their way by gradual descents into Burma. They claim a common descent with the Angami Nagas of Assam, and there is much in common between them and the Khyens and Kakhyens of Lower and Upper Burma. It cannot be ascertained what were the causes of their migrations, or when they appeared for the first time in Burma. In the "Life of Monsignor Percoto," the first Italian missionary to Burma, we read that Father Nerini found "wild populations styled Cariani (Karens) living separately from others, and in full liberty." This was about A.D. 1740. But they had been then settled for generations in the country, and were looked upon as savages. It would appear that, after crossing the river of running sand, the Karens did not march at once into Burma, but settled down on the borders of Western China, and from the colony of Jews there, in all probability, learnt the "Traditions of the Elders," the coming back of the White Book, the return of the long-expected Messiah, and the roll of parchment or skin to be brought to them by the white foreigners. Their traditions point to a desperate blood-feud which arose between two branches of their race whilst living in China. The Chghaws* (or male) branch

*Pronounced Sgaws.

had a great dispute with the Pghos* (or female) branch about a fine which the latter were adjudged to pay for having murdered one of their own chiefs called Pu Tha Get. The Pghos refused to pay the fine, upon which the Chghaws prohibited social intercourse and intermarriage between the two branches. This sundering of two branches of the nation was widened and intensified by periodical warring and reprisals, till eventually the Pghos had to leave China altogether, and marched down southward into the plains of Burma. The third branch of the nation, to which the Karen-nees, or Red Karens, belong, is called "Bghai." The Red Karens assert that sixteen or seventeen generations ago they were driven from a region in the kingdom of Ava, and that they were part of a Chinese army. This account of their origin seems not improbable ; for about A.D. 1400, to which their account would take us back, the Chinese invaded Burma, and were twice defeated and driven back.

It would appear, then, that of the three branches of the Karen nation the Pghos were the first to enter Burma. They had been driven from Western China by the Chghaws, and in their retreat southwards appear to have followed the course of the

*Pronounced Pwos.

Salween river. Leaving a few scattered bands. behind them near Toungoo, they turned southeastwards towards Siam, and then crossed over to Mergui, whence they spread again north and northwest by the coast-line, finally settling down along the deltas of the great rivers. The war-songs of the Chghaws relate that they "drove the Pghos to drink brackish water." Hence it is that we find the Pghos occupying the great sea-board belt from Mergui and Tavoy to Moulmein, and thence, with only a single break near Rangoon, along the delta of the Irrawaddy up to Cape Negrais, on the border of Arakan. Very few Pghos are to be found inland of the great deltaic regions. Their head-quarters are still near Moulmein, at a place called Dongyan, where they established their first stronghold. Here they were attacked again and again by the invading Siamese, and finally taken in captivity to Siam. They, however, worked out their freedom, and the majority, leaving a few scattered colonies in Siam, returned to Dongyan, which is the great Pgho centre to this day. The Chghaws, having driven the Pghos to the sea, occupied the great central range of hills called the Pegu Yoma. They still are almost the sole settlers in these hills, but they have spilt over the plains immediately below, and

now occupy the hills and jungles of the Irrawaddy district, large parts of the Shwegyin, Prome, and Henzada districts. They extend from the Arakan Yoma range on the west to the Salween river on the east. They are replaced by the Khyens on the north-west of the Prome district. The Khyens are believed to be an offshoot of the Karen nation, and their social and religious customs are very similar to those of the Karens. Dr. Mason, the great missionary scholar of Burma, regards Khyens and Karens as one and the same. It seems not improbable that they and the Kakhyens also may be the descendants of captives taken during the perpetual inter-tribal wars before the final descent into Burma. It seems, in any case, pretty certain that they have a common origin with the Karens. The territory which the great body of the Khyens inhabit is the mountain track from the east of Assam to Yunnan. But there is a large Khyen colony round the head waters of the Chindwin river in Upper Burma, and traces of a Karen population of considerable size have, it is believed, been found on the same river. Chghaw and Pgho Karens are also found in Siam, in the valleys of the Meinam and the Cambodia-descendants of captives taken by the Siamese during the invasion of Tenasserim.

The Bghai branch seem to have come into Burma along the line of the Toungoo hills somewhat later than the other two branches of the nation, but they never passed beyond these hills. They are the boldest and most warlike of the Karens, and the Karen-nees, or Red Karens, are the blue blood of the tribe. The Red Karens are the only tribe of the nation which succeeded by desperate struggles in resisting Burmese aggression and preserving their independence. They are the typical Bghai Karens, and occupy a compact little mountain territory on the north-east of British Burma, which they hold under chiefs of their own in complete independence, paying an annual small tribute to the British Government for the guarantee against aggression which has been given to them. They are proud of their lineage, which they say they trace from the rising sun. Every Red Karen has a rising sun—the crest of his nobility-tattooed on his back. In challenging to combat he does not slap his left folded arm with his right palm, as the rest of the Karens and the Burmans do, but, coiling his right arm round his left side, strikes the tattoo on his back. This action is supposed by him to rouse the magic power of the symbol.

The Bghais are thus, as will be seen, more con