In the confidential setting of the Maison du Thé, the departmental museum of Asian Arts presents a new photographic exhibition “Karens Padaungs of Burma, refugees in Thailand.” Photographic exhibition until May 23, 2011.
The origin of the Karen people is uncertain. Their legends place their roots in the Gobi Desert. Their main languages, Sgaw and Pwo, are classified among the Tibeto-Burman languages. With evangelization, which began in the 19th century, they converted to Christianity while retaining animist traditions.
The term “padaung” is used to refer to two minority groups among the Karens: The Kayans or “longnecks” and the Kayaws or “big ears”. The settlement of the Karens in Burma, resulting from a slow migration southward from China, has been documented for many centuries. They form a Karen State and a Kayah State there. Other Karens, continuing their migration southward, settled in Thailand around the 18th century, where they easily integrated with local populations.
In Burma, the military takeover in 1962 and the repression against ethnic minorities drove a large number of them, including Karens mostly comprising women and children, to flee the country to seek refuge in Thailand. Without refugee status, they live in overcrowded and poor sanitary conditions in camps that are closed to the public.
Because they represent a tourist attraction for Thailand, some Kayan and Kayaw Karens are allowed to live in villages where they are showcased. Often deprived of rights, they struggle to survive by selling a few handicrafts to tourists who are mostly unaware of their culture and living conditions. Despite these miserable living conditions, these Kayans and Kayaws claim their cultural heritage and see themselves as custodians of an ancient culture.
They remain the last witnesses to traditions, myths, techniques, and beliefs that belong to the historical heritage of humanity, which globalization, elsewhere, inexorably erases. In the greatest destitution and worst misfortune, they retain a beauty and dignity that inspire respect and admiration.
