Jan
Also called Jan the Sun, Father of the Genii.
Jan is the benevolent sun nat of Kachin tradition, honoured annually by the village head with food and drink in exchange for protection over the community.
At a glance
- Tradition
- Burmese (Myanmar) animist tradition
- Region
- Southeast Asia (place of origin)
- Trait family
- The Kindly Watchers
Near this figure
Traits
Read from the figure's description, which a model wrote. Open "why" for the sentence a trait came from.
Defensive powers
- Guardian intervention
why
The village head, rather than an individual householder, makes the offering — food and drink — and the request is for protection over the settlement.
Roles
Judged from the works' own entries, not from the description. Carries: the figure holds the role. Meets: the role is in its stories, held by something it meets.
- Father carries
3 citations
- Carol Rose, Spirits, Fairies, Leprechauns, and Goblins, s.v. "Jan."
- Theresa Bane, Encyclopedia of Beasts and Monsters in Myth, Legend and Folklore, s.v. "Jan."
- Walter William Skeat, Malay Magic, p. 95.