Hsipaw
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.
Hsipaw
(Burmese, Thibaw — One of the Northern Slian States, Burma, lying between 21° 56' and 22° 56' N. and 96° 13' and 98° o' E., with an area of 5,086 square miles. It is bounded on the north by the Ruby Mines District and the Slale^ of Mongmil and Tawngpeng ; on the east by North and South Hsenwi ; on the south by the Southern Shan States \ and on the west by Mandalay District, from which it is separated for some distance by the Nam Pai river. It is divided into four sub-States : Hslpaw proper in the centre and north-east, Hsumhsai in the south-west, Monglong in the north-west, and Mong- tung in the south-east. The main State Hes on the geological fault which runs east and west from the Salween at Kunlong to near the rim of the Shan table-land at the Gokteik gorge, and the face of the country is here broken up into a mass of not very well defined ridges and spurs. The chief plain land is in the valley of the Nam Tu near Hslpaw, and the Pyawnggawng-Nawngpeng strath south-west of the capital of the State. The other valleys are insignificant. The country is drained by the Nam Tu, which, on the southern border of the State, runs in a deep gorge about 2,000 feet below the general level of the country. One of the chief natural features of the State is the Gokteik gorge, down which flows a small tributary of the Nam Tu. Taungya rice is grown on the hills and ' wet ' rice in the valleys. Other crops cultivated are sesamum, the thanat tree (the leaf of which is used for cigar-wrappers), cotton, ginger, and, in what is known as the Kodaung tract in the west and north-west, tea. The present Sawbwa of Hslpaw is the grandson of Sao Kya Tun, who was appointed Sawbwa by king Mindon as a reward for his assistance in removing Pagan Min from the Burmese throne. The State submitted to the British after the occupation of Mandalay in 1886. The Sawbwa, Hkun Saing by name, had fled, before the persecutions of king Thibaw, to Siam and Rangoon, where he was imprisoned in 1882 for causing the death of two of his servants. On his release he took refuge for a while in Karenni ; and at the time of annexation, having obtained assistance from Sawlapaw, the chief of Karenni, he proceeded to HsTpaw and regained his throne in time to be the first Shan chieftain submitting to the British rule.
In recognition of this early submission, he was rewarded with the sub-States of Monglong, Mongtung, and Hsumhsai, which were added to Hslpaw proper. He visited England in 1893, and was succeeded in 1902 by his eldest son, who had been partly educated in England. The population of the State in 1901 was 104,700, distributed in 1,661 villages. By far the greater portion (approximately 90,000) are Shans ; Burmans and Danus (mainly in the Hsumhsai sub-State) numbered about 10,000; and in the hilly Kodaung tract are Palaungs (about 3,000). The rest of the population consists practically of Kachins and natives of India. The capital is HsTpaw (population, 3,656), situated 134 miles from Mandalay, in the middle of a hill-girt valley on the banks of the Myitnge river, over which a bridge is in course of con- struction. Hslpaw is one of the princi[)al towns on the Mandalay- Lashio railway, and is the head-tiuarters of an Assistant Superinten- dent of the Shan States, whose residence, close to the Sa\vb\\a"s /ia:i< or palace, overlooks the Myitnge river. The revenue in 1903-4 was Rs. 3,43,000, towards which thathnmeda contributed Rs. 1,76,000; opium, liquor, and bazar fees, Rs. 78,000; and land tax, Rs. 58.000. The expenditure in the same year included Rs. 1,45,000 spent on administration and salaries, Rs. 77,000 on public works, Rs. 24,000 contributed to the privy purse, and Rs. 70,000 tribute to the British Government.
