Wat Mahawan is a Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It is located on the eastern periphery of the old city of Chiang Mai in Thaphae Road.
History Wat Mahawan was founded during the Burmese occupation of Chiang Mai during the 17th century by Burmese engaged in the teak trade in northern Thailand, possibly on the site of a former temple. The current structures of the temple date from the 19th century or later.
Highlights Wat Mahawan is noted for its mixture of Burmese and Lanna architectural styles. The assembly hall by the west wall dating from the 19th century shows strong Burmese influence, as does its principal Buddha image known as Phra Chao To. The square shaped, whitewashed pagoda, the wooden scripture repository, which serves as the abbot's living quarters, and the archways and guardian lions in the compound, are all typically Burmese. A dancing peacock is carved on the gable. Supamon Peerapornpisal records the same motif, in the same shape and position, on the gable of Wat Chiang Yuen, and takes the two to have been copied from one model. She notes that the dancing peacock, or ka-daung, served as the royal emblem of the last kings of the Konbaung dynasty, which ended in 1885.
Supamon places the temple among eleven sites in Chiang Mai and Lampang carrying Western architectural features, most often the semicircular arch over doors, windows and archways, executed in stucco rather than brickwork. She traces the route of that influence through Burma and its timber merchants rather than through any colonial rule over Siam.
The Lanna style can be seen in the large assembly hall and the adjacent ordination hall on the eastern side of the temple. The assembly hall was constructed around 1865 and renovated in 1957. Inside are murals depicting the Vessantara Jātaka and scenes from the Buddha's enlightenment. One of the bronze Buddha images made in Lanna dates from the late 15th to early 16th century.
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