The ceremony opened with a speech by Dr. Chit San Win, the author of Myanmar-Bhumi Occurrence and Pyu First States Abstract (title translated from Burmese) that names the Pyu, not the Mon, as the first tribe to settle in lower Burma. Dr. Myo Than Tin served as the ceremony chairman and facilitated the two-day event that attracted around 150 domestic and international scholars and observers. Eight monographs were read on the first day and eleven were presented on the second.

Mon youths meeting with U Naing Win outside Pyu Monograph Reading Ceremony (Photo: Mi Koonhtaw)

“I am very satisfied to have this reading ceremony conclude peacefully. Because representatives from the Educational Department and Health Department were unable to attend, the three-day plan for the ceremony was reduced to two days. Yet, so far, it’s very satisfying,” said Dr. Chit San Win.

Mon national Nai Ye Zaw attending Pyu Monograph Reading Ceremony (Photo: Mi Koonhtaw)
“The history is changed, and Pyu and Burman are the same. That’s what they discussed [at the ceremony],” said the All Mon Regions Democracy Party Pyuthu Hlutaw representative Nai Hla Maung.

U San Win, a retired assistant director of the National Museum and Library’s Historical Research Department, read monographs describing his observations of the Pyu culture based on archaeological evidence. Retired engineer U Bo Khin Oo and U Win Maung also presented papers on the Pyu.

Mon historians frequently describe Dr. Chit San Win’s publication as contentious for its assertion that the Suvanabhumi region (Thaton in Mon language), as well as the Winka, Dagaung, Hanlinn, Paitthanoe, Tharaykhittarra and Danyawaddy, were all part of the Pyu Kingdom. Nai Maung Toe, a Mon historian and former director of the National Archives and Records Department, also explained that author Phon Tin Kyaw stirred controversy with a similar claim that the Mon regions in lower Burma were early settlements belonging to the Pyu tribe.

However, the Monograph Reading Ceremony of Pyu Tribe and Pyu Kingdom was reportedly held without fanning the flames of the historical disagreement between Mon and Burman scholars.

“It does not seem like they read anything contradictory to Mon history. This afternoon, Mon national Nai Ye Zaw will read a research paper exploring how the Pyu are connected to Mon to refute the history written by Phon Tin Kyaw,” said participant Mi Moe Moe.

On the first day of the ceremony, Nai Ye Zaw said, “Our Union Burma is made up of many ethnic groups, so it is very important to have friendly relationships but not to have misunderstandings with one another. It is also important for us not to bear a new grudge while the old grudge has not completely eased yet.”

Despite the stated peaceful nature of the exchange, thirteen observers objected to not being given the opportunity to raise questions during the limited time after the presentations.

“I wanted to ask why Pyu stone inscriptions and Burmese stone inscriptions are found together on the well-known Mya Zaydi Inscription Pillar, but I could not because I was told there was no time left,” said Nai Hla Maung.

Among monograph readers, two readers, Phon Tin Kyaw and Thisar Wathi U Myint Aung, addressed different aspects of Mon history.

“U Naing Win, the brother of Phon Tin Kyaw, asked if we could provide proof that King Anawratha went into war with Thaton King Manuha,” said a Mon university student who attended the ceremony as an observer.

Mon political parties including the New Mon State Party, All Mon Regions Democracy Party (AMDP), and Mon Democracy Party (MDP) were prepared to protest any perceived manipulation of Mon history that came out of the Monograph Reading Ceremony of Pyu Tribe and Pyu Kingdom. At a Public Meeting on November 29 in Moulmein, the capital of Mon State, MDP 2nd Chairman Nai Tin Aung said, “We recommended that the government stop any activities that disrespect Mon national dignity now and in the future.”