Liberty Mya Yin ( my, လေဘာတီမြရင်; 21 April 1904 – 29 April 1945) was a Burmese
anyeint dancer and singer, best known during the pre-
World War II period.
She gained the moniker "Liberty" from college fans who advocated Burmese independence.
A bronze
bust of Mya Yin stands before the
National Theatre of Mandalay.
Life
Mya Yin was born to Po Thit and Nyanyon, who were both traditional dancers, on 21 April, 1904 at Shwepalagan village,
Thazi Township
Thazi Township () is a township of Meiktila District in the Mandalay Region of Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only s ...
(now
Wundwin Township), British Burma. She started dancing at age 15.
Awba Thaung was one of her contemporaries.
She was secretly married to
Mahn Nyut U Maung Galay, a wealthy businessman and MP in the
Legislative Council of Burma.
Later career
Mya Yin's popularity was universal, including the general public, government officials and the elite. At one point her anyeint had to be booked and partially paid for a year in advance, and donors needed to choose their days depending on when she was free. Among her admirers were Sir
Joseph Augustus Maung Gyi and
U Thant.
She performed hundreds of songs; some of the best known were "Tone Kyaw Ma", "U Thawun Kyaung", "Ahlushin" and "Shwe Pyi Soe".
She also produced gramophone records, including "Moonlight Glory", "Padonma Shwekyar", "Khint Thabaw", "Maung Maung's Shwekye", "Htin Thalone" and "Okay, Sait Taku Yote Koze".
Death and legacy
Mya Yin died on 29 April 1945 of
malaria while fleeing conflict in Burma during World War II.
In recognition of her prominence as a Burmese artist, a bronze statue of her stands before the National Theatre of Mandalay.
Notes
See also
*
Burmese dance
*
Anyeint
*
Sin Kho Ma Lay
Sin Kho Ma Lay ( my, ဆင်ခိုးမလေး; ; ; born Ma Hmyin; 1852 – 1930) was a Burmese court dancer, best known during the late Konbaung era.
She was so favoured by the Chief Queen Supayalat that a royal verbal order came out in ...
*
Yindaw Ma Lay
Yindaw Ma Lay ( my, ယင်းတော်မလေး; ; 1846 – 1916) was a Burmese royal court dancer, best known during the late Konbaung era. Yindaw Ma Lay is said to be one of the two mothers of the Mandalay's first dramatic arts era ...
*
Ma Htwe Lay
*
Aung Bala
*
Awba Thaung
*
Mya Chay Gyin Ma Ngwe Myaing
"Mya Chay-Gyin" Ma Ngwe Myaing ( my, မြခြေချင်း မငွေမြိုင်, ; born Ngwe Hlaing; 21 November 1894 – 20 September 1959) was a Burmese dance performer of the twentieth century, in the tradition of Ma H ...
References
{{Authority control
Burmese dancers
20th-century Burmese women singers
1904 births
1945 deaths
Date of birth unknown
Civilians killed in World War II
Deaths from malaria
Infectious disease deaths in Myanmar