Mueang ( Ahom: 𑜉𑜢𑜤𑜂𑜫; ''mɯ̄ang'', ), Muang ( ''mɯ́ang'', ), Möng ( Tai Nuea: ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ''möeng''; ''móeng'', ), Meng ( zh, c=猛 or 勐) or Mường (Vietnamese) were pre-modern semi-independent

city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world throughout history, including cities such as Rome, ...

s or

principalities A principality (or sometimes princedom) is a type of monarchical state or feudal territory ruled by a prince or princess. It can be either a sovereign state or a constituent part of a larger political entity. The term "principality" is often ...

mainland Southeast Asia Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) 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 th ...

, adjacent regions of

Northeast India Northeast India, officially the North Eastern Region (NER), is the easternmost region of India representing both a geographic and political Administrative divisions of India, administrative division of the country. It comprises eight States and ...

and Southern China, including what is now

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

, parts of northern

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

, southern

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

, western

Guangxi Guangxi,; officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam (Hà Giang Province, Hà Giang, Cao Bằn ...

and

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

. Mueang was originally a term in the

Tai languages The Tai, Zhuang–Tai, or Daic languages (Ahom language, Ahom: 𑜁𑜪𑜨 𑜄𑜩 or 𑜁𑜨𑜉𑜫 𑜄𑜩 ; ; or , ; , ) are a branch of the Kra–Dai languages, Kra–Dai language family. The Tai languages include the most widely spo ...

for a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

having a

defensive wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as curtain walls with t ...

and a ruler with at least the Thai noble rank of '' khun'' (), together with its dependent villages. The mandala model of political organisation organised states in collective hierarchy such that smaller mueang were subordinate to more powerful neighboring ones, which in turn were subordinate to a central king or other leader. The more powerful mueang (generally designated as , , , or – with

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, 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 estim ...

as ''Krung'' Thep Maha ''Nakhon'') occasionally tried to liberate themselves from their suzerain and could enjoy periods of relative independence. Mueang large and small often shifted

allegiance An allegiance is a duty of fidelity said to be owed, or freely committed, by the people, subjects or citizens to their state or sovereign. Etymology The word ''allegiance'' comes from Middle English ' (see Medieval Latin ', "a liegance"). The ...

, and frequently paid

tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of lands which the state con ...

to more than one powerful neighbor – the most powerful of the period being Ming China. Following Kublai Khan's defeat of the

Dali Kingdom The Dali Kingdom, also known as the Dali State (; Bai language, Bai: Dablit Guaif), was a Bai people, Bai dynastic state situated in modern Yunnan province, China, from 937 to 1253. In 1253, it was Mongol conquest of China, conquered by the Mo ...

of the

Bai people The Bai or Pai (Bai language, Bai: , ; zh, c=白族, p=Báizú), are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan, Yunnan Province, Bijie area of Guizhou, Guizhou Province, and Sangzhi C ...

in 1253 and its establishment as a tutelary state, new mueang were founded widely throughout the

Shan States The Shan States were a collection of minor Shan people, Shan kingdoms called ''mueang, möng'' whose rulers bore the title ''saopha'' (''sawbwa''). In British rule in Burma, British Burma, they were analogous to the princely states of Britis ...

and adjoining regions – though the common description of this as a "mass migration" is disputed. Following historical Chinese practice, tribal leaders principally in Yunnan were recognized by the Yuan as imperial officials, in an arrangement generally known as the

Tusi ''Tusi'', often translated as "headmen" or "chieftains", were hereditary tribal leaders recognized as imperial officials by the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties of China, and the Later Lê and Nguyễn dynasties of Vietnam. They ruled certain ...

("Native Chieftain") system. Ming and Qing-era dynasties gradually replaced native chieftains with non-native Chinese government officials. In the 19th century, Thailand's

Chakri dynasty The Chakri dynasty is the current reigning dynasty of the Thailand, Kingdom of Thailand. The head of the house is the Monarchy of Thailand, king, who is head of state. The family has ruled Thailand since the founding of the Rattanakosin era and ...

and Burma's colonial and subsequent military rulers did much the same with their lesser mueang, but, while the

petty kingdom A petty kingdom is a kingdom described as minor or "petty" (from the French 'petit' meaning small) by contrast to an empire or unified kingdom that either preceded or succeeded it (e.g. the numerous kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England unified into t ...

s are gone, the place names remain.

Place names

Place names in Southwestern Tai languages

Cambodia

In Khmer, "moeang" (មឿង) is a word borrowed from the Thai language meaning "small city" or "small town."Headley, Robert K
"SEAlang Library Khmer"
''SEAlang Library'', 05/14/2018 Usually used as a place name for villages. * Moeang Char * Moeang Prachen

China

The placename "mueang" is written in

Chinese characters Chinese characters are logographs used Written Chinese, to write the Chinese languages and others from regions historically influenced by Chinese culture. Of the four independently invented writing systems accepted by scholars, they represe ...

as zh, c=勐, 孟, p=měng, labels=no, which is equivalent to and , both of which are spoken in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. }, a place in Longling County) , - , Meng Long , , ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥘᥨᥒ , , ᦵᦙᦲᧂ ᦷᦟᧂ , , 勐龙 , , , - , Meng Loong , , ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥘᥩᥒᥴ , , , , 勐弄 , , , - , Meng Mo , , ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥛᥨᥝᥱ , , , , 勐磨 , , Jiucheng Township , - , Meng Ham , , ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥞᥛᥰ , , ᦵᦙᦲᧂ ᦣᧄ , , 勐罕 , , , - , Meng Heu , , ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥞᥥᥝᥰ , , , , 勐秀 , , Mengxiu Township , - , Meng Ka , , ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥐᥣ , , , , 勐戛 , , Mengga , - , Meng Yue , , , , , , 勐约 , , , - , Meng Peng , , , , ᦵᦙᦲᧂ ᦘᦳᧂ , , 勐捧 , , , - , Meng Dui , , , , , , 勐堆 , , , - , Meng Ku , , , , , , 勐库 , , , - , Meng Yoong , , ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥕᥩᥒᥰ , , , , 勐永 , , , - , Meng Keng , , ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥐᥦᥒᥰ , , , , 勐简 , , , - , Meng Seng , , ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥔᥫᥒᥴ , , , , 勐省 , , Mengsheng , - , Meng Jiao , , , , , , 勐角 , , Mengjiao Dai, Yi and Lahu People Township , - , Meng Nuo , , , , , , 勐糯 , , , - , Meng Xian , , , , , , 勐先 , , , - , Meng Nong , , , , , , 孟弄 , , , - , Meng Ban , , , , , , 勐班 , , Mengban Township , - , Meng Da , , , , , , 勐大 , , , - , Meng Lie , , , , , , 勐烈 , , , - , Meng Ma , , , , , , 勐马 , , , - , Meng Suo , , , , , , 勐梭 , , , - , Meng Ka , , , , , , 勐卡 , , , - , Meng La , , , , , , 勐拉 , , , - , Meng Qiao , , , , , , 勐桥 , , , - , Meng Wang , , , , , , 勐旺 , , , - , Meng Hun , , , , , , 勐混 , , , - , Meng Man , , , , , , 勐满 , , , - , Meng A , , , , , , 勐阿 , , , - , Meng Song , , , , , , 勐宋 , , , - , Meng Wang , , , , , , 勐往 , , , - , Meng Lun , , , , , , 勐仑 , , , - , Meng Ban , , , , , , 勐伴 , ,

Laos

Laos is colloquially known as '' Muang Lao'', but for

Lao people The Lao people are a Tai peoples, Tai ethnic group native to Southeast Asia, primarily inhabiting Laos and northeastern Thailand. They speak the Lao language, part of the Kra–Dai languages, Kra–Dai language family, and are the dominant ethni ...

, the word conveys more than mere administrative district. The usage is of special historic interest for the Lao; in particular for their traditional socio-political and administrative organisation, and the formation of their early (power) states, described by later scholars as

Mandala (Southeast Asian political model) ''Mandala'' ( is a term used to describe decentralized political systems in medieval Southeast Asia, where authority radiated from a core center rather than being defined by fixed territorial boundaries. This model emphasizes the fluid dist ...

Provinces of Laos Laos is divided into 17 provinces (Lao alphabet, Lao ແຂວງ, , , , or ) and 1 prefecture, the Vientiane capital city municipality (ນະຄອນຫຼວງ, nakhon luang, or ''Na Kone Luang Vientiane''). The special administrative zone ...

are now subdivided into what are commonly translated as

districts of Laos A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

, with some retaining Muang as part of the name: * Muang Sing * Muang Xay *Former Muang ** Muang Phuan (modern

Phonsavan Phonsavan (also spelled Phonesavanh, , ), population 37,507, is the capital of Xiangkhouang Province. Phonsavan is known for the nearby Plain of Jars, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. History The recorded history of Xiangkhouang is interlinked ...

, capital city of

Xiangkhouang Province Xiangkhouang (Lao alphabet, Lao: wikt:ຊຽງຂວາງ, ຊຽງຂວາງ, meaning 'Horizontal City') is a province of Laos on the Xiangkhoang Plateau, in the nation's northeast. The province has the distinction of being the most heavi ...

) ** Muang Sua

Myanmar

* Mong Mao * Mong Hsat * Mong Hpayak * Mong Ton * Mong Nai * Mong Ping * Mohnyin (former Mongyang State) * Mogaung (former Mongkawng) * Momauk *

Mogok Mogok (, ; Shan language, Shan: , ) is a town of around 90,000 people in the Thabeikkyin District of Mandalay Region of Myanmar, located north of Mandalay and north-east of Shwebo, Sagaing, Shwebo. History Mogok is believed to be founded in ...

Momeik Momeik (), also known as Möng Mit (), is a town situated on the Shweli River in northern Shan State. It is the capital of Mongmit District and the principal town of Mongmit Township, Myanmar. Transport It is connected by road to Mogok and its r ...

Northeast India Northeast India, officially the North Eastern Region (NER), is the easternmost region of India representing both a geographic and political Administrative divisions of India, administrative division of the country. It comprises eight States and ...

* Mong Dun Shun Kham or Ahom kingdom – The Mueang (currently the states of

and

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeast India. It was formed from the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and India declared it as a state on 20 February 1987. Itanagar is its capital and la ...

in North-East India), established by a Tai Prince Sukaphaa in 1228 with 9000 Tai People migrated from Mong Mao called as Ahom by local people, transformed itself into a huge kingdom by the 17th century that withstood the might of the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

Thailand

Thailand is colloquially known as ''Mueang Thai''. After the '' Thesaphiban'' reforms of Prince

Damrong Rajanubhab Prince Tisavarakumara, the Prince Damrong Rajanubhab (; Full transcription is "Somdet Phrachao Borommawongthoe Phra-ongchao Ditsawarakuman Kromphraya Damrongrachanuphap" (สมเด็จพระเจ้าบรมวงศ์เธอ พ� ...

, city-states under Siam were organized into monthon (, Thai translation of mandala), which was changed to '' changwat'' () in 1916. ''Mueang'' still can be found as the term for the capital districts of the provinces ('' amphoe mueang''), as well as for a municipal status equivalent to town ('' thesaban mueang''). In standard Thai, the term for the country of Thailand is ประเทศไทย, rtgs: Prathet Thai.

Mueang toponyms

''Mueang'' still forms part of the placenames of a few places, notably

Don Mueang District Don Mueang (, , ; ; ) is one of the 50 districts (''khet'') of Bangkok, Thailand. It is bounded by (from north clockwise): Mueang Pathum Thani and Lam Luk Ka of Pathum Thani province; Sai Mai, Bang Khen and Lak Si of Bangkok; and Pak Kret ...

, home to Don Mueang International Airport; and in the Royal Thai General System of Transcription ''Mueang Phatthaya'' () for the

self-governing Self-governance, self-government, self-sovereignty or self-rule is the ability of a person or group to exercise all necessary functions of regulation without intervention from an external authority. It may refer to personal conduct or to any ...

municipality of

Pattaya Pattaya is a city in Eastern Thailand, the second-largest city in Chonburi province and the List of municipalities in Thailand, eighth-largest city in Thailand. It is on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, about southeast of Bangkok, and h ...

Nakhon mueang

''Nakhon'' () as meaning "city" has been modified to '' thesaban nakhon'' (), usually translated as "

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

". It still forms part of the name of some places. * Krung Thep Maha Nakhon * Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya * Nakhon Lampang * Nakhon Nayok * Nakhon Ratchasima * Nakhon Si Thammarat * Nakhon Thai * Renu Nakhon

Buri mueang

Sung Noen District is noted for having been the site of two ancient cities: Mueang Sema and Khorakhapura.

Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...

''púra'' became

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

''puri'', hence Thai , (buri) all connoting the same as Thai ''mueang'': city with defensive wall. "Khorakhapura" was nicknamed "Nakhon Raj," which as a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

with Sema, became Nakhon Ratchasima. Though dropped from the name of this mueang, Sanskrit ''buri'' persists in the names of others. * Buriram * Chonburi * Sing Buri * Suphan Buri * Thonburi

Vietnam

* Muong Cha * Muong La * Mường Lay * Muong Lat * Muong Khuong * Muong Nhe * Muong Te * Muong Thanh

Etymology

:'' NB: Luo et al. employ / ü/ which may erroneously scan as /ii/.''

Müang Fai irrigation system

''Müang Fai'' is a term reconstructed from Proto-Tai, the common ancestor of all

. In the

Guizhou ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_map = Guizhou in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_alt = Map showing the location of Guizhou Province , map_caption = Map s ...

of Southern China region, the term described what was then a unique type of irrigation engineering for wet-rice cultivation. ''Müang'' meaning 'irrigation channel, ditch, canal' and ''Fai'', 'dike, weir, dam.' together referred to gravitational irrigation systems for directing water from streams and rivers. The Proto-Tai language is not directly attested by any surviving texts, but has been reconstructed using the

comparative method In linguistics, the comparative method is a technique for studying the development of languages by performing a feature-by-feature comparison of two or more languages with common descent from a shared ancestor and then extrapolating backwards ...

. This term has Proto-Tai-tone A1. All A1 words are rising tone in modern Thai and Lao, following rules determined for tone origin. Accordingly, the term is: :in modern :in modern .http://sealang.net/lao/dictionary.htm ເຫມືອງຝາຽ ( NB: SEAlang Library's Lao entry omits tonal marking – a typographical error.) Different linguistic tones give different meanings; scholarship has not established a link between this term and any of the terms which differ in tone.

Origin of mueang

Mueang conveys many meanings, all having to do with administrative, social, political and religious orientation on wet-rice cultivation. The origin of the word ''mueang'' yet remains obscure. In October 2007, The National Library of Laos, in collaboration with the Berlin State Library and the University of Passau, started a project to produce the Digital Library of Lao Manuscripts. Papers presented at the Literary Heritage of Laos Conference, held in

Vientiane Vientiane (, ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Laos. Situated on the banks of the Mekong, Mekong River at the Thailand, Thai border, it comprises the five urban districts of Vientiane Prefecture and had a population of 840,000 ...

in 2005, have also been made available. Many of the mss. illuminate the administrative, social, political, and religious demands put on communities in the same watershed area that insured a high degree of cooperation to create and maintain irrigation systems (''müang-faai'') – which probably was the primary reason for founding ''mueang''.

Kham Mueang

''Kham Mueang'' () is the modern spoken form of the old Northern Thai language that was the language of the kingdom of Lan Na (Million Fields). Central Thai may call northern Thai people and their language Thai Yuan. They call their language ''Kham Mueang'' in which ''Kham'' means language or word; ''mueang''; town, hence the meaning of "town language," specifically in contrast to those of the many hill tribe peoples in the surrounding mountainous areas.

References

External links

* {{Wiktionary-inline, mueang Former countries in Southeast Asia Former countries in Thai history Former countries in Chinese history Subdivisions of Laos Subdivisions of Myanmar Subdivisions of Thailand Thai words and phrases Types of administrative division Former countries in Indian history

Place names

Cambodia

China

Laos

Myanmar

Northeast India Northeast India, officially the North Eastern Region (NER), is the easternmost region of India representing both a geographic and political Administrative divisions of India, administrative division of the country. It comprises eight States and ...

Thailand

Mueang toponyms

Nakhon mueang

Buri mueang

Vietnam

Etymology

Müang Fai irrigation system

Origin of mueang

Kham Mueang

See also

References

External links