Vanessa,+Alexis,+Leah


 * __Aspects of the Kayan Lahwi Culture__ **


 * Language: Kayan is the language spoken throughout Burma and Thailand in the Kayan Lahwi culture. It is usually referred to as “Kayan Baram.” Other names include Padaung Karen, Padaung, and Kayang. The language has roots coming from other languages such as Chinese, Iban, Malay, and English. Their vowels are the same as the English language, although there are a couple different ways to pronounce the letter “e”. The language’s consonants are also the same but they have consonants such as “ch”, “kh”, and “sy.” The language sounds like a cluster of similar sounding words as there is no tone. It is a local trade language with about 40,900 speakers. **


 * Beliefs: The Kayan Lahwi people's traditional religion is called Kan Khwan. This religion is based on the belief of a legend that has been passed down through their tribe for many, many, many years. The legend explains the origin of the Kayan Lahwi people and their earliest ancestors. The legend goes as follows; A sea dragon sees a beautiful man walking over a tall mountain everyday. One day the sea dragon asks a frog about the man and the frog leads the sea dragon to a cave on top of the mountain, where the man goes everyday. Upon entering the cave, the sea dragon is transformed into a gorgeous young woman. For three days the woman cleans the man's cave and then hides in the bushes to sneak a glimpse at the man. The man is very curious as to who is cleaning his cave so on the third day he returns to the cave early, hoping to catch a glimpse at who is cleaning his cave. When he spots the young woman he immediately falls in love with her. The two live together in the cave, where the young woman is very careful not to leave because she does not want the man to see her for who she truly is, though her shadow resembles that of the dragon when she is asleep. After living this way for a few months, the woman finds herself pregnant, but continues to be very cautious not to reveal her true self to the man. One afternoon when the man is gone, the woman fell asleep for a quick the nap. The man returned early to see the beautiful woman as she really is. Feeling betrayed, the man leaves and when the woman wakes, she is heartbroken to find him gone. She returns to the sea, but before going in the water, she lays two eggs. A monk happened across the two eggs and took them. One was given to a friend and the other he kept. From the first a boy was born and given to the king as a gift. From the second a girl was born and was taken into a nearby village. When the boy and girl were grown, they fell in love when the boy took a visit to the village. These first two people are believed to be the first two Kayan Lahwi people. This legend is thought to be one of the reasons women wear the neck coils; to show respect to the 'Dragon Mother'. **


 * Behaviors: Of the many behaviors of the Kayan Lahwi culture, dedication is one of them. What the culture is widely known for are their “giraffe women.” The women wear gold coils around their neck from a young age. As they get older, more coils are added to their neck. The coils appear to make the neck longer, but in reality are just pushing the shoulders down and “crushing” the rib cage. The rings are worn to represent “beauty” and “sexual attraction”. It is a painful process including discoloration and chafing of the skin. The women of the culture are dedicated in carrying out these rituals to keep the culture going in the future. The people of the Kayan Lahwi culture are very devoted to their religion and rituals. This also shows their dedication and how they behave as a group and their good intentions. **


 * Values: The Kayan Lahwi tribe is known for their tradition of wearing coils of brass rings around the neck. It is believed that it “elongates” the neck, giving the women a more appealing look. This tradition is very important to the tribe, as it gives them a sense of identity. Their values are a key part of their culture as well, such as marriage, childbirth, practice of religion, and death rituals. In the past, the choice of marriage partners was usually the responsibility of the parents, but today it is up to the young people to select their own partner. Although, there are strict limits and procedures to when it comes to choosing your partner. They must be of the same generation, or else is it prohibited. Marriage to family members such as cousins is highly recommended. If a couple of a different generation proceeds to get get married, they are banned from the tribe. If the marriage does not work out, the partner who initiates the divorce must pay back all expenses. Before any decisions are usually made in their life, they consult a chicken bone by looking distinctly at the holes throughout the bone. They believe it is an effective way to determine the outcome of a situation. When it comes to childbirth, the woman is limited to what she can eat when pregnant. Only the wife and daughters are allowed in the house when the birth is taking place. After birth, the wife goes into a month of internal cleansing, the man then takes some of the responsibilities of the woman. The Kay Htoe Boe Poles are known to be a guide to living given from God to the Kayan Lahwi tribe. Offerings are placed there daily as an act of thanks to for all they are given. Finally, death rituals are highly respected in the tribe and usually last 2-3 days. Special ceremonies are held until it is believed the soul has left. **


 * __Cultural Change__ **


 * Sadly, the Kayan Lahwi people are being very negatively affected by modern times. They were forced out of their native and onto Thai lands because of wars and hardships. The Thai government set apart areas for the Kayan Lahwi people, but to the government's own gain. Over the past few generations, the neck coil wearing has become less favorable amongst the Kayan Lahwi people so many woman have stopped wearing them. However their long, coiled necks draw a lot of tourism for Thai and the Thai government wants to keep it that way. The Kayan Lahwi people are being threatened with having to go back to their homeland amidst the fighting if they don't continue the practice of elongating the neck. The Kayan Lahwi people are being kept from advancing and becoming more modern so the Thai government can get more money. **


 * Technology: The Kayan Lahwi people do not take part in the modern technologies like cell phones and computers like we do. They have kept to their traditional ways and ignore the growing technological world around them. However, because of tv and the internet, the Kayan Lahwi people have become a lot more known for their unusual tradition of coil wearing. Since they are more known, people have become very curious and travel from all over to the world to see the women in person. This brings a lot of tourists and outsiders disrupting their everyday lives. **


 * Commercialization: The Kayan Lahwi culture isn’t known for importing and exporting goods. Because the people of the culture are very secluded, they aren’t affected by commercialization as much as other cultures. The culture hasn’t changed much and it is very much like it was in years past. Many people find the Kayan Lahwi culture to be fascinating and it brings many tourists in every year. A lot of their revenue comes from tourists. The people of the culture are into making things such as scarves and jewelry. When tourists visit, the Kayan’s benefit and that is how they get their revenue. **


 * Travel: The Kayan Lahwi tribe has been negatively affected by modern times. They were forced out of their homelands due to hard times, and were given a new home in villages throughout the land of Thailand. They do not move much, and in fact are a more reserved tribe. People come from all over the world to see their tradition of the ring wearing around the necks. Therefore, they stay in the village and often do not travel far distances. **


 * __Citations__ **


 * Primary Sources: **

< __http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BL8ARB5FmsA>.__ **This source gave a lot of useful information having to do with the rings that the women wear around their neck. It showed a lot about their behaviors and how different their culture is compared to ours. **
 * Brass Shackles. National Geographic. Youtube. N.p., 26 Sept. 2008. Web. 28 Aug. 2012. **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">2012. < <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #1155cc; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">__http://www.huaypukeng.com/legend.htm>.__
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"The Legend of the Kayan People." Huay Pu Keng: Long Neck Legend. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Aug. **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This source gave the complete legend that the Kayan Lawhi people believe in. I simply paraphrased it when typing it above, but kept the details very accurate. **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Print Sources: **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Barbara: ABC CLIO, 2012. Google Ebook.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">DeMello, Margo. Faces Around the World: A Cultural Encyclopedia of the Human Face. Santa **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This source gave a general background on the history of the Kayan Lahwi people and the reason they wear the neck rings to elongate their necks. **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Other Sources: **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">< <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #1155cc; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">__http://www.encyclo.co.uk/define/Kayan%20language>.__
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"Kayan Language - Encyclopedia." Kayan Language - Encyclopedia. Google. Web. 28 Aug. 2012. **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This source actually gave a definition of “Kayan Language.” It hit major points and gave small facts about the language. **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">< <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #1155cc; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">__http://multitree.org/codes/pdu.html>.__
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"The Kayan Language." Kayan. The Linguist List. Web. 28 Aug. 2012. **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This source was helpful because it listed information. It also had a map highlighting areas of where the language was spoken. **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">< <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #1155cc; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">__http://wikitravel.org/en/Kayan_phrasebook>.__
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"Kayan Phrasebook." Wikitravel. Creative Commons. Web. 28 Aug. 2012. **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This source actually had the language written out and provided basic sayings. It gave vowels and consonants as well as a basic overview of the language. **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> 2012. < <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__http://kayan.weebly.com/culture.htm__]
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Yu, Khon Pay. "Culture - Kayandream." Kayandream - Home. Weebly, 15 Jan. 2010. Web. 28 Aug. **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This source provided information for the Kayan Lahwi tribe as to their values, beliefs, language, and behaviors. It gave old and new rituals of the tribe that are still used today. **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Asia Travel Guide - Taj Mahal India History - Angkor Wat Temple - Facts About The Great Wall Of China. Travel Asia 360, 11 Dec. 2010. Web. 28 Aug. 2012. < <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">__http://www.travelasia360.net/experience-the-kareni-long-necked-women.html>.__
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"Long neck karen tribe, Kayan burma, Kayan culture, White karen." Travel Asia Facts - South East **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This source gave the location of the many villages that the Kayan Lahwi tribe has lived in. It also gave a few facts about the geography of the villages which helped me conclude their way of travel. **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">n.d. Web. 28 Aug. 2012. < <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #1155cc; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">__http://web.prm.ox.ac.uk/bodyarts/index.php/permanent-body-arts/reshaping-and-piercing/151__ __-neck-coils.html>.__
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"Pitt Rivers Museum Body Arts | Neck Coils." Pitt Rivers Museum Body Arts | Neck Coils. N.p., **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This source was really helpful in defining how modern day culture is affecting the Kayan Lawhi people. **