Zawgyi (Alchemist)
Yokthe Thay Mandalay, Myanmar, l998.

The alchemist possesses the philosopher's stone, literally capable of turning metals into gold and metaphorically a symbol of the transformative power of enlightenment.  With a long red staff he grinds medicine.  He can fly through the air and bore through the earth.  On his departure from earthly life his corpse is transformed into that of a newborn babe. The dance of the alchemist with his gravity defying whirls and leaps is a movement highlight of the Himalaya scene.