Mekuti Sutthiwong ( th, เมกุฏิสุทธิวงศ์; died 1581) or Mae Ku ( th, แมกุ) was king of Lan Na from 1551 to 1564.Rajanubhab, D., 2001, Our Wars With the Burmese, Bangkok: White Lotus Co. Ltd., His reign saw the transition of Lan Na into a

vassal state A vassal state is any state that has a mutual obligation to a superior state or empire, in a status similar to that of a vassal in the feudal system in medieval Europe. Vassal states were common among the empires of the Near East, dating back to ...

under the Burmese-led

Toungoo empire The First Toungoo Empire ( my, တောင်ငူ ခေတ်, ; also known as the First Toungoo Dynasty, the Second Burmese Empire or simply the Toungoo Empire) was the dominant power in mainland Southeast Asia in the second half of the ...

, following

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 Toung ...

's capture of

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 ...

. In

Burmese folk religion Burmese folk religion refers to the animistic and polytheistic religious worship of '' nats'' (deities of local and Hindu origin) and ancestors in Myanmar (Burma). Although the beliefs of nats differ across different regions and villages in Burm ...

, Mekuti is venerated as Yun Bayin ( my, ယွန်းဘုရင်, ; ), one of 37 nats in the official pantheon of Burmese nats.

Names

Across historical sources, Mekuti is known by various names, including: Maeku (พระเป็นเจ้าแม่กุ) in the Chiang Mai Chronicle, Mekuti (พระเมกุฏิสุทธิวงศ์) in the Yonok Chronicle, Phaya Maeku (พญาเมกุ), Chao Khanan Maeku (เจ้าขนานแม่กุ), as well as Yun Bayin (ယွန်းဘုရင်) and Bya Than (ဗြသံ) in

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 count ...

sources.

Early life

Mekuti was a direct descendant of King

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 ...

, descending from Mangrai's son, Khun Khrua, who ruled

Mong Nai Möng Nai or Mongnai is a town in Mong Nai Township in the Shan State of Burma. ''Mong'' is equivalent to Mueang. History Prior to World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a worl ...

(in modern-day

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. ...

of Myanmar) from 1312 onward.

Reign

Mekuti reigned from 1551 to 1558 as King of Lan Na. Following the defeat of Lan Na during the Burmese-Siam War of 1563, Lan Na became a tributary state of the

First Toungoo Empire The First Toungoo Empire ( my, တောင်ငူ ခေတ်, ; also known as the First Toungoo Dynasty, the Second Burmese Empire or simply the Toungoo Empire) was the dominant power in mainland Southeast Asia in the second half of the ...

. He continued to reign under the auspices of

until 1564, when he was removed from office, in response to Mekuti's refusal to join Bayinnaung's military campaign against

Ayutthaya Ayutthaya, Ayudhya, or Ayuthia may refer to: * Ayutthaya Kingdom, a Thai kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767 ** Ayutthaya Historical Park, the ruins of the old capital city of the Ayutthaya Kingdom * Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province (locally ...

, which was seen by Bayinnaung as an act of rebellion. Bayinnaung then appointed

Wisutthithewi Wisutthithewi ( th, พระนางวิสุทธิเทวี) was queen regnant of Lan Na from 1564 to 1578. Names Wisutthithewi's name is variously romanized Visuddhidevi, Wisutthi Thewi, and Wisuthithewi. While the Chiang Mai Chro ...

queen regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state ''pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy, ...

of Lan Na.

Exile and death

Upon Mekuti's removal from office, he was forced into exile and relocated to the Toungoo Empire's capital at Pegu (now

Bago Bago may refer to: Places Myanmar * Bago, Myanmar, a city and the capital of the Bago Region * Bago District, a district of the Bago Region * Bago Region an administrative region * Bago River, a river * Bago Yoma or Pegu Range, a mountain rang ...

). During his stay at the

Kanbawzathadi Palace Kanbawzathadi Palace ( my, ကမ္ဘောဇသာဒီ နန်းတော်, ) is a palace in Bago, Myanmar. The original palace, built for King Bayinnaung , image = File:Bayinnaung.JPG , caption = Statue ...

, he was accorded with a royal residence crowned with a multi-tiered ''

pyatthat Pyatthat ( my, ပြာသာဒ်, ; from Sanskrit ; mnw, တန်ဆံၚ် ; also spelt pyathat) is the name of a multistaged roof, with an odd number of tiers (from three to seven). The pyatthat is commonly incorporated into Burmese B ...

'' roof. He died of

dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...

in 1581. Mekuti is worshipped as one of 37 nats (spirits) in the official pantheon in

, and the only not to be of Burmese origins. Posthumous depictions of Mekuti as Yun Bayin nat portray a man dressed in Burmese royal attire, seated on a

palin (throne) ''Palin'' ( my, ပလ္လင်; from pi, pallaṅka, or 'sofa') refers to any one of six types of thrones recognized in traditional Burmese scholarship. The ''palin'' is an important symbol of the Burmese monarchy and features prominently in ...

, brandishing a sheathed sword.

References

{{Burmese nats *22 Rulers of Chiang Mai Toungoo dynasty Deaths from dysentery 1581 deaths

Names

Early life

Reign

Exile and death

See also

References