Chinthe (or Chindit) - London, UK
Posted by: 
Metro2
N 51° 30.198 W 000° 07.443
30U E 699594 N 5709718
The Chinthe (Anglosized as Chindit) is a lion-like creature which guards Burmese temples.
Waymark Code: WMDVEK
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 02/26/2012
Views: 10
This chinthe tops a monument to the Orde Charles Wingate who commanded a multi-national special force in India 1943-1944 which took the name of the "Chindits". Read more about this special force at (
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Wikipedia (
visit link) informs us that the chinthe "...is a leogryph (lion-like creature) that is often seen at the entrances of pagodas and temples in Burma and other Southeast Asian countries. The chinthe is featured prominently on the kyat, the currency of Burma. The chinthe is almost always depicted in pairs, and serve to protect the pagoda. They typically appear as animals, but are sometimes found with human faces. The story of why chinthes guard the entrances of pagodas and temples are given as such: A princess had a son 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.
The chinthe is revered and loved by the Burmese people and is used symbolically on the royal thrones of Burma. 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."
To see this site waymark in the World War II Memorials / Monuments
category go to (
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