Pathein
Encyclopedia
Pathein also called Bassein, is a port city with a 2004 population estimated at 215,600, and the capital of the Ayeyarwady Region, Burma. It lies on the Pathein River (Bassein), which is a western branch of the Irrawaddy River.
It is located within the Pathein Township
of Pathein District
and is also the seat of all. Although once part of the Mon kingdom, Pathein has few ethnic Mon residents today. The majority are of Bamar
, Burmese Indians
, Kayin
ethnicity. There are, however, notable minorities of Karen
and Rakhine
.
", Pathi , due to the large population of Arab
and India
n trader
s. This is further supported by the fact that the Mon name for Pathein is ([pha sɛm]).Dictionary of Modern Spoken Mon by H.L. Shorto (1962, Oxford University Press).The name was corrupted to Bassein during the British colonial period
.
in 1826, after the First Anglo-Burmese War.
The 1983 census recorded a population of 144,092.
delta, on the Pathein (Ngawan) River 118 miles (189.9 km) west of Yangon
, Pathein is accessible to large vessels and despite its distance from the ocean
, it is the most important delta port outside of Yangon. The city is also a terminus of a branch of the main railroad line which connects it to Hinthada, Letpadan and Yangon. In the 1990s, the road network along the Irrawaddy to Monya was improved.
The coastline along the Bay of Bengal
is surrounded by the Arakan Mountains. In the area is Inye Lake, 1.5 miles (2.5 km) long and 1 mile (1.6 km) wide, which is known for its fishing. There is also an offshore reef, Diamond Island
which is popular with bathers. Diamond Island is also noted as a turtle
breeding ground.
The city is a rice
-milling and export centre. Aside from several rice mills, the town has numerous sawmills and umbrella
workshops. The colourful handmade parasols made in Pathein are widely known throughout Burma. They are known locally as "Pathein Hti". Pathein is also known for its pottery and colourful hand-made baskets and buckets.
The surrounding area of Pathein are employed in agriculture and cultivate sesame
s, groundnut
s, jute
, maize
, pulse
s, tobacco
, chili
es etc.
(Am) according to the Köppen climate classification
system. Pathein experiences a sustained period of extraordinary rainfall from June through August. The dry season which runs from December through April, generally sees noticeably cooler temperatures than the remainder of the year.
temples. The main sight of Pathein is Shwemokhtaw Paya, a Buddhist temple originally founded (according to local legend) by King Asoka of India in 305 BC. Bagan
's King Alaungsithu
raised the height of the stupa
to 11 meters in 1115 AD, and the Mon King Samodogossa raised it to 131 feet (39.9 m) in 1263 AD. The stupa is now 153 feet (46.6 m) tall, with the topmost layer made of 13.9 pounds (6.3 kg) of solid gold, the middle tier of pure silver, and the third tier of bronze, with some 829 diamonds, 843 rubies, and 1588 semi-precious stones.
It is located within the Pathein Township
Pathein Township
Pathein Township is a township of Pathein District in the Ayeyawady Division of Burma . The administrative seat is the town of Pathein.-Communities:...
of Pathein District
Pathein District
Pathein District is a district of Ayeyawady Division, Myanmar. It is located around the city of Pathein and includes the urban area of it. The area of the Pathein District is 10900 km²...
and is also the seat of all. Although once part of the Mon kingdom, Pathein has few ethnic Mon residents today. The majority are of Bamar
Bamar
The Bamar are the dominant ethnic group of Burma , constituting approximately two-thirds of the population. The Bamar live primarily in the Irrawaddy basin, and speak the Burmese language, which is also the official language of Burma. Bamar customs and identity are closely intertwined with general...
, Burmese Indians
Burmese Indians
Burmese Indians are a group of people of Indian subcontinental ethnicity who live in Myanmar . While Indians have lived in Burma for many centuries, most of the ancestors of the current Burmese Indian community emigrated to Burma from the start of British rule in the mid 19th century to the...
, Kayin
Kayin
Kayin can refer to:* Kayin State, an administrative division of Myanmar * Kayin or Karen people, a minority ethnic group in Myanmar* alternative spelling for Cain* Kayin Amoh, a character in the Battle Arena Toshinden fighting game series...
ethnicity. There are, however, notable minorities of Karen
Karen people
The Karen or Kayin people , are a Sino-Tibetan language speaking ethnic group which resides primarily in southern and southeastern Burma . The Karen make up approximately 7 percent of the total Burmese population of approximately 50 million people...
and Rakhine
Rakhine people
The Rakhine , is a nationality in Myanmar forming the majority along the coastal region of present day Rakhine State or Arakan State. They possibly constitute 5.53% or more of Myanmar's total population but no accurate census figures exist. Rakhine people also live in the southeastern parts of...
.
Etymology
The city's name is believed to derive from the Burmese word for "ParsiParsi
Parsi or Parsee refers to a member of the larger of the two Zoroastrian communities in South Asia, the other being the Irani community....
", Pathi , due to the large population of Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n trader
Merchant
A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
s. This is further supported by the fact that the Mon name for Pathein is ([pha sɛm]).Dictionary of Modern Spoken Mon by H.L. Shorto (1962, Oxford University Press).The name was corrupted to Bassein during the British colonial period
British rule in Burma
British rule in Burma lasted from 1824 to 1948, from the Anglo-Burmese Wars through the creation of Burma as a province of British India to the establishment of an independently administered colony, and finally independence...
.
History
Pathein was part of the Mon kingdom. The British built a fort and established a garrisonGarrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
in 1826, after the First Anglo-Burmese War.
The 1983 census recorded a population of 144,092.
Geography and economy
Lying at the western edge of the Ayeyarwady RiverAyeyarwady River
The Irrawaddy River or Ayeyarwady River is a river that flows from north to south through Burma . It is the country's largest river and most important commercial waterway. Originating from the confluence of the N'mai and Mali rivers, it flows relatively straight North-South before emptying through...
delta, on the Pathein (Ngawan) River 118 miles (189.9 km) west of Yangon
Yangon
Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...
, Pathein is accessible to large vessels and despite its distance from the ocean
Ocean
An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...
, it is the most important delta port outside of Yangon. The city is also a terminus of a branch of the main railroad line which connects it to Hinthada, Letpadan and Yangon. In the 1990s, the road network along the Irrawaddy to Monya was improved.
The coastline along the Bay of Bengal
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal , the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered mostly by the Eastern Coast of India, southern coast of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to the west and Burma and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the...
is surrounded by the Arakan Mountains. In the area is Inye Lake, 1.5 miles (2.5 km) long and 1 mile (1.6 km) wide, which is known for its fishing. There is also an offshore reef, Diamond Island
Diamond Island
Diamond Island is a small islet between Grenada and Carriacou ....
which is popular with bathers. Diamond Island is also noted as a turtle
Turtle
Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines , characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield...
breeding ground.
The city is a rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
-milling and export centre. Aside from several rice mills, the town has numerous sawmills and umbrella
Umbrella
An umbrella or parasol is a canopy designed to protect against rain or sunlight. The term parasol usually refers to an item designed to protect from the sun; umbrella refers to a device more suited to protect from rain...
workshops. The colourful handmade parasols made in Pathein are widely known throughout Burma. They are known locally as "Pathein Hti". Pathein is also known for its pottery and colourful hand-made baskets and buckets.
The surrounding area of Pathein are employed in agriculture and cultivate sesame
Sesame
Sesame is a flowering plant in the genus Sesamum. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cultivated for its edible seeds, which grow in pods....
s, groundnut
Peanut
The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...
s, jute
Jute
Jute is a long, soft, shiny vegetable fibre that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from plants in the genus Corchorus, which has been classified in the family Tiliaceae, or more recently in Malvaceae....
, maize
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
, pulse
Pulse
In medicine, one's pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the heartbeat by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed against a bone, such as at the neck , at the wrist , behind the knee , on the inside of the elbow , and near the...
s, tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
, chili
Chili pepper
Chili pepper is the fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum, members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The term in British English and in Australia, New Zealand, India, Malaysia and other Asian countries is just chilli without pepper.Chili peppers originated in the Americas...
es etc.
Climate
Pathein has a Tropical monsoon climateTropical monsoon climate
Tropical monsoon climate, occasionally also known as a tropical wet climate or tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate in climate classification, is a relatively rare type of climate that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category "Am."Tropical monsoon climates have monthly...
(Am) according to the Köppen climate classification
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
system. Pathein experiences a sustained period of extraordinary rainfall from June through August. The dry season which runs from December through April, generally sees noticeably cooler temperatures than the remainder of the year.
Landmarks
Pathein has a scenic waterfront, many BuddhistBuddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
temples. The main sight of Pathein is Shwemokhtaw Paya, a Buddhist temple originally founded (according to local legend) by King Asoka of India in 305 BC. Bagan
Bagan
Bagan , formerly Pagan, is an ancient city in the Mandalay Region of Burma. Formally titled Arimaddanapura or Arimaddana and also known as Tambadipa or Tassadessa , it was the capital of several ancient kingdoms in Burma...
's King Alaungsithu
Alaungsithu
Alaungsithu or Sithu I was king of Pagan Dynasty of Burma from 1113 to 1167. Sithu's reign was a prosperous one in which Pagan was an integral part of in-land and maritime trading networks...
raised the height of the stupa
Stupa
A stupa is a mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics, typically the remains of Buddha, used by Buddhists as a place of worship....
to 11 meters in 1115 AD, and the Mon King Samodogossa raised it to 131 feet (39.9 m) in 1263 AD. The stupa is now 153 feet (46.6 m) tall, with the topmost layer made of 13.9 pounds (6.3 kg) of solid gold, the middle tier of pure silver, and the third tier of bronze, with some 829 diamonds, 843 rubies, and 1588 semi-precious stones.