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Shan

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For other uses, see Shan (disambiguation).

The Shan (Burmese: ရ္ဟမ္‌းလူမ္ယုိး; IPA: [ʃán lùmjóʊ]; Chinese: 掸; pinyin: dǎn zú) are an ethnic group of Southeast Asia. The Shan live primarily in the Shan State of Myanmar (sometimes known as Burma), but also inhabit portions of Mandalay Division, Kachin State, and Kayin State, and in adjacent parts of China, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. The Shan number approximately 6 million, but a population census has not been taken. The Shan identify themselves as "Tai", which means "free men" because "Shan" is a Burmese language term.<ref name="nisbet">Nisbet, John. Burma under British Rule - and before. Volume 2. Adamant Media Corporation, 414. IISBN 1-4021-5293-0.</ref>

The Shan dwell mostly on the plains of the Shan Plateau, which is drained by the Salween River. The capital of Shan State is Taunggyi, which is a small city of about 150,000 people. Other main Shan cities include Kengtong and Tachileik.

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[edit] History

The Shan have inhabited the Shan Plateau and other parts of modern-day Myanmar as far back as the 1200s. They are believed to have migrated from the mountains of Yunnan in China. The Shans are descendants of the oldest branch of the Tai ethnicity, known as Tai Long (Great Tai). Shan who migrated to the south and now inhabit modern-day Laos are known as Tai Noi (or Tai Nyai by Thais) while those in northern Thailand are known as Tai Noi (Little Tai).<ref name="nisbet"/>

The Shan kingdom of Mongnaw existed as early as the 900s, but in the 1000s, King Anawrahta of the Pagan kingdom forced the kingdom to become a vassal state. However, in 1284, the Chinese, under Kublai Khan pillaged Pagan, and the Shan gained power throughout modern-day Myanmar, expanding as far south as Mawlamyaing, as far west as Rakhine State, and as far east as Assam.<ref name="nisbet"/> This rapid expansion proved to be deleterious; territories in Laos and Thailand broke off to form the kingdom of Siam and constant warfare weakened the kingdom, which ended in 1604 following the death of San Hum Hpa.<ref name="nisbet"/>

The Shan States disintegrated, forming smaller semi-autonomous kingdoms in the Shan Plateau, which were conquered during the rule of Burmese king Alaungpaya. After the British conquered Burma under the rule of King Thibaw, the Shan kingdoms were transferred to British control. During colonial administration, the Shan principalities were administered as separate colonies by the British, as protectorates with limited monarchial powers given to Shan saohpas.<ref>Mackerras, Colin. Ethnicity in Asias. Routledge. ISBN 0-4152-5816-2.</ref>

[edit] Culture

The Shan are traditionally wet-rice cultivators, shopkeepers, and artisans. Most Shan are Theravada Buddhists and/or observe their traditional religion, which is related to animist practices. The Shan also share their creation myth with the Lao people and believe their race was founded by first king to establish of Lao. The Tai Ahom people of Assam a state in northeast of India, formerly known as Mung Dun Shun Kham in Tai Ahom language, are distant cousins of the Shan in Burma.

[edit] Language

The Shan language, which is spoken by 3,200,000, is closely related to Thai and Lao, and is part of the family of Tai-Kadai languages. It is spoken in Shan State, parts of Yunnan, and Mae Hong Son Province in northwestern Thailand.<ref>Shan: A language of Myanmar. Ethnologue. Retrieved on 2006-12-02.</ref> The two major dialects differ in number of tones: Hsenwi Shan has six tones, while Mongnai Shan has five.<ref name="dalby">Dalby, Andrew (2004). Dictionary of Languages: The Definitive Reference to More Than 400 Languages. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-2311-1569-5.</ref> Its written script is an adaptation of the Mon script (like Burmese), although several other scripts exist.<ref name="dalby"/> However, few Shan are literate, and many are bilingual in Burmese.

[edit] Traditional government

The Shan states were traditionally ruled by monarchs (saophas and myosas): see List of Shan states and rulers.

[edit] Politics

The Shan have been engaged in an intermittent civil war within Myanmar for decades. As Shan State is one of the largest in Burma, there are two main armed rebellion forces operating within it - the Shan State Army North and Shan State Army South. While there is currently a ceasefire agreement between the Burma Army and SSA-N, those groups still experience intermittent fighting and the SSA-S, which has yet to sign any agreements, is engaged in guerrilla warfare against the Burma Army.

During conflicts, the Shan are often burned out of their villages and forced to flee into Thailand. There, they are not given refugee status, and often work as undocumented labourers. Their legal status in Thailand often leads to non-sustainable wages and unsafe work conditions.

[edit] Independence and Exiled Government

His Royal Highness Prince Hso Khan Pha (sometimes written as Surkhanpha in Thai) of Yawnghwe, lives in exile in Canada. He is campaigning for the government of Burma to respect the traditional culture and indigenous lands of the Shan people and he works with Shan exiles abroad helping to provide schooling for displaced Shan children because their parents are unable to provide this. He hopes to provide Shan children with some training in life skills so they can fend for themselves and their families in the future.

In addition to this, there has been some opinion in Shan State and in neighbouring Thailand, and to some extent in farther-reaching exile communities in favour of the theme of "total independence for Shan State." This came to a head when, in May 2005, Shan elders in exile declared independence for the Federated Shan States.

The declaration of independence, however, was rejected by most other ethnic groups, many Shan residents of Burma, and Burma's leading opposition party, the National League for Democracy led by Aung San Suu Kyi. Despite this fact however, the Burma Army has begun a crackdown on Shan civilians as a result of the declaration, and Shan people have reported an increase in restrictions on their movements, and increasing Burma Army raids on Shan villages.

[edit] Notes

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[edit] External links


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Ethnic groups in Thailand
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