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All Glittering are Gold |
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to surprise Myanmar regarded as the Golden Land. Gold are mine in
Myanmar at various places and use very widely as for social status,
saving and of donation which again considered as a kind of saving for
future life since Buddhists believe circle in birth. The gold leaf is
the major instrument, which make the saying goes The Golden Land. It is
a very very thin foil of gold which readily available at the most
Pagodas and monasteries in the country for individual donor. People rich
as well as poor buy those gold foils and stick to the surface of
Pagodas, Buddha Image or monastery to guild the country with glittering
gold.This unique of gold leafing process is locate in Mandalay. The instrument require are simple and nature object such as a large stone slab, good size of hammers, Deer's leather rappers, specially made bamboo paper and a water clock simply made of the half shell of a coconut etc. Firstly you need small pieces of gold roughly half an inch in square fitted 100 of them by partition with bamboo paper, wrap tightly with deer skin belt and is ready to be pounded. The coconut shell here serve as water timer as make a tiny hole in the bottom and place on the water in a regular size bowl. It is timing as the shell is filled with water every 120 stroke of the harmer. After one and a half hour of study pounding the gold than become one square inch. Thus the lady worker will separate the gold from it partition, cut in to half inch square, rapped with new paper and pounded as before to transform thin gold foil of one inch square. Now the process will become very sensitive and need expert handling. Thus the already thin foil of gold taken in to sealed room, women again carefully shift them in to a larger plates of paper, rapped as usual and pound to make a very fine and thin three inches square foils. This process takes about 2 to three hours and at this stage the gold foils are so thing and become sticky. As final stage women team than carefully take the gold foil out of the paper and place in to commercial wrapping paper in various size and seal to make ready made gold leaf product. Thus in every Pagoda and monastery you visit you will notice people offer gold and they are readily available as little in price as 1 US$. |
