MT. VICTORIA OF THE CHIN HILLS (HOME OF TATOO FACED CHINS)

On Sun, 23 May 2004 19:30:16 -0700, in soc.culture.burma you wrote:

Business Tank Issue - 1 October , 2001

Thursday October 11, 2001

MT. VICTORIA OF THE CHIN HILLS (HOME OF TATOO FACED CHINS)

The Chin Hills form a southward extention of the Himalayas into South
East Asia from neighbouring Manipur in India. Scientific explorations
to these areas were done very briefly during the colonial years. Among
them, the most intrepid explorer was probably Kingdon- Ward (1885-1958
), the botanist and geographer whose botanical collections and plant
introductions made Myanmar's flora famous among gardeners. His
exploration spanned over 30 years, concentrating mostly in the extreme
North Kachin State ( Myanmar's Icy Mountains ) and ending in Mt.
Victoria of the Chin Hill. Ornithologically, the last comprehensive
field work in this area was carried out in the summer of 1937 (
Stresemann & Heinrich 1940 ) . The Chin Hills were first explored
ornithologically by Lieutenant.H. Wood, who visited Mt. Victoria and
nearby areas during the winter of 1901-02. (Wood & Finn 1902 ).
Following Wood's initial findings, Colonel G.Rippon spent several
months on Mt.Victoria in 1904, collecting a large number of specimens,
many of which are to be found in the Museum of Natural History,
Tring,U.K. The Northern Chin Hills were worked first by Captain F.E.W
Venning , who collected a few specimens and many nests and eggs in the
vicinity of Haka, during 1909-1910 ( Venning 1912 ).

Further field-work, also concentrated on breeding biology, which was
carried out in the northern most Chin Hills by J.C. Hopwood in May
1913, by Hopwood and J.M.D. Mackenzie during April and May 1914,and by
Mackenzie in April and May 1915 ( Hopwood and Mackenzie 1917 ).
Finally, P.F. Wickham toured the Hills during April and May 1916. (
Wickham 1918, 1929 ).

After Myanmar has gained independence from the British in 1948,
explorations to these areas were almost neglected and were never
comprehensively studied. During the years that followed, explorations
by foreigners to these areas were restricted. At that time, tours and
expeditions in Myanmar were only organized and operated by goverment
departments and corporations. But in 1994 after the goverment started
to open up the door, the private sector was allowed to operate tours
in the country. Travel agencies and companies were formed
systematically and tourism business started to take a strong hold in
Myanmar's economy.

As a positive result, the first ornithological expedition to the Chin
Hills was done in 1995 April by a group of renowned ornithologists. It
was carefully designed and planned for sometime in advance by Dr Hugh
A Buck and operated by Dr Htin Hla of wildbird Adventure Travel &
Tours (WATT), a private travel company in Yangon. The participants
were, leader Dr Hugh. A. Buck, Ben.F.King (Author of " Birds of South
East Asia" 1975) David Farrow, Tim.Fisher (Co-author of " A guide to
Birds of Phillippines") and Craig Robson (Author of " A Field Guide to
the Bird of South East Asia" 2000). About 400 species of birds were
recorded on this expedition, including 2 new species for Myanmar, 20
new species for West Myanmar, seven endangered species and 11 near
threatened species. White-browed Nuthatch, the endermic bird of Mt.
Victoria, which had not seen by any western ornithologist during the
last 60 years was first time recorded, along with another 4 endermic
birds of Myanmar. As a result of these expeditions, the Chin Hills
became well known among keen birders around the world and bird
watching tours to Mt. Victoria were regularly done since then. The
core area of 279 square miles surrounding Mt Victoria is now declared
" Natmataung National Park". Natmataung is derived from a Chin name "
Khawnuthoung", the name of this highest mountain, meaning mother of
spirit in both languages.

The ethnic tribes living in this region are the Chins. The Chins are
one of the major tribes in Myanmar who have their own state, language
and customs. But one will be surprised to hear that there exists more
than 60 dialects in Chin, some languages resembling some, but some, so
different that, they have to communicate each other in Myanmar, which
is the official language of the Union of Myanmar.

Geographically, the Chin State in divided into North and South
portion. In the south, the major tribes are Kanpetlet, Mindat, Matupi
and Paletwa Chins. The Northern Chin has 5 tribes, namely Haka, Falam,
Htantlan, Tiddim and Tonzang. All tribes have their own townships,
traditional dresses and dialects. The most unique tribes live in
Southern Chin State around Mt. Victoria. Mt. Victoria is the highest
mountain in the Chin Hills and lower half of Myanmar, which stands at
10,200 ft. Among these tribes, older women usually have their faces
heavily tatooed.

Photo - Traditional dances being performed by Chin damsels

The reason for this extraordinary tradition is not clearly understood
but some hints were given that, during ancient days Myanmar Kings
living in the plains would come to the Chin Hills in search of their
bride. To avoid being taken away by those kings, the lovely Chin
ladies would try to hide their beauty by heavily tatooing their faces.
Ironically, now it has almost become a tradition to wear a tatoo on
the faces of these ladies each representing their own tribe and
meaning.

Come visit this place rich in culture, tradition and nature and enjoy
the evenings with locally brewed Khaungyay made from dryly fermented
millet seeds. It is a custom for the Chins to host their visitors with
Khaungyay. It is an excellent place for bird watching, trekking,
mountaineering, culture, nature and adventure tours where the weather
stays cool the whole year round, and not far from the ancient temple
city of Bagan.

During recent years some botanists and zoologists explored this after
hearing that this place is now opened to foreigners. They also
discovered interesting plants and animals, some of which are new and
some found only in this area and nowhere else in the world. But most
people who visited there are trekkers who would love to walk from
Kanpetlet to Mindat, taking about 3 days, camping in the wild and also
having an opportunity to walk up the summit of Mount Victoria.

How to go

This very place can be easily reached from Bagan by a 4 wheel drive
vehicle (7 hours drive). From Bagan there is paved road south to Chauk
which is only 20 miles in distance. (½ hour drive). After crossing the
Irrawaddy river at Chauk, on a newly constructed Anawratha bridge,
there is a road heading west to Saw (71 miles) and from there, another
12 miles (total 83 miles) to Kanpetlet in the Chin State. The summit
of Mt. Victoria is only 12.5 miles from Kanpetlet, out of which 10
miles can be driven by car (to 9000 ft).

Where to stay

-Public works Bungalow (Kanpetlet town)
-Forest Bungalow (Kanpetlet town)
-Forest Bungalow at the edge of the National Park (old town
Kanpetlet).
-Khaw-nu thoung Bungalow in Mindat.

Another route

- Khaw-nu-thoung Bungalow in Mindat.
For more information please contact WATT.


====================
TOURISM TO MINDAT TOWNSHIP,
SOUTHERN CHIN STATE
====================

Dear U Tun Lin,

Thank you very much for the info you provided.

It is good to know that foreign tourists can now go to Mindat Township
in southern Chin State.

Do you, by any chance, know whether foreign tourists can go to other
townships of southern Chin State (Matupi, Kanpetlet and Paletwa) and
the townshis of northern Chin State (Thantlang, Haka, Falam, Tedim
and Tonzang)? I heard that several new townships have been established
in Chin State recently, too.

Sincerely,

The Voice of a Zomi (Chin)

Hey...Zomi.....it's good to know you are very interested in your
homeland.

You know what? I don't know whether foreigners can go to those towns
that you mentioned and areas as tourists.

But as far as I knew, some foreigners who were in Burma in the early
1990s to do seismic surveys had been to those towns.

I have been to those areas when I was young as my grandmother's
sisters lived in Mindat and Falam. That was OK though the trip was
quite tiring. I was there most of school holidays in March and April
as the weather was very pleasant compared to the weather in upper
Burma. Have you also read Htan-ta-lan magazine? If you go up to
Kalay-wa by Chindwin river, it was so beautiful especially in the
summer the river was very humane to us.

Hey.....take a break and try to have a wonderful trip up to Chin hilss
in Burma.

Cheers!
Tide


(utunlin) wrote in message om...
On Sun, 23 May 2004 19:30:16 -0700, in soc.culture.burma you wrote:

Business Tank Issue - 1 October , 2001

Thursday October 11, 2001

MT. VICTORIA OF THE CHIN HILLS (HOME OF TATOO FACED CHINS)

The Chin Hills form a southward extention of the Himalayas into South
East Asia from neighbouring Manipur in India. Scientific explorations
to these areas were done very briefly during the colonial years. Among
them, the most intrepid explorer was probably Kingdon- Ward (1885-1958
), the botanist and geographer whose botanical collections and plant
introductions made Myanmar's flora famous among gardeners. His
exploration spanned over 30 years, concentrating mostly in the extreme
North Kachin State ( Myanmar's Icy Mountains ) and ending in Mt.
Victoria of the Chin Hill. Ornithologically, the last comprehensive
field work in this area was carried out in the summer of 1937 (
Stresemann & Heinrich 1940 ) . The Chin Hills were first explored
ornithologically by Lieutenant.H. Wood, who visited Mt. Victoria and
nearby areas during the winter of 1901-02. (Wood & Finn 1902 ).
Following Wood's initial findings, Colonel G.Rippon spent several
months on Mt.Victoria in 1904, collecting a large number of specimens,
many of which are to be found in the Museum of Natural History,
Tring,U.K. The Northern Chin Hills were worked first by Captain F.E.W
Venning , who collected a few specimens and many nests and eggs in the
vicinity of Haka, during 1909-1910 ( Venning 1912 ).

Further field-work, also concentrated on breeding biology, which was
carried out in the northern most Chin Hills by J.C. Hopwood in May
1913, by Hopwood and J.M.D. Mackenzie during April and May 1914,and by
Mackenzie in April and May 1915 ( Hopwood and Mackenzie 1917 ).
Finally, P.F. Wickham toured the Hills during April and May 1916. (
Wickham 1918, 1929 ).

After Myanmar has gained independence from the British in 1948,
explorations to these areas were almost neglected and were never
comprehensively studied. During the years that followed, explorations
by foreigners to these areas were restricted. At that time, tours and
expeditions in Myanmar were only organized and operated by goverment
departments and corporations. But in 1994 after the goverment started
to open up the door, the private sector was allowed to operate tours
in the country. Travel agencies and companies were formed
systematically and tourism business started to take a strong hold in
Myanmar's economy.

As a positive result, the first ornithological expedition to the Chin
Hills was done in 1995 April by a group of renowned ornithologists. It
was carefully designed and planned for sometime in advance by Dr Hugh
A Buck and operated by Dr Htin Hla of wildbird Adventure Travel &
Tours (WATT), a private travel company in Yangon. The participants
were, leader Dr Hugh. A. Buck, Ben.F.King (Author of " Birds of South
East Asia" 1975) David Farrow, Tim.Fisher (Co-author of " A guide to
Birds of Phillippines") and Craig Robson (Author of " A Field Guide to
the Bird of South East Asia" 2000). About 400 species of birds were
recorded on this expedition, including 2 new species for Myanmar, 20
new species for West Myanmar, seven endangered species and 11 near
threatened species. White-browed Nuthatch, the endermic bird of Mt.
Victoria, which had not seen by any western ornithologist during the
last 60 years was first time recorded, along with another 4 endermic
birds of Myanmar. As a result of these expeditions, the Chin Hills
became well known among keen birders around the world and bird
watching tours to Mt. Victoria were regularly done since then. The
core area of 279 square miles surrounding Mt Victoria is now declared
" Natmataung National Park". Natmataung is derived from a Chin name "
Khawnuthoung", the name of this highest mountain, meaning mother of
spirit in both languages.

The ethnic tribes living in this region are the Chins. The Chins are
one of the major tribes in Myanmar who have their own state, language
and customs. But one will be surprised to hear that there exists more
than 60 dialects in Chin, some languages resembling some, but some, so
different that, they have to communicate each other in Myanmar, which
is the official language of the Union of Myanmar.

Geographically, the Chin State in divided into North and South
portion. In the south, the major tribes are Kanpetlet, Mindat, Matupi
and Paletwa Chins. The Northern Chin has 5 tribes, namely Haka, Falam,
Htantlan, Tiddim and Tonzang. All tribes have their own townships,
traditional dresses and dialects. The most unique tribes live in
Southern Chin State around Mt. Victoria. Mt. Victoria is the highest
mountain in the Chin Hills and lower half of Myanmar, which stands at
10,200 ft. Among these tribes, older women usually have their faces
heavily tatooed.

Photo - Traditional dances being performed by Chin damsels

The reason for this extraordinary tradition is not clearly understood
but some hints were given that, during ancient days Myanmar Kings
living in the plains would come to the Chin Hills in search of their
bride. To avoid being taken away by those kings, the lovely Chin
ladies would try to hide their beauty by heavily tatooing their faces.
Ironically, now it has almost become a tradition to wear a tatoo on
the faces of these ladies each representing their own tribe and
meaning.

Come visit this place rich in culture, tradition and nature and enjoy
the evenings with locally brewed Khaungyay made from dryly fermented
millet seeds. It is a custom for the Chins to host their visitors with
Khaungyay. It is an excellent place for bird watching, trekking,
mountaineering, culture, nature and adventure tours where the weather
stays cool the whole year round, and not far from the ancient temple
city of Bagan.

During recent years some botanists and zoologists explored this after
hearing that this place is now opened to foreigners. They also
discovered interesting plants and animals, some of which are new and
some found only in this area and nowhere else in the world. But most
people who visited there are trekkers who would love to walk from
Kanpetlet to Mindat, taking about 3 days, camping in the wild and also
having an opportunity to walk up the summit of Mount Victoria.

How to go

This very place can be easily reached from Bagan by a 4 wheel drive
vehicle (7 hours drive). From Bagan there is paved road south to Chauk
which is only 20 miles in distance. (½ hour drive). After crossing the
Irrawaddy river at Chauk, on a newly constructed Anawratha bridge,
there is a road heading west to Saw (71 miles) and from there, another
12 miles (total 83 miles) to Kanpetlet in the Chin State. The summit
of Mt. Victoria is only 12.5 miles from Kanpetlet, out of which 10
miles can be driven by car (to 9000 ft).

Where to stay

-Public works Bungalow (Kanpetlet town)
-Forest Bungalow (Kanpetlet town)
-Forest Bungalow at the edge of the National Park (old town
Kanpetlet).
-Khaw-nu thoung Bungalow in Mindat.

Another route

- Khaw-nu-thoung Bungalow in Mindat.
For more information please contact WATT.


====================
TOURISM TO MINDAT TOWNSHIP,
SOUTHERN CHIN STATE
====================

Dear U Tun Lin,

Thank you very much for the info you provided.

It is good to know that foreign tourists can now go to Mindat Township
in southern Chin State.

Do you, by any chance, know whether foreign tourists can go to other
townships of southern Chin State (Matupi, Kanpetlet and Paletwa) and
the townshis of northern Chin State (Thantlang, Haka, Falam, Tedim
and Tonzang)? I heard that several new townships have been established
in Chin State recently, too.

Sincerely,

The Voice of a Zomi (Chin)

==============================
NO FOREIGN TOURISM YET
TO NORTHERN ZOMI STATE
==============================

Dear Tide,

1. Thank you for your message.

2. It seems that half of Southern Zomi State and the whole of Northern
Zomi State are still closed to foreign tourists. The closest town to
Zomi State they are allowed to go to seems to be Kalemyo, which is in
Sagain Division.

3. Those foreigners who did seismic surveys, and those from UNICEF or
UNDP, went to Zomi State, not as tourists, but as staff members of
government projects.

4. You spent time in Mindat and Falam in March and April many years
ago? Lucky you! The most pleasant time of the year! I have never been
to Southern Zomi State. I was once in Falam for about a week during
January, the coldest time of the year.

5. I have never read Thantlang Magazine. Actually, it has been a long
time since I last read any newspaper/journal/magazine printed in
Burma.

6. I wish I could take a trip to Zomi State and other parts of Burma
sometime in the future.

Sincerely,

Tg. Zomi (=Mg. Chin)


On 26 May 2004 02:02:29 -0700, in soc.culture.burma,
(Tide) wrote:

Hey...Zomi.....it's good to know you are very interested in your
homeland.

You know what? I don't know whether foreigners can go to those towns
that you mentioned and areas as tourists.

But as far as I knew, some foreigners who were in Burma in the early
1990s to do seismic surveys had been to those towns.

I have been to those areas when I was young as my grandmother's
sisters lived in Mindat and Falam. That was OK though the trip was
quite tiring. I was there most of school holidays in March and April
as the weather was very pleasant compared to the weather in upper
Burma. Have you also read Htan-ta-lan magazine? If you go up to
Kalay-wa by Chindwin river, it was so beautiful especially in the
summer the river was very humane to us.

Hey.....take a break and try to have a wonderful trip up to Chin hilss
in Burma.

Cheers!
Tide


(utunlin) wrote in message om...
On Sun, 23 May 2004 19:30:16 -0700, in soc.culture.burma you wrote:

Business Tank Issue - 1 October , 2001

Thursday October 11, 2001

MT. VICTORIA OF THE CHIN HILLS (HOME OF TATOO FACED CHINS)

The Chin Hills form a southward extention of the Himalayas into South
East Asia from neighbouring Manipur in India. Scientific explorations
to these areas were done very briefly during the colonial years. Among
them, the most intrepid explorer was probably Kingdon- Ward (1885-1958
), the botanist and geographer whose botanical collections and plant
introductions made Myanmar's flora famous among gardeners. His
exploration spanned over 30 years, concentrating mostly in the extreme
North Kachin State ( Myanmar's Icy Mountains ) and ending in Mt.
Victoria of the Chin Hill. Ornithologically, the last comprehensive
field work in this area was carried out in the summer of 1937 (
Stresemann & Heinrich 1940 ) . The Chin Hills were first explored
ornithologically by Lieutenant.H. Wood, who visited Mt. Victoria and
nearby areas during the winter of 1901-02. (Wood & Finn 1902 ).
Following Wood's initial findings, Colonel G.Rippon spent several
months on Mt.Victoria in 1904, collecting a large number of specimens,
many of which are to be found in the Museum of Natural History,
Tring,U.K. The Northern Chin Hills were worked first by Captain F.E.W
Venning , who collected a few specimens and many nests and eggs in the
vicinity of Haka, during 1909-1910 ( Venning 1912 ).

Further field-work, also concentrated on breeding biology, which was
carried out in the northern most Chin Hills by J.C. Hopwood in May
1913, by Hopwood and J.M.D. Mackenzie during April and May 1914,and by
Mackenzie in April and May 1915 ( Hopwood and Mackenzie 1917 ).
Finally, P.F. Wickham toured the Hills during April and May 1916. (
Wickham 1918, 1929 ).

After Myanmar has gained independence from the British in 1948,
explorations to these areas were almost neglected and were never
comprehensively studied. During the years that followed, explorations
by foreigners to these areas were restricted. At that time, tours and
expeditions in Myanmar were only organized and operated by goverment
departments and corporations. But in 1994 after the goverment started
to open up the door, the private sector was allowed to operate tours
in the country. Travel agencies and companies were formed
systematically and tourism business started to take a strong hold in
Myanmar's economy.

As a positive result, the first ornithological expedition to the Chin
Hills was done in 1995 April by a group of renowned ornithologists. It
was carefully designed and planned for sometime in advance by Dr Hugh
A Buck and operated by Dr Htin Hla of wildbird Adventure Travel &
Tours (WATT), a private travel company in Yangon. The participants
were, leader Dr Hugh. A. Buck, Ben.F.King (Author of " Birds of South
East Asia" 1975) David Farrow, Tim.Fisher (Co-author of " A guide to
Birds of Phillippines") and Craig Robson (Author of " A Field Guide to
the Bird of South East Asia" 2000). About 400 species of birds were
recorded on this expedition, including 2 new species for Myanmar, 20
new species for West Myanmar, seven endangered species and 11 near
threatened species. White-browed Nuthatch, the endermic bird of Mt.
Victoria, which had not seen by any western ornithologist during the
last 60 years was first time recorded, along with another 4 endermic
birds of Myanmar. As a result of these expeditions, the Chin Hills
became well known among keen birders around the world and bird
watching tours to Mt. Victoria were regularly done since then. The
core area of 279 square miles surrounding Mt Victoria is now declared
" Natmataung National Park". Natmataung is derived from a Chin name "
Khawnuthoung", the name of this highest mountain, meaning mother of
spirit in both languages.

The ethnic tribes living in this region are the Chins. The Chins are
one of the major tribes in Myanmar who have their own state, language
and customs. But one will be surprised to hear that there exists more
than 60 dialects in Chin, some languages resembling some, but some, so
different that, they have to communicate each other in Myanmar, which
is the official language of the Union of Myanmar.

Geographically, the Chin State in divided into North and South
portion. In the south, the major tribes are Kanpetlet, Mindat, Matupi
and Paletwa Chins. The Northern Chin has 5 tribes, namely Haka, Falam,
Htantlan, Tiddim and Tonzang. All tribes have their own townships,
traditional dresses and dialects. The most unique tribes live in
Southern Chin State around Mt. Victoria. Mt. Victoria is the highest
mountain in the Chin Hills and lower half of Myanmar, which stands at
10,200 ft. Among these tribes, older women usually have their faces
heavily tatooed.

Photo - Traditional dances being performed by Chin damsels

The reason for this extraordinary tradition is not clearly understood
but some hints were given that, during ancient days Myanmar Kings
living in the plains would come to the Chin Hills in search of their
bride. To avoid being taken away by those kings, the lovely Chin
ladies would try to hide their beauty by heavily tatooing their faces.
Ironically, now it has almost become a tradition to wear a tatoo on
the faces of these ladies each representing their own tribe and
meaning.

Come visit this place rich in culture, tradition and nature and enjoy
the evenings with locally brewed Khaungyay made from dryly fermented
millet seeds. It is a custom for the Chins to host their visitors with
Khaungyay. It is an excellent place for bird watching, trekking,
mountaineering, culture, nature and adventure tours where the weather
stays cool the whole year round, and not far from the ancient temple
city of Bagan.

During recent years some botanists and zoologists explored this after
hearing that this place is now opened to foreigners. They also
discovered interesting plants and animals, some of which are new and
some found only in this area and nowhere else in the world. But most
people who visited there are trekkers who would love to walk from
Kanpetlet to Mindat, taking about 3 days, camping in the wild and also
having an opportunity to walk up the summit of Mount Victoria.

How to go

This very place can be easily reached from Bagan by a 4 wheel drive
vehicle (7 hours drive). From Bagan there is paved road south to Chauk
which is only 20 miles in distance. (½ hour drive). After crossing the
Irrawaddy river at Chauk, on a newly constructed Anawratha bridge,
there is a road heading west to Saw (71 miles) and from there, another
12 miles (total 83 miles) to Kanpetlet in the Chin State. The summit
of Mt. Victoria is only 12.5 miles from Kanpetlet, out of which 10
miles can be driven by car (to 9000 ft).

Where to stay

-Public works Bungalow (Kanpetlet town)
-Forest Bungalow (Kanpetlet town)
-Forest Bungalow at the edge of the National Park (old town
Kanpetlet).
-Khaw-nu thoung Bungalow in Mindat.

Another route

- Khaw-nu-thoung Bungalow in Mindat.
For more information please contact WATT.


====================
TOURISM TO MINDAT TOWNSHIP,
SOUTHERN CHIN STATE
====================

Dear U Tun Lin,

Thank you very much for the info you provided.

It is good to know that foreign tourists can now go to Mindat Township
in southern Chin State.

Do you, by any chance, know whether foreign tourists can go to other
townships of southern Chin State (Matupi, Kanpetlet and Paletwa) and
the townshis of northern Chin State (Thantlang, Haka, Falam, Tedim
and Tonzang)? I heard that several new townships have been established
in Chin State recently, too.

Sincerely,

The Voice of a Zomi (Chin)