The Gold and Silver Smith of Inlay

The Inlay region which lies in the southeast of Shan State receives its fame from the presence of a large natural island lake which lies in its midst like a sparkling emerald. The Intha and Inthu natives of the region are peace loving simple folks, but they are also persevering, patient and industrious. This may be why, we find in the Inlay region many diversified cottage industries famed for the high quality of their products. The weaving, pottery, blacksmith, gold and silversmith enterprises, which still thrive today, have been handed down through many generations. I would like to tell you something about the goldsmith and silversmith cottage industries of the Inlay region.

The goldsmiths of today still follow the true methods of yesteryear. The goldsmith begins his work by first melting the gold. The gold is then placed and hammered slowly on an anvil. The process of heating and hammering to flatten it goes on till the required gold foil is obtained. He then proceeds to make marks on the sheet of gold before moulding it into the desired article. Then only does he give it the final finishing touches. It sounds easy but it isn't. Each stage requires time and patience. The goldsmiths of Inlay produce jewellery such as rings, bangles, bracelets and earrings and so forth. The finished gold products are of high purity and are solid and chunky, preserving the traditional patterns of their forbears. The Inlay silverware is equally famous. Most of the stages of production in gold smithy and silver smithy are similar.

In producing silverware, bits and pieces of silver are first melted and after cooling, the molten silver is hammered into small blocks till it is ready for making the article desired. Suppose, one wishes to make a silver chain. Then the small blocks of silver have to be stretched and pulled to form filigrees. This takes a lot of time and patience, for thin silver threads cannot be obtained with one pull.

To produce a silver bowl, needs even more painstaking work. The silver has to be slowly hammered to form a foil form outdoing into a round bowl.

Once the bowl takes shape, comes the more delicate work of tracing the traditional "Kanoke", that is the floral pattern of leaves and stems of the lotus vine, and figures of humans and figures from the Buddha stories. Then these designs are beaten and tapped again and again most delicately to form the relief figures that make a silver bowl a true work of art. Only when the artisan is satisfied, will he proceed to polishing and giving the finishing touches to produce a silver bowl of the Inlay region. The gold jewellery and silverware produced in the region are highly valued by the Inthas and Inthus. On occasions such as religious festivals or noviciation ceremonies and weddings, one can see the beautiful and artistic silver bowls filled with flowers for offering to the Buddha image, or with neatly folded robes for members of the Sangha (Buddhist monk) placed in them. These bowls are held by the prettiest damsels dressed in their finest, on their way to the pagoda or monastery to the joyous music of rhythmic gong and drumbeat.

And of course, one will be able to see the happy smiling faces of the people, especially the ladies bedecked in the best gold ornaments produced by the gold smiths of the home region.