Article
Version 1
Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed
Tea Shops in Myanmar: Micro-Institutional Functions For Rural Migrant and Women
and
*
Version 1
: Received: 30 May 2024 / Approved: 24 June 2024 / Online: 24 June 2024 (06:55:36 CEST)
How to cite: Lin, Z.; Molnar, J. J. Tea Shops in Myanmar: Micro-Institutional Functions For Rural Migrant and Women. Preprints 2024, 2024061658. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202406.1658.v1 Lin, Z.; Molnar, J. J. Tea Shops in Myanmar: Micro-Institutional Functions For Rural Migrant and Women. Preprints 2024, 2024061658. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202406.1658.v1
Abstract
Lahpet-ye-hsain, known as a “tea shop” or teahouse, is where the people of Myanmar conduct their daily social activities besides its economic orientation. They are private establishments and informal gathering places serving tea and food at different times of the day for various clients. They can be small snacks, large open-aired, or covered restaurants with extensive menus. Patrons sit around small square tables on footstools. A diverse range of characters goes to tea shops. They have a reputation for welcoming people from all backgrounds and walks of life, but the role of women is hardly seen and unclear. They provide a space for men to share a cup of tea and food and exchange ideas, opinions, problems, hopes, and aspirations. They provide not only space but also to get ‘good taste and cheap food.’ A cup of tea at a tea shop is an opportunity to share knowledge amongst old and new friends. Such shops are abundant over the country. This paper examines the social, political, and economic role of these ubiquitous features of Myanmar society. The barriers to women's participation and inroads in some locales are discussed.
Keywords
Tea shops; Micro-institution; women; rural migrants
Subject
Social Sciences, Ethnic and Cultural Studies
Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Comments (0)
We encourage comments and feedback from a broad range of readers. See criteria for comments and our Diversity statement.
Leave a public commentSend a private comment to the author(s)
* All users must log in before leaving a comment
