Myanmar military ruler Min Aung Hlaing threw a birthday party on Sunday for the one-year-old so-called “white elephant” calf he sees as nature’s confirmation of his greatness.
The birthday party was held at Uppatasanti Pagoda in Naypyitaw, where the elephant calf (which, in photos taken at the event, appears considerably darker than in earlier images) is kept. Min Aung Hlaing gave 5 million kyats (around US$1,700) as a birthday present for the elephant, to be used in raising it.
On July 31, his regime will issue a new banknote worth twice as much as the current highest denomination, reportedly to mark the completion of the colossal Maravijaya Buddha Image and the birthday of the white elephant.
At a ceremony at the pagoda some eight months ago, Min Aung Hlaing named the little pachyderm Rattha Nandaka, which means, in Pali, “the precious white elephant beloved by the country will bring prosperity and happiness to the nation”.
Critics point out that the name stands in stark contrast to the chaotic situation in the Southeast Asian nation since the coup.
While Myanmar people awaited with dread the introduction of the 20,000 kyat note, fearing it will exacerbate inflation in the country, Min Aung Hlaing, his cabinet members and military leaders were feeding bananas and sugarcane to Rattha Nandaka and other albino or unusually pale elephants.
The birthday boy, who was born in Thandwe in western Myanmar’s Rakhine State, was made to blow out candles on a 2-foot-square birthday cake, and release 10 white doves.
Min Aung Hlaing has attempted to justify his coup, which he said was a takeover in line with the law, by exploiting ancient beliefs associated with rubies and white elephants.
The junta boss has a giant ruby in his possession that he says is bigger than the one discovered by his predecessor, former military regime leader Than Shwe. He also boasts that his elephant meets more of the requisite traits for white elephant status than previous specimens found during the time of Than Shwe’s regime and during U Thein Sein’s quasi-civilian government.
Seeking to portray himself in the Buddhist-majority country as the defender of the faith, he has consecrated several pagodas since the coup, and has had a marble Buddha statue built, touted as the world’s biggest Buddha image. In the eyes of his critics, however, the only thing these really prove is that his madness is beyond remedy.
According to a traditional belief dating back to Myanmar’s monarchial period, white elephants can bring good weather, bumper harvests, peace and prosperity.
Previous junta leaders, including Than Shwe and Khin Nyunt, hailed the birth or discovery of white elephants as confirmation of their greatness.
Not all agree, however. “There is no connection between white elephants and the development of the country. Elephants are only animals, regardless of their color,” said prominent historian Dr. Than Tun.
In fact, aside from generals looking to justify their coups, no one in Myanmar has any interest in white elephants.
