S'gaw people

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Karen
စှီၤ/ကညီ

Karen flag
A S'gaw Karen woman in a traditional dress
2,600,000
Languages
S'gaw Karen
Religion
Theravada Buddhism Christianity Animism

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The S'gaw, (S'gaw Karen: စှီၤ or ပှၤကညီဖိ, also spelled Skaw, S'gau), who refer to themselves as Paganyaw, Pga K'nyau, or K'Nyaw ^[1] (also spelled Pgaz Cgauz and Pakayo,^{[2][better source needed]}), are an ethnic group of Burma and Thailand.^[3] They speak the S'gaw Karen language.^[4]

The S'gaw are a subgroup of the Karen people. They are also referred to by the exonym White Karen,^[5] a term dating from colonial times and used in contrast to the Karenni (or "Red Karen") and the Pa'O (or "Black Karen"), even though the latter often rejected the term "Karen" to refer to themselves.^[5]

The S'gaw live primarily in eastern Burma (Karen State, Mon state, Karenni state). Many of them migrate to Thai-Burmese border and live there as a refugees for many decades due to conflict in Karen state. S'gaw people are the founder of the Karen National Union (KNU).