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Asia's smallest and least-known nation, the Republic of Maldives, lies scattered from north to south across a 750-kilometre sweep of the Indian Ocean 500 kilometres south-west of Sri Lanka. More than 1000 islands, together with innumerable banks and reefs, are grouped in a chain of nineteen atolls which extends from a point due west of Colombo to just south of the equator.<br/><br/> The atolls, formed of great rings of coral based on the submarine Laccadive-Chagos ridge, vary greatly in size. Some are only a few kilometres square, but in the far south the great atoll of Suvadiva is sixty-five kilometres across, and has a central lagoon of more than 2000 square kilometres. The northern and central atolls are separated from each other by comparatively narrow channels of deep water, but in the south Suvadiva is cut off by the eighty-kilometre-wide One-and-a-half-Degree Channel. Addu Atoll is still more isolated, being separated from the atoll of Suvadiva by the seventy-kilometre-wide Equatorial Channel.
Lascarins (Lascareen, Lascoreen and Lascarine) is a term used in Sri Lanka to identify indigenous soldiers who fought for the Portuguese during the Portuguese era (1505–1658) and continued to serve as colonial soldiers until the 1930s.
Frida Kahlo de Rivera (July 6, 1907 – July 13, 1954; born Magdalena Carmen Frieda Kahlo y Calderón, was a Mexican painter, born in Coyoacán. Perhaps best known for her self-portraits, Kahlo's work is remembered for its 'pain and passion', and its intense, vibrant colors.<br/><br/> Her work has been celebrated in Mexico as emblematic of national and indigenous tradition, and by feminists for its uncompromising depiction of the female experience and form. Kahlo had a stormy but passionate marriage with the prominent Mexican artist Diego Rivera.
In Javanese wayang (shadow puppets), the panakawan or panakavan (phanakavhan) are the clown servants of the hero. There are four of them – Semar (also known as Ki Lurah Semar), Petruk, Gareng and Bagong. Semar is the personification of a deity, sometimes said to the be the dhanyang or guardian spirit of the island of Java. In Javanese mythology, deities can only manifest themselves as ugly or otherwise unprepossessing humans, and so Semar is always portrayed as short and fat with a pug nose and a dangling hernia.<br/><br/>His three companions are his adopted sons, given to Semar as votaries by their parents. Petruk is portrayed as tall and gangling with a long nose, Gareng as short with a club foot and Bagong as obese.<br/><br/>Wayang is a Javanese word for particular kinds of theatre (literally 'shadow'). When the term is used to refer to kinds of puppet theatre, sometimes the puppet itself is referred to as wayang. Performances of shadow puppet theatre are accompanied by gamelan in Java.<br/><br/>UNESCO designated Wayang Kulit, a shadow puppet theatre and the best known of the Indonesian wayang, as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity on 7 November 2003.
The Amis (Chinese: 阿美族; pinyin: āměi-zú; also Ami or Pangcah) are an indigenous people of Taiwan. They speak Amis, an Austronesian language, and are one of the fourteen officially recognized peoples of Taiwanese aborigines. The traditional territory of the Amis include the long, narrow valley between the Central Mountains and the Coastal Mountains, the Pacific coastal plain eastern to the Coastal Mountains, and the Hengchun Peninsula.
The Amis (Chinese: 阿美族; pinyin: āměi-zú; also Ami or Pangcah) are an indigenous people of Taiwan. They speak Amis, an Austronesian language, and are one of the fourteen officially recognized peoples of Taiwanese aborigines. The traditional territory of the Amis include the long, narrow valley between the Central Mountains and the Coastal Mountains, the Pacific coastal plain eastern to the Coastal Mountains, and the Hengchun Peninsula.
The Amis (Chinese: 阿美族; pinyin: āměi-zú; also Ami or Pangcah) are an indigenous people of Taiwan. They speak Amis, an Austronesian language, and are one of the fourteen officially recognized peoples of Taiwanese aborigines. The traditional territory of the Amis include the long, narrow valley between the Central Mountains and the Coastal Mountains, the Pacific coastal plain eastern to the Coastal Mountains, and the Hengchun Peninsula.
The Amis (Chinese: 阿美族; pinyin: āměi-zú; also Ami or Pangcah) are an indigenous people of Taiwan. They speak Amis, an Austronesian language, and are one of the fourteen officially recognized peoples of Taiwanese aborigines. The traditional territory of the Amis include the long, narrow valley between the Central Mountains and the Coastal Mountains, the Pacific coastal plain eastern to the Coastal Mountains, and the Hengchun Peninsula.
The Amis (Chinese: 阿美族; pinyin: āměi-zú; also Ami or Pangcah) are an indigenous people of Taiwan. They speak Amis, an Austronesian language, and are one of the fourteen officially recognized peoples of Taiwanese aborigines. The traditional territory of the Amis include the long, narrow valley between the Central Mountains and the Coastal Mountains, the Pacific coastal plain eastern to the Coastal Mountains, and the Hengchun Peninsula.
The Amis (Chinese: 阿美族; pinyin: āměi-zú; also Ami or Pangcah) are an indigenous people of Taiwan. They speak Amis, an Austronesian language, and are one of the fourteen officially recognized peoples of Taiwanese aborigines. The traditional territory of the Amis include the long, narrow valley between the Central Mountains and the Coastal Mountains, the Pacific coastal plain eastern to the Coastal Mountains, and the Hengchun Peninsula.
The Amis (Chinese: 阿美族; pinyin: āměi-zú; also Ami or Pangcah) are an indigenous people of Taiwan. They speak Amis, an Austronesian language, and are one of the fourteen officially recognized peoples of Taiwanese aborigines. The traditional territory of the Amis include the long, narrow valley between the Central Mountains and the Coastal Mountains, the Pacific coastal plain eastern to the Coastal Mountains, and the Hengchun Peninsula.
The Amis (Chinese: 阿美族; pinyin: āměi-zú; also Ami or Pangcah) are an indigenous people of Taiwan. They speak Amis, an Austronesian language, and are one of the fourteen officially recognized peoples of Taiwanese aborigines. The traditional territory of the Amis include the long, narrow valley between the Central Mountains and the Coastal Mountains, the Pacific coastal plain eastern to the Coastal Mountains, and the Hengchun Peninsula.
The Amis (Chinese: 阿美族; pinyin: āměi-zú; also Ami or Pangcah) are an indigenous people of Taiwan. They speak Amis, an Austronesian language, and are one of the fourteen officially recognized peoples of Taiwanese aborigines. The traditional territory of the Amis include the long, narrow valley between the Central Mountains and the Coastal Mountains, the Pacific coastal plain eastern to the Coastal Mountains, and the Hengchun Peninsula.
The Amis (Chinese: 阿美族; pinyin: āměi-zú; also Ami or Pangcah) are an indigenous people of Taiwan. They speak Amis, an Austronesian language, and are one of the fourteen officially recognized peoples of Taiwanese aborigines. The traditional territory of the Amis include the long, narrow valley between the Central Mountains and the Coastal Mountains, the Pacific coastal plain eastern to the Coastal Mountains, and the Hengchun Peninsula.
The Amis (Chinese: 阿美族; pinyin: āměi-zú; also Ami or Pangcah) are an indigenous people of Taiwan. They speak Amis, an Austronesian language, and are one of the fourteen officially recognized peoples of Taiwanese aborigines. The traditional territory of the Amis include the long, narrow valley between the Central Mountains and the Coastal Mountains, the Pacific coastal plain eastern to the Coastal Mountains, and the Hengchun Peninsula.
The Amis (Chinese: 阿美族; pinyin: āměi-zú; also Ami or Pangcah) are an indigenous people of Taiwan. They speak Amis, an Austronesian language, and are one of the fourteen officially recognized peoples of Taiwanese aborigines. The traditional territory of the Amis include the long, narrow valley between the Central Mountains and the Coastal Mountains, the Pacific coastal plain eastern to the Coastal Mountains, and the Hengchun Peninsula.
The Amis (Chinese: 阿美族; pinyin: āměi-zú; also Ami or Pangcah) are an indigenous people of Taiwan. They speak Amis, an Austronesian language, and are one of the fourteen officially recognized peoples of Taiwanese aborigines. The traditional territory of the Amis include the long, narrow valley between the Central Mountains and the Coastal Mountains, the Pacific coastal plain eastern to the Coastal Mountains, and the Hengchun Peninsula.
The Shilluk, who prefer to be known as Chollo, are a major Nilotic ethnic group of Southern Sudan, living on both banks of the river Nile, in the vicinity of the city of Malakal. The most extensive Chollo area is located on the western bank of the Nile north from Malakal. Before the second Sudanese civil war the Chollo also lived in a number of settlements on the northern bank of the Sobat river.<br/><br/> The Shilluk are the third largest minority ethnic group of Southern Sudan, after the Dinka and their neighbors the Nuer. They are led by a chief who is considered divine, and traces his lineage back to the culture hero Nyikang, and whose health is believed to affect that of the nation; Formerly, their society was fairly hierarchical, with castes of royals, nobles, commoners, and slaves.<br/><br/> Like most Nilotic groups, cattle-raising formed a large part of their economy; however, agriculture and fishing were more significant than usual, and most were sedentary. Most Chollo have converted to Christianity, while some still follow the traditional religion, and small numbers have converted to Islam.
The Shilluk, who prefer to be known as Chollo, are a major Nilotic ethnic group of Southern Sudan, living on both banks of the river Nile, in the vicinity of the city of Malakal. The most extensive Chollo area is located on the western bank of the Nile north from Malakal. Before the second Sudanese civil war the Chollo also lived in a number of settlements on the northern bank of the Sobat river.<br/><br/> The Shilluk are the third largest minority ethnic group of Southern Sudan, after the Dinka and their neighbors the Nuer. They are led by a chief who is considered divine, and traces his lineage back to the culture hero Nyikang, and whose health is believed to affect that of the nation; Formerly, their society was fairly hierarchical, with castes of royals, nobles, commoners, and slaves.<br/><br/> Like most Nilotic groups, cattle-raising formed a large part of their economy; however, agriculture and fishing were more significant than usual, and most were sedentary. Most Chollo have converted to Christianity, while some still follow the traditional religion, and small numbers have converted to Islam.
Southern Sudan is composed of more than 200 ethnic groups and is, along with the adjacent Nuba Hills, one of the most linguistically diverse regions of Africa.<br/><br/> The official languages are Arabic and English. Colloquial Arabic is spoken widely, though Juba Arabic, a pidgin, is spoken around the capital. The most populous language by native speakers is Dinka, a dialect spoken by 2–3 million people. Dinka is a Western Nilotic language; closely related to Southern Sudan's second most populous language, Nuer, and a bit more distant is Shilluk. Major Eastern Nilotic languages are Bari and Otuho. Besides the Nilotic family, Zande, Southern Sudan's third most populous language, is Ubangian.
The Shilluk, who prefer to be known as Chollo, are a major Nilotic ethnic group of Southern Sudan, living on both banks of the river Nile, in the vicinity of the city of Malakal. The most extensive Chollo area is located on the western bank of the Nile north from Malakal. Before the second Sudanese civil war the Chollo also lived in a number of settlements on the northern bank of the Sobat river.<br/><br/> The Shilluk are the third largest minority ethnic group of Southern Sudan, after the Dinka and their neighbors the Nuer. They are led by a chief who is considered divine, and traces his lineage back to the culture hero Nyikang, and whose health is believed to affect that of the nation; Formerly, their society was fairly hierarchical, with castes of royals, nobles, commoners, and slaves.<br/><br/> Like most Nilotic groups, cattle-raising formed a large part of their economy; however, agriculture and fishing were more significant than usual, and most were sedentary. Most Chollo have converted to Christianity, while some still follow the traditional religion, and small numbers have converted to Islam.
Before British colonisation in 1803, there were an estimated 3,000–15,000 Parlevar or native Tasmanians. As a result of colonial wars, mistreatment and starvation, the last of the full blooded Parelvar died in 1876.<br/><br/> Jean-François de Galoup, Comte de La Pérouse (August 23, 1741-1788) was a French explorer and naval officer. In 1785, the King of France commissioned La Perouse to head an expedition to explore the Pacific Ocean, to investigate whaling and fur prospects, and to establish French claims in this area. La Pérouse had admired the explorer James Cook, and wanted to continue his work.<br/><br/> La Perouse was assigned two 500-ton ships called the Astrolabe and the Boussole. His crew of 114 included sailors, scientists, a physicist, three draftsmen, three naturalists, clergymen, and a mathematician. They left France in August, 1785.<br/><br/> La Perouse mapped the west coast of North America in 1786, and visited Easter Island and Hawaii. His ships reached the west coast of Alaska in 1786 and did extensive mapping of the North American west coast from Alaska to Monterey, California.<br/><br/> Next La Pérouse landed at Botany Bay (Port Jackson), Australia, before heading for the Solomon Islands. La Pérouse took the opportunity to send his journals, some charts and also some letters back to Europe with a British naval ship. He wrote that he expected to be back in France by June 1789, however neither he, nor any of his men, were seen again. Fortunately the valuable written documents that he dispatched with the Sirius from the in-progress expedition were returned to Paris, where they were published posthumously.<br/><br/> Both of La Perouse's ships were lost in a storm close to the Solomons in 1788. No survivors were ever found.
Before British colonisation in 1803, there were an estimated 3,000–15,000 Parlevar or native Tasmanians. As a result of colonial wars, mistreatment and starvation, the last of the full blooded Parelvar died in 1876.<br/><br/> Jean-François de Galoup, Comte de La Pérouse (August 23, 1741-1788) was a French explorer and naval officer. In 1785, the King of France commissioned La Perouse to head an expedition to explore the Pacific Ocean, to investigate whaling and fur prospects, and to establish French claims in this area. La Pérouse had admired the explorer James Cook, and wanted to continue his work.<br/><br/> La Perouse was assigned two 500-ton ships called the Astrolabe and the Boussole. His crew of 114 included sailors, scientists, a physicist, three draftsmen, three naturalists, clergymen, and a mathematician. They left France in August, 1785.<br/><br/> La Perouse mapped the west coast of North America in 1786, and visited Easter Island and Hawaii. His ships reached the west coast of Alaska in 1786 and did extensive mapping of the North American west coast from Alaska to Monterey, California.<br/><br/> Next La Pérouse landed at Botany Bay (Port Jackson), Australia, before heading for the Solomon Islands. La Pérouse took the opportunity to send his journals, some charts and also some letters back to Europe with a British naval ship. He wrote that he expected to be back in France by June 1789, however neither he, nor any of his men, were seen again. Fortunately the valuable written documents that he dispatched with the Sirius from the in-progress expedition were returned to Paris, where they were published posthumously.<br/><br/> Both of La Perouse's ships were lost in a storm close to the Solomons in 1788. No survivors were ever found.
Taiwanese aborigines (Chinese: yuánzhùmín; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: gôan-chū-bîn; literally "original inhabitants") may have been living on the islands for approximately 8,000 years before major Han Chinese immigration began in the 17th century. Taiwanese aborigines are Austronesian peoples, with linguistic and genetic ties to other Austronesian ethnic groups, such as peoples of the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Madagascar and Oceania. For centuries, Taiwan's aboriginal peoples experienced economic competition and military conflict with a series of colonizing peoples. Centralized government policies designed to foster language shift and cultural assimilation, as well as continued contact with the colonizers through trade, intermarriage and other dispassionate intercultural processes, have resulted in varying degrees of language death and loss of original cultural identity. Taiwan's Austronesian speakers were formerly distributed over much of the island's rugged central mountain range and were concentrated in villages along the alluvial plains. As of 2009, their total population was around 500,000 (approximately 2 percent of Taiwan's population).
Wayang is a Javanese word for particular kinds of theatre (literally 'shadow'). When the term is used to refer to kinds of puppet theatre, sometimes the puppet itself is referred to as wayang. Performances of shadow puppet theatre are accompanied by gamelan in Java.<br/><br/>UNESCO designated Wayang Kulit, a shadow puppet theatre and the best known of the Indonesian wayang, as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity on 7 November 2003.<br/><br/>Semar is a character in Javanese mythology who frequently appears in wayang shadow plays. He is one of the punokawan (clowns), but is in fact divine and very wise. He is the dhanyang (guardian spirit) of Java, and is regarded by some as the most sacred figure of the kotak (wayang set). He is said to be the god Sang Hyang Ismaya in human form.
This illustration by Louis Delaporte is one of dozens he produced during his two-year venture (1866-68) with the Mekong Exploration Commission sponsored by the French Ministry of the Navy, the intention of which was to lay the groundwork for the expansion of French colonies in Indochina. Traveling the Mekong by boat, the small French delegation voyaged from Saigon to Phnom Penh to Luang Prabang, then farther north into the uncharted waters of Upper Laos and China's Yunnan province, before returning to Hanoi in 1868 by foot, accompanied by porters and elephants.
The Wanniyala-Aetto, or 'forest people', more commonly known as Veddas or Veddahs, are an indigenous people of Sri Lanka, an island nation in the Indian Ocean; they were never numerous and are now few in number.<br/><br/> Sri Lanka had always been an important port and trading post in the ancient world, and was increasingly frequented by merchant ships from the Middle East, Persia, Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia. The islands were known to the first European explorers of South Asia and settled by many groups of Arab and Malay merchants.<br/><br/> A Portuguese colonial mission arrived on the island in 1505 headed by Lourenço de Almeida, the son of Francisco de Almeida. At that point the island consisted of three kingdoms, namely Kandy in the central hills, Kotte at the Western coast, and Yarlpanam (Anglicised Jaffna) in the north. The Dutch arrived in the 17th century. The British East India Company took over the coastal regions controlled by the Dutch in 1796, and in 1802 these provinces were declared a crown colony under direct rule of the British government, therefore the island was not part of the British Raj. The annexation of the Kingdom of Kandy in 1815 by the Kandyan convention, unified the island under British rule.<br/><br/> European colonists established a series of cinnamon, sugar, coffee, indigo cultivation followed by tea and rubber plantations and graphite mining. The British also brought a large number of indentured workers from Tamil Nadu to work in the plantation economy. The city of Colombo was developed as the administrative centre and commercial heart with its harbor, and the British established modern schools, colleges, roads and churches that introduced Western-style education and culture to the Ceylonese.<br/><br/> On 4 February 1948 the country gained its independence as the Dominion of Ceylon. It changed its name to Sri Lanka in 1972.
Taiwanese aborigines (Chinese: yuánzhùmín; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: gôan-chū-bîn; literally "original inhabitants") may have been living on the islands for approximately 8,000 years before major Han Chinese immigration began in the 17th century. Taiwanese aborigines are Austronesian peoples, with linguistic and genetic ties to other Austronesian ethnic groups, such as peoples of the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Madagascar and Oceania. For centuries, Taiwan's aboriginal peoples experienced economic competition and military conflict with a series of colonizing peoples. Centralized government policies designed to foster language shift and cultural assimilation, as well as continued contact with the colonizers through trade, intermarriage and other dispassionate intercultural processes, have resulted in varying degrees of language death and loss of original cultural identity. Taiwan's Austronesian speakers were formerly distributed over much of the island's rugged central mountain range and were concentrated in villages along the alluvial plains. As of 2009, their total population was around 500,000 (approximately 2 percent of Taiwan's population).
Manzanar is most widely known as the site of one of ten camps where over 110,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II. Located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada in California's Owens Valley between the towns of Lone Pine to the south and Independence to the north, it is approximately 230 miles (370 km) northeast of Los Angeles.<br/><br/> Long before the first incarcerees arrived in March 1942, Manzanar was home to Native Americans, who mostly lived in villages near several creeks in the area. Ranchers and miners formally established the town of Manzanar in 1910, but abandoned the town by 1929 after the City of Los Angeles purchased the water rights to virtually the entire area.<br/><br/> Since the last incarcerees left in 1945, former incarcerees and others have worked to protect Manzanar and to establish it as a National Historic Site to ensure that the history of the site, along with the stories of those who were unjustly incarcerated there, are remembered by current and future generations.
Chukchi, or Chukchee are an indigenous people inhabiting the Chukchi Peninsula and the shores of the Chukchi Sea and the Bering Sea region of the Arctic Ocean within the Russian Federation. They speak the Chukchi language. The Chukchi originated from the people living around the Okhotsk Sea.
Taiwanese aborigines (Chinese: yuánzhùmín; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: gôan-chū-bîn; literally "original inhabitants") may have been living on the islands for approximately 8,000 years before major Han Chinese immigration began in the 17th century. Taiwanese aborigines are Austronesian peoples, with linguistic and genetic ties to other Austronesian ethnic groups, such as peoples of the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Madagascar and Oceania. For centuries, Taiwan's aboriginal peoples experienced economic competition and military conflict with a series of colonizing peoples. Centralized government policies designed to foster language shift and cultural assimilation, as well as continued contact with the colonizers through trade, intermarriage and other dispassionate intercultural processes, have resulted in varying degrees of language death and loss of original cultural identity. Taiwan's Austronesian speakers were formerly distributed over much of the island's rugged central mountain range and were concentrated in villages along the alluvial plains. As of 2009, their total population was around 500,000 (approximately 2 percent of Taiwan's population).
Taiwanese aborigines (Chinese: yuánzhùmín; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: gôan-chū-bîn; literally "original inhabitants") may have been living on the islands for approximately 8,000 years before major Han Chinese immigration began in the 17th century. Taiwanese aborigines are Austronesian peoples, with linguistic and genetic ties to other Austronesian ethnic groups, such as peoples of the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Madagascar and Oceania. For centuries, Taiwan's aboriginal peoples experienced economic competition and military conflict with a series of colonizing peoples. Centralized government policies designed to foster language shift and cultural assimilation, as well as continued contact with the colonizers through trade, intermarriage and other dispassionate intercultural processes, have resulted in varying degrees of language death and loss of original cultural identity. Taiwan's Austronesian speakers were formerly distributed over much of the island's rugged central mountain range and were concentrated in villages along the alluvial plains. As of 2009, their total population was around 500,000 (approximately 2 percent of Taiwan's population).
Taiwanese aborigines (Chinese: yuánzhùmín; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: gôan-chū-bîn; literally "original inhabitants") may have been living on the islands for approximately 8,000 years before major Han Chinese immigration began in the 17th century. Taiwanese aborigines are Austronesian peoples, with linguistic and genetic ties to other Austronesian ethnic groups, such as peoples of the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Madagascar and Oceania. For centuries, Taiwan's aboriginal peoples experienced economic competition and military conflict with a series of colonizing peoples. Centralized government policies designed to foster language shift and cultural assimilation, as well as continued contact with the colonizers through trade, intermarriage and other dispassionate intercultural processes, have resulted in varying degrees of language death and loss of original cultural identity. Taiwan's Austronesian speakers were formerly distributed over much of the island's rugged central mountain range and were concentrated in villages along the alluvial plains. As of 2009, their total population was around 500,000 (approximately 2 percent of Taiwan's population).
Wayang is a Javanese word for particular kinds of theatre (literally 'shadow'). When the term is used to refer to kinds of puppet theatre, sometimes the puppet itself is referred to as wayang. Performances of shadow puppet theatre are accompanied by gamelan in Java.<br/><br/>UNESCO designated Wayang Kulit, a shadow puppet theatre and the best known of the Indonesian wayang, as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity on 7 November 2003.<br/><br/>Semar is a character in Javanese mythology who frequently appears in wayang shadow plays. He is one of the punokawan (clowns), but is in fact divine and very wise. He is the dhanyang (guardian spirit) of Java, and is regarded by some as the most sacred figure of the kotak (wayang set). He is said to be the god Sang Hyang Ismaya in human form.
The French Mekong Expedition (1866-68) voyaged upriver on the Mekong River through Indochina until it reached the Chinese frontier in December 1867. Crossing into Yunnan, the expedition encountered various indigenous peoples, including Muslims (bottom row) in Dali.
The land council was a judicial body in the Dutch East Indies. It was the ordinary court for both indigenous people in civil and criminal cases and for non-European foreigners in criminal cases.
The Shan, or 'Tai Yai' (Great Thai) are a prominent ethnic group in northern Burma and northwestern Thailand. Linguistically very similar to the Siamese, who were known as the 'Tai Noi' (Small Tai), the Shan migrated to the region through Laos from Yunnan in China over at least the past 1,000 years. The Shan have inhabited the mountainous Shan Plateau of Myanmar since as far back as the 10th century CE.
'The accompanying illustration is designed to exhibit something of the daily routine of the Dinka. It represents one of those murahs or cattle-parks, of which I have seen hundreds. It depicts the scene at about five o’clock in the afternoon.<br/><br/> In the foreground there are specimens of the cattle of the country. The men in charge are busied collecting up into heaps the dung that has been exposed during the day to be dried in the sun. Clouds of reeking vapour fill the murah throughout the night and drive away the pestiferous insects. The herds have just been driven to their quarters, and each animal is fastened by a leather collar to its own wooden peg. Towards the left, on a pile of ashes, sit the owners of this section of the murah.<br/><br/> The ashes which are produced in the course of the year raise the level of the entire estate. Semi-circular huts erected on the hillocks afford the owners temporary accommodation when they quit their homes some miles away and come to feast their eyes upon the goodly spectacle of their wealth.'