The Karen who are called Kaliang or Yang in Thai, are about 350,000 strong in Thailand. They are typically found living along the Thai Burmese border. There are over 4 million Karen living in Burma.
The Karen are primarily found in Mae Hong Son province, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, and Phayo. They are also sometimes found in smaller concentrations in the provinces of Ratchaburi, Tak, Kanchanaburi, Phrachuap Khiri Khan, Lampang, Lamphun, Phrae, Kamphaeng Phet, Phetchaburi, Uthai Thani, and Suphanburi.
The Karen, who have began to migrate to Thailand during the last 200 years due to political conflicts wit the Burmese, can be divided into four main subgroups.
The two primary groups are known as the Sgaw Karen (White Karen) and Pwo Karen. The other two groups are the Pa-O or Black Karen, The Padung, and the Kayah (Red Karen). The Padung are fmouse for their women, who use golden bands to increase the length of their neck.
The style of dress for the Karen women is very attractive and distinctive. Unmarried girls, dress differently to show their status. The young girls often wear lose v-necked shifts decorated with what is known as Job’s Tears seeds on the trim. The married women wear boldly colored red and blue blouses and skirts. The men typically wear lose trousers. Their women wear their hair long, typically tied in a bun, and always covered with a white scarf.
The Karen women are known for their sewing and dying skills. The Karen people are also skilled farmers, who utilize crop rotation. Their primary crops are rice and vegetables. Opium is grown by some of the Karen. The Karen keep many different types of livestock such as buffalo, elephants, chickens, and pigs for ceremonial purposes. At one point in time the Karen would rent out their elephants for circus sideshows, though this practice isn’t as popular as it once was.
The Karen people are very cooperative and gentle people in general. They lead very morally upstanding lives and do not tolerate immorality. The Village Chief is both governing body, and spiritual guide. They are a monogamous people. In many Karen villages, adultery is punishable by death. It is considered a heinous crime, by the Karen, to cheat on one’s spouse. There are strict rules regarding two women living in a household with a man. Their society traces their heredity through the matrilineal line.
The homes of the Karen are traditionally made of bamboo and teak, and are on stilts. Homes of the Karen tend to be very small, usually with a bedroom and living area on one end, and a kitchen and store room on the other side. Beneath the home there is typically a work area for the family. The Karen have no need for larger homes, as their homes are typically nuclear. When a child marries they immediately leave and create their own home in Khmer culture. The idea of extended family is not popular amongst the Karen.
Although the Karen are traditionally animists, as are most hill tribes, 25% of the Karen practice Christianity. The Christian influence was introduced to the Karen people by way of western missionaries to the area.
One of the primary holidays among the Karen is their New Year celebration which takes place ever January or February.
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