Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1924-08-13
coId.weather Costumes Among the arens.

rally the Burmese are the preponder-
ating race; next come the Shans, and
after them the Karens, with a total Of
well over million.
The different clans are as mutually
unintelligible to one another as a Can
tonese is to man of Fuchow or a
Pekingese. But that does not prevent
Sir George Grierson, the great author
ity on the ethnology of the Indian en-
pire, from deciding that Karen is a
group of dialects, not of languages,
and that it includes only the one Ian
guage, Karen, spoken in greatly vary
ing patois.
We do not know the original home
Of the Burmese, or of the Tai, usually
called Shans, but what we do know
of them, though it is neither extensive
nor exact, is full compared with our
information as to the source of the Ka-
rens. The most battling thing is that
they have no national comprehensive
name for themselves, not even for the
most numerous and enlightened
branch, the White Karens, and what
legends they have only lead the learned
to disagree, more or less acrimoni-
ously, with one another.
If one were to judge by build and
facial characteristics, there is no
family connection between the White
and the Red Karen. The White Karen
is heavy, stolid, and much more stocky
in build even than the average Bur-
man. He is what might be called a
worthy person in the most offensive
sense of the word. He is bovine,
suspicious, and without any sense of
humor. Except in very hot weather,
he does not wash himself as often as
he ought, and he would certainly de-
feat prohibition by brewing his own.
The Red karens.
The Red Karen is Of an entirely
different physical type. The men are
small and wizened, but very wiry.
They have broad, reddish-brown faces
and long heads, with the obliQuity of
eye a little more accentuated than
the White Karen, and very much
more than the Burman. In former
days it was the invariable custom
that the men should have the rising
sun tattooed in bright vermilion on
the small of the back. This custom
has fallen into disuse; and the
younger men are without 1t, but they
are so desperately dirty, old and
young, that a personal detail Of this
kind is hardly noticeable.
They wear short trunks reaching to
just below the knee. These are red
when new, but they speedily turn to
ala earthly color. These shorts" are
kept in position by leather belt, and
in the hot weather constitute the en-
tire dress, except for cloth wound
around the head, above which the
hair appears, tied in a knot.
The women wear short skirt which
comes as far as the knee. Usually
it Is dark-colored, but occasionally 1t
is red. A broad piece Of black cloth
passes over the back across the right
shoulder, and is then draped over the
bosom, and confined at the waist by
white glrdle, knotted in front, SASH
fashion, with flowing ends hanging
down with more or less grace, ac-
cording to the length of time it has
been worn.
Round the waist and neck are ropes
of barbaric beads to which the
wealthy occasionally add long neck
laces of rupees. A profusion of the
beads also decorates the leg just above
the calf, which Is circled by solid
mass of garters of black cord or rat
tan.
The result is that their wearers
walk with a sort of compass-like &C
ton, and could not run, no matter
what the urgency might be. Moreover
1t is not easy for them to sit down,
and when they do at market stalls or
to spin, they stretch their legs straight
In front of them. This, to the Shan
and Burmese mind, is highly indecor-
Gus. for with them the first law in
society manners is to hide the feet.
Silver earrings, some of then SO
large as to be better called ear-cyl-
inders, are worn, and over the head
is jauntily thrown a piece of black
cloth with red tassels, like those OF
the Taungthu The general effect is
picturesque and would be really at
tractive, were it not for not m
! common meaty Odor.