This is a Karen Video [WELOVEKAREN]
The Karen[a] (/kəˈrɛn/) are an ethnolinguistic group of Sino-Tibetan language-speaking ethnic groups. The group as a whole is heterogeneous and disparate as many Karen ethnic groups do not associate or identify with each other culturally or linguistically. These Karen groups reside primarily in Kayin State, southern and southeastern Myanmar. The Karen make up approximately 7% of the total Burmese population with approximately five million people. Many Karen have migrated to Thailand, having settled mostly on the Thailand–Myanmar border. A few Karen have settled in Andaman and Nicobar islands, India and other South-East Asian and East Asian countries.
The Karen groups as a whole are often confused with the Padaung tribe, best known for the neck rings worn by their women, but they are just one sub-group of Red Karens (Karenni), one of the tribes of Kayah in Kayah State, Myanmar.
Some of the Karen, led primarily by the Karen National Union (KNU), have waged a war against the central Burmese 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. In Thailand, they are usually known as Thai: กะเหรี่ยง; RTGS: kariang 'Karen', while in Myanmar, there are known as Kayin.
Karen legends refer to a "river of running sand" which ancestors reputedly crossed. Many Karen think this refers to the Gobi Desert, although they have lived in Myanmar for centuries. The Karen constitute the third largest ethnic population in Myanmar, after the Bamars and Shans. Most scholars reject the idea that this refers to the Gobi desert as far fetched but rather translate it as "rivers of water flowing with sand". This is believed to refer to the sediment-laden Yellow River of China, the upper reaches of which is considered to be the urheimat of the Sino-Tibetan languages.
According to the legends, the Karen took a long time to cook shellfish at the river of flowing sand, until Chinese taught the Karens to open the shells so as to acquire the meat. It is estimated by linguists Luce and Lehman that the Tibeto-Burman peoples such as the Karen migrated into present day Burma between AD 300 and AD 800.
Karen refers to a heterogeneous lot of ethnic groups that do not share a common language, culture, religion, or material characteristics. A pan-Karen ethnic identity is a relatively modern creation, established in the 19th century with the conversion of some Karen to Christianity and shaped by various British colonial policies and practices.
"Karen" is an Anglicisation of the Burmese word Kayin (ကရင်), whose etymology is unclear.[12] The word, which was originally a derogatory term referring to non-Buddhist ethnic groups, may have come from the Mon language, or is a corruption of Kanyan, the name of a vanished civilization.
In pre-colonial times, the low-lying Burmese and Mon-speaking kingdoms recognised two general categories of Karen, the Talaing Kayin (တလိုင်းကရင်), generally lowlanders who were recognised as the "original settlers" and essential to Mon court life, and the Karen (ဗမာကရင်), highlanders who were subordinated or assimilated by the Bamar.