It has been a long and tiresome week. This week had AWA, but sadly I do not think we will get a chance to go. It would have been fun. Anyways, I chose to look up Burmese myths after befriending a Burmese girl in my Biology class. This week’s honest myth is short, yet really neat.

One day in the country of Burma, the seven princesses of the country, daughters to the King, went to bathe in a lake at the foot of a large mountain. It soon became dark, and at night fall they realized it was too late to journey home safely. So as to avoid the dangerous trek, they chose to spend the night at a close by cave. The princesses were unaware that a giant spider resided with in the cave. As they slept, the spider created an enormous web at the entrance of the cave entrapping the young princesses. The next morning, the princesses realized that they were going to be eaten by the spider and began to scream for help. A young and courageous prince, named Prince Kummabhaya, from Yawnghwe heard their desperate cries and went to investigate. Using his bows and arrows, the vigilant prince battled the giant spider and killed him. He saved the princesses and was rewarded by marrying the prettiest of the princesses.

In some versions, there is only one princess instead of seven. The name Pindaya is said to come from the word Pinguya which means to have taken the spider. It was believed that the prince yelled that after killing the giant spider in battle. There is an actual cave in that area that has been deck out with statues of the prince and spider battling (see above). With in the cave, the area is full of golden Buddha statues in varying sizes. There is a second legend that says that a path in the back of the cave leads to the ancient city of Bagan. Bagan is a city of the kingdom Pagan which is thought to be the first kingdom to unify Myanmar. All the religious monasteries, and Buddhist temples were constructed in the plains of Bagan.

Anyways, I know this is not the most exciting Honest Myth, but I hope it was enjoyable. I feel a little to down to try and make this super exciting or to look up another myth to do. I may do another one later once things start getting better.

Check out more of the story here: www.atlasobscura.com/places/pindaya-cave

-Blog Barista