Much of Karen life is dictated by the spirits. The most important is the "Lord of Land and Water" who controls the productivity of the land and calls upon the rice spirit to grow. Also important is the matrilineal ancestor guardian spirit (bga). The village priest is the most revered individual; he is the ritual leader and it is he who sets dates for the annual ceremonies.

Population and Location

The Karen are the largest tribal group in Thailand. There are 1.1 million Karen living in 2,132 villages in North Thailand. The Karen, also known as the Yang (to the Northern Thai) or Kariang (to the Thai in other parts of the country), are found along the Thai-Myanmar border, concentrated in the western provinces. The Karen originated from Burma (now Myanmar). Over the past 200 years, they have tended to move eastward away from Burma into Thailand because of political conflicts with the Burmans. In Thailand the Karen are divided into four major sub-groups: the Sgaw Karen who call themselves and other related sub-groups Pga-gan Yaw, the Pwo Karen or Plong, the Pa-O or Taungthu who are also known as Black Karen, and the Bwe or Kayah or Red Karen. About 70% of the Karen are Sgaw Karen, about 343,000 people. There are almost 2 million in other countries.

Language

Linguistically, Sgaw Karen belongs to the Tibeto-Karen branch of the Sino-Tibetan family. It is a distinct language from Pwo Karen. Sgaw Karen is spoken by about 70% of the Karen people.

Livelihood

Most Sgaw Karen live in mountain villages and practice shifting cultivation of the rotating field type (that is, they move their fields, not their villages).

Religion

Much of Karen life is dictated by the spirits. As the Karen have been incorporated into the Thai state, so increasing numbers have turned to Buddhism. However, the Sgaw Karen have been very responsive to the gospel. Today, there are significant numbers of Christian Karen; 18 percent of Sgaw Karen are evangelical Christians.

Christianity

The Sgaw Karen are the most responsive tribe in Thailand. The Baptists, WEC and Catholics were among the first to work among them. Until 1975 OMF worked only among the Pwo Karen. Then in 1975 the headman of a Sgaw village, Sop Lahn, asked the OMF missionary who was working among the Pwo to share the gospel with them. Eight families turned to Christ, and five of them stood firm the year the missionary went on home assignment. Later, the work expanded to over 20 villages. Missionaries and national workers trained the young Christians and went with them to many other villages. Today the gospel continues to spread to new unreached Karen villages. OMF missionaries are actively involved in leadership training as well as outreach to Karen villages. The Sgaw Karen church, together with OMF, runs two hostels for Karen children to receive Thai education.