A PORTRAIT OF A WONDERFUL PEOPLE: THE PA-OH

The Pa.Oh people are one of the ethnic minority groups in Shan State with a population of over 1.5 million.

A great majority of the Pa-Oh make their home in southern Shan State, where they represent the largest ethnic minority in the state. A small group lives near the Thai border and opposite Mae Hong Son, and a larger number resides around the southern town of Thaton, in Mon State. In general, most Pa-Oh live in the area bounded by the Sittang River to the west and the Thanlwin River to the east. Nationwide they number about 3 million.
Historians claim that the Pa-Oh originated in Thaton (Mon State) and the surrounding area. The Pa-Oh believe that they once had their own kings in Thaton, but after the fall of their dynasty they were driven north. Some historians argue that the Pa-Oh migration was the result of the defeat of Mon King Manuha by King Anawratha of Bagan, founder of the first Burmese empire who carried away many Mon craftsmen to work as indentured laborers on his many construction sites in Bagan.

But the Pa-Oh averted this misfortune by fleeing northward, all the way into southern Shan State. Linguistically, they are related to the Karenni in Kayah State, but the Pa-Oh might find this fact difficult to believe. They call themselves Pa-Oh whereas the Burmese designate them as Taungthu, meaning hill men. And that is what most of them are, hill farmers, with Taunggyi as their commercial center, Kak Ku as their main religious center, and Naung Htaw and Kyauk Ta Lone as their two power centers.