Pa-O
Pa-O also known as Taungthu are the second largest ethnic group in the Shan State after the Shan. They are an important branch of the Karen ethnic family and speak a related language, although many Pa-O in the Shan State are unaware of any connection. Local Legend claims that they fled north to Shan State from the Mon city of Thaton, in Lower Burma, after the overthrow of the Mon King Manuha in the eleventh centry by King Anawrahta of Pagan. Itinerant trader and Buddhists, many today live in the mountains around Taunggyi and Kalaw in western Shan State, where their main cash crop is the thanapet leaf from cordia trees used for rolling Burma's traditional cigar, the cheroot.
Pa-O men wear loose-fitting trousers, jacketes and turbans like the Shans, but they always dress in black. The women wear longyis, long sleeveless shirts and croppted long-sleeved jackets, but with a brightly coloured turban.
Flickr Images
