HLAING THAR YAR, Myanmar (AFP) - Thin Sandar, a chicken seller
in Myanmar, had always dreamed of being a man. When she
inexplicably grew a penis last month, the 21-year-old treated it as
an awe-inspiring omen -- as have the thousands of stunned villagers
who have traveled to a pagoda to see him.
"On the morning of the full moon day of June 21, I noticed my thing
(sex organ) was not the same as before," Thin Sandar, who now goes
by the male name Than Sein, told AFP in an interview at his
home.
"And my breasts disappeared," Than Sein added. "So I called out and
showed it all to my mom and dad. It was very strange."
Strange enough that he has attracted significant attention in this
deeply superstitious country, where the unexplained can quickly be
exalted to hold powerful spiritual significance.
People privately concede Than Sein is a hermaphrodite. Several
medical experts have examined him, and he awaits test results from
the central women's hospital.
But few have come forward with a medical explanation of the
transformation as they await an official report by the health
ministry, whose experts have also examined Than Sein.
"We can not say right now if she has really undergone a sudden
gender change," said a township official who declined to be named,
adding that Than Sein's birth certificate shows that he was born a
girl.
"It can be confirmed when we receive the report from the health
ministry, although some medical checkups have shown her to be a
true man," he added.
Hermaphrodites, also known as intersexuals, are often born with
ambiguous genitalia, or have both testicular and ovarian tissue in
a single person.
Medical doctor Aye Sanda Khaing put it in layman's terms in a local
journal: "Her penis appeared at the site of her clitoris," the
doctor was quoted as saying.
Regardless of the official findings, local villagers and other
curious Myanmar nationals are flocking to the Aung Myay Thar Yar
pagoda, in this new satellite township 19 kilometers (12 miles)
from Yangon, to see Than Sein for themselves and make donations to
him or the temple.
Up to 400 gather at the pagoda each day, often in a courtyard under
colorful umbrellas to ward off the sun's rays, waiting for the
chance to talk with and touch Than Sein.
"I have never heard of anything like this, so I came to see him,"
21-year-old housewife Thandar Win told AFP.
"If I was not married, then I too would want to become a
man!"
When word spread of Than Sein's transformation, locals raced to his
home to see for themselves. Authorities, sensing a possible
security hazard -- and, perhaps, an opportunity -- hastily arranged
for him to be moved to the pagoda to accommodate more
visitors.
Than Sein appeared comfortable with the sudden attention in the new
surroundings. Wearing a checkered longyi, the traditional Myanmar
pants commonly worn by men, he sat on a rug in the pagoda's side
building, flanked by his parents.
"I was so happy," father Kyaw Htay, 46, said about his son's
developments. "I wanted other sons so they could offer themselves
as Buddhist monks, but I had only two daughters."
Occasionally Than Sein stepped out to talk with excited visitors,
who shook his hand, stroked his arm, and wished him well.
A Myanmar state television crew has already interviewed him and
awaits the military junta's permission to air the broadcast
nationwide.
As he waits for the final test results, Than Sein said he firmly
believed he had been transformed, and would enter the monkhood for
a period of time and seek spiritual contemplation and guidance
before deciding whether to marry and raise a family.
"Whenever I went to the pagoda I prayed to become a man in my next
life," he said, referring to the Buddhist concept of rebirth.
"Now I'm happy because my dream won't have to wait until my next
life, it's already come true."
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Interesting.
Act of God or genetic change/mutation?
