RELIGION & BELIEFNatWorship 341
One of the most fascinating things about Myanmar is the ongoing wor-
ship of the nat (spirit being). Though some Buddhist leaders downgrade
thenat, thenatt are very much alive in the lives of the people of Myanmar.
History
Worship of nats predates Buddhism in Myanmar.Nats have long be-
lieved to hold dominion over a place (natural or human-made), person
or fi eld of experience.
Separate, larger shrines were built for a higher class of nat, descended
from actual historic personages (including previous Thai and Bamar
kings) who had died violent, unjust deaths. These suprahuman nat,
when correctly propitiated, could aid worshippers in accomplishing im-
portant tasks, vanquishing enemies and so on.
Early in the 11th century in Bagan, King Anawrahta stopped animal
sacrifi ces (part of natt worship at Mt Popa) and destroyednatt temples.
Realising he may lose the case for making Theravada Buddhism the
national faith, Anawrahta wisely conceded thenattt’s coexistence with
Buddha.
There were 36 recognised nat at the time (in fact, there are many
more). Anawrahta sagely added a 37th, Thagyamin, a Hindu deity based
on Indra, whom he crowned ‘king of the nattt’. Since, in traditional Bud-
dhist mythology, Indra paid homage to Buddha, this insertion eff ectively
made all natt subordinate to Buddhism. Anawrahta’s scheme worked,
and today the commonly believed cosmology places Buddha’s teachings
at the top.
Worship & Beliefs
In many homes you may see the most popular natt in the form of an un-
husked coconut dressed in a red gaung baung (turban), which represents
the dual-natt Eindwin-Min Mahagiri (Lord of the Great Mountain Who
Is in the House). Another widespread form of natt worship is exhibited
through the red-and-white cloths tied to a rear-view mirror or hood or-
nament; these colours are the traditionalnatt colours of protection.
Some of the more animistic guardian natt remain outside home and
paya. A tree-spirit shrine, for example, may be erected beneath a par-
ticularly venerated old tree, thought to wield power over the immediate
vicinity. These are especially common beneath larger banyan trees (Ficus
religiosa), as this tree is revered as a symbol of Buddha’s enlightenment.
A village may well have a natt shrine in a wooded corner for the pro-
pitiation of the village guardian spirit. Such tree and village shrines are
simple, dollhouse-like structures of wood or bamboo; their proper place-
ment is divined by a localsayaa (teacher or shaman), trained in spirit
lore. Such knowledge of the complex natt world is fading fast among the
younger generations.
Spirit possession – whether psychologically induced or metaphysical –
is a phenomenon that is real in the eyes of locals. The main fear is not
simply that spirits will wreak havoc on your daily aff airs, but rather that
one may enter your mind and body and force you to perform unconscio-
nable acts in public.
Nat Festivals
On certain occasionsthe natt cult goes beyond simple propitiation of the
spirits (via off erings) and steps into the realm of spirit invocation. Most
commonly, this is accomplished throughnat pwe (spirit festivals), special
musical performances designed to attract natt to the performance venue.
The written Bur-
mese word nat
is likely derived
from the Pali-
Sanskrit natha,
meaning lord or
guardian.NAT
Many Buddhist
temples in
Myanmar have
their own nat-sin
(spirit house)
attached to the
main pagoda.SPIRIT HOUSE