Mount Popa

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Mount Popa

Mount Popa
Elevation 1,518 metres (4,980 ft)
Location Burma
Prominence 1,150 metres (3,773 ft)
Coordinates 20°52′0″N 95°14′00″E / 20.86667, 95.233333
Type Stratovolcano
Last eruption 442 BCE
Easiest route hike

Mount Popa (Burmese: ပုပ္ပားတောင်; MLCTS: puppa: taung; IPA: [pòʊpá tàʊn]) or Popa Hill is a volcano 1518 metres (4981 feet) above sea level, believed to be extinct, and located in central Burma (Myanmar) about 50km (30 miles) east of Bagan. It can be seen from the River Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) as far away as 60 km (40 miles) in clear weather.[1]

Contents

[edit] Features

Southwest of Mount Popa is Taung Kalat (pedestal hill), a 737 metre (2,417 ft) sheer precipice of volcanic plug. A Buddhist monastery is located at the summit of Taung Kalat. At one time, the Buddhist hermit U Khandi maintained the stairway of 777 steps to the summit of Taung Kalat.[1] It is also sometimes called Mount Popa, but to avoid confusion the big volcano with its huge crater blown open on one side is generally called Taung Ma-gyi (mother hill).

From the top of Taung Kalat, one can enjoy a panoramic view in all four directions. One can see the ancient city of Bagan; behind it to the north, the massive solitary conical peak of Taung Ma-gyi rises like Mount Fuji in Japan. There is a big caldera, 610 metres (2,000 ft) wide and 914 metres (3,000 ft) in depth so that from different directions the mountain takes different forms with more than one peak. The surrounding areas are arid, but the Mt Popa area has over 200 springs and streams. It is therefore likened to an oasis in the desert-like dry central zone of Burma. Plenty of trees, flowering plants and herbs grow due to its fertile soil from the volcanic ash. The name Popa is indeed believed to come from the Pali word 'popa' meaning flower. Prominent among the fauna are monkeys that have become a tourist attraction on Taung Kalat.[1]

Mount Popa from Kyaukpadaung road, Taung Kalat to left of picture
Mount Popa from Kyaukpadaung road, Taung Kalat to left of picture

[edit] History and legend

Mount Popa is considered the abode of Burma's most powerful Nats and as such is the most important nat worship center. It has therefore been called Burma's Mount Olympus. Brother and sister Mahagiri (Great Mountain) nats, from the kingdom of Tagaung at the upper reaches of the Irrawaddy, sought refuge from King Thinligyaung of Bagan (344-387). Their wish was granted and they were enshrined on Mt Popa. Popa Medaw (Royal Mother of Popa), who according to legend was a flower-eating ogress called Me Wunna, lived at Popa. She fell in love with Byatta, whose royal duty was to gather flowers from Popa for King Anawrahta of Bagan (1044-1077). Byatta was executed for disobeying the king who disapproved of the liaison, and their sons were later taken away to the palace. Me Wunna died of a broken heart and, like Byatta, became a nat. Their sons also became heroes in the king's service but were later executed for neglecting their duty during the construction of a pagoda at Taungbyone near Mandalay. They too became powerful nats but they remained in Taungbyone where a major festival is held annually in the month of Wagaung (August). Although all 37 Nats of the official pantheon are represented at the shrine on Mt Popa, in fact only four of them - the Mahagiri nats, Byatta and Me Wunna - have their abode here.[2] [1]

[edit] Popular destination

Me Wunna with her sons Min Gyi and Min Lay at Mt Popa
Me Wunna with her sons Min Gyi and Min Lay at Mt Popa

Many Burmese pilgrims visit Mt Popa every year, especially at festival season on the full moon of Nayon (May/June) and the full moon of Nadaw (November/December). Local people from the foot of Mt Popa, at Kyaukpadaung (10-miles), go mass-hiking to the peak during December and also in April when the Myanmar new year called Thingyan festival is celebrated. Before King Anawrahta's time, thousands of animals were sacrificed to the nats during festivals.

Burmese superstition says that on Mt Popa, one should not wear red or black or bring meat, especially pork, as it could offend the resident nats, although Byatta and his brother Byatwi were the only Muslims who had shipwrecked and landed in Burma.[3][2]

[edit] Development

It is now a designated nature reserve and national park. Nearby lies Kyetmauk Taung Reservoir that provides sufficient water for gardens and orchards producing jackfruit, banana, mango and papaya as well as flowering trees such as saga (Champac) and gant gaw (Mesua ferrea Linn).[1] A pozzolan mill to supply material for the construction of Yeywa Dam on Myitnge River near Mandalay is in operation.[4]

[edit] Gallery

Buddhist monastery on Taung Kalat

View from Mount Popa to Taung Kalat

Mount Popa and the smaller precipice Taung Kalat with its nat shrines atop to the left of picture seen from a distance across a dry riverbed

Macaque mother and child on Taung Kalat

[edit] References

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e "Sacred Mount Popa". MRTV3. Retrieved on 2008-09-14.
  2. ^ a b Spiro, Melford E (1996). Burmese Spiritualism. Transaction Publishers. Retrieved on 2008-09-14. 
  3. ^ Marshall, Andrew (June 27, 2005). "Mount Popa Burma". TIMEasia. Retrieved on 2008-09-14.
  4. ^ U Win Kyaw et al. "Yeywa Hydropwer Project, an Overview". Vietnam National Commission on Large Dams. Retrieved on 2008-09-14.

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Popa"
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