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Hill Tribes of Northern Thailand
There are many hill tribe groups in Chiang Mai; we provide you information about the main types with pictures so you can distinguish by yourself… |
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Here are six main hilltribes found in Northern Thailand. Each tribe is divided into clans or subgroups, which have distinct customs, rituals and clothing. The
Lahu, Akha and
Lisu have languages with common linguistic roots (
Yi/Lolo of the Tibeto-Burman family of languages) and migrated into Thailand from
Yunnan via Burma. The
Hmong and
Mien (or
Yao) speak languages from the Sino-Tibetan family and came from south central China via Laos. These five tribes are all found in larger numbers beyond the borders of Thailand. The origin of the
Karen is believed to have been southeast Tibet, but the majority now live in Myanmar ( Burma). With the exception of the
Karen, the hilltribes did not start moving into the hills of Northern Thailand in large numbers until the 20th century. Some of the largest migrations did not take place until after political upheavals triggered by the communist and socialist revolutions of China (1949), Burma (1962) and Laos (1974).
Living in remote upland areas, the hilltribes were left to practice subsistence agriculture relatively undisturbed until the 1950's. Then their increasing numbers, their poverty and the threat of insurgency encouraged the government to exert greater control.
The National Committee for the Hill-tribes was formed in 1959 to "integrate the hill people into Thai society, while allowing them to preserve their culture". The government began an extensive primary school program in upland areas.
However, the slash and burn techniques of shifting cultivation used by the hilltribes to grow food crops and opium poppies increasingly conflicted with national efforts to preserve watersheds against deforestation and to curb drug production.
To address these problems, Royal Projects and both government and international aid development projects began promoting cash crops such as coffee, red kidney beans, potatoes and cabbages. The programs have been very successful in bringing hilltribe villages into the cash economy and in reducing opium production.
The success has led to the loss of the traditional way of life, however. The tribes have increasingly had to abandon shifting cultivation in favor of rotational cropping and permanent field systems. In addition they have often had to relocate from their preferred habitats in high areas near primary watersheds.
Increased contact with the commercial culture of the lowlands and with Buddhist and Christian missionaries has brought many changes. Many tribal people are abandoning their customs based on their beliefs in the spirit world and the annual agricultural cycles.
The tribes have adapted with different degrees of success. The Karen, who traditionally inhabit the lower slopes of mountains up to 800 meters, have been integrating for centuries and many are now like northern Thais. The Hmong, Lisu and Yao, who usually occupy the highest areas on mountains, have shown skill in making money while keeping many of their old traditions and customs.
The Lahu and the Akha, however, have experienced greater difficulty.
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The Karen Hilltribe in Chiangmai
The
Karen began to move into Thailand around the 17th century and occur in large numbers in the western part of Northern Thailand, in particular on the ranges west and south of
Doi Inthanon. The main groups in Thailand are White
Karen composed of the
Skaw and the
Pwo sub groups.
The Karen live in villages of around 25 houses raised on stilts. The villages tend to cluster. Each household consists of the parents and their unmarried children. Married daughters and their families may also live in the same house. The highest authority is the village priest who runs the village along with the elders.
The Karen have rituals to live harmoniously with the "Lord of the Land and Water", as well as with nature spirits in the rocks, trees, water and mountains that surround them. They also have guardian spirits and believe in the soul.
Their desire for harmony with nature may partly account for why the Karen have evolved the most ecologically sound system of swidden agriculture. They use a system of rotation over a large area of land and do not cut all the large trees down when they clear a plot.
They are also the only group to have built terraces to grow wet-rice.
Karen cloth is hand-woven on back-strap looms and is predominantly red with white, blue or brown vertical stripes. Stitching is clear and decorative. The men may wear simple forms of this material in a sleeveless tunic (or northern Thai clothing), while the women wear more elaborate styles on their sarongs.
The women's blouses are made of dark homespun cotton with horizontal embroidered patterns decorated with seeds woven onto the lower half. Unmarried girls of the Skaw group wear plain white shifts.
Those of the Pwo are more decorated. The Karen are famous for their use of beads for ornamentation.
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The Lahu or Muser Hilltribe in Chiang Mai
The
Lahu are divided into two groups; the Black
Lahu form over 75 percent of the
Lahu and consists of three subgroups - the
Lahu Na, the Red
Lahu and
Shehleh Lahu. A second group is known as the Yellow
Lahu.
The Thai call the Lahu "Muser" because of their skills at hunting in the forest. The Lahu are concentrated close to the Burmese border west and north of Chiang Dao and Pai.
Houses are generally built on stilts, with villages consisting of 15-30 households. Households consist of families with unmarried children and maybe a married daughter and family. The Lahu believe in the soul, a house spirit, nature spirits and a supreme being who is administered to by a priest.
Traditional clothing of the
Lahu is black with bold embroidered patterns and bands of cloth for decoration.
The trims of sleeves, pockets and lapels are often decorated, with each subgroup using different colors.
However, the Lahu tend to wear ordinary clothes for everyday life, reserving their costumes for ceremonial occasions.
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Hmong or Meo Hilltribe in Chiangmai
There are two subgroups of Hmong in Thailand; the Blue Hmong and White Hmong.
Blue Hmong villages are located on high mountain areas north from Doi Inthanon to the Burmese border. They are the closest group to Chiang Mai, with villages in the Doi Suthep Doi Pui National Park area.
Hmong houses are built on the ground in clusters, with several clusters forming a village. The oldest male controls the extended family household that will include married sons and their families. The Hmong are divided into clans, which play an important part in rituals and relationships.
The Hmong believe in a number of household spirits as well as souls. Rituals are performed by household heads, but each village will also have a shaman to exorcise evil spirits and restore health to the sick.
The pleated skirts made of hemp died with blue and white batik patterns make the Blue Hmong women clearly identifiable. The women's jackets are made of black cloth decorated with elaborate embroidery for which the Hmong women are renowned. Men's clothes are also made of loose-fitting black material, with embroidery on the jackets. The Hmong use silver both for adornment and as a show of wealth.
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The Lisu or Lisor Hilltribe in Chiang Mai
The
Lisu or
Lisor originated from
Yunnan and are divided into six original patrilineal clans, but not all are found in Thailand.
Lisu villages can be found near
Chiang Dao,
Pai and
Phrao.
Villages vary in size, and houses may be raised on stilts or built on the ground.
Extended families with married sons may live in the same house. The Lisu are competitive and thus are outgoing, social and hard-working.
Lisu villages have a shrine for a guardian spirit set above the village. There are spirits for the ancestors and several other entities such as water, trees, the sun and the moon. Priests will officiate at ceremonies involving the village guardian, while shamans dispel spirits causing sickness.
Lisu costumes of the "flowery" sub-group found mainly in Thailand are very distinct. The women wear a knee length tunic of light blue or green cloth, often with red sleeves. The upper sleeves of the women's tunic and a yoke of black cloth are heavily decorated with many bands of bright cloth. The women also wear plain belts from which hang multicolored tassels.
Young men's trousers are made of the same blue or green cloth, while their jackets are often of plain black material.
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The Akha or E-Gor Hilltribes in Chiang Mai
The
Akha or E-Gor originally came from
Yunnan, moving into Burma in the mid-19th century. They did not come to Thailand until early in the 20th century, but the large migrations due to persecution and instability in Burma have only been quite recent.
Akha villages can be found near the Burmese border in the northern part of Chiangmai province, but mainly in
Chiang Rai province.
Villages vary in size and have elaborate gates with carved wooden fertility figures nearby, demarcating the realm between humans and good spirits and that of the jungle spirits. Ancestral spirits are paramount and are worshipped at an altar in the house.
The
Akha have a special "way" which covers all aspects of their daily and ritual life. The "
Akha Way" helps the tribe to maintain continuity and is administered by the village priest, who has more power than the elders and village head.
Akha clothing is made of a homespun cotton cloth died to near black with indigo. For women this cloth is embellished with embroidery and strips of colored cloth decorated with coins, seeds, or whatever the fancy. Women's outfits consist of hip length jackets worn over a halter, a short skirt, a sash, and leggings. The most distinct item for women is the headdress, which gets more elaborate as the wearer matures. Men tend to wear loose jackets that may have an embroidered strip down the front as well as the back.
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The Mien or Yao Hilltribe in Chiang Mai
The
Mien is commonly referred to as the
Yao in Thailand. They originated from China, but much of Thailand's small population settled in the eastern part of Northern Thailand after migrating from Laos during the Vietnam conflict. Mien villages in Chiangmai province are found off Highway 118 near
Pong Nam Ron and north-east of
Thaton, but the majority is found in
Chiang Rai and
Nan provinces.
Villages are small with up to 25 houses built on the ground. The Mien are divided into 12 clans, with more than one clan living in a village. Households consist of extended families that include the married sons and their families and can be very large.
The Mien has rituals that must be performed correctly for a hierarchy of ancestral spirits. This system appears to have been influenced by Taoist beliefs that originated in China in the 13-14th century. Priests attend to the Taoist rituals, while shamans will cure the sick affected by lesser natural spirits.
Mien women are unmistakable for they wear a long black tunic with a bright red ruff around their neckline. Black trousers beneath the tunic are heavily embroidered. In addition they wear a black turban cloth embroidered at the ends. Men wear loose black jackets which tend to be only lightly decorated and loose fitting black trousers.
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The Lua and Palaung Hilltribe in Chiang Mai
The
Lua have been in Chiang Mai the longest of all hill-tribes. They are thought to have originated from the
Lawa who were pushed into the hills by the men from
Haripunchai and the
Tai.
The Lua accept alien ways fairly easily and over the years many have integrated and become like the Northern Thai. However a group of Lua has maintained a distinct identity, especially in upland villages.
They are found in the areas around Bo Luang (H108) and south towards Umpai.
They practice swidden agriculture as well as wet-rice cultivation and favor villages on the crests of hills. They believe in good and bad spirits and profess a belief in Buddhism. The women may wear costumes that have blue tunics and skirts to below the knees as well as a turban, but the men dress ordinarily. The Palaung are the newest hilltribe to arrive in Chiangmai. Like the Lua they may have originally been lowland peoples.
Both Lua and Palaung speak a language related to the Mon-Khmer family of languages. The Palaung have been living in the Shan State of Burma for several centuries but have only started moving into Thailand since 1984 to escape from the fighting in their homeland. They number more than 2000 and live in six villages in the Doi Ang Khang and Chiang Dao areas.
The
Palaung are noted for their skill in raising crops. They are strict Buddhists who also believe in nature and animal spirits. Their villages must have a Buddhist temple or shrine as well as a shrine for propitiating the spirits.
Living in raised houses, families are extended with married sons usually living with the parents. Villages have a headman, who usually comes from the largest family, as well as monks and a shaman for curing sickness.
Only Palaung women wear costume. They wear a short bright (often blue) long sleeved jacket with decorated trim and a red tube skirt with narrow horizontal white stripes. The women also wear large belts made of rattan coils which protect them and let them go to heaven when they die. Both women and men like to have silver and gold in their teeth.
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Visiting Hilltribe Villages
The best time to visit a village is during a festival, especially the tribal New Year festivals, when the women and men are dressed in their finest costumes. The
Lahu, Lisu and Yao hold their New Year festivals around the time of the Chinese New Year, which falls on the new moon of the second lunar month. The
Hmong and the
Akha have festivals in late December.
Times for festivals may vary between villages and clans as well as tribes. The Akha, for example, have their famous "swing" ceremony (August- September) 108 days after a rice-planting festival. The latter takes place when the village elders feel the time is right (May - June).
If you don't have a guide, it is best to know something of the customs, beliefs, and taboos before entering a village and be careful about what you touch. Otherwise how you should behave is probably a matter of common courtesy. Avoid scant clothing and ask permission before taking photos. If you stay in the village you should offer payment for accommodation. Several books that explain the customs of each tribe in detail are locally available.
A Trekker's Guide to: The Hilltribes of Northern Thailand (John R. Davies, Footloose Books, UK. 1992) and Chiang Mai & the Hilltribes (Goldrich, Richard. Sangdad Publications, 1992) are both small enough to be taken on a trek. For in depth research, visit the library at the Tribal Research Institute at Chiang Mai University.
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