The Kachins : their customs and traditions / Ola Hanson.

Includes index.

The origin of the Kachins -- Kachin dialects -- Country, village and home -- Appearance and dress -- Characteristics, habits and customs -- Government and law -- Industries -- Weapons and warfare -- Social life and amusements -- Intellectual development -- Mythology and traditions -- In quest of the unknown -- The Kachin religion -- Natal ceremonies -- Marriage ceremonies -- Funeral ceremonies -- The future of the Kachins.

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.