Superstition and Power: Min Aung Hlaing’s Yadaya Rituals Aim to Secure Presidency

[geovalin]

 

 

Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing is once again turning to superstition in a bid to secure his long-coveted presidency, as the country braces for military-staged elections in December. Over the weekend, the general visited Kengtung in eastern Shan State—an area with personal significance from his days as commander—where he performed a high-profile yadaya ritual, a form of Burmese occult practice aimed at warding off misfortune and summoning good luck.

 

The centerpiece of this latest ritual was the enshrinement of a bejeweled crown, symbolically linked to the regalia of Burmese monarchs, at Lawkatharaphu Pagoda. Min Aung Hlaing and his wife presented the crown to Vasipake Sayadaw, a reclusive monk and spiritual adviser known for his influence over the general and his silent vows. Their association dates back to the early 2000s and has involved numerous rituals, including alleged instructions to security forces during the 2021 coup crackdown.

 

Widely interpreted by the public as an attempt to enhance his political fortune through supernatural means, the crown offering is seen as an effort to conjure legitimacy and victory ahead of the regime’s planned election. Critics view it as another example of how Myanmar’s military rulers intertwine religion, ritual, and repression.

 

Min Aung Hlaing’s obsession with astrology, numerology, and magical emblems is well-documented. In the past, he has consecrated pagodas in both Myanmar and abroad, unveiled a giant ruby and white elephant—symbols of divine favor—and commissioned the world’s tallest sitting Buddha in Naypyitaw, each move carefully timed with political events or crises.

 

After natural disasters like the March 2024 earthquake and 2023’s Cyclone Mocha, his response was often more religious than humanitarian. Observers noted that his rituals consistently coincided with major threats to his power, including armed resistance movements and international condemnation.

 

His aspirations to become president were thwarted in 2020, when the National League for Democracy (NLD) scored a landslide victory. The subsequent coup and dissolution of opposition parties, including the NLD and the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, have cleared a path for the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) to dominate the December poll.

 

Still, Min Aung Hlaing appears unwilling to leave his fate entirely to political engineering. His repeated invocations of “Aung Pi!” (“We did it!”) during ceremonies have come to symbolize his reliance on yadaya to defeat not just political rivals, but growing public resentment and armed resistance.

 

Whether this fusion of mysticism and militarism will deliver him the presidency remains to be seen, but to many in Myanmar, his rituals are a surreal yet chilling echo of the military’s long history of ruling not just by force, but by fate.

 

-2025-05-30

 

 

[spidermike007]

The population of Burma should be aiming to secure this man's execution, and the same applies to all the top officials in this incredibly filthy and genocidal Burmese government.