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KAREN
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KAREN , one of the See also:chief See also: Prepared by prophecies current among them, and by curious traditions of a biblical flavour, in addition to their antagonism to the dominant Burmese, they embraced with fervour the new creed brought to them by the missionaries, so that out of the 147,525 Christians in Burma according to the census of 1901 upwards of a See also:hundred thousand were Karens. The Red Karens differ considerably from the White Karens. They are the wildest and most lawless of the so-called Karen tribes. Every male belonging to the See also:clan used to have the rising See also:sun tattooed in See also:bright See also:vermilion on his back. The men are small and wizened, but athletic, and have broad reddish-See also: (J. G. Sc.) KAREN-NI, the See also:country of the Red Karens, a collection of small states, formerly independent, but now feudatory to Burma. It is situated approximately between 18° 50' and 19° 55'.N. and between 970 10' and 97° 50' E. The See also:tract is bounded on the N. by the Shan states of MSng Pai, Hsatung and See also:Mawkmai; on the E. by See also:Siam; on the S. by the Papun See also:district of See also:Lower Burma; and on the W. a stretch of mountainous country, inhabited by the Bre and various other small tribes, formerly in a state of See also:independence, divides it from the districts of See also:Toungoo and Yamethin. It is divided in a See also:general way into eastern and western Karen-ni; the former consisting of one state; Gantarawadi, with an approximate See also:area of 2500 sq. m.; the latter of the four small states of Kyebogyi, area about 350 sq. m.; Bawlake, 200 sq. m.; Nammekon, 50 sq. m.; and Naungpale, about 3o sq. m. The small states of western Karen-ni were formerly all subject to Bawlake, but the subordination has now ceased. Karen-ni consists of two widely differing tracts of country, which roughly See also:mark now, and formerly actually did mark, the See also:division into east and west. Gantarawadi has, however, encroached westwards beyond the boundaries which nature would assign to it. The first of these two divisions is the See also:southern portion of the valley of the Hpilu, or Balu stream, an open, fairly level See also:plain, well watered and in some parts swampy. The second division is a See also:series of chains of hills, intersected by deep valleys, through which run the two See also:main rivers, the Salween and the See also:Pawn, and their feeder streams. Many of the latter are dried up in the hot See also:season and only flow freely during the rains. The whole country being hilly, the most conspicuous See also:ridge is that lying between the Pawn and the Salween, which has an See also:average See also:altitude of 5000 ft. It is crossed by several tracks, passable for See also:pack-animals, the most in use being the road between Sawlon, the See also:capital of Gantarawadi and See also:Man See also:Mail. The See also:principal See also:peak east of the Salween is on the Loi Lan ridge, 7109 ft. above mean See also:sea-level. Parts of this ridge See also:form the boundary between eastern Karen-ni and Mawkmai on the west and Siam on the east. It falls away rapidly to the See also:south, and at Pang Salang is' crossed at a height of 2200 ft. by the road from Hsataw to Mehawnghsawn. West of the Balu valley the continuation of the eastern rim of the See also:Myelat See also:plateau rises in Loi Nangpa to about 5000 ft. The Nam Pawnis a large See also:river, with an average breadth of See also:ioo yds., but is unnavigable owing tp its rocky See also:bed. Even See also:timber cannot be floated down it without the assistance of elephants. The Salween throughout Karen-ni is navigated by large native See also:craft. Its tributary, the Me Pai, on the eastern See also:bank, is navigable as far as Mehawnghsawn in Siamese territory. The Balu stream flows out of the Inle See also:lake, and is navigable from that point to See also:close on Lawpita, where it sinks into the ground in a See also:marsh or See also:succession of See also:funnel holes. Its breadth averages 5o yds., and its See also:depth is 15 ft. in some places. The chief tribes are the Red Karens (24,043), Bres (3500), and Padaungs (1867). See also:Total See also:revenue, Rs. 37,000. An See also:agent of the British See also:government, with a guard of military See also:police, is posted at the See also:village of Loikaw. Little of the See also:history of the Red Karens is known; but it appears to be generally admitted that Bawlake was originally the chief state of the whole country, east and west, but eastern Karen-ni under Papaw-gyi See also:early became the most powerful. Slaving raids far into the Shan states brought on invasions from Burma, which, however, were not very successful. Eastern Karen-ni was-never reduced until Sawlapaw, having defied the British government, was overcome and deposed by General . Collett in the beginning of 1889. Sawlawi was then appointed myoza, and received a sanad, or patent of, See also:appointment, on the same terms as the chiefs of the Shan states. The independence of the Western Karen-ni states had been guaranteed by the British government in a treaty with See also: 5000 yearly, whereas these chieflets pay an 'See also:annual kadaw, or nuzzur, of about Rs. See also:loo. They are forbidden to carry out a See also:sentence of See also:death passed on a criminal without the See also:sanction of the See also:superintendent of the southern Shan states, but otherwise retain nearly all their customary See also:law. See also:Tin, or what is called tin, is worked in Bawlake. It appears, however, to be very impure. It is worked intermittently by White Karens on the upper See also:waters of the Hkemapyu stream. Rubies, spinels and other stones are found in the upper Tu valley and in the west of Nammekon state, but they are of inferior quality. The See also:trade in See also:teak is the chief or only source of See also:wealth in Karen-ni. The largest and most important forests are those on the See also:left bank of the Salween. Others See also:lie on both See also:banks of the Nam Pawn, and in western Karen-ni on the Nam Tu. The yearly out-turn is estimated at over 20,000 logs, and See also:forest See also:officers have estimated that an annual out-turn of 9000 logs might be kept up without injury to the forests. Some quantity of See also:cutch is exported, as also stick-See also:lac, which the Red Karens See also:graft so as to See also:foster the See also:production. Other valuable forest produce exists, but is not exported. See also:Rice, areca-nuts, and betel-See also:vine See also:leaf are the chief agricultural products. The Red Karen See also:women weave their own and their husbands' clothing. A characteristic manufacture is the pa-si or Karen See also:metal See also:drum, which is made at Ngwedaung. These drums are from 21 to 3 ft. across the See also:boss, with sides of about the same depth. The See also:sound is out of proportion to the metal used, and is inferior to that of the Shan and Burmese gongs. It is thought that the See also:population of Karen-ni is steadily decreasing. The See also:birth-See also:rate of the people is considered to exceed the death-rate by very little, ' and the Red Karen See also:habit of See also:life is most unwholesome. See also:Numbers have enlisted in the Burma police, but there are various opinions as to their value. (J. G. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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