. Festivals start on the eve of shinbyu called
a-hlu win () with a
pwè () an orchestra and dance/drama/comedy ensemble) and tea for the guests. In the middle of a street, a pandal or
mandat () constructed from bamboo and
papier-mâché with ornately painted gold and silver columns, pediments and finials has sprung up overnight. Sweets such as
jaggery or
cane sugar bars and
a-hlu lahpet (), pickled tea laced with sesame oil encircled by small heaps of fried peas, peanuts and garlic, toasted sesame, crushed dried shrimps and shredded preserved ginger) are served with green tea. In towns and cities, assorted cakes, ice cream and coffee have superseded the traditional sweets but
lahpet still holds centre stage. The big day starts early with a procession called the
shinlaung hlè pwe () to the monastery, the young boy dressed in resplendent silks embroidered with gold as a royal prince or king, shielded from the sun by a gold umbrella and led on horseback by an orchestral band headed by a clown with a moustache called
U Shwe Yoe holding a parasol and dancing merrily. This ritual symbolises Prince Siddhartha's departure from the royal palace with its sensuous pleasures and luxuries at the age of twenty nine, leaving his wife and newborn son in search of the
Four Noble Truths. Behind his horse follows the family, his proud parents carrying the monastic robes and other eight requisites, called
pareihkara shippa () and his sisters or young village maidens carrying ceremonial boxes of
paan (
kundaung gaing) and lotus blossoms (
pandaung gaing) all in their best silks with the rest of the joyous party completing the procession. The
Shwedagon Pagoda is invariably a shinbyu procession's first port of call in
Yangon. The novice-to-be (
shinlaung) may be the centre of attention, but his sister may at the same ceremony have an ear-piercing (
na htwin) with a gold needle, dressed up as a royal princess herself. At the monastery, the monks are assembled to preside over the ceremony and to receive their young charge as well as various alms and offerings. A feast has been prepared for all with low round tables set on fine bamboo mats and rugs or in a marquee with long bamboo tables and benches. It will have been declared a "smokeless day" (
migo deik) for the village as no cooking fires will be lit and everyone including their dogs are welcome to the feast which includes meat and poultry dishes, soup or broth, curried salted fish with vegetables on the side, fermented green mango or bean sprouts followed by dessert, again with lahpet. A
brahmin may be specially hired to act as master of ceremonies especially for a
na htwin, but monks will supervise and perform the shaving of the head, called
hsan cha (). The hair is received in a white cloth by the parents who kneel together with the young
shinlaung (), while the boy recites reflects on bodily defilements in
Pali, to increase self-detachment from his hair. The boy, now having exchanged his princely garb with white robes, kneels before the Sayadaw and recites the Ten Precepts, followed by the
thingan daung (). He receives the saffron robe and is helped into this by a monk. Next, he is given his alms bowl (
thabeik) and palm-leaf fan (
yat) from his parents with smiles of joy and tears of sorrow, his mother at the thought of parting with her dear son for the first time. ==New novice==