Karen conversion to Christianity came wrapped in deference to white colonists

Evidence

Their loyalty was mixed with nothing less than reverence for the white colonists. As the first Karen convert to Christianity put it: “Through the goodness of God, my nation, sons of the forest and children of poverty, ought to praise thy nation, the white foreigners, exceedingly; and we ought to obey your orders.” This “favored group,” as the Bengali civil servant expressed it, was not of indigenous stock. “The skin is naturally fair, like that of the Chinese; and the features of those of pure blood are Caucasian in type—a characteristic which has been deemed by some to support their claim to have been one of the lost tribes of Israel.” The Karen were not only perceived as being racially superior; their very traditions seemed almost British in nature. Their religious practices were considered so akin to British ones that they “could be recited with propriety in any Christian church in England.” Their culture, too, was reminiscent of British culture: “their music is nearly all wild and plaintive like that of the Scottish and Welsh highlanders.” — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 323 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: First Karen Christian converts framed reverence for whites as religious duty; Karen loyalty to the British expressed itself as reverence for the white colonists; Colonial officials racialized the Karen as superior and quasi-British to justify their loyalty — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 323 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• First Karen Christian converts framed reverence for whites as religious duty #expands (0.92)
• Colonial officials racialized the Karen as superior and quasi-British to justify their loyalty #complicates (0.78) — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 323