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Hti (Burmese:ထီး;MLCTS:hti:,IPA:[tʰí];Mon:ဍိုၚ်[daŋ];Shan:ထီး[tʰi˦]), aBurmese language word meaningumbrella, is the name of the finial ornament that tops almost allBurmese pagodas.^[1] Thechatra umbrella or parasol is an auspicious symbol in Buddhism and Hinduism.

In pre-colonial Burma, thehti was an indicator of social status and used exclusively by those who were granted express permission to do so. The royal white umbrella orhti phyu taw (ထီးဖြူတော်) was one of the five articles of coronation regalia (မင်းမြောက်တန်ဆာ,Min Mhyauk Tanza).^[2]

Use and possession of a royal white umbrella was limited exclusively to the Burmese king and his chief queen, while the highest officials (wun,ဝန်) and royal princes (including the Crown Prince orUparaja) possessed golden umbrellas and lower-level officials possessed red umbrellas, if any.^[3][4][5]

The royal white umbrella was a sign of sovereignty.^[5] Indeed, use of a white umbrella by any persons other than the king and his chief queen was regarded as a declaration of rebellion, punishable with immediate execution.^[6] At the death of the king, the royal white umbrellas in his possession were broken.^[5] The white umbrella was also permitted for religious usage.^[3] For instance, TheMahamuni Buddha was formerly shaded by a white umbrella.^[7]

The umbrellas were embellished inside and out with pictures of sylphs and fairies in gold, thin gold plates shaped like banyan leaves fastened to the top, and handles of gold adorned with pearls, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, corals and with spangles.^[8] The umbrella used by the king when riding an elephant or travelling by carriage was called ayin hti.^[8]

The number of umbrellas in one's possession was also an indication of social status, as they were showcased during public processions and put up in prominent places at home. The king was allotted nine white umbrellas, the crown prince eight golden ones, distinguished statesmen and military generals several golden ones, and the other royal personages had numbers corresponding to achievements or the king's regard to them.^[4] The royalwhite elephants (hsinphyudaw,ဆင်ဖြူတော်) were also granted six umbrellas, 2 white and 4 golden.^[6]

TheShwepon Nidan, a treatise on palace matters, describes 11 types of royal umbrellas and corresponding spirit maidens (nat thami,နတ်သ္မီး) who guarded them:^[8]

TheIrrawaddy delta town ofPathein (formerly Bassein) inLower Myanmar is renowned for its colorful cotton umbrellas, which are dubbed "Pathein umbrellas" or "Pathein parasols" (ပုသိမ်ထီး), which are traditionally made in home workshops.^[9]

Thehti can be said as the main distinctive feature of Burmese pagodas, as they are more prominent than their Sri Lankan counterparts, while the Laotian and Thai pagodas do not have any. The tip of thehti, which is studded with precious stones, is called theseinhpudaw (စိန်ဖူးတော်; lit. "esteemed diamond bud").Hti have been found on pagodas constructed by all four of the pagoda building ethnic groups of Myanmar: theMon, theBamar (Burmans), theRakhine (Arakanese) and theShan.

Thehti is considered the most important part of the pagoda. A special ceremony being held for the placing of thehti on the pagoda is calledhti tin pwe (ထီးတင်ပွဲ).

Thehti is placed on the top of a pagoda and hung with a multitude of bells.^[10] Thehti of prominent pagodas are often made entirely of gold or silver.^[10] The bells are used to attract the attention of goodspirits inTāvatiṃsa and other abodes of thedevas ofMount Meru.^[10]

Thehtis of the temples of Bagan and Mrauk U, the two archeological treasure troves of Myanmar, are all made of stone, while thehtis of the pagodas there and elsewhere around Myanmar are made of metal (usually iron or steel), coated with gold. Thehti is then decorated with golden or gold-plated brass and bronze bells (ခေါင်းလောင်း), and at jewelry donated by devotees.

Thehti of theShwedagon Pagoda in Yangon is about one and a half stories tall and contains about half a ton of gold.^[11] Thehti belongs to themagaik form,^[12] and is set with over 5,500 diamonds, 2,300 rubies, sapphires and other gems, and 4,000 golden bells.^[11] The olderhti, donated by the penultimate King of Burma,Mindon Min, can be seen at a temple inside the middle platform (အလယ်ပစ္စယ orရင်ပြင်တော်) of the pagoda's compound. Saidhti at Shwedagon is a gilt iron-work umbrella, on each of whose many rings hangs multitudes of gold and silver jewelled bells.^[13] It was presented by KingMindon Min and placed at a cost of not less than 50,000 British pounds.^[13] It was constructed by voluntary labor, using donated money and jewels.^[13] The vane and uppermost band are richly studded with jewels from all parts of Burma.^[13]

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  The hti ofBotataung Pagoda.
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  The hti ofKyaikhtiyo Pagoda.
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  The old hti of the Myat Saw Brothers Pagoda in Taungoo.
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  The current hti of Shwezigon Pagoda
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  The old hti ofShwezigon Pagoda
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  The hti ofUppatasanti Pagoda.
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  Htis ofShwe Indein Pagodas
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  Shan-style htis
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  Hti ofShwedagon Pagoda

• Chhatra
• Royal Nine-Tiered Umbrella