ET: Gifted since childhood with ‘supernatural power’
Myanmar’s most famous clairvoyant was also greatly admired throughout the region for using her wealth to support a foundation that provides free care to needy people
THE “supernatural power” that made the fortune-teller known as ET famous throughout Myanmar and Southeast Asia was evident from childhood, her devoted, grieving sister said last week.
Daw Swe Swe Win, a hunched, deaf-mute who was known as ET because she resembled the main character in the 1982 American movie, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, died peacefully in her sleep at home in Yangon’s Thingangyun Township early on 10 September 2017, aged 58.
Swe Swe Win’s gift of clairvoyance had become apparent when she was a little girl in the Ayeyarwady Region capital, Pathein, her sister, Daw Thi Thi Win, told Frontier on September 11. “That so-called supernatural power was with her since childhood,” said Thi Thi Win. Swe Swe Win had begun making predictions about the lives of family members and monks at a nearby monastery when she was as young as seven, she said. As a young girl in Pathein, Swe Swe Win spent hours meditating before a Buddha image at the nearby Tikegyi Kyaung monastery.
Famed Burmese fortune teller ET dies
Fortune teller ET's advice was sought by the rich and powerful
A Burmese fortune teller who advised some of South East Asia's most rich and powerful figures has died aged 58. Family members told local media that Swe Swe Win, known as ET, died of natural causes on Sunday.
Her clients reportedly included former Burmese leader Than Shwe and former Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra, as well as ministers and wealthy business leaders. She could not hear or speak so communicated with her clients in writing or through assistants. Fortune telling and astrology are still widely trusted in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) and ET - or E Thi - was one of the country's most famous soothsayers.
She also attracted a regional following. Her family told local news outlet Frontier Myanmar that ET, who gained her nickname from what was seen as her resemblance to the much-loved film alien, died "naturally and peacefully while she was sleeping" early on Sunday morning.
Myanmar Mystic ET Dies in Yangon
ET, second from left, holds a photo of King of Thailand Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun, with the Thai ambassador to Myanmar, Jukr Boon-Long, second from right in May 2017. / Htoo Chit / Facebook
Myanmar’s well-known mystic Daw Swe Swe Win—known by her clients as ET—died of natural causes at her home in Yangon’s Thingangyun Township early in the morning on Sunday. She was 57.
ET was consulted as a fortune teller or soothsayer by some of Myanmar’s—and Asia’s—most influential figures, including a number of ruling Myanmar generals and former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Her family members began to notice her ability to make predictions when she was just nine years old. A severe fever at the age of 14 left her deaf, mute, and unable to walk unassisted. She rose to fame as a fortune teller and was nicknamed ET by her clients for her resemblance to the main character in Steven Spielberg’s movie “ET the Extra Terrestrial” (1982). She turned 57 on July 5.
