Hill tribes of northern Thailand
By Lynn Lyons

古人云, "读万卷书, 行万里路. " 旅行的目的何在? 任教于厦门WECL英语学院的Lynn Lyons认为, 旅途中的一大幸事是有机会了解不同种族的生活习俗, 进而开拓自身的视野. 在泰国西北部与缅甸交界的地带, Lyons夫妇真切感受到Karon族(俗称长脖子女人族)人民的乐观与上进.



Wearing a coil of brass around their neck is an ancient custom followed by many of the women and girls of the village.wq?www They build their houses out of whatever they can find in the forest.

The coils the women are wearing around their necks are very heavy-the largest, for an adult woman, weighing about 7 kilograms.

It is always amazing to come face to face with things you have only seen in pictures or photographs-things such as the pyramids of Egypt or the Great Wall here in China. Our trip to the village of Mae Hong Son in the northwestern part of Thailand, near the border with Myanmar (Burma), was just such an experience. I recall from my childhood seeing photographs of Burmese women wearing heavy brass coils around their necks, from their shoulders to the base of their skull. During our trip to this part of Thailand, we were privileged to visit a village where these women live.



They belong to the Karon group of ethnic peoples, more commonly called the "long-necked women" tribe. The women and their families are refugees from Myanmar. Their lives are difficult and they own very little except for a few household items. The Thai government allows them to live in Thailand, but they cannot own land; they have few rights; and they cannot hunt or move about the country freely. They are allowed only to go into the village of Mae Hong Son to buy what little food they can afford. They raise pigs for meat and build their houses out of whatever they can find in the forest. However, they are thankful to the Thai government for their lives. In their own country they run the risk of persecution.

We travelled to the village by longtail boat, which took about an hour and a half. We journeyed along the river early in the day while it was still shrouded in morning mist. The river was enchanting and mysterious and very beautiful. The village we visited is on the Pai River. The villagers are very poor. The village has no electricity and is without a well for drawing water, so the people use the river for washing, bathing and cooking. They are encouraged by the government to make handicrafts and are allowed to sell whatever they produce to the tourists who visit the village. They produce hand-woven scarves, carved-wooden musical instruments, and hand-made jewellery, among other things. They depend on tourists for their livelihood.



Wearing a coil of brass around their neck is an ancient custom followed by many of the women and girls of the village. Legend has it that their female ancestors wanted protection from wild animals, especially tigers. So they put the metal coils around their necks for security. Today, many of the women have chosen to continue the custom. Some choose not to do so, but they are in the minority in this particular village. The coil is very heavy-the largest, for an adult woman, weighing about 7 kilograms. Girls begin to wear them at the age of five years and replace them throughout their lives as they grow. It takes about half a day to either put on or remove a coil.

The women of the village were all sitting outside their houses making handicrafts or looking after their children. They smiled and beckoned us to come and buy something from them. Of course we purchased quite a few things hoping to provide them with enough money to feed their families for a few days. They also encouraged us to take photographs of them and wanted to include us in the pictures. We were enchanted by them; they were so friendly, sweet, and always smiling.



Because we are presently teachers in Xiamen, we were interested in their village school. They have no money to pay teachers, but people come from around the world to volunteer as teachers for three to six months at a time. The teachers we met spoke quite good English and told us the students were well behaved and very much wanted to learn. The school was a thatched roof building closed on three sides with one side completely open. The classrooms consisted of some long benches and rough-hewn tables, with a small blackboard in each. The students we sat with were looking at some picture storybooks written in English. It was fun to sit, reading along with them for a few minutes. They were as sweet as their mothers-their huge, heart-felt smiles melting our hearts.

We passed a few hours walking through the village looking at their handicrafts (and buying much of it), then sat with some children, watching the daily routine of the villagers until we had to depart. We left knowing that we had visited a very unique place in the world. The people, though living a very difficult life, possessed a dignity that was inspiring.

We learned so much that morning, and it is our firm belief that this is exactly what travel should achieve: it should open our eyes and minds and hearts to the people of the world.

Vocabulary
skull 头骨
privilege 特别待遇
refugee 难民
Myanmar 缅甸
shroud 笼罩
persecution 迫害
scarf 围巾
enchanting 迷人的
coil 线圈
minority 少数
beckon 召唤
rough-hewn 粗制的
dignity 尊严
thatch 茅草屋顶