Pathein

Pathein (Burmese: ပုသိမ်မြို့; MLCTS: pu. sim mrui., Burmese pronunciation: [pəθèɪ̯ɰ̃ mjo̰]; Mon: ဖာသီ, [pʰasɛm]), formerly called Bassein, is the largest city and the capital of the Ayeyarwady Region, Myanmar (Burma). It is located 190 km (120 mi) west of Yangon on the bank of the Pathein River (Pathein), which is a western branch of the Irrawaddy River,[2] the city has a population of 237,089 (2017 census). Although once part of the Mon kingdom, Pathein has few ethnic Mon residents today. The majority are of Bamar, Burmese Indians, Karen and Burmese Chinese ethnicity. There are, however, notable minority Rakhine.

Pathein

ပုသိမ်မြို့

Pathein, Ayeyarwady, Myanmar
City
Pathein
Location of Pathein, Myanmar (Burma)
Coordinates: 16°46′N 94°43′E
Country Myanmar
Region Ayeyarwady Region
DistrictPathein District
TownshipPathein Township
Population
 (2014)
 • Total169,773
 • Ethnicities
Bamar

Kayin Mon Burmese Chinese

Burmese Indians
 • Religions
Buddhism
Time zoneUTC+6.30 (MST)
Area code(s)42[1]

Etymology

The city's name is believed to derive from the Old Mon name, ဖာသီ ([pha sɛm]).[3] "pha" means great or wide and sī/sɛm means river or sea. Pha-sɛm means a big sea. The name was corrupted to Bassein during the British colonial period.

An alternate theory holds that the city's name comes from the classical name of Pathein, Kusimanagara, a name used by ancient writings and the Kalyani inscriptions.[4] Pathein itself is a corruption of Mon "Kuthen," which itself is a contraction of Kusimanagara.[4] This is supported by the fact that the Portuguese call Pathein "Cosmim."[4]

History
An artist's rendition of the Bassein shoreline in 1878.

Pathein was part of the Mon kingdom. The British built a fort and established a garrison in 1826, after the First Anglo-Burmese War. The 1983 census recorded a population of 144,092.

Geography and economy

Lying at the western edge of the Ayeyarwady River delta, on the Pathein (Ngawan) River 118 miles (190 km) west of Yangon, Pathein is accessible to large vessels and despite its distance from the ocean, it is the most important delta port outside of Yangon. The city is also a terminus of a branch of the main railroad line which connects it to Hinthada, Letpadan and Yangon. In the 1990s, the road network along the Irrawaddy to Monywa was improved.[2]

The coastline along the Bay of Bengal is surrounded by the Arakan Mountains. In the area is Inye Lake, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long and 1 mile (1.6 km) wide, which is known for its fishing. There is also an offshore reef at Diamond Island that is popular with bathers. Diamond Island is also noted as a turtle breeding ground.[2]

Locally made parasols

The city is a rice-milling and export centre. Aside from several rice mills, the town has numerous sawmills and umbrella workshops. The colourful handmade parasols made in Pathein are widely known throughout Burma.[2] They are known locally as "Pathein hti".[5] Pathein is also known for its pottery and colourful hand-made baskets and buckets. Among Pathein's most prominent industries also include production of salt, mats, and Pathein halawa.[6]

The surrounding area of Pathein are employed in agriculture and cultivate sesames, groundnuts, jute, maize, pulse (legume)s, tobacco, chilies etc.[5]

Demographics

2014
Historical Population
YearPop.±%
1973 —    
1983 —    
2014 169,773—    
Source: Ministry of Labor, Immigration, and Population data

The 2014 Myanmar Census reported that Pathein had a population of 169,773, representing 59.1% of Pathein Township's total population.[7] Pathein is subdivided into 15 urban wards.[7]

Climate

Pathein has a Tropical monsoon climate (Am) according to the Köppen climate classification system. Pathein experiences a sustained period of extraordinary rainfall from June through August. The dry season which runs from December through April, generally sees noticeably cooler temperatures than the remainder of the year.

Climate data for Pathein (1981–2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 31.9
(89.4)		 33.8
(92.8)		 35.5
(95.9)		 36.6
(97.9)		 34.2
(93.6)		 30.9
(87.6)		 30.3
(86.5)		 30.0
(86.0)		 31.0
(87.8)		 32.1
(89.8)		 32.2
(90.0)		 31.3
(88.3)		 32.5
(90.5)
Average low °C (°F) 17.5
(63.5)		 19.2
(66.6)		 21.7
(71.1)		 24.4
(75.9)		 25.2
(77.4)		 24.5
(76.1)		 24.2
(75.6)		 24.1
(75.4)		 24.1
(75.4)		 24.1
(75.4)		 22.2
(72.0)		 18.8
(65.8)		 22.5
(72.5)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 1.8
(0.07)		 9.4
(0.37)		 7.4
(0.29)		 26.9
(1.06)		 275.5
(10.85)		 605.7
(23.85)		 646.9
(25.47)		 636.2
(25.05)		 385.0
(15.16)		 205.6
(8.09)		 80.3
(3.16)		 7.0
(0.28)		 2,887.7
(113.69)
Source: Norwegian Meteorological Institute[8]

Landmarks
Locally-made buckets

Pathein has a scenic waterfront and many Buddhist temples, including the main sight of Shwemokhtaw Pagoda.

Education
A local girl

The city is home to the Pathein Education College for elementary teachers and Pathein University for arts and science students. The Computer University (Pathein) which is administered by Ministry of Science and Technology offers both undergraduate and graduate programs in computer science, and computer technology. Technological University (Pathein) which was founded in 1999, offers engineering courses.

Sports

The 6,000-seat Ayar Stadium is one of the main venues for popular local football tournaments. The stadium is the home of Ayeyawady United F.C., a Myanmar National League (MNL) football club.

Health care
A roundabout in Pathein

Pathein General Hospital serves people in Pathein and its surrounding districts.

Famous people

Ba U, 2nd president of Myanmar (1952–1957) was born in Pathein in 1887. Mahn Win Maung, 3rd president of Myanmar (1957–1962) was born in a town near Pathein in 1916. 8th president Thein Sein was also born in a village near Pathein in 1945 and studied his high school education in Pathein. 10th president Win Myint was also born in Danuphyu town near Pathein in 1945 and started his political life in Pathein.

See also

References
  1. "Myanmar Area Codes". Archived from the original on 2009-12-01. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
  2. "Pathein". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved August 21, 2009.
  3. Dictionary of Modern Spoken Mon by H.L. Shorto (1962, Oxford University Press)
  4. James Gray, ed. (1892). Buddhaghosuppatti. London: Luzac & Company. p. 11.
  5. "Pathein (Bassein)". Journeysmyanmar.com. Retrieved August 21, 2009.
  6. "မြို့သမိုင်းကြောင်းစာအုပ် ရှာပုံတော်ဖွင့်ရာ အောင်မြင်မှု မရခဲ့တဲ့ ပုသိမ်". The Myanmar Times (in Burmese). 2014-10-29. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  7. "Pathein Township Report" (PDF). 2014 Myanmar Population and Housing Census. October 2017.
  8. "Myanmar Climate Report" (PDF). Norwegian Meteorological Institute. pp. 23–36. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 October 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  9. Planet, Lonely. "Tagaung Mingala Zeditaw in Pathein, Myanmar (Burma)". Lonely Planet. Retrieved 2017-09-09.

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