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The ethnic groups
Burma is a country which has diverse ethnic groups with different histories, languages, religions, and cultures. There are seven majority ethnic groups which are Kachin, Karenni (also call Kayah), Karen (also call Kayin), Chin, Mon, Burman, Rakhin (also call Arakhin) and Shan, that all have their own state. Moreover, there are also 135 minority ethnic groups more who are living in Burma.
The Burmese government has controle over an area aswell, that is spread over seven division mainly in the central Burma.
Mon
Mon is an ethnic group in Burma. It has its own state which bounded on the North by Bago Division, on the east Kayin State, on the south by Tanintharyi Division and the west by the Gulf of Mrtaba. The state is divided in ten Townships with a population around 1,682,041 people. They have their own traditions and culture. The Mon celebrates their culture and traditions in different months in different ceremonies. They speak Mon and some of them speak Burmese. Mon is the vast majority of Theravada Buddhists in their state.
Rakhine (Arakhin)
Rakhine is an ethnic group which has its own state in Burma. It is placed on the western coast of Burma The population of Rakhine state is around 3 million and it is one of the major states in Burma. The Rakhinese speak Rakhine, they have their own traditions, culture and most of the Rakhinese are Buddhists. In 1948 Rakhine separated from the Union of Burma and became an independent state. Shortly after, violence broke out along religious lines between Buddhists and Muslims. There are still conflicts between the Buddhists (the Rakhinese) and the Mustlims (the Rohingya)
Chin
Chin is an ethnic group which has its own state in Burma, it is located in the north western Burma. The Chin people originally came from India. They arrived to Burma in the 9-10 century AD and around the 13-14 century AD, they settled into Chin State. They have their own traditions and more religions. In 1889, the British invaded Chin State. Originally the Chin was animists. But about 80-90% converted their belief into Christianity after colonization.
Kachin
Kayah (Karenni)
Kayah is an ethnic group who has their own state in Burma and it’s in the eastern part of Burma. It is located north of Shan State, on the east by Thailand’s Mae Hong Son Province and the south and west of Kayin State. It has about 112,000 people, 28% are Christians and 50% of them are Buddhists. The rest are Animists. The Eastern Kayah and the Western Kayah speak different languages, but they understand each other.
Shan
Shan state is the largest state of Burma; it borders China to the north, Laos to the east, and Thailand to the south. The population is over 3.5 millions people and they have their own literature, language, culture and religions. Taungyi Hot-air balloon festival is a popular festival among the locals. The majority of Shan people are Theravada Buddhists. They speak different Shan languages and are the majority ethnic group in Burma.
Kayin (Karen)
Karen is an ethnic group and the state is located in the South Eastern Burma. The Karen is the largest ethnic group in Burma and has a population of 7 millions people. The Karen has different religions which are Buddhism, Animism and Christianity. They were originally a tribe from Tibetan in Central Asia. They have their own two main languages which are Poe and S’Gaw.
Kachin state is located in Burma and there are many sub-ethnic groups in Kachin state. It is located in the north-eastern part of Burma and it is close to China and India. It has about 1 to 1.5 million people. Most of them became Christians after colonization.