Location
It is situated in eastern sites of Myanmar, and known as Shan plateau.
Appearance
Black hair , Fair Complexion
Literature
Own dialect
Occupation
Weaving, Farming / dry land cultivation
Worshipment
Buddhism and Nat Worshipment!
Art
Drum, gongs, triumph
Mentality
Hospitality , Content and Honest
Weather
The weather is cool and pleasant average temperature is 64 F. Having being the
hilly region the annual rain fall is always 80".
Scenery
The Shan state is the largest state of all state in Myanmar and about 3000'
-4000' above sea level. Since many years ago Shan state has been under sea
level. So that it is abundant with many kinds of natural resources.
Sanlwin river, having the rough flowing it is not directly useful river for the
state but one of the sub river of Mighty Irrawaddy by the name of Dote Hta Waddy
is the useful river in northern site of Shan state.
Traditional costume
Shan call themselves "Tai" means "brightness" Shan traditional costumes are very
beautiful. Shan ladies wear traditional blouse and longyis ( Sarong) with turban
round their head. Men put on traditional buggy trouser and jacket with shirt
insides also turban or towel round on their heads.
Outstanding things
Their naming system is quite interesting. The relation of the Saw Bwa ( The main
and chief of Shan state in ancient times) used "Sao" in front of their names .
Then the relation of counselor usually used " Khun" with their name. The term "Sai"
is very useful common term in Shan boys and men, and " Nan" is for girls and
women.
In the custom of marriage , the young boy's parents firstly have to be informed
to the parents of young girl. As the custom the young man need to send two tea
pickles packets two betel baskets two hands of bananas , two boiled egg, and at
least one kyats and twenty five pyars , put on the young ladies side. The
expense of the wedding is needed to pay from bridegroom side.
Funny and festival?
First of all I would like to say that Shan state is the amazing land because
there are 35 kinds of Shan and it's sub groups . So that some custom , culture ,
and some of their outstanding things might be slightly different one and
another. That's why the land is full with the various kinds of festivals and
funny and all are base on their ancient traditional own style.
The famous one is that of Inn Lay Phang Daw Oo Pagoda festival , Noviciation
ceremony Alms giving ceremony, and hot air balloon ceremony are the famous
festivals.
In every ceremony and social affair they use to perform with their famous dance
of Kein Nari – Kein Nara dance, and Tonayar dance which were given the good
recommendation by foreign visitors. Kein Nari –Kein Nara are the male and female
mythical birds , and Toenaya is the (fabulous creature said to inhabit in the Mt
Himalaya region.)
Those who create the state to be a wonderful land .
- Inntha
- Akha
- Larhu
- Ang
- Koe Kant
- Pao
- Wa
- Palaung
- Padaung
- Danu
- Shan Gyi
The Intha people live around Inle Lake; Intha means 'sons of the lake'. Like the
Pa-O, they are Tibeto-Burman, but they thought to be descendants of the Tibeto
Burmans, who migrated N during the reign of King Narapatisithu (1173-1210). The
Inthas are well known for their one-legged rowing technique, which the fishermen
developed to enable them to keep 2 hands free for fishing. Because they do not
have much fertile land so that the Inthas developed a system of floating gardens
on which is grown most of the vegetables, fruits and flowers for the surrounding
area . The majority of the Inthas are Buddhist. Most of the Intha dress like
Burmese costume-longyis and open-necked shirts.
Pa Laung
The Pa Laung are descended from Mon-Khmer stock and inhabit the Kalaw area; they
were amongst the earliest inhabitants of Burma. They are famous for growing tea-
unlike other tribes they have never grown opium. Their traditional dress is very
colourful. The women wear white, green, Pink, red and blue jackets and a red
striped lungyi. They also wear cane rings around the waist when they are married
and heavy strings of beads around their necks. The older women shave their heads
and wear white hoods. Unlike other tribes the Pa Luang live in small longhouses
- several families share a longhouse on stills.
People of Palaung, who mainly inhabit in the plateau near Kalaw area in Shan
State, belong to the Mon-Khmer stock. It takes about two to four hours through
the hills to the village of the Palaung tribe. At first a steep track leads down
into a narrow valley where the Palaung cultivate cheroot, tea, damsons and
mangoes on the hillsides. The track across the valley floor and then climbs very
steeply again to the Palaung village of Pinnabin, which sits on top of a hill.
The Palaung are referred to as the "De-Ang" People. In all, this ethnic group of
people total about 70,000 and are distinguished by the silver and lacquered
bamboo hoops that married women wear around their waists. Palaung women wear
colorful blue-and-red costumes and families live in ‘long houses’. Six Palaung
families live together without seperation in this 30meter or so long house, in
which all daily activities take place - weaving, cooking and child caring. One
of their main sources of income is the cultivation of thanaq-hpeq (a large leaf
used to wrap Burmese cigars). Observe tribal village life and how the Palaung
people drying cheroot in a specially designed oven.
The Danu
The Danu - who are also of Tibeto - Burmese descent - live in the Pindaya Cave
area. The name Danu comes from donake, meaning 'brave archers'. In the 16th
century the Danu were King Alaungpaya's arhcers and on returning from wars in
Thailand settled in the Pindaya area. They are a farming people and speak
Burmese, with a slightly different accent, and wear Burmese costume.
The Ann 
These tribal People are mostly to be seen in and around Kyaington or Kengton
(Eastern Shan State). One of the distinguish feature of these people is their
teeth which are always painted with black color resin obtained from some kind of
plants like betel leave naturally grown on hill-side.
Akha
Akha, referred to as "Kaw" or "Yi-Kaw" in Shan State, often live in highlands
1,000m or more above sea level. They have practiced slash and burn agriculture
from long ago, and have moved from place to place in search of land to
cultivate. Their population is roughly 200,000 in Myanmar, 50,000 in Thailand,
and 20,000 in Laos. Groups of people who are apart of the 1,050,000 "Hani"
people of Yunnan province in China speak a language, which is very similar to
Akha.The ladies’ costume is as pretty as the headdress a short jacket with
colourful embroidery, a short, gathered skirt and embroidered leggings of cotton
and wool. The headdresses are of two types: the shorter has a rounded back to
the cap made of silver while the longer one has a square piece of flat silver
standing up at the back. The ladies’ headdresses are made of tightly sewn rows
of beads, embellished in the front with silver coins some of which date back
over perhaps a century and on the sides with large globes of silver, strands of
beads connect to the cap from behind one ear to the other. The man’s costume is
also embroidered with silver coins and with significant figures hung down. We
also observed their daily chores such as weaving basket, spinning wool, pounding
and shifting the grain, fetching water and gathering firewood.
Pa-O
Pa-O is one of the ethnic groups in Myanmar, contributing nearly 2-million
population in the whole country. Most of the population is distributing in the
hilly region such as Hpa-an area in Kayin State, in the Thaton area of Mon
State, as well as in the Taunggyi area of Shan State. Most of the Pa-O people
earn their living on an agriculture as a base and they are noted to be honest,
hardworking and good hearted people. They built their houses with Cherry,
pinewood and some with giant bamboos and every house is fenced. Thatch is used
mostly for roofing but some use zinc sheets. Their houses have long legs,
buffalos and cows can be bred under them. Also Pa-O is the second largest
population in Shan State. The Pa-O people have their own culture, dialect and
literature. The Pa-O wears more somber dark blue or indigo costumes, and is
regarded as good businesspeople.
Lahu
The Lahu means "Tiger Hunters" who bear striking similarities to Native
Americans, have been categorized into subgroups such as the Lahu-Shi (yellow
Lahu), Lahu-Na (black Lahu) and Lahu-Ni (red Lahu) depending on their language
and the clothing worn by the women. The Lahu-Shi lives mainly in mountainous
regions, 1,300m above sea level, and is renowned as skillful hunters. They are
said to be originally from China's Yunnan province and practicing slash and burn
agriculture. Houses are built on high stills with bamboo or wooden planks,
thatched with grass. A ladder leads to the open central living area, with a
storeroom to one side and living quarters to the other. Their domestic animals
like chicken, pigs and buffalos are kept in the basement corral. Lahu women are
skilled in weaving cloth, both on back-strap and foot-treadle looms, producing
delicate patchwork trims and unusual embroidery work. The Lahus are animist and
believe in one spirit with overall all the others. About 30% of the Lahus have
been converted to Christianity and have abandoned their way of life. The Lahu
are independent people and love entertainment and the easy life. They are
obviously pride themselves on their skills in hunting and trapping.
Padaung
Padaung" means "long neck" in the Shan language. The Padaungs ethnically belong
to the larger Kayin race and their fixed abodes are to be found scattered in the
area between the Kayah State, east of Taungoo and Southern Shan State. Some
inhabit the plains in the basin of the Paunglaung River which are also part of
the Kayah State east of Pyinmana. 'Padaung' is one of the most well-known
ethinic groups of Myanmar. Most of them live in southern Shan and Kayah States.
In the early 1900s, there were as many as 150,000 members of Padaung tribe in
Myanmar, however there isn't as many as this today.
Padaung women are well-known by their foot-long necks decorated with silver or
brass rings. Although padaung men do not wear such heavy rings on their necks,
Padaung women used to wear up to 16-22 rings on their necks, and up to 30 rings
on the calf of their legs. Padaung believe that it is beautiful to have rings
and that the more rings they wear, the more beautiful they look. Soon after a
Padaung girl reached the age of 5, they start adding brass rings one after the
otherr. It is said that only a skillful person, specialized in this art, can add
or remove these rings if they want to. Those rings in fact, are solid, not
hollowed, weighing up to almost 30 pounds. Padaung ethinics rooted in another
nationality called "Kang Yun", which is extinct hundreds of years ago. The King
of Kang Yan sent his son to King of Yunan, China, as a diplomat. When the Prince
came back with presents of King of Yunan, Kang Yan princess loved the silver
rings most, that she never wanted to take it off. Since then women of this tribe
wear silver or brass rings on their necks, and mostly never remove them at all.
With the development of the region, the number of Padaung women wearing such
rings has obviously reduced. There always is one hostel of unmarried Padaung men
in every Padaung village. It is their tradition that all Padaung single,
unmarried men, and widowers have to live in this hostel where they are trained.
They had to leave that hostel when they got married. It can be found that
Padaung people carefully avoid marrying relatives, some avoid up to 7
generations, and some to 9 generations. According to Padaung tradition, in the
morning of wedding days, a pig is killed to see whether it is the right day for
the wedding. If the liver of the pig is in perfect condition, it is considered
as a lucky day, and marriage is celebrated. It is usually tried 3 times, and if
the liver is not in perfect condition 3 whole times, that wedding has to be
cancelled, believing that they will always be unlucky or will be childless.
Shan Gyi
Shan Gyi means "Bigger Shans". Living mainly in the valleys of the Shan
Plateau, they are traditionally wet-rice cultivators. The Shan Gyi, along with
the Khun and Thai-lu, are a subgroup of the Shans who total about 4 million in
Myanmar. The Shans are the second largest ethnic group in Myanmar after the
Bamar.
