Page 74 - The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma)

72 Yangon and around Midtown Yangon
1 a spectacular glass-mosaic xylophone in the shape of the pancharupa, one of Myanmar’s
many mythical beasts, made from a combination of five other animals. There are also
two complete drum ensembles comprising gongs, bamboo clapper, oboe, “timing bell”,
a “drum circle” (a kind of traditional Burmese drum kit, with the performer sitting
inside a ring of drums), and a big drum hung from a pancharupa stand. Other exhibits
include some fabulous marionettes and assorted masks worn by actors during
performances of the Yama Zatdaw, the Burmese version of the Ramayana.
Third and fourth floors
The dull third floor is mainly occupied by a large Art Gallery featuring an endless
succession of watercolours and oil paintings by assorted national painters, with the
emphasis on chintzy landscapes and chocolate-box scenes of Burmese rural life.
Few visitors see the museum all the way through to its bitter end on the deserted
fourth floor. The Buddha Images Gallery houses numerous statues from the second
century BC through to the eighteenth century – all impressive enough, although
none is especially memorable.
Also on this floor, the National Races Gallery showcases the crafts and cultures of
the nation’s ethnic minorities, although most of the stuff here looks like unlabelled
bric-a-brac – and exhibits like the “big bamboo spoon” are unlikely to set the
pulse racing.

Dargah of Bahadur Shah Zafar
Ziwaka St • No fixed opening hours but usually open daily 8am–8pm • Donation
One of Yangon’s most interesting curiosities is the dargah (shrine) of the last Mughal
emperor of India, Bahadur Shah Zafar, or Bahadur Shah II (1775–1862). The poetry-
loving, largely powerless emperor became the reluctant figurehead of the Indian Mutiny
of 1857, during which many of his family were killed, including two of his own sons
(the full and fascinating story of the emperor’s role in the uprising is brilliantly told in
William Dalrymple’s The Last Mughal). Having surrendered to the British, Bahadur was
exiled to Rangoon, where he lived out the rest of his days before being buried in an
unmarked grave which was only rediscovered in 1991. The tomb of the last Mughal
emperor now lies in a crypt below ground, with three further tombs (including that of
his wife Zinat, in the middle) above – each a simple rectangular block draped in copious
green silks and scattered with rose petals. The emperor is still regarded as a Sufi saint by
many Burmese Muslims, who come here to seek blessings at his shrine.

Shwedagon Pagoda
• Shwedagon Pagoda Rd • Daily 4am–10pm • K8000 • Wshwedagonpagoda.com • Allow 2–3hr for a visit,
best towards sunset (although this is when the pagoda is also at its busiest) • Guides can normally be found for hire at the top of the
southern stairs
Myanmar’s greatest temple, and one of the world’s most majestic Buddha monuments,
the Shwedagon Pagoda towers above Yangon like some kind of supersized spiritual
beacon – a magically shimmering outline by day, a spectacular blaze of gold after dusk,
when the lights come on. The pagoda is the most revered in Myanmar, said to enshrine
eight strands of hair of the historical Buddha, Gautama, along with further relics of his
three predecessors (see box, p.74): the staff of Kakusandha, the water bottle of
Konagamana, and a fragment of Kassapa’s robe. The pagoda remains not only the
holiest shrine in Myanmar but also a potent symbol of national identity and a major
rallying point for the pro-democracy movement since colonial times. It remains
magical at any time of the day or night, but is particularly beautiful around sunset,
when locals come to pray and the great gilded stupa seems almost to catch fire in the
last of the day’s light.

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