Pang Mapha District
Amphoe Pang Mapha ( Thai: อำเภอ ปาง มะ ผ้า ) is the northernmost district ( Amphoe - administrative district ) of Mae Hong Son province, the Mae Hong Son Province is situated in the northern part of the northern region of Thailand.
In the Shan language Mapha means ( มะ ผ้า ) or Makpha ( หมาก ผ้า ) lime, and Pang ( Thai: ปาง ) means hill, so you could translate the name with chalk hill.
Geography
Pang Mapha bordered to the east by the district ( Amphoe ) Pai, the south and west of Amphoe Mueang Mae Hong Son, and to the north by Shan State.
History
There are several prehistoric sites in the Pang - Mapha - area. The most famous is the ghost cave ( Phimaen Cave, Thai: ถ้ำ ผี แมน, Tham Phi Maen ), which was discovered in the 1960s by the American anthropologist and archaeologist Chester Gorman. The cave was inhabited by 9,000 by the year 5500 BC by hunter-gatherers. Two other caves are of importance, the Banyan Valley Cave ( Thai: ถ้ำา ปุ ง ฮุ ง - Tham Pung Hung, " Banyan Valley Cave ") and the Tham Nam Lot ( Thai: ถ้ำ น้ำ ลอด ) through which a boating navigable stream ( " Nam Lot " ) flows.
During the Second World War the Japanese army built a road from the provincial capital to Pai and on to the Burmese border. Later, the local people used the road to trade. Here, Ban Sop Pong Mae Umong ( บ้าน สบ ป่อง แม่ อู มอง ) was used as an overnight stop. 1948 a police station in Pang Mapha was built by the government in Bangkok. In 1977, the road was expanded. This development attracted many residents from other districts and provinces, both refugees from neighboring Myanmar. Deforestation and smuggling, particularly of drugs, were the negative effects of road expansion. In order to create an effective management, a sub district ( King Amphoe ) was established by the two tambon Sappong and Pang Mapha Amphoe Mueang from Mae Hong Son were separated on 1 April 1987. Later, on 5 December 1996, Pang Mapa got the full Amphoe status.
Refugees
On the Burmese side of the border battles take place again and again. The area north of Pang Mapha is dominated by minority armies, including the Shan State Army - South (SSA- S), which maintains its headquarters there and the United Wa State Army ( UWSA ). In 2005, there was considerable fighting between the two armed groups. These battles often produce a stream of refugees across the border. Also, there are drugs laboratories, particularly the UWSA, are located.
Attractions
- Phimaen Cave - archeological discovery of the Neolithic
Management
Amphoe Pang Mapha is divided into four communities ( tambon), which in turn into 38 villages ( Muban ) are divided.
There are also 4 " Tambon Administrative Organizations" ( TAO - administrative units ).