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I N T E R E S T I N G P L A C E S
Mahamuni Shrine
This shrine was built in 1884 by U Htaw Ei 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.
The rooms
The shrine room contains the Mahamuni image which is a
conventional Myanmar one and is not attired in royal regalia like its
namesake in Mandalay. Behind the image there is a backdrop of ceremic mosaic
bodered by floral carvings in copper. At the entrance to the shrine, strung
across the two front pillers, there is a festoon of floral carvings
delicately fashioned out of many layers of copper sheetings. The ceilings
over the main hall are made up of two arches, the main one over the space
where the Mahamuni image is placed and the outer and lower one, over
the surrounding space. The main arch, forming a dome over the Buddha image,
is decorated with finely set gold-painted designs. The lower arches,
sectioned into two rows of retangular spaces have similarly painted patterns
on the inner row, while the outer rows are less profusely painted. Oval and
multipointed motifs occupy the centre of each rectangle in the lower arches.
The smaller ceilings in the other parts of the building are angulated rather than arched and painted in red,
with golden floral designs in the middle and bordered by gold linings. The moststriking features are the decorations on the upper parts of the
supporting pillers and the main beams where different floral and other
decorative designs are carved in plaster and painted in gold and other
colors. These together with the decorative arched roofs are impressive
sights indeed.
The building exterior
The exterior of the building is extensively decorated on most surfaces with
relief designs on cement plaster. A series of pinnacles are placed as decors
at regular intervals on the edges of each of the tiers of the buildings.
Condition of building
- The roofs had been leaking badly before. This had resulted in
damage to the decorative ceilings in some places However, thanks to repairs
recently
being done, there are no more leakages..
- The ceilings as well as some of the decorative work are damaged in many
places.
- The plasterwork had peeled off in some places and the woodwork also show
some damage.
- The building itself is now undergoig major repair work and much of the above
damage are being addressed.
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The Mahamuni shrine built by U Htaw
Ei in 1884. Note
resemblance to Indian architecture.
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Potrait of U Htaw Ei , builder of the Mahamuni
shrine and the
Kawhnat Taik-kyaung at entrance to shrine.
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Floral arch at entrance to shrine. |
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The domed ceiling and the partially visible outer arch over the main hall
and the decorative pillars and beams.
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Close-up of decorations on supporting beams . |
The Mahamuni Buddha image. |
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Close-up of the floral arch.
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