Pa-O


Pa-O

The Pa-O (Burmese: ပအုိ့ဝ္‌; IPA: [pəo̰]; also known as Taungthu and Black Karen) form an ethnic group in Myanmar, comprising of approximately 600,000. The Pa-O form the second largest ethnic group in Shan State, and are classified as part of the "Shan National Race" by the government, although they are believed to be of Tibeto-Burman stock, and are ethnolinguistically related to the Karen. They populate Shan State, Kayin State, and Kayah State. The Pa-O settled in the Thaton region of present-day Myanmar about 1000 B.C. Historically, the Pa-O wore colorful clothing, until King Anawratha defeated the Mon King Makuta, who had established his reign in Thaton. The Pa-O were enslaved, and forced to wear indigo-dyed clothing, to signify their status. However, there are regional variations of clothing among the Pa-O. Many have adopted Bamar clothing, while men may wear Shan baung-mi (long baggy pants). The majority of Pa-O are Buddhists, but a written language was created by Christian missionaries. The Pa-O predominantly engage in agriculture, cultivating leaves of the thanapet tree and mustard leaves. The Pa-O have largely assimilated into Bamar society, adopting many Bamar traditions and wearing Bamar clothing.

One of the most well-known of the Pa-O is Kyaing Kyaing, the wife of Burmese head of state, Than Shwe.

Pa'O clothing


to 27 K Jpeg 9809H15 Pa'O woman sitting by her produce in Kalaw Market, Shan State. Note her turban tied from a woven scarf bought in the market and her Shan bag in her lap. She is wearing a short jacket, with long sleeves over her shift blouse which has a trim of embroidery in the 'V' of the neck and it is possible to see an echoing embroidery in the side seam of her blouse to the left of the photograph. The jacket has machine stitched detail around the piecing.
to 22K Jpeg 9809I24 Pa'O market trader in Kalaw 5-day rotating market re-tying her head covering - a length of white cotton cloth. Note the cut of her jacket over her loose blouse over her longyi.
35K Jpeg 9809H33 Pa'O woman walking through Kalaw 5-day market, Shan State. This was the only Pa'O woman that I saw wearing leggings under her longyi. Also note the embroidered seam down the back of her blouse showing beneath her short jacket.
to Pa'O at Nampan 5-day rototing market, Lake Inle, Shan State
to 26K Jpeg 9809K01 Pa'O woman striding through the 5-day rotating market in Kalaw, Shan State. Her garments of black serge short, long-sleeved jacket with selvedge woven trim inset down the opening of the jacket, loose blouse with embroidered trim along the seams and calf length longyi are set off by the plaid scarf wound around her head and her striped bag
to 34K Jpeg 9809O01 Pa'O man at Nampan 5-day rotating market, Lake Inle, Shan State
to 22K Jpeg 9809N25 Pa'O woman at Nampan 5-day rotating market, Lake Inle, Shan State with a finely made jacket with selvedge woven lettering inset into the collar. Her striped woven head-cloth matches her shoulder bag.
to 31K Jpeg 9809I25 Pa'O man walking through Kalaw 5-day market showing his loose trousers, Shan style jacket and towelling turban
The Pa'O, both men and women, wear very dark black or dark indigo blue clothing with bright, colourful headdresses. These are all bought from the local market and are mainly red, orange, pink, white or green - from lengths of woven striped (as used in the Shan bags) fabric, plaid factory woven scarves or the frequently towels.

The women wear long, loose shift blouses in the style of a Karen hse over a matching longyis. Photos of the Pa'O in older literature all seem to show women wearing the sleeveless blouse without any covering jacket. I saw only one woman - by the Phaung Daw U pagoda on Lake Inle - wearing the blouse without a short jacket over it. Otherwise the Pa'O women that I saw both in Kalaw and around Lake Inle were all wearing a long sleeved, short, quite intricately pieced, jacket with a small stand-up collar over their blouse. Note that in the photos that the seams of the blouse have been over-sewn in coloured thread as a decoration.

Almost all of the women I saw were not wearing leggings - except for one (carrying large round package on her head in Kalaw market - shown on the left) where a dark blue legging is just visible showing below her longyi. U Min Naing (in 'National Ethnic Groups of Myanmar' pps 118-125) mentions the women wearing leggings and Scott writing in 1921 (p127) refers to them being worn occasionally - in black or white. Michael C Howard (in his "Textiles of the Hill Tribes of Burma" pp 77-78) refers to the collection of the Goteborg Ethnographical Museum including (Hansen: 1960): (1) a Pao skirt made of black cotton sateen (Ac# 35.39.404); and 92) a pair of leggings made of plain indigo dyed cotton with a cord attached for tying the leggings on (Ac#35.39.405).

Pa'O men wear dark baggy Chinese style trousers and jackets opening down the centre front in the Shan style. They wear similar head coverings to the women.

The Pa'O no longer weave but purchase navy blue or black serge cloth from the market. Sylvia Fraser-Lu (in 'Handwoven Textiles of South-east Asia, p 98) refers to them (the women) proudly displaying the 'Made in England' trade mark along the selvedges around armholes and neck openings. In 1998 in Kalaw and Nampan the women were sporting 'Made in Finland', 'Pure Wool' in white from the selvedges as decoration. See the insert with white writing around the back of the collar and down the front openings of the women's jackets in the photos on the left.

Both men and women wear bright shoulder bags, frequently the red striped Shan bags or similar bags in blues and greens all bought in the market.

I am indebted to the following for their information on Myanmar (Burma) and the Pa'O in particular: Michael C. Howard - "Textiles of the Hill Tribes of Burma" (p77-78) , Richard K Diran - "The vanishing tribes of Burma" (p76-79), U Min Naing - "National Ethnic Groups of Myanmar" (p13, p118-125), Burma Frontier Photographs 1918-1935. The James Henry Green Collection (p154-5, p170) and Sylvia Fraser-Lu - "Handwoven Textiles of South-east Asia" (p98).

Pa'O - Kalaw market

to 43K Jpeg 9809H30e Pa'O woman selling her produce in Kalaw Market
to 27 K Jpeg 9809H15 Pa'O woman sitting by her produce in Kalaw Market, Shan State. Note her turban tied from a woven scarf bought in the market and her Shan bag in her lap. She is wearing a short jacket, with long sleeves over her shift blouse which has a trim of embroidery in the 'V' of the neck and it is possible to see an echoing embroidery in the side seam of her blouse to the left of the photograph. The jacket has machine stitched detail around the piecing.
to Jpeg 23K 9809J07 Pa'O woman at Kalaw Market, Shan State showing her short jacket over her lose blouse with coloured stitch detail down the back seam. The blouse is worn over a calf length plain longyiNote her woven (from the market) head scarf and Shan bag over her shoulder. Baskets similar to the one on her back were being sold by a Pa'O woman who had carried them into the market balanced on her head.
to 29K Jpeg 9809I07 Pa'O woman at Kalaw market, Shan State, with a typical Shan bag over her shoulder and a green striped one on her head carrying her supplies
to 46K Jpeg 9809H17 Pa'O woman carrying her baskets for sale into Kalaw 5-day market, Shan State. Note her black serge three-layers of clothing - short jacket over aloose blouse (note the blue and red over-sewn embroidery on the side seam) with both worn over a calve length longyi. She has a finely woven basket on her back.
to 35K Jpeg 9809H33 Pa'O woman walking through Kalaw 5-day market, Shan State. This was the only Pa'O woman that I saw wearing leggings under her longyi. Also note the embroidered seam down the back of her blouse showing beneath her short jacket.


to 31K Jpeg 9809I25 Pa'O man walking through Kalaw 5-day market showing his loose trousers, Shan style jacket and towelling turban
to 27K Jpeg 9809I18 Pa'O market trader in the Kalaw 5-day rotating market puffing on her cheroot.


to 31K Jpeg 9809I19 Pa'O market trader with her various small amounts of produce for sale at the Kalaw 5-day rotating market, Shan State.
to 22K Jpeg 9809I24 Pa'O market trader in Kalaw 5-day rotating market re-tying her head covering - a length of white cotton cloth. Note the cut of her jacket over her loose blouse over her longyi.
to 26K Jpeg 9809H32 Pa'O market trader counting her money at the Kalaw 5-day rotating market, Shan State.
to 19K Jpeg 9809M34 Pa'O woman having a cup of tea in the 5-day rotating market in Kalaw, Shan State. The decoration on the seaming of her jacket and blouse shows up well.
to 26K Jpeg 9809K01 Pa'O woman striding through the 5-day rotating market in Kalaw, Shan State. Her garments of black serge short, long-sleeved jacket with selvedge woven trim inset down the opening of the jacket, loose blouse with embroidered trim along the seams and calf length longyi are set off by the plaid scarf wound around her head and her striped bag
to 28K Jpeg 9809K02 Pa'O woman striding through the 5-day rotating market in Kalaw, Shan State. Her garments of black serge short, long-sleeved jacket with selvedge woven trim inset down the centre-back of the jacket, loose blouse with embroidered trim along the seams and calf length longyi are set off by the plaid scarf wound around her head and her striped bag


to 31K Jpeg 9809O10 Pa'O woman at Nampan 5-day rotating market, Lake Inle, Shan State. She is waiting to buy liquid fuel. Note the short serge jacket with details of the fabric woven in the selvedge used to trim the front pocket. She is wearing the jacket over her lose blouse with embroidered seam trimmings.
to 33K Jpeg 9809O11 Pa'O woman at Nampan 5-day rotating market, Lake Inle, Shan State. She is waiting whilst her liquid fuel is poured out. Note the short serge jacket with details of the fabric woven in the selvedge used to trim the back seam. She is wearing the jacket over her loose blouse with embroidered seam trimmings. This is then worn over a longyis.
to 30K Jpeg 9809O12 Pa'O woman at Nampan 5-day rotating market, Lake Inle, Shan State. She is paying for her liquid fuel. Note the short serge jacket with details of the fabric woven in the selvedge used to trim the back seam and the edge of the front pocket. She is wearing the jacket over her loose blouse with embroidered seam trimmings. This is then worn over a longyis.


to 31K Jpeg 9809N03 Pa'O women at Nampan 5-day rotating market, Lake Inle, Shan State with their piles of thanapet leaf from cordia trees used for rolling around the local cheroots.
to 34K Jpeg 9809N04 Pa'O women at Nampan 5-day rotating market, Lake Inle, Shan State with their piles of thanapet leaf from cordia trees used for rolling around the local cheroots.
to 34K Jpeg 9809N01 Pa'O women at Nampan 5-day rotating market, Lake Inle, Shan State trading thanapet leaf from cordia trees used for rolling around the local cheroots.
to 20K Jpeg 9809N05 An older Pa'O woman at Nampan 5-day rotating market, Lake Inle, Shan State.
to 22K Jpeg 9809N07 Two Pa'O women examining a pottery jar at Nampan 5-day rotating market, Lake Inle, Shan State
to 31K Jpeg 9809N06 The back view of two Pa'O women discussing the ceramic ware at Nampan 5-day rotating market, Lake Inle, Shan State
to 32K Jpeg 9809N09 A Pa'O woman at Nampan 5-day rotating market, Lake Inle, Shan State
to 36K Jpeg 9809N10 Pa'O man with his wares at Nampan 5-day rotating market, Lake Inle, Shan State
to Pa'O at Nampan 5-day rototing market, Lake Inle, Shan State


to 37K Jpeg 9809N15 Close examination of goods for sale by two Pa'O women at Nampan 5-day rotating market, Lake Inle, Shan State
to 24K Jpeg 9809N16 Pa'O woman checking the quality of the rice in Nampan 5-day rotating market, Lake Inle, Shan State
to 31K Jpeg 9809N19 Pa'O woman checking the tomatoes in Nampan 5-day rotating market, Lake Inle, Shan State. Note she has two towels on her head, not the usual one.
to 23K Jpeg 9809N22 Pa'O woman at Nampan 5-day rotating market, Lake Inle, Shan State.
to 27K Jpeg 9809N21 Pa'O woman at Nampan 5-day rotating market, Lake Inle, Shan State. Note her short jacket with front pocket over her loose blouse with embroidery edging down the seams and her towelling headdress.
to 22K Jpeg 9809N25 Pa'O woman at Nampan 5-day rotating market, Lake Inle, Shan State with a finely made jacket with selvedge woven lettering inset into the collar. Her striped woven head-cloth matches her shoulder bag.


to 31K Jpeg 9809N26 Pa'O woman weighing out produce for a customer at Nampan 5-day rotating market, Lake Inle, Shan State.
to 38K Jpeg 9809N20 Pa'O woman selling her produce at Nampan 5-day rotating market, Lake Inle, Shan State
to 29K Jpeg 9809N30 Pa'O man at Nampan 5-day rotating market, Lake Inle, Shan State

to 22K Jpeg 9809N31 Pa'O women at Nampan 5-day rotating market, Lake Inle, Shan State
to 30K Jpeg 9809N33 Pa'O women at Nampan 5-day rotating market, Lake Inle, Shan State
to 34K Jpeg 9809O01 Pa'O man at Nampan 5-day rotating market, Lake Inle, Shan State
to 30K Jpeg 9809O03 Pa'O women amongst a mass of shoulder bags on a stall in Nampan 5-day rotating market, Lake Inle, Shan State
to 31K Jpeg 9809O13 Pa'O men at Nampan 5-day rotating market, Lake Inle, Shan State
to 31K Jpeg 9809M36 Pa'O woman striding through Nampan 5-day rotating market, Lake Inle, Shan State


to 28K Jpeg 9809R34 Pa'O woman at Ywama floating market, Lake Inle, Shan State peering through her headdress fringe
to 37K Jpeg 9809R35 Pa'O woman buying liquid fuel from a trader on one of the boats at Ywama floating market, Lake Inle, Shan State
to 35K Jpeg 9809R33 Pa'O woman selling tomatoes at Ywama floating market, Lake Inle, Shan State

to 44K Jpeg 9809Q31 Pa'O woman at Phaung Daw U pagoda, Lake Inle, Shan State. This was the only Pa'O woman that I saw wearing her dark blouse without a covering long-sleeved short jacket. Most of the old photos I have seen of the Pa'O show them wearing their blouses and longyi but no jackets.

Posted by Kyaw Min

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