5. Burma - Kengtung, Burma

Kengtung, Burma (Mayanmar)

Ethnic People and Their Life Styles

We Have Found Our Villages

Nuang Tung Lake of Kengtung City

View of Kengtung in Eastern Burma

     

     Kengtung  (city - 50,000 population. district - 170,000), is located in the heart of the Golden Triangle in the far eastern region of Burma touching Thailand.  For centuries it was an important commercial link between China and Siam.  After WW II the Burmese military took control and the region endured strong Burmanization and it became part of Shan State.

     Today, it is still relatively remote, with 2 or 3 traffic lights, limited paved roads, and few people speaking Burmese.  Many speaking Shan or one of the ethnic groups' languages.

     Roadways are filled with  motorcycles and  tuk tuks.

A Rainy Day in Kengtung

Central Kengtung - Near Market
Local Taxi Transport

Central  Market

     Kengtung is surrounded  by many hill towns of different ethnic groups: Wa, Aeng, Shan, Akha, Lahu, Palaung, Padaung, Aku, and others.

Typical Road Surfaces to Villages
Imagine Walking Here on a Rainy Day!

1.  PIN TAUK Village -  Lahu ethnic group.  The village was very well maintained and so clean.  Unfortunately, most of the residents were out in their fields, harvesting rice. 

Home is Built of Teak Wood

and Very Stable on Stilts

Notice the Stilts.  

Harvesting the Rice Crop

Northeast of Kengtung we stop at a Thai Khun rice wine village to see a massive saki (rice whiskey) distillery operation.  We are told that it is a very profitable and deals only in the export market. 

     T

  The Only Resident Left in Village That Day

Working on Embroidery!      

    

     The Lahu people are large rice producers and the women also do embroidery for a neighboring Akha village.  They are Baptists and provide for their own church in the village.

 Panier Village of
Aeng People

   Tropical plants and trees fill the landscape.  Roadways are filled with  motorcycles and  tuk tuks.  After an hour the road ends, and we begin the uphill trek with our guide Sai Win.

View of Panier Village

          In these photos, you see only the children and  older residents.  The others were working in the fields harvesting rice, their main crop.

Part of the Greeting Committee

She Worked Hard to Sell a Metal Bracelet

New Fashion of Earring

The Blackness of Her Teeth Indicates
That She Chews Beetlenut

     The Headman and his wife warmly geeted us with cups of tea and bananas.  Here she is on her porch sharing her village life with us.

Headman's Wife and Grandson

     The headman's wife is a fiine  weaver, indigo dyer, and sewer.  She had made lovely jacket of her own woven, dyed and hand stitching.  She wanted to sell it and I was ready to buy it!  Her name is Ae Eard, age 55, of Panler Village

                                   

A Popular Earring Style

Another Family Member

Good-bye Aeng Villagers

     It was sad to leave these kind and gracious people.  Without any education and with such isolation, their future seems difficult.

Wan Nyat Village

                                         Loi People 

     We climbed to 5000 feet altitude to visit this village of tea and fruit producers.  Their unique style of multiple families living in longhouses made us think of our Native American longhouses.

We visited one occupied by 7 families with total occupancy of 50-60.  Inside each family has its own cooking, sleeping,  and storage area.  There is no outlet for their cooking fires and smoke fills the building. The  construction of teak and fine thatch is beautiful.   Woven mats cover the  floors and are tastefully placed.   Presently, there is no school for children.  It is difficult to find a teacher who will stay in this isolated region.

Interior of the Loi People Long House
7 Families Share this Home

Evergreen Villages on Pine Tree Mountain

Akha People of Ho Kyein

     It was difficult driving up this red clay roadway but worth the views and seeing fields of newly planted apple trees, all managed by a Kengtung monk.

     There are three neighboring Akha villages situated in this area.  Interesting to note that they are of three different religious beliefs: Buddhism,  Animisin, and Catholicism.

Teak, Bamboo House of Akha

Akha Fashion

What a Head Cover.  Vintage Coins are from India and France.
The Women Sleep With Hats

Rear View of Fancy Hat

A Variation of the Hat Back

Weaving Cloth For Her Family

     We were warmly welcomed by those residents not involved in harvesting rice.  We enjoyed tea, peanuts, and sake with the chairman's wife who was quick to show us her display of Akha fabric items for sale.  The Akha women are fairly active fabric marketers.

     My special treat was to see up close the Akha costumes and learn about their colorful hats.  Each village has its own variation and the villagers are known by the hat variation.  Most women are wearing heirloom hats given to them by family members and carry valuable coins and beads.  Thus, continual wearing day and night keeps them secure.   They only take the hats off to wash their hair.

     These villages have electricity, a central well, and an elementary school nearby.  Nevertheless, girls still have many children, which seems to carry good fortune for the village.

Young Woman, Different Apparel

Good-bye Akha Villages

Pine Tree Mountain Village 

Pang Pac

Lahu Shi People

     The trek to the mountain top village of Pang Pac to visit Lahu Shi ethnic people will be with me forever.  12 kilometers uphill on slippery muddy clay paths and streams in the rain!

     We departed our hotel in the morning mist at 8 am to purchase lunch items of rice with vegetables, oranges. bananas and water in the Kengtung market.  As mist turned to rain we began our trek across fields of rice with the ever present water buffalo in the fields.  It was tough jumping on rocks  across small streams, maneuvering the wet steep clay trail as we neared the mountain top.  As we passed the Lahu Shi spirit dwelling  areas, I thanked the spirits for their help along the trail.

     Climbing in this muck, I began to wonder how people could endure an entire lifetime in such difficult circumstances, no electricity,  schools, piped water, or telephones.  Finally we arrived at the 3500 feet level altitude with towering pine trees and the Pang Pac village.

    In spite of the downpour, we were met by many children, soaked to the skin and barefoot.  Since few outsiders make it into their village, our arrival was a special event. 

Greeting Us In the Rain

What Are They Thinking?

Rain, Who Cares?

     We were invited by the chief's friend into a village home.  Taking off our wet shoes and climbing a short ladder, we sat around the coimforting fire in the modest living area and learned that the Lahu-shi population is about 100 who live in  22 houses of bamboo.  Their self-subsistence lives are based on rice cultivation and hunting wild game.  We  heard that in former times they were known as the hunters of tigers.

The Fire Feels Great

     Chidren begin working with their parents when very young and being that schools are so distant, nobody can read or write in the village. 

     Village highlights are the festivals of their animist beliefs and paying homage to the special spirits.  The Pang Pac wear a traditional dress consisting of  turquoise blue longyi skirts (sarongs), white blouses, big earrings, and colorful necklaces.  

     After sharing a glass of tea and our mixed nuts and staring at each other for a while, we headed down the steep slippery path for more than three hours to reach the car.  Two walking sticks were a gift of support for managing the treacherous slippery path.   Seven hours of a muddy journey convinced me that Pang Pac life is not for me. 

Wan Si Village

Akher People

     Sliding in mud down the hill to the car,  we traveled to Wan Si, an Aker village with a  welcoming committee of pipe smoking senior women offering us simple strung beaded necklaces for 1,000 kyats each ( $1).  These women have been the most aggressive people we have met in the country so far.   I was delighted to buy one from every woman.  

     Their ethnic wear was comprised of woven black hats and jackets with red stripped longyi.  Their large earrings and beaded necklaces provided the color. 

     It seems that most of the able village people were in the paddies harvesting the rice.

     There are so many more stories to tell: the Silver Padaung People, Kala People, Wa People, Aeng Holoung People......but, I'm sure that you have an idea of the diverse life styles, and challenges they all encounter.  

4. Burma: Yangon, Capital of Burma (Myanmar)

Arrival in Yangon   

Shwedagon Paya/Pagoda in Yangon
Covered in Gold Leaf

Find Yangon in SW Myanmar

     After  a 42 hour door to door flight (Yakima, Washington to Yangon, Burma), we land in the former capital city and commercial center, Yangon.

First impressions: 100% humidity, 90's, torrential storm, no evidence of armed military yet, and people everywhere.

 There are over six million people living in Yangon (census has not been taken for 39 years, due for a new one soon).  In spite of the congested streets, limited designated walk ways, and the heat,  most people are extremely helpful and kind.  We particularly appreciated the wonderful support at our guest house, Motherland Inn II.

City Views

Outside the Pagoda Entry

Flowers for the Buddha in Shwedagon Pagoda

Sweet Pilgrims Leaving Pagoda

Burmese Nuns Visiting Pagoda

Children inside the Shwedagon Pagoda

Normal Traffic in Yangon

Along a Main Street in Yangon Near our Guest House

Activities:

     Bogyoke Aung Sang market in city center-- inside the maze of shops found is Yoyama textile shop which has a quality selection of several ethnic groups (Chin, Naga, and Akha).  Store owner is extremely helpful and loves to share her fabric knowledge of Burma.  

Wa Ethnic Group - Necklace

Akha Ethnic Group Embroidery

Kachin Ethnic Group Fashion

 Activities

     National Museum, treasure house of historic royal gold items, gemstones, and Bagan prehistory.  The top floor with a superior display of 70 fully dressed ethnic costumes (male and female) and village artifacts (looms, etc) was the most fascinating.


     Shwedagon Paya  (Pagoda) -  this huge stupa glitters bright gold leaf and jewels from every corner of city, 2500 years old, rebuilt many times. It is the most sacred of all Burma's Buddhists' sites. Burmese follow the Theravada tradition of Buddhism.

     After taking off shoes and socks at one of the four entries, you begin climbing the stairs, which are lined with a series of shops where devotees and visitors buy flowers, ceremonial paper umbrellas, books, incense sticks, and even antiques for the pagoda visit.

     As you emerge from the covered entry you see that Shwedagon is more than just one huge gold and jewel-covered stupa.  All around it is a technicolor glitter of smaller stupas, temples, shrines, images, and small pavilions.  

     The devotees walk clockwise in a meditative mode around the main stupa on a mat pathway (so their feet don't burn from the marble surface).  We noted that many people stopped to worship at specific shrines along the walk.   These spots were planetary posts representing the days of the week. Here you can offer prayers and care for your own day of birth shrine.

     Shwedagon has a long fascinating history.  One episode that I appreciate describes a strong Queen Shinsawbu of 1400's who made significant developments and improvements to the pagoda by giving her weight in gold (88 lbs), thus beginning the tradition of gold leaf donations.

    In  2007 it was the center for monks protesting military government.

    In 1988, Aung San Suu Kyi spoke here.

Shwedegon Paya Maintenance

Traditional Walk Around Paya

Caring For Your Day of Birth Sculpture

Lovely Pilgrims

 Nuns Eating and Resting at Pagoda

Buddha Dressed in Burmese Folded Kyats (Money)

Close up of Burmese Bills 1 Kayat
Value is $1

Buddha Wearing Crown of Burmese Kayats

Close up of Money Donated to the Pagoda

Other activities and observations:

     Botataung Paya, another of dozens of pagodas,  is a sharp contrast  to the massive Shwedagon.   It is located in a sketchy neighborhood and exhibits significant deferred maintenance showing less financial support.

    The  lovely Strand Hotel (colonial British built) is perfect for a cup of tea and quiet.  Staying there would be delightful, but $600 a night might  close the bank.

     There are many choices for delicious food in Yangon,  Two of our favorite restaurants were Meet Mayanmar (near the National Museum) and the wharf side Junior Duck.  Menus always include many varieties of seafood preparations, vegetable stir fry in all kinds of hot and sour sauces, delicious hot and spicy fish, hardy noodle soups, and fresh delicious tropical fruits: papaya, banana, pineapple, melons....

    As we walked around the city, I was on the lookout for colorful ethnic tribal traditional dress.  Many people, especially the younger set, were wearing western pants and shirts. Older women and men were often wearing the traditional Burmese longyi or sarong.  Alas! no village outfits at all!

     Visiting the hundreds of isolated ethnic villages throughout the country would be the way to view the colorful, hand-woven and embroidered textiles of these unique people....So on to Kengtung of the Golden Triangle to find and visit the Akha, Aeng, Lahu, Lishu, Padaung, Palaung.......

Let's Go to Kengtung!