A young woman with Thanaka on her cheeks was sorting through the leaves of a cigar

Shy young woman sorting through the leaves of a cigar — Woman sorting tobacco leaves

I walked through a row of stores selling fishing nets at the market in Kyauktan and quickly reached the end of the outer corridor. There was another store at the end, but unlike the previous one, it was not a fishing net store. Instead, it was a store selling leaves for cigars. Large brown leaves were placed here and there on the floor.

The same kind of cigarettes are sold in Myanmar as they are in Japan. However, cigars seem to be more popular in this country. It is not unusual to see people blowing cigars called Seboleik in the streets. They are much cheaper than rolled cigarettes. The reason why they are less expensive than machine-rolled cigars, even though they are made by hand, is probably because wages are still low here. As a result, I think many people choose cigars.

At a store in the market, women were gathering to sort the leaves. I've often seen finished cigars for sale, but this is the first time I've seen a store selling the leaves used for making them. The young woman in the photo was one of the women who were sorting the leaves. She smiled shyly when I pointed my camera at her, dressed in a pretty flowered dress and with Thanaka painted on her cheeks.

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