Indigenous Knowledge

This is a follow-up on the previous post about Naw Aung (see Tool Repair). A lot of people at the base camp were watching when Naw Aung fixed his machete. The next day in the field, he stopped clearing line long enough to teach one of the younger crew members how to do this. [NOTE: Naw Aung's handiwork is clearly visible on the handle of his machete].

Tool Repair

The handle on Naw Aung's (see Naw Aung and His Sagawa) machete cracked while laying out the baseline of the management area in Shinlonga (see The Last Stake). Probably from over use. He repaired it in the field using the local rattan, pyant kyein (Calamus nambariensis Becc.). Wonderful to watch this. First he split the cane and shaved it down to the appropriate size.  Then he wove a ring, which he slipped over the cracked handle and then pounded into place to close the crack using another piece of rattan as a buffer. He finished the job by weaving a beautiful rattan sleeve around the handle. The machete was back in use clearing line the next day.

Crossing Mawning Stream

Before we decided it was best to just camp out (see Room With A View) by the Shinlonga Management Area, twice a day we had to wade across Mawning Stream. On the way there, the cold water was an instant wake up; coming back it was deliciously refreshing. In both directions, the hassle was taking off the leech socks, the regular socks, and the boots, rolling up your pants, lacing the boots together with the socks, and putting the whole thing around your neck - and then repeating the entire process in reverse after reaching the other side.

The Cookie and the Caterpillar

This ones's pretty straightforward. Blissfully happy little Kachin girl with a package of sugar wafers in one hand and a twig with a huge green caterpillar in the other. [NOTE: This was taken while doing household interviews in Shinlonga last week].

Naw Sein

Naw Sein is a Kachin villager that worked with us to set up the management area in Shinlonga. He mainly helped with tree identifications and managed the transect rope when we were measuring between plots. And he did this with such poise and insouciance. Note the cheroot in his left hand, the blue plaid longyi, and the yellow transect rope (see Shopping for Rope in Tanai) in his right hand configured in the shape of an endless or eternal knot. [NOTE: This beautiful portrait of Naw Sein was taken by Rob Tizard, Technical Advisor to the WCS Myanmar Program (thx, Rob)].

Banded Krait

One of the things I came across during my trip to Myanmar last summer (see Shinlonga) was this banded krait slithering slowly across the road. I gladly gave it a lot of room. [NOTE: In September of 2001, an American herpetologist working in Kachin State died after being bitten by one of these snakes].    

Kachin Portrait

Not much to say about this image.  Its early afternoon on the Ledo Road and this Kachin woman is carrying a huge basket of firewood. She is also shyly tickled that I am taking her picture. [NOTE: I really like this shot].   

Building a House

Kachin villagers in northern Myanmar build their houses out of variety of different plant parts (see Morning Mist and Shinlonga), and they build them by themselves. They harvest the bamboo, fell the timber, collect the rattan and thatch, and lift, tie, nail, and weave the pieces together - essentially by themselves - to make a home. I am humbled by the skill, patience, and resolve of these people.  

Leech Prevention

Kachin villagers in northern Myanmar use black tobacco and plastic string to keep the leeches away when working in the forest during the rainy season. No idea how effective this is.  [NOTE: I had decidedly mixed results with the imported leech socks that I bought in Tanai.]  

Morning Mist

 

An early morning walk in the village of Shinlonga (see Shinlonga) produced this image.  Lot of plant products visible here.  The fencing and the walls and the floor are made out of bamboo; the roof is palm thatch.