﻿AMONG 
  THE 
  HILL 
  TRIBES 
  OF 
  BURMA 
  

  

  29' 
  

  

  The 
  way, 
  therefore, 
  to 
  get 
  to 
  these 
  

   Karen 
  Hills 
  is 
  to 
  go 
  up 
  by 
  train 
  from 
  

   Thazi 
  Junction 
  to 
  the 
  edge 
  of 
  the 
  plateau, 
  

   and 
  from 
  there 
  to 
  march 
  south 
  for 
  ioo 
  

   miles. 
  That 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  journey 
  is 
  easy 
  

   for 
  any 
  one 
  accustomed 
  to 
  camping 
  out. 
  

  

  When 
  it 
  comes 
  to 
  climbing 
  up 
  to 
  the 
  

   villages, 
  the 
  difference 
  is 
  like 
  that 
  be- 
  

   tween 
  a 
  gentle 
  stroll 
  for 
  the 
  sake 
  of 
  the 
  

   digestion, 
  or 
  for 
  contemplation, 
  and 
  hard 
  

   labor 
  on 
  the 
  wheel, 
  or 
  between 
  croquet 
  

   and 
  coal-mining. 
  

  

  Animals 
  can 
  go, 
  but 
  it 
  is 
  not 
  well 
  to 
  

   trust 
  to 
  them. 
  It 
  is 
  on 
  record 
  that 
  a 
  bag- 
  

   gage 
  elephant 
  took 
  fourteen 
  hours 
  to 
  

   cover 
  four 
  and 
  a 
  half 
  miles, 
  and 
  would 
  

   probably 
  have 
  taken 
  much 
  longer 
  if 
  prac- 
  

   tically 
  all 
  its 
  load 
  had 
  not 
  been 
  brought 
  

   in 
  by 
  coolies, 
  and 
  these 
  coolies 
  were 
  the 
  

   hillmen 
  themselves, 
  not 
  outside 
  men. 
  

  

  RED 
  KAREN 
  WOMEN 
  RESEMBEE 
  WITCHES 
  

   IN 
  "MACBETH'' 
  

  

  Still 
  the 
  visit 
  is 
  worth 
  the 
  trouble 
  and 
  

   it 
  is 
  an 
  excellent 
  way 
  of 
  reducing 
  weight. 
  

   The 
  Karens 
  of 
  the 
  hills 
  are 
  savages, 
  no 
  

   doubt, 
  but 
  not 
  of 
  the 
  kind 
  that 
  eat 
  one 
  

   another 
  or 
  cut 
  off 
  heads. 
  

  

  There 
  is 
  no 
  need 
  for 
  the 
  visitor 
  to 
  take 
  

   a 
  Tartarin 
  de 
  Tarascon 
  battery 
  with 
  him. 
  

   No 
  great 
  amount 
  of 
  money 
  is 
  necessary, 
  

   either. 
  Beads 
  and 
  small 
  mirrors 
  and 
  

   clear 
  glass 
  bottles 
  are 
  much 
  more 
  useful, 
  

   though 
  latterly 
  not 
  a 
  few 
  villages 
  have, 
  

   become 
  sophisticated 
  enough 
  to 
  like 
  ru- 
  

   pees, 
  too. 
  But 
  that 
  is 
  because 
  the 
  girls 
  

   make 
  necklaces 
  of 
  them. 
  

  

  There 
  are 
  a 
  great 
  many 
  Karens 
  in 
  the 
  

   main 
  province 
  of 
  Burma, 
  and 
  they 
  were, 
  

   and 
  still 
  are, 
  commonly 
  referred 
  to 
  by 
  

   their 
  Burmese 
  neighbors 
  and 
  strangers 
  

   within 
  their 
  gates 
  as 
  White 
  Karens. 
  

   These 
  Karens 
  do 
  not 
  admit 
  the 
  hill 
  peo- 
  

   ples, 
  for 
  convenience 
  sake 
  called 
  the 
  Red 
  

   Karens, 
  to 
  be 
  their 
  relations, 
  and 
  have 
  

   the 
  same 
  feelings 
  with 
  regard 
  to 
  them 
  

   that 
  the 
  Abelites 
  have 
  for 
  the 
  Cainites. 
  

   It 
  is 
  perhaps 
  natural. 
  Nobody 
  cares 
  for 
  

   poor 
  and 
  ill-conducted 
  relatives. 
  

  

  The 
  White 
  Karen 
  women 
  are 
  scrupu- 
  

   lously 
  clean 
  and 
  neatly, 
  if 
  hardly 
  smartly, 
  

   dressed. 
  It 
  is 
  a 
  matter 
  of 
  opinion 
  

   whether 
  they 
  are 
  comely, 
  but 
  at 
  any 
  rate 
  

   they 
  are 
  sleek 
  and 
  built 
  on 
  substantial 
  

   lines, 
  and 
  their 
  faces 
  are 
  of 
  the 
  kind 
  that 
  

   appeals 
  to 
  the 
  Zulu 
  or 
  the 
  story-tellers 
  of 
  

  

  The 
  Arabian 
  Nights, 
  who 
  preferred 
  the 
  

   moon-face 
  to 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  Greek 
  classical 
  

   type. 
  

  

  The 
  Hill 
  Karens, 
  genuine 
  Red 
  or 
  other- 
  

   wise, 
  are 
  obtrusively 
  dirty, 
  so 
  dirty 
  that 
  

   they 
  cannot 
  get 
  any 
  worse, 
  because 
  no 
  

   more 
  matter 
  can 
  find 
  a 
  place 
  to 
  settle. 
  

  

  Some 
  of 
  these 
  Red 
  Karens 
  wear 
  clothes 
  

   that 
  force 
  one 
  to 
  believe 
  they 
  are 
  heir- 
  

   looms, 
  and 
  here 
  and 
  there 
  not 
  a 
  few 
  of 
  

   the 
  clanswomen 
  might 
  pose 
  day 
  or 
  night, 
  

   outdoor 
  or 
  in, 
  at 
  a 
  moment's 
  notice, 
  as 
  

   the 
  witches 
  in 
  "Macbeth." 
  It 
  is 
  a 
  pity, 
  for 
  

   quite 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  them 
  look 
  as 
  if, 
  after 
  

   being 
  boiled 
  and 
  scrubbed, 
  they 
  might 
  be 
  

   well-favored, 
  or 
  at 
  any 
  rate 
  personable. 
  

  

  The 
  Karens 
  are 
  the 
  third 
  most 
  numer- 
  

   ous 
  population 
  in 
  Burma. 
  Naturally 
  the 
  

   Burmese 
  are 
  the 
  preponderating 
  race 
  ; 
  

   next 
  come 
  the 
  Shans, 
  and 
  after 
  them 
  the 
  

   Karens, 
  with 
  a 
  total 
  which 
  the 
  census 
  of 
  

   1 
  92 
  1 
  will 
  almost 
  certainly 
  show 
  to 
  be 
  

   well 
  over 
  a 
  million. 
  

  

  The 
  different 
  clans 
  are 
  as 
  mutually 
  un- 
  

   intelligible 
  to 
  one 
  another 
  as 
  a 
  Cantonese 
  

   is 
  to 
  a 
  man 
  of 
  Fuchow 
  or 
  a 
  Pekingese. 
  

   But 
  that 
  does 
  not 
  prevent 
  Sir 
  George 
  

   Grierson, 
  the 
  great 
  authority 
  on 
  the 
  eth- 
  

   nology 
  of 
  the 
  Indian 
  Empire, 
  from 
  de- 
  

   ciding 
  that 
  Karen 
  is 
  a 
  group 
  of 
  dialects, 
  

   not 
  of 
  languages, 
  and 
  that 
  it 
  includes 
  

   only 
  the 
  one 
  language, 
  Karen, 
  spoken 
  in 
  

   greatly 
  varying 
  patois. 
  

  

  ORIGIN 
  OF 
  THE 
  KARENS 
  IS 
  A 
  MYSTERY 
  

  

  We 
  do 
  not 
  know 
  the 
  original 
  home 
  of 
  

   the 
  Burmese, 
  or 
  of 
  the 
  Tai, 
  usually 
  called 
  

   Shans, 
  but 
  what 
  we 
  do 
  know 
  of 
  them, 
  

   though 
  it 
  is 
  neither 
  extensive 
  nor 
  exact, 
  

   is 
  full 
  compared 
  with 
  our 
  information 
  as 
  

   to 
  the 
  source 
  of 
  the 
  Karens. 
  The 
  most 
  

   baffling 
  thing 
  is 
  that 
  they 
  have 
  no 
  na- 
  

   tional 
  comprehensive 
  name 
  for 
  them- 
  

   selves, 
  not 
  even 
  for 
  the 
  most 
  numerous 
  

   and 
  enlightened 
  branch, 
  the 
  White 
  Ka- 
  

   rens, 
  and 
  what 
  legends 
  they 
  have 
  only 
  

   lead 
  the 
  learned 
  to 
  disagree, 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  

   acrimoniously, 
  with 
  one 
  another. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  perhaps 
  unnecessary 
  to 
  say 
  to 
  any 
  

   one 
  who 
  knows 
  anything 
  about 
  Indo- 
  

   China 
  that 
  the 
  name 
  Karen, 
  which 
  we 
  

   give 
  them, 
  is 
  not 
  known 
  to 
  the 
  people 
  

   themselves 
  as 
  a 
  nation 
  at 
  all. 
  It 
  is 
  a 
  

   name 
  borrowed 
  from 
  the 
  Burmese, 
  and 
  

   how 
  they 
  evolved 
  it 
  nobody 
  knows. 
  At 
  

   any 
  rate 
  the 
  Karens 
  are 
  miscalled, 
  just 
  

  

  