![]() In 2011, the Karen diaspora population was estimated to be approximately 67,000. Some Karen have left the refugee camps in Thailand to resettle elsewhere, including in North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Scandinavia. Others live in refugee camps in Thailand. There are another 400,000 Karen in Thailand, where they are by far the largest of the hill tribes. A 2006 Voice of America article cites an estimate of seven million Karen in Myanmar. The last reliable census of Myanmar was conducted in 1931. The total number of Karen is difficult to estimate. The Karen people live mostly in the hills bordering the eastern mountainous region and Irrawaddy delta of Myanmar, primarily in Kayin State (formerly Karen State), with some in Kayah State, southern Shan State, Ayeyarwady Region, Tanintharyi Region, Bago Division and in northern and western Thailand. The Karen constitute the third largest ethnic population in Myanmar, after the Bamars and Shans. Distribution Įntrance of a Karen house in northern Thailand In pre-colonial times, the low-lying Burmese and Mon-speaking kingdoms recognised two general categories of Karen, the Talaing Kayin ( တလိုင်းကရင်), generally lowlanders who were recognised as the "original settlers" and essential to Mon court life, and the Karen ( ဗမာကရင်), highlanders who were subordinated or assimilated by the Bamar. The word may have originally been a derogatory term referring to non-Buddhist ethnic groups, or it may derive from Kanyan, a possibly Mon name of a vanished civilisation. "Karen" is an Anglicisation of the Burmese word Kayin ( ကရင်), whose etymology is unclear. A pan-Karen ethnic identity is a relatively modern creation, established in the 19th century with the conversion of some Karen to Christianity and shaped by various British colonial policies and practices. Karen refers to a heterogeneous lot of ethnic groups that do not share a common language, culture, religion, or material characteristics. ![]() It is estimated by linguists Luce and Lehman that the Tibeto-Burman peoples such as the Karen migrated into present-day Myanmar between 300 and 800 CE. According to the legends, the Karen took a long time to cook shellfish at the river of flowing sand, until the Chinese taught the Karens to open the shells so as to acquire the meat. This could refer to the sediment-laden Yellow River of China, the upper reaches of which is considered to be the Urheimat of Sino-Tibetan languages. Most scholars dismiss the notion of a Gobi desert crossing, but rather translate the legend as describing "rivers of water flowing with sand". Many Karen believe this refers to the Gobi Desert, although they have lived in Myanmar for centuries. Karen legends refer to a "river of running sand" which ancestors reputedly crossed. Even so, the KNU has declined invitations to speak with the Burmese government. The original aim of the KNU was to create an independent Karen homeland called Kawthoolei, but since 1976 they have shifted towards calling for a federal system in Myanmar instead. Karen insurgent groups, led primarily by the Karen National Union (KNU), have waged war against the Burmese government since early 1949. The Karen groups as a whole are often confused with the Padaung tribe, best known for the neck rings worn by their women, but they are just one sub-group of Red Karens (Karenni), one of the tribes of Kayah in Kayah State, Myanmar. A few Karen have settled in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India, and other Southeast Asian and East Asian countries. Many Karen have migrated to Thailand, having settled mostly on the Myanmar–Thailand border. The Karen, approximately five million people, account for approximately seven percent of the Burmese population. ![]() These Karen groups reside primarily in Kayin State, southern and southeastern Myanmar. ![]() The group as a whole is heterogeneous and disparate as many Karen ethnic groups do not associate or identify with each other culturally or linguistically. The Karen ( / k ə ˈ r ɛ n/ ( listen) kə- REN), also known as the Kayin, Kariang or Kawthoolese, are an ethnolinguistic group of Sino-Tibetan language–speaking peoples. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Karen script. ![]()
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