Nanmadaw Me Nu

Phalangon where Me Nu born

Me Nu was born Shin Min Nu on 18 June 1783 at Phalangon Village, 5 miles northwest of present-day Khin-U. She was the great-granddaughter of the hero Bala Thaman, who founded the village Palangon and was assigned to the local fort to help guard against the Manipuris during the reign of King Mahadhammaraza Dipadi of the Nyaungyan dynasty. She had a brother, Maung O. According to historian Hmawbi Saya Thein, it is believed that U Hlote had three children: Me Pu, Maung O, and Me Nu. However, the royal chronicle only mentions Me Nu and Maung O. There is a dispute between Me Nu and Maung O regarding their birth order, with conflicting accounts. According to bell and stone inscriptions of Konbaung, it is suggested that Me Nu was the eldest, and Maung O was the youngest.[2] Her father, Thiha Kyawswa U Hlote, was the son of Thakhin Mun, who was the third daughter of Bala Thaman. Her mother, Daw Nge, was a native of Phalangon village. During her naming ceremony, her uncle Maha Kyawhtin U Lun, who was the minister of civil service, named her "Me Nu" because of her exceptional beauty and her delicate and gentle demeanor.

During the reign of King Bodawpaya, a falcon took 11-year-old Me Nu's sarong as she was bathing, dropping the garment in the left wing of the southern royal palace. When the king searched for the owner of the sarong, she soon arrived in his presence. After royal officials had conducted an investigation, the king offered her a position as lady-in-waiting at the palace.[3]

Prince Sagaing became crown prince on 6 April 1809. At the end of 1812 his consort, Hsinbyume, gave birth to Prince Nyaungyan, but died seven days later. Prince Sagaing married Me Nu in 1813 and she became crown princess. This granted her the rights to nine villages (five of them salt farms), thirty horses, 3,000 pei of land, and the taxes from four kinds of products. She also granted the appanage of Taungoo.[3]

Prince Sagaing became the seventh king of the Konbaung dynasty, on 7 June 1819, making Me Nu his chief queen and given the title of Thiri Pavara Mahayazeinda Yadana Dewi. Her husband also given the title of "Thadoe Minhla Kyawhtin" and granted the appanage of Salin to her brother, Maung O.[3]

Me Nu had three children with Bagyidaw. Their eldest daughter died at young and their son, the Prince of Palaing, died in April 1804 at age 10 due to chickenpox. Their remaining daughter, Princess Supayagale, became Queen Hsinbyumashin; she was the wife of King Mindon and mother of Burma's last queen, Supayalat.[3]

The Queen's Brick Monastery

Bagyidaw favored Me Nu, she rise to power in the court. Together with the king, she sat on the throne and arranged the court affairs. Alongside her brother and General Maha Bandula, she advocated for war with the British.[4]

General Maha Bandula died in Danubyu, and the British troops occupied the Yandabo, 40 miles from the royal capital. The Treaty of Yandabo was signed on 24 February 1826 which ended the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–1826). Due to the defeat of the war, 1 billion Burmese kyats of compensation had to be paid. Lacking money, Me Nu sold her jewelries and paid the first installment of compensation.

After the disastrous First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–1826) left the country crippled, Bagyidaw became increasingly reclusive, afflicted by bouts of depression and could not handle the administration of the state. Me Nu and Maung O became the de facto rulers of the country, and they were much feared due to their tyrannical policies.[3]

In February 1837, Crown Prince Tharrawaddy, brother of Bagyidaw, raised a rebellion. By April he had forced Bagyidaw to abdicate in his favor. Tharrawaddy put his brother under house arrest and sentenced to death Me Nu and her brother.[3]

As her last wish, she wants to see Sayadaw U Bok one last time. When she saw the sayadaw, she says,

"I'm going to die soon. I will pay my last respects to the abbot."

While the abbot was reading, he turned to Me Nu and says,

"Me Nu, If you have a karma debt, you definitely have to pay it."

Satisfied with the sermon, Me Nu happily went to the place of execution.

Me Nu established the Me Nu Oak-kyaung (Brick Monastery) in 1822 for the royal abbot Nyaunggan Sayadaw U Po. It was then offered to the second Nyaunggan Sayadaw U Bok. The monastery was damaged by the earthquake of 1838 but repaired in 1873 by Hsinbyumashin. The monastery is a fine specimen of the Konbaung period of architecture. It consists of a series of wooden monasteries with multiple roofs and a prayer hall with a seven-tiered superstructure.

Some of her donations are as follow,

• Maha Meru Makuṭa Jhaṇḍa Rājā Bell at Pahtodawgyi
• Maha Aungmye Bonzan Monastery
• Maha Zeya Pahta Brick Bridge in Inwa
• Phalangon Pagoda

• Myint-U, Thant (2006). The River of Lost Footsteps—Histories of Burma. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 978-0-374-16342-6.