Ma Thanegi (; born 1946) is a Burmese writer, best known for her numerous English works on various Burmese topics, including travel, history and cuisine. She was a contributing editor to the ''

Myanmar Times ''The Myanmar Times'' ( ), founded in 2000, is the oldest privately owned and operated English-language newspaper in Myanmar. A division of Myanmar Consolidated Media Co., Ltd. (MCM), ''The Myanmar Times'' published weekly English and Burmese-lan ...

'' and editor of ''Enchanting Myanmar'', a travel magazine. She was born to father Tin Tut and mother May Tin Tut. and has one older brother Aye Tut. She attended the prestigious Methodist English High School of Yangon (Rangoon). She was a painter in the early part of her life with many annual group shows (1967 onwards) and seven solo shows (1985 to 1998) after which she began her writing career. She has also translated some Burmese writings of others into English such as works of

Khin Hnin Yu Khin Hnin Yu (, ; 7 September 1925 – 21 January 2003) was a two-time Myanmar National Literature Award winner. She is considered one of the most influential Burmese women writers. Her stories are known for their realistic portrayal of life in ...

and Daw Ma Ma lay etc. Thanegi attended Methodist English High School, the Rangoon State School of Fine Arts, the Rangoon Institute of Economics, and Institute of Foreign Languages, where she studied

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

. Thanegi served as

Aung San Suu Kyi Aung San Suu Kyi (born 19 June 1945) is a Burmese politician, diplomat, author, and political activist. She was awarded the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize. She served as State Counsellor of Myanmar and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Myanmar), Ministe ...

's personal assistant before her arrest in 1989, following the

8888 Uprising The 8888 Uprising, also known as the People Power Uprising and the 1988 Uprising, was a series of nationwide protests, marches, and riots in Burma (present-day Myanmar) that peaked in August 1988. Key events occurred on 8 August 1988 and ther ...

. She served a prison term at Insein Jail until her release in 1992. She fell out of favor among the Burmese pro-democracy movement for her challenge to the

National League for Democracy The National League for Democracy (, ; Abbreviation, abbr. NLD; Burmese abbr. ဒီချုပ်) is a deregistered liberal democratic political party in Myanmar (formerly Burma). It became the country's ruling party after a landslide victo ...

's doctrine that economic sanctions and tourism boycotts were harming the country's poor majority. In 1997, she published "The Burmese Fairy Tale," an essay in the ''

Far Eastern Economic Review The ''Far Eastern Economic Review'' (FEER or The ''Review'') was an Asian business magazine published from 1946 to 2009. The English-language news magazine was based in Hong Kong and published weekly until it converted to a monthly publication ...

'', claiming that sanctions hurt the Burmese people without effectively changing the Burmese regime (then known as the

State Law and Order Restoration Council State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

)'s behavior.

Selected works

*''The Illusion of Life: Burmese Marionettes'' (1994) *''The Native Tourist: in search of turtle eggs'' (2000) *''Myanmar Pilgereise'' (2002) *''The Native Tourist: a holiday pilgrimage in Myanmar'' (2004) *''

Paw Oo Thet Paw Oo Thet (, ; 1936 – 13 April 1993) was a Burmese painter, prominent in the Mandalay art scene who became one of the initiators of a modernistic art movement in Burma in the early 1960s. Early training Paw Oo Thet was born in 1936 in ...

t: His Life and Creativity'' (2004) *''An Introduction to Myanmar Cuisine'' (2004) *''Inle Lake: blue sea in the Shan Hills'' (2005) *''Splendours of Myanmar'' (2005) *''Myanmar Architecture: Cities of Gold'' (2005) *''Myanmar Painting: from worship to self imaging'' (2006) *''Shwedagon Mystique'' (2007) *''Inside the Southeast Asian Kitchen'' (2007) *''Material Choices'' (2007) *''Burma/ Myanmar'' (2008) *''Birmanie: voyage intérieur'' (2008) *''To Myanmar with Love'' (2009) *''I am Cadmium Red: The Story of Paw Thame'' (2010) *''Defiled on the Ayeyarwaddy: One Woman’s Mid-Life Travel Adventures on Myanmar’s Great River'' (2010) *''This is

Kin Maung Yin Kin Maung Yin (, 1938–2014) was an influential Burmese artist who was recognized as one of the leaders in the first generation of Burma's modern art movement together with Win Pe and Paw Oo Thet. Kin Maung Yin was the leader of this group ...

'' (2010) *''Thanakha: Nature's Gift to Myanmar'' (2011) *''Naga: A Celebration of Identity'' (2011) *''Nats: Spirits of Fortune and Fear'' (2011) *''Bagan Mystique'' (2012) *''Nor Iron Bars a Cage'' (2013) *''Ginger Salad and Water Wafers'' (2013) *''Bagan Lacquerware'' (2013)

References

External links

Official website
* https://burmamodernart.com/library {{DEFAULTSORT:Thanegi, Ma 1946 births Writers from Yangon Burmese writers Burmese journalists Burmese women journalists Living people