Wisutthithewi | |
---|---|
Queen regnant of Lan Na under Burmese rule | |
Reign | 1564 - 1578 |
Predecessor | Mekuti |
Successor | Nawrahta Minsaw |
Died | October 1578 |
Burial |
Wisutthithewi (Thai: พระนางวิสุทธิเทวี) was queen regnant of Lan Na from 1564 to 1578.[1]
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]
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.
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]
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]