A post from the archives
1600s
The Bayingyis of Myanmar
One of the smallest but perhaps most interesting Christian communities in Myanmar are the bayingyi of the Mu valley (near Shwebo). Bayingyi is a derivation of the Arabic word Feringi or frank, meaning, roughly, a western European. It is the same as the Thai word farang or the Khmer barang. The first bayingyis of the Mu valley were the hundreds of mainly Portuguese followers of the Syriam warlord Filipe de Brito who were exiled there by King Anaukpetlun in the...
Explore Myanmar History through a Timeline
About this project
The aim of this website is to promote interest in Myanmar's amazing history.Our hope is to challenge the often two-dimensional and uncritical views of history taught in Myanmar by reexamining key periods in the country's past. We would like as well to reveal the rich multicultural nature of Myanmar's history and its deep and ongoing ties to global events and trends.Finally, this website will also delve into the history of neighbouring regions, such as Yunnan in China and the Northeast in India, in the hope of introducing these places to a Myanmar audience.We believe that meeting Myanmar's many challenges today will require fresh imaginative thinking. This is turn will only be possible with a clear and critical understanding of Myanmar and global history.