is not real!” she says firmly. “For real thanakha, you need water and a stone.” Such simplicity – a splash of water, a rock, the bark of a tree – has made thanakha accessible and ubiquitous. Yet does it really live up to its reputation as a sun block?
According to Dr Kan Thein, a plastic surgeon at Yangon Medical Centre, there are no definitive scientific studies regarding thanakha’s ability to keep UV rays from penetrating the skin.
“But in my limited experience, the incidence of skin cancer in Myanmar is very rare, especially in the female sex,” he said.
“This is an agricultural country where a significant portion of the labour force is female and is exposed to the elements all day. For these women, even if thanakha offers no chemical effect, it at least forms a physical barrier from the sun,” said Dr Kan Thein.
Though it is not known whether there is any correlation between healthy skin and daily thanakha use, devotees remain convinced of its effects and particular about the quality of the plant.
According to vendor Daw Hla Kywe, the regions most famous for thanakha are Shinmadaung and Shwe Bo. Here the powder is finest and the fragrance strongest.
“The best thanakha is pure, made simply from the bark. Prepackaged thanakha contains wood pulp and roots, and this is not as good for the skin.” she said. So will Shinmadaung thanakha soon fill Western cosmetic counters, promising youthful skin and invisible pores?
“The nature of thanakha is in its cooling effect, so it is suitable for our weather. Thanakha is for Myanmar,” said Khin Win Kyi.
– Khin Nyein Aye Than and Sandar Linn assisted with this article.
