The Danu people ( my, ဓနု) are a government-recognized ethnic group in

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

, predominantly populating the areas near the Pindaya Caves in

Shan State Shan State ( my, ရှမ်းပြည်နယ်, ; shn, မိူင်းတႆး, italics=no) also known by the endonyms Shanland, Muang Tai, and Tailong, is a state of Myanmar. Shan State borders China (Yunnan) to the north, Laos ( ...

. They speak the

Danu language Intha and Danu constitute southern Burmish languages of Shan State, Burma, spoken by the Danu and Intha people. They are considered dialects of Burmese by the Government of Myanmar. Danu is spoken by the Danu people, Intha by the Intha, a ...

. Danu
at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)

Etymology

The name ''Danu'' derives from the

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Theravāda'' Buddh ...

term ''dhanu'', which means "archer" or "bow." The term ''dhanu'' is a reference to the legend of Prince Kummabhaya, whose bow and arrow rescued seven princesses trapped in the caves by a giant spider.

Notable Danu people

Aung Myat Aung Myat ( my, အောင်မြတ်) is the Burmese politician and incumbent Deputy Speaker of Shan State Hluttaw. He previously served as Chief Minister of Shan State. Aung Myat is an ethnic Danu. Aung Myat was born on 14 April 1963 t ...

- former Chief Minister of

References

Ethnic groups in Myanmar Buddhist communities of Bangladesh Buddhist communities of Myanmar Sino-Tibetan-speaking people {{Asia-ethno-group-stub