23/01/2020
If you’ve ever walked around the suburbs in the city or a village you may have noticed small wooden “houses” perched in the branches of large trees. Some contain Buddha images, but others also are home to small figures – ordinary-looking people carrying swords, riding horses or wearing ornate hats. In the Burmese language these are called “nats”, which are a kind of spirit that people believe can bestow them good fortune.
Many famous nat mediums (“nat gadaw”) are cross-dressing males, who perform dances as a means of communicating with the spirits. There are a total of 37 nats in Myanmar, and some are specific to particular localities or regions.
Celebrations occur throughout the country, in places like near Mandalay, and can last for several days. Nats are seen to embody the spirit of people or personalities who died suddenly, usually the result of a violent or unexpected event. In an anthropological sense, they can be seen to embody mythical warnings to lay people about how to live virtuously – i.e. not to waste money, or to take better care of your health.
mythologies are passed on to each generation through oral traditions, so interpretations can differ from place to place. Here is the list of the most interesting nats:
Ko Gyi Kyaw
Kyo Gyi means “Big Brother”, and the spirit is said to have a gambling and drinking problem – his statues include images of a cockerel (symbolising his love of cock-fighting) and glasses of alcohol. Believers are afraid of him and believe he can make them healthy or more successful when making a wager. Worshipers, who are mostly middle-aged women, also like to offer him fried chicken and whiskey during the Nat Pwe (Nat Festival). Amidst the blaring music, the nat gadaw will drink the whiskey which further fuels the trance-like engagement with the spirits.
A May Gyan
For any young parent who worries about how best to bring up their children, this nat might be the one to worship. “The Rude Mother” was married to a famous thief Nga Tat Pyar, the Robin Hood of pre-modern Myanmar, who loved to drink toddy juice. Though when A May Gyan drank from the toddy palm she would become aggressive and offend people with her dirty mouth. After insulting the king one day she was put to death. A May Gyan acts as a warning to others about the importance of moderating your speech, though some believe that her marriage to Nga Tat Pyar will protect them from being robbed.
Ma Hnae Lay
Ma Hnae Lay is another nat with a maternal mythology attached to her. She is a baby spirit who, as legend has it, died of a heart attack after her mother passed away. Her statue is adorned with gold necklaces, bracelets and rings, perhaps signifying the potential wealth of the young. People believe she may help protect their children from ill-health, and so offer her candy and boiled eggs (hopefully they won’t offer their own
children too many of these gifts). Worshippers also believe that Ma Hnae Lay can pinch them on the body, warning them to take note of small aches and pains before they get sick.
Min Gyi Min Lay
Taungpyone is a village in the Mandalay region famous among worshipers. It is the home of an annual festival held on the full moon day of Wagaung in August. Min Gyi Min Lay means “Big Brother” and “Little Brother”, and these nats were sons of the famous Popa Mal Taw (Royal Mother of Mount Popa). They were assigned to build a new pagoda for the royal family, but were killed because they didn’t obey the edict. Some people believe the brothers will help them on their entrepreneurial journeys, and so may worship them before starting a new business.
Popa Mal Daw
Popa Mal Daw is the mother of the two sons Min Gyi Min Lay. After her sons were sentenced to death for not building the pagoda, her spirit was chosen to help reign in the two boys. After she died the king bequeathed her and her family Mount Popa, making Popa Mal Daw and Min Gyi Min Lay owners of this sacred place. She is considered the most powerful spirit at Mount Popa, and people pray to her asking for her to protect their families.
U Shin Gyi
U Shin Gyi is an aquatic nat who owns the sea, as well as some rivers and streams. He used to follow fishing ships, luring young female spirits of the ocean’s islands with his harp-playing and good looks. Legend has it that he was left on an island by a group of fishermen, to keep the island safe from evil spirits or invaders. People may consult him before undertaking long voyages, praying that he will keep them safe from accidents or delays.
Nan Ka Yine
Nan Ka Yine is a buffalo nat with supernatural powers of strength. In her human life she wanted to protect her adopted son, who was abandoned by the king among a herd of buffalo. In order to save her boy from the stampeding herd she transformed into buffalo herself, gaining the creature’s strength and speed. During pagoda festivals, the buffalo lady nat is usually embodied by two young men.
Mya Nan Nwe
Wearing an emerald green shawl and matching eye shadow, Mya Nan Nwe’s calm demeanour is more modern than many of the other nats. Mya Nan Mwe came to Yangon from Mogok with her family during the Second World War, and was a generous donor to the Botahtaung Pagoda. Her donations paid for some of the pagoda’s reconstruction, after it was bombed by the Japanese. Mya Nan Mwe is popular among Thai travelers, who offer her coconuts, bananas and flowers when visiting the pagoda.
Papae Maung Tint Tal
In a former life Papae Maung Tint Tal was a blacksmith, and met an untimely end when he betrayed the king. For his so-called misdeeds he was executed in a barbaric public burning. Some people call him the Eain Twin (House) Nat, where he is honoured on nat shrines outside of residential buildings. In the evenings, before the lights go out, worshipers cover his shrine with a curtain because they believe he is afraid of the light and fire.
Pone Ma Kyi
Pone Ma Kyi is the nat spirit of the farmers. Pone Ma Kyi takes the form of a powerful and vengeful ogre, but in the past life was a meek deer whose offspring was preyed upon by tigers. Wanting to overcome this past life weakness, she gained a mean reputation for retribution by targeting the children of her enemies. Perhaps the enemies’ children symbolise the harvest, so farmers like to appease her with donations of rice cakes and other food throughout the year.
