Contexts - The Rough Guide to Myanmar - page 510

Strongly favoured under British rule thanks to their Christian leanings, the Kayin have
suffered even more than most other Burmese ethnic minorities in the decades since inde-
pendence. The separatist Karen National Union (KNU) was founded in 1947 to push the
case for their own independence, although peaceable efforts to create a Kayin sovereign
nation (provisionally named Kawthoolei) collapsed just two years later when government
troopsslaughteredeightyKayinvillagersinPalaw,Tanintharyi.Theresultantconflict,fought
between the KNU's military arm, the Karen National Liberation Army , and government
troops, was the longest running of Myanmar's many ethnic insurgencies, displacing as many
as200,000peoplebeforeaformalceasefirewassignedin2012.SavefortheoccasionalKNU
truckrumblingdownthestreetsofHpa-An,visitorstotheKarenheartlandsofMyanmarwill
see little sign of the conflict's impact, although an estimated 120,000 Kayin people still live
in Thai refugee camps.
Rakhine
Living mainly in Rakhine State, in the west of the country, and in neighbouring Bangladesh,
the Rakhine (also spelt “Rakhaing”, and previously known as the Arakanese) share much
in common with the Bamar but have also been significantly influenced by their proximity
to the Indian subcontinent, claiming to have been among the first converts to Buddhism in
Southeast Asia as the new religion spread east from India. Comprising around four percent
ofthenationalpopulation(roughlytwomillionpeople),theRakhinespeakadistinctive form
of Burmese (considered a dialect by some, a separate language by others). A brief account of
Rakhine history is given in chapter 2.
Mon
Formerly the largest and most powerful ethnic group in southern Myanmar, the Mon people
have now been relegated to the status of an embattled minority. The last independent Mon
kingdom was toppled in 1757, since when they have been largely assimilated into the Bamar
mainstream - only around two percent of Burmese (roughly a million people) now class
themselves as Mon, living mainly in the south of the country, particularly in Mon and Bago
states and the Delta region. As with many other ethnic minorities, the Mon have periodically
rebelled against the central government in an attempt to gain independence - a series of in-
surgencies ended only by a general ceasefire agreement of 1995.
Kachin
“ Kachin ” is an umbrella term used to describe some six ethnic groups living in far northern
Kachin State, with a total of just under a million people; the Jinpo are the major subgroup.
Core Burmese beliefs are less in evidence here - most Kachin are Christian, and animist
beliefs remain strong too - while traditional styles of Kachin dress (although now rarely
worn except on festive occasions) are among the most flamboyant in the land. The Kachin