Kyaukse - Mandalay Division

Kyaukse is located near Mandalay city, in the Mandalay Division. It is 30 miles from Mandalay. This place is famous for the Kyaukse Elephant dance. The festival is usually held around October and November. The huge elephant is made from bamboo and paper. Then the figure is decorated with colourful and beautiful decorations on it. Two men are needed to dance in the elephant, one for the front legs and another one for the back legs. The front person has to take the lead and the back person follows the lead. They have to dance in rhythm to keep the elephant in balance. The elephants usually pay homage to the Shwe Thar Lyaung Pagoda in Kyaukse. They make three rounds to the pagoda and only after that they come back to the town and dance. Although these are just elephant figures, they look very much a like in nature and movements to real ones.