The Birman Legend

The legend of the Sacred Cats of Burma. Before the time of the Roman Empire and even before the time of Buddha, an ancient people called the Khmer lived in a Southeast Asian country once called Burma and now called Myanmar. The Khmer people believed in the magical ability of animals to ward off malevolence and evil forces.

In the temple of Lao-Tsun on the slopes of the Lugh Mountain, there lived 100 golden-eyed temple cats with long white hair. The cats bore the souls of the Kittah, or Khmer priests, after they had departed this life and awaited rebirth in order to attain purity and perfection. In the temple also lived the golden-bearded Grand Lama of all the Kittah. His entire life was devoted to worshipping Tsun Kyan-Kse, the goddess in the golden robes with brilliant blue eyes who presided over the transformation of priestly souls as they left one life and entered the next.

One clear evening, the honourable Mun Ha sat before the goddess in prayer. Next to him sat his devoted cat, Sinh, who was one of the white cats that resided in the temple. Like the other temple cats, Sinh had eyes that were as golden as the robes of the goddess and his ears, nose, tail and the tips of his feet were as dark as the colour of the earth, a symbol of the impurity of all that touches the ground.

That evening, as Mun Ha prayed, invaders from Siam, the land that is now called Thailand, entered the temple, killing Mun Ha on his throne. Because Mun Ha could no longer direct his gaze to the enternal goddess, Sinh put his paws on his noble master and faced the statue of Tsun Kyan-Kse. As Sinh contemplated the goddess, a miraculous transformation took place. As the other Kittah that had gathered around Mun Ha watched, Sinh’s hair turned the colour of a golden mist that matched the colour of the goddess’s robes. His eyes became the same blazing sapphire blue as those of the goddess, and his paws became pure white to the point where they were covered by his master’s holy garments. As Sinh faced the entrance to the temple his gaze turned to the bronze doors. When the Kittah realised the meaning of Sinh’s gaze, they rushed to the doors and closed them, thus saving the temple from being plundered by the invaders from Siam.

Sinh continued to sit on Mun Ha’s throne for seven days contemplating Tsun Kyan-Kse. On the seventh day he died, taking the pure and perfect soul of his master with him. Seven days thereafter, the Kittah assembled in front of the goddess’s statue to select Mun Ha’s successor. All of the temple cats gathered there with them. As the priests prayed, the hair of the cats turned a golden colour as Sinh’s had done. Their eyes became the brilliant blue of the goddess, and the paws on all four feet turned pure white. Silently, the cats that possessed the souls of the temple’s departed Kittah, gathered around the youngest Kittah and chose him as Mun Ha’s successor. From that day forward, the sacred cats of Burma had coats of a golden mist, eyes of sapphire blue, and feet as pure and white as new fallen snow.