The Mro, or Mru, are thought to number only around 61,000 with a population of only about 28,000 in Myanmar in Chin and Rakhine states, according to the Joshua Project.

“In 1996, Dr Kenneth Edison from the Summer Institute of Language created a writing system for the Mro language because we didn’t have our own alphabet back then. Sayar Kyaw Thar Aung, who is an Mro man, recorded 1,000 words with cassette tapes. They created orthography for the Mro language. Since then, Sayar Kyaw Thar Aung has developed Mro literature under these guidelines,” said U Kyaw Mya, secretary of the Mro Literature and Culture Association. “In February 1997, I worked together with Dr Hellakar, a German woman, and presented a primer to the public. The Mro people accepted it. We are now able to write down words we couldn’t write in Burmese before. We are continuing to work on the [written] language invention.”

The writing system for the Mro language is based on the English alphabet.

Trainings have been held since 2013 to help spread understanding of the relatively new writing system. Seventy-five attendees are participating in the ongoing April 19-30 training in Mrauk-U, according to U Kyaw Mya.

“We have taught summer classes in 100 villages since 2013. We have been cooperating with UNICEF and the Ministry of Education’s Curriculum Committee since 2013 for establishing a KG curriculum. We were able to publish it in December last year,” he said.

The Mro Literature and Culture Association met with the Ethnic Literature and Culture Department in Nay Pyi Taw on March 23 and 24 to discuss teaching Mro literature to Mro children in summer sessions at state schools.

U Kyaw Mya told Narinjara News that preserving Mro literature is essential for the continuation of the Mro people’s traditions. He said he fears that Mro heritage could become extinct if Mro literature is not in practice.

Translated by Thida Linn
Edited by Laignee