Our last stop on this day long tour, which took us all the way to the Myanmar Border was going to be a village which is home to the Kayan Long Neck Tribe. You’ve probably seen pictures of them in National Geographic, and they do make good photo-ops, but their truth is quite different. The tribe is of Tibetan-Burmese and chose to flee from Burma to avoid the brutality of the military conflict in that area. Thailand granted them refugee status, gave them land to set up their village in this area, and now they are neither here or there. They have nothing to look forward to back home, so they don’t want to return. And in Thailand they cannot get jobs or any kind of work unless they abandon their neck ring tradition and learn Thai. So now the village earns a living by exhibiting its people to the tourists who come here to look at this unusual tribe and for which they pay an entry fee to the tour operator. It is anybody’s guess what portion of this fee goes to the village.
The Long Neck Tribe, gets its name from the brass rings they traditionally wear around their neck. Initially, the rings were meant as protection from wild animals, who would often go straight for the jugular, but later, a long neck was considered synonymous with beauty. It is only the women folk who wear these rings, The girls usually start wearing them when they are 4 or 5 years old, and a couple of rings are added every year on their birthday as they grow older. The women have an option to stop wearing them when they are around 15, but most continue to wear them, as without these neck rings they will not be able to attract tourists for their photographs.. As you can imagine, awe struck tourists would stop coming if they stopped. They do not solicit money for allowing you to take their picture, they are happy to pose but they request you to buy a souvenir or two later, if you are so inclined.
The village itself is a row of semi permanent thatched houses. Quite neat and clean and well looked after. Each house accommodates a family with at least one girl dressed in full neck ring attire and almost beseeching you to take her picture or to buy the usual souvenirs which are on display. There were no menfolk to be seen anywhere.
Even the little children are well versed on how they should pose when requested for a photograph or a selfie. Making V-signs with their fingers, or pouting, or striking Instagram like poses – it is amazing what these little children can come up with when you take out your camera. We spent an hour there, Banana our guide, gave us a lowdown on their history etc., and then it was mostly about taking pictures. The villagers happily and smilingly obliged. Just another working day for them. Just another tourist group, just like many others.
For me, it was a rare sight, and something I would probably never see again. I would always remember it. Later though, I did feel kind of sad about how the tribe has had to make an exhibition of itself just to survive. Kind of like a human zoo. But I’ve seen worse in India – lepers displaying their sores and wounds just to get a buck out of you, amputee beggar kids waving their stubs asking for money, and so much worse. Here at least the people looked good. Now whether the smiles and mannerisms are just a cover up for a sad life is something you can only speculate about.
Some pictures from our visit to the Long Neck Tribe Village are below :
It was almost 10pm by the time we got back to the hotel. It had been a long, tiring day and we decided to chill out at the roof top pub for dinner. We were going to take it easy tomorrow.
Enjoying dinner with a birds eye view of Chiag Mai
