Long-neck Tribe

My tour did not include the long-neck tribe, but I had read about it prior to coming to Chiang Mai and asked Sompop if we could go visit in the afternoon.

The Long-neck tribes either come from Tibet or Burma, I can't quite remember. The Thai government has allowed them to live on a sort of reservation type of land in which they must be self sufficient. They have rice fields and other crops as well as chickens and other small livestock. These people are refugees from their homeland and mostly the women are the ones who came to Thailand. The few men who did come to Thailand work in the fields or tend to the elephants.

What about the rings?---These rings around their necks are made of solid brass and are very heavy! It is one long wand of brass that is wound around their necks, not separate rings stacked on top of each other. Only the women wear these and they start from a young age. Back in the day, the rings were protection from large predators such as tigers bc these animals go for the jugular for the kill. Nowadays, they wear the rings for traditional reasons and to fend off the evil "spirits" of the tigers since the actual animal is not present. The rings also attract tourists, which is their main source of income. The maximum number of rings a woman wears is 25-27 depending on the person. However, if a woman marries and she only has 20 rings, she does not have to add the additional 5-7 rings, her husband has become her protector. The women do suffer from skin problems underneath these rings and seldom take them off. Only when a new wand is needed for additional bands I think, and they do sleep in these. Also, their necks are stretched and elongated from this process.

My guide, Sompop encouraged me to sit on the front stoop w/ the woman and her child. I was reluctant to do so bc it felt very invasive. They sit and weave on their looms. She did speak a small amount of english and I was able to ask how old she was, 29, how many children, 4, and her daughter's name was Ma-Mo. All women in the tribe have "Ma" before their name. I did get to take pictures w/ Ma-Mo on my lap, but by having me in the picture, I felt the integrity of the photo was lost.

I wanted to buy one of their handmade goods since they take time to sit and chat and have several tourists trapse by taking photos, pointing etc, I just feel like the least I can do is purchase one of their woven scarves. I asked Ma-Mo to pick one out for me. Now they have beautiful colors and wonderful designs for these scarves. Ma-Mo chose a pure white one for me. Out of all of those beautifully colored scarves, she chose white. I was very surprised. I think after she saw how puzzled I was, she chose a red and purple one. This was her second choice and the one I bought. Looking back, I wish I would have taken the white one bc now I think it was special compared to the rest, but I was focused on the colored material for some reason. I am kicking myself now and wished I would have been more gracious and accepted the white one.

They are a very sweet and hosptitable people. They do have their own language but have needed to learn Thai.

Eventhough this was a functioning village, it also seemed staged in a way. Like these people are on display for the amusement of the tourists. It made me think of the old time circus where Elephant Man or some other freak show was to be displayed. The authenticity of the village seemed forced eventhough this is where they live and work. Additionally, I felt a bit as if I were trespassing in their village.