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Machhendranath is a Hindu deity, the protector of the Kathmandu Valley and the master over rain and prosperity.<br/><br/> The Rato Machhendranath Temple is one of the more sacred sites in Bungamati, and is dedicated to a deity of many personalities and names, Padmapani Avalokiteshvara. Buddhists worship him under the name of Rato Machhendranath or Bungadyo (The One from Bungamati), and Hindus regard him as another manifestation of their multi-facetted god Shiva.<br/><br/> However Buddhists and Hindus alike consider Rato Machhendranath to be the god of rain and plenty, after an incident when he is said to have intervened to end a 12 year drought by making his guru Gorakthnath rise up from squatting on a seat of naga, or serpent deities. When Gorakhnath rose from the naga, who are often associated with water, they proceeded to bring rain over the country.
Located in the northeast of the country, Shan State covers one-quarter of Burma’s land mass. It was traditionally separated into principalities and is mostly comprised of ethnic Shan, Burman Pa-O, Intha, Taungyo, Danu, Palaung and Kachin peoples.<br/><br/> The ethnic Tai-Shan people are believed to have migrated from Yunnan in China. The Shan are descendants of the oldest branch of the Tai-Shan, known as ‘Tai Long’ (Great Tai) or ‘Thai Yai’ (Big Thai). The Tai-Shan who migrated to the south and now inhabit modern-day Laos and Thailand are known as ‘Tai Noi’ (Little Tai) or ‘Tai Nyai’.<br/><br/> The Shan have inhabited the Shan Plateau and other parts of modern-day Myanmar as far back as the 10th century CE. The Shan kingdom of Mong Mao (Muang Mao) existed as early as the 10th century CE, but became a Burmese vassal state during the reign of King Anawrahta of Pagan (1044-1077).