Kyaik hti yo pagoda
Myanmar is known as the golden land for the thousands of pagoda spires covered in real gold that one could see in every neighborhood of a town, at almost every turn in a dusty country lane or on remote hilltops. The strangest place a pagoda could have been built and it seems a veritable miracle, a huge boulder balanced on the very edge of a steep cliff standing 3600ft above sea level. On this boulder is a glittering 25ft spire with an elaborately fashioned ‘Hti’ or umbrella tip. This is the Golden Rock pagoda and in the Mon language, Kyaik Hti Yo or ‘The pagoda on the hermits head’.
It is one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Myanmar for the Buddhist, after the Shwedagon Pagoda of Yangon and the Maha Muni Pagoda of Mandalay.
The gold covered boulder is roughly in the shape of a man’s head, and legends say that a hermit was presented with three hairs of the Buddha, which he reverently kept inside his own knot of hair. Before he passed away at a great old age, he requested his devotees to find a boulder the shape of his head to be used as a base for a pagoda to enshrine these holy relics. The king of this land of Mon known as Suvanabhummi sent emissaries far and wide to look for such a stone.
When none could be found, the Thagyar Min or the King of the Celestials flew down from his heavenly abode to help in the search. He finally found one that was in the perfect shape of a head, fathoms deep under the sea. The King mountains by his powers and balanced it on the every edge of a cliff and almost leaning out over the chasm. There it remains to this day. This boulder, 50ft in circumference, perches on the edge as if by sheer magic: nothing connects the boulder’s underside to the cliff as proven by people who pull strings to pass under the boulder. Some more determined shake the rock on its pivot point but although it sways it remains perfectly balanced. Men walk over to it by a narrow bridge to cover the boulder with gold. By now it is entirely gilded and more gold leaf is added every year by devotees.
People believe that the more visits you make to the Golden Rock, the more golden their futures would be. Many make annual pilgrimages for as much as twenty years in succession. Once it the road to the Golden Rock was barely a path in the jungle where people walk, or ride on elephants. Now the road is much improved so that pilgrims could drive part of the way, but still many prefer to walk. During holidays of the light Festival in October when schools close, families and young people in groups arrive here in droves. They try to out walk each other, urging friends on, sharing drinks and sweets, and making friends with strangers. This shrine is deep in the jungles and the open season begins only after the monsoon. It is only a few hours' drive from Yangon and it is 7 miles from the base camp to the pagoda and one could drive up or trek, passing through spectacular scenery. Rest stops of restaurants line the route, as do fascinating sites such as the Crow’s Beak, once believed to be the perfect place for lovers to swear their fidelity. By putting a hand inside the beak and swearing an oath and not having the stone beak bite it off at the wrist was proof of truth spoken.
A man once played a trick during this ritual, and from then on the crow, no doubt disgusted at man’s duplicity, refused to act as judge any longer. People now throw cash notes into its immobile beak but so far, Lord Crow has not relented enough to move his beak. Children love the Crow’s Beak hoping to see it come alive again, but they are often distracted by the toys only available at Kyaik Hti Yo, which are made out of the golden bamboo that grows profusely in the region. Designs are burnt into the surface of the bamboo and in toys such as dragons or snakes segments of the bodies are connected by wires so that they crawl most realistically. People who are too young, old, weak or who just like their creature comforts can be carried up the hill by porters in a basket cradle. Along the way, there are many places of importance in local lore. Kyaik Hti Yo as a pagoda of miracle has a lot of myths and legends surrounding it and people talk of hermits who meditate deep in the forests and who live to be hundreds of years old. They say that beautiful angels who guard the treasured relics live in golden palaces in another realm that we cannot see, although they exist next to us. They are the Oke Sar Saunt, angels who live virgin lives for eternity. By special permission, they can be born as human, but live short lives or are unable to talk. Children with speech problems are often considered to be Oke Sar Saunt and treated as honoured beings.
There is a shrine to the spirit of a girl named Shwe Nan Kyin who died in this region. Her family is also represented in plaster figures. According to folklore, she had forgotten to worship her family Spirits and a tiger had been sent after her. She ran and ran, until she died of exhaustion. On moonlit nights or in the blue mists of dawn, the golden boulder and the pagoda shimmer like a magical palace spire out of a fairy table. For Buddhist pilgrims it is an awesome shrine of great religious importance. During the Light Festival celebrations in October or for the New Year’s Eve celebrations on December 31st, the wider pagoda platform adjacent to the boulder but separated by a gully, is ablaze with the light of nine thousand candles and perfumed with the scent of as many flowers.
