Similarities and Differences between Mon State and Bago Division

Have you ever heard about Mon State and Bago Division in Myanmar before? People support their livelihood in different ways in these regions. Furthermore, there are many ethnic groups in these places such as Burmese, Karen, Mon, Shan, etc. Bago Division is in the middle of Myanmar and Mon State is located in Western coast of South-East Myanmar. However, there are many similarities and differences between Mon State and Bago Division such as administrative divisions, economy, education and cultures of Mon and Karen.
Mon State is one of economic states in Myanmar and it is 12,296.19 km wide which has 2,115,207 population. It is divided by 2 districts. People are doing agriculture, forestry, fishing and mining. Especially, agriculture and forestry are main economies in this state. In agriculture, people are growing paddy, crops, vegetables and beans. Moreover, they also plant rubber trees for forestry. In Mon State, they use Burmese curriculum in schools and there are nursery to secondary school such as college and university. Also, Mon are originally from South-West China, around 1500 BC. They are responsible for bringing Theravada Buddhism to Myanmar. Mon people have their own culture e.g. they celebrate Mon National Day every year with traditional clothes. Mon National Day is the special celebration day for Mon people around the world. Mon have the same year with Burmese and they mostly are Buddhist, but some believe evil spirit. However, the culture of Mon through the ages, they are shedding light on their past. Therefore, there are many interesting things to learn and know in Mon State, Myanmar.
Moreover, Bago Division is one of top 5 economic divisions, and it is 15,214 square meter wide which has 4,867,373 population. It is divided by 2 districts and the majority people who live in this division are Burmese and Karen. People in this division survive their livelihood by doing agriculture, forestry, fishing, raising animals and industries. All of these are the main economies for Bago Division. In agriculture, people are growing rice (major crops), which occupies over two-thirds of available agricultural land and other vegetables. They also grow many plants such as betel nut, cotton, rubber, tobacco, etc. However, timber is the main product for this region, and petroleum, gold and valuable stones are natural resources in this division.
Additionally, there are many industries such as fisheries, salt, sugar, paper, plywood, distilleries and monosodium glutamate. In this division, they use Burmese curriculum in the schools, and they are nursery to secondary school such as college and university. Furthermore, Karen in this division are mostly Buddhist and Christian, but some believe in evil spirit or “Nat spirits”. Some Karen like “Nat” eat traditional feast at the time of propitiation of a “Nat Spirit” in every year. Karen have their own New Year and they celebrate every year by gathering all Karen in a town ship in this division. Also, they celebrate Karen National Day and Karen Wrist Tying Celebration Day for all Karen people. This is the special celebration for all Karen people around the world. Therefore, in Bago Division, there are many interesting things to know and share to the other people to understand the situation about the region.
However, Mon State and Bago Division have differences and similarities between the situation of different places and different people. For example, Mon New Year is the same year with Burmese, but Karen have their own New Year. In Mon State, Mon are two-thirds of population, but Karen are one-thirds of population in Bago Division. Mon State is mostly mountain regions, but Bago Division is flat and less mountains. Mon State has less natural resources, but Bago Division has many natural resources especially Shwe Gyin and Pyin Ma Hnar. Moreover, Mon have no “Nat Spirit”, but Karen have “Nat Spirit”. Karen have special celebration day like Karen Wrist Tying Celebration, Karen New Year and Karen National Day, but Mon have just Mon National Day. On the other hand, they also have the similarities between these division and state. For example, Mon State and Bago Division are divided by 2 districts and both of them do agriculture and forestry. They use the same Burmese curriculum in these two places. Additionally, Mon and Karen have their National Day. So, Mon State and Bago Division have a lot of wonderful similarities and differences depended on the different situations and people.
In conclusion, even though Mon State and Bago Division are located in Myanmar, they have many differences and similarities such as economy, education including Mon and Karen cultures. These are depended on the situation of regions and ethinc cultures. Consequently, all of these similarities and differences are very amazing in Mon State and Bago Division including Mon and Karen cultures.