North Hsenwi was a Shan state in the Northern

Shan States The Shan States (1885–1948) were a collection of minor Shan kingdoms called ''muang'' whose rulers bore the title ''saopha'' in British Burma. They were analogous to the princely states of British India. The term "Shan States" was firs ...

in what is today

Burma 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 ...

. The capital was

Lashio Lashio ( ; Shan: ) is the largest town in northern Shan State, Myanmar, about north-east of Mandalay. It is situated on a low mountain spur overlooking the valley of the Yaw River. Loi Leng, the highest mountain of the Shan Hills, is located ...

town which was also the headquarters of the superintendent of the Northern Shan State. North Hsenwi, with an area of 6330 m², had a population in 1901 of 118,325 persons and an estimated revenue of £6000.

History

Sivirattha, the predecessor state, was founded before 650 AD according to tradition. This legendary state became

Hsenwi State Hsenwi ( shn, သဵၼ်ႈဝီ; tdd, ᥔᥦᥢᥲ ᥝᥤᥴ), also known as Theinni ( my, သိန္နီ), was a Shan state in the Northern Shan States in what is today Burma. The capital was Hsenwi town. History Most Tai Yai chronicl ...

with the passing of the centuries. Hsenwi was by far the largest of the cis-

Salween , ''Mae Nam Salawin'' ( , name_etymology = , image = Sweet_View_of_Salween_River_in_Tang_Yan_Township,_Shan_State,_Myanmar.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = Salween River in Shan State, Myanmar , map ...

Shan states, and at one time included not only all the territory of the present states of North and South Hsenwi, but also

Kehsi Mansam Kehsi Mansam (also known as Kehsi Mangam and as Kyithi Bansan) was a Shan state in what is today Burma. It belonged to the Eastern Division of the Southern Shan States. Its capital was Kehsi town, located by the Nam Heng River. The state includ ...

Mong Hsu Mong Hsu is the principal town of Mong Hsu Township of Shan State. History It was the main town of one of the Shan States The Shan States (1885–1948) were a collection of minor Shan kingdoms called ''muang'' whose rulers bore the ti ...

Mong Sang Mongsang (also known as Maingsin) was a Shan state in what is today Burma. History Mongsang became independent from Hsenwi in 1857 under a personal union with the neighbouring state of Monghsu. It was a tributary of Burma until 1887, when the Shan ...

, and

Mong Nawng Mong Nawng, Mong Naung or Mongnawng is a town in Shan State, Myanmar. It is located a few miles to the west of the Nam Pang river. History In British Burma Mong Nawng was the capital of Mongnawng State, one of the large Shan States. The town ha ...

, besides having a sort of protectorate over

Mang Lon Mang Lon, Manglon, Manglun, Manglön, or Mang Lön a state in the northern Shan states of Myanmar, was formerly the chief state of the Wa people. It is a mountainous territory, including the valleys of the Salween and its tributary the Nam Hka. I ...

and other Wa states east of the Salween. These had, however, fallen away in Burmese times, and before the

annexation Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...

following

British rule in Burma ( Burmese) , conventional_long_name = Colony of Burma , common_name = Burma , era = Colonial era , event_start = First Anglo-Burmese War , year_start = 1824 , date_start = ...

, Hsenwi was divided into five parts by name; but there was no central authority, and chaos prevailed all over the state. After the pacification of the region in March 1888, the British

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

administration divided Hsenwi into two states: North Hsenwi and South Hsenwi. The first ruler of North Hsenwi was Hkun Sang, a successful adventurer from

Ton Hong Ton is the name of any one of several units of measure. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses. Mainly it describes units of weight. Confusion can arise because ''ton'' can mean * the long ton, which is 2,240 pounds ...

The last ruler of North Hsenwi abdicated in 1959. The state became part of

Shan State Shan State ( my, ရှမ်းပြည်နယ်, ; shn, မိူင်းတႆး, italics=no) also known by the Endonym and exonym, endonyms Shanland, Muang Tai, and Tailong, is a administrative divisions of Myanmar, state of Myanmar. ...

and, despite the independence struggle of the latter, eventually part of

Sao Nang Hearn Kham Sao Nang Hearn Kham ( my, စောဝ်နန်းဟိန်ခမ်; 26 May 1916 – 17 January 2003) was the Mahadevi of Yawnghwe one of the most important Shan States. Her husband Sao Shwe Thaik was the 23d and last Saopha of Yawnghwe an ...

the Mahadevi of

Yawnghwe Yawnghwe ( shn, ယွင်ႈႁူၺ်ႈ), known as Nyaungshwe ( my, ညောင်ရွှေ) in Burmese, was a Shan state in what is today Myanmar. It was one of the most important of the Southern Shan States. Yawnghwe state include ...

, wife of the last Saopha of Yawhghwe

Sao Shwe Thaik Sao Shwe Thaik ( shn, ၸဝ်ႈၶမ်းသိူၵ်ႈ, ''Tsaw³ Kham⁴soek³''; my, စဝ်ရွှေသိုက်, ; 16 October 1895 – 21 November 1962) was a Burmese politician who served as the first president of the Un ...

, was the daughter of Saopha Hkun Hsang Ton Hong.

Rulers

The rulers of North Hsenwi bore the title ''

Saopha Chao-Pha (; Ahom language, Tai Ahom: 𑜋𑜧𑜨 𑜇𑜡, th, เจ้าฟ้า}, shn, ၸဝ်ႈၾႃႉ, translit=Jao3 Fa5 Jao3 Fa5, my, စော်ဘွား ''Sawbwa,'' ) was a royal title used by the hereditary rulers of the T ...

''.Shan and Karenni States of Burma
/ref>

Saophas

*Mar 1888 - Dec 1915 Hkun Hsang Ton Hong (s.a.) *Jul 1927 - 1952 Sao Hom Hpa (b. 1906 - d. ....)

References

External links

"Gazetteer of Upper Burma and the Shan states"
19th century in Burma Shan States {{ShanState-geo-stub