Iridey, March 10. m4

SCARLET AND BLACK

Page Nine ‘

 

Emily llorne Gives Glimpse of life in Thailand Villages

Emily Home is currently a
Fifth Year Student teaching
and studying abroad in Thai-
land as part of the Travel-
Service scholarship program.

Fifteen houses, w oo d e n
floored and sided with bamboo
matting, huddled together in an
unkempt clearing slashed out

of the lush greenness. Sharp—
spined hogs rooted and wal-
lowed beneath the pole»perched
h o u s e s; ragged - feathered
chickens pecked among the
refuse. At the approach of the
Church - employed Buddhist
nurse and myself, mangy dogs
tugged at their ropes and burst
into defiant yapping. A turban-
headed Woman quieted her dog
and motioned for us to climb
up. Her baby was ill, and in
the single room behind, anoth-
er child slept beside the cook
fire and the simple utensils.

We were in a Karen village.
This particular village is a
mere 70 kilometers from
Chiengmai (the second-largest
city in Thailand), but the trip
there took from sunrise to sun»
set in a power-wagon. And this
was during the dry season.
During the rainy season, any-
one needing to go to Chiengmai
for emergency medical treat
ment would have to walk, or
he carried for two days. The
road is never more than a red
clay gash in the mountainside;
the torrential rains and creep-
ing vegetation conspire to ob
literate it.

The Karens, who altogether
number between 60,000 and 90,-
000, are said to be the largest

PPPE Picks Book
For April and May

Convention, a novel about a
national political convention,
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The story of a six»day battle
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In the story, Charles Man-
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percussions of this statement
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“in this book one can actual-
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With the screaming, banner-
waving mobs of delegates, with
frantic candidates and ulcer-
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hands and bright klieg lights,
with irreverant reporters, and
the like,” said C. Edwin Gil-
mour, PPE Director.

 

of the hill tribes in Thailand,
They are one of twenty groups,
all of which are ethnically and
racially different from the Thai.

Like most of the other hill
tribes, the Karens practice dry
agriculture (rather than the
Wet method of the Thai, with
irrigation and flooding of the
fields). They clear the fields
by cutting and burning the un-
derbrush, the only fertilizer
being the ashes of the burned
plants. Like most of the other
hill tribes, they live at eleva~
tions between 2,000 and 7,000
feet, they are not literate, they
speak little or no northern
Thai, and they are predomi-
nately animistic rather than
Buddhist.

The Karena, however, are
unlike the other groups in that
many of them are Christian.
Missionaries were astounded
to find Christian Karena in
Thailand, for until the last 15
years, there were no mission-
aries working with them. This
peculiar situation is explained
by the fact that for over 100
years, Karens in Burma have
been Christian, and Karens in
Thailand have been mission-
ized by their own Burmese
brethren.

A great variation in econom<
ic complexity is evident among
the hill tribes, from those who
practice efficient agriculture
and produce profitable surplus-
es, to the primitive Phi Tong
Luang, or “Spirits of the Yel-
low Leaf.” The “Spirits," of
whom there are probably not
more than 100, are nomadic
hunters and gatherers whose
only extra -group commerce
has been with nearby Meo pe0<
pie. Until recently, when Thais
first saw the “Spirits," reports
of these people were disregard-
ed as imaginary. The men of
this group wear only a loin
cloth; their houses consist of
nothing more than a windbreak
of banana leaves against a tree
trunk, where a fire is kept
burning all night for warmth.

Great variation, too, is found

in the degree of assimilationlvisited, for example, had signed

into Thai culture among these
different hill tribes. The “Spir-
its," rather than being assimil-
ated, are slowly becoming ex»
tinct, as their hunting grounds
are encroached on by farmers
and mining concerns. The
Lawa, the group predominat-
ing in Thailand at the time the
Thai began filtering into plain
and valley regions from south-
ern China during the 9th Cenr
tury, have in many cases be-
come indistinguishable from
the northern Thai. Many speak
Northern Thai rather than
Lawa, and practice wet culti-
vation. Particularly around
Chlengmai this is true,

Many Karens live in close
proximity to the Thai, and
work for the Thai in the teak
forests or tin mines. Many are
aware of being citizens of a
large political unit. Yet they
strongly resist assimilation,
jealously maintaining their own
distinctive dress, their customs
and language.

Assimilation is not aided by
the practices of the Thai to-
ward the Karens and other
such groups. Although the laws
on the books are fair, the atti-
tudes toward and dealings with
them often serve to heighten
group cohesiveness. .

Most Thais seem to think of
the hill tribe people as infer-
ior beings. One girl’s response,
when she heard I was going to
visit a Karen village, was,
”Catch me a Karen.” On other
occasions, I have heard my
students taunt each other with
tribal designations, chanting,
“She is a Lawa” over and over.
When I once asked whether the
hill people were Thai, the ab-
surdity of the question brought
forth gales of laughter. These
people, apparently, may be
Thai in Citizenship, but are not
“Thai" in any other respect.

Because they are ignorant of
their rights and few of them
speak. Thai, the hill tribers
are often Cheated by the Thai.
The Karens of the village I

 

) Play Review
Continued from Page 8

an actor by presenting a ma-
ture and full portrait of Au—
guste Chauvin, the old profes-
sor. Herve de l’Orville-Das-
sein as played by Terrance
McCoy was an interesting part,
although this reviewer disA
agreed with McCoy’s general
interpretation of the part I felt
that Herve should have been
rather a stupid and cruel char-
acter, but McCoy eliminated
the “stupid." in smaller parts
but especially good were Bar-
bara Shivley and Jane Gettken.
Neither seemed aware of the
fact that acting is a solemn and
grim business and both played
their parts with a lighthearted
humor that was quite winning
and refreshing.

In summary, Daniel Prince,
both as a piece of dramatic
literature and a theatrical pro-
duction, not only showed prom-
ise but was Worthwhile in it-
sell'. We would be greatly en-
couraged to see more activir
ties of this type and this
calibre.

 

Political
Shorts

The "Students for Scranton”
committee has released a state-
ment claiming that the real
winner in the New Hampshire
primary was Governor William
Scranton of Pennsylvania, Ac-
cording to the Scranton com—
mittee, the results of the New
Hampshire primary show that
the voters were not satisfied
with either of the two major an-
nounced candidates who were
listed on the ballot and cam-
paigned for votes. Instead, the
voters turned to a write-in in
which Lodge, a popular New
Englander, led the list.

Since Lodge is so closely in
Volved with the Johnson ad-
ministration, the Scranton com-
mittee says that Lodge will
not be able to offer a meaning-
ful alternative whether» the
present program in Viet Nam
fails or succeeds. Because of
this situation they contend that

SHORTS-—
Continued on Page 12

 

away their paddy fields to a
mining company at great loss,
understanding only imperfect-
ly at the time what they were
doing. Now thick mud com-
posed of worthless subsoil has
completely covered their hold-
ings, and they are forced to
farm less desirable ground.
The Karens of this area rely
on the Karenrspeaking Ameri-
can Baptist missionaries to help
mediate their problems, but as
foreigners. the missionaries can
not get very involved in politi-
cal matters without endanger-
ing their residence permits.
Nevertheless, the missionaries
have been successful in estab-
lishing a school at Bewe Gew,
the government supplies the
teacher, and the mission sup-
plies tha salary.

Compulsory primary educa
tion has had the effect of slight-
ly blurring ethnic distinctions
and divisions in the case of the
large Chinese minority, but the
benefits of the program (imple-
mented with file affluent Chi-
nese in mind) have not spread
to most hill tribes. The almost
complete absence of schools
in remote areas, and the regu-
lation that school must he
taught in Thai rather than in
the groups’ own language,
have retarded the process.

The government is slowly
beginning to follow the excelv
lent lead of the missionaries in
helping in sanitation, agricul»
tural methods, and education.
But the government’s efforts
have been minimal. One espec~
ially pressing problem is that
of the Meo’s livelihood, now
that opium growing has been
outlawed. Another is that With
dieir numbers expanding and
their slash-and-burn agriculture
supporting only small popula-
tions, the hill tribers are being
forced down into the Valleys
and into a culture in which
they are unprepared to live.

What little effort the govern-

 

ment has made for the hill
tribes has been prompted by
the knowledge that their well-
being may have an effect on
Thailand’s future. The West in
Burma, the Karens are in-
volved in sporadic flarerups
with the government over the
Shah states. in neighboring
Laos, the Meo are-the best
guerrilla fighters for the Comv
munists. And Communist prop<
aganda, thus far ineffectual,
has been directed toward the
Meos and Yaos of Thailand’s
northeast. ‘

The loyalty of the hill tribes,
if the Communist threat ever
develops into an offensive here,
could be decisive. They have
thorough knowledge of the
mountainous border terrain,
and are the best source of in-
formation a b o u t activities
there, Their inaccessibility,
linguistic differences, and es»
trangement from Thai culture
remain formidable odds to ov-
ercome.

GLASSES

Made and Repaired
in Our Laboratory

Contact Lenses

CASES AND
SOLUTIONS

EYES
EXAMINED

E. J. Jensen, 0.D.
Optometrist

Across from Post Office

 

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