Nanmadaw Me Nu
Nanmadaw Me Nu နန်းမတော် မယ်နု | |
---|---|
Pha Lan Gon | |
Died | 12 May 1840 Amarapura | (aged 56)
Spouse |
Theravada Buddhism |
Nanmadaw Me Nu (
King Bagyidaw was obviously under the dominance of the queen. Me Nu came to power and manipulated not only the royal court affairs but also the political affairs of the country. Although it was not customary for the Burmese king and queen to sit together on the throne, Me Nu broke with royal tradition by sitting on the throne alongside the king. Me Nu was later sentenced to death when Bagyidaw's brother, Tharrawaddy Min, usurped him.[1]
Background
Me Nu was born Shin Min Nu on 18 June 1783 at
Selection as crown princess
During the reign of King Bodawpaya, a falcon took 11-year-old Me Nu's sarong as she was bathing, dropping the garment in the left wing of the southern royal palace. When the king searched for the owner of the sarong, she soon arrived in his presence. After royal officials had conducted an investigation, the king offered her a position as lady-in-waiting at the palace.[3]
Chief queen
Prince Sagaing became the seventh king of the Konbaung dynasty, on 7 June 1819, making Me Nu his chief queen and given the title of Thiri Pavara Mahayazeinda Yadana Dewi. Her husband also given the title of "Thadoe Minhla Kyawhtin" and granted the appanage of Salin to her brother, Maung O.[3]
Me Nu had three children with Bagyidaw. Their eldest daughter died at young and their son, the Prince of Palaing, died in April 1804 at age 10 due to chickenpox. Their remaining daughter, Princess Supayagale, became Queen Hsinbyumashin; she was the wife of King Mindon and mother of Burma's last queen, Supayalat.[3]
Increasing power and downfall
Bagyidaw favored Me Nu, she rise to power in the court. Together with the king, she sat on the throne and arranged the court affairs. Alongside her brother and General Maha Bandula, she advocated for war with the British.[4]
General Maha Bandula died in Danubyu, and the British troops occupied the Yandabo, 40 miles from the royal capital. The Treaty of Yandabo was signed on 24 February 1826 which ended the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–1826). Due to the defeat of the war, 1 billion Burmese kyats of compensation had to be paid. Lacking money, Me Nu sold her jewelries and paid the first installment of compensation.
After the disastrous First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–1826) left the country crippled, Bagyidaw became increasingly reclusive, afflicted by bouts of depression and could not handle the administration of the state. Me Nu and Maung O became the de facto rulers of the country, and they were much feared due to their tyrannical policies.[3]
In February 1837, Crown Prince Tharrawaddy, brother of Bagyidaw, raised a rebellion. By April he had forced Bagyidaw to abdicate in his favor. Tharrawaddy put his brother under house arrest and sentenced to death Me Nu and her brother.[3]
As her last wish, she wants to see Sayadaw U Bok one last time. When she saw the sayadaw, she says,
"I'm going to die soon. I will pay my last respects to the abbot."
While the abbot was reading, he turned to Me Nu and says,
"Me Nu, If you have a karma debt, you definitely have to pay it."
Satisfied with the sermon, Me Nu happily went to the place of execution.
Donations
Me Nu established the
Some of her donations are as follow,
- Maha Meru Makuṭa Jhaṇḍa Rājā Bell at Pahtodawgyi
- Maha Aungmye Bonzan Monastery
- Maha Zeya Pahta Brick Bridge in Inwa
- Phalangon Pagoda
References
- ^ "Nanmadaw Mei Nu versus Phalankhon". Myanmar DigitalNews. 17 August 2019.
- ^ (Pathein), May Myat Naing. "စလင်းမင်းသားကြီး၏ ကောင်းမှုတော်များကို လေ့လာရှာဖွေခြင်း [Searching on the legacy of Prince Salin]". Myawady (in Burmese).
- ^ Myint-U 2006: 112
Bibliography
- Myint-U, Thant (2006). The River of Lost Footsteps—Histories of Burma. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 978-0-374-16342-6.