Karen (cultural, historical, political)
Websites/Multiple Documents
| Title: | | Museum of Karen History and Culture |
| Date of publication: | | June 2004 |
| Description/subject: | | "Welcome to the Museum of Karen History and Culture dedicated to researching, preserving, and promoting the history and culture of the ethnic Karens of Burma.
The Karens, now totalling over five million people, were one of, if not, the first inhabitants of what is now Burma. Throughout the centuries that followed they were constantly oppressed by the Burman rulers who took over the country.
Now, the military government seeks to destroy the individual identity of the Karen people. History and language is being lost as the State Peace and Development Council bans all schools in Karen State from teaching their own language and history.
The Karen History and Culture Preservation Society is a non-profit, non-political organisation, formed in 2001 to help preserve and promote the history and culture of a unique people. This electronic museum is only the beginning and is by no means complete, all people who can contribute are welcome (please see the KHCPS section for details) and any feedback you wish to give please do.
We dedicate this museum to all of the Karen people who continue to suffer under insurmountable odds"
SOME PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO ACCESS THE MUSEUM WITHOUT DIFFICULTY. OTHERS CANNOT SEE THE UPPER NAVIGATION BAR. PLEASE CONTACT darnott@iprolink.ch IF YOU HAVE ANY PROBLEMS. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen History and Culture Preservation Society |
| Format/size: | | html, jpg etc. |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs3/karenmuseum/ |
| Date of entry/update: | | 31 January 2005 |
|
| Title: | | Drum Publications |
| Description/subject: | | "The Drum Publication Group was founded in May 1998. The goal of the Drum Publication Group is to promote literature in both Karen and Burmese languages with the overall objectives of developing education for Burmese people wherever they might reside.
The Group wishes to establish contact with as many other groups and individuals as possible who are involved in literature and education, and to be involved in all aspects of literacy development and the ensuing work of printing suitable books and teaching aids. As well as translation and typesetting we would like to assist those NGOs involve in education work at all stages. Participation in planning sessions and workshops would be welcomed and would, we feel, increase our capacity to play a useful role in this regard.
The Group will promote, through its own practice, transparency and accountability, in all dealings. The Group is not affiliated with any political organization and stands for racial and sexual equality. The Drum Group's focus is on:
* Writing and printing educational books.
* Producing teaching aids and extra-curricula materials.
* Translation of texts, to and from, both Sgaw Karen and Burmese languages - especially those relevant to education.
* Establishing a library and documentation centre to preserve valuable books and documents.
* Assisting the printing of educational material in Pwo Karen, Shan, Mon and other ethnic languages.
A catalogue of our publications is available on this web site. Publications are distributed at cost price, or less, to groups and individuals involved in formal or non-formal education or training. Those ordering large numbers of books as well as overseas institutes are requested to pay the full cost of the order plus postage costs...
Downloadable books:
* English - Sgaw Karen Student Dictionary (PDF version which can be used off line)
* Days Not to be Forgotten : (Sgaw Karen), Karen veterans of WWII share their experiences
* Echos from Karen Land: (Sgaw Karen)
* Little Authors' Imaginative World: (Sgaw Karen)
* * Lilly and Pa Saw Htee's Amazing Earth and the Universe Facts: (Sgaw Karen / English)
* Lilly and Pa Saw Htee's Amazing Animal Facts: (Sgaw Karen / English)
* Ethnic Folktakes of Burma : (Sgaw Karen)
* Hta for Children : (Sgaw Karen)
* A Holiday I Will Never Forget (a choose your our adventure story) : (Sgaw Karen)
* Brain Sharpeners : math puzzles (Sgaw Karen)
* Traditional Karen Dress : (Sgaw Karen)
Drum's quarterly fun newsletter for kids!
* * Drum Kids Newsletter, July 2006:(Sgaw Karen)
* Drum Kids Newsletter, April 2006:(Sgaw Karen)
* Drum Kids Newsletter, Jan. 2006:(Sgaw Karen)
* Drum Kids Newsletter, Oct. 2005:(Sgaw Karen) |
| Language: | | English, Sgaw Karen, Burmese |
| Source/publisher: | | Drum Publication Group |
| Format/size: | | html, pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 04 September 2006 |
|
| Title: | | Friends of the Karen People |
| Description/subject: | | "Friends of the Karen People - Mission Statement
* We provide scholarships to prospective students from Burma regardless of their ethnic origin.
* We prepare students to able to integrate into the international education system.
* We aim to upgrade the education system in the ethnic regions of Burma.
* We help maintain the culture and literature of the different ethnic nationalities of Burma.
* We publish materials about the struggle of the ethnic nationalities of Burma.
Friends of the Karen People - Objective
* To document the culture and daily life of the Karen People who are in refugee camps and who are internally displaced.
* To inform the world about the plight of the ethnic nationalities.
* To bring a new generation of leaders to Burma.
* To help people to survive and bring peace to the region.
Brief recent history of Burma
The Burmese military dictatorship took over power on March 2, 1962 and has been introducing ethnic cleansing since. There are more than a hundred ethnic groups in Burma who are gradually becoming extinct.
Ethnic nationalities of Burma are forbidden to study their languages and practice their religious beliefs. Their cultures are disappearing and they no longer know how to speak or write their own languages. Their land is being taken away from them. They become internally displaced. They are relocated to places where there is no way to make their living. They have to work as slaves for the military. They are used to clear land mines and carry military equipment as porters. They suffer all kinds of abuse and oppression. Husbands and sons are killed, wives and daughters are raped. Children and infants are burned alive. The ethnic nationalities have become internal colonies. They are oppressed by the military dictatorship of Burma and are trapped in the nest of a heartless monster.
The Karen people and all the other ethnic nationalities have fought to defend themselves for over 50 years to survive ethnic cleansing." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Friends of the Karen People |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 01 November 2005 |
|
| Title: | | Karen Emergency Relief Fund |
| Description/subject: | | "The purpose of the Karen Emergency Relief Fund Inc. is to provide humanitarian assistance, including food, shelter, medical and health supplies, and to provide educational and self-help projects for the Karen people.
The Relief Fund recognizes that the Karens are an indigenous, ethnic minority group of about 11 million people who have lived in the mountainous region along the border of Burma and Thailand for many centuries.
Due to the ongoing strife in Burma, it is estimated that there are more than 300,000 displaced Karens who have fled into the jungle and are living in huts and makeshift camps in the border area. Those who have escaped into Thailand have not been given official refugee status, consequently they receive no direct assistance from the United Nations or from the Red Cross.
Alongside impoverished Karen organizations the Karen Emergency Relief Fund maintains an office in Mae Sot, Thailand. In 2000 K.E.R.F established a therapy program for the victims of rape and torture which is directed by a skilled and innovative psychotherapist. No other agency was addressing the consequences of these widespread and vicious crimes.
The Karen Emergency Relief Fund Inc. is recognized by the IRS as a non-profit, tax deductible organization, and has no paid employees. All funds raised are distributed to the Karens or to organizations acting on their behalf. The Board of Directors of the Karen Emergency Relief Fund Inc. is comprised of physicians, clergypersons and business professionals from Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The organization was created on July 20, 1997. " |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Emergency Relief Fund |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Kawthoolei (Karenland) |
| Description/subject: | | Some good material, but many links not working. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Kawthoolei (Karenland) |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Pwo and Sgaw Karen Fonts |
| Description/subject: | | A number of Pwo and Sgaw Karen fonts...Open in a new page and unzip the files (that's the only way I can access the files using Firefox) -- other browsers may work differently - Librarian) |
| Author/creator: | | KHCPS |
| Source/publisher: | | KHCPS |
| Format/size: | | .zip/469k |
| Date of entry/update: | | 05 March 2006 |
|
| Title: | | Working Group: "Socio-economics of Forest Use in the Tropics and Subtropics" |
| Description/subject: | | Various documents in German and/or English on the Karen and other groups in Thailand and Burma, including "Change and identity in Pwo Karen communities in Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary,
a 'Global Heritage' in Western Thailand". |
| Author/creator: | | Reiner Buergin |
| Language: | | Deutsch, German, English |
| Source/publisher: | | Institute for Ethnology, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Creating Non-State Spaces: Interfaces of Humanitarianism and Self-Government of Karen-Refugee Migrants in Thai Burmese Border Spaces |
| Date of publication: | | October 2012 |
| Description/subject: | | Abstract:
"This paper examines the interfaces of local community based humanitarian organizations
with displaced Karen people in Thai-Burmese border spaces and their claims
for cultural rights. It argues that Karen people have to organize themselves in a context
where they do not have access to social welfare of the state and in which the state
is hostile and oppressive to them. Applying Merry’s thesis on the localization and
vernacularization of international rights frameworks in the local context, the paper
explores the context of power in which different humanitarian actors intervention in
the local conflict zone.
The author finds that Karen displaced people have differentiated access to humanitarian
assistance and that powerful organizations like the Karen National Union
are able to benefit while essentializing Karen culture and suppressing internal difference
among the Karen to position itself towards the international donor community,
thereby becoming “liked” or “preferred” refugees. The paper then also looks at
secular and faith-based local humanitarian groups and finds that these groups are
deeply embedded in local society and thus able to help effectively. Karen displaced
people thus create non-state spaces in border spaces by establishing partnerships
with local humanitarian organizations that act as brokers and mediators of international
organizations and donors." |
| Author/creator: | | Alexander Horstmann |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religioius and Ethnic Diversity |
| Format/size: | | pdf (940K-OBL version; 2MB-original) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.mmg.mpg.de/publications/working-papers/2012/wp-12-17/
www.mmg.mpg.de/workingpapers |
| Date of entry/update: | | 08 November 2012 |
|
| Title: | | Burma's Longest War: Anatomy of the Karen Conflict |
| Date of publication: | | 28 March 2011 |
| Description/subject: | | "Political grievances among Karen and other ethnic nationality communities, which have driven over half a century of armed conflict in Burma/Myanmar, remain unresolved. As the country enters a period of transition following the November 2010 elections and formation of a new government, the Karen political landscape is undergoing its most significant changes in a generation. There is a pressing need for Karen social and political actors to demonstrate their relevance to the new political and economic agendas in Burma, and in particular to articulate positions regarding the major economic and infrastructure development projects to be implemented in the coming years.
The country's best-known insurgent organisation, the Karen National Union (KNU), is in crisis, having lost control of its once extensive 'liberated zones’, and lacks a political agenda relevant to all Karen communities. Meanwhile the government's demand that ceasefire groups, such as the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, transform into Border Guard Forces under direct Burma Army control throws into question the future of various armed groups that have split from the KNU since the 1990s. In this context, Thailand-Burma border areas have seen an upsurge in fighting since late 2010. Nevertheless, the long-term prospect is one of the decline of insurgency as a viable political or military strategy.
Equitable solutions to Burma's social, political and economic problems must involve settling long-standing conflicts between ethnic communities and the state. While Aung San Suu Kyi, the popular leader of the country's democracy movement, seems to recognise this fact, the military government, which holds most real power in the country, has sought to suppress and assimilate minority communities. It is yet to be seen whether Karen and other ethnic nationality representatives elected in November 2010 will be able to find the political space within which to exercise some influence on local or national politics. In the meantime, civil society networks operating within and between Karen and other ethnic nationality communities represent vehicles for positive, incremental change, at least at local levels." |
| Author/creator: | | Ashley South |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Transnational Institute, Burma Centrum Nederland |
| Format/size: | | pdf (2MB - OBL version; 2.3MB - original) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs11/TNI-BurmasLongestWar-AshleySouth-red.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 29 March 2011 |
|
| Title: | | Pachyderm Party |
| Date of publication: | | July 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | Each June, Karen villagers living on Thailand’s border with Burma gather to show appreciation to elephants—their friends and invaluable helpmates. |
| Author/creator: | | Lawi Weng |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 16, No. 7 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 15 July 2008 |
|
| Title: | | Die Karen im Strudel der Unabhängigkeit |
| Date of publication: | | 03 July 2007 |
| Description/subject: | | Angesichts des britischen Verrats gründet der Karen Anwalt Saw Ba U Gyi am 5. Februar 1947 als ersten Schritt zur Selbsthilfe mit 700 Karen Delegierten aus allen Landesteilen die Karen National Union, KNU. Als politische Organisation soll sie den Einfluss seines Volkes hinsichtlich der Verhandlungen zur Unabhängigkeit Burma’s sicherstellen. Bereits im November 46 ist die mächtige kommunistische Partei aus der geeinten Front der Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League, AFPFL Thakin Aung San’s ausgeschlossen worden. Aung San; Panglong Agreement;
The Karen during independence |
| Language: | | German, Deutsch |
| Source/publisher: | | Burma Riders |
| Date of entry/update: | | 21 August 2007 |
|
| Title: | | Die Karen - Völkermord in Burma |
| Date of publication: | | October 2006 |
| Description/subject: | | Karen? Tja, bis vor kurzem wusste ich gar nicht, dass dieses Volk existiert. Die Karen sind eine ethnische Gruppe in Myanmar/Burma, Nachbarstaat von Thailand. Ja, Thailand, dem beliebten Urlaubsland. Doch was wir sehen ist nicht das, was die Menschen dort vor Ort sehen; Geschichte der Karen; Geschichte des Krieges der Karen; Staudämme; history of the Karen; history of the Karen civil war; water dams; |
| Language: | | German, Deutsch |
| Source/publisher: | | Reggae Magazin Revolution |
| Format/size: | | Html (45 kb) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 08 May 2008 |
|
| Title: | | Burma Diaspora |
| Date of publication: | | 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | Burma Diaspora ist ein Dokumentar-Spielfilm, der 2005 während eines 6-monatigen Aufenthaltes in den Karen-Gebieten realisiert wurde. Die Seite enthält viele Bilder, Videos und Hintergrundinformationen zu der Situation der Karen; documentary on the situation of the Karen; the site contains many pictures, videos and background information; |
| Language: | | German, Deutsch |
| Format/size: | | Html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 08 May 2008 |
|
| Title: | | Calling Home the Spirits |
| Date of publication: | | September 2004 |
| Description/subject: | | "Karen communities celebrate their annual “wrist-tying” festival.
The month of August marks a time of year when the bonds of tradition that bind the Karen people are tied in a symbolic but also quite literal way. In Karen families and communities around the world white threads are tied around wrists in a ceremony known as Lah Ku Kee Su...The chief purposes of the festival, however, are to reinforce Karen identity and contribute to the continuation of Karen culture. Saw Nay Kaw, a young Karen Christian living in the Thai town of Kanchanaburi, home to many Karen, summed it up: “It’s good for Karen culture for Karen people to come together and celebrate once a year like this.”..." |
| Author/creator: | | Shah Paung |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 12, No. 8 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 11 November 2004 |
|
| Title: | | San C. Po: Elusive Dream |
| Date of publication: | | June 2004 |
| Description/subject: | | "He has been knighted, honored and revered. But San C. Po’s dream of an independent Karen State remains unfulfilled..." |
| Author/creator: | | Shah Paung |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 12, No. 6 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 07 October 2004 |
|
| Title: | | "Making a Name for Themselves: Karen Identity and the Politicization of Ethnicity in Burma" |
| Date of publication: | | 2002 |
| Description/subject: | | The history of Karen nationalism has been interpreted in terms of inter-ethnic conflict and conceptualizations of ethnicity have influenced understanding of Karen political identity. While 'Karen' incorporated various linguistic, sociocultural, religious and political sub-groups, the Karen National Union (KNU) elite promoted a singular pan-Karen identity in order to minimize such diversity. As a result, factionalism emerged between different Karen groups, obstructing the KNU's political vision and leaving many Karens dissatisfied with KNU attempts to represent their various interests. The fall of Manerplaw in 1995 was thus the result of intra-ethnic conflict as much as conflict between Karens and non-Karens. |
| Author/creator: | | Jessica Harriden |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Journal of Burma Studies Vol. 7 (2002) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (2.67MB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.niu.edu/burma/publications/jbs/vol7/index.shtml |
| Date of entry/update: | | 08 July 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Ein Sommer voller Angst und Verzweifelung: Burmesische Flüchtlinge im thailändisch-burmesischen Grenzgebiet |
| Date of publication: | | 2002 |
| Description/subject: | | Karen refugees in the thai-burmese border area. Halockani refugee camp run by the Mon National Committee. Mit dem Beginn der großen Militäroffensive burmesischer Truppen gegen die bewaffneten Guerillabewegungen der nationalen Minderheiten haben seit Anfang dieses Jahres nun auch immer mehr Angehörige der Karen Volksgruppe im thailändischen Grenzgebiet Zuflucht gesucht. Das vom Mon National Committee unterhaltene Halockani-Flüchtlingslager der Mon-Volksgruppe hat daher seine Tore im Sommer auch für Karen-Flüchtlinge geöffnet und Versorgungsgüter zur Verfügung gestellt. |
| Author/creator: | | Hans-Günther Wagner |
| Language: | | Deutsch, German |
| Source/publisher: | | Netzwerk engagierter Buddhisten |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Karen History: in Their Own Words |
| Date of publication: | | October 2000 |
| Description/subject: | | Most Burmese are familiar with aspects of Karen culture, but few are aware of its deeper significance as an expression of their unique values and historical experience. |
| Author/creator: | | Min Zin |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 8. No. 10 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Karen: Ideologie, Interessen und Kultur. Eine Analyse der Feldforschungsberichte und Theoriebildung. |
| Date of publication: | | 1992 |
| Description/subject: | | keywords: Karen, ideology, field research, history, scientific theory (? in German: Wissenschaftstheorie), theory forming, cultural debates, ethnology-cultural/social anthropology, literature.
"In dieser Arbeit wird die englisch-, deutsch- und
französischsprachige Literatur über die Karen des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts
ausgewertet und im Hinblick auf Theoriebildung und vorherrschende
Ideologien
analysiert. Untersucht werden dabei verschiedene Karen-Gesellschaften
Burmas
und Thailands. Die Auswertung der Literatur unter ethnologischen und
soziologischen Gesichtspunkten liefert einen wichtigen Beitrag zur
Wissenschaftsgeschichte und Theoriebildung über die Karen..." |
| Author/creator: | | Reiner Buergin |
| Language: | | Deutsch, German |
| Format/size: | | PDF (835K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Karen guerillas -- insurgency in Karen State (front-line photos, 1991) |
| Date of publication: | | April 1991 |
| Description/subject: | | Photos taken March-April 1991 at Manerplaw and the front line north of Manerplaw, where there was heavy fighting at the time. Several photos of child soldiers. "Burma has been torn by civil war
since the end of colonial rule from
the British. One of the largest
ethnic groups is the Karen-people.
For a long time they maintained
their own state, Kawthoolei or
Karen land, in the east of the
country bordering Thailand. From its
base in Manorplow the Karen
National Union (KNU) and its armed wing the Karen
National Liberation Army (KNLA) led the armed
struggle. In the late eighties they where reinforced
by Burmese refugees from the All Burma Student
Democratic Front (ADSDF) who escaped the crack
down on the democracy movement. The failure of
different ethnic groups to unite led to great success
for the junta in the mid 90's. Today only a fraction
of the KNU remains active and many Karens are
living as refugees in Thailand. Many other armed
groups have struck deals with the military junta
(SLORC) or entered the lucrative drug-trade." |
| Author/creator: | | Bjorn Svensson |
| Language: | | English |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Two Indigenous Karen Religious Denominations |
| Date of publication: | | 1981 |
| Description/subject: | | "This paper is a short presentation of two Pwo Karen sects as they may be
found in contemporary Western Central Thailand. It will discuss the organization,
origin, and cultural content of the two denominations in order to
show how their politico-religious concepts and ritual architecture are related
to their historical position in a larger system comprising the Buddhist
monarchial civilizations of Burma and Thailand. It is my supposition that
the religious paraphernalia of present day sects materialized in a certain
historical context as symbols of royalty and autonomy, and in the larger
social context functioned to identify these Pwo Karen collectively as a
sovereign part of a larger civilized world. These symbols of self-defined
participation in the world, and at times even claims to superiority, had been
moulded according to a model set by the monarchism of the 18th century
Mon Buddhist kingdom in Lower Burma. It included a messianic Buddhist
framework, which precipitated millenarian expectations of the rise of a
world conqueror and subsequent future Buddha, the Buddha Ariya Mettaya,
who would install a new and ideal society for the elect. Viewing the
history of the Buddhist valley civilizations, be they Burmese, Mon or Thai,
we may see that this messianic aspect of Theravada Buddhism has been the
catalyst for both social discontent and personal political ambitions within
the Buddhist societies of Southeast Asia.2
The term 'Karen' covers a category of people in Burma and Thailand who
speak related languages. Karen-speaking people are spread over a large
area, and their habitations are found in the hills and forests as well as the
lowland. Everywhere Karen groups live interspersed among various other
ethnic groups, hill as well as valley peoples..." |
| Author/creator: | | Kirsten Ewers Andersen |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Soertryk FOLK Reprint Vol. 23 1981 K0BENHAVN |
| Format/size: | | pdf (247K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Deference for the Elders and Control over the Younger among the Karen in Thailand |
| Date of publication: | | 1980 |
| Description/subject: | | "This paper examines the foundation of the deference paid the Elders in a
Karen forest society in Thailand. It is argued that deference and social
control are two sides of the same coin, both resting on the fact that the
socially most valuable knowledge in Karen society is an attribute of old age.
To analyze the foundation of this knowledge, which endows the Elders with
social authority and control, it is useful to distinguish between various types
of knowledge, such as knowledge of production-technique and ecology,
knowledge of social history, and knowledge of ritual and magic. It is further
emphasized that the foundation of the Elders' authority, in contrast to many
other societies, is neither control of the means of production nor control of
such prestige goods, which in unilineal societies may enter the affinal exchange
circulation as bridewealth. Their control derives from their knowledge
of social history, from their religious knowledge of cosmology, ritual,
and ethics, and from their possession of magical know-how..." |
| Author/creator: | | Kirsten Ewers Andersen |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Særtryk FOLK Reprint Vol. 21-22 1979/80 - KØBENHAVN |
| Format/size: | | pdf (336K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | ELEMENTS OF PWO KAREN BUDDHISM |
| Date of publication: | | 1978 |
| Description/subject: | | "...the frequent dichotomization of Burman and Thai "hill-tribes" as animists opposed to the valley population as Buddhists, the Buddhism of the "hill-tribes" being only a thin veneer on animistic beliefs, does not hold. It is rather a question of an inclusive hierarchization of religious activities and value orientations, where the basis for an exclusive dichotomization becomes unclear and elusive, when one investigates the concerned activities more closely. The levels of activities are interlocked and a future value orientation may be directed towards an increased emphasis on "pure" monk- and more Buddhist elements, as the Karens become subsumed under the Thai cash-crop economy and the concommittant cultural contacts. The role of the boungkhos as maintainers of nature's order will disappear when it becomes evident that economic survival under a new economy immediately seems to depend more on insights into the market-mechanisms than on maintenance of the up till now balanced eco-system." |
| Author/creator: | | Kirsten Ewers Andersen |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | The Scandinavian Institute of Asian Studies |
| Format/size: | | html (35K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Burma and the Karens |
| Date of publication: | | 1928 |
| Description/subject: | | "THE object of this book is to present and to explain to the reading
public, and to those who are in authority, the condition of the Karens,
the position they occupy, and their aspirations as a nation second in
importance of the indigenous races of the province of Burma. It is their
desire to have a country of their own, where they may progress as a race
and find the contentment they seek. It is this contentment which gives a
man or a nation that satisfaction and good-will and creates that
patriotic feeling so essential to the well-being of the nation.
Self-respect in a nation begets respect from other nations and races.
What a grand thing the achievement of their ambition will be for the
Karens, and what praises and blessing will be showered upon those who
shall have made it possible. The Karens will then be in a position to
show sincere respect to other races, especially to the Burmese, with
whom they have been at variance, and in turn the Burmese will find them
worthy of respect and esteem..." |
| Author/creator: | | Dr. San C. Po C.B.E. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Elliott Stock (Publisher) |
| Format/size: | | html (188K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 05 May 2008 |
|
| Title: | | HISTORISCHE ENTWICKLUNG DER ETHNISCHEN KONFLIKTE IN MYANMAR / BURMA |
| Description/subject: | | Vor der Ankunft der britischen Kolonialmacht waren die burmanischen Königreiche zwar die dominierende politische Kraft, ihre Herrschaft über die Minderheiten blieb aber beschränkt. Zu keinem Zeitpunkt in der vorkolonialen Geschichte bemühten sich die Monarchen darum, die Minderheiten unter Zwang zu assimilieren. Politisch relevant wurde die ethnische Zugehörigkeit erst unter der britischen Kolonialherrschaft, als das Land in das direkt verwaltete Burma proper (Burma an sich) und in die indirekt verwalteten frontier areas (Grenzgebiete), das vornehmliche Siedlungsgebiet der Minderheiten, geteilt wurde. Karen (KNU); Panglong-Abkommen; Waffenstillstandsabkommen; History of ethnic conflicts in Burma; Karen (KNU); Panglong-Agreement; Ceasefire Agreements; |
| Author/creator: | | Heike Löschmann |
| Source/publisher: | | Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung |
| Format/size: | | Html (25k) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 19 October 2007 |
|
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