U Shin Gyi (, or , ; also Lord of the Sea or Conqueror of the Salty Sea) is a Burmese ''nat'' commonly venerated in the Ayeyarwady Delta region, as he is widely believed to be a benevolent guardian spirit of waterways. He is commonly depicted next to a

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...

and

crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large, semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term "crocodile" is sometimes used more loosely to include ...

, and is often holding a

Burmese harp The ''saung'' ( Burmese: စောင်း, MLCTS caung; also known as the ''saung-gauk'' ( စောင်းကောက်): , Burmese harp, Burma harp, or Myanmar harp), is an arched harp used in traditional Burmese music. The ''saung' ...

, as he was originally a harpist from Kasin village in Bago. According to one version of his story, while on an expedition to find food, U Shin Gyi and fellow lumberjacks landed on Meinmahla Island, and his harp-playing enticed two nat sisters, who did not allow the boat to depart the island until they were appeased. U Shin Gyi allowed himself to drown, pleasing the spirits, and in return he became a nat. A nat festival is held in his honor every March.http://www.myanmar.gov.mm/myanmartimes/no52/timeout_4-1.htm

References

{{Burmese nats Burmese nats Culture of Myanmar Deaths by drowning Water spirits