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Shan
State & People
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We are focused on individual and small group trips throughout the country, tell us what you want via contact. |
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The name Shan is not used among the people
themselves, and probably originates,
as do also Chin, and Kachin
from
China.
It
is a common Chinese term for hill-savage, or
barbarian.They call themselves Thai, meaning
'free',
and
remnants
of
their
ethnic
group
are
spread
right
across
east
Asia,
from
Canton
to
Assam
the
greatest
single
unit
being
the
Siamese
or
present
day
Thai.
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It is their singular passion for freedom
which has kept them disunited. In
general, those peoples that remain in the
mountains reflect in their character the
physical division of their environment into
hills and valleys. The smaller the tribe
the greater the freedom.
These republicans of south-eastern Asia
sometimes carried their democracy to a point
where there were no chiefs and not even a
village council, its little bit
different at current. Only when they
are driven by some invader from their
valleys, and forced down into the plains as
were the Siamese or Thai can they be
united.
There are plenty of other ethnic groups
such as the Burmese, Mon or Talaing,
Karen, Chin, Kachin, Salone and altogether
over 300.
The Burmese are the most
numerous their idiosyncrasy gives the
country its fascination and
its charm. |
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This mountain people with
wide trousers and flapping
hat and an instinct for trade came
from South-western China
about two thousand years
ago.
Its migration was hastened
by the pressure of other
Chinese behind, and as this
pressure increased they
spread from the valley of
the Shweli river, its first
home in Burma, southwards to
the Siamese seas.
Eastward to Tongking, and
north and west till it
reached the Brahmaputra and
founded the Ahom kingdom of
Assam.
They are living here and far down the
eastern peninsula to Mergui.
In the north they spread
over the whole upper
territories of the Irrawaddy and along the
Chindwin, where traces of
their former supremacy
survive in the
principalities of Singkaling—Hkamti
and Thaungdut.
They have ruled at Ava, and
have come near to the
mastery of Burma. They owe their
failure to their inability to combine on any
national scale.
In economic qualities they
surpass the Burmese, advancing, dominating
the people.
This is one of
the most active ethnic
groups
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Ox cart
near Inle Lake between rain trees in the
afternoon.
Shan State scenery has real beautiful spots. |
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in the country plenty
innovations come from them,
negative ones like the drug
production and positive ones
like the first cars
assembled with parts
smuggled in from China and
Thailand. |
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Brits were like a
devil to many parts of the
country. They also
encouraged them in the north east to plant opium
poppies which the Brits sold
to the Chinese, payable in
silver. There was no drug
production and problems in
this part of the country
before the colonialists.
Today it's
different, the
colonialists are gone but
their legacy still are the
source of many problems in
the country.
Luckily
slowly another kind of
foreigners move in with good
intentions, this are the
tourists since this is one
of the most magnificent
travel destinations.
This is one
of the most beautiful areas
in the country and this is
not only the lake, there are
plenty of interesting things
to see, such as the wooden
palaces of their rulers of
the past.
Unfortunately
they were tricked by the
British offering them their
own State when they help
them against the other but
this was only the usual lies
the Brits made everywhere
according to the old
philosophy, divide and
conquered they copied from
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Phaundaw Oo Pagoda Festival and leg rower
regatta |
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the old Romans. They
did this not only with them
but also with the Chin and
Karen, all of them were
cheated.
The ethnic group
living around are
the Pa-Oo which are rather
Mon who fled long time ago
from the border area south
of Bago because of the
constant fighting |
Kayan or
Padaung
mother and
daughter |
Inle Lake
Travel |
Sagar Pagoda
south of
Lake Inle |
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with the Thai’s a few
hundred years ago.
They are the
famous "leg rower” of today
and their cooperative run
the Golden Cottage Hotel
built on stilts right into
the lake.
Exploring and
trekking
At Lake Inle
this is
one of the
top tourist
destination
in the
country and
there are
really lots
of things to
see and
experienced.
This is real
exotic Asia
at it's
best, from a
tourist
point of
view,
read more. |
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Trip to the
5 day market
at Inle Lake |
The area is
ideal for soft adventure travel. The capital
is Taunggyi not far off with
an old wooden palace of the
ruler before he got ousted
by the communists, military.
Around are
lush hills, plenty of water
and lots to see, among
is the legendary 5 day
market when the people of
the lake come together at
the market, this market
moves around every five
days. There are festivals
such as the famous Phaundaw
Oo Pagoda Festival and
nearby are the Pindaya Caves one of top pilgrim
destinations in the country.
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Inle is
easy to reach there are
several Myanmar Airlines
touching down a couple of
times ever day at He Ho
Airport with is close to the
lake. This is a
very rustic area with small
workshops near the Phaundaw
Oo Pagoda where all kind of
local handicrafts are
created such as clothing,
metal items such as knives
and more.
Shan's or
T'ai are Chinese
they had a kingdom of their
own in the eight century at Yunnan, called Nanchao., a
kindom which was
administered in Chinese
manner by civil service. The
snobs at the imperial court called them
barbarians which
means nothing, they
also called the
Europeans barbarians
and got defeated by
them.
Nanchao lasted until
the middle of the
thirteenth century
when it was
overwhelmed by the
Tartars. Because of
that they were
driven southwards, they conquered the
whole area with the
result that the
modern Thai people
are actually Shan. But their
conquest did not last. By the
sixteenth century
the Burmese, who has
a more unitary
system of
government, more of
a dedicated nation,
drove them into the
hills of the east. By
the eighteenth
century they extended their
authority over the
hill area at the
border to Siam.
The people were
organized under
chieftains, who were
feudal lords and
hereditary princes.
There was no central
king, the
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Phaundaw Oo
Pagoda at
Inle Lake
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chieftains were
forced by the arms to acknowledge
their rule. The
practical effect of
this depended upon
the strength of the monarchy of
the moment.
Sometimes it
amounted to no more
than a nominal
yearly tribute;
sometimes the
center maintained
garrisons in the
principal town. Princesses resided
at the court of Ava
and Mandalay as
wives or concubines
of the “golden
foot”.
There were frequent
civil wars in their
country one feudal
prince would invade
his rival’s
territory next door,
and tribes of
savages who lived on
the hill tops, like
the Kachin, who are
mainly Christians
would swoop down and
carry away heads and
plunder, this area
was constantly at
war in the past.
This
disorder increased
during the 19.
Century. The population declined
and wide areas of land
went out of
cultivation; walled
towns were ruined
und caravan routes
closed. Such
disasters, the cause
of great suffering
to the people were
due to there being
no effective central
government. They had
no king and the
Central King was not
strong enough to
control the feudal
chiefs, and was
unable to extend his
administration into.
When
affairs were at this
very low level the
English entered
Mandalay, took the
Burmese King captive
and annexed the
country. As this nominally
included the State
their feudal chiefs
became vassals of
the English.
In this
way the resident
within the
boundaries came into
the British colonial
empire. At that time
their number was
around two million.
The British did not
conquer them in the
usual way since
there was no
invasion into the
territory.
Immediately after
the fall of representatives were
sent and assured
when pay homage to
the Crown
their rights and
privileges as
hereditary princes
were secured for
them forever. In
pursuance of that
agreement they did not
install their usual
administration which
was set up in in the
other parts of the
country.
Probably the best
the British did was
to prevent them from
fighting each other
and they got
protection from
raids of the savage
hill tribes and
adventurers across
the Chinese border.
That policy was
enough to bring back
prosperity. The
population
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increased and land
was
cultivated again,
trade routes opened
and the silver
mines of Bawdwin
started to work
again.
To
advice and assist the
chiefs, who were
totally ignorant at
that time of the
modern world,
English officials
were placed in the
state. These
officials became the
Frontier Services
afterwards. In 1922
the different
counties were made
into a federation
called Shan State. A
council of Chiefs
was set up with an
senior English
official as
President of the
Council. This gave
the state what they
had lacked in the
past to their unity.
The sons of the old
chiefs who had
fought each other,
now met round at the
council table to
discuss measures for
the common benefits
of the whole State.
This
level was ousted and
killed by the mad Ne
Win under his
similar lunatic
communist ideas and
today people still
struggle but it
looks (mid 2013)
that things getting
better. |
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