Leslie Milne (anthropologist)
Encyclopedia
Mary Lewis Harper Milne known as Leslie Milne (1860-1932) was an English lady who traveled extensively and wrote about the ethnic peoples of the Shan State
in Northern Burma. Her best known book, The Shans at Home, was an account of the cultural practices and day to day life of the Shan people of the village of Namkham in Shan State
and was based on the many months she spent living in that village. She was also the author of The Home of an Eastern Clan, a book about the life and culture of the Palaung people, and wrote the first, and what is possibly the only English
- Palaung
dictionary.
Shan State
Shan State is a state of Burma . Shan State borders China to the north, Laos to the east, and Thailand to the south, and five administrative divisions of Burma in the west. Largest of the 14 administrative divisions by land area, Shan State covers 155,800 km², almost a quarter of the total...
in Northern Burma. Her best known book, The Shans at Home, was an account of the cultural practices and day to day life of the Shan people of the village of Namkham in Shan State
Shan State
Shan State is a state of Burma . Shan State borders China to the north, Laos to the east, and Thailand to the south, and five administrative divisions of Burma in the west. Largest of the 14 administrative divisions by land area, Shan State covers 155,800 km², almost a quarter of the total...
and was based on the many months she spent living in that village. She was also the author of The Home of an Eastern Clan, a book about the life and culture of the Palaung people, and wrote the first, and what is possibly the only English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
- Palaung
Palaung language
Palaung is a Mon–Khmer language, or actually a dialect cluster, spoken by over half a million people in Burma and neighboring countries. There are three distinct varieties, Shwe , Ruching , and Rumai, each with their own dialects...
dictionary.
Published works
- The Shans at Home, London, John Murray (1910).
- An Elementary Palaung Grammar, Oxford, Clarendon Press (1921). Published in 1921, this was the first survey of the grammar of the Palaung languagePalaung languagePalaung is a Mon–Khmer language, or actually a dialect cluster, spoken by over half a million people in Burma and neighboring countries. There are three distinct varieties, Shwe , Ruching , and Rumai, each with their own dialects...
, the language of a hill tribe of the Shan StateShan StateShan State is a state of Burma . Shan State borders China to the north, Laos to the east, and Thailand to the south, and five administrative divisions of Burma in the west. Largest of the 14 administrative divisions by land area, Shan State covers 155,800 km², almost a quarter of the total...
of Burma and of the YunnanYunnanYunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
province of ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. Mrs. Milne traveled to NamshanNamshanNamshan , also spelt Namhsan, is the capital of Tawngpeng, a Palaung substate in northern Shan State of Burma. The only Palaung kingdom in the Shan States, the people of the town are predominantly of the Ka-tur tribe...
, the capital of the Palaung state of TawngpengTawngpengTawngpeng is a district in Burma and was a Palaung state in the Northern Shan States prior to the de-recognition of independent Shan States by the military government of Burma in 1962. The capital of Tawngpeng is at Namshan.Tawngpeng is a center for tea production in the Shan States.....
, to the Palaungs of North Hsenwi, as well as to the Palaungs of YunnanYunnanYunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
to collect material for this book. - The Home of an Eastern Clan: A Study of the Palaungs of the Shan State, Oxford, Clarendon Press (1924).
- A Dictionary of English-Palaung and Palaung-English, Rangoon (1931).