3314 MYANMAR (Sagaing Region) - Settawya Pagoda in Mingun

Located on the west bank of Irrawaddy river, a mere 230 meters SE of the Mingun Pahtodawgyi, the Settawya Pagoda is a small, whitewashed Buddhist chapel constructed along classical Pagan lines, built to house a marble footprint of the Buddha. It was build between 1804 and 1811 under the direction of King Bodawpaya Konbaung (r. 1782-1819), who spent most of his attention on the much grander but ill-fated Mingun Pahtodawgyi pagoda. The completed temple included a set of marble stairs leading down to the river, creating a grand entrance for visitors approaching by water.

2962 MYANMAR (Kayah State) - The Karenni people

The Karenni people, also known as the Red Karen, the Kayah or the Kayahli (meaning "red human"), are a Sino-Tibetan people living mostly in Kayah State, Myanmar. A long period they lived in their own states, the Karenni States, located south of the Federated Shan States and east of British Burma, and ruled by petty princes named myozas. They were independent until British rule in Burma, and had feudal ties to the Burmese kingdom.

0679 MYANMAR (Kachin State) - Kachin girls on the bank of Mali River

The Kachin people (also known as Jingpho people) inhabit the Kachin Hills in northern Myanmar's Kachin State and neighbouring areas of China and India. They are actually an ethnic affinity of several tribal groups, known for their fierce independence, disciplined fighting skills, complex clan inter-relations, craftsmanship, herbal healing and jungle survival skills. In recent decades, their animist beliefs have been largely supplanted by their accelerated embrace of Christianity.

0587 & 0618 MYANMAR / THAILAND - Kayan Lahwi

Posted on 05.04.2013 and completed on 27.04.2013
The woman on the postcard is part of the ethnic subgroup Kayan Lahwi (also called Padaung). The Kayan is in its turn a subgroup of the Red Karen (Karenni) people, a Tibeto-Burman ethnic minority of Myanmar. In the late 1980s due to conflict with the military regime in Myanmar, many Kayan tribes fled to the Thai border area. Among the refugee camps set up there was a Long Neck section, which became a tourist site. Although some countries are willing to accept a number of refugees, Thai authorities didn't let go to Kayan Lahw, because it would lose earnings from tourism.

Women of this tribe are known for wearing brass coils (in spiral) that are placed around the neck, appearing to lengthen it. Girls first start to wear rings when they are around five years old. Over the years the coil is replaced by a longer one, and more turns are added. The weight of the brass (up to 10 kg) pushes the collar bone down and compresses the rib cage. The neck itself is not lengthened; the appearance of a stretched neck is created by the deformation of the clavicle. Many ideas regarding why the coils are worn have been suggested, often formed by visiting anthropologists, who have hypothesized that the rings protected women from becoming slaves by making them less attractive to other tribes. Contrastingly it has been theorised that the coils originate from the desire to look more attractive by exaggerating sexual dimorphism. The coils might be meant to protect from tiger bites, perhaps literally, but probably symbolically.

The full set of neck rings is made from three separate coils, the main neck coil and a wider coil near the shoulders with a small coil wrapped around it at 90 degrees. Few women wear this full set. Brass coils are also worn around the legs. The rings rubbing against the skin can cause discomfort and abrasions over a period of time. Some of the women, especially the young ones, don’t want anymore to be human exhibits and removed their coil. Contrary to popular belief, this has no effect on women's health, only a slight discomfort that lasts 3-4 days.