Public Hongsawatoi Commemorations Not Allowed in Mon State

The Mon people in Panga village, Thanbyuzayat Township, celebrated the fall of their kingdom, Hongsawatoi

By Independent Mon News Agency-Mon State — Even though the new Burmese government has established itself in Mon State, local Mon people were not allowed to publicly hold celebrations to commemorate Hongsawatoi, the fallen Mon kingdom, on May 25.

An activist who took part in a ceremony for the fallen kingdom in Mudon Township said that more people wanted to celebrate the ceremony publicly as there is a new government in Mon State, but they were worried that special police would follow them. Instead, they held ceremonies secretly.


An activist in Paung Township said, “The special police follow us when we mark the fall of the kingdom, but they do not say anything to us.”

In several villages in Mudon Township, such as Kalawthut and Bai Toe, people lit candles at local pagodas in the evening to pray for their ancestors who lost their lives defending the fallen kingdom.

Activists said that some villages in Mudon Township marked the fall of Hongsawatoi on the same day as the graduation ceremonies for Mon summer schools because they were afraid of the authorities.

The ceremony of the fallen day of the last Mon kingdom was not held in Three Pagodas Pass this year as locals feared the consequences.

“The situation this year would be unlikely in the past as the ceasefire agreement was broken here. This is why we do not dare to hold the ceremony,” said Thu Rain, a resident in town.

Mon people traditionally commemorate the anniversary day of the fall of the Hongsawatoi Kingdom every year by wearing their national dress, holding religious observances, performing traditional dances, and donating offerings to monks, by which they intend to make merit for those Mon people who have lost their lives.

Mon community leaders in Mon State take the opportunity to tell the history of the Mon kingdom to Mon youth as part of their campaign to encourage people to know more about Mon history, and to remind them that they had their own kingdom in the past, even though they do not have freedom now.

The Burmese authorities do not like the Mon people to mark the day of their fallen kingdom, and they do not want Mon community leaders to tell the history of how the Burmese king U Aung Zeya killed the Mon people during his invasion of the Mon kingdom.

U Aung Zeya invaded and destroyed the Mon Kingdom of Hongsawatoi in 1757, killing thousands of innocent Mons, including Buddhist monks. Burmese authorities fear that Burmese-Mon relations will sour if Mons are reminded of this history.

The new Mon political party, All Mon Regions Democracy Party (AMDP), did not officially hold a Hongsawatoi ceremony this year as they do not wish to have bad relations with the new government.

Source:http://monnews.org/?p=2864