Mueang (Ahom: 𑜉𑜢𑜤𑜂𑜫; mɯ̄ang, ), Muang ( mɯ́ang, ), Möng (Tai Nuea: ᥛᥫᥒᥰ möeng; móeng, ), Meng () or Mường (Vietnamese) were pre-modern semi-independent city-states or principalities in mainland Southeast Asia, adjacent regions of Northeast India and Southern China, including what is now Thailand, Laos, Burma, Cambodia, parts of northern Vietnam, southern Yunnan, western Guangxi and Assam.
Mueang was originally a term in the Tai languages for a town having a defensive wall and a ruler with at least the Thai noble rank of khun (), together with its dependent villages. The mandala model of political organisation organised states in collective hierarchy such that smaller mueang were subordinate to more powerful neighboring ones, which in turn were subordinate to a central king or other leader. The more powerful mueang (generally designated as , , , or – with Bangkok as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon) occasionally tried to liberate themselves from their suzerain and could enjoy periods of relative independence. Mueang large and small often shifted allegiance, and frequently paid tribute to more than one powerful neighbor – the most powerful of the period being Ming China.
Following Kublai Khan's defeat of the Dali Kingdom of the Bai people in 1253 and its establishment as a tutelary state, new mueang were founded widely throughout the Shan States and adjoining regions – though the common description of this as a "mass migration" is disputed. Following historical Chinese practice, tribal leaders principally in Yunnan were recognized by the Yuan as imperial officials, in an arrangement generally known as the Tusi ("Native Chieftain") system. Ming and Qing-era dynasties gradually replaced native chieftains with non-native Chinese government officials.
In the 19th century, Thailand's Chakri dynasty and Burma's colonial and subsequent military rulers did much the same with their lesser mueang, but, while the petty kingdoms are gone, the place names remain.
Place names
Place names in Southwestern Tai languages
Cambodia In Khmer, "moeang" (មឿង) is a word borrowed from the Thai language meaning "small city" or "small town."Headley, Robert K. "SEAlang Library Khmer", SEAlang Library, 05/14/2018 Usually used as a place name for villages. Moeang Char Moeang Prachen
China The placename "mueang" is written in Chinese characters as , which is equivalent to and , both of which are spoken in China.
Script in English Name in Tai Nuea Name in Tai Lue Script in Chinese Common used name Möng Mao ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥛᥣᥝᥰ 勐卯 Ruili Möng Hkwan ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥑᥩᥢᥴ ᦵᦙᦲᧂ ᦃᦸᧃ 勐焕 Mangshi Möng Wan ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥝᥢᥰ 勐宛 Longchuan Möng Ti ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥖᥤᥰ 勐底 Lianghe Möng Na ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥘᥣᥲ 勐腊 Yingjiang Moeng La (Hò) ᦵᦙᦲᧂ ᦟᦱ 勐拉 Simao Moeng La ᦵᦙᦲᧂ ᦟᦱᧉ 勐腊 Mengla Moeng Hai ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥞᥣᥭᥰ ᦵᦙᦲᧂ ᦣᦻ 勐海 Menghai Möng Lem ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥘᥥᥛᥰ 孟连 Menglian Möng Cheng ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥐᥪᥒ 勐耿 Gengma Möng Long ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥘᥨᥒ Longling Möng Möng ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥛᥫᥒᥰ 勐勐 Shuangjiang Meng Lam or Möng Lang ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥘᥣᥛᥰ 勐朗 Lancang Möng Htong ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥗᥨᥒᥴ 勐统 Changning Meng Tsung ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥓᥧᥒᥰ Yuanjiang Meng Then or Möng Hköng ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥗᥦᥢᥴ Fengqing Möng Myen ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥛᥦᥢᥰ 勐缅 Tengchong or Lincang Möng Sè or Moeng Sae ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥔᥥᥴ ᦵᦙᦲᧂ ᦵᦉ Kunming Meng Ha ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥑᥣᥰ Meng Ha or Möng Ya ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥑᥣᥴ Möng Hkö ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥑᥫᥰ Möng Nyim ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥒᥤᥛᥰ 勐允 Moeng Cae ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥓᥥ ᦵᦙᦲᧂ ᦵᦵᦋᧈ 勐遮 Möng Hsa ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥔᥣᥴ 勐撒 Möng Yang ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥕᥣᥒᥰ 勐养 Möng Tum ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥖᥧᥛᥰ 勐董 Mengdong Meng Ten ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥖᥦᥢᥰ 勐典 Mengdian (a place in Yingjiang County) Möng Ting ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥖᥤᥒ 孟定 Meng Lim ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥘᥤᥛᥴ Huangcao-Ba (, a place in Longling County) Moeng Luang ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥘᥨᥒ ᦵᦙᦲᧂ ᦷᦟᧂ 勐龙 Meng Loong ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥘᥩᥒᥴ 勐弄 Möng Maw ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥛᥨᥝᥱ 勐磨 Jiucheng Township Moeng Ham ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥞᥛᥰ ᦵᦙᦲᧂ ᦣᧄ 勐罕 Meng Heu ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥞᥥᥝᥰ 勐秀 Mengxiu Township Meng Ka ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥐᥣ 勐戛 Mengga Meng Yue 勐约 Möng Hpawng or Moeng Phong ᦵᦙᦲᧂ ᦘᦳᧂ 勐捧 Meng Dui 勐堆 Meng Ku 勐库 Meng Yoong ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥕᥩᥒᥰ 勐永 Meng Keng ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥐᥦᥒᥰ 勐简 Meng Seng ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥔᥫᥒᥴ 勐省 Mengsheng Meng Jiao 勐角 Mengjiao Dai, Yi and Lahu People Township Meng Nuo 勐糯 Meng Xian 勐先 Meng Nong 孟弄 Möng Pan 勐班 Mengban Township Meng Da 勐大 Moeng Lae 勐烈 Meng Ma 勐马 Meng Suo 勐梭 Meng Ka 勐卡 Meng La 勐拉 Meng Qiao 勐桥 Meng Òng 勐旺 Moeng Hun 勐混 Moeng Man 勐满 Meng A 勐阿 Meng Song 勐宋 Moeng Òng 勐往 Moeng Nun 勐仑 Meng Ban 勐伴
Laos Laos is colloquially known as Muang Lao, but for Lao people, the word conveys more than mere administrative district. The usage is of special historic interest for the Lao; in particular for their traditional socio-political and administrative organisation, and the formation of their early (power) states, described by later scholars as Mandala (Southeast Asian political model). Provinces of Laos are now subdivided into what are commonly translated as districts of Laos, with some retaining Muang as part of the name: Muang Sing Muang Xay Former Muang Muang Phuan (modern Phonsavan, capital city of Xiangkhouang Province) Muang Sua
Myanmar
Mong Mao Mong Hsat Mong Hpayak Mong Ton Mong Nai Mong Ping Mohnyin (former Mongyang State) Mogaung (former Mongkawng) Momauk Mogok Momeik
Northeast India Mong Dun Shun Kham or Ahom kingdom – The Mueang (currently the states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh in North-East India), established by a Tai Prince Sukaphaa in 1228 with 9000 Tai People migrated from Mong Mao called as Ahom by local people, transformed itself into a huge kingdom by the 17th century that withstood the might of the Mughal Empire.
Thailand
Thailand is colloquially known as Mueang Thai. After the Thesaphiban reforms of Prince Damrong Rajanubhab, city-states under Siam were organized into monthon (, Thai translation of mandala), which was changed to changwat () in 1916. Mueang still can be found as the term for the capital districts of the provinces (amphoe mueang), as well as for a municipal status equivalent to town (thesaban mueang). In standard Thai, the term for the country of Thailand is ประเทศไทย, rtgs: Prathet Thai.
Mueang toponyms Mueang still forms part of the placenames of a few places, notably Don Mueang District, home to Don Mueang International Airport; and in the Royal Thai General System of Transcription Mueang Phatthaya () for the self-governing municipality of Pattaya.
Nakhon mueang Nakhon () as the word for "city" has been modified to thesaban nakhon (), usually translated as "city municipality". It still forms part of the name of some places. Krung Thep Maha Nakhon Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Nakhon Lampang Nakhon Nayok Nakhon Ratchasima Nakhon Si Thammarat Nakhon Thai Renu Nakhon
Buri mueang
Sung Noen District is noted for having been the site of two ancient cities: Mueang Sema and Khorakhapura. Pali púra became Sanskrit puri, hence Thai , (buri) all connoting the same as Thai mueang: city with defensive wall. "Khorakhapura" was nicknamed "Nakhon Raj," which as a portmanteau with Sema, became Nakhon Ratchasima. Though dropped from the name of this mueang, Sanskrit buri persists in the names of others. Buriram Chonburi Sing Buri Suphan Buri Thonburi
Vietnam
Muong Cha Muong La Mường Lay Muong Lat Muong Khuong Muong Nhe Muong Te Muong Thanh
Etymology NB: Luo et al. employ /ü/ which may erroneously scan as /ii/.
Müang Fai irrigation system Müang Fai is a term reconstructed from Proto-Tai, the common ancestor of all Tai languages. In the Guangxi-Guizhou of Southern China region, the term described what was then a unique type of irrigation engineering for wet-rice cultivation. Müang meaning 'irrigation channel, ditch, canal' and Fai, 'dike, weir, dam.' together referred to gravitational irrigation systems for directing water from streams and rivers. The Proto-Tai language is not directly attested by any surviving texts, but has been reconstructed using the comparative method. This term has Proto-Tai-tone A1. All A1 words are rising tone in modern Thai and Lao, following rules determined for tone origin. Accordingly, the term is: in modern เหมืองฝาย; in modern .http://sealang.net/lao/dictionary.htm ເຫມືອງຝາຽ (NB: SEAlang Library's Lao entry omits tonal marking – a typographical error.) Different linguistic tones give different meanings; scholarship has not established a link between this term and any of the terms which differ in tone.
Origin of mueang Mueang conveys many meanings, all having to do with administrative, social, political and religious orientation on wet-rice cultivation. The origin of the word mueang yet remains obscure. Wilaiwan Khanittanan sets the Tai usage against the Vietnamese. In Tai a mueang is the largest political unit, headed by a chao or fa with khun below him, and a small or newly founded mueang may have a khun as its ruler. A ban is a village within it and a bang a tambon or village site. In Vietnamese, by contrast, both muong and ban denote a remote upland village, usually with a mo for ritual and healing, while bang means "state". In October 2007, The National Library of Laos, in collaboration with the Berlin State Library and the University of Passau, started a project to produce the Digital Library of Lao Manuscripts. Papers presented at the Literary Heritage of Laos Conference, held in Vientiane in 2005, have also been made available. Many of the mss. illuminate the administrative, social, political, and religious demands put on communities in the same watershed area that insured a high degree of cooperation to create and maintain irrigation systems (müang-faai) – which probably was the primary reason for founding mueang.
Kham Mueang
Kham Mueang () is the modern spoken form of the old Northern Thai language that was the language of the kingdom of Lan Na (Million Fields). Central Thai may call northern Thai people and their language Thai Yuan. They call their language Kham Mueang in which Kham means language or word; mueang; town, hence the meaning of "town language," specifically in contrast to those of the many hill tribe peoples in the surrounding mountainous areas.
See also Acequia, Spanish term for irrigation system organized like the Müang Fai irrigation system Chiang (place name) Internal colonialism Tusi Wiang
References
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