Remaining Karen: A Study of Cultural Reproduction and the Maintenance of Identity

Remaining Karen......Page 1
Table of Contents......Page 5
Foreword......Page 7
Abstract......Page 9
Acknowledgements......Page 11
Note on Transcription......Page 15
Introduction......Page 17
The Problem: Ethnic Identity, Cultural Distinctiveness and Religion......Page 18
Palokhi: The Geographical and Economic Context......Page 25
The Argument: Religion, Ideology, and the Maintenance of Cultural Identity......Page 31
Religion and Ritual......Page 32
Ideology......Page 33
The Maintenance of Cultural Identity......Page 35
Toponym, Village, and Domain......Page 41
Settlement History......Page 44
Headmanship and The Lord of the Water, Lord of the Land......Page 53
Headmanship and Succession......Page 58
The Head Rite......Page 61
Kinship Terminology......Page 73
The Naming System: “Event” Names and Teknonymy......Page 80
Male and Female: The System of Sex Differentiation......Page 84
Dress and Colour Symbolism......Page 90
Marriage Rules......Page 92
“Heat” and “Cooling”: The Symbolic and Ideological Significance of Marriage......Page 101
Marriage: The Ritual Process......Page 105
Marriage, Residence, and Domestic Group Formation and Fission......Page 111
Divorce: Throwing Away Marital Partners, Pots, and Pans......Page 114
A Note on Remarriage......Page 116
Village Organisation and the Sociology of Production and Consumption......Page 121
The Domestic Organisation of Production and Consumption: Some Case Studies......Page 122
Case 1: H1a, H1b......Page 123
Case 2: H2, H13a, H13b, H13c......Page 125
Case 3: H4, H5, H8, H9, H10......Page 128
Case 4: H11a, H11b, H12......Page 130
Some General Patterns......Page 132
Contractual and Non-contractual Arrangements in the Organisation of Agricultural Production......Page 133
Share-cropping......Page 134
Co-operative Labour Exchange......Page 136
The Sociology of Production and Consumption in Palokhi......Page 137
Eating: The Consumption of Food as Practical Symbol and Symbolic Practice......Page 138
Domestic Commensalism in Palokhi......Page 141
Feasting in the Rites of the New Year......Page 143
The Constitutive and Transformative Aspects of Commensalism......Page 144
The Economy of Palokhi: Subsistence in a Regional Context......Page 151
The Agricultural Calendar......Page 153
Swidden Agriculture: Land Use......Page 158
Wet-rice Agriculture: Land Use, Inheritance, and the “Management” of Agricultural Land......Page 160
Land use......Page 161
Inheritance......Page 171
The Role of Men as Managers of Land......Page 175
Rice Production and Consumption Requirements......Page 176
Subsistence in a Regional Context: Miang, Tea, and the Cash Sector of the Palokhi Economy......Page 180
Income Earning Activities......Page 183
Expenditures......Page 193
Household Economics in Palokhi: Some Examples......Page 195
The Ceremonial Cycle: An Overview......Page 205
Ritual: Performance and Language......Page 208
The Ritual Ownership of Swiddens......Page 210
Swidden Divination......Page 212
The Rite of Clearing Swiddens......Page 217
The Rite of Planting Swiddens (Ly Tho Hy’)......Page 218
Planting the Ritual Basket of the Yam (Chae’ Lau Nwae Tasae’)......Page 223
Drinking the Liquor of the Rice Seed (‘Au’ Si’ By Chae’ Khli)......Page 227
The Protection of Swiddens (Bghau Hy’)......Page 230
The Symbolism of the Toemau’ Reconsidered......Page 240
Wrist-Tying at the Reaping of Rice (Ki Cy’ Ku’ Lau By)......Page 242
The Eating of the Head Rice (‘Au’ By Kho)......Page 245
The Rites of the New Year (Lyta Thau Ni Sau)......Page 249
Conclusion: Cultural Reproduction and the Maintenance of Identity......Page 259
The Telakhon: Identifying Religious Change......Page 260
From “Tribe” to “State”: An Official View of Karen Identity......Page 264
Back to Culture......Page 269
Appendix A. The ‘Au’ Ma Xae Ritual......Page 273
Appendix B. Labour Expended on Agricultural Activities and Co—Operative Labour Exchanges in Palokhi (21 January 1981 – 31 December 1981)......Page 287
Appendix C. A Note on Work and Wage Work in Palokhi......Page 291
Appendix D. Swidden Cultivation in Palokhi......Page 295
Clearing of Swiddens (Phae’ Lau Hy’)......Page 297
Planting (Tho Hy’)......Page 298
Weeding (Khlau Nau)......Page 300
Reaping (Ku’ Lau By)......Page 301
Threshing (Phau’ Lau By)......Page 302
Transporting and Storing the Harvest (Gwi By, Pha’ By)......Page 303
Appendix E. Crops Grown in Palokhi Swiddens......Page 305
Building Dams (Ma Faaj)......Page 307
Hoeing (Pla’ Chi’) and Ploughing (Tha Chi’, Thaaj Chi’)......Page 308
Harrowing (Phoe Chi’, Phya Chi’)......Page 309
Planting (Su By)......Page 310
Weeding (Pla’ Kha Na)......Page 311
Harvesting (Ku’ Lau By)......Page 312
Appendix G. The Agistment of Buffaloes and Cattle in Palokhi......Page 313
Appendix H. Examples of Household Budgets in Palokhi......Page 317
The First migration of the Karens into Burma.......Page 323
Bibliography......Page 325
The Karens under the Feudal Masters......Page 326
The Karens under the British Colonial Rule......Page 327
Bibliography......Page 329