Woodcutter’s double, the displaced Nāt

Overview

After a woodcutter fells its tree without warning or permission, a Nāt takes his exact appearance and arrives first at his home, claiming his wife. Even the man’s scar and birthmark are duplicated. The judge Manoo resolves the dispute by challenging both claimants to pass through the narrow hole of a wheel: the spirit succeeds, exposing its nonhuman identity.

The judge nevertheless acknowledges the spirit’s grievance and directs the couple to hang a dried coconut in their house as its new dwelling. The Nāt accepts. Mimosa presents this as an origin story for household coconut offerings, but the tale’s sweeping claim about all Burmese households is not independent evidence of universal or present-day practice. The unnamed spirit is not equated with a particular member of the Thirty-Seven Nats.

Origins & earliest records

Burmese tale mediated through a pseudonymous English literary collection

Records & interpretation

Complete opening tale, pp. 9–20, and title-page publication details directly read.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

1. 01

   Told on the Pagoda: Tales of Burmah

   Mimosa · 1895

   The Woman, the Man and the Nāt, pp. 9–20

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

Primary records and illustrations

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

1. Historical literary retellingMimosa, Told on the Pagoda (London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1895), pp. 9–20Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.