FIG. 19 (right):
Ogre guardian fi gure,
nat-bilu.
Compressed powder, lacquer.
H: 7.3 cm.
FIG. 20 (below):
Medicinal object carved
with supernatural fi gures.
The reverse is polished
from use.
Wood. H: 9.5 cm.
118
FIG. 21 (above): Two
conjoined fi gures.
Compressed powder, lacquer.
H: 3 cm.
FIG. 22 (below):
Ithyphallic monkey, hollowed
out from use.
Compressed powder, gilded lacquer.
H: 7 cm.
he uses to perform his incantations. The medicine
fi gures that represent the Zawgyi are most often
black and their faces, sometimes bearded, have
a serious countenance. These fi gures can also be
representations of hermits (jathei in Burmese, rishi
in Hindu tradition, and lersi in Thai). It should
be noted that in the Burmese marionette theater,
Jathei, the character of the hermit, is not made of
wood but of pounded fl owers mixed with resin.
He does not actually perform but watches over the
scene like a guardian angel (Bruns, 2006). Such
similarities with the medicine fi gures argue in favor
of the hypothesis that the marionette theater is
rooted in magical origins.
In Burmese pharmacopeia, there are also fi gures
that represent deities of Indian origin, like Ganesh
(fi g. 28) (Mahapeinne in Burmese) with an
elephant head, Hanuman the monkey god of the
Ramayana, and Garuda the griffi n (fi gs. 33a and
b), locally known as Galon, who in the northeastern
part of the country is associated with the
sun and rules over Sundays. Representations
of monks who are disciples of Buddha (fi gs.
16 and 35) are always benefi cial and,
like other religious motifs, including
miniatures of golden pagodas,
have also been integrated into the
FEATURE
but their iconography is identifi able because it is
codifi ed (fi g. 29). They play a role in the Burmese
pharmacopeia that is analogous to that of their
sculpted wooden homologues, whether they are
the property of the nat-gadaw (or na’gado) shaman
intercessors or lined up in the temples that
are devoted to them—like those of Mount Popa
or the pagoda of Shwezigon at Nyaung U, located
north of Pagan. Of these nats, Mahagiri,
the martyr blacksmith, protects the house. Min
Kyawzwa, the dashing cavalier (fi g. 32), has a
variety of properties. Maung Po Tu, the merchant
of Pinya (formerly the capital of the Shan
Kingdom in the fourteenth century) who was devoured
by a tiger on Mount Ongyaw, protects
the saya’s client from the attacks of wild animals
(fi g. 31).
Zawgyi (sometimes Zogji), the magician-alchemist
who is able to fl y (fi gs. 18, 23, 36, and 37),
is a typically Burmese character. His attributes are
a long coat and a red hat, as well as a staff that
FIG. 23: Mortar with pestle
with Zawgyi fi gure fi nial.
Wood, pigment.
Mortar H: 11 cm; pestle H: 13.7 cm.