sand pagoda

Sand pagodas ({{langx|my|သဲပုံစေတီ}}; {{langx|th|พระเจดีย์ทราย}}, also known as sand stupas), are temporary pagodas or stupas erected from mud or sand as a means of cultivating Buddhist merit.{{Cite book|last=Nisbet|first=John|url=https://archive.org/details/burmaunderbritis02nisb|title=Burma Under British Rule--and Before|date=1901|publisher=A. Constable & Company, Limited|language=en}} The practice is common to Theravada Buddhists throughout mainland Southeast Asia, primarily in Myanmar (Burma), Laos, and Thailand.

History

The earliest extant reference to the sand pagoda building tradition is in Burmese literary works, namely a pyo verse poem composed by Shin Maha Silavamsa during the Kingdom of Ava era (c. 1500s).{{Cite web|title=Tabaung, the month of Sand Pagoda Festival|url=https://www.globalnewlightofmyanmar.com/tabaung-the-month-of-sand-pagoda-festival/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200515004037/https://www.globalnewlightofmyanmar.com/tabaung-the-month-of-sand-pagoda-festival/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=May 15, 2020|date=2020-03-07|website=Global New Light Of Myanmar|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-23}} However, Burmese oral tradition attributes the custom of building sand pagodas to the arrival of Ayutthayan royals, advisors and their retinue in the Konbaung Kingdom, which occurred two centuries later, following the fall of Ayutthaya in the Burmese–Siamese War (1765–1767).{{Cite web|title=Pagodas made of sand|url=https://www.mmtimes.com/special-features/199-mandalay-2014/12054-pagodas-made-of-sand.html|date=2014-10-21|website=The Myanmar Times|access-date=2020-05-23}} The custom was practiced throughout the Burmese kingdom, including by the royal court.

Regional celebrations

= Myanmar =

During Māgha Pūjā, known as the Full Moon Day of Tabaung, Burmese devotees in Upper Myanmar construct sand pagodas in honor of the Buddha.{{refn|For the merits and meditation, see {{cite news|url=http://www.myanmar.com/newspaper/nlm/Mar20_04.html |title=Meritorious deeds performed at religious edifices throughout nation on Full Moon Day of Tabodwe |date=19 Mar 2011 |work=New Light of Myanmar |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111113163351/http://www.myanmar.com/newspaper/nlm/Mar20_04.html |archive-date=November 13, 2011 }} For the sand pagodas, see {{cite news |last1=Thiha |first1=Nay |title=What to expect on Full Moon Day of Tabaung |url=https://www.myanmore.com/2019/03/what-to-expect-on-full-moon-day-of-tabaung/ |work=Myanmore |date=18 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190321031623/https://www.myanmore.com/2019/03/what-to-expect-on-full-moon-day-of-tabaung/ |archive-date=21 March 2019 |url-status=live}}}} The festivities are collectively called sand pagoda festivals (သဲပုံစေတီပွဲ). The Rakhine people also build sand pagodas during this season, in a festival called Shaikthaunghmyauk festival (သျှစ်သောင်းမြှောက်ပွဲ), held on the seabanks of cities like Sittwe.{{Cite web|title=ရခိုင်ရိုးရာ သျှစ်သောင်းမြှောက်ပွဲ(သဲပုံစေတီ)ပွဲတော်ကို စစ်တွေမြို့နှင့် ငပလီကမ်းခြေတို့၌ကျင်းပ|url=http://www.myanmardigitalnewspaper.com/my/rkhiungriuraa-scseaangmeaakpaisaipuncettiipaitteaakiu-ccttemiunng-ngpliikmkhettiunkngp|website=MDN - Myanmar DigitalNews|language=my|access-date=2020-05-23}}{{Cite web|title=ရခိုင်ရိုးရာ သျှစ်သောင်းမြှောက်ပွဲ|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jh8lhhATz70|date=2020-03-17|website=RFA}} Mandalay holds two major sand pagoda festivals, at the Mont Tisu and Maha Walaku Pagodas.

Burmese sand pagodas are typically of graduated five tiers, tapering to the top, with each tier flanked by bamboo masts. The five tiers represent five layers of Mount Meru, the legendary peak of Buddhist cosmology. Devotees offer fruits, flowers and other offerings, and circumambulate the sand pagoda thrice before paying homage. On the full moon day of Tabaung, the sand pagoda's umbrella crown or hti is removed.

In 1961, Burmese president U Nu performed a yadaya ritual to avert disaster in the country, by ordering the construction of 70,000 sand pagodas.{{Cite book|last=Steinberg|first=David I.|url=https://archive.org/details/burmastateofmyan0000stei|url-access=registration|title=Burma: The State of Myanmar|date=2001-11-30|publisher=Georgetown University Press|isbn=978-1-58901-285-1|language=en|page=106}}{{Cite book|last=Seekins|first=Donald M.|title=Historical Dictionary of Burma (Myanmar)|date=2017-03-27|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1-5381-0183-4|language=en}}

= Thailand =

In Northern Thailand, sand pagodas are constructed during Songkran. The largest such festival in Chiang Mai is held at Wat Chetlin; the resulting pagoda has five tiers, stands about {{Convert|8|m||abbr=}} tall, and uses {{Convert|700|m3||abbr=}} of sand.{{Cite web|title=Resplendent sand pagoda|url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/life/social-and-lifestyle/345813/resplendent-sand-pagoda|last=KARNJANATAWE|first=KARNJANA|date=2013-04-18|website=Bangkok Post|access-date=2020-05-23}}

References

Category:Pagodas in Myanmar