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Portrait of a Karen Woman
Image Title:  Portrait of a Karen Woman
 
 By: * James *  
  Copyright ©2007



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Photographer * James * {K:20200}
Project #49 Dramatic Portrait Camera Model Fuji Finepix S7000
Categories Travel
People
Portrait
Film Format Digital RAW
Portfolio Thailand
People
Lens Fujinon
Uploaded 2/21/2007 Film / Memory Type Digital xD Card
    ISO / Film Speed
Views 482 Shutter 1/125
Favorites Aperture f/3.5
Critiques 13 Rating
6.30
/ 5 Ratings
Location City -  Karen Village
State - 
Country - Thailand   Thailand
About The Karen Hill Tribe of north Thailand and parts of Burma are known for the women with long necks. They're often referred to as the "Long-Neck Tribe."

I've heard different reasons why the women wear these heavy brass rings: it makes them more beautiful and wealthy looking (to attract a good husband), it makes the women less attractive to slave traders, it prevents tigers from biting them, and there are more. The first one seems the most common and plausible.

At any rate, the women mostly sell trinkets to tourists who visit their villages and undoubtedly have their photo taken quite often. Their costumes, including the brass rings, are very beautiful. The rings are supposed to be one piece and can weigh anywhere from 5-15 kilograms.

Unfortunately, I didnt spend much time in the Karen village.
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There are 13 Comments in 1 Pages
  1
Arthur Kornienko   {K:10844} 2/21/2007
Great shot, nice colour and exposure and written history is good too. Well done.


ppdix     {K:17069} 2/21/2007
Hi James, well executed portrait. I read somewhere that their neck doesn't get longer, but the rings slowly push the shoulders down instead. Kinda like braces and teeth. Since the neck muscles are not used, if there women were to remove the rings, their neck wouldn't have the strength to hold their head and they will die instantly...

:(

Cheers

Pat


* James *   {K:20200} 2/21/2007
hi ppdix.... must say i'm surprised to see you on this section of UF. a pleasure at any rate.

you're right, apparently the collarbones/shoulders are just pushed down, and the neck only appears longer.

i've also read that in the event of marital infidelity, these women would have the rings removed, and because of the reason you mention above, they would have to lay down for the remainder of thier lives, otherwise they would indeed die.

warmest regards pat ~ james


Sylvia Marriott   {K:12797} 2/21/2007
Hi James,
What a fascinating photo! I have seen TV programmes about this tribe. Lovely colours and composition plus the background info of the photo make it a very interesting picture to view
7+++++++++
Sylvia


Sylvia Marriott   {K:12797} 2/21/2007
Silly me forgot the rating
Sylvia


pinar üründül   {K:2728} 2/21/2007
traditional! I know but,she's suffer....bad and sadly....best wishes


* James *   {K:20200} 2/22/2007
pinar, before i went to this village i read all kinds of comments by other western travellers that said they felt sorry for these women and that they felt these women were trapped in some kind of zoo, where they were only photographed.

i didnt get that impression. for one thing, most of the women were not just sitting there being photographed, they were selling small trinkets to tourists, they were laughing and joking around with their friends, and they didnt look as if they were starving. in other words, they are little different from any of the other millions of villagers that live around the world, these women only look a little different.

the tourists who said they felt sorry for these women probably felt they were being exploited. but these same tourists looked at these women through tourist eyes, and not the eyes of these women, or other thais. there's the difference.

thanks for the comment. james


Michele Carlsen   {K:143690} 2/22/2007
This is so very interesting . Thank You for explaining all that You know about this tribe. It is also a lovely picture , 'tho strange to my eyes' as well..as I imagine what their necks would look like with-out the brass rings ....
Thank you For Sharing , 7/7
Michele~


Michele Carlsen   {K:143690} 2/22/2007
Hi James,
Michele here again... after I submitted my comment I did read about the shoulders being pushes down and the necks useless with no muscles... Oh my goodness.... We are a strange brew of --People


Wez     {K:14339} 2/24/2007
Wonderful portrait James.

I watched a show in Discovery channel a few months ago that featured these Karen people.

In the show, a woman had her rings removed for some medical reason and she didnt fall over and die, or have to lie down forever! She simply stood in the mirror, and looked at her neck for the first time in over 20 years. It was an amazing show, really enlightening. She felt refreshed initially, and after around 5 mins started to feel naked and incomplete. She had lost her sense of self-identity i guess.

Without the rings on her neck, she didnt look remotely as strange.

Anyway, back to your picture. The bg is just away from the plane of focus exactly, and her expression is great. Well done!


* James *   {K:20200} 2/24/2007
Thank you for that explanation Wez... I had a feeling those stories of instant death upon removal of those rings was a bunch of malarkey (sp?).

Take care ~ James


fan hu   {K:333} 1/5/2008
It is very informative photo with your remarks below photo. I heard different story about these long neck women. It goes like this: if she has some afairs with other man and if her husband got to know, he will then remove the rings. Result is just what you mentioned...


John Hatz   {K:156912} 3/14/2008
Excellent portrait! well as I wrote to your last shot, I always love to see interesting faces, original, with traditional clothing, that makes the portraits unique, original, and worths to view and so that one, it amazing that "thing" she has at her neck! wow... well that makes her neck longer hahaha....kidding...
Absolutely wonderfull shot... my best complements for your extra interesting portfolio James.
be well!


  1

 

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