This Palaung village was geared to tourism and doing a good job of it. We stopped here for lunch and met an arriving bus load of Italians as we were leaving. The Palaung are called Bulang in China.

Mon

The Mons are the principal Burma branch of the Mon-Khmer. Mon Burmar. Pao . Rakhine. Chin. Kachin. Shan and Kayin inhabit the Mon state. In 1983 the population was about 1637.200 and in 1996 the population was 2.4 million. Majority of the inhabitant are Mons and Bamars.

Mon state has borders with the Bago division in the south of Sittaung River Mouth. Kayin State in the east. Thailand and Tanintharyi Division in the south and Andaman Sea and Gulf of Mottama in the west.

History
The Mon were one of the earliest distinct groups to occupy Myanmar. moving into the area as early as 1500 B.C. or possibly earlier. The Mon are primarily associated with the historical kingdoms of Dvaravati and Haripunchai; up until the 14th century. outposts of Mon culture continued to spread very far east. including modern Thai.

The Mon converted to Theravada Buddhism at a very early point in their history; unlike other ethnic groups in the region. they seem to have adopted Theravada orthodoxy before coming into contact with Mahayana tendencies. and it is generally believed that the Mon provided the link of transmission whereby both Thais and Cambodians converted from Hindu/Mahayanism to Theravada Buddhism.

The Akha are an ethnic group known to be originated in China and Tibet. Most of the remaining Akha people are now distributed in small villages among the mountains of China. Laos. Myanmar and northern Thailand. where they are one of the six main hill tribes. In Myanmar. most of the Akhas are found in the Shan State. They usually make their villages in the hill regions.

In an Akha village. the dwellings are made with the traditional thatched roofs. The Akha generally live in bamboo houses raised on low wooden stilts in hilly areas. where they subsist through a slash and burn rotation method of agriculture. They are expert farmers and hunters. There is controversy as to whether they are responsible for deforestation or actually preserve the environment. and over development projects which some regard as taking away the Akha's land.

Chin is one of the ethnic groups in Myanmar. The Chins are found mainly in western part of Myanmar in the Chin State and about a population of 1.5 million. They also live in nearby Indian states of Nagaland. Mizoram and Manipur and Assam. Owing to Mizo influence and Baptist missionaries' intervention. 80%-90% of the population are Christians. However. a sizeable minority of the Chin adhere to their traditional tribal beliefs and Theravada Buddhism. Traditionally. the Chin were animists.

The Lisu people are an ethnic group who inhabit in Myanmar.China.Thailand and the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. They are believed to originate from eastern Tibet. Traditionally living in villages high in the mountains. Western missionaries have attempted to convert them to Christianity.

Spiritually strong as they were. they practice animist and ancestor worship that was practised for centuries. However. some Lisu are Protestant Christians. The first Lisu to be reached by Christian missionaries were the Salween branch of the Lisu in Yunnan Province. China.

Kayin

The Kayin hill tribe villages are mainly concentrated in the mountains and also along the Myanmar-Thai border in the Kayin State.The Kayin people like to settle in the foothills. living in bamboo houses raised on stilts. beneath which they keep their live domestic animals: pigs. chickens. and buffaloes.The Kayin practice monogamy and look down on pre-marital sex with strict social community laws against immorality. Two married women cannot live in the same house. In the past. in some villages. punishment for adultery was death.

Shan

Shans reside in the Eastern plateau. The Shan State of Myanmar occupy principally the plateau east of the Ayeyawady and Sittaung valleys. south of the Bhamo district and north of Kayah State.Shan are settling in valleys and river basins. Most of the Danu. Taungyoe. Intha (Ansa). and Bamar are living in the western part of the Shan State. A lot of Palaung. Click here to view a showcase by Shan State government.

Kayah People

Kayah State is inhabited by Kayah. Kayan or (Padaung) Mono. Kayaw. Yintalei. Gekho. Hheba. Shan. Intha. Bamar. Rakhine. Chin. Kachin.Kayin . Mon and Pao . Kayah State had a population of 158.400 in 1983 and in1996 the estimated population is over 240.000. Kayah State is situated in eastern Myanmar and bounded on the north by Shan State and on the east by Thailand and on the south and west by Kayin state. 49 per cent of the population are are Buddhists. 43 per cent are Christians and 6 per cent are Animists.

Rakhine

Rakhines reside in western Rakhine coast. they are closely related to Burmese proper. though their form of Burmese language varies from the language of the Ayeyawady Valley. notably in the retention of the 'R'sound which in Burmese proper has been replaced by 'Y'. 

The original name of the race known as Kachin is Jinghpaw. Jinghpaw is the racial name for the tribes known as the Hkahkus. Gauris. Lashis. Marus. Atsis and Nungs as well as for the Jinghpaw proper.