Pu Zaw Pwe

by Hla Min

Updated : June 2025

Pu Zaw Pwe ပူဇော်ပွဲ

• It is a Noble Tradition that is practiced in Burma.
• Thet Kyee Pu Zaw Pwe သက်ကြီးပူဇော်ပွဲ is for paying respect to the Elders. The age requirements vary.

• Saya Pu Zaw Pwe ဆရာပူဇော်ပွဲ is for paying respect to the sayas and sayamas. Some use the term Acariya Pu Zaw Pwe အာစရိယပူဇော်ပွဲ

Thet Kyee Pu Zaw Pwe

Seniors

• The definition of a Senior may vary with place and time.

• In some places, a Senior Day is held. Transportation, Food, Entertainment and Photo-shoot are provided for seniors of all races and creeds.

At a Festival

• Thet Kyee PZP may be held in conjunction with a Festival, e.g Thingyan or Thadinkyut. Buddhists may also pay respect physically to the Elders.

Myanmar Engineering Society

• MES organized Thet Kyee PZP for Senior Engineers and Architects.

All-Mechanical Gathering

• The All-Mechanical Gatherings have a program to pay respect to Thet Kyee Mechanical Engineers.

Acariya Pu Zaw Pwe

Examples :

• Combined 1st BE Intake of 64 and 65
• M72 and selected Disciplines
• ICST/UCSY

Saya Pu Zaw Pwe

SPZP-2000

• RIT Alumni International hosted the First RIT Grand Reunion and SPZP in San Francisco, California in October 2000.

• The term Saya Pu Zaw Pwe was chosen over Saya Ga Dawt Pwe so that Alumni of different Faith can pay back the Metta and Cetana of their mentors.

• I am honored to be a Core Organizer of SPZP-2000. I wrote the poem “SAYA PU ZAW PWE”. It was published in the RIT website and the Commemorative Issue of the RIT Alumni Newsletter for SPZP-2000.

Singapore SPZPs

• Singapore hosted SPZP-2002, SPZP-2007 and SPZP-2010. Saya U Moe Aung (Tekkatho Moe War) and team published Commemorative Issue of Swel Daw Yeik Sar Saung for the SPZPs.
• My poem (SAYA PU ZAW PWE) was reprinted on the Back Cover of SDYSS-2002.
• I wrote a poem “SWE DAW YEIK” for SDYSS-2007.
• I wrote an article “EE Sayas : A Sad and Short Clip” for SDYSS-2010.

Yangon SPZPs

• Yangon hosted SPZP-2004, SPZP-2012 and SPZP-2016.
• Commemorative Issue of Swel Daw Yeik Magazine was published for SPZP-2012 and SPZP-2016. U Saw Lin (GBNF) was Chief Editor of SDYM-2012. Saya U Moe Aung was Chief Editor of SPZP-2016. Several Distinguished Authors (e.g Ma Sandar, Maung Sein Win — Padeegone, N Jar Thaing, Aw Pi Kye) also served as Editors.
• Due to the pandemic, SPZP-2020 was canceled.

Gone But Not Forgotten

• Some of the Organizers and Volunteers of the SPZPs are GBNF. They include Saya Allen Htay, Ko Saw Lin, Ko Aung Moung, Ko Than Sin Myint and Ko Robin.

• Several Sayas are GBNF. They include U Ba Toke, H Num Kok, U Soe Khaw, U Ba Than, U Min Wun, U Khin Aung Kyi, U Thit, Dr. Mg Mg Win, S Arya, S Kyaw Aye, U Soe Lwin.

• Sayas U Aung Khin, Dr. Aung Gyi and U Myo Myint Sein are 90+ years young. Many of our sayas are 80+ years young.
• We hope to see SPZPs in the not so distant future (after the Calamities have ended).