19 May
THE art of carving statues from marble stones is one of the 10 Myanmar traditional art pro-fessions.
This traditional art, carried out at 75 workshops at Kyauk Sit Tan Street in the Chanmyathazi in Mandalay, which sells curving Buddha statues, has become a tourist attraction. The workshops are also found in Pyigyitagun Township.
Many unfinished statues from Sakyin (Marble Mountain) near Madaya Town-ship, Mandalay Region, are displayed at the workshops, where artisans curve the shape out of solid blocks of white mar-ble, where they receive instructions on faces and postures from their customers. Some of the statues are only a few feet tall. Others will tower 8 to 10 feet in solid marble.
With the use of angle grinders and applying remarkable artisan skills, the workers curved the statues from the marble. In the next step, women and children polish the statues to a smooth finish. The tools they use today are machines. Their forefathers used tradi-tional handmade grinders made by black-smiths. Yet, the art is the same.
With the use of angle grinders and applying remarkable artisan skills, the workers curved the statues from the marble. In the next step, women and children polish the statues to a smooth finish. The tools they use today are machines. Their forefathers used tradi-tional handmade grinders made by black-smiths. Yet, the art is the same.
Tourists visit workshops and pur-chase small statues as souvenirs.
The art of curving statues from mar-ble stones is a mark of pride for Mandalay.
Another area where visitors can see the art of marble curving is the Sakyin (Marble) Village near the Sakyin (Marble) Mountain in Madaya Township.
On the way to Mogok, there is a junction leading to Sakyin Village, following a five mile drive.
The marble mountains are called the birthplace of statues. A factory producing marble slabs is also located at the foot of the mountain. Visitors can hear sounds of explosions from mining the mountains to extract mar-ble, as well as view artisans undertaking the dusty and backbreaking work of carv-ing statues of Buddha made out of marble.
Villagers at the foot of the mountains have carved a life out of marble stone for centuries. There are seven marble hills surrounding the village. Most of the families there live at the subsistence level by making Buddha statues. Their main customers are marble merchants from Mandalay, where they buy unfinished statues.
There is considerable demand for these statues, as Buddhism is the dominant religion in Myanmar.
Visitors to Mandalay should not overlook to visit the Marble Carving Street in the Chanmyathazi township of Mandalay near the Maha Muni Pagoda.
By Than Zaw Min,Wai Phyo Aung, Linn Thu
(Translated by KZH)
