Maw Oo Myar / Kantarawaddy Times
In Karenni State’s Somo Preh Soe Leh (Shardaw) Township, there are still some residents who continue to wear traditional old-style attire. Dawlehdu village is among the places where this tradition persists. As of now, there are only 12 residents in Dawlehdu village who still wear traditional old-style clothing. Back in 2020, there were about 20 such individuals.
Among them is 75-year-old Maw Neh Meh, who has been wearing traditional clothing since she was young. Her parents have dressed her in traditional attire since childhood, and she has consistently worn traditional attire throughout her life.
Currently, her clothes have become worn and tattered, heavily patched, and incomplete in traditional decorations.
Traditionally, those like Maw Neh Meh weave their own clothes using thread, but recently, obtaining thread has become increasingly difficult. As a result, when their existing clothes wear out, they will have no choice but to switch to ordinary clothing like everyone else.
However, for those who have cherished traditional wear since childhood, switching to regular clothes at around the age of 70 is deeply distressing.
“I’ve been wearing this since I was young. Even now, at this old age, I can’t bring myself to wear regular clothes. I just continue wearing this,” says 75-year-old Maw Neh Meh from Dawlehdu village.
Maw Neh Meh, who used to weave her own Kayah traditional attire, now owns only three sets of old, worn clothes that she can alternate between.
In early 2024, during a period when revolutionary forces were seizing Somo Preh Soe Leh (Shardaw) Township, many fleeing into the jungle lost their traditional ornaments.
Maw Neh Meh’s experience as a displaced person is not new. She has been displaced since childhood, as Somo Preh Soe Leh has long been a conflict zone with frequent battles. Soldiers (from the military council) often invaded villages, forcing many into displacement, especially during the harsh period (4-cut system) of 1994–1996.
“While fleeing, we lost little bits along the way. Move from one place, lose a little, move again, lose more. That’s how it went. And now, it’s impossible to buy thread. It’s really hard,” Maw Neh Meh explained about her experience of fleeing with her traditional clothing into the forest.
Like Maw Neh Meh, Maw Poe Meh also lives in Dawlehdu village. She, too, has been wearing traditional clothing since childhood and is now 70 years old.
However, she says her traditional attire is even less complete than Maw Neh Meh’s. She only has three sets of clothes to wear now. Without enough to replace them, she can no longer fully dress up traditionally. Still, she refuses to wear anything else besides her treasured Kayah traditional clothes.
“I can’t wear regular clothes. I just want to wear traditional clothes and live like a Kayah Li Phu,” Maw Poe Meh says, referring to preserving Kayah identity.
Unlike Maw Neh Meh, Maw Poe Meh does not wear earplugs but often wears a traditional cloth wrap around her shoulders to keep warm.
In a neighborhood in Shardaw Township, two elderly sisters, both over 70, also refuse to wear anything but their traditional attire.
They, too, are concerned because there are no longer any weavers to produce or sell the old-style traditional clothes as Somo Preh Soe Leh begins rebuilding.
“We can’t buy anymore. These are all we have. If these wear out, we don’t know what we’ll wear,” the sisters said.
The two sisters, who deeply value their traditional attire, are worried that soon there may be no one left wearing these clothes at all.
At Dawmuse village, over-50-year-old Maw Neh Mo, another wearer of old-style traditional clothing, stressed, “We must not lose our traditions. As Kayah people, we must preserve our culture, our land, our rivers, and our mountains.”
Kayah traditional old-style attire includes large leg rings, short sarongs, a shawl, and a headwrap tied in a very specific old-fashioned style. Traditional jewelry like ankle bands, waist decorations, silver bracelets, and silver rings are essential as well, as affirmed during the 6th Kayah National Ehdopawmi Festival in 2017.
Currently, a full set of traditional Kayah attire complete with accessories is priced around 13,500 Thai Baht, according to those selling traditional clothes.
“It costs a lot. Each item is expensive. If you buy one, you miss out on another. Even if you want to buy more to have a fuller set, it’s impossible. The more you have, the better, but we can’t afford it anymore,” Maw Poe Meh said, reflecting on the difficulty of maintaining complete traditional attire.
