Description. — Tlie Karens of the north are more ad- vanced in the arts and in the habits of civilization than those of the southern district. They reckon themselves not by villages nor by cities, but by families, having a patriarchal form of society, single families, occupants of one house, often numbering from three to four hundred members. Their liouses are immense structures, made of posts, with joists at a height of seven or eight feet from the groimd, the sides being lined with mats, the roof being of palm-leaves, and the partitions of bamboo matting.
It is the southern section of these tribes, however, which is best known, especially those designated as Sgau and Pgho Karens. The latter are called by the Burmese Talainy Karens, and are a vigorous people, ro- bust, full-chested, with large limbs, square cheek-bones, thick and fiattened nose, but not specially jiromincnt lips. The Sgau, or pure Karens, are smaller, v.ith a com- plexion lighter than others surrounding them, and with a general languor about their movements. Mr. Judson in 1833 wrote of them as " a meek, peacefid race, sim- ple and credulous, with many of the softer virtues and few flagrant vices, greatly addicted to drunkenness, ex- tremely filthy, indolent in their habits, their morals in other respects being superior to many more civilized races, though he was told that they were as untamable as the wild cow of the mountains" (Waj-land, J«f/soH, i, 542 sq.).
Reliyious Tradition.^. — They have amongst them a great number of religious traditions which bear a mark- ed analogy to Biblical history. The tradition respect- ing the creation specifies that man was created from the earth, and woman from one of man's ribs. The Creator said, " I lose these, my son and daughter. I will bestow my life upon them," and he then breathed a particle of his life into their nostrils, "and they came to life and were men." God made food and drink ; rice, fire, and water; cattle, elephants, and birds. Traditions concern- ing man's primitive state and first transgression, verj' similar to the Bible narrative, are also preserved amongst them. Nank'plav, who answers to the serpent of Gen- esis, is variously impersonated as sometimes male and sometimes female : man is located in a garden, with sev-
KARENS
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KARENS
en different kinils of fruits of which he should cat. with one exception. Nauk'jdau meets liim and tells him tlie character of all the fruits, and assures him that the for- bidden one is the most delicious of all. He prevails on the woman lirst to taste this fruit. She gives it to her husband, etc. On the morrow Ywah (on this name, see below, imder Reliyious Views) comes, etc. The very de- tail of the narrative is preserved to a marvellous de- gree.
Otlier traditions point to a flood, in which the waters "rose and rose till they reached to heaven." Others refer to an early separation of the human family. " JMen had at first one father and mother; but, because they did not love each other, thej^ separated, after which they did not know each other's language, and became enemies and fought." Still another says that when they were scattered, a younger brother, or the " White Westerner," came, begging the Karens to return to the place where they left God ; which tradition is said to have had much to clo with the early success of the missionaries amongst these people, as the Karens applied these traditions to them.
Relifjious Views. — They have remarkably clear views of God, whom they believe to be " immutable, eternal ; that he was from the beginning of the world. The life of God is endless ; generations cannot measure his existence. God is complete and good, and through end- less generations will never die. God is omnipotent, but we have not believed him. God created man anciently. He has a knowledge of all tilings to the present time. He created spirit and lii'e." This God is known as Ywah, '• which approaches the word Jehovah as nearly as possible in the Karen language." He was not, how- ever, worshipped when the missionaries first went to the Karens. A great power for evil (Satan) since the fall has rendered relief to man by introducing charms against sickness, death, and other misfortunes, and this person- age, though without image, is widely worshipped. Thus originated their dajmon worship. They appear to be- lieve in the immortality of the soul, though it is doubt- ful if this obtains universally amongst them. Mr. Cross doubts if they have any proper idea of the resurrection of the dead. Transmigration is not accepted amongst them, and many think the soul "flics off in the air." They are thus distinguished from the Buddhists, though long resident with them in Burmah.
Spirit ]Vo)-shij). — Besides the Ywah and the docmons above alluded to, they believe in many other spiritual beings known as Kelah, or, speaking m.jre definitely, every object has a kelah, whether men, trees, or plants, and even inanimate objects, such as axes and knives. The grain growing has its kelah. and when it does not flourish it is because the kelah is leaving it, and it must be called back by invocation. The human kelah is not the soul, nor is the responsibility of human actions lodged in it, nor any moral character attached to it. AU this is attributed to the Thah. The kelah is the author of dreams ; it is that nature which pertains to life, the sen- tient soul, the animal spirits. It can leave the body at will. When it is absent disease ensues ; when yet lon- ger away, death results. Kelah seems to signify life, or existence in the abstract, or of the individual. It is more apt to forsake feeble persons and children. The ' kelah of one person may accompany that of another in going away, hence children are kept away from a coqise, and the house where a person dies is abandoned. Great efforts are made to induce a departed kelah to return. Tempting food is placed on the public wa.yside or in the forest, and various ceremonies and rituals arc gone through, which sometimes are thought to be successful in securing tlie return of the kelah. One might almost Avonder that its return should Ije cousidered desirable ■when we are further told that the kelah has seven sep- arate existences in one, which endeavor to superinduce madness, recklessness, shamelessness, drinking propensi- ties, anger, cruelty, violence, murder, and are constantly bent on evil. But along with the kelah we learn of