Preserving Indigenous Mythology
Storytelling
Mythology, like language, is at the heart of every culture. Myths give us our origin stories, our life lessons, our jokes, and most importantly, help form our collective sense of identity. Pga k' nyau (Karen Hill Tribe) mythology weaves fantastic stories of wise elephants, brave young explorers, feuding gods and rice paddies that hold unusual secrets. However, these stories are at great risk of being lost forever. Passed only by word of mouth, but as younger generations continually turn to social media for entertainment, these magical stories are at risk of dying along with the elders that hold them. Daughters Rising hopes to prevent this from happening. Project Pga k' nyau Storybook aims to collaborate across generations to record and preserve these incredible stories in the form of children’s storybooks.
The Process
The books will be made by in collaboration with volunteer professional illustrators and students from our safe house Ban Sukito. The students will help with the process of translating and transcribing the stories from their elders, then a volunteer illustrator will collaborate with students to create an accompanying visual narrative. Written in both Burmese Karen script and English, the books are printed professionally and distributed to the local community free of cost. Additional copies will be available for purchase in The Chai Lai Shop, as well as online, with any proceeds going back to the community.
Cultural Preservation + Skill Building + Income Generation
This project supports and gives back to the community in a myriad of ways. Importantly, it preserves traditional Karen / Pga k' nyau myths for future generations and shares these amazing stories with a global audience. Furthermore, the books will be available to the community to not only share with each other but also to serve as educational tools for learning English. Lastly, the sales of the book will bring critical income into the community to be used as they see fit.
Are you an illustrator and want to volunteer your skills?
We are always looking to collaborate with illustrators, artists, designers and art students to make more Karen Storybooks possible! If you’re planning a trip to Chiang Mai you can volunteer on site, or work on the project remotely!
