Long-necked Karens Bashny.Net

He lives in the mountains of northern Thailand's long-necked Karen tribe. It is known that the women of the tribe to the age of five are starting to wear around his neck a special ring in the future for almost all life on a regular basis to increase the height of this unusual "neck band". By adulthood their necks are the longest in the world (over 20 cm) and are considered by local standard of beauty.
Where did they all come from in Thailand?

Karen - a group of peoples who lived for centuries in the south and southeast of Burma (aka Myanmar). Karen from Burma and penetrated into Thailand, fleeing the military junta and disorderly poverty. Thai authorities have allocated a place in the north of the country, where thousands of members of settled ethnic Karen and its many offshoots. Women are one of these branches, peoples' padung "(do they call themselves" Kayan "), due to their long necks quickly became a huge hit northern Thailand tourism.





Karen village that show travelers - is, of course, a tourist attraction. Here, everything is clean and Potemkin significant. Already on the approach starts a sort of pastoral Thai.



All clean, tidy and postcard.



The village lives an active life. Farmer hurry about their business.



On the approaches to the long-necked Karen village can look at Karen obychnosheih (all are close ethnic group). They do not expect that the background of the famous neighbor to someone would be interesting to take pictures of them, so in the courtyard of the usual worldly atmosphere, without ostentation.



Nearby village built in the tradition of NIF-NIF: light "huts" on thin stilts, basic building materials - bamboo and rattan.



The houses here are the window.



Curves kalitochki.



All sorts of gizmos hang beautifully.



Such are the roof of dried leaves.



That's roof looks from below. All building materials completely natural. And, as they say, not a single nail.



In the name of a tourist attraction, as compared to conventional villages are everywhere imposed the relative cleanliness and order - even every household utensils are more or less in hiding out of sight. It is almost impossible to find a thing out of place.

Is that the sneakers on the roof.



Here they are. Vzapravdashny long-necked Karen.



It is expected that within the village whole streets are specially made for the demonstration tour residents, who dressed and beautifully planted under the eaves along the track.



When a person with a camera comes into view, begins active demonstration of the craft activity.



Demonstration of crafts - manufacture of non-waste: everything here is indicative lagging / painted / decorated, can be on the spot and buy. Commercial souvenirs - here is one of the most important sources of income.



When the girls believe that the guests of the village can not see them - are engaged in the most ordinary things: either sleeping on the "workplace", or talk to each other, the husks of sunflower seeds.



Photograph difficult. Around noon, when I was in the village, the sun is at its zenith and mercilessly pours everything blinding light while filming the objects themselves are hiding in the shade under the eaves. Terrible conditions for photography.

National costume, rear view.



Reaction to the camera - excellent. I tried to sneak up unnoticed and take pictures of sweetly slumbering in its pomostike girl. Not a bit of it - only when he heard the rustle of it in just a second, deftly turned and froze in a pose nymphs, resting after the hunt.



Effect incredible neck does not occur, and not only as the increase of the length of the neck. Under considerable weight "collar", which is made from copper or brass wire that women wear all my life, significantly lowered the bones of the shoulder girdle. What further enhances the image, especially in adult women already.



Interestingly, the unique history of the emergence of long tradition necks one clearly can not articulate. There are a variety of versions. According to legend, it came up with a male Karen, their women were limited in their ability to escape to another tribe. According to another version, the tradition is part of the worship of the spirits of the forest. On the third - the iron collar was intended among other things to protect women from the neck bite predators («and it can protect from tiger bite», in all seriousness gave one of the guides, m-da). In general, the most common version is the simplest: it's beauty.



Jewellery sold. It may be noted that, traditionally rings are worn not only on the neck, and on his feet. Legs, however, this provision does not grow longer.



By the way, soon to see the Karen do not have to climb into any mountains. The Thai government has announced that one of the villages will be (or already there) near Pattaya. Tourists can take a trip to see the strange people and get back to your favorite resort to the top of the evening go-go show.



This post has stirred up the world community: the yellow press in many countries has inflated a sensation in the best traditions of the program maximum, publishing articles with titles "in Thailand has opened a human zoo" and the argument that such a landmark affront to human dignity. The fact that the existence of such settlements in Thailand - news, to put it mildly, not the latest freshness, nobody, as usual, not confused. That, however, is not surprising. Probably, if the authorities decide to pour an artificial hill near the Pattaya - in the western European press and the message "In Thailand, there were mountains!»
The kids.



Is it good to live in the modern world amazing these people?

The history of these, charming in general, girls sad. They - a refugee. Also, like all their compatriots. They have no documents. They are not allowed to leave the reservation. They live and raise their neck on a limited patch of land of its "zoo", and the only change will come, if the authorities want to move them to another snout - close to the popular resort. Karen villages rebuilt by the Thai government actually like scenery, with the only difference that Karen has to live a full life in them. Light "straw" houses whose photos in detail, I do not accidentally brought at the beginning of the story, though, and are traditional to the Karen - and basically look is appropriate in a country where year-round summer - however, even in the rather poor native Thai village built all- still more thoroughly.

"Management" Karen settlements fully engaged the Thai authorities, no government had no migrants. Special patrols controlled and converted-point-register all residents, so no one tried to escape in search of work beyond the allocated land (as it is technically possible, because not everyone Karen long neck - women only very small nationalities padung, and in general, reservations in Thailand are tens of thousands of migrant Karen). Women themselves with rings around their necks get the money, of course, more than the average peasant. But revenues from the tourist attraction and the sale of souvenirs can not feed everyone. Tourist business individual small nation in fact is not so much a source of profit, but rather to guarantee that not thrown out of the country. Karen prokarmlivayut themselves to traditional agriculture, bred cattle and buffalo. The average wage in the region is considered to be farmers (in terms of our money) for about $ 100 a few days of hard work in the fields.
But people are basically satisfied and pacified - no war nearby, and that's good.
That's the story. hence



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