Remaining Karen : A Study of Cultural Reproduction and the Maintenance of Identity

Rajah, Ananda

doi:10.26530/oapen_459492

Cited by 18 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…The Karen people are an ethnic minority group living along the Thailand and Myanmar border 2. Recent studies in Thasongyang reported poor health education among the middle-aged and old-aged population regarding diabetes and hypertension 3–5…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Knowledge of communicable and noncommunicable diseases among Karen ethnic high school students in rural Thasongyang, the far northwest of Thailand

Lorga¹,

Aung²,

Naunboonruang³

et al. 2013

IJGM

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BackgroundThe double burden of communicable and noncommunicable diseases (NCD) is an increasing trend in low- and-middle income developing countries. Rural and minority populations are underserved and likely to be affected severely by these burdens. Knowledge among young people could provide immunity to such diseases within a community in the long term. In this study we aimed to assess the knowledge of several highly prevalent NCDs (diabetes, hypertension, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD]) and several highly incident communicable diseases (malaria and diarrheal diseases) among Karen high school students in a rural district in far northwest of Thailand. The aim of the study is to explore information for devising life-course health education that will be strategically based in schools.MethodA cross-sectional survey approved by the ethics committee of Boromarajonani College of Nursing Nakhon Lampang (BCNLP), Lampang, Thailand was conducted in Thasongyang, Tak province, from September 2011 to January 2012. Questionnaires for assessing knowledge regarding diabetes, hypertension, COPD, malaria, and diarrheal diseases were delivered to all 457 Karen high school students attending Thasongyang high school. A total of 371 students returned the questionnaires. Experts’ validation and split-half reliability assessment was applied to the instrument.ResultsStudents’ main sources of health information were their teachers (62%), health care workers (60%), television (59%), and parents (54%). Familial risk factors of diabetes and hypertension were not known to more than two thirds of the students. Except obesity and physical inactivity, lifestyle-related risk factors were also not known to the students. Though living in a malaria-endemic area, many of the Karen students had poor knowledge about preventive behaviors. Half of the students could not give a correct answer about the malaria and hygienic practice, which might normally be traditionally relayed messages.ConclusionHealth education and knowledge about common NCD and communicable diseases are yet to be prompted among the Karen students. A broader and more comprehensive school-based health education strategy for prevention of double burden diseases would benefit the rural minority population at the Thai-Myanmar border.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Knowledge of communicable and noncommunicable diseases among Karen ethnic high school students in rural Thasongyang, the far northwest of Thailand

Lorga¹,

Aung²,

Naunboonruang³

et al. 2013

IJGM

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“…The Sino-Tibeto-speaking populations are believed by most linguists to have originated in the Tibetan Plateau, which assumes their languages were transmitted vertically. Other proposed geographic origins, which rely on the accuracy of oral traditions as well as the accuracy of their translations and interpretations, include Mongolia and the far north of Asia or Siberia (Rajah, 2008). There also exist unsubstantiated theories such as Hmong having European ancestry (Quincy, 1995) or the Karen being a perennial Lost Tribe of Israel (Stern, 1968).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Southeast Asian origins of five Hill Tribe populations and correlation of genetic to linguistic relationships inferred with genome‐wide SNP data

Listman

Malison

Sanichwankul³

et al. 2010

American J Phys Anthropol

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In Thailand, the term Hill Tribe is used to describe populations whose members traditionally practice slash and burn agriculture and reside in the mountains. These tribes are thought to have migrated throughout Asia for up to 5,000 years, including migrations through Southern China and/or Southeast Asia. There have been continuous migrations southward from China into Thailand for approximately the past thousand years and the present geographic range of any given tribe straddles multiple political borders. As none of these populations have autochthonous scripts, written histories have until recently, been externally produced. Northern Asian, Tibetan, and Siberian origins of Hill Tribes have been proposed. All purport endogamy and have non-mutually intelligible languages. In order to test hypotheses regarding the geographic origins of these populations, relatedness and migrations among them and neighboring populations, and whether their genetic relationships correspond with their linguistic relationships, we analyzed 2445 genome-wide SNP markers in 118 individuals from five Thai Hill Tribe populations (Akha, Hmong, Karen, Lahu, and Lisu), 90 individuals from majority Thai populations, and 826 individuals from Asian and Oceanean HGDP and HapMap populations using a Bayesian clustering method. Considering these results within the context of results of recent large-scale studies of Asian geographic genetic variation allows us to infer a shared Southeast Asian origin of these five Hill Tribe populations as well ancestry components that distinguish among them seen in successive levels of clustering. In addition, the inferred level of shared ancestry among the Hill Tribes corresponds well to relationships among their languages.

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“…As those families grow one family may move out to create its own household. Previous research in Karen villages indicates that having more than two reproductiveage couples in a single household is undesirable (Kunstadter 1984;Rajah 2008). An older daughter whose nuclear family is sharing her parent's household may be required to move out when a younger daughter subsequently marries and moves in.…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…While the bulk of agricultural efforts for most Karen in this area remain irrigated-rice production for household subsistence and local consumption, some now grow produce for export and others hire themselves out as agricultural laborers. Several researchers have done work on Karen socio-cultural patterns, health, and demography (Kunstadter 1972(Kunstadter , 1983Lee et al 2006;Nakano 1980;Omori and Greksa 2002;Rajah 2008;Skeldon 1985;Walker 2001). Most of the detailed demographic work concerning the Karen was conducted by Kunstadter and colleagues during the mid-to late-20 th century.…”

Section: Study Populationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Both have gender-or sex-specific patterns. For example, the Karen have traditionally been uxorilocal (Rajah 2008); that is, males who marry are likely either to join the household of the female spouse's family of orientation or to establish a new household near her family's house. However, this pattern does not fully explain the out-migration we are seeing in our study villages.…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

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Household ecology and out-migration among ethnic Karen along the Thai-Myanmar border

Parker¹,

Wood²,

Tomita³

et al. 2014

DemRes

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Remaining Karen : A Study of Cultural Reproduction and the Maintenance of Identity

Cited by 18 publications

References 7 publications

Knowledge of communicable and noncommunicable diseases among Karen ethnic high school students in rural Thasongyang, the far northwest of Thailand

Knowledge of communicable and noncommunicable diseases among Karen ethnic high school students in rural Thasongyang, the far northwest of Thailand

Southeast Asian origins of five Hill Tribe populations and correlation of genetic to linguistic relationships inferred with genome‐wide SNP data

Household ecology and out-migration among ethnic Karen along the Thai-Myanmar border

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