MYANMAR is a country with a population of more than 50 million people, and the majority of them are Buddhists. Whoever visits this country will stare in surprise at its numerous pagodas and Buddha statues covered in gold leaf and glittering in the light – for which the country is known as the Golden Land . With Theravada school of Buddhism as its principal religion and world’s other major religions recognised as well, the country is also home to a vast number of people who, whatever their religious affiliation may be, believe in and worship spirits known as nats . Who or what are these spirits and why do people worship them? And how long has this tradition existed? In essence, Myanmar ’s nat beliefs may not be much different from any other sort of animism in the world, and may have existed long before Buddhism was accepted. But while animist religions in many other cultures focus on the worship of nature spirits, Myanmar ’s nats are historical or legendary figures who