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Tales
from Burma
Richard at
work in southwestern China during his search for the
elusive Yeti -- better known in the West as "The Abominable Snowman."
"Kachin State: In
Search of the Amber Earrings,
and the Story of One Soldier Who Never Went Home"
Kachin State was an area of Burma
that had just recently opened up due to the cease-fire signed in 1993 between
the Kachin Independence Army, or K.I.A, and the Burmese government. Kachin
State is the northern most part of Burma bordering India on its west, Tibet to
its north, and China to the east. The highest mountain peak in South
East Asia is in Burma's Kachin State, Hkakabo Razi near the border with Tibet
and is 19,314 feet tall. At this height it is constantly covered in snow.
In 1954 during the Flag March to the frontier areas, a pygmy tribe called the
Tarons were discovered in the Adung Long River valley in the northernmost
part of Burma. The Taron is the only known tribe of Asian pygmy. In
addition to their very short stature -- the men are said to be about 147
centimeters tall (a little less than 58 inches), and the women, around 140
centimeters tall (a little over 55 inches). It is their custom of only
marrying within their own tribe has led to their near-disappearance. This
is a very remote area.
There are many deep valleys between snow-capped mountains, and there is
subtropical vegetation in Kachin State. Between the two rivers, the Hmali
Hka and the Mae Hka is the area known as "The Triangle." The Mae Hka is
colder than the Hmali Hka, and those two rivers meet at the confluence about 44
kilometers (27 miles) north of the capital, Myitkyina. They join
together to become the beginning of the Irrawaddy River which flows from this
source for 1,350 miles, emptying into the Andaman Sea. In this
northern triangle area, people still pan gold dust with wooden plates. The
gold is usually in small flakes and stand out brightly against the fine black
sand.
Because of the state having just been opened, people were not used to seeing
foreigners and they just stared at you as if you had landed here from the Moon.
Some of the locals just assumed that you were an embassy spook from somewhere,
worked with the United Nations Development Program, or that you were a priest.
Since I stayed at the church, everyone thought that I was a priest, including
the sisters who greeted me every morning with a "Hello Father Richard."
When I had last gone to Kachin State some nine months before, I had found only
one old Hkaku woman who could still wear the amber cylinder earrings in her
lobes, typical of the Hkaku tribe. This trip, when I went to see her and
to take more photos, she was, unfortunately, on her death bed. Believe me,
had there been any chance to prop her up in bed and shoot the photo, I would
have, but it was too late.
Although I had searched a half dozen Hkaku villages myself, and had sent others
into the hills where I was not permitted to go, I could not find another
original Hkaku. Finally some good news came. One of the young
priests, Father Leo, came to my small room at St. Colombans church and
told me that they had found one old woman who still wore the amber
earrings, but there was also a problem. The church had two trucks
which were in constant need of repair, and at the moment only one truck was
running, but they needed it because one of the faithful had died and they needed
the truck to pick up the body.
"Father, this is our last chance to photograph history," I said. "If we
miss this chance the original culture of the Hkaku will be lost forever."
"Richard, you already have one picture of a Hkaku with the earrings from the
last time. The church has only one truck and we need to transport
the body." "Father, one woman does not make a tribe. I need to shoot
another woman who still wears the original earrings. Where is the body of
the deceased, Father?" "In a village north of here." "And
where is the Hkaku woman, Father?" "She lives north of that village above
the confluence of the rivers in the triangle area. "Well, let's go
pick up the body, Father."
We drove out of the brick gates at St. Colombans and headed north. After
about an hour we arrived at a small village where a group of people were
gathered around a wooden coffin. Some of the boys who stayed at the
church, including the one who had found the village of the old Hkaky woman,
jumped off the bed of the truck and carried the coffin into the back.
Father Leo spoke to the headman and to the family of the deceased. I asked
the boy who knew where the Hkaku village was located to sit in the front cab,
and I sat with the others in the back next to the coffin. The road was
very bad, and I shifted, sitting on top of the coffin to keep the lid from
flying off.
Finally, we arrived at the Hkaku village and the boy directed us to the house of
the old woman who still could wear the earrings. I think that she must
have been surprised seeing a truck with a priest wearing black and a starched
collar, with a foreigner seated on a coffin which she, at her age, probably
thought was intended for her.
I hopped off the coffin and followed the priest and the boys into her compound.
She was old, more than 85 years she said, although she was not sure of her age,
and her name was Flawg Yun. Flawg was wearing the amber earrings of the
Hkaku. Her compound had little greenery but next door was a grove of
bananas and bamboo which would be a better background for photography.
Flawg Yun had a difficult time walking, so we removed a whole section of her
neighbor's fence, moved her into place, carried in a chair by a few of the boys,
and I photographed her near some bamboo. Although I saw many of the long
thick amber earrings in Kachin State, I could only find one woman still able to
wear them here.
Kachin State was not an area easily penetrated since it bordered tribal
autonomous areas of India's Naga hills and remote parts of China. I had
thought that because of the long isolation in Kachin State, finding the various
tribes would be rather easy. I was wrong.
There was a paucity of tribal photos from the Kachin State primarily due to the
hardships suffered by the hill people during the civil war, which lasted 35
years. Many of the tribes had been burned out of their villages and their
cultures and traditions had gone up in smoke. The K.I.A had conscripted
many men to fight, and many others had been taken as porters. Many died in
the conflict. At harvest time, the paddies and animals were taken away for
the war effort by both sides. Many of the people fled to the towns where
they gave up their cultures and dress to adapt and conform to the styles of
their lowland neighbors.
Just a few miles outside of Myitkyina town, malaria was rampant. This was
1995. Everyone was surprised when I told them that I had never had
malaria. I was the anomaly.
The Hkaku generally live in the northern triangle area around Sumprabum and east
of the Mae Hka river, around the Bumba Bum mountain at over 11,000 feet.
There were persistent legends of the yeti, or abominable snowman, who many say
they have seen here. It is a remote area, perhaps one of the most remote
areas on earth.
The dominate group, the Jinghpaw, tend to live south of the Hkaku but are spread
throughout the state. The Jinghpaw and the Hkaku are closely related.
"Hkaku" literally means " head of the river." To the north of the Hkaku
near the town of Putao live the Rawang, whose men wear the finely-woven
headdress circled in wild boars tusks. When hunting, they wear a different
cap covered in red squirrel tails. Here in this snow-capped peak area of
Putao also live a group of Lisu who wear cloths that are different from what the
Lisu in Bhamo wear, south of Mytkyina near the Chinese border.
The Maru, or "Lawng Waw," as they choose to be called, themselves are also
closely related to the Azi or Zai Wa and to the Lashi by both costume and
language. The difference in dress between the Maru and the Lashi is
slight. Both groups' women traditionally have three large holes in their
ears, one at the top section, one through the center, and another through the
earlobe. The Lashi wear a long silver tube through the earlobe section,
while the Maru wear a thick wad of cotton through the second section which
passes through the lower ear lobe holding a rather heavy silver incised square.
The first wave of migration from Tibet was composed of Maru, Azi, and Lashi, who
followed the course of the Mae Hka. The Jinghpaw and the Hkaku are said to
have followed the river course of the Mae Hka. All of these groups freely
marry, and thus their language, customs and dress change and correspond to
whichever group they join.
In Myitkyina town, the fire brigade had an old World War Two shell casing to
beat out a fire alarm. In many ways it was as if the war had never ended.
Army- green vintage jeeps drove down the roads driven by civilians with netting
on their camouflaged steel helmets. Lovely girls with erect backs, wearing
colorful sarongs rode on their Chinese bicycles at the same speed as the
butterflies, with braided hair nearly long enough to sweep the ground.
At night, as it was winter and nearly Christmas, the fruit vendors sold
tangerines, grapes, avocados, oranges and grapefruits from Putao, and persimmons
all stacked up in rows of triangular piles. The vendors were seated in a
row, huddled under their thick hats and sweaters. Their faces were orange
and black in the exaggerated shadows of the flickering candle light; Myitkyina
had no electricity. It was cold.
Kachin State had been a recruiting ground for the British during World War One,
and many Kachin distinguished themselves in the battle of Mesopotamia in 1917.
This adventure did much to ring the Kachins into the modern world, teaching them
discipline and war techniques. In World War Two, Kachin State was the
sight of fierce battles between the Japanese and allied troops. Many
crashed airplanes still liter the hills of what was known as the "Burmese Hump"
between Kachin State and China. In spite of the fact of the recent
ceasefire, that area, and most areas of Kachin State outside of Mytkyina, were
off limits, since the ceasefire did not necessarily mean peace. One old
soldier never went home.
Denis Rosner was born in Rangoon in 1920 of German immigrant parents who were
dairy farmers from the time of King Mindon. Few men have had such an
impact on Kachin State as Rosner. Denis Rosner was a farmer who introduced
new crops into the state. He was a British soldier who led his troops into
battle against the Japanese. He became a teacher and taught thousands of
students the English language. I have met students from all parts of Burma
who speak flawless English because of his teaching them, hundreds of whom became
teachers themselves.
In 1941, a young Denis Rosner was commissioned in Meiktila, south of Mandalay in
central Burma. That year, the Japanese took Myitkyina and controlled all
the territory across the river by 1942. Rosner was going to Putao with
twenty-five officers. At that time, thousands were leaving for India to
get away from the War. H. N. Stevenson was commander and twenty of the
officers with provisions and money headed west for India through the Hukawng
Valley and the Naga Hills and the Ledo Road. Nineteen of the twenty died
of cholera and the 20th officer was court-martialed for desertion. Denis
Rosner and five others stayed behind near Sumprabum. Rosner was 22 years
old in 1942 and his major said that they had better learn the Jinghpaw language
because they didn't know how long they would be there. Rosner learned
Jinghpaw and was promoted to captain. From Sumprabum to the Naga Hills was
under Captain Rosner's command. They were air-supplied by the Americans
flying DC-3's.
Rosner was informed that 150 Japanese were coming to attack his 14 men and
himself. Twelve men went with Bren guns to Kumon Pass in the Kumon
Mountain Range and selected a spot above the Japanese and dug three trenches
aiming Bren guns in a crossfire pattern. Down that valley from the
mountains came three Jinghpaw girls of 14, 15, and 17 years old. Rosner
asked them where they thought they were going. They answered that they
were going to get salt.
"You can't go; there are Japanese coming up the valley," Rosner said. "Who
are the Japanese?" they asked. "They are our enemies." "They are
people, there is no danger from people." Rosner replied, "They will come
and shoot us." "Why, we haven't done anything to them?" "If you
aren't afraid of Japanese, there are tigers." One of Rosner's men had been
dragged away by a tiger and his companion shot the tiger, but also killed the
man. The girls said, "We are not afraid of tigers; we will chop the tiger
with our machete. Let us go and get salt." "There are wild
elephants," Rosner said. "Elephants, we are used to elephants; we will
climb a tree until they go away." "Not afraid of Japanese, not afraid of
tigers or elephants. You come back tomorrow and I'll give you all the salt
you want."
Right after that, Rosner and his men could see the Japanese coming up the valley
with two elephants, their provisions on mules. He instructed his men not
to shoot the elephants. Only 15 feet, or three meters from their ambush
position, Rosner and his men opened fire, killing 85 of them in the first
ambush. At that, the Japanese withdrew and Rosner captured the elephants
and went back to camp. He was inside making his report when the three
girls arrived asking for salt.
"Sir, there are three girls here and they want salt." "Yes, yes, give them
all they want." Two days later, the girls came back again. "Sir,
those three girls are here again". "Why?" Rosner asked, annoyed, "Do they
want more salt? Didn't you give them the salt?" "No sir, it's not
that. They have brought presents, baskets of pumpkins, eggs, rice,
cucumbers and Kachin beer." "Oh, well, ask them to come into the tent,"
Rosner said.
It struck him that they were grateful and brave. The 17-year-old who was
leading them was not afraid of Japanese, not afraid of tigers or elephants.
Rosner told his sergeant to tell her parents to come along and see him.
Two days later, half a dozen of her family came to inquire what was happening.
Rosner told them that he wanted to marry her. "No, no white man has ever
married a Kachin girl. No. You will leave her," they protested.
"No," Rosner replied, "I promise that I will stay. I will marry her for
life." The family talkeded amongst themselves and said, "If you marry her,
you must pay double the bride price." The dowry was to be so many
buffalos, Chinese long coats, gongs and guns. "I haven't got buffalos or
gongs, but I can give you as many guns as you want, and I can give you money".
Rosner was paid 900 rupees per month as a captain, and had not been paid in a
year. His troops received 16 rupees per month. Over the radio he
asked to draw his money and the silver Rupees were airdropped by parachute.
In 1943, Rosner paid 7,000 Rupees for his bride. Buffalos were sacrificed
along with pigs and Rosner was married.
In 1948, Rosner was given the choice of going back to England or to stay and
become a Burmese citizen. He chose to stay. In 1950 he began to
teach English at St Colombans in Myitkyina. He was on his bicycle and met
an Indian man who asked him if he wanted to buy a plot of land. The Indian
took him to the land which was overgrown with bushes. "How much do you want?"
Rosner asked. "Three hundred rupees", said the Indian. "I'll give
you 250," Rosner replied. After they had signed the papers, Rosner asked
the man why he had sold so cheaply. "I have your money, and you have my
land, so I'll tell you the truth and
don't get angry. Every night three Japanese soldiers march by my window
with their long swords dragging on the ground." Rosner was not afraid of
ghosts and began to clear the land. Underneath the overgrown bushes were
bomb craters 15 feet deep or about 4½ meters deep. During the war, the
Americans held the airfield and the Japanese held Mytkyina town. Rosner's
land was in between, and many bombs from both sides fell short and landed here.
Clearing the land, he dug up 21 skeletons which he collected and buried in one
grave near the bamboo grove at the back of his land.
Now he is growing strawberries which he introduced from Maymyo, many kinds of
vegetables and ground orchids. I brought him tomato seeds from my father's
own garden which will yield him fruit of more than a pound each. He
planted them the very next day.
Denis Rosner speaks fluent Jinghpaw, English, German, and Burmese. Rosner
has twelve children, all of whom he delivered himself. His last two
children are twins. His wife had prepared the boiling water and lay down
to give birth. She told him to measure the babies navel cord to the babies
knee, cut with a sliver of bamboo, tie the end and dip in saffron powder with
ground nutmeg paste and Kachin alcohol.
He has thirty-three grandchildren, twenty-six of whom live with him on his
productive farm. Of all those twelve children, and thirty-three
grandchildren, all look like Jinghpaw, except one who looks like him, a lively
little girl with blond curly hair and blue eyes, his granddaughter. At the
age of seventy-seven, Denis Rosner still rode his bicycle everyday from his farm
into Myitkyina town, wearing his old straw hat, to tutor his students in
English, to say a prayer at the church, and to sit down for a cup of tea.
