Supayalat
Encyclopedia
Supayalat was the last queen of Burma who reigned in Mandalay
(1878–1885), born to King Mindon Min
and Queen of Alenandaw (literally Middle Palace, also known as Hsinbyumashin or Lady of the White Elephant). The British corruption of her name was 'Soup Plate'. She was married to her half-brother, Thibaw
, who became the last king of the Konbaung dynasty
in 1878, upon Mindon Min's death. She is best known for engineering a massacre of 80 to 100 royal family members, to prevent potential rivals from usurping Thibaw's power, although she had always denied any knowledge of the plot, which may have been hatched by her mother together with some of the ministers, including the chancellor Kinwon Min Gyi
U Kaung.
(Mindon's uncle) and Nanmadaw Me Nu
, and the third of Mindon's four highest ranking queens. The three other queens of Mindon had no children, and Hsinbyumashin became more powerful after the death of the chief queen Setkya Devi. Thibaw, on the other hand, was the son of a middle-ranking queen, Queen of Laungshe. He was however learned in the Buddhist scriptures and also educated by the missionary
Dr. Marks, and became one of Mindon's favourite sons. The ambitious Hsinbyumashin, after putting him on the throne, offered her oldest daughter Hteik Supayagyi, Princess of Mong Nawng to be his queen, but during the royal wedding ceremony Supayalat pushed in next to her sister to be anointed queen at the same time, breaking ancient custom. Her sister's marriage was never consummated, and Supayalat was said to have forced monogamy on a Burmese king for the first and the last time in history, even though Thibaw also subsequently married her youngest sister Hteik Supayalay, Princess of Yamethin
. Supayalat was only 19 and Thibaw 20 when they ascended the lion throne (Thihathana palin).
and forced to abdicate by the British
in 1885. On 25 November 1885 they were taken away in a covered carriage, leaving Mandalay Palace
by the southern gate of the walled city along the streets lined by British soldiers and their wailing subjects, to the River Irrawaddy
where a steamboat called Thuriya (Sun) awaited. Thibaw was 27 and Supayalat 26.
Supayalat never lost her composure, and was said to have asked a British tommy
by the wayside for a light to smoke a Burmese cheroot
. She was pregnant and accompanied by her husband, their two daughters, her two sisters, and her mother; the rest of their party followed on foot. The troops had nicknamed her 'Soup Plate', and in the commotion and haste that attended their abduction, some of the crown jewels
had disappeared including a large ruby
called Nga Mauk that Colonel Sladen had insisted on being handed over for safekeeping. Thibaw saw an opportunity in 1911 when King George V
visited India
, and wrote for the return of the Burmese crown jewels, but only received a reply that Col. Sladen had died in 1890. Nga Mauk was believed to have subsequently turned up as the largest ruby on the British crown
; it was recognised by Princess of Kyundaung in whose charge the ruby used to be.
On 10 December 1885 the royal family, minus the queen mother and Supayagyi who were sent to Dawei
, was taken to Madras where their third daughter was born, and in April the next year they were moved to Ratnagiri
on the west coast where they could no longer look across the Bay of Bengal
to the land they had been forced to leave. Supayalat gave birth to her fourth and youngest daughter in 1887; they were not given a proper residence commensurate with their status until 1911 when Thibaw Palace was built by the government. In 1914 the royal princesses had an ear-piercing ceremony ( nahtwin mingala) according to Burmese custom. Some of the family members, court officials and entertainers including the famous orchestra of Sein Beida and the harpist
Deiwa Einda Maung Maung Gyi from Burma were permitted to attend the ceremony. Although Supayalat's first born was a boy he did not survive infancy, and she had also lost another daughter.
The royal princesses were named as follows:
Supayalat returned to Rangoon in 1919, and was not allowed to return to Mandalay. She had lived on a pension and in her last days her closest adviser was Thakin Kodaw Hmaing
, the great writer and nationalist leader, who revered her for her defiant stand against colonialism and who had witnessed at the age of nine the fall of the monarchy and the abduction of the royal couple in Mandalay. Hmaing was a boarder at Myadaung Monastery built by the queen who never had the chance to conduct an opening ceremony (yeizetcha, literally 'pour drops of water', in order to call on the goddess of earth to witness the good deed) as it had only been recently completed. She had never regarded herself as beholden to the British who she believed robbed her of her kingdom with all the wealth and riches therein.
She died six years later, in 1925 - shortly before her 66th birthday. Although the colonial government declared the day of her funeral a national holiday, the royal family's request for her to be buried in Mandalay was also refused. Her funeral was, however, held with pomp and ceremony as befitted a Burmese queen, organised by the Saopha
s of Yaunghwe and Thibaw
. Her body lay in state, shielded under eight white royal umbrellas, attended by 90 Buddhist monks
and the British Governor Sir Harcourt Butler
with a guard of honour of the Mounted Police complete with a 30 gun salute.
Supayalat lies buried at the foot of the Shwedagon Pagoda in Kandawmin Gardens between the tombs of Aung San Suu Kyi
's mother Khin Kyi and the former UN Secretary General U Thant
.
Mandalay
Mandalay is the second-largest city and the last royal capital of Burma. Located north of Yangon on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, the city has a population of one million, and is the capital of Mandalay Region ....
(1878–1885), born to King Mindon Min
Mindon Min
Mindon Min was the penultimate king of Burma from 1853 to 1878. He was one of the most popular and revered kings of Burma. Under his half brother King Pagan, the Second Anglo-Burmese War in 1852 ended with the annexation of Lower Burma by the British Empire. Mindon and his younger brother Kanaung...
and Queen of Alenandaw (literally Middle Palace, also known as Hsinbyumashin or Lady of the White Elephant). The British corruption of her name was 'Soup Plate'. She was married to her half-brother, Thibaw
Thibaw Min
Thibaw Min was the last king of the Konbaung dynasty of Burma . His reign ended when Burma was defeated by the forces of the British Empire in the Third Anglo-Burmese War, on 29 November 1885, prior to its official annexation on 1 January 1886....
, who became the last king of the Konbaung dynasty
Konbaung dynasty
The Konbaung Dynasty was the last dynasty that ruled Burma from 1752 to 1885. The dynasty created the second largest empire in Burmese history, and continued the administrative reforms begun by the Toungoo dynasty, laying the foundations of modern state of Burma...
in 1878, upon Mindon Min's death. She is best known for engineering a massacre of 80 to 100 royal family members, to prevent potential rivals from usurping Thibaw's power, although she had always denied any knowledge of the plot, which may have been hatched by her mother together with some of the ministers, including the chancellor Kinwon Min Gyi
Kinwon Min Gyi
Kinwon Min Gyi was a minister under King Mindon's and King Thibaw's reigns. He attempted to westernise the Burmese kingdom's existing bureaucracy into a more democratic system. Because of such attempts to do so, Kinwun Min Gyi was accused by many to have allowed Britain to win the Third...
U Kaung.
Self-anointed queen
Princess Hteik Supayalat aka Princess of Myadaung, with the official title of Siri Suriya Prabha Ratana Devi , was the second of three daughters born to Mindon and Hsinbyumashin, daughter of BagyidawBagyidaw
Bagyidaw Bagyidaw's reign saw the First Anglo-Burmese War , which marked the beginning of the end of the highly militaristic Konbaung dynasty. Bagyidaw inherited the largest Burmese empire, second only to King Bayinnaung's, but also one that shared a long ill-defined borders with British India...
(Mindon's uncle) and Nanmadaw Me Nu
Nanmadaw Me Nu
Nanmadaw Me Nu was the chief queen of King Bagyidaw of Konbaung dynasty of Burma from 1819 to 1837. Married to Bagyidaw in 1801, Me Nu became queen when Bagyidaw ascended the throne on 5 June 1819, with the title Namadaw Mibaya Khaunggyi .Me Nu was part of the war party along with Gen...
, and the third of Mindon's four highest ranking queens. The three other queens of Mindon had no children, and Hsinbyumashin became more powerful after the death of the chief queen Setkya Devi. Thibaw, on the other hand, was the son of a middle-ranking queen, Queen of Laungshe. He was however learned in the Buddhist scriptures and also educated by the missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
Dr. Marks, and became one of Mindon's favourite sons. The ambitious Hsinbyumashin, after putting him on the throne, offered her oldest daughter Hteik Supayagyi, Princess of Mong Nawng to be his queen, but during the royal wedding ceremony Supayalat pushed in next to her sister to be anointed queen at the same time, breaking ancient custom. Her sister's marriage was never consummated, and Supayalat was said to have forced monogamy on a Burmese king for the first and the last time in history, even though Thibaw also subsequently married her youngest sister Hteik Supayalay, Princess of Yamethin
Yamethin
Yamethin is a town in central Burma in Yamethin District, Mandalay Region. Yamethin provides a market and processing for local agriculture production of rice and beans, as well having a small textile industry, and serving as a railroad shipping point on the Rangoon – Mandalay...
. Supayalat was only 19 and Thibaw 20 when they ascended the lion throne (Thihathana palin).
Exile
Their reign lasted just seven years when Thibaw Min was defeated in the Third Anglo-Burmese WarThird Anglo-Burmese War
The Third Anglo-Burmese War was a conflict that took place during 7–29 November 1885, with sporadic resistance and insurgency continuing into 1887. It was the final of three wars fought in the 19th century between the Burmese and the British...
and forced to abdicate by the British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
in 1885. On 25 November 1885 they were taken away in a covered carriage, leaving Mandalay Palace
Mandalay Palace
The Mandalay Palace , located in Mandalay, Myanmar, is the last royal palace of the last Burmese monarchy. The palace was constructed, between 1857 and 1859 as part of King Mindon's founding of new royal capital city of Mandalay. The plan of Mandalay Palace largely follows the traditional Burmese...
by the southern gate of the walled city along the streets lined by British soldiers and their wailing subjects, to the River Irrawaddy
Ayeyarwady 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...
where a steamboat called Thuriya (Sun) awaited. Thibaw was 27 and Supayalat 26.
Supayalat never lost her composure, and was said to have asked a British tommy
Tommy Atkins
Tommy Atkins is a term for a common soldier in the British Army that was already well established in the 19th century, but is particularly associated with World War I. It can be used as a term of reference, or as a form of address. German soldiers would call out to "Tommy" across no man's land if...
by the wayside for a light to smoke a Burmese cheroot
Cheroot
The cheroot or stogie is a cylindrical cigar with both ends clipped during manufacture. Since cheroots do not taper, they are inexpensive to roll mechanically, and their low cost makes them particularly popular. Typically, stogies have a length of 3.5 to 6.5 inches, and a ring gauge of 34 to...
. She was pregnant and accompanied by her husband, their two daughters, her two sisters, and her mother; the rest of their party followed on foot. The troops had nicknamed her 'Soup Plate', and in the commotion and haste that attended their abduction, some of the crown jewels
Crown jewels
Crown jewels are jewels or artifacts of the reigning royal family of their respective country. They belong to monarchs and are passed to the next sovereign to symbolize the right to rule. They may include crowns, sceptres, orbs, swords, rings, and other objects...
had disappeared including a large ruby
Ruby
A ruby is a pink to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum . The red color is caused mainly by the presence of the element chromium. Its name comes from ruber, Latin for red. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapphires...
called Nga Mauk that Colonel Sladen had insisted on being handed over for safekeeping. Thibaw saw an opportunity in 1911 when King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
visited 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...
, and wrote for the return of the Burmese crown jewels, but only received a reply that Col. Sladen had died in 1890. Nga Mauk was believed to have subsequently turned up as the largest ruby on the British crown
Imperial Crown of India
The Imperial Crown of India was the crown of the Sovereign as Emperor of India during the time of the British Raj. The crown is housed with, but is not part of, the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.-History:...
; it was recognised by Princess of Kyundaung in whose charge the ruby used to be.
On 10 December 1885 the royal family, minus the queen mother and Supayagyi who were sent to Dawei
Dawei
-Transport:Only recently Dawei was connected to the rest of Myanmar by road and rail. There are plans to construct a deepwater port in Dawei. In November 2010, the Myanmar Port Authority signed a USD $8.6 billion deal with Italian-Thai Development to develop a deep sea port at Dawei...
, was taken to Madras where their third daughter was born, and in April the next year they were moved to Ratnagiri
Ratnagiri
Ratnāgiri is a port city on the Arabian Sea coast in Ratnagiri district in the southwestern part of Maharashtra, India. The district is a part of Konkan.The Sahyadri mountains border Ratnagiri to the east...
on the west coast where they could no longer look across 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...
to the land they had been forced to leave. Supayalat gave birth to her fourth and youngest daughter in 1887; they were not given a proper residence commensurate with their status until 1911 when Thibaw Palace was built by the government. In 1914 the royal princesses had an ear-piercing ceremony ( nahtwin mingala) according to Burmese custom. Some of the family members, court officials and entertainers including the famous orchestra of Sein Beida and the harpist
Saung
The saung is an arched harp used in traditional Burmese music. The saung is regarded as a national musical instrument of Burma. The saung is unique in that it is a very ancient harp tradition and the only surviving harp in Asia today.- Description :...
Deiwa Einda Maung Maung Gyi from Burma were permitted to attend the ceremony. Although Supayalat's first born was a boy he did not survive infancy, and she had also lost another daughter.
The royal princesses were named as follows:
- Hteiksu Myatpayagyi (1880–1947) married an Indian guard at Thibaw Palace.
- Hteiksu Myatpayalat (1882–1956) married a Burmese courtier at Thibaw Palace; neither of these unions met with the royal parents' approval.
- Hteiksu Myatpaya aka Madras Supaya (1886–1962) returned to Burma with her mother, and married a grandson of Mindat Min, her great uncle and brother of King Mindon.
- Hteiksu Myatpayalay (1887–1935), the youngest and brightest, was fluent in English and acted as the royal family's spokesperson airing their grievances in a document called Sadutta thamidaw ayeidawbon sadan ( The Fourth Royal Daughter Crisis Document); she married a Burmese lawyer, and was sent away by the colonial government to live in Moulmein where she spent the rest of her days.
Return
Supayagyi, who had remained childless, looked after her four royal nieces, and died in 1912. When King Thibaw died in 1916 at the age of 58 after 30 years in exile, Supayalat fought in vain for the right to take her husband's body back to be buried with proper funeral rites in Burma. She refused to give up the bodies of both her sister and her husband, buried in the grounds of their palace, to the authorities who eventually took them by force to be buried in Ratnagiri in 1919. The queen did not attend the funeral although she did send two of the royal princesses to the ceremony. The tombs of the king and Supayalay were later joined by that of Pahtama thamidaw (First Royal Daughter) who died in 1947.Supayalat returned to Rangoon in 1919, and was not allowed to return to Mandalay. She had lived on a pension and in her last days her closest adviser was Thakin Kodaw Hmaing
Thakin Kodaw Hmaing
Thakin Kodaw Hmaing is considered one of the greatest Burmese poets, writers and political leaders in the 20th century history of Burma. He is regarded as the Father of Burmese nationalist and peace movements as well as a literary genius...
, the great writer and nationalist leader, who revered her for her defiant stand against colonialism and who had witnessed at the age of nine the fall of the monarchy and the abduction of the royal couple in Mandalay. Hmaing was a boarder at Myadaung Monastery built by the queen who never had the chance to conduct an opening ceremony (yeizetcha, literally 'pour drops of water', in order to call on the goddess of earth to witness the good deed) as it had only been recently completed. She had never regarded herself as beholden to the British who she believed robbed her of her kingdom with all the wealth and riches therein.
She died six years later, in 1925 - shortly before her 66th birthday. Although the colonial government declared the day of her funeral a national holiday, the royal family's request for her to be buried in Mandalay was also refused. Her funeral was, however, held with pomp and ceremony as befitted a Burmese queen, organised by the Saopha
Saopha
Saopha, Chaofa, or Sawbwa was a royal title used by the rulers of the Shan States of Myanmar . The word means "king" in the Shan and Tai languages...
s of Yaunghwe and Thibaw
Hsipaw
Hsipaw , is a town in Shan State, Myanmar on the riverbank of Myitnge River. It is 200 km northeast of Mandalay.-Shan Saopha:Hsipaw is perhaps one of the most well known and powerful saopha states of Shan State...
. Her body lay in state, shielded under eight white royal umbrellas, attended by 90 Buddhist monks
Sangha
Sangha is a word in Pali or Sanskrit that can be translated roughly as "association" or "assembly," "company" or "community" with common goal, vision or purpose...
and the British Governor Sir Harcourt Butler
Harcourt Butler
Sir Spencer Harcourt Butler, GCSI, GCIE, KStJ was the first governor of United Provinces of Agra and Oudh . Educated at Harrow School and Balliol College, University of Oxford, Butler entered the Indian Civil Services soon afterwards, in 1890...
with a guard of honour of the Mounted Police complete with a 30 gun salute.
Supayalat lies buried at the foot of the Shwedagon Pagoda in Kandawmin Gardens between the tombs of Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi, AC is a Burmese opposition politician and the General Secretary of the National League for Democracy. In the 1990 general election, her National League for Democracy party won 59% of the national votes and 81% of the seats in Parliament. She had, however, already been detained...
's mother Khin Kyi and the former UN Secretary General U Thant
U Thant
U Thant was a Burmese diplomat and the third Secretary-General of the United Nations, from 1961 to 1971. He was chosen for the post when his predecessor, Dag Hammarskjöld, died in September 1961....
.
Supayalat in literature
- The Lacquer Lady - a novel by F. Tennyson Jesse
- The Glass PalaceThe Glass PalaceThe Glass Palace is a 2000 historical novel by Indian writer Amitav Ghosh. The novel sets in Burma, India, and Malay, spans a century from the fall of the Konbaung Dynasty in Mandalay, through the Second World War to modern times...
- a novel by Amitav GhoshAmitav GhoshAmitav Ghosh , is a Bengali Indian author best known for his work in the English language.-Life:Ghosh was born in Calcutta on July 11, 1956, to Lieutenant Colonel Shailendra Chandra Ghosh, a retired officer of the pre-independence Indian Army, and was educated at The Doon School; St... - The City of Gem - a novel by Joanna TrollopeJoanna TrollopeJoanna Trollope OBE , is an English novelist.-Life:Joanna Trollope was educated at Reigate County School for Girls followed by St Hugh's College, Oxford. From 1965 to 1967, she worked at the Foreign Office...
- MandalayMandalay (poem)Mandalay is a famous poem by Rudyard Kipling that was first published in the collection Barrack-Room Ballads, and Other Verses, the first series, published in 1892....
- a poem by Rudyard KiplingRudyard KiplingJoseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
External links
- Thibaw's Queen by H Fielding-Hall (1899) Internet Archive, Canadian Libraries
- Mandalay in 1878-1879 - the letters of James Alfred Colbeck SOAS
- Mandalay in 1885-1888 - the letters of James Alfred Colbeck SOAS
- Colonel Sladen's Account of Myatheindan Pagoda at Mingun 1868 SOAS