The Padong Women of Ban Huai Seau Tao Village

Ryota and I rented a scooter and went for a drive in the jungle along the Myanmar border.  We eventually reached the Padong village called Ban Huai Seau Tao.  The going was not easy, even though the village only lies about 15 kilometers outside of town.  The twisting mountain road does not contain bridges and so it is washed out by the river in many spots.  I would guess that these roads would be inaccessible during the rainy season.

We visited during the peak of the hot season, when the mercury seems to hit a pretty steady 40 degrees.  The only way to deal with the heat is to take a nap in the shade.

Mae Hon Son province is home to the only Padaung people living outside of Myanmar. Ethnic wars and brutal living conditions have driven them from their native lands in an effort to escape exploitation, kidnapping and crimes against humanity.  Ban Huai Seau Tao is one of three Padong villages that lie along the Myanmar border here.

Although the neck-elongation tradition is dying out, there are a number of children wearing the brass coils in this village.  Generally, girls start wearing the rings from the age of five after a special initiation ceremony.  More lengths of coil are gradually added year by year.

This woman is not a Padong, but belongs to another ethnic mountain group living in this area.  I confess I know nothing about the group to which she belongs, although the local people call this group 'The Long Ear People'.  She is living at the Ban Huai settlement.

Click here for more photos of Padaung women from Nai Soi Village

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