The Indigenous Shan People

Ethnonyms: Dehong, Mau, Ngeo, Ngiao, Ngiaw, Ngio, Ngiow, Sha, Tai Yai Countries inhabited: Burma (Myanmar), China, Thailand Language family: Austro-Tai Language branch: Tai

The Shan are featured in our documentary, Indigenous Peoples of Southeast Asia.
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Indigenous Shan people Indigenous Shan people The Shan have probably the most fascinating history of any of Burma's indigenous peoples. They have lived in the area that is today the Shan State of Burma for over a thousand years. Shan State comprises about a quarter of the land mass of Burma. In the early part of their migration out of today's Southwest China the Shan ruled over "Shan states" that are in today's China, Laos and Thailand as well as other parts of Burma. While the geographic spread of these states encompassed many ethnicities, the majority of both the population and the rulers was Indigenous Shan people Shan. Only in the late Nineteenth Century did the Burmese Shan States fall entirely to British imperial rule.

Indigenous Shan people Shortly after World War Two ended, post-war negotiations between the British and the Chinese created a unified Shan State in Burma. Ten years later the same Shan State was due to gain its own independence from (the then newly-independent country of) Burma. But subsequent fighting between the Chinese, newly formed pro-Shan insurgent factions and Indigenous Shan people Burmese military rulers, along with the emergence of the area as a major opium growing and trafficking base, thwarted the emergence of a truly independent Shan State.

Indigenous Shan people The Shan have historically lived alongside ethnic Bamar, Intha, Kachin, Mon, Palaung, Pa-O, Rakhine, Taungyo, Wa and other peoples for much of this history. But Shan State has always had a majority population of ethnic Shan — numbering today between four and six million people. Many Shan continue to desire a Shan State with full political independence from Burma. Indigenous Shan people To this end the Shan State Army continues to wage guerrilla warfare against the Burmese Tatmadaw military government. In one sense this is already a moot conflict because today it is de facto the Chinese who have won the historic battle for economic and, via economic, political control of much of traditional Shan land — particularly in eastern Shan State where it borders China.

Indigenous Shan people Most Shan people live today in much the same way as they always have. The majority live in small, rural villages where they farm subsistence and cash crops such as rice and tropical and sub-tropical fruit and vegetables. Tea is also an important cash crop for the Shan. Outside the larger towns trade is conducted at local markets that are held every few days. A visit to one of these markets is a fascinating experience. Shan State has also historically been an important source of timber — especially teak — and metals such as silver and lead.

It is often reported that the Shan also make their living from growing opium poppy. The reality is that most Shan have little or no involvement in the cultivation, Indigenous Shan people Indigenous Shan people the narcotic processing or the trafficking of opium poppy — all of which is controlled by a small number of regional druglords.

Many Shan are skilled artisans. Their crafts range from making fans out of bamboo to making jewelry out of the metals and the precious and semi-precious gemstones that are mined in many parts of Burma. These crafts have been practiced by the Shan for many generations and will continue to be a part of their livelihood for many generations to come.

Indigenous Shan people Indigenous Shan people Yet, even in an isolated country like Burma, the Shan people are beginning to experience the changes brought about by the impact of the modern, globalized world. The Baw-gyo Festival is an annual event held in the small town of Hsipaw in eastern Shan State. As Buddhism spread east from India, this area of Burma was one of the first to which it was exported, and the Shan, among others, adopted its ceremonies — of which the Baw-gyo Festival was one. The festival survives to the present day and is one of the largest events in the Shan calendar — but its religious origin now plays a very small part. It has been replaced by Shan artisans who now sell, alongside their traditional crafts, Indigenous Shan people the same mass-produced trinkets from China that are available worldwide.

Indigenous Shan people While some Shan people resist this change and attend the festival for religious reasons, others embrace the change. When I visited, one of the newest attractions was this Ferris wheel. It is turned entirely by the weight of local Shan men who climb around inside it.

The Shan are featured in our documentary, Indigenous Peoples of Southeast Asia. Click or tap the image below to watch it on our YouTube channel in full HD (1920x1080p) at 60 fps. Notes for teachers are also available.

Photography copyright © 1999 - 2024, Ray Waddington. All rights reserved. Text copyright © 1999 - 2024, The Peoples of the World Foundation. All rights reserved.

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Citation and References

Waddington, R., (2010) The Indigenous Shan People. The Peoples of the World Foundation. Retrieved March 28, 2024, from The Peoples of the World Foundation. <https://www.peoplesoftheworld.org/text?people=Shan>

Web Links Shan Herald Agency for News The Shan on Facebook (Facebook account required.) The History of the Shan People of Burma Shan people in Mae Hong Son Books Sai Aung Tun, (2008) History of the Shan State: From Its Origins to 1962. Chiangmai, Thailand: Silkworm Books. Koehler Johnson, B., (2009) The Shan: Refugees Without A Camp — An English Teacher in Thailand and Burma. Paramus, NJ: Trinity Matrix Publishing.

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