Stock photography, photos: Big-Ear Woman - Thailand Stock photos of Some women of the Karen tribes display their beauty, and their status as married women, by wearing carved ivory in their ears. When a woman marries, her ears are pierced and a piece of ivory one to four centimeters in length is inserted. During the early stages the ear pieces are quite small, especially for younger women. The weight of the tusks gradually weighs down on the ear lobe and the ear gets larger and larger, and longer and longer. Hence these Paduang Karen have acquired the name of „Big-Ear‰ or „Long-Ear‰ women. The Paduang are a sub-group of Karen (Bwe Group) living in Kayah state of eastern Burma on the Thailand border. Their number is less than 40,000 people. The Paduang call themselves Lae Kur or Kayan. They have their own language belonging to the Kenmic group in the Tibeto-Burman language family. The Karen themselves are not one homogeneous group but rather a loose confederation of heterogeneous and closely related tribes. Among the smallest Karen tribes in Thailand are the Karen Paduang. Refugee Village of Ban Nai Soi ˆ Northwest Thailand. Photograph: © Robert Burch Click for a larger image and more information Keywords associated with this stock photo: big ear, women, girl, woman, indigenous people, Thailand, southeast asia, asia, mae hong son, Karen, paduang, portrait, Ban Nai Soi