The Tribes of Burma

The Tribes of Burma  (1910)  by Cecil Champain Lowis

Migration Waves→

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Ethnographical Survey of India

BURMA

No. 4

THE TRIBES OF BURMA

BY

C. C. LOWIS, I.C.S.

SUPERINTENDENT, ETHOIGRAPHICAL SURVEY, BURMA

RANGOON

OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDENT, GOVERNMENT PRINTING. BURMA

1910

TABLE OF CONTENTS. page. PREPARATORY NOTE The Three Migration Waves 1 Map of Migration Waves 4 The Tibeto-Burman Wave 5 The Mon Khmer Wave 12 The Siamese-Chinese Wave 15 A. — The Tibeto-Burmans. I. — The Western Tibeto-Burmans. The Northern Chins 18 The Central and Southern Chins 19 The Kamis and Mros 22 Hybrid Chin Tribes (Chaungthas, Taungthas, Saks) 23 The Kadus 25 The Tamans 26 The Kachins 27 II. — The Eastern Tibeto-Burmans. Burman Tribes (Taungyos, Inthas, Yaws, Hpons, Yabeins, Tavoyans, Danus, Taws, Kunyins, Daingnets, Rajbansis) 29 The Marus, Lashis and Szis 32 The Lisaws 33 The Lahus 35 The Akhas 36 B. — The Mon Khmers. The Palaungs 38 The Riangs 39 The Was 40 Other Mon Khmer Tribes (Kamus, Yaos, Miaotzus, Danaws) 41 C.—The Siamese-Chinese. Shan Tribes (Maingthas, Dayes) 43 The Karens 44 The Taungthus 47 D.—The Salons. The Salons 49 Bibliographical Notes 51

PREPARATORY NOTE

For the purposes of this volume the expression "tribe" is not used in any restricted sense. It merely means such of the collections of the indigenous folk of Burma as have not attained to any measure of political cohesion. It thus excludes the Burmans, the Arakanese and the Takings, all of whom at one time or the other formed real kingdoms under a single ruler, and the Shans, who, though they have never in their present seats been united under a single sovereign, have their recognized territorial rulers. On the other hand, it includes communities like the Yabeins and Danus who have no tribal formation and cannot be looked upon as possessing strictly speaking, tribal characteristics.

Reference has in the following pages been made, where necessary, to the Burmans, the Arakanese, the Shans and the Takings. No attempt, however, has been made to deal with them in detail or to give a list of the main authorities regarding them.

C. C. LOWIS,
Supdt., Ethnographical Survey.

This work is in the public domain worldwide because the work was created by a public body of the United Kingdom with Crown Status and commercially published before 1962. See Crown copyright artistic works, Crown copyright non-artistic works and List of Public Bodies with Crown Status.