Page:The Tribes Of Burma - 36.png

(36)  in the Southern Shan States. The Lahus are best known for the resistance they have offered to the Chinese along the border and, latterly, for the readiness that they have exhibited to adopt Christianity. Some of the missionaries working among them would class them ethnically with the Karens, but for this there seems no justification. Their women's dress, the prinicipal item of which is a long-embroidered coat, is picturesque. For further details see the tabulated list at page 83.

The Akhas or Kaws of the hills of Kengtung are, if language is any criterion, Tibeto-Burmans. Their speech has been classified as such. There is no trace of Mon Khmer in their composition, nor have any valid grounds been shown for placing them in the same category as the Karens. They differ in many wavs from their neighbours the Lahus, but it is almost indubitable that they come from the same stock, though it is probable that they are more closely connected with the Pannas and Lotes of Trans-Mekong territory. There are a few Akhas in French territory beyond the Mekong, but it is believed that the great bulk of the tribe are found in the Kengtung State between the Mekong and the Salween. In 1901 they, with the Akhos, a branch of the main tribe, numbered 27,526. None were enumerated in Burma outside the limits of Kengtung. For a description of the Akhas a reference is invited to the authorities quoted on page 87. They are a swarthy stalwart tribe, dull but peaceable. They mix and intermarry with the Chinese to an extent remarkable among these eastern hill dwellers and have hitherto been best known