''Satuditha'' ( my, စတုဒိသာ; ) is a traditional Burmese

feast A banquet (; ) is a formal large meal where a number of people consume food together. Banquets are traditionally held to enhance the prestige of a host, or reinforce social bonds among joint contributors. Modern examples of these purposes i ...

and merit-making activity that features prominently in

Burmese culture The culture of Myanmar (also known as Burma) ( my, မြန်မာ့ယဉ်ကျေးမှု) has been heavily influenced by Buddhism. Burmese culture has also been influenced by its neighbours. In more recent times, British colonial ...

, reinforcing the importance of

generosity Generosity (also called largess) is the virtue of being liberal in giving, often as gifts. Generosity is regarded as a virtue by various world religions and philosophies, and is often celebrated in cultural and religious ceremonies. Scientific in ...

and

almsgiving Alms (, ) are money, food, or other material goods donated to people living in poverty. Providing alms is often considered an act of virtue or charity. The act of providing alms is called almsgiving, and it is a widespread practice in a number ...

as a Burmese cultural norm.

Etymology

''Satuditha'' is the Burmese pronunciation of the

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...

term ''catudisā'', which means the "four

cardinal directions The four cardinal directions, or cardinal points, are the four main compass directions: north, east, south, and west, commonly denoted by their initials N, E, S, and W respectively. Relative to north, the directions east, south, and west are a ...

," in reference to the charitable act of offering free food or drink to those who come from the four points of the compass.

Celebrations

During major festivities such as

Thingyan Thingyan (, ; Arakanese: ; from Sanskrit '' saṁkrānti,'' which means "transit f the Sun from Pisces to Aries) is the Burmese New Year Festival that usually occurs in middle of April. Thingyan is the first ever water festival celebrated in ...

Thadingyut Thadingyut ( my, သီတင်းကျွတ်) is the seventh month of the traditional Burmese calendar. Myanmar term "thadin" (သီတင်း) means the Buddhist Lent (Vassa), which spans the three preceding lunar months and is the tradi ...

, and

Tazaungdaing festival The Tazaungdaing Festival ( my, တန်ဆောင်တိုင်ပွဲတော်, also known as the Festival of Lights and spelt Tazaungdine Festival), held on the full moon day of Tazaungmon, the eighth month of the Burmese calendar, ...

, donors throughout the country host ''satuditha'' feasts, preparing and handing out parcels of food or desserts such as

mohinga Mohinga (, ; also spelt mont hin gar) is a rice noodle and fish soup from Myanmar and an essential part of Burmese cuisine, considered by many to be the national dish of Myanmar. Mohinga is readily available in most parts of the country, sold by ...

, mont lone yay baw,

Thingyan rice Thingyan rice ( my, သင်္ကြန်ထမင်း, , Thingyan htamin; mnw, ပုင်သင်္ကြာန်) is a traditional Mon dish served during Thingyan, the traditional Burmese New Year. Thingyan rice is infused with water a ...

shwe yin aye Shwe yin aye ( my, ရွှေရင်အေး; ) is a traditional Burmese dessert commonly associated with the Thingyan season. The dessert consists of sweetened sticky rice, sago pearls, pandan jelly noodles (cendol), and cubes of kyaukk ...

and mont let saung to revelers and passersby. ''Satuditha'' feasts are commonly held in conjunction with ''Nibban zay'' (နိဗ္ဗာန်ဈေး; ), whereby members of the community organise donation drives for food staples like rice, cooking oil, and onion utensils, which are then distributed to the needy.

References

{{Burmese cuisine Burmese culture Eating parties

Etymology

Celebrations

See also

References