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44-551: Mon kingdoms were polities established by the Mon -speaking people in parts of present-day Myanmar and Thailand . The polities ranged from Dvaravati and Haripuñjaya in present-day northern Thailand to Thaton , Hanthawaddy (1287–1539), and the Restored Hanthawaddy (1740–1757) in southern Myanmar. The first recorded kingdom attributed to the Mon people is Dvaravati , which prospered until around 1000 CE when their capital

88-581: A prestige language even after the fall of the Mon kingdom of Thaton to Pagan in 1057. King Kyansittha of Pagan (r. 1084–1113) admired Mon culture and the Mon language was patronized. Kyansittha left many inscriptions in Mon. During this period, the Myazedi inscription , which contains identical inscriptions of a story in Pali , Pyu , Mon and Burmese on the four sides, was carved. However, after Kyansittha's death, usage of

132-473: A Mon dialect in Thailand found that in some syllabic environments, words with a breathy voice vowel are significantly lower in pitch than similar words with a clear vowel counterpart. While difference in pitch in certain environments was found to be significant, there are no minimal pairs that are distinguished solely by pitch. The contrastive mechanism is the vowel phonation. In the examples below, breathy voice

176-508: A full-scale war. After the war, Hanthawaddy entered its golden age whereas its rival Ava gradually went into decline. From the 1420s to the 1530s, Hanthawaddy was the most powerful and prosperous kingdom of all post-Pagan kingdoms. Under a string of especially gifted monarchs— Binnya Ran I , Shin Sawbu , Dhammazedi and Binnya Ran II —the kingdom enjoyed a long golden age, profiting from foreign commerce. Its merchants traded with traders from across

220-631: A geopolitical standpoint, Anawrahta's conquest of Thaton checked the Khmer advance in the Tenasserim coast . In 1287, the Pagan Empire collapsed due to Mongol invasions , and all its vassal states became independent. In present-day Lower Burma, Wareru established a kingdom for the Mon-speaking people called Ramannadesa by unifying three Mon-speaking regions of Lower Burma: Martaban (Mottama), Pegu (Bago),

264-720: A language closely related to Mon, called Nyah Kur . They are descendants of the Mon-speaking Dvaravati kingdom. Mon has three primary dialects in Burma, coming from the various regions the Mon inhabit. They are the Central (areas surrounding Mottama and Mawlamyine ), Bago , and Ye dialects. All are mutually intelligible. Ethnologue lists Mon dialects as Martaban-Moulmein (Central Mon, Mon Te), Pegu (Mon Tang, Northern Mon), and Ye (Mon Nya, Southern Mon), with high mutual intelligibility among them. Thai Mon has some differences from

308-575: A multitude of rebellions–the most serious one by his younger brother, Gov. Minye Kyawswa of Yamethin . Unlike the usual unrest in remote regions, the Yamethin rebellion was so close to Ava itself, and was a grave threat to the new king. Taking advantage of the power struggle between his two nephews, the governor of Tharrawaddy , Thado Minsaw , seized Prome and declared himself king. Thado Minsaw raised his brother Mingyi Swa's chief queen as his chief queen. Minkhaung managed to send an army to reclaim Prome. But

352-506: A nominal vassal to Confederation controlled Ava. Although his authority did not extend beyond the immediate region around Prome, he became ensnarled in the Toungoo–Hanthawaddy War (1534–41). Narapati was an ally of King Takayutpi of Hanthawaddy, and was married to Takayutpi's sister. Narapati provided shelter to the fleeing Hanthawaddy troops in 1539. When Toungoo troops attacked a heavily fortified Prome, Narapati asked for help from

396-430: A peaceful relationship with Hanthawaddy, the most powerful kingdom in the region. Thado Minsaw changed his policy in the 1520s when Ava was on its last legs suffering from the sustained assaults by Confederation of Shan States . He entered into a league with Sawlon , the confederation's leader. In March 1525, the combined armies of Confederation and Prome sacked the city of Ava . The king of Ava, Shwenankyawshin , who

440-565: A small proportion (estimated to range between 60,000 and 80,000) speak Mon, due to Thaification and the assimilation of Mons into mainstream Thai society. Mon speakers in Thailand are largely concentrated in Ko Kret . The remaining contingent of Thai Mon speakers are located in the provinces of Samut Sakhon , Samut Songkhram , Nakhon Pathom , as well the western provinces bordering Myanmar ( Kanchanaburi , Phetchaburi , Prachuap Khiri Khan , and Ratchaburi ). A small ethnic group in Thailand speak

484-571: A stalemate, left Ava exhausted, and its vassals restless. From the 1420s to the 1480s, each new king of Ava had to put down rebellions. In 1469, Prome's long-time governor, Mingyi Swa (r. 1446–1482) rebelled against his brother, when the latter ascended to the Ava throne as Thihathura . But the new king laid siege on Prome, and Mingyi Swa submitted to his brother. Mingyi Swa was forgiven, and reappointed to his former position. Thihathura died in 1480, and Mingyi Swa died in 1482. The new king Minkhaung II faced

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528-462: A substantial independent polity prior to Pagan's expansion. Possibly in this period, the delta sedimentation—which now extends the coastline by three miles (4.8 kilometres) in a century—remained insufficient, and the sea still reached too far inland, to support a population even as large as the modest population of the late precolonial era. The earliest evidence of Burmese script is dated to 1035, and possibly as early as 984, both of which are earlier than

572-550: Is marked with under-diaeresis. Mon verbs do not inflect for person. Tense is shown through particles. Some verbs have a morphological causative, which is most frequently a /pə-/ prefix (Pan Hla 1989:29): Mon nouns do not inflect for number. That is, they do not have separate forms for singular and plural: sɔt pakaw apple mo̤a one me̤a CL {sɔt pakaw} mo̤a me̤a apple one CL 'one apple' sɔt pakaw apple ba two me̤a CL {sɔt pakaw} ba me̤a apple two CL 'two apples' Adjectives follow

616-615: The Irrawaddy delta in May 1755, the French defended port of Thanlyin in July 1756, and finally the capital Pegu in May 1757. The fall of Restored Hanthawaddy was the beginning of the end of Mon people's centuries-old dominance of Lower Burma. Konbaung armies' reprisals forced thousands of Mons to flee to Siam . By the early 19th century, assimilation, inter-marriage, and mass migration of Burman families from

660-441: The Irrawaddy delta . The kingdom's first capital was at Martaban but the capital was moved to Pegu in 1369. For its first 100 years, the kingdom was merely a loose collection of three Mon-speaking regions. The high kings at the capital had little substantive authority over the vassals. Indeed, Martaban was in open rebellion from 1363 to 1389. A more centralised rule came with the reign of King Razadarit , who not only firmly unified

704-546: The Sittaung River in the north to Myeik (Mergui) and Kawthaung in the south, remains a traditional stronghold of the Mon language. However, in this region, Burmese is favored in urban areas, such as Mawlamyine , the capital of Mon State. In recent years, usage of Mon has declined in Myanmar, especially among the younger generation. While Thailand is home to a sizable Mon population due to historical waves of migration, only

748-632: The Toungoo–Hanthawaddy War (1534–1541) . Despite military assistance from the Confederation and the Mrauk U Kingdom , the small kingdom fell to the Toungoo (Taungoo) forces in 1542. For much of the first half of the second millennium, Prome was a vassal state of Upper Burma -based kingdoms– Pagan , Pinya and Ava . During the Ava period (14th–15th centuries), Prome was the southernmost region abutting

792-586: The 19th century, in addition to concomitant economic and political instability in Upper Burma (e.g., increased tax burdens to the Burmese crown, British rice production incentives, etc.) also accelerated the migration of Burmese speakers from Upper Burma into Lower Burma. The Mon language has influenced subtle grammatical differences between the varieties of Burmese spoken in Lower and Upper Burma. In Lower Burmese varieties,

836-576: The 266-year-old Toungoo dynasty. A new dynasty called Konbaung led by King Alaungpaya rose in Upper Burma to challenge the southern forces, and went on to conquer all of Upper Burma by January 1754. After Hanthawaddy's second invasion of Upper Burma failed in May 1754, the kingdom's leadership in self-defeating measures killed off the Toungoo royal family, and persecuted ethnic Burmans in the south, both of which only strengthened Alaungpaya's hand. In 1755, Alaungpaya invaded Lower Burma. Konbaung forces captured

880-487: The Ava throne. Sawlon was unsatisfied with the level of support he received from Prome, and held a grudge. In 1532, the Confederation forces came down and attacked Prome. Bayin Htwe was taken prisoner back to Upper Burma. The captive king escaped after Sawlon was assassinated by his own ministers. But Bayin Htwe's son Narapati shut the gates against his father. Bayin Htwe died soon after in the adjoining forests. Narapati remained

924-501: The Avan army could not take Prome, and retreated. Ava could not send another force again as the much more serious Yamethin rebellion (and rebellions by the Shan States of Mohnyin and Kale ) consumed its resources for the next two decades. Prome became an independent kingdom with territories up to Tharrawaddy and Myede. Thado Minsaw largely stayed out of the fighting in Upper Burma. He forged

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968-486: The Burmese dialects of Mon, but they are mutually intelligible. The Thai varieties of Mon are considered "severely endangered." Unlike the surrounding Burmese and Thai languages, Mon is not a tonal language . As in many Mon–Khmer languages, Mon uses a vowel-phonation or vowel- register system in which the quality of voice in pronouncing the vowel is phonemic. There are two registers in Mon: One study involving speakers of

1012-699: The Confederation and Mrauk U sent in help to break the siege. But Toungoo forces under the command of Gen. Bayinnaung defeated both armies. Mrauk U also sent in a naval flotilla that landed in Bassein (Pathein). Upon hearing of the Mrauk U army's defeat, the flotilla turned back. After a five months' siege, starvation set in. The besieged deserted the city in great numbers. On 19 May 1542 (5th waxing of Nayon 904 ME ), Minkhaung surrendered. Minkhaung and his queen Thiri Hponhtut were taken to Toungoo (Taungoo). King Tabinshwehti of Toungoo appointed Thado Dhamma Yaza I , restoring

1056-491: The Confederation in Ava. The Confederation troops broke the siege, and refused to follow up on the retreating Toungoo armies. Narapati formed an alliance with Mrauk U Kingdom of Arakan by sending his sister and his queen (Takayutpi's sister) to King Min Bin of Mrauk U. (Takayutpi had died soon after the battle.) Narapati too died soon after and was succeeded by Minkhaung . In late 1541, Toungoo again laid siege to Prome. Prome's allies

1100-459: The Indian Ocean, filling the king's treasury with gold and silver, silk and spices, and all the other stuff of early modern trade. The kingdom also became a famous centre of Theravada Buddhism . It established strong ties with Ceylon , and encouraged reforms that later spread throughout the country. The powerful kingdom's end came abruptly. Due to the inexperience of King Takayutpi , the kingdom

1144-553: The Mon language declined among the Bamar and the Burmese language began to replace Mon and Pyu as a lingua franca . Mon inscriptions from Dvaravati 's ruins also litter Thailand . However it is not clear if the inhabitants were Mon, a mix of Mon and Malay or Khmer. Later inscriptions and kingdoms like Lavo were subservient to the Khmer Empire . After the fall of Pagan, Mon again became

1188-490: The city of Prome (Pyay), the minor kingdom was one of the several statelets that broke away from the dominant Ava Kingdom in the late 15th century. Throughout the 1520s, Prome was an ally of the Confederation of Shan States , and together they raided Avan territory. After Ava fell to the Confederation armies in 1527, Prome itself became a tributary of the Confederation in 1532. In the late 1530s, Prome became ensnarled in

1232-581: The city of Thaton and Pegu (Bago) are believed to have been established in the 9th century. The states were important trading ports between Indian Ocean and mainland Southeast Asia. Still, according to traditional reconstruction, the early Mon city-states were conquered by the Pagan Kingdom from the north in 1057, and that Thaton's literary and religious traditions helped to mould early Pagan civilisation. Between 1050 and about 1085, Mon craftsmen and artisans helped to build some two thousand monuments at Pagan,

1276-602: The earliest evidence of the Burma Mon script (1093). Research from the 2000s argues that the Pyu script was the source of the Burmese script. Though the size and importance of these states are still debated, all scholars accept that during the 11th century, Pagan established its authority in Lower Burma and this conquest facilitated growing cultural exchange, if not with local Mon, then with India and with Theravada stronghold Sri Lanka. From

1320-702: The elementary level. This system has been recognized as a model for mother-tongue education in the Burmese national education system, because it enables children taught in the Mon language to integrate into the mainstream Burmese education system at higher education levels. In 2013, it was announced that the Mawlamyine -based Thanlwin Times would begin to carry news in the Mon language, becoming Myanmar's first Mon language publication since 1962. Southern Myanmar (comprising Mon State , Kayin State , and Tanintharyi Region ), from

1364-666: The lingua franca of the Hanthawaddy Kingdom (1287–1539) in present-day Lower Myanmar , which remained a predominantly Mon-speaking region until the 1800s, by which point, the Burmese language had expanded its reach from its traditional heartland in Upper Burma into Lower Burma . The region's language shift from Mon to Burmese has been ascribed to a combination of population displacement, intermarriage, and voluntary changes in self-identification among increasingly Mon–Burmese bilingual populations in throughout Lower Burma. The shift

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1408-525: The majority of Mon speakers live in Southern Myanmar, especially Mon State , followed by Tanintharyi Region and Kayin State . Mon is an important language in Burmese history. Until the 12th century, it was the lingua franca of the Irrawaddy valley —not only in the Mon kingdoms of the lower Irrawaddy but also of the upriver Pagan Kingdom of the Bamar people . Mon, especially written Mon, continued to be

1452-451: The mid-18th century, the golden age of Hanthawaddy was fondly remembered by the Mon. In 1740, they rose up against a weak Toungoo Dynasty on its last legs, and succeeded in restoring the fallen Hanthawaddy Kingdom. Supported by the French , the upstart kingdom quickly carved out a space for itself in Lower Burma, and continued its push northward. On 23 March 1752, its forces captured Ava, and ended

1496-618: The north had reduced the Mon population to a small minority. Mon language Mon was classified as a "vulnerable" language in UNESCO 's 2010 Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger . The Mon language has faced assimilative pressures in both Myanmar and Thailand, where many individuals of Mon descent are now monolingual in Burmese or Thai respectively. In 2007, Mon speakers were estimated to number between 1800,000 and 2 million. In Myanmar,

1540-452: The noun (Pan Hla p. 24): prɛ̤a woman ce beautiful prɛ̤a ce woman beautiful 'beautiful woman' Demonstratives follow the noun: ŋoa day nɔʔ Prome Kingdom The Prome Kingdom ( Burmese : ဒုတိယ သရေခေတ္တရာ နေပြည်တော် , lit. "Second Sri Ksetra Kingdom") also known as Pyay Kingdom was a kingdom that existed for six decades between 1482 and 1542 in present-day central Burma (Myanmar). Based out of

1584-508: The remains of which today rival the splendors of Angkor Wat . The Mon script is considered to be the source of the Burmese script , the earliest evidence of which was dated to 1058, a year after the Thaton conquest, by the colonial era scholarship. However, research from the 2000s—still a minority view—argues that Mon influence on the interior after Anawrahta's conquest is a greatly exaggerated post-Pagan legend, and that Lower Burma in fact lacked

1628-483: The rival Hanthawaddy Kingdom . The region was a frequent battlefield during the Forty Years' War (1385–1424) between Ava and Hanthawaddy. Avan kings considered the region the most strategic, and appointed only the most senior princes as viceroys of Prome (Pyay). For example, Crown Prince Minye Kyawswa , King Thihathu of Ava and King Narapati of Ava were once governor of Prome. The Forty Years' War, which ended in

1672-463: The three Mon-speaking regions together but also successfully fended off the northern Burmese -speaking Kingdom of Ava in the Forty Years' War (1385–1424). The war ended in a stalemate but it was a victory for Hanthawaddy as Ava finally gave up its dream of restoring the Pagan Empire. In the years following the war, Pegu occasionally aided Ava's southern vassal states of Prome and Toungoo in their rebellions but carefully avoided getting plunged into

1716-556: The verb ပေး ("to give") is colloquially used as a permissive causative marker, like in other Southeast Asian languages, but unlike in other Tibeto-Burman languages. This usage is hardly employed in Upper Burmese varieties, and is considered a sub-standard construct. In 1972, the New Mon State Party (NMSP) established a Mon national school system, which uses Mon as a medium of instruction , in rebel-controlled areas. The system

1760-485: Was Thado Minsaw's grandnephew, escaped. Prome and Confederation forces looted the city. The Prome armies brought back the famed poet monk Shin Maha Rattathara . Prome remained in a league with the Confederation, which continued its attacks on Ava. Thado Minsaw died in 1526, and was succeeded by his son Bayin Htwe . On 25 March 1527, the Confederation forces captured Ava, and placed Sawlon's eldest son Thohanbwa on

1804-466: Was captured by a smaller kingdom to the north, Kingdom of Toungoo in 1539 led by King Tabinshwehti and his deputy Gen. Bayinnaung . Toungoo captured the Irrawaddy delta and Pegu in 1538–1539, and Martaban in 1541. The kingdom was briefly revived in 1550 after Tabinshwehti was assassinated. But Bayinnaung quickly defeated the rebellion in 1552. Though Toungoo kings would rule all of Lower Burma well into

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1848-754: Was certainly accelerated by the fall of the Mon-speaking Restored Hanthawaddy Kingdom in 1757. Following the fall of Pegu (now Bago), many Mon-speaking refugees fled and resettled in what is now modern-day Thailand. By 1830, an estimated 90% of the population in the Lower Burma self-identified as Burmese-speaking Bamars; huge swaths of former Mon-speaking areas, from the Irrawaddy Delta upriver, spanning Bassein (now Pathein) and Rangoon (now Yangon) to Tharrawaddy, Toungoo, Prome (now Pyay) and Henzada (now Hinthada), were now Burmese-speaking. Great Britain's gradual annexation of Burma throughout

1892-408: Was expanded throughout Mon State following a ceasefire with the central government in 1995. Mon State now operates a multi-track education system, with schools either using Mon as the primary medium of instruction (called Mon national schools) offering modules on the Mon language in addition to the government curriculum (called "mixed schools"). In 2015, Mon language courses were launched state-wide at

1936-400: Was ruled by the Khmer Empire and a significant portion of the inhabitants fled west to present-day Lower Burma and eventually founded new polities. Another Mon-speaking state Haripuñjaya also existed in northern Thailand down to the late 13th century. According to colonial period scholarship, the Mon established small polities (or large city-states) in Lower Burma in the 9th century. Both

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