Pyay (, ; mnw, ပြန် , ; also known as Prome and Pyè) is principal town of
Pyay Township
Pyay Township or Prome Township is a township in Pyay District in the Bago Region of Burma. in the
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 ...
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 C. Wells, Joh ...
. Pyay is located on the bank of the
Irrawaddy River
The Irrawaddy River ( Ayeyarwady River; , , from Indic ''revatī'', meaning "abounding in riches") is a river that flows from north to south through Myanmar (Burma). It is the country's largest river and most important commercial waterway. Origi ...
, north-west of
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 ...
. It is an important trade center for the Ayeyarwady Delta, Central and Upper Myanmar and the Rakhine (Arakan) State. The British
Irrawaddy Flotilla Company
The Irrawaddy Flotilla Company (IFC) was a passenger and cargo ferry company, which operated services on the Irrawaddy River in Burma, now Myanmar. The IFC was Scottish-owned, and was managed by P Henderson & Company from Glasgow. The IFC operated ...
established the current town in the late 19th century on the Irrawaddy as a transshipment point for cargo between
Upper and
Lower Burma
Lower Myanmar ( my, အောက်မြန်မာပြည်, also called Lower Burma) is a geographic region of Myanmar and includes the low-lying Irrawaddy Delta (Ayeyarwady Region, Ayeyarwady, Bago Region, Bago and Yangon Regions), as we ...
. The English novelist
Jane Austen
Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...
's brother Rear Admiral
Charles Austen
Rear Admiral Charles John Austen CB (23 June 1779 – 7 October 1852) was an officer in the Royal Navy and the youngest brother of novelist Jane Austen. He served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and beyond, eventually ri ...
died here in 1852.
The district of Pyay encompasses the valley of the Irrawaddy, located between
Thayet
Thayet (; pronounced ) is a capital city in Thayet District of Magway Region in central Myanmar. It is a port on the right (western) bank of the Irrawaddy River, across and just south of Allanmyo, between Pyay (Prome) and Magway. Thayet is the ...
,
Hinthada
Hinthada ( my, ဟင်္သာတမြို့; formerly Henzada) is a city located on the Irrawaddy River in Ayeyarwady Region, Burma (Myanmar). In the 1983 census the city itself had a population of 82,005. By 2010 it had grown to 170,312. ...
and
Tharrawaddy districts. Along the western side of Pyay District are the
Arakan Mountains
The Arakan Mountains ( my, ရခိုင်ရိုးမ), also known as the Rakhine Yoma, are a mountain range in western Myanmar, between the coast of Rakhine State and the Central Myanmar Basin, in which flows the Irrawaddy River. It is th ...
and along the eastern side are the
Pegu Range
The Pegu Range ( my, ပဲခူးရိုးမ; Pegu Yoma or Bago Yoma) is a range of low mountains or hillsSeekins, Donald M. (2006) ''Historical dictionary of Burma (Myanmar)'' Scarecrow Press, Lanham, Marylandpage 357 and uplands between ...
. Pyay District's main towns are Pyay,
Shwetaung, and
Paungde
Paung-deh or Paungde United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. is a town in Pyay District, Pegu region in Burma (Myanmar). It is the administrative seat of Paungde Township
Paungde Township is a township in Pyay District in the Bag ...
.
Etymology
The name "Pyay" means "country" in
Burmese
Burmese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Myanmar, a country in Southeast Asia
* Burmese people
* Burmese language
* Burmese alphabet
* Burmese cuisine
* Burmese culture
Animals
* Burmese cat
* Burmese chicken
* Burmese (hor ...
, and refers to the ruins of the main city of the
Pyu city-states
, conventional_long_name = Pyu city-states
, common_name = Pyu City States
, era = Classical antiquity
, status = City
, event_start = Earliest Pyu presence in Upper Burma
, year_start = c. 2nd century BCE
, date_start =
, event_en ...
,
Sri Ksetra
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Sri Ksetra
, common_name = Kingdom of Sri Ksetra
, era = Classical Antiquity
, status = City-state
, event_start = Founding of Kingdom
, year_start = c. 3rd to 9th century CE
, date_start =
, ...
( my, သရေခေတ္တရာ,
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
''Śrīkṣetra'' "blessed place, country"), which is located to the south-east of modern Pyay and is in the village of Hmawa.
Geography
The north and north-east of the district is forest-covered, and contains numerous valleys and ravines, which unite in one large stream called the
Naweng River. The most important of the plains lie in the south and south-west portions of Pyay, and extend along the whole length of the railway that runs between. There are, in addition large tracts of land covered by jungle, which are available for cultivation. The principal river is the Irrawaddy, which intersects the district from north to south; next in importance are the
Thani
The House of Thani ( ar, الثاني , translit=Al Thani) is the ruling family of Qatar, with origins tracing back to the Banu Tamim tribal confederation.
History and structure
The Al Thanis can be traced back to Mudar bin Nizar. The tribe w ...
and its tributaries and the Naweng system of rivers. In the hills near the capital the soil is of Tertiary formation, and in the plains it is an alluvial deposit.
History
Much debate surrounds the construction of Sri Ksetra.
Htin Aung
Htin Aung ( my, ထင်အောင် ; also Maung Htin Aung; 18 May 1909 – 10 May 1978) was a writer and scholar of Burmese culture and history. Educated at Oxford and Cambridge, Htin Aung wrote several books on Burmese history and culture ...
suggests that Pyu might have been founded in 78 CE, based on the Sanskrit / Pyu Era.
D. G. E. Hall
Daniel George Edward Hall (1891–1979) was a British historian, author, and academic. He wrote extensively on the history of Burma. His most notable work is ''A History of Southeast Asia'', said to "...remain the most important single history o ...
and
Gordon Luce
Gordon Hannington Luce was a colonial scholar in Burma. He was born on 20 January 1889 and died on 3 May 1979. His outstanding library containing books, manuscripts, maps and photographs – The Luce Collection – was acquired by the National ...
, however, claim that civilisation of the Irrawaddy Valley could not have been possible before the 4th century, thus, attributing the founding of Sri Ksetra to 638, from which the current Burmese Kawza Era begins.
Sri Ksetra was the capital of the Pyu dynasty of Vikrama. The city was circular with walls enclosing about , making it the largest walled city in Southeast Asia during its peak. The city contained both housing and farms, as is evident from the remains of waterways and tanks which have been discovered.
The Chinese pilgrims
Xuanzang
Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...
and
Yijing
The ''I Ching'' or ''Yi Jing'' (, ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. Originally a divination manual in the Western Zhou ...
mentioned Sri Ksetra in their mid-7th-century accounts. It is not known when precisely the Pyu abandoned Sri Ksetra and moved northward. It is speculated that their decline was due to the growth of the Irrawaddy river delta, cutting it off from coastal trade, and also from Mon and later Tai Shan incursions. Burmese chronicles state that when Anawrahta invaded the southern parts of modern-day Myanmar in 1057, he ordered the ruins of Sri Ksetra to be destroyed to prevent rebels from sheltering there. The Burmese came to call the old Pyu center Pyi. The extensive ruins have been the subject of intensive archaeological investigation.
![Strand Road, Prome](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Strand_Road%2C_Prome.jpg)
Called Prome by the British (after the name that appears in the Portuguese texts of the 17th century), the city became part of British territory after the
Second Anglo-Burmese War
The Second Anglo-Burmese War or the Second Burma War ( my, ဒုတိယ အင်္ဂလိပ် မြန်မာ စစ် ; 5 April 185220 January 1853) was the second of the Anglo-Burmese Wars, three wars fought between the Konbaung dy ...
in 1853. The town was taken by the British in 1825 during the
Battle of Prome
The battle of Prome was a land-based battle between the Kingdom of Burma and the British Empire that took place near the city of Prome, modern day Pyay, in 1825 as part of the First Anglo-Burmese War. It was the last-ditch effort by the Burmese ...
and again in 1852, on both occasions with hardly any opposition. In 1862, it was almost entirely destroyed by fire, and was afterwards relaid out in straight and broad streets. It was erected into a municipality in 1874, and since then great improvements have been made, including waterworks.
![The British Army in Burma 1945 SE4081](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/The_British_Army_in_Burma_1945_SE4081.jpg)
During World War II the city was the site of the
Battle of Prome
The battle of Prome was a land-based battle between the Kingdom of Burma and the British Empire that took place near the city of Prome, modern day Pyay, in 1825 as part of the First Anglo-Burmese War. It was the last-ditch effort by the Burmese ...
. The city was later retaken by the British Army in May 1945.
Climate
Pyay has a
tropical savanna climate
Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of p ...
(
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
''Aw''). Temperatures are hot throughout the year, especially in the months before the monsoon from March to May when average maximum temperatures exceed . The winter months from December to February are somewhat milder than the rest of the year. There is a winter dry season from December to April and a summer wet season from May to November, although rainfall during this wet season is much less extreme than in coastal cities like
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 ...
or especially
Sittwe
Sittwe (; ; formerly Akyab) is the capital of Rakhine State, Myanmar (Burma). Sittwe, pronounced ''sait-tway'' in the Rakhine language, is located on an estuarial island created at the confluence of the Kaladan, Mayu, and Lay Mro rivers emptyi ...
.
Economy
The main crop is
rice
Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima
''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...
, but some cotton and tobacco are grown, while the custard apples are famous.
Sericulture
Sericulture, or silk farming, is the cultivation of silkworms to produce silk. Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, ''Bombyx mori'' (the caterpillar of the domestic silkmoth) is the most widely used and intensively studie ...
is extensively carried on by a special class. The forests yield
teak
Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panicl ...
and
cutch, cotton and silk-weaving are important industries; there are also manufactures of ornamental boxes, coarse
brown sugar
Brown sugar is unrefined or partially refined soft sugar.
Brown Sugar may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Brown Sugar'' (1922 film), a 1922 British silent film directed by Fred Paul
* ''Brown Sugar'' (1931 film), a 1931 ...
and cutch.
Culture
For a town of its size, Pyay is well-renowned for a number of local delicacies.
It is reputed for the ''Pyay'' palata (ပြည်ပလာတာ), consisting of
paratha
Paratha () is a flatbread native to South Asia, prevalent throughout the modern-day nations of India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, Fiji, Guyana, Suriname, and Trinidad a ...
,
Burmese chicken and potato curry, and raw onions. It is also known for a number of
Burmese salads
Burmese salads (; transliterated ''athoke'' or ''athouk'') are a diverse category of indigenous salads in Burmese cuisine. Burmese salads are made of cooked and raw ingredients that are mixed by hand to combine and balance a wide-ranging array of ...
, including the ''Pyay'' rice salad (ပြည်ထမင်းသုပ်) and ''Pyay'' assorted salad (ပြည်အသုပ်စုံ).
Pyay also produces a local pickled delicacy called ''
taw laphet'' (; ) or '' laphet'' (). Originating from
Burmese nunneries in the hills surrounding Pyay, the ''laphet'' is fermented from the leaves of the ''
naywe'' (နရွဲ) tree, or ''kyettet'' (ကြက်တက်), the ''Combretum pilosum'' plant.
The pulp is then tightly wrapped into dried ''
banbwe'' (ဘန့်ပွေး) leaves and left soaking in regularly changed water for up to 2 years, before it is consumed.
''Taw laphet'' is otherwise consumed in an identical fashion to traditional laphet.
Tourism
![Shwesandaw Pagoda](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Shwesandaw_Pagoda.jpg)
To the south and south-east, the town is closed in by low pagoda-topped hills, on one of which stands the conspicuous gilded
Shwesandaw Pagoda. The Shwesandaw Pagoda is a notable
Buddhist pagoda in the center of Pyay. It is the terminus for a railway from Yangon, which runs through the district.
To the west of Pyay, crossing
Irrawaddy river
The Irrawaddy River ( Ayeyarwady River; , , from Indic ''revatī'', meaning "abounding in riches") is a river that flows from north to south through Myanmar (Burma). It is the country's largest river and most important commercial waterway. Origi ...
through Nawaday bridge, stands the Shwebontha Muni Pagoda. The Buddha statue is one of three replica of the
Maha Myat Muni Buddha statue, believed to date back 554 B.C. when the king Sandar Thuriya ruled.
Education
Pyay City has three universities. The universities are Pyay University (PU),
Pyay Technological University
Pyay Technological University (PTU) ( my, ပြည်နည်းပညာတက္ကသိုလ်, ), in Pyay, is one of three senior engineering universities in Myanmar. It offers bachelor's and master's degree programs in architecture and ...
(PTU), and
Computer University, Pyay
The University of Computer Studies, Pyay ( my, ကွန်ပျူတာတက္ကသိုလ်(ပြည်)), is a university in Pyay, Bago Region, Myanmar, offering courses in computer science and information technology.
Background Hi ...
. Pyay University is situated near to the town centre of Pyay. PTU, which is one of the best ranking University in Myanmar, is situated near to Hnawgone village and Latkhoukpin village, a few miles away from Pyay. CU, Pyay is also quite a far distance from downtown.
Health care
* Pyay General Hospital
* Aung Zaw Oo Hospital
* Myo Thuka Hospital
* Aung Tharaphu Hospital
* Lawkaparla Hospital
* Pyi Myanmar Hospital
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
{{Coord, 18, 49, N, 95, 13, E, region:MM_type:city(135000), display=title
Old Cities of Mon people
Populated places in Bago Region
Township capitals of Myanmar