A Brief background history of Kayan people ( Myanmar ) Kayan tribe (they are a sub-tribe of Karenni) While they are now known as "Padong" the long-neck people of Karenni traditionally called their tribe the Kayan. The word Padong has been adopted from the Shan language, where it means "brass coil" The Shan historically called the Kayan "Yan Padong" or "people of the long-neck" This name is still used today. In Karenni, the Kayah-li, Kayan, and Kayaw tribes have lived together peacefully and harmoniously since they established their common land under the leadership of one chosen chief, Saw Pyar. For centuries, they have relied on agriculture as the mainstay of their livelihoods. The people of Karenni have always been simple and honest, content with the modest incomes and lifestyles possible through their own efforts as cultivators. The Kayan History is an oral one. In appearance the Kayan look different from the Kayah, Shan and Karen people they live amongst and their oral history explains this by recounting that the original Kayan people came from Mongolia. Over centuries they moved to Turkistan, then Tibet and into Yunnan (China), but they were oppressed in China, so in 1128 BC, they started to trek along the Salween River and so eventually came to settle in the Demawso area in Karenni State (later renamed Kayah State). At times in their history they are believed to have lived amongst the Pa-o and Mon people, but they fell out and parted from them. The Pa-o and Kayan languages are similar; some of the vocabulary is the same. A story told to the children goes: Originally the Kayan and the Pa-o were one people. They migrated from China together, constantly moving on, but had settled in Thaton in Shan State. One day the young Kayan brother killed an elephant and he gave a lot of the meat to his older Pa-o brother. Later on the old Pa-obrother killed a porcupine and he shared some of the meat and quills with the young Kayan brother. When the young Kayan saw the head of the porcupine he realised it was very large, but the portion of meat and quills he had been given was very small and he argued that when he had killed the elephant he had shared the meat fairly. The Kayan brother was angry and therefore he led his people away from the Pa-o into Kayah Sate. The Pa-o branch thought they could follow later, but when they started to follow the Pa-o brother cut down a banana tree, but noticed that the banana leaf grew again very quickly. He took this as a sign that the Kayan had already moved far away and it was too late to follow them, so the Pa-o stayed in the Thaton area while the Kayan moved to Deemawso. Even today the Pa-o consider the Kayan their kin and take care of Kayan visitors well. There are even a few marriages between Kayan and Pa-o people, mainly amongst soldiers who travel around. Another story recounts that along the way a bridge collapsed and one group of Kayan, along with their wealth, horses and elephants were left behind and have never been heard of since.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Jun 2013 03:54:31 +0000
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