Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
People & Religious Beliefs
of Myanmar (Burma)
Multicultural Myanmar is more salad bowl than melting pot. The government
recognises 135 distinct ethnic groups that make up eight official 'major na-
tional ethnic races': Bamar, Shan, Mon, Kayin (Karen), Kayah, Chin, Kachin
and Rakhine.
Freedom of religion is guaranteed under the country's constitution. However, Buddhism is
given special status. Myanmar's ethnic patchwork of people also embraces a variety of
other faiths, among which Islam and Christianity are the most popular.
Saw Myat Yin, author of
Culture Shock! Burma
, expresses a viewpoint common among
Myanmar women, who see their role as equal but 'supportive and complementary…rather
than in competition', and that 'if they accept a role a step behind their menfolk, they do so
freely and willingly.'
Main Ethnic Groups
Historically, Myanmar's diverse ethnic make-up has been delineated by its topography.
The broad central plain, with the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) River and Myanmar's most fer-
tile soil, has been populated by whichever group was strongest - usually the Bamar
(Burmese) in the past few hundred years. Most ethnic groups continue to live in some sort
of troubled isolation in the mountains lining much of Myanmar's international borders,
notably the Shan, Kayah and Kayin in the east; the Kachin to the north; and the Chin and
Rakhine to the west.
As in many other ethnically (and religiously) diverse countries, feelings of pride and
prejudice cause friction between Myanmar's ethnic groups. Ask a Bamar (or a Shan or a
Kayin) their opinion about their countryfolk of different ethnic or religious backgrounds
and you'll get an idea of what kinds of challenges governments in Myanmar down the
ages have faced in their efforts to keep the peace and preserve the borders.
