On our second day’s tour of Inle Lake, we approached Tha Ley Village  by boat through a large channel. The first sight of the pagoda appeared as a background to an impressive village foot bridge. Phaung Daw Oo Paya stands prominently in this village, the holiest religious site in the southern Shan State. The pagoda has a broad, multi-tiered roof, topped by a golden spire. A complex of pavilions and buildings topped with red painted corrugated metal roofs stand next door. Gold painted trim on the wooden cutouts which outline the gables, reflecting the design details on the pagoda itself. The power of this pagoda lies in the five Buddha images housed here. These have been so lovingly embellished with goldleaf, that their original forms are totally disfigured, causing them to look like gourds or golden blobs. They stand atop a round shaped altar with multi-tiered pedestal, which sits in the center of the pagoda on a raised platform festooned with fabric draperies. Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda is the center of activity during its annual festival in late September, when four of these Buddha images are paraded around Inle Lake on huge  ornate barges supporting golden Hintha birds, symbol of Burma. Legend of the Hintha: The  Burmese legend about the Hintha birds stems from  the Mon people who lived near the Bago River that flowed into the Yangon River and out to sea. One day, when the land was flooded except for the tip of a hillock, two princes caught sight of two Hintha birds, waterfowl with golden neck feathers. The dry space upon which they stood was so narrow that the female bird had to perch on the back of her mate. Amused and touched by this charming display of affection, the royal pair decided to found their kingdom on this spot. Legend of the Fifth Buddha: I asked a local about the reason only four of the five Buddha images are paraded around the lake. I was told that originally all five had been taken around by boat. One year, the fifth Buddha had fallen overboard, and was unable to be found. When the boat finally returned to the pagoda, the fifth image was found sitting, miraculously, on the altar. From that year onward, the fifth Buddha image has remained “at home”.

PHOTOS: Left Column: 1. Gliding by boat along a wide canal, and beneath an impressive bridge, toward Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda in Tha Ley Village on Inle Lake. 2. Detail: mirrored mosaics on the exterior walls of the pagoda. 3. View of the golden cutout trim and multi-tiered roof of the pagoda. 4. View of the smaller of the two barges, each bedecked with the golden Hintha. Center, Top: Phuang Daw Oo Pagoda’s altar supporting five Buddha images, each distorted by lavish applications of goldleaf. Center, Bottom: The large barge with golden Hintha, housed in its boathouse.  Right Column: 1. Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda. 2. A secular volunteer, reading the Buddhist scriptures, amplified throughout the village by microphone. These chants are performed from 6 AM to 10 PM daily for one month in preparation for the Phaung Daw Oo Festival. 3. View from the pagoda, overlooking the grounds and array of buildings and pavilions that are clustered around the pagoda. 4. A profile of the large Hintha, with a view of the pagoda in the background.

JOURDAN ARPELLE-ZIEGLER                                        BACK TO MAP  PAGE