Karen hill tribes

Karen tribes seem to be divided into a number of sub groups. The mahouts we met at Patara Elephant Farm, were for the main part Karen and the tunics we wore for the day were definitely Karen. This tribe is renowned for its beautiful weaving, mostly cotton and some hemp if I understood correctly. Colours cover reds, pinks, greens, blues, purples, a veritable rainbow once the colours mix in the weaving process. We observed Karen women at Baan Tong Luang weaving, using traditional methods, with threads going around their waists and secured to a post to maintain correct tension. The work they were doing was beautiful, with simple cotton threads combining to produce gorgeous, textured cloth which they make into scarves and table runners.

These people were very friendly, and happily welcomed us to their village. The women tend to wear striped, woven trousers with colourful embroidered tunics of a dark blue or black. The headdress they wear is a simple piece of cloth wrapped around their head. Originally from Tibet, the Karen came to Myanmar from China, and now, being so close to the border have some groups in Thailand after escaping persecution from the government of Myanmar. 31.1.2013

Yao hill tribe

The Yao (official name) or Mien (what they refer to themselves as) tribes, originally from China, dress in dark shirts and pants which feature the beautiful embroidery these people are famous for. Men have embroidery on their shirts and trousers. While women have embroidery on their pants, their tops are fairly plain. That is until you come to the vivid red ruff running around like a collar. This goes around the neckline of their shirt, then runs on either side down the front of their shirt, luxurious and thick. A dark turban is also worn by the women, with the ends again sporting embroidered embellishments. The patterns are quite geometric in design and are often stitched onto either very dark cloth, or light cloth. Seeing the women working on their embroidery was much appreciated by this girl who struggles to sew on a button. Women sit for hours on end quietly stitching away, with their supplies in a plastic crate at their feet, not a pattern in sight. Utilising a limited number of traditional patterns seems to be the norm across a number of the hill tribes based on what we saw regardless of whether they were working in embroidery, weaving, batik or silversmithing.

Considering the amount of work in these hand stitched pieces they were reasonably priced, so we bought a couple to take home with us.

31.1.2013