Yawnghwe ( shn, ယွင်ႈႁူၺ်ႈ), known as Nyaungshwe ( my, ညောင်ရွှေ) in Burmese, was a Shan state in what is today

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 ...

. It was one of the most important of the Southern

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 fi ...

. Yawnghwe state included the Inle Lake. The administrative capital was

Taunggyi Taunggyi ( ; Shan: ; Pa'O: ) is the capital and largest city of Shan State, Myanmar (Burma) and lies on the Thazi-Kyaingtong road at an elevation of , just north of Shwenyaung and Inle Lake within the Myelat region. Taunggyi is the fifth la ...

, located in the northern part of the state. The Agent of the British government, the Superintendent of the Southern Shan States, resided at Taunggyi and the king's palace was at Yawnghwe.

History

According to tradition in very distant antiquity there was a predecessor state in the area named Kambojaraṭṭha (ကမ္ဗောဇရဋ္ဌ). The city of Yawnghwe, which gave name to the state, was founded in 1359 by two mythical brothers, Nga Taung and Nga Naung, who arrived from

Tavoy Dawei (, ; mnw, ဓဝဲါ, ; th, ทวาย, RTGS: ''Thawai'', ; formerly known as Tavoy) is a city in south-eastern Myanmar and is the capital of the Tanintharyi Region, formerly known as the Tenasserim Division, on the northern bank of ...

(Dawei) and were allowed to build a capital by a prince who ruled the region. The brothers brought 36 families from Tavoy and established themselves in the new city. Yawnghwe included the subsidiary states of Mawnang (Heho),

Mawson Sir Douglas Mawson OBE FRS FAA (5 May 1882 – 14 October 1958) was an Australian geologist, Antarctic explorer, and academic. Along with Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott, and Sir Ernest Shackleton, he was a key expedition leader during ...

, Loimaw, Loi-ai and Namhkai. Historically the majority of the population in the state belonged to the Intha, Pa-O, Danu, Shan and Taungyo people groups. The state of Yawnghwe formally accepted the status of British protectorate in 1887. Sao Shwe Thaik was the first president of the Union of Burma and the last Saopha of Yawnghwe he married Sao Nang Hearn Kham of the royal family of North Hsenwi. His residence in Yawnghwe town, the Haw, is now the "Buddha museum" and is open to the public.

Rulers

The rulers of Yawnghwe bore the title of ''

Saopha Chao-Pha (; 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 Tai peoples of ...

''; their ritual style was ''Kambojaraṭṭha Sīripavara Mahāvaṃsa Sudhammarāja''. They were entitled to a 9-

gun salute A gun salute or cannon salute is the use of a piece of artillery to fire shots, often 21 in number (''21-gun salute''), with the aim of marking an honor or celebrating a joyful event. It is a tradition in many countries around the world. Histo ...

by the British authorities.

Saophas

* 1359 - 1384 Nga Taung * 1384 - 1400 Nga Naung * Nga Sa Mauk * Mauk Hkam * Ai Hso Yen * 1497 - 1510 Hkun Ai from Kyaing Taung * 1510 - 1522 Kiao Lan Hom * 1522 - 1532 Hkam Ai Lan * 1532 - 1562 Nga Thein Hpa * 1562 - 1590 Shwe Sayan * 1590 - 1607 Haw Lung Hkam Hlaing Hpa * 1607 - 1615 Sai Mauk Hpa * 1615 - 1634 Kiao Hsan Hpa * 1634 - 1647 Hsa Hung Hpa * 1647 - 1667 Hkun Hpong Hpa * 1667 - 1675 Hso Sieng Hpa * 1675 - 1695 Hkam Hsawng Hpa * 1695 - 1733 Hkam Leng Hpa * 1733 - 1737 Htawk Sha Sa * 1737 - 1746 Hsi Ton Sa * 1746 - 1758 Hke Hsa Wa * 1758 - 1758 Naw Mong I * 1758 - 1761 Yawt Hkam * 1761 - 1762 Hpong Hpa Ka-sa * 1762 - 1815 Sao Yun * 1815 - 1818 Sao Hso U I * 1818 - 1821 Naw Mong II * 1821 - 1852 Sao Hso U II * 1852 - 1858 Sao Hso Hom (d. 1858) * 1858 - 1864 Sao Naw Hpa 23 Oct 1864 - 1885 Sao Maung (1st time) (b. 1848 - d. 1927) * 1886 - 1897 Sao Ohn * 1897 - Dec 1926 Sao Maung (2nd time) (s.a.) (from 19.., Sir Sao Maung) * Sep 1927 - 1952 Sao Hkam Suek aka Sao Shwe Thaik (b. 1896 - d. 1962) 33rd Saopha (The First President of Burma)

Traditional royal ceremonies

Formerly the Saopha of Yawnghwe would personally welcome the four

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

images during the annual festival at Hpaung Daw U Pagoda, an 18-day

pagoda festival Pagoda festivals ( my, ဘုရားပွဲ; ''paya pwe'') are regular festivals found throughout Burma (Myanmar) that commemorate major religious events in pagoda's history, including the founding of a pagoda and the crowning of the pagoda's ...

, during which the Buddha images were placed on a replica of a royal barge designed as a hintha bird and taken in a procession throughout Inle Lake. The elaborately decorated barge was towed by several boats of leg-rowers rowing in unison together with other accompanying boats. The images would be taken from the royal barge and a grand procession would take them to the palace or ''haw'' of the Saopha, entering the prayer hall from the eastern entrance, where the images would be kept for a few hours. Nowadays the festival is still held, but the images bypass the visit to the ''haw'' and are taken directly to the temple.

References

External links