There are many noteworthy and dominant traditional icons within Karen culture: weaving, singing, t’nakus, hospitality, to name a few. Music is used to promote the preservation of traditions and is almost always part of ceremonies and celebrations.

The Karen have been living off the land for the extent of their known history. Methods of forest preservation are significant to the continuation of their ways of life. Swidden, crop rotation, and recycling are farming methods used by some Karen to keep the land healthy for continual use. Forest preservation ceremonies where Karen of various religious backgrounds gather are events that can be witnessed deep in the forests of Thailand.

As some Karen spread around the world, social media is used to maintain contact with the homeland. Karen in the far reaches of the world continue to practice celebrations and aspects of their culture.

Weaving

Karen weavings are quite distinct. Handbags, shirts, longyis, dresses, and headwraps are some of the distinct items woven by the Karen. The patterns of the weaving are intentional and maintain different meanings.

Singing and Dancing

Singing and dancing are highly regarded as key elements of Karen festivals and ceremonies. These may include Christian or ancient festivals, weddings, or funerals.

Music that is culturally traditional Karen music is identified by a sound or a melody. The main instruments associated with traditional Karen music are the t’naku, basic percussion, and voice. However, many other instruments are part of Karen music, both traditional and contemporary. It is common for Karen musicians to adopt foreign music and bring it into their canon, be it intentional or natural.¹ The history of Karen music prior to western influence is not well documented. Pentatonicism is noted to have been a primary scale, similar to other Eastern nations.² With the introduction of Christianity, a loss of music was found in specific Karen cultures.

“It is to be regretted that, with the acceptance of Christianity, the Karen have almost entirely dropped their own music for that of the West.”²

Instruments

Traditional Karen instruments vary from region to region. When speaking with a Karen musician from Karen State (“Kayin State” South Eastern Burma) they might not be aware of instruments that have been used by Karen for generations in a village in Northern Thailand. The diversity of the Karen ethnicity provides unique cultural differences within the population. Instruments include, but are not limited to: plucked strings (harps and lutes), percussion (xylophone, cymbals, drums - bronze, leather, bamboo, and wood), flutes, free-reed aerophones, and bowed string instruments.

Vocal Music

In a culture that is passionate about singing, the Karen, as a whole, have been known to absorb the musics of other cultures. Because of this trait and western proselytization, it is difficult to know the true nature of the ancient style of Karen singing. Harry Ignatius Marshall, while spreading western Christianity, had encouraged the preservation of traditional Karen music; “It’s a shame they are abandoning their own music, i urge them to preserve.”¹ Choirs and solo singing are a key part of Karen celebrations and ceremonies but also part of everyday life. In the United States, there are Karen festivals where Karen groups get together and sing and celebrate. Christmas time is a prominent period where singing, dancing, and instrument playing, which has been rehearsed for months, takes place.

Hta, an ancient manner of singing among Karen, is being developed and preserved. Read the article "Mother Died and Time Passed" for more information regarding Hta.

Contemporary Music

Modernization has brought western instruments into the world of the Karen—especially Karen youth. The guitar and piano are very common in Christian Karen church services as well as other Christian events. Recording studios are found within refugee camps, villages in Thailand and Burma, and resettled populations of Karen around the globe. Many of these studios produce contemporary Karen music that is shaped around the modern garage band.

Karen music, like other musics in minority populations, is being preserved through the efforts of ethnomusicologists and, more importantly, by the Karen themselves.

¹Stern, Theodore, and Theodore A. Stern. ""I Pluck My Harp": Musical Acculturation among the Karen of Western Thailand." Ethnomusicology 15, no. 2 (1971): 186-219.

²Marshall, Harry I. The Karen People of Burma: A Study in Anthropology and Ethnology. Columbus, OH: The University at Columbus 1922.

Understanding Hta from outside the Karen culture might pose some challenges. This sung text is ancient and often confusing to understand. Some intergenerational transmission regarding the meaning of the lyrics is interrupted and younger generations may not comprehend the meanings.¹ Violet Cho elaborates on the use of Hta in the article below. Also in this article there is significant cultural information regarding other aspects of the Karen. Being a native Karen, she has strong insight into social issues and traditions pertaining to her people.

"Mother Died and Time Passed" by Violet Cho

¹Karen singers in discussion with author, June 2016.

There are various instruments that might be said to be specific to the Karen people. With the mixing of cultures in Southeast Asia, it is very easy for the instrument of one people group to become adopted into another.¹ This element of musical development is accompanied by the loss of use of specific instruments as well. It is also important to note that the Karen are diverse; two villages might use very different instruments and could be unaware of the instruments used in a village of another region.

Harry Ignatius Marshall writes about eight specific musical instruments used by the Karen with whom he was residing around the turn of the 20th century. They include various plucked, blown, and hit instruments.² The main instrument that seems to be found throughout the Karen peoples is the t’naku.

Below are photos of several Karen Instruments associated with the Karen in the Tak and Chiang Mai Regions of Thailand and Karen State in Burma:

T’naku 5-9 stringed arched harp. An iconic instrument for many Karen.

Kana 4 stringed necked bowl lute.

Cymbals

Buffalo Horn Individual (single) free-reed aerophone made from water buffalo horn or wood.

Bronze Drum Bronze drums are iconic to Karen culture. They are very similar if not identical to bronze drums found throughout various parts of the Indo-Chinese Peninsula. Those attributed to the Karen have a few distinctions; specific carvings, number of rings, etc. They may hold significant meaning depending on the local religion or if traditions are being maintained. These drums, to some Karen, have sacred significance.(2)

Drums

Gong

¹Stern, Theodore, and Theodore A. Stern. ""I Pluck My Harp": Musical Acculturation among the Karen of Western Thailand." Ethnomusicology 15, no. 2 (1971): 186-219. doi:10.2307/850465.

²Marshall, Harry I. The Karen People of Burma: A Study in Anthropology and Ethnology. Columbus, OH: The University at Columbus 1922.

The ethnic identity of the Karen is not universal. Diversity can be observed in politics, religion, music, language, and even agriculture. Outside influences have increased the diversity. While the KNU (Karen National Union) is a very strong political voice and promotes the preservation of Karen, it does not represent all Karen people.

Resettlement has caused a diaspora and the lack of a politically recognized homeland further inhibits a unifying ethnic identity. The push by some Karen to be recognized as a unified people is a recent phenomenon.¹

¹Karen in discussion with author. July 2010.