Nat (spirit)

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Nat oun (Suxorimus) hung on a post in a
house.

A nat kadaw dressed as U Min Gyaw at a nat pwè
in Mingun, August
1989

The nats (Burmese: ‌; MLCTS: nat;
IPA: [naʔ]) are spirits
worshipped in Burma
(or Myanmar) in conjunction with Buddhism. They are divided
between the 37 Great Nats and all the rest (i.e., spirits of trees, water, etc).
Almost all of the 37 Great Nats were human beings who met violent and tragic
deaths (စိမ်းသေ, lit. "green death"). They
may thus also be called nat sein (green spirits). There are however two
types of nats in Burmese Buddhist belief. Nat spirits are termed lower nats or
auk nats, whether named or unnamed, whereas ahtet nats or higher
nat dewas inhabit the six
heavens.[1] Much
like sainthood, nats can be
designated for a variety of reasons, including those only known in certain
regions. Nat worship is less common in urban areas than in rural areas, and is
practised among ethnic minorities as
well as in the mainstream Bamar society. It is however among
the Buddhist Bamar that the most highly developed form of ceremony and ritual is
to be seen.[2]

Every Burmese village has a nat sin which essentially serves as a
shrine to the ywa saung (village guardian) nat. A coconut (နတ်အုန်း) is often hung on the main southeast post (ဥရူတိုင်) in the house, wearing a gaungbaung
(headdress) and surrounded by perfume, as an offering to the Min Mahagiri (Lord
of the Great Mountain), also known as ein dwin (within the house) or
ein saung (house guardian) nat. One may inherit a certain member or in
some instances two of the 37 Nats as mi hsaing hpa hsaing (mother's side
- father's side) from one or both parents' side to worship depending on where
their families originally come from. One also has a personal guardian spirit
called ko saung nat.[3]

Contents

1 Nat worship and
Buddhism

2 Nat worship and
ecology

3 Popular nat
festivals

4 List of official
nats

5 References

6 Notes

7 External links

[edit]
Nat worship and Buddhism

Worship of nats predates Buddhism in Burma. With the arrival of Buddhism,
however, the nats were merged, syncretistically, with Buddhism, with the Buddha
considered to be the greatest nat, and with nats presiding at the birth of the
Buddha. The merging of native religions with Buddhism is not only not uncommon,
it is ubiquitous. Shakyamuni (Siddhartha Gautama) Buddha recognized
and incorporated the native Hindu religion of India into his
teachings and practice so as to lead to a more comprehensive understanding to
his students. In form, the Buddhism of Burma is similar to the Buddhism of
Japan. A Buddhist Saint, Nichiren, incorporated the
native religion into teaching and practice. It is interesting to note
similarities in the native religions which prosper in Buddhism, such as having
"lower" and "higher" realms, containing men, gods, demons, and Buddhas. Indeed,
there is no such thing as "pure Buddhism," but rather types of Buddhism which
inevitably contain characteristics of locality in which it is taught.[citation
needed]

Some disagreement in fact exists in academic circles as to whether Burmese
Buddhism and Burmese spirit worship are two separate entities or just different
dimensions of a single entity. Many Burmese themselves would say it is merely
superstition and tend to downplay its role in society. Since the institution of
the official 37 Nats was founded by King Anawrahta (1044-1077) of Bagan, albeit with
later alterations, it has been argued that this may be interpreted as a process
of Burmanisation and establishment of Bamar supremacy in the Irrawaddy valley after the
unification of the country and founding of the First Burmese Empire was achieved
by the king.[2]

[edit]
Nat worship and ecology

The widespread traditional belief among rural folks that there are taw
saung nats (forest guardian spirits) and taung saung nats (mountain
guardian spirits) appears to act as a deterrant against environmental
destruction up to a point. Indiscriminate felling particularly of large trees is
generally eschewed owing to the belief that they are dwellings of
yokkazos (tree spirits) and that such an act would bring the wrath of the
nat upon the perpetrator.[4]

[edit]
Popular nat festivals

Mount Popa and the smaller precipice Taung Kalat with
its nat shrines atop to the left of picture seen from a distance across a dry
riverbed

The most important nat pilgrimage site in Burma is Mount Popa, an extinct
volcano with numerous temples and relic sites atop a mountain 1300 metres,
located near Bagan
in central Burma. The annual festival is held on the full moon of Natdaw
(December).[5]
Taungbyone, north of Mandalay, is another major site
with the festival held each year starting on the eleventh waxing day and
including the full moon in the month of Wagaung
(August).[6]
Yadanagu at Amarapura, held a week later
in honour of Popa Medaw (Mother of Popa), who was the mother of the Taungbyone
Min Nyinaung (Brother Lords), is also a popular nat festival.[3].

Nats have human characteristics, wants, and needs. They are flawed, having
desires considered derogatory and immoral in mainstream Buddhism. During a
nat pwè, which is a festival during which nats are propitiated, nat
kadaws (nat mistresses or mediums) dance and embody the nat's spirit in a
trance. The roles of nat kadaws are often fulfilled by transvestite men. Music,
often accompanied by a saing waing (orchestra), adds much to the mood of
the nat pwè, and many claim to be entranced. People come from far and
near to take part in the festivities in various nat shrines called nat
kun or nat naan, get drunk on palm toddy and dance wildly in
fits of ecstasy to the wild beat of the saing music, convinced that they
have become possessed by the nats.[5]

Whereas nat pwes are annual events celebrating a particular member of
the 37 Nats regarded as the tutelary spirit in a local region within a local
community, with familial custodians of the place and tradition and with royal
sponsorship in ancient times, hence evocative of royal rituals, there are also
nat kannah pwes where individuals would have a pavilion set up in a
neighbourhood and the ritual is generally linked to the entire pantheon of nats.
The nat kadaws as an independent profession made their appearance in the
latter half of the 19th C as spirit mediums, and nat kannahs are more of
an urban phenomenon which evolved to satisfy the need of people who had migrated
from the countryside to towns and cities but who wished to carry on their
traditions or yo-ya of supplicating the mi hsaing hpa hsaing
tutelary spirit of their native place.[2]

[edit]
List of official nats

A portrayal of the King of Nats, Thagyamin.

Traditional offerings of bananas and coconut at a nat
shrine

Me Wunna with her sons Min Gyi and Min Lay at Mt
Popa

King Anawrahta of Bagan (1044-1077)
designated an official pantheon of 37 Nats, after he had failed to enforce a ban
on nat worship. His stratagem of incorporation by bringing the nats to his Shwezigon Pagoda in
positions of worshipping the Buddha, and by enlisting Thagya Min at the head
of the pantheon above the Mahagiri nats, eventually succeeded.[5][7]
Seven out of the 37 Nats appear to be directly associated with the life and
times of Anawrahta.[7]
The official pantheon is made up predominantly of those from the royal houses of
Burmese history, but
also contains nats of Thai (Yun Bayin) and Shan (Maung Po Tu) descent.
Listed in proper order, they are:

Thagya Min (သိက္ရား), considered King
of the Nats, is identified with the Buddhist deva Śakra and the Hindu deity Indra.[8].
He is often portrayed atop a three-headed white elephant, holding
a conch shell in one hand,
and a yak-tail whisk in the other.[8]

Min Mahagiri, son of a famous blacksmith, U Tint Daw. His given name was
Maung Tint De (Nga Tinde) or Mr Handsome. He was extremely strong, able to
break the tusks of an elephant. The King of Tagaung was worried, least he
attempt to usurp his throne, so Maung Tint De hid himself in a village. As a
stratagem, the king married Maung Tint De's sister, Saw Me Ya, also called
Myat Hla or Shwe Myet-hna (Golden Face), to become one of his queens. He
persuaded Saw Me Ya to ask her brother to come out of hiding so that he could
be given a high office. However when Maung Tint De came out of hiding, the
king had him arrested and burned alive tied to a Champac
(sagawabin) tree.[8][9]
His sister (see below) also died with him and the two became evil Nats
resident in that tree, periodically feasting on people who happened to come
near the tree. The King of Tagaung (Tagaung Min) had the tree cut down
and cast into the waters of the Irrawaddy where it floated, coming to rest in
the kingdom in Bagan ruled by King Thinligyaung (344-387), when the two Nats
appeared in a dream apprising the king of their plight. They offered to guard
the city if they were given a place to dwell. King Thinligyaung had the trunk
carried to Mount Popa, divided into two parts (one for each Nat) and carved
with human features. Henceforth Maung Tint De was to be known as the Lord of
the Great Mountain. They were also enshrined on either side of the city's Tharabha Gate, Maung
Tint De on the right and Shwe Myet-hna on the left.[3][7][9]
Later kings had golden heads made of the two Nats and had these heads mounted
on pillars at Mt Popa (the ones from 1812 are still worshiped at the
mountain).

Hnamadawgyi or Royal Sister. Her given name was Saw Me Ya, the elder
sister of Maung Tint De. She became the queen of the King of Tagaung. When she
saw her brother being burned alive, she leapt into the fire, but only managed
to save his head. She died of her burns and became a Nat. She is portrayed
standing on a dais upon a black elephant, her right hand on her chest with a
plum between her thumb and index finger, and her left hand by her side.[8]

Shwenabay was a beautiful woman of Mindon Village who married a Naga. Later, her
husband deserted her and she died of a broken heart. Another story maintains
that she was actually the wife of Maung Tint De. She is portrayed standing,
wearing Naga headdress, her right hand on her chest and her left hand by her
side.[8]

Thonbanhla (Beautiful in Three Ways) was a native of a Mon village called
Takunnwan. She was (sic) "beautiful in three ways within one day." She was
given to King Duttabaung of Pyay, but the queen was jealous
of her beauty and told the king that she was actually very ugly and so fat
that she could not fit through the city gate. Hearing this, the king refused
to marry Thonbanhla who then died in despair. Another story says that she was
the younger sister of Maung Tint De. She married King Samim Htaw Yama of
Utthala and gave birth to a daughter, Shin Mi-hnè, but then died of a sudden
illness. She is portrayed standing on an ogre bending over a dais
supported by an elephant. She wears a topknot, her right hand on her chest and
her left hand by her side.[8]

Taungoo Mingaung, a minor governor of Taungoo and son of Min Yè
Theinkàthu, the royal attendant, he died of illness. He is portrayed sitting
crosslegged on a simple couch wearing royal garments, holding a fan in his
right hand and resting his left hand on his knee.[8]

Mintara, the King of Innwa, was hunting in the forest
where he met a fairy, and went insane when the fairy disappeared. While he was
in this state, one of his followers, Nga Nawk, murdered him. He is portrayed
sitting on a throne, wearing his royal garments with a fan in his right hand
and his left hand resting on his knee.[8]

Thandawgan, a royal messenger of King Minkhaung of Taungoo, his given name
was Yè Thiha. He went into the forest to gather flowers, contracted malaria,
and died. He is portrayed sitting on a lotus pedestal holding a fan in his
right hand and his left hand resting on his knee.[8]

Shwe Nawrahta, grandson of King Minkhaung II of Innwa (1481-1502). His
servant tried to assassinate the king, but was caught and put to death.
Because of Shwe Nawrahta's involvement in the plot, he too was put to death.
He is portrayed sitting with one knee raised upon a simple throne, holding a
gu lee ball
in one hand and a gu lee stick in the other.[8][10]

Aung Zwa Magyi, also called Bo Aung Zwa, was a commander in the service of
King Narapatisithu of Bagan (1173-1210). He was killed by the king when he
showed disrespect to the king, who had failed to keep his promise of rewarding
him with one of his maids. He is portrayed sitting on a throne, playing a harp
and wearing a headdress and a sash.[8]

Ngazi Shin (ငားစိးရ္ဟင္‌) (Lord of Five
Elephants), also called Kyaw Zwa, became King of Pinya (1343-1350) after his
father Thihathu died. He acquired five white elephants, and died of illness in
the eighth year of his reign. He is portrayed sitting on a lotus supported by
a five-headed elephant, and shaded by four white royal umbrellas.[8]

Aung Pinle Hsinbyushin (ေအာင္‌ပင္‌လယ္‌ဆင္‌ဖ္ရုရ္ဟင္‌) (Lord of the White Elephant
of Aung Pinle), King Thihathu II (1422-1426) and son of King Minkhaung of
Innwa (1401-1422), was killed by an arrow released by his enemy the Sawbwa of Ohnbaung
at the Battle of Aung Pinle. He was portrayed sitting crosslegged on a throne
on elephantback in full regalia, with one of the elephant attendants crouching
in front and another on horseback wielding a sword.[8]

Taungmagyi (ေတာင္‌မက္ရီး)

Maung Min Shin the swing rider, grandson of King Alaungsithu of Bagan
(1112-1167), son of Min Shin Saw who was deposed. While he was still a young
novice monk, he fell off a swing and died.[8]

Shindaw was a young novice monk of Innwa and died of a snake bite. He is
portrayed standing on a pedestal with headwear, and a yellow robe. He holds a
fan in his right hand and rosary beads in his left.[8]

Nyaung Gyin O, a descendant of the captive King Manuha of Thaton in Bagan. He died of
leprosy during the reign of King Anawrahta. He is portrayed standing on a
pedestal with a topknot, his left hand raised and holding a staff in his
right.[7][8]

Tabinshwehti (တဗင္‌ရ္ဝ္ဟေထီး), King of Taungoo (1512-1550),
became a drunk and was assassinated by a servant. He is portrayed sitting
crosslegged on a throne in full regalia, sword in left hand and right hand on
his knee.[8]

Min Yè Aung Din, husband of Princess Shwe Sin Tu, daughter of King Thar
Sun of Innwa and his queen, who was daughter of Sawbwa of Monè in Shan State. He died from an
excess of opium smoking. He is portrayed sitting on a pedestal with a topknot
and holding a harp.[8]

Shwe Sitpin (ရ္ဝ္ဟေစစ္‌ပင္‌)

Medaw Shwezaga, the mother of Shwe Sitpin, she died of heartbreak over the
sorrowful plight of her son. She is portrayed sitting on a pedestal with her
right hand on her bosom and her left hand resting on her lap.[8]

Maung Po Tu (ေမာင္‌ဘုိးတူ), a tea
trader during the reign of King Minkhaung of Innwa, was killed by a tiger on
his way to Shan state. He is portrayed
sitting on a tiger, a stick in right hand and left hand on his thigh.[8]

Yun Bayin (ယ္ဝန္‌းဘုရင္‌) (King of the
Yun)
was Mekuti, the captive king of Chiang Mai, who died of
illness during the reign of King Bayinnaung of Hanthawaddy (1551-1581). He is
portrayed sitting with right knee raised, right hand holding a sheathed sword
across the shoulder, and left hand on left knee.[8][11][12]

Maung Minbyu (ေမာင္‌မင္‌းပ္ရု)

Mandalay Bodaw (Lord Grandfather of Mandalay), son of a Brahmin, he was
killed for not properly supervising Shwe Hpyin Naungdaw and Shwe Hpyin Nyidaw,
who were negligent in their duties.[7][8]
He is portrayed standing on a pedestal with a sword on his shoulder and a hand
raised, pointing his finger.[8]

Shwe Hpyin Naungdaw (ရ္ဝ္ဟေဖ္ယင္‌းနောင္‌တော္‌) (Inferior Gold the Elder), also
called Shwe Hpyin Gyi or Min Gyi, and

Shwe Hpyin Nyidaw (Inferior Gold the Younger), also called Shwe Hpyin Nge
or Min Lay, together known as Shwe Hpyin Nyinaung (Brothers) or Taungbyone Min
Nyinaung (Brother Lords), were sons of Byatta, the royal messenger, and Me
Wunna, a flower-eating ogress from Mt Popa, during the reign of King Anawrahta
of Bagan. They were killed for neglecting their duty to provide a brick each
thus leaving gaps in Taungbyone Pagoda, which was built by King Anawrahta.
[6][7]
They are portrayed on pedestals, one lying down and the other upright with his
sword shouldered arrogantly.[8]
Me Wunna died of a broken heart after Byatta was killed and later their sons
were taken away on the king's orders. She became a nat known as Popa Medaw
(Mother of Popa).[3]

Mintha Maungshin (မင္‌းသားမောင္‌ရ္ဟင္‌)

Htibyusaung (သိးဖ္ရုေဆာင္‌း) (Lord of
the White Umbrella) was King Kyaungbyu, father of Anawrahta.[7][8]
He was deposed and forced to become a monk by his stepsons, and died
later.[8]

Htibyusaung Medaw (သီးဖ္ရူဆောင္‌းမယ္‌တော္‌) (Royal Mother of Htibyusaung),
grandmother of Anawrahta, died of illness.[7][8]
She is portrayed with hair knotted and dangling, sitting on folded knees with
hand on her lap.[8]

Bayinma Shin Mingaung (ဘုရင္‌မရ္ဟင္‌မင္‌ခောင္‌)

Min Sithu or Alaungsithu, King of Bagan
(1112-1167), grandson and successor of King Anawrahta was assassinated by his
son Narathu
(1167-1170) who usurped his throne. He is portrayed sitting on a throne with
one knee up and his foot on the seat, wearing royal garments.[8]

Min Kyaw Zwa, also known as U Min Gyaw, he was the son of the Lord of Pyay and Kuni Devi. He
was a drunkard, cock fighter, and excellent horseman. He was killed by the
(sic) devils who had been his victims.[8]

Myaukhpet Shinma (ေမ္ရာက္‌ဘက္‌ရ္ဟင္‌မ)
(Lady of the North) was the wet nurse of King Tabinshwehti, and a native of
North Kadu. She died in childbirth. She is portrayed on her knees, right hand
on her bosom and left hand on her knee.[8]

Anauk Mibaya (အေနာက္‌မိဘုရား) (Western
Queen) was queen of King Minkhaung I of Innwa, daughter of Shan chief Tho Ngan Bwa, and
mother of Min Yè Kyaw Zwa. She died of a heart attack after being startled by
seeing Min Kyaw Zwa (U Min Gyaw) on a magic stallion in a cotton field. She is
portrayed with a headdress sitting on a lotus and nursing her baby.[8]

Shingon (ရ္ဟင္‌ကုန္‌း) (Lady Hump Back)
was a maid of King Thihathu , and accompanied him to the battlefront. She died
on her return to the capital. She is portrayed walking limply with her hands
dangling.[8]

Shingwa (Lady Bany Legs) was the sister of Mandalay Bodaw, and killed
together with her brother for hiding the brothers Shwe Hpyin.[7][8]

Shin Nemi ({{my|ရ္ဟင္‌နဲမိ

[edit]
References

This
article or section uses the Burmese script, which may
be rendered incorrectly. A Burmese Unicode font is needed to properly view this article or
section as intended. More information is available at Myanmar font display
issues.

Salek, Kira (2006-05). "Myanmar's River of Spirits", National
Geographic Magazine, pp. 136-157. Retrieved on 2006-07-03.

U Kyaw Tun et al. (2005-01-15). "Nat in My Classroom!". Tun Institute of Learning. Retrieved
on 2006-07-03.

Temple, R.C. (1906). The Thirty-seven Nats-A
Phase of Spirit-Worship prevailing in Burma.

Hla Tha Mein

[edit]
Notes

^ Braun,
Kelly (January 15, 2001). "Syncretism in Burma and Thailand". Axis Mundi, University of
Alberta. Retrieved on 2008-09-15.

^ a
b
c
Brac de la Perriere, Benedicte. "The Spirit-possession Cult in the Burmese Religion".
dhammaweb.net. Retrieved on 2008-09-14.

^ a
b
c
d
Spiro,
Melford E (1996). Burmese Spiritualism. Transaction Publishers. Retrieved on 2008-09-15.

^ Dr Sein
Tu. "Traditional Myanmar Folk Beliefs and Forest and Wildlife
Conservation". Perspective (January 1999). Retrieved on 2008-09-13.

^ a
b
c
Maung Htin Aung (February 1958). "Folk-Elements in Burmese Buddhism". The Atlantic.
Retrieved on 2008-09-11.

^ a
b
Shwe Mann Maung. "The Taung Byone Nat Festival". Perspective (August
1997). Retrieved on 2008-09-11.

^ a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
DeCaroli, Robert (2004). Haunting the Buddha: Indian Popular Religions and the Formation
of Buddhism. Oxford University
Press, US. Retrieved on 2008-09-13.

^ a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z
aa
ab
ac
ad
ae
af
ag
ah
Hla Tha Mein. "Thirty-Seven Nats". Yangonow. Retrieved on 2006-07-03.

^ a
b
"Sacred Mount
Popa". MRTV3. Retrieved on 2008-09-13.

^ Dr Khin
Maung Nyunt. "The Equestrian Festival". myanmars.net. Retrieved on
2008-09-11.

^ Forbes,
Andrew (2005). "King Mae Ku:
From Lan Na Monarch to Burmese Nat". CPAmedia. Retrieved on 2008-09-12.

^ Barlow,
Joel John. "History of Lanna - Burmese Rule and Other Foreign Influence".
Chiang
Rai Province.com. Retrieved on 2008-09-14.

[edit]
External links

The Nats - Online Burma/Myanmar Library

Friends in High Places Preview of a documentary film by
Lindsey Merrison

Mintha Theater Dance theater
in Mandalay, Burma.

Spirit of Burma
2006

Nat Pwè recordings

The
Nat Spirits and Burmese Animism Windows on Asia, Michigan State
University

Myamar Cyclone Brings Rise in Centuries-Old 'Nat' Worship
The Wall Street
Journal, June 30 2008, video and photo slideshows

Festival brings
noise and colour to Taungbyone Zaw Win Than, The Myanmar
Times Vol. 22 No. 430, August 4-10, 2008

Myanmar Nat Pwe in Bago Flickr photos by Boonlong1

Amarapura
Nat Pwe Flickr photos by burma lay

My House Nat Can Whip Your House Nat Ethan Todras-Whitehill,
Student Traveler, 2006-11-24

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nat_(spirit)"

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Burma | Buddhism in
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