The Kachins
Their Customs and Traditions

Published in 1913, this book details the work of a missionary who lived with the Kachin people of Burma for over twenty years.

Ola Hanson (Author)

9781108046091, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 26 April 2012

278 pages, 24 b/w illus.
21.6 x 14 x 1.6 cm, 0.36 kg

Ola Hanson (1864–1927) was a Swedish-American missionary from Minnesota, posted to northern Burma in 1890. He lived with the Kachin people and became fluent in their language, compiling a word-list and eventually producing a Kachin–English dictionary. Their own culture and complex belief system were orally transmitted: Hanson therefore devised an alphabetical transcription for his translation of the Bible into Kachin, and this writing system later became widespread in Burma. First published in 1913, this book was written after Hanson had lived with the Kachins for over twenty years, and offers a unique insight into their culture at this time. It outlines their origins, dialects, law and weapons, as well as the details of Kachin religious beliefs and ceremonies for births, marriage and death. This book is valuable as both an ethnography of the Kachin and as an example of the perspective of an early twentieth-century missionary.

1. The origin of the Kachins
2. Kachin dialects
3. Country, village and home
4. Appearance and dress
5. Characteristics, habits and customs
6. Government and law
7. Industries
8. Weapons and warfare
9. Social life and amusements
10. Intellectual development
11. Mythology and traditions
12. In quest of the unknown
13. The Kachin religion
14. Natal ceremonies
15. Marriage ceremonies
16. Funeral ceremonies
17. The future of the Kachins
Appendix
Index.

Subject Areas: Social & cultural anthropology, ethnography [JHMC]