Myanmese mystics, such as fortune teller ET, have the ear of Asia's elite

Tiny, frail and barely able to speak, Myanmar's most famous fortune teller, known as ET, has for years whispered predictions to Asia's rich and powerful, from generals to foreign politicians.

The soothsayer, whose popularity has inspired a recent Thai biographical film, is one of a plethora of mystics in Myanmar, where generations of rulers have sought ethereal advice.

Sprightly despite a range of disabilities - including, her family say, that her internal organs are all on the wrong side of her body - ET looks every bit the mystic when accompanied by her sister Thi Thi, whose penchant for shawls and elaborately embroidered frocks enhances the spiritualist image.

"My sister [is a] very, very grand and special one," Thi Thi said in a recent interview in Bangkok, adding that her guidance has been sought across the region. "Some is politician, some is business people … Everybody happy, became very famous," said Thi Thi, who acts as interpreter.

Myanmar's fortune tellers are thought to be behind several unexplained occurrences in the country, from the abrupt decision by the former military junta to relocate the capital in 2005, to bizarre episodes when the generals appeared wearing women's lungis - sarong-like skirts.

Normally sartorially conservative, the top brass resorted to cross-dressing "so that a woman would not become president in the country", said Aung Zaw, editor of the Irrawaddy, a news magazine started by Myanmese exiles, referring to the junta's fear of democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi. "They are very superstitious," he said.