MYANMAR TRIBES

There are 135 ethnic groups in Myanmar. Among them 8 ethnic groups are the main groups. They are Bamar, Kachin, Kayar, Kayin, Chin, Mon, Rakhine, Shan.

Bamar

Bamar is the ethnic majority of Myanmar and more than 65 percents of the population are Bamar. Ayeyarwaddy delta, the whole central Myanmar and the valleys along the Ayeyarwaddy River are inhibited by Bamars. Over 90 percent of Bamar are Buddhist. But also there are Christians. The official language of Myanmar is Burmese. They migrated from china into Ayeyarwady valley in upper Myanmar around 1200 years ago. They had tried to dominate the Mon and Pyu ethnic groups and later they gained successes. Bamar traditional dresses are sarongs (paso), shirts and jackets for men and sarongs (htamain) and blouses for women. During the ceremony men wear turbans of cloth called gaung baung.

Kachin

One of the major ethnic group of Myanmar and live in Kachin State, in the northern part of Myanmar. But some Kachins can be found on the mountain ranges of northern Shan State and Kyaington. They arrived here and inhabited in the 15th and 16th century. They call themselves Jingphaw. They speak their own language. Almost half of Kachins are Christians, but also there are Buddhists and animists. Women often dress the black jackets with silver decorations. They also wear wool skirts made in bright colors. The men wear black and wide pants and also turbans. The famous festival of Kachin is Manaw festival which holds in January.

Kayah

Kayah is also known as Karenni, is a subgroup of Karen. They descend from Sino-Tibetan group. They live in Kayah State which is full of mountains and hills. Loikaw is the main city of Kayah.

Karen

Karen is one of the major ethnic groups of Myanmar and most of them live in Karen State, in the hills of eastern Myanmar. Kayin is the subgroup of Tibeto-Burman group. Approximately 7 percent of Myanmar population is Kayin. So Kayin is the third biggest population after Bamar and Shan. But some are found in Kayah State, southern Shan State, Ayeyarwady region, Tanintharyi Region and in western Thailand. Karens were animists in the past, but today the majority is Buddhist, there are also Christians. There are 5 different subgroups of Kayin according to the region where they live.

Chin

Chin is one of the ethnic groups in Myanmar. The Chins are mainly found in the western part of Myanmar. They descend from Tibeto-Burman groups and the population is about 1.5 million. They also live in Mizoram, Manipur and Assam. Some of them are found in Rakhine State. They arrived in Myanmar around 9th century and settled in Chin State in 13th century. Like the other tribes in Myanmar they were traditionally animists. During the colonial period most of them converted to Christianity. Almost 90 percent of the population is Christians. There are also many subgroups in Chins.

Mon

Mon is a major ethnic group of Myanmar. They live mainly in Mon State. The population of Mon is about 6 million. They were living in Myanmar earlier than the other groups with great civilization. They practiced Buddhism firstly in Myanmar with the help of Sri Lanka. They adopted the Pallava script and created their own writing. So Mon was responsible for the spread of Theravada Buddhism in Myanmar and Thailand. There are so many influences of Mon culture on Myanmar culture such as architect, language and religion. Being the civilized people there are so many traditional heritages. Some of them are spiritual dances, crocodile xylophone, harp and flat guitar.

Rakhine

Rakhine is one of Myanmar ethnic groups and live in Rakhine State. They believe that they were one of the first groups who practiced Buddhism in Southeast Asia. Rakhine culture is also similar to India like Myanmar. Rakhine is closer with India than Barma, so there are many Indian Influences in the culture of Rakhine, such as literature, music, and cuisine. According to their words Rakhine began in 3325 BC but archaeological evidence show that Rakhine began in the 1st century AD.

Shan

Shan is an ethnic group of Myanmar and inhabit in Shan State. Some are found in Mandalay Division, Kachin State and Kayin State. The population is approximately 6 million. Taunggyi, lashio, Kyaington are the main cities of ethnic Shan. They speak their own language. They descend from Tai-Shan ethnic group. Almost all of Shans are Buddhists but in the farther mountain ranges there are some animists.

We also would like to introduce some small tribes, Pa-O, Padaung, Palaung, Lahu, Lishu, Akhar, Naga and how they stand their life in different geographical location, culture, climate and customs.

Pa-O

The ethnic Pa o is the second largest group in Shan state. Every man and woman wraps their head with towels and wears black color dresses. Men wear the black trousers and jackets and women wear also long black sleeve jackets and skirts, wounded on their calf by black legging on which sometimes wound silver threads.

Many Pa-O people settled down near Taunggyi in Shan state, their main business is hillside cultivation. They cultivate Oranges, Ginger, Potato, Tomato, Corn, Rice and some vegetables etc, If you want to know about this tribes please come to join hot air balloons festival in November (Taunggyi Tazaungdine Festival).

Palaung

Palaung is a sub-group of Shan like Pa-O. They live in Shan mountain ranges. Most of them are living in the north of Shan state but some can be found in the regions of Kyaington and Tnaunggyi. According to the regions where they live there are many different Palaung groups. Each group has its own costume in different color and style.
 

Padaung

Most of Padaung live in Kayah state and is one of the ethnic groups of Karan. Padaung people are well known as “Long-Necked Women”. All Padaung women wear heavy brass rings around the neck, arms and calve. Why did they wear these brass rings? According their legend they wear it to protect wild animals for especially tigers when they go away from home to the jungle to work..

Naga

These people descend from Tibeto-Bamar group and live in Chin state near India-Myanmar border. They live mostly around Patkoi mountain ranges. They are well known for the traditional attire for especially their hats which made of cane decorated by tusks of the wild boars, bird feathers, bear fur and human hairs.

The Naga are normally barely dressed except in the near zero temperature. When they need the warmth they get from the woven blankets. Sometimes the blankets are woven with scenes of the wearer’s life such as his victory over wild elephants or ferocious tigers or his skill in hunting deer. The more venerated old men have sewn blankets with cowry shells as a symbol of their leadership.

The biggest Naga Festival is the New Year Festival call ‘’Kaing Bi’’. It holds every year in January.

Lahu

Lahu is one of Myanmar ethnic tribes. Most of them are found on the mountain ranges of Kyaing Ton at the eastern Shan State. The historians believe that they descend from Tibeto-Burman group. They are mainly living on hillside cultivation and sometimes hunting. The men and women of Lahu wear black dresses. The women’s dresses are decorated with earplugs, necklaces, bracelets and rings which are made of silver.

Akha

One of the minor tribe, living on the mountain ranges around Kyaing Ton, is Akha. They are known as Kaw but they prefer to be called as Akha. They are earning their lives on agriculture. Most of them are Buddhist but some are Animists. Akha men wear dark blue trousers, Jackets and headbands. Women wear black jackets and skirts decorated with silverwares.