The Historiography of Saw Aung Hla and Its Influence on the Modern Karen History Curriculum

Abstract

Abstract:Saw Aung Hla (1850s–1939) is the main intellectual figure among the Karen writers of Burma and Thailand. He systematically chronicled Karen histories starting with the migration of Karens beginning from the Land of Babylon beginning in 2234 BC through their journal via Yunnan, and their arrival in Burma in BC 739 when they arrived in the land called “Kaw-Kawthoolei.” He ends The Karen History with a description of how and why the Karen appreciated the role of the British colonizers who freed the Karen from Burmese oppression. This narrative has been repeated by Karens who learn about Saw Aung Hla’s history in the textbooks assigned by Karen teachers in the Karen schools of “Kawthoolei” over the past 60–70 years.This paper describes the scholarly work of Saw Aung Hla, and how these works are connected to the literacy of Karen people. His book, The Karen History is used as part of the modern Karen Education Department curriculum. His academic work helps Karen generations come to know of themselves as Karen who exist as a nation in the past, present, and future. This aspect of historiography is helpful for understanding why Karen people have continued their military and cultural struggle for a nation to the present.