Into the Burmese Supernatural
continued
Worshipers
Most nat-kadaws regard themselves as the spouse of the nat, though some become the brother, sister, son, or daughter of the nat. Male nat-kadaws who don't look male are very common; about 70% of nat-kadaws are transvestites. Plenty of nat-kadaws are motivated by financial gain, especially those in the cities who have no other occupation other than being in Nat-Pwes. Others have little to gain. Most village nat-kadaws have ordinary occupations (most are farmers) and perform Nat-Pwes when requested by a family in the village, and on the holiday set aside to the nat that the nat-kadaw represents. They make very little profit and few are transvestites. Full-time nat-kadaws have Nat-Pwes for no reason at all, though many people, including many Burmese, suspect they do it for profit.
Many serious nat-kadaws, who aren't really after profit, are middle-aged females with earthly husbands. Male nat-kadaws who become sons or brothers to nats usually aren't transvestites and have a much better reputation than the transvestite spouses. They usually take an earthly spouse. Some nat-kadaws already know which nat he or she is to join, but most don't. Those who decide to become a nat-kadaw but don't know which nat is giving them the dreams will go to a local hermit. The hermit will figure out which nat is seeking the person.
The Nat-Pwe is an occasion for Burmese people, especially the nat-kadaws, to act… well… un-Burmese. The audience members sing, clap and cheer loudly, dance wildly and otherwise show emotions easily. All these things are normally abhorred in Burmese society. (They do sing and dance, but not usually in the uncontrolled manner of a Nat-Pwe.) During performances of the nat's life, the people will cheer, cry, hiss, etc. without any self-control at all. Basically, a Nat-Pwe is a chance to let it all hang out and temporally abandon the self-control expected at all times in Burmese society. Of course, in villages and in the old days in cities Nat-Pwes were only held a few times a year.
Nat-Pwe.
The Burmese are certainly not the only people to have spirits. What makes the nats unlike other spirits is how they parallel the history of Myanmar. You could almost call them "History Spirits." To read their stories is to read the embellished history of Myanmar. Most of the stories have a historical basis (maybe all of them, but there are six that are not known in history) and often the embellishments are greatly symbolic. For example, to defeat Thanton and get ahold of Buddhist wisdom, the nat of Byat Wi had to be removed as he was blocking the invading army. In the same way, the real King Anawrahta felt that the nats were blocking the coming of Buddhism to Began. Nowhere else in the world do spirits provide a historical chronicle as the nats do.
Spirit House
Robert Wilson is an English teacher in northern Thailand. Pictures of his travels can be seen at photos.yahoo.com/robert_92122.
Other stories in this series:
A Thai Funeral
Brunei: The Abode of Peace
A Glimpse of "Last Time" in Borneo
Finding Religions—Plenty of Them—in Kuala Lumpur
Luang Phabang: The Lao Fairy-tale City
From Monkey to Monk
Along Cambodia's Backroads
Listening to the Rice Grow: A Journey Up the Nam Ou River in Laos (Part 1 and
Part 2)
Don't miss future articles from Robert in our continuing series, Window on Southeast Asia.
