ABSTRACT
Technically, "ghost" may be used in comparative religion to refer to any disembodied spirit of the dead. In addition to ghosts, the Burmese believe in a number of other evil creatures which, for lack of a better term demons. Like the lehpwe, all these techniques afford generalized protection against harm, rather than specific protection against demons and ghosts. In addition to these general prophylactics, there are other techniques which afford specific protection from ghosts. Although some few villagers express skepticism about the existence of demons and ghosts, the vast majority entertain no doubts. Despite the Burmese fear of ghosts, it would be false to convey the impression that their fear is obsessive, as it sometimes is among other peoples. Surrounded though they are by these and other malevolent beings, the Burmese attitude toward their ghosts is similar to that described by Ryan for the Singhalese.
