Pyay ( Burmese : ပြည်မြို့ ; MLCTS : prany mrui. , pronounced [pjì mjo̰] ; Mon : ပြန် Mon pronunciation: [prɔn] , Burmese pronunciation: [pjàɰ̃] ; also known as Prome and Pyè ) is the principal town of Pyay Township in the Bago Region in Myanmar . Pyay is located on the bank of the Irrawaddy River , 260 km (160 mi) north-west of Yangon . It is an important trade center for the Ayeyarwady Delta, Central and Upper Myanmar and the Rakhine (Arakan) State. The British Irrawaddy Flotilla Company established the current town in the late 19th century on the Irrawaddy as a transshipment point for cargo between Upper and Lower Burma . Pyay is also the terminus of Yangon-Pyay Railway which is the first railway line in Burma (Myanmar) opened on 1 May 1877. The English novelist Jane Austen 's brother Rear Admiral Charles Austen died here in 1852. Shin Raṭṭhasāra , a Buddhist monk and prominent classical poet during the Kingdom of Ava also died here in 1529 and a mausoleum was constructed to honor him.
29-611: The district of Pyay encompasses the valley of the Irrawaddy, located between Thayet , Hinthada and Tharrawaddy districts. Along the western side of Pyay District are the Arakan Mountains and along the eastern side are the Pegu Range . Pyay District's main towns are Pyay, Shwetaung , and Paungde . The name "Pyay" means "Country" in Burmese , and refers to the ruins of the main city of
58-463: A few miles south of the town of Thayetmyo. The limestone mining started sometime in the 1960s to supply a cement factory in Thayetmyo. The limestone quarries were rehabilitated in the early 1980s with German help (GTZ) when the aerial ropeway was replaced by trucks as the principal means of limestone transport from the quarry to the factory. Rehabilitation was required because for many years, only limestone
87-408: A process called "throwing", which is drawn under tension through several guides and wound onto reels. This process of throwing produces various yarns depending on the amount and direction of the twisting. The threads may be plied to form yarn (short staple lengths are spun; see silk noil ). After drying, the raw silk is packed according to quality. The most popular substitute for traditional silk
116-444: A result. The cocoons of Tussar silkworms, which are found in open woodlands, are used to produce wild silk , also known as Tussar silk. Compared to conventional silk, their cocoons are typically picked after the moths have emerged, making it a more ethical option. Because wild silkworms consume a variety of plants, their fabric is less uniform but more robust. The fabric is made with fewer chemicals as well. The pupae are still inside
145-543: A subdivision of Prome district; but in 1870 it was created as a separate jurisdiction and placed under a deputy-commissioner. Prior to 1896 Thayet District was in the Irrawaddy Division of Lower Burma , but it was transferred to Upper Burma for administrative purposes that year. The principal wild animals have historically been elephants, rhinoceros, tigers, leopards, black bears and wild hogs. Silver pheasants and partridges are found in large numbers, especially in
174-400: Is rice , but some cotton and tobacco are grown, while the custard apples are famous. Sericulture is extensively carried on by a special class. The forests yield teak and cutch , cotton and silk-weaving are important industries; there are also manufactures of ornamental boxes, coarse brown sugar and cutch. For a town of its size, Pyay is well-renowned for a number of local delicacies. It
203-449: Is a continuous filament comprising fibroin protein , secreted from two salivary glands in the head of each worm, and a gum called sericin , which cements the filaments. The sericin is removed by placing the cocoons in hot water, which frees the silk filaments and readies them for reeling. This is known as the degumming process. The immersion in hot water also kills the silkmoth pupa. Single filaments are combined to form thread , in
232-506: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Sericulture Sericulture , or silk farming , is the cultivation of silkworms to produce silk . Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, the caterpillar of the domestic silkmoth is the most widely used and intensively studied silkworm. This species of silkmoth is no longer found in the wild as they have been modified through selective breeding, rendering most flightless and without defense against predators. Silk
261-615: Is believed to have first been produced in China as early as the Neolithic period. Sericulture has become an important cottage industry in countries such as Brazil , China, France , India , Italy , Japan , Korea , Russia , and Thailand . Today, China and India are the two main producers, with more than 60% of the world's annual production. According to Confucian text, the discovery of silk production dates to about 2700 BCE, although archaeological records point to silk cultivation as early as
290-515: Is not known when precisely the Pyu abandoned Sri Ksetra and moved northward. It is speculated that their decline was due to the growth of the Irrawaddy river delta, cutting it off from coastal trade, and also from Mon and later Tai Shan incursions. Burmese chronicles state that when Anawrahta invaded the southern parts of modern-day Myanmar in 1057, he ordered the ruins of Sri Ksetra to be destroyed to prevent rebels from sheltering there. The Burmese came to call
319-574: Is peace silk, also known as ahimsa silk . The primary factor that makes this form of silk more ethical is that moths are permitted to emerge from their cocoons and fly away prior to boiling. It denotes that no pupa is ever cooked alive during manufacture. However, domesticated silkworms used to make silk have undergone thousands of years of selective breeding and are not "manufactured" to emerge from their cocoons. They are unable to defend themselves against predators since they cannot fly or see clearly. They typically die soon after emerging from their cocoons as
SECTION 10
#1732890497154348-521: Is reputed for the Pyay palata (ပြည်ပလာတာ), consisting of paratha , Burmese chicken and potato curry , and raw onions. It is also known for a number of Burmese salads , including the Pyay rice salad (ပြည်ထမင်းသုပ်) and Pyay assorted salad (ပြည်အသုပ်စုံ). Pyay also produces a local pickled delicacy called taw laphet ( တောလက်ဖက် ; lit. ' rural laphet ' ) or Nibbinda laphet ( နိဗ္ဗိန္ဒလက်ဖက် ). Originating from Burmese nunneries in
377-506: Is situated near the new town. Pyay Education Degree College is located on Pyay-Magway Road near Titut Village. Thayet District Thayet District ( Burmese : သရက်ခရိုင် ; also Thayetmyo District ) is a district of the Magway Region in central Burma (Myanmar) . The administrative centre is the town of Thayet . Upon the annexation of Pegu by the British in 1852–53, Thayet was
406-506: The Pyu city-states , Sri Ksetra ( Burmese : သရေခေတ္တရာ , Sanskrit Śrīkṣetra "blessed place, country"), which is located 8 km (5.0 mi) to the south-east of modern Pyay and is in the village of Hmawza. The north and north-east of the district is forest-covered, and contains numerous valleys and ravines, which unite in one large stream called the Nawin. The most important of the plains lie in
435-559: The Second Crusade , Roger II of Sicily (1095–1154) attacked Corinth and Thebes , two important centres of Byzantine silk production, capturing the weavers and their equipment and establishing his own silkworks in Palermo and Calabria , eventually spreading the industry to Western Europe. The silkworms are fed with mulberry leaves, and after the fourth moult , they climb a twig placed near them and spin their silken cocoons . The silk
464-524: The Yangshao period (5000–3000 BCE). In 1977, a piece of ceramic created 5400–5500 years ago and designed to look like a silkworm was discovered in Nancun, Hebei , providing the earliest known evidence of sericulture. Also, by careful analysis of archaeological silk fibre found on Indus Civilization sites dating back to 2450–2000 BCE, it is believed that silk was being used over a wide region of South Asia. By about
493-564: The capital the soil is of Tertiary formation, and in the plains it is an alluvial deposit. Much debate surrounds the construction of Sri Ksetra. Htin Aung suggests that Pyu might have been founded in 78 CE, based on the Sanskrit / Pyu Era. D. G. E. Hall and Gordon Luce , however, claim that civilisation of the Irrawaddy Valley could not have been possible before the 4th century, thus, attributing
522-615: The first half of the 1st century CE, it had reached ancient Khotan , by a series of interactions along the Silk Road. By 140 CE, the practice had been established in India. In the 6th century CE, the smuggling of silkworm eggs into the Byzantine Empire led to its establishment in the Mediterranean, remaining a monopoly in the Byzantine Empire for centuries ( Byzantine silk ). In 1147, during
551-582: The founding of Sri Ksetra to 638, from which the current Burmese Kawza Era begins. Sri Ksetra was the capital of the Pyu dynasty of Vikrama. The city was circular with walls enclosing about 46 km (18 sq mi), making it the largest walled city in Southeast Asia during its peak. The city contained both housing and farms, as is evident from the remains of waterways and tanks which have been discovered. The Chinese pilgrims Xuanzang and Yijing mentioned Sri Ksetra in their mid-7th-century accounts. It
580-451: The hills surrounding Pyay, the laphet is fermented from the leaves of the naywe (နရွဲ) tree, or kyettet (ကြက်တက်), the Combretum pilosum plant. The pulp is then tightly wrapped into dried banbwe (ဘန့်ပွေး) leaves and left soaking in regularly changed water for up to 2 years, before it is consumed. Taw laphet is otherwise consumed in an identical fashion to traditional laphet. To
609-473: The king Sandar Thuriya ruled. Pyay City has three universities and one degree college. The universities are Pyay University (PU), Pyay Technological University (PTU), and Computer University, Pyay . Pyay University is situated near to the town centre of Pyay. PTU, which is one of the highest-ranked universities in Myanmar, is situated between Hnawgone and Latkhoukpin village, a few miles away from Pyay. CU, Pyay
SECTION 20
#1732890497154638-723: The mountains to the east and west are covered with forests. The chief river is the Ayeyarwady River , which traverses Thayet from north to south. The drainage finds its way to the Ayeyarwady River by three main streams, the Pwon, Ma-htun and Ma-de on the west, and by two, the Kye-ni and Hput on the east. Thayet has several salt and hot springs; petroleum has been found (three oil-wells were sunk in 1883 at Pedaukpin , but they were found unprofitable and abandoned), and extensive lime quarries exist
667-516: The mountains. The district has an area of 4750 square kilometers; the total rainfall in a sample year was about 40 inches. On the west is the Arakan Yoma range, and on the east the Pegu Yomas ; and the face of the country, where it does not rise into mountains, is everywhere broken by low ranges of hills, many of which are barren and lack vegetation. The greater part of the district is wooded, and
696-666: The old Pyu center Pyi. The extensive ruins have been the subject of intensive archaeological investigation. Called Prome by the British (after the name that appears in the Portuguese texts of the 17th century), the city became part of British territory after the Second Anglo-Burmese War in 1853. The town was taken by the British in 1825 during the Battle of Prome and again in 1852, on both occasions with hardly any opposition. In 1862, it
725-572: The south and south-east, the town is closed in by low pagoda-topped hills, on one of which stands the conspicuous gilded Shwesandaw Pagoda . The Shwesandaw Pagoda is a notable Buddhist pagoda in the center of Pyay. To the west of Pyay, crossing Irrawaddy river through Nawaday bridge, stands the Shwebontha Muni Pagoda. The Buddha statue is one of three replica of the Maha Myat Muni Buddha statue, believed to date back 554 B.C. when
754-516: The south and south-west portions of Pyay, and extend along the whole length of the railway that runs between. There are, in addition large tracts of land covered by jungle, which are available for cultivation. The principal river is the Irrawaddy River , which intersects the district from north to south; next in importance are the Thani and its tributaries and the Nawin system of rivers. In the hills near
783-468: The year, especially in the months before the monsoon from March to May when average maximum temperatures exceed 36 °C or 96.8 °F. The winter months from December to February are somewhat milder than the rest of the year. There is a winter dry season from December to April and a summer wet season from May to November, although rainfall during this wet season is much less extreme than in coastal cities like Yangon or especially Sittwe . The main crop
812-558: Was almost entirely destroyed by fire, and was afterwards relaid out in straight and broad streets. It was erected into a municipality in 1874, and since then great improvements have been made, including waterworks. During World War II the city was the site of the Battle of Prome . The city was later retaken by the British Army in May 1945. Pyay has a tropical savanna climate ( Köppen climate classification Aw ). Temperatures are hot throughout
841-519: Was mined and no overburden removed. The chief products are rice, cotton, oil-seeds and tobacco; cutch is also very abundant, as is the manufacture of dye-stuff. In addition to limestone, coal has been found in the district, and a few shallow oil wells are in use. There are 403 square kilometers of reserved forest. The district contains the following six townships : 19°19′N 95°11′E / 19.317°N 95.183°E / 19.317; 95.183 This Magway Region location article
#153846