Amarapura to host Yadana Cave Pagoda, Popa Medawgyi festivals

The Yadana Cave Pagoda Festival and the Popa Medawgyi Festival will be held in Amarapura Township, Mandalay Region, according to its Organizing Committee.
This famous festival occurs annually on the 8th and 9th waning days of Wagoung and attracts spirit worshippers and pilgrims from nearby areas such as Mandalay, Amarapura, TadaU, Sagaing, and Monywa.
“The Yadana Cave Festival will take place from 27 August to 2 September. The palace and throne for the event are already prepared. I expect the food stalls to open soon. The Medaw Nat Festival begins on the 7th waning day of Wagoung. The closing ceremony will feature casting lots and offering great alms to the Sangha on new moon day. On the 10th of the full moon, the monks will receive lottery tickets and alms, and the festival will be concluded,” said a member of the festival’s organizing committee.
The Yadana Cave Pagoda was built in 745 ME by Inwa Mingyi Swasawke. The pagoda festival has been an annual event for over 600 years. Nanmadaw Mei Nu later incorporated the Nat festival as a new category of events to worship celestial beings. — ASH/MKKS