Kan Khwan

Kan Khwan is the traditional belief of the Kayan, a Red Karen people of Karenni in Myanmar. In their account the eternal creator god Phu Kabukathin was helped by two creator deities and four messengers, who made heaven, earth, plants, humans and animals.

The earth was at first fluid, and Phu Kabukathin planted a post in the ground; as it grew, the earth firmed into seven layers. That post is the Kan Htein Bo, and seven commandments came with it.

Every year, in March or April, the Kayan raise a new Kan Htein Bo pole of Eugenia wood, the first tree created. The pole carries the sun at its peak, the moon and a ladder to heaven. On the morning it is raised the shaman reads chicken bones to foretell the village's year.