Longneck Karen...

N 19 deg 22.853
E 97 deg 52.521

I have been pretty ignorant about the longneck tribes my whole life. This trip was educational. No doubt you’ve seen pictures and Discovery Channel stuff about them. The women use coiled brass to stretch out their necks beyond normal length. Actually, the necks don’t get longer, but the weight of the heavier-than-looking brass weighs down the shoulders and pushes the whole chest down. Deforming and uncomfortable, it’s a wonder American teenagers haven’t started doing it yet.

We took a long ride to get to them. These are not the main stream Thai folk. They are their own race of mountain people. They still live in secluded areas. Most are in Burma, but with the military situation there now, just about the only tribe a group of Americans like us can safely see are in this refugee camp near the border.



No one is exactly clear as to how this started, themselves included. I’ve heard some think it was to make the women look less attractive so neighboring tribes wouldn’t steal their women. Others say it was to keep the Tigers from dragging the women away by the neck. Neither sound likely to me. I think it just evolved from a fashionable heavy necklace. Either way, the practice started dying out and has recently been rejuvenated only because tourists like us pay to see it. The whole village is open to anyone who pays to see it. They know that the only way to have any sort of economy is keep the freak show going. Of course we don’t see it as a freak show so much, but they probably think we do. None the less, they are happy to have us as we are their bread and butter. Despite the money we bring in, they have very meager circumstances.



They don’t mind posing with you for pictures, but they do expect you to buy something from them afterward.







As we got to the end of the village we saw local boys playing games. Just then a bell rang. We realized we witnessed recess and school was in session. We helped ourselves to see the classrooms.





After that we went off the path a bit and into parts of the village that I don’t think most tourists would venture into. The people are kind and very subdued. That’s a nice way to say they sit around all day and look very bored. I’d be bored too. I wonder if the whole village is a sham and at night they go down into fancy apartments below the ground. I can’t tell where all the money goes by looking at the campus.





On the way out I bought a few trinkets thereby relieving myself of any guilt for intruding, gawking and living in better conditions.
On the way back I contemplated what life would be like had I been born into this village rather than Mesa, Arizona. I suppose if this is all you know there is nothing to feel like you are missing out on. These children looked as happy or even happier than many I’ve seen in the U.S. For having the shoulders pulled down so low, they seemed to naturally have the corners of their lips pulled up.