The Karen Student Association at Chiang Mai University held a traditional Karen wrist-tying ceremony at the Faculty of Social Sciences on Aug. 31. Organizers said the event aimed to unite people, strengthen bonds, and offer blessings for health, happiness, and well-being. Water, white threads, rice balls, sticky rice, bananas, flowers, sugarcane, a wooden ladle, and a bamboo tray are all necessary ingredients used in the tradition.

“The Karen wrist-tying ceremony is very important for Karen culture and traditions because it is a cultural event that we have been celebrating in our Karen community for generations. The purpose of the wrist-tying ceremony – what we call in Sgaw Karen as a Lakukisu – is where the family of the Karen come back together and celebrate and tie their hands together in a showcase of unity, as well as cooperation and collaboration among the families,” said Saw Nimrod, the secretary of the Karen National Union (KNU) Foreign Affairs Department.