page_title: Bamar people
section_title: Religion
hierarchical_section_title: Bamar people / Culture and society / Religion
caption_attribution_description: English: A nat ein (spirit house) in Lanmadaw Township, Downtown Yangon
context_page_description: The Bamar are a Southeast Asian ethnic group and nation native to Myanmar where they are the dominant group. The Bamar live primarily in the Irrawaddy River basin and speak the Burmese language, which is the sole official language of Myanmar at a national level. Bamar customs and identity are closely intertwined with the broader Burmese culture.
context_section_description: The majority of the Bamar follow a syncretism of the native Burmese folk religion and Theravada Buddhism. People are expected to keep the basic five precepts and practise dāna "charity", sīla "Buddhist ethics" and vipassanā "meditation". Most villages have a monastery and often a stupa maintained and supported by the villagers. Annual pagoda festivals usually fall on a full moon, and robe offering ceremonies for bhikkhus are held both at the beginning and after the Vassa. This coincides with the monsoons, during which the uposatha is generally observed once a week.
  Children were educated by monks before secular state schools came into being. A shinbyu ceremony by which young boys become novice monks for a short period is considered the most important duty of Buddhist parents. Christian missionaries had made little impact on the Bamar despite the popularity of missionary schools in cities.
  The Bamar practise Buddhism along with Nat worship which predated Buddhism. It involves rituals relating to a pantheon of 37 Nats or spirits designated by King Anawrahta, although many minor nats are also worshipped. In villages, many houses have outdoors altars to honor nats, called nat ein (နတ်အိမ်‌), in addition to one outside the village known as nat sin (နတ်စင်‌) often under a bo tree (Ficus religiosa). Indoors in many households, one may find a coconut called nat oun up the main post for the Eindwin Min Mahagiri (အိမ်တွင်းမင်းမဟာဂိရိ; lit. "Indoor Lord of the Great Mountain"), considered one of the most important of the Nats.
  The term "Bamar" is sometimes used to refer to both the practice of Buddhism as well as the ethnic identity. Bamar Muslims, however, practice Islam and claim ethnic Bamar heritage and culture in all matters other than religion.
caption: A nat ein in Downtown Yangon
exif: {}