Hsahtung

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This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS.

Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.

Hsahtung

(Burmese, Thaton). — State in the central division of the Southern Shan States, Burma, lying between 19° 54 and 20^^ 24' N. and 97° 7' and 97° 29' E., with an area (including the dependencies of Tam- hpak or Tabet, and Lakmong or Lamaing) of 472 square miles. On the north it is bounded by Wanyin, Mbngpawn, and Mongsit ; on the east by Mawkmai, from which it is separated by the Nam Pawn ; on the south by Karenni ; and on the west by Mongpai, Sakoi, Namtok, and Samka. Over the centre and eastern half of the main State extends a fjlateau, about 4,000 feet above the sea, formed of thinly wooded rolling downs. This is the prosperous Taungthu tract. The two dependencies are in the south, are low-lying, and are mainly populated by Shans. In the south is a small forest area, which was worked till recently. The forest revenue in 1904 amounted to Rs. 1,248.

A certain amount of flat rice land is irrigated from the Tamhpak stream by means of water-wheels ; but most of the rice is grown on the hill-slopes to the east on the tau/igyas worked by the Taungthus, who also cultivate numerous homestead gardens. Less important crops are cotton and tobacco. The population in 1901 was 10,584, dis- tributed in 159 villages. Of this total, classified according to the language spoken, 7,616 were Taungthus, 2,126 Shans, and the re- mainder Padaungs and Karens. Nearly all the inhabitants are Buddhists. Hsahtung may be looked upon as the head-quarters of the Taungthu race in the Shan States. The Myoza, who is a Taungthu, has his residence at Loiput (population, 211), in the north of the State, connected by a country track with the main Southern Shan States cart-road. The revenue in 1903-4 amounted to Rs. 15,500 (nearly all from tliathaiueda) ; and the chief items of expenditure were Rs. 6,000 tribute to the British Government, Rs. 4,700 spent on pay and administration, Rs. 3,600 credited to the privy purse, and Rs. 1,200 spent on public works.