Nat Pwe (Spirit Festival) in Myanmar Photo Gallery by Bob Wallace at pbase.com

Nat Pwe (Spirit Festival) in Myanmar

Before Buddhism came to Myanmar animistic spirits, Nats, were worshiped. In the 11th century there was an attempt to replace Nat worship with Buddhism. It didn't work. Now the two co-exist.

I would appreciate any corrections or additional information. I have to give credit to Lonely Planet's Guide to Myanmar for what little I know about the festival and nats.

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Nats like loud and colorful music	Kye-naung (Circle of tuned brass gongs)	Vocalist (highly amplified)
	Lead drummer	Percussion section
Young drummer	The 'kit'	Leader of the band...
Hneh - an oboe-type instrument	An offering to the drums	The Nats at the Altar

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Sophia		12-Jun-2007 01:07
Dear Bob, I was wondering if I would be able to use one of your photos for a project I am doing about Burmese food. Would you please email me at Soph983@hotmail.com? We are doing a feature on the Nat Pwe, but we have never been there before. Thanks, Sophia

AdrnJaye		13-Sep-2004 00:29
Big Thanks Bob, am heading there soon, so was wonderful to get a preview - helps to make one feel a little 'familiar', so to speak - does not seem so extremely 'unknown'. This is my very first venture away from home - Australia & New Zealand. Wonderful also to read viewers comments - some learning acquired. BIG THANKS AdrnJaye - alohart1 (hopefully my registration will have me on board very soon as a registerered user.

Aung Moe Win		03-Sep-2004 08:19
Dear Mr Bob Wallace, The photos are really great. And pbase is the only one place I can find the good photos of Nat Pwe. We are covering about the Nat Pwe (Spirit Festival) in Myanmar. We would like to use some of the photos form you in our magazine. We would like to know how to contact you. We would like to get your permission to use. Sincerely, Aung Moe Win Layout & Graphic Designer The Irrawaddy Publishing Group P.O.Box 242 Chiang Mai University Post Office Chiang Mai, 50200 Thailand. Mobile: (66 1) 034 7404 Ph: (66 53) 221 613 Ext. 106 (66 53) 227 381 Ext. 106 (66 53) 894 048 Ext. 106 Fax: (66 53) 217 853 Web: www.irrawaddy.org The Irrawaddy Publishing Group (IPG) is an independent and nonprofit news organization. It seeks to promote press freedom and access to unbiased information. It was formed in 1992 by Burmese citizens living in exile and is not affiliated with any political organization.

Sharon		12-Jun-2004 19:27
Thanks so much for these pictures. I am reading the novel The Piano Tuner and turned to Google while reading the description of Nemi Zat. I wondered what a hneh sounded like and Google led me here. Now I have these wonderful pictures to supplement the words. Sharon Young

Jason Reimuller		21-Apr-2004 14:07
Bob, Thank you for sharing your photos with the public. Indeed, the Nat Pwe festival must be one of the most impressive and unknown events on our planet. My month in Myanmar in May 2002 was a profound experience and I was fortunate to attend a Nat Pwe. I knew nothing of it at first but later things began to make sense. To me the transvestites seemed to parallel the "two-spirit" tradition of certain native north american tribes in which those who seem to embody both genders were entrusted with the work of the shamans. As you observed, the dancers seemed to me to be enticing the nats bu appeasing to their individual vices. I was encouraged to partake of the whiskey and cigarrettes and also to greedily grab the 10-kyat notes the dancers were throwing about. One unique twist in my experience was an older dancer who grew quite antagonistic towards me (quite uncharacteristic of the Myanmar people, indeed!). He claimed to be "Ne-Wins [motorcycle] pilot", which I knew to be BS, and returned to the ceremony wearing a cowboy hat and a US flag t-shirt and kept on insisting that I engage him. As I came to understand the events, mostly by help of the transvestites that were flirting with me, I saw him as the one tasked with enticing the 'nat of agression', and me, being from a country (the US) seen as aggressive, was the obvious target. Once I understood this, I gave him some growls and snarls. I will never forget the intense polyrhythms of the music and by the end of the ordeal, I felt as if I just sat through a 24-hour progressive rock concert! I hope things change there soon so more people can appreciate these magnificent events.

Reggie		23-Dec-2003 05:13
There is a very good DVD out of a NAT PWE Festival, check out www.sublimefrequencies.com For the record, I am not the one selling this product, just saying if you found these pictures interesting, you should check it out with moving pictures and sound!

philip		27-Mar-2003 09:38
Bob - a wonderful series about a side of Burmese culture that remains pretty unknown to outsiders.

bruni		05-Oct-2002 05:50
hi guy, as before, wonderful pictures(essay). ahhhh, i wish i could have been there, bruni

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