KAPAS DANG A

[s. 383] : A village in the district of Nadiya, Bengal, India, situated 20 miles N. E. of Krishnagar. Station of the CEZ (1885), with (1903) 2 women mi ionaries, 3 native workers, and 1 female helpers’ training The central station has now been trans The CMS has here (1903) ferred to Ratnapur. 8 native workers, 750 Christians, 1 chapel, and 4 day schools. The work is now in charge of the 1 village school, cla . local district church council. KARACni: A town and the capital of Sind, India, situated 90 miles W. S. W. of Haidarabad on a small bay W. of the Indus. It carries on an important export trade in wheat. Population (1891) of 98,200, of whom 51,400 are Muslims and 42,000 are Hindus. Station of the CMS (1850), with (1903) 1 mi ionary and his wife, 4 native workers, 1 chapel, 3 day schools, and 99 profe ed Christians, of whom 53 are com muSt at i on also of the CEZ (1880), with nicants. (1903) 3 women mi ionaries, 18 native workers, Station also of the ME, with 1 7 village schools. mi ionary and his wife, 14 native workers, 1 chapel, 3 Sunday schools, 2 village schools, and 292 profe ed Christians, of whom 40 are communicants. A Jewish sect, existing in Ru ia KARAITES: (chiefly in the Crimea), Austria (Galicia), Turkey, and other countries of the East, are distinguished by a strict adherence to the Biblical books, and the rejection, except as exegetical aids, of all oral traditions and Talmud i cal inter- They themselves trace their origin pretations. to the time of Shalmanesar, and since he carried the ten tribes of Israel to the north, they hold they must worship with their faces to the south. Karaite historians are now, however, greatly divided on the subject of this origin. The Karaites have produced a valuable literature, not only on Biblical interpretations, dogmatics, and other religious topics, but also on philosophy and mathematics, written partly in Hebrew or Arabic, partly in a curious dialect of Turkish, which is a peculiar idiom of their own, in a region bordering on the Black Sea, and partly in the languages of the several countries which they Their literature is, however, very little inhabit. known to the Occidental world. Several of their Karaltlc Kaslinilr principal writings been have published The name is Eupatoria, in the Crimea. written Caraites. KARAITIC TARTAR TURKISH. at also See Tubk- ISH Language. KARAKAL A town in South Kanara, Madras,: Station of India, 30 miles N. E. of Man galore. the Basel Mi ionary Society (1872), with (1903) 2 mi ionaries, 1 with his wife; 13 native workers, 4 outstations, 5 elementary schools, and 188 The name as written by profe ed Christians. the Society is Karkala. KARASS LANGUAGE Name improperly given: to the Nogai dialect of Turkish. KARATA A settlement in Nicaragua, Central America, in the Mosquito Reservation, about 140 Station of the Mora miles north of Blue fields. vian Mi ion (1880), with (1900) 1 mi ionary: and wife, 6 native workers, men and women; 1 chapel, and 1 day schoel. KARELIAN LANGUAGE A dialect of the Finnish which is spoken in the district of Tver in Ru ia. It is written with the Ru ian alphabet.: KARENS: The Karens include several related Lower tribes, scattered over various portions of Burma, and extending into Northern Siam. All they number probably not far from one told Evidence seems to indicate that their ancestors came into Burma from western China. Indeed they bear a considerable resemblance to the alien people of western China to-day, called by the Chinese Ya-yin or “wild people.” The language of the Karens is of the monosyllabic It was uncla and Tibeto-Burman family. written until the coming of the mi ionaries, who adapted the Burmese alphabet to its use. Its various dialects so far resemble each other that mi ionary work is carried on mainly through the use of two, the Sgau and the Pwo dialects. Dr. Mason has grouped the various Karen tribes concisely under three sub-divisions, viz., With the Sgaus the Sgaus, Pwos, and Bghais. proper he included the Pakus, Maunephghas, and the small tribe of the We-was; while the Mopghas are cla ed with the Pwos. The total million. number of Pwos and of Sgaus has been given as 310,000 and 260,000, respectively. Both these tribes are scattered widely over lower Burma, between the eastern and western Yoma mountain ranges, over the deltas of the Irrawaddy and the Salwen, and on the extreme south of the provThe Sgaus and allied tribes ince of Tena erim. extend as far north as Prome and Taung-ngu, the Pakus being found in the southern portion of the Taung-ngu district, while the Maunephghas are The Pwos are po e ed of east from Shwegyin. rather stronger natural traits, and stand rather higher in the scale of civilization than the Sgaus. Being more Burmanized, however, they are le acce ible to the Gospel, and the transforming power of Christian education is seen chiefly among the Sgaus. These tribes are somewhat low in stature, with olive complexion, and dark hair and eyes and gentle manner; attractive In the plains the so-called faces are common. villages are simply small groups of houses, usually from six to twenty, in the rice fields, a village of The people are fifty houses being unusual. chiefly agriculturists, those of the plains industriously raising rice in large quantities. The Bghais, including several minor tribes, as see the Geckhos, Padaungs and others, inhabit the mountains N. E. of Taung-ngu. They are fierce and warlike, and, except where modified by Christianity, locate their villages on elevations difficult of acce . Each village consists of a single house, through which runs a long hall, with rooms opening off either side. The Red Karens, cla ed by Dr. Mason with the Bghais, receive their name from the color of their dre . They occupy a territory N. E. of Taung-ngu, separate from other tribes, and are the most warlike of the Karens, never having been conquered by the Burmese. The Karens are notably simple-minded, and except for the wilder hill-tribes, are lovers of peace, and po e a character that is a curious mixture of timidity and courage. Timid and retiring ordinarily, on occasions, as during the Anglo-Burman wars, they have risen to notable heights of courage, showing complete indifference to death. Neverthele , the Red Karens aside, their natural quietne of disposition, together with the smallne of their numbers, kept them in subjection to the Burmese, prior to the British occupation of lower Burma. With a certain stoicism under misfortune, they unite a good deal of natural, tho undemonstrative, kindline . They are both obstinate and tractable, it being a common saying that a Karen can be led anywhere, but driven nowhere. Petty lying ig universal, treachery rare. Much inferior to the Burmese in personal cleanline , they are also much le immoral. Their extreme clannishne is perhaps an outcome of their long oppre ion under the rule of other races. The Karens of the plains, however, have largely adopted the Burmese mode of dre , while the use of the Burmese language is rapidly on the increase, especially among the Pwo-Karens. When instructed they develop a decided taste for music, excelling in singing. Under education, their mental proce es are slow, but persistent and fruitful. The original nat, or spirit-worship, prevalent among tne Karens, has been le modified among the Bghais than in any of the others. God has but little active concern in the world at present, and nothing is to be feared either from him or from good spirits. The Karens in general, therefore, give little thought to either, but concentrate their effort upon misleading, or placating, a personal devil, in whom they believe, and the innumerable nats or evil spirits which swarm on every hand, in mountains, streams, trees, and in almost every natural object. Idolatry is found only among those Karens, chiefly Pwos, who have adopted Buddhism. The remarkable body of precepts and traditions handed down from the Karen elders has often arrested attention, and has led some to infer a Jewish origin for this people, many of the precepts po e ing much beauty and moral elevation. A few condensed extracts from the traditions are here given: “Anciently God commanded, but Satan appeared deceiving unto death. The dragon beguiled the woman and Tha-nai. A white fruit took the great dragon. And gave to the daughter and son of God. They kept not all the law of God; were deceived deceived unto death.” The story of the creation of woman from the rib of the first man, and of the forbidden fruit, the woman first transgre ing, then persuading her husband, closely resembles the Scripture narrative. Sense of estrangement from God, and an almost Me ianic hope mingle in the following: “God formerly loved the Karen nation above all but because of their transgre ion he cursed them. God departed with our younger brother, the white foreigner. When God departed, the Karens became slaves to the Burmans.” others, In the midst of their suffering they remembered the ancient sayings of the Elders: “That God would yet save them, that a Karen king would yet appear. When he arrives there will be but one monarch, Everything will be happy; And even lions and leopards will lose their sav” agene Mi ionary work among these people has been much helped by the traditions of which these lines are samples: “Our ancestors said, that when our younger brothers come back, The white foreigners, (in ships from the west). Who were able to keep company with God, the Karens will be happy. Hence the Karens longed for those who were to come by water.” KARIB, or KARIF: The aboriginal inhabitants of Dutch Guiana, South America. A town on the Coromandel coast, KARIKAL: India, and a French po e ion, situated 13 miles It has an important rice N. of Negapatam. Population (1891) 70,500. Station of trade. the Leipzig Mi ionary Society (1895), with 3 native workers and 130 profe ed Christians. 385