Dominating the skyline of the city of Yangon (formerly Rangoon) in Myanmar (Burma) is the Shwedagon Pagoda. Revered by the Burmese, it is the most sacred of all the Buddhist pagodas in Burma, housing relics of the past four Buddhas. In the Buddhist tradition, the present era (kalpa) has five Buddhas, with four having already appeared and the fifth, Maitreya, still to come. Shwedagon pagoda holds relics of each of the previous four Buddhas, those being the staff of Kakusandha, the water filter of Konagamana, a piece of the robe of Kassapa and eight hairs of Gautama, the historical Buddha.

Buddhist legend says that Shwedagon pagoda was constructed about 2500 years ago in 486BC. Archaelogists suggest a date somewhere betwen the 6th and 10th century CE. The legend says that two brothers, Taphussa and Bhallika, from Ramanya (present day Mon state, Myanmar) traveled to India and met Gautama, the historical Buddha. Receiving eight hairs from him, the returned to Burma with the assistance of King Okkalapa and found Singattara Hill (Shwdegaon), where the relics of the previous Buddhas were located.

The site fell into disuse until the 1300s when King Binnya U, of Bago, had the pagoda rebuilt, reaching a height of 18m. The stupa underwent several rebuilds over the next 200 years, finally reaching its present height of 98m sometime in the 16th century. Over the years, the paya has suffered damage from earthquakes, wartime pillaging and vandalism. Most recently, the stupa was a central location in the September 2007 protests by monks against the ruling regime.

The gold seen on the stupa is made of gold plates, covering the brick structure attached by traditional rivets. Burmese people from all over the country, as well as monarchs in its history, have donated gold to the pagoda to maintain it. It was started in the 15th century by the Mon Queen Shin Sawbu who gave her weight in gold and the tradition continues to this day. The base or plinth of the stupa is made of bricks covered with gold plates. Above the base are terraces  that only monks and men can access. Next is the bell-shaped part  of the stupa. Above that is the turban, then the inverted almsbowl, inverted and upright lotus petals, the banana bud and then the crown. The crown or umbrella is tipped with 5,448 diamonds and 2,317 rubies. The very top, the diamond bud  is tipped with a 76 carat (15 g) diamond.

Burmese Buddhist tradition dictates that visitors to the pagoda must remove their shoes before the first step at any of the four entrances. The southern and eastern approaches have traditional shops selling books, good luck charms, Buddha images, candles, gold leaf, incense sticks, prayer flags, streamers, miniature umbrellas and flowers. Once inside, it is customary to move around the stupa in a clockwise direction. There are eight planetary posts, each representing a different day of the week, with Wednesday split into two for a.m. and p.m. These positions have particular importance in the Burmese astrology, which is based on Hindu astrology. Thus, it is vital for a Burmese person to know the day of their birth in order to know where they should perform rituals.

Shwedagon Pagoda was most famously dexribed in literature by Rudyard Kipling in his 1899 work From Sea to Sea and Other Sketches– Letters of Travel vol. 1.  He wrote

“Then, a golden mystery upheaved itself on the horizon, a beautiful winking wonder that blazed in the sun, of a shape that was neither Muslim dome nor Hindu temple-spire. It stood upon a green knoll, and below it were lines of warehouses, sheds, and mills. Under what new god, thought I, are we irrepressible English sitting now?”

As well as the afore mentioned 2007 protests, Shwedagon was also the site of a mass rally in August 1988, where Aung San Suu Kyi addressed half a million people calling for democracy and elections. This led to the forming of the National League for Democracy (NLD) the following month, who went on to easily win the only elections to be held in 1990. The military government refused to hand over power however, a situation that continues today. Aung San Suu Kyi has subsequently spent the better part of the last two decades under house arrest, with the latest period due to expire this month.

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