Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
CHIN VILLAGE TRIPS
With Chin State mostly off limits, a day-trip from Mrauk U along the sylvan Lemro River
to a series of nearby Chin villages is the easiest way to meet people from this large ethnic
minority group, best known for the practice of tattooing the faces of their womenfolk. The
practice was outlawed during the 1960s, although in most villages you'll see at least one
or two old women with the tattooed faces. Local stories suggest that this painful procedure
(using a mix of soot and buffalo liver) was intended to make girls less attractive to raiders,
butmorelikelyitwasasamarkofidentity forthevariousChintribes.The tattooedladies
are used to attracting attention: some of them produce handicrafts for sale while others
charge a small fee to be photographed. Many visitors find the experience uncomfortably
voyeuristic, although money from tourism helps fund community projects such as schools
and water pumps (you may be asked for a donation) and provides much-needed income
to one of Myanmar's most impoverished ethnic groups. Day-trips to the villages typically
cost $70-80 for a boat seating up to four people (including guide).
Waithali
Hidden among rolling hills some 9km north of Mrauk U are the remains of the ancient city
off WAITHALI (also spelt “Wethali” and often referred to by its Pali name, Vesali ), founded
in the fourth century and capital of Arakan from around 327 to 794. According to the Anan-
dacandrapillar , itssubjectspractisedMahayanaBuddhism,althoughitsmonarchsconsidered
themselves descendants of the Hindu god, Shiva - a characteristically Arakanese syncretism.
Much of the former city has now fallen into ruin, although you can still make out the re-
mains of a few temples and fragments of the city's brick walls and the palace within. The
main attraction is the Great Waithali Payagyi , a huge seated Buddha image more than 5m
tall and said to be made from a single piece of boulder. One of Myanmar's oldest Buddhas,
legend claims that it was a gift of the chief queen of King Maha Taing Candra, who founded
the city in 327 AD - although the original features have been altered somewhat by modern
restorations.
Dhanyawadi
Around 40km northwest of Mrauk U are the remains of the first of Arakan's four capitals,
DHANYAWADI . As at Waithali, the ruins of the old city are fragmentary and the site is best
knownnowadaysastheoriginalhomeoftheenormouslyrevered MahamuniBuddha statue.
Ancient Arakanese chronicles claim, perhaps a little ambitiously, that the Buddha himself
visited the city in 554 BC, during which a statue - the Mahamuni - was made. Worshipped
for centuries by Rakhine's monarchs, the statue was regarded as a symbol and protector of
the country, although it couldn't prevent the sack of Mrauk U in 1784, after which the Ma-
hamuni was carried off by King Bodawpaya to Mandalay, where it remains to this day.
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