Karen Long Neck Ladies of Thailand

North of Chang Rai, near the Golden Triangle on the border of Myanmar you will find several villages of the Karen Tribe. At first look it appears to be like any other village off the beaten path in rural Thailand, dirt swept streets with thatched huts adorning both sides.

Karen Village

As you get closer you see pets frolicking in the village

Children playing on the dirt ground enjoying the few items they have

Then as your eyes focus on the individual huts you see the Karen Ladies busy making textiles for sale, still very aware of the tourist coming to snap a few photos of their unique lifestyle.

Hand carved wooden hill tribe figurines

Karen tribe lady weaving

Brief History of Karen Tribe

The Karen people are a tribal group who lived in the hills on the Myanmar (formerly Burma) side of the Thai border. Due to political unrest in what was formerly Burma thousands of Karen migrated to the northern part of Thailand for safety. With having no options to become a Thai citizen life is still much better than life in Burma. Lack of opportunity has created small villages of Karen relying on the sale of their handicrafts and money earned posing for photos as tourist pass by. Karen women are known for their woodworking and weaving of textiles to provide a living for the village while most of the men are farmers.

Young Karen girl

Karen lady with brass rings

Recognized for their elongated necks, the Karen women wear heavy brass rings around their necks adding rings with the passing years. Young girls start to wear around the age of 5 and add additional rings as they get older. Karen Tribe considers the rings a thing of beauty and as myth has it, in years past to protect their necks from predators such as tigers. Although it looks as if their neck are being stretched the rings actually push their shoulders and rib cage down to appear as if they have longer necks.

Some choose to use other forms for beauty

With civilization advancing at speeds like never before one has to wonder if the century old traditions like the Karen Tribes will one day only be remembered with photos.

Karen elder with around 25 rings adorning herself

Younger girl with almost a dozen rings already