Republican farmer., 1920-06-18
BAPTIST WILL TALK ON BURMESE
 RELIGIOUS RITES
"Nats' Form Important Part of Belief In That
 Far Country.

Spiritism, or that place of it which deals with animistic beliefs and prac- tiees in India, is to occupy a certain share of attention at the thirteenth annual session of the Northern Bap- tist convention in Buffalo. N. r., on June 23-29. The spooks, however, are not of the ordinary seance or even the ouija board variety, for they are woven into a mural design which DOT trays some of the religious beliefs of the people of Burma.
 The Burmese don't refer to the spooks as spirits To them the 1egions of disem'bodied ones are known as tfnats,'' and the high orders of "nats'' include a membership of 37. There are degrees and degrees in the nat world, and the powers ac- l credited by the Burman to the var ious mats cover a wide range. For | instance, the mats have four worlds each with a king nat, and Thagya | Min Nat is listed as the king of 'em all.
 So powerful is the influence of the mats on the minds of the Burmese | that at the extremity of each village l is "nat-sin' or shrine to propitiate I the evilly-inclined mats and to court 1 the favor of the benevolent mats. ] Talismen of various sorts are hung | at the doors, on the bullock carts | of those who travel on land, and on | the boats of the river men, all for the I same end.
 That the government recognizes 1 the depth of feeling on the part o1 l the Burmans on the subject of spooks 1 is indicated by the fact that the oath taken in law courts and on lega l occasions, according to Sir. R. c | Temple, F. R. G. S., makes specific 1 reference to the mats. The persor | taking such an oath calls down upor | himself all sorts of dire happening: at the hands of the mats if he devi | ates from the truth. And all this i. l declared by persons who have spen much time and study in Burma to b. one of the best proofs that the Bur man, though officially credited witt being Buddhist in religion, has reall, corrupted and interwoven into Budd hism his Burman animistic bel1ers. | The scenes which are to be show1 at Buffalo are being painted by Mari Hamilton Hayne, and represent thu great Shwe Dagon Pagoda at Ran goon, one of the big native religiou centers. The main shrine of Shw' Dagon, according to legend, is bull
 over four hairs of Buddha, and it
 gold dome rises 365 feet to a peal
 
 jewels. The shrine, unlike tn
 ancient Egyptian pyramids, has n
 known entrance to the interior. Tn
 huge outer gates are guarded b.
 elaborately carved griffons, which ar , decorated with gold, and the lon
 entranceway 10 the area from whicl the shrine itself rises, consists o
 marble stairways, which, most of tn
 time are lined with beggars and wit ] bazaars for the sale of goods in tended as offerings.
 This feature of the exhibit is 0 especial interest to Northern Bap !. lists, as Burma was first occupied a l a missionary field by Adoniram Jud
 son, a Baptist missionary, in 1S1 . and Baptists have continued tn work Marked expansion is p1anne
 in Burma, in the way of industris } and elementary schools, colleges, an 5 hospitals, the extent of this wor l being dependent upon raising tn } balance of the s1oo,o0o,ooo Ne, , World Movement fund.