These traditional hill tribes are becoming less in number as the younger generation chooses another type of life. However, one child is chosen to care for the aging parents and stays in the village.
Mr. Sak, his wife “Mrs. Sak” (yes, we actually did not get her name!) and their small son live in Chiang Mai for work and education.
Grains of rice before being hulled...
Joey & Mr. Sak at a vantage point in a Karen Tribe village...
Canabis...
A balloon plant...
Stopping at a Hmong village, we met a farming family. The containers on the left side have seeds planted for germinating lettuce they will grow. One seed at a time is planted in each pod. The containers are then taken to the market to sell.
These are hard working families.
The daughter of the Hmong family...
Now on to the rice fields. We had to cross a stream on a piece of bamboo to get there, with Mr. Sak leading the way.
Over the stream to the field
Most of the rice is cut down by hand; however, this tribal person is using a tool similar to a hedge clipper, which makes the process faster.
Mr. Sak demonstrated how the tribal people harvest the rice. First they bundle up some of the grain stalks...
Then they beat it on the wood (hard surface) shown here on the ground.
The rice falls off of the stalk on to the ground, at which time they remove any excess leaves or stalks. After this process is completed, the rice is gathered from the ground to be shucked and for use.
Two of the tribal people...
If you look closely, you can see the rice coming off of the bundle...
Story worth sharing, for sure:
Before leaving the village, we sat down on a rock wall and had an interesting conversation with Mr. Sak. The wall surrounded an empty space with a circle in the middle. He explained this is a "dancing circle" where special occasions are celebrated with the Shaman, such as weddings or events within the tribe rituals. We asked him about the small "merse" (man purse:) ) he wore over his shoulder and he told us these bags are part of the tribal custom. We asked if he could tell us where we could purchase one. His wife weaves these bags for him and family members and friends - so they could not be purchased at the market. Then he offered to bring us a few, if we wanted, sometime during the week, with his wife and his son. We arranged for them to come to the hotel later in the week, not knowing for sure this would all take place. IT DID! The day before we were supposed to leave for Viet Nam, Mr. Sak, his wife (we called Mrs. Sak) and his son came to the hotel with the bags for us. Mrs. Sak asked me if I knew how to weave, and I said I didn't -- she asked if I would like to learn, as she would be happy to teach me. Since we were leaving the next day (so we thought), this beautiful invitation could not be accepted. We were amazed this meeting actually happened - because it would have been quite understandable if Mr. Sak would not have been able to bring the family. Making occasions like this happen in Chiang Mai is not like driving down the street and parking in a driveway! This act of kindness was definitely a highlight of our visit.
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