This article is about the historical background, culture, socio-political organizations, economiy, religion and overall beliefs of the Karen tribe. The Karen called themselves “Pga K’ Ngaw” that means “human beings”. They speak a language of Sino-Tibetan origin which includes Chinese and Tibeto-Burmese. There are four major groups of Karens: Sgaw, Pwo, Pa-O and Kaya. They live on highland and they are farmers with swidden cultivation while the Karen on the lowland grow rice and commercial crops. The Karen have a matriarchal society. There may be one or more leaders in the village and one or more religious leaders or the leader of the village can be the religious leader. Basically, the Karen are similar to other hilltribes who are animists.