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De'ang

A Palaung tribal woman near Kalaw, Shan State, Burma.
Total population
557,000 (est.)
Regions with significant populations
Burma, smaller populations in China: Yunnan, Thailand
Languages
Palaung
Religion
Theravada Buddhism

The De'ang (Chinese: 德昂族; pinyin: Déáng Zú; Thai: ปะหล่อง; also spelt Deang, Palaung and Benglong) people are an ethnic group livingi in China, Burma and Thailand. Their language is called Palaung or "Ta-ang".

Language

The Palaung language belongs to the Palaungic sub-group of the Mon-Khmer group of languages and forms a bridge between Mon and Khasi (a language spoken in North-Eastern India).

Religion

Most De'ang are adherents of Buddhism and Buddhist temples can be found in most of their towns. Buddhism is present in all of the daily activities of this ethnic group. As of age of 10, many children are sent to the monasteries. Most of them return to lay life years later.

Further reading

• Palaung Women's Organisation. (2006). Poisoned flowers: the impacts of spiralling drug addiction on Palaung women in Burma. Tak, Maesot, Thailand: Palaung Women's Organisation.
• Ashley, S. (2006). Exorcising with Buddha palaung Buddhism in northern Thailand. Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada = Bibliothèque et Archives Canada. ISBN 0494033096
• Howard, M. C., & Wattana Wattanapun. (2001). The Palaung in northern Thailand. Chiang Mai, Thailand: Silkworm Books. ISBN 9748832511
• Cameron, A. A. (1912). Notes on the Palaung of the Kodaung Hill tracts of Mong Mit State. Rangoon: Govt. Printer.
• Milne, Leslie. An Elementary Palaung Grammar, Oxford, Clarendon Press (1921).
• Milne, Leslie. A Dictionary of English-Palaung and Palaung-English, Rangoon (1931).
• Milne, Leslie. The Home of an Eastern Clan: A Study of the Palaungs of the Shan State, Oxford, Clarendon Press (1924).