Earthquakes are typically named after the location of the epicenter, so it seems appropriate to call the 7.7-magnitude temblor that devastated parts of Myanmar on March 28 the “Sagaing earthquake”, as that is the town to which the epicenter was nearest.
Many, including most media outlets, have been using this name, but the regime on Monday officially called for the earthquake to instead be referred to as the “Mandalay earthquake”, leaving many people wondering why.
Junta spokesman Major General Zaw Min Tun said the March 28 quake should be called the Mandalay earthquake to “avoid ambiguity” with earlier major quakes in Sagaing Region. He also urged media outlets to adopt the name.
While earthquakes are typically named after their epicenter, they are often also referred to by the name of the nearest well-known location. For example, the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake is also known as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake. So, there is an argument for naming the March 28 quake the “Mandalay quake” given the proximity of Myanmar’s second-largest city to the epicenter, and how badly affected it has been by the massive tremor.
But what doesn’t make sense is the regime’s intervention in how the quake should be referred to. It’s ridiculous that the regime is wasting time worrying about nomenclature rather than mounting an effective response to the quake, whose death toll now stands at above 3,600 people and continues to rise.
Myanmar people are familiar with the generals’ stupidity, however, and are well aware that they are not looking to “avoid ambiguity” as Zaw Min Tun claimed. Their insistence on using the name “Mandalay earthquake”, observers say, stems from their entrenched superstition—in particular, from what they view as an unfavorable interpretation of the name “Sagaing” in Burmese.
In Burmese, if read slowly, the two-syllable word Sagaing sounds like “Sitt Gaing”. Sitt is the first word in Sitt Tet, meaning “military”, while Gaing means “bend” in Burmese. So, to the superstitious generals, “Sagaing earthquake” sounds like “the earthquake that would bend or weaken the Myanmar military”.
According to some, given that Sagaing Region is also a major stronghold of anti-regime resistance in Myanmar, the name “Sagaing earthquake” has a sinister ring in the ears of the regime, as if it were a bad omen heralding its destruction.
Adherence to yadaya—rituals conducted in accordance with astrological instructions—is known to be widespread among the current crop of generals, just as it was among those who led previous regimes.
Following the 2021 coup, Min Aung Hlaing ordered his regime to grow 1 million acres of sunflowers, claiming he wanted to produce more sunflower oil and curb expensive imports of palm oil. But this raised the question: Why not promote other already popular edible-oil crops like sesames or peanuts?
Soothsayers advised that doing so would prolong his rule, because “sunflower” in Burmese is a homophone for a word that means “long-lasting”.
In 2022, amid rising nationwide resistance to his rule, Min Aung Hlaing ordered his Home Affairs Ministry to donate rice vermicelli—known in Burmese as san kyarsan—to Buddhist monasteries across the country every day for a month, junta-controlled newspapers reported at the time.
The gifting of san kyarsan, whose name can be literally translated as “enjoying good things for a long time”, is believed by yadaya adherents to ensure long rule for the donor—in this case, Min Aung Hlaing.
When ministries were relocated from Yangon to the current administrative capital of Naypyitaw on Nov. 6, 2005, during previous junta leader Than Shwe’s rule, the first batch of government employees left Yangon at a specific “auspicious” time chosen by his astrological advisors.
In February this year, one of the several white elephants—which Myanmar military leaders view as nature’s confirmation of their greatness—kept in Naypyitaw died suddenly. Sources in Naypyitaw said astrological advisers tried to alleviate the concerns of the generals, who viewed it as a bad omen. They told the generals the pachyderm just died of old age, adding that, as the animal was discovered under the previous government, its death would not have an impact on the current junta.
As the Sagaing earthquake also inflicted massive destruction in the junta’s nerve center of Naypyitaw, including to the presidential residence, parliament, War Office headquarters, ministries and staff housing, the superstitious regime is being careful with its choice of name for the earthquake so as to avoid any possible negative implications, some argue.
Myanmar’s parallel National Unity Government uses Sagaing quake. So do some UN agencies who are doing quake rescue and relief work on the ground.
The death toll from the earthquake exceeded 3,600 on Tuesday; many of those victims could have been saved had timely and effective relief efforts been provided. Witnesses report that Myanmar military soldiers and police have since the quake appeared more concerned with cleaning up the sites of damaged religious buildings, than with rescuing people trapped under the rubble of collapsed civilian structures.
Nor is this the first time the junta has dictated the use of specific nomenclature.
Days after the coup in 2021, it ordered local and international media not to use “regime” in their reporting on its governing body and “not to instigate public unrest, while following media ethics on reporting”.
But no one cared. Myanmar independent media, including The Irrawaddy, and international media have continue to use “regime” and “junta” to describe the military rulers.
