Panthay Muslims protect their name

Panthay Muslims protect their name

By Jeremy Mullins and Mon Mon Aye   |   Sunday, 30 March 2014

Mandalay's Panthay Chinese Muslim community is nearing completion of an internal count of its population as part of an effort to gain recognition as a separate ethnic group with the launch of the Myanmar's nationwide census.

U Moon Chi Wei, imam at the Mandalay Panthay mosque, stands in his wholesale noodle shop. (Jeremy Mullins/The Myanmar Times)

The government-organised and UNsupported nationwide census began on March 30. The census forms lists 135 separate ethnic groups, but does not provide a category for a number of ethnicities that are not officially recognised by the government. Individuals who feel their ethnicity is not reflected in the list may select code 914, "other", and write in their ethnic group name.

The Panthays are one of these "914" groups, but community leaders say they are keen to gain official recognition for their ethnic group, claiming a unique heritage and at least 150 years of history in Myanmar.

U Moon Chi Wei, imam at the Mandalay Panthay mosque, said official recognition of the group could lead to its broader awareness and strengthen the confidence of Panthay identity.

He claimed nearly all Mandalay Panthays hold full Myanmar citizenship and thus are less concerned about politics and consequences from the census than other groups in a more tenuous situation. Rather, the Panthays see official recognition as important to maintaining their identity.

"If the government accepts our ethnic group, future development will be easier," he said.

The Panthays generally define themselves as culturally Chinese but religious followers of Islam, and claim their ancestors have inhabited Myanmar since at least the mid-19th century.

Imam U Moon Chi Wei presides over the Panthay mosque, which was completed in 1868. It is the second-oldest of about 50 mosques catering to different ethnicities in Mandalay, according to U Maung Maung Lay,

emeritus associate professor of international relations at the University of Mandalay and himself an ethnic Panthay.

A book he authoured titled, The Emergence of the Panthay Community at Mandalay claims the community had been granted the land by King Mindon after the community swelled due to the late-19th-century warfare in China's Yunnan province between local Muslims and the central Imperial government during the era of the Taiping rebellion.

References to Panthays periodically show up in early British accounts of Myanmar.

Colonial-era official Sir James George Scott mentions communities of Panthays living in northern Shan State in his comprehensive Gazetteer of Upper Burma and the Shan States published in 1900-01, claiming the group generated income primarily through trade with China.

While they may no longer be able to muster the large mule caravans Sir Scott credited as a key to their success, an entrepreneurial spirit is still much alive.

Many Panthays are prominent local businesspeople. Indeed, U Moon Chi Wei is not only imam of the local mosque and a religious instructor in Pyin Oo Lwin, but also presides over a wholesale noodle business in the downtown core.

While the Panthays may have a long history in Mandalay, their relative paucity means many Myanmar people are familiar with them primarily through popular dishes such as Panthay noodles.

U Maung Maung Lay believes there are between 30,000 and 50,000 Panthays in Myanmar. He is one organiser of the Mandalay census conducted by the Panthay community of its population, which had counted about 1500 individuals from 270 families as of March 21, with about 70 families remaining uncounted.

While the Panthay-organised census is presently confined to Mandalay, likely the largest home of Panthays in Myanmar, U Maung Maung Lay said he encouraged other cities with substantial populations to organise their own.

The Mandalay Panthay mosque opened in 1868. (Jeremy Mullins/The Myanmar Times)

While the group had been recognised during the British administration, its status disappeared in the intervening period.

"We want our name back," he said. "We have to bring up the status of the group back again."

Panthay community leaders are also encouraging their fellow Panthays to fill out code 914 on the census rather than simply selecting "Myanmar" ethnicity.

U Thaung Zaw, director of the Mandalay Region Immigration and Registration Department, said the Union government plans to re-assess the list of recognised ethnic groups in the months following the census. Ethnic groups aiming for recognition can then also petition the government through a letter written by community leaders during that period, he added.

U Maung Maung Lay said the Panthays plan on writing to government officials if they are not recognised following the government census, though added there is no intention of seeking political representation for the group.

The unofficial census conducted within the community could also be used to bolster the case for recognition in the months following the census.

"The Panthay name is already familiar,. It shouldn't disappear," he said.

Although Panthay identity is unique, it is not homogenous.

There is a traditional divide between the "pure" and the "mixed" Panthays in Mandalay, meaning those who keep with Chinese culture and those who intermarry with Myanmar people.

While many "pure" Panthays associate closely with Chinese culture, watching Chinese films and maintaining close ties with the Chinese communities, many "mixed" Panthays cannot speak the language and may identify just as strongly with Myanmar people.

For his part, U Maung Maung Lay has a Burmese, a Chinese and an Arabic name.

He used the Burmese language name during his term working for the university, while his Chinese name was gifted by his father, and his Arabic name is used for religious purposes, the name he believes that Allah calls him with.

The Panthays claim they follow religious practices quite close to those of other Islamic groups, but culturally the differences abound. Imam U Moon Chi Wei said that mealtime reveals several differences between the Panthays and other Muslims.

"We eat rice with chopsticks, while other Muslims eat with spoons or their hands," he said. "We also prefer Chinese curries over other types."

Still, Panthays are not entirely culturally Chinese.

The Panthays also generally do not take part in Chinese New Year, and while members often claim to be culturally Chinese and religiously Islamic, it is also clear they would like to steer their own course.

Although Mandalay Region has been the scene of tension between the Buddhist and Muslim communities, such as the violence in Meiktila one year ago, U Maung Maung Lay downplayed concerns that anti-Muslim prejudice affects the Panthay community.

He said the residents of the Panthay quarter on 80th Street worked hard to keep good relations with their Buddhist neighbours, and added that much of the anger ostensibly directed against Muslims was in fact aimed at ethnic Indians.

"There have always been frictions between the Indians [and the Myanmar]," he said, adding the Panthays managed to stay outside the fray.

"The new generation is proud of Panthay culture," he said. "I call myself Panthay, but my heart is with Myanmar and the Panthays."

Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2014/04/02/panthay-muslims-protect-their-name/