Choosing regnal titles A committee was formed to choose
regnal titles for the King and his wife. It was chaired by the
Prince of Mekkhaya and consisted of 14 ministers, including
Khanpat Mingyi and
Maigaing Myoza; five
Punna; and eight
accomplished and distinguished Rājaguru sayadaws (senior
monks):
Gwegyo Sayadaw,
Seebanni Sayadaw, Mekkhaya Sayadaw,
Thitseint Sayadaw, Hladwe Sayadaw,
Bhamo Sayadaw, Wicittayama Sayadaw, and Bagan Sayadaw. The committee met at the three-tiered Zetawun Hall and announced on the following day that, in accordance with the
Pāli and
Vedic Sanskrit grammar and prosody, the regnal titles of the King and the Chief Queen would be
Sīripavara Vijayānanta Yasapaṇḍita Tribhavanā Dityādhipati Mahādhammarājādhirājā (, ) and
Sīripavara Atulatiloka Mahārājindādhipati Ratanādevī () respectively. A
minister for decorations, Minhla Yaza Kyawhtin, was commissioned to inscribe the titles on the golden
palm-leaf manuscripts, which were decorated with
nawarat (nine esteemed gems) wound by nine
ruby stripes, at an auspicious moment in the same month.
Making coronation costumes Managed by the royal
treasurers, 23 dressmakers and embroiders wearing
nawarat rings made the diamond-decorated silver
magaik (
Imperial crown), flame-like
epaulettes for the
duyin, left-and-right
sulya (shawls), three-layer
shebon (aprons) and
bwebyu (robes). The
duyin,
sulya and
shebon, with silver
jingle bells decorating the lining, were embroidered with silver silk in the shape of a star, a
jackfruit tubercle and a
gourd tendril. When the outfits were completed, they were put onto peacock frames, and Buddhist
Parittas were chanted by eight monks.
Constructing mandats A specially designated plot of land due east of the palace was harrowed by bankers' sons wearing yellow clothes, rich men's sons dressed in red, and farmland-lords' sons wearing green clothes with gold, silver and tin ploughs attached to bulls (not oxen as usual). This was followed by splashing milk, sprinkling
cow dung powder and scattering
barley,
sesame,
cotton,
maize,
rice,
peas and
beans thoroughly over the ground. The plot was fenced with a type of latticework called
Daunggyan.
Punna performed
fire rituals and started chanting
mantras from
Rajamattan when carts carrying statues of
Chandi,
Parameshwara and
Vishnu arrived. Then, representative monks of all
nikayas and 12 court Brahmins recited
parittas, such as
Maṅgala Sutta and
Ratana Sutta, and
Kammavaca as
Punna devoted to
nat spirits blew
Khayuthin (
conch shells) and chanted the mantra
Karanasrishanta. After wood, bamboo,
rattan and building materials were washed with
lustral water, eight astrologers and four family members waited while the site was staked by sailors,
paritta-chanting
Punna and landowners; these were dressed in brown, red and green and held gold, silver and tin stakes respectively. The staking was scheduled to occur under the influence of auspicious constellations and signaled by firing seven flintlocks seven times. The
athes (civilians) built three ceremonial
mandats (
pavilions): • A
Sihasana mandat (with
Lion Throne), draped in white and attended by the
paritta-reciting
Punna. • A
Gajasana mandat (with Elephant Throne), decorated in red with sailors in attendance. • A
Morasana mandat (with
Peacock Throne), decked in brown and presented by
athes.
Collecting anointing water A group of eight
supayas with gold pots, eight daughters of
puroheits (court
Punna) with silver pots, eight daughters of ministers with earthen pots, eight daughters of bankers with brass pots and eight daughters of rich men with iron pots went to the
Irrawaddy River together with eight
abhiseka-performing
Punna led by the
Thathanabaing sayadaw. The water had to be taken from midstream; all embarked on separate boats according to their grades. When they arrived at the riverside, participants dressed up as
Ganga (the guardian spirit of the river) said three times, "Why do you all come?" "According to tradition, as in the case of his forbear, the King intends to hold an
abhiseka ceremony. Thus have we come to draw water," the
puroheits replied. Ganga asked, "Will he work for the religion (
Sasana), the Samgha and the people and act according to the law?"; "The King wishes so to act and thus wants the water," they answered. Ganga said, "Very well! Very well! May the King live a hundred years and look after the interests of the religion, the Samgha and the people. May his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren prosper," and allowed them to get water. The holy water obtained by the
supayas and daughters of
puroheits was placed at the
Sihasana mandat, that of the ministers' daughters at the
Gajasana mandat and that of the bankers' and rich men's daughters at the
Morasana mandat. ==Procession to the mandat==