page_title: Shan people
section_title: Communities in exile
hierarchical_section_title: Shan people / Shan nationalism / Communities in exile
caption_attribution_description: English: - Poy Sarng Long is called in some areas as “Poy Look Kaew” (crystal strands) or “Poy Noi.” It is a cerebrating ceremony in the tradition of ordination of novices. Shan people call the person who is to be ordained as “Sarng Long.” - Poy Sarng Long tradition is organized in order to provide opportunity for children to study Dharma according to the teachings of the Buddha. It is believe that people involved will gain merit from this tradition. It is normally organized during the period of March-April of each year (During student summer vacation). Villagers make appointments among themselves to have their children to be ordained as novices on the same day. The children who will be ordained as novices are dressed and ornamented with invaluable ornaments. The children are ordained at the temples where the sponsors have faith. -The process of Poy Sarng Long tradition comprises 3 days. The first day is called “Hae Sarng Long Day.” On this day all the novices to be ordained will join the ceremony of Hair-shaving but not shaving the eyebrow (According to the belief of Myanmar they do not shave the eyebrow). They will put on makeup and dress beautifully according to the tradition. At this stage the novices who will be ordained are called “Sarng Long.” They will be taken to meet their respectful senior relatives to receive the precepts and blessed from them. The second day is called “Hae Krua Loo Day.” Sarng Long (the novices to be ordained) will be brought to parade in public. Sarng Long may ride a horse or if there is no horse the Sarng Long, he will ride on the shoulder of a man. In the evening there will be a ceremony of heart for Sarng Long and there are various entertainments according to the Shan tradition at night. The third day is called “Kharm Sarng Day.” It is the day of the novices ordination which takes place in the temple.
context_page_description: The Shan people, also known as the Dai or Tai Yai, are a Tai ethnic group of Southeast Asia. The Shan are the biggest minority of Burma and primarily live in the Shan State of this country, but also inhabit parts of Mandalay Region, Kachin State, and Kayin State, and in adjacent regions of China, Laos, Assam and Thailand. 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-speaking peoples within Myanmar. The capital of Shan State is Taunggyi, the fifth-largest city in Myanmar with about 390,000 people. Other major cities include Thibaw, Lashio, Kengtung and Tachileik.
context_section_description: Following the arrest of Sao Shwe Thaik of Yawnghwe in the Burmese coup d'état in March 1962 by the Revolutionary Council headed by General Ne Win, his wife Sao Nang Hearn Kham fled with her family to Thailand in April 1962 and Sao Shwe Thaik died in prison in November the same year. In exile, his wife took up the cause of the independence struggle of the Shan State. In 1964 Sao Nang Hearn Kham with her son Chao-Tzang Yawnghwe helped to form the Shan State War Council (SSWC) and the Shan State Army (SSA), becoming chair of the SSWC, and taking the Shan rebellion that started in 1958 to a new phase.
  Sao Nang Hearn Kham died on 17 January 2003 in exile in Canada at the age of 86.
  Prince Hso Khan Pha (sometimes written as Surkhanfa in Thai), 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, although as of June 2014 Burma still controls the area.
  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 Burmese 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 Burmese 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, Lisu and Lahu people, causing a new humanitarian crisis. Shan civil society organisations are concerned about the lack of international response on the recent conflict.
caption: Traditional Poi Sang Long novice ordination festival celebrated by one of the Shan communities in exile in Thailand
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