Nats of Burma

View Photos (9) Image © 2000 Michael McDonell

"No, I don't believe in the Nats!" Thu (Mary), my Yangon guide responded to my question. "No, I'm Buddhist. Some believe, but I don't."

The worship of the Nats preceded Buddhism in Burma and still exists along with Buddhist practices. Nats are the spirits of the trees, rivers, rocks and ancestors. Among others, they are a mix of rogues, deities and alcoholics. Of the 37 Nats, all are ghosts or spirits of heroes with one exception'Thagyamin Nat or the chief Nat who was put into place by King Anawratha in the 11th century. Although Nat worship is disregarded by some as superstitious, few people would ignore the Nats and offerings are made at every occasion. Originating from the Pali-Sanskrit, natha means lord or guardian. King Anawratha tried to ban Nat worship in Bagan as he pushed to make Theravada Buddhism the national faith. The people took the worship underground, building guardian Nat shrines in their homes.

Thu sat enjoying the gadaw-pwe or private ceremony while I was drawn in by the excitement of the spirit wife who had been smoking, smelling offered food and drinking whiskey for the past twenty minutes. Could she really bless the ritual participants with good fortune in the coming year? Buddha is for future lives and nat worship is for the problems in this life. Nat seances where spirits are believed to enter the bodies of a spirit-wife or Nat-gadaw are held in private homes once or twice each year and Thu's home happened to be across the street from where a Nat ritual was in full swing.

The biggest Nat ritual is held in Taungbyon, about twenty kilometers north of Wagung. In August, for six days including the full moon of Wagung, Nat-gadaws and devotees from all over Burma come together in a large collection of tents for a week of drinking, music and spirit-possession. A very popular form of entertainment in Burma is the pwe, an all-night party that combines song, dance and theater. Nat dancers, mostly women or transvestites, are the rich villagers who can afford the party. Nats make demands for gifts of food, cigarettes, booze and money among other things. The pwe are spiritual and highly charged with the din of the orchestra. Fortunately, the popularity of the pwe has kept traditional music, dance and theatre alive in Burma.

Judging by the robust mass of the Nat-gadaw's body and her diamonds, she was indeed blessed. She tossed back gulps of Johnny Walker Red Label and showered the ritual participants with fistfuls of khat (pronounced chat), Burma's ever-fluctuating currency. The first spirit wife gave Thu and me a wad of the khat and told us to go to the lottery. "Very lucky for you, Michael," said Thu, "don't mix this up with your other money." But Thu doesn't believer..or so I thoughtÉall of the money I received was in five khat notes and only a few days earlier, at a temple in Bagan, I was told by a fortuneteller that my lucky number is five. But then I don't believe either.

Following the Nat ritual, exhausted but excited, Thu and I rushed to the nearest lottery seller careful to choose tickets with the number five in them. I'm still waiting for my winnings.

Author's Note:
In 1989, the military government of Burma changed the name of the country to Myanmar. Aung San Suu Kyi, the democratic party leader and Nobel Prize laureate, was quoted as saying; "Nobody asked the people if they wanted the name of their country changed." Many Burmese still refer to their country as Burma.

Published on 1/1/99