THE HIDDEN TREASURES IN A SMALL VILLAGE

The shrines at Kawhnat-Kadoe villages near the city of Mawlamyaing should be included as one of the interesting sites to visit in Myanmar. These shrines and monasteries were built over a century ago by U NarAuk, U Htaw Ei, U Htaw Rite and other personalities from those villages famed in their days for their wealth and generosity. U Nar Auk has now come to be regarded as a historical figure because he dared to confront and compete with the commercial juggernaut of the British Raj.

The shrines should be of interest not so much because of their antiquity but because of their magnificence, the splendour and variety of artistic works in them and the mix of traditional and non-conforming architectural style of some of the structures.

Most of the important shrines as well as the 'Kawhnat Taik Kyaung' or Kawhnat Brick-Monastery are situated within the pagoda compound in Kawhnat, while at Kadoe there is the oldest Taik-Kyaung in the area ( over 150 yrs ) next to the Kadoe Pagoda compound, while another Taik-Kyaung is situated just outside the village. In the latter building can still be found, in well-preserved palm-leaf manuscripts, one of the oldest Myanmar translation of the Tripitaka scriptures.

The Kawhnat Pagoda compound

Most of the religious structures stated above are situated within this compound.They range from the majestic  Theingyi ordination hall, the three worship shrines, Hna-Kyeik-Shi-Su, Dipinkara, Sutaung-Pyi and the two pagodas, The Mahacede and Sutaung-Pyi pagodas all of traditional designs built by U Nar Auk; the imposing Taik-kyaung with its unusual compound roof and the Mahamuni temple with its Indian influenced architectural style built by U Htaw Ei to the Chinese-styled Sinswe shrine erected by U Tun Kyaw. Much of the artwork were painted in gold (gilded) so that the paintings and decor still retain their original lustre till now.

Personalities

U Nar Auk, a wealthy man from Kawhnat village is now a known national figure. U Htaw Ei was the wealthy teak merchant under whom U Nar Auk started his business career .U Tun Kyaw was the builder of the Sinswe Wut Shine. He is half brother of U Htaw Ei. It is worth noting that U Tun Kyaw was the father of U Shwe Lay, the designer of the famed one-pillered mansion at Kadoe village. The latter was an enterprising man who had studied abroad in Europe and had come back eager to put into practice the ideas he had acquired during his stay abroad. Apart from building the one-pillered mansion, there is reason to believe that he was also responsible for the novel design of the Sinswe shrine. All the wealthy personalities mentioned were related to one another. However it does seem as if they were vying with each other to outperform in artistry and style of their buildings, hiring the best artisans available in those times. It does seem too that, in a sense, all of them won, each in their own right, for together they had created a collection of what can now be regarded as national treasures for the country.

The Theingyi ( Great ordination hall )

This building,built in 1895 by U Nar Auk is, arguably, the most impressive ordination building in the country. It is a two-storied brick building 57 feet in length and 49 feet wide. It is topped by a six-tiered 'pyathat' roof. The upper floor houses the ordination hall which is surrounded on all four sides by a corridor. On the outer side of the corridor are twin pillers equally spaced on all four sides. 

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Hna-Kyeik-Shi-Su Wut ( also called the Alai wut or Middle Shrine)

This shrine was built in 1888 by U Nar Auk. It consists of two parts. The front and back buildings.The front portion consisting of the main hall which is surrounded by a corridor and is roofed by a 9 tiered pyathat or spire, while the back portion is the shrine proper which has a lower pyathat roof of 5 tiers.

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Dipinkara Wut ( The East Shrine)

This shrine was built in 1892 also by U Nar Auk. It consists of the shrine room proper surrounded on three sides by a corridor. The shrine is roofed by a pyathat spire with 9 decorated tiers. The notable feature about the shrine is that it houses two huge standing Buddha images each carved out of single teak logs. The taller one is over 15 feet high while the shorter image is about 14 feet.  

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Kawhnat Taik-Kyaung Monastery.

This is an imposing two-storied building with a compound roof made up of six pyathat structures each having up to 6 tiers. It was built in 1885 by U Htaw Ei and wife Mi Hannah. The central feature of the building is the large main hall on the upper floor. This hall is large enough to be able to accomo-date the annual congregation of over 300 monks (together with attending laymen) which used to be held there.

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Mahamuni Shrine

This shrine was built in 1884 by U Htaw Ei and wife, Mi Hannah. Its architecture is of Indo-Europoem influence. It has a three-tiered flat roof. The building houses the Mahamuni Buddha image in the main shrine room. The rooms at the back had probably been meant as repository for the Tripitaka scriptures. There is also an underground vault possibly to store the books or manuscripts.

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The Sinswe Wut ( Ivory Shrine)

This 'Ivory shrine' was built in 1900 by U Tun Kyaw and wife, Mi Htaw. It is so-called because it used to house a collection of fine ivory carvings. There were 10 pairs of ivory tasks carved with Buddhist motifs, but they are no longer there now as they had been stolen during the period when security was bad in the area. The building's flowing design embodies many features of Chinese architecture.

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The Mahacede Pagoda

This pagoda was rebuilt by U Nar Auk from a stump of an old pagoda. It is said that
U Nar Auk used to pray at the pagoda site and that he once saw an apparition there in which a person dressed in white appeared and foretold that his prayers will be answered and that he was destined to prosper in the not-too-distant future.

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The Sutaungpyi ( prayer fulfilled ) Pagoda

This pagoda was built by Mi Byu, U Nar Auk's third wife. The story has it that Mi Byu in her poorer days as a farmer used to pray at the site where there were four small buddha images. She had resolved then that she would build a pagoda there if she would be delivered from her poverty.

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The Lay-Htat Wut or shrine  

This is a new shrine built upon the rubble of another shrine which used to function as an ordination hall. The main Buddha-image there had been fashioned in the likeness of the one in Kyaikmarrow town.

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Statue of U Nar Auk

This statue of the main builder of the shrines and monasteries in this compound is a life-sized marble one placed on a high pedestal on the east of the Theingyi building. Notwitstanding the many imposing buildings surrounding it, the statue still is an important landmark within the Kawhnat Pagoda compound.

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How to get there

Kadoe Kawhnat villages are situated (11) kilometers north of Mawlamyaing. One may get to Mawlamyaing by rail, road or air from Yangon. There are regular coaches plying day and night between Yangon and Mawlamyaing. The said villages are accessable by road from Mawlamyaing through the Mawlamyaing-Paan highway from which one has to take a detour after about 20 minutes drive from Mawlamyaing. The road to the villages from the highway is still under construction, but usable during the dry season. An alternative route is by boat up the Salween river to Kadoe village.This route could be tricky as the landing points depend upon the condition of the tide at the time. At low tide one has to take a few minutes walk on the sandbank to Kadoe village where one can access the religious site at Kadoe. To get to the Kawhnat pagoda compound one has to take about 15 minutes walk from Kadoe village. One can ask for more information about car and boat rentals for Kadoe-Kawhnat at one's hotel or inn. The construction of the road to the villages is now completed and the road is now an all - weather one.