South Hsenwi

South Hsenwi
State of the Shan States
← 1888–1959 →
South Hsenwi in a map of the Shan States
Capital		Mongyai
History
•	Hsenwi split into two states	1888
•	Abdication of the last ruler	1959
Area
•	1901	2,400 km^2 (927 sq mi)
Population
•	1901	67,836
	Density	28.3 /km^2  (73.2 /sq mi)

South Hsenwi was a Shan state in the Northern Shan States in what is today Burma.^[1] The capital was Mongyai town which had a population of about 2000 in the 19th century.

South Hsenwi had an area of 2400 m² and a population of 67,836 in 1901; its estimated revenue was £4800.^[2]

History

According to tradition, the predecessor state of Sivirattha was founded before 650 AD. This legendary state became Hsenwi State with the passing of the centuries. Hsenwi was the largest of the cis-Salween Shan states, and at one time included all of what are now the present states of North and South Hsenwi, Kehsi Mansam, Mong Hsu, Mong Sang, and Mong Nawng. It also held Mang Lon and other Wa states east of the Salween in a protectorate-like arrangement. During Burmese times, the state lost control of these areas and at the time of the annexation following British rule in Burma, Hsenwi was composed of five de jure divisions; but the administration of the area was in chaos, with no central control. After the pacification of the region in March 1888, the colonial administration divided Hsenwi into two states: North Hsenwi, which was assigned to a successful adventurer, Hkun Sang, of Ton Hong, and South Hsenwi which went to Nawmong, of the old Shan ruling house. Lashio, the headquarters of the superintendent of the Northern Shan State, was located in North Hsenwi.^[3][4] The last ruler of South Hsenwi abdicated in 1959. The state became part of Shan State and, despite the independence struggle of the latter, eventually part of Burma.

Rulers

The rulers of South Hsenwi bore the title Saopha.^[5]

Saophas

• Mar 1888 - 1913 Sao Naw Möng (b. 1855 - d. 1913)
• 1913 - 1946 Sao Song (b. 1888 - d. 1946)
• 1946 - 29 May 1959 Sao Hsu Hom

References

1. "WHKMLA : History of the Shan States". 18 May 2010. Retrieved 21 December 2010.
2. The Imperial Gazetteer of India
3. "THEINNI or Hsenwi". Online Encyclopaedia. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
4. Burma Journal-1925 Page 120
5. Shan and Karenni States of Burma

External links

• "Gazetteer of Upper Burma and the Shan states"
• Hsenwi (Shan Princely State)

Coordinates: 22°24′N 98°2′E / 22.400°N 98.033°E