Mawlamyine

About Mawlamyine

Mawlamyine, formerly Moulmein, is the fourth-largest city in Myanmar (Burma), 300 kilometres (190 mi) southeast of Yangon and 70 kilometres (43 mi) south of Thaton, at the mouth of Thanlwin (Salween) River. Mawlamyine was an ancient city and the first capital of British Burma. It also serves as the capital of Mon State.

The Mon name which was previously used for Mawlamyine, Moulmein means "damaged eye" or "one-eyed man." According to legend, a Mon king had a powerful third eye in the centre of his forehead, able to see what was happening in neighbouring kingdoms. The daughter of one of the neighbouring kings was given in marriage to the three-eyed king and managed to destroy the third eye. The Burmese name "Mawlamyine" is believed to be a corruption of the Mon name.

Moulmein was also spelled as Maulmain or Moulmain or Maulmein in some records of the 19th century. The people of Moulmein were referred to as Moulmeinian.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.