Min Kyawzwa ( my, မင်းကျော်စွာ, ; also known as U Min Gyaw and Ko Gyi Kyaw), is one of the 37 nats in the official pantheon of Burmese nats. He is a composite representation of multiple historical personalities. One version puts him as a son of King

Theinhko Theinhko ( my, သိန်းခို; also Theinkho, ; c. 919 – 956) was king of the Pagan dynasty of Burma (Myanmar) from c. 934 to c. 956. According to the Burmese chronicles, Theinhko was a son of the previous king, Sale Ngahkwe. Theinhk ...

of Pagan; he was murdered by his brother. Another version puts him as an adviser to King

Alaungsithu Alaungsithu or Sithu I ( my, အလောင်းစည်သူ ; also Cansu I; 1090–1167) was king of Pagan Dynasty of Burma (Myanmar) from 1112/13 to 1167. Sithu's reign was a prosperous one in which Pagan was an integral part of in-land ...

of Pagan; he died an alcoholic. Another puts him as Crown Prince

Minye Kyawswa Minye Kyawswa ( my, မင်းရဲကျော်စွာ, ; also Minyekyawswa and Minrekyawswa; January 1391 – 13 March 1415) was crown prince of Ava from 1406 to 1415, and commander-in-chief of Ava's military from 1410 to 1415. H ...

of Ava, who fell in action in the Forty Years' War. Yet another version puts him as a son of the Lord of Pyay and Kuni Devi. He reportedly was a "drunkard and cock fighter and also a good rider", killed by his victims turned devils. Ma Ngwe Taung, another nat, was seduced by Min Kyawzwa when they were both humans and abandoned by him. She pined for him so much that her brother, who did not approve of Min Kyawzwa, became angry and pushed her off a cliff. She helps women abandoned by husbands or lovers. Min Kyawzwa is the guardian of drunkards and gamblers, and grants wealth to those he favours. His main shrine is in his hometown of

Pakhan Yesagyo Township (Yaesagyo Township) is a township of Pakokku District in the Magway Region of central Burma (Myanmar). The principal town and administrative seat is Yesagyo. The township is served by the Chaung-U to Pakokku railway. Borders Ye ...

, near Pakokku in

Magway Region Magway Region ( my, မကွေးတိုင်းဒေသကြီး, ; formerly Magway Division) is an administrative division in central Myanmar. It is the second largest of Myanmar's seven divisions, with an area of . Pa Del Dam (ပဒ� ...

, where his festival is held every March.

References

{{Burmese nats *32