SECURITY should be provided for Nat (spirit) statues which are antiques and have been stolen recently, said archaeologist and writer Bo Shake (Yadanapura).

Recently, antique Nat statues have been lost and even Nat statues from other unknown Nat chambers (Nat Nan) have been stolen. In an attempt to prevent antique Nat statues from stealing, those who take charge of Nat chambers should focus on security, for example, they should pay attention to preservation in collaboration with the archaeological department as these statues are also ancient heritages, he said.

“More and more Nat statues have been found missing recently. Nat statues from Yadana Gu have also been lost. Yadana Gu existed since Nyaungyan Period so these Nat statues are also ancient heritages, Nat statue is also a tradition of Myanmar and it is a kind of ritual. It is not worshiping them as the same level as Buddha. People worship them as ritual. And they are ancient cultural assets. Most of Nat statues have been found stolen especially this month. So it is not safe just by locking them. That is why those who take charge of Nat chambers should focus on how they can make safe the Nat statues. Like Buddha images, they need to be protected by s guard or a trustee board, if not this problem will continue,” he said.

It is assumed there is an antique smuggling market and the archaeological department and security teams need to deal with it effectively, he said. In order to protect antique Nat statues from stealing, education should be given to villagers about the value of antiques, at the same time these antiques should be locked in secure places and protected by guards, he suggested.

MT/ZS

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