In the beginning there was just one Red Karen, and he was only a head. He lived in a house with his grandmother, and one day when his grandmother was outside the house, the house began to take him up to Heaven.
His grandmother grabbed a corner post to hold the house down, but she was left holding the one post – the rest of the house went up to Heaven. But as it went, the Red Karen said to his grandmother, “If you will remember me, I will bless your rice crop each year.”
So each year just before the harvest, the Red Karen people carve a post to celebrate his memory, and put it up, in order to have his blessing on their rice crop.
The celebration also includes a sacrifice and much drinking. One celebration is held just before the rice harvest, and a larger one takes place after the harvest is done.
And since the rice harvest is to begin next week, Julie and I got an opportunity to observe this ritual, which is probably the second-most-important one the Red Karen have, the most important one being the post-harvest ritual.
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