Popa Medaw (; , also known as Me Wunna ; Burmese: မယ်ဝဏ္ဏ) is a

nat Nat or NAT may refer to: Computing * Network address translation (NAT), in computer networking Chemistry, biology, and medicine * Natural antisense transcript, an RNA transcript in a cell * N-acetyltransferase, an enzyme; also NAT1, NAT2, et ...

of Myanmar. She is a flower-eating

yakshini Yakshinis or Yakshis (, , Prakrit languages, Prakrit: ) are a class of female nature spirits in Hinduism, Hindu, Buddhism, Buddhist, and Jainism, Jain religious mythologies that are different from Hindu deities, Devas and Asuras and Gandharva ...

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

Shwe Hpyin Naungdaw Shwe Hpyin Naungdaw ( ; ), also called Shwe Hpyin Gyi ( ) or Min Gyi ( ), is one of the 37 nats in the official pantheon of Burmese nats. He is the elder brother of Shwe Hpyin Nyidaw and the son of Popa Medaw, another ''nat''. He and his brother ...

and

Shwe Hpyin Nyidaw Shwe Hpyin Nyidaw (, ; ), also called Shwe Hpyin Nge (, ) or Min Lay (, ), is one of the 37 nats in the official pantheon of Burmese nats. He and his brother Shwe Hpyin Naungdaw are the subject of Myanmar's largest Nat festival- the six-day an ...

. 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 Region, Mandalay about southeast of Bagan (Pagan) in the Pegu Range. It can be seen from the Irrawaddy Ri ...

, 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 Bagan ( ; ; formerly Pagan) is an ancient city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Mandalay Region of Myanmar. From the 9th to 13th centuries, the city was the capital of the Pagan Kingdom, the first kingdom that unified the regions that w ...

. 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 publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

: London, 1962. According to legend, King

Anawrahta Anawrahta Minsaw (, ; 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 Upper Burma into the first Burmese Empire that ...

of Bagan ordered Byatta, 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