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MT. VICTORIA OF THE CHIN HILLS [Thanks for the info]
YANGON, 27 May 2004 (excerpts from NLM)—Member of the State Peace and
Development Council Lt-Gen Ye Myint inspects Myittha Dam Project (Pyintha), meets departmental officials in Htilin, Kanpetlet townships. Speaking on the occasion, Lt-Gen Ye Myint said that development of Chin State is being performed based on Kalay and Pakokku. As the government is implementing the plan that southern Chin State will obtain supplies of requirements through Pakokku, southern Chin State including Kanpetlet will have progress with momentum. People can travel to Mindat, Matupi, Haka from Kanpetlet in Chin State through the hill road as well as through Saw-Kyaukhtu-Htilin-Gangaw-Pakokku Road. In the past, southern and northern parts of Chin State faced difficulty not only in transport but also education, health, administration and development matters in the rainy season. To be able to overcome these difficulties, extension of Mindat-Matupi Road is being carried out with momentum. Kanpetlet region, a fertile region, is located at the edge of Magway Division. So agriculture and livestock breeding tasks are to be undertaken. Local people are urged to make concerted efforts for regional development and to generate small-scale hydroelectric power. More details with the photos at http://www.myanmar.com/nlm/enlm/May28_h2.html Taang Zomi wrote in message ... ==================== (1) TOURISM TO MINDAT AND KANPETLET IN SOUTHERN CHIN STATE (2) MT. VICTORIA AND (3) TRIBES ==================== Dear U Tun Lin, 1. Thank you very much for the additional info. Now I know that foreign tourists can go to both Mindat and Kanpetlet. 2. It seems that foreign tourists are NOT yet allowed to go to Matupi and Paletwa in Southern Chin State, and to all the townships of Northern Chin State. 3. Now that the trend in Myanmar is to change those colonial names and colonial-sounding names into native names (Rangoon to Yangon, Dalhousie Street to Maha Bandoola Street, Amherst to Kyaikkhami, etc.), why not change Mt. Victoria into Khawnu-tawng (the name of the mount in local language)? Just a thought. 4. I would like to make a correction of Paragraph #6 of the article you reproduced. In that paragraph, it was written: "The Northern Chin has 5 tribes, namely Haka, Falam, Htantlan, Tiddim and Tonzang. All tribes have their own townships, traditional dresses and dialects." Actually, Haka and Thantlang belong to the same major tribe (which we call Haka for the sake of convenience), and Tedim (our preferred spelling) and Tonzang belong to the same major tribe (which we call Tedim for the sake of convenience). Therefore we can say that there are three major tribes in Northern Chin State -- Haka, Falam and Tedim. Haka language is spoken in Haka and Thantlang townships and understood in Matupi township in Chin State, Myanmar and Mizoram State, India, while Tedim language is spoken in Tedim, Tonzang and Cikha townships in Chin State, Myanmar, and Lamka (Churachandpur) District in Manipur State, India, and understood in Mizoram State, India. Sincerely, Taang Zomi (=Maung Chin) On 25 May 2004 19:40:14 -0700, in soc.culture.burma, (utunlin) wrote: Business Tank Issue - 1 October , 2001 Thursday October 11, 2001 MT. VICTORIA OF THE CHIN HILLS (HOME OF TATOO FACED CHINS) The Chin Hills form a southward extention of the Himalayas into South East Asia from neighbouring Manipur in India. Scientific explorations to these areas were done very briefly during the colonial years. Among them, the most intrepid explorer was probably Kingdon- Ward (1885-1958 ), the botanist and geographer whose botanical collections and plant introductions made Myanmar's flora famous among gardeners. His exploration spanned over 30 years, concentrating mostly in the extreme North Kachin State ( Myanmar's Icy Mountains ) and ending in Mt. Victoria of the Chin Hill. Ornithologically, the last comprehensive field work in this area was carried out in the summer of 1937 ( Stresemann & Heinrich 1940 ) . The Chin Hills were first explored ornithologically by Lieutenant.H. Wood, who visited Mt. Victoria and nearby areas during the winter of 1901-02. (Wood & Finn 1902 ). Following Wood's initial findings, Colonel G.Rippon spent several months on Mt.Victoria in 1904, collecting a large number of specimens, many of which are to be found in the Museum of Natural History, Tring,U.K. The Northern Chin Hills were worked first by Captain F.E.W Venning , who collected a few specimens and many nests and eggs in the vicinity of Haka, during 1909-1910 ( Venning 1912 ). Further field-work, also concentrated on breeding biology, which was carried out in the northern most Chin Hills by J.C. Hopwood in May 1913, by Hopwood and J.M.D. Mackenzie during April and May 1914,and by Mackenzie in April and May 1915 ( Hopwood and Mackenzie 1917 ). Finally, P.F. Wickham toured the Hills during April and May 1916. ( Wickham 1918, 1929 ). After Myanmar has gained independence from the British in 1948, explorations to these areas were almost neglected and were never comprehensively studied. During the years that followed, explorations by foreigners to these areas were restricted. At that time, tours and expeditions in Myanmar were only organized and operated by goverment departments and corporations. But in 1994 after the goverment started to open up the door, the private sector was allowed to operate tours in the country. Travel agencies and companies were formed systematically and tourism business started to take a strong hold in Myanmar's economy. As a positive result, the first ornithological expedition to the Chin Hills was done in 1995 April by a group of renowned ornithologists. It was carefully designed and planned for sometime in advance by Dr Hugh A Buck and operated by Dr Htin Hla of wildbird Adventure Travel & Tours (WATT), a private travel company in Yangon. The participants were, leader Dr Hugh. A. Buck, Ben.F.King (Author of " Birds of South East Asia" 1975) David Farrow, Tim.Fisher (Co-author of " A guide to Birds of Phillippines") and Craig Robson (Author of " A Field Guide to the Bird of South East Asia" 2000). About 400 species of birds were recorded on this expedition, including 2 new species for Myanmar, 20 new species for West Myanmar, seven endangered species and 11 near threatened species. White-browed Nuthatch, the endermic bird of Mt. Victoria, which had not seen by any western ornithologist during the last 60 years was first time recorded, along with another 4 endermic birds of Myanmar. As a result of these expeditions, the Chin Hills became well known among keen birders around the world and bird watching tours to Mt. Victoria were regularly done since then. The core area of 279 square miles surrounding Mt Victoria is now declared " Natmataung National Park". Natmataung is derived from a Chin name " Khawnuthoung", the name of this highest mountain, meaning mother of spirit in both languages. The ethnic tribes living in this region are the Chins. The Chins are one of the major tribes in Myanmar who have their own state, language and customs. But one will be surprised to hear that there exists more than 60 dialects in Chin, some languages resembling some, but some, so different that, they have to communicate each other in Myanmar, which is the official language of the Union of Myanmar. Geographically, the Chin State in divided into North and South portion. In the south, the major tribes are Kanpetlet, Mindat, Matupi and Paletwa Chins. The Northern Chin has 5 tribes, namely Haka, Falam, Htantlan, Tiddim and Tonzang. All tribes have their own townships, traditional dresses and dialects. The most unique tribes live in Southern Chin State around Mt. Victoria. Mt. Victoria is the highest mountain in the Chin Hills and lower half of Myanmar, which stands at 10,200 ft. Among these tribes, older women usually have their faces heavily tatooed. Photo - Traditional dances being performed by Chin damsels The reason for this extraordinary tradition is not clearly understood but some hints were given that, during ancient days Myanmar Kings living in the plains would come to the Chin Hills in search of their bride. To avoid being taken away by those kings, the lovely Chin ladies would try to hide their beauty by heavily tatooing their faces. Ironically, now it has almost become a tradition to wear a tatoo on the faces of these ladies each representing their own tribe and meaning. Come visit this place rich in culture, tradition and nature and enjoy the evenings with locally brewed Khaungyay made from dryly fermented millet seeds. It is a custom for the Chins to host their visitors with Khaungyay. It is an excellent place for bird watching, trekking, mountaineering, culture, nature and adventure tours where the weather stays cool the whole year round, and not far from the ancient temple city of Bagan. During recent years some botanists and zoologists explored this after hearing that this place is now opened to foreigners. They also discovered interesting plants and animals, some of which are new and some found only in this area and nowhere else in the world. But most people who visited there are trekkers who would love to walk from Kanpetlet to Mindat, taking about 3 days, camping in the wild and also having an opportunity to walk up the summit of Mount Victoria. How to go This very place can be easily reached from Bagan by a 4 wheel drive vehicle (7 hours drive). From Bagan there is paved road south to Chauk which is only 20 miles in distance. (˝ hour drive). After crossing the Irrawaddy river at Chauk, on a newly constructed Anawratha bridge, there is a road heading west to Saw (71 miles) and from there, another 12 miles (total 83 miles) to Kanpetlet in the Chin State. The summit of Mt. Victoria is only 12.5 miles from Kanpetlet, out of which 10 miles can be driven by car (to 9000 ft). Where to stay -Public works Bungalow (Kanpetlet town) -Forest Bungalow (Kanpetlet town) -Forest Bungalow at the edge of the National Park (old town Kanpetlet). -Khaw-nu thoung Bungalow in Mindat. Another route - Khaw-nu-thoung Bungalow in Mindat. For more information please contact WATT. On Sun, 23 May 2004 19:30:16 -0700, in soc.culture.burma you wrote: ==================== TOURISM TO MINDAT TOWNSHIP, SOUTHERN CHIN STATE ==================== Dear U Tun Lin, Thank you very much for the info you provided. It is good to know that foreign tourists can now go to Mindat Township in southern Chin State. Do you, by any chance, know whether foreign tourists can go to other townships of southern Chin State (Matupi, Kanpetlet and Paletwa) and the townshis of northern Chin State (Thantlang, Haka, Falam, Tedim and Tonzang)? I heard that several new townships have been established in Chin State recently, too. Sincerely, The Voice of a Zomi (Chin) |
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MT. VICTORIA OF THE CHIN HILLS (HOME OF TATOO FACED CHINS) | utunlin | Asia | 2 | May 28th, 2004 10:57 PM |