18G7.] Tlie Pegu Pagoda. 109 



Tlie Pegu Pagoda. — By Capt. H. A. Browne, Deputy Commissioner 



of Rangoon. 

 [Received Nov. 28th, 1866. Bead 5th Dec. 1866.] 



Every ancient Pagoda in Burmah has its Thamaing or " sacred 

 chronicle," giving an account of the relics or quasi-relics which it was 

 built to enshrine, the names of the kings, rulers or other distinguished 

 personages by whom it was erected or has since been repaired or 

 embellished, in short its history from its foundation down to a recent 

 time.. The commencement of those chronicles is of a more or less 

 mythical character; the founding of each particular pagoda being 

 connected, if possible, by its historian with some event in the life of 

 G-audama, who is fabled to have visited these regions after he became 

 a Buddha. Some gleams of real history may be detected even in the 

 mythical portions of the narratives, but later on the chronicles are 

 truthful contributions to the history of the period. To disunite some 

 of these from the obscurity of the Hpoongyce's book-chests, and give 

 a compendious description of their contents, will not be an uninterest- 

 ing task, and the results may be useful to the author who will some 

 day write " The History of Burmah," as well as interesting to the 

 general reader. 



One of the most ancient and famous among the Pagodas of Burmah 



is the graceful structure known as the Shwe Hmawdaw Q QQQjQOOD 



at the town called, by Europeans, Pegu, and by Burmans, Pago OOOS 



or Paigoo doos' , but formerly known as Hanthawadie OOQDOOcB 



which, since the decline of Thatoon COCQ twelve centuries ago, 

 has been the capital of the Talaing nationality. 



Hanthawadie is derived from the " Hantha" (Groose or Brahminee 

 Duck), the national bird of the Talaings. Concerning the manner in 

 which this bird came to be selected by the Talaings as their emblem, 



* The name " Pago" appears to be of Burmese not Talaing derivation. It is 



said to be a corruption of" Paikho" QCS or Beau-thief, from some old legend 



connected with the place. 



The name of the pagoda " Hmawdaw" is a corruption of the Talaing 

 Hpot-daw which is interpreted in Burmese as " Bhoorabyan," a '* winged" or 

 flying Bhoora. 



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