Taungbyon Festival

Nat kana at Taungbyon

Taungbyon nats

The most important nat festival takes place at Taungbyon, near Mandalay, three times a year - in the months of Nadaw (around December), Wagaung (around August during the Buddhist Lent), and Tabaung (around March). Hundreds of nat kadaw and thousands of worshipers descend on Taungbyon during the festival. Trains are specially schedules to transport the crowd from Mandalay, and the road to Taungbyon in jammed with traffic.

Believers at Taungbyon

The Taungbyon festival lasts between five and fifteen days, with daily celebrations - drinking, dancing, and revelry - extending through the night. Homage is paid to the Taungbyon Brothers, an influential duo killed by King Anawrahta in a plot by palace enemies in the eleventh century. Besides typical nat offerings, worshipers present the Brothers' favorite food, wild rabbits.

Traffic jam - Taungbyon