Pre-Buddhist Thai-Burmese Spirit World

(GO Asia) Thailand and Burma's secret Spirit World | culture and spirituality documentary (AMP)

• What are Burma's and Thailand's "Nats" (Spirits)?
• The "Nat" spirits of Burma (gomyanmartours.com)

Pantheon of animist "Nat" spirits on altar

A spirit house is a shrine to the protective spirit of a place that is found in the Southeast Asian Buddhist countries of Thailand (Siam), Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia (Khmer Kingdom), Laos, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. They are normally in the form of small, roofed structure mounted on a pillar or a dais. They can range in size from small platforms to houses large enough for people to enter. Spirit houses are intended to provide a shelter for spirits that could cause problems for the people if not appeased. More

• Before monks, there were wizards: weizza or weikza (shamans, ceremonial alchemists to deal with the nats the way Shinto priests deal with the kami in pre-Buddhist Japan)
• A night with the wizards of Burma (aljazeera.com)

What is a nat or "spirit"?

Venerate me and I will help you from beyond.

The nats (နတ်) are spirits, deities, god-like ancestors, poltergeists, unseen (invisible) beings venerated in Burma (aka Myanmar) and neighboring Southeast Asian Buddhist countries in conjunction with Theravada Buddhism.

Nats are divided between the 37 Great Nats, who were given that status by King Anawrahta when he formalized the official list of nats. Most of the 37 Great Nats were human beings who met violent deaths [1].

There are two types of nats in Burmese belief, nat sein (နတ်စိမ်း), which are humans who were deified after their deaths, and all other nats, which are spirits of nature (like the kami of Japan, elementals, spirits of water, trees, etc.)

Much like sainthood, nats can be designated for a variety of reasons, including those only known in certain regions in Burma. Nat worship is less common in urban areas than in rural areas and is practiced among ethnic minorities of Burma as well as in mainstream Bamar society.

However, it is among the Theravada Buddhist Bamar that the most highly developed form of ceremony and ritual is seen [2]. More: Nat (deity)

• Why do Bangladeshis look fully different from Burmese people even though they are neighbors?