Saopha

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"Sawbwa" redirects here. For the fish genus, see Sawbwa (fish).
Two Shan saophas on a visit to Delhi, India in 1903

Saopha, Chaofa, or Sawbwa (Burmese: စော်ဘွား, pronounced: [sɔ̀ bwá]; Shan: ၸဝ်ႈၾႃႉ) was a royal title used by the rulers of the Shan States of Myanmar (Burma). The word means "king" in the Shan and Tai languages. In some ancient Chinese literature it was recorded as 詔 (pinyin: Zhào; Modern Mandarin pronunciation: [tʂɑ̂ʊ̯]), for example Six Zhao and Nanzhao.

Chao Fah (Thai: เจ้าฟ้า) is the Thai equivalent and is prefixed Phra when meaning King: Chao is from Middle Chinese 主 (ćǘ "master", and Fah means Sky or Heaven.

According to local chronicles, some dynasties of saophas date from as early as the 2nd century BCE; however, the earlier sections of these chronicles are generally agreed to be legendary.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Pinkaew Leungaramsri. - Women, Nation, and the Ambivalence of Subversive Identification along the Thai-Burmese Border - Sojourn: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia 21:1". muse.jhu.edu. Retrieved 2008-03-27.