Nat (spirit)

The nats (; MLCTS: ''nat''; ) are god-like spirits venerated in Myanmar and neighbouring countries in conjunction with Buddhism. They are divided between the 37 ''Great Nats'' who were designated that status by King Anawrahta when he formalized the official list of nats. Most of the 37 ''Great Nats'' were human beings who met violent deaths.

There are two types of ''nats'' in Burmese Belief: ''nat sein'' () which are humans that were deified after their deaths and all the other nats which are spirits of nature (spirits of water, trees etc.).

Much like sainthood, ''nats'' can be designated for a variety of reasons, including those only known in certain regions in Burma. ''Nat'' worship is less common in urban areas than in rural areas and is practised among ethnic minorities of Myanmar as well as in mainstream Bamar society. However, it is among the Theravada Buddhist Bamar that the most highly developed form of ceremony and ritual is seen.

Every Burmese village has a ''nat kun'' (နတ်ကွန်း) or ''nat sin'' () which essentially serves as a shrine to the village guardian ''nat'' called the ''ywa saung nat'' (). Individual houses also have a shrine to a nat, usually a coconut is hung on a corner of the house or property, surrounded by perfume as an offering. One may inherit a certain member or in some instances two of the 37 ''Great Nats'' as ''mi hsaing hpa hsaing'' (; ) from one or both parents' side to worship depending on where their families originally come from. One also has a personal guardian deity called ''ko saung nat'' ().

Nat worship and Buddhism

Academic opinions vary as to whether Burmese Buddhism and Burmese spirit worship are two separate entities, or merged into a single religion. As with a rise of globalization, the importance of the nat religion on modern Myanmar and its people has been diminished. The formalizing of the official 37 ''Great Nats'' by King Anawrahta (1044–1077) of Bagan, has been interpreted as Burmanisation and establishment of Bamar supremacy in the Irrawaddy valley after the unification of the country and founding of the First Burmese Empire.
Worship of ''nats'' predates Buddhism in Burma. With the arrival of Buddhism, however, the ''nats'' were syncretically merged with Buddhism.

Nat worship and ecology

The widespread traditional belief among rural folks that there are forest guardian spirits called ''taw saung nat''s () and mountain guardian spirits called ''taung saung nat''s () appears to act as a deterrent 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 tree spirits called ''yokkazo'' (; tree spirit) and that such an act would bring the wrath of the ''nat'' upon the perpetrator.

Popular nat festivals

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 tall located near Bagan in central Burma. The annual festival is held on the full moon of the month of ''Natdaw'' (December) of the Burmese calendar. Taungbyone, north of Mandalay in Madaya Township, is another major site with the festival held each year starting on the eleventh waxing day and including the full moon in the month ''Wagaung'' (August). 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.

''Nats'' are ascribed 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 kadaw''s ( "wife of the spirit", i.e. "medium, shaman") dance and embody the ''nats''. Historically, the ''nat kadaw'' profession was hereditary and passed from mother to daughter. Until the 1980s, few ''nat gadaw''s were male. Since the 1980s, persons identified by outsiders as trans women have increasingly performed these roles.

Music, often accompanied by a hsaing waing ("orchestra"), adds much to the mood of the ''nat pwè'', and many are entranced. People come from far to take part in the festivities in various
shrines called ''nat kun'' or ''nat naan'', get drunk on palm wine and dance wildly in fits of ecstasy to the wild beat of the Hsaing waing music, possessed by the ''nats''.

Whereas ''nat pwè''s are annual events celebrating a particular member of the 37 ''Great 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 pwè''s 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 kadaw''s as an independent profession made their appearance in the latter half of the 19th century as spirit mediums, and ''nat kannah''s 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 deities of their native place.

List of official nats

King Anawrahta of Bagan (1044–1077) designated an official pantheon of 37 ''Great Nats'' after he had failed to enforce a ban on ''nat'' worship. His stratagem of incorporation eventually succeeded by bringing ''nats'' to Shwezigon Pagoda portrayed worshipping Gautama Buddha and by enlisting Śakra, a Buddhist protective deity, to head the pantheon above the Mahagiri nats as Thagyamin. Seven out of the 37 ''Great Nats'' appear to be directly associated with the life and times of Anawrahta.

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; illustrations of them show them in Burmese royal dress. Listed in proper order, they are:

# Thagyamin ()
# Min Mahagiri ()
# Hnamadawgyi ()
# Shwe Nabay ()
# Thonbanhla ()
# Taungoo Mingaung ()
# Mintara ()
# Thandawgan ()
# Shwe Nawrahta ()
# Aungzwamagyi ()
# Ngazi Shin ()
# Aung Pinle Hsinbyushin ()
# Taungmagyi ()
# Maungminshin ()
# Shindaw ()
# Nyaunggyin ()
# Tabinshwehti ()
# Minye Aungdin ()
# Shwe Sitthin ()
# Medaw Shwezaga ()
# Maung Po Tu ()
# Yun Bayin ()
# Maung Minbyu ()
# Mandalay Bodaw ()
# Shwe Hpyin Naungdaw (‌)
# Shwe Hpyin Nyidaw ()
# Mintha Maungshin ()
# Htibyuhsaung ()
# Htibyuhsaung Medaw ()
# Pareinma Shin Mingaung ()
# Min Sithu ()
# Min Kyawzwa ()
# Myaukhpet Shinma ()
# Anauk Mibaya ()
# Shingon ()
# Shingwa ()
# Shin Nemi ()

See also

* Burmese folk religion
* Deva (Buddhism)
* Hungry ghost
* Lên đồng
* Preta
*

References

* 'King Mae Ku: From Lan Na Monarch to Burmese Nat', in: Forbes, Andrew, and Henley, David, ''Ancient Chiang Mai'' Volume 1. Chiang Mai, Cognoscenti Books, 2012.
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* Hla Tha Mein

External links

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Nat belief and Buddhism
Photo essay by Claudia Wiens

The Nats - Online Burma/Myanmar Library


Preview of a documentary film by Lindsey Merrison

Nat Dance
YouTube

Mintha Theater
Dance theater in Mandalay, Burma.

Spirit of Burma 2006

Nat Pwè recordings


Windows on Asia, Michigan State University

Myanmar 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

My House Nat Can Whip Your House Nat
Ethan Todras-Whitehill, ''Student Traveler'', 2006-11-24
* An account of the Taungbyone 2010 nat pwe spirit festival at Arcane Cand
Part 1
an
Part 2

Myanmar's River of Spirits
Kira Salak, ''National Geographic''. May 2006

The Thirty Seven Nats. A Phase of Spirit-Worship prevailing in Burma , Southeast Asia Digital Library

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Buddhism in Myanmar
Tutelary deities
Burmese legendary creatures