166 Dwellings, works of art, laws, <yc. of tie Karens. [No. 3 



Kepho, the present San-bwa of western Karenee who succeeded him. 

 How he eame to the government does not appear, hut there is strong 

 presumptive evidence that he was a usurper, and probably lulled the 

 San-bwa. Kepho has no genealogy to show, but leaps back sixteen 

 generations and says he is the descendant of the first chief Than-knc, 

 hut produces no evidence to sustain his pretensions. 



Ke-pho eat rice and drank spirits till he was thirty years of age, 

 when he abandoned them and has lived a vegetarian ever since. 



Kepho's people close the genealogy saying : " So at last the descen- 

 dants of Than-krie became San-bwa in the person of Kepho ; and 

 Phan-bya who was the first San-bwa prophesied and said : ' Hereafter 

 the descendants of Than-krie will rise to be San-bwas. Then there 

 will he great happiness; and when they become San-bwas do not 

 oppose them.' These words have been fulfilled, for the Ta- ya, the 

 descendants of Phan-bya do not oppose the present San-bwa, Kepho ; 

 hut they observe the prophetic words of their ancient San-bwa, and 



receive him." 



The division of the Red Karens into two tribes, eastern and western, 

 has been usually regarded as a modern event, and began with the 

 father of the present ruler of Karenee, but this tradition throws it 

 back several generations. 



Six generations ago Man-pheu appeared among the Red Karens. 

 « He was a Burman who quarrelled with the King of Burmah, and 

 was driven away from Ava, and came and dwelt among the Red 

 Karens ; where he succeeded in making himself a ruler. 

 " Man-pheu begot Man-kay, and 

 Man-kay begot Bu-phan." 

 Bu-phan took upon him the prophetic character, neither eat rice 

 nor drank spirits, and became a San-bwa. According to some accounts 

 this Bu-phan was the first ruler of Eastern Karenee, and was a son of 

 the King of Ava who fled from his father in disgrace. 

 " Bu-phan begot Hto-ray, and 

 Hto-ray begot Tan-ya, and 

 Tan-ya begot Ya-hta." 

 Ya-hta is the present ruler of Eastern Karenee, and the man that 

 protects Shan-loung. 



