Explore "The Karens of Burma" by Harry I Marshall on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
In appearance the Karens are not very different from the other Mongoloid peoples in Burma. Their usual colour is a little lighter than the Burmans', and is that of coffee with a generous mixture of milk. Their faces are a little flatter than the Burmans'. Having lived mostly in the hills they have a more stocky body and thicker thighs and calves than those of their neighbours. In height they are short, the men averaging a little over five feet, and the women a little less.
Young people of both sexes are attractive and robust, but hard work, undernourishment and, in the case of the women, constant child-bearing often make them appear old when they have only reached what should be the prime of life.