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The Shan people (, , or , ), also known as the Tai Long (တႆးလူင်, ) or Tai Yai, are a Tai peoples of Southeast Asia. The Shan are the biggest minority of Burma (Myanmar) and primarily live in the Shan State, but also inhabit parts of Mandalay Region, Kachin State, Kayah State, Sagaing Region and Kayin State, and in adjacent regions of China (Dai people), Laos, Assam and Meghalaya (Ahom people), Cambodia (Kula people), Vietnam and Thailand.Sao Sāimöng, The Shan States and the British Annexation. Cornell University, Cornell, 1969 (2nd ed.) Though no reliable census has been taken in Burma since 1935, the Shan are estimated to number 4–6 million, with CIA Factbook giving an estimate of five million spread throughout Myanmar which is about 10% of the overall Burmese population.
'Shan' is a generic term for all Tai peoples within Myanmar (Burma). The capital of Shan State is Taunggyi, the fifth-largest city in Myanmar with about 390,000 people. Other major cities include Thibaw (Hsipaw), Lashio, Kengtung and Tachileik.
Shan (ရှမ်း) is an exonym from the Burmese language; the term itself was historically spelt သျှမ်း (MLCTS: hsyam:), and is cognate with the term "Siam," the former name of Thailand. The term is extant to Old Burmese, first attested to a Pagan kingdom inscription from 1120, where it referred to Tai-speaking populations east of the kingdom. "Shan" has also been borrowed into Chinese (t=).
In Thai language, the Shan are called Tai Yai (ไทใหญ่, ) or Ngiao () in Tai yuan language. The Shan also have a number of exonyms in other minority languages, including Pa'O: ဖြဝ်ꩻ, Western Pwo Karen: ၥဲၫ့, and Mon language သေံဇၞော် ( seṃ jnok).
The speakers of Shan, Lue, Khun and Nua languages form the majority of Dai people in China.
Most Shan speak the Shan language and are bilingual in Burmese language. The Shan language, spoken by about 5 or 6 million, is closely related to Thai language and Lao language, and is part of the family of Tai languages. Shan language page from Ethnologue It is spoken in Shan State, some parts of Kachin State, some parts of Sagaing Division in Burma, parts of Yunnan, and in parts of northwestern Thailand, including Mae Hong Son Province and Chiang Mai Province. The two major dialects differ in number of tones: Hsenwi Shan has six tones, while Mongnai Shan has five. The Shan alphabet is an adaptation of the Mon–Burmese script via the Burmese alphabet. However, only a few Shan can read and write in their own language. Shan state is the most illiterate state with over a million illiterates in Myanmar due to lack of basic infrastructures and Myanmar conflict.
The Shan are traditionally Paddy field cultivators, shopkeepers, and .Susan Conway, The Shan: Culture, Art and Crafts (Bangkok, 2006).
| , a Shan dish]] | and kinnari dance]] |
After the Pagan Kingdom fell to the Mongols in 1287, the Shan chiefs quickly gained power throughout central Burma, and founded:
| Myinsaing–Pinya Kingdom (1297–1364) | Central Burma | 1297–1364 | Founded by three Shan brothers named Athinkhaya, Yazathingyan and Thihathu, and the minor kingdom was a predecessor to Ava Kingdom |
| Sagaing Kingdom | Central Burma | 1315–1364 | Thihathu was a co-founder of the Myinsaing Kingdom and the founder of the Pinya Kingdom, and the minor kingdom was a predecessor to Ava Kingdom. |
| Confederation of Shan States | Upper Burma | 1527–1555 | A group of Shan States led by Sawlon, Saopha of Mohnyin conquered the Ava Kingdom in 1527 and ruled Upper Burma until 1555 |
| Shan States (Princely states) | Shan States | 1215–1885, 1948–1959 | Princely Shan States |
| British Shan States / Federated Shan States | Shan States | 1885–1922, 1922–1948 | Princely Shan States of British Burma were nominally sovereign princely states, but they were subject to British Crown.Great Britain India Office. The Imperial Gazetteer of India. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1908. Census of India 1901 – Burma |
The Burmese king Bayinnaung conquered all of the Shan states in 1557. Although the Shan states would become a tributary to Irrawaddy valley based Burmese kingdoms from then on, the Shan retained a large degree of autonomy. Throughout the Burmese feudal era, Shan states supplied much manpower in the service of Burmese kings. Without Shan manpower, it would have been harder for the Burmans alone to achieve their victories in Lower Burma, Siam, and elsewhere. Shans were a major part of Burmese forces in the First Anglo-Burmese War of 1824–1826, and fought valiantly—a fact even the British commanders acknowledged.
In the latter half of the 19th century Shan people migrated into Northern Thailand reaching Phrae Province. The Shan population in Thailand is concentrated mainly in Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son, Mae Sariang, Mae Sai and Lampang, where there are groups which settled long ago and built their own communities and temples. Shan people are known as "Tai Yai" in north Thailand, where the word Shan is very seldom used to refer to them. History of Lanna – From Dark Times to Modern Times
After the Third Anglo-Burmese War in 1885, the British Empire gained control of the Shan States Under the British colonial administration, the Shan States were administered separately as British protectorates with limited monarchical powers invested in the Shan .
After World War II, the Shan and other ethnic minority leaders negotiated with the majority Bamar leadership at the Panglong Conference, and agreed to gain independence from Britain as part of Burma. The Shan states were given the option to secede after 10 years of independence. The Shan states became Shan State in 1948 as part of the newly independent Burma.
General Ne Win's coup d'état overthrew the democratically elected government in 1962, and abolished Shan saopha system.
During conflicts, Shan civilians are often burned out of their villages and forced to flee into Thailand. Some of the worst fighting in recent times occurred in 2002 when the Burmese army shelled the Thai border town of Mae Sai, south of Tachileik, in an attempt to capture members of the SSA's Southern Faction who had fled across the Nam Ruak."Mae Sai Evacuated as Shells Hit Town", Bangkok Post, 12 May 2002"Mortar Rounds Hit Thai Outpost, 2 Injured", Bangkok Post, 20 June 2002, p.1 While in July of that same year, in the Shan Township of Mong Yawng, the killing of a member of an NGO by the Tatmadaw, and the subsequent closure of the border to Thailand, caused an evacuation of the surviving members across the Mekong River to Laos.Desmond Ball. Security Developments in the Thailand-Burma Borderlands, Australian Mekong Resource Centre, University of Sydney. October 2003 This evacuation was aided by members of the Shan State Army, and in turn brought tighter measures restricting foreign aid in the area as violence increased.
Whether or not there is an ongoing conflict, the Shan are subject to depredations by the Burmese regime; in particular, young men may be conscripted into the Burmese Army indefinitely, or enslaved to do road work for a number of months—with no wages and little food. The horrific conditions inside Burma have led to a massive exodus of young Shan males to neighbouring Thailand, where they are not given refugee status. Shan people in Thailand often work as undocumented labourers. Males typically find low-paid work in construction, while many Shan females fall in the hands of human trafficking gangs and end up in the prostitution business or bride trafficking. Despite the hardships, Shan people in Thailand are conscious of their culture and seek occasions to gather in cultural events. Celebration of Panglong Agreement Day in Loi Tai Leng
Although the Government of Burma does not recognise Wa State, the Burmese military has frequently used the United Wa State Army (UWSA) as an ally for the purpose of fighting against Shan nationalist militia groups.
Prince Hso Khan Pha (sometimes written as Surkhanfa in Thai language), son of Sao Nang Hearn Kham of Yawnghwe lived in exile in Canada. He was campaigning for the Burmese regime to leave the Federated Shan States and return to their own country, to respect the traditional culture and indigenous lands of the Shan people. He worked with the interim Shan Government, with Shan exiles abroad, and the Burmese regime to regain his country.
Opinion has been voiced in the Shan State, in neighboring Thailand, and to some extent in distant exile communities, in favor of the goal of "total independence for the Shan State." This came to a head when, in May 2005, Shan elders in exile declared the independence of the Federated Shan States.
The declaration of independence was rejected by most other ethnic minority groups, many Shan living inside Burma, and the country's leading opposition party, Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy. Despite the domestic opposition to the declaration, the Myanmar Army is rumoured to have used it as a reason to crack down on Shan civilians. Shan people have reported an increase in restrictions on their movements and an escalation in Myanmar Army raids on Shan villages. The October 2015 Burmese military offensive in Central Shan State has displaced thousands of Shan people, as well as Palaung people, Lisu people and Lahu people, causing a new humanitarian crisis. Shan civil society organisations are concerned about the lack of international response on the recent conflict.
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