Karen hilltribe

This is the largest of the minority groups and many of the Karen were converted to Christianity by the missionaries, with some tribes still practicing animism or being Buddhist. Within the Karen, there are two main sub-groups: White Karen or Sgaw and Black Karen or Pgo.

The Karen wear woven v-neck tunics of various natural colours and turbans. Unmarried women wear distinctive long white v-neck tunics. The Karen occupy lowland areas, engaging in agriculture, including rice cultivation. They are also skilled weavers and the most environmentally conscious of the hill tribes - practicing crop rotation, thus preserving the forest. The Karen are the only tribe who own elephants.

Where the Karen originate from is not clear but Tibet and the Gobi desert are possible homelands of the Karen. What is clear is that the Karen have been living in Burma for many centuries. In the 18th century Karen started migrating into Thailand. Karen live in 15 provinces in Thailand, all along the Burmese-Thai border from Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son down to Tak, Kanchanaburi and further south to the Isthmus of Kra.

Some of the Karen, led primarily by the Karen National Union (KNU), have waged a war against the central government since early 1949. The aim of the KNU at first was independence. Since 1976 the armed group has called for a federal system rather than an independent Karen State.

Language

The Karen languages, members of the Tibeto-Burman group of the Sino-Tibetan language family, consist of three mutually unintelligible branches: Sgaw, Pwo, and Pa'o. The Karen languages are almost unique among the Tibeto-Burman languages in having a subject–verb–object word order; other than Karen and Bai, Tibeto-Burman languages feature a subject–object–verb order. This anomaly is likely due to the influence of neighboring Mon and Tai languages.

Religion

Karens were animists originally, but today the majority follows Buddhism in conjunction with animist beliefs. The Buddhist influence came from the Mon who were dominant in Lower Burma until the middle of the 18th century. Buddhist Karen are found mainly in Kayin and Mon States and in Yangon, Bago and Tannintharyi Regions. There are Buddhist monasteries in most Karen villages, and the monastery is the centre of community life. Karen Buddhists account for around 65-75% of the total Karen population. However, the religious demographics of the Karen are typically misconstrued by news agencies and by Christian groups to present the Karen as a mainly Christian ethnic minority, mainly to appeal to Western and Evangelical audiences for political and economic support.

Tha Byu, the first convert to Christianity in 1828, was baptised by Rev George Boardman, an associate of Adoniram Judson, founder of the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society. Today, the Christians belong to the Catholic Church or to the different Protestant denominations. Some of the largest Protestant denominations are Baptist and Seventh-day Adventists.  Alongside 'orthodox' Christianity, some of those who identify themselves as Christian also have syncretised elements of animism with Christianity. It is more likely to find Karen Christians in the Irrawaddy delta than Buddhists, who tend to be found mainly in Kayin state and surrounding regions. 15 % of Karen identify themselves as Christian.]Persecution of Christians by the Burmese authorities has continued to this day, fueled by previous attempts by Western imperialists to divide the country not only on ethnic but on religious grounds.

The Karen Baptist Convention is established in 1913 and the HQ is located in Yangon with 20 member associations in Burma. The KBC operate K.B.C charity Clinic in Insein Yangon. The KBC also operates Karen Baptist Theological Seminary, in Insein, Yangon. The seminary is not only run theology program but also run secular degree programs to fulfill young Karen intellectual and vocational needs. The Pwo Karen Baptist Convention located in Ahlone, Yangon and also operates Pwo Karen Theological Seminary. There are other schools for Karen people in Myanmar, such as Paku Divinity School in Taungoo, Kothabyu Bible School in Pathein, Yangon Home Mission School. The Thailand Karen Baptist Convention is located in Chaingmai, Thailand.

The Seventh-day Adventists have built several schools in the Karen refugee camps in Thailand to Christianize the Karen people. Eden Valley Academy in Tak and Karen Adventist Academy in Mae Hong Son are the two largest Seventh-day Adventist Karen schools.