Kadu people

The Kadu were the dominant ethnic group in the Chindwin River valley at the beginning of the early 2nd millennium A.D. until the Chin people and subsequently the Shan people migrated into the Chindwin Valley.^[7]

The Kadu likely descended from the Qiongdu [zh] (邛都), a sub-group of 'southwestern barbarians' described in Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian.^[3] They settled in present-day Myanmar during the Tang dynasty, becoming a dominant group in the Tagaung Kingdom.^[3][2] Scholars like Gordon Luce posit that the Pyu people were converted to Buddhism by the Sak-Kadu peoples.^[3]

With the rise of the Pagan kingdom, by the 12th and 13th centuries, the Kadu inhabited the border areas between the present-day Sichuan and Yunnan provinces of China and Burma.^[3] By the 13th century, they had largely assimilated into more dominant Tibeto-Burman speaking groups in both China and Burma.^[3] By the mid-13th century, the Kadu had diverged from the Sak (or Thet people), who now reside in southwestern Myanmar's Rakhine State.^[3] By the early 20th century, most Kadu had assimilated and adopted Burmese customs, including Theravada Buddhism.^[5][4]

The Kadu population is estimated to be approximately 180,000.^[8] The 1901 census counted 16,300 Kadu speakers, while the 1911 census reported 11,069 Kadu speakers.^[5] The 1931 census counted 36,400 persons of Kadu descent.^[3]

The Kadu primarily live in the country's northwest in Sagaing Region, scattered across 98 villages, including 38 villages in Banmauk Township, 34 villages in Indaw Township, 16 villages in Pinlebu Township, 5 villages in Katha Township, and 5 villages in Mogaung Township.^[8]