HUAY EE KHANG, Thailand — “Do you hear the birds calling?” asks Noraeri Thungmueangthong, as the vibrant trill of a blue-throated barbet rings through the pine trees looming up ahead. “That’s a sign we’re entering the sacred forest.” Noraeri is a leader in Huay Ee Khang village, an Indigenous Pgaz K’Nyau Karen community of 125 households nestled between undulating hills in the highlands of northern Thailand’s Chiang Mai province. Within the sanctuary of the forest, she points out a wooden receptacle attached to the trunk of a tree. “When a baby is born, we place its umbilical cord in a bamboo container like this one and hang it on a young tree in this forest,” Noraeri explains. The ritual establishes a spiritual link between the child and the tree, she says. And because their souls effectively grow together, it is understood that any harm to one equates to comparable ill for the other. This acts as a powerful deterrent against cutting the trees, she notes. “In our culture, we live our lives together with the forest and the trees,” Noraeri says. “Our beliefs protect the forest and all of its resources.” Traditional Pgaz K’Nyau ways of managing the land are underpinned by Karen animist beliefs, where people, plants and animals each possess a spirit and are inseparably linked through their inner nature. Living in balance with nature is considered paramount to maintain harmony between all beings, ensuring people’s health, food security and environmental stability. With a population of 500,000 spread…This article was originally published on Mongabay
Forest sanctuaries and spiritual balance in the Karen highlands of Thailand
