This is a Pwo Karen homespun cotton blanket. Blankets are woven in four-metre lengths which are cut in half and sewn together. They are woven with alternating stripes of white and other colours. The bottom of the blanket is decorated with a twisted fringe. Blankets are used to cover the dead. The corpse is identified by the fringe end which appears at the head of the corpse. Pwo women also use elaborate blankets as 'singing shawls' at funerals. Bright shiny wings of green beetles are attached with small bells at the blanket's end.The Karen is the largest tribal group in Thailand comprising two main divisions (the Sgaw and Pwo) and smaller sub-groups. Thought to have originated from Tibet, they migrated into Thailand from Burma during the 18th century.
