Sittwe

Sittwe (, ), formerly Akyab (), is the capital of Rakhine State, Myanmar (Burma). Sittwe is located on an estuarial island created at the confluence of the Kaladan, Mayu, and Lay Mro rivers emptying into the Bay of Bengal. As of 2019 the city has an estimated population of over 120,000 inhabitants. It is the administrative seat of Sittwe Township and Sittwe District.

Names

The name Sittwe () is derived from the Burmese pronunciation of Arakanese , meaning "the place where the war meets". When the Burmese king Bodawpaya invaded the Mrauk U Kingdom in 1784, the Rakhine defenders encountered the Burmese force at the mouth of Kaladan river. In the ensuing battle, which was waged on both land and water, the Mrauk U forces were defeated. The place where the battle occurred came to be called ''Saittwe'' by the Rakhine and then as ''Sittwe'' by the Burmese. The name was initially anglicized as ''Tset-twe'' and ''Site-tway''.

The colonial name Akyab () derived from the town's hill ''Akyatkundaw'' or ''A-khyat-dau-kun'' (), named for one of its four stupas whose own name ''Ankyeit'', ''Akyattaw'', ''Akyatdaw'' or ''Ahkyaib-daw'' ("Royal Rear-Jaw Pagoda") referenced its supposed possession of a Buddhist relic, a rear section of Siddhartha Gautama's jawbone.

History

The area of modern Sittwe was the location of a battle during the conquest of the Kingdom of Mrauk U (later Arakan and now Rakhine State, Myanmar) by the Burmese king Bodawpaya. In 1784, a Burmese expeditionary force said to be 30,000 strong encountered the governor of U-rit-taung Province, General ("Saite-ké") Aung and his force of 3000. Although heavily outnumbered, the Arakanese force tried to fight the Burmese forces on both land and sea, but were brutally crushed. This defeat opened the route towards the inland Arakanese capital of Mrauk-U, which was soon conquered, ending the independence of the Arakanese. According to Arakanese lore, all of the Arakanese defenders were killed.

Saittwe or Sittwe was only a small fishing village at the time of the British conquest of Burma, but its four poorly-maintained stupas ''Akyattaw'', ''Thingyittawdhāt'', ''Letyatalundaw'', and ''Letwetalundaw'' were later claimed to date to the 16th century and to hold various relics of the Buddha: part of his rear jawbone, his thigh, his right shinbone, and his left shinbone respectively.

The local defenses were stormed by the British under Gen. Morrison in 1825 during the First Anglo-Burmese War. Despite Morrison and many of his men succumbing to malaria, cholera, and other tropical diseases to the point the entire settlement was abandoned for a time, the port was chosen to serve as Arakan's seat of government in 1826 largely because Mrauk U was considered even more unhealthy. It was renamed Akyab after the town's hill and its eponymous pagoda. The bell of the pagoda at the Mahamuni Buddha Temple south of Mandalay was removed to the basement of the Akyab courthouse until 1867.

Under British occupation, the town grew into an important maritime base, particularly for the export of the area's rice. Despite its bad reputation for disease, historical records indicate Akyab was no more dangerous to its European colonizers than other locations along the India coast. Its population increased to 15,536 inhabitants , 33,200 , and 31,687 by 1901, when it was the third largest port city in British Burma. In the 1860s, the Consulate General of the United States (Kolkata) had a consular agency in Akyab. The four stupas along the ridge overlooking the town were rebuilt in the late 19th century very plainly and unattractively.

During World War II, Sittwe was an important site of many battles during the Burma Campaign due to its possession of both an airfield and a deepwater port.

Sittwe is the birthplace of political monks in Myanmar. It was the birthplace of U Ottama, the first monk who protested against the colonial British in Myanmar. Also, in the recent 2007 protest marches, known as the Saffron Revolution, it was the monks in Sittwe who started the protest against the military government in Myanmar. Sittwe houses the Dhanyawadi Naval Base, named after the ancient Rakhine city-state of Dhanyawadi.

Since 2012, the Myanmar government has held tens of thousands of Rohingyas in camps at Sittwe. There are now some 140,000 Rohingyas living in poor condition huts with limited electricity and food. Rohingya refugees can not go out or move around and also not allowed to work outside of camp. The beach at Ohn Daw Gyi became the main departure point.

In early 2024, as a result of the Myanmar Civil War, Sittwe was surrounded by Arakan Army forces, which gained control of most of Rakhine State. Sittwe and a number of other cities are the only remaining areas in the state still controlled by the ruling military junta. A mass population exodus has been reported, with the only remaining avenue of escape being the airport. As of December 2024, Sittwe remains only one of three major towns in Rakhine state under junta control, along with Kyaukphyu and Manaung.

Climate

Sittwe's climate is classified as a tropical monsoon climate (''Am''), according to the Köppen climate classification system. The city experiences a dry season from December through April, and an extraordinarily rainy wet season covering the remaining seven months. Sittwe sees average rainfall in excess of per month during June, July and August. Conditions are noticeably cooler and less humid in the months of December, January and February than during the remainder of the year.

Demographics

The largest ethnic group in Sittwe is the Rakhine people. Alongside, there are Rohingya Muslims and some Burmese from other parts of the country.

As of 2019, the General Administration Department reported 170,355 "Bangladeshi foreigners" living in Sittwe' metro area- Sittwe Township and only 144,773 Rakhine residents in the township. Accordingly, 53.4% of the overall township adheres to Islam. There are no comparable statistics for just the city of Sittwe as the township's population nearly doubled between 2018 and 2019.

The vast majority practises Theravada Buddhism and Islam. The Rohingya Muslim quarter used to be called Aung Mingala, until the Muslims were driven out by mobs during the 2012 riots in October. It is difficult to document the number of Rohingya who remain in the Internally Displaced Persons camps as the so-called "illegal people" were not permitted to register for the national census and the government refuses to address this minority Rohingya ethnic group by name.

Human Rights Watch, Fortify Rights, Amnesty International and the UN Special Rapporteur have documented the spread of orchestrated anti-Muslim violence with the permission (and sometimes the direct involvement of) government and military authorities.

Economy

In February 2007, India announced a plan to develop the port under the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project, which would enable ocean access from Indian north-eastern states, so called "Seven sisters", like Mizoram, via the Kaladan River. Sittwe's citizenry, especially Buddhist monks, have participated in the 2007 Burmese anti-government protests.

In October 2011, as part of a recent bilateral trade deal signed by Myanmar and India, the two countries pledged a US$120 million port and multimodal investment to complete the infrastructure linking Indian north-eastern provinces to Sittwe overland via India's Mizoram by 2013.

The port of Sittwe will undergo extensive dredging and the construction of new berthing terminals. Once operational it will offer direct passage to enable Burmese and Indian shippers to pick up mainline services to and from Kolkata. The two countries also pledged to double bilateral trade to US$3 billion by 2015 by reducing trade tariffs.

Attractions

* Viewpoint, or more popularly known as Point is perhaps the most well-known attraction in Sittwe. It is at the end of the Strand Road and looks out into the Bay of Bengal and the mouth of the Kaladan River.
*The hundred-year old Shwezedi Monastery is a famous monastery in Sittwe. It was the monastery of U Ottama, who was the first political monk in Myanmar.
*Sittwe Pharagri, the focal point of Sittwe's Buddhist environment, beside Shwezedi Monastery.
*Ahkyaib-daw, is one of the most sacred Buddhist pagodas, possibly originating from the 3rd century BC in the days of Emperor Asoka. The pagoda Ahkyaib-daw, meaning maxillary bone, is believed to be built on a foundation encasing a piece of Buddha’s maxillary bone hence its name.Shwe Lu Maung alias Shahnawaz Khan, The Price of Silence: Muslim-Buddhist War of Bangladesh and Myanmar – A Social Darwinist’s Analysis, DewDrop Arts & Technology, 2005, p174

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* Rakhine State Cultural Museum, which contains exhibits on Rakhine culture and history.
* Lawkananda Pagoda, Sittwe, which is the largest Buddhist temples in Sittwe.

Education

* Computer University, Sittwe
* Sittwe University
* Technological University, Sittwe

Sport

The 7,000-seat Wai Thar Li Stadium is the home ground of Rakhine United F.C., a Myanmar National League (MNL) football club. Dhanyawaddy Stadium is the home ground of Arakan United FC of the Myanmar Amateur League.

Other

British writer Hector Hugh Munro, better known under his pen name Saki, was born in Sittwe in 1870. A road in Singapore is named after its old name, Akyab.

Image gallery

File:Shwe Zedi, Sittwe, Myanmar.jpg, Shwe Zedi Monastery
File:Lawkananda Pagoda, Sittwe.jpg, Lawkananda Pagoda, Sittwe
File:Sittwe, Myanmar (Burma) - panoramio - mohigan (49).jpg, The main street
File:Sittwe View Point Park in 2017 March 26.jpg, Sittwe View Point Park
File:Sittwe, foreshore.JPG, Foreshore
File:Sittwe, new clock tower.JPG, New clock tower
File:Sittwe University (1).jpg, Sittwe University
File:Bya La statue in Sittwe.jpg, Bya La statue in Sittwe
File:Taxiing Aircraft at Sittwe Airport.jpg, Sittwe Airport
File:Lokananda Paya - Sittwe - Rakhaing (Arakan) State - Myanmar (Burma) (12232124364).jpg, View of Lokananda Paya
File:Monk Passes Pagoda - Sittwe - Rakhaing (Arakan) State - Myanmar (Burma) (12232268866).jpg, A monk passes through a pagoda

See also

* Point, Sittwe
* Sittwe Airport

References

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

20° 9' 0" North, 92° 54' 0" East Satellite map at Maplandia.comKaladan.com - covering Kaladan project and news

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Populated places in Rakhine State
Township capitals of Myanmar
Port cities and towns of the Indian Ocean
Bay of Bengal
Kaladan River