Karen (Also Called Kayin) People; Kayin (Formerly Karen) State

The Karen are a Sino-Tibetan people with many subgroups. They speak a Tibeto-Burman language and are rice-growing agriculturalists. Karen live in many parts of Burma and are also settled in Thailand along the Burma border. During the British colonial era, many Karen were moved to the Irrawaddy Delta to establish rice cultivation there. Karen still live in the delta around Pathein and east from there. The Karen “homeland” area is Karen State (now called Kayin State), bordered on the east by Thailand, on the north by Kayah State, and on the west by Mon State. The Salween River flows through the capital, Hpa’an. Many Karen were converted to Christianity by missionaries in the last 150 years; others are Buddhists or animists. The Karen were the first group to take up arms against the central government after independence. That struggle continues. As a result, there are many Karen who are internally displaced people, and many more have sought refuge across the Thai border in the area around Mae Sot.