Namhsan (; Palaung: Om-yar; ), also spelt Nam Hsan, Namsan, or Nam San, is the capital of the Pa Laung Self-Administered Zone and

Namhsan Township Namhsan Township () is a township of the Pa Laung Self-Administered Zone

in northern

Shan State Shan State (, ; , ) is a administrative divisions of Myanmar, state of Myanmar. Shan State borders China (Yunnan) to the north, Laos (Louang Namtha Province, Louang Namtha and Bokeo Provinces) to the east, and Thailand (Chiang Rai Province, Chia ...

of Myanmar (Burma). The town is a popular starting point for

trekking Backpacking is the outdoor recreation of carrying gear on one's back while hiking for more than a day. It is often an extended journey and may involve camping outdoors. In North America, tenting is common, where simple shelters and mountain hu ...

Hsipaw Hsipaw (; Tai Nuea: ᥔᥤᥴ ᥙᥨᥝᥳ), also known as Thibaw (), is the principal town of Hsipaw Township in Shan State, Myanmar on the banks of the Duthawadi River. It is north-east of Mandalay. Hsipaw contains 11 wards, including Sout ...

. Besides its Palaung residents, the town is also populated by

Karen Karen may refer to: * Karen (name), a given name and surname * Karen (slang), a term and meme for a demanding white woman displaying certain behaviors People * Karen people, an ethnic group in Myanmar and Thailand * House of Karen, a historic ...

Lisu Lisu may refer to: *Lisu people, an ethnic group of the mountainous regions of Yunnan (China), Arunachal Pradesh (India), northern Myanmar and Thailand *Lisu language, Tibeto-Burman language spoken by the Lisu people **Fraser script or Old Lisu A ...

, and Shan ethnic tribal groups, as well as

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

and

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

residents.

History

During

British rule in Burma British colonial rule in Burma lasted from 1824 to 1948, from the successive three Anglo-Burmese wars through the creation of ''Burma'' as a province of British India to the establishment of an independently administered colony, and finally i ...

(Myanmar), Namhsan was the capital of

Tawngpeng State Tawngpeng (''Loi Lung'' in Shan) was a Shan state in what is today Myanmar. It belonged to the Northern Shan States. The capital was Namhsan (Om-yar). History The predecessor state was named Pappatasara. Not much is known about the history of th ...

, a Palaung substate of the

Shan States The Shan States were a collection of minor Shan people, Shan kingdoms called ''mueang, möng'' whose rulers bore the title ''saopha'' (''sawbwa''). In British rule in Burma, British Burma, they were analogous to the princely states of Britis ...

British Burma British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and cultur ...

; and the only Palaung kingdom in the former Shan States. The people of the town were predominantly of the Ka-tur (Samlong) tribe. The people of the tribe are often referred to as the Golden Palaung (Shwe Palaung) because of their coloured belts. Historically, they wore silver belts for special occasions, but aluminum has since been used instead. Their language is called Shwe, a language variant that is only partially intelligible by other

Palaungic language The Palaungic or Palaung–Wa languages are a group of nearly 30 Austroasiatic languages, with scholars disagreeing on exactly which languages to include in the classification. They are spoken in scattered pockets across an inland region of South ...

speakers. In Shwe, Namhsan means ''trembling waters'' and the town is thought to be named that way because it is situated on a marsh which gets flooded during heavy rains. During the 1920s and 1930s, the town prospered from the presence of silver mines and the tea grown in the area. The tribe was heavily studied by anthropologist Mrs. Leslie Milne. On 15 December 2023 the town fell under the control of the

Ta'ang National Liberation Army The Ta'ang National Liberation Army (; abbreviated TNLA) is a political organization and armed group in Myanmar. It is the armed wing of the Palaung State Liberation Front (PSLF). History The PSLF has its origins in the Palaung National Front ...

(TNLA) rebel group after two weeks of fighting against the military junta

State Administration Council The State Administration Council (; abbreviated SAC or နစက) is the military junta currently governing Myanmar, established by Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Min Aung Hlaing following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, February 2021 c ...

(SAC).

References

External links

Satellite map
Wikimapia Populated places in Shan State Township capitals of Myanmar Palaung people {{Shan-geo-stub