Bagaya Monastery in Inwa, Myanmar

It’s drafty and dark, and it feels like you’re walking around the deck of a ship. And there’s a good reason for that. The pagoda is made entirely of teak, a timber long prized in shipbuilding and boatbuilding. It’s held up by 267 massive posts of teak, the largest of which is 60 feet high and 9 feet in circumference. The floors and walls are also made of teak. Making this today would be prohibitively expensive, even if you could still find solid teak trunks like this anymore.

The history of the Bagaya Monastery (Bagaya Kyaung) is a bit hazy, and sources often contradict each other. The standing building dates to 1834, during the reign of King Bagyidaw, and sits on the site of an earlier monastery established in the late 18th century under King Hsinbyushin (r. 1763 – 1776). That earlier structure, along with much of the surrounding capital, was destroyed in the great fire of 15 April 1821.¹ In 1991, the Mandalay Archaeology Department refurbished the building, added some stone steps, and made it suitable for continued use.²

This was once a bustling royal capital. Or, rather, several capitals, with the region serving several Burmese kingdoms. Now, it’s mostly rural, with what were once opulent stone pagodas and palaces destroyed by earthquakes and now overgrown.

The palace grounds are now mostly gone, but besides being surrounded by rice paddies now, Bagaya Monastery is well-worn but still in working condition, albeit sparsely inhabited. Being constructed of wood was a curse when it came to fire, but it has proved a virtue for surviving earthquakes like the one of 23 March 1839 — sometimes called the Ava or Inwa earthquake, estimated at magnitude 7.9 – 8.3 — that destroyed nearly all of the royal palace nearby, leaving only part of the famous leaning watchtower.³

Intricately carved wood inside and out are its main decorations, and if you have any appreciation for wood carving, you’ll find this extremely impressive. Wood carving is deeply embedded into the Theravada school of Buddhism, and its practitioners were highly respected.⁴ Throughout the monastery you’ll see recurring motifs, including peacocks — the emblem of the Konbaung dynasty — alongside lotus flowers and other floral patterns.⁵

The main shrine, on the other hand, is unusually modest. Here, it’s the walls and columns and doors that speak to the care and skill of the builders.

The layout of the central core is quite similar to the Shwenandaw Golden Palace Monastery in Mandalay City, but it’s much less ornate and isn’t entirely covered with gold leaf.

The main wooden structure remains in place. In 1991, it was refurbished by the Mandalay Archaeology Department, adding some stone steps and structure to help bolster it. They presumably also added the red corrugated roofing.⁶

Photos of Bagaya Monastery / Bagaya Kyaung

This is one of my favorite pagodas I visited in Myanmar. I love the detailed teak woodwork. But it’s a little off the beaten track. Here are some of my photos from there.

Notes & References:

1. Bagaya Monastery, Wikipedia. [↩︎]
2. Ei Thander Kyaw and Tomo Inoue, “Conservation Priorities Based on Current Conditions of Wooden Monasteries in Myanmar,” Geijutsu Kogaku: The Journal of Design, Vol. 34, 2021: 37. [↩︎]
3. 1839 Ava earthquake, Wikipedia. [↩︎]
4. Irene Moilanen, Last of the Great Masters?: Woodcarving Traditions in Myanmar – Past and Present (Jyväskylä: University of Jyväskylä, 1995). [↩︎]
5. Bagaya Kyaung, Lonely Planet. [↩︎]
6. Ei Thander Kyaw and Tomo Inoue, “Conservation Priorities Based on Current Conditions of Wooden Monasteries in Myanmar,” Geijutsu Kogaku: The Journal of Design, Vol. 34, 2021: 37. [↩︎]