Introduction
Karen and closely-related tribes are Sino-Tibetan tribes and they are the second largest ethnic group after the ethnic Bamar in Myanmar.Their ethnic origin has been clouded in mystery until recently. This article will shed some light into their true origin.
Homeland
The ethnic Karen came to Myanmar around 7th century AD and first lived along the Salween River basin in northeast Myanmar in today's Shan State.The ethnic Bamar people took over the Irrawaddy River basin in the late 9th century and expanded their territory to include the Salween River basin around the late 12th century.
The ethnic Shan, a Northwestern Tai people, migrated in large numbers to form the Shan States in north-eastern Myanmar starting from 13th century AD. This event probably triggered the Karen to migrate to the hills further south.
Today, they live mostly in the hills of Kayah State and Kayin State and also other hills in south-eastern Myanmar.
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| Karen regions in Myanmar |
The Karen has a folklore that their original ancestral homeland was a place of 'river of running sand' (Hti Seh Meh Ywa in Karen language) which will be explored in the next section.
Original homeland
The ancestors of the Karen tribe were what the Han Chinese called the ancient Di (氐) who are part of Sino-Tibetan people.The ancient Di tribe originally lived in the upper Yellow River basin in Gansu province. The 'river of running sand' in the Karen's folklore is actually the sand and silt deposited by wind storms from the Loess aka Huangtu (黃土) Plateau into the Yellow River.
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| Running sand in Yellow River |
Ancient Di tribe was one of the five non-Han Chinese tribes who invaded northern China during 304-316 AD and formed a kingdom in modern-day Gansu and Shaanxi regions.
During the end of Northern and Southern dynasties in the 6th century AD, the ancient Di migrated from Sichuan to Yunnan. One Di tribe migrated further into Myanmar and became the ethnic Karen people around 7th century AD.
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| Migration path in purple |
Migration to Thailand
The Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) has been fighting the ethnic Bamar army for greater autonomy and/or independence since Burma independence from Britain in 1948 and is still going on.
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| Karen National Liberation Army |
In the 20th century AD, some Karen people started migrating to Thailand due to wars with the ethnic Bamar in Myanmar.
The Karen are called Kariang (กะเหรี่ยง) in Thailand and are concentrated mainly along western Thailand such as Tak province; which border the Karenic speaking regions in eastern Myanmar. They also live in several Karen villages in northern provinces such as Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai.
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| Karen regions in Thailand (light brown) |
Karen culture
The majority of Karen are Buddhists and also practise their own culture such as bamboo dancing. The original practitioner of bamboo dance were the Tai people and it is highly likely that the Karen adopted this culture from the Tai people in neighboring Shan State.
One subgroup of the Karenic people which is Kayan Lahwi/Padaung Karen wear brass rings on their neck, hands and legs. Note that not all subgroups practise this culture.
Karenic subgroups
There are 3 branches which are- Northern:
- Pa-O / Black Karen (Pa-O language)
- Central:
- Kayah/Karenni/Red Karen (Kayah language)
- Kayan/ Padaung Karen (Kayan language)
- Southern:
- Pwo Karen (Pwo language)
- Kayin/Karen/White Karen (Sgaw language)
The Karenic languages are classified as a separate branch of Sino-Tibetan language family. The Karenic branch is also different from the Lolo-Burmese branch spoken by the ethnic Bamar. However, Karen languages have many cultural terms borrowed from Burmese language as well as loanwords from Mon and Thai languages.
Closest ethnic relative
The Karen's closest ethnic relative in China is the Bai-ma Di (白馬氐) which was wrongly classified as Bai-ma Tibetan by China. They don't have their own writing system unlike the real Tibetans and have different customs and language from the Tibetans although there are many loanwords from Tibetan language.It is said that the Tibetan stationed some of their army there after the Tibetans invaded the area in the late 7th century AD, some of the Tibetans must have intermarried with the Di people to become the Bai-Ma Di.
Bai-Ma doesn't mean 'white horse' but a Chinese transliteration of the Tibetan word which is Bod-Ma (Tibetan army); Bod means Tibetan and Ma means army.
They live mainly in the borders between the two provinces Sichuan and Gansu which are in Jiuzhaigou (九寨溝), Pingwu (平武) and Wen (文) counties (purple region in the map above). Some also live in adjacent Shaanxi province.
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| Bai-ma Di |
The Karen migrated southwards into Myanmar whereas the Bai-ma Di remained in their original ancestral homeland.
Another evidence of their origin is that most Karen have the surname of Yang/Yong (楊) which is the most common surname of the ancient Di people.
Another evidence of their origin is that most Karen have the surname of Yang/Yong (楊) which is the most common surname of the ancient Di people.
Linguists should study the language of Bai-ma Di to ascertain their core cognates to the Karenic language in light of their common ethnic origin and possibly do a reclassification. However, the language of Bai-ma Di was heavily influenced by the Tibetan language.
Conclusion
Ethnic Karen's original homeland was along the upper Yellow River basin in Gansu province and they were part of the ancient Di tribe.
They migrated to Salween River basin before being forced to migrate further to the hills of south-eastern Myanmar after the ethnic Shan took over the northeast region of Salween River in Myanmar.
Related links
Main ethnicities in Myanmar
http://eastasiaorigin.blogspot.com/2017/07/main-ethnicities-in-myanmar.html
Origin of Sino-Tibetan tribes
Origin of Sino-Tibetan tribes
Sources
- History of Southern Qi《南齊書》
- Origin of Baima tribe《白馬人的身世 》
- Origin of ancient China dynasties《中國古代王朝和政權名號探源》
- Karen Linguistic Studies. R. B. Jones. University of California Press (1961)
- The Karen Bronze Drums of Burma: Types, Iconography, Manufacture, and Use. By Richard M. Cooler
- https://kknews.cc/culture/3xnl5ly.html
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- https://kknews.cc/travel/853zk3g.html
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- https://www.chinesefolklore.org.cn/web/index.php?NewsID=7514
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