Hiroshima University
According to 1983 Census, about 89 % of people in Burma (Myanmar) are Theravada Buddhists. In parallel with this confession of belief, it is also true that lots of people are accustomed to spirit worship in practice.
This article argues about spirit worship in Burma in context of narrative formation inter-ethnically. The legends that will be shown later are derived from some historical documents and interview reports by the author with some spirit worship experts who keep the shrines and can narrate about spirit legends.
Ko Myo Shin (Lord of Nine Towns) is one of the popular spirit names worshipped in Burma and well known as a nat of the Shan in the background of Burmese spiritual world. Why is he known as the Shan nat? His position in a spiritual world and legend as well as his black costume like a Shan seems to infer some relationship between the Burmese (Bamar) and the Shan.
Here the author will compare Ko Myo Shin's legend with other spirit legends, especially Min Maha Giri and Taungbyon Brothers, who belong to the most popular 37 lords in Burma and were mentioned in the Glass Palace Chronicle (GPC) edited in 19th century on one hand. Nowadays the former is worshipped as guardian spirit of every Burmese house; the festival of the latter is the most famous one in Burma. On the other hand, Saw Mon Hla's story will be treated as a reference. She was a legendary Shan princess who was a daughter of Shan Sawbwa (Chief) and became a wife of King Anawrahta (1044-1077) of Pagan dynasty. But she was driven out from the palace by being suspected as a witch. This heroin relates the origin of Shwe Sayan pagoda near the Myitnge River, which is a branch of Ayeyarwaddy River.
All of those characters commonly have non-Burmese backgrounds. But their stories are Burmese folklore and their narratives are composed in the context of Burmese culture. So it is probable that they express how the Burmese view 'others' by their own cultural context 1). Therefore its analysis shall be an attempt to study about Burmese knowledge of 'selves' by referring 'others'.
Well-Known Spirit Legends
(1) Min Maha Giri and Her sister
The legends of Min Maha Giri and Taungbyon brothers relate with Pagan. Through Burma, Min Maha Giri is called Eindwin (inside house) nat (spirit), the house guardian, whose symbol, abode and offering for whom is a coconut together with red curtain that we can see at the east-south corner of house in general together with Buddha altar.
"One blacksmith named U Tin Te of Tagaung was famous for his mighty. The King was afraid of his strength and tried to catch him. But the mighty man ran away into the forest. The King called his sister as queen into the palace and persuaded her to call his brother. When the blacksmith came to the palace, the King arrested him at a saga tree (Indian Champac, michelia champaca) and set on fire. The Queen jumped into the fire and perished with him. The brother and sister pair became nats and brought evil to any one who came near the shadow of the tree. So the King of Tagaung ordered the tree to be uprooted and thrown into the Ayeyarwaddy River. The tree floated down and arrived near riverside of Pagan kingdom. The King of Pagan made them the guardian spirits of Pagan and enshrined it at Mount Popa."
(2) Taungbyon Brothers
The period of Taungbyon Brothers' story was in the 11th century when the first Burmese kingdom founded under the leadership of King Anawrahta.
"Two kula (Indian or black) brothers were shipwrecked near Thaton in Lower Burma. One monk kept and grew them up continually near him. One day they ate the dead fakir's body and got superhuman power. So they were driven away and the elder was arrested and executed and became the guardian spirit of Thaton. The younger went to Pagan and served under King Anawrahta. He distinguished himself when the King attacked Thaton for bringing of the Pitakas with the help of his brother's spirit. Afterwards the King appointed the younger kula to bring flower from Mount Popa every morning. He fell in love with an ogress living in Mount Popa and got two sons. One day he was late for the appointed time and sentenced to death. The ogress died for grief. The two sons left served the King and helped him for his journey to Shan Pyi (country) and China for getting the sacred tooth. In the end the two brothers were put to death for the king trusted them not. Because they forgot to bring bricks for building a pagoda at Taungbyon village. The King ordered the building of the spirit palace for them there."
(3) Ko Myo Shin
Which period and where the legend of Ko Myo Shin was firstly narrated are not certain. Ko Myo Shin is generally identified as a Shan spirit, but his origin is not in Shan. Ko Myo Shin is an asein nat, which means that his death must have been unnatural like other nats and worshipped as a land-superintendent from a spiritual world where the number nine is a key-term. The relationship between Ko Myo Shin of the following version and Burmese Kings is not mentioned or obscure and differs from other popular nats legends in Burma like Min Maha Giri and Taungbyon Brothers. The older versions of Ko Myo Shin say his military service under Burmese Kings [Scott and Hardiman 1901: 2-3; 324].
"Ko Myo Shin was a heir of Pandaung (hill of flower) kingdom founded in the area of the Ayeyarwaddy River. Ko Myo Shin and his brother-in law, U Min Kyaw who was drunken and quarrelsome attacked a Shan State. On the return of campaign, they rescued two Shan princes whose names are Khun Chou and Khun Tha. Though the King planned to make two Shan princes brought up by Ko Myo Shin and U Min Kyaw, the King ordered Ko Myo Shin and his sister Palei Yin to bring up them because U Min Kyaw had a rude character and was a wrongdoer. He became shameful and jealous and bore a grudge against the King and Ko Myo Shin. One day when two Shan princes were absent for a campaign in the area of Shan States, U Min Kyaw wanted to usurp the throne and marry Palei Yin. He killed the King and Queen. Ko Myo Shin and Palei Yin ran away and hid themselves at the house of a rich person. When Khun Chou and Khun Tha returned back, U Min Kyaw instructed them to search and kill Ko Myo Shin. They could not kill their foster father, so Ko Myo Shin cut off his head by himself. Ko Myo Shin became a nat. But U Min Kyaw when they took Ko Myo Shin's head killed Khun Chou and Khun Tha. That's why they became revengeful spirits. They revenged on U Min Kyaw. U Min Kyaw became a nat caught by a fallen tree. Ko Myo Shin took Palei Yin and her daughter's lives and they became nats. Ko Myo Shin is the guardian of Nine gates and worshipped as Nine Myo Guardian-Spirit.
King Anawrahta and Spirit Legends
The above-mentioned stories vary in detail by time and place, but the skeleton of the plots is unchanged. Tagaung that is located at the left side of upper Ayeyarwaddy River than Mandalay is believed to be the earliest site of the Burmese in the present Burma. One of the famous historians, Maung Htin Aung writes that King Anawrahta gave the second rank for Min Maha Giri among the 37 lords, whose head of the pantheon was Thagya Min or Sakra (Indra) as guardian of Buddhism and set up the images of 37 lords in Shwezigon Pagoda as its guardian spirits [Htin Aung 1962: 74-75].
In other words the relationship of Min Maha Giri and King Anawrahta expresses the King's orthodoxy as ruler for both Buddhist kingdom and spiritual world. The legend of Taungbyon Brothers nats represents that King Anawrahta was military hero as symbol of success. With the distinguished service by the brothers he succeeded on military campaign. Probably that's why the spirit festival of them became the most famous one in Burma and lots of spirit experts who come from all over the country gather in Taungbyon village annually.
Therefore the legends of Min Maha Giri and Taungbyon Brothers reflect two kinds of characters or image of King Anawrahta from spiritual sphere, that is to say his sovereignty and military mighty.
There remains another image of King Anawrahta, that is a symbolic character of king for fertility. The GPC mentions King Anawrahta's building of dams and canals for irrigation in Upper Burma. [Tin and Luce 1923: 96]. The Gazetteer of Upper Burma and Shan States (GUBSS) says its story in detail and mentions about another spirit called Ko Thein Shin worshipped in Kyaukse as follows:
"According to the local story, King Nawra-hta (Anawrahta) returned to his capital, Pagan, from China with a tooth of the Buddha in the year 454 B.E. (1092 AD). He stopped at the hill of Thuwunna Poppada, now known as Pyet-kha-ywe, and there erected a shrine in which the tooth placed. The King was a man zealous for the improvement of the condition of his subjects, and after the completion of the shrine he dreamt that he saw three snakes. One he succeeded in cutting into four pieces, another into five; the third one escaped unharmed. He consulted the Brahmins as to the meaning of this dream, and they interpreted it thus - The three snakes were the three chief rivers in the district, the Zaw-gyi, the Panlaung, and the Samon. The snake which was cut into four parts represented the Panlaung, and the four cuts were the four canals which were to lead from it. The Zawgyi was the second snake, and the five cuts were five canals. The third snake was the Samon. It runs in a very low bed and is useless for irrigation purposes. It therefore escaped dammed [Scott and Hardiman 1901: 2-1; 504]."
"When King Nawra-hta had finished the construction of four weirs and four irrigation canals in the Le-Khayaing (the present Myittha subdivision), he went on to inspect the Nga-khayaing (now the Kyaukse subdivision), with the intention of selecting the proper place for the Nwa-det weir. On his way he passed the town of Myo-hti and asked his ministers why, the King had not come forth to pay him homage. No one knew, so Nawra-hta sent orders for him to come. But the King of Myo-hti was proud, and since he could not resist he went and drowned himself in the Zaw-gyi river rather than bow down before King Nawra-hta. After death he became a nat. Nawra-hta knew this, so he went to the river-bank and struck the water with his kyein-lon sekkya, his magic wand. The dead king of Myo hti, though he could refuse to come when alive, now not only rose to the surface, but came up with his hands joined together in homage, and said, "Most dread sire, had I aforetime known your power then would I not have dared to disobey." Nawra-hta replied, "Now art thou indeed a nat, but I can make thee greater even among nats. I appoint thee guardian spirit of all the ko-khayaing." And to this day the proud King of Myo-hti is worshipped under the name of the Thein nat. or the Kothein Shin nat [Scott an Hardiman 1901: 2-1; 517]."
R. Grant Brown mentions one legend of the lady of the weir concerns about Kyaukse.
"The local legend is that this lady was one of the wives of Nawyata (Anawrahta) and sister of the Shan king of Myogyi, which lies among the hills above where the Zawgyi enters the district, a few miles within the Shan States [Brown 1916:491-492].".
"According to the legend, a victim was about to be taken for each weir, when the sister of the Shan king of myodyi, one of the Nawyata's queens, asked whether her death would not suffice for all. So she was slain, and every weir was placed her likeness in a wooden figure overlaid with gold leaf. The King of Myodyi himself had a tragic death. He regarded himself as the equal in rank of the great Burmese king, but when Nawyata sent for him to render homage he sank his pride and started for Pagan rather than drag his people into war. When he reached the whirlpool in the Zawgyi Rover, where it enters Burma, he was so overcome with shame that he threw himself in and was drowned. The boulders called the Brother and Sister, already mentioned, are popularly identified with this unhappy pair [Brown 1921: 87]."
Another local story says that Shan Sawbwa was identified with the ruler of Nine provinces of Maw. His sister became a queen of King Anawrahta. But they divorced and the King attacked Maw. The Shan Sawbwa retired and the prince followed and his two sisters became the wives of King. The King started the construction of irrigation in Ko Khayaing with the friendship with the Shan. Three years after the construction had been stopped, for the workers were dead by heat. The king consulted with a Brahmin and was advised to do human sacrifice. The victim should have aung (success) in components of name. One of the Shan wives named Saw Aung decided to dedicate herself as a sacrifice and her sister, Saw Nan followed and jumped into the Zawgyi River. The brother died with sorrow. The King ordered for them to make a shrine and gave a name of Ko Thein Shin [Htun Han and Ba Nyunt 1981: 135-140].
Kyaukse is called Ledwin Ko Khayaing that means nine rice field units, where the Palaung River and the Zawgyi River that connect with Myitnge River flowing from Shan Plateau make fertile by irrigation. Though when the irrigation system was made is not certain, it is a historical fact that the powerful rule of King Anawrahta was supported by his control over Kyaukse granary.
Yves Rodrigue mentions that Nine towns guarded by Ko Myo Shin are located in Kyaukse and number nine symbolism like " Don't go on a tour by nine persons in Kyaukse" is prevailing [Rodrigue 1992: 42-44]. One version of spirit legends edited by two Burmese scholars says that people living in Shan Pyi worship Ko Thein Shin as Ko Myo Shin as guardian spirit, because Ko Thein Shin is Shan Sawbwa nat [Htun Han and Ba Nyunt 1981: 135-140]. There may be one kind of mixture of legends in Kyaukse as legendary site. Therefore it is sure that the motif that King Anawrahta was starring in spirit legends composes the basis for narrative formation.
Spirit Legends and Ethnic Background
Ko Myo Shin legend sometimes confuses with that of Min Maha Giri. In 1930s, the Journal of the Burma Research Society reports one narrative from Lower Chindwin District. According to that story, when U Tin Te ran away from the King of Tagaung, he took refuge on the Manle stream in modern Katha district of Sagaing Division.
"There he (U Tin Te) lived with a female dragon, who presently laid two eggs, but the eggs were carried down stream while he and she crossing it. They were caught on a rock and hatched out into human children, who were suckled by a thamin and went about the forests with her. Two Brahmins of King Duttanbang told him of these strange events, and the children were brought to his court at Tharekettara. When they grew up, Maung Pyu (white) was sent to collect revenue from the Shans and his younger brother Maung Nyo (Brown) on a similar errand to the Mon country. They gained prestige and, as usual in these stories, the king became afraid that they would depose him. He therefore urged them to a boxing match, promising the winner a paso worth a lakh, but so stern was the contest that both died of their injuries and became Nats. Maung Nyo was called Talaing Komyoshin Nat and was the patron of the Mons, while Maung Pyu was revered in the kingdoms of the nine Shan Sawbwas, though "kose" seems to have dropped out of his title. The unjust death of two brothers, faithful servants of their king, is paralleled in the better known story of the Shwebyin brothers of Taungbyon. They, too, were by some accounts the sons of unusual parentage, their mother being a biluma." [Langham-Carter 1934: 109].
"Kose" means ninety. It is very often said that Shan Pyi was reigned by the Ninety-nine Sawbwas in old days. As the GUBSS mentions [Scott and Hardiman 1900: 1-1; 189], though it is possible, it is not historically true. The wife of Min Maha Giri is named Naga Shwenabe was listed in R.C.Temple's book on the 37 nats [Temple 1906].
One female spirit expert called natkadaw in Burmese who lives in Mandalay explains another similar legend as follows:
"As one subject of the king came across with the superhuman strength of U Tin Te and told his potential rivalry to the King, the king called and killed him by trick. Shwenabe who was going to have a baby returned home and found her husband were absent. She realized he died and had two eggs. She became a spirit. A monk brought up the two sons whose names were Maung Pyu and Maung Nyo. One night a king dreamt that there were two heroes in Shan Pyi. So the king searched and found them, who grew up under Ko Myo Shin. When they were found, they played together with sword and spear in the compound of temple. They were welcomed by the king and appointed as tax collectors. One was for north area and the other was for south one. But they forgot themselves when they watched a boxing game and were late. So they were ordered to play endless boxing game by them to death and became nats. That's why they were humanized in images with six hands."
The plots of the above-mentioned two stories that are different in time and place are almost same. Some factors seem to be similar with the legend of Taungbyon Brothers as they were born by unnatural couple and brought up by a monk. In common each story expresses Burmese superiority over other political or ethnic groups like the Shan or the Mon. The colors of white and brown of two brothers are so symbolical that the superiority of the Burmese over 'others' is emphasized.
Shan Pyi where the Legends were Narrated
It may not be difficult for us to find out similarity of the couple of Burmese king, Anawrahta and Shan princess between the legend of Ko Thein Shin and that of Saw Mon Hla. Both couples were broken and have a common relationship with the Myitnge river. The GPC writes about Saw Mon Hla as follows just before and after the story-telling of the death of Taungbyon Brothers:
"When he (King Anawrahta) came to Maw, the Sawbwa, ruler of the nine provinces of Maw, spread out reverently five golden mats, And Anawrahta caused them to be stricken with the Areindama cane, insomuch that five golden mats piled themselves one upon another in token of the king's power and glory; and the king took his ease upon the mat. When the Sawbwa beheld it, he offered Sawmunhla (Saw Mon Hla) his daughter, endued with the five virtues. The king accepted her, and returned by water and land." "Now the king kept Sawmunhla, daughter of the Sawbwa, ruler of the nine provinces of Maw, continually near him. And holy relic slept in her earring; and when the queen and concubines saw that colours shone therefrom, they said to the king, 'She is a yogani, a witch!' And the king looked, and lo! the earring shone radiant with colours; and he believed that she was a verily yogani, a witch, as the queen and concubines had said; and he gave order that Sawmunhla was not worthy of his golden palace, and that she must return to the city-village of her home. So Sawmunhla humbled herself and did obeisance to the king and the guardian spirit of the kingdom and the palace, and went her way with her slaves and attendants. Day by day as she went, she tarried at these halting-places: Nyaung-u village, Nyin village, Palin, Let-htot village, Kaungzi village, Mt. Tuywin, Wunpate, Myothit the main halting-place, and Kyunba village. And when she came near the site of Shwezayan pagoda, her earring became loose and fell; and though it was seen shining in the water, and they dived and searched and funbled after it, they could not find grasp it. At last Sawmunhla looked up, and lo! the sacred relic with the earring was in the sky, revealing a miracle, for young sparrows gathered round it twittering. And she did obeisance and worshipped, and the holy relic of the earring descended and dwelt once more in her left ear. And she was minded to build a pagoda over the holy relic; and Sakra, seeing that it would be worshipped by all people throughout the five thousand years of the religion, disclosed a heap of piled bricks, and she discovered it. Therein she enshrined the holy relic and built a cave-temple with an image five cubits in height [Tin and Luce 1923: 83-84]."
A report on the Kyaukse District in 1890-91 by a British officer includes some folklore. One of them mentions the origin of a village called Tetmyaw. The village is said to be founded when King Anawrahta was king of Pagan, and the Sawbwa of Hsipaw offered him his daughter in marriage (Shinmunhla) and sent a picture of her, which pleased the king so that he might meet her. The place where the king came in barge to wait her was Tetmyaw. That report mentions other some villages originally lived by the Shan. For example Thanywa village was founded 300 years ago by captive Shans from Sandabule (Zimme). Another village named Thandwin is said to be founded by King Anawrahta, who, after defeating 99 Shan Sawbwas and digging 99 canals in the Kyaukse District [Report on the Settlement Operations in the Kyaukse District 1890-91: 29-30]. In the north of Kyaukse, the Myitnge River flows. That river connects with the Duttanwaddy River in Northern Shan State. Where is the home of Saw Mon Hla is not sure. The royal chronicle says that she was a daughter of the Sawbwa of Maw Ko Pyi Taung (Maw nine provinces). Nowadays the term of Maw is thought to be the Shweli River that is another branch of the Ayeyarwaddy River by the Burmese. But it doesn't signify certain historical state, and seems to be a general term for Shan States 2). The local story in one of the village in Kyaukse referred her coming from Hsipaw that was one of the powerful state during the royal period and British annexation in present Northern Shan State. Hsipaw is founded at the right side of the Duttanwaddy River. Though when it was founded is not known, one pagoda dedicated to Saw Mon Hla is located near Bogyaw Pagoda a few miles from Hsipaw. By explanation of pictures that are depicted 30 years ago hanging at Shwe Sayan pagoda, Saw Mon Hla is written to be a daughter of Hsenwi Sawbwa that was another powerful ruler in Northern Shan State. It concludes therefore that where was her origin is not meaningful for narrative formation and it is enough to refer her origin from Shan Pyi.
Narrative Formation of the Legend of Ko Myo Shin
There seems to be some important factors for formation of the legend of Ko Myo Shin. We can compare that legend with others.
(1) Superiority of the Burmese Kingship over 'Others'
The Burmese generally worships the 37 Lords of nat. Almost all of them cannot tell all of the names but Min Maha Giri, Taungbyon Brothers and so on. Though the 37 Lords include some Burmese, the well-known nats like Min Maha Giri, Taungbyon Brothers originated from the outside for the first Burmese kingdom. In the cases of the legends of Ko Thein Shin and Saw Mon Hla, the Myitnge River takes an important role of its formation. The symbolical character of it represents not only the field of legends but also the connection between the Burmese and the Shan. Historically speaking, Kyaukse was one of the important economical bases for the Burmese kingdom. The fact that the irrigation system there was composed of the branches of the Myitnge River signifies that the basis had not been successfully made without the political control of the Burmese over the basin of the Myitnge (Duttanwaddy) River which connects Upper Burma with Northern Shan State. King Anawrahta is a kind of legendary 'marker' for expressing the superiority of the Burmese over 'others' for narrative formation of spirit legends.
In the case of the legend of Ko Myo Shin, the relationship between Ko Myo Shin and the Burmese king is obscure. However the story of GUBSS and the narrative of spirit expert express another character of Ko Myo Shin who were in the services of the king that is not seen in the well-known story. It seems to mean that the name of Ko Myo Shin is not a certain historical person but a general name of superintendent who relates Shan Pyi. So his story is composed, as an entertaining one rather than spirit origin telling and the time of formation of the legend is newer than others are.
(2) Common Motifs to Popular Spirit Legends
There are two important motifs in Ko Myo Shin legends. One is unlucky brother and sister pair, the other is the pair of two unlucky sons. The former is found in Min Maha Giri nat legend whose worship is seen throughout Burma. The latter is common to Taungbyon Brothers nats. These two motifs in local legends seem to have prevailed extensively before the completion of the 37 spirits legends.
The legend of Min Maha Giri is surely reflected the orthodox genealogy of the Burmese kingship of Pagan. The hybrid legends of Min Maha Giri and Ko Myo Shin in a sense have been already mentioned 3).
At the background of the legend of Taungbyon Brothers there was the political establishment of the Burmese against Thaton on one hand, Shan Pyi or China on the other hand. Both military campaigns were motivated by Buddhist worship for Tripitaka in the former case, a holy relic of Buddha in the latter one according to the royal chronicle which must have been edited by a bias for the Burmese viewpoint. Though where Pandaung chiefdom was not known, Ko Myo Shin appears as a military hero, too. The location of folklore is thought to be within the area where the Burmese and the Shan had some contacts. Taungbyon Brothers distinguished themselves in battle within the same area by their legend.
The local story of Ko Thein Shin is composed by an important motif of the foundation of infrastructure of the Burmese kingdom. Burmese kings whom are represented by Anawrahta tried to control the irrigation system in Kyaukse and other areas. The story reported in the GUBSS doesn't mention the descent of Ko Thein Shin. But other nat story says Ko Thein Shin was originated from Shan Maw kingdom and makes him Ko Myo Shin. Not only the number of nine is common, but also both heroes killed themselves and became guardian spirits, and his relatives became spirits, too. Though the story of Saw Mon Hla is not a spirit legend, it is sure that the story is reflected by the inter-ethnic relationship between the Burmese and the Shan as the same as various versions of Ko Thein Shin and Ko Myo Shin.
(3) Manifestation of Burmanization of the Shan
Recently not only Ko Myo Shin image but also the knowledge of identification of Ko Myo Shin as a famous guardian-spirit is gradually being introduced into Shan State where there were originally no image of guardian-spirit of town or village. Discourse of spirit legendary narratives in Shan State varies by degree of knowledge about Burmese spirit worship, which is a part of Burmanization. Accordingly some people say that Ko Myo Shin is their guardian spirit and the same as cao mong (lord of mong) of the Shan in origin, others say that Ko Myo Shin and Palei Yin is a pair of Burmese spirits. Therefore Ko Myo Shin worship is a manifestation of Burmanization of the Shan within a spiritual world.
Every Burmese knows the names of Min Maha Giri and Taungbyon Brothers. The legends of each of them have some similar factors with that of Ko Myo Shin by componential analysis. So Ko Myo Shin's legend must be analyzed in the context of Burmanization of the Shan from the viewpoint of narrative formation of spirit legend.
Epilogue
In the past there must exist various cultural exchanges in the present Southwestern China and Mainland of Southeast Asia. The area that this article treats lies along one of the important routes of culture connecting China and Burma passing through Shan Pyi. To study on narrative formation of spirit legends is also one way for tracing them inter-ethinically. We should compare the spirit legends in Burma with other ones in neighborhood from ethnohistorical viewpoint for studying inter-ethnic cultural exchange.
Endnotes
1) General Ne Win, who was the Chairman of Revolutionary Council at that time gave a key-speech at a meeting in 1963 with some leaders of ethnic groups and mentioned on inter-ethnic relationship between the Shan and the Burmese by referring two Shans, Tho Han Bwa and Saw Mon Hla[BSLP 1964: 54-56]. That period was shortly after his coup d'etat in 1962. So he must have worried about any movement of ethnic groups who intended to withdraw from the Union of Burma . His reference of two Shans seems to reflect not only his personal historical view but also almost Burmese knowledge about the Shan. Tho Han Bwa was the 13th King of Ava (1527-1543) and tried to unite the Shan against the Burmese power by Burmese history. And he was notorious for destroying pagodas, massacring monks and for destroying Buddhist manuscripts [Maring and Maring 1973: 255-256]. He was regarded as a historical person who symbolizes the disintegration of the Union and an enemy for Buddhism for political viewpoint of the government.
2) A Shan scholar tells that the Burmese have mistaken Maw for the Shweli river, Maw precisely means land of treasure in Shan.
3) Maung Htin Aung mentions about mixture of Min Maha Giri's story and Naga worship [Htin Aung 1962: 84-89].
Bibliography
Brown, R. Grant
1916 'The Lady of the Weir', Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 791-796.
1921 'The Pre-Buddhist Religion of Burma', Folklore 32: 77-100.
Burma Socialist Lanzin Party (BSLP) (ed.)
1964 Taingyindha Lumyomya Aye hnin patthet ywe Tawhlan yei
kaunsi i Amyin hnin Khanyukhyet (Opinion of the Revolutionary Council concerning about Ethnic Groups) (in Burmese), Burma Socialist Lanzin Party.
Central Census Committee, Ministry of Home and Religious Affairs
1986 1983 Population Census, Ministry of Home and Religious
Affairs.
Htin Aung, Maung
1962 Folk Elements in Burmese Buddhism, Oxford Univ. Pr.
Htun Han, U and Ba Nyunt, U (tds .and eds.)
1981 Myanma Miyoephala Dalei Nat Thamaing (Nat Legends in
Burma) (in Burmese) U Aung Kwun Sapei.
Langham-Carter, R.R.
1934 'Lower Chindwin Nats', Journal of the Burma Research Society 24-2: 105-111.
Maring, Joel M. and E.G. Maring
1973 Historical and Cultural Dictionary of BURMA, The Scarecrow Pr.Report on the Settlement Operations in the Kyaukse District, Season 1890-91.
Rodrigue, Yves
1992 Nat-Pwe: Burma's Supernatural Sub-Culture, Scotland Kiscadale.
Scott, J. George and Hardiman, J.P. (eds.)
1900-01 Gazetteer of Upper Burma and the Shan States (GUBSS) 5
vols, Burma Govt. Pr.
Temple, R. C.
1906 The Thirty-Seven Nats: A Phase of Spirit-Worship Prevailing in Burma, W. Griggs Chromo Lithographer.
Tin, Pe Maung and Luce, G.H. (tds.)
1923 The Glass Palace Chronicle of the Kings of Burma, Oxford
Univ. Pr.
 |
Ko Myo Shin and Palei Yin Htun Han, U and Ba Nyunt, U (tds. and eds.) 1981 Myanma Miyoephala Dalei Nat Thamaing (Nat Legends in Burma) p. 130. |
|