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Taungbyon
Taungbyon is a village in Madaya Township of Mandalay Region, Myanmar. It is known as the site of the Taungbyone Festival, which is the largest and best-known '' nat'' festival in Myanmar. During most of the year, it is a small village, but during the festival a large temporary infrastructure pops up to accommodate the large crowds in attendance. Taungbyon was historically important under the Bagan kingdom, when it was part of a series of forts along the Irrawaddy river and may have been a royal domain. Name The older form of the name is Tonplon (တောင်ပြုံး), which means "eroded mound". Geography Taungbyon is located about 10 km north of Mandalay, on the east bank of the Shweta ''chaung'' (stream). History A dozen Bagan-era forts exist within 5 km of Taungbyon, including one at Taungbyon itself. These forts are all located east of the Irrawaddy river; another series of forts and canals exists on the west side. Based on the dense concentration ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taungbyone Festival
The Taungbyone Festival (; also spelt ''Taungbyon'') is one of the most well-known festivals among the people of Myanmar, held annually in honour of the Taungbyon ''nat'' brothers or the two brothers of Taungbyone village. Actually it is the festival of the two pagodas, by the name of Sutaungpyae built by King Anawrahta and the later-built Sutaungya. The pagodas' festival is designated to be celebrated for two days, from the eighth waxing day to the tenth of the Burmese month of Wagaung. At the same time, the ''nat'' festival is held alongside that of the pagodas. Taungbyone festival is very crowded with people coming from various parts of the country during the festival days in August. A special ritual program is carried out each day. More popularly, the spirit-mediums' dance is a major aspect of the festival and occurs throughout the days. The festival is not only a place for those who take the cult of ''nat'' within the sphere of Burmese Theravada Buddhism but a place for th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shwe Hpyin Nyidaw
Shwe Hpyin Nyidaw (, ; ), also called Shwe Hpyin Nge (, ) or Min Lay (, ), is one of the 37 nats in the official pantheon of Burmese nats. He and his brother Shwe Hpyin Naungdaw are the subject of Myanmar's largest Nat festival- the six-day annual Taungbyone festival. Worshippers avoid consumption of pork, as Shwe Hpyin Nyidaw's father, Byatta, is believed to have been an Indian Muslim. Legend Together known as Shwe Hpyin Nyinaung (Brothers) or Taungbyon Min Nyinaung (Brother Lords of Taungbyon), he and his brother Shwe Hpyin Naungdaw were sons of Byatta, the royal messenger, and Me Wunna, a flower-eating ogress from Mount Popa, during the reign of King Anawrahta of Bagan. The Shwe Hpyin brothers served under Anwarahta as warriors and as agents infiltrating the enemy's inner circle. According to legend, they successfully infiltrated the Chinese King of Gandalaraj Utibua's bodyguards to draw three lines with white lime on the king's body and write the threatening message ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shwe Hpyin Naungdaw
Shwe Hpyin Naungdaw ( ; ), also called Shwe Hpyin Gyi ( ) or Min Gyi ( ), is one of the 37 nats in the official pantheon of Burmese nats. He is the elder brother of Shwe Hpyin Nyidaw and the son of Popa Medaw, another ''nat''. He and his brother Shwe Hpyin Nyidaw are the subject of Myanmar's largest Nat festival- the six-day annual Taungbyone festival. Worshippers of this ''nat'' avoid consumption of pork, as Shwe Hpyin Gyi's father, Byatta, is believed to have been an Indian Muslim. Legend The Shwe Hpyin Brothers served under King Anawrahta as warriors and as agents infiltrating the enemy's inner circle. According to legend, they successfully infiltrated the Chinese King of Gandalaraj Utibua's bodyguards to draw three lines with white lime on the king's body and write the threatening message on the wall, scaring the Chinese into peace and to send a tooth relic of the Buddha to Bagan. They were killed for neglecting their duty to provide a brick each thus leaving gaps in Taun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nat (deity)
The nats (; MLCTS: ''nat''; ) are god-like spirits venerated in Myanmar and neighbouring countries in conjunction with Buddhism. They are divided between the 37 ''Great Nats'' who were given that status by King Anawrahta when he formalized the official list of nats. Most of the 37 ''Great Nats'' were human beings who met violent deaths. There are two types of ''nats'' in Burmese Belief: ''nat sein'' () which are humans that were deified after their deaths and all other nats which are spirits of nature (spirits of water, trees etc.). Much like sainthood, ''nats'' can be designated for a variety of reasons, including those only known in certain regions in Burma. ''Nat'' worship is less common in urban areas than in rural areas and is practised among ethnic minorities of Myanmar as well as in mainstream Bamar society. However, it is among the Theravada Buddhist Bamar that the most highly developed form of ceremony and ritual is seen. Every Burmese village has a ''nat kun'' (န ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mount Popa
Mount Popa (, ) is a dormant volcano 1518 metres (4981 feet) above sea level, and located in central Myanmar in the region of Mandalay Region, Mandalay about southeast of Bagan (Pagan) in the Pegu Range. It can be seen from the Irrawaddy River, Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) River as far away as in clear weather. Mount Popa is a pilgrimage site, with numerous Nat (spirit), Nat temples and relic sites atop the mountain. Name The name ''Popa'' is believed to come from the Pali language, Pali/Sanskrit word ''puppha'' meaning flower.Htin Aung, Maung "Folk Elements in Burmese Buddhism", Oxford University Press: London, 1962. Geology The main volcanic cone, edifice of the volcano is composed of basalt and basaltic andesite lava flows, along with Pyroclastic rock, pyroclastic deposits and scoriaceous material, originating from strombolian eruptions which are thought to have made up the later stages of the volcano's growth. The volcano also contains a wide and deep caldera that is brea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Madaya Township
Madaya () is a Townships of Myanmar, township of Aungmyethazan District in the Mandalay Region of Myanmar. Taungbyone Festival of nat (spirit) takes place in the township in August yearly. The township is also home to Myanmar's largest marble quarry in Sagyin. History In the 16th century, the Gwe Shans built a stockade in the village of Okpo, Madaya, Okpo. On October 1, 1886, there was a reported small native garrison at Madaya and nearby Lamaing and the town was subject to invasion the same month. Villages Madaya consists Madaya, Myanmar, Madaya town and the following villages: *Aingdaing *Dingagyun *Mayogon *Sagyin *Shwebaung *Sinywagale *Tainggaing *Taungbyon *Thapandaung *Powa (North) *Mwe Pon Kan Taking Lyon Hein Taung References External linksMaplandia World Gazetteer Madaya Township, Mandalay Region {{Burma-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Myanmar
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has a population of about 55 million. It is bordered by India and Bangladesh to its northwest, China to its northeast, Laos and Thailand to its east and southeast, and the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal to its south and southwest. The country's capital city is Naypyidaw, and its largest city is Yangon (formerly Rangoon). Early civilisations in the area included the Tibeto-Burman-speaking Pyu city-states in Upper Myanmar and the Mon kingdoms in Lower Myanmar. In the 9th century, the Bamar people entered the upper Irrawaddy River, Irrawaddy valley, and following the establishment of the Pagan Kingdom in the 1050s, the Burmese language and Culture of Myanmar, culture and Buddhism in Myanmar, Theravada Buddhism slowly became dominant in the co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Levee
A levee ( or ), dike (American English), dyke (British English; see American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences, spelling differences), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is an elevated ridge, natural or artificial, alongside the river banks, banks of a river, often intended to flood control, protect against flooding of the area adjoining the river. It is usually soil, earthen and often runs parallel (geometry), parallel to the course of a river in its floodplain or along low-lying coastlines. Naturally occurring levees form on river floodplains following flooding. Sediment and alluvium are deposition (geology), deposited on the banks and settle, forming a ridge that increases the river channel's capacity. Alternatively, levees can be artificially constructed from fill dirt, fill, designed to regulate water levels. In some circumstances, artificial levees can be environmental degradation, environmentally damaging. Ancient civilization ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tutelary Deity
A tutelary (; also tutelar) is a deity or a Nature spirit, spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of "tutelary" expresses the concept of safety and thus of guardianship. In Platonic idealism, late Greek and Roman religion, one type of tutelary deity, the ''Genius (mythology), genius'', functions as the personal deity or ''daimon'' of an individual from birth to death. Another form of personal tutelary spirit is the familiar spirit of European folklore. Ancient Greece Socrates spoke of hearing the voice of his personal spirit or ''daimonion'': The Greeks also thought deities guarded specific places: for instance, Athena was the patron goddess of the city of Athens. Ancient Rome Tutelary deities who guard and preserve a place or a person are fundamental to Religion in ancient Rome, ancient Roman religion. The tutelary deity of a man was his Genius (mythology), Geni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Popa Medaw
Popa Medaw (; , also known as Me Wunna ; Burmese: မယ်ဝဏ္ဏ) is a nat of Myanmar. She is a flower-eating yakshini and the mother of the Shwe Hpyin ('Inferior Gold') brothers Shwe Hpyin Naungdaw and Shwe Hpyin Nyidaw. Although not an official member of the 37 nat pantheon which is based on her domain and namesake of Mount Popa, she is seen as an important nat in the Burmese spirit world. Popa Medaw is also called Mei Wunna ('Miss Gold'). Story Mei Wunna was a flower-eating ogress of Mount Popa, an extinct volcano southeast of Bagan. The word Popa is derived from the Pali word for flower.Htin Aung, Maung "Folk Elements in Burmese Buddhism", Oxford University Press: London, 1962. According to legend, King Anawrahta of Bagan ordered Byatta, a mythical person of Indian descent endowed with supernatural powers upon consumption of an inanimate Zawgyi (Burmese alchemist), to fetch fresh flowers ten times daily from Mount Popa.Kyaa Nyo, Maung "Presenting Myanmar", Tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irrawaddy River
The Irrawaddy River (, , Ayeyarwady) is the principal river of Myanmar, running through the centre of the country. Myanmar’s most important commercial waterway, it is about 1,350 miles (2,170 km) long. Originating from the confluence of the N'Mai River, N'mai and Mali River, Mali rivers, it flows from north to south before emptying through the Irrawaddy Delta in the Ayeyarwady Region into the Andaman Sea. Its drainage basin of about covers 61% of the land area of Burma, and contains five of its largest cities. As early as the sixth century, the river was used for trade and transport, and an extensive network of irrigation, irrigation canals was developed to support agriculture. The river is still of great importance as the largest commercial waterway of Myanmar. It also provides important Ecosystem service, ecosystem services to different communities and economic sectors, including agriculture, fisheries, and tourism. In 2007, State Peace and Development Council, Myanmar's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mandalay
Mandalay is the second-largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon. It is located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, 631 km (392 mi) north of Yangon. In 2014, the city had a population of 1,225,553. Mandalay was founded in 1857 by King Mindon Min, Mindon, replacing Amarapura as the new royal capital of the Konbaung dynasty. It was Burma's final royal capital before the kingdom's Third Anglo-Burmese War, annexation by the British Empire in 1885. Under British rule, Mandalay remained commercially and culturally important despite the rise of Yangon, the new capital of British Burma. The city suffered extensive destruction during the Japanese conquest of Burma in the World War II, Second World War. In 1948, Mandalay became part of the newly independent Union of Burma. Today, Mandalay is the economic centre of Upper Myanmar and considered the centre of Burmese culture. A continuing influx of irregular Overseas Chinese, Chinese immigrants, mostly from Yunnan, since the late ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
