This article illustrates the relationship between religion and political power in a particular process of contemporary Burmese nation building. I highlight the symbolic appropriation of a specific national territory through the mediation of a spirit, and the recent building of a sanctuary in Arakan state by the wife of a Burmese military officer posted in the region, an action that is akin to concluding an agreement with a local spirit and then establishing the foundation of central authority over a local population. It highlights a process whereby the use of religion by the Burmese in the configuration of territory is observed as a way of maintaining or legitimizing hegemony over the country?s marginal population groups. The article also shows how this process is made possible thanks to a specific segment of the local Arakanese elite, perceived to be the referring authority... keywords: Arakan state--spirit cults--nation building--territory-- locality--authority and power--tradition