Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ally and linguistically the Shan are closely related to the Tai peoples of Thailand and Laos -
indeed, the Shan refer to themselves as “Tai”, the name “Shan” being a Burmese corruption
of “Siam”. Originating, like the Bamar, from Yunnan in southern China, the Shan have in-
habitedeasternMyanmarsinceatleastthetenthcentury,playingamajorroleinthecountry's
history. Most are Buddhist and speak the Shan language, closely related to Thai and Lao.
Though the Shan are the most populous group in the east, you may not actually see all too
many of them - the main Shan heartlands lie east of Taunggyi, an area off limits to foreign
travellers due to the civil conflict that has been rumbling on for decades between the
Shan
StateArmy
andthenationalgovernment.Guerrillaattacksarestillcommoninthemountains
near the Thai border, and military reprisals occasionally see whole villages burned down,
with Shan often forced to flee into Thailand - a country that refuses to afford them refugee
status.Recentyearshaveseenaslightimprovementinrelations,thoughShan(and,ofcourse,
other minority groups) are still excluded from prominent military and government positions,
and calls by many Shan for the creation of an independent Shan nation persist.
TherearemyriadotherdifferenthilltribesineasternMyanmar,nominallyclassified assub-
and
Loi
. Many of these tribes have villages in both Myanmar and Thailand, and some of
them, such as the Akha and Lahu, are more easily visited on hill-tribe treks on the Thai side
of the border.
Intha
One of the country's more visible minorities, the
Intha
(“sons of the lake”) number approx-
imately 70,000 people and live mainly around Inle Lake where they eke out a living cultivat-
ing small plots and floating gardens on and around the water. They are believed to have ori-
ginallycomefromDaweiinsouthernMyanmarandstillspeaktheirowndistinctiveBurmese
dialect. They're best known for their unusual style of leg-rowing, as featured in innumerable
tourist literature.
Kayin (Karen)
The
Kayin
-aka
Karen
-areMyanmar'sthird-biggestethnicgroup,witharound3.5million,
wholivemainlyinKayinStateinthesouthofthecountry(sevenpercentofthenationalpop-
ulation), while many more have fled to Thailand. The Kayin are the most heterogeneous of
Myanmar's ethnic groups, comprising a disparate collection of hill tribes speaking various
languages, most of them mutually unintelligible. They were first grouped together under the
umbrella term “Kayin” in the 1800s by Baptist missionaries who had considerable success
convertingtheregion'sBuddhistnatives.Today,aquarterofallKayininMyanmarareChris-
tian, with the rest professing Buddhism, sometimes with strong animist elements.
