chinthe
{{Short description|Lion in Burmese culture}}
{{About|lions in Burmese culture (not mythical)|mythical or legendary creature with a human head and two lion hindquarters|Manussiha}}
File:2016 Rangun, Pomnik Niepodległości (04).jpg, in front of Yangon City Hall]]
File:Chinthe.JPG{{Cite book|title=Shwedagon, Symbol of Strength and Serenity|publisher=Yangon City Development Committee|year=1997|location=Yangon, Burma|pages=25}}]]
Chinthe{{efn| {{lang|my|ခြင်္သေ့}}
- MLCTS: {{Transliteration|mymr|MLCTS|hkrangse.}}
- ALA-LC: {{Transliteration|mymr|ALA-LC|khraṅse′}}
- BGN/PCGN: {{Transliteration|mymr|BGN/PCGN|chinthe / chinthayt}}}} ({{langx|my|ခြင်္သေ့}} ({{IPA|my|tɕʰɪ̀ɰ̃ðḛ|IPA}}); {{langx|mnw|ဇာဒိသိုၚ်}} ({{IPA|mnw|cɛ̀atìʔsaŋ|}}); {{langx|shn|သၢင်ႇသီႈ}} ({{IPA|shn|sàːŋ si|}})) is the Burmese word for 'lion'.{{Cite book|title=Myanmar-English Official Dictionary|publisher=Department of the Myanmar Language Commission|year=1993|location=Yangon, Burma|page=79}}{{Cite book|last=United States|first=Congress|title=Hearings|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|year=1945|location=Washington, USA|pages=3}} The leographArchaeological Department of Burma (1902). Report on Archaeological Work in Burma. Yangon, Burma: Superintendent, Government Printing. p. 22.{{Cite book|last=Session|first=I.A.H Congress|title=Proceedings of the 4th Session of Indian Art History Congress|publisher=University of Virginia|year=1996|location=Virginia, USA|page=100}} of Chinthe is a highly stylized lion{{Cite book|title=Arts of Asia: Volume 35, Issues 1-2|publisher=AOA Publications|year=2005|location=Virginia, USA|page=111}}{{Cite book|last=Ralph Isaacs|first=T.Tichard Blurton|title=Visions from the Golden Land: Burma and the Art of Lacquer|publisher=British Museum|year=2000|isbn=9780714114736|location=Landon, England|pages=169}} commonly depicted in Burmese iconography and architecture, especially as a pair of guardians flanking the entrances of Buddhist pagodas and kyaung (or Buddhist monasteries).
Natural lion
Contrary to popular belief, the Chinthe is not a mythical creature{{Cite book|last=Sergei Sergeevich Ozhegov|first=Irene Moilanen|title=Mirrorred in Wood: Burmese Art and Architecture|publisher=White Lotus Press|year=1999|isbn=9789747534009|pages=67}} but instead an entirely natural lion,{{Cite book|last=Bunyard|first=Britt A.|title=Walking to Singapore: A Year off the Beathen Path in Southeast Asia|publisher=Writers Club Press of iUniverse|year=2000|isbn=9781469772981|location=U.S.A|page=401}} although often associated with myths and legends.
The Burmese leograph{{Cite book|title=Southeast Asia Handbook|publisher=Moon Publications|year=1994|isbn=9781566910026|location=Michigan, USA|pages=91}} is related to other stylized lions in the Asian region, including the sing (สิงห์) of Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and the simha (සිංහ) of Sri Lanka, where it is featured prominently on the Sri Lankan rupee. It is also related to East Asian leographs, such as the guardian lions of China, komainu of Japan, shisa of Okinawa and Snow Lion of Tibet.
Origins
The story of why the lions guard the entrances of pagodas and temples is given in the Mahavamsa:
The princess Suppadevi of Vanga Kingdom (present day Bengal) had a son named Sinhabahu through her marriage to a lion, but later abandoned the lion who then became enraged and set out on a road of terror throughout the lands. The son then went out to slay this terrorizing lion. The son came back home to his mother stating he slew the lion, and then found out that he killed his own father. The son later constructed a statue of the lion as a guardian of a temple to atone for his sin.{{cite web |website=myanmar-image.com |title=Image 5 of 20 |url=http://www.myanmar-image.com/mandalay/misc/image4.html |accessdate=2010-09-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170411034220/http://www.myanmar-image.com/mandalay/misc/image4.html |archive-date=2017-04-11 |url-status=dead }}
{{multiple image
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| align = left
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| image1 = Chinthe (right facing).svg
| caption1 = The lion symbol on the State seals{{Cite book|last=Burma|first=Information and Broadcasting Department|title=Burma's Fight for Freedom: Independence Commemoration|publisher=Superintendent, Government Print. and Stationery|year=1948|location=Yangon, Burma|pages=119}}
| image2 = $110 US exchanged for Burmese Kyat (15167919250).jpg
| caption2 = 1000 Kyat paper money
}}
In Burmese culture
The leograph of Chinthe appears as an element of Burmese iconography on many revered objects, including the palin (Burmese royal throne) and Burmese bells.
Predating the use of coins for money, brass weights cast in the shape of iconic animals like the Chinthe were commonly used to measure standard quantities of staple items.[http://birmansuk.com/chinthe%20story.html Shwechinthe Birmans]{{dead link|date=August 2017|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}
In the Burmese zodiac, the lion sign is representative of Tuesday-born individuals.{{Cite book|last=Sir.|first=James George Scott|title=The Burman: His Life and Notions, Volume 2|publisher=Macmillan and Company|year=1882|location=London, England|pages=94}}
The leograph is featured prominently on the successive post-independence State seals (including the current State Seal of Myanmar) and most paper denominations of the Burmese kyat, and its statues are found as guardian statues of most pagodas and temples.
Gallery
File:Bagan-Ananda-220-Chinthes-gje.jpg|Leographic statues{{Cite book|title=The Atlas of Dream Places: A Grand Tour of the World's Best-loved Destinations|publisher=Konecky & Konecky|year=2002|isbn=9781568523576|pages=214}} line the rooftop at Bagan's Ananda Temple
File:Bagan 2019 10.jpg|Close-up of the stylized lion head,{{Cite book|last=Majumdar|first=Ramesh Chandra|title=Ancient India|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass (MLBD)|year=1960|location=Delhi, India|pages=497}} Ananda Temple
File:Bagan Bronze Bell (7566104478).jpg|Temple bell in Bagan, Myanmar
File:Bagan-Dhammayazika-20-Loewe-Ministupa-gje.jpg|Lion statue on Dhammayazika Pagoda, Bagan, Myanmar
File:Chinthes guarding Mandalay Hill.JPG|A pair of whitewashed lions{{Cite book|last=Dr.|first=Tin Mg Oo|title=Aspects of Myanmar Culture|publisher=Cho-Tay-Than Bookhouse|year=2005|location=Yangon, Burma|pages=28}} guard the entrance to Mandalay Hill
File:So Hla Waing 2.jpg| Chinthe of So Hla Waing in Bagan, Myanmar
File:Suspension of the Mingun Bell.jpg|Chinthe atop the Mingun Bell
Relation to Second World War Chindits
During the Second World War, the British Brigadier Orde Wingate was given command of forces charged with long-range penetration operations behind Japanese lines in Burma. At the suggestion of Captain Aung Thin of the Burma Rifles, Wingate decided to call this force "The Chinthes" (The Lions),Duckworth, L.B (1945). Your Men in Battle: The Story of the South Staffordshire Regiment- 1939–45. Michigan, USA: Express and Star. p. 17. a name which became corrupted to "The Chindits" and was so recorded in the annals of World War II.
Chinthe is also the nickname of the Canadian 435 Squadron, formed originally in 1944 in India.{{Cite web |last=National Defence |first=Royal Canadian Air Force |date=2013-04-30 |title=435 Transport and Rescue Squadron - Royal Canadian Air Force |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/air-force/corporate/squadrons/435-squadron.html |access-date=2023-06-06 |website=www.canada.ca}} The badge of the RCAF 435th features a chinthe on a plinth.
The present-day brigade in the British Army is named the 77th Brigade in tribute to the 77th Indian Infantry Brigade, which was part of Wingates's Chindits. The formation badge of the revived 77th shows a stylised lion known as a Chinthe in reference to the Chindits.
See also
{{commons category|Chinthe}}
Notes
{{notelist}}