Page 232 - The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma)

230 BAGAN AND AROUND AROUND BAGAN
5 THE MAHAGIRI NATS
Mount Popa is associated with many spirits, but particularly with the four Mahagiri (“Great
Mountain”) nats – Mai Wunna and her husband Byatta, and Maung Tinde and his sister
Shwemyethna – all of whom are popularly believed to live on the mountain.
MAUNG TINDE AND SHWEMYETHNA
The first of the Mount Popa legends concerns Maung Tinde – aka Nga Tin De, Min Mamagiri
(“Lord of the Great Mountain”), Eindwin Nat or simply “Mr Handsome” – and his sister
Shwemyethna (aka Hnamadawgyi, Saw Me Ya, Myat Hla and “Golden Face” – although another
version of the tale says that the sister was actually Thonbanhla, a different nat entirely). Legend
recounts that the king of Tagaung, fearful off Maung Tinde’s supernatural powers (which
included the ability to snap the tusks of an elephant with his bare hands), wed Shwemyethna in
order to lure her brother to the palace, whereupon he was promptly tied to a tree and burnt to
death – only for his sister to leap into the flames with him. The expired siblings subsequently
reappeared as malevolent spirits, haunting the tree where they had died, until the king ordered
it cut down and flung into the Ayeyarwady, along which it floated to Bagan. The two spirits then
appeared in a dream to the king of Bagan asking him for a place to dwell, offering in return to
guard the city. The king had the remains of the tree carried to Mount Popa, where the spirits of
Maung Tinde and Shwemyethna are still said to reside, while shrines to the nats were erected at
Tharaba Gate in Bagan (see p.210), where they remain to this day.
MAI WUNNA AND BYATTA
The second legend relates to Mai Wunna (“Miss Gold” – aka Popa Mai Daw, the “Queen
Mother of Popa”) who is said to rule over Mount Popa, on which her spirit dwells. Mai Wunna
was a flower-eating ogress who became enamoured with Byatta, an Indian Muslim with
supernatural powers, who had been ordered by King Anawrahta to collect flowers ten times
daily from the mountain. Mai Wunna’s advances resulted in Byatta neglecting his duty and
being executed by the king, but not before she had produced two sons, Min Gyi and Min
Lay (aka Shwe Hpyin Naungdaw and Shwe Hpyin Nyidaw).
Mai Wunna, it is said, subsequently died of a broken heart, while her sons were taken away
by the king, and were later themselves executed for dereliction of duty while in his service,
becoming nats in their turn – their shrine at Taungbyone, near Mandalay, is now the site of one
of Myanmar’s biggest nat pwè (spirit festivals; see box, p.298).

Assorted trails snake through the forest swathing the mountainside, which is home to
profuse vegetation and numerous orchids – the name Popa is believed to come from
the Pali/Sanskrit puppa, meaning flower, and flowers also loom large in the local legend
of Mai Wunna and Byatta (see box above). It takes around four hours to reach the
summit – guides can be arranged through the Popa Mountain Resort, halfway up the
mountain, for $24.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE TAUNG KALAT
By pick-up If you’re heading to Taung Kalat from Bagan by By car It’s far preferable to either rent your own car (1.5hr;
public transport, a pick-up leaves the bus station in Nyaung around K35,000) or take a seat in a shared taxi. Memory
U daily at 8am (2hr 30min), returning at 1.30–2pm – Share Taxi Service (Main Rd, Nyaung U T09 204 3579,
although you might have to change to another pick-up at Ekohtaybgn@gmail.com) runs daily shared taxis to
Kyaukpadaung, just over halfway to the mountain, if there Mount Popa at 9am for K10,000/person. Any hotel can
aren’t enough passengers. It drops you in the village at the book you a seat.
foot of the rock.
ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
Popa Mountain Resort 1km east of Taung Kalat Mount Popa. Accommodation is in a string of individual
(4km by road) T01 399 334, Wmyanmartreasure bungalows, nicely furnished with wooden floors,
resorts.com. A neat little mountain retreat, affordably wicker furniture and a slight colonial ambience; pricier
priced and offering the perfect base for treks up rooms have stunning views of Taung Kalat below.