Mon History Options

[angkorwat19]

A Brief History of the Mon People

O f the present inhabitants of Burma, the Mon are the oldest. Their
language, Austroasiatic, is distantly related to other languages that reach
from Madagascar to Easter Island, and from Central India to New Zealand. The
Mon are close cousins of the Khmer, with whom they originally traveled south
from Mongolia. By at least the third century BC, the Mon not only occupied
the entire Me Nam Valley but had spread to the Sittang Valley of Thailand
and Burma. Their port capital was Thaton, not far from the Isthmian portage
routes and, through this window to the sea, they saw India in its full glory
-- a flourishing center of Theravada Buddhism, united peacefully under the
King Asoka.

With the expansion of Indian commerce in Southeast Asia during the first
century A.D., Thaton's prosperity and importance increased. The expansion
was sudden and revolutionary, but peaceful. The Indian merchants and seamen
came to Thaton as friends rather than conquistadors. Their numbers were
never great and their settlements were only temporary.

Until the 8th century, although there was a scramble for the new lands of
the Irrawaddy Delta, no conflicts developed between the Indians and the Mon.
As a result, Indian culture was found acceptable to the Mon people. They saw
it to that their native culture was not abandoned or displaced, and they
worked toward a harmonious blending of the old and new cultures. The Mon
brought many of their native animistic beliefs into the fold of Theravada
Buddhism. They enhanced the power and prestige of their king by adopting the
Hindu ritual of coronation, and developed a new art of sculpture by blending
the native traditional wood carving with the Greco-Indian conventions of
making images of the Buddha. They built stupas along the Indian model and
developed new forms of temple architecture with a mixture of native and
Indian traditions. Within a few decades, the Mon became the most advanced
people in Southeast Asia, and they assumed the role of teachers to their
neighbors, spreading Theravada Buddhism and their new culture over the
entire legion. Their cousins, the Khmer, were the first to benefit, followed
by the Burmans. Even in the 13th century when their glory had passed and
they were a conquered people in the Me Nam Valley, the Mon freely shared
their cultural heritage with the new arrivals, the Tai.

The Burmans of the Tibeto-Burman tribes founded their own city of Pagan in
849 AD. By that time the Mon dominated lower Burma, occupying the whole of
the Irrawaddy Delta, building the port of Bassein in the west and founding
the city of Pegu in 825 AD. They might have stepped into the vacuum caused
by the destruction of the Pyu kingdom, but they were not politically
ambitious and perhaps did not relish going up the river into arid country.
This Mon reluctance allowed the infant Burman kingdom to survive and grow.
In 1044 AD, Anawrahta came to the throne of Pagan. He challenged and subdued
the Mahayanist kingdom of Nanchao, annexed the animistic Shan Plateau and
conquered the Theravada Mon at Thaton in 1057. The conquest of Thaton was
the foundation of both Pagan's economy and its culture. Mon craftsmen,
artisans, architects, goldsmiths, and wood-carvers -- captured at Thaton --
were taken to Pagan to teach their skills and arts to the Burmans. The
Burmans learned quickly and soon were able to stand shoulder to shoulder
with Mon and Indian craftsmen. Mon monks and scholars taught the Burmans how
to write their own and Pali languages and the Buddhist scriptures. The
Burmans soon became scholars themselves, making Pagan the center of
Theravada learning.

Pagan fell to the Mongol armies in 1287 and was occupied for seventeen
years. After the fall of Pagan, the Mon in lower Burma consolidated and
restored their own kingdom. King Warier [Wareru] established the Mon kingdom
in 1287 with his capital at Martaban, near Moulmein. His successor, Byinnya
Oo, transferred the capital to Pegu (Hongsawatoi) in 1365. The Mon once
again were achieving another golden age under wise rulers. Pegu became the
center of Theravadin scholarship and also entered into a close commercial
relationship with Malacca, on the Malay Peninsula, an Islamic kingdom before
1511 and a Portuguese possession thereafter. This Mon "golden era" lasted
for more than two and a half centuries, from approximately 1287 to 1533. The
Mon Pegu (Hongsawatoi) dynasty produced rulers who are still loved by the
people of Burma today, and who left behind many sacred monuments. They
included King Razathirat [Razadarit] (1385-1425), Queen Chaobu [Shin Saw Bu]
(1453-1472) and King Dhomazetoi [Dhammozedi] (1472-1492).

In 1531, Thabinshwehti became Burman king of Toungoo and within a few years
he conquered upper Burma from the Shans and lower Burma from the Mon. He
died in 1551 and was succeeded by his brother-in-law Bayinnaung. Bayinnaung
marched on Ayutthaya and conquered the entire Me Nam Valley, thus founding
the second Burman empire. After his death, however, the empire broke up. In
1605, his grand-son Anankpetlun, shifted the capital back to Ava.
Eventually, the king became weak and power passed to the ministers. The Mon
declared independence in 1740, encouraged by the French in India. The Burman
capital of Ava fell to the Mon in 1752: and all of Burma passed under Mon rule.

U Aungzeya, a Burman leader who founded the last Burman kingdom, drove the
Mon out of Upper Burma and regained the Shan States. By 1757 he defeated the
Mon and annexed the Mon kingdom of Hongsavatoi. The Mon have ever since
become a people without a country. The brutal Burman leader U Aungzeya, who
is better known as King Alaungphaya, persecuted the Mon by massacring over
3,000 learned Mon monks at Thingankyun near Rangoon, by burning holy Mon
Scriptures and by executing tens of thousands of Mon in several
stockade-inferno holocausts. Racial discrimination was rife. Hundreds of
thousands of the Mon fled to Siam (Thailand) for safe haven, [according to
old Mon records written on palm leaves, but never mentioned in the Burmese
history written to this day.] In modern human rights terminology, it was a
drastic ethnic cleansing process.

Following three Anglo-Burmese wars, the entire territory of Burma was
occupied and colonized by the British in 1885. That was also the end of the
last Burman dynasty. However, through selfless sacrifices made by patriots
of various ethnic nationalities, Burma gained independence from the British
in 1948. And the Burman leadership returned to power. Dissensions amongst
the Burman leadership, coupled with the resurgence of the ethnic
nationalities including the Mon, brought the country into a full-fledged
civil war. In 1962 General Ne Win staged a coup d'etat and since then the
country has been under the rule of a military dictatorship. Now the generals
are ruling the country under the name of State Law and Order Restoration
Council (SLORC).

This brief portrait of the history of Burma illustrates the inalienable
rights of the Mon people to the whole of Lower Burma, known in history as
Hongsawatoi or Rehmonnya or Pegu. Never in history did the Mon surrender
their rights to the land, the water, or resources, to the Burmans. And as a
result the Mon armed resistance movement has lasted for more than four
decades since independence from the British in 1948.

THE MON IN TODAY'S WORLD

After Burma gained independence from the Lt British, the Mon people felt
that even though they were free from British colonization, they remained a
Burman colony. Only their master had changed. In fact, during the British
era, the Mon could exercise more rights such as promotion of literature and
culture, and freedom of association and expression. After independence, when
the state power was monopolized by Burman-dominated governments, including U
Nu's parliamentary democracy, all rights, even the promotion of literature
and culture, were restricted. The Mon leaders claimed that the U Nu
government ruled an ethnic population with a parliamentary dictatorship.
During the 1948 general elections, Burman-dominated political parties even
restricted the rights of the Mon to participate in the election. Some Mon
leaders were killed and arrested by Burman leaders. Although General Aung
San agreed to make Burma a federal nation, the later Burman leaders broke
this promise and administered Burma as a country in which the Burman leaders
took more power and restricted the rights of ethnic nationalities.

According to the 1974 constitution, General Ne Win's Burma Socialist
Programme Party (BSPP) government created Mon State, but the government
monopolized power by forming its own administrative bodies up to the village
level. The BSPP and SLORC consistently restricted the activities of Mon
people regarding promoting of literature, culture and political rights.
Since 1948, successive governments have implemented a "Burmanization" policy
toward ethnic nationalities. In fact, ten of thousands of Mon have been
assimilated into Burman culture to the point that they cannot even speak the
Mon language.

Because of the offensives against the New Mon State Party (NMSP) and its
military faction, the Mon National Liberation Army (MNLA), by Burma's
rulers, and the accompanied human rights abuses by their troops, many
thousands of Mon inhabitants have escaped to the border areas and have taken
refuge there. While they were in the camps, they actually experienced
greater freedom in maintaining their national and cultural identity. The
refugee community created a Mon National School in the camps and taught the
Mon language. Without the restrictions of the central government, the Mon
were better able to maintain their cultural identity in the refugee camps.

Because of the global approach of solving political problems through
negotiation, and the growing pressure from the Thai government, the NMSP
entered into a cease-fire with SLORC. In fact, the Mon people have no desire
to solve political problems through violent means. The Mon have always
welcomed the opportunity to solve problems through negotiation. The change
in Thai government policy?their decision to move the Southeast Asian region
from a "battlefield" to a "market field' -- meant that the Thai greatly
increased investments in Burma once SLORC came to power. To protect these
investments, the Thai government would like to see Burma become a peaceful
country. Before the NMSP entered into a cease-fire with SLORC, the SLORC had
consistently intensified its military offensives and forced the Mon
population to ask the NMSP to enter a cease-fire. Because the Mon territory
is small with several SLORC military bases there, in the end, the Mon had to
agree to a cease-fire. However, at this moment, the Mon are still waiting to
resolve the political problems of Burma through negotiations.

According to points agreed upon in the cease-fire, neither the SLORC nor the
Mon would discuss political issues. The cease-fire was merely a means to
stop the fighting. The SLORC did mention its National Convention as a place
for discussing political issues, but the NMSP did not agree to attend the
National Convention. In the cease-fire both sides have agreed not to
conscript forced labor of local villagers or to take porters for use in
military operations.

The SLORC imposed restrictions on tax collections by the NMSP and offered
more economic opportunities to create self-sufficiency. In practice,
however, the SLORC is still using forced labor and portering and the
economic opportunities of the NMSP have not met with much success.

At the moment, we recognize Aung San Suu Kyi as a democratic leader. Because
of the historical experience, however, the ethnic minorities are reluctant
to trust the Burman leaders regarding ethnic rights. They have never met any
Burman leader who would guarantee their rights. As a result, there is a
"wait and see" attitude regarding Aung San Suu Kyi. Is she a leader who will
ensure unity for all of Burma? Burman leaders promised before to create a
Burma based on a democratic federal system, but when the country was
functioning they changed their practices. That was why the ethnic
nationalities have always felt it necessary to safe-guard their people. They
have had no other way except to hold arms.

It is effective for the Burman population to use non-violence against the
SLORC under the leadership of the NLD. As Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD
have the support of the population, they could be successful in the near
future through non-violent struggle. The ethnic nationalities still have to
maintain arms while at the same time encouraging the parties which are
active with non-violence means in opposing the military dictatorship.

The Mon kingdom exercised great autonomy for several centuries. If the
Burman leaders agree to guarantee equal rights of the ethnic nationalities
in a federalist Burma, the Mon people will enjoy their own rights. If the
Burman leaders continue their suppression and restriction of those rights,
the Mon have no choice but to struggle for an independent State.

The Mon warmly welcome the UN resolution on true national reconciliation
within Burma. The ruling party in Burma should consider arranging for
discussions, meetings and assemblies which support for the true national
reconciliation. The National Convention of SLORC is not an appropriate
forum. The international community must help in facilitating this national
reconciliation process.

(IMG:http://www.angelfire.com/ak5/a_khmer/mon1.jpg)

(IMG:http://www.angelfire.com/ak5/a_khmer/mon_m.jpg)

http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/reg.burma/archi...2/msg00046.html

This post has been edited by angkorwat19: Apr 7 2004, 08:56 PM

[Thay_]

Great history lesson, I need it... (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

Thay

[Menikani]

They look like Khmer to, but speaks a different language and culture slightly different.

[angkorwat19]

i think the mons actually introduced theravada buddhism to khmers. if it's not the khmers, then most likely the thais who introduced this religion to khmers. mons were the first to practice this religion in SEAsia.

[Menikani]

i think the mons actually introduced theravada buddhism to khmers. if it's not the khmers, then most likely the thais who introduced this religion to khmers. mons were the first to practice this religion in SEAsia.

I thought thervada Buddhism and Hinduisim co-existed peacefully in Cambodia since the first century. The Bayon temple and one of our great king Jayavaraman VII was a buddhist

[angkorwat19]

I thought thervada Buddhism and Hinduisim co-existed peacefully in Cambodia since the first century. The Bayon temple and one of our great king Jayavaraman VII was a buddhist

it was mahayana buddhism, another sect of buddism that co-existed with hinduism. theravada buddhism was introduced to khmers in the 1300's after the fall of angkor. i think if the french came and intervened/colonized the mon kingdom, then they probably would've still have a country. khmers would seized to exist if it wasn't for the french.

also, theravada buddhism orgininated in sri lanka and i first thought khmers were the first to be introduced by this religion but mons practiced this religion since the 8th century.

This post has been edited by angkorwat19: Apr 7 2004, 09:20 PM

[Menikani]

I thought thervada Buddhism and Hinduisim co-existed peacefully in Cambodia since the first century. The Bayon temple and one of our great king Jayavaraman VII was a buddhist

it was mahayana buddhism, another sect of buddism that co-existed with hinduism. theravada buddhism was introduced to khmers in the 1300's after the fall of angkor.

Oh, I did'nt know that.

EDIT: I thought Angkor fell in the middle of the 1400's.

This post has been edited by Menikani: Apr 7 2004, 09:22 PM

[angkorwat19]

EDIT: I thought Angkor fell in the middle of the 1400's, and Thervada Buddhisim was introduced around the 1200's.

well, jayavarman VII was the last great angkor king who built the city of angkor thom. his reign lasted from 1181-1219. scholars usually put the fall of angkor at a later date but i think it fell earlier after the reign of jayavarman VII.

i didn't even know that the khmer empire was attacked by the mongol army. kublai khan invaded angkor's border and destroyed many buddha statues.

This post has been edited by angkorwat19: Apr 9 2004, 01:17 AM

[FKR]

Hello AngkorWat19,

As a cousin of the Khmer, the Mon are in the same predicament as the Khmer Krom people.

Thank you for widening my view.

FKR

[RockHeart]

The mons are some light skins and some another are dark skins...They're similar the Khmers. But they don't speak our language. Do they understand whatever we say?? (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/embarassedlaugh.gif) . I do believe that some people couldn't speak that language, but they could understood!!!

Which part of territory is belonging to them?? How many population?? (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/icon_smile.gif) . Should we all go to visit them one day?? (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/embarassedlaugh.gif) (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/embarassedlaugh.gif)

DWS"RWS"...

RockHeart.
:genius:

This post has been edited by RockHeart: Apr 7 2004, 10:10 PM

[FKR]

RockHeart, yes, yes, I am glad you can see the similarity between them Mon and us Khmer folks. According to anthropologists and linguistcs, the Mon are our closest cousins. Just like the Khmer language, theirs also belongs to the AustroAsiatic family. However, don't expect them or us to understand each other. Over time, the languages of the Mon and the Khmer have evolved and adapted to meet different needs and thus further caused the unintelligibility.

Just like the Khmer Krom who are still a colony of the Vietnamese, the Mon are also a people who have no country of their own. Their homeland (the whole of Lower Burma aka Hongsawatoi or Rehmonnya or Pegu) is still under the control of the dominating Burmese. The Mon never surrender their rights to the land, the water, or resources, to the Burmans. For 40 years since 1948, the Mon still have their armed resistance movement.

The Burman-dominated political parties restricted the rights of the Mon to participate in the election. Some Mon leaders were killed and arrested by Burman leaders. In addition, the Burman leaders "consistently restricted the activities of Mon people regarding promoting of literature, culture and political rights. The Burman governments have implemented a "Burmanization" policy toward ethnic nationalities. As a result, ten of thousands of Mon have been assimilated into Burman culture to the point that they cannot even speak the Mon language.

"If the Burman leaders agree to guarantee equal rights of the ethnic nationalities in a federalist Burma, the Mon people will enjoy their own rights. If the Burman leaders continue their suppression and restriction of those rights, the Mon have no choice but to struggle for an independent State. The international community must help in facilitating this national reconciliation process."

[Menikani]

I think us Khmers, the genetically, linguistically, racially closes thing to the Mons should support the Mons for an independent state. We should view all Mons as our racial kinsmen, our natural allies, and our brothers and sisters. Without the support of their closes family, who else would support them?

[FKR]

Once there was a Khmer leader by the name of "Lon Nol" who wanted to liberated the Mon from the Burmese, and the Khmer Krom from the Vietnamese. However, he could not even save his own corrupt regime from the Khmer Rouge troops. The point is that, Menikani, if we are not strong ourselves, how can we help our relatives? We will never forget our cousins the Mons who are still under the subjugation of the Burmese. However, we must never forget that our family members will always find ways to reassert themselves. After all, we are proud people.

[angkorwat19]

Once there was a Khmer leader by the name of "Lon Nol" who wanted to liberated the Mon from the Burmese, and the Khmer Krom from the Vietnamese. However, he could not even save his own corrupt regime from the Khmer Rouge troops. The point is that, Menikani, if we are not strong ourselves, how can we help our relatives? We will never forget our cousins the Mons who are still under the subjugation of the Burmese. However, we must never forget that our family members will always find ways to reassert themselves. After all, we are proud people.

couldn't have said it any better FKR. i didn't know Lon Nol wanted to liberate the mons from the burmese. that's new to me.

[Menikani]

Once there was a Khmer leader by the name of "Lon Nol" who wanted to liberated the Mon from the Burmese, and the Khmer Krom from the Vietnamese. However, he could not even save his own corrupt regime from the Khmer Rouge troops. The point is that, Menikani, if we are not strong ourselves, how can we help our relatives? We will never forget our cousins the Mons who are still under the subjugation of the Burmese. However, we must never forget that our family members will always find ways to reassert themselves. After all, we are proud people.

I didn't know about Lon Nol trying to liberate the Mons, that's new to me as well. Anyways, you're right, we should focus on our domestic problems first, but we should never forget the Mons, our closes cousin.

[angkorwat19]

i don't believe the mon-khmer people migrated from mongolia. that's too far up north. the source also mentioned them occupying the me nam valley as early as the 3rd century b.c. but chinese civilization started earlier than this. it would be difficult for the mon-khmer people to migrate that far down south with chinese in the way. they probably migrated either from northeastern india or southwestern china. there are the Wa people living in the south-west corner of yunnan province who speaks a mon-khmer language. the De'ang people also speak a mon-khmer language and they live in western yunnan. these people either adopted the language or have been speaking it for a long time. but their ethnic make-up don't look similar to the mons and khmers who share common ancestry.

[Kambolizhuz]

i don't believe the mon-khmer people migrated from mongolia. that's too far up north. the source also mentioned them occupying the me nam valley as early as the 3rd century b.c. but chinese civilization started earlier than this. it would be difficult for the mon-khmer people to migrate that far down south with chinese in the way. they probably migrated either from northeastern india or southwestern china. there are the Wa people living in the south-west corner of yunnan province who speaks a mon-khmer language. the De'ang people also speak a mon-khmer language and they live in western yunnan. these people either adopted the language or have been speaking it for a long time. but their ethnic make-up don't look similar to the mons and khmers who share common ancestry.

Haha, I was about to ask you that!! You read my mind!
I also don't believed that the Mon-Khmer originated from Mongolia. Do you have any more theory how the Mon-Khmer came about to where we are today ???

[angkorwat19]

The Mon and the Khmer

The closely related Mon and Khmer peoples entered Southeast Asia along migration routes from southern China in the ninth century B.C. The Khmer settled in the Mekong River Valley, while the Mon occupied the central plain and northern highlands of modern Thailand and large parts of Burma. Taking advantage of Funan's decline in the sixth century A.D., the Mon began to establish independent kingdoms, among them Dvaravati in the northern part of the area formerly controlled by Funan and farther north at Haripunjaya. Meanwhile the Khmer laid the foundation for their great empire of the ninth to fifteenth centuries A.D. This empire would be centered at Angkor (near modern Siem Reap) in Cambodia.

The Mon were receptive to the art and literature of India, and for centuries they were the agents for diffusing Hindu cultural values in the region. The frequent occurrence of Sanskrit place-names in modern Thailand is one result of the long and pervasive Indian influence.

In the eighth century, missionaries from Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka) introduced the Mon to Theravada Buddhism. The Mon embraced Buddhism enthusiastically and conveyed it to the Khmer and the Malay of Tambralinga (see Religion , ch. 2). The two Indian religious systems--Hindu and Buddhist--existed side by side without conflict. Hinduism continued to provide the cultural setting in which Buddhist religious values and ethical standards were articulated. Although Buddhism was the official religion of the Mon and the Khmer, in popular practice it incorporated many local cults.

In spite of cultural dominance in the region, the Mon were repeatedly subdued by their Burmese and Khmer neighbors. In the tenth century Dvaravati and the whole of the Chao Phraya Valley came under the control of Angkor. The Khmer maintained the HinduBuddhist culture received from the Mon but placed added emphasis on the Hindu concept of sacred kingship. The history of Angkor can be read in the magnificent structures built to glorify its monarchy. Ultimately, however, obsession with palaces and temples led the Khmer rulers to divert too much manpower to their construction and to neglect the elaborate agricultural system-- part of Angkor's heritage from Funan--that was the empire's most important economic asset.

http://reference.allrefer.com/country-guid...thailand14.html

[angkorwat19]

http://www.myanmar.gov.mm/Perspective/pers...-97/mon9-97.htm

THE NATIONAL RACES OF MYANMAR: MON




Ethnic name

The ethnonym of the Mon people in olden days were different from present name Mon, written MAN. In the pre-Angkor Khmer inscriptions, the Mons were called RAMAN, RMMAN and RAMANYA in 6th –7th centuries A.D. In 1021 A.D, the Javanese named them as RMEN and REMEN. The great Myanmar King Kyansitha referred them as RMEN in his Palace Mon inscription at Pagan inscribed on huge stones in the 11th century A.D, when Myanmars were known as MIRMA. A few centuries later, the Mons were known as RMAN as recorded by the great Mon King Dhammazeti at Bago in 15th century A.D. The Mons were even known by the Thais as RAMAN. However, due to frequent contacts with each other, the Thais began to call them Mon.


Language

The Mon language is not a tonal language. It is entirely different from both the Myanmar and Thai languages. It is closely related to Khmer. It is important to note that Mon-Khmer is a linguistic term. Mon in the west and Khmer in the east with cognate languages and dialects in between them are grouped as the Mon-Khmer family in the field of linguistics.

It is impotant to distinguish between race and language. For instance, Mon, Khmer, Myanmar and Thai and Mongoloid in race. But they speak different languages. On the other hand the Negroids who live in the south coast speak basically Mon-Khmer. Mon is in the Austric Family but in the Austroasiatic sub-division.


The people and the homeland

Of the present inhabitants of Myanmar, the Mons are the oldest. Their language, Austroasiatic, is related more or less distantly to other languages. The more you study the languages of Myanmar the more widespread you will find the culture of the Mons.

The Mons of Myanmar have always tended to hug the east of Myanmar rather than the west. Thus, early in the Christian Era, their hold of Southern Myanmar was impaired by the infiltration of South Indians by sea, mostly by the Delta.

In Siam, during the 7th century A.D, the Mon Kingdom of Dvaravati was at it’s height. It was a Buddhist Kingdom, centred at Lopburi. Meanwhile in Myanmar the Tibeto-Burmans were coming in from the north. By the 7th century, their leader, the PYU, now civilized, had occupied the Ayeyarwady valley west of the Mons, and reached Pyay at the head of the Delta, where they founded the first great capital of Myanmar, Sri Ksetra.

In respect of the Mon homeland, A.H. Chiristie once suggested Tongkin Basin as the swarming ground of the Mon-Khmer. In his article on "Chinese and Indo-Europeans", E.G. Pulleyblank writes: "The word for river in Chinese Kiang or Chiang, can now be shown to have pronounced something like Karwz or Krawz in old Chinese. It is no doubt cognate to the Mon-Khmer word for river."

There was a linguistic paper by Professors Jerry Norman and Tsu-Lin Mei presented to the 3rd Sino-Tibetan Conference in 1970. The authors stated that ancient South China was almost exclusively populated by non-Chinese people. They also stated that the Austroasiatic family of languages includes Munda in northern India, Khasi in Assam; Palaung-Wa in Upper Myanmar and Yunnan; Mon-Khmer in Lower Myanmar and Combodia; as well as in parts of Vietnam, Laos and Thailand.

As the Chinese came down from their homeland in the Yellow River valley they met Mon-Khmer in the middle of the Yangtze region between 1000 and 500 B.C, when the Chinese adopted the Mon-Khmer word Krung/Krong/Krag which has evolved to the modern Chinese word Kiang or Chiang for river.

All the statements support the assumption of taking Yangtze Kiang Valley as the original homeland of the Mon-Khmer. In the Mon language, the word Krung/Krug means river in ancient literature and old Mon inscriptions but it means creek or stream in modern Mon. Because the Mons had obtained the Sanskrit word Mahasamudra for sea or ocean their own word for ocean labi subsequently changed to river and their word for river, to creek or stream.




The Migration

The Mon-Khmer were the pioneers in wet-rice cultivation and their migration has something to do with the rice. Irrigated rice is one of the great economic discoveries in the history of humanity. It is the prime product of Southeast Asia and the first contribution to civilization.

Due to the rapid growth of population the Tongking Plain became overcrowded and a great number of Mon-Khmer fell back along the Red River, the shortest and easiest route to the Ganges Plain in India. On their way they passed the delta of the Ayeyarwady River in Ramannadesa in Lower Myanmar.

In 832 Nancho sacked the PYU capital, and in 835 the two chief cities, very likely Mon, of Lower Myanmar. This is likely to have been the moment when the MRANMA appeared upon the scene. They formed part of a new migration of Tibeto-Myanmar speaking people. Descending suddenly from the Shan Hills, they conquered Kyaukse from the Mons. Mons fell back towards the South, and they must have been thick along the Samon and Sittaung Valleys.

But a number of Mons were isolated in the North and Northwest of Kyaukse. There was a Mon Prelates resident in Kyaukse even in the middle of the Bagan period: he left an inscription in Old Mon which still stands on the northwest side of Kyaukse Hill.


Religion

The Bamas learnt letters and Buddhism from the Mons. Though, close kin to the PYU, they adopted not PYU writing, but Mon. Two centuries later they also got Brahmanism as well as Buddhism from the Mons.

The oldest writings found at Tavoy are Mon and Buddhist; they date only from the Bagan period. Pali-Mon Kalyani inscriptions of Bago 1479 A.D showed the accounts of war of the Aniruddha. The Cambojans, hoping to conquer all the Mon, invaded lower Myanmar. By that time the Mons were weakened by clannishness, the quarrels of Thaton and Bago; the rivalry of India settlements in the Delta, and the religious struggle between the older cults of Sanskrit Bhrahmanism and the conquering cult of Pali Buddhism. Aniruddha seized this moment to step in. A genuine religio-national impulse stirred him. The captured King Makuta and his family were allowed some royal state and settled at Myinkaba, a mile south of Bagan, where they built in stone the Nanpaya, a little gem of Mon culture.

Kyansittha wed his own daughter to the Mon prince the grandson of Makuta and promised the throne to the sibling of their wedlock. All the 12 inscriptions were inscribed by him only in Mon. His temples too, are of a distinctive type, PYU perhaps in plan and structure, Mon in decoration and stone sculpture. Later inscriptions called him "Klan cacsa’ the soldier, the modern version of which is Kyansittha.

At Shwezigon Pagoda; it’s original name, Jayabhumi (Zibon) was soon corrupted into "Zigon". The two four-faced pillars set up on the east side of the pagoda is a grand inscription of his legend. Kyansittha’’ deadbed scene is told in the Rajakumar inscription of the Myinkaba Kubyaukgyi. The date is approximately 1113 A.D. Inscribed in four languages Mon, Pali, in place of Sanskrit and Myanmar, which appears for the first time, PYU for the last.

Remannadesa

Ramannadesa means country of the Ramans. Raman is the name for Mon in olden days. It was in lower Myanmar comprising fertile deltas of the Ayeyarwady, the Sittaung and Thanlwin. The old Indians and Ceylonese referred to it as Suvanabhumi, meaning goldenland.

Mon settlements were found not only in Myanmar but also in old Siam. Ramannadesa or Lower Myanmar was the western Mon Kingdom and in the old Siam known as Dvaravati, was the eastern Mon Kingdom.

The Bago Kalyani inscription engraved in the 15th century A.D. by a Mon King Dhammazeti (Ramadhipati) in Pali and Mon repeated these terms as country of the Mons. The capital of the Mon country was known as Sudhamavati, meaning city of the good law. Historians have regarded it as the cradle of the first region of Buddhism in old Myanmar.

The Mon people lived in three provinces of Ramannadesa such as Pathein, Hamsavati (Bago) and Mottama. Mon chronicles gives a list of 57 kings beginning from Siharaja and ending with Manuha.

The second capital of Ramamadesa, Mottama was founded by a commoner Mon King known as Magadu: Magadu built Mottama and founded his dynasty in the 13th century. His father-in-law; king of Sukhothai (Ramkhamheang) conferred on him the title of Werirow which means the king who has come down from the sky.

Eight Kings ruled Mottama. The eighth king Banya U after 16 years of his reign shifted the capital from Mottama to Hamsavati (Bago). That was the second time for Bago to become the capital of Ramannadesa. Banya U’s son and successor Banya New was the most famous Mon king of Hamsavati he bore two titles as Siharaja rajadhirit and Sutasona rajadhiraj. His daughter Banya Thao (Sin Saw Pu) became queen of Ramannadesa in a later period. She was the only queen in the history of Mon and Myanmar.

Modern Bago was formerly known as Hamsavati (city of Brahmani duck). Bago also had an Indian name Ussa, which was derived from Orissa in the east coast of India with which the Mons had very early contacts.




Stone inscriptions

Mon legends are found not only in palm-leaf but also found in the stone inscriptions. Such Mon inscriptions were inscribed by a famous Mon king known as Dhammazeti whose title is Ramadhipati. He reigned Hamsavati (Bago) from 1472-92 A.D. he was not of royal blood but a commoner. During the reign of the Mon Queen Shin Saw Pu of Hamsavati (1453-72 A.D), Dhammazeti was a learned monk, well versed in various languages. He was also skilled in both arts and sciences. He studied not only in Bago but also at Innwa and Bagan.

During his reign he built many pagodas and temples and monasteries. Dhammazeti’s Mon inscriptions always gave accounts of his meritorious deeds.

This post has been edited by angkorwat19: Apr 17 2004, 01:59 PM

[angkorwat19]

i asked my dad if he knew anything about the mon people. he said they are one of us who broke apart after the thais came. it's interesting to learn about these people. he said we have same religion, culture almost the same and so is our language. so my dad does know something about them. mon is pronounced "moan" in khmer.

an alliance with our mon brothers can benefit both our people. cambodian govt. just need to work with the burmese govt.

here are some photos of the mon people

(IMG:http://img58.photobucket.com/albums/v176/angkorwat19/P-8.jpg)
(IMG:http://img58.photobucket.com/albums/v176/angkorwat19/P-1.jpg)
(IMG:http://img58.photobucket.com/albums/v176/angkorwat19/mu-35.jpg)
(IMG:http://img58.photobucket.com/albums/v176/angkorwat19/mu-34.jpg)
(IMG:http://img58.photobucket.com/albums/v176/angkorwat19/myanmar01-20setse.jpg)
(IMG:http://img58.photobucket.com/albums/v176/angkorwat19/mu-17.jpg)
(IMG:http://img58.photobucket.com/albums/v176/angkorwat19/mu-30.jpg)

This post has been edited by angkorwat19: May 28 2004, 08:44 PM