Popa Medaw ( my, ပုပ္ပားမယ်တော်; , also known as Me Wunna) is a nat of Myanmar. She is a flower-eating

ogre An ogre (feminine: ogress) is a legendary monster depicted as a large, hideous, man-like being that eats ordinary human beings, especially infants and children. Ogres frequently feature in mythology, folklore, and fiction throughout the world ...

ss and the mother of the Shwe Hpyin ('Inferior Gold') brothers Shwe Hpyin Naungdaw and

Shwe Hpyin Nyidaw Shwe Hpyin Nyidaw ( my, ရွှေဖျင်းညီတော်, ; ), also called Shwe Hpyin Nge (, ) or Min Lay (, ), is one of the 37 nats in the official pantheon of Burmese nats. Together known as Shwe Hpyin Nyinaung (Brothers) or Taung ...

. Although not an official member of the 37 nat pantheon which is based on her domain and namesake of

Mount Popa Mount Popa (, ) is a dormant volcano 1518 metres (4981 feet) above sea level, and located in central Myanmar in the region of Mandalay about southeast of Bagan (Pagan) in the Pegu Range. It can be seen from the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) Riv ...

, she is seen as an important nat in the Burmese spirit world. Popa Medaw is also called Mei Wunna ('Miss Gold').

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Mei Wunna was a flower-eating ogress of

, an extinct volcano southeast of Bagan. The word Popa is derived from the Pali word for flower.Htin Aung, Maung "Folk Elements in Burmese Buddhism",

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

: London, 1962. According to legend, King

Anawrahta Anawrahta Minsaw ( my, အနော်ရထာ မင်းစော, ; 11 May 1014 – 11 April 1077) was the founder of the Pagan Empire. Considered the father of the Burmese nation, Anawrahta turned a small principality in the dry zone ...

of Bagan ordered

Byatta Byatta ( my, ဗျတ္တ, ) was a senior commander in the Royal Army of King Anawrahta. He was a seaman, who joined Anawrahta's service after having shipwrecked at Thaton. He fathered two sons by a floral ogress from Popa district. The sons ...

, a mythical person of Indian descent endowed with supernatural powers upon consumption of an inanimate Zawgyi (Burmese alchemist), to fetch fresh flowers ten times daily from Mount Popa.Kyaa Nyo, Maung "Presenting Myanmar", Than Hteik Yadana Press: Yangon, 2000. Byatta fell in love with Mei Wunna and eventually, conceived the two brothers, Shwe Hpyin Naungdaw and Shwe Hpyin Nyidaw. 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). Upon the glorification of the two brothers into the 37 Nat Pantheon, the status of Mei Wunna was raised and she became the Queen-Mother of Popa. As her title suggests, she has dominion over Mount Popa.

References

{{Burmese nats Burmese nats Burmese goddesses

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See also

References