The Mon ( mnw, ဂကူမည်; my, မွန်လူမျိုး, ; th,
มอญ, ) are an
ethnic group
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
who inhabit
Lower Myanmar
Lower Myanmar ( my, အောက်မြန်မာပြည်, also called Lower Burma) is a geographic region of Myanmar and includes the low-lying Irrawaddy Delta ( Ayeyarwady, Bago and Yangon Regions), as well as coastal regions of the c ...
's
Mon State
Mon State ( my, မွန်ပြည်နယ်, ; mnw, တွဵုရးဍုင်မန်, italics=no) is an administrative division of Myanmar. It lies between Kayin State to the east, the Andaman Sea to the west, Bago Region to th ...
,
Kayin State,
Kayah State
Kayah State ( my, ကယားပြည်နယ်, formerly Karenni State) is a state of Myanmar. Situated in eastern Myanmar, it is bounded on the north by Shan State, on the east by Thailand's Mae Hong Son Province, and on the south and we ...
,
Tanintharyi Region
Tanintharyi Region ( my, တနင်္သာရီတိုင်းဒေသကြီး, ; Mon: or ; ms, Tanah Sari; formerly Tenasserim Division and subsequently Tanintharyi Division, th, ตะนาวศรี, RTGS: ''Tanao Si'', ; ...
,
Bago Region
Bago Region ( my, ပဲခူးတိုင်းဒေသကြီး, ; formerly Pegu Division and Bago Division) is an administrative region of Myanmar, located in the southern central part of the country. It is bordered by Magway Region a ...
, the
Irrawaddy Delta
The Irrawaddy Delta or Ayeyarwady Delta lies in the Irrawaddy Division, the lowest expanse of land in Myanmar that fans out from the limit of tidal influence at Myan Aung to the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea, to the south at the mouth of the ...
, and several areas in
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
(mostly in
Pathum Thani province,
Phra Pradaeng
Phra Pradaeng ( th, พระประแดง, ) is a district (''amphoe'') of Samut Prakan province in Thailand.
History
Phra Pradeang was the original center of the area south of Bangkok near the mouth of the Chao Phraya River. Originally na ...
and
Nong Ya Plong). There are also small numbers of Mon people in West Garo Hills, calling themselves Man or Mann, who also came from Myanmar to Assam, ultimately residing in Garo Hills.
The native language is
Mon
Mon, MON or Mon. may refer to:
Places
* Mon State, a subdivision of Myanmar
* Mon, India, a town in Nagaland
* Mon district, Nagaland
* Mon, Raebareli, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India
* Mon, Switzerland, a village in the Canton of Grisons
* A ...
, which belongs to the
Monic branch of the
Mon-Khmer language family and shares a common origin with the
Nyah Kur language, which is spoken by the
people of the same name that live in
Northeastern Thailand. A number of languages in Mainland Southeast Asia are influenced by the Mon language, which is also in turn influenced by those languages.
The Mon were one of the earliest to reside in
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...
, and were responsible for the spread of
Theravada
''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school ...
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
in
Mainland Southeast Asia
Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...
.
The civilizations founded by the Mon were some of the earliest in Thailand
as well as Myanmar and
Laos
Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist s ...
. The Mon are regarded as a large exporter of Southeast Asian culture. Historically, many cities in
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
,
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
, and
Laos
Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist s ...
today, including
Yangon
Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...
,
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...
, and
Vientiane
Vientiane ( , ; lo, ວຽງຈັນ, ''Viangchan'', ) is the capital and largest city of Laos. Vientiane is divided administratively into 9 cities with a total area of only approx. 3,920 square kilometres and is located on the banks of ...
were founded either by the Mon people or Mon rulers.
Nowadays, the Mon are a major
ethnic group in Myanmar and a minor
ethnic group in Thailand.
The Mons from Myanmar are called Burmese Mon or Myanmar Mon. The Mons from Thailand are referred as Thai Raman or Thai Mon. The Mon dialects of Thailand and Myanmar are
mutually intelligible
In linguistics, mutual intelligibility is a relationship between languages or dialects in which speakers of different but related varieties can readily understand each other without prior familiarity or special effort. It is sometimes used as a ...
.
Etymology
In the
Burmese language
Burmese ( my, မြန်မာဘာသာ, MLCTS: ''mranmabhasa'', IPA: ) is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken in Myanmar (also known as Burma), where it is an official language, lingua franca, and the native language of the Burmans, the coun ...
, the term ''Mon'' (spelt မွန်, ) is used. During the pre-colonial era, the Burmese used the term ''Talaing'' (တလိုင်း), which was subsequently adopted by the British, who also referred to the Mon as ''Peguan'', during the colonial era. The exonym "Peguan" was originally adopted by the European writers at the time when
Pegu
Bago (formerly spelt Pegu; , ), formerly known as Hanthawaddy, is a city and the capital of the Bago Region in Myanmar. It is located north-east of Yangon.
Etymology
The Burmese name Bago (ပဲခူး) is likely derived from the Mon langua ...
was the capital of
Lower Myanmar
Lower Myanmar ( my, အောက်မြန်မာပြည်, also called Lower Burma) is a geographic region of Myanmar and includes the low-lying Irrawaddy Delta ( Ayeyarwady, Bago and Yangon Regions), as well as coastal regions of the c ...
. The etymology of Talaing is debated; it may be derived from
Telinga
The land of Telugu people was referred during ancient times as ''Āndhra dēśa'' (country of Andhra) and ''Trilingadēśa'' (country of Trilinga).
The word '' Telugu'' is ''believed'' to have been derived from ''trilinga'', as in ''Trilinga D ...
or
Kalinga Kalinga may refer to:
Geography, linguistics and/or ethnology
* Kalinga (historical region), a historical region of India
** Kalinga (Mahabharata), an apocryphal kingdom mentioned in classical Indian literature
** Kalinga script, an ancient writin ...
, a geographic region in southeast India.
The use of "Talaing" predates the Burmese conquest of the
Hanthawaddy Kingdom
(Mon) ( Burmese)
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Hongsarwatoi (Hanthawaddy) Pegu
, common_name = Hongsarwatoi (Hanthawaddy) Kingdom / Ramannya (Ramam)
, era = Warring states
, status = Kingdom
, event_pre ...
and has been found on inscriptions dating to the reign of
Anawrahta
Anawrahta Minsaw ( my, အနော်ရထာ မင်းစော, ; 11 May 1014 – 11 April 1077) was the founder of the Pagan Empire. Considered the father of the Burmese nation, Anawrahta turned a small principality in the dry zone ...
in the 11th century.
In 1930 and 1947, Mon ethnic leaders, who considered the term "Talaing" to be pejorative, petitioned against the use of the term. "Talaing" is now obsolete in modern Burmese, except in the context of specific historical terms, such as the eponymous song genre in the
Mahagita, the corpus of Burmese classical songs.
The Burmese term "Mon" is synonymous with the Burmese word for "Noble". In the
Mon language
The Mon language (, mnw, ဘာသာမန်, links=no, (Mon-Thai ဘာသာမည်) ; my, မွန်ဘာသာ; th, ภาษามอญ; formerly known as Peguan and Talaing) is an Austroasiatic language spoken by the Mon peop ...
, the Mon are known as the ''Mon'' (spelt မန် and pronounced ), based on the Pali term ''
Rāmañña'' (ရာမည), which refers to the Mon heartland along the Burmese coast. In classical Mon literature, they are known as the ''Raman'' (ရာမန်). The Mon of Myanmar are divided into three sub-groups based on their ancestral region in Lower Myanmar, including ''Mon Nya'' (; from
Pathein
Pathein (, ; mnw, ဖာသီ, ), formerly called Bassein, is the largest city and the capital of the Ayeyarwady Region, Myanmar (Burma). It is located 190 km (120 mi) west of Yangon within Pathein Township on the bank of the Pathe ...
(the Irrawaddy Delta) in the west, ''Mon Tang'' (; ) in
Bago in the central region, and ''Mon Teh'' (; ) at
Mottama
Mottama ( my, မုတ္တမမြို့, ; Muttama mnw, မုဟ်တၟံ, ; formerly Martaban) is a town in the Thaton District of Mon State, Myanmar. Located on the west bank of the Thanlwin river (Salween), on the opposite side ...
in the southeast.
History
Prehistory
In around 3,000–2,000 BCE, the Mon people, descended from
Proto-Austroasiatic people, possibly began migrating down from the
Yangtze Kiang valley in
Southern China to the Southwest along the rivers of
Mekong
The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth longest river and the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of , discharging of water annual ...
,
Salween,
Sittaung,
Irrawaddy, and further to
Ping and
Chao Phaya,
bringing with them the practice of riverine agriculture, particularly the cultivation of wet rice. According to U Ye Sein and Geoffrey Benjamin, the Mon settlement reached south as far as
Malaya.
Early history
The Mon are believed to be one of the earliest peoples of
Mainland Southeast Asia
Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...
. They founded some of the earliest civilizations there, including
Dvaravati
The Dvaravati ( th, ทวารวดี ; ) was an ancient Mon kingdom from the 7th century to the 11th century that was located in the region now known as central Thailand. It was described by the Chinese pilgrim in the middle of the 7th cen ...
in Central Thailand (whose culture proliferated into
Isan
Northeast Thailand or Isan ( Isan/ th, อีสาน, ; lo, ອີສານ; also written as Isaan, Isarn, Issarn, Issan, Esan, or Esarn; from Pali ''īsānna'' or Sanskrit ईशान्य ''īśānya'' "northeast") consists of 20 prov ...
), Sri Gotapura in central Laos (modern Sikhottabong,
Vientiane Prefecture
Vientiane (or ''Viengchan'', Also known as ''Vientiane Prefecture'' or ''Vientiane Municipality'') ( Lao: ນະຄອນຫຼວງວຽງຈັນ, ''Nakhônlouang ViangChan'') is a prefecture of Laos, in the northwest Laos. The nationa ...
) and Northeastern Thailand,
Hariphunchai Kingdom in Northern Thailand and the
Thaton Kingdom in Lower Burma.
They were the first receivers of
Theravada
''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school ...
missionaries from
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
, in contrast to their
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
contemporaries like the
Khmer and
Cham peoples. The Mon adopted the
Pallava alphabet and the oldest form of the
Mon script was found in a cave in modern
Saraburi
Saraburi City (''thesaban mueang'') is the provincial capital of Saraburi Province in central Thailand. In 2020, it had a population of 60,809 people, and covers the complete ''tambon'' Pak Phriao of the Mueang Saraburi district.
Location
Sa ...
dating around 550 CE. Though no remains were found belonging to the Thaton Kingdom, it was mentioned widely in
Bamar and
Lanna
The Lan Na Kingdom ( nod, , , "Kingdom of a Million Rice Fields"; th, อาณาจักรล้านนา, , ), also known as Lannathai, and most commonly called Lanna or Lanna Kingdom, was an Indianized state centered in present-day ...
chronicles.
According to the ''Northern Thai Chronicles,''
Lavo
Known as "Lavo" during most of its history, Lopburi Province is one of the most important cities in the history of Thailand. The city has a long history, dating back into the prehistory period since the Bronze Age of more than 3,500 years ago ...
(modern Lopburi) was founded by Phaya Kalavarnadishraj, who came from Takkasila in 648 CE.According to Thai records, Phaya Kakabatr from Takkasila (it is assumed that the city was
Tak or
Nakhon Chai Si) set the new era,
Chula Sakarat in 638 CE, which was the era used by the Siamese and the Burmese until the 19th century. His son, Phaya Kalavarnadishraj founded the city a decade later. Around the late 7th century, Lavo expanded to the north. The legendary Queen
Camadevi
Camadevi (also spelled Jamadevi; IPA: ʃaːmaˈdeːʋiː Pali: Cāmadevī; th, จามเทวี, , Mon: စာမ္မာဒေဝဳ, ; 7th-century – 8th-century) was the first ruler/Queen of Hariphunchai (Pali: Haribhuñjaya), which wa ...
from the
Chao Phaya River Valley, was said to be a daughter of a Lavo king, as told in the Northern Thai Chronicle ''
Cāmadevivaṃsa
The Camadevivamsa ( th, ตำนานจามเทวีวงศ์, , literally, "Chronicle of the Lineage of Cāmadevi") is a Pali chronicle composed in the early 15th century by the Lanna Buddhist monk Mahathera Bodhiramsi ( th, พระ� ...
'' and other sources, came to rule as the first queen of
Hariphunchai (modern
Lamphun) kingdom around 750-800 CE. A few years later, Prince Anantayot, son of Queen Camadevi, founded Khelang Nakhon (modern
Lampang
Lampang, also called Nakhon Lampang ( th, นครลำปาง, ) to differentiate from Lampang province, is the third largest city in northern Thailand and capital of Lampang province and the Mueang Lampang district. Traditional names for L ...
), playing an important part in the history of the Hariphunchai Kingdom.
After 1000 CE onwards, the Mon were under constant pressure with the
Tai peoples
Tai peoples are the populations who speak (or formerly spoke) the Tai languages. There are a total of about 93 million people of Tai ancestry worldwide, with the largest ethnic groups being Dai, Thais, Isan, Tai Yai (Shan), Lao, Tai Ahom, a ...
migrating from the north and
Khmer invasions from the
Khmer Empire in the east. A significant portion of the Dvaravati Mons fled west to the present-day
Lower Burma
Lower Myanmar ( my, အောက်မြန်မာပြည်, also called Lower Burma) is a geographic region of Myanmar and includes the low-lying Irrawaddy Delta ( Ayeyarwady, Bago and Yangon Regions), as well as coastal regions of the c ...
. The Mons of Dvaravati gave their way to the
Lavo Kingdom by around 1000 CE. Descendants of the Dvaravati Mon people are the
Nyah Kur people of present-day Isan. The Mon were killed in wars, transported as captives, or assimilated into new cultures. The Mon as an entity virtually disappeared in Chao Phaya Valley. However, Hariphunchai kingdom survived as a Mon outpost in northern Thailand under repeated harassment by the
Northern Thai people
The Northern Thai people or Tai Yuan ( th, ไทยวน, ), self-designation ''khon mu(e)ang'' ( nod, , คนเมือง meaning "people of the (cultivated) land" or "people of our community") are a Tai ethnic group, native to eight p ...
.
In 1057 CE, King
Anawrahta
Anawrahta Minsaw ( my, အနော်ရထာ မင်းစော, ; 11 May 1014 – 11 April 1077) was the founder of the Pagan Empire. Considered the father of the Burmese nation, Anawrahta turned a small principality in the dry zone ...
of
Pagan Kingdom
The Kingdom of Pagan ( my, ပုဂံခေတ်, , ; also known as the Pagan Dynasty and the Pagan Empire; also the Bagan Dynasty or Bagan Empire) was the first Burmese kingdom to unify the regions that would later constitute modern-da ...
conquered the Mon's Thaton Kingdom in Lower Burma.
The Mon culture and the
Mon script were readily absorbed by the
Bamar (Burmans) and the Mons, for the first time, came into Bamar hegemony. The Mon remained a majority in Lower Burma.
On the one hand, Mon's Hariphunchai Kingdom prospered in the reign of King Aditayaraj (around early twelfth century), who allegedly waged wars with
Suryavarman II of
Angkor (between 1113 and 1150 CE)
and constructed the
Hariphunchai stupa (in present-day
Lamphun, northern
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
). In 1289,
Mangrai Mangrai ( nod, ; th, มังราย; 1238–1311), also known as Mengrai ( th, เม็งราย),The name according to historical sources is "Mangrai", and this is used in most modern scholarly applications. "Mengrai", popularised by a 19 ...
also known as ''Mengrai'' was visited by merchants from the Mon kingdom of
Haripunchai. Hearing of the wealth of that kingdom, he determined to conquer it, against the advice of his counselors.
[Wyatt, D. K. Thailand, A Short History, p. 35–38, Bangkok 2003] As it was thought impossible to take the city by force, Mangrai sent a merchant named Ai Fa as a
mole to gain the confidence of its Phaya Yi Ba. In time, Ai Fa became the Chief Minister and managed to undermine the King's authority. In 1292, with the people in a state of discontent, Mangrai defeated the Mon kingdom and added Haripunchai to his
kingdom. Phaya Yi Ba, the last king of Hariphunchai, was forced to flee south to
Lampang
Lampang, also called Nakhon Lampang ( th, นครลำปาง, ) to differentiate from Lampang province, is the third largest city in northern Thailand and capital of Lampang province and the Mueang Lampang district. Traditional names for L ...
.
[ A few years later, Phaya Yi Ba's son, King Boek of ]Lampang
Lampang, also called Nakhon Lampang ( th, นครลำปาง, ) to differentiate from Lampang province, is the third largest city in northern Thailand and capital of Lampang province and the Mueang Lampang district. Traditional names for L ...
, attacked Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai (, from th, เชียงใหม่ , nod, , เจียงใหม่ ), sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the second largest city in ...
with a large army. King Mangrai and his second son, Prince Khram, led the defence against the Lampang army. Prince Khram defeated King Boek in personal combat on elephant-back at Khua Mung, a village near Lamphun. King Boek fled by way of the Doi Khun Tan mountain range between Lamphun and Lampang, but he was caught and executed. King Mangrai's troops occupied the city of Lampang, and Phaya Yi Ba was made to flee further south, this time to Phitsanulok
Phitsanulok ( th, พิษณุโลก, ) is an important, historic city in lower northern Thailand and is the capital of Phitsanulok Province. Phitsanulok is home to Naresuan University and Pibulsongkram Rajabhat University, as well a ...
. The Mon culture was integrated into Lan Na culture. The Lan Na adopted the Mon script and religion.
13th to 15th centuries
In 1287, the Pagan Kingdom
The Kingdom of Pagan ( my, ပုဂံခေတ်, , ; also known as the Pagan Dynasty and the Pagan Empire; also the Bagan Dynasty or Bagan Empire) was the first Burmese kingdom to unify the regions that would later constitute modern-da ...
collapsed, leaving the power vacuum. Wareru
Wareru ( mnw, ဝါရေဝ်ရောဝ်, my, ဝါရီရူး, ; also known as Wagaru; 20 March 1253 – 14 January 1307) was the founder of the Martaban Kingdom, located in present-day Myanmar (Burma). By using both diplomatic ...
, who was born from a Mon mother and a Tai father, at Donwun
Donwun ( my, ဒုန်ဝန်းမြို့, ; also spelled Don Wun; also known as Wun), located 16km north of Thaton
Thaton (; mnw, သဓီု ) is a town in Mon State, in southern Myanmar on the Tenasserim plains. Thaton lies al ...
Village in the Thaton District, went to Sukhothai for merchandise and later eloped with a daughter of the king. He established himself in Mottama
Mottama ( my, မုတ္တမမြို့, ; Muttama mnw, မုဟ်တၟံ, ; formerly Martaban) is a town in the Thaton District of Mon State, Myanmar. Located on the west bank of the Thanlwin river (Salween), on the opposite side ...
and was proclaimed king of the Mon. The capital was later moved to Pegu ( Bago). His Hanthawaddy Kingdom
(Mon) ( Burmese)
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Hongsarwatoi (Hanthawaddy) Pegu
, common_name = Hongsarwatoi (Hanthawaddy) Kingdom / Ramannya (Ramam)
, era = Warring states
, status = Kingdom
, event_pre ...
(1287–1539) was a prosperous period for the Mon in both power and culture. The Mon were consolidated under King Rajathiraj (1383–1422), who successfully fended off invasions by the Ava Kingdom
The Kingdom of Ava ( my, အင်းဝခေတ်, ) was the dominant kingdom that ruled upper Burma (Myanmar) from 1364 to 1555. Founded in 1365, the kingdom was the successor state to the petty kingdoms of Myinsaing, Pinya and Sagai ...
. The reigns of Queen Shin Sawbu (1453–1472) and King Dhammazedi (1472–1492) were a time of peace and prosperity.
16th to 17th centuries
The Bamar, however, regained their momentum at Taungoo in the early sixteenth century. Hanthawaddy (Hongsawadee) fell to the invasion of King Tabinshwehti
Tabinshwehti ( my, တပင်ရွှေထီး, ; 16 April 1516 – 30 April 1550) was king of Burma (Myanmar) from 1530 to 1550, and the founder of the First Toungoo Empire. His military campaigns (1534–1549) created the largest ki ...
of Taungoo in 1539. After the death of the king, the Mon were temporarily freed from Bamar rule by Smim Htaw
Smim Htaw ( my, သမိန်ထော, ; died 27 March 1553) was a pretender to the Hanthawaddy throne, and the last king in the line of the Hanthawaddy dynasty. He ruled a small region around Pegu as king from 1550 to 1552.
An ex- Buddhist ...
, but they were defeated by King Bayinnaung
, image = File:Bayinnaung.JPG
, caption = Statue of Bayinnaung in front of the National Museum of Myanmar
, reign = 30 April 1550 – 10 October 1581
, coronation = 11 January 1551 at Tou ...
of Taungoo in 1551. The Bamar moved their capital to the former Mon's Hanthawaddy capital, Pegu (Bago), keeping the Mon in contact with royal authority. Over the next two hundred years, the Mon of Lower Burma came under Bamar rule.
Under Bamar rule, Lower Burma became effectively warfronts between the Bamar, the Thai and the Rakhine. After the passing of Bayinnaung, his son King Nanda
Nanda may refer to:
Indian history and religion
* Nanda Empire, ruled by the Nanda dynasty, an Indian royal dynasty ruling Magadha in the 4th century BCE
** Mahapadma Nanda, first Emperor of the Nanda Empire
** Dhana Nanda (died c. 321 BCE), last ...
of Toungoo Empire used more oppressed rules against Mon people. In 1584, King Nanda secretly sent two Mon chiefs; Phaya Kiat and Phaya Ram to assassinate Naresuan of Phitsanulok
Phitsanulok ( th, พิษณุโลก, ) is an important, historic city in lower northern Thailand and is the capital of Phitsanulok Province. Phitsanulok is home to Naresuan University and Pibulsongkram Rajabhat University, as well a ...
in Kraeng. Upon learning Naresuan was not at fault, Phaya Kiat and Phaya Ram joined Naresuan's campaigns against the Bamar's Toungoo court. Then, the Mon were, either forced or voluntarily, moved to Ayutthaya (now Siam or Thailand). The collapse of Mon power propagated waves of migration into Siam, where they were permitted to live in the city of Ayutthaya. A Mon monk became a chief advisor to King Naresuan.
Pegu (Bago), the capital of Toungoo Empire was plundered by the Rakhine in 1599. Bamar authority collapsed and the Mon loosely established themselves around Mottama (Martaban). Following reunification under King Anaukpetlun
Anaukbaklun ( my, အနောက်ဘက်လွန် ; 21 January 1578 – 9 July 1628) was the sixth king of Taungoo Burma and was largely responsible for restoring the kingdom after it collapsed at the end of 16th century. In his 22–yea ...
in 1616, the Mon once again came under Bamar hegemony. The Mon rebelled in 1661 but the rebellion was put down by King Pye Min. Mon refugees were granted residence in western Siam by the Siamese king. The Mons then played a major role in Siamese military and politics. A special regiment was created for the Mon serving the Siamese kings.
18th to 19th centuries
Bamar power declined rapidly in the early eighteenth century. Finally, to restore their former Hanthawaddy (Hongsawadee) Kingdom, the Mon rebelled again at Bago in 1740 with the help of the Gwe Shan people
The Shan people ( shn, တႆး; , my, ရှမ်းလူမျိုး; ), also known as the Tai Long, or Tai Yai are a Tai ethnic group of Southeast Asia. The Shan are the biggest minority of Burma (Myanmar) and primarily live in th ...
. A monk with Taungoo royal lineage was proclaimed king of Bago and was later succeeded by Binnya Dala
Binnya Dala ( my, ဗညားဒလ ; also spelled Banya Dala; died December 1774) was the last king of Restored Kingdom of Hanthawaddy, who reigned from 1747 to 1757. He was a key leader in the revival of the Mon-speaking kingdom in 1740, whi ...
in 1747. With the French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
support, the Mon were able to establish an independent kingdom as Restored Hanthawaddy Kingdom
The Restored Hanthawaddy Kingdom ( my, ဟံသာဝတီ နေပြည်တော်သစ်), also known as the Neo-Ramanic State () was the kingdom that ruled Lower Burma and parts of Upper Burma from 1740 to 1757. The kingdom grew o ...
before falling to the Bamar King Alaungpaya
Alaungpaya ( my, အလောင်းဘုရား, ; also spelled Alaunghpaya or Alaung-Phra; 11 May 1760) was the founder of the Konbaung Dynasty of Burma (Myanmar). By the time of his death from illness during his campaign in Siam, this f ...
in 1757. Alaungpaya, the Bamar ruler U Aungzeya, invaded and devastated the kingdom, killing tens of thousands of Mon civilians, including learned Mon monks
A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedic ...
, pregnant women, and children. Over 3,000 Mon monks were massacred by the victorious Bamar soldiers in the capital city alone. Thousands more monks were killed in the countryside. Alaungpaya's army also fought against the British East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...
. This time, Bamar rule was harsh. The Mon were largely massacred, encouraging a large migration to Siam (Thailand) and Lanna. The Mon rebelled at Dagon in the reign of Hsinbyushin
Hsinbyushin ( my, ဆင်ဖြူရှင်, , ; th, พระเจ้ามังระ; 12 September 1736 – 10 June 1776) was king of the Konbaung dynasty of Burma (Myanmar) from 1763 to 1776. The second son of the dynasty founder Al ...
of the Konbaung dynasty
The Konbaung dynasty ( my, ကုန်းဘောင်ခေတ်, ), also known as Third Burmese Empire (တတိယမြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်) and formerly known as the Alompra dynasty (အလောင်းဘ ...
of Burma and the city was razed to the ground. Again in 1814, the Mons rebelled and were, as harshly as before, put down. These rebellions generated a huge wave of migrations of Mon people from Burma to Siam.
On the one hand in Siam side, after the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767, two descendants of Mon aristocrats who moved to Siam in 1584; Phraya Pichai
Phraya Phichai ( th: พระยาพิชัย), or popularly known as Phraya Phichai Dap Hak ( th: พระยาพิชัยดาบหัก; lit: Phraya Phichai of the broken sword) (1741 – 1782) was a historic Mon hero of Thonb ...
and Phraya Chakri
The ''samuhanayok'' ( th, สมุหนายก) was one of the two chief ministers in the historical Chatusadom government system of Siam (now Thailand), originally charged with civil affairs but later overseeing both civil and military affair ...
became the left and right-hand man of King Taksin
King Taksin the Great ( th, สมเด็จพระเจ้าตากสินมหาราช, , ) or the King of Thonburi ( th, สมเด็จพระเจ้ากรุงธนบุรี, ; ; Teochew: Dên Chao; April 17, ...
of Thonburi, and they largely helped Taksin's campaigns in the liberation of Siam from Burmese occupation and reuniting Siam. King Taksin himself also was a Sino-Mon descent and his maternal grandmother was a sister to chief of Siam's Mon community.
After the collapse of Taksin's Thonburi Kingdom
The Thonburi Kingdom ( th, ธนบุรี) was a major Siamese kingdom which existed in Southeast Asia from 1767 to 1782, centered around the city of Thonburi, in Siam or present-day Thailand. The kingdom was founded by Taksin the Great, ...
, Phraya Chakri founded the Chakri dynasty
The Chakri dynasty ( th, ราชวงศ์ จักรี, , , ) is the current reigning dynasty of the Kingdom of Thailand, the head of the house is the king, who is head of state. The family has ruled Thailand since the founding of t ...
and ascended the throne in 1782 as Rama I. Rama I was born to Thongdi, a leading Mon nobleman serving the royal court in Ayutthaya in 1737. Rama I's queen consort Amarindra was born to a wealthy Mon family who migrated to Siam in the earlier times. Rama I founded Bangkok City
Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated population ...
and moved the capital from Thonburi to Bangkok. When a huge wave of Mon migrations from Burma (now Myanmar) to Siam (now Thailand) happened in 1814, his grandson, the Prince Mongkut
Mongkut ( th, มงกุฏ; 18 October 18041 October 1868) was the fourth monarch of Siam (Thailand) under the House of Chakri, titled Rama IV. He ruled from 1851 to 1868. His full title in Thai was ''Phra Bat Somdet Phra Menthora Ramathibo ...
(later Rama IV) proceeded to welcome the Mon himself at the Siam-Burma border. Mongkut himself and the Chakri dynasty of Thailand today are of partial Mon ancestry.
The Mon in Thailand settled mainly in certain areas of Central Thailand
Central Thailand (Central plain) or more specifically Siam (also known as Suvarnabhumi and Dvaravati) is one of the regions of Thailand, covering the broad alluvial plain of the Chao Phraya River. It is separated from northeast Thailand (Isan) ...
, such as Pak Kret
Pak Kret ( th, ปากเกร็ด, ) is a city (''thesaban nakhon'') in Nonthaburi province, Thailand. It lies in the Central Thai plains on the east bank of the lower Chao Phraya River, bordering Bangkok to the east, Mueang Nonthaburi d ...
in Nonthaburi
Nonthaburi ( th, นนทบุรี, ) is the principal city of the district and province of the same name in Thailand.
On 15 February 1936, Nonthaburi town municipality (''thesaban mueang'') was established, which only covered Suan Yai ...
, Phra Pradaeng
Phra Pradaeng ( th, พระประแดง, ) is a district (''amphoe'') of Samut Prakan province in Thailand.
History
Phra Pradeang was the original center of the area south of Bangkok near the mouth of the Chao Phraya River. Originally na ...
in Samut Prakan and Ban Pong, among other minor Mon settlements. Mon communities built their own Buddhist temple
A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in Buddhism repres ...
s. Over time, the Mons were effectively integrated into Siamese society and culture, although maintaining some of their traditions and identity.
19th to 20th centuries
Burma was conquered by the British in a series of wars. After the Second Anglo-Burmese War in 1852, the Mon territories in Burma were completely under the control of the British. The British aided the Mons to free themselves from the rule of the Burman monarchy. Under Burman rule, the Mon people had been massacred after they lost their kingdom and many sought asylum in the Thai Kingdom. The British conquest of Burma allowed the Mon people to survive in Southern Burma.
In 1947, Mon National Day
Mon National Day ( mnw, တ္ၚဲကောန်ဂကူမန်, rungmoam kaun kay kaw mon; my, မွန်အမျိုးသားနေ့; th, วันชาติมอญ) is an annual national day that commemorates the foundi ...
was created to celebrate the ancient founding of Hanthawady, the last Mon Kingdom, which had its seat in Pegu. (It follows the full moon on the 11th month of the Mon lunar calendar, except in Phrapadaeng, Thailand, where it is celebrated at Songkran
Songkran is a term derived from the Sanskrit word, ' (or, more specifically, ') and used to refer to the traditional New Year celebrated in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, parts of northeast India, parts of Vietnam and ...
).
The Mon soon became anti-colonialists. Following the grant of independence to Burma in 1948, they sought self-determination. U Nu
Nu ( my, ဦးနု; ; 25 May 1907 – 14 February 1995), commonly known as U Nu also known by the honorific name Thakin Nu, was a leading Burmese statesman and nationalist politician. He was the first Prime Minister of Burma under the pr ...
, the first Prime Minister of Burma
The prime minister of Myanmar is the head of government of Myanmar. The post was re-established in 2021 by the State Administration Council, the country's ruling military junta, to lead its nominally-civilian provisional government. The p ...
refused the Mon self-determination. Mon separatist groups have risen in revolt against the central Burmese government on a number of occasions, initially under the Mon People's Front and from 1962 through the New Mon State Party (NMSP). The BSSP-led government established a partially autonomous Mon State
Mon State ( my, မွန်ပြည်နယ်, ; mnw, တွဵုရးဍုင်မန်, italics=no) is an administrative division of Myanmar. It lies between Kayin State to the east, the Andaman Sea to the west, Bago Region to th ...
in 1974 out of portions of Tenasserim and Pegu
Bago (formerly spelt Pegu; , ), formerly known as Hanthawaddy, is a city and the capital of the Bago Region in Myanmar. It is located north-east of Yangon.
Etymology
The Burmese name Bago (ပဲခူး) is likely derived from the Mon langua ...
regions. Resistance continued until 1995 when NMSP and ruling SLORC agreed a cease-fire and, in 1996, the Mon Unity League was founded.
21st century
Nowadays, the Mon are a major ethnic group in Myanmar and a minor ethnic group in Thailand.The Mons from Myanmar are called Burmese Mon or Myanmar Mon. The Mons from Thailand are referred as Thai Raman or Thai Mon. A recent study shows that there is a close genetic relationship between central Thai and Mon people in Thailand, who migrated from southern Myanmar.
Due to the post-independence internal conflict in Myanmar
Insurgencies have been ongoing in Myanmar since 1948, the year the country, then known as Burma, gained independence from the United Kingdom. The conflict has largely been ethnic-based, with several ethnic armed groups fighting Myanmar's ...
, many ethnic Mon from conflict zones have migrated to the First World countries via the refugee camps along the Thai-Myanmar borders and in Malaysia. The Myanmar Mon refugee communities can be found in the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
(the largest community being in Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...
and the second largest being Akron, Ohio
Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city ...
), Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
, Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
, Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...
, Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
, establish ...
, Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...
, Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...
, and the Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
.
Language
The Mon language
The Mon language (, mnw, ဘာသာမန်, links=no, (Mon-Thai ဘာသာမည်) ; my, မွန်ဘာသာ; th, ภาษามอญ; formerly known as Peguan and Talaing) is an Austroasiatic language spoken by the Mon peop ...
is part of the Monic group of the Austroasiatic languages
The Austroasiatic languages , , are a large language family in Mainland Southeast Asia and South Asia. These languages are scattered throughout parts of Thailand, Laos, India, Myanmar, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Nepal, and southern China and are t ...
(also known as Mon–Khmer language family), closely related to the Nyah Kur language and more distantly related to Khmer and Vietnamese. The writing system is based on Indic scripts
The Brahmic scripts, also known as Indic scripts, are a family of abugida writing systems. They are used throughout the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and parts of East Asia. They are descended from the Brahmi script of ancient India ...
. The Mon language is one of the earliest documented vernacular languages of Mainland Southeast Asia.
Many languages in the region have been influenced by the Mon language. Tai Tham alphabet
Tai Tham script ('' Tham'' meaning "scripture") is the name given to an abugida writing system used mainly for a group of Southwestern Tai languages i.e., Northern Thai, Tai Lü, Khün and Lao; as well as the liturgical languages of Buddhis ...
and Burmese alphabet
The Burmese alphabet ( my, မြန်မာအက္ခရာ ''mranma akkha.ra'', ) is an abugida used for writing Burmese. It is ultimately adapted from a Brahmic script, either the Kadamba or Pallava alphabet of South India. The Burme ...
are adaptations of the Mon script. Tai Tham alphabet is primarily used for Northern Thai language
Kam Mueang ( nod, , กำเมือง) or Northern Thai language ( th, ภาษาไทยถิ่นเหนือ) is the language of the Northern Thai people of Lanna, Thailand. It is a Southwestern Tai language that is closely rela ...
, Tai Lue language
Tai Lue (Tai Lü: , ''kam tai lue'', , Tai Tham: ) or Tai Lɯ, Tai Lü, Thai Lue, Tai Le, Xishuangbanna Dai (; my, လူးရှမ်း, luu Shan; lo, ພາສາໄຕລື້; th, ภาษาไทลื้อ, ''phasa thai lue'', ; ...
, Khün language
Khün, or Tai Khün (Tai Khün: , ; th, ไทเขิน ), also known as Kengtung tai, Kengtung Shan, is the language of the Tai Khün people of Kengtung, Shan State, Myanmar. It is a Tai language that is closely related to Thai and Lao. I ...
and Lao Tham language. The Burmese alphabet is used for Burmese language
Burmese ( my, မြန်မာဘာသာ, MLCTS: ''mranmabhasa'', IPA: ) is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken in Myanmar (also known as Burma), where it is an official language, lingua franca, and the native language of the Burmans, the coun ...
, Shan language
The Shan language (written Shan: , , spoken Shan: , or , ; my, ရှမ်းဘာသာ, ; th, ภาษาไทใหญ่, ) is the native language of the Shan people and is mostly spoken in Shan State, Myanmar. It is also spoken in ...
, S'gaw Karen language
S’gaw, S'gaw Karen, or S’gaw K’Nyaw, commonly known as Karen, is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the S'gaw Karen people of Myanmar and Thailand. A Karenic branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family, S'gaw Karen is spoken by over 2 mil ...
and other languages.
Historically, the Tai adopted the Mon alphabet, which the Tai developed into their own writing systems as the Tai Tham alphabet
Tai Tham script ('' Tham'' meaning "scripture") is the name given to an abugida writing system used mainly for a group of Southwestern Tai languages i.e., Northern Thai, Tai Lü, Khün and Lao; as well as the liturgical languages of Buddhis ...
, for the Thai Yuan people in the northern Thailand.
Although Thai adopted more features from the Old Khmer alphabet than from the Mon, plenty of vocabulary in Thai language today were derived from the Mon language. Burmese has derived and borrowed vocabulary from the Mon language, especially related to administration, architecture, cloth, cuisine and flowers.
Nowadays, the Mon language is recognised as an indigenous language in both Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
and Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
. Due to the fall in number of Mon language speakers in the recent decades, Mon was classified as a "vulnerable" language in UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
's 2010 ''Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger
The UNESCO ''Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger'' is an online publication containing a comprehensive list of the world's endangered languages. It originally replaced the ''Red Book of Endangered Languages'' as a title in print after ...
.''
The language has an estimated 800,000 Thousand - 1,000,000 Million speakers
Culture
Symbol
The symbol of the Mon people is the hongsa ( mnw, ဟံသာ, ), a mythological water bird that is often illustrated as a swan. It is commonly known by its Burmese name, ''hintha'' ( my, ဟင်္သာ, ) or its Thai name: ''hong'' (หงส์). The hongsa is the state symbol of Myanmar's Bago Region
Bago Region ( my, ပဲခူးတိုင်းဒေသကြီး, ; formerly Pegu Division and Bago Division) is an administrative region of Myanmar, located in the southern central part of the country. It is bordered by Magway Region a ...
and Mon State
Mon State ( my, မွန်ပြည်နယ်, ; mnw, တွဵုရးဍုင်မန်, italics=no) is an administrative division of Myanmar. It lies between Kayin State to the east, the Andaman Sea to the west, Bago Region to th ...
, two historical Mon strongholds. Also, the hongsa is the city symbol of Thailand's Pak Kret City, a historical Mon settlement area.
File:Flag of Mon State (2018).svg, Hongsa (the symbol of Mon people)
File:Mon Traditional Flower-garlands.jpg, Mon Traditional Flower-garlands
Music
Mon culture and traditional heritages includes spiritual dances, musical instruments such as the kyam or "crocodile xylophone", the la gyan hsaing
The ''pat kon'' ( mnw, ဗာတ်ကွေန်) is a graduated brass gong chime associated with the Mon people of mainland Southeast Asia. The ''pat kon'' has been absorbed into the traditional musical ensembles of neighboring Southeast Asian s ...
gong chime, the saung
The ''saung'' ( Burmese: စောင်း, MLCTS caung: ; also known as the ''saung-gauk'' ( စောင်းကောက်), Burmese harp, Burma harp, or Myanmar harp), is an arched harp used in traditional Burmese music. The saung is re ...
harp and a flat stringed instrument. Mon dances are usually played in a formal theater or sometimes in an informal district of any village. The dances are followed by background music using a circular set of tuned drums and claps, crocodile xylophone, gongs, flute, flat guitar, harp, violin, etc.
File:Burmese Ramayana dance.jpg, A theatrical performance of the Mon dance
File:Lorchestre thaïlandais piphat mon (musée de la musique) (3771128467).jpg, Mon musical instruments
File:Kyam at Mon Buddhist Temple Fort Wayne.jpg, A '' kyam''
Festivals
During Songkran
Songkran is a term derived from the Sanskrit word, ' (or, more specifically, ') and used to refer to the traditional New Year celebrated in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, parts of northeast India, parts of Vietnam and ...
festival in Thailand, the Mon residents of Phra Pradaeng District hosts very unique Mon traditional ceremonies and folklore performances.Loi Khamod festivalLuknoo festival Mon Floating Boat festival Hongsa and Centipede Parade festival
Clothing
Mon women wear traditional shawl-like ''Sbai
''Sbai'' ( km, ស្បៃ ; lo, ສະໄບ; Malay: ''Sebai''; Jawi: ''سباي''; th, สไบ, ) or ''phaa biang'' ( lo, ຜ້າບ່ຽງ; th, ผ้าเบี่ยง ) is a shawl-like garment or breast cloth worn in mainlan ...
'', known as ''Yat Toot'' in Mon language, diagonally over the chest covering one shoulder with one end dropping behind the back. This tradition distinguished Mon women from other 134 ethnic groups in Myanmar. Archaeological evidence from the Dvaravati
The Dvaravati ( th, ทวารวดี ; ) was an ancient Mon kingdom from the 7th century to the 11th century that was located in the region now known as central Thailand. It was described by the Chinese pilgrim in the middle of the 7th cen ...
era portrays that Dvaravati ladies wearing what seems to be a piece of ''Sbai'' hanging from their shoulder. Mon people of Myanmar and Thailand today are the descendants of ''Dvaravati.''
Mon men in Myanmar wear clothes similar to the Bamars. Those living in Thailand have adopted Thai style garments. It seems that Mon clothing has been shaped through its dynastic traditions as well as external influences.
Cuisines
Mon cuisines and culinary traditions have had significant influences on the Burmese cuisine
Burmese cuisine () encompasses the diverse regional culinary traditions of Myanmar, which have developed through longstanding agricultural practices, centuries of sociopolitical and economic change, and cross-cultural contact and trade with ne ...
and Central Thai cuisine today. Some of dishes that are now popular in Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand were originally Mon dishes. For example, Htamanè
Htamanè ( my, ထမနဲ, , mnw, ယိုဟ်သ္ၚု,also spelt htamane) is a glutinous rice-based savory snack, and a seasonal festive delicacy in Myanmar. The traditional delicacy is ceremonially prepared around and on the full moon ...
(ထမနဲ) in Myanmar, and Khanom chin and Khao chae in Thailand. A traditional Mon dish served with rice soaked with cool candle-and-jasmine-scented water is consumed by the Mon people during the Thingyan (Songkran) Festival in the summer. In Thailand, the dish is known as Khao chae (ข้าวแช่) and was considered "royal cuisine". As the dish is served during Thingyan as part of their merit-making
Merit ( sa, puṇya, italic=yes, pi, puñña, italic=yes) is a concept considered fundamental to Buddhist ethics. It is a beneficial and protective force which accumulates as a result of good deeds, acts, or thoughts. Merit-making is important ...
, it is known as Thingyan rice (သင်္ကြန်ထမင်း) in Myanmar today. Like Cambodian, Lao, Thai and Vietnamese cuisine, fermented fish seasoning are used in Mon cuisine.
File:Ngapyawbaung.jpg, Mon banana pudding
File:KhaoChae.JPG, Mon inspired ''Khao Chae''
File:Khao khluk kapi, Pathum Thani, 2018-04-02 (3).jpg, Mon inspired Khao Khluk Kapi dish
File:Khanom Chin - Thai rice noodles.JPG, ''Khanom Chin'' rice noodles
File:Nga paong thohk with a spoon.jpg, ''Nga baung thohk'' (steamed fish dish wrapped in banana leaves)
Folk games
Many games in both Myanmar and Thailand were Mon origins. Among them, Len Saba (; mnw, ဝိုင်မ်ဟနဂ်; my, ဂုံညင်းဒိုး), Lor Kon Krok (Rolling a Mortar Bottom) and Mon Son Pa (Mon Hides a Cloth) are the most famous Mon traditional children games and are recognised as Intangible cultural heritage
An intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is a practice, representation, expression, knowledge, or skill considered by UNESCO to be part of a place's cultural heritage. Buildings, historic places, monuments, and artifacts are cultural property. I ...
by UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
.
Thanaka
Notable people
*Shin Arahan
, image =Shin Arahan.JPG
, caption = Statute of Shin Arahan in Ananda Temple
, birth name =
, alias =
, dharma_name = mnw, ဓမ္မဒဿဳ
, birth_date = c. 1034
, b ...
– primate
Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians ( monkeys and apes, the latter includin ...
who spread Theravada Buddhism
''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...
in Bagan Kingdom
The Kingdom of Pagan ( my, ပုဂံခေတ်, , ; also known as the Pagan Dynasty and the Pagan Empire; also the Bagan Dynasty or Bagan Empire) was the first Burmese kingdom to unify the regions that would later constitute modern-da ...
and mainland Southeast Asia
Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...
*Wareru
Wareru ( mnw, ဝါရေဝ်ရောဝ်, my, ဝါရီရူး, ; also known as Wagaru; 20 March 1253 – 14 January 1307) was the founder of the Martaban Kingdom, located in present-day Myanmar (Burma). By using both diplomatic ...
– founder of the Hanthawaddy Kingdom
(Mon) ( Burmese)
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Hongsarwatoi (Hanthawaddy) Pegu
, common_name = Hongsarwatoi (Hanthawaddy) Kingdom / Ramannya (Ramam)
, era = Warring states
, status = Kingdom
, event_pre ...
and '' Wareru Dhammathat'', the oldest extant legal treatises
A legal treatise is a scholarly legal publication containing all the law relating to a particular area, such as criminal law or trusts and estates. There is no fixed usage on what books qualify as a "legal treatise", with the term being used broad ...
of Myanmar
* Shin Sawbu – the only female ruler in the recorded history of Burma (now Myanmar)
*Binnya Dala
Binnya Dala ( my, ဗညားဒလ ; also spelled Banya Dala; died December 1774) was the last king of Restored Kingdom of Hanthawaddy, who reigned from 1747 to 1757. He was a key leader in the revival of the Mon-speaking kingdom in 1740, whi ...
– Chief Minister-General responsible for the expansion of Toungoo Empire, the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia
*Osoet Pegua
Osoet Pegua or ''Soet Pegu'' (1615–1658), was a Thai businesswoman. She acted as the business agent between the Ayutthaya Kingdom and the Netherlands in the mid-17th century, during which she had a very influential position and enjoyed a de fac ...
– an influential businesswoman in the Ayutthaya Kingdom
The Ayutthaya Kingdom (; th, อยุธยา, , IAST: or , ) was a Siamese kingdom that existed in Southeast Asia from 1351 to 1767, centered around the city of Ayutthaya, in Siam, or present-day Thailand. The Ayutthaya Kingdom is consi ...
in the mid-17th century
*Taksin
King Taksin the Great ( th, สมเด็จพระเจ้าตากสินมหาราช, , ) or the King of Thonburi ( th, สมเด็จพระเจ้ากรุงธนบุรี, ; ; Teochew: Dên Chao; April 17, ...
– founder of the Thonburi dynasty of Siam
*Rama I
Phra Phutthayotfa Chulalok Maharaj (, 20 March 1737 – 7 September 1809), personal name Thongduang (), also known as Rama I, was the founder of the Rattanakosin Kingdom and the first monarch of the reigning Chakri dynasty of Siam (now T ...
– founder of the reigning Chakri dynasty
The Chakri dynasty ( th, ราชวงศ์ จักรี, , , ) is the current reigning dynasty of the Kingdom of Thailand, the head of the house is the king, who is head of state. The family has ruled Thailand since the founding of t ...
of Siam
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
(now Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
)
* Amarindra – Queen consort of King Rama I and mother of King Rama II
*Chulalongkorn
Chulalongkorn ( th, จุฬาลงกรณ์, 20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910) was the fifth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, titled Rama V. He was known to the Siamese of his time as ''Phra Phuttha Chao Luang'' (พร ...
(Rama V) – the fifth monarch of Chakri dynasty who modernised Thailand
* Debsirindra – Queen consort of Rama IV and mother of Chulalongkorn (Rama V)
*Shaw Loo – the first medical doctor from Myanmar and the first Myanmar in the U.S
* Sir J A Maung Gyi – Governor of British Burma
*Min Thu Wun
Thiri Pyanchi Min Thu Wun ( my, မင်းသုဝဏ်; 10 February 1909 – 15 August 2004) was a Burmese poet, writer and scholar who helped launch a new age literary movement called Khit-San (Testing the Times) in Burma. He is the fat ...
– a pioneer of literary movement in the 1930s and father of President Htin Kyaw (2016– 2018)
* Htoo Ein Thin – Myanmar pop singer
* Palmy – Thai pop singer
* Nandar Hlaing – Myanmar film actress
* Chintara Sukapatana - Thai film actress
*Natapohn Tameeruks
Natapohn Tameeruks ( th, ณฐพร เตมีรักษ์; ; born 6 February 1989), nicknamed Taew ( th, แต้ว; ), is a Thai actress, working for TV3.
Early life
Natapohn Tameeruks, nicknamed Taew, was born on February 6, 198 ...
- Thai film actress and model
*Srirasmi Suwadee
Srirasmi Suwadee ( th, ศรีรัศมิ์ สุวะดี; ; born 9 December 1971), formerly Princess Srirasmi, Royal Consort to the Crown Prince of Thailand, is a former member of the royal family of Thailand. She was the third cons ...
– the third princess consort of then-Crown Prince
A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the w ...
Maha Vajiralongkorn (now Rama X) of Thailand
*Anand Panyarachun
Anand Panyarachun ( th, อานันท์ ปันยารชุน, , ; born 9 August 1932) was Thailand's Prime Minister twice: once in 1991–1992 and again during the latter half of 1992. He was effective in initiating economic and p ...
– Prime Minister of Thailand
* Myint Swe – Vice-President of Myanmar
Gallery
File:Lamine Pagoda and hermit.jpg, Mon people parade at Lamine Pagoda
File:Mon Dhamma School 3.jpg, Mon Dharma School
File:Shwedagon Pagoda 2017.jpg, Shwedagon Pagoda
The Shwedagon Pagoda (, ); mnw, ကျာ်ဒဂုၚ်; officially named ''Shwedagon Zedi Daw'' ( my, ရွှေတိဂုံစေတီတော်, , ) and also known as the Great Dagon Pagoda and the Golden Pagoda is a gilded stupa ...
, An ancient Mon-style Stupa
A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation.
In Buddhism, circum ...
located in Yangoon, Myanmar
File:Photo of Zingyaik pagoda, Paung township, Mon State.jpg, Zinkyaik Pagoda
Zinkyaik Pagoda ( my, ဇင်းကျိုက်ဆံတော်ရှင် စေတီတော်မြတ်ကြီး; mnw, ဓါတ်သော်ဂမၠိုၚ် ဇိုၚ်ကျာ်) is a Lord Buddha's Hair Relic ...
, An ancient Mon-style Stupa
A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation.
In Buddhism, circum ...
on the top of Zinkyaik Mountain, Mon State
Mon State ( my, မွန်ပြည်နယ်, ; mnw, တွဵုရးဍုင်မန်, italics=no) is an administrative division of Myanmar. It lies between Kayin State to the east, the Andaman Sea to the west, Bago Region to th ...
, Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
File:Chompoo-Veth-(2).jpg, Mon Rattanakosin-style Stupa
A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation.
In Buddhism, circum ...
located at Wat Chomphuwek, Nonthaburi, Thailand
File:Wiang Tha Kan Compound 9.jpg, The remains of an ancient walled town of the Hariphunchai Kingdom, Wiang Tha Kan, founded approximately 1,000 years ago located in San Pa Tong District, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
File:Lampangluang1.JPG, Mon Hariphunchai-style architecture located in Lampang, Thailand
File:Wat JamaDevi.jpg, Mon Hariphunchai-style architecture located in Lamphun, Thailand
Lamphun ( th, ลำพูน, ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in northern Thailand, capital of Lamphun Province. It covers the whole ''tambon'' Nai Mueang of Amphoe Mueang Lamphun, Mueang Lamphun district. As of 2006 it has a population of 14,03 ...
File:Bagan, Myanmar, Ananda Temple.jpg, Ananda Temple, The fusion of Mon and Indian architecture located in Bagan
Bagan (, ; formerly Pagan) is an ancient city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Mandalay Region of Myanmar. From the 9th to 13th centuries, the city was the capital of the Bagan Kingdom, the first kingdom that unified the regions that wo ...
, Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
File:P1040703.JPG, Mon-style architecture located in Yangoon, Myanmar
File:Golden Rock (28249624117).jpg, The Golden Rock Stupa located in Mon State
Mon State ( my, မွန်ပြည်နယ်, ; mnw, တွဵုရးဍုင်မန်, italics=no) is an administrative division of Myanmar. It lies between Kayin State to the east, the Andaman Sea to the west, Bago Region to th ...
, Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
File:Wat Chiang Yeun chedi 2.jpg, Hongsa pole with Centipede flag
See also
* Hariphunchai
* Nyah Kur people
* List of Mon monarchs
* Prehistory of Myanmar
*Wat Chana Songkhram
250px, In front of the temple
Wat Chanasongkhram Ratchaworamahawiharn ( th, วัดชนะสงครามราชวรมหาวิหาร), usually shortened to Wat Chana Songkhram ( th, วัดชนะสงคราม, ), is a ...
* Wat Paramaiyikawat
*Si Kak Phraya Si
Si Kak Phraya Si ( th, สี่กั๊กพระยาศรี, ) is an intersection in area of Wang Burapha Phirom sub-district, Phra Nakhon district, Bangkok. It is the intersection of Charoen Krung, Fueang Nakhon and Ban Mo roads. It ...
*Khlong Mon
Khlong Mon ( th, คลองมอญ, ) is a ''khlong'' (canal) in Bangkok's Thonburi side. Khlong Mon has been dug since Ayutthaya period and delineates the border between Bangkok Yai and Bangkok Noi Districts. It has a starting from the west ...
* Mon State Cultural Museum
References
Citations
Sources
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Further reading
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Notes
External links
Independent Mon News Agency
Hariphunchai National Museum
Kao Wao News Group
The Mon Information Home Page
Dating and Range of Mon Inscriptions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mon People
Ethnic groups in Laos
Ethnic groups in Myanmar
Ethnic groups in Thailand
Members of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization
Dvaravati
History of Central Region (Thailand)