Concept

Kachin State

Summary
Kachin State (ကချင်ပြည်နယ်; Kachin: Jinghpaw Mungdaw), also known by the endonym Kachinland, is the northernmost state of Myanmar. It is bordered by China to the north and east (Tibet and Yunnan, specifically and respectively); Shan State to the south; and Sagaing Region and India (Arunachal Pradesh) to the west. It lies between north latitude 23° 27' and 28° 25' longitude 96° 0' and 98° 44'. The area of Kachin State is . The capital of the state is Myitkyina. Other important towns include Bhamo, Mohnyin and Putao. Kachin State has Myanmar's highest mountain, Hkakabo Razi at , forming the southern tip of the Himalayas, and a large inland lake, Indawgyi Lake. What is now Kachin State was historically inhabited by a diverse population of various ethnolinguistic groups, including the Rawang, the Lisu, the Jingpo, the Zaiwa, the Lashi/Lachik and the Lawngwaw/Maru, all of whom had overlapping territories and varying social structures. The term "Kachin" is a Burmese umbrella term referring to ethnic groups living between the central Bamar heartland to the south and China to the north. Traditional Kachin society was based on shifting hill agriculture. According to "The Political Systems of Highland Burma: A Study of Kachin Social Structure", written by E. R. Leach, Kachin was not a linguistic category. Political authority was based on chieftains who depended on support from immediate kinsmen. Considerable attention has been given by anthropologists of the Kachin custom of maternal cousin marriage, wherein it is permissible for a man to marry his mother's brother's daughter, but not with the father's sister's daughter. In pre-colonial times, the Kachin were animist. After the Qing-Konbaung war, the Chinese exercised a degree of control over the present-day northeastern Kachin State. During the British colonization of Burma, the Kachin Hills tribal autonomy was accepted by the British government. British forces carried out two expeditions against the Kachin in 1892 and 1896. In 1910, the British occupied Hpimaw () in the Pianma Incident.
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