Saw A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, Wire saw, wire, or Chainsaw, chain with a hard toothed edge used to cut through material. Various terms are used to describe toothed and abrasive saws. Saws began as serrated materials, and when man ...

Mon Hla ( ) was a principal queen of King

Anawrahta Anawrahta Minsaw (, ; 11 May 1014 – 11 April 1077) was the founder of the Pagan Empire. Considered the father of the Burmese nation, Anawrahta turned a small principality in the dry zone of Upper Burma into the first Burmese Empire that ...

Pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

. She is known in Burmese history for her beauty and her eventual exile instigated by other rival queens. Her story is still part of popular Burmese theater, and she is portrayed as a sad romantic figure. The queen was daughter of the

saopha Saopha (), also spelled Sawbwa, was the title used by hereditary rulers of Shan states in Upper Myanmar. Chaopha and Chao Fa were similar titles used by the hereditary Tai rulers in mainland Southeast Asia and the Ahom kingdom in India. Nam ...

(chief) of Maw Shan State, located between Pagan and

Dali Kingdom The Dali Kingdom, also known as the Dali State (; Bai language, Bai: Dablit Guaif), was a Bai people, Bai dynastic state situated in modern Yunnan province, China, from 937 to 1253. In 1253, it was Mongol conquest of China, conquered by the Mo ...

(present day

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

). The native stories of

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 ...

(Thibaw) and

Hsenwi Theinni or Hsenwi (; , ; , , ) is a town in northern Shan State of Burma, situated near the north bank of the Nam Tu River and now the centre of Hsenwi Township in Lashio District. It is north of Lashio and above sea level. After the disrupt ...

(Theinni) claim Saw Mon Hla as their princess. In c. 1058, Anawrahta led an expedition to Dali. After his return from the Dali expedition, the king was presented with Saw Mon Hla by her brother (or in some telling, her father Saw Naung, the chief of Mon). At Pagan, Saw Mon Hla quickly became the king's favorite queen.

Legend of Shwesayan Pagoda

According to Burmese chronicles, Saw Mon Hla was exiled by rival queens who were envious of her position as Anawrahta's favorite, accusing her of practicing witchcraft. Therefore, Saw Mon Hla was forced by Anawrahta to leave and return to her homeland, Maw. On her return to Sae Lant village in Northern Maw Shan State, one of Saw Mon Hla's earrings, which enshrined a relic of the Buddha, fell into a stream. As it did, dozens of golden sparrows appeared, encircling the spot where the earring had dropped. The stream was thereafter named "Na Daung Kya," meaning "the earring fell into." Near the riverbank, in present-day Patheingyi,

Mandalay Mandalay is the second-largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon. It is located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, 631 km (392 mi) north of Yangon. In 2014, the city had a population of 1,225,553. Mandalay was founded in 1857 by Ki ...

, she built a pagoda to enshrine her earring and the Buddha relic. The pagoda's façade faced east, toward her birthplace in Shan State. When King

learned of this, he sent soldiers with orders: if the pagoda faced east, she was to be killed; if it faced west, toward Pagan, she was to be spared. Saw Mon Hla, upon hearing the news, made a solemn wish to save herself and used her emerald shawl to turn the pagoda so that it faced directly between east and west. According to legend, when the soldiers arrived, they saw that the pagoda wasn’t facing Shan State, and thus, she was spared. The pagoda was named Shwesayan, meaning "encircled by golden sparrows". Saw Mon Hla and her brother died at their home near Hsipaw and are believed to have become nats (spirits) who protect the Shwesayan Pagoda to this day. A small memorial palace near the pagoda features a statue of Saw Mon Hla and her brother. King Anawrahta, deeply regretful after banishing his queen and hearing of her death, donated the surrounding land to the pagoda near the end of his reign.

Spiritual life

Some people believe Sao Mon Hla, who died at her home near

, along with her brother, became guardian

spirits Spirit(s) commonly refers to: * Liquor, a distilled alcoholic drink * Spirit (animating force), the non-corporeal essence of living things * Spirit (supernatural entity), an incorporeal or immaterial being Spirit(s) may also refer to: Liquids ...

who protects the pagoda to this day. There is a Nat shrine near the Shwesayan Pagoda, which has a statue of Sao Mon Hla and her brother. Some people believe it is a shrine for the spirits and that if they make offerings, the spirits will bless them. Paying respect to the spirits of Sao Mon Hla and her brother at Shwe Sar Yan Pagoda has drawn more visitors than other pagoda festivals.

References

{{Queens consort of Pagan Queens consort of Pagan 11th-century Burmese women