TODAY

Kyaikhami is a small town near sea beach in the Mon State. It is the headquarters of township officer with civil hospital, market, schools, law- court, police station, cinema hall and garden and a population of over 80,000 inhabitants. Kyaikhami lies about 60 miles away from Mawlamyine, the capital of the Mon State. It has the old name ‘Amherst’ given by the British Government during the British Colonial Period. Those who wish to go to Kyaikhami have to pass through Mudon and Thanphyuzayat by motor vehicle.

Thanphyuzayat is also a small town lying between Mudon and Kyaikhami along the motor road. The allied soldiers’ cemetery is situated at the outskirts of the town. The allied soldiers were killed in action during the Second World War in the Burma Campaign. Sir Hubert Rance, the then British Governor of Burma and Bogyoke Aung San, the Deputy Chairman, Governor’s Executive Council, attended the opening cere- mony of the Allied Soldiers’  Cemetery and inaugurated the ceremony in February 1947.

The pagoda festival has been held every year in the month of Thadingyut drawing a large crowd of Buddish devotees. It lasts about seven days. The colorful electric lights and beautiful flowers offered to the Buddha Image attract the devotees from far and near to revere the pagoda.

To the southern part of the town there is a pagoda on a small piece of land surrounded by the sea from all the directions. The pagoda was named ‘Kyaikhami (Yeilé) Pagoda by the town elders and the pagoda trustees with reference  to the town. The Buddha Image, gilded with gold, is housed inside the shine in the image chamber. In front of the Buddha Image there are two terraces of all the Buddhist devotees who worship  the Buddha Image, women devotees are allowed to be seated on the lower terrace only. The Buddha Image is so miraculously powerful that if women devotees happen  to sit on the upper terrace to pay homage to the Buddha Image, the whole sky will become overcast and the signs of impending danger of thunder storm appear suddenly. Even at high tide, the pagoda on a small piece of land never become  submerged any longer. However, at high tide the waves, roll up to the floor of covered passage (ေစာင္းတန္း ; ‘Saungtan’ in Myanmar) which serves as a bridge between the Steps  of the  image chamber and the entrance of the pagoda precincts.

The pagoda festival has been held every year in the month of Thadingyut drawing a large crowd of Buddish devotees. It lasts about seven days. The colorful electric lights and beautiful flowers offered to the Buddha Image attract the devotees from far and near to revere the pagoda. Communal offering of provisions and various articles to monks is celebrated on the full-moon day of Thadingyut. It is called “ဆြမ္းႀကီးေလာင္းပြဲေတာ္”} – (hswangyilaung pwedaw in Myanmar)

In 1946 I had paid a visit to Kyaikhami for the first time to pay obeisance to the pagoda in company with my neighbours and slept one night at one of the zayats (rest houses) near the pagoda. When we reached there the pagoda festival had already come to an end.

When I went to Kyaikhami in 2000 for the second time, there were no more zayat where I had slept one night. Instead, many new religious buildings have sprung up. The pagoda trustees transformed the old covered passage into a two-storied — without roof in order to let the pilgrims walk on the up-stairs.

If we continue our southward journey we will reach another sea beach known on the ‘Setse’ (စက္စဲ) seaside resort after half an hour’s drive. However, this seaside resort is least known to local and foreign visitors because there is no hotel on the sea beach.

Maung Khine  Zaw