morning, the first waning day of Wagaung, the last ritual of gilding gold foils to the two statues of the brothers is held. Organizers and participants Among nat festivals, this festival is the most important and the model for all the others. More importantly, as it is held beyond the regional level due to the large crowd of people coming from different parts of the country for their reasons, it needs great organization, which falls within two domains: the two pagodas and the nat palace. The trustee of the pagodas controls and runs some sites and temporary infrastructure like stalls, theaters, as well as the pagodas' compound. Next to them lies the nat palace surrounded by a large open space. The nat palace is run by its guardians (), who say they are descendants of the two Chinese princesses whom King Anawrahta appointed to guard the palace. So this family manages the whole domain of the nat. The profits and income from the festival are shared among the members of the family. There is also another major position, nat chieftain (), which is the head of the ritual positions, to whom some mediums of important roles assisted. These mediums, considered to be highest dignitaries, have their respective titles: "one who wears the baung" (a hat worn by ministers in the monarchy system) (); "a queen who wears the tho" ( a hat worn by queens in the monarchy system) (). The number of ministers and queens has not been the same throughout the history of the festival. In the distant past, there were four queens and one minister. From after the Second World War to 1988, four queens and four ministers served as dignitaries. In 1995 the number went up to eighteen and then the number started to decline. There are various types of mediums, in which the small number of chosen mediums is only allowed to perform in the nat palace. The large number of ordinary mediums has no right to perform there and has to find lodging outside of the nat palace's compound. For some of those who have no traditional place in the main nat palace, secondary palaces have been built since about 1985, dedicated to the other nat among the Burmese pantheon of '37' nats. Note References Citations General sources