Karen Costumes
There are a lot of Karen dresses for Karen women. People weave white, green, blue, red, yellow, black long and short dresses with many different colors.
Karen people have many different types of traditions regarding dress. Costume is very important for us. Our costume is very pretty, they have dignity and many other ethnic nationalities like to wear it. All the costumes have different meanings. Our ancestors wanted other people to recognize us and they made a sign when they were weaving.
A long time ago there were no factories, people planted cotton, made the cotton to become thread and they always hand weaved it. Now there are many machines to produce clothes so many people have sadly, forgotten how to weave.
White dress (Say Moe Wah)
These kinds of dress people weave all of it white, with no flowering. Usually people wear this dress are eastern mountain Karen. This dress is woven very long and white. People wear it beginning when they are children until they are teenagers. Eastern mountain women who wear this are single or unmarried, If people get married they do not wear it anymore.
Flowers Sewn dress (Say Sa Paw)
People weave this kind of dress with all black thread. People sew flowers on this dress with different colors. The hem is decorated by lacing thread. Most People wear this dress in plains areas and who believe in animist traditions. They wear it for a wedding ceremony, Karen New Year, or to recall spirits.
Black dress (Say Moe Thu)
Is woven with black thread, the hem of the neck and arms they lace the thread and set it. Some people cut the clothes like a pagoda and head cock. They also wear it in wedding ceremony, Karen New Year, and to recall spirits.
Green dress (Say La)
Before weaving, the thread is dyed green. They sew the hem of the neck and the arms with red lacing thread. Under the neck and the arms they sew rice. This dress is mostly worn in Western Mountain areas. People often wear this dress from childhood until they become old.
Decorated dress (Say Sa Kee)
This kind of dress is simple. You can choose any colors, as you like. People decorate it with flowers. The flowers are like mountains, ocean waves, barns, fish bones, and chicken foot marks.
Say P’lo
Karen men wear white and red clothes. People wear red clothes mostly in the Delta and the plains. Eastern mountain Karen people also wear red ‘Say p’lo’ they pull out the long threads which hangs from the side.
Say Bwe
Is woven strand of red and one strand of white. In the half of the middle they weave strand and they make flowers. They do not pull the thread out. The hem of the neck and the arms they lace the thread and sew it.
Say P’ Kue
The whole costume is white. The hem of the arms and the middle they make with strands then the lower part they sew flowers. This dress also does not have thread outside. The hem of the neck and the arms they take round flowers seeds and lace. Then they sew it.
Folk tales
Taw Mei Pa
The Hare and the Buffaloes
horizontal rule
Taw Mai Pah
MYTHICAL ANCESTOR OF THE KARENS
On the slopes of the Nat-toung of Toungoo lived a very old man, who was afterwards known as Taw Mai Pah (grandfather of the boar’s tusk).
A huge wild boar ravaged the toungyas of the old man’s sons and sons-in-law, till the injury done became unbearable. Such, however, was the size, strength, and ferocity of the brute that no one dared to attack him. The old man at last devoted his life for the welfare of his children, knowing well that they would all be starved if the boar’s ravages were not checked. After a furious combat the boar was slain, but the old man was too much exhausted by his exertions to carry home any of the meat. On his return, he sent his sons and sons-in-law to bring in the ground, trampled into bloody mire bore testimony to the fight that had taken place. They returned empty-handed, and chaffed the old man about his boasting to have killed a boar he had not even mastered. The old man was furious, and told them they were not smart enough to fight the boar, or even to bring in the carcass when he had been killed for them.
At last, to settle the dispute, they all went to the spot, and found the car case really missing; but, on searching around, they found a tusk of the boar, red on one face, white on another, and blue on the third. The boar was a supernatural one, and by his defeat had lost so much of his magic power that his tusk had dropped out, though his life was regained. Taw-mai-pah took the tusk home with him, and made it into a comb. When he first used the comb he became suddenly young again. It was very lucky he was amid his whole-assembled family, or they would never have recognized hem in the brisk young man who had renewed his youth by the magic power of the boar’s tusk. Taw-masi-pah’s family multiplied with wonderful rapidity, as, of course, the boar’s tusk was constantly used to renew their youth, and to set death and old age at defiance.
Soon they filled the Toungoo hills, and even established themselves in the city of Toungoo itself. The land not being able to support their increasing numbers, Taw-mai-pah started on a long journey to find a place where the land was rich enough to support his family with little or no work. He said he had conquered disease and death, but the evil of hard work still remained to be conquered. The trial to which he subjected the land of each district he visited was this. He dug a number of holes, and tried to see how many holes the earth from one hole would fill. On this side of the Cambodia, he found the earth from one hole would fill four holes of equal size. This he did not consider sufficient, and so he crossed the river, and found that the earth from one hole would fill seven similar holes. This satisfied him, and he returned to bring his huge family. They all marched together as far as the river, and there they all complained of hunger. Some one told them that certain shells were good for food. They commenced boiling them with roselle (Then a new plant to them). After boiling the shells for many hours, they tried to see whether the shells were soft or not; but of course the hard outer shells had not softened, and so they concluded the shells were not cooked enough. Others arrived at the same conclusion from noticing the red juice of the roselle. ” Of course,” said they, ” the shells are not cooked enough, for you can see the blood still flows red from them.” Taw-mai-pah began to get impatient, and wanted to march on, but his descendants refused to start till they had had food. Taw-mai-pah said he would go ahead and mark the path by cutting down trees and brushwood. After boiling their shells a long while, the people met some China men, who laughed at them, and showed them how to break an air-hole in the top of the long shell and suck out the contents.
After dinner, they started afterTaw-mai-pah, but, seeing that the wild plantains along the path had sprouted six or eight inches since they were cut, they concluded Taw-mai-pah was too far ahead for them to follow, and so they returned to their old quarters.
Since losing the magic comb, which Taw-mai-pah took with him, of course old age and disease and death gave ruled over the Karen’s as before.
Taw-mai-pah, while his clan was multiplying so rapidly, took Chinese wives for some of his descendants, and from them the Shans are descended. He took Siamese wives for others, and from them are descended the Toungthoos. Some took Hindoo wives, and from them are descended the black Karens of the Toungoo hill tracts. Taw-mai-pah, still young with his magic comb, will one day assemble all his descendants and feast them with a boar, the rib-bones of which will be seven cubits long, and the fore-foot of which will be seven hands in circumference. Taw-mai-pah’s children will not be able to understand each other when they meet, but must learn each other’s language.
The Hare and The Buffaloes
A black and a white buffalo grazed peacefully together in a large plain. The hare went to the black one, and told him that the white one had said,” That black buffalo eats so much I shall be starved.” He then went to the white one, and reported that the black buffalo had said,” That white buffalo eats so much I shall be starved.” In this way he soon raised a fight, and while the buffaloes were goring each other, the hare kept skipping from the head of one combatant to the other, and urging them in to fight with greater fury. By a misstep lie fell between the two just as their heads met, and was crushed to death. Even wisdom and cunning like that of the hare will not save a mischief-maker. The hares multiplied rapidly till they filled all Pegu. Such was the dread inspired by the marvelous cunning of the progenitor of all the hares, that no animals or men dared to venture to live in Pegu. When Taw-mai-pah’s descendants began to find the Toungoo hill strait for them, a wise man arose among them who proposed to colonize Pegu.
” Who dares to go there?” was the reply of all. ” Tigers, elephants, alligators, and men have all been beaten by this cunning hare, and what chance have we?” The wise man undertook the task of conquering the hares. He went to Pegu on a pretended visit, and, talking to the hares, said, ” It’s strange you should all hang together so well. Your progenitor, single-handed, conquered all beasts by his cunning; are you less wise than he that you unite yourselves so closely ‘why don’t you live a hare to each bunch of Kaing grass, and each trust to his individual cunning?” This roused the pride of the hares, and they followed his counsel. When the hares were separated, men and beasts attacked them, and lived for years on their flesh, till not a hare is left in Pegu to-day, even for a curiosity. Disunion means defeat.
Language
Karen language has been traced to be part of the Sino-Tibetan language group with the three largest groups the S’gaw, Pwo and Bwe being the most widely spoken.
It is important to note the unreliability of population figures in relation to the true number of Karen. Debate still continues as to the true number of Karen and there is no reliable census data. Figures have been quoted ranging from 2,000,000 to 7,000,000. Figures have often been distorted either for political reasons or due to language and not race classification, most notably British figures that included Burmese speaking Karen with the Burman race.
British census figures were:-
Year Race Language
1911 1,099,048 1,066,635
1921 1,220,356 1,114,153
1931 1,367,673 1,341,066
The Japanese census figures conducted during the second world war estimated the Karen to be 4.5 million whilst the Karen National Union puts the figure around 7 million.
J George Scott quoted (Burma – A Handbook of Practical Information) sources from a 1901 census that put Karen figures at a total of 727,235 (174,070 Pwo; 86,434 Sgaw; and 4,936 Bwe with 457,355 were returned as unspecified).
The following information comes from SIL International. (Thailand links lead to that country’s section of their website).
‘Kayin’ is Burmese for all Karen, ‘Yang’ is Thai for all Karen
KAREN, BREK
Population
16,600 (1983 estimate).
Region
Southwestern Kayah State.
Alternate names
BREK, BREC, BRE, PRAMANO, PRE, LAKU
Comments
Reported to be a separate language. ‘Brek and ‘Bwe’ are variant names of a dialect cluster that extends from southwest Kayah State to northeast Karen State. ‘Brek’ or ‘Bre’ usually refers to varieties in Kayah State. Mostly Christian.
URLpath=’URL: http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=KVL
‘ KAREN, BWE
Population
15,700 (1983 estimate).
Region
Kyèbogyi area of Kayah State. A few in Thailand.
Alternate names
BGHAI KAREN, BAGHI, BWE
Comments
Literacy rate in first language: Below 1%. Bible portions 1857-1862
URLpath=’URL: http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=BWE
‘ KAREN, GEBA
Population
40,100 (1983 estimate).
Region
Northern Kayah State and southern Shan State.
Alternate names
GEBA, KABA, KARENBYU, KAYINBYU, WHITE KAREN, EASTERN BWE
Comments
Reported to be a separate language, but probably is part of the same dialect continuum with Bwe and Brek. There is some literature in Geba. Mostly Christian.
KAREN, GEKO
Population
9,500 (1983 estimate).
Region
Yamethin, Toungoo Districts, Mobyè State of the southern Shan States.
Alternate names
GEK’O, GHEKO, GEKHO, GHEKHOL, GHEKHU, KEKU, KEKHONG, KEKAUNGDU, GAIKHO, PADAUNG
Comments
Mostly Christian.
URLpath=’URL: http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=GHK
‘ KAREN, LAHTA
Population
No estimate available.
Region
Southern Shan State.
Alternate names
LAHTA, TARU, TARULAKHI, KHAHTA, PEU
Comments
Reported to be a separate language.
KAREN, MANUMANAW
Population
3,000 or more (1965).
Region
Western Kyèbogyi part of Kayah State.
Alternate names
MANUMANAW, MONU, MANÖ
Comments
Reported to be a separate language. Mostly Christian.
URLpath=’URL: http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=KXF
‘ KAREN, PA’O
Population
560,000 in Myanmar (1983). Population total both countries 560,600.
Region
Southwestern Shan State and east of the Gulf of Martaban in Tenasserim. Also spoken in Thailand.
Alternate names
NORTHERN TAUNGTHU, BLACK KAREN, PA-U, PA’O, PA OH, PA-O
Dialects
SOUTHERN PA’O, NORTHERN PA’O.
Comments
Southern Pa’o is in Myanmar, Northern Pa’o in Thailand. SVO. Buddhist, traditional religion. Bible portions 1912-1964.
Also spoken in: Thailand 600 in Thailand (1975 SIL).
KAREN, PADAUNG
Population
40,900 in Myanmar (1983 estimate). Population total both countries 41,000.
Region
Kayah State, Mobyè State, town of Phekon in the southern Shan States, and hills east of Toungoo. A few villages in Thailand. Also spoken in Thailand.
Alternate names
PADAUNG, KAYANG
Comments
A separate language. Literacy rate in first language: Below 1%. Literacy rate in second language: Below 5%. Traditional religion, Buddhist, Christian.
KAREN, PAKU
Population
5,300 (1983 estimate).
Region
Southern hills east of Taungoo in Kayah State.
Alternate names
PAKU, PAGU, MONNEPWA, MONEBWA, MOPWA, MOPHA, MOPAGA, MOGPHA, MOGWA, THALWEPWE
Dialects
BILICHI, DERMUHA.
Comments
Closely related to S’gaw. Some reports indicate Paku and Mopwa are separate languages. SVO.
KAREN, PWO EASTERN (alphabet male/female)
Population
1,000,000 in Myanmar (1998). Population total both countries 1,050,000.
Region
Karen State, Mon State, Tensserim Division. Also spoken in Thailand.
Alternate names
PHLOU, MOULMEIN PWO KAREN
Dialects
PA’AN (MOULMEIN, INLAND PWO EASTERN KAREN), KAWKAREIK (EASTERN BORDER PWO KAREN), TAVOY (SOUTHERN PWO KAREN).
Comments
Not intelligible with other Pwo Karen varieties. 91% to 97% lexical similarity among dialects, 63% to 65% with other Pwo Karen varieties. SVO. Monastic Burmese, Mon-based script being developed for Myanmar and Thailand; Christian script Burmese based; Leka script.
Also spoken in: Thailand 50,000 in Thailand (1998). Dialects: KANCHANABURI PWO KAREN, RATCHABURI PWO KAREN (PHETCHABURI PWO KAREN).
KAREN, PWO WESTERN
Population
210,000.
Region
Irrawaddy Delta.
Alternate names
MUTHEIT, DELTA PWO KAREN, BASSEIN PWO KAREN, PHLONG SHO
Dialects
BASSEIN, TUAN TET, MAUBIN.
Comments
SVO. Burmese-based script. Traditional religion, Christian, Buddhist. Bible 1883-1885
KAREN, S’GAW (alphabet male/female)
Population
1,284,700 in Myanmar (1983 estimate). Population total both countries 2,000,000 (1990 UBS).
Region
Irrawaddy delta area, Tenasserim, the Pegu range between the Irrawaddy and Sittang, the eastern hills. Also spoken in Thailand.
Alternate names
S’GAW, S’GAU, S’GAW KAYIN, KANYAW, PAGANYAW, PWAKANYAW, WHITE KAREN, BURMESE KAREN, YANG KHAO, PCHCKNYA, KYETHO
Dialects
PANAPU, PALAKHI (PALACHI).
Comments
Closely related to Paku. Bible 1853-1995. Traditional religion, Christian. Bible 1853-1995
Also spoken in: Thailand 300,000 in Thailand (1987 E. Hudspith).
KAREN, YINBAW
Population
7,300 (1983 estimate).
Region
Shan Plateau of eastern Shan State.
Alternate names
YINBAW, YEINBAW
Classification
Reported to be a variety of Padaung. Buddhist, Christian, traditional religion.
URLpath=’URL: http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=KVU
‘ KAREN, YINTALE
Population
No estimate available.
Region
Bawlakhè part of Kayah State.
Alternate names
YINTALE, YINTALET, YANGATALET, YANGTADAI, TALIAK
Comments
Reported to be a variety of Kayah. Buddhist, traditional religion
KAREN, ZAYEIN
Population
210,000 (1987).
Region
Kayah and Karen states, west of the Pong River.
Alternate names
KAYAH LI, KARENNI, KARENNYI, RED KAREN, YANG DAENG, KARIENG DAENG
Comments
Different from but related to Bwe Karen, forming a continuous chain of dialects from Thailand (Eastern Kayah) to western Kayah State. Dictionary. Literacy rate in first language: 1% to 5%. Christian, traditional religion.
Domestic Life
Housing
Traditional Karen housing normally consisted of a number of families, about 20 -30, living in a communal bamboo house or “th’waw”. The house was raised on stilts and was usually rebuilt each year as the Karens moved from one hill side to another to harvest the paddy.
In the hot season the village chief would choose, after first consulting chicken bones to see if the site was appropriate, the best site which was normally adjacent to the area to be cultivated, and near a stream.
Bamboo poles from four to six inches in diameter and approximately 20 feet long where then cut and used to construct the basic house with flattened pieces of bamboo interlaced to form the walls while bamboo beams provided a springy floor.
A ladder would lead up to the first room where you would find the fireplace (hpa K’pu) and the kitchen (hti pu law). The fire place consisted of a small rectangle filled with ash and stones on which pots are heated by the lit bamboo fueled fire underneath.
Initially, apart from the fireplace, light was provided by a small lamp made from hollow bamboo filled with pieces of wood wrapped in palm and pineapple leaves. These were later replace by small tin lamps.
Before moving the village from one location to another the women gathered together food and liquor for the journey.
Before they left, offerings of four balls of rice, one white, one blackened by charcoal, and the others red and yellow, were carried to the centre of the house and before leaving spat on by every villager.
During the Burman Era the village would be surrounded by a large stockade to prevent bandits and wild animals from attacking the village.
Karen traditional housing can still be seen in the hills, however due to the continual turmoil of civil war the Karens find their traditions being lost or adapted to best suit the current political climate.
Agriculture and Farming
The Karens are predominantly rice farmers. Throughout their existence they have based their lives on the cultivation of paddy, and their villages are moved from one location to another in order to harvest what is the most important part of their diet.
The main method employed by the hill Karens is a slash and burn technique (in Burmese ‘ya’), although the Burmese government tried to limit the amount of land the Karen could farm in an effort to discourage the practice, which involves selecting a new hill side, clearing it and then burning it so that the burnt ashes can act as a kind of fertilizer.
After a suitable area has been found a ritual involving casting and reading chicken bones is performed. Should a good omen be shown then the land is burnt and once the rainy season has started the grain is planted.
During the cultivation process a ritual (‘theh a Ku’) was held to appease the animist gods of the hills, land, fire, heat and cold. Liquor and and a live chicken are laid on one of two alters which have already been smeared with blood from another two dead birds. An incantation his recited in hope of gaining favour with the gods in an attempt to gain a good harvest. Although such rituals are reported to have become less elaborate through the years.
Whilst most Karens are occupied as rice farmers, those in the delta use a different technique similar to that employed by the Burmese, a number are also involved in farming betel nut, vegetables and a number of other kinds of crops.
little prop under the log. Such traps are called “.
Food
Most Karen meals consist of rice with a number of
other dishes including a variety of meats and vegetables.
All kinds of meat and fish are eaten a and the jungle provides most of the ingredients for the Karen diet with a variety of plants and vegetable also providing a main part of the meal.
Possibly the most famous Karen dish that is relished by Karens throughout the world is a pungent dish of fermented fish pounded into a fishpaste (known in Karen as ‘nya u’ or in Burmese as ‘ngape’) which is then served with rice and vegetables.
Karens like to have their meals highly spiced and large quantity of chilies and other spices flavour their dishes. Tumeric, ginger, cardamon, garlic, tamarind and lime juice are often added to the curries giving them a distinctive, if not Indian, flavour.
Glutinous rice, similar to that found in Thailand, is
also eaten often mixed with sessimum and pounded in a mortar until it becomes a sticky paste know as ‘to me to pi’. Other types of rice are often cooked in hollow bamboo tubes which is then placed over a fire until the rice is cooked.
Eating is normally done communally, and it is a strong Karen tradition that should a guest come to one’s house that the person be asked to eat rice.
Food is normally placed on a mat on the floor with the dishes in bowls, or in more traditional families on plantain leaves, and the curry and fishpaste is added to rice which is then kneaded into small balls and placed in the mouth.
The toddy-palm and glutinous rice provides popular alcoholic beverages which are often drank at many of the traditional Karen ceremonies.
Karen diet has varied very little over the centuries with many of the traditional foods still being eaten and enjoyed both by the Karen in Burma and abroad.
Handicrafts
One of the main occupations of Karen women involves tending to cotton plants. The cotton is then used to weave a number of garments by dividing it into narrow strips and spinning them on a small weaving machine that consists of a spinning wheel with spokes and a rim of bamboo attached to a board. The strips are then made into a tight yarn.
Colour is extremely important in Karen clothing and dyeing the material is carefully done. Blue, Black, red and yellow are all used in the process. The Blue yarn is soaked into a dye and a solution made from the indigo plant which changes the shades required due to the number of soaking. Whilst a number of other plants are used to produce the other varieties of colour.
The yarn is then placed on a loom where it is spun
with variations in colour being introduce by adding different coloured threads. Once finished the cloth is put in water and then left to dry after which is sewn together to make the required garment.
Karen men are often occupied with the creation of rattan and bamboo mats (klau) and baskets (ku). The mats are often used to cover their floors whilst the baskets have a number of uses ranging from paddy baskets to those used for carrying market produce of machetes (dah).
Although some Karen clothes, bags, and baskets are still made traditionally, modernisation has now seen an increase in mass produced Karen items which can be found throughout Burma and Thailand.
Drums
The bronze drum (klo oh tra oh) is one of the most important symbols of Karen culture and is regarded as an indicator of the wealth and importance of the owner.
Similar drums have been found scattered throughout China, Mongolia and other regions of South-east Asia including the the Khmer kingdom. The drums have been classified into five categories one of which is the Karen drum.
The drum consists of cylindrical
body with the head of the drum slightly larger. The head is fashioned with a variety of concentric circles which surrounds a central star. Around the edge of the head, situated at intervals, are four or six frogs, often with either one or two sitting on each others backs.
The drum is carried by two small handles on either side of the drum. The drums vary in size with the head ranging from 18 inches to about thirty.
No one is sure of the origin of these drums but some traditions believe that the drums were thought to be obtained from a tribe of headhunters called the ‘K’wa’ or ‘Swa’ whose exact whereabouts where unknown, but are now believed to be references to the Wa who inhabit Shan state bordering China.
Others believe however that the drums were actually obtained from the ‘Yu’ people who inhabitated Yunnan. This certainly makes more sense in reference to Karen traditions which sees the Karens settling in Yunnan before migrating into Burma. That said the Wa may also have obtained the drums from the Yu due there close proximity.
One Karen Tradition tells of a S’gaw man, Pu Maw Taw, who whilst tending to his field saw a flock of wild monkeys heading towards him, fearful for his life he pretended to be dead. The monkeys on seeing this sent several of their number back to get drum for the funeral ceremony.
The monkey brought three drums, one silver, one gold, and one white. During the service Pu Maw Taw sat up causing the monkey to flee and in the process causing the white drum to fall into the water.
The man took the drums back to the people and they became their most sacred possessions. Every year a ceremony was held in the drums known as, Gaw Hta Ku’ and ‘Gaw Kwe Se’, honour.
However two Pwo Karen men ‘, unhappy about having to travel so far to see the drums, stole them and hid them in a cave. The S’gaw who still had the sticks and striker whould go to the Pwos every year to ask for the drums return, but were constantly refused. It is said that the the two criminals descendants in Donyin are cursed to suffer from bad eyesight becuase of the theft.
Hunting
Usually a group of hunters, armed with nets and weapons, will work together to hunt for game. After choosing what they consider to be the best place an ambush is set up whild a group of hunters breaks off to beat the bushes. The game is driven from cover to the nets gets entangled brought down by the spears and crossbows (hkli) of the men waiting there. Nearly all kinds of game were caught in this manner, from rabbits to elephants. Although pigs and deer are most commonly hunted in this way.
In addition to hunting, a number of traps are also used to catch animals. The spring trap (‘wa hkaw’) consists of a small bamboo spike that would be traggered when the animal passed through it. The box trap consists of a small box with door on either side, bait in the form of a smaller animal is tied inside, once the animal to be trapped is inside a string closes the doors. In addition to the two previous traps a third consists of digging a small hole in the ground, covering it and waiting for the creature to fall in.
Small animals, such as squirrels and rats, are killed by means of a heavy pole (tu), one end of which is propped up from the ground just inside a tight fence enclosing or partly enclosing a field. Lengths of large bamboo lead the rodents through holes in the fence, and as they emerge on the inside they have to push past a string, which releases the little prop under the log. Such traps are called “.
The Karen primarily hunt for food and once the animal is caught very little is left to waste with most of it being eaten in one
The Karen primarily hunt for food and once the animal is caught
