Races (Ethnic groups) of Myanmar (Burma)
The earliest civilizations associated with Myanmar (Burma) were the Mon, probably the earliest of modern day inhabitants to settle in the plains of Myanmar. They live in the south East of the country and the Pyu in central Burma which flourished during the first half of the first millennium.
Nowaday, Myanmar (Burma) is comprised of more than 100 different ethnic groups and sub-groups but there are eight major Races (Ethnic groups) in Myanmar (Burma) such as Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Chin, Burma, Mon, Rakhine and Shan in the total area of 678,500 square kilometers as it is the largest country in mainland Southeast Asia, and the 40th-largest in the world. Many unrecognised ethnic groups exist, the largest being the Burmese Chinese and Panthay, Burmese Indians, Anglo-Burmese, and Rohingya.
- Kachin: The Kachin reside in the northernmost region of Myanmar bordering India and Tibet, an area containing some of the highest mountains in South East Asia including Mt. Kakaborazi , Myanmar's tallest peak.
- Kayah (Karenni): More than a dozen ethnic groups inhabit Kayah State, a rugged mountain region in eastern Myanmar, but the Kayah people, numbering just over 150,000, comprise the largest ethnic group in the region.
- Kayin (Karen): Kayin legends refer to a 'river of running sand' which ancestors reputedly crossed. Many Kayins think this refers to the Gobi Desert, although they have lived in Myanmar for centuries.
- Chin: Chin are also known as Zomi, are a Tibeto-Burman people inhabiting the great mountain chain running up western Myanmar into Mizoram in north-east India. In the past the difficult terrain meant there was little communication between villages.
- Burma: The upper and central plains of Myanmar are the traditional home of the Burma. They are a Tibeto-Burman people who migrated from the north and China-India borderlands long before they established their greatest capital at Bagan on the banks of the Ayeyarwaddy River between 1044 and 1287 AD.
- Mon: A distinctive branch of the Mon-Khmer peoples, were probably the earliest of modern day inhabitants to settle in the plains of Myanmar. They soon established themselves as the most cultured people in Southeast Asia, as their art and architecture clearly show.
- Rakhine (Arakan): The majority ethnic group in Rakhine State, have long been influenced by their proximity to India and have formed strong trading links with the sub-continent.
- Shan: Shan are ethnically and linguistically members of Tai ethnic group (Siamese branch of Indochinese people) to which Thais and the Laotians also belong to. It was suggested that the term Shan may come from Siam, the root of Syam and Assam. Referring to their skin colour, neighbours called Tai people as "Siam", derived from Sanskrit (Pali) word Syama, which means "golden" or "dark" colour.
|
|
