Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
gon transforms into an enormous country fair complete with puppet shows, open-air theatre,
dance performances and so on, plus handicraft and food stalls aplenty.
THE NATS OF SHWEZIGON
The Shwezigon is interesting historically for its role in the development of Burmese
Buddhism. Aware of his people's love of the old
nat spirits
,
the savvy King Anawrahta
decidedtoencourageinterestinthenewTheravadaBuddhistfaithbyplacingimagesofthe
37mostreverednatsonthelowerterracesofthestupa,believingthatpeoplewouldbewon
over to the new Buddhist faith more easily if it incorporated aspects of their traditional be-
liefs - and thus setting a precedent for the combined
nat
and Buddhist shrines that can still
be found throughout Myanmar to this day (nowhere more so than at nearby Taung Kalat
and Mount Popa).
The
nats
of Shwezigon, meanwhile, having fulfilled their original function, are now re-
legated to a subsidiary shrine - signed “
Shrine of Bodaw Indra and 37 Nats
” - tucked
awayinthefarsoutheastcornerofthetemplecompound.Youmaybeabletofindsomeone
to open it for you for a tip, offering you a surreal glimpse of the 37 small gilded images of
assembled
nat
notables lined up solemnly in glass cases - and looking decidedly neglected
compared to their glory days sitting enthroned upon King Anawrahta's magnificent stupa.
Kyansittha Umin
Signed off Main Rd a few metres past the entrance to the Shwezigon Pagoda's southern covered terrace • Daily
8am-6pm
Almost in the shadow of the Shwezigon Pagoda, the modest
Kyansittha Umin
is easily
missed but worth a look for its unusual murals. The name means “Cave of Kyansittha” in
honour of King Kyansittha, although the building most likely dates back to the rule of his
father, Anawrahta. The small rectangular brick building (not actually a cave) was apparently
used as a monastic residence, although it's difficult to see how anyone would have managed
to live in the cramped interior, bisected by a grid of narrow passages which are now propped
up with steel frames following earthquake damage in 1975.
Virtually every interior surface is covered with fine
murals
in subdued whites, browns and
yellows depicting various scenes from daily life and Buddhist mythology. Particularly inter-
esting are the paintings of Mongol soldiers (on the rear wall roughly opposite the entrance)
- a memento of the repeated Mongol incursions into Myanmar in the late thirteenth century.
The invaders are instantly recognizable thanks to their distinctive hats, like upturned fruit
bowls decorated with fancy plumes.
