Tagaung | |
|---|---|
Town | |
  Tagaung Location in Myanmar | |
| Coordinates:23°30′N96°2′E / 23.500°N 96.033°E /23.500; 96.033 | |
| Country |  Myanmar |
| Region |  Mandalay |
| District | Thabeikkyin District |
| Township | Thabeikkyin Township |
| Population (2005) | |
| • Ethnicities | Bamar |
| • Religions | Buddhism |
| Time zone | UTC+6.30 (MMT) |
Tagaung is a town inThabeikkyin Township, Mandalay Region, Myanmar. It is situated on the east bank of theAyeyarwady River, 127 miles north ofMandalay.[1]
Colloquially, Tagaung is thought to be the origin of the Burmese people, remembered by the adageMyanmar asa Tagaung ga (Myanmar starts from Tagaung).[2] It holds an important place inBurmese mythology through the founding myth of Burmese prehistory, written in theTagaung Yazawin, as well as the capital of the historicalTagaung Kingdom during the first millennium CE[3][4]
Today Tagaung is a major market for salt produced at Halin, which is used to preserve fish.[5]
The town was captured by thePeople's Defense Force on 12 August 2024.[6]
"Tagaung" derives from theShan language termTakawng (Shan:တႃႈၵွင်;/taa3kɔŋ1/), which means "drum ferry."[7] In 225 AD, theShu general Chu Ko-liang is said to have used bronze drums to frighten 'savages' by placing them in torrents to produce the sound of military watchdrums at regular intervals.[3]
The 19th-century chronicleHmannan Yazawin introduces Tagaung as the very firstcapital of Burma, along with the adageMyanmar asa Tagaung ga (Myanmar starts from Tagaung), and it was the ancient capital of thePyu, who were the forerunners of theBurmese people.[3] Its history is steeped in myth and legend. The city is said to have been founded in 850 BC by KingAbhiraja of theSakya clan fromKapilavastu inIndia, before the time of theBuddha.[4]
It has a very important place inBurmese culture also for theTagaung Yazawin (Tagaung Chronicle) legends ofMaung Pauk Kyaing thedragon slayer, the powerful blacksmith and his sister who became the household guardian spirits known as the MahagiriNats, and the blind twin princes who were sent adrift on a raft down the Ayeyarwady.[3][4][8][5]
Although theBritishhistorians G E Harvey and D G E Hall had dismissed the Abhiraja origin of the Burmese people, the antiquity of Tagaung itself is not in dispute.[4][9]Ptolemy, theGreekgeographer, writing in 140 AD, mentions Tugma Metropolis believed to be Tagaung at a spot in Upper Burma.[4][10]
According to Chinese annals,Nanchao invaded and plundered the capital of a Pyu kingdom in 832 AD carrying off 3,000 captives. The chronicles of theTang dynasty (AD 606–910) describe the land of the Pyu consisting of 18 states and 9 walled towns. In Upper Burma at least seven walled settlements over 200 hectares have been excavated so far.[5]
Tagaung has been termedAnya Pagan (Upper Bagan) with its artefacts dating back to theNeolithic Age.[11] It was one of the 43 outposts established by KingAnawrahta (1044–1077) ofBagan along the eastern foothills of theShan plateau in defense of his realm, before he embarked onmilitary expeditions west toBengal and east toNanchao.[4] The fortification to the east may reflect the city's location by the Ayeyarwady likeBagan but unlike Bagan its proximity to thefrontier withYunnan along theShweli andTaping rivers. Tagaung was also within easy reach of mineral resources such assilver fromNamtu,rubies fromMogok,jade,copper andiron by theMeza andUru rivers.[12]
Marco Polo (1254–1324) was believed to have reached as far as Tagaung in his travels on one of his fact-finding missions sent byKublai Khan.[13]
A network of three overland routes from Yunnan westward toBengal existed for shippingbullion between 1200 and 1500 AD. One of them followed the Shweli River, crossing theIrrawaddy at Tagaung, followed theChindwin River north and crossed via theImphal pass toManipur. In the 1950s tens of thousands ofcowries in Yunnan were found in tombs from the ancient past between theWarring States period (475 BCE–221 BCE) and theWestern Han dynasty (206 BCE–9 CE). These cowries came from thePacific andIndian oceans, especially from theMaldives, most likely along the same route.[14]
Old Tagaung may have conformed to the tradition of first millennium Pyu cities which were divided into 9 quadrants. There are 3 walls: Wall 1 (19 hectares) around a low hillock on the north, Wall 2 (62 hectares) known as Anya Bagan, and Wall 3 (204 hectares) encompassing the other two. The western wall is missing in all three of them, and believed to have been washed away by the river as it changed its course over time.Archaeological excavations carried out at Tagaung had yieldedBronze Agedrums, and alsovotive tablets connected to Anawrahta. More recent finds includedurns, decorated roof-tilefinials and finger-marked 'Pyu'bricks dated before 800 AD.[3][5][12]
Pheasants,partridge,toucans,pelicans andSarus cranes inhabit aroundin-gyi seasonal lake and the tall swamp grass areas along with numerous fishin the lakes and streams.Tigers,elephants,banteng (Saing) andgaur were once common along the Shweli, with various kinds ofdeer around Tagaung.[12]
Timber, elephants and minerals were transported down from Mogok and the Shweli valley to Tagaung and other nearby river ports at Hsin Hnyat and Kyan Hnyat just south of Tagaung. Panning forgold ia done at Tonnge just north of Tagaung. Seasonal lakes and swamps make it possible to grow winterrice calledmayin in addition to other crops producingedible oils andcoriander.[12]
Today Tagaung is a major market for salt produced at Halin, which is used to preserve fish.[5][11]
China and Burma signed ajoint venture agreement in July 2007 for an $800 millionnickelmining project at Tagaung taung (Tagaung Hill), with a 75% stake held by the Chinese. Construction has begun and operations consisting of mining andsmelting facilities, designed to produce 85,000 tons offerronickel and 22,000 tons of nickel per annum, are scheduled to start in 2011.[15]
The Ayeyarwady remains the principal means to reach Tagaung. It is linked to Mandalay and toKachin State in the north also by theMandalay-Tagaung-Shwegu-Bhamo-Myitkyina Union Highway.[16]
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)23°30′00″N96°02′00″E / 23.50000°N 96.03333°E /23.50000; 96.03333
