{{short description|Salutation or greeting}}
'''Mingalaba''' ({{MYname|MY=မင်္ဂလာပါ|MLCTS=mangga.lapa}} {{IPA|my|miɰ̃ɡəlàbà|ipa}}; variously romanised as '''mingalarpar''', '''mingalabar''', or '''mingalar par''') is the formal Burmese greeting.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Myanmar (Burmese) Culture - Greetings|url=http://culturalatlas.sbs.com.au/burmese-myanmar-culture/myanmar-burmese-culture-greetings|access-date=2021-01-15|website=Cultural Atlas|language=en}}</ref> It is typically accompanied by a slight bow,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Myint Myint Aye|date=2018|title=A Comparative Study of Business Manners of Myanmar and German|url=http://mufl.edu.mm/pdf/Vol9/Myint%20Myint%20Aye%20journal%202018.pdf|journal=Mandalay University of Foreign Languages Research Journal|volume=9|pages=|via=}}</ref> or more formally, an Añjali Mudrā gesture, wherein the palms are folded together.<ref name=":0" /> The phrase "mingalaba" is typically rendered in English as "may you be blessed" or "auspiciousness to you."<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Yin|first=Saw Myat|url=|title=CultureShock! Myanmar: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette|date=2013-08-15|publisher=Marshall Cavendish International Asia Pte Ltd|isbn=978-981-4435-55-0|location=|pages=|language=en}}</ref>
== Origins == The greeting mingalaba is a relatively modern creation. The phrase first emerged during British rule in Burma in the 19th to 20th centuries, coined as a Burmese language equivalent to 'hello' or 'how are you.'<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Houtman|first=Gustaaf|url=|title=Mental Culture in Burmese Crisis Politics: Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy|date=1999|publisher=Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa|isbn=978-4-87297-748-6|location=|pages=|language=en}}</ref> In the late 1960s,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Aung-Thwin|first=Michael A.|url=|title=Myanmar in the Fifteenth Century: A Tale of Two Kingdoms|date=2017-05-31|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|isbn=978-0-8248-7411-7|location=|pages=|language=en}}</ref> the Burmese government institutionalized the phrase in the country's educational system. Burmese pupils now greet their teachers with mingalaba at the beginning of each school day.<ref name=":1" />
Mingalaba itself is a phrase, decomposed into mingala + ba. The first word "mingala" (မင်္ဂလာ) originates from the Pāli term {{IAST|maṅgala}}, which means auspicious, lucky, prosperous, or festive.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Davids|first1=Thomas William Rhys|url=|title=Pali-English Dictionary|last2=Stede|first2=William|date=1993|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ.|isbn=978-81-208-1144-7|location=|pages=|language=en}}</ref> The word also appears in a well-known Buddhist scripture called the Maṅgala Sutta.<ref name=":2" /> Burmese culture recognizes Twelve Auspicious Rites or "Mingala." In Burmese, "mingala" is affixed to several Burmese terms, including "to wed" (မင်္ဂလာဆောင်) and "housewarming" (အိမ်တက်မင်္ဂလာ).<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=|first=|title=Myanmar-English Dictionary|publisher=Myanmar Language Commission|year=1993|isbn=1-881265-47-1|location=|pages=}}</ref> The second word, "ba" (ပါ), is a grammatical particle suffixed to Burmese verbs to denote politeness.<ref name=":3" />
== See also == {{wiktionary|မင်္ဂလာပါ}} * Mangala Sutta * Awgatha * Burmese culture * Gadaw * Thai greeting * Añjali Mudrā * Twelve Auspicious Rites
== References == {{reflist}}
Category:Burmese words and phrases Category:Greetings Category:Culture of Myanmar