Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
insertion effectively made all
nat
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
nat
in the form of an unhusked coconut
dressed in a red
gaung baung
(turban), which represents the dual-
nat
Eindwin-Min Ma-
hagiri (Lord of the Great Mountain Who is in the House). Another widespread form of
nat
worship is exhibited through the red-and-white cloths tied to a rear-view mirror or
hood ornament; these colours are the traditional
nat
colours of protection.
Some of the more animistic guardian
nat
remain outside home and paya. A tree-spirit
shrine, for example, may be erected beneath a particularly 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 enlighten-
ment.
A village may well have a
nat
shrine in a wooded corner for the propitiation of the vil-
lage guardian spirit. Such tree and village shrines are simple, dollhouse-like structures of
wood or bamboo; their proper placement is divined by a local
saya
(teacher or shaman),
trained in spirit lore. Such knowledge of the complex
nat
world is fading fast among the
younger generations.
Spirit possession - whether psychologically induced or meta- physical - is a phe-
nomenon that is real in the eyes of locals. The main fear is not simply that spirits will
wreak havoc on your daily affairs, but rather that one may enter your mind and body and
force you to perform unconscionable acts in public.
Nat Festivals
On certain occasions the
nat
cult goes beyond simple propitiation of the spirits (via offer-
ings) and steps into the realm of spirit invocation. Most commonly this is accomplished
through
nat pwe
(spirit festivals), special musical performances designed to attract
nat
to
the performance venue.
To lure a
nat
to the
pwe
takes the work of a spirit medium, or
nat-gadaw
(
nat
wife),
who is either a woman or, more commonly, a male transvestite who sings and dances to
invite specific
nat
to possess them. The
nat
also like loud and colourful music, so musi-
cians at a
nat pwe
bang away at full volume on their gongs, drums and xylophones, pro-
ducing what sounds like some ancient form of rock and roll.
