Trip to Chiengmai visiting members of Karen tribe

This past weekend, both Debbie and I visited a few villages in Chiengmai in the northern part of Thailand, at the invitation of Rev. Father Peter Pattarapong, Head of School of Ruamrudee International School in Bangkok . Father Peter has spent several years living with members of the Karen tribes serving more than 60 villages.

He has worked very hard to enhance their standard of living, providing educations for the young children, and a great spiritual supporter for them for many years.

The Karen people are very sincere and friendly people. They lead simple, largely traditional lives, though the pressures of modern life have forced some changes on them. They prefer to continue with their traditional, self-sufficient agricultural methods instead of depending on tourists.

A Karen mother and her son

Father Peter is seen saying "blessings" to the oldest woman in the village, more than one hundred years old

Grandma in one of the Karen villagers babysitting her grandchildren

Father Peter is getting ready for the Sunday mass at St. Patrick's church in Ban Pa Thing

Father Peter is seen greeting the Karen people in Ban Pa Thieng

Debbie Yogachandra is seen with two young Karen girls who are attending Thai schools now. Wearing white means they are unmarried.

Karen people are very friendly and sincere

Debbie Yogachandra is seen with village comedian and his wife in village Ban Tian Pa

One of the villages we visited, where Father Peter spent more than three years, was Ban Pa Thieng, where nearly all 200 families attend St. Patrick’s Church for prayers. Almost the entire village has embraced the Catholic Faith served by the Redemptorists priests.

Karen people speak the Karen language, and some speak Thai. The children learn to speak Thai and English at school. Both men and women wear colorful, hand-made clothes. During our visit to several villages, we saw Karen women weaving beautiful cloth underneath their houses, as this is the slow harvest. Karen women are highly skilled in weaving, sewing and dyeing cloth. According to a source, more than a quarter of Karens living in Thailand have converted to Christianity.

For attending the church or any major festivals, unmarried girls traditionally wear long white dresses. Some natural dyes are used, produced from tree and plant extracts, and artificial dyes are also used to create the brighter colors. Karen people are very proud of their national costumes. Ancestors and living elders are held in the highest esteem.

The history of Karen people in northern Thailand can be traced back to the twelfth century. It is thought the Karen originally came from Tibet, through China, Myanmar ( Burma ) and then to Thailand . There are about around 400,000 Karen live in Thailand , making them the largest hill tribe. Another 8 million live across the border in Myanmar . The Karen people in the southern part of Burma want to form their own state, and have been long been a major concern for the Burmese government.