Mon State Chief Minister U Min Min Oo has urged all Mon people to be united during the opening ceremony of the new Bop Htaw statue at the entrance roundabout to Mon State’s Mawlamyine Capital, formerly known as Moulmein, on Sunday.
The opening ceremony drew about 3,000 people, including the Mon State Chief Minister, Hluttaw [Parliament] Deputy Speaker, Hluttaw representatives, officials of the New Mon State Party, Mon monks, youths and locals. At the ceremony, Mon traditional dances and singers performed.
In his opening speech at the ceremony, the Chief Minister stated all Mon people should be united under the wing of Bop Htaw, the Mon national symbol. He also urged the crowd to work for the benefit of Mon State and then, subsequently, the Union will benefit,with its cooperation with the Mon State government.
In 2005, the military government erected a Bop Htaw statue, coinciding with the opening of the Thanlwin (Mottama-Mawlamyine) Bridge. However, two years later, the military government removed the statue at night during rainy season and replaced it with an Alms Bowl statue.
With the Mon people’s wishes to reinstate the Bop Htaw statue, a meeting was held on June 24, 2016, wherein a 9-member cooperating committee was found. The committee then met with the Mon State government on July 1, and received approval to return the Bop Htaw statue.
The new Bop Htaw statue is 11 feet in all dimensions. The new figure, unlike its predecessor that stood on two legs, stands on one leg and is noticeably larger.
The committee spent approximately 7,000,000 Kyat fashioning the sculpture and holding the opening ceremony of the new Bop Htaw statue.
The alms bowl was removed on August 2 and the new Bop Htaw statue was replaced on August 9, whilst the opening ceremony took place on August 14.
The Mon language term ‘Bop Htaw’ translates to golden Brahminy Duck or Sheldrake in English, and is called “hinthar” in Burmese. The bird is a sacred symbol for ethnic Mon people and its image is frequently seen in Mon communities, particularly at village entrances and temples.
