Astrologers always played an immensely important role in Burmese history and still do. Therefore, it is not surprising that the arrival of Amarapura was initiated and the result of the advice of the astrologers of the court of King Bodawpaya.
Once known as the ‘City of Immortality’, Amarapura became the new capital of Bodawpaya after it moved from its former capital In-wa (Ava) to Amarapura in May 1783. In the center of Amarapura stood Bodawpaya’s new ‘Amarapura Palace’ surrounded by a 1.6 kilometer long Palace Wall with a pagoda at each corner. It was here in Amarapura that the first British embassy in Burma was opened in 1795; a truly remarkable event.
The construction and relocation of Bodawpaya to the new capital came as a result of the power struggle surrounding his ascendancy to the throne in the course of which the massacres ordered by the then King Singu Min took place.
The background to these massacres was that there was foul play in the accession of King Singu Min. He was not a legitimate heir to the throne and therefore attempted to execute all the princes who were legitimate heirs to the throne.
Having heard that some of them were hiding in Paungge village near Sagaing, he gave the order to burn the entire population of the village. Bodawpaya, one of the five sons of King Alaungpaya, had survived in seclusion in Sagaing, but two of his brothers were not so lucky and were executed. In the power struggle that followed, Maung Maung, the son of King Alaungpaya’s eldest son, King Naungdawgyi, usurped the throne while King Singu was visiting Shwebo and killed him upon his return to the Ava capital. Just a week later, Bodawpaya, the rightful heir to the throne, assumed power and had Maung Maung executed in 1781.
The aforementioned events are absolutely no exception in Burmese history in which we find many examples of organized and bloody persecution, imprisonment, exile and massacres of potential heirs to the throne and assassinations of usurping kings. As stated above, it was these power struggles between the members of the Konbaung family that greatly concerned King Bodawpaya and his astrologers. And it was the Bodawpaya astrologers who prompted him to move his capital from Ava to Amarapura, (today about 7 miles / 11 kilometers south of Mandalay) to start over.
At the time of his reign, Bodawpaya had built a colonnaded road from his Amarapura Palace to the Maha Muni Pagoda, which he built in 1784. The new capital had a population of about 200,000 people with different groups having their own neighborhoods depending on the Nationality and Religious Beliefs: Burmese, Chinese, Indian, Portuguese, Buddhist, Muslim and Christian.
Amarapura remained with the exception of the period from 1823 to 1837 as the royal capital until King Mindon transferred his capital to Mandalay from 1859 to 1861. In the time between 1823 and 1837, the successor of King Bodawpaya, his grandson King Bagyidaw, moved the capital to Ava. However, King Bagyidaw’s successor, King Tharrawaddy, moved the capital back to Amarapura in 1837.
Mandalay remained the seat of the Konbaung dynasty until King Mindon’s son, King Thibaw, and his wife, Queen Supayalat, were exiled by the British to Ratnagiri in India in late 1885. This ended the Konbaung dynasty and to the existence of Burma as an independent. Kingdom.
Present-day Amarapura or ‘Tsaung-Myo’ (the southern city), as Mandalay residents call it in Burmese, is a city of about 10,000 and relatively little remains of Amarapura’s 75-year capital. of the Burmese kingdom and ‘City of Immortality’.
Of the “Imperial Palace” there was not much left to see. There are only the four pagodas that marked the corner points of the palace wall, the tombs of King Bodawpaya and King Bagyidaw, the old watchtower, and the old treasure building. All the palaces with beautiful wooden carvings adorned with teak structures are long gone, partly concealed by King Mindon to rebuild in his new ‘Imperial City’ in Mandalay and partly to be used as building material elsewhere. Today’s visitors to Amarapura are greeted by the unimpressive remains of the glorious ancient city gate.
Other remaining interesting witnesses to the glorious, albeit brief time of Amarapura as ‘Royal City’ and center of power, as well as the times before that, are, as briefly described below, the following:
A) Patodawgyi Pagoda and B) Bagaya Kyaung, and in the immediate surroundings of Amarapura: C) U Bein Bridge, D) Kyauktawgyi E) Shwekyetyet Pagoda, F) Shweyetkya Pagoda.
A) ‘Patodawgyi Pagoda’
The ‘Patodawgyi Pagoda’, built in 1820 by King Bagyidaw, is well preserved and located in the southern part of Amarapura. Five terraces constitute the substructure in which the stupa is located. The terraces are covered with reliefs of ‘Jataka’ and on a nearby marble slab there is an inscription that tells the story of the construction of the pagoda.
B) Bagaya Kyaung
The ‘Bagaya Kyaung’ is located on the outskirts of Amarapura and one of the largest monasteries in Burma. The religious atmosphere of the city is undoubtedly emphasized by some 700 ‘pongyis’ (monks) that the monastery houses.
C) U Bein Bridge
This rickety teak bridge stands as solid today as it was 200 years ago. However, the increasing number of tourists crossing the bridge will soon become a serious problem. ‘U Bein Bridge’ is with its three quarters of a mile (1.2 kilometers) the longest teak bridge in the world. It was built by the mayor of King Bodawpaya’s city, U Bein. He built the entire bridge with teak from Ava’s teak buildings after King Bodawpaya moved his capital to Amarapura.
The U Bein Bridge crosses Taung Thaman Lake, which is flooded by the flooding of the Ayeyawaddy River during the strong Waso / July and Wagaung / August monsoon months. The lake dries up in winter, leaving in its place fertile soil for the fields.
The bridge is lined with small rest houses that offer very welcome views and shade in the hot season for the 15 to 20 minutes it takes to cross the bridge.
D) Kyauktawgyi Pagoda
Like its namesake in Mandalay, the ‘Kyauktawgyi Pagoda’ was intended to be a copy of the Ananda Temple of Pagan. The Kyauktawgyi was built in 1847 by King Pagan. While the exterior of the pagoda is a pretty good replica of Bagan’s Ananda Temple, the interior of the copy does not deliver what the original promises. However, the pagoda is an impressive religious structure. Its east and west entrances are decorated with murals depicting daily Burmese life at the time the pagoda was built. Although King Pagan (1846 AD to 1853 AD) was one of the cruelest kings of the Konbaung dynasty (said to have executed thousands of people during his brief 7-year reign), the dominant theme of the murals is his goodwill. towards his people.
The Kyauktawgyi Pagoda houses a total of 88 statues of Gautama Buddha’s disciples, 12 ‘Manokthihas’ (mythical beings, half man and half beast) and, in addition to the Ananda Temple in Bagan containing 4 standing Buddha images, a huge statue of Buddha. made of jade colored Sagyin marble. The pagoda is located on the east side of the U Bein bridge.
E) Shwekyetyet Pagoda
Also situated on the Ayeyawaddy bank of Amarapura is the white ‘Shwekyetyet Pagoda’. The pagoda can be reached in 30 minutes on foot from the city. The Shwekyetyet is a remaining building from the ‘Age of Temple Builders’ and was built by an unidentified king from the 12th century.
F) Shwekyetkya Pagoda
Like its close ‘sister’, the ‘Shwekyetkya Pagoda’ is situated on the Ayeyawaddy bank of Amarapura. It was built by the same unidentified pagan king from the 12th century. It houses a beautiful statue of Buddha.
Amarapura’s main source of income is the weaving industry. Some of the most distinctive fabrics are woven here in Amarapura. Known as ‘A-Sheik’, these highly attractive, intricate, complicated and easily recognizable design patterns use up to 100 shuttles. The most famous product of this city where every second house has at least one loom is the most beautiful festive clothing in Burma, the ‘Acheik Htamein’ (ceremonial longyi). Here the most beautiful ‘htameins’ (for women) and ‘pa soes’ (for men) are woven from both silk and cotton. Amarapura silk and cotton weavers are famous throughout Burma and their colorful products in many different designs, both traditional and modern, are found almost everywhere in the country.
The ‘art of knitting’ here is not simply passed down in families from generation to generation. This would not be enough to keep this ship alive. As the number of weaving families, as well as family members wanting to continue the family business, is declining, new generations of weavers are trained at the ‘Saunders Weaving Institute’ (founded 1914).
Another industry in Amarapura is bronze foundry. The most beautiful Buddha images, a great variety of other statues and figures, gongs, bells, saucers, etc. they are made here of a special alloy of bronze and lead.
The bronze casting method applied here is a very traditional one known to have existed since 3000 BC. C. and that is used all over the world. It is a process commonly known as ‘Lost Wax Process’ or ‘Cire Perdue’ as it is called in French. Since its invention for use in metal sculpture, only a few minor changes have been made and it is now used practically as usual. As for wax, basically any malleable substance of animal, vegetable, mineral and synthetic origin (or a mixture of them) can be used. Of course, the quality of craftsmanship, materials, equipment, and tools used differ, but the process itself is basically the same. Here is a very broad description of this method, which is actually much more complicated.
Here in Amarapura, first, the image to be molded is roughly formed from a mixture of red clay, rice husks, and horse manure. The entire surface is covered with sheets of thin wax with some thin metal rods pushed in strategic places towards the clay core. A softer wax with a certain proportion of mixed beeswax covers the underlying wax. Thin rods made of wax connect the limbs and torso. This soft wax is carved and molded into detailed features, face, hair, hands, fingers, feet, toes, details of clothing, etc.
The final form is covered by five layers of clay made from sandy yellow soil and powdered horse manure so that this last ingredient ensures a constant and sustained heat flow. Each layer is one and a half inches thick and should be allowed to dry before adding the next. For large pieces, metal bands are wrapped around it to reinforce them. Two or more holes are left at the bottom for the melted wax to flow out and the molten metal to pour out.
When the final coat is dry, an oven is built over the figure and heated for nearly 24 hours at temperatures ranging from about 35 ° C (95 ° F) to 100 ° C (212 ° F) depending on the melt. point of wax used. The wax melts and at the same time the mold is kept warm. During this process, large crucibles are heated with a 10: 8 mixture of copper and zinc. When the molds are ready, the molten alloy is red hot.
The molds are then taken with large tongs into a well already dug, turned upside down, and the liquid metal is poured into a hole at the bottom. When the alloy spills out of the other hole, workers know that the mold has been completely filled. After three days, the mold is sufficiently cooled, removed from the well, and placed right side up for men wielding mallets to break.
After the final cleaning and polishing process, the statue is ready to move into its new home; wherever it is.