der is mixed with a sooty ink or mineral red and
thinned with bile or sesame oil and then applied
subcutaneously with a metal needle to create specifi
c forms that resemble diagrams (fi g. 43). The
originals of these magical charts are themselves
also often reduced to ashes to be consumed in potions
(Conway, 2014).
Illnesses, both physical and mental, as well as
bad luck and misfortune are attributed to the actions
of demons, ghosts, witches, or sorcerers of
“the lower path”—that is, practitioners of black
magic—and action must be taken to thwart their
schemes. According to the gravity of the case,
the saya, who may range from an herbalist in the
Ayurvedic tradition to an exorcist of “the upper
powders intended to counteract these malefi cent
powers. The shape that the medicine takes is related
to its desired effect. This is the case for tattoos
as well. The properties of the animal a tattoo represents—
a cat, a monkey, or a lion (fi gs. 44 and
45)—are believed to be transferred from the tattoo
image to the person upon whom it appears.
U Than Tun indicated as an example a fi gure of
an ogre guardian, nat-bilu (fi g. 17), which was intended
to combat the phenomenon of possession.
It is made of a mixture of four kinds of earth,
which correspond to the four elements—earth
from a monastery, from a cemetery, from a crossroads,
and from a riverbank.
path,” has at his disposal a panoply of ingredients
that range from innocuous vegetal powders to
more risky substances that may not always differ
from the materials employed by his counterparts
of “the lower path.” A certain ambiguity surrounds
the persona and the manipulations of the
sorcerer, just as in the Greek pharmakon, potions
and poisons are closely related, both in language
and in practice.
To create his mixtures and to crush the substances
he employs, the saya will use a set of as
many as ten small bowls or dishes made from human
or monkey cranial bones, which he tests by
throwing them over his shoulder. If a dish lands
upside down, it is discarded. The saya will only
use those dishes that land right side up (U Than
Tun, 2016).
According to Sir George Scott, Burmese tradition
enumerates ninety-six kinds of diseases, the
symptoms of which vary as a function of the thirty
fi ve temperaments—not counting the forty-fi ve
kinds of accidents, the thirty-two kinds of misfortunes,
and the twenty-fi ve kinds of danger. The
latter ranges from wild animals to assassins. Based
on this list, it is easy to imagine what an enormous
variety there must be in the composition of the
FEATURE
FIG. 11 (below): Wooden
fl ute for restraining a
departing soul.
Wood, fabric. H: 14 cm.
FIG. 12 (above): Figurine
of a zebu.
Compressed powder, lacquer.
H: 4.5 cm.
FIG. 13 (left):
Guardian fi gure.
Composite compressed material,
lacquer. H: 7.3 cm.
FIG. 14 (above): Base of the
cannibal ogre fi gure in fi g.
42 showing the magical and
medicinal materials inside.
Diameter: 8 cm.