Pandaung Explained

Padaung
Native Name:ပန်းတောင်းမြို့
Settlement Type:Town
Pushpin Map:Myanmar
Pushpin Label Position:right
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Myanmar
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: Myanmar
Subdivision Type1:Region
Subdivision Type2:District
Subdivision Name2:Pyay District
Subdivision Type3:Township
Subdivision Name3:Pandaung Township
Unit Pref:Imperial
Area Total Sq Mi:0.66
Population Footnotes:[1]
Population Total:7973
Population Density Km2:auto
Timezone:MMT
Utc Offset:+6.30
Coordinates:18.7155°N 95.1449°W
Elevation Footnotes:[2]

Pandaung (my|ပန်းတောင်း, officially romanised as Padaung) is the capital of Pandaung Township in western Bago Region, Myanmar. [1]

History

Pandaung's recorded history stretches back to the Bagan Kingdom when Sithu IV's son Thihathu of Prome fled to Pyay and was said to have come across a lime-covered stupa in Pandaung where he prayed for "the Emperor to become a King". In 1287, after Sithu IV became a vassal of the Mongol Empire, Thihathu ambushed and killed his father. On his way back to Pyay, he built another stupa in Pandaung and prayed to the original stupa for forgiveness, asking that his father not be reborn into his own unborn child. The folk etymology of the town's name comes from this story, deriving from a shortening of the phrase my|ဆုပန်တောင်းပန်|label=none|lit=Pray for forgiveness (Su-pan-taung-pan).[1]

In 1415, the governor of Pandaung was captured in a riverine naval battle during the Forty Years' War.[3]

The modern town was created a town from the pre-existing village by the Ministry of Home Affairs in 1972.[1] The town lies on the main road connecting Pyay to Rakhine State and is the namesake of the Taungup-Pandaung road.[4]

Education

The Pandaung primary school was recognised as a "rural model school" by the Ministry of Education with community learning centres funded by various educational organisations from Pyay and Yangon. The learning centres in Pandaung support libraries and social activities for youth and was slated to be a model for rural educational access in Myanmar.[5]

Notes and References

  1. Myanmar Information Management Unit . September 2019 . Padaung Myone Daethasaingyarachatlatmya. my:ပန်းတောင်းမြို့နယ် ဒေသဆိုင်ရာအချက်လက်များ. Padaung Township Regional Information . MIMU . 14 September 2024.
  2. [GoogleEarth]
  3. Rajadhirat's Mask of Command: Military Leadership in Burma (c.1348-1421) . SOAS Bulletion of Burma . Spring 2006 . 3-29 . 4 . 1 . Fernquest . Jon .
  4. News: AA Ambushes Junta Troops en route to Taungup . 22 June 2024 . Narinjara.
  5. Le . Ai Tam Pham . The contributions of community learning centres to personal and community development: A case study of three centres in Padaung, Myanmar . M.S. . University of Oslo . May 2017 . en.