Panthays are a Chinese Muslim (Hui) ethnic group in Myanmar (Burma). They are one of the oldest Muslim communities in Myanmar, with origins tracing back to Yunnan Province in southwestern China. The term "Panthay" is a Burmese word used to describe Yunnanese Muslim caravan traders who entered Burma, though the group identifies as Hui (回族) in China.
Etymology
The name "Panthay" is derived from Burmese, possibly related to the Shan word Pang hse. It was the term used by the Burmese to refer to Chinese Muslims who came with caravans from Yunnan. The name was not used or known within Yunnan itself. The term gained widespread usage during the period of British colonial rule (from around 1875) and remains the name by which Myanmar's Chinese Muslim community is generally distinguished in English-language sources. Several theories exist regarding its derivation, but none are conclusively established.
Demographics and Distribution
Panthays are concentrated particularly in northern Myanmar, closer to the Yunnan border. Significant communities exist in Tangyan, Maymyo (Pyin-Oo-Lwin), Mogok, Taunggyi, Mandalay, Yangon, Lashio, Kengtung, and Bhamo. No comprehensive census of the Panthay population has been conducted since 1931. An estimate of approximately 100,000 Panthays residing within Burma appeared in the Burmese daily Hanthawaddi in 1960.
Culture and Religion
Panthays are exclusively Muslim, adhering to the Hanafi school of Sunni Islam. Wherever they have settled in sufficient numbers, they have established their own mosques and madrasas. Some mosques display "pseudo-Moghul" architectural styles influenced by Indian Muslim tastes, while others (notably in Mandalay) feature Chinese architectural elements. The Panthay Mosque in Mandalay, completed in 1868, is the second oldest mosque in the city.
Historically, Panthays were renowned as long-distance caravaneers, dominating the caravan trade of Yunnan and northern Southeast Asia. Their merchandise included silk, tea, metal utensils, walnuts, opium, and preserved foods from Yunnan, while they carried back raw cotton, jade, precious stones, and other goods from Burma.
History
Origins in Yunnan
Muslims of Central Asian origin played a major role in the Yuan dynasty's conquest and rule of Southwest China. A distinct Muslim community was established in Yunnan by the late 13th century, largely through the efforts of Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din Omar, a Turkic court official who became Yuan Governor of Yunnan (1274–1279). His son Nasir al-Din commanded the first Mongol invasion of Burma in 1277. The descendants of Muslim garrison troops from this period form the nucleus of present-day Chinese Muslim populations in both Yunnan and Burma.
Panthay Rebellion (1856–1873)
The Panthay Rebellion, also known as the Du Wenxiu Rebellion, was a rebellion of the Muslim Hui people and other ethnic groups against the Qing dynasty in Yunnan. Under the leadership of Du Wenxiu (who adopted the name Sultan Sulayman), a self-proclaimed Pingnan Kingdom ("Country of the Peaceful South") was established with its capital at Dali. The rebellion was rooted in discrimination against the Hui population and population pressures from Han Chinese migration, rather than being purely religious in nature. The sultanate was annihilated by Qing forces in 1873, and Du Wenxiu was executed.
Exodus to Burma
Following the collapse of the sultanate, many Panthays fled across the border into Burma to escape persecution. They established settlements including the exclusively Panthay town of Panglong in Wa State in 1875. During the Konbaung period, King Mindon of Burma granted land to the Panthays in Mandalay, allowing them to establish a separate community and build a mosque.
British Colonial Period and Later
Under British rule, Panthay settlers flourished as merchants, caravaneers, miners, and restaurateurs. During World War II, the main Panthay settlement at Panglong was destroyed by the Japanese invasion in 1941, and many Panthays fled to Yunnan, Thailand, or Laos. Following the Chinese Communist victory in 1949, additional Yunnanese refugees arrived, and many Panthays migrated to northern Thailand, where communities continue to exist.
Related Groups
Panthays are related to the Hui people of China, the Dungan people of Central Asia, the Chin Haw (Chinese Muslims in Thailand), and other Chinese Muslim diaspora communities in Southeast Asia.
