Nat worship

The spirit pantheon

Burmese spirit belief distinguishes between two general groups of nats. One group consists of nature spirits that inhabit streams, forests, and trees. The other, known as nat sein, represents humans who died sudden or violent deaths and became deified. In the eleventh century, King Anawrahta of Bagan organized thirty-seven official Great Nats under the Buddhist guardian deity Thagyamin. Many of these official spirits came from historic royal dynasties. People inherit specific nats to venerate through their mother or father, depending on their family ancestry, while every individual also has a personal guardian spirit.

Home and village shrines

Devotion to spirits happens daily at the local and domestic level. Almost every village maintains a dedicated shrine for its collective guardian spirit, who watches over the settlement. Inside family houses, residents hang a coconut at a corner of the property, adorned with perfume, to honour the household nat. People also preserve family spirit lineages that pass down from either parental side. Through these small domestic rituals, households seek protection from misfortune and show respect to the invisible guardians tied to their birthplace and family heritage.

Festivals and spirit mediums

Public celebrations called nat pwè bring communities together to propitiate spirits through music, food, and dance. Spirit mediums known as nat kadaws lead these gatherings, dancing until they enter trance states and embody the deities. A traditional hsaing waing orchestra provides rapid, driving rhythms that build excitement. Participants gather at shrines, drink palm wine, and dance to honour the spirits. In urban areas, people often set up temporary street pavilions to maintain connections with the guardian spirits of their ancestral villages.

Sacred mountains and nature

The most famous pilgrimage destination for spirit veneration is Mount Popa, an extinct volcanic peak near Bagan with many shrines on its heights. Another major gathering takes place at Taungbyone near Mandalay. Beyond festival grounds, spirit beliefs influence how people treat the landscape. Rural communities venerate mountain and woodland spirits, and they avoid chopping down prominent trees because they believe tree spirits called Yokkaso dwell within them. Causing harm to these wooded areas is feared because it could provoke the anger of the resident spirits.

How Nat worship is kept

Devotees honour guardian spirits at home by hanging a perfumed coconut in a corner. In villages, communities bring offerings to a dedicated local shrine. During annual festivals, people gather around spirit pavilions where traditional hsaing waing orchestras play energetic music. Professional spirit mediums, known as nat kadaws, dance and become possessed by the spirits. Participants drink palm wine, offer gifts, and dance alongside the mediums to appease the deities and seek good fortune for their families.

When and where

Spirit veneration occurs daily through household and village offerings. Major communal festivals follow the Burmese lunar calendar. The pilgrimage to Mount Popa takes place around the full moon of Natdaw in December, while the Taungbyone festival occurs during the month of Wagaung in August, followed shortly by the Yadanagu festival.

The practice is observed throughout Myanmar, particularly in rural areas and among the Bamar majority and ethnic minorities. Major pilgrimage sites include Mount Popa near Bagan, Taungbyone north of Mandalay, and Amarapura. Urban residents also erect temporary neighbourhood pavilions.

What Nat worship means

Nats represent both the wild forces of nature and the tragic fates of historical human figures. Because they possess human flaws and strong desires, they require respect, gifts, and placation. For devotees, spirit veneration serves as a practical system of protection, keeping families safe from harm while anchoring them to their ancestral homelands and the local environment.

Questions people ask about Nat worship

See also

Māgha PūjāA Buddhist holy day honoring monastic unity, moral guidance and spiritual fellowshipKathinaA Buddhist season of offering new robes and gifts to monks after the rains retreatDiwaliA five-day festival of lights celebrated across India and its diaspora to mark the victory of light over darkness.Loy KrathongA Thai festival of floating leaf baskets on rivers to honor water and release negativity.

Good reading and sources

• Encyclopaedia BritannicaArticle

• Nat (deity) on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-04.