The Mahamuni temple southwest of Mandalay houses a seated bronze Buddha brought from Arakan in 1784, which Burmese tradition holds was cast in the Buddha's presence and carries his likeness. Devotees have applied so much gold leaf to the body that its outline has thickened. Monks wash the face of the image before dawn each day, a ritual begun in its present form in 1988. The present temple was built in 1896 and the site is overseen by the Thudhamma order.