Karen peoples

The Karen (Kayin), 6.69 percent of Myanmar, people the Irrawaddy delta, the Kayin hills and the Thai border: Sgaw and Pwo at the core, Pa-O, Karenni and Kayan keeping distinct names. Heterogeneous in tongue, faith and custom, they share hill rice, Baptist hymns and the Karen National Union's seventy-year resistance, the world's longest running rebellion. Pan-Karen identity itself is modern, forged in 19th-century conversions and British policy. Frog drums, bronze and the harvest pwes order village life; refugee camps in Thailand and diaspora churches in Minnesota keep the nation unbroken. Hpa-an caves, Inle lake gardens and the KNU headquarters keep Karen country Karen. Sgaw and Pwo dialects divide but do not separate. Pa-O, Karenni and Kayan keep distinct flags. Delta villages and hill towns share the name. British missions first wrote Karen books. Christian converts built the first Karen schools. Decolonisation left Karen armies in the hills. Kayin State's hills still vote Karen.