"How have Buddhist nuns in Myanmar engaged themselves in monastic relationships while being officially excluded from the monastic institution (the Sangha) since the female order disappeared? This article examines the term "nuns" and monastic status through the way it is embodied in everyday interactions. I begin by presenting the main characteristics of the ambivalent status of Buddhist nuns and the methodological problem this raises -- an analysis of donation interactions between nuns and lay donors indicates the different paths that lead to monastic identification. I then focus on the various relationships in which nuns are engaged in Myanmar, with a description of the combination of relationships between nuns, monks, and lay donors that highlights the monastic system as a network of dynamic relationships in which monastic social identity and its processes of legitimation can take place... keywords: Theravada Buddhism--female monasticism--donation interactions--monastic relational system