Basic HTML Version
14 | FireFlyz
COVER
STORY
Her friend relieves her of the bottle
of Grand Royal Whisky she is carrying
(for the
nat
) in case she drops it. The
shaking and trance are not due to the
whisky, because I notice the bottle is
still unopened.
Loud music heralds a
nagadaw
. All
the
nagadaw
I have seen before were
men dressed up and made up as women.
However, at this
pwe
, all the
nagadaw
appear to be women and some are even
as old as me. One starts to dance and
people inside the enclosure pin money
on her bodice and headdress. She wafts
around a golden pheasant and golden
bowl in deep bows with imperious
hand movements. Someone gives her a
cigarette. So far alcohol has not featured.
The drums beat ever more enthusiasti-
cally and the faithful inside and outside
the enclosure rush forward with sprays
of Eugenia leaves. The
nagadaw
waves
the leaves over the orchestra and then
pulls off her scarf giving way to another
dancer.
I wonder why some women are help-
ing others don a long sequined skirt and
a scarf. I learn that because this
pwe
is
so important,
nagadaw
have come from
many parts of the country to dance for Ko
Gyi Kyaw and it seems they must
wear particular
gear to do so.
Worship-
ping and
Praying
Banknotes, and
many of them,
a r e f e a t u r e s
today. Everyone
inside and out-
side the enclosure
hands up money
as well as bananas
and coconuts to the
helpers on stage
who present the
offerings to the
nats
.
Once the offerings
have been blessed,
showers of notes –
some as large as 5,000
kyat
(US$5)
float down to the people below. The
crowd outside the barred enclosure
leaps around as the notes float down
and I can see why the bars are a good
idea. By contrast, quietly and slowly,
some senior well-dressed matrons
are circling a pillar. Their heads are
down and their hands are together
worshipping and praying.
A Shan (an ethnic group) man –
judging by his Shan pants - has two
bottles of Glan Master Whisky hung
around his neck. I am sure Ko Gyi
Kyaw will be pleased with those.
Oh, this is different! A
nagadaw
is
given a sword - and then another. She
crosses them, lays money on them
and then wafts the notes towards the
orchestra.
The most spectacular
nagadaw
is
one from Shan State. Her costume is
all red and decorated with gold jewel-
lery. She gives much condescension to
those of us not in the enclosure and
becomes ever more regal the more she
accepts sips of Grand Master Whisky.
All too soon, it is time for me to
leave the
pwe
and catch the boat back
across the Ayeyarwady. Fortunately
the boat is only normally full, as
most of the crowd is camping. They
accept the discomfort happily just to
have the opportunity to pay Ko Gyi
Kyaw the respect due to him for one
more year.
A nagadaw is the human
wife of a nat spirit
It is a duty in Myanmar
to attend the Ko Gyi
Kyaw Nat Festival each
year and many travel
huge distances to do so