INTERESTING PLACES

Theingyi

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 pillars equally spaced on all four sides. These, together with multicolored glass panes in between them, form the outer 'wall' of the corridor. The upper parts of the spaces between the twin pillars are festooned with gold-painted floral carvings in wood as found typically in the major shrines built by U Nar Auk. The pillars and the outer walls of the lower floor are all covered with glass mosaic. The inner and outer surfaces of the ordination hall proper are painted, in gold on a red background, with traditional designs right up to the ceiling. The doors are similarly decorated and the arches over each doorway have gold-painted wood carvings. These are bordered by glass mosaic works. The ceilings are also a sight to watch: Over the center of the hall they are subdivided into a series of square areas each decorated with delicately cut glass pieces laid together in beautiful mosaic designs. The squares are rimmed with gold painted ridges and are separated with further glasswork. At the centers of each rectangle are to be found painted human figures in various dancing poses set in bold relief. The slanting portions of the ceilings both over the hall and over the corridors also are divided into square areas ( triangular at the corners ) each with a central dancing figure, but with less elaborate glass-work. The "pyathat" roof edges are decorated with traditional designs in metal sheets. Multicolored glass balls are used extensively as decorative ornamentations, both inside and outside the buildings (pyathats).

There was one incident when U Nar Auk, in his days as a poor farmer, was tilling the land when there was a sudden thunderstorm in which a lightning must have struck very near to him. All he could see after that were coloured lights and then the sight of what he perceived to be bright buildings with ''pyathat'-like structures. He took this as an omen that his ardent wishes for prosperity would be granted. There and then he knelt down and resolved that if he were ever to prosper, he would build such splendid shrines as he was now seeing. The splendid Theingyi building together with the other equally endowed shrines he built can be taken as his fulfillment of that dream and resolution. The multi-colored glass panes surrounding the building were probably meant to represent the multi-colored lights he saw that day.

Condition of the building

The main problem is the peeling off of mosaic glasswork over the pillars of the upper floor nad outer surfaces of the lower floor, in area exposed to the weather. These had to be replaced, unfortunately. However the portions not ravaged by the weather had been preserved. The traditional metal sheet work at the edges of the pyathat structures are damaged in some places and is now under repairs.