The Karen apostle

The Karen Apostle was written by Francis Mason, a prominent American Baptist missionary who arrived in Burma in the 1830s. First published in 1847, the work serves as a biographical account of Ko Tha Byu, the first ethnic Karen convert to Christianity, and provides an extensive ethnographic overview of Karen culture, religious traditions, and linguistic history during the colonial era.

The book is regarded as a foundational text in 19th-century missionary literature and the academic study of the Karen people. Mason designed the narrative to document the cultural identity of the Karen while framed through the lens of mid-19th-century theology and colonial outreach. It was widely received at the time as a significant contribution to both Christian missionary records and the budding field of Southeast Asian ethnology.