Burmese nuns in the Zay Yar Theingi Gyaung convent, Sagaing, prepare coconuts for a celebratory meal on the occasion of the annual Kathin ceremony. At this Buddhist festival, new saffron robes are presented to monks by a donor who gains merit from the gift. Some miles down the Irrawaddy River from Mandalay, the Sagaing hills have long been the centre of Buddhist faith in Burma. For half a century after the fall of Pagan in 1315, Sagaing was the capital of an independent Shan kingdom until it was moved to nearby Ava. Ever since, it has been the major centre of Buddhist teaching, with more than 500 monasteries and convents scattered over its wooded slopes and valleys, the home of several thousand monks and nuns.