Over the weekend, Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing was again in Kengtung, where he served as chief of Triangle Region Command in 2000s. He has visited the eastern Shan State town a number of times since his 2021 coup. The reason behind almost every visit is the same – to perform yadaya, the Burmese form of voodoo.
On his latest tip, the junta boss had a bejeweled crown – one of the Myanmar monarchy’s five items of regalia – enshrined at Lawkatharaphu Pagoda on Saturday. He was accompanied by Vasipake Sayadaw, one of his favorite Buddhist monks for yadaya, and famous for his vows of silence.
The ties between the two date back to the 2000s when Min Aung Hlaing headed the regional command. The monk is widely believed to be the coup leader’s astrological adviser, and has been accused of advising his powerful follower to order security forces to shoot anti-coup protesters in the head as a form of yadaya. Most anti-regime protesters killed in the early days of the junta crackdown had bullet wounds to the head.
Min Aung Hlaing also previously consecrated pagodas at Buddha Park on the outskirts of Kengtung, a religious site rising under the guidance of Vasipake Sayadaw since 2015.
Their latest ceremony together took place as Min Aung Hlaing pushes for an election in December. To many in Myanmar, the donation of the bejeweled crown was seen an act of yadaya – Burmese magic rituals aimed at averting misfortune and bringing good luck. In this case, Myanmar people understand that enshrining a near replica of the coronation crown of Burmese kings was yadaya meant to boost his chances of becoming president.
The junta chief has long been known for his obsession with becoming president. In early 2020, several months before the election in November, Min Aung Hlaing placed a Hti umbrella atop Bagan’s ancient Htilominlo Temple, under the guidance of Vasipake Sayadaw. According to tradition, rulers who make offerings at the pagoda receive divine blessings and enjoy long reigns. The name of the pagoda translates as “asking for Hti” – a symbol of Burmese monarchy.
Min Aung Hlaing’s hopes rested on the military’s proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party winning at least 26 percent of seats in the 2020 election, which, when added to the 25 percent of seats reserved for military appointees, would have been enough to secure the presidency.
His dream, however, was shattered when the National League for Democracy won a landslide in the poll. To keep it alive, he staged a coup, toppling the civilian government and plunging the country into chaos. In the eyes of Myanmar’s public, the latest ritual was nothing more than yadaya in preparation for December’s vote.
After the March 28 earthquake left a trail of destruction in Sagaing, Mandalay and his nerve center of Naypyitaw, the junta boss responded to what he sensed was a bad omen for his regime by consecrating a pagoda in Taunggyi in southern Shan State in April – seeking divine blessings to ward off misfortune.
His actions were part of a familiar pattern. On May 13, 2023, one day before Cyclone Mocha devastated western Myanmar’s Rakhine State, Min Aung Hlaing shunned rescue and relief planning to consecrate a pagoda built by Vasipake Sayadaw at Buddha Park.
Myanmar’s military leaders are notorious for being deeply superstitious – often turning to astrology, occultism, numerology, black magic, and yadaya.
Following in his predecessors’ footsteps, Min Aung Hlaing has also used rubies and white elephants as “magic emblems” to legitimize his rule. Military generals see the discovery of such rare items as large rubies and albino elephants as natural signs of their own greatness and divine right to rule.
But, Min Aung Hlaing has outdone his predecessors, announcing the discovery of a giant ruby and a white elephant barely a year after his coup.
The junta chief has also been busy reconsecrating pagodas over the past four years, even flying to Moscow to anoint one there, as he seeks divine favor to conquer a nationwide armed uprising. His obsession with pagoda reconsecration is seen as further evidence of a burning desire for the presidency.
Ne Win had Maha Wizaya Pagoda built in Yangon, while his successor Than Shwe consecrated the junta’s new capital with Uppatasanti, a replica of the Shwedagon Pagoda. Min Aung Hlaing followed in their footsteps by commissioning what is touted as the world’s tallest sitting Buddha in Naypyitaw. The Maravijaya Buddha statue is symbolically associated with the number nine – the talisman of Myanmar military. The name Maravijaya means “to conquer Mara [dangers].”
In February 2022, Min Aung Hlaing reconsecrated a village pagoda in Magwe Region’s Pwintbyu Township, just 20 kilometers from Minbu where he was born. He changed the name of the pagoda from Thet Thar Pantaung to Setkkyar Pantaung. According to astrologers, he chose the new name in the hope of becoming Settkyar Min, or Chakravarti in Sanskrit – the king of the kings.
During consecration ceremonies, the junta boss gives three shouts of “Aung Pi!” – a traditional phrase meaning something like “We did it!”, used to mark the successful conclusion of a religious ceremony. But in his mouth, the exclamation is commonly interpreted as yadaya, shouted in the hope of conquering his enemies.
Having dissolved major pro-democracy parties including the NLD, whose elected government he ousted, and the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, Min Aung Hlaing apparently has no need to worry about the poll results this time.
The military’s proxy USDP is on course to win a majority in December’s poll and dominate a rubber-stamp parliament, paving the way for him to fulfil his long-held ambition of becoming president. But Min Aung Hlaing wants to make sure, and yadaya is his supernatural insurance policy.
This article is supported by the Transition Promotion Programme, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic.
