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Myay Du Muslims
There are some Muslims living in Thandwe District. These Muslims are
called "Myay Du". They are the descendants of the former "Pagoda
Slaves".11 When King Min Bin (Man Ban) alias Min Bargyi (Man Bargri)
reoccupied the Chittagong District in A.D. 1533, he brought back
some Bengalis as prisoners of war and let them work as menial
workers at Andaw, Nandaw and Sandaw Pagodas in Thandwe. Since they
had to do menial works and were not free people anymore, they were
called "Pagoda Slaves". In the year 1624, these Bengali "Pagoda
Slaves" supported the 'Palace revolution' of the 'Viceroy of Thandwe'
against his own father, the Arakanese king. After the aborted
revolution against the Arakanese king these 'Bengali Pagoda Slaves'
and their families, all together about four thousand people, escaped
to Ava to take refuge. The Burmese king accepted them as his
subjects, gave them their freedom by royal orders declaring that
they were no longer "Pagoda Slaves", and let them settle in the
small town Myay Du. That's why they were known as "Myay Du Muslims".
These "Myay Du Muslims", generation by generation, served in the
Burmese Royal Army. When Bodaw U Waing's armies invaded Arakan
in1784, the descendants of these "Myay Du Muslims" came together
with the Burmese Army at Thandwe front. When the Burmese occupied
Arakan they let the "Myay Dus" resettle in Thandwe and nearby
villages. Since these people had lived about 150 years in Upper
Burma, these "Myay Dus" were assimilated into Burmese society.
Although their descendants live in Thandwe District, they speak
Burmese central dialect instead of Arakanese Thandwe Dialect. Only
in complexion and name (in some cases only) do they differ from the
Arakanese and Burmese, yet they know the Burmese language, culture
and traditions very well. Officially, they have Burmese/Arakanese
names. They rarely use their Muslim names in public.
Since the "Kamans", the descendants of Afghan archers started living
in Arakan since 1430 and their population increased in 1660 when Sha
Shuja followers joined them, and the "Myay Dus" the descendants of
Bengali "Pagoda Slaves" started living in Arakan since 1533 they may
be called "the Indigenous Muslims of Arakan". For centuries to now,
these "Indigenous Muslims of Arakan" lived and live peacefully with
Burmese and Arakanese (Rakhaings), who are Buddhists. Even in the
country-wide racial riots between Buddhists and Muslims starting
from Rangoon in 1938, there was not a single riot in Thandwe.
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