Aug, 2004 - Volume 12 No.8

Inside This Issue


Don’t Forget the Ethnic Conflict

Where Spirits Dwell
Yeni examines the history of Burma’s nat cult, and the tensions that can arise when the centuries-old animist tradition butts heads with Burma’s deep-rooted Buddhist beliefs.

Festival Time at a Nat Shrine
Every August thousands of Burmese make the pilgrimage to Taung Pyone village to attend the country’s biggest nat festival and to help the villagers celebrate their invisible rulers, writes Aung Lwin Oo.


Bedtime Reading for the Generals
Burma’s culture of paranoia is not confined to political dissidents. Now, some of the ruling generals are bedding down at the office—to save their lives, writes Aung Zaw.

Cambodia is Tuning In
Cambodians are tuning in to the country’s cheapest and most accessible news source: radio. Kyaw Zwa Moe reports from Cambodia.


CULTURE
Calling Home the Spirits
In August, the bonds of tradition that bind the Karen people are tied in a symbolic but also a quite literal way, when they celebrate their annual “wrist-tying” festival, reports Shah Paung.

BOOK REVIEW
Disquiet on the Second Front
In Kumar Ramakrishna’s After Bali: The Threat of Terrorism in Southeast Asia, several regional security experts say they fear radical Islam as much as America’s flawed response. Reviewed by Matt Wheeler.

THE BACK PAGE
The Back Page (August-September Issue)



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