 A Pa'O woman nearKalaw, southernShan State | |
| Total population | |
| >1,200,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Myanmar | |
| Languages | |
| Pa'O,Burmese,Thai,Shan,Karen | |
| Religion | |
| Theravada Buddhism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Karen people |
ThePa'O (Pa'o Karen:ပအိုဝ်ႏလိုꩻမျိုꩻ) (Burmese:ပအိုဝ်းလူမျိုး,IPA:[pəo̰lùmjóʊ], orတောင်သူ;Shan:ပဢူဝ်း; Eastern Poe Karen: တံင်သူ;S'gaw Karen:တီသူ; also speltPa-O orPaoh) are an ethnic minority living inMyanmar, with a population of roughly 1,200,000 and it is 2.1% of Population in Myanmar.[1]
Other names of the Pa-O include PAOH, PaU, Taungthu, Taungsu, Tongsu and Kula.
The Pa'O settled in theThaton region of present-day Myanmar around 1700 BC. Historically, the Pa'O wore colourful clothing untilKing Anawratha defeated the Mon King, Makuta ofThaton(also called Manuha). The Pa'O were enslaved and forced to wear indigo-dyed clothing to signify their status.[2]
The Pa'O people are the second largest ethnic group inShan State. They also reside inKayin State,Kayah State,Mon State, andBago Division. Many of the modern day Pa'O have fled toMae Hong Son Province, in northernThailand, due to ongoing military conflicts in Myanmar. They are believed to be ofTibeto-Burman lineage, and share the language and culture of theKaren people.
They consist of two distinct groups: the Lowland Pa'O, based inThaton, and the Highland Pa'O, based inTaunggyi. It is believed that there are as many as twenty-four Pa'O subgroups.[3]
The Pa'O subgroups are Htee Ree, Jamzam, Jauk Pa'O, Khrai, Khunlon, Khonlontanyar, Kon jam, Loi Ai, Padaung, Pahtom, Pa nae, Pan Nanm, Nan kay, Mickon, Miclan, Ta Kyor, Taret, Tahtwe, Tatauk, Taungthar, Tayam, Ta Noe, Warphrarei and Yin Tai.
The Pa'O predominantly cultivate the leaves of thethanapet tree, onions, garlic, chili, potatoes, rice, peanuts, beans, sesame seeds,mustard leaves, and green tea.
Thepwe lu-phaing (Fire Rocket Festival), is celebrated from April to July. The purpose of the festival is to bring ample rain to the villages during the planting season. According to Pa'O tradition, rockets are fired to help the clouds make rain. The village headman determines the size of the rockets. The largest rockets can contain up to 20 kilograms of gunpowder and have a range of 5–6 miles. The rockets, originally made from bamboo, are currently made from iron. Prior to firing, the rocket is carried once around the local temple on someone's shoulder. The festival also demonstrates the unity and friendship among different villages as they gather together for one week. "Pwe" means festival, "Lue" means donation and "Phaing" means to remove sins.[4]
Pa'O National Day, orDen See Lar Bway, is celebrated on the full moon day ofTabaung, which falls in March.[5] The National Day is a day to remember ancestors and past leaders, such asKing Suriya Janthar, whose birthday is also celebrated on National Day. There is a grand parade through Taunggyi followed by a festival.[6]
The majority of Pa'O people followBuddhism,[7] which means that most of their festivals are based on Buddhist festival days. Some Pa'O areChristian, and some maintainAnimist beliefs.Poy Sang Long (Burmese:ရှင်ပြုပွဲ; Pa'O: ပွယ်ꩻသျင်ႏလောင်ꩻ) celebrates the initiation of young boys as novice monks. On reaching adulthood, being ordained a monk is considered a family celebration. During Buddhist Lent, from August to October, Pa'O youth participate in thePwe Lip May Bo (Pa'O: ပွယ်ꩻလေပ်လူႏမေႏဗို;Burmese:မီးကြာလှည့်ပွဲ) ceremony. On the monthly full-moon nights, new-moon nights, and both half-moon nights, they surround their local temple with lanterns suspended on strings raised by supporting bamboo stands. The bamboo stands are used to carry the lanterns around the temple three times, the candles being lit as they are carried, as a show of respect toBuddha.
The Pa'Oorigin myth states that they are descended from a shaman (weizza), and a female dragon.
The Pa'O people ofupper Myanmar commonly wear black or navy blue. The traditional outfit of the Pa'O consists of a turban, a white shirt, black or navy jacket and long black trousers for men. The women's traditional Pa'O outfit consists of five pieces: a blouse, a jacket, a longyi that covers the knees, a turban, and two large, conical shaped hair pins. Both men and women pin a Pa'O flag badge on to their jacket. It represents the Zawgyi and dragon from their origin story. Men use a large red sling bag to carry knives, hoes or long choppers. Women use a cane or bamboo sling basket. Those from lower Myanmar wear Burmese style clothing.
To initiate a marriage, first the young man's parents ask the young woman's parents for the hand of their daughter in marriage on behalf or their son. Her parents can take four or five days to discuss their daughter's wishes. According to custom, guests at the marriage ceremony tie cotton threads around the wrists of both the bridegroom and bride, joining them together while blessing the couple with their best wishes. Common presents include money, farmland, houses, buffaloes, male cows and household items.
Villagers take care of funeral arrangements. The body is kept for a couple of nights at home. Food is cooked to offer to the monks and people play card games as a way of giving constant companionship to the departed. After two or three days, the family give praise to the person who died. Common people are buried, while monks are cremated.
Khun Thar Doon (1940–1978) was one of the early recording stars of Pa'O music. He set up the first Pa'O modern band in the early 1970s. One of his famous songs is "Tee Ree Ree", a song about Pa'O solidarity.[8] This song is still sung at traditional festivals today. He is on the cover ofGuitars of the Golden Triangle: Folk and Pop Music of Myanmar (Burma), Vol. 2.[9] Some of the artists appearing on the compilation cover songs he wrote. Some other artists may include Lashio Thein Aung, Saing Saing Maw, and Khun Paw Yann.
Aung Kham Hti is the leader of thePa-O National Organization (PNO). The party currently has three representatives in the People's Assembly, one in the National Assembly and six in the Local Assembly.[10]Khun San Lwin, a former member of the PNO, is currently Chairman of thePa'O Self-Administered Zone.[11]
