Myelat ( my, ‌မြေလတ်) is a

historical region Historical regions (or historical areas) are geographical regions which at some point in time had a cultural, ethnic, linguistic or political basis, regardless of latterday borders. They are used as delimitations for studying and analysing soci ...

of the southwestern

Shan State Shan State ( my, ရှမ်းပြည်နယ်, ; shn, မိူင်းတႆး, italics=no) also known by the endonyms Shanland, Muang Tai, and Tailong, is a state of Myanmar. Shan State borders China (Yunnan) to the north, Laos ( L ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

. Originally this region included some of the smaller states typically ruled by " Myosas" (chief of town) or " Ngwegunhmus" (silver revenue chief), buffering the plains of Burma and the ethnic

Shan states The Shan States (1885–1948) were a collection of minor Shan kingdoms called '' muang'' whose rulers bore the title '' saopha'' in British Burma. They were analogous to the princely states of British India. The term "Shan States" was fi ...

further east. The term "Myelat" is still in common use today, although the old political and administrative distinctions no longer apply.

Geography

The area is hemmed in on the north by the state of Lawksawk, on the east by the states of

Yawnghwe Yawnghwe ( shn, ယွင်ႈႁူၺ်ႈ), known as Nyaungshwe ( my, ညောင်ရွှေ) in Burmese, was a Shan state in what is today Myanmar. It was one of the most important of the Southern Shan States. Yawnghwe state include ...

, Wanyin and

Hsatung Hsatung (also known as Hsahtung or Thaton) was a Shan state in what is today Burma. Hsatung was a tributary of Burma until 1887, when the Shan states submitted to British rule after the fall of the Konbaung dynasty. The capital was formerly Lai ...

, and on the south by

Mong Pai Mongpai, also known as Mobye ( my, မိုးဗြဲ), was a Shan state in what is today Burma. It belonged to the Central Division of the Southern Shan States The Shan States (1885–1948) were a collection of minor Shan kingdoms ...

. In 1897, the population was recorded as 107,500, the majority being of the Taungthu or

Pa-O , native_name_lang = my , image = Pa O Tribe Kalaw Shan Myanmar.jpg , caption = A Pa'O woman near Kalaw, southern Shan State , population = 1,400,000 (2014 est.) , popplace = Myanmar, Thailand , rels ...

(42,933), followed by Danu (29,713), Taungyo (13,906), Shan (6,572), and a smaller number of other ethnic groups. The name ''Myelat'' could be interpreted as "unoccupied land" in Burmese, however the land has been populated for quite some time. The name could also be interpreted as "middle earth", implying a buffer zone, or "fair earth", depending on a variation of the spelling. All central Myelat and great parts of the northern and southern portions consist of rolling

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in law ...

y downs bare of

jungle A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''ja� ...

. The area is productive in agriculture, crops grown include potatoes, corn, wheat, cabbage, cauliflower, oranges, coffee, as well as rice. Visitors to the area immediately notice the red earth of the countryside, due to high iron oxide content of the soil.

Myelat Division

The exact composition of the states within the Myelat area has changed through history, dependent on vagaries of local power politics as well as approval by the Burmese court. At times, states have been combined, at other times, they have been split up. At the time of the British annexation of the

Shan States The Shan States (1885–1948) were a collection of minor Shan kingdoms called '' muang'' whose rulers bore the title '' saopha'' in British Burma. They were analogous to the princely states of British India. The term "Shan States" was fi ...

, the following sixteen states were recognized to be within the Myelat region: Hsamonghkam,

Kyawkku Hsiwan Kyawkku (also known as Kyawkku Hsiwan or Kyakku) was a Shan state in the Myelat region of what is today Burma. Its capital was the village of Kyawkku (Myinkyado) which had 344 inhabitants in 1901. History Kyawkku was founded around 1600 CE. It w ...

, Kyong, Loi-ai, Loilong, Loimaw, Maw, Mawnang,

Mawson Sir Douglas Mawson OBE FRS FAA (5 May 1882 – 14 October 1958) was an Australian geologist, Antarctic explorer, and academic. Along with Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott, and Sir Ernest Shackleton, he was a key expedition leader dur ...

, Namhkai, Namhkom, Namtok, Pangmi, Pangtara, Poila, and

Yengan Yengan was a Shan state in what is today Burma. It belonged to the Myelat Division of the Southern Shan States The Shan States (1885–1948) were a collection of minor Shan kingdoms called ''muang'' whose rulers bore the title ''saopha'' ...

. The total area of these states was approximately .

References

External links

"Gazetteer of Upper Burma and the Shan states"
Geography of Shan State Historical regions in Myanmar {{Myanmar-geo-stub