Mingun bell

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mingun bell

The Mingun Bell in the village of Mingun north of Mandalay in Myanmar is the second largest intact bell in the world. It is 3.70 meters high, has a diameter of 5 meters at the base and weighs about 90 tons.

The bell is not cracked and in good condition. The bell does not have a clapper, but is rung by striking the outer edge with a piece of wood.

Bells in Buddhist monasteries in Myanmar are clapless and hang just above the ground. Monks and devout visitors hit them with a thick wooden pole at the bottom. The chiming of the bell is the sign of a good deed and takes place after a ceremony of worship or a sacrifice. The same function also meet smaller, kyizi called strike plates.

The Tsar's bell in the Moscow Kremlin is larger, but cannot be made to ring due to damage . The Pingdingshan Bell in the Chinese city of Pingdingshan , when it was completed in 2000, overtook the Mingun Bell as the largest intact bell in the world. It is over 8 meters high, has a diameter of 5.10 meters at the base and weighs 116 tons. The weight of the bell in Burmese dimensions is 55,555 (၅၅၅၅၅) viss or peiktha (1 viss = 1.632 kg), handed down as "Min Hpyu Hman Hman Pyaw" (မင်းဖြူမှန်မှန်ပြော), whereby the consonants represent the number 5 in Burmese astronomy and numerology . The weight of the bell and its memorable words are written in white on the surface of the bell.

history

Mingun Bell 1873.jpg
Mingun Bell 1896.jpg
Mingun bell 1873 (above) and 1896 (below)

King Bodawpaya had the bell cast in 1808 for his Mingun Pagoda, which is under construction . After the work was done, he had the bell-caster killed to prevent him from making such a masterpiece again.

During the earthquake of 1838 the bell house ( tazaung ) collapsed , the bell itself remained undamaged and was later given a new tazaung with elaborate wood carvings.

The bell was erected again in March 1896 by the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company (IFC) using screw jacks and levers. Felice Beato took a photo of the bell before it was re-hung.

literature

  • Wilhelm Klein: Apa Guide Burma. Nelles Verlag, Munich 1982, pp. 201f.
  • Markand, Petrich, Klinkmüller: Myanmar. Stefan Loose Travel Handbooks, Berlin 2006, p. 317f.
  • Johanna Dittmar: Thailand and Burma. DuMont art travel guide, Cologne 1984, p. 324.

Web links

Commons : Mingun Bell  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The largest bronze bell in the world at Pingdingshan City, Henan Province, China. russianbells.com
  2. ^ François Cardarelli: Encyclopaedia of Scientific Units, Weights and Measures: Their SI Equivalences and Origins, 2nd edition, Springer, 2004, ISBN 1-85233-682-X , "3.5.2.4.6.3 Old Burmese Units of Weight"
  3. ↑ The three largest bells in the world . Blagovest Bells. Retrieved March 15, 2007.
  4. ↑ The Mingun Bell . Myanmar's Net Inc .. Retrieved March 15, 2007.
  5. ^ Bird, George W (1897). Wanderings in Burma , pages 318-319. London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co., Ltd.

Coordinates: 22 ° 3 ′ 10.7 ″  N , 96 ° 1 ′ 4 ″  E