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Wisutthithewi
Wisutthithewi
Queen regnant of Lan Na under Burmese rule
Reign	1564 - 1578
Predecessor	Mekuti
Successor	Nawrahta Minsaw
Died	October 1578
Burial	Wat Lok Moli

Wisutthithewi (Thai: พระนางวิสุทธิเทวี) was queen regnant of Lan Na from 1564 to 1578.^[1]

Names

Wisutthithewi's name is variously romanized Visuddhidevi, Wisutthi Thewi, and Wisuthithewi. While the Chiang Mai Chronicle consistently records her name as Wisutthathewi, the Yonok Chronicle prefers Wisutthithewi. She also has a number of names across extant historical sources: in the Burmese and Chiang Saen chronicles, she is referred to as Lady Wisutthathewi, and is also called Maha Dewi (မဟာဒေဝီ, Mahādevī) in U Kala's chronicle, Maha Yazawin, and as Ratcha Thewi (Rājadevī) and Nang Thewi in other sources.^[2]

Early life

Wisutthithewi's origins are unclear; she may have been a daughter of Ket Chettharat, a ruler of Chiang Mai, or Princess Ton Kham, the youngest daughter of Chettharat.^[3] She may have been the queen consort of her predecessor Mekuti.

Reign

The reign of her predecessor, Mekuti, saw Lan Na transition into a vassal state of the Toungoo empire.^[4] In 1564, she was installed as queen regnant by Bayinnaung, in response to Mekuti's refusal to join Bayinnaung's military campaign against Ayutthaya, which was seen by Bayinnaung as an act of rebellion.^[5]^[6]

Throughout her fourteen-year reign, Lan Na enjoyed political stability, and Wisutthithewi offered tribute to the Toungoo empire, in exchange for political stability in her dominion,^[3] which had seen recurrent instability from raids and conflicts with neighboring territories.

Wisutthithewi is portrayed in a contemporaneous Thai epic poem Khlong mangthra rop Chiang Mai (โคลงมังทรารบเชียงใหม่, lit. 'the "Epic of Mintaya's war against Chiang Mai'), written by an anonymous Lan Na author.^[3] The poem mentions a queen, Mae Mintaya Sri, which implies that she may have been wed to Bayinnaung.^[7] However, no other Burmese or Lan Na sources corroborate any marriage between Bayinnaung and Wisutthithewi; moreover, no Chiang Mai princess is listed among Bayinnaung's queens and concubines in these sources.^[7]

Death

Wisutthithewi died in October 1578, and news of her death reached Pegu in January 1579.^[2] Following her death, Bayinnaung appointed his son Nawrahta Minsaw as her successor.^[5] The ashes of Wisutthithewi are interred in a chedi at Wat Lok Moli in Chiang Mai.^[8]

References

^ Fry, Gerald W.; Nieminen, Gayla S.; Smith, Harold E. (2013-08-08). Historical Dictionary of Thailand. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7525-8.
^ ^a ^b Kirigaya, Ken (2014-11-29). "Some Annotations to The Chiang Mai Chronicle: The Era of Burmese Rule in Lan Na". Journal of the Siam Society. 102: 257–290. ISSN 2651-1851.
^ ^a ^b ^c Ratana, Pakdeekul (2009). "Social strategies in creating roles for women in Lan Na and Lan Sang from the thirteenth to the nineteenth centuries". ULB Münster. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
^ Premchit, Sommai (1997). ตํานานสิบห้าราชวงศ์: ฉบับสอบชําระ (in Thai). Sathāban Wičhai Sangkhom, Mahāwitthayālai Chīang Mai.
^ ^a ^b Veidlinger, Daniel M. (2006). Spreading the Dhamma: Writing, Orality, And Textual Transmission in Buddhist Northern Thailand. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-3024-3.
^ Forbes, Andrew (2011-07-20). "Ancient Chiang Mai: King Mae Ku: From Lan Na Monarch to Burmese Nat". CPA. Archived from the original on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
^ ^a ^b Simms, Sanda (2013-10-11). The Kingdoms of Laos. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-86330-1.
^ May 2020, Ben (2020-05-01). "Wat Lok Moli: Ancient Lanna's Best Architecture". Paths Unwritten. Retrieved 2020-05-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)