Crumbling Burmese Architecture for WSJ Magazine » Phaung Daw Oo Festival Procession
The Phaung Daw Oo Festival is held every October on Inle Lake. During the festival four gold figurines of Lord Buddha are transported clockwise around the lake over a period of several days, stopping off at various temples and monasteries along the way. There are a total of five golden Buddha statues, that all date from the 12th Century and throughout the year are housed at their ‘resident’ temple, The Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda, from which the festival draws its name. One of the five Buddha’s always stays at the home temple during the procession – some say to guard the Pagoda, and others say because this particular Buddha has a bad omen associated with it, dating back to the 1965 procession. During that procession the Royal Barge whch transports the Buddha statues capsized and all of the figurines sank to the bottom. Only four were initially recovered, while the fifth one was feared lost, until it miraculously appeared back in the temple one day. The following year when the statue was loaded on to the barge a huge series of clouds appeared, so that was taken as a sign that that particular Buddha should remain and not join the procession. The Royal Barge is itself in the shape of the Royal Bird – picture a giant chicken – and is towed around the lake by dozens of smaller long-boats where Intha men practice their unique one-legged rowing style.
