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The Jingpho people or Kachin people (Burmese: ကချင်လူမျိုး; MLCTS: ka. hkyang lu. myui:, pronounced [kətɕɪ̀ɴ lù mjó]; simplified Chinese: 景颇族; traditional Chinese: 景頗族; pinyin: Jǐngpō zú; also Jingpo or Singpho; endonyms: Jinghpaw, Tsaiva, Lechi, Theinbaw, Singfo, Chingpaw)[1]) are an ethnic group who largely inhabit the Kachin Hills in northern Burma's Kachin State and neighbouring areas of China and India. The Jingpo form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China, where they numbered 132,143 people in the 2000 census. The Singpho constitute the same ethnic identity, albeit living in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, an area also controversially claimed by China.
The Jingpo people are an ethnic affinity of several tribal groups, known for their fierce independence, disciplined fighting skills, complex clan inter-relations, embrace of Christianity, craftsmanship, herbal healing and jungle survival skills. Other neighbouring residents of Kachin State include the Shans (Thai/Lao related), the Lisus, the Rawangs, the Nagas, and the Burmans, the latter forming the largest ethnic group in Burma, also called Bamar.
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Two different categorization schemes complicate the terms Jingpo and Kachin, which also operate as political geography terms of British origin.
In one form of categorization, a variety of different linguistic groups with overlapping territories and integrated social structures are described as a single people: the Jingpo or Kachin. In another form of categorization, the native speakers of each language in the area are treated as distinct ethnic groups. Both schemes treat the Shan people who live in the same or contiguous areas as ethnically distinct. Jingpo people have frequently defied the Western expectation of lineage-based ethnicity by culturally "becoming Shans" (Leach 1965).
In British colonial Burma, Kachin people were categorized by the Census as separate different "races" or "tribes" according to languages, including Jingpo, Gauri, Maru, Lashi, Azi, Maingtha, Hpon, Nung (Rawang), Lisu, and Khamti (Shan). Other officials, missionaries, and the local administration recognized them as a single ethnic group (Leach 1965:43ff). In the early independence period, the Burmese government recognized the Kachin people as an overarching category.
The current Burmese government views the Kachin people as a "major national ethnic race" comprising the Jingpo, Lisu, Trone, Dalaung, Gauri, Hkahku, Duleng, Maru (Lawgore), Rawang, Lashi (La Chid), Atsi, and Taron as distinct ethnic nationalities.[1]
The people classified as the Jingpo in the broader sense speak at least five different languages, Jingpho proper, Zaiwa, Maru, Lashi,Nung(Rawang)and Lisu.
Jingpo proper (spelled Jinghpaw in Burmese) is spoken by 425,000 people in Burma and by 40,000 people in China. It is classified as Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, Kachin–Luic. Jingpho proper is also understood by many speakers of Zaiwa. The standard Jingpo language taught in China is based on the dialect of Enkun.
Zaiwa (also spelled Tsaiwa; called Atsi in Jingpo proper, Zǎiwǎyǔ 载瓦语 in Chinese, and Zi in Burmese) is spoken by approximately 80,000 people in China and 30,000 people in Burma. It is classified as Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, Yi-Burman, and Northern Burmic. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, a written language based on the dialect of the village of Longzhun (in Xishan district in Luxi county) and using the Latin alphabet was created and officially introduced in 1957.
Approximately half of the Jingpo declare themselves as Christians. There are also significant groups of Buddhists and Animists.these Jinghpaw people also believe God(Hpanwa ningsang Chyewa ningchyang)and Before American missionaries came to the area comprising the modern Kachin state, the majority of the Kachin were Animists. Some worship various gods as well as the spirits of their ancestors. The ancestor of all the Jingpo, who is worshipped as a spirit or god, is held to be named Madai. Jingpo Animists believe that spirits reside everywhere, from the sun to the animals, and that these spirits bring good or bad luck. For the Jingpo, all living creatures are believed to have souls. Rituals are carried out for protection in almost all daily activities, from planting of crops to warfare.
Jingpo dwellings are usually two stories and built out of wood and bamboo. The houses are of oval form; the first floor serves as a storage and stable while the second is utilized for living quarters. Women often dress in black jackets with silver decorations. They also wear wool skirts made in bright colors. The men often wear black and wide pants, covering their heads with turbans: the youths with white turbans and the adults with black turbans.
The Jingpo ancestors lived on the Tibetan plateau and migrated gradually towards the south. At their arrival to the present province of Yunnan, the Jingpo were referred to as Xunchuanman. The Jingpo are likely related to the neighbouring Qiang.
During the 15th and 16th centuries the Jingpo continued migrating to their present territory. They have received diverse names along the centuries: Echang, Zhexie, and Yeren, the latter name which was used in China from the Yuan dynasty to the formation of the People's Republic of China in 1949. During the British colonial period, some tribes were well integrated into the state while others operated with a large degree of autonomy. Kachin people, including those organized as the Kachin Levies provided assistance to British, Chinese, and American units fighting the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II.
Following the end of World War II and Burma’s independence from Britain, long standing ethnic conflicts between frontier peoples such as the Kachin people and the Burman-dominated central government resurfaced. The first uprising occurred in 1949. The uprisings escalated following the declaration of Buddhism (which is not practiced by the Kachin people) as a national religion in 1961. However, Kachin people fought both for and against the government during most of the ethnic conflicts. Kachin soldiers once formed a core part of the Burmese armed forces and many stayed loyal after the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) with its military wing, the Kachin Independent Army (KIA) was formed in 1961. After Ne Win's coup in 1962, there were fewer opportunities in the Burma Army for Kachin people. Much of Kachin State outside of the cities and larger towns was for many years KIO administered.
The KIO formed alliances with other ethnic groups resisting the Burmese occupation, and later despite its non-communist stance along with China informally supported the Communist Party of Burma (CPB), which held strategically sensitive parts of the country vis a vis the Kachin positions. The KIO continued to fight when Ne Win’s dictatorship was succeeded by another incarnation of the military junta in 1988 called the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). However, with a gradual withdrawal of Chinese support, in 1989 the Communist Party of Burma soon disintegrated into warlord led groups that negotiated ceasefire deals with the junta. This led to the KIO being surrounded by organizations effectively aligned with the SPDC. It was squeezed by redeployed battalions of the rearmed and ever growing Burma Army, and constantly urged to make peace by a civilian population suffering from years of warfare. In 1994 the KIO chose to enter into a ceasefire with the junta.
The ceasefire delivered neither security nor prosperity to the Kachin. With the end of hostilities the Burma Army presence has increased considerably, along with allegations of atrocities against the civilian population, including forced labor and rape.
High demand from China is currently encouraging logging-based deforestation in the Kachin region of Burma. (Kahrl et al. 2005; Global Witness 2005). Increasingly impoverished, some Jingpo women and children are drawn into the sex trade to Thailand, China and to Yangon in southern Burma (KWAT 2005).
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