Armenian Library and Museum of America

Armenian Museum of America (AMA), located in Watertown, Massachusetts, United States, is an institution that has the largest collection of Armenian artifacts in North America.
History.
In 1971, alarmed by the growing loss and destruction of Armenian books and artifacts brought to this country by immigrants from Armenia, a group of talented Greater Boston Armenian-Americans banded together to form AMA to collect and preserve these books and artifacts. From humble beginnings in two rooms rented in 1972 in a church parish house in Belmont, AMA grew and expanded into a Watertown church's basement and opened to the public in 1985.
In 1988, AMA was able to buy and remodel the former Coolidge Bank and Trust Building at 65 Main Street in Watertown. The building is dedicated to the memory of Stephen P. Mugar and Marian G. Mugar, his wife. After being opened to the public as the Armenian Library and Museum of America in 1988, the name was officially changed to Armenian Museum of America in 2013.
Building description.
AMA's present home is a four-story building plus basement containing approximately . AMA occupies all of the basement, the first and second floors, most of the third floor and has its library on the fourth floor. The building also houses the Armenian International Women's Association ("AIWA") and Project SAVE Armenian Photographic Archives.
Museum facilities.
Bedoukian Hall is AMA's main exhibit gallery. There are several smaller side galleries as well as the Contemporary Art Gallery and Terjenian-Thomas Art Gallery on the 3rd floor. Other facilities include the research library, studio space, offices, meeting rooms, classrooms, a 220-seat auditorium and a gift shop.
Museum collections.
Armenian Museum of America holds one of the largest and most diverse holding of Armenian cultural artifacts outside of Armenia. The Museum maintains an active program of changing exhibits for the public, to provide new experiences for returning visitors and to showcase the wide range of materials in the collection. The museum averages 14 different exhibits annually.
As a repository for heirlooms, the collections now represent a major resource for Armenian studies and for preservation and illustration of Armenian heritage. AMA is the only independent Armenian museum in the diaspora, funded largely through contributions of individual supporters. An active board of trustees and volunteer base augment the museum’s staff.
The collections contain over 20,000 artifacts, including:
AMA houses and sometimes displays the collected painting of Dr. Jack Kevorkian, the assisted suicide crusader, whose parents were Armenian refugees.
Library.
AMA is home to the Mesrob Boyajian Library. The Library contains over 26,000 cataloged titles on a wide range of Armenian subjects. The earliest is the Garabed Gospel of AD 1207. The library has one of the largest collections of important books on oriental rugs, and a very substantial collection, which continues to be expanded, on the Armenian Genocide. It also holds a significant number of periodicals.
The library is home to the Herbert Offen Oriental Carpet Research Library Collection, one of the most extensive collections of literature on oriental carpets in the United States. The Offen Family's generous gift includes both the books in the Herbert Offen Collection, as well as funding of acquisitions of new, recently published and antiquarian works related to the literature of rugs and carpets.
The Herbert Offen collection of over 2,500 volumes extends beyond the narrow focus on the types and development of Oriental rugs, and encompasses broader issues including the social implications of rug collecting, symbolism and theory, care and aesthetics, the commercial marketing and business of rugs, economic and domestic structures in carpet production, historical and contemporary use of rugs, and other textile traditions closely related to rugs.
Oral history collection.
In the early 1970s, AMA embarked on an extensive program of interviewing survivors of the Armenian Genocide, all or most of whom are now deceased. These tapes are digitized and de-noised. AMA's collection consists of over 1,400 hours of recorded oral histories and is a fertile source for research by scholars.


Palpa District

Palpa District (, a part of Lumbini Province , is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal, a landlocked country of South Asia. The district, with Tansen Municipality as its headquarters, covers an area of and has a population (2011) of 261,180.
Palpa District is not far from Pokhara and easily reached by bus. The ancient hill town of Tansen in this district offers a more tranquil atmosphere where laid back lifestyle is infectious. Walk down the cobbled streets in the old bazaar to discover a way of life. Explore the Shreenagar Hills or do a day hike to the Rani Mahal, once a vibrant palace on the banks of the Kali Gandaki River. Palpa was the seat of the Hindu Sen kingdom that ruled over this region from 16th century for almost 300 years so Headquarter of Palpa is called "Tansen" (Nepali: तानसेन)
Demographics.
At the time of the 2011 Nepal census, Palpa District had a population of 261,180. Of these, 62.1% spoke Nepali, 34.1% Magar, 2.0% Newari and 0.6% Kumal as their first language.
Trivia.
People have a saying that it looks similar to Nepal in term of its geographical borders.


Karbhari

Karbhari (roughly translated as "Chief Administrator) was the title of senior officials in some Indian Princely States - particularly the Maharashtra Gujarat Bhosle legacies Tanjore, Kolhapur and Satara.
A Karbhari could wield considerable power, often including the power to fix the seal or mark of their principals on public documents, and could act as regents in case of the
principal being a minor or disabled.
Usage: 4% firstname, 96% surname.
Karbhari first name was found 10 times in 3 different countries.
Surname Karbhari is used at least 194 times in at least 9 countries.
Karbhari reversed is Irahbrak
Name contains 8 letters - 37.50% vowels and 62.50% consonants.
Misspells: Korbhari Kalbhari Karrbhari Karbhary Karbharj Karbhare Karbharia Krabhari Karbhair Karbhrai
Karbhari Surname History
The family history of the Karbhari last name is maintained by the AncientFaces community. Join the community by adding to this genealogy of the Karbhari:
Karbhari country of origin, nationality, & ethnicity
Karbhari last name meaning & etymology
Karbhari spelling & pronunciation
genealogy and family tree


Abd Al-Karim Al-Iryani

Abdul Karim Ali Al-Iryani or Al-Eryani (; ; 12 October 1934 – 8 November 2015) was the Prime Minister of Yemen from 29 April 1998 to 31 March 2001. Al-Eryani, along with President Ali Abdullah Saleh, was the Secretary General of the General People's Congress (GPC).
Early life and education.
Born in Eryan, a village in the central highlands of Ibb, in 1934, Al-Iryani belonged to a prominent family that had held government posts in the region for centuries; many of his ancestors and relatives were judges. He studied in the United States, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the University of Georgia in 1962, a Master of Science in Agriculture from the same institution in 1964, and a PhD in Biochemical Genetics from Yale University in 1968.
Career.
Before Yemen's unification, Al-Iryani served in the government of North Yemen as Minister of Development (1974–1976), Minister of Education (1976–1978), Prime Minister (1980–1983), and Minister of Foreign Affairs (1984–1990). Following unification in 1990, Al-Iryani continued to serve as Minister of Foreign Affairs for the united Republic of Yemen until 1993, when he became Minister of Development briefly before returning to the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1994. Al-Iryani was appointed as Prime Minister after Faraj Said Bin Ghanem abruptly resigned on 29 April 1998. He served in this capacity until 31 March 2001, when he was succeeded by Abdul Qadir Bajamal.
Main Accomplishments.
- Banned imports of fruits and vegetables which resulted in a self-sufficient production of such commodities saving hard currency and creating hundreds of thousands of jobs in agriculture and trade.
- Introduced tens of state-building laws including multi-party system and democracy.
- Played a major role in the negotiation during the reunification process of South and North Yemen. (and was named the architect of the Yemen reunification)
- Convinced the UN Security Council to abolish the scheme of seceding the southern governorates from the united Yemen during the 1994 civil war.
- Opposed an eminent armed conflict with Eritrea when the latter took over the Yemeni island of Hanish in the red sea. He then led the Yemen team in an international court which ruled for the return of the island to Yemen.
- Furiously fought against corruption and in support of women's and human rights.
Later life and death.
Al-Iryani was a member of the Global Leadership Foundation, a non-profit organisation set up in 2004 by FW de Klerk to support good governance and reduce conflict around the world. He has been credited with brokering the Arab Spring peace negotiations in 2012, resulting in a transition plan for President Saleh to resign.
Al-Iryani died on 8 November 2015 in Frankfurt. Mustapha Noman, a former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, called him "the last statesman Yemen had, and will have, for another generation."


Hkonmaing

Hkonmaing ( , ; also Hkonmaing Nge, Sao Hkun Mong; 1497–1545) was king of Ava from 1542 to 1545. The "saopha" of the Shan state of Onbaung–Hsipaw was elected by the Ava court to the Ava throne in 1542, by extension the leader of the Confederation of Shan States, despite strenuous objections by the House of Mohnyin. He was accepted as the leader by other Confederation leaders only because the Confederation was in the middle of a serious war with Toungoo Dynasty. After the Confederation's failed military campaigns in 1543–45 that resulted in the loss of Central Burma, Hkonmaing lost the support of Sawlon II of Mohnyin. He died in 1545 while fighting a Mohnyin-backed rebellion by Sithu Kyawhtin.
Background.
Born in 1497, the future king was the eldest son of Hkonmaing I, the longtime ruler of Onbaung–Hsipaw. His father was the only ally of King Narapati II of Ava between 1505 and 1527 when they unsuccessfully fought against Sawlon I of Mohnyin. His father later joined the Confederation, and died during or shortly after his participation in the Confederation's 1542 campaign against Toungoo Dynasty. Hkonmaing the younger succeeded the Onbaung throne.
King of Ava.
Accession.
Shortly after he became "saopha", the Ava court came calling. King Thohanbwa, who was deeply unpopular with his subjects even before his military defeats against Toungoo Dynasty, had been assassinated in May 1542 (Kason 904 ME). The court elected Hkonmaing king in June 1542 after the leader of the court insurrection, Yan Naung, rejected the offer. Yan Naung agreed to remain in office and advise the new king for one year. The House of Mohnyin was furious. Not only did they believe the Ava throne rightfully belonged to them but they were also appalled by Thohanbwa's assassin Yan Naung remaining in office. Nevertheless, Sawlon II of Mohnyin relented since the Confederation was in the middle of a serious war with Toungoo. The Confederation leadership reluctantly accepted Hkonmaing as king of Ava in August/September 1542, and agreed to continue the war.
War with Toungoo.
Hkonmaing prepared for war in the next 12 months. All seven Confederation states (Ava, Mohnyin, Momeik, Hsenwi, Bhamo, Hsipaw and Yawnghwe) had agreed to contribute manpower and materiel. He was not able to persuade King Min Bin of Arakan to stay in the alliance however. In December 1543, he personally led the Confederation's armies and navies, and invaded Lower Burma. After initial successes, they were decisively driven back by February 1544. They could not stop advancing Toungoo forces which took all the way up to Pagan (Bagan).
It was a complete disaster for Hkonmaing. He had not only failed to retake Prome but also managed to lose all of central Burma. The Confederation leadership was unsure how to respond. They sent a small army led by Sithu Kyawhtin as a probe in late 1544, which was subsequently destroyed at Salin.
War with Mohnyin.
By then, Sawlon II's patience had run out. He sent Sithu Kyawhtin with an army of 5,000 to take Ava. Sithu Kyawhtin easily took Sagaing, and attacked Ava (Inwa). The arrival of the rainy season of 1545 saved the day for Hkonmaing. But his territory was now badly splintered: the Mohnyin-controlled west of the Irrawaddy (present-day Sagaing Region and southern Kachin State), and Hsipaw/Onbaung-controlled eastern half (approximately, northern Mandalay Region and western Shan State). He died during the rainy season c. September 1545. He was 48.


San Fernando Cathedral (La Union)

The Cathedral of St. William the Hermit (Spanish: "Catedral de San Guillermo el Ermitaño"), also known as the San Fernando Cathedral, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Fernando de La Union, in the Philippines "(Dioecesis Ferdinandopolitana ab Unione)". The diocese, which comprise the civil province of La Union, was created on January 19, 1970 and canonically erected on April 11, 1970 with Saint William the Hermit as the titular saint. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan. Prior to the creation of the diocese, the church was formerly under the Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia.
The cathedral is located in Barangay II (Poblacion), La Union. Its parish priests include Father Froilan A. Saluta & Fr. Samuel Joseph F. Banayat, Jr., and Parish Vicars, Father Manuel Ragil, Fr. Liberato A. Apusen and Father Gari Zaldy P. Patiag).
The Cathedral's patron saint is William the Hermit (or William the Great) (died 10 February 1157), the founder of the Catholic congregation of Williamites, a branch of the Hermits of St. Augustine. The town feast is celebrated every February 10.
History.
With the founding of San Fernando as a town in 1587, the mission of San Guillermo de Duladulang in 1590 was also decreed. In the barrio of San Vicente, Fr. Francisco Romero (OSA) and Fr. Santiago Olarte (OSA) initiated the building of a chapel ("visita") in 1764. The friars moved the "visita" to Tanque and then to Kabaroan due to Mindanao’s moros and Visayan pintados raids.
In 1768, Fr. Juan Sorolla (OSA), Fr. Simon Guillermo (OSA), and Fr. Pedro Fernando (OSA) relocated the Church to its present site in the City of San Fernando. Later in 1817, Fr. Simon Torrado (OSA) erected another church and a convent.
St. William the Hermit Church was originally situated at Pindangan, now known as Barrio San Vicente. In 1759, Augustinian friar Padre Jose Torres convinced the two settlements to fuse into Pindangan (dry fish). He and the natives built a church under the patronage of Saint William the Hermit. In 1765, under its parish priest, Friar Fernando Rey, Pindangan was renamed San Fernando after the Catholic King of Spain.
It was in May 1786, that the Ministerio de San Fernando was created. But due to the shortage of priests during the period of 1792 to 1831, San Fernando became a “Visita” of Bauang and San Juan, La Union. In 1831, Father Juan Sorolla, the parish priest of Bauang in 1829, was assigned in San Fernando. It was only in 1817 when Father Simon Torrado and Father Sorolla, its first parish priest, constructed the Church.
The church was damaged by earthquakes in 1860 and 1892 (List of earthquakes in the Philippines). In 1873, Fr. Luis Perez (OSA) destroyed the abandoned walls due to the 1860 earthquake. Fr. Jose Rodriguez Cabezas (OSA) renovated the convent and the church after the 1892 earthquake damages and added the bell tower. Katipuneros under Col. Blas Villamor and his Katipuneros sequestered the Church in 1898.
It was attacked by rebels in 1898 and the Japanese destroyed it on February 25, 1945. Rebuilt in 1873, it was again reconstructed from 1947 to 1949 under Bishop Santiago C. Sancho. (May 23, 1880 – October 23, 1966). He was the Bishop of Nueva Segovia, Philippines and was appointed Archbishop of Nueva Segovia on June 29, 1951.
The humble chapel, and later church, was ecclesiastically proclaimed a Cathedral in April 1970 during the canonical erection of the diocese of San Fernando and the appointment on February 6, 1970 of its first bishop, Reverend Victorino Cristobal Ligot (March 10, 1924 – September 18, 1980).
La Union Bishop Artemio Rillera was laid to rest behind the altar of Saint William the Hermit Cathedral in San Fernando City, La Union on November 22, 2011 with a con-celebrated mass officiated by Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates B. Villegas. Rillera was a missionary from the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) who died at age 69 due to severe asthma attack after saying Holy Mass at the Seminary of the Sacred Heart in San Fernando City, La Union on November 13, 2011.
Since the death of Bishop Artemio Lomboy Rillera, S.V.D. in November 2011, the Diocese had been vacant until the appointment of Bishop Rodolfo Fontiveros, D.D., on October 30, 2012 as Bishop of San Fernando de La Union, Philippines. Bishop Beltran had been serving as Vicar Apostolic of Bontoc-Lagawe. Beltran was born on November 13, 1948 at Gattaran-Cagayan. On March 25, 1976, he was ordained Priest Priest of Tuguegarao, Philippines, and on March 18, 2006, he was appointed Vicar Apostolic of Bontoc-Lagawe, Titular, Bishop of Buffada. The Cathedral's Bishop’s Residence is located at San Vicente, City of San Fernando, La Union.
The annual fiesta celebration of the City of San Fernando La Union, the Feast of St. William the Hermit, is held every January 22 with the Agri-Trade fair (by the City Agriculture Office which promotes various agricultural products of the 59 barangays of San Fernando City, divided into 12 Districts with the 12 Councilors as collaborators). The activities lead to the feast celebration, which is observed every February 10.


History of Kumamoto Prefecture

The history of Kumamoto Prefecture has been documented from paleolithic times to the present. Kumamoto Prefecture is the eastern half of Hinokuni (meaning "land of fire"), and corresponds to what was once called Higo Province. Exceptions are the part of Kuma District, which had once been part of Sagara Domain, and Nagashima which was included in Kagoshima Prefecture.
Kumamoto Prefecture is roughly divided into three areas, namely, the northern area with Kikuchi River, Shirakawa River and Mount Aso Area; the Kumagawa Area including the Hitoyoshi Basin and the Amakusa Island Area. The first one is the Kumamoto han, and the second the Hitoyoshi han and the third one is the Amakusa Area, once controlled by the Tokugawa shogunate.
The history of Kumamoto is characterized by kofuns in natural beauties or volcanic activities, the "ritsuryō" and the following rise of samurais, the arrival of Katō Kiyomasa from Nagoya, wars around the Bakumatsu including the Satsuma Rebellion, and public problems concerning Minamata disease. After the establishment of the Yamato Government or Yamato Ouken, the history of Kumamoto has been constantly under the influence of the Central Government.
Prehistoric Kumamoto.
About one-third of the archaeological sites of the Lower Paleolithic age in Japan were found in Kumamoto Prefecture. A few of these have been excavated. Mainly these were in the outer Aso mountain areas and Kuma district. The oldest one is the Ishinomoto Site in Hirayama machi in Kumamoto City; dating back more than 30,000 years ago by the radiocarbon dating method. A large number of artifacts or stone tools such as stone axes and knives were excavated, suggesting that Kyūshū was inhabited by a number of hunter-gatherer societies.
At the same time, Kyūshū experienced volcanic activity at Mount Aso, Aira Caldera in Kagoshima Prefecture and Kikai Caldera. There were four large series of Mount Aso volcanic eruptions, with structural changes. The last one was about 90,000 years ago. The lava produced stone materials that would later be used for bridge construction in the Prefecture.
Jōmon period and Yayoi period.
Jōmon period.
There is little evidence of human activity in the early part of the Jōmon period in the Kumamoto Prefecture, because of volcanic activity about 7300 years ago by the Kikai Caldera in Kagoshima Prefecture. The Goryo midden and Kurohashi midden date to the middle age of the Jōmon period. Later, 13 middens in Kumamoto were situated at the height of 5 meters above sea level. In Souhata midden, stored acorns were found. Fish hooks made of stone were found in Amakusa. A peculiar style of earthenware called kokushokukenmadoki was developed according to the development of living styles. Burned rice corns and barley corns were found in a dugout (shelter) dwelling in Uenobaru midden in Kumamoto City. 770 Archaeological sites were found in the Jōmon period in Kumamoto Prefecture, including Kannabe midden, Kumamoto in which Dogūs and ground stones were found.
Yayoi period.
In the Yayoi period, there appeared dwellings in ring-formed groups in which onggis, tsubo jars, and stone axes were found. Dwellings rose into higher places, moving from the seashores. Cultivation and agriculture started in the Yayoi period, because the Kumamoto plane started to rise because of stream sediments from the rivers. Cultivation of rice started, while there were shell heaps along the seashore. Salt was produced by burning sea weeds; which has been verified by the presence of burned small seashells. In later years, there were middens with ironware along the Kurokawa river, Shirakawa river, and Kikuchigawa River and in the Futagozuka midden in Kumamoto City, suggesting the production of ironware there. In the Yayoi period, there were 740 middens in Kumamoto Prefecture, comprising 13% of middens in Japan. In the Tokuo midden and the Kogabaru midden, bronze mirrors were excavated.
Land of Fire.
In the Nihon Shoki, Japan's earliest official document, the early countries of Yamato Ouken, Wa (Japan), appointed a king of a small area which came under the Yamato Ouken, a head of "Agata" Nushi (an "agata" was an autonomous district under leadership of a chieftain or warlord). Yamato Ouken is considered to be the forerunner of the Japan's Imperial House of Japan existing in the Nara area or somewhere and started in the 3rd century. In the same document and in the "Chikushi-koku-fudoki", there were three Agatas or Districts in the present Kumamoto Prefecture: Kuma agata, corresponding to Kuma Area; Asonken, corresponding to the Mount Aso area; and Yatsushiro area, which is considered to have been larger than today.
There are about 1,300 Kofuns in Kumamoto Prefecture, and comprise 24% of kofuns in the country. Near the Uto Peninsula area are about 120 large kofuns, or megalithic tombs or tumuli, constructed between the early 3rd century and early 7th century. In Kumamoto Prefecture, there are a concentrated distribution of decorated kofuns, in which various patterns were drawn, for instance, breasts of a woman in Chibusan kofun in Yamaga city. In another kofun in Uto city, the burial of a woman in her thirties was confirmed, suggesting the presence of "miko", a "female shaman, spirit medium" who conveyed oracles from kami. A sword in a kofun named Etafunayama kofun had Chinese characters describing Emperor Yūryaku. Because of this, historian Wakatakeru has suggested that this area was under the control of Yamato Ouken. One of the gōzokus was named Takebe-no-Kimi, a family of samurai nature, who was given such a name by Yamato Ouken, and who was assumed to live near Kokai-Honmachi；in those days, near Takebe.
A group of kofuns at Nozu are considered to be the site of "Hinokimi" or the King of fire or possibly King of the Hi River. Hinokimi was considered to be a descendant of one who answered to Emperor Keikō. In the mythological period, Emperor Keikō in his journey for expanding the Yamato Ouken, saw unexplainable spots of moving fire, "Shiranui", (In Japanese, literally "unknown fire") in the Ariake Sea, and a Gozoku in that land replied that he did not know the fire. Today, it can be seen only on one day or so, and it is an optical phenomenon on the horizon of seeing moving spots of fire caused by fishing boats "through heated air layers". See also Shiranui (optical phenomenon).
In 527AD, the Iwai Rebellion in Fukuoka Prefecture was quelled by the Yamato court. The rebellion was named after its leader, Iwai, who is believed by historians to have been a powerful governor of Tsukushi. The rebellion was quelled by the Yamato court, and played an important part in the consolidation of early Japan. The eruption of Mount Aso was described in the Book of Sui, probably through the influence of Yamato Ouken.
Explanation of Yamato Ōken.
There are various Japanese names for a political/governmental organization present starting in the third century of kofun period in Kinki area of Japan, composed of several powerful families, with Ō (king) or Ōkimi (great king) as its center. These names include Yamato Chōtei (Court), Yamato Ōken, Wa Ōken, and Yamato Seiken. At the same time, there are views that the presence of smaller regional states should be respected. At the present time, Yamato Chōtei (Yamato Court) is employed in the textbooks censored by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. There is a view that Chōtei (Court) should not be used before the 4th and 5th century. At the present time, Yamato Ōken is tentatively used here.
Higo and the Ritsuryo system.
The name "Higo" first appeared in the "Nihon Shoki", the official history of Japan, in its description of a soldier who returned from the Tang empire in 696 AD after 33 years of captivity after the Battle of Baekgang; he was Mibu no Moroishi of Kohshi gun of Higo Province. In the same book, the construction of "Kukuchi castle" in preparation of a possible attack, was described in 696. This castle is considered to be a storage place. Under the "ritsuryō" system of Japan, a branch of the central government called Kokufu was placed in areas under the influence of the central government. In Kumamoto Prefecture, the Kokufu was placed in Mashiki, according to the "Wamyō Ruijushō", and in other places according to other books. As the name of a place, Kokubu was in Kumamoto city, and there was a building in the 9th century; which was found destroyed in a flood. As a government post, Higonokami "Michinokimi Obina" was recorded; he was born in 663, and he assumed the post of the head of Higo Province. He was also a poet and his name was in Kaifūsō. As the heads of Higo Province, there were "Ki Natsui", "Fujiwaha Yasumasa" and Kiyohara no Motosuke; the last one was a nobleman, waka poet, and the father of Sei Shōnagon who wrote "The Pillow Book". Unlike other governors, Kiyohara went to Kumamoto. The "ritsuryō" system was introduced in the Asuka period, and silk was transferred to the capital for taxation. This was confirmed in the "Wamyō Ruijushō" and in the "Shoku Nihongi". Fish and rice were also items for taxation and Higo was a big country in this respect. Division of land by roads was started and a transportation infrastructure, with stations, was prepared. "Kokai Station" was found within the campus of Kumamoto University.
White turtles.
In 768, a white turtle was presented to Yamato Ouken from Ashikita, and in 771, two white turtles were presented from Ashikita, and Mashiki, both from Kumamoto coinciding with the enthronement of Emperor Kōnin, and the death of Empress Kōken, and the title of the years was changed from Jingokeiun to Hōki, meaning a precious turtle. Dōkyō, the lover of Empress Kōken lost power. At the same time, those under the influence of Fujiwara clan gained power among Kumamoto people over those under the influence of Ohtomo family.
The rise of the Samurai.
In the latter part of the Heian period, groups of samurai gained power. This was also so in the land of Higo, though unification was not achieved until the 16th century. Well known groups of samurai included the Kikuchi clan, Aso clan, Kihara of the Midorigawa area, Moroshima of Amakusa, Sagara clan of Hitoyoshi, and　Kumabe ; some of them fought in the Toi invasion of 1019.
Kikuchi Clan.
The Kikuchi clan started with Fujiwara Noritaka, grandson of Fujiwara no Takaie, who fought in the Toi invasion. However, at present, there are several views concerning its origin; 1) Local Gōzoku who worked at Dazaifu, Fukuoka Prefecture, 2) A descendant of Kishitsu Fukunobu from Korea, 3) A descendant of the Kukuchi family, 4) A descendant from the Minamoto clan. The Kikuchi clan enjoyed a powerful presence in the Kikuchi area, belonging to the group in the center of Japan by maintaining their land in the "shōen" system. In the days when the Taira clan was in power, the Kikuchi clan approached the Taira clan, but then the Minamoto clan came to power, the Kikuchi favored the Minamoto. In the Kamakura period, the Kikuchi clan fought successfully against the enemy at Fukuoka during the Mongol invasions of Japan. Kikuchi Taketoki (1292–1333) was the 12th head of the Kikuchi Clan. Emperor Go-Daigo asked Taketoki for help. He was Go-Daigo's first man and was awarded for this. Taketoki gathered many people in Kyūshū and planned to attack Chinzei Tandai's Hōjō Hidetoki (Akahashi Hidetoki), but the plan was discovered and the Hojo attacked first. Taketoki and his son Yoritaka died in this attack. However, the Kikuchi clan remained powerful in this area.
Aso Clan.
The Aso clan started with Kannushi worshiping the kami of Mount Aso area and later became the head of the Agata by presenting their land to the Yamato Ouken and later to the group in power as an organized manor ("shōen"). They became a powerful group of samurai, and they named themselves a "Dai-guji", or great Kannushi and the top of gōzokus or samurai combined. It is said that Aso Shrine was the earliest shrine in Higo Province and included lower shrines such as Kengun Shrine in Kumamoto, Kosa Shrine, and Kouriura Shrine which extended the area of influence.
The formation of Samurai groups.
Legend of Minamoto no Tametomo.
In the latter half of the Heian period, samurai had waged wars in almost all areas of Japan, and Shirakawa Jokyo in cloistered rule started to control kokushis; the situation became very complex. In Kyūshū, Minamoto no Tametomo, a hero from Kyoto, was the subject of a number of legends. The legend of Minamoto no Tamotomo was interpreted as the uprising of groups of samurai in rural or peripheral areas of Japan against the previously authoritative groups of samurai. When Taira no Kiyomori had power, smaller groups of samurai had to choose either to side with the Heike clan or resist. The Rebellion of Chinzei was recorded in the "Azuma Kagami, The Tale of the Heike, Genpei Jōsuiki", and it coincided with the uprising of Minamoto no Yoritomo. Defeated, their groups were incorporated within the Heike clan.
Kamakura Shogunate and Mongol invasions of Japan.
The Kamakura period covers 1185 to 1333.
Samurais in east Japan occupied the post of Soujitou, and the Kikuchi clan sided with Gotoba-joko, and lost to some extent. In 1268 and 1271, the Kamakura shogunate rejected the proposal of envoys from Mongol for peace. It ordered all those who held fiefs in Kyūshū to resist any Mongol Invasions. Fortunately Takezaki Suenaga left vivid pictures concerning the Mongol invasions of Japan.
Takezaki Suenaga.
Takezaki Suenaga (1246–1314) was a retainer of Higo Province who fought in both campaigns against the Mongols. Suenaga commissioned the "Mōko Shūrai Ekotoba", a pictorial scroll showing his own valor in war, composed in 1293. During the Mongol invasion of 1274. Suenaga fought at Fukuoka under Muto Kagesuke. Suenaga sold his horses and saddles in order to finance a trip to Kamakura, where he reported his deeds in battle to the shogunate. In order to receive rewards for valorous deeds from the bakufu, it was necessary for the deeds to be witnessed by others and reported directly. By his own account in the scrolls, Suenaga says, "Other than advancing and having my deeds known, I have nothing else to live for", showing that, first, he wanted to advance in terms of measurable money and rank, and that, just as importantly, he sought fame and recognition.
Muromachi period.
The Muromachi period is subdivided into the Nanboku-chō period and the Sengoku period.
Nanboku-chō period.
Nanboku-chō period is between 1336 and 1392. Emperor Go-Daigo started to overthrow the shogunate Hōjō Takatoki and the order to join in the revolt was given by Prince Kanenaga (or Prince Kaneyoshi) to various samurai groups in Kyūshū. Kikuchi Taketoki was killed in a battle in Fukuoka. The Kikuchi and Aso clans sided with the Southern Court in Kyoto. Later, the Northern Court won over the Southern Court. In order to strengthen the Kikuchi clan, Kikuchi Takeshige was made Yoriaishu Naidan no Koto in 1338, meaning the rules of decision within the Kikuchi clan were made with blood signature. This was translated into the Kikuchi Constitution, the oldest blood signature, and this was stored in the Kikuchi Shrine.
Muromachi period.
Shibukawa Mitsuyori assumed the Kyūshū branch of central government, "Kyūshū Tandai", the military branch of the Ashikaga shogunate. The Kikuchi clan initially resisted, however, it approached the Ashikaga shogunate later. The Kikuchi clan started to trade with Korea and gained some strength. In 1481, a large meeting for "10,000 Renga" (collaborative poetry) was held in Kikuchi, the land of the Kikuchi clan, thus showing high standards of culture was there. Later the Kikuchi clan declined. Sagara families fought within their own families in Hitoyoshi area, but stayed there because the Hitoyoshi area is encircled by mountains. Aso families staged conflicts within their families in the Aso area.
Sengoku period.
The Sengoku period is roughly between 1467 and 1572. The Kikuchi clan declined, and Higo Province became the land of "Field Mowing", meaning that the strong could take the land of the weaker.
Azuchi-Momoyama period.
Azuchi–Momoyama period was from 1573 to 1603. It was followed by the Edo period.
Sassa Narimasa.
In 1587, Toyotomi Hideyoshi started to invade Kyūshū in his war to unify Japan and reached Kumamoto on April 16. He gave letters of reassurance of the possession of land to 52 persons in Kumamoto, and gave Sassa Narimasa the Province of Higo. Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered that the measurements of land should not be examined in the following three years. However, Sassa Narimasa could not observe the order and conflict started; Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered the groups of samurai in Higo be destroyed. Sassa Narimasa was responsible for this conflict and he was ordered to commit seppuku. On the following day, Toyotomi Hideyoshi gave the northern half of Higo Province to Katō Kiyomasa and the southern half to Konishi Yukinaga. Sagara clan in Hitoyoshi lost Yatsushiro and Ashikita, but finally the possession of Hitoyoshi was reassured. Five groups of samurai in Amakusa resisted Konishi Yukinaga, but were finally defeated.
Katō Kiyomasa.
The decisive Battle of Sekigahara (October 21, 1600) cleared the path to the Shogunate for Tokugawa Ieyasu. In Kyūshū, Katō Kiyomasa, and other samurai lords such as Kuroda, Nabeshima, Hosokawa took the side of Tokugawa Ieyasu; while Konishi Yukinawa, Shimazu, Ōtomo, Tachibana acted on behalf of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Katō Kiyomasa attacked Uto Castle, and he won the battle when the news of the defeat of Ishida and the capital punishment and defeat of Konishi Yukinaga reached Uto. Katō Kiyomasa was given the province of Higo with the exception of Hitoyoshi and Amakusa. His rice income reached 540,000 "koku" (bales of rice) and he was asked to add his followers, and accepted the previous samurai belonging to Konishi Yukinaga and Tachibana. He started to strengthen Kumamoto Castle and completed it in 1607. Kiyomasa was one of the three senior commanders during the Seven-Year War (1592–1598) against the Korean dynasty of Joseon. Together with Konishi Yukinaga, he captured Seoul, Busan and many other crucial cities. He defeated the last Korean regulars in the Battle of Imjin River and pacified Hamgyong.
Some Korean artisans were taken to Kumamoto by Kiyomasa. A town named Ulsan (Urusan) is in Kumamoto now. Kato shrine is a shrine in Kumamoto Castle, Kumamoto, in which Katō Kiyomasa, Ōki Kaneyoshi and Kin Kan, a Korean who followed Katō, are enshrined.
Kiyomasa was an excellent architect of castles and fortification. During the Imjin war, he built several Japanese style castles in Korea to better defend the conquered lands. Ulsan castle was one of these fortresses that Kiyomasa built, and it proved its worth when Korean-Chinese allied forces attacked it with far superior force, yet the outnumbered Japanese successfully defended the castle until the Japanese reinforcements arrived. After the meeting of Tokugawa Ieyasu and Toyotomi Hideyori, he became ill on a ship on his way to Kumamoto, and died shortly after arrival in 1611. His child, Katō Tadahiro, was transferred to Dewa Maruoka-han in the Tōhoku region in 1632, for fear of his becoming too powerful and thus the Kato clan came to an end.
Hosokawa Clan.
Hosokawa Tadatoshi of the Hosokawa clan entered Higo Province in 1632; he declared that he respected Katō Kiyomasa. Retired Hosokawa Tadaoki entered Yatsushiro castle. Hosokawa Tadatoshi introduced the system of "tenaga", which was larger than a village; this system had been observed in his previous Han. The top of a tenaga was originally by heritage, but later the head of a tenaga was appointed from above. It was a bureaucracy, but a more suitable system than heritage alone.
Christianity.
Catholic culture and Amakusa.
Katō Kiyomasa was an earnest Nichiren sect Buddhist, and did not like Christians. He proposed that Amakusa and Tsurusaki (Ōita Prefecture) be exchanged when he obtained the land of Kumamoto, and this was realized. "Gōzoku" in Amaksa repeatedly fought each other in the Sengoku period. In 1560, they realized the superiority of the arquebus which Matsuura Takanobu had introduced into local warfare.
In 1566, a gōzoku asked Cosme de Torrès to send a Catholic missionary. Luís de Almeida was dispatched in the same year. He built a church with the permission of the rulers. In 1568, a congress of foreign missionaries was held in Amakusa. In 1570, missionaries baptized the Shiki, Amakusa, and Amakusa ruling families. In Amakusa, five "jizamurai" also became Christian.
As a result, Catholic culture flourished. Amakusa College (College Amacusa) graduated scholars between 1591 and 1597, at Hondo or Kawaura of Amakusa. It published more than twelve books including "Aesop's Fables" in Japanese in 1593 and the "Tale of the Heike" ("Feique No Monogatari"), in 1592, with the Gutenberg press, imported from Italy by overseas scholars Itō Mansho (Mancio Itō), Miguel Chijiwa, Hara Maruchino, and Nakaura Julian. Upon returning, they continued their studies at Amakusa College.
The number of Christians in Amakusa was great, more than a half of inhabitants, 9,000–11,000 (1580) or 23,000 (1592) were documented. After the martyrdom of 26 saints at Nagasaki and the prohibition of Christianity, the printing machine was transferred to Nagasaki.
Shimabara Rebellion.
The Shimabara Rebellion was an uprising largely involving Japanese peasants, most of them Catholic Christians, in 1637 and 1638. In the wake of the Matsukura clan's construction of a new castle at Shimabara, taxes were drastically raised, which provoked anger from local peasants and lordless samurai (rōnin). In addition, religious persecution against the local Christians exacerbated their discontent, which turned into open revolt in 1637. The Tokugawa shogunate sent a force of over 125,000 men and defeated them. The rebel leader Amakusa Shiro, a charismatic 15-year-old Christian, died when the castle fell. Executed in the aftermath of the fall, his head was displayed on a pike in Nagasaki for a long time afterward as a warning to any other potential Christian rebels. Persecution of Christianity was strictly enforced. Japan's national seclusion policy was tightened, and formal persecution of Christianity continued until the 1850s. In 1641, Amakusa was put under the direct control of the Tokugawa shogunate.
Hidden Christians in Amakusa.
 In 1805, 5,200 underground "hidden" Christians were found in Amakusa. The Tokugawa shogunate treated this problem with unexpected leniency and recognized religious conversion.
Amakusa and Christianity in later years.
People in Amakusa heard that the ban on Christianity had been lifted and some people reported that their faith was converted to Christianity in 1876. However, it was not accepted, and some others were punished because they conducted funerals according to the Christian style. In 1892, a French father, Frédéric Louis Garnier (1860–1941), started a church in Oe, Amakusa.
Edo period.
The town area of Kumamoto had been completed at the time of Katō Kiyomasa. Tsuboi Kawa (river) had been separated from the Shirakawa. Portions of Tsuboi Kawa and Iseri Kawa were made into moats of Kumamoto Castle. Samurai residential areas were placed around Kumamoto Castle, and the areas for townspeople were separated. Choroku Bridge was the only bridge crossing the Shirakawa (river); it was the only one for the defense of Kumamoto Castle. Suizenji Park, a Japanese style garden, was made for the exclusive use of the Hosokawa clan in 1634. A factory for wax production was completed in 1803; the products were transported over the rivers to the sea.
Temples had been burnt in the Sengoku period, especially those in the Mount Aso area, but some were later reconstructed. In those areas, hot spring sites were constructed between 1804 and 1829 in Kurokawa and Yamaga. Sake production flourished.
Uto castle was once destroyed, but it was rebuilt and there was water supply service, which works even today. Although Higo (Kumamoto and Yatsushiro) was then one domain, Yatsushiro Castle was made a single exception to the rule of one castle in one domain; because there was need to defend Kumamoto against the powerful Satsuma Han to the south and to defend Japan from foreign invasion.
Katō Kiyomasa and the Hosokawa clan increased the productivity of Kumamoto han by various means, such as the control of rivers and land reclamation by drainage on the sea. One example was the construction of Tsūjun Bridge which made barren land fertile land.
Hitoyoshi enjoyed the status of a separated han, and there was a special taxation system; various items were available for taxation products in addition to rice, and they were transported via the Kuma River. In Amakusa, Suzuki Shigenari was the head of the regional branch of the Tokugawa shogunate and governed Amakusa, and he repeatedly asked the shogunate for the reduction of rice taxation, from 42,000 koku to 21,000 koku. He committed ritual suicide (seppuku) to achieve this reduction successfully, though there was a view that he died through disease.
Horeki Reform.
Hosokawa Shigekata (January 23, 1721 – November 27, 1785) was the 6th lord of Kumamoto, of the Hosokawa clan, and noted for his successful financial reform of the Kumamoto Domain. His elder brother, the 5th "daimyō", unfortunately and unexpectedly was killed, and so Shigekata had to face the financial difficulties of the Kumamoto Han. The deficit at the time of his father reached 400,000 ryō. The finance of his Han had worsened because of the policy of the Tokugawa shogunate which required the "sankin-kotai", a policy where a "daimyō" had to spend alternating years in the city of Edo. This policy was a great financial burden for a "daimyō", who had to pay for travel to the capital in a manner befitting his status, and had to maintain an appropriate residence in the capital and in his domain.
In 1752, Shigekata appointed Hori Katsuna to the post of "great bugyō". Hori immediately went to Osaka to negotiate with Kohnoike family and others for loans, but the wealthy families refused the request. Then, Hori was successful in borrowing a huge sum of money from Kajimaya in return for the 100,000 "koku" of rice from Kumamoto Han. Kajimaya requested a considerably reduced financial policy of Kumamoto han. The Kokudaka or the system of "koku" refers to a system for determining land value for tribute purposes in the Edo period Japan and expressing this value in "koku" of rice. This tribute was no longer the percentage of the actual quantity of rice harvested, but was assessed based on the quality and size of the land. The system was used to value the incomes of "daimyōs", or samurai under "daimyōs". Originally, the samurai kept 40% of all rice produced. After the reform, 20 "koku" per 100 went to a samurai, and then 13 "koku", this meant a reduction of 65%.
Education, commercial, and criminal law reform.
Kumamoto han wanted the samurai to be satisfied with the Hōreki reforms, and at the same time, they should train themselves as strong warriors. One way to meet this goal was to build a school for samurai and others. Another idea was to rehabilitate those who went against the rules, and Shigekata created a completely new criminal law. He also started a medical school called Saishunkan. In addition, Shigekata and Hori started various new industries involving Japanese paper, silk, and wax.
Famine and tsunami.
In 1634, there was a considerable famine which may have contributed to the Shimabara Rebellion of 1637. The reduced production of rice was observed occasionally from time to time; 1729 was also the year of famine, and it was recorded that there was only 11% of the mean annual production. In addition to famine, there was a peculiar tsunami. In 1792, a large mountain, Mayu Yama (Maeyama), at the foot of the volcano Mt. Unzen (Nagasaki Prefecture) collapsed with volcanic earthquakes, produced a great tsunami that struck the seashore of Kumamoto Prefecture. In all, 15,000 people died. This was the second largest tsunami in the history of Japan, after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami..
Farmers' uprisings.
Usually translated as peasant uprising, it was reported that wealthy farmers also participated; in Higo Province, more than 100 cases of farmers' uprisings were recorded. These cases were characterized by small numbers of participants, less than 300 people, and their claims were the reduction of taxation, about the instability of han money, request for the resignation of the shoya and employees. In 1747, farmer uprising occurred in Ashikita, requesting the withdrawal of the resignation of Inatsu Yaemon, a high-ranking official who had an understanding of farmers. Its participants numbered 7,000 to 8,000 people.
19th Century.
Yokoi Shonan and the Bakumatsu.
The Bakumatsu was a period toward the end of Tokugawa shogunate. Yokoi Shōnan (1809–1869) was a scholar and political reformer in Japan, influential around the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate. Yokoi was a samurai born in Kumamoto, was sent by the domain to Edo in 1839 for studies, and developed contacts with pro-reform members of Mito Domain. After his return to Kumamoto, he started a group to promote the reform of domain administration along Neo-Confucian lines. In 1857, he was invited by the "daimyō" of Echizen, Matsudaira Yoshinaga, to become his political adviser. Although he was highly evaluated at that time, he was assassinated in 1869.
Meiji Restoration.
There was a chain of events from the Bakumatsu, Meiji Restoration (1868), Abolition of the han system (1871) and Satsuma Rebellion (1877). The name of the Prefecture was finally made Kumamoto Prefecture in 1876.
The Sword Abolition Edict and the abolition of the caste system were issued in 1876, and samurai were angered and became furious. Saigō Takamori, the hero and leader of Meiji Restoration, left the central Meiji Government and returned to Kagoshima, with disaffected samurai followers.
Satsuma Rebellion.
In 1877, the Satsuma army came to Kumamoto, but languished for two months during the Siege of Kumamoto Castle, which proved the unrivaled durability of the castle. Shortly before their attack on Kumamoto Castle, the surrounding townscape was burned in preparation for the battle. Kumamoto Castle also burned down, though the cause of the fire is unknown. The commander of Kumamoto Castle was Tani Tateki who was fresh from the Taiwan Expedition of 1874.
In 1877, Sano Tsunetami　(1823–1902) created the Hakuaisha, a relief organization to provide medical assistance to soldiers wounded in the Satsuma Rebellion. This organization became the Japanese Red Cross Society in 1887, with Sano as its first president.
Souha Hatono VIII of Kumamoto (1844–1917) was a Japanese physician. During the Satsuma Rebellion, he treated wounded soldiers from both sides equally. He faced a trial for trying to benefit the enemy, but was proved innocent. His activities were in accord with the spirit of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
Modernization.
Imperial Army.
Chinzei Tandai, one of the six large units of the Japanese Army, was placed in Kumamoto in 1871. After the Satsuma rebellion in 1877, the 6th Infantry Division was formed in Kumamoto City on May 12, 1888, as one of the new divisions to be created after the reorganization of the Imperial Japanese Army away from six regional commands and into a divisional command structure. The headquarters were placed in Kumamoto Castle, with the infantry battalion, the cavalry battalion and artillery battalion, and this arrangement came to an end at the end of World War II. Japan experienced the First Sino-Japanese War in 1894. After the Russo-Japanese War, Kumamoto accepted about 5,000 prisoners of war at Toroku. A large-scale military exercise was held in Kumamoto, attended by Emperor Hirohito, 1931.
To Prosperous Kumamoto.
The army's Yamasaki Training Area, placed after the Satsuma Rebellion, blocked traffic and the development of Kumamoto City. In consideration of public opinion, other military buildings were transferred to Toroku and Oe Mura, but the Yamasaki Training place was still there. At the cost of Kumamoto City, it moved to Oe Mura, starting as late as 1898. In the wake of the Yamasaki Training place, Renpei Cho and Karashima (then mayor) Cho were named, and Shinshigai became the busiest section of Kumamoto City. In 1907, Kumamoto Light railway company started, which later changed to Kumamoto Electric Railway Company and then to streetcars. Public organizations were invited, such as the 5th Higher Middle School in 1887 which changed to the 5th High School in 1894, Tobacco Monopoly Bureau in 1911. Infrastructure such as construction of roads, water supply (1924), streetcar lines were completed, which was the basis of development for Kumamoto City.
Disasters.
Near the end of World War II, Kumamto experienced several air raids, and the greatest one on the night of June 30 to July 1, 1945. About one third of the city was burned, and more than 300 people died. After the war, there were a considerable number of floods due to typhoons, possibly exacerbated by deforestation and delay in river control. In June 1953, there was a combination of Mount Aso eruption and floods, causing debris to flow into the center of Kumamoto city, and more than 500 people died in Kumamoto Prefecture.
Various dams, such as Ichifusa dam, Midorikawa dam, Ryumon dam, have been constructed to prevent another disaster. Tateno dam is under construction.
The 1973 Taiyo Department Store fire occurred in the center of Kumamoto City. The fire started at 1:15 pm on November 29, 1973; and 103 people died. After the fire, national regulations pertaining to the construction of buildings were strengthened, one of which was the building of external steps outside of the high-storied buildings.
Industry.
Since early times agriculture has remained an important industry. In 1911, the government encouraged agriculture by placing agricultural experiment stations in Kumamoto Prefecture. Since 1964, industrialization started, with factories for the production of motorcycles and semiconductors. Kumamoto Technopolis Project was started to invite various factories near Kumamoto Airport. The Five Bridges of Amakusa linked the Kyūshū mainland and the Amakusa Islands, and opened on September 24, 1966. The Five Bridges not only gave hope and confidence in the development of Japan's bridge construction technology, but also changed many aspects of life in the Amakusa Islands. Mount Aso and Amakusa became sightseeing destinations.
Minamata disease.
The Chisso Corporation (チッソ株式会社, Chisso kabushiki kaisha) started a factory in Minamata city in 1908. In 1956 that Minamata disease was identified and described; it was caused by the release of methylmercury in the industrial wastewater from the factory. The symptoms of the disease include ataxia, numbness in the hands and feet, general muscle weakness, narrowing of the field of vision, and damage to hearing and speech capability. As of March 2001, 2,265 victims were officially recognised (1,784 of whom had died) and over 10,000 received financial compensation from Chisso. By 2004, Chisso Corporation had paid $86 million in compensation. On March 29, 2010, a settlement was reached to compensate as-yet uncertified victims.


Jawi Peranakan

The Jawi Peranakan (Jawi: ) is an ethnic group found primarily within the Malaysian state of Penang and in Singapore, both regions were part of the historical Straits Settlements where their culture and history is centred around. The term "Jawi Peranakan" refers to locally born, Malay-speaking Muslims of mixed Indian and Malay ancestry. Over time, this has grown to include people with Arab ancestry as well. They were an elite group within the British Malayan community in mid-19th century Malaya. In addition to their substantial wealth and social standing, they are remembered for setting up the first Malay newspaper in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and China, the "Jawi Peranakan" and their influences on Malay culture.
History.
Since Penang and Singapore's founding in 1786 and 1819, the number of South Asian immigrants to these colonies grew rapidly. Many were South Indian men. However, Jawi Peranakan ancestry does include a large number of other South Asians, from northern India and Pakistan. Women travelled to Singapore only from the 1860s, and even then in small numbers. This led to a shortage of South Asian brides, and so South Asian Muslim men often married Malay Muslim women. The descendants of these unions were called Jawi Peranakan.
"Jawi" is an Arabic word to denote Southeast Asia, while Peranakan is a Malay word meaning "born of" (it also refers to the elite, locally born Chinese). More broadly, South Asian Muslims without mixed parentage but born in the Straits Settlements were sometimes also called Jawi Peranakan, as were children from Arab-Malay marriages. Similar terms for mixed Malay-South Asian people were "Jawi Pekan" (mostly used in Penang). Jawi Peranakan families were found throughout Malaysia, especially Penang, and Singapore.
Description.
The Jawi Peranakan chose their spouses carefully, screening prospective matches for wealth and status, rather than racial origins. This enabled intermarriage between Jawi Peranakan and other prosperous local Muslim communities, like the Arabs, Indians and the Malay aristocrats. Despite assimilating into the Malay culture, the Jawi Peranakan maintained a distinct identity which was captured in their architecture, clothing, jewelry and cuisine. Also, the community placed a strong emphasis on getting an English education, especially since many Jawi Peranakans hold Colonial Government jobs. Culturally, they contributed to the arts scene of the region, especially in music.
The Jawi Peranakan were enterprising and progressive and by the late 19th century, they had accumulated considerable wealth and status and contributed to the economy as merchants and landlords. They were also literate and English-educated, easily qualifying for government jobs. A group of Jawi Peranakan financed the first Malay language newspaper, the Jawi-Peranakan. Its first editor was Munsyi Mohamed Said Bin Dada Mohiddin, a South Indian Muslim who remained as editor for 12 years, from 1876 to 1888.
Demise of the community.
There are a few Jawi Peranakan families left in Singapore and Malaysia, especially Penang, which used to be their largest settlement. However, most today register as Malays. The loss of their identity is due to various causes. Economically, other competing mercantile groups were emerging. The Great Depression led many Jawi Peranakan business empires to bankruptcy and a severe fall in rent collected by landlords. Over time, the Jawi Peranakan grew increasingly dependent on government and clerical jobs.
By the turn of the 20th century, the political climate favoured the Malays. As the largest racial group and the indigenous people of Malaya, they were seen as the natural successors to the British, with the waning of the British Empire. Projecting an identity that was distinctly apart from the Malays was therefore not expedient. In the 1920s and 1930s, the Jawi Peranakan were also criticised for their brand of religious belief of Hanafi Islam which different from Shafi'i Islam practised by the Malays. Furthermore, the Jawi Peranakan tended to be reformist and they challenged the authority of Malay royalty in religious matters. Most were born and bred in the Straits Settlements, and had never been a subject of the Sultan. They therefore lacked this political and cultural quality which was seen to define a "true Malay".
Descendants.
In colonial Singapore and British Malaya, the Jawi Peranakan remain a community held in high regard by the local Malays primarily due to the educational achievements and the wealth inherited. Families such as the Angullias have left their mark on modern day Singapore with places like Angullia Park near Singapore's famous Orchard Road still bearing the name of the clan. Other families include the Maricars or Maricans.
While due to the intermarriage with other Muslim communities, many of their descendants inherited an Arab (Syed, Sayyid) or to some extent Malay surnames (Tengku, Wan, Megat). Many whom are married to the Malays have also dropped their surnames since most Malays practised a Patronym naming system.
References.
Nagata, J. A. (1984). The reflowering of Malaysian Islam: Modern religious radicals and their roots (pp. 14, 118-122, 186, 249). Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press.
Tan, Y. S., & Soh, Y. P. (1994). The development of Singapore's modern media industry (pp. 8–9). Singapore: Times Academic Press.
Urban Redevelopment Authority, Preservation of Monuments Board. (1991). Jamae Mosque preservation guidelines (pp. 7–9). Singapore: Author.
Jeman Sulaiman. (7 November 1988). The rise of Malay newspaper. The Straits Times, p. 6.
Khoo, S. N. (30 August 2001). A rich legacy. The Star (Malaysia), Lifestyle.
Mohani Musa. (25 October 2001). The Penang story: Flags of conflict. The Star (Malaysia), Lifestyle.


Tulodong

Sri Maharaja Rakai Layang Dyah Tulodong was a maharaja of the Medang Kingdom of Central Java who succeeded Daksha and reigned for from 919 to either 924 or 928 AD. Historians have posited that Tulodong was the son of Balitung whose reign ended about eight years prior to the start of Tulodong's.
Tulodong was likely a political outsider as he was not recorded as a member of the government of his predecessor. He was succeeded by Rake Pangkaya Wawa who assumed power by February 928.


Ikushina Jinja

 is a Shinto shrine located in the city of Ōta, Gunma, Japan, dedicated to the "kami" Ōkuninushi. The precincts of this shrine was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1934.
History.
The foundation of the Ikushina Jinja is unknown, but it is located on a portion of a great landed estate ("shōen") controlled by the Nitta clan since the end of the Heian period, and may have originally be constructed to placate the spirit of Taira no Masakado. The shrine only gained prominence with the establishment of State Shintoism following the Meiji restoration as the new Meiji government chose to glorify the late Kamakura period imperial loyalist Nitta Yoshisada and the events of the Kemmu restoration. Per the medieval chronicle "Taiheiki", this shrine is said to have been the location where Nitta Yoshisada first raised his banner to rally his clansmen in revolt against the Kamakura shogunate in 1333. It was made a prefectural shrine under the Modern system of ranked Shinto shrines.
In 1934 the precincts were made a National Historic Site to commemorate the 600th anniversary of the Kenmu restoration. A bronze statue of Nitta Yoshisada was erected in 1983. In the year 2000, the shrine was included as one of the eleven sites covered in the expanded National Historic Site designation of the Nitta shōen ruins. The shrine is located a 15-minute bus ride from Ōta Station on the Tobu Isesaki Line.


Kareng Ghar

Kareng (Pron:/ˌkɑ:ɹɛŋ ˈgɑ:/, "royal palace"), also known as The Garhgaon Palace, is located in Garhgaon from Sivasagar, Assam, India. Of all Ahom ruins, the Kareng Ghar is one of the grandest examples of Ahom architecture. The palace structures were made of wood and stone. In 1751 Sunenphaa, son of Sukhrungphaa, constructed the brick wall of about in length surrounding the Garhgaon Palace and the masonry gate leading to it.
After the destruction of the old palace it was rebuilt around 1752 as the present seven-storied structure by Suremphaa (reign: 1751-1769).
The earliest constructions were commissioned by Sukhrungphaa in AD 1698. Rangpur was the capital of the Ahom Kingdom and served as its military station.
Architecture.
Kareng.
After Sukhrungphaa's death, the Kareng Ghar went through many architectural alterations to its structure, which resulted in its irregular shape. From east to west, several rooms run along a long corridor; and from north to south are smaller wings. The ground floor served as stables, storerooms, and servants' quarters. The Kareng was built mainly of wood, which was largely destroyed over time. The royal apartments were on the upper storey, of which only a few rooms now remain, close to an octagonal room on the northern wing which once served as the Puja Ghar (prayer house). There are stairs leading up to the terrace. An isolated room stands on the south which is believed to have been used by the queen during her confinement.


St. Catherine Church, Krasnodonetskaya

The Church of Saint Catherine () is a Russian Orthodox church in Krasnodonetskaya "stanitsa", Belokalitvinsky District, Rostov Oblast, Russia that belongs to the Diocese of Volgodnosk and was built in 1879. It is officially declared as object of cultural heritage of Russia of Regional significance.
History.
Katerininskaya (now Krasnodonetskaya stanitsa) was founded in 1775 by the decree of Catherine II. The founder of the village was Prince Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin. Initially it was situated on the low bank of Donets. The place was chosen unsuccessfully and in spring the village was flooded, so later it was decided to move it downstream. There was built the wooden Church of St. Catherine. Exclusively for the Church of St. Catherine was painted icon of St. Catherine of Alexandria, and the picture had a great resemblance to the Empress Catherine II. In 1835, the village was moved higher to the hills, in 1840 the church was moved there as well and was set on a stone foundation.
In 1877, this church completely burned out, and in 1879 a new one was built, with two chapels: the southern one was consecrated in the name of the Ascension of the Lord and the northern one - in the name of Saint Pantaleon. The church was surrounded by a stone fence with wooden bars. The building was constructed of wood, which is not typical for the steppe Southern Russia. Local residents claim that the material for the church were crafted in Siberia, and the logs were numbered and transported to the village from there. In 1886, a parish school was built at the church. Since 1906, the church-parish guardianship began to function.
In 1920, Katerininskaya village was renamed Krasnodonetskaya. In 1930–1940 the church was closed. The domes of the church, both in the main building and the bell tower were cut off. The church was used as a granary. Before the beginning of German occupation, Soviet authorities decided to blow up the church so that the Nazis would not get the grain, but local residents quickly took the grain bags to their homes and so there was no need to blow up any more. During the fighting in the village the church had not been damaged. When the Germans occupied Krasnodonetskya, the church was briefly open again. After the war, the church was closed again.
It was locked and stood empty until the mid-1980s and was opened only in 1985. From the modern history of this church, it is known that scenes from two Soviet films - "Ataman" and "Dina" - were shot on its background.
The Saint Catherine's Church is one of the two remaining churches that are declared as monuments of wooden architecture in the Seversky Donets Basin and objects of cultural heritage of Regional significance.


Ponnar Shankar (film)

Ponnar Shankar is a 2011 Indian epic historical drama film produced and directed by Thiagarajan. It is a fictionalised account of the Ponnar Shankar epic, adapted from M. Karunanidhis novel of the same name. It features Thiagarajan's son Prashanth in lead dual roles as warrior princes, portraying the title characters, with actresses Pooja Chopra and Divya Parameshwaran making their film debut as princesses and Prakash Raj as the main antagonist. The film also features an extensive cast of supporting actors with Prabhu, Jayaram, Khushbu Sundar, Sneha, Vijayakumar, Nassar, Rajkiran, Napoleon, and Ponvannan, amongst others. The background score and soundtrack of the film, composed by Ilaiyaraaja, with cinematography handled by Shaji Kumar and editing done by Don Max.
Filming, although significantly delayed, began in August 2009 at Valluvar Kottam in Chennai, where an ancient township film set with temples, forts, a lake and palaces had been built. The film's producers encountered difficulties in making prompt payments to its crew that consisted of more than 1000 members during the filming in the forests of Pollachi. The filming then shifted to Guindy National Park in Chennai, with the battle sequences shot in Kerala and Karnataka.
Prior to its release, the film drew criticism from the Kongu Nadu Munnetra Kazhagam (KMK) Party with an unsuccessful petition filed at Madras High Court seeking a ban on the film, claiming that it portrayed the traditional deities of the gounder community in a bad light. The film was released on 9 April 2011 to a mixed response from critics. Although praised for its cinematography and art direction, it was criticised for having a weak plot and character deficiencies. It was an average grosser. The film was later dubbed and released as "Prashanth Veer" in Hindi and then as "Rajakota Rahasyam" in Telugu in 2012 and 2013 respectively.
Plot.
A love affair between Thamarai Nachiyar (Khusbhu) and her maternal cousin Nellian Kodan (Jayaram) is poorly received by their family, especially since he is not financially well off. Thamarai's father, King Periyamalai Kozhundhu Gounder (Vijayakumar), arranges for her marriage to Mandhiyappan (Prakash Raj), the ruler of a neighbouring country. Thamarai rejects the arranged marriage, angering Mandhiyappan. She later marries her lover, who had come to see her marry Mandhiyappan, and challenges her brother Chinnamalai Kozhundhu (Ponvannan) to marry his daughters off to her sons (the marriage of cousins is a gounder custom). Periyamalai Kozhundhu disowns his daughter for choosing Nellaiyankondan and banishes them from his kingdom.
Many years later, Mayavar (Nassar), a chieftain of a village in Periyamalai Kozhundhu's kingdom, encounters twin brothers Ponnar and Shankar (both played by Prashanth), who are being tutored in martial arts by Rakki Annan (Rajkiran). Ponnar and Shankar are valorous and compassionate to the sufferings of the poor. One day, the twins save two sisters, Muthaayi (Pooja Chopra) and Pavalaayi (Divya Parameshwaran), from death. The girls are later revealed to be daughters of Chinnamalai Kozhundhu. Impressed with Ponnar and Shankar's valour, Chinnamalai Kozhundhu agrees to marry his daughters off to them.
A flashback reveals that Ponnar and Sankar are actually Thamarai's sons and that Rakki, who was then a servant of Nellian Kondan, had saved the twins as small children from Mandhiyappan. Mandhiyappan had attempted to avenge himself on Thamarai for rejecting his hand in marriage. He learns that the twins are still alive and hatches a conspiracy to kill them. He tricks Kali Mannan (Napoleon) and Periyamalai Kozhundhu into helping him. This leads to an intense battle which ends with good prevailing over evil.
Production.
Development.
In early 2007, Thiagarajan approached M. Karunanidhi with the intention of making a film on his adaptation of the Ponnar Shankar epic that he had written in the late 1970s. The latter accepted Thiagarajan's offer and approved of his decision to cast his son, Prashanth, in the dual lead roles. In July 2008, the project was officially announced in a press meet. The film subsequently began pre-production, with Thyagarajan opting to produce the film under his Sri Lakshmi Shanthi Films banner. The preliminary stages of the production took more than a year, with story-boarding, costume designs and colossal set designs all being finalized. Prashanth revealed that extensive research about the time period alone took a year and a half. Prashanth grew his hair out for his role in the film.
At the launch of the film in July 2009, Thiagarajan announced that 36 prominent actors would play lead roles with a hundred others in supporting roles. The invitation cards for the launch had 3D holographic designs which won the Sappi awards of the year 2009. Aishwarya Rai and Deepika Padukone were initially considered for the female lead roles, before Miss India 2009 Pooja Chopra and Divya Parameshwaran accepted the roles. The producers initially listed Sathyaraj in its cast, later replaced by Prabhu. Approximately 5000 junior artists and 1000 artists from the annual Chennai Sangamam had reportedly taken part in the film. For music, Thiagarajan approached A. R. Rahman in 2008, and Ilaiyaraaja eventually replaced him. Muthuraj was selected as the art director for the film and Shaji Kumar as cinematographer while Prashanth took care of visual effects.
The film ran into production trouble in mid 2010 and was close to being shelved, with sources reporting that Thiagarajan sold the film to Santiago Martin to revive the project. The reports proved to be untrue, and Thiagarajan maintained that he was still the producer of the film. The film had also begun to surpass its budget, due to the casual nature of shooting and difficulties in creating historical sets. The first shots from the film and the video for three songs were unveiled publicly in March 2011, with the publicity campaign initiated after this.
Filming.
Filming commenced on 12 July 2009 at Valluvar Kottam in Chennai, where an entire ancient township film set with temples, forts, a lake and palaces was created. Scenes containing actor and politician Napoleon as the historical figure Thalaiyoor Kaali were shot there first. Thereafter, scenes featuring Jayaram and Khusbhu were filmed, portraying characters which were considerably younger than they are in real life. Prashanth revealed that portraying a dual role meant that he was forced to change his costumes up to forty times a day in to order portray the twin brothers' differences correctly. In March 2010, Sneha was roped in to play Arukaani, sister of the warrior twins, and her scenes were filmed.
The climax scenes of the film were shot in the deserts of Rajasthan in February 2011. The final phase of filming was going on in the forests of Pollachi with elephants and horses resembling the region in the 1500s, when the production team couldn't make prompt payments to the onsite crew that consisted of more than 1000 members. The displeasure shown by the crew threatened to disrupt filming. Karunanidhi, the writer, visited the sets of the film in a Vadapalani studio in February 2011 to peruse over the scenes that had been shot at the time, and filming then moved on to Guindy National Park in Chennai. The four battle sequences in the movie were shot in Perambalur, near Trichy and Warangal in Andhra Pradesh. The scene in Trichy took 28 days to complete, with 30,000 junior artists used as soldiers along with 3000 horses. Another battle scene was shot underwater. A few scenes in the film were reshot after the criticism it received at its premiere that Prashanth's characters showed no emotions at the death of their parents.
Historical background.
Ponnar and Shankar, believed to be Chera chieftains, were rulers of the Ponni valanadu (now in the Tiruchirappalli area), in medieval Tamil Nadu. They were said to be in good terms with the Madurai ruler, Vijaya Renga Chokkanathar (1706 - 1732 A. D), who was their contemporary. The legendary folk tale of these brothers, also known as Annamar Swamigal, has been passed down through many generations by means of village songs (known as Gramiya Padalgal) and traditional street theatre, known as Therukkoothu. Absence of reliable written historical records makes it difficult to ascertain the credibility of any of the above claims, along with the widely held legend which was popularised by M Karunanidhi's novel on the subject. According to the legend, the brothers were born to Periyakaralanaka Mannudaiyak Kounden and Thamaraiyal of Manamadurai, belonging to the Kongu Vellalar community. They had attained the kingdom with help from the then king of Urayur, which was the capital of early Cholas. Thalaiyur Kali, a neighbouring country king belonging to the rival Vettuva Gounder caste, hatched a conspiracy against the brothers which led to a war and the subsequent death of Shankar who was tricked into proving his innocence by falling over a sword. Grieving the loss of his brother, Ponnar entered the battlefield, killing Kali Mannan, before proceeding to kill himself. The brothers were then brought to life by their sister Arukaani with help from the Goddess Periyakandiamman. The brothers, however, were told by the Gods that their earthly duties were over which led to their leaving the mortal world. Arukaani followed suit by throwing herself along with her royal ornaments into a well in Valanadu, a village in Trichy.
A temple was later erected in the spot (which falls in the present day Veerappur) where Shankar died, with Periyakandiamman as the presiding deity. There is also a belief that the well in Sadayandi Thoppu, near Veerappur, in which Arukaani drowned herself, still has her gold ornaments. This story has been the subject of poems, songs and a Tamil historical novel by M. Karunanidhi. Karunanidhi's novel drew inspiration from a 1971 work written by Kavignar Sakthikanal, who had researched and documented the references to Ponnar and Shankar in the ancient palm leaves he came across at Manapparai. Today the brothers are worshipped as tutelar deities by people belonging to Kongu Vellalar community as a tribute to the brave way the brothers defended their kingdom.
Soundtrack.
The soundtrack for the film was composed by Ilaiyaraaja, with lyrics written by Vaali, Na. Muthukumar, Snehan and Illayaraja. The album was released on 7 March 2011 at the Prasad Studios in Chennai with Karunanidhi presiding over the event. The soundtrack album consists of six tracks, with four of them sung by Shreya Ghoshal. The film initially had a track about the glories of Kongu Vellalar which was removed later during the editing process. One of its tracks, "Annanmaar Kathai" belongs to the Tamil folk genre. The song "Kannai Padithaen" received a special mention in "The Hindu" newspaper where it was cited as "simply melodious and rings in ones ears for long". The soundtrack received a negative review by "Rediff", which stated that the "tunes were all generic" and that the operatic background score did not gel well with the film's subject. It summed that "Ilaiyaraja had just skimmed the bare bones of his usually fulfilling musical compositions". There was also a review in "Dinakaran" on the inappropriateness of the film's tracks as the reviewer felt they were ill-suited to the film's historical themes.
Release.
The film began its publicity campaign in February 2011 with the goal of releasing the film during the period of the 2011 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly elections to raise support of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) Party, led by the film's writer, M. Karunanidhi. Criticism mounted against Karunanidhi for being more involved in his artistic pursuits than in his Chief Ministerial duties as the elections approached. Prior to release, the film also drew criticism from the Kongu Nadu Munnetra Kazhagam (KMK) Party claiming that the film portrayed the traditional deities of the gounder community in a bad light, showing them dancing with semi-nude women. Leading figures from the party wrote to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to ban the film, holding the promotional material used for the movie as evidence. When they received no response from CBFC, a petition was filed at Madras High Court, seeking its ban under Article 226 of the Indian constitution. The petition was dismissed, given that Article 226 can only be used by a court on a body that falls within its jurisdiction.
The film was released on 9 April 2011, four days before the election. It received a lukewarm response at the box office, opening at 14 theatres in Chennai where it collected in the first three days. After a two-week run it collected from Chennai, and was declared "average" by trade pundits.
Reception.
The film received a mixed reception from critics. The film was praised for its technical merit and art direction, Shaji Kumar's cinematography, Ilayaraja's re-recording, crisp editing and predominantly colloquial dialogues (unusual for Karunanidhi's films), but criticised for its weak storyline and continuity problems. "The Times of India" praised the "terrific" art direction and Shaji Kumar's cinematography but stated that there were far "too many gaps in the story to ensure that the movie never rises above its mediocrity and ends up being an epic disappointment", giving it two-and-a-half out of five stars. "Thinakaran" and "Nakkheeeran" compared the grandeur of the film to that of S. Shankar, noted for making high budget films in Tamil. "Eelam Press" gave it a positive review, lauding on all aspects of the film, particularly the film's war scenes, highlighting that by using contemporary Tamil, instead of its ancient counterpart in its dialogues, the audience could better relate to it.
Malathi Rangarajan's review ("The Hindu") was fair, labelling the film an "alluring canvas", praising the opulent sets, locations, rich costumes and imposing cast, yet noted that it was "too short to negate the many loopholes". Divya Parameshwaran was appreciated in her debut role, while Pooja Chopra was credited as being "attractive too, but [her] expressions needed some honing". Though Prashanth's stunt acts were appreciated, Rangarajan pointed out his character flaws, such as minimal expressions which were "barely a smirk" in the initial scenes, and the distinct lack of distinguishable traits between the twin characters he depicted. He also highlighted the lack of logic in Periyamalai Gounder's (Vijayakumar) animosity towards his daughter Thamarai (Khusbhu) and the cheerful appearance of Thamarai when she must have been sad and heartbroken in the wedding scene with Prakashraj. "Vikatan" stated that the only good aspects of the movie were its expensive sets and its avoidance of boring archaic Tamil dialogues, common in other period films in Tamil, giving it a rating of 41 points out of 100.
Historical inaccuracies.
"Rediff" declared that "there is nothing even remotely historical about the movie". It added that though the film is said to be based on Karunanidhi's novel, the film's commercialised look, along with "half clad women prancing around", made it resemble Ashutosh Gowariker's 2008 film "Jodhaa Akbar". It went on that "historical accuracy had been thrown to the winds" and that there were no references to actual places, kings or time periods. "The Times of India" noted the historical inconsistencies, such as the presence of a British constructed dam in a scene while the film is set in pre-colonial period, "wire stunts of Prashanth in action sequences", revealing costumes donned by the lead actresses and also the bamboo dance sequence in the film which is actually native to Nagaland. It summed that the film lacks attention to detail which is a necessary feature of historical films. "The New Indian Express" called it a "pseudo historical".
Kavignar Sakthikanal, whose 1971 work was the basis for Karunanidhi's novel, observed that the inaccuracies originated from the novel itself due its usage of literary devices like exaggeration. He further stated that Ponnar and Shankar remained celibate throughout their lives while in the movie they were shown romancing with immodestly dressed women. They married only to avenge the ill treatment meted out to their mother and promptly sent their newly wed wives to prison denying coital relations with them, he added. Also, in the film the title characters were not shown committing suicide as in Sakthikanal and Karunanidhi's version, but rather were depicted emerging victorious from the war unscathed.


Rajavaliya

Rajavaliya (line of kings) is an ancient chronicle of Sri Lanka. It contains the history of King Vijaya to King Vimaladharmasuriya ΙΙ. It is the only chronicle which contains continuous history of Sri Lanka written in Sinhalese language.
Although there were so many other ancient palm-leaf manuscript codices dated before Rajavaliya, also known as "Puskolapoth" written in prehistoric Sinhalese language on the history of ancient kings of Sri Lanka and the advanced technologies used by them, Rajavaliya is still considered as the first record of Sri Lankan history because Sri Lankans never had the opportunity to refer to these ancient manuscripts or to later translate them into their language to be used as references while recording their history as those were taken away from the nation's custody when they were discovered in archaeological excavations conducted in historical sites and ancient Buddhist temples across old Ceylon during the era of British rulers. Most of these very important manuscripts are now being held at the British museum.


Abhaya Malla

Abhaya Malla () (died 1255) was a Malla Dynasty king of Nepal in the first half of the 13th century. His death is well documented in the history of Nepal, because he died during the 1255 earthquake which wiped out one third of the population of the Kathmandu Valley. He performed a Lakshyahoma. Many books written during his reign are available. His sons Jaya Deva and Ananda Deva ruled jointly after his death.


Khin The

Khin The (, January 1814 – 3 May 1872), commonly known by her regnal title Thiri Maha Yadana Mingala Dewi (; ), was the Queen of the Northern Palace of King Mindon Min during the Konbaung dynasty.
Biography.
At her age 13, she serving as a lady-in-waiting to Nanmadaw Me Nu when her father, Tha Phyu, serving as mayor of Sagaing. In 1834, she became a royal concubine of Prince Mindon. When Prince Mindon and Kanaung Mintha fled to Shwebo, Khin The accompanied them. Before the end of the rebellion, Prince Mindon pledged to make Khin The as the chief queen if he ascended the throne. When Mindon ascended the throne, it was difficult for Khin The to be made the chief queen because she was not a royal blood. However, she became the Queen of the Northern Palace with the royal title Thiri Maha Yadana Mingala Dewi on 26 March 1853.
She did not bear any issue but she adopted Salin Supaya, daughter of her half-sister Limban Mibaya, and Kwutywa Princess, daughter of Tamabin Mibaya. She died on 3 May 1872 and was buried in the Mandalay Palace stockade.


Liu Sheng, Prince of Zhongshan

Liu Sheng (; died 113 BC), posthumously known as King/Prince Jing of Zhongshan (), was a king/prince of the Western Han empire of Chinese history. His father was Emperor Jing, and he was the elder brother of Emperor Wu of Han. His mausoleum is one of the most important archaeological sites pertaining to the Western Han imperial family.
Life.
Liu Sheng was born to Emperor Jing of Han and Consort Jia, who also had another son, Liu Pengzu the Prince of Zhao. He was given the fief of Zhongshan by his father in 154 BC, and therefore reigned in the period right after the Rebellion of the Seven States, when the political atmosphere was one of suspicion regarding the feudal states. Given this atmosphere Liu Sheng was one of the more successful feudal rulers.
In the third year of the reign of Emperor Wu, his younger brother, Liu Sheng and several other princes were invited to Chang'an to feast; at the feast Liu Sheng wept and complained of the treatment of the feudal princes by centrally appointed officials, who made use of their role as monitors to constantly trump up charges against the princes. Impressed by this petition the Emperor explicitly ordered that the unfair scrutiny of the princes should stop, and Liu Sheng became one of the most renowned of the feudal rulers of his time.
He was known to indulge in alcohol and women, and is reputed to have had some 120 sons.
Mausoleum.
Lui Sheng's tomb was discovered in 1968 by Wang Zhongshu at Mancheng in the Hebei Province, west of Beijing. He was buried along with his wife, Dou Wan. It was the first undisturbed Western Han tomb discovered. The two were buried in two caves inside a mountainside. Each cave contained two side rooms for storage, a rear chamber for the coffin, and a large central chamber with a tiled roof and wooden supports that has since collapsed. The tomb contained over 2,700 artifacts. In total, the following objects were excavated:
The artifacts included gold and silver acupuncture needles, and decorative iron daggers. Two key items are the bronze incense burner, known as a "boshan" and Sheng's jade burial suit. The boshan resembles the sacred mountains of the Isles of the Immortals in the Eastern Sea. Han Daoists believed that the mountains were a path to everlasting life It has a deep hemispherical bowl and an elegant base with classical chinese intertwining dragons. There are wavy inlaid gold lines in the work, which likely represent the Eastern Sea. Projecting from the jagged peaks are relief figures of humans and animals. The boshan is an attribution to both Sheng's immense wealth and the skill of Han bronze casting. Both Sheng and his wife were buried with intricated jade suits that each contained over 2,000 pieces of jade.


Raeburn Park School

Raeburn Park School was established in 1954 by a group of Singapore Harbour Board officials who were concerned about the shortage of educational facilities for non-service expatriate children. The school was located at Raeburn Park in a Harbour Board property overlooking Singapore harbour hence the school was also known as the Harbour Board School. Within 18 months the initial intake of 29 students had grown dramatically to a full-capacity school roll of 210 students. A house system was implemented and students were placed in one of the three houses: Keppel, Raffles or Ridley. The school colours were yellow and brown hence the boys' school uniforms consisted of yellow shirts and brown shorts and the girls wore yellow and white gingham check dresses.
The management of the school was transferred to the British European Association (BEA - now known as the British Association of Singapore) in 1960. The BEA also managed Tanglin Preparatory School. Following Singapore's independence in 1965, the Harbour Board was replaced by The Port of Singapore Authority, which informed the school their lease would not be renewed after 1972. The school moved to Alexandra Park into the vacated Royal Army Ordnance Corps Mess and the adjoining cell block (from which the bars were removed!). The first overseas contracted teacher was appointed in 1973 although locally employed women, trained teachers from the UK, New Zealand or Australia, made up the majority of teachers. The same year a male Headteacher was employed and he was the first male member of staff. It was another two years before the first male teacher was appointed. In 1974 Raeburn Park came under management of Tanglin Trust Ltd which also managed Tanglin Preparatory and Weyhill Preparatory schools. The three schools were henceforth managed by one common Board of Governors.
In 1976 with the final withdrawal of British troops the school moved to Portsdown Road opposite Weyhill Preparatory School. Raeburn and Weyhill operated separately but shared the playing field between them. In 1981 Raeburn Park ceased to exist when it amalgamated with Tanglin Preparatory and Weyhill Preparatory Schools to form Tanglin Infant School and Tanglin Junior School.
The memory of Raeburn has lived on as the name of one of the senior houses within the present-day Tanglin Trust School. Moreover, the memory of the wonderful surroundings at Alexandra Park endures as one of the senior houses within the present-day Tanglin Trust School is called 'Alexandra'.
Alumni.
The school has a thriving Alumni community which is designed to help current and former students stay in touch with each other and with the present day Tanglin Trust School. Children of Raeburn Park School Alumni qualify for priority entry at Tanglin Trust School, subject to producing documentary evidence of attendance. Additionally there is a Friends of Tanglin network which is open to all current and former teachers, support staff, Governors and parents.


Yuzhny Rabochy

Yuzhny Rabochy (, "Southern Worker") was a Social-Democratic group formed in the South of Russia in the autumn of 1900 around an illegal newspaper of that name. Among the members of the group and the editors of the paper were, at various times, Isaak Lalayants, A. Vilensky, O. A. Kogan, B. S. Zeitlin, Y. Y. and Y. S. Levin, and V. N. Rozanov.
Early formation.
The group, which revolved around a newspaper of the same name, emerged in 1899 as a number of Jewish socialist activists had moved to the city; M. Dushkan, M. Frankfurt, I. Vilensky and A. M. Ginzburg (the latter two having moved from Vitebsk). The publication sought to fill the void created after the arrest of the editorial board of the Kiev based labour press. The bundist Ginzburg served as the editor of the publication from 1900 to 1902. The first issue of the publication was published in January 1900 by the Ekaterinoslav Committee of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, the twelfth and last in April 1903. The paper was distributed in different Ukrainian cities, especially in Kharkov. As Ekatarinoslav quickly became an epicentre of the Social Democratic movement in southern Russia, "Yuzhny Rabochy" emerged as a rival to "Iskra" for the role as the main party organ. However, at the early stage of the publication "Yuzhny Rabochy" held a positive view of "Iskra" and had invited Lenin to join its editorial team.
Goals.
In contrast to the Economists, the Yuzhny Rabochy group considered the overthrow of the autocracy the political struggle of the proletariat to be the prime task; they opposed terrorism, upheld the need to develop a mass revolutionary movement, and carried out extensive revolutionary activities in the South of Russia. At the same time, they overestimated the role of the liberal bourgeoisie and ignored the importance of the peasant movement. As against the "Iskra" plan of building a centralised Marxist party by uniting all revolutionary Social-Democrats around Iskra, the "Yuzhny Rabochy" group advocated a plan of restoring the Party by creating regional Social-Democratic associations. A practical attempt to carry out this plan was made through convening in December 1901 a conference of the Party committees and organisations of the South, at which a League of Southern Committees and Organisations of the R.S.D.L.P. was formed, with "Yuzhny Rabochy" as its press organ.
Disruption.
The attempt proved impracticable, and following wholesale arrests in the spring of 1902, the League fell to pieces. In August 1902 those "Yuzhny Rabochy" members who remained at liberty entered into negotiations with the "Iskra" editorial board about working together to restore Party unity. The group's statement of solidarity with "Iskra" (published in No. 27 of "Iskra", November 1, 1902, and in No. 10 of "Yuzhny Rabochy", December 1902) was of much importance in consolidating the Social-Democratic forces. In November 1902 "Yuzhny Rabochy" joined with the Iskra organisation in Russia and the St. Petersburg Committee and Northern League of the R.S.D.L.P. in establishing the Organising Committee for convening the Second Party Congress, and they shared in that committee’s work. But in this period too the group did not adhere to the consistent revolutionary line and evinced separatist tendencies (proposing, for example, to set up another all-Russia newspaper in addition to "Iskra"). Lenin classed "Yuzhny Rabochy" among the organisations "which, while verbally recognising "Iskra" as the leading organ, actually pursued plans of their own and were unstable in matters of principle". At the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party the "Yuzhny Rabochy" delegates adopted a 'Centre' position (that of 'middling opportunists', as Lenin called the 'Centre'). "Yuzhny Rabochy" had two delegates at the Second Party Congress; Levin and Rozanov.
Dissolution.
The Second Party Congress voted to dissolve "Yuzhny Rabochy", like all other separate, independently existing Social-Democratic groups and organisations.