Putao
More actions
| Putao | |
|---|---|
| ActiveRecorded as grown here since 2000 | |
| Hierarchy | |
| Growing Region | Kachin Hills |
| Geography | |
| Country | Myanmar |
| Province/State | Kachin State |
| District | Putao District |
| Coordinates | 27.33, 97.42 |
| Landscape | |
| Area | 17,500 km² |
| Terrain | The Putao plain on the Mali Hka and the hills east and north of it; approximately Putao, Machanbaw and Nogmung townships |
| Growing history | |
| Documentation | |
| Appellations | 0 |
| Accessions | 0 |
| Conservation | |
| Populations | none documented yet |
Putao is a cannabis growing area round the town of Putao in the north of Kachin State, Myanmar, in the Kachin Hills growing region. A 2023 report from Putao described Rawang farmers growing hemp, which they call Azi, on the Putao plain and in the hills, and weaving its fibre into their traditional clothes.[1] In 1900 the Gazetteer of Upper Burma and the Shan States recorded hill clans east of Hkamti Long paying part of their tribute to the Hkamti Shans in "ganja hemp for making clothes".[2]
The Khunnong tribute
The Mali Hka, the western head stream of the Irrawaddy, flows due south through the Shan state of Hkamti Long. In 1912 Hkamti Long, at the head of the Irrawaddy, was not under direct British administration.[3]
The 1900 gazetteer, compiled by J. George Scott and J. P. Hardiman, described the Khunnongs, hill clans living above latitude 27°30′ N between the Nam Kiu, the western branch of the Irrawaddy, and the Salween, east of Hkamti Long. One clan, the Pangsu Khunnongs, was said to be subject to the Hkamti people of Mungelung (Langnu and Langdao). Its tribute to them included bamboo shoots, tobacco, dried fish from the Tisang river and "One seer of ganja hemp for making clothes". A second clan, the Pushu Khunnongs, was said to be subject to the chief of Padao in Hkamti Long, and its tribute "seems to be identical with that paid by the Pangsu clan". Errol Grey noted that the Khunnongs made their own cloth from the fibre of the hemp plant: "In appearance the cloth resembles fine canvas."[2]
Azi
In December 2023 Myanmar Digital News published a report from Putao on Rawang hemp. Its writer had visited Khalan, a village of 30 houses about 30 miles (50 km) from Putao on the road to Mount Phonkanrazi, to make a documentary about the plant. The report says that the Kachin and Shan called the Rawang Nung or Khanaung, and that the Rawang live in the Naung Mon (Kasan Chaung) valley of the Putao region and along the Tisan, Tamine, Tayone and Inmaikha rivers.[1]
U Sayet Dee, secretary of the Myanmar Rawang Literature and Culture Association, said that the Rawang have woven their traditional clothes from the plant, Azi in their language, since the time of their ancestors. He said the plants "are usually grown in the farmland": in February in the Khalan area, at about 4,000 ft (1,200 m), and in January in lower parts such as the Putao plain. He said they are harvested in August and September for thread and in December for seed, then bundled and kept in the sun for two weeks, soaked in water and peeled to give the thread.[1]
He also said that because hemp is banned as a narcotic drug under Myanmar law, the Rawang cannot grow it officially to weave their clothes. The report adds that a committee of the Pyithu Hluttaw tried in 2019 to amend the narcotics law to allow industrial hemp.[1]
Herbarium specimens of cannabis were collected in Machanbaw township in 2001 and 2014, and between Wasadam and Upper Shankaung in 2014.[4][5][6]
Accessions
No accessions documented yet.
Recent news
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See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Hponkan (13 December 2023). "Azi (aka) hemp, the heart of the Rawang people". Myanmar Digital News. Retrieved 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Scott, J. George; Hardiman, J. P., eds. (1900). "The Kachin Hills and the Chingpaw". Gazetteer of Upper Burma and the Shan States. Part I, Vol. I. Rangoon: Superintendent, Government Printing, Burma. pp. 392–393 – via Internet Archive.
- ↑ Hertz, W. A., ed. (1912). Burma Gazetteer: Myitkyina District. Volume A. Rangoon: Office of the Superintendent, Government Printing, Burma. pp. 1–2, 12 – via Internet Archive.
- ↑ "Occurrence 4042902890: Cannabis L." GBIF. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 20 October 2026.
- ↑ "Occurrence 4042896166: Cannabis sativa L." GBIF. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 20 October 2026.
- ↑ "Occurrence 4042730491: Cannabis sativa L." GBIF. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 20 October 2026.