I. Introduction!
‘…the Shan is a Buddhist when he is well and animist when he is ill’, this is a statement made by (James Haxton) Telford, a scholar who had studied animism in Burma. He further comments that despite the fact that Shan have been converted to Buddhism for centuries, the breakaway from animism was never completed (Telford: 1937). To some degree, his statement is still relevant to most Shan Buddhists today. They celebrate religious ceremonies lavishly all year round in their happy days. But in times of ailing, they are busy with animistic ways, such as, consulting the shaman, searching for khwan (ၶႂၼ်/ၽၼ်) (soul), incantation candle etc until it becomes difficult for outsiders to differentiate between Buddhism and animism. This is partly due to the fact that the Shan have embraced Buddhism and some animism beliefs have been redefined to fit into new religious context.

Read details here>>
http://www.english.panglong.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5949:does-the-shan-word-death-tell-us&catid=115:opinions&Itemid=308