I 3864.] 





On the history of the JBurmah Race. 



23 





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the same country, the more trustworthy traditions of the Karens point 

 to central Asia as their ancient home. 



Their traditions say, " We anciently came from beyond the river of 

 running sand, and having marked out Zimmay (two hundred and fifty 

 miles north-east of Maulmain), for ourselves, returned. Afterwards 

 when we came to dwell there, we found the Shans occupying the 

 country. Then the Karens cursed them, saying, ' Dwell ye in the 

 dividing of countries.' " 



The countries in which Europeans first came in contact with Karens 

 have only lately been occupied by them, but the mountain country 

 between the Salween and Sitang rivers, has probably been theirs for 

 many ages. 



Dr. Mason points out that Fa-Hian, the Chinese pilgrim to India 

 of the fourth century, also speaks of crossing the " river of sand" or 

 great desert between China and Thibet. Further it is stated, " Their 

 traditions point unequivocally to an ancient connection with China; 

 for Tie or Tien is spoken of as a god inferior to Jehovah,^ and offer- 

 ing to the manes of their ancestors is as common among the Karens 

 as it is among the Chinese." It is evident " the river of sand" of the 

 Karens must be the great sandy desert of Mongolia, stretching for many 

 hundreds of miles along either side of the 40° of North latitude. The 

 story of coming to Zimmay under a chief to inspect the country, and 

 then returning, must be accepted as the modem version of the fact, 

 that about Zimmay they were stopped in their progress south along 

 the water-shed range, between the Salween and Men am rivers, by 

 the previous occupation of the Shan race. The Karens are mentioned 

 by Marco Polo, and appear then to have occupied the country east of 

 Bamo on the upper Irrawaddy. 



Some of the religious traditions of the Karens are remarkable. 

 They are distinguished from all the Indo-Chinese tribes with which 

 I am acquainted, by the knowledge they have of the existence of one 

 eternal God. He is not worshipped, because, as they appear to suppose, 

 he is angry with them. It is impossible to conjecture with proba- 

 bility how they acquired this knowledge. They believe also that they 

 once possessed books. Notwithstanding what has been said by some 

 writers as to the " Caucasian countenances," the long faces, and 

 " straight noses" of the Karens, I must uphold that their national 

 * Or Yu-wa, the name given by the Karens to God, 



