Found in the Dark

Musicians rebuild Cambodia's lost ancient harp

Tue, 21 May 2013 07:41:08 -0700

Musicians rebuild Cambodia's lost ancient harp:

A Cambodian composer has revealed the sound of an ancient harp which has gone unheard for more than eight centuries.

Faceted bottleDate: approx. 1400-1550 CEMedium: Glazed...

Tue, 21 May 2013 03:01:33 -0700

Faceted bottle
Date: approx. 1400-1550 CE
Medium: Glazed stoneware
Origin: Thailand, Si Satchanalai
Style: Sawankhalok
Dimensions: H. 7 in x Diam. 4 1/2 in, H. 17.6 cm x Diam. 11.5 cm
Source: Asian Art Museum of San Francisco

KendiDate: 15th - 16th centuryMedium: Stoneware, moulded, carved...

Tue, 21 May 2013 02:00:49 -0700

Kendi
Date: 15th - 16th century
Medium: Stoneware, moulded, carved and with green glaze.
Origin: Si Satchanalai, Thailand
Source: Victoria & Albert Museum

Green-glazed stonewares from Zhejiang province were widely exported to the Philippines, Indonesia and mainland south-east Asia. Local potters emulated the Chinese wares, and by 1300 Thailand and Vietnam had developed successful ‘celadon’ industries of their own. After 1400, green- and brown-glazed wares from the kilns at Si Satchanalai in north-central Thailand acquired a prominent place in the export markets of south-east Asia.

This ewer produced at the Si Satchanalai kilns is in the shape of the sacred goose hamsa, a symbol of purity and divine knowledge for Hindu and Buddhist believers.

Figurine of Elephant and RiderDate: 14th/15th centuryMedium:...

Tue, 21 May 2013 01:01:24 -0700

Figurine of Elephant and Rider
Date: 14th/15th century
Medium: Stoneware with brown glaze
Measurements: 7.5 x 4.5 x 6.6 cm (3 x 1.8 x 2.4 in.)
Origin: Si Satchanalai, Thailand
Source: Art Institute of Chicago

Temple Guardian (Rakshasa), Date: 14th/15th centuryMedium:...

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:01:02 -0700

Temple Guardian (Rakshasa),
Date: 14th/15th century
Medium: Terracotta with a cream-colored glaze
Measurements: 37.3 x 29.7 x 17.7 cm (14 3/4 x 11 3/4 x 7 in. )
Origin: Si Satchanalai, Thailand
Source: Art Institute of Chicago

dressesofchina: Young Miao girl being dressed up by her mom for...

Mon, 20 May 2013 09:03:00 -0700

dressesofchina:

Young Miao girl being dressed up by her mom for a ceremony.

The Miao (Chinese: 苗; pinyin: Miáo; Vietnamese: Mèo or H’Mông; Thai: แม้ว (Maew) or ม้ง (Mong); Burmese: mun lu-myo) is an ethnic group recognized by the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as one of the 56 official minority groups. Miao is a Chinese term and does not reflect the self-designations of the component nations of people, which include (with some variant spellings) Hmong, Hmu, A Hmao, and Kho (Qho) Xiong. The Miao live primarily in southern China, in the provinces of Guizhou, Hunan, Yunnan, Sichuan, Guangxi, Hainan, Guangdong, and Hubei. Some members of the Miao sub-groups, most notably Hmong people, have migrated out of China into Southeast Asia (northern Vietnam, Laos, Burma (Myanmar) and Thailand).

omgthatartifact: Ensemble Miao The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Mon, 20 May 2013 09:03:00 -0700

omgthatartifact:

Ensemble

Miao

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

asean2015: ASEAN CommunityYao people, Viet Nam Yao nationality...

Mon, 20 May 2013 08:01:39 -0700

asean2015:

ASEAN Community
Yao people, Viet Nam

Yao nationality (its great majority branch is also known as Mien; Vietnamese: Người Dao) is a government classification for various minorities in China. They form one of the 55 ethnic minority groups officially recognized by the People’s Republic of China, where they reside in the mountainous terrain of the southwest and south. They also form one of the 54 ethnic groups officially recognized by Vietnam. In the last census in 2000, they numbered 2,637,421 in China, and roughly 470,000 in Vietnam.

asean2015: ASEAN CommunityChin people, Myanmar Chin, known as...

Mon, 20 May 2013 07:01:28 -0700

asean2015:

ASEAN Community
Chin people, Myanmar

Chin, known as the Kuki in Assam and Manipur, Mizo in Mizoram, Bawm or Halam in Bangladesh and Tripura are one of the ethnic groups in Myanmar.

The Chins are found mainly in western part of Myanmar (the Chin State) and numbered circa 1.5 million. They also live in nearby Indian states of Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur and Assam. Owing to Baptist missionaries’ religious colonization, over 90% of the population practice Christianity. A small group of individuals from Mizoram claimed that they are one of the lost tribes of Israel, that of Bnei Menashe tribe; some have since resettled in that country.

asean2015: ASEAN CommunityA Kayan lady doing silk weaving at...

Mon, 20 May 2013 06:30:39 -0700

asean2015:

ASEAN Community
A Kayan lady doing silk weaving at Inle Lake, Myanmar

asean2015: ASEAN CommunityKayan people Kayan are a subgroup of...

Mon, 20 May 2013 06:01:29 -0700

asean2015:

ASEAN Community
Kayan people

Kayan are a subgroup of the Red Karen (Karenni) people, a Tibeto-Burman ethnic minority of Myanmar. The Kayan consists of the following groups: Kayan Lahwi (also called Padaung), Kayan Ka Khaung (Gekho), Kayan Lahta, Kayan Ka Ngan. Kayan Gebar, Kayan Kakhi and, sometimes, Kayaw.

Padaung (Yan Pa Doung) is a Shan term for the Kayan Lahwi (the group whose women wear the brass neck coils). The Kayan resident in Mae Hong Son Province in Northern Thailand refer to themselves as Kayan and object to being called Padaung.

houseandhouses: The Akha live in raised houses, within which...

Mon, 20 May 2013 05:30:40 -0700

houseandhouses:

The Akha live in raised houses, within which one small room is set aside for paying respect to their ancestors. The Akha speak a Lolo-Burmese language, but with no written form, its difficult to accurately trace their history. The Akha are closely bound by tribal culture and have developed a rich oral literature tradition in which elders can recite their ancestral names going back 50 generations! A highland tribe, the Akhas have been forced by necessity to move into the lowland hills and valleys for agricultural land. They wear beautifully embroidered jackets and exquisite headsets – especially when selling trinkets to tourists!

asean2015: ASEAN CommunityAkha people Akha are an indigenous...

Mon, 20 May 2013 05:02:08 -0700

asean2015:

ASEAN Community
Akha people

Akha are an indigenous hill tribe that live in small villages at high altitudes in the mountains of Thailand, Burma, Laos, China, and Yunnan Province in China. They made their way from China into South East Asia during the early 1900s. Civil war in Burma and Laos resulted in an increased flow of Akha immigrants and there are now some 80,000 living in Thailand’s northern provinces of Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai[1] where they constitute one of the largest of the hill tribes. Many of their villages can be visited by tourists on trekking tours from either of these cities.

asean2015: ASEAN CommunityKaren people Karen or Kayin people...

Mon, 20 May 2013 04:30:42 -0700

asean2015:

ASEAN Community
Karen people

Karen or Kayin people (Per Ploan Poe or Ploan in Poe Karen and Pwa Ka Nyaw or Kanyaw in Sgaw Karen; Myanmar: Ka Rang Lu Myui; Thai: Kariang or Yang), refer to a number of Sino-Tibetan language speaking ethnic groups which reside primarily in southern and southeastern Myanmar. The Karen make up approximately 7 percent of the total Myanmar population of approximately 50 million people. A large number of Karen also reside in Thailand, mostly on the Thai–Myanmar border.

asean2015: ASEAN CommunityBwa G’Naw people Bwa G’Naw, known to...

Mon, 20 May 2013 04:01:11 -0700

asean2015:

ASEAN Community
Bwa G’Naw people

Bwa G’Naw, known to many as Karen, and to others as Kariang, are one of the largest hill tribes in ASEAN region. The total population of Karen people is unknown, since they are spread throughout Myanmar, Laos and Thailand, and no reliable census has been conducted in Myanmar since the 1930s. Population estimates range from 7.5 million to 14 million people. The approximately 320,000 Karen in Thailand comprise half of the country’s total hill tribe population.

allthingsthai: Kayaw girl, Kor Yor Tribe - Ban Nai Soiy...

Mon, 20 May 2013 03:30:40 -0700

allthingsthai:

Kayaw girl, Kor Yor Tribe - Ban Nai Soiy Village, Mae Hong Son, Northern Thailand.

Kayaw or the Kor Yor Tribe are also known as the Big Ears or Longs ears, because they wear very big ear rings from a very young age. Kayaw live in Northern Thailand, as many other tribes, and they are Karenni refugees from Burma. Many of them are Christians (due to missionairy), and as a tribe the Kayaw has their own language and traditions.

asean2015: ASEAN CommunityKayaw people Kayaw of Thailand live...

Mon, 20 May 2013 03:01:35 -0700

asean2015:

ASEAN Community
Kayaw people

Kayaw of Thailand live side by side with the Paduang. The Kayaw people are known throughout the world for their custom of elongating the ear lobes of females. Large diameter hollow cylinders are placed into the ear lobes of female children and adults. Some Kayaw woman wear several heavy metal earrings in each ear to extend their ear lobes.

non-westernhistoricalfashion: hmongthrills: Hmong Indigo...

Mon, 20 May 2013 02:45:36 -0700

non-westernhistoricalfashion:

hmongthrills:

Hmong Indigo Batik cloth is a practice very old and traditional to the Blue/Green Hmong hill tribes. It’s used to decorate the pleated skirts and other articles of dress. The Blue/Green Hmong created symbols from their surroundings and these symbols are used throughout their batiked cloth. Once the roll of cloth is covered with batik drawing and all the wax has dried, it is dyed in a natural indigo vat, dipped many times to achieve the dark blue coloring. Then the wax resists indigo from penetrating in the areas where the wax has been applied, is removed by boiling the cloth in water. From here, these lengths are dried in the fresh, open air, looped between the drying the lines.

asean2015: ASEAN CommunityBlack Hmong Woman, Laos

Mon, 20 May 2013 02:30:38 -0700

asean2015:

ASEAN Community
Black Hmong Woman, Laos

hmongthrills: For centuries, when faced with war, Hmong women...

Mon, 20 May 2013 02:15:33 -0700

hmongthrills:

For centuries, when faced with war, Hmong women have tenaciously fought alongside their men in ferocious battles against the Chinese, and more recently, in the C.I.A.’s Secret War in America’s Vietnam War.