Myanma Traditional Gold Leaf Works

Gold leaf works is a cottage industry that has existed since the time of ancient Myanmar monarchs. Gold leaf is mostly used for offering to pagodas. Myet-par ward in Mandalay Maha Aung Myay Township is the hub of gold leaf works.

When you get into Myet-par word, first thing you will notice is a rhythmic sound like `` tong ton...'' which come from small tents where pounding on packages of 6 inches square by big hummers. Each tent is a room about 60 square feet for gold leaf making. In the working room, a small table in east corner on which some offering to the guardian for successful production, such are; three branches of banana, a coconut, a currency note shaped in conical and a quid of betel inside.
An earthen water-pot and sinking coconut shell inside is placed in front of workers, it is nothing but a timer for pounding. There are 4 or 5 workers on every day in each place and about 100 workers for 20 gold leaf making places.

In making gold leaf, first of all, refined pieces of gold are to be liquefied and turned them into thin and flat gold sheet 0.75 inch wide and 5 feet long out of 12 grams of gold. That gold sheet divided into 200 pieces. Each piece put into two layers of bamboo papers like sandwiches filling. In this stage, paper size is about 4 and half inches square and pounding with 6 lbs weight hummer for 30 minutes that gold expand to the size about a coin of US$ one.

Next, gold foil is cut into 6 pieces and altogether 1,150 gold coloured bamboo papers with gold leaves are then piled up and put into a small leather bag for another 30 minutes pounding again.
A coconut timer counts each time for 3 minutes and few seconds to sink completely into water.

Second stage of pounding is completed when after coconut timer sink 9 times. A pounder can get a break between sinks of coconut cup into water about 30 seconds. Each sinking time 3 minutes and few second take 120 stokes in pounding.

A pounder must know the weather condition because gold expand by heat and size in which he has to take an account room temperature. There are two ways of pounding, pounding to get more heat or to get more size.

If it is over pounding, gold leaf will become gold pounder for melting again to began first stage.

Third or final stage is moving gold foil into a bigger size of bamboo paper 6 inches square and pounding for about 5 hours or 90 sinks of coconut timer, gold leaf making is finished and only left for packing. Straw paper will use in making packages. Each gold leaf cut into 2 inches square and put between to straw paper. Now it is ready to apply or stick gold leaf in a place of one's desire. I cordially invite you come and see our traditional way of gold leaf making in unique way.