May 9 (Bloomberg) -- Leaders around the world are trying to tell Myanmar's military ruler, Than Shwe, how to respond to Cyclone Nargis. He may be more likely to listen to a soothsayer, according to scholars who study his regime.

A fortuneteller's warning that blood would spill in the city of Yangon prompted the general in 2005 to shift the country's capital from there to Naypyidaw, a jungle outpost 300 kilometers (186 miles) inland, said Irrawaddy News, a weekly that covers Myanmar from Thailand.

The military rulers who will decide how much international cyclone relief Myanmar will accept and where it will go are reclusive and repressive by the reckoning of international groups and western governments. The junta leaders also are believers in the magical powers of good and bad luck.

``The amount of superstitious beliefs, the following of soothsayers make it difficult to understand why they act in a certain way,'' said Christopher Roberts, a post-doctoral fellow at Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies who specializes in Myanmar politics.

The May 3 cyclone may have killed 100,000 and left a million homeless. The military, which has controlled Myanmar since 1962, delayed allowing in relief workers and supplies, prompting an outcry from the United Nations, the U.S., other countries and aid groups. Before responding to the pressure, junta rulers ``would be looking for guidance'' from fortunetellers, Roberts said.

Than Shwe, who is in his 70s, and his underlings are similar to their countrymen in this regard, said U Thaung Yee, a volunteer worker at the Marist Mission in Ranong, Thailand, which educates orphans from Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.

Elephant Hairs

Among beliefs that are common in Myanmar, he said: Shoes shouldn't be left upside down. Elephant hairs bring good luck. Shampooing after a funeral may bring bad luck. And children shouldn't be exposed to dark places.

``Myanmar people are very superstitious; we cannot live without it,'' he said. ``Everyone talks to fortunetellers, even the generals, as we believe they will tell us our future.''

Former dictator Ne Win, who ruled for 26 years until 1988, ordered a switch from driving on the left side of the road to the right after his personal clairvoyant told him the left side brought bad luck, Roberts said. Cars switched sides the next day, Roberts added.

A meeting last year between Than Shwe and Ibrahim Gambari, a United Nations special envoy, was delayed for days while the general waited for an auspicious time, said Mizzima News, an online service run by exiled Myanmar journalists in India and Thailand.

Surprise Move

The decision to move the capital to Naypyidaw surprised China, Myanmar's neighbor, and fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The relocation took place at a time and date chosen by Than Shwe's soothsayer, Irrawaddy News said.

Naypyidaw is a cluster of buildings with no international airport that's a 10-hour rail journey from Yangon, Myanmar's largest city. It has underground bunkers and anti-missile defenses, according to Irrawaddy News. Photographs show mansions, parade grounds and pagodas for the junta's top brass.

``It is outrageously spread out and outrageous for a country this poor,'' said David Steinberg, director of Asian studies at Georgetown University and author of ``Turmoil in Burma: Contested Legitimacies in Myanmar.'' Than Shwe ``is being treated as though he's a monarch. No one can raise anything until he raises it first.''

To contact the reporter on this story: En-Lai Yeoh in Singapore at eyeoh1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: May 8, 2008 16:00 EDT