Myanmar The Burmese Giraffe Neck Women (1)

1
One day in Myanmar
MYANMAR

Presenter Notes
Many people come to Mae Sai for the opportunity
to cross into Burma for a short visit in the town
of Tachilek. You can easily get a one day pass
from the Burmese authorities for 5 usd, but they
hold onto your passport until you return that
same day to Thailand.

Heres really only one place to visit in Mae Sai,
but many visitors breeze past it on their way to
Myanmar.

Wat Phra That Wai Dao, (before Immigration, turn
left and go through covered bazaar). Built on a
small hill up a steep staircase, overlooking Mae
Sai and Tachileik, this temple and its stupa are
unremarkable, but there are a few interesting
monuments around it. Next to the stupa is a small
Burmese temple that gives a nice taste of what
awaits on the other side. Towards the river is a
multistoried monument to King Naresuan, a Lanna
king famous for beating back several Burmese
invasions and dispatching the Burmese crown
prince in a duel, and just in case the message of
this isn't clear enough, there's also a giant
scorpion statue brandishing its claws towards
Tachileik.

Take a picture with the gate marking the
northern-most point of Thailand



Towards the river is a multistoried monument to
King Naresuan, a Lanna king famous for beating
back several Burmese invasions and dispatching
the Burmese crown prince in a duel, and just in
case the message of this isn't clear enough





2
(No Transcript)

Presenter Notes
Cross the bridge into Tachileik, Myanmar (which
the Thais call Tha Khi Lek ???????????). An entry
permit valid for up to 14 days costs 500 baht or
10 US. Travelers using this option are given a
paper entry permit and their passports are held
at the immigration office until they return to
Thailand. Stop at the entry point and talk with
the Thai officials to organize this. It is easily
done. In the Tachilek market just over the
border, expect to be assaulted by any number of
persons offering cheap cigarettes and
viagra/cialis (if you are older!)

3
Many people come to Mae Sai for the opportunity
to cross into Burma for a short visit in the town
of Tachilek. You can easily get a one day pass
from the Burmese authorities for 5 usd, but they
hold onto your passport until you return that
same day to Thailand

Presenter Notes
in the absence of war, ancient Thai-Burmese
conflicts are relived and revived through
statue-building. The King Bayinnaung statue
glowers down malevolently on the Thai border town
of Mai Sai from higher ground in Tachilek, Burma
just across from the river that marks the
frontier. His bronze likeness also stands atop a
hill at Burmas southernmost Victoria Point,
surveying Thailands Ranong Province across the
estuary. The long-dead monarch is revered in
Burma as a great warrior-king who conquered Siam.
Thais, however, remember Bayinnaung as a brutal
foreign invader who, on capturing Ayudhaya in
1569, looted the Siamese capital of its treasure,
white elephants and many thousands of slaves. The
provocative Burmese monument to the conquest of
Siam is not a relic from a period of heightened
tensions between the two countries. It was
unveiled in 1996 as cooperation and business
links between Bangkok and Rangoon were stronger
than at any period since before World War II.

4
There are plenty of small shops lining both sides
of the street leading to the border crossing that
sell Cheap jewels (rubies, emerald and
jade) imported from Myanmar Cheap curio
items, many of which are imported from China
Fresh cut fruit

Presenter Notes


5
(No Transcript)

Presenter Notes
Thai businessmen were throwing money at tourism
and fishing ventures. The state-owned Petroleum
Authority of Thailand had signed two deals for
Burmese natural gas. There was significant Thai
involvement in strong-arming recalcitrant rebel
groups into ceasefires with Rangoon. Thai
parastatal banks financed several Burmese
infrastructure projects and Bangkok was a vocal
supporter of Burmas entry into the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations. The statue in
Tachelik presented a symbolism entirely at odds
with the official spirit of fraternal cooperation
between Bangkok and Rangoon, but perhaps served
as an appropriate Burmese metaphor for the two
countries tense, mutually distrustful
relationship. Thailand had no equivalent
provocative monumentstatues of Siamese
warrior-kings have all been built miles from its
borders. In cold war terms it might be said that
there existed a "statue gap." In the wake of a
border skirmish in Chiang Rai province in
February 2001 (that culminated in Burmese and
Thai artillery units shelling each other from
positions in Tachelik and Mae Sai), Burmas
state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper ran a
series of "historical" articles by authors such
as Tekkatho Myat Thu and Kappiya Kankaung that in
glowing terms detailed King Bayinnaungs conquest
of Ayudhaya in 1569 and his magnanimous acts
following victory while scorning Ayudhayas
rulers for reneging on promises. "He was the king
who had physical and moral courage and
safeguarded justice," wrote Kappiya Kankaung of
Bayinnaung. "Myanma hero King Bayintnaung sic
behaved like the sun and fire in defeating and
crushing Siam (Ayudhaya), which broke its
promises and rose in rebellion.

6
(No Transcript)

Presenter Notes
The February 2001 border incident provided the
Third Army commander at the time, Lt-Gen
Wattanachai Chaimuenwong, with an opportunity to
correct the statue gap and so achieve
monument-parity. He initiated a project to erect
a statue of King Naresuan and a "victory pagoda"
at Ban Payangpataek, Mae Sai district. "We want
to pay gratitude to King Naresuan who brought us
victory in the fight against the Burmese troops,"
said Lt-Gen Wattanachai in reference to his plan
to build a statue of the revered Thai king.



"Without King Naresuan the Great, Thais would
have no land in which to live," he said. The
monarch is celebrated for freeing Ayudhaya from
Burmese control in 1584 then winning a series of
battles that cemented Siams independence and
expanded its territory. History is not quite so
simple. In pre nation-state times there was a
shortage of manpower, not land. Wars were fought
for control of slaves and white elephants (which
signified universal monarch status). There were
no centralized governments, only a collection of
larger and smaller kingdoms, each centered on a
major city. Neither rulers nor their subjects had
much sense of common national identity. Smaller
mini-states entered into alliances with larger
mini-states and paid tributebut alliances
changed fluidly depending on the perceived
strengths and weaknesses of the bigger states.

7
(No Transcript)

Presenter Notes
The kingdom of Lanna, which was centered in what
is now Chiang Mai, frequently switched between
being allied with various Burmese dynasties and
with Ayudhaya. For subjects of Lanna, inhabitants
from the Thai central plains, who spoke an almost
unintelligible dialect and used a different
writing system, were almost as foreign as the
Burmese. When Bayinnaung conquered Siam, his
chief ally was Thammaraja, the ruler of
Phitsanulok, who was installed as vassal chief of
Ayudhaya. On Thammarajas death, his son, Pra
Naret, known as the black prince, was crowned
King Naresuan. The son of a man instrumental in
Bayinnaung capturing and sacking Ayudhaya turned
against the Pego court three years after
Bayinnaungs death. Naresuan later took one of
Bayinnaungs granddaughters as a wife. Naresuans
rebellion probably had more to do with palace
intrigues than nationalist fervor.

By Rungrawee Chalermsripinyorat MARCH, 2004

8
(No Transcript)
9
(No Transcript)
10
(No Transcript)

Presenter Notes
The Burmese Giraffe Neck Women have a number less
of 500 women. They are all from a clan by female
inheritance, the Kayan Lahwi synonym Long Necked
Karen by some thousand members. They are from
Padaung tribe synonym Kayan tribe and this tribe
have today a number about 50.000 persons.

Padaung synonym Kayan is a subgroup Red Karen
people, and they all are a part of Karen people
by Tibeto-Burman and ethnic minority of Burma
(Myanmar).

"Kayan Lahwi" is developed as a combination of
Kayan by slash and burn and Lawi tribe by neck
rings from Laos and North Thailand.

11
SATUL FEMEILOR CU GÂTUL LUNG

Presenter Notes
Padaung (Yan Pa Doung) is a Shan term for the
Kayan Lahwi (the group whose women wear the brass
neck coils). The Kayan resident in Mae Hong Son
Province in Northern Thailand refer to themselves
as Kayan and object to being called Padaung. In
The Hardy Padaungs (1967) Khin Maung Nyunt, one
of the first authors to use the term "Kayan",
says that the Padaung prefer to be called Kayan.
On the other hand, Pascal Khoo Thwe calls his
people Padaung in his 2002 memoir, From the Land
of Green Ghosts A Burmese Odyssey.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s due to conflict
with the military regime in Burma, many Kayan
tribes fled to the Thai border area. The Thai
government has granted them refugee status, but
they are allowed to live only in certain areas.
Villages displaying Padaung women with brass neck
coils for tourist dollars appeared.

According to U Aung Roe (199321ss) Kayan number
about 40,000 in Shan State (around the Pekon
Township area) and 20,000 in Kayah State (around
Demawso and Loikaw). A 2004 estimate puts the
population at approximately 130,000. About 600
Kayan reside in the three villages open to
tourists in Mae Hong Son, or in the Ban Mai Nai
Soi refugee camp.

12
(No Transcript)

Presenter Notes
Present Settlement of the Kayans

According to Kayan tradition the Kayan settled in
the Demawso area of Karenni State (Kayah State)
in 739 BC. Today they are to be found in Karenni
(Kayah) State around Demawso and Loikow, in the
southern region of Shan State and in Mandalays
Pyinmana and Karens Than Daung township.

There are three Kayan villages in Mae Hong Son
province in Thailand. The largest is Huay Pu
Keng, on the Pai river, close to the Thai Burma
border. Huai Seau Tao is a commercial village
opened in 1995. Many of the residents of Nai Soi
Kayan Tayar moved into the Karenni refugee camp
in September 2008, but a few families remain
there.

Most of the Kayan people in Mae Hong Son are
formerly from nine villages in Karenni State. The
majority are from Rwan Khu and Daw Kee village.
The people of Huay Pu Keng are mainly from Lay
Mile village.

13
(No Transcript)

Presenter Notes
Brass coils

Women of the various Kayan tribes identify
themselves by their different form of dress. The
Kayan Lahwi tribe are the most renowned as they
wear ornaments known as neck rings, brass coils
that are placed around the neck. The women
wearing these coils are known as giraffe women to
tourists. These coils are first applied to young
girls when they are around five years old.

Each coil is replaced with longer coil, as the
weight of the brass pushes the collar bone down
and compresses the rib cage. Contrary to popular
belief, the neck is not actually lengthened the
illusion of a stretched neck is created by the
deformation of the clavicle. Many ideas regarding
why the coils are worn have been suggested, often
formed by visiting anthropologists, who have
hypothesized that the rings protected women from
becoming slaves by making them less attractive to
other tribes. Contrastingly it has been theorised
that the coils originate from the desire to look
more attractive by exaggerating sexual
dimorphism, as women have more slender necks than
men. It has also been suggested that the coils
give the women resemblance to a dragon, an
important figure in Kayan folklore. The coils
might be meant to protect from tiger bites,
perhaps literally, but probably symbolically.

14
(No Transcript)

Presenter Notes
Kayan women, when asked, acknowledge these ideas,
but often say that their purpose for wearing the
rings is cultural identity (one associated with
beauty). The rings, once on, are seldom removed,
as the coiling and uncoiling is a somewhat
lengthy procedure. They are usually only removed
to be replaced by a new or longer set of coils.
The women do not suffocate if the rings are
removed, though the muscles covered by them are
weakened.

Many women have removed the rings for medical
examinations. Most women prefer to wear the rings
once their necks are elongated, as their necks
and collar bones are often bruised and discolored
from being hidden behind brass for so long.
Additionally, the collar feels like an integral
part of the body after ten or more years of
continuous wear.

15
Poporul kayan (padaung) face parte din poporul
karen (care numãrã 3-4 milioane în Myanmar si
circa 350.000 în Thailanda) Pânã acum câtiva ani
femeile din poporul kayan îsi alungeau gâturile
cu inele din alamã rãsucite care puteau cântãri
pânã la 15 kilograme Din cauza turismului în
ultimii ani practica a renãscut si femeile au
început sã punã fiicelor lor inele de la vârsta
de cinci ani Colierele deformeazã oasele gâtului
dar pot fi scoase fãrã consecinte Hill tribe
Tourist Village, about 1 km from the border On
the side of a hill sits the Hill tribe Village
(Akha and Karen longneck). A number of Hill tribe
villagers have been essentially "corralled" into
a "human zoo" specifically for tourists to come
and take their photos. Entry approximately US1.

Presenter Notes
In 2006, some of the younger women in Mae Hong
Son started to remove their rings either to give
them the opportunity to continue their education,
or in protest against the exploitation of their
culture and the restrictions that came with it.
In late 2008, most of the young women who entered
the refugee camp removed their rings. One woman
who wore the rings for over 40 years also removed
her rings. The women report temporary discomfort
which faded after three days. The discoloration
is more persistent.

The government of Burma began discouraging this
tradition as it struggled to appear more modern
to the developed world. Consequently, many women
in Burma began breaking the tradition, though a
few older women still wear them and in remote
villages some of the younger girls are carrying
on the tradition. In Thailand, the practice has
gained popularity in recent years because it
draws tourists who bring business to the tribe
and to the local businessmen who run the villages
and collect an entry fee of 250B per person. The
Karenni National People's Liberation Front
(KNPLF), an armed cease-fire group, have also
made attempts to invite the Kayan to return to
Kayah State in order to set up their own tourist
villages.

16
(No Transcript)

Presenter Notes
Now, have you noticed the glistening yellowish pow
der on these Burmese people? Well, the powder is
called Thanaka, made from a mixture of tree bark
water, the Burmese men women (young or old)
apply it to their faces  bodies to beautify
(tighten) their skins protect them from the
sun.

 

The gentle children of Burma use a paste made
from the bark of the Thanaka tree to protect them
from the Lords of Myanmar and the blistering sun.

 

17
(No Transcript)

Presenter Notes
In January 2008, the UNHCR expressed reservations
about tourists visiting the Kayan villages in
Northern Thailand due to the Provincial
Governments refusal to allow registered Kayan
refugees to take up offers of resettlement in
third countries. It is believed this policy was
linked to their economic importance to the area.
This policy was relaxed in late 2008 and a small
group of Kayan have left for New Zealand in
August 2008. Others entered the main Karenni
refugee camp (which is not open to tourists) in
September 2008 and they are now eligible for
resettlement.

18
Femeile casatorite din tribul Akha poarta pe cap
ornamente grele formate din discuri de argint
înconjurate de monede, margele si altele Femeile
necasatorite îsi pun mici tartacute pe aceste
paruri Spre deosebire de alte triburi ele poarta
aceste ornamente tot timpul, chiar si la munca pe
câmp, nu doar în timpul ceremoniilor

Presenter Notes
The Kayans traditional religion is called Kan
Khwan, and has been practiced since the people
migrated from Mongolia during the Bronze Age. It
includes the belief that the Kayan people are the
result of a union between a female dragon and a
male human/angel hybrid.

The major religious festival is the 3-day Kay
Htein Bo festival, which commemorates the belief
that the creator god gave form to the world by
planting a small post in the ground. During this
festival, held in late March or early April, a
Kay Htoe Boe pole is erected and participants
dance around the pole. This festival is held to
venerate the eternal god and creator messengers,
to give thanks for blessings during the year, to
appeal for forgiveness, and pray for rain. It is
also an opportunity for Kayan from different
villages to come together to maintain the
solidarity of the tribe.

19
(No Transcript)

Presenter Notes
The Kayan have a strong belief in augury and
nothing is done without reference to some form of
divination, including breaking thatch grass, but
most importantly consulting the chicken bones.

In present times the annual Kay Htein Bo festival
is always accompanied by a reading of the chicken
bones to predict the year ahead. Fowl bone
prognostication can be witnessed in the Kayan
villages in Thailands Mae Hong Son province
during the annual festival and during Cleansing
Ceremonies which are held when a family has
encountered ill fortune. Dreams are also used to
make predictions.

20
Religia Tribului Akha animism, amestecat cu
cultul stramosilor Akha îsi cunosc stramosii pâna
în urma cu 20 de generatii

Presenter Notes
Peoples calling themselves Akha are concentrated
in the mountains of eastern Burma (Myanmar) in
Kengtung (Shan) State, interspersed with Lahu,
Lisu, and Wa peoples the lowlanders are Shan.
Many Akha have been displaced during the last
30-40 years by incursions of the Burmese army,
internecine warfare, including warlords such as
Khun Sa (Lintner, 1990). This has concentrated
many around Kengtung city and the town of Ho Ki
Lek, near the northern Thai border. Many have
become Christian, chiefly Catholic, especially
the more urbanised. The number of Akha in Burma
is difficult to estimate, but is certainly up to
150,000 (Akha Society for Culture and Art,
Kengtung, 1996). They are called Kaw by Shan and
Burmese. They are the largest highland minority
in north-eastern Burma.

21
(No Transcript)

Presenter Notes
Other authors

Where are they located?There are hundreds of
unreached Akha villages in the Golden Triangle.
There are more than 1.5 million Akhas in Myanmar.
The Akhas speak the language of Tibeto-Burman
that is closely similar to the Lahu and Lisu
tribes language. The Akhas usually do not stay in
one village for long. They will move from one
place to another and they prefer the hilly
mountain sides. The distance between the villages
may be three or four days on foot.

What are their lives like?Swine and poultry are
the most important livestock of the Akhas. Dogs
are used for hunting but they also like to eat
them.The Akhas mostly get married around 12 or
14 years old and they live in extended family
units averaged about 10 people in each family. An
Akha man can take more than three wives. It is
heart-breaking that the potential bride must have
sex with the village chief before her marriage.

www.joshuaproject.net/people-profile.php

22
(No Transcript)

Presenter Notes
This tribe originate in Tibet. Every Akha village
is distinguished by their carved wooden gates,
presided over by guardian spirits. They life in
raised houses on low stilts, with a large porch
leading into a square living area with a stove at
the back. The roof is steeply pitched. They life
on marginal land and find it difficult to eke out
a living through their slash and burn method of
agriculture. In order to supplement their income,
many Akha are now selling handicrafts, employing
the traditional skills used in making their own
clothing and cultural items.

23
(No Transcript)

Presenter Notes
Akha women spin cotton into thread with a hand
spindle, then weave it on a foot-treadle loom.
The cloth is dyed with indigo, then sewed into
clothing for the family. The women wear broad
leggins, a short black skirt with a white beaded
sporran, a loose fitting black jacket with
heavily embroidered cuffs and lapels. The black
caps are covered with silver coins. Akha men and
women produce various decorative items of bamboo
and seeds. The men make crossbows, musical
instruments, a variety of baskets, and other
items of wood, bamboo and rattan.

The Akha are deeply superstitious, their religion
prescribing exactly how each action should be
performed. This tribe is the poorest of the hill
tribes, but well known for their extraordinary
costumes and exotic appearance.

24
Spectacol Hmong-Akha

Presenter Notes
The Hmong are divided in two sub-groups, White
and Blue, and to be found in mountainous regions
of China. Vietnam, Laos and Thailand. In Thailand
there are probably about 60000 Hmong people
settled in villages throughout a wide area of the
north, with perhaps another 50000 refugees from
Laos living in camps located near the
northeastern border of the country. These ethnic
group originates in western China.

The Hmong live in houses that sit right on the
ground, not on stilts as do some other
hilltribes. However, the main floor of their
houses is not at ground level, but rests upon a
kind of above-ground basement or root cellar that
they use for food storage. For a long time the
Hmong have supported themselves by the
cultivation of opium poppy. Most of the Hmong
people are turning from opium growing, and are
now seeking to market their exquisite needlework
in order to supplement their income.

25
(No Transcript)

Presenter Notes
Hmong women traditionally make clothing for their
families from cotton or hemp. Their clothing is
richly decorated with magnificent embroidery and
silver jewelry. Blue Hmong women wear beautiful
pleated skirts with bands of red, blue and white
intricately embroidered. Jackets are of black
satin, with widee orange and yellow embroidered
cuffs and lapels. White Hmong women wear black
baggy trousers with a long wide blue cummerbund.
Their jackets are simple, with blue cuffs. Hmong
men make crossbows, musical instruments, and
other items of wood, bamboo and rattan. Many of
the men are als skilled in blacksmithing and
gunsmithing.

The Hmong are strict animists, whose shamans use
dramatic methods to contact the spirits. So far
there have been few converts to christianity or
buddhism.

The Hmong are diligent and independent people,
fond of wearing their silver ornaments during
ceremonies and much devoted to the sky spirit
they believe has created their own ancient way of
life.

26
(No Transcript)

Presenter Notes
Akha ClothesThe Akha are spectacular dressers.

The men sport intensely embroidered jackets.

The women wear head dresses and beaded skirts and
leggings.

Akha Clothes The Akha weave a ten inch wide or
so cotton cloth from hand spun cotton thread by
the most nimble of seasoned hands. They then
either dye it with store bought black dye or by
dipping it many times in crocks of vegetable dye
next to their house. The best cloth is sort of a
blue from being dipped so many times. They take a
very long piece of cloth, pleat it many times and
add a draw string that makes it into a dress.
They where a pouch in front weighed with strings
of colorful beads to keep the dress in a modest
form while working in the hut or sitting about.
Their jackets are elaborately stitched and
designed, and the women also wear leggings. Some
women where a front side only shirt under their
jacket or none at all, convenient to nursing
their children and only talked down by, you
guessed it, the missionaries. To top this all off
the women wear beautiful headresses which the
missionaries have also encouraged them to give up
as a sign of Christianity although in many cases
the missionaries themselves were collecting and
trading in these headresses. The men wear an
elaborate jacket when going to town and baggy
black cloth pants. Akha cloth is strong and the
garments by far outlast the expensive and flimsy
western garments that bear such a heavy cost on
the environment. In their true form the Akha have
been here a long time, not consuming very much at
all.

27
(No Transcript)
28
(No Transcript)
29
(No Transcript)

Presenter Notes
Although many of the Kayan still participate in
these traditional festivals, in the 19th Century
Italian missionaries worked amongst them for many
years and today the majority of Kayan and Kayaw
people are Roman Catholics. Statistics published
in 2004 lists 306 Kayan villages, out of which
209 are Roman Catholic, 19 Kan Khwan, 32 Baptist,
44 Buddhist and 2 Byamaso

30
Myanmar
Fotografii Nicoleta Leu Prezentare Sanda
Foisoreanu
? Myanmar song Pyu by Pai Thet Kyaw ?
PlayBoyThanNaing Black White
2011

Presenter Notes