The Karen People are an ethnic group and the largest one of Thailands many hilltribes. There are two main groups and two smaller groups, in totally about 440 000 Karen People living in about 2 000 villages in Thailand.
According to some legends, the Karen People originally came from what may have been the Gobi Desert, but setteled down in Burma some centuries ago. There they were met with oppression by the Burmese government and therefore they fled and settled down in the West and the North of Thailand. The Thais were more friendly and life got much more peaceful for the Karen People. Here they were able to rebuild their own villages and restart their traditional lifestyle again.
The Karen houses are often built on stilts. The walls are made from bamboo and the roofs are covered with large leaves. Often the Karen people have one house for sleeping, one for cooking, one bathroom and at one to store rice. In each house there usually live one or two family generations. The rice house is often shared with many families and plays therefore a significant role as meeting place.
House built on stilts.
A little girl outside the cooking house.
In every village there is a head(wo)man who maintains harmony within and between the families. Whenever a family has some problems they can contact the head(wo)man for advices. In addition the head(wo)man also takes care of other practical issues in the villages. The head(wo)man usually keep this role for as long as they live (which might be quite long!)
One village's headwoman.
Around the houses there are often a large veranda used for weaving, and the Karen women are famous for the remarkable clothes they weave. Young girls wear a long white dress, decorated with pink or red stripes. Married women wear a v-necked sleeveless blouse in black, blue, red or white, decorated with embroidered patterns or beads, in addition to a woven sarong with horizontal stripes in black, white or blue. The men also wear sleeveless, woven shirts, but with a deeper v-neck than the women and decorated with red, white or yellow vertical stripes. Sometimes men also wear a red or white sarong, but mostly black or blue trousers.
Woman weaving.
The Karen people like bright colours and often use necklaces in brightly coloured glass- og plastic beads. In addition they also often use numerous bracelets on the arms and around the ankles and heavy ear-rings.
Nina together with a Karen woman.
As mentioned the rice is important to the Karen people, but they also grow fruits and vegetables. Their way of growing is very effective as they only use the fields for one year at the time. Then they leave the fields for several years before they start farming at the same field again. They also hold animals and in this way they make sure they will always have pretty much everything they need for a living.
Rice fields.
Pigglets.
Meeting the Karen people through working with children in the local schools made a really great impression on us! Their self sustainable way of living and colourful culture is really something we can learn from.
"Tableu" - Thank you!
-Nina&Hans-