If you believe in the power of the mind, then you would believe that some thoughts—if held in your mind for a very long time—would surely come true. You would also believe that, if a certain belief is held by many people, then this belief can become very efficacious and powerful. If all the Chinese, for example, believe that August is not a good month to start a business, then the collective powers of the minds of millions of Chinese would surely have an impact on whether August would become a good month to start a business or not. Similarly, if the Karen people, for example, believe that that silver brings in good health and good luck, then the collective consciousness of the Karen Tribe would surely have enough power to engender good health and good luck. And speaking of the Karen people, they are curiously known to believe that the silver neck-rings worn by the Kayan women (a subgroup of Karen people) would surely have healing power and positive effects on a person’s health.

Where Did this Karen Tribe’s Belief in Silver’s Healing Property Originate?

Beliefs and folklore did not come ex nihilo, and more often, there are subsequent events that brought about these beliefs. If you would consider, for example, the belief of the Karen Tribe on the healing property of silver, you would surely ask—as an inquisitive person—where this belief came from. This belief surely has a long history that dates back to the ancient times when dragons were still existent.

Beliefs in Dragons

Most cultures always have a conceptual belief on dragons, whether a culture is a native American culture or a Chinese culture. The universality of the belief in the ancient existence of dragons often leads us to think that dragons might have had existed somewhere in the past. The Karen People believe in this existence of dragons. However, they also believe that they have originated from the mother dragon who mated with humans in the past. This belief is so ingrained in their culture, imbuing every aspect of their way of life.

The Healing Power of Silver

Kayan women, for example, believe that silver is expressive of the scales of the dragon, and for this reason, they require their women to wear neck rings made of silver alloys. They do not remove these rings until their adulthood, and thus their necks evolved into somewhat longer forms that look very exquisite and awesomely beautiful. The silver rings around their necks, through the passing of time, also gained another attribute.
The Karen tribe had begun to attribute healing power to these silver rings considering the fact that silver represents and reminds them of their noble ancestry. Hence, if a Kayan child, for example, is sick, the mother of the child will allow the child to touch her neck-rings, believing that these rings could connect the child to their Mother Dragon ancestor and allow healing power from the Mother Dragon to flow down to the sick child’s body. Thus, the belief in the healing power of silver became a lasting belief among the Karen Tribe of the hilly parts of Thailand and Myanmar.

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