Myanmar

Hill Tribes

In the Golden Triangle region, where Myanmar borders on Laos and Thailand, there are

a large number of hill tribes that have resisted assimilation with the rest of the country.

A police permit is needed for hiking into some of the villages.

Architecture

The housing in the villages is primitive.

Village Life

Each tribe has its distinctive dress and even language. My guide seemed to know people in

every village. It took almost two hours of hiking to get to this village.

The Teachers

A previous client who had been taken to this village left ten dollars with the guide to buy

medicines  for the children. I contributed some more and we went by a drug  store  in

town before departing.  A little money buys a lot of medicine in Myanmar. These two

kindergarten teachers were delighted to receive the drugs. I asked the guide why he

had not brought any medicine for the elementary school children. He said it was not

necessary because by the time the children are that old, they are strong enough to

survive an illness.

Caught on Camera

The boys were fascinated to see their pictures on the digital camera.

Tradition

The headdress tells her tribe. It costs a considerable amount of money by village standards

and will be handed down in the family. But it seems that the younger girls in the tribes are

more interested in contemporary dress. Their mothers may be the last generation to dress

like this.

Dental Health Promotion

Thinking it inappropriate to give the children candy, I brought several dozen toothbrushes to

distribute. The kids are showing their approval.

Village Life

This woman said that she was one hundred years old and had no living relatives in the

village. She said that she lived off of the kindness of her neighbors.

Almost Heaven

Just like the hill folk in West Virginia, every village has a still. The alcohol is made from

either sour corn mash or fermented rice and molasses. After the alcohol is distilled off,

what remains is fed to the pigs. Happy pigs. The always hospitable Burmese never

fail to invite a traveler in for a drink. It tasted just like moonshine.

Mountain Religion

There are a surprisingly large number of Christians in Myanmar. In fact one village had

three districts, one of Buddhists, one of animists, and one of Christians. They all

seemed to get along fine, and had done so for generations.