INLE LAKE, Shan State — Hundreds of Buddhist pilgrims from across Burma make their way to southern Shan State each year, destined for the famed Inle Lake and its Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda festival.
The annual celebration, which is held to mark the end of Buddhist Lent, is arguably the most famous and significant among a plethora of pagoda festivals held across Burma each year.
During the two-week festival, the Buddha images of the Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda undertake a tour around Inle Lake, transported inside a golden royal barge that is pulled along by teams of Inle Lake’s iconic leg-rowing mariners.
Devotees in the villages that surround the lake have an opportunity to host the sacred images—so completely covered by centuries of gold leafing that their original forms are indiscernible—and make offerings to the Buddha.
The arrival of the royal barge, which resembles a drake-like mythical bird known as a karaweik, is an annual spectacle not to be missed for many of the ethnic Inthas that call the lake home.
Although the royal barge spends each night at one of the villages along the lakeshore, allowing even the most water-wary a chance to pay homage to the images, following the vessel across the lake offers a more rewarding experience for some.
“Seeing the royal barge moving gracefully behind the line of leg-rowing draw boats is a wonderful feeling,” said Ma Myint Kyi, who lives in the village of Lin Kin.
Many boats, filled with pilgrims from near and far and a smattering of foreign tourists, eagerly awaited the royal barge this week near the village of Pwae Sar Gone in a scene typical of the two-week festivities.
From the shore, the sound of traditional drums and gongs in the distance is the prelude. Suddenly, a man shouts out: “There they are! There they are! The royal barge is coming!” as a host of boats, Buddhist flags fluttering, come into view.
As the royal barge makes its way through a crowd of boats, the vessels’ occupants—men and women, young and old—put their palms to their chests, bowing to pray and pay homage to the royal barge.
“I used to bring my kids to show our tradition of leg-rowing and the spirit of this pagoda festival. The magnificent view of the royal barge on the beautiful lake and the strength of the rowers is always encouraging us to maintain our tradition and our lake,” said Hal Hal Win, a mother of two from Nan Pan village.
The Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda festival will wrap up on Oct. 11 this year. The festival also includes boat racing events, with the competition seen as a form of cultural preservation. Participants are strictly confined to “leg-rowing,” a unique traditional means of propulsion on the lake that some fear modern outboard motors threaten to make obsolete.
“We believe the leg-rowing culture will not fade away if we have the boat races like this every year during the festival,” said Toe Aung, chairman of the pagoda’s board of trustees. “That’s why we do this competition, in order to maintain our culture.”
