The S'gaw, (S'gaw Karen: စှီၤ or ပှၤကညီဖိ, also spelled Skaw, S'gau), who refer to themselves as Paganyaw, Pga K'nyau, or K'nyaw [1] (also spelled Pgaz Cgauz and Pakayo,[2][better source needed]), are an ethnic group of Burma and Thailand.

Many of them migrate to Thai-Burmese border and live there as a refugees for many decades due to conflict in Karen state.

S'gaw people are the founder of the Karen National Union (KNU).

Karen (S'gaw and Pwo) legend refer to a 'river of running sand' (S'gaw Karen: ထံဆဲမဲးယွါ) which they believe Pu Taw Meh Pa led the Karen people across the river of the running sand.

Many Karen think this refers to the Gobi Desert, although they have lived in Burma for centuries.