Our schedule was tight. We could only stay in Tahawndam for two nights. We immediately started to prepare for the return journey back to Kuraun. When we arrived there, I learned that Dawey had cut his stay in Putao short and returned to his home village that very same day. Even for someone as accustomed to walking in the mountains as Dawey, this forced march had taken a toll on his joints. So, to take it easy on him, we went for a relaxed stroll together in the village.

In this way, I was able to speak with him directly, without going through the village headman. "Paamaaraa," I said to him, using the Rawang greeting. I put out my hand and he shook it, returning the greeting: "Paamaaraa". He remembered me from our earlier meeting.

Seeing this friendly exchange, some children who had been wary of me until then began to come closer. As I started to photograph him, Dawey was suddenly surrounded by children.

The highest peak in all of Southeast Asia is Mt. Kakaborazi. The base camp is a two-day trek from Tahawndam. Its name, incidentally, comes from the Tarong word kakabora, meaning a chicken protecting its chicks, plus the Rawang word razi, or mountain.

In the not-so-distant future, with the passing of Dawey and his sisters, this name may be the last remaining trace of Tarong culture in Burma. It was this harsh reality that I felt I had to record.

(text & Photo by Yuzo Uda / Translated Nelson Jason)