Chinthe


The chinthe is a highly stylized leogryph commonly depicted in Burmese iconography and Myanmar architecture, especially as a pair of guardians flanking the entrances of Buddhist pagodas and kyaung. The chinthe is featured prominently on most paper denominations of the Burmese kyat. A related creature, the manussiha, is also commonly depicted in Myanmar. In Burmese, chinthe is synonymous with the Burmese word for "lion."
The chinthe is related to other leogryphs in the Asian region, including the sing of Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and the simha of Sri Lanka, where it is featured prominently on the Sri Lankan rupee. It is also related to East Asian leogryphs, such as the guardian lions of China, komainu of Japan, shisa of Okinawa and Snow Lion of Tibet.

Origins

The story of why chinthes guard the entrances of pagodas and temples is given as such from the Mahavamsa:
The princess Suppadevi of Vanga Kingdom had a son named Sinhabahu through her marriage to a lion, but later abandoned the lion who then became enraged and set out on a road of terror throughout the lands. The son then went out to slay this terrorizing lion. The son came back home to his mother stating he slew the lion, and then found out that he killed his own father. The son later constructed a statue of the lion as a guardian of a temple to atone for his sin.

In Burmese culture

The chinthe is symbolically used as an element of Burmese iconography on many revered objects, including the palin, the Burmese royal thrones and Burmese bells. Predating the use of coins for money, brass weights cast in the shape of mythical beasts like the chinthe were commonly used to measure standard quantities of staple items. In the Burmese zodiac, the chinthe sign is representative of Tuesday-born individuals.

Manussiha

The manussiha, a combination of Pali manussa and siha is a half-lion half-man mythical creature that is symbolic of a guardian, usually found guarding the four corners of a pagoda. It has a human head and torso and lion hindquarters. It is comparable to the sphinx and Hindu deity Narasimha.

Relation to Second World War Chindits

During the Second World War, the British Brigadier Orde Wingate was given command of forces charged with long-range penetration operations behind Japanese lines in Burma. At the suggestion of Captain Aung Thin of the Burma Rifles, Wingate decided to call this force "The Chinthes" - a name which became corrupted to "The Chindits" and is as such remembered in the annals of World War II.