Enormously popular in Myanmar, soothsayers – believe them or not?
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Theikpan
Myint Oo - 30 years experience telling fortunes via palmistry
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People from various walks of life visit these people. Some go when they need advice on their educational or professional careers. They want to hear from the professionals what kind of results await them well before they are officially announced. Some are very keen to have their predictions on their careers or whether the job offered to them has greater prospects. Myanmar Times talked to a famous palmist, Theikpan Myint Oo, who has 30 years experience in this field. People who come to him belong to different faiths. They are also from different careers: government servants, artists, business people, housewives, young office employees, students, even athletes. Being in the field for such a long period, he prides himself in being able to tell the future of a person with confidence. He commented, “I like the theory of Cairo, who said, ‘A person’s face may try to conceal something from you and lie to you but his palms will never do that.’” He also expressed satisfaction over how he had been able to help people as his predictions about them had come true and they were able to prepare to face those situations. A person may want to have their comments on his or her lover to see they are astrologically matched; on a suitable wedding date; on the choice of a name of their newly-born baby and even the purchase of a house or an apartment.
Daw Thapyay Nu, a clairvoyant, who claims to have supernatural powers through serious meditation, said from her office at Hledan junction, that most of her clients who came to discuss their love lives were young. She said to MT. “I am well known among young people because many of my predictions on their love affairs have turned out to be quite accurate.” Most people go to fortunetellers when their stars are falling. Often they advise their clients what should be done to avert “forthcoming danger.” It is believed that there used to be people who specialised in the field. Many professionals advise their clients to do some deeds of merit such as offering flowers, candles or joss sticks to Buddha images in an effort to thwart or stop the “dangers from coming.”
However some people go into a state of panic when faced with problems. And these people sometimes rely too much on the predictions of fortunetellers and forget that they are in the best position to solve their own problems. One lady, by the name of Ma Sabai, a pseudonym, in her late twenties, from Hinthada Township, Ayeyarwady Division, whose husband had left her with one child due to the influence of his parents, said, “I have visited all the fortunetellers in the entire township to have them predict whether my husband will return to me.” Many of them predicted that he would soon return to her and that they even forecast the date, time and place that he would appear so that she could go and meet him. While that didn’t happen, fortunately they are reunited now.
These days people go to astrologers for one more thing: to ask for lucky numbers in the State lottery. There are a few of them who specialise in this field. Some of them even sell lottery tickets themselves. Daw Thapyay Nu went on to say that she doesn’t fix on how much a person should pay for her advice and she leaves the matter to a person to decide on how much she shall pay as she believes she is helping them out in one way. She added that most of her clients have their own problems already, so she doesn’t want them to have an extra burden through her asking of honorarium for her advice. She said, “I don’t fix the money to be paid for my service. I leave it to the people to decide about the honorarium.”