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Meet Mr. Handsome. Otherwise known as Min Mahagiri - "Lord of the Great Mountain". He can be found at the entrance gate to Old Bagan. He's a nat - and a very popular one at that. Nats are spirit beings. They are part of an animistic belief system that predates Buddhism. There are 37 nats in Burma and they hold dominion over particular places, or people or fields of experience.

Nat shrines are everywhere and followers seek them out when they need help with important tasks. Nats are like saints in the Catholic church. I remember my devout grandmother would say a prayer to St. Anthony to help her find something she'd misplaced. It's the same idea with nats.

When King Anawratha made Theravada Buddhism the official religion he realized it was never going to fully supplant nat worship so he sagely incorporated them into the new order and there they have remained.

Although I've yet to see a Lord Kyawswa shrine I'm told they're adorned with bottles of beer and Johnny Walker instead of the more traditional flowers, coconuts and bananas. He's the patron of drunkards and gamblers.