The
Shan ( ; , ; ; ；傣族) are a
Tai ethnic group of
Southeast Asia.
The Shan live
primarily in the Shan
State
of Burma
(Myanmar),
but also inhabit parts of Mandalay Division
, Kachin
State
, and Kayin
State
, and in adjacent regions of China
and Thailand
.
Though no reliable census has been taken in Burma since 1935, the
Shan are estimated to number approximately 6 million.
The
capital of Shan State is Taunggyi
, a small
city of about 150,000 people. Other major cities
include Thibaw
(Hsipaw), Lashio
, Kengtung
and Tachileik
.
Ethnicity
The Shan people as a whole can be divided into four major groups:
- The Tai Yai or "Shan Proper"
- The
Tai Lue, located in Sipsong
Panna
(China) and the
eastern states
- The Tai Khuen, the majority of Keng
Tung
- The
Tai Neua, mostly in Dehong
(China)
Culture
Most Shan are staunch
Theravada Buddhists,
and the Shan constitutes one of the four main Buddhist ethnic
groups in Burma; the others are the
Bamar, the
Mon and the
Rakhine.
Most Shan speak the
Shan language and
are bilingual in
Burmese. The Shan
language, spoken by about 5 or 6 million, is closely related to
Thai and
Lao, and is part of the family of
Tai languages.
It is spoken in Shan State, some parts of Kachin State, some parts of Sagaing
Division
in Myanmar,
parts of Yunnan
, and in
parts of northwestern Thailand, including Mae Hong Son
Province
and Chiang Mai Province
{p. The two major dialects differ in number of
tones: Hsenwi Shan has six tones, while
Mongnai
Shan has
five. The Shan script is an adaptation of the
Mon script via the
Burmese script. However, few Shan are
literate in their own language.
The Shan are traditionally wet-
rice
cultivators, shopkeepers, and
artisans.
History
The
Tai-Shan people are believed to have
migrated from Yunnan in China. The
Shan are descendants of the oldest branch of the Tai-Shan, known as
Tai Long (Great Tai) or Thai Yai (Big Thai).
The Tai-Shan who
migrated to the south and now inhabit modern-day Laos
and Thailand are known as
Tai Noi (or Tai Nyai), while those in parts of
northern Thailand and Laos are commonly known as Tai Noi
(Little Tai - Lao spoken) The Shan have inhabited the Shan Plateau
and other parts of modern-day Myanmar as far back as the 10th
century AD. The Shan kingdom of Mong
Mao (Muang Mao) existed as early as the 10th century AD but
became a Burmese vassal state during the
reign of King Anawrahta of Pagan
(1044-1077).
After the Pagan kingdom fell to the
Mongols
in 1287, the Tai-Shan peoples quickly gained power throughout
South East Asia, and founded:
Many Ava and Pegu kings of Burmese history between the 13th and
16th century were of (partial) Shan descent.
The kings of Ava
fought kings of Pegu for control of Irrawaddy
valley. Various Shan states fought Ava for
the control of
Upper Burma. The states
of Monyhin (Mong Yang) and Mogaung were the strongest of the Shan
States. Monhyin defeated Ava in 1527, and ruled all of Upper Burma
until 1555.
Burmese king
Bayinnaung conquered all of
the Shan states in 1557. Although the Shan states would become a
tributary to Irrawaddy valley based Burmese kingdoms from then on,
the Shan
Saophas retained a large degree of
autonomy. Throughout the Burmese feudal era, Shan states supplied
much manpower in the service of Burmese kings. Without Shan
manpower, it would have been difficult, if not impossible, for the
Burmans alone to achieve their much vaunted victories in Lower
Burma, Siam, and elsewhere. Shans were a major part of Burmese
forces in the
First
Anglo-Burmese War of 1824-1826, and fought valiantly--a fact
even the British commanders acknowledged.
After the
Third Anglo-Burmese
War in 1885, the British gained control of the Shan states.
Under the British colonial administration, the Shan principalities
were administered separately as British protectorates with limited
monarchical powers invested in the Shan
Saophas.
After
World War II, the Shan and other ethnic
minority leaders negotiated with the majority Bamar leadership at the Panglong Conference, and agreed to gain
independence from Britain as part of Union of Myanmar
. The Shan states were given the option to
secede after 10 years of independence. The Shan states became Shan
State in 1948 as part of the newly independent Burma.
General
Ne Win's coup d'état overthrew the
democratically elected government in 1962, and abolished Shan
saopha system.
Politics
The Shan
have been engaged in an intermittent civil war within Burma for
decades. Two main Shan armed insurgent forces operate within
Shan State: the
Shan State Army/Special Region
3 and
Shan State Army/Restoration Council
of Shan State. In 2005 the SSNA was effectively abolished after
its surrender to the Burmese government, some units joined the
SSA/RCSS, which has yet to sign any agreements, and is still
engaged in
guerrilla warfare
against the
Burma Army.
During conflicts, the
Shan are often burned out of their villages and forced to flee into
Thailand. There, they are not given
refugee status, and often work as undocumented
labourers. Whether or not there is an ongoing conflict, the Shan
are subject to depredations by the Burmese regime; in particular,
young men may be conscripted into the Burmese Army indefinitely, or
enslaved to do road work for a number of months--with no wages and
no food. The horrific conditions inside Burma have led to a massive
exodus of young Shan males to neighbouring Thailand, where they
typically find low-paid work in construction. However
unsatisfactory these conditions may be, all of these refugees are
well aware that at least they are being paid for their work, and
that every day spent in Thailand is another day that the Burmese
regime cannot repress or enslave them. Some estimates of Shan
refugees in Thailand run as high as two million, an extremely high
number when compared with estimates of the total Shan population at
some six million.
Independence and exiled government
His Royal
Highness Prince Hso Khan Fa (sometimes
written as Surkhanfa in Thai) of Yawnghwe
lives in exile in Canada
. He
is campaigning for the Burmese regime to respect the traditional
culture and indigenous lands of the Shan people, and he works with
Shan exiles abroad to provide schooling for displaced Shan children
whose parents are unable to do so. He hopes to provide Shan
children with some training in life skills so they can fend for
themselves and their families in the future.
In
addition, opinion has been voiced in Shan State, in neighbouring
Thailand, and to some extent in farther-reaching exile
communities, in favour of the goal of "total independence for Shan
State." This came to a head when, in May 2005, Shan elders
in exile declared independence for the
Federated Shan States.
The declaration of independence, however, was rejected by most
other
ethnic minority groups, many
Shan living inside Burma, and the country's leading opposition
party, the
National League
for Democracy led by
Aung San Suu
Kyi. Despite this dissenting opinion, the Burmese Army is
rumoured to have conducted a crackdown on Shan civilians as a
result of the declaration. Shan people have reported an increase in
restrictions on their movements, and an escalation in Burmese Army
raids on Shan villages.
See also
Notes
- Sao Sāimöng, The Shan States and the British Annexation.
Cornell University, Cornell, 1969 (2nd ed.)
References
- Susan Conway, The Shan: Culture, Art and
Crafts (Bangkok, 2006).
External links
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