In late April, I posted some Burmese images of the Buddhist saint/spirit Upakhut. During my recent visit to Sipsonpanna I was delighted to see this lively representation of Upakhut at the Manting Temple in Jinghong. Talking briefly with one of the monks there it was evident that local beliefs about Upakhut (particularly his protective role at major festivals) are similiar to those found in northern Thailand. I would be very interested to hear of any other sightings of Upakhut in the southeast Asian region (or elsewhere!).
1 response so far ↓
1 jonfernquest // Jun 4, 2007 at 11:36 pm
I have a sighting. A version of the Upagupta story is included in the Burmese historical chronicle Mahayazawingyi written by U Kala. After reading Strong’s work on Upagupta this weekend I learned this. I have translated the U Kala version, so I’ll have to compare it to other stories. Besides Strong’s book is there a comprehensive work on the textual tradition in different Tai cultures? I bet that some of the Tai Kheun manuiscripts in Anatole-Roger Peltier’s collection at Chiang Mai University include this story.
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