''Tayaw kinpun'' ( my, တရော် ကင်ပွန်း, ; also transliterated ''tayaw kinmun'' or ''tayaw kinbun'') is a traditional

shampoo Shampoo () is a hair care product, typically in the form of a viscous liquid, that is used for cleaning hair. Less commonly, shampoo is available in solid bar format. Shampoo is used by applying it to wet hair, massaging the product into the ...

used in

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

. Its main ingredients are the bark of the '' tayaw'' (''Grewia'') tree and the soapy '' kinpun'' (''Senegalia rugata'') fruit.

Lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...

may also be added to the mix. Shampooing with ''tayaw kinpun'' has been an important tradition 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 ...

since ancient times.

Burmese kings This is a list of the monarchs of Burma (Myanmar), covering the monarchs of all the major kingdoms that existed in the present day Burma (Myanmar). Although Burmese chronicles, Burmese chronicle tradition maintains that various monarchies of Bur ...

used to wash their hair with ''tayaw kinpun'' during the royal hair-washing ceremony ( my, ခေါင်းဆေး မင်္ဂလာပွဲ, label=none), in the belief that using the shampoo would cast away bad luck and bring good luck. Today, it is still customary for many Burmese people to wash their heads with ''tayaw kinpun'' on the Burmese New Year's Day to leave behind impurities and bad omens of the past. In addition to its ritual uses, ''tayaw kinpun'' is still widely used by the Burmese people, and is commonly sold in the country's open-air markets, typically in plastic bags.

Legend

According to legend, King of

Sri Ksetra , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Sri Ksetra , common_name = Kingdom of Sri Ksetra , era = Classical Antiquity , status = City-state , event_start = Founding of Kingdom , year_start = c. 3rd to 9th century CE , date_start = , ...

possessed supernatural powers from his prominent mole in the middle of his forehead. Known as the Three-Eyed King, Duttabaung conquered

Beikthano Beikthano ( my, ဗိဿနိုး, , also known as Panhtwa city), is situated in the irrigated Magway Region, near present-day Taungdwingyi. In the era of the Pyu city-states it was a city of considerable significance, possibly a local capital ...

, and took the conquered state's ruler

Panhtwar Panhtwar ( my, ပန်ထွာ) was the legendary queen regnant of Beikthano, the ancient city of the Pyu Kingdom. She was considered to be a strong, spiritual lady of war and fame. Legend According to legend, Panhtwar was the only daughter o ...

as his queen. Though defeated, Queen Panhtwar vowed to win her kingdom back. Upon discovering that the king's mole was the source of his powers, she devised a plan to minimize the powers of the mole by giving the king a face towel, made from her ''

htamein A longyi (; ) is a sheet of cloth widely worn in Burma (Myanmar). It is approximately long and wide. The cloth is often sewn into a cylindrical shape. It is worn around the waist, running to the feet, and held in place by folding fabric over wi ...

'' (sarong). The king lost his powers using the towel. He soon faced myriad rebellions, and had to flee the capital. While on the run, he rested under a large ''tayaw'' tree, surrounded by ''kinpun'' plants. When it began raining, his head was soaked with the brew of ''tayaw'' and ''kinpun'' plants, which cast away the spell of Panhtwar's towel, and his powers reappeared. From then on, successive Burmese kings used the ''tayaw kinpun'' mix to wash their hair ritualistically to cast away the evil, and augment their powers.

In popular culture

* On 13 April 2021, two months after the

2021 Myanmar coup d'état A coup d'état in Myanmar began on the morning of 1 February 2021, when democratically elected members of the country's ruling party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), were deposed by the Tatmadaw—Myanmar's military—which then veste ...

, activists in

Mandalay Mandalay ( or ; ) is the second-largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon. Located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, 631km (392 miles) (Road Distance) north of Yangon, the city has a population of 1,225,553 (2014 census). Mandalay was fo ...

launched a ''tayaw kinpun'' strike, in which tubes of the shampoo were wrapped in anti-government flyers.

References

{{Reflist Shampoos Burmese culture