The Golden Rock or Kyaiktiyo Pagoda called by Burmese, in Mon State near Thai- Burmese border, is one of the great pilgrimage sites in Myanmar. As one of the five holiest Buddhist sites, the Golden Rock offers a striking view and a golden good fortune like its appearance. Everyone always get surprised when seeing that how the huge boulder delicately remains its balance so well defying the earth’s gravity on the edge of the cliff. This huge boulder has a long history (2500 years ago) and many Thai readers may know the spirit and belief of Burmese people on this golden rock from the classic Lanna literature named “Chao Chan Phom Hom- Nirat Phra That Inn Kwaen (The legend of strong belief in the Golden Rock that was as if hung at the edge of the cliff by an Indra or the king of deity for people to worship)” by Mala Kamchan written in 1991, the Lanna author.
This classic Lanna literature, inspired by the Golden Rock in Myanmar narrated the life of a beautiful Lanna Princess with graceful and admirable looking. She had on her way to make a pilgrimage to the Kyaiktiyo, the Phra That (pagoda) of her birth year, with the strong intention to pay homage with her hair. The legend of Myanmar had been told that one who could thread his/ her hair through the Phra That, would be blessed to get through all obstacles and would be successful and fulfilled in everything. And for the Lanna Princess form Chiang Mai, she came here with her desperate hope to be true. On the journey to the Kyaiktiyo, she had been accompanied by her servants and a rich man (Por Lieng in Thai, Northern dialect), who her parents agreed that this was the man most suitable for the princess to marry to, and she had to. Alars, the princess already had a man in her mind, with whom the rich man had nothing to compare, and of course she loved him at all heart.
With the faith of the Kyaiktiyo or the Golden Rock of the princess, the journey to the Kyaiktiyo this time therefore became the journey of bet and hope that would get her a decision: whether she would be fulfilled in her love with the ordinary man who was in a lower status; or would have to marry to the rich man with a higher status than her lover. At the Phrta That, she prayed that she would be fulfilled in love if her hair could thread through the Phra That; and if she had to break her heart and marry to the man she didn’t love by the word of her parents, her hair would not be able to thread through the Phra That.
This classic literature was therefore the story of a woman’s quest for truth of life and love. Finally, the princess of Lanna had learned to know about her heart as well as the sincerity and courage of Por Lieng or the rich man who loved her very much. He made a commitment to her and gave her a virtuous word that if her hair could thread through the Phra That, he would be willing to let her marry to the man she loved.
Finally the author ended the story tragically. The Lanna princess wasn’t fulfilled in love and her hair could not thread through the Phra That too. Therefore she had to keep her promise to the rich man. It was as if the author would like to pick the motifs of the truth of life, the certainty was an uncertainty; a reality that went contrarily to a dream; and a difference of royal and ordinary men (during that time).
The Golden Rock at Mount Kyaiktiyo, covered by gold leaf, is said to hold a hair of the Buddha. To travel up to the Golden Rock, pilgrimage visitors and travelers need a hike of 16 km. or 10 miles or a trip by jeep, followed a 3 km walk. For the final 3 km, there are also men who can carry you up there on a palanquin. Women are not allowed to touch the boulder or to be within proximity of the pagoda.
Once in a lifetime it would be an unforgettable to visit and worship this golden pagoda filled with legendary backgrounds, 2500 years of history and that already became the inspiration for a Lanna author to write a life and love story of people in the different status during the Lanna period. View The Golden Rock Tour offered by Exotissimo Travel here and prepare your bag.
