One Hundred and One Nations

101 Nations (), also translated as 101 Tribes or 101 Ethnicities,ကိုယော(ဘောဂဗေဒ)၊ နှောင်းခေတ်ဟောင်းက လောင်းရှည် (သို့မဟုတ်) ယောရွှေပြည်က ပုဂံ၊ စာပေဗိမာန်ထုတ် is a traditional Burmese catalogue form in which a set of "one hundred and one" ethnic groups are listed together. Originated from Buddhist Jatakas, this cultural motif appears in classical chronicles, folktales, religious sermons and local commemorative texts, and has been used historically as a way to symbolize the world as known to the Burmese people, to record tribute relationships, or to index ethnic diversity under a dynasty. In a way, it is comparable to the role the table of nations play in Judaeo Christianity. Many versions of the list exist, and there are many differences as well as overlaps between them.

Overview Pali literature, like the Mahā-Ummagga Jātaka and Sutasoma Jātaka, mentions a hundred and one kings or one hundred and one polities that exist in Jambudvīpa. Over time, this term was re-appropriated by Burmese literature by making Burma the religious center of the known world. Thus, the phrase "101 nations" also serves as a rhetorical device to mean "all of humanity" in Burmese language.

Variants and formats There is no single canonical list of 101 names, although one formulaic verse, "Seven Burmish, four Mon, thirty Tai and sixty Indian constitute 101 nations"( ၊ဝနှင့်၊ ၊၊ ), is quite popular. Compilers often adapted the roster to local political realities, religious agendas, or poetic needs. Variants of the list appear in different regions and periods; some versions mix toponyms, tribal names, castes and legendary peoples from Indian literature. Some versions feature further ethnological or racial categorizations, while others do not. The list is attested in the following historical sources:

A devotional poem by Shin Own Nyo ( ရှင်အုန်းညို ဂါထာခြောက်ဆယ်ပျို့) Zatadawbon Yazawin Seal of Jambudvipa () Encyclopedia of Illustrious Answers () Commonplace book of the monk of Mon-yway () A book by the minister of Shwe-daung () Notes left by the count of Taung-Inn () Notes left by the assistant officer of foreign affairs () Notes left by Mayor U Kam-thaa () Lokahita-rāsī () The New Chronicle of Arakan () The Administration of Burmese Kings by Bagan-U-Tin () The Tabular Chronicle ()

Shin Own Nyo version The "60-Gathas-pyo" poem (ဂါထာခြောက်ဆယ်ပျို့) is a classic Buddhist devotional poem composed by the 16th century monk-poet Shin Own Nyo (ရှင်အုန်းညို). Despite not featuring all one hundred and one tribes, it is considered to be the earliest local attestation of the list, offering a glimpse of the worldview of the first Ava period. Without any categorization, the poem mentions the following:ဂါထာခြောက်ဆယ်ပျို့, Canto X, stanza 75

Puṇṇāḥ (ပုဏ္ဏား, Brahmins ) Mranmā (မြန်မာ, Burmese people) Byāpā (ဗျာပါး or ဗျာပါ ) Caṅḥ-kran (စင်းကြန်) Kran Tan (ကြန်တန်) Pyoʔ Gwyamḥ(ပျော့ဂျွမ်း) or Jwamm (ဂျွမ်း; historical raiders from Southeast direction) Kamḥ yaṃ (, ancient Tibeto-Burman ethnicity closely associated with either Pyu or Arakanese people) Prū Mruṃ Sathuṃ Taliuṅḥ i.e. "Talaing" (, a term for Mon people) Saksāḥ Kulāḥ Panḥ seḥ Kyaññḥ (ကျည်း) or Kraññḥ-liu (ကြည်းလို; a term for South Indians like Keralas and Tamils ) Sinḥ-ghiul (သိန်းဃိုဠ်) i.e. Sinhalese people Bāli Bodhi Paṅkā or Baṅkā (ဗင်္ကာ, Bengalis) Saṅḥ-tvaiḥ (သင်းတွဲ; Tagaung Kingdom) *Rap-lhai (ရပ်လှဲ) *Tathūḥ (တထူး) Kantūḥ-Nāḥbhak (ကန္တူး နားဘက်) i.e. Kadu people Tarak (တရက်; a term for Chinese people including Yunnanese ethnic groups) Sūlhī Cālī Abhak (အဘက်) Aip pak (အိပ်ပက်) Caṇḍāḥ (from Chandala ) Yiuḥdayāḥ (from Ayutthaya, Siamese people) *saṅ' thoṅ Paloṅ Lava (from Lopburi or Lao or Wa people) Subbha Hramḥ i.e. Shan people Ywanḥ (Tai Yuan) Ūḥpraññḥ (ဦးပြည်း, meaning "bald-headed") Myaknhāmaññḥ (မျက်နှာမည်း, meaning "black-faced") Kasaññḥ Karaṅ Khyaṅḥ Laṅḥ (from Lan Na or Lan Xang). Tanaṅsārī (both Tavoyan people and Moken people) Jawgī (ဇော်ဂီ, supposedly from Yogi) Sippa () Kulāna ( from > "clan")

In the above list, entries with asterisks are uncertain as ethnonyms due to possible punctuation errors.

Zatadawbon version There are two variant lists found in Zatadawbon Yazawin, one of the oldest Burmese royal records. This version is the oldest complete list, enumerating all 101 nations. The list is difficult to be dated due to the complexity of multiple historical layers and editions in the chronicle, but it likely represents the Ava Dynasty or Toungoo dynasty at the very least. Just like Shin Own Nyo, the chronicle does not make any categorization. The first variant lists the following:

Mranmā Taliuṅḥ (တလိုင်း) Jamī (possibly Zomi people) Jacā Ywan Manu Kulāḥ () Shyamḥ Pikkarā or Patikkarā (ပတိက္ကရာ, currently known as ) Sokkatai Thavay Rakhuiṅ Yiuḥdayāḥ Kasaññḥ Sūbha or Subbha Katūḥ Proʔ (possibly Pyu) Tanaṅsārī Laviuk (လဝိုက်, perhaps from Longvek) Uraṃ Kukkai Obhā Mahallakā (possibly from Malacca, Melayu Kingdom ) Phaṅjā Nabhai Aṅkyaññ (အင်ကျည်) or Aṅkyay (အင်ကျယ်) Pusata Athā Pricchā Yapā Mruṃ Lava Serā Candāḥ (စန္ဒား; Tsan-da, one of Koshanpye) or Caṇḍāḥ Tarup or *Taruk Tarak Puṇṇāḥ Jogā Jawtat Ammaññtak (အမ္မည်တက်) Toṅla Rānmān or *Rāman (Rāmañña, Mon people) Toṅsū Shyū (possibly Ba-Shyūh, i.e. Malays) Laṅbhe Ta-Kraññ (perhaps, Kraññ, i.e. Dravidian peoples) Tharo (ထရော, possibly Dayo; Yaw people) Tapasī (conflated with Tapas, possibly Pasī, i.e. Persian diaspora) Phussa Rechū (compare Resū) Viyye Laṅ Yintū, or possibly Hintū ( Hindus) Sathuṃ Kraññ ( Dravidian peoples) Panthip (possibly from Pandit ) Mālin () Suttan (possible from Sultan) Jawgī Lahak Pho kyaṃ Kaṃcak La Sūyoṅ Sūloṅ Thin Sūlī or sūlhī Kaṃcī Jāvī Khyaṅ-ʔiu Mrak Bhaloṅ or Paloṅ Bodhijavaṅ Pwyan (ပြွန်) Kwyan ( ကျွန်; maybe the same as ဂျွမ်း "Gwyamḥ") Laṅtoṅ Caṅ kyaṃ (စင်ကျံ, alernatively Caṅkraṃ or Caṅkran ) Panḥ Seḥ Remīḥ or Remi Sak Khre Jat Bodhi Resū Laṅtaṃ Black-faced people Bodhitāri Phussarā Khruṃ Laṅmitā Kamḥ-Yaṃ (ကမ်းယံ, ancient people related to either Pyu or Arakan) Kaṃmraṅ or *Kamḥmraṅ ( perhaps closely related ro Kamḥ-Yaṃ ) Kakhyaṅ Kyaṃ Jaṅ Karaṅ Shyak (Chakma people) Lahu Layok or *Lahok Laṅsak Hrin-khiu, or rather *Shyin-ghiu ( Sinhalese people ) Sarak-Laṅ Paʔūḥ (maybe Pa'O people )

Moam-yway version A commonplace, written by Shin Ādicca Raṃsī, the monk of Moam-yway (1766–1834), lists the following:

Seven Burmish peoples; Mrammā-sak (, Burmese people) or Brahmā-sak (, referring to their mythological descent from Brahma) Rakhaiṅ (, Arakanese people) Thāḥ-vay (, Tavoyan people) Pra-rai (, traditionally related to Pyu or Pyay) Toṅ Sū (, Pa'O people) Mruṃsak () or Mriusak (, Mru people and Chak people) Kamḥ yaṃ (, ancient Tibeto-Burman ethnicity closely associated with either Pyu or Arakanese people)

Four Mon peoples;

Mwan-ti Mwan-ca Mwan-ñña (from Ramañña) Mwan-si

Thirty Tai peoples;

Southern Hramḥ i.e. southern Shan people Northern Shan Western Shan Major Ywanḥ (Tai yuan) Minor Ywanḥ Laṅḥ-Jaṅḥ (Lan Xang, i.e.Lao people) Laṅḥ () Major Khyaṅḥ (Chin people) Minor Khyaṅḥ Hraiḥ (probably eastern Shan) Karaṅ Kakhyaṅ Kasaññḥ Black-Faced people () Lava (Lopburi or Lao or Wa people) Guṃ (Khün people from Kengtung) ʔū () Dhanu Aṅkyay () Khaṇṭhi Katūḥ Sak Tarak (; a term for Chinese people including Yunnanese) Taruk ( or ; the main term for Chinese people, including Yunnanese) Paloṅ Jabinḥ () Yiuḥ-da-yāḥ (from Ayutthaya; Siamese people) laviuk or lavaik (လဝိုက်, either from Longvek khmer people or Lopburi-Tai Bueng people) Jabā (from Java; Javanese or Malay people) Akyaw (; traditionally identified as Viet-Thái people)

Sixty Indian peoples (organized by their gotra lineage);

Vasishtha kula or gotra Bharadvaja Gautama Brahmin Kosiya Vāsudeva Bāladeva Vessamitta Vacchāyana Sakaṭāyana taṇhāyana Aggivesāyana Vagacchāyana Kappayana Moggalāyana Muñjāyana Koṇḍañña Lohāyana Sakamayana narāyana cerāyana Avasālāyana or avatārāyana Dvepāyana Kuñjāyana Kaccāyana Kattikeyya Venatheyya Rohaneyya Gaṅgeyya kaddhameyya Nādeyya or Nāteyya Kāmeyya Soceyya āheyya Thāleyya Kālameyya dakkhi Doṇi Sakyaputti Nādaputti Dāsaputti Dāsavaravi Dāruṇi Gaṇḍu Māladevi Pāvaki Jenatti Vāsati Vidavera Bandhuvera Kassapa opakaṃva Mānava Aggava nāḷīkera Not mentioned Not mentioned Not mentioned Not mentioned Not mentioned

Ramree version By citing earlier sources like Lokīdiṭṭhānugati, the New Chronicle of Arakan listed the following categories:

Seven Burmish peoples;

Mranmā-praliuṅ (မြန်မာပြလိုင်) Rakhiuṅ dhāḥvay bharay (ဘရယ်) or *praray toṅsū prolū (ပြောလူ) or proʔ-lū (see earlier lists) Kamḥyaṃ (ကမ်းယံ)

Four Mon peoplesThese are called four Talaings (တလိုင်းလေးရပ်) here;

Mwan-ta mwan-ñña mwan-na Mwan-si

Thirty Tai peoples; Shyamḥ Ywanḥ laṅḥ-jaṅḥ khyaṅḥ karaṅ kakhyaṅ kasaññḥ (rather meant to be Ahom people) Black-faced people Minor Mruṃ (မြုံငယ်) Minor Kuṃ (ကုံငယ်) kawthut tarut tarak lahak lahok Sokkatai bhū dhanu prū laviuk (လဝိုက်, see earlier list) lavā (လဝါ, see လဝ) aṅkyaṅ (အင်ကျင်) aṅkyay (အင်ကျယ်) paloṅ Yiuḥdayāḥ katūḥ sak japinḥ (ဇပိန်း) or jabinḥ (ဇဗိန်း) japā (ဇပါ, probably from Java ) tanaṅsārī (Moken and Tavoyan peoples)

Sixty Indian peoples;

kalay or Kalai (ကလယ်) pasī (Persians) Bharaṅgyī (ဘရင်ဂျီ; Europeans, especially the Portuguese and Roman Catholics) jawgī mālī (related to Malayalis?) bhawrī hindū rechū sokut lahut dorāḥ puṇṇāḥ bashyūḥ (ဗသျှူး) tathūḥ khantī tapasī (တပသီ) hārī lāka vesākha Paṭiccayā (same as paṭikkarāḥ, ပဋိက္ကရား) uccayāka canda caṅkraṃ (စင်ကြန်, see earlier list) suttaṃ or suttan (compare Sultan) byāpā (vyapari?) micchā-^chakai (compare Mleccha) Ūḥprai (ဦးပြဲ) or *Ūḥpraññḥ (ဦးပြည်း, "bald-headed" people) Aimkap kalap doṇa maccha (maybe related to macchagiri မစ္ဆဂီရိ; an ancient polity in the west of Burma) dolā dāraka panthe (same as panḥseḥ) mante khrekhyut hindhut labhai saṅḥtvai sathuṃ ^mhatyuṃ soyā doraṇā lentikā tobhā palavā (related to either Pallavas or Pahlavas) khantī (probably either Khamti people or Kirati people) kālī kramḥ-tan (lit. "Brute") jahutan sutaṃ (compare suttaṃ) kalaṃ jawhanaṃ paṇḍit titka recha phusa bhaṅgālī bārāṇasī sinḥ-khiu Aṅgalip or Aṅgaliṣ (The English people)

Historical and scholarly interpretations The Burmese tend to categorize ethnic groups based on either physical or geographical features. For example, both Chinese people, Kachin people, Karen people are reckoned among Tai peoples (ရှမ်း), despite the underlying linguistic and cultural differences. Throughout the age of colonialism, European people were called "white kalars" (; ) ‌and thus listed in the same category with other Indo-aryan and Dravidian peoples.

Modern usage and legacy In the modern period, the phrase may appear in local histories, museum exhibits, and cultural revival projects. Some scholars and communities often reinterpret the lists for identity politics, nationalism or heritage displays.

One Hundred and One Nations

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