A thousand miles on an elephant in the Shan States

by Holt S. Hallett

View looking south-west from Muang Fang.

He said that the Ngio (Burmese Shans) had held possession of, and settled in, the upper valley of the Meh Teng ever since 1870; and that up to the year before, there were some of their villages in the lower part of the valley of the Meh Fang, but the Zimmé Shans had forced them to retire from Muang Fang, and meant ultimately to drive them out of Muang Nyon and Muang Ngam. As these two provinces form part of the Burmese Shan State of Muang Sat, and have never been included in the Zimmé possessions, the talk of this Chow must have been either sheer brag, or the Zimmé Shans intended at that time to provoke and commence hostilities with their Burmese Shan neighbours.

The land in the province, according to our informant, was very fertile, yielding fully 250-fold what was sown. The inundation that occurs near the banks of the river will probably cease when the land nearer the hills is brought under cultivation, and the water is spread over the fields by means of irrigation-channels. When giving us the names of the three ancient cities, Viang Fang, Viang Soop Tho, and Viang Prah, built touching each other at Muang Fang, he said that the country contained many ruined cities, and at one time must have been very populous.

Mr Archer, who journeyed through the province in 1887 when on his way to Kiang Hsen, was of the same opinion as the Chow. In his report he states:—

“That the valley of the Meh Fang formerly contained a large population is proved by the most reliable evidence—the number of temples in ruins strewn close to both banks down to the junction of the Mé Khok (Meh Khoke); and that the country was well cultivated is shown by the present stunted vegetation. But the land close to the river is said to be at present so subject to high floods that no cultivation is possible: this curious fact may be due to some impediment of recent formation in the lower course of the river (perhaps fishing-dams). There is, however, still a large extent of country well suitable to cultivation, and labour alone is required to bring the province to its former state of prosperity. I was informed that 320 ruined temples have been counted within the province, and this number probably includes all; innumerable figures of Buddha strewn about these ruins are left undisturbed. I may, by the way, mention as an instance of the wrong impression made on an important people by unscrupulous travellers, that I was told by some of the earlier settlers and by officials of the province, that a ‘former British consul’ had purloined a number of Buddhas from the temples. This remark referred to a European traveller (Mr Carl Bock), who several years ago attempted to take away some of these images.

In reference to the reoccupation of States that have been deserted for a long period of years, Mr Archer makes some interesting remarks. In his report he says:—

“It is interesting to notice how these settlements are effected by the Laos (the Siamese call the Shans in their dominions outside Siam proper, Lao or Lau, which is given in the plural only by Europeans as Laos), as it may illustrate the manner in which the present capitals of these States were founded within recent times. The site generally chosen for the future capital is close to or on the banks of the principal river, and it is of primary importance that the surrounding country should be a fertile plain well suitable for rice cultivation. The capitals of these provinces are, therefore, almost always situated in the midst of a flat low country, but on ground sufficiently elevated to secure them from high floods. In the case of Muang Fang, however, the city lies at the foot of the hills on the Meh Chan, and at a little distance from the Meh Fang: this position was probably chosen in order to avoid the too heavy inundations of this river.

“Where the new settlement is on the site of a former city, the old embankment or wall, if any such remain, is kept as the boundary of the new town, and in time a wooden palisade, perhaps about 12 feet high, is put up; later, if the new city has greater pretensions, this is replaced by a high brick wall, either entirely, as in the case of Nan, or partly, as in Chiengmai (Zimmé) and Lakhon. The site having been fixed upon, the laborious task of clearing the jungle is begun; all, or nearly all, the trees are felled, the roads are marked out, and alongside the settlers are allowed to choose a piece of the ground. A rough shanty is generally put up at first, and round it are planted bananas and other quick-growing plants; the grounds of the old temples are not encroached upon, and the principal wats (monasteries) are often reoccupied by priests.

“Many of the new-comers first reside in the capital, but as by degrees they have opportunities of becoming better acquainted with the surrounding country, they begin by cultivating the most promising land in the neighbourhood; others join them, and thus villages are founded; and when a longer residence and increased population have given a feeling of greater confidence and security, settlements are gradually formed farther from the capital. A large body of immigrants, or a number of families from the same locality, generally form a separate settlement—especially if they are of different race from the original settlers; and if they settle in the capital, they usually have a separate quarter allotted to them.