DRUM - Manoukthiha

Manoukthiha

"There was once an uncharacteristically huge lion - the undisputed king of the wilds. He lived in a forest behind a Royal City in the North of Myanmar, known until today as Mandalay. His name was Manoukthiha.

As any good lion would, he organised a picnic with the ladies of Mandalay - but truly in his heart, he was looking for one to call his love...

The more adventurous young female of the group, happened also to be the prettiest! Wandering alone in her obsession to collect all the beautiful woodland flowers, Hla Hla lost her friends and cried out for help. As loneliness was beginning to hit, Manoukthiha came bounding in to find out what was going on.

Manoukthiha had been practicing the Zawgyi's magic since he was young, and as he look over at the beatiful Hla Hla, he could not help but imagine her as his bride. So he used his magic to turn himself into a handsome prince and swooped her up and back to his forest home.

Many years later, Manoukthiha and Hla Hla turned their love at first sight into a fledgeling romance and got married. Shortly followed by a son.

The story of Myanmar's famous protector of the pagoda's ends with a much more somber tone, as one day whilst the son was out in the forest, he did not recognise his fathers lion form and struck him with an arrow. As the arrow hit, Manoukthiha turned back into human form and his son realised what he had done...

His tears led him back to the city and to join the kings army. Once he had amassed sufficient fortune, he built a gold statue in his fathers honour, which stands today as protector of a big pagoda in Mandalay."

The strength of a lion lies within Sawbwa's Drum, a taste of Myanmar's finest dark coffee that has a kick like the thud of the lions paw.

The Sawbwa Tastes & Tales collection was inspired by Saw Wai Lwin Moe's book of classic Myanmar Myths 

www.sawbwacoffee.com/products/drum