Palaung people explained

Group:Palaung
De'ang
Population:557,000 (est.)
Popplace:Burma, smaller populations in Yunnan, China and Thailand
Langs:Ta'ang
Rels:Theravada Buddhism

The Palaung (Burmese: ပလောင် လူမျိုး in Burmese pronounced as /pəlàʊɰ̃ lùmjó/; Thai: ปะหล่อง, also written as Benglong Palong) or Ta'ang are an Austroasiatic ethnic minority found in Shan State of Burma, Yunnan Province of China and Northern Thailand. In China, they are referred to as the De'ang (also spelt Deang) people.

They live mainly in the northern parts of Shan State in the Pa Laung Self-Administered Zone, with the capital at Namhsan.

The Ta'ang (Palaung) State Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Palaung ethnic group, began fighting against the Burmese military in 1963. It entered a cease-fire agreement with the central government in April 1991, but is currently continuing the insurgency.[1] Both the government and the rebel armies have derived benefit from poppy cultivation, which has caused serious drug addiction among the local people.[2]

Groups

There are three main subgroups of Palaung: the Palé, Shwe and Rumai.[3]

The Chinese government groups together the Palé, Riang, Rumai and Shwe peoples as the De'ang ethnic nationality. The group also includes the Danau (Danaw) who may no longer have a separate identity from the Palé.

Language

See main article: Palaung language.

There are three main principal Palaung languages: Palé (Ruching), Rumai, and Shwe (Ta'ang or De'ang).

Distribution

In China, the De'ang are found in the following villages of Zhenkang County and Gengma County.[4] In China, they are known as the Laopulao (牢普劳); there are six other De'ang groups located in Burma.

Religion

Most Ta'ang are adherents of Theravada Buddhism and Buddhist temples can be found in most of their towns. Buddhism is present in all of the daily activities of this ethnic group. At the age of ten, many children are sent to the monasteries, primarily for education. Most of them return to lay life in later years.

The Riang are the only one of the four groups who have never converted to Buddhism. The majority of the Riang are animists.

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 27 August 2013 . Ta'ang army suspends talks with govt as clashes continue . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140803074157/http://dvb.no/news/taang-army-suspends-talks-with-govt-as-clashes-continue/31933 . 2014-08-03 . 2014-03-23 . DVB.
  2. News: 12 December 2015 . Turning a new leaf? Ethnic rebels along Myanmar's rugged frontier help eradicate poppy fields . . Associated Press . live . 2014-03-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150421120101/http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/03/20/turning-new-leaf-ethnic-rebels-along-myanmar-rugged-frontier-help-eradicate/ . 2015-04-21.
  3. Web site: The Indigenous Palaung People . 2022-12-19 . The Peoples of the World Foundation.
  4. 中国少数民族社会历史调查资料丛刊》修订编辑委员会. 2009. 德昂族社会历史调查, p. 94. Beijing: Minzu Chubanshe.