The evolution of life took place and as the last stage, mankind was created to live, toil and consume the resources of the Mother Earth. From savagehood, man learned to make use of his environment, to develop it for his own well being. Thus the first civilization took root on the fertile river basins. There were three known civilizations in Asia which appeared at approximately the same time; those of the Nile, the Euphrates and the Indus river basins. From these three regions spread three main groups of human stocks-the white skinned Caucasian, the yellow skinned Mongoloid and the black skinned Negroid. In the year development, from family units to communities of clans, man struggled to dominate one another. The strong became rulers and the weak the serfs. When the population increased, expansion took place. Clans and tribes migrated from one end to another, from continent to continent, to find more suitable place to live and settle. From Central Mongolia (or Russia in Asia), Legend has it that there was a family of seven brothers and sisters, known as the Turanian family, living in Ugro Altia region which is in the south of Mongolia. The names of these brothers and sisters were Ngu, Tok, Jang, Miao, Paungher, Kisi and King. It has yet to be proved whether it is fact or merely coincidence that the Karen legend too traces from seven brothers and sisters - Naw Baw Klawh, Naw Pa-oh, Naw Pa Dae, Saw Paku, Saw Maw Ney Bwah, Saw Way Wawh and Saw Che. The family kindship as stated in Karen legend plus the physical feature of the Turanian family and Mongolian, add to one possible conclusion. On the support to this conclusion , the Rev. John Hackney and Professor De Lacuoperie stated that the Turanian family once lived in Central Asia .
Mr. Porter Smith and the Rev. John Smith both concluded that the Karen tribes once migrated from Tibet to “Kweh - chaw” and Sichuan which are now part of Yunan province . All the findings of these old scholars point to the migration of the Karens from Central Asia to south west China. Besides the Karens, many other waves migrated across Tibet into China - the Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai and Mon-Khmer.
The first migration of the Karens tribes took place between the years 1123 B.C. to 1134 B.C. during the rule of the tyrant Chinese king Ghau Hsin . All kinds of restrictions were imposed on the neighbouring races and the introduced cinocization on all aliens under his rule. Many races, including the Karen tribes, thus left their permanent settlements and migrated to new territories stretching from Tonkin, Thailand and Burma. The migration of the Karen tribes was organized in three major waves and took three years (1128-1125 B.C.) to complete evacuating their homes, villages and towns where their population had expanded causing worry to the Chinese community.
The first Karen migration followed the river valley of Mekong, reaching the delta where they intended to build a new settlement. But after a few years, a very large migration of Thais move into this same area, forcing the Karens to seek new pastures further south, But when they reached the sea, they were forced to turn west, travelling along the Mi-nam river to the Nam Ping river. Finally they chose the Upper River valley of Nam Ping for their new settlement. Here for several hundred years they settled, until finally the Thais drove them out of Chiang Mai.
The second Karen migration followed the Shweli river in a south westernly direction, reaching where they had sent out an exploratory team to find out new localtion which would prove suitable to settle. However, when they arrived, they found that the Tai (Shan) had preceeded them and already built their settlements in the areas the Karens had intened to be theirs. Being peace loving people and not wanting to war with the Tais, the Karens moved futher south entering the Ce-wah river (Irrawaddy) basin. They chose a place further south and named it Ce-wah Way (Ce-wah town), which in later years the Shan called it “Ta-Gong” meaning a ferry place for the Karen drums, being the place the Shans traded the brass drum with Karens.
Here the Karen and the Tai lived side by side in harmony for 172 years until a new migration of Negroids, the Brahmah from India, entered the land in vast numbers. The king of these invaders was Abi-Yaza (AbiRaza) and with them they brought the Indus civilization, alien to the Karens who had been accustomed to the Chinese civilization.
The new invaders were boisterous, aggressive, arrogant and bullying; their dealing with the former rettlers, such as, the Karens being intolerable. The Karens, who were by nature, tolerant and peace loving could not stand the over-bearing character of the new neighbours from India; and decided to keep their distance, moving south, step by step, finally reaching the mouth of the Ce-wah (Irrawaddy) where they build their fist principality, known to the Indians as There-Kitara. There-Kitara was the ancient Karen kingdom which they themselves called “Pwoh Way”. The Karen dynasty lasted from 443 B.C. to 95 A.D. It’s decay being not caused by external forces but by internal dissension. The last king was weak and irresponsible. The Karens fought among themselves and broke into groups, separating from one another and settling in different places. The Pa-oh tribe which was the third largest in number, crossed the Pegu Yoma principality at a place called and still known as Pyu, situated some 40 miles south of Toungoo on the Rangoon-Mandalay trunk road. The first migration of the Karen tribe into “Burma” comprised of 99 clans, 33 clans remaining in Yunnan where they continued to live for many more hundred years multiplying to a large number, this was during the Chaw dynasty (1122-225 B.C.). During the reign of king Ping Wang , general strife occurred throughout the country and once more migration took place. The Karen tribes, comprised of Pwoh, Pa-oh, Sgaoh, Paku, Mawney Bwah, Bwe and others, moved south, but took a different route to that of the first migration, in 741 to 739 B.C. From the Upper Salween river valley, they moved down south step by step till they Karen tribes entered the Kutkai Highland Plateau at a place known to this day as Chu-Koke pass. They moved southwards and crossed the Lashio mountain range after which they traversed the central Shan Highland Plateau, until they reached the Loi Sang Mountain where they set up a temporary camp. From here they spread across the southern Highland Plateau and claimed possession of the land.
In those days, land was plentiful. A family would work a piece of land for one year then abandon it and take a fresh piece of land of virgin soil the next. As yet there was no such thing as “squatter system”, so people were always on the move. In this way, tribes such as the Paku, Maw Ney Bwah and Bwe finally reached the Sittang river valley where they established their permanent homes. The Karenni (Kayah) made their homes where they live to this day.
The three major Karen tribes, Naw Baw Klawh, Naw Pa-oh and Saw Way Wawh continued to move further south until they reached the sea at the estuaries of the Salween, Bilin and Sittang rivers. Only a few clans of Naw Pa-oh remained in the southern Highland Plateau where they are still to be found to this day, having developed and land to such good effect that it is the richest and most productive region in “Burma”, When Lt. Col. A.R. McMahon wrote “ The Karens of the Golden Chersonese”, he made it clear the Karens were the foremost settlers who had developed the country. He studied the characteristic traits, the habits and custom of a pepple who were to become an oppressed people in later years. Along the Golden Chersonese, there were many principalities erected the most industrious and had an infinity to learn the martial arts of self-defence. Besides this, they were excellent horsemen and made a study of horse breeding and animal husbandry. Together they built the main principality and named it “Tsai Htomg”: developed into the most important factory in the history of Buddhism. The Golden Chersonese was known in ancient time by the Indians as Ramanya-desa, and when “Tsai Htong” developed into an elegant citystate of splendor and riches, it was designated as “Suvuna Bummi” the golden land.
Note:
-The Karens by Rev. John Hackney
- Karens of the Golden Chersonese, by Lt. Col. McMahon, P94.
- The Karen people of Burma by Dr.H.I. Marshall p14.
- History of China by professor W.E. Soothill, p5 and p6.
- History of China by professor W.E. Soothill, 1923, p8 and p9.
- A sketch of China History- Ancient and Modern, etc. Vol. 1, by Rev. Charles Gutzlaff, P162-166.
- History of Burma by Lt. Col. Phayre, P6 and p7. ibid, p19 and History of Burma by G.E. Harvey, Ancient Site p309
- A sketch of Chinese History, Ancient and Mordern, Vol. 1 edition 1838 by Rev. Charles Gulzalff, p184-186
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