A NOTE BY BISHOP BIGANDET ON BURMESE BELLS.[42]
Bells are common in Burma, and the people of that country are well acquainted with the art of casting them. Most of the bells to be seen in the pagodas are of small dimensions, and in shape differ from those used in Europe. The inferior part is less widened, and there is a large hole in the centre of the upper part. No tongue is hung in the interior, but the sound is produced by striking with a horn of deer or elk the outward surface of the lower part. No belfry is erected for the bells; they are fixed on a piece of timber laid horizontally, and supported by two posts, at such a height that the inferior part of the bell is raised about five feet from the ground.
The largest specimens of Burmese art are the two bells to be seen, the one at the large pagoda of Rangoon, called Shuay Dagon, and the other at Mengoon.
The first was cast in 1842, as recorded by the inscription on it. The weight of metal is 94,682 lbs.; its height, 9½ cubits; its diameter, 5 cubits; its thickness, 15 inches. But during the process of melting, the well-disposed threw in copper, silver, and gold in great quantities. It is supposed that in this way the weight was increased one-fourth.
The bell of Mengoon was cast at the beginning of this century. In shape and form it resembles our bells of Europe. It is probable that some foreigner residing at Ava suggested the idea of giving such an unusual form to that monumental bell. Its height is 18 feet, besides 7 feet for hanging apparatus. It is 17 feet in diameter, and from 10 to 12 inches in thickness. Its weight is supposed to exceed 200,000 lbs.[43] In the interior, large yellowish and greyish streaks indicate that considerable quantities of gold and silver have been thrown in during the process of melting. No idea can at present be had of the power of the sound, as its enormous weight has caused the pillars that support it partially to give way. To prevent a final disaster, the orifice of the bell has been made to rest on large teak posts sunk in the ground and rising about 3 feet above it.