Burma / Myanmar: Pa-O women in their finest turbans at the Phaung Daw Oo (Hpaung Daw U) Pagoda, Inle Lake, Shan State

The Pa-O are the seventh largest ethnic nationality in the Republic of the Union of Myanmar. They are the second largest ethnic group in the Shan State, and also live in Kayin State, Kayah State, Mon State and Bago Division. They are believed to be of Tibeto-Burman stock, and are ethnolinguistically related to the Karen.

The Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda is famous for its five small gilded Buddha images that have been regularly covered in gold leaf to the point where the original shape is no longer visible. The images are believed to have been brought here by King Alaungsithu (1089 - 1167).

Inle Lake is a freshwater lake located in the Nyaungshwe Township of Taunggyi District of Shan State, part of Shan Hills in Myanmar (Burma). It is the second largest lake in Myanmar with an estimated surface area of 44.9 square miles (116 km2), and one of the highest at an altitude of 2,900 feet (880 m).

The people of Inle Lake (called Intha), some 70,000 of them, live in four cities bordering the lake, in numerous small villages along the lake's shores, and on the lake itself. The entire lake area is in Nyaung Shwe township. The population consists predominantly of Intha, with a mix of other Shan, Taungyo, Pa-O (Taungthu), Danu, Kayah, Danaw and Bamar ethnicities. Most are devout Buddhists, and live in simple houses of wood and woven bamboo on stilts; they are largely self-sufficient farmers.

Copyright:

CPA Media Co. Ltd.

Photographer:

David Henley

Credit:

Pictures From Asia