Mawlamyine

Lore & Background

Mawlamyine, formerly known as Moulmein, is the fourth-largest city in Myanmar, located southeast of Yangon and south of Thaton at the mouth of the Thanlwin (Salween) River. It serves as the capital of Mon State. The city’s Mon name means “damaged eye” or “one-eyed man,” stemming from a legend about a Mon king with a powerful third eye on his forehead, which was destroyed by the daughter of a neighboring king. The Burmese name is a corruption of this Mon original. Historically, Mawlamyine was an ancient city mentioned among the thirty-two Mon cities in the Martaban division, as recorded in the Kalyani Inscriptions. It was captured by King Tabinshwehti and his deputy Bayinnaung in the sixteenth century and later fell under Siamese control for a period. During the Konbaung dynasty, the city was repaired by Burmese generals. Mawlamyine became the first capital of British Burma from 1826 to 1852 after the Treaty of Yandabo, and the British built government offices, churches, and a large prison there. It was the site of the country’s first newspaper, *The Maulmain Chronicle*, and hosted consulates from several nations. The city is flanked by low hills dotted with ancient pagodas and is sheltered by Bilugyun Island where the Salween River meets the Gulf of Martaban and the Andaman Sea. It is famously referenced in Rudyard Kipling’s poem *Mandalay* and was the setting for George Orwell’s essay *Shooting an Elephant*.

Reader's Guide

Mawlamyine, the fourth-largest city in Myanmar, served as the first capital of British Burma from 1826 to 1852 after the Tanintharyi coast was ceded to Britain. During this colonial period, it became a center of administration, trade, and the country’s first newspaper, *The Maulmain Chronicle*. The city’s prosperity grew steadily through the timber trade until supplies from the Salween Valley declined in the 1890s. It hosted consulates from Germany, Siam, Persia, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Italy, and the United States. The city was also the setting for George Orwell’s essay *Shooting an Elephant*, inspired by his 1926 posting there as a police officer. During World War II, Mawlamyine and the Tanintharyi Region were the first objectives of the Japanese invasion of Burma. After independence in 1948, the city fell to Karen insurgents before being retaken by the Myanmar military in 1950. Many colonial street and park names were later changed to nationalistic Burmese names. The city is known for the Kyaik Than Lan pagoda, thought to be the “old Moulmein pagoda” referenced in Rudyard Kipling’s poem *Mandalay*, which contains a hair relic of Buddha and a tooth relic from Sri Lanka.

Did You Know?

• The city's Mon name means 'damaged eye' or 'one-eyed man,' from a legend of a three-eyed king.
• Rudyard Kipling's poem 'Mandalay' mentions 'the old Moulmein pagoda,' thought to be Kyaik Than Lan.