Categories of Nats, Individual Nats, Places and Festivals, Burmese terms

 

---

Categories of Nat Spirits

1. Highest Rank. Celestials on the Slopes of Mt. Meru in Buddhist Cosmology: Thagya Min (Indra), Pyinsa Theinka Nat (who played harp to the Buddha), AND in lower realms of Dewa Nat Spirits who led good lives as humans
2. Guardian Spirits of tree, mountain, land house, village, town, country, roads. Some Nat Spirits overlap categories:  Min Mahagiri is a leader of the 37 Pantheon and also a protector Nat of the household.
3. Nat Spirits who are deceased humans still in limbo between lives, stuck in their regret or bitterness. THESE are the predominant Pantheon of 37, called “Nat Sein” – those who died a violent death (cf., Ma Thanegi. 2011. Nat: Spirits of Fortune and Fear. Bangkok: Igroup Press.)

The number “37” is used as a mystical ordering (said to originate from Hindu cosmology) used frequently throughout Burmese history since the Bagan period.  A confusing concept for newcomers to the Nat Spirit World. There are 37 Inside Nat, 37 Outside Nat, 37 Songs with Lyrics, 37 songs without lyrics, 37 Kyo songs related to Nats etc etc. Actually, throughout Myanmar, there are hundreds and hundreds of different  “Nat” Spirits  who are supplicated through local and  regional ceremonies (pwe) (cf., Shu Ba Thein. 2013. The Number thirty-seven and Burmese Customs. Yangon: Seikku Cho Cho).

---

Select list of Nat Spirits  (including Guardian Spirits)  encountered most often in ceremonies

Amay Yay Yin aka Anauk Mei Daw, Mother of the West – with 3 sisters who swing swords.

Bago Medaw Nat – Queen Buffalo Nat from Bago, a city an hour north of Yangon

Bo Bo Gyi – Village protector found all over Myanmar

Byat Ta – said to be Persian Moslem  – who marries  Popa Mei Daw  – which is why no pork is allowed at Nat Pwe ceremonies

Byat Wi – Older brother of Byat Ta

Ma Hne Lay (Little oboe – daughter of Shon Pan Hla, died at 3 years)

Ma Nay Mi , Shin Ne Mi – takes boiled eggs as offerings

Ma Ngwe Taung – (Lady Silver Mountain) Accepts human husbands, said to be able to settle family problems

Min Gyi (Elder Prince), Min Kalei (Younger Prince) (aka Shwe Hpyin Gyi /Shwe Hpyin Lay) – sons of Popa Mei Daw and Byat Ta. Both brothers known as “Taunbyon Nat Brothers” depicted mounted on tigers. Taunbyone, outside of Mandalay,  is the center of an annual festival attended by all Nat Pwe Troupes of Myanmar.

Min Hpyu Shin – Rider of the White Horse

Min Mahagiri (earthly name: Maung Tint De, blacksmith set afire by a king desiring his sister); King of the Nat Pantheon, also Protector Nat of Homes

Popa Mei Daw – Mother Goddess of Mt. Popa, an ogress who only eats flowers (Earthly name: Mei Wunna Theingi who escaped from King Anawrahta of Bagan who formalized the Nat Pantheon in 11thc CE)

Shay gaing Mae Daw – Mother of U Min Kyaw

Shin Hpyu, Shin Nyo (twin sons of Shwey Hna Bay skilled in martial arts, forced to kill each other by a mistrusting king)

Shwe Hna Bay (Lady Goldensides – born of a dragon, wife of Maung Tint De)

Shwe Myet Hna (Lady Golden Face First Sister of Maung Tint De, also burned in inferno trying to save her brother whom the King in a rage had burned at the stake)

Thon Pan Hla (Second Sister of Maung Tint De)

U Min Kyaw aka Min Kyaw Swa (Ko Gyi Kyaw),

 

Nat Spirits  from Shan State: (outside Nats)

Koe Myo Shin, (Lord of 9 Towns) Palei Yin (Gentle Lady Pearl)

Nat Spirits  from the South:

U Shin Gyi (Harpist), Maung Shin, Danin Nat, Bago Medaw or Nang Ka Raing (Lady Buffalo)

---

Significant Places and Festivals

Ahlone Festival  – March – Outside of Monywa, upper Myanmar, Ma Ngwe Daung Patron Nat

Amarapura – Aug – Near Mandalay – Popa Medaw, Patron Nat

Bago – year round – Hanthawaddi Palace, Bago (near Yangon) Lady Buffalo, Patron Nat

Inwa – Near Mandalay – March – Thon Ban Hla, Patron Nat

Irrawaddy Delta area – year-round  – U Shin Gyi, Patron Nat

Myittha – September – Shwe Hne Bay, Patron Nat

Pakhant – March – U Min Kyaw, Patron Nat

Mt. Popa – December, August – Near Bagan – for Min Mahagiri, Patron Nat, and Taunbyone brothers

Taunbyone – the biggest in Myanmar  – August – Taunbyone Brothers  as Dual Patron Nat Spirits

---

Burmese Terms /Glossary 

Bagan – Current spelling for the current city and former kingdom (Pagan) along the Irrawaddy river with a landscape of 2229 pagoda/temple ruins.

Balu – ogre

Dewa – Celestials or Gods

Dhamma (Burmese) Dharma (Sanskrit) – Buddha’s teachings

Hsaing Waing – Traditional Burmese music ensemble:

1.Pat waing – suspended 21 drum circle, 2. Kye waing – suspended gong circle, 3. Kyauk Lon Bat 4. Set Hkun and Pat Ma Gyi  – two large sided drums horizontally placed,played with the fist 5. Si/Wa (Bell and clapper – timing instruments) 6. Maung – Large Gongs 7. Maung Hsaing  – suspended smaller kettle gongs 8. Lin Gwin – Cymbals 9.Hne  – oboe 10.Wat La Hkot – large clapper used for the most accelerated tempos 11. Si Doe – 2-4 vertically placed drums used with mallets. (“Nat Doe” is the musical function of these drums being played – louder than any other drum –  for possession in propitiation of a particular Nat Spirit.)

Kadaw – to worship, pay respect , also a term for “wife”

Kadaw Pwe – Ritual of respect and offerings

King Anawrahta – 1014-1077 AD. Founder of the Pagan Empire and former monk legitimizing Buddhism in Burma

Kyat – Unit of Myanmar/Burmese currency

Laphet – Pickled Tea leaves used in Salad, also used for “Nat food”

Leipya – Butterfly, metaphor for the human soul

Lawka – the World

Lei Pya Taik – Rite of possession

Longyi – sarong

Mein Ma Sha – Cross dresser (literal Burmese: “appropriating the affect and characteristics of a woman”)

Min – King or Lord

Min Tha – prince

Naga – Dragon, Mythical Beast

Nat – A spirit in the afterlife, of a human whose death was violent, tragic, undeserved or unjust

Nat Doe – Spirit possession ceremonies in general

Nat Htein –  Spirit Medium or formal figure who directs a Nat Pwe troupe

Nat Kadaw – Human wife of a Nat, can be female or male; A medium who may or may not be married to a Nat spirit, dancing in costume, supplicating particular Nat spirits. Two related meanings: “wife of a Nat ” and “bowing to the Nat” in referring to Spirit Mediums.

Nat Kyin – Repertoire of songs used in the Nat Pwe, for each Nat

Nat Pwe – A ceremony  of usually 3 days where a troupe of Nat Kadaws supplicate spirits with accompanying musicians, induce trance, ask for blessings  for donors who hire them on auspicious occasions, especially in blessing new business ventures, but also celebrating specific days dedicated to specific Nat Spirits.

Nat Sein – A Nat who has died a violent or tragic death. A pre-mature death.

Nat Sin – A shrine to guardian Nat Spirits

Nat Yin – To be easily possessed by a Nat Spirit

Nat Win de, Nat Pu de – Entrance into trance,  into possession

Pawa – Burmese shawl used in traditional costumes

Pyinsa Rupa – A mythical beast comprised of five animals (can vary but usually: Carp, Horse, Elephant, Swan, Lion)

Pyinsa Theinkha or Sakkha – Deva who demonstrated “The Middle (Rightfold) Path” for Siddartha Gautama as he was becoming  Buddha by plucking the string that was not too tight, nor too loose – sounding the “right” pitch for living.

Si Doe – vertical headed drum played with sticks.

Thanaka – A scented paste ground from the bark of the Thanaka tree, related to Sandalwood. Used to shield the skin from the hot rays of the sun, as a centuries -old cosmetic for women in Myanmar.

Thabyay – Leaves from the Eugenia tree used to call the Nat Spirits to the Pwe (ceremony), for blessings in Buddhist ritual offerings, as talisman against misfortune.

Thagya Min – Burmese term for “Indra”   – Hindu god of Rain, Lightening, Thunder and War

Theravada – Southern School of Buddhism found in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia

Yedaya – Fortune telling and advice for rituals to do to circumvent fate