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Folk Elements in Burmese Buddhism
ch06-2-byat.htm
Maung Htin Aung. Printed and published by U Myint Maung,
Deputy Director, Regd: No (02405/02527) at the Religious Affairs Dept. Press.
Yegu, Kaba-Aye P.O., Rangoon, BURMA. 1981.
Set in HTML by the staff of TIL and edited by U Kyaw Tun,
M.S. (I.P.S.T., U.S.A.). Not for sale. Prepared for students of TIL Computing
and Language Center, Yangon, MYANMAR.
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Contents of this page
Byatta and Byatwi
Anawrahta tries to suppress Nat-worship
He finally allows it to survive with modifications
Kyansittha's conciliatory policy
Kyansittha and the Monk of Popa
Lord of the Great Mountain within the House
Author's notes
UKT notes
• Byatta's daily marathon
• Copper image of Sanni
• Flower-eating ogress
• house-post
• Indian
Contents of this page
continued from p067
After Anawrahta came to the throne he was always slightly suspicious
of the Popa region as a possible centre for the plotting of rebellions against him.
After the fall of Thaton he appointed a 'mighty man of endeavour'
{thu-rè:kaung:} to be his representative in the Popa region. This person was Byat-ta
{byat~ta.}, who had a romantic career behind him, as the following account of his life
will testify. One morning, a monk who lived on the Zingyaik Hill near the city of Thaton
saw some unusual object floating on the sea at the foot of the hill.
fn067-02
He went down and found that it was a large wooden tray, to which were
tied two infants. On the desolate shore and the desolate sea
there was no other sign of life, and the monk guessed that the ship
on which the two infants were travelling had been wrecked
and that the parents had tied them to the tray and thrown it
[{p068}] overboard so as to save them from drowning.
On looking over the two children the monk discovered
that they were both boys and they were
Indians by race.
fn068-01
He took them to his monastery and, naming them Byat-wi
{byat-wi.} and Byat-ta
{byat~ta.}, he brought them up as his pupils. Years passed and the boys became fully
grown young men. One day the monk found on the hill-side the body of an alchemist
who had died during the final stages of his experiments, and he instructed his pupils to
carry it to the monastery and roast it. After the body had been roasted the monk
said, 'Look here, pupils, the roasted flesh of the alchemist is to be eaten only
by the Great King of Thaton, so that he will become a mighty man of endeavour and
protect our country from its enemies. So I must go to the city to invite the King to dinner,
and while I am away be good boys and keep careful watch.'
The youths waited and waited until it was night. In the darkness the roasted
body of the alchemist shone like gold, and it gave out such a sweet flavour that
the two youths yearned to taste the strange flesh. They were just two hungry
boys and knew nothing about alchemy or the magical qualities the flesh of an
alchemist possessed. Nevertheless, thy waited until midnight, when the elder
said to the younger, 'Let us just take a bite each', and they cut off a tiny
part of the roasted body and ate it, but as the flesh tasted so good they
greedily went on eating until the whole body was finished. The younger brother
wailed, 'Our teacher will beat us black and blue for disobeying him', but the
elder brother was more reckless and he replied, 'Brother, do not worry about the
future, but let us enjoy ourselves.' Then, feeling gay and strong, he lifted the
monastery from its foundations and turned it upside down. 'Is that all you can do?'
mocked the younger brother, and he lifted a huge rock and placed it on the path along
which the monk had gone to the city. Then [{p069}]
they spent the rest of the night wrestling and running races until the next day
dawned. At sunrise they saw their teacher and the king coming up the hill.
Losing courage, the two brothers ran down the opposite side of the hill and hid
themselves in a ravine. The monk saw the huge rock and the upside-down monastery
and realized that the worst had happened. 'Alas, Lord King,' he exclaimed, 'it
was indeed unfortunate that affairs of state did not allow you to leave the city
until this morning. I fear that my boys have eaten the roasted alchemist, and
unless they are quickly apprehended they will rebel against you.' On reaching
the hill-top the monk and they King looked for the youths everywhere
but to no avail. Hurrying back to the city the King sent our his soldiers to
search for the two young men, but as Byat-wi
{byat-wi.} and Byat-ta
{byat~ta.} had become so strong and so swift, the soldiers
could not capture them.
The two brothers wandered from village to village robbing and stealing.
After some months, on one moonlight night, the more reckless Byat-wi said,
'Brother, let us enter the Golden City and make fun of the King and his soldiers.'
In spite of the younger brother's protests the elder brother jumped over the walls
of the city, and the younger brother had no choice but to follow. Then they went
all round the city robbing and stealing. The next night, again, the brothers entered
the city, and the elder brother said, 'I will rob the governor of the city himself,
because he is its military commander.' So he went to the governor's mansion and jumped
on to the sill of a bedroom window. It happened that the bedroom was occupied by the
governor's only daughter, Mistress Oza
{mèý-o-za}, and she woke up with a start. The two young people looked at each other and
fell in love at first sight. 'My Lady Beautiful,' Byat-wi whispered, 'I am the elder of
the two outlaws whom the governor of the city desires to capture. You can give the alarm
and I will surrender, because I want to gaze on you for some more moments.'
'Bold Outlaw,' replied Mistress Oza, [{p070}] 'how can I betray you
who admire my beauty so much? I am the governor's daughter,
but I shall not give the alarm.' So they spent the night in
sweet conversation until the approach of dawn, when Mistress Oza prevailed upon
her lover to run away. The next night he came again, and after that,
at irregular intervals, the two lovers met.
As time passed, the servant-maids in the governor's household
discovered the liaison and reported the matter to their master
the governor. Realizing the magical powers possessed by the outlaw,
the governor consulted a master of magic as to how
he should capture Byat-wi. 'Get the skirt of a woman
who has died in travail,' advised the master of magic,
'and hang it above the bedroom window by which the outlaw
usually enters.' So that night the governor hung up the skirt
of a woman who had died in travail on the bedroom window
and he waited with his soldiers behind some concealing bushes.
However, the outlaw did not come because his younger brother
had begged him not to go too often into the city.
The governor continued his watch and, on the third night,
his patience was rewarded. He saw the outlaw entering through
the bedroom window, and surrounding the house with
his soldiers he rushed into his daughter's bedchamber.
The outlaw saw him coming and, unafraid and smiling,
he jumped out of the window but, alas, his magical powers
were now lost and he fell and lay helpless
on the ground below. He was taken before the King
and sentenced to death. But his body still remained
invulnerable although no longer strong, and the clubs,
the swords, the spears and the arrows of the executioners
broke in pieces against his flesh. The King, in great anger,
ordered him to be trampled to death by elephants,
but the legs of the elephants broke and the young outlaw
remained alive. After three days of such vain attempts
to kill him Byat-wi became weary of life. So he said to the King,
'My Lord, as you desire my death so much, I am willing to die,
but send your executioners away and ask my beloved to [{p071}]
come and give me a chew of betel and a cupful of water.'
fn071-01
The King decided to grant his request, and soon Mistress Oza came,
weeping, and holding in one hand a chew of betel and in the other
a cupful of water. Leisurely the outlaw chewed the betel,
leisurely he drank the water. He gazed into his lover's
face and died with a smile on his lips. On the advice
of the master of magic the body was cut into pieces and some parts,
together with the entrails, were buried under the throne-room
of the King's palace. The blood from the body was sprinkled
over the city wall, though the amount of blood obtained was not quite
enough for the entire wall and a space 'just enough for a hen
to lie down' was left unsprinkled.
A few days late, Anawrahta's army arrived and attacked the city,
but even the commander, Kyansittha himself, was unable
to scale the walls because of a single soldier of prodigious strength,
who alone seemed to guard the walls. The younger outlaw,
lurking outside the wall, was soon found by the Burmese
and Kyansittha prevailed upon him to serve under him.
That night Byat-ta went up the walls alone, and as
the mighty enemy soldier rushed towards him he recognized
that it was the ghost of his dead brother. 'Let me in,
my poor brother,' pleaded Byat-ta to the ghost. 'Let me have
our revenge on your murderers.' The ghost replied,
'Alas, brother! My blood is sprinkled over these walls
and my entrails are buried under the throne-room.
I am doomed for ever to serve the tyrant king, and
deny entry to all his enemies.' 'How can I help you?'
asked the younger outlaw. 'There must be a way to free
your spirit from being earthbound for ever.' The ghost
remained silent for a while and then said, 'Brother,
there is one spot on these walls which was not sprinkled
with my blood. I will show you the place and if you can jump
over the walls of that particular spot I [{p072}] am under
no duty to hinder you. After that you can use your wits
to give victory to the Burmese.'
Byat-ta reported the matter to his commander. The following
night he led Kyansittha and a few chosen men to the unguarded spot
on the walls and entered the city. They fought their way
to the throne-room and dug up the entrails. The ghost
suddenly disappeared from the walls and the rest
of the Burmese army marched in. After the victory Byat-ta
and Kyansittha threw the entrails into the sea.
fn072-01
Anawrahta appreciated the services rendered to his cause by Byat-ta and,
according to the Chronicles, he liked the young man's frank and simple ways.
But both he and Kyansittha had to be careful of 'mighty men of endeavour'
and perhaps that was the reason why Byat-ta was not appointed to the army.
Of course, Kyansittha and the other commanders were also described
as 'mighty men of endeavour', but Kyansittha's might was in his brains
and the other three commanders claimed to possess only superhuman strength,
not supernatural powers. Byat-ta's main duty after being appointed
to the Popa region was to bring flowers fresh every morning
to Anawrahta in time for the daily audience. As his body
could move with magical swiftness he never rode on horseback, but
ran the whole distance, some forty-six miles.
The offering of flowers as a gesture of submission is a very old Burmese
practice. In any race a bunch of flowers was placed at the finishing post by all
the contestants, and the rower, horseman, or runner who was able to seize the
flowers first was the winner; in a boxing or a wrestling match, the second
outside the ring could throw in a bunch of flowers as a token of surrender in
the same way as his European counterpart throws in the towel. Even to the
present day a Burmese child, when he is unable to solve a riddle set by his
opponent, [{p073}] has to say, 'I offer you flowers'
{pan: pé: pri}, and the other child will then give the solution.
Therefore it was both a ceremony and a ritual for ministers
and courtiers to offer flowers to Anawrahta at each morning audience.
Byat-ta's daily duty had a double purpose; it provided the ministers
and courtiers with flowers, but it was also symbolic of the homage
owed by Byat-ta himself and the Popa region to the King.
While gathering flowers one morning he met a
'
Flower-Eating Ogress'. Falling in love at first sight
with each other they agreed to marry. But this romantic encounter
resulted in Byat-ta being late for the morning audience,
and he was severely warned by the King. A year later a
son was born, and again Byat-ta was late and again
he was severely warned. Next year a second son was born,
and Byat-ta was late as before, but this time Anawrahta
ordered his immediate execution. Knowing that Byat-ta
was reputed to be invulnerable, Anawrahta
lent his 'Spear of Punishment'
{a.rein~da.ma} to the executioners, who, meeting Byat-ta
on the road to Pagan, killed him with it. Anawrahta refused
to take any advantage of the magical qualities of Byat-ta's dead body and
ordered it to be burnt on a funeral pyre. Byat-ta's ogress wife
died of a broken heart, and Anawrahta was seized with pity
and he took the two young sons
{rhwé hpyin: ñi-naung} under royal patronage.
They later became heroes
{thu-rè:kaung:} and were also executed under Anawrahta's orders,
and again with his god-given spear.
fn073-01
With the death of these two heroes the cult of
magic and alchemy suffered a great set-back in the kingdom.
Contents of this page
By the time Anawrahta came to the throne various local Nats had crystallized
into a pantheon of thirty-six national Nat, with Maha-Giri as the head. They
were the Thirty-six Lords worshipped by the people in the kingdom. Of all the
pre-Buddhist cults that existed in the kingdom, Anawrahta [{p074}]
found this the most difficult to suppress. At first he tried to suppress
spirit-worship altogether. He ordered the seizure of all images of the planet
and Hindu gods and put them in a Vishnu temple, which was renamed '
Nat-hlaung Kyaung' or 'the Monastery where
all the Nats are kept prisoner'. The temple still stands at the present day
(UKT: see Pagan Hindu Temple
nat-prison.htm). Then he turned his attention
to the cult of the Thirty-six Nats. To show that the Nats
were not so powerful as himself he went about the city and the kingdom pulling down Nat
shrines and beating the images with the flat of his spear. Even during his Chinese campaign
he beat the
copper image of Sanni, the ancestral god of the king of what is now Yunnan,
and it was said that the image cried out in fear and pain.
But he found that the cult of the Thirty-six Lords was too firmly embedded
in the minds of the people for him to suppress entirely.
One main reason for the popularity of the worship
of the 'Lord of the Great Mountain' and the other Lords
was the appeal of its ritual music and dancing. Even at the present day,
during a spirit festival, the musicians play and the spirit mediums dance
with such abandoned joy that even the most cynical onlooker
often finds himself beating time with his hands or his feet
to the primitive and sometimes even wild tunes of the mediums.
UKT: I have heard of rowdy young men who though not drunk with alcohol
and ecstasy would jump into the ring of dancing mediums (especially when
young and beautiful) and dance with them drinking the offertory alcohol and
eating the fried chicken legs from their hands (usually during the dance of
U Min Gyaw) and it is said the nat who was a rowdy man himself as a person
enjoys the company of such new young friends.
Contents of this page
When Anawrahta frowned on the cult of the Thirty-six Nats worshippers stayed
away from the shrines, and the spirit mediums, out of economic necessity, became
strolling musicians and players, touring the countryside. And as their fear of
the Thirty-six Lords was greater than their fear of Anawrahta, they always began
their performances with a ritual offering of fruit to the Lords,
accompanied by a short ritual dance and song.
fn074-01
Finally, Anawrahta permitted the [{p075}]
cult to survive, but only after modifications, so as to make it subsidiary to
the new faith. He changed the number of spirits from thirty-six to thirty-seven
by adding to the list Thagyamin, fn075-01
the king of the Buddhist gods and the guardian god of Buddhism. Thagyamin was made
the head of the pantheon, thus replacing Maha-Giri. Anawrahta also set up images of
the thirty-seven Nats on the platform of the Shwezigone Pagoda that he built, saying,
"Let the people come to worship their old gods, and then they will discover
the truth of the new faith of Buddhism.' The images were depicted in an attitude
of worship, and the thirty-seven Nats, therefore, were shown to be supporters of
the new faith, like many other gods and goddesses guarding the great pagoda.
In addition, he replaced two Nats on the list by the Nat-spirits of two of
his heroes (Byat-ta's sons)
{rhwé hpyin: ñi-naung} whom he had executed. This cult of the thirty-seven Nat has survived up
to he present day, although from time to time a few of the less important Nats in the list were
replaced by new Nats. Anawrahta strictly prohibited the sacrifice of animals at the annual
festival on Mount Popa, and withdrew royal patronage from the festival. He also permitted
the establishment of a rival festival at Taung-byon
{taung proän:} village, north of modern Mandalay, in honour of his two heroes,
Byat-ta's sons.
Contents of this page
Anawrahta's son Saw Lu, who followed him on the throne, reigned only for a short period.
He was involved in a bitter struggle against the rebellious governor of Pegu, and
therefore there was no time for the continuation, or otherwise, of Anawrahta's religious
policy. But Saw Lu's immediate successors, Kyansittha and Alaungsithu, although they were
great patrons of Buddhism and contributed greatly to the further propagation of the new faith,
became closely associated with the revival of the cult of the Popa Nats.
[{p076}] Kyansittha, after suppressing the Pegu rebellion,
followed a policy of conciliation, in contrast to the stern discipline
of Anawrahta. Anawrahta, in his threefold task of uniting a medley
of tribes into a nation, of bringing under one rule
the whole geographical unit of Burma, and of replacing primitive cults
by Buddhism, had to exercise a discipline which was uncompromising, harsh and
impatient. But by Kyansittha's time, the seeds sown by Anawrahta had developed
into ripened grain, and Kyansittha reaped the harvest by gentler methods. From
the account of his coronation, given in the contemporary inscriptions at the
pagodas he built, we know that Kyansittha appreciated the Burmese love of
feasting and merry-making, and all festivals were allowed to be held provided
they were given a Buddhistic colouring and provided they did not given his
patronage to the revival of the cult of the planets and the Hindu gods, he
brought this cult under royal control by insisting that he was the reincarnation
of Vishnu himself, and had taken part in the building of Prome. He himself was
eager to restore royal patronage to the cult of Maha-Giri, but he was careful
that Maha-Giri should play the role of a guardian-god of Buddhism, in addition
to his ancient role of the guardian-god of the King and his peoples. But once
royal patronage had been restored he could merely turn a blind eye to the
surreptitious revival of animal sacrifices at the annual Popa festival. His
successors to the Burmese throne could not suppress it until the coming of
Bayinnagung, some five hundred years later. In one stroke he ended, for ever,
the barbarous practice.
Contents of this page
Kyansittha probably had a personal reason for restoring royal patronage
to the cult. While regrouping the Burmese army in the woods and ravines
of Mont Popa after the [{p077}] defeat inflicted on Saw Lu
by the Governor of Pegu, Kyansittha was assisted and
advised by a strange and mysterious personage, the 'Monk of Popa',
or 'Shin Popa'. He was, perhaps, a Buddhist monk, although
he continued the tradition set by the Ari monks of practising magic
and alchemy; or, probably, he was an Ari monk, who was not
persecuted as he supported the new faith.
(He should be distinguished from the 'Popa Saw Rahan'
{poap~pa: sau:ra.han:}, 'Lord Monk of Popa', who became
king of Pagan in A.D. 613, and who has already been mentioned above.)
This new Monk of Popa, performed magical rites so as to ensure victory
to the defeated army, and his prestige greatly increased
when victory actually came and Kyansittha became king of
Pagan. Just as Kyansittha had brought the revived Vishnu cult
under royal control, by announcing that Shin Arahan the Primate,
the Nat, and he were companions in arms in a previous existence,
and the Min Maha-Giri had been assisting him to gain
the throne of Pagan and act as the great Patron of
Buddhism. I quote from the Glass Palace Chronicle:
"Likewise the Maha-Giri spirit showed himself and forbade the King.
Then said King Htihlaingshin,
fn077-01
'If the Maha-Giri spirit prayed with me of yore, why helped he me not
when I was in misery?' And the Maha-Giri spirit answered:
'O King, when Anawrahtamin saw tied thee with a rope
and thrust at thee with his spear, and by my help the blow
fell on the rope that bound thee and it snapped and thou,
O King, went free, who helped thee but I?' 'True!' said Htihlaing
Kyansittha, 'I knew not that the spirit helped me.'
Said the Maha-Giri: 'When the battle brake in Taunghkwin
and thou, O King, didst flee in the darkness of the night,
who but I went before thee on a striped horse, dressed in a monitor
skin, and shewed thee the way?' 'True!' said the King,
'I knew not that it was the spirit.' Said the Maha-Giri spirit:
'When thou stolest Sawlu and men pursued thee,
and thou wast aweary and couldst swim no longer, who but I
created an islet and cried like the myittwe bird? Who but I,
in the guise of fishermen, father and son, conveyed thee
to the farther bank of Aungtha in a small tanswek boat?'
'True!' said the King, 'I knew not that it was the spirit.'
fn078-01"
UKT: The Myanmar insert is from The Glass Palace
Chronicle (in Burmese), Mandalay Royal Printing Press,
1829. Fourth printing in 1993 by Information Ministry, Myanmar, p282.
This is what had been rendered into English by Tin & Luce,
Glass Palace Chronicle., p.107
Contents of this page
p078
Nowadays Min Maha-Giri is known as 'Eindwin-Min Maha-giri'
,
meaning 'the Lord of the Great Mountain, who is also within the House'.
In every Burmese village home, if no longer in the cities,
a coco-nut is hung at the top of a house-post in an inner room.
The coco-nut is covered with sandal-wood and perfume,
and a red cloth shaped like the headdress (gaung-baung)
of a Burmese male is tied around it. The coco-nut is an offering
to the 'Lord of the Great Mountain', and it is associated
with the Nat for two reasons. Firstly, coco-nuts, banana,
and plums are fruits usually offered to the Hindu gods
and the thirty-seven Nats and secondly, the milk from the coco-nut
is given to a person suffering from burns or high fever,
as it is believed that coco-nut-milk will bring relief
to the patient.
The fact that Maha-Giri as Mr. Handsome was burnt to death is never forgotten.
Just as a coco-nut is acceptable to the Nat, so a Saga flower is not acceptable,
as Mr. Handsome was tied to a Saga tree when he was burnt to death, and so, when
flowers are offered to the Nat, the Saga flower is always left out.
But how has the 'Lord of the Great Mountain' become the guardian Nat of every
Burmese household? The Burmese, before Anawrahta, worshipped a spirit who was
known as the 'House-Guardian'. A little shrine was built in front of the house
and offerings of fruit and flowers were made every day to the House-Guardian.
According to a Burmese law tale, a [{p079}] man had to cut down
some trees to build his house and, as a result, the spirit
living in a tree found himself without an abode. The spirit sued the man for
compensation, and the court ordered that an artificial tree, namely a wooden
shrine, be built in the compound of the house and the spirit was to dwell there,
receiving regular gifts of fruit and flowers. It is not known whether this tale
explains the origin of the cult of the House-Guardian, but it is definite
that the cult is very old and was known not to only to the Burmese,
but also to the Mons and Khmers. To the present day the cult
exists in Thailand. Even in the city of Bangkok
there is a little shrine in every house, but unlike that of the
ancient Burmese, the shrine is a little distance away from the house,
although it is in the compound of the house itself. When Anawrahta
destroyed the public Nat shrines, the people in fear destroyed
their own private shrines dedicated to the worship of the House-Guardian.
But, in secret, devotees went on offering red cloth, fruits and flowers
to the House-Guardian. But as there were no shrines now,
the offerings meant for the Lord of the Great Mountain were
made to the House-Guardian were made to the
House-Post in the bedroom. However, as Anawrahta's persecution
of spirit worship became fiercer, more care had to be
exercised, and the devotees restricted themselves to the offer
of a single piece of red cloth to the Lord of the Great Mountain
and a single coco-nut to both the Lord of the Great Mountain
and the House-Guardian. They made the offerings to the House-Post
in the bedroom. In course of time the different personalities
of the two gods became merged into one, namely
'the Lord of the Great Mountain who is within the House.'
Contents of this page
fn067-01 Tin & Luce, The Glass Palace Chronicle, p. 52.
fn067-01b
fn067-02 It is believed that
the sea came right up to the foot of the Zingyaik
Hill in those days; in any case Thaton was originally a seaport
although it is now some miles away from the sea.
fn067-02b
fn068-01
According to a tradition among spirit mediums the boys were Arab Muslims.
fn068-01b
fn071-01
The literal translation would be 'a fold of betel leaf and
a coco-nut cup of water'. The folded betel leaf would contain
some betel nuts, tobacco, and lime. A common drinking cup
of the Burmese until modern times was a cup made out
of a coco-nut shell.
fn071-01b
fn072-01
The above account of Byat-ta is based on oral tradition and
late nineteenth-century Burmese plays. The Chronicles give
only a bare outline of the story.
fn072-01b
fn073-01
Further details of these two brothers
{rhwé hpyiñ: ñi-naung} are given in the next chapter.
fn073-01b
fn074-01
Even now, at the beginning of every musical or dramatic show,
an offering is made to the Thirty-seven Nats. This practice
is followed not only by professional dancers, musicians,
and actors but also by amateurs.
fn074-01b
fn075-01
The Thagyamin has been described in Chapter 3
The Feast of the New Year.
fn075-01b
fn077-01
He was the Lord of Htihlaing Village before he became King.
fn077-01b
fn078-01
Tin & Luce, op. cit., p. 107.
fn078-01b
Contents of this page
Byat-ta's race
should be compared to the Marathon race which is
a cross-country footrace of 26 miles, 385 yards (41.3 kilometers).
Marathon race is named after the race in 490 B.C. by a messenger
from the plain of Marathon to Athens to announce the Greek victory
over the Persians.
Go back
Byatta-marathon-note-b
Contents of this page
According to the Glass Palace Chronicle (in Burmese)
volume 1, p251, and U Kala, Maharazawin (in Burmese),
volume 3, p25, the copper image of Sanni was
{kré: san~di nat}
Go back
copper-sanni-note-b
Contents of this page
The name of this ogress was
{mèý-wuN~Na.}. It should be noted that it is a failing of the human race to look down upon the
members of a minority race particularly those who had been vanquished in war,
and the term <ogress> may simply mean that {mèý-wuN~Na.} was from a minority race
which had been forced to live in remoter places. The word {wuN~Na.} with the
Pali meaning <beauty> showed that she was a beauty and not an ugly ogress. After
hearing the deaths of her two sons, she died of broken heart and became a nat
with the name {poap~pa: mè-tau} or "Royal Mother Popa"
{poap~pa: mèý-tau}. She is not to be confused with Dr. Htin Aung's ancestor
Lady Golden Sides
{rhwé-na.Bé nat} who is supposed to be a naga.
Royal Mother of Popa
{poap~pa: mèý-tau} was not included in U Po Kya's
Thirty-seven Kings but is included in Min Rama's
Thirty-seven Nat Puja , p.35
Go back flo-eat-ogress-note-b
Contents of this page
The house-post on which
the coconut-shrine is hung is known in Burmese as
{U.ru-taing} which is not necessarily the post in the bed-room. It is the first
of the posts of the new house to be erected.
I had several chances of overseeing the building of timber and brick-timber
houses (my own houses) by Burmese-Myanmar carpenters. The master-carpenter
in each case made a small but proper ceremony of erecting the {U.ru-taing}.
In some cases the timber post would be as much as 40 feet long and more.
Before the Second World War, the timber would be teak, but after the war
when teak became very expensive, the timber chosen was usually {pyiñ:ka.to:}
(Xylia dolabriformis BEDict284) a very dense and heavy wood. Without
the help of machines, this post (cross-section: 6in X 6in) would have to be
inserted into a hole about 3 ft deep and everything must be done without a
hitch. The master carpenter (and his usual crew of four) would take extra
care to propitiate the guardian-nat of the house with the usual offertories
of coconut, bananas and pickled tea leaves. I, as the master of the house
(and a Burmese-Myanmar Buddhist), would be invited to worship the nat which
I always accepted to please the carpenters who with just scanty scaffolding
would have to climb to the very top of these posts to nail the beams in
place. (Driving nails into {pyiñ:ka.to:} is no easy matter, and you have to
use a heavy iron hammer to do it while clinging to the swaying post with one
hand.) Unless you have seen these operations done, you would not appreciate
what these carpenters had to go through. You can then see why these
carpenters had to sought every help (especially from the nats) they could
get.
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The English word <Indian> means a 'native of
the country of India', but in North America, the word usually means an 'original
native of the American continent'. From facial and other physical features, it
is obvious that a native of India and an original native of the Americas are of
different races.
The Myanmar word used to describe the ship-wrecked boys is
{ku.la:} which usually means 'a person with some-what dark skin and a thin sharp
nose' who is generally darker-skinned than an average Burmese with a flat nose.
It is also interesting to note that the British were at one time described as
the 'white {ka.la:}' which shows that the Burmese usually describe anyone
with a sharp thin nose who had come from anywhere west of Myanmar, as a {ka.la:}.
It is also interesting to note that most of the Burmese think that a 'dark {ka.la:}'
would not eat pork, a favorite of the Burmese. And so, the boys might be Dravidians
rather than Arabs and may or may not be Muslims. Since in the story the boys ate
the flesh which would be considered 'unclean' by a Muslim, it is doubtful if
they were Muslims at all. But, boys being boys, and since they were brought up
by a Buddhist monk, it is possible that they might do anything just for fun.
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