Myanmars invoke local deity with whisky-fuelled worship

A medium speaks inside a shrine in Shwe Ku Ni village as he gets ready to participate in the Ko Gyi Kyaw Nat festival. Every year thousands of people pour into a small village southwest of Mandalay for a two-week festival honouring Ko Gyi Kyaw, one of Myanmar’s best-loved 37 “Nat” spirits. (Ye Aung Thu/AFP)

Updated on: Mar 14, 2017 4:08 PM IST

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Published on Mar 14, 2017 4:08 PM

A medium speaks inside a shrine in Shwe Ku Ni village as he gets ready to participate in the Ko Gyi Kyaw Nat festival. Every year thousands of people pour into a small village southwest of Mandalay for a two-week festival honouring Ko Gyi Kyaw, one of Myanmar’s best-loved 37 “Nat” spirits. (Ye Aung Thu/AFP)

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People ride a ferry on the Chindwin river in central Myanmar near Pakhangyi town as they head to participate in the Ko Gyi Kyaw Nat festival. (Ye Aung Thu/AFP)

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People disembark from a ferry on the banks of the Chindwin river in central Myanmar near Pakhangyi town as they head to participate in the Ko Gyi Kyaw Nat festival. Ko Gyi Kyaw is known for his penchant for booze, dancing and cockfights. (Ye Aung Thu/AFP)

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Devotees make offerings inside a shrine in Shwe Ku Ni village during the Ko Gyi Kyaw Nat festival. Most people in Myanmar are piously Buddhist, but many in this hugely superstitious nation turn to mischievous local deities for help with everything from business deals to car engines. (Ye Aung Thu/AFP)

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A medium sits among devotees inside a shrine in Shwe Ku Ni village. Each day of the two-week festival worshippers hold different events to honour Ko Gyi Kyaw, from bathing and gilding his statue to raucous cockfights. (Ye Aung Thu/AFP)

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A medium poses for a photograph before beginning to invoke spirits inside a shrine in Shwe Ku Ni village. (Ye Aung Thu/AFP)

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Devotees watch a medium invoke spirits inside a shrine in Shwe Ku Ni. Beggars dressed up as Nats and clutching wooden bowls line the road as they seek donations from the devotees. (Ye Aung Thu/AFP)

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A medium gets dressed inside a shrine in Shwe Ku Ni village. (Ye Aung Thu/AFP)

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A medium smokes a cigarette as he invokes spirits inside a shrine in Shwe Ku Ni village during the Ko Gyi Kyaw Nat festival. (Ye Aung Thu/AFP)

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A man fries chicken in Shwe Ku Ni village to sell to devotees attending the Ko Gyi Kyaw Nat festival. Dozens of stalls sell his favourite food -- roast chicken -- to help sober up followers who overindulged in their whisky-fuelled worship. (Ye Aung Thu/AFP)