INTRODUCTION
Mandalay Shwe Kyo That Area which forms the subjects of the following notes was discovered in 1954 in the Shwe Nan Daw Kyaung, Mandalay, where it was said to have been stored since at least the year 1885. Since 1954, the plan has been exhibited on the wall of the museum of the Myanmar Department of the University. Now, it is showing in Human Resources Center, Mandalay.
The Plan is dawn in five colors on a Large sheet of black parabaik paper (Main Gaing Shan Paper) measuring 7 feets 6 inches in length by 4 feet 9 inches in width. By Studying this plan, we can get a good knowledge and understanding of the historical background, the date when Mandalay district, administrative divisions, place names, irrigation works and drainage pattern of the Mandalay Shwe Kyo That Area.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
King Pagan (1846-1852) who was dethroned by king Mindon in 1853. Mindon Min (1852-1878) and his advisors had the desire to move the capital from Amarapura had a much more rational basics than the interpretation of dreams and legends by hypogynies ponnas, it seems desirable to place on permanent record some account of the survey.
This prophecy, traditionally handed down, the natural desire for the fame and a new capital, the hereditary impulse that motivated many a new Myanmar King in founding a new capital and also the disfavour and even dispute into which Amarapura had fallen because of the not all - too creditable reign of his elder brother, Pagan Min - all these must have worked in the mind of King Mindon when Amarapura was discarded and Mandalay chosen as the new capital.
The congested conditions at Amarapura, situated on the narrow boundary from Yule's 1855 description. The Population was already spreading, in the only direction open for expansion, for northwards from the city walls beyond the Arakan Pagoda into the South-western part of what was soon to become the town of Mandalay. There can be no doubt that Mindon Min and his more rational advisors began to plan systematically for the inevitable as soon as he attained the throne in February 1853.
DATE OF THE PLAN
The internal evidence of the drawing itself suggests that it was probably completed sometimes during the year 1855. In his Guide to the Mandalay Palace, Demoiselle expressed the opinion that it was in the year1856 that Mindon Min first thought of moving the capital from Amarapura to Mandalay. It was actually in that year, synchronizing with the year 1857 that king Mindon planned the building of the new capital at Mandalay (The foundation was dug in 1857, the capital formally transfer of the government from nearby Amarapura made on 1860).
SHWE NAN TAW (Royal Palace)
The seven departments were founded by King Mindon in 22 May 1859, via, the city, the moat, Mahalokama rajain pagoda, the ordination hall, the monastery, Pitika Taik (Royal library) and Sudhamma Zayat (rest house).
The Royal Palace is in the form of a square, each side of which is 10 furlongs in length. The length of each wall is 2255 yards, or 6765 feet, or 600 ta of 7 taung. Later it was decided to attempt to make the walls enclose a perfect square with the total length of the sides expressed in ta agreeing with the number of years which had elapsed since the Buddha attained Nirvana, i.e., 2400 years.
Further, the proposed dimensions and shape of the Shwe Nan Taw itself on the plan differ considerably from those ultimately adopted and shown on every subsequent plan we have seen. In the "Guide to the Mandalay Palace" which shows the northern and southern walls 5% longer than the eastern and western walls. The proposed boundaries of the Shwe Nan Taw and the sites of the defensive ditches and ramps for the new town are demarcated parallel to the grid lines, and so they were constructed.
SHWE MYO TAW (Golden city)
Shwe Myo Taw is the second largest area after Shwe Kyo That in Mandalay. Shwe Myo Taw stretches 6.5 miles north south and 4 miles east west, it has an area of 25 square miles, shares borders with Aung Pinle Kan to the East, Ayerawady river to the west, land wall to the North and Mahamuni pagoda to the South. Fifty four quarters contained in this area. We can divide into the classification quarters. There are the name of service quarters, occupation quarters, foreign quarters, ethnic quarters and the name of town and village quarters. This town is always stated to run due North South and East West. But actually, the orientation is approximately three and half degree in error.
No scale is indicated on the plan, but it is possible to estimate this fairly accurately from the fact that the length of the U-Yindaw area is shown as exactly twelve grid squares. According to the modern survey map, it is situated form the Yeni Canal on the north to its southern end near the Mandalay-Pyin Oo Lwin railway.
SHWE KYO THAT
Shwe Kyo That area means boundary of royal city and give sanctuary. According to the Amarpura household list, the name of the Shwe Kyo That had been found during the reign of King Badon. If we study the modern point of view, we can call the Mandalay Municipal area. Actually, the municipal administration began after the British annexation of the country in Myanmar.
It covers the whole of Mandalay Shwe Kyo That area from the Nat Hteik mountain on the east to the high banks of the Irrawaddy on the west, and from the Charung magyi on the north to the Myitnge on the south. The survey is plotted on a rectangular grid. Geographically, Mandalay Shwe Kyo That Area lies between 19°30', 23°45' North Lat and 94°5' East long, 250' feet above the sea-level. Historical evidence indicates that Mandalay area had been an ancient site which has been in existence since the Pagan Period. Nanda (Maung Magan) and Aung Pinle tanks, originally constructed eight centuries earlier by Alaung sithu and Minshin Saw respectively. Therefore, it can be regarded that Mandalay has been a historical site for over 1300 years.
Mandalay Shwe Kyo That area stretches 40 miles North-South and 25 miles East-West, the area being 1000 square miles. thus though the tract of Mandalay was extended to the east in the reign of King Mindon, the area became narrower and the other sides.
A certain amount of rough triangulation must have been employed to fix the positions of the islands and the villages in the Irrawaddy, and of its right banks. If all the grid lines shown on the plan were completely traversed to fix the positions of the 235 villages, 13 canals, 70 lakes, 22 tanks, rivers and the mountains, it would mean that considerably more than 1600 miles of line were measured, recorded and plotted during the survey.
The royal families and variety of crown services were settled by the King within the irrigated area. According to the Aung Pinle Lake and Nanda Lake's irrigation tax paying pe' records, (1pe' = 1.77 acre), it is found in tabular form as follows:
Name
Supaya Latt
Lesser Queen
Princely
Official
Crown Services
Lamain asu
(Royal Farmer)
Wet Land
6128 pe'
3163 pe'
243 pe'
10321 pe'
15436 pe'
3138 pe'
Dry Land
422 pe'
4317 pe'
1092 pe'
As described above, we can study this class, with royal blood, enjoyed special privileges and formed the highest rung in the social ladder. Sangermano had remarked that, being given the charge and control of almost all the urban and rural areas with all the lakes and streams, the royal family and the decedents monopolized all the taxes and benefits of the country. By studying the historical point of view, this area was the main center of irrigated agriculture of the Kingdom with the biggest network of irrigation canals, streams and rivers. As most of the larges agricultural lands and plantations of the Kingdom were concentrated in this region,naturally is very largest agricultural labour force was necessary. To fulfill this needs. Myanmar Kings used captives from various foreign wars. There captives were given residential and farming lands and made to settle in the area and do the cultivation work as crown servicemen.
Almost all of the Myanmar Kings were so much concerned to build weirs, tanks, dams, canals and the like for irrigation in stated agriculture. Among them most prominent are Alaungsi thu, Minshin Saw and Bodawpaya. Badon built Shwe Lang canal. King Badon, Shwe Bo Min and Mindon Min followed suit by constructing dams, canals and weirs in Shwe Kyo That Area for the development of agriculture. Annual repairs were to be done by villages that enjoyed benefits from irrigation. Canal-Chiefs and overseers were appointed to take charge over the irrigation workers and the water supply system. They were settled where the dams, canals and weirs were located; they were granted land to live and work on.
All and all, Mandalay which was an important town under the Myanmar kings became the head quarters of a district in the colonial period. It can be assumed that it will continue to exist as a prosperous town in the future because of its good communication and flourishing economy
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