Min Kyawzwa ( my, မင်းကျော်စွာ, ; also known as U Min Gyaw and Ko Gyi Kyaw), is one of the 37 nats in the official pantheon of Burmese nats. He is a composite representation of multiple historical personalities. One version puts him as a son of King Theinhko of

Pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

; he was murdered by his brother. Another version puts him as an adviser to King Alaungsithu of Pagan; he died an alcoholic. Another puts him as Crown Prince Minye Kyawswa of Ava, who fell in action in the

Forty Years' War The Forty Years' War ( my, အနှစ်လေးဆယ်စစ်; 1385 – 1424; also Ava-Pegu War or the Mon-Burmese War) was a military war fought between the Burmese-speaking Kingdom of Ava and the Mon-speaking Kingdom of Hanthawad ...

. Yet another version puts him as a son of the Lord of

Pyay Pyay (, ; mnw, ပြန် , ; also known as Prome and Pyè) is principal town of Pyay Township in the Bago Region in Myanmar. Pyay is located on the bank of the Irrawaddy River, north-west of Yangon. It is an important trade center for the Aye ...

and Kuni Devi. He reportedly was a "drunkard and cock fighter and also a good rider", killed by his victims turned devils.

Ma Ngwe Taung Ma Ngwe Taung ( my, မငွေတောင်) is a Burmese nat. She is the spirit of a Hindu woman of Burmese Indian descent, who died near Monywa. An annual festival is held every year in her honor. As Ngwe Taung was Hindu, beef offerings are ...

, another nat, was seduced by Min Kyawzwa when they were both humans and abandoned by him. She pined for him so much that her brother, who did not approve of Min Kyawzwa, became angry and pushed her off a cliff. She helps women abandoned by husbands or lovers. Min Kyawzwa is the guardian of drunkards and gamblers, and grants wealth to those he favours. His main shrine is in his hometown of Pakhan, near

Pakokku Pakokku ( my, ပခုက္ကူမြို့, ) is the largest city in the Magway Region of Myanmar. It is situated about 30 km north-east of Bagan on the Irrawaddy River. It is the administration seat of Pakokku Township , Pakokku Distric ...

in Magway Region, where his festival is held every March.

References

{{Burmese nats *32