Mong Pai Division

a group of Kayan

Earlier 1900, Mong Pai was ruled by Sawbwas. Sawbwa is chief of a State, a rank lower than the king but the head or the Chief of a state. The area of Mong Pai division is 660 square miles. The Population was19,358 in 1880. Now the population of Mong Pai region is more than 100,000. The earliest Sawbwa who is discribed in the history is Hkun Ping-nga. He was born in 1881 and he is a Buddhist. The Mong Pai state is for a great part a mass of hills but there is a fair amount of rice land along Nam Hpilu. Nam means river in Shan language. The population of Mong Pai state is very mixed and includes Kayan, Shan as well as Taungthu(Pa-O). The Capital of Mong Pai is Kaung-i, lies in the hills some miles from the Hpilu River but Hpaikon city(Phekon) on that stream is the chief place in the Mong Pai State. Phekon city is the capital city of Kayan now.