Music for spirit possession cults in Burma, Myanmar

In Burma (Myanmar), the local form of Theravada Buddhism includes the worship of local spirits, the nat, mythical figures of exceptional human beings who encountered a violent death and became spirits. Some of these spirits have been organised into a pantheon of 37 figures, as part of a state cult: the Thirty-seven Lords, or Thounze-hkunna Min in Burmese. Devotees today turn to the nat to obtain help and advice; in turn, they organise a nat pwe ceremony, in which music plays a fundamental role. The rapid, interlocking rhythms of the hsaing waing, the traditional Burmese ensemble, drive and sustain the spirit-possession dances of the mediums, actively enabling communication with the nat.