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 Ung, 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.
Important
Structures within the compound (
A guidemap of
the compound is attached )
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 Ung 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 Ung. 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 came back eager to put into paractice 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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Info
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 Ung 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 over100 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 Ung and wife, Mi
Hannah. Its architecture is of
Indian 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.
