Bayingyi people

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Baryingyi
ဘုရင်ဂျီ
Total population
At least 3,000, up to 100,000 [1] [2] [3] [4]
Regions with significant populations
Flag of Myanmar.svg  Myanmar
Flag of Sagaing Region (2019).svg  Sagaing Region ~3,000+
Languages
Languages of Myanmar: Burmese
Some English
Religion
Related ethnic groups

Bayingyi people (Burmese : ဘရင်ဂျီ) also known as Luso-Burmese, are a subgroup ethnicity of Luso-Asians, and are the descendants of Portuguese mercenaries or adventurers who came to Myanmar (Burma) in the 16th and 17th centuries. They were recruited into the Royal Burmese Armed forces' artillery and musketeers corps, and over centuries of continued settlement in the Mu Valley, particularly the Sagaing Region of Myanmar, have been more or less assimilated into the dominant ethnic group of the region, the Bamar, while keeping their sense of Portuguese identity and Roman Catholic religion.

Contents

Etymology

The descendants of the Portuguese were once commonly known, because of their Caucasian features, as “Bayingyi", but the everyday usage of the term, along with the Bayingyi's European appearance, has almost disappeared due to assimilation with the Bamar. The term “Bayingyi” is derived from the Arabic expression ‘Feringhi’ or 'Frank', used to generally describe any western European, with the word mainly being used by Middle Eastern Muslims to describe the Christian invaders from Europe during the Crusades. [5] [6]

History

Arrival of the Portuguese

A 19th-century Konbaung pennant of a Burmese artillery unit made up of European descendants. Flag of Burmese Royal Artillery (1853-1876).svg
A 19th-century Konbaung pennant of a Burmese artillery unit made up of European descendants.

During the 16th and 17th centuries the Royal Burmese Armed forces recruited entire corps of European and Muslim mercenaries, who used knowledge of artillery and muskets to assist the Burmese in war. By the mid-17th century, the mercenaries, who had proven politically dangerous as well as expensive, had virtually disappeared in favour of cannoneers and matchlockmen in the Burmese military ahmudan system. However, the men who replaced the mercenaries were themselves descendants of the mercenaries who had settled in their own hereditary villages in Upper Burma (on the vast plain in Sagaing Region) where they practised their own religion (Roman Catholicism) and followed their own customs. [5] [7]

Filipe de Brito and the development of the Bayingyi identity

Filipe de Brito, Portuguese mercenary and governor of Syriam, Burma, circa 1600. Namban Elefante Filipe de Brito 1.jpg
Filipe de Brito, Portuguese mercenary and governor of Syriam, Burma, circa 1600.

One of the best-known Portuguese adventurers was Filipe de Brito e Nicote, who served the Rakhine king, Min Razagyi. In 1599, de Brito was made governor of Syriam, a busy port on the Bago River in what is now Yangon’s Thanlyin Township, where the ruins of the country’s first Catholic church can be seen on a hilltop. [5]

De Brito, who commanded a force of about 3,000 men, enraged the Burmese after his forces desecrated Buddha images, and in 1613 Syriam was attacked by the Taungoo dynasty king, Anaukpetlun. De Brito was captured and executed by impaling. The Portuguese community, between 4,000 and 5,000 people, was taken prisoner and marched to the Taungoo capital, Ava. Some sources say it took them 10 weeks to complete the journey. [5]

In 1628, Anaukpetlun was succeeded by King Thalun. He encouraged the Portuguese and their mixed-race families to integrate, and gave them the land where their ancestors live in Sagaing. Now the descendants of these Portuguese, heavily integrated both ethnically and culturally into the Bamar, live scattered across an unknown range of villages and towns in this region known as 'Anya'. [5]

Population

St Mary's Cathedral, a Catholic church in Yangon (formerly Rangoon), Myanmar (Burma). Yangon St Marys Cathedral 2017.jpg
St Mary's Cathedral, a Catholic church in Yangon (formerly Rangoon), Myanmar (Burma).

An 1830 census put the population of the Bayingyi at somewhere roughly around 3,000, [8] but it is entirely possible many thousands more have some Portuguese ancestry – at least 5,000 Portuguese adventurers and mercenaries came to and settled in Myanmar, [5] and some estimate up to 100,000 Bayingyi are dispersed across the villages of the Mu Valley. [9] Centuries of inter-marriage have left the Bayingyi more or less assimilated into the Bamar ethnic group of Myanmar, but they have still kept their sense of Portuguese identity and Roman Catholic religion, and in some individuals obvious European phenotypes are still present. [5] [10] [11]

Persecution

At the end of 2021 and through 2022 several Bayingyi villages in the Mu Valley were targeted by the Tatmadaw, leading to pro-democracy anti-government protests from the community. [9] Agriculture and infrastructure was destroyed and livestock were killed. [12] The villages were ransacked, hundreds of houses were looted and torched, with Catholic chapels also being targeted and razed. [9] [13] According to the International Association of Luso-Descendants (IALD) the village of Chaung Yoe was the hardest hit, and was allegedly attacked with artillery. After the attacks, only 20 of the 350 houses were left intact. [12] The villagers were persecuted, terrorised and at least five were shot and killed while fleeing the attack, according to eyewitnesses. [12] [13] Several clergymen were arrested and their chapels were looted for gold and money. [9] [13] According to a Bayingyi eyewitness, the Catholic faith and 'foreign' traditions of his people is likely the reason for the attacks. [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sagaing Region</span> Region of Myanmar

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alaungpaya</span> Founder of the Konbaung Empire

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natshinnaung</span> King of Toungoo

Natshinnaung was a Toungoo prince who was a noted poet and an accomplished musician, as well as an able military commander. He later became a rebellious ruler of Toungoo, and went over to ally himself with Portuguese at Thanlyin (Syriam). He was crucified and executed in 1613.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taungoo</span> City in Bago Region, Myanmar

Taungoo, also spelled Toungoo and formerly Toung-ngú, is a district-level city in the Bago Region of Myanmar, 220 km from Yangon, towards the north-eastern end of the division, with mountain ranges to the east and west. The main industry is in forestry products, with teak and other hardwoods extracted from the mountains. The city is known for its areca palms and betel nut chewing.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anglo-Burmese people</span> Ethnic group

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mrauk U</span> Town in Rakhine State, Myanmar

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Brito or Britto may refer to:

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Filipe de Brito e Nicote</span> Portuguese mercenary in southeastern Asia

Filipe de Brito e Nicote or Nga Zinga was a Portuguese adventurer and mercenary in the service of the Arakanese kingdom of Mrauk U, and later of the Siamese Kingdom of Ayutthaya. His name is also recorded with the French spelling Philippe de Brito.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toungoo dynasty</span> Ruling dynasty of Burma from the mid-16th century to 1752

The Toungoo dynasty, and also known as the Restored Toungoo dynasty, was the ruling dynasty of Burma (Myanmar) from the mid-16th century to 1752. Its early kings Tabinshwehti and Bayinnaung succeeded in reunifying the territories of the Pagan Kingdom for the first time since 1287 and in incorporating the Shan States for the first time, in addition to including Manipur, Chinese Shan States, Siam and Lan Xang. At its peak, the Toungoo Empire was the largest and strongest empire in Southeast Asia. However, it collapsed in the 18 years following Bayinnaung's death in 1581.

Binnya Dala was the last king of Restored Kingdom of Hanthawaddy, who reigned from 1747 to 1757. He was a key leader in the revival of the Mon-speaking kingdom in 1740, which successfully revolted against the rule of Toungoo dynasty. Though Smim Htaw Buddhaketi was the king, it was Binnya Dala who was the prime minister that wielded power. After the nominal king abdicated in 1747, Binnya Dala, a local Mon nobleman with a Burman given name of Aung Hla, was elected king of the Mon-speaking kingdom.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Min Razagyi</span> King of Arakan

Min Razagyi, also known as Salim Shah, was king of Arakan from 1593 to 1612. His early reign marked the continued ascent of the coastal kingdom, which reached full flight in 1599 by defeating its nemesis Toungoo Dynasty, and temporarily controlling the Bay of Bengal coastline from the Sundarbans to the Gulf of Martaban until 1603. But the second half of his reign saw the limits of his power: he lost the Lower Burmese coastline in 1603 and a large part of Bengal coastline in 1609 due to insurrections by Portuguese mercenaries. He died in 1612 while struggling to deal with Portuguese raids on the Arakan coast itself.

Luso-Asians are Eurasian people whose ethnicity is partially or wholly Portuguese and ancestrally are based in or hail primarily from Portugal, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia. They historically came under the cultural and multi-ethnic sway of the Portuguese Empire in the East and retain certain aspects of the Portuguese language, Roman Catholic faith, and Latin cultural practices, including internal and external architecture, art, and cuisine that reflect this contact. The term Luso comes from the Roman empire's province of Lusitania, which roughly corresponds to modern Portugal.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salvador Ribeiro de Sousa</span> 17th-century Portuguese mercenary in Burma

Salvador Ribeiro de Sousa was an influential figure in the Early Modern Historical Period of Burma. He played a role in helping Filipe de Brito e Nicote, Nga Zinga, in defeating the Kingdoms of Arakan and Pegu, and in setting up a Pseudo-Portuguese Colony in the remnants of those kingdoms. He was awarded the Commander of the Military Order of Christ and was unofficially elected King of Pegu by the Burmese people. He also received the title "Quiay Massinga".

References

  1. "1: The 400-year history of Portuguese Catholics in Sagaing" (PDF). 19 December 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  2. "2: The Bayingyi People of Burma" (PDF). Joao-Roque Literary Journal Est. 2017. 26 February 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  3. "3: Portuguese descendants in Thailand" (PDF). 19 June 2009. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  4. "Casas incendiadas, terror e morte em Myanmar: Luso-descendentes católicos Bayingyi no alvo dos militares".
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Thu, Mratt Kyaw (6 December 2017). "The 400-year history of Portuguese Catholics in Sagaing". Frontier Myanmar. Retrieved 2019-05-11.
  6. "The Bayingyis of Myanmar". lostfootsteps.org. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
  7. "The Bayingyi People of Burma". Joao-Roque Literary Journal est. 2017. 6 February 2018. Retrieved 2019-05-11.
  8. Combustões (19 July 2009). "Portuguese descendants in Thailand". 500 Anos Portugal-Tailândia, por Miguel Castelo Branco. Retrieved 2019-05-11.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "'Risking my life to speak out,' claims minority Catholic community leader amid persecution by Myanmar's junta". SBS Language. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  10. "Bayingyis of the Valley of Mu". 19 June 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 August 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  11. "The Bayingyi People of Burma". Joao-Roque Literary Journal est. 2017. 6 February 2018. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
  12. 1 2 3 4 enquiries@thetablet.co.uk, The Tablet-w. "Ancient Catholic villages in Myanmar targeted by military". The Tablet. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  13. 1 2 3 "Political situation in Myanmar and the effects on Bayingyi villages - José Ramos-Horta". ramoshorta.com. 2022-06-05. Retrieved 2024-04-29.