Danubyu Township (), also spelt Danuphyu and formerly as Donabyu, is a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

Maubin District Maubin District ( ), formerly known as Thun-Khwa, is a district in Ayeyarwady Division, Myanmar. It consists of 39 wards, 235 village groups and 1642 villages organized into four townships - Maubin, Pantanaw, Nyaungdon and Danuphyu. The distr ...

in the

Ayeyarwady Region Ayeyarwady Region ( , , ; formerly Ayeyarwady Division and Irrawaddy Division) is a region of Myanmar, occupying the delta region of the Ayeyarwady River (Irrawaddy River). It is bordered by the Rakhine State to the northwest, the Bago Region to ...

of Burma (Myanmar). Danubyu Township is known as the death place of the general

Maha Bandula General Maha Bandula ( ; 6 November 1782 – 1 April 1825) was commander-in-chief of the Royal Burmese Armed Forces from 1821 until his death in 1825 in the First Anglo-Burmese War. Bandula was a key figure in the Konbaung dynas ...

at Danubyu Fort effectively ending the First Anglo-Burmese War by forcing the Burmese to surrender to the British. The Township consists of 1 town, 18 wards, 63 village groups and 449 villages and spans over the

Irrawaddy River The Irrawaddy River (, , Ayeyarwady) is the principal river of Myanmar, running through the centre of the country. Myanmar’s most important commercial waterway, it is about 1,350 miles (2,170 km) long. Originating from the confluence of the ...

. The Township is named after its capital,

Danubyu Danubyu ( ) is a town in the Ayeyarwady Division of south-west Myanmar, located on the west bank of the Ayeyarwady River in the Ayeyarwady Delta. It is the seat of the Danubyu Township in the Maubin District. History After the loss to the Brit ...

, which is split into 18 wards. It is bordered to the north by the

Hinthada District Hinthada District (; formerly Henzada District) is a district of Ayeyarwady Region Myanmar. Henzada District, as it was originally known during British rule in Burma, was established as a separate district in 1854, before being reabsorded into Th ...

with Zalun Township for most of the northern boundary with

Hinthada Township Hinthada Township () is a Townships of Myanmar, township of Hinthada District in northern Ayeyarwady Region, Myanmar. The township has 3 towns, the principal town of Hinthada as well as the new towns of Duya, Ayeyarwady Region, Duya and Talokhtaw r ...

for a small section to the northwest. To its west, it borders Kyonpyaw Township of the

Pathein District Pathein District () is a district of Ayeyawady Division, Myanmar. It is located around and includes the urban area of the city of Pathein. The area of the Pathein District is . Its population was 1,630,716 in 2014. Townships The district cons ...

Pantanaw Township Pantanaw Township ( ) is a township of Maubin District in the Ayeyarwady Region of Myanmar. The township borders Kyonpyaw and Kyaunggon townships in Pathein District to its northwest and Einme and Wakema townships of Myaungmya District to its so ...

in the southwest and

Nyaungdon Township Nyaungdon Township ( ), also spelt Nyaung Tone Township and formerly Yandoon, is a township of Maubin District in the eastern Ayeyarwady Region, Myanmar. Nyaungdon Township is bordered to the west by the rest of Maubin District and to its east by ...

in the southeast form the southern border within Maubin District. Danubyu Township has an eastern border with

Yangon Region Yangon Region (, ; formerly Rangoon Division and Yangon Division) is an administrative region of Myanmar. Located in central Myanmar, the region is bordered by Bago Region to the north and east, the Gulf of Martaban to the south, and Ayeyarwady ...

and its

Hlegu Township Hlegu Township (, ) is the only township in Hlegu District () in northern Yangon Region, Myanmar. It is northeast of the city Yangon and is largely rural. The township only has one town: the principal town of Hlegu, which has five urban wards. Th ...

Geography

Danubyu Township is a largely flat township without any hills or mountains located in eastern Ayeyarwady Region. 17 miles of the

runs through the Township as its main feature from north to south. The Township has two major river embankment dams to control flooding on the Irrawaddy. This section of the river is navigable by all vessels. The Township sees intensive land use and has virtually no wild animals and natural preserves. Tree species in the area include lebbek trees, bur trees and white siris trees. The Township is located in a hot tropical zone with a heavy monsoon presence. Compared to other townships, Danubyu has a higher temperature various with average highs and lows range between 43 °C and 17 °C, respectively. Between 2016 and 2019, the average year sees 95 days of rain with an average rainfall of 83.5 inches (212 cm) per year.

History

In December 1824, the

Konbaung dynasty The Konbaung dynasty (), also known as the Third Burmese Empire (တတိယမြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်), was the last dynasty that ruled Burma from 1752 to 1885. It created the second-largest empire in history of Mya ...

general

retreated to Danubyu after being forced to retreat from

Yangon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

during the

First Anglo-Burmese War The First Anglo-Burmese War (; ; 5 March 1824 – 24 February 1826), also known as the First Burma War in English language accounts and First English Invasion War () in Burmese language accounts, was the first of three wars fought between the ...

. He quickly built a fort using local trees and built up a strong stockade with 10,000 troops. When the British arrived in early 1825, they started a siege but was unable to break through Bandula's defences after a few months despite their superior weaponry. Bandula attempted a counter-charge with elephant cavalry to relieve the siege but failed. On April 1, a stray mortar landed on Bandula while he was out in the open against the advice of his generals to boost morale. Gen. Maha Bandula’s cemetery and monument statue is situated in the township. Danubyu Fort itself was a prominent location of the war until it was destroyed by a flood. On 4 February 1853, the British were repulsed by an ambush near Danubyu while attempting to clear rebels contesting lands claimed during the

Second Anglo-Burmese War The Second Anglo-Burmese War or the Second Burma War ( ; 5 April 185220 January 1853) was the second of the three wars fought between the Burmese Empire and British Empire during the 19th century. The war resulted in a British victory with more ...

Demographics and Economy

The population is largely rural with 87.7% of the total population in 2019 lived in rural areas. Besides Danubyu, other settlements include Zagagyi and Kyaung Su. The average household size was 4.3 people in 2019. 92.18% of the total population adhere to

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

while 6.4% of the population were

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

is the primary industry of the Township with a total of 121,774 acres (492.8 km²) of farmland. The main crop farmed is rice, with significant beans, pulse, corn and mango also being farmed. There are also poultry and pig husbandry in the township. Agriculture is largely unmechanized with only 5,776 Harvesters privately owned in the Township in 2019. After agriculture, the next industries employing the most people in Danubyu Township are Water-related industries and Sales. Fisheries and freshwater prawn farms are also important within the Township. The average income in the 2018-2019 fiscal year was 940,967

kyat The kyat ( or ; ; ISO 4217 code MMK) is the currency of Myanmar (Burma). The typical notation for the kyat is "K" (singular) and "Ks." (plural), placed before the numerals followed by "/-". Amounts less than K. 1/- are typically denoted w ...

s (roughly US$635 by 2019 conversion rates).

Notable people

10th president of Myanmar

Win Myint Win Myint ( ; born 8 November 1951) is a Burmese politician who served as the tenth president of Myanmar from 2018 to 2021, when he was removed from office in the 2021 coup d'état. He was the speaker of the House of Representatives from 2016 ...

was born in Nyaungchaung, Danubyu Township in 1945. Famous 20th century Burmese dance actor Po Sein's father was San Dun of Danubyu, himself a well-known performer

List of Village Tracts

The following are Danubyu Township's 62

village tracts A village tract (; also spelt village-tract), also called overvillage, is a fourth-level administrative subdivision of Myanmar's rural townships. As of August 2015, there are 13,602 village tracts in Myanmar, consisting of 70,838 villages. The eq ...

in the township, which group together 451 legally recognised villages as of 2024.

References

External links

"Ayeyarwady Division: Danuphyu Township"
map, 2008, Myanmar Information Management Unit (MIMU) {{Ayeyarwady Division Townships of Ayeyarwady Region