All Saints' Day marked by hundreds in Myanmar amid reflections and prayers

Hundreds of Catholic devotees walked solemnly among candlelit white tombs at an All Saints' Day ceremony in Myanmar on Saturday, a rare religious gathering since the military takeover.

This year has seen the biggest attendance to the annual Christian tradition in the small southwestern town of Wakema since the Covid-19 pandemic and a military coup in 2021 that saw the number of worshippers drop.

"(Our) lives have been hard during this time. Even though some people may want to come, they may be afraid because of the bad situation," said 66-year-old U Kan Kaung who prayed at his parents' tombs.

Gatherings marking religious events have been rare in the three years of war since Myanmar's military seized power.

Catholics number around 700,000 in Myanmar, a tiny fraction of the country's 54 million population -- most of whom are Buddhists.

Seeded in Myanmar by Portuguese missionaries in the 1500s, Catholicism took root in remote hill-tribe villages far from the reach of the Buddhist-dominated state.

Many hail from remote border areas where decades-long wars between ethnic minority rebels and Myanmar troops rumble on far from international attention.

Sixty-year-old U Aung Hla told AFP he felt a sense of duty to join this year's All Saints' ceremony, which he has attended since he was a young boy.

"The festival allows us to remember our family members who died before. We have a duty to pray for them at the festival."

In their 500 year history in Myanmar, Catholics have generally enjoyed good relations with the Buddhist majority.

In 2021, the country's top Catholic sparked outrage after photos emerged of him cutting a Christmas cake with the country's junta chief, who has overseen a bloody crackdown on dissent and clashes in Christian-majority areas.

"As Christians, we pray for (everyone) and help them to have good lives," a local shopkeeper told AFP.