Bo Bo Gyi (, ; ) traditionally refers to the name of a guardian deity (called '' nat'') unique to each Burmese Buddhist

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

pagoda A pagoda is a tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist, but some ...

. Bo Bo Gyi is typically depicted as a nearly life-sized elderly man, dressed in a curved cap and sometimes carrying a cane, to signify old age. Offerings of scarves and paso are common by worshipers. There are many Bo Bo Gyi shrines throughout the country, and some are more widely respected than others. The Shwenyaungbin (Golden Banyan Tree) Bo Bo Gyi shrine between

Yangon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

and Bago is often visited by new car owners hoping to have their cars blessed by the Bo Bo Gyi spirit at that site. According to a legend of Shwedagon Pagoda, the

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...

's hair relics were given to two Mon merchants who later gave them to the King of Yangon, wanting the relics to be properly enshrined in a pagoda. Bo Bo Gyi, as an avatar of

Indra Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes Indra is the m ...

, came down to earth and pointed his finger to the proper location where that pagoda should be built, which is where the Shwedagon Pagoda is. Hence, he is popularly depicted as a figure pointing his finger as a reference to this legend. Bo Bo Gyi is highly respected amongst

Thai people Thai people, historically known as Siamese people, are an ethnic group native to Thailand. In a narrower and ethnic sense, the Thais are also a Tai peoples, Tai ethnic group dominant in Central Thailand, Central and Southern Thailand (Siam prope ...

as ''thep than chai'' (; the deity ho may grant your wishimmediately). Many believe that praying to, wishing to, and having their forehead touched by the deity's pointing finger of the ''thep than chai'', especially at Botataung Pagoda in

, will bring them luck.

Images

File:Bo Bo Gyi, Kyauktan Yay-Le Pagoda.JPG, Bo Bo Gyi shrine at the Yay-Le Pagoda in Kyauktan File:Bo Bo Gyi, Sule Pagoda, Yangon.JPG, Bo Bo Gyi shrine at Sule Pagoda in Yangon File:Bo Bo Gyi, Bago.JPG, Bo Bo Gyi shrine in Bago

References

{{Burmese nats Burmese nats Culture of Myanmar