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Remarkable for their military prowess, their receptivity to Christianity, and their intricate all-embracing kinship network, the Kachins are a hardy mountain people living in the remote hills of northern Burma and on the peripheries of India and China.<br/><br/> 'Kachin' is actually a Burmese word that does not exist in any of the local dialects. Each Kachin tribe has a different name for themselves and their neighbours, but no word to describe the whole group. There are the Jinghpaw (known as Jingpo in China and Singpho in India), the Maru, the Lashi, the Atsi (or Szi), the Lisu and the Rawang—but those represent linguistic groups rather than actual nationalities. Far more important bonds are formed by an intricate system of clans, which cuts across tribal barriers.<br/><br/> Every 'Kachin' belongs to one of five original families: Marip, Maran, Lahpai, N'Hkum and Lattaw. These clans are related in an all-embracing kinship network of extreme complexity. In practice, however, this system binds together the Kachins into a remarkably tight-knit society.
Amarapura is a former capital of Myanmar, and now a township of Mandalay. Amarapura is bounded by the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) river in the west, Chanmyathazi township in the north, and the city of Innwa (Ava) in the south.<br/><br/> Amarapura, Pali for City of Immortality, was the capital of Burma (Myanmar) for three separate periods during the Konbaung dynasty in the 18th and 19th centuries before finally being supplanted by Mandalay in 1857. Though historically referred to as Taungmyo (Southern City) in relation to Mandalay, Amarapura today is part of Mandalay, as a result of the urban sprawl.
A longyi is a sheet of cloth widely worn in Burma. It is approximately 2 m (6½ ft.) long and 80 cm (2½ ft.) wide. The cloth is often sewn into a cylindrical shape. It is worn around the waist, running to the feet. It is held in place by folding fabric over, without a knot. It is also sometimes folded up to the knee for comfort. Similar garments are found in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Malay Archipelago. In the Indian subcontinent (Bangladesh, West Bengal, South India, and Sri Lanka), it is known variously as a lungi, longi, kaili or saaram.
Mandalay, a sprawling city of more than 1 million people, was founded in 1857 by King Mindon to coincide with an ancient Buddhist prophecy. It was believed that Gautama Buddha visited the sacred mount of Mandalay Hill with his disciple Ananda, and proclaimed that on the 2,400th anniversary of his death, a metropolis of Buddhist teaching would be founded at the foot of the hill.
The Dutch East India Company (VOC) was set up in 1602 to gain a foothold in the East Indies (Indonesia) for the Dutch in the lucrative spice trade, which until that point was dominated by the Portuguese. It was a chartered company granted a monopoly by the Dutch government to carry out colonial activities in Asia, including establishing colonies in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and India.<br/><br/> In 1658, the VOC sent Baldaeus from The Netherlands to Jaffna in northern Ceylon to work as a missionary.<br/><br/> In this painting, Baldaeus wears Mughal dress including a checked turban. The Sinhalese man wears a lungi and appears to be of the farming caste of Vellalas.