Editing Mon people (section)

==Ethnonyms==
The Mon have been referred to by different names by different groups throughout history. During the pre-colonial era, the Burmese called them ''Talaing'' (တလိုင်း), which was adopted by the [[British people|British]] during the colonial era. The term "Peguan" was also used by Europeans when [[Bago, Myanmar|Pegu]] was the capital of [[Lower Myanmar]].{{sfn|Bauer|1990|p=16}}{{sfn|South|2002}}

The use of "Talaing" has been found on inscriptions dating back to the 11th century,<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|url=https://archive.org/details/MiscellaneousNotesOnTheWordtalaing|title=Miscellaneous Notes on the Word "Talaing"|journal=SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research|date=2006|volume=4|issue=2|page=91−92}}</ref> but it is now considered a pejorative term and is no longer widely used, except in the context of specific historical terms, such as the eponymous song genre in the [[Mahagita]], the corpus of Burmese classical songs.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Garifas |first=Robert |date=1985 |title=The Development of the Modern Burmese Hsaing Ensemble |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/834011 |journal=Asian Music |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=1–28 |doi=10.2307/834011 |jstor=834011 |issn=0044-9202}}</ref> The etymology of Talaing is debated; it may be derived from Mon, or is a reference to [[Telinga]] or [[Kalinga (historical region)|Kaling]]a, a geographic region in southeast India.<ref name=":1"/><ref name=":0">{{Citation |last=Aung-Thwin |first=Michael |title=Lower Burma and Bago in the History of Burma |date=2002-01-01 |url=https://brill.com/display/book/9789004502079/B9789004502079_s005.xml |work=The Maritime Frontier of Burma |pages=25–57 |access-date=2023-09-28 |publisher=Brill |language=en |doi=10.1163/9789004502079_005 |isbn=978-90-04-50207-9}}</ref> During the 12th century, the term acquired a derogatory connotation within the Mon community, when it became used by the Mon as a disparaging epithet for the mixed offspring of Mon women and foreign men.<ref name=":0" />

The term "Mon" (spelt {{lang|mnw|မန်}}in Mon and {{lang|my|မွန်}} in Burmese), which is synonymous with the Burmese word for 'noble,'<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=SEAlang Library Burmese Lexicography |encyclopedia=Myanmar–English Dictionary |publisher=Myanmar Language Commission |url=http://sealang.net/burmese/dictionary.htm?%E1%80%99%E1%80%BD%E1%80%94%E1%80%BA |access-date=September 12, 2018 |date=1993 |isbn=1881265471}}</ref> was likely derived from Old Mon "rmeñ" by way of Middle Mon "rman" (ရာမန်).<ref name="mistoflower" />{{sfn|South|2002}} The ethnonym "rmeñ" was first recorded in the [[Kyanzittha|Kyanzittha’s]] New Palace Inscription of AD 1102 in Myanmar. Derivatives of this ethnonym have been found in 6th to 10th-century Old Khmer and 11th-century Javanese inscriptions.<ref name="mistoflower">{{cite book|title=The Mists Of Ramanna: The Legend That Was Lower Burma|url=https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/e20971fc-2dc2-4fc0-ba00-0780fb97cb9e/content|author=Michael A. Aung-Thwin|date=January 1, 2005|publisher=Univ of Hawaii Pr|language=en|isbn=0824828860}}</ref>{{rp|44–58}} The geographic term [[Rāmaññadesa]], which now refers to the Mon heartland on the Burmese coast, was coined by King [[Dhammazedi]] in 1479.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Aung-Thwin |first=Michael |date=2008 |title="Mranma Pran": When Context Encounters Notion |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20071884 |journal=Journal of Southeast Asian Studies |volume=39 |issue=2 |pages=193–217 |doi=10.1017/S0022463408000179 |jstor=20071884 |s2cid=154992861 |issn=0022-4634}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Rāmañña |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100402836 |access-date=April 11, 2021 |website=Oxford Reference}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=12 April 2009 |title=Ramanna, Rāmañña: 1 definition |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/ramanna |access-date=April 11, 2021 |website=Wisdom Library}}</ref>

The Mon of Myanmar are divided into three sub-groups based on their ancestral region in Lower Myanmar, including ''Mon Nya'' ({{lang|my|မန်ည}}; {{IPA|/mòn ɲaˀ)}} from [[Pathein]] (the Irrawaddy Delta) in the west, ''Mon Tang'' ({{lang|my|မန်ဒိုင်}}; {{IPA|/mòn tàŋ/}}) in [[Bago, Myanmar|Bago]] in the central region, and ''Mon Teh'' ({{lang|my|မန်ဒ}}; {{IPA|/mòn tɛ̀ˀ/}}) at [[Mottama]] in the southeast.{{sfn|Stewart|1937}}
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== Distribution ==
who inhabit [[Lower Myanmar]]'s{{sfn|Bauer|1990|p=14}}[[Mon State]], [[Kayin State]]<ref>{{cite report|url=http://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/588511569836274915/pdf/Myanmar-Peaceful-and-Prosperous-Communities-Project-Social-Assessment.pdf|title=Myanmar - Peaceful and Prosperous Communities Project : Social Assessment|author=World Bank Group|date=October 1, 2019|access-date=April 4, 2021}}</ref>, [[Tanintharyi Region]], [[Bago Region]], the [[Irrawaddy Delta]], the southern Myanmar border with [[Thailand]], and several areas in Thailand.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.efe.com/efe/english/life/mon-thai-minority-who-once-ruled-southeast-asia/50000263-3283779|title=Mon, Thai minority who once ruled Southeast Asia|website=www.efe.com|language=en|access-date=2019-09-05}}</ref>{{sfn|Foster|1973|page=204}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Food in merit-making ceremonies of Thai-Mon descendants and Mon workers: A case study on food of Sao Kradong Mon community, Bang Pa-in District, Phra Nakhon Sri Ayutthaya Province|url=https://so03.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/journal-la/article/view/164044|date=30 December 2018|access-date=25 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Mon in Korat|url=http://www.koratmuseum.com/download/mon-in-korat.pdf|access-date=25 February 2021|lang=th}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://so03.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/JHUMANS/article/view/213162|title=Needs and Use of Learning Center and Learning Network of Mon Communities in Lamphun Province|date=30 August 2019|access-date=25 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{citation|url=http://www.damrong-journal.su.ac.th/upload/pdf/102_5.pdf|title="Ban Thung-Khen": The Contemporary Mon Ethnic Community of Suphanburi|access-date=March 1, 2021}}</ref>
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