TRADITIONAL BRE (KAREN SUB-GROUP) ALUMINUM EAR TUNNELS – KARENNI STATE, BURMA (MYANMAR) – MID-20TH CENTURY

TRADITIONAL BRE (KAREN SUB-GROUP) ALUMINUM EAR TUNNELS – KARENNI STATE, BURMA (MYANMAR) – MID-20TH CENTURY

THESE TRADITIONAL EAR TUNNELS WERE WORN BY WOMEN OF THE BRE TRIBE, A SMALL AND LITTLE-KNOWN SUB-GROUP OF THE KAREN PEOPLE LIVING IN THE HIGHLAND REGIONS OF KARENNI STATE (EASTERN BURMA/MYANMAR). THEIR DESIGN IS DISTINCTIVE—BROAD-FLARED, TUBE-SHAPED, AND MADE FROM HAND-FORMED ALUMINUM. THESE EAR ORNAMENTS REPRESENT NOT JUST A FORM OF TRIBAL ADORNMENT, BUT ALSO A SYMBOL OF IDENTITY, STATUS, AND ENDURANCE IN A CHANGING WORLD.

UNLIKE MORE WIDELY RECOGNIZED HILLTRIBES, THE BRE REMAINED RELATIVELY ISOLATED, PRESERVING TRADITIONAL FORMS OF DRESS AND JEWELRY WELL INTO THE 20TH CENTURY. THEIR UNIQUE STYLE HAS BEEN DOCUMENTED IN THE WORK OF ETHNOGRAPHER RICHARD K. DIRAN (THE VANISHING TRIBES OF BURMA), WHERE SIMILAR EAR TUNNELS CAN BE SEEN WORN BY BRE WOMEN IN REMOTE VILLAGES.

WHAT MAKES THESE EAR TUNNELS PARTICULARLY INTERESTING IS THE USE OF ALUMINUM—A METAL THAT BECAME MORE ACCESSIBLE AFTER WORLD WAR II. AS WAR SURPLUS MATERIALS—SUCH AS AIRCRAFT PARTS AND SCRAP METAL—SPREAD THROUGHOUT SOUTHEAST ASIA, INDIGENOUS ARTISANS BEGAN TO REPURPOSE THESE MODERN MATERIALS INTO JEWELRY AND DAILY TOOLS. AMONG THE BRE, ALUMINUM WAS VALUED FOR ITS LIGHT WEIGHT, RESISTANCE TO CORROSION, AND SILVER-LIKE APPEARANCE. THESE EAR TUNNELS ARE A STRIKING EXAMPLE OF THIS POST-WAR MATERIAL ADAPTATION—FUSING TRADITIONAL FORMS WITH CONTEMPORARY RESOURCES.

DESPITE THEIR MODEST APPEARANCE, EACH PAIR WAS CAREFULLY HAND-FORMED, SOMETIMES USING SIMPLE HAMMERING AND CURVING TECHNIQUES. THE ENDS OF THE TUNNELS MEET BUT ARE NOT FUSED OR SOLDERED, RETAINING A RAW YET FUNCTIONAL FORM.

TODAY, BRE EAR TUNNELS LIKE THESE ARE RARELY FOUND, AS MANY OF THE TRIBE’S TRADITIONS HAVE FADED UNDER THE PRESSURE OF MODERNIZATION, CONFLICT, AND DISPLACEMENT. PIECES LIKE THIS OFFER A RARE WINDOW INTO A DISAPPEARING CULTURAL LANDSCAPE—A TIME WHEN EVEN the SCARCITY OF MATERIALS LED TO CREATIVE EXPRESSIONS OF HERITAGE AND SPIRITUAL BELIEF.