Hill Tribes of Thailand
Hill tribes of Thailand
The long-necked Paduang have switched tradition for tourism
Northern Thailand is home to interesting and colourful ethnic minorities, known as the hill tribes. These add an important element to tourism here and you may visit, or go trekking to, numerous villages, where they are happy to receive you. Since most are rural and poor, any economically uplifting opportunities are welcomed.
Most of the hill tribes have migrated into the region during the past 100 years from the Asian interior and have largely preserved their traditional ways, making them a fascinating cultural study. They prefer living above 1,000m, and shy away from the outside world.
There are seven broad hill tribe groupings: Karen, Lahu, Hmong, Lisu, Akha and Mien. However, within these categories, there are sub-categories and clans that further divide the groups. Each hill tribe has its own customs, language, dress and spiritual beliefs and this is sometimes true even of the numerous sub-categories within one hill tribe. For example, the Green Hmong and White Hmong speak in different and distinct dialects and dress differently. The hill tribes are most distinctly recognised for their colourful and unique costume, which they continue to wear daily.
The hill tribes add a colourful element to northern Thailand
Most of the hill tribes living in the remote upland areas practice subsistence farming. They were pretty much left alone until the 1950s, when the increase in their numbers, extreme poverty, statelessness and threat of insurgency forced the Thai government to establish the National Committee for the Hill Tribes.
Opium cultivation was a major source of income for many of the hill tribes and the government worked hard to eradicate this cultivation by successfully substituting it with other cash crops, such as cabbages and fruits. This is known as the Royal project, initiated by his Highness King Rama IX, and commended internationally for its success.
However, as is the case with any minority groups, hill tribes have issues with citizenship, conforming to mainstream Thai society and the loss of their indigenous customs and languages. Furthermore, their placement at the centre of the lucrative drug trafficking along the Myanmar border has often put them in compromising positions. These are all difficult issues faced by both the hill tribe people and the Thai government.
Karen
Population: approx 300,000 Origin: Myanmar
This is the largest of the minority groups and many of the Karen were converted to Christianity by the missionaries, with some tribes still practicing animism or being Buddhist. Within the Karen, there are three main sub-groups: White Karen or Sgaw, Black Karen or Pgo and Red Karen or Kayah.
The Karen wear woven v-neck tunics of various natural colours and turbans. Unmarried women wear distinctive long white v-neck tunics. The Karen occupy lowland areas, engaging in agriculture, including rice cultivation. They are also skilled weavers and the most environmentally conscious of the hill tribes - practicing crop rotation, thus preserving the forest.
Hmong
Population: approx 124,000 Origin: Yunnan
This is the second-largest hill tribe group and is sometimes referred to as Meo. They are largely animistic and best known for their intricate embroidery. Known to be fiercely independent and with nomadic tendencies, they sided with communist rebels in Thailand in the 1970s, while the Hmong of Laos sided with the US during the Vietnam and Laos wars - both seeking self-determination.
The Hmong are sub-divided into White Hmong and Green Hmong. The Green Hmong are the most numerous in Thailand and women wear heavily embroidered, very tightly pleated skirts. The men wear baggy black pants with various levels of bright embroidery along the cuffs and seams. The Hmong have settled in the province of Chiang Mai and villages can be visited near Doi Suthep and Doi Inthanon. Their succession is patrilineal and polygamy is widely practised.
Lahu
Population: approx 73,000 Origin: Yunnan, Myanmar
Also known as Musor, the Lahu are concentrated near the Burmese border and have five sub-groupings: Red Lahu, Yellow Lahu, Black Lahu, White Lahu and Lahu Sheleh. The Black Lahu is the largest sub-grouping, making up close to 80 per cent of the Lahu population. The women wear very distinctive black and red jackets and skirts and the men wear baggy green or blue pants. They have a reputation as excellent hunters, and survive off vegetable cultivation, with some supplementing this meagre income with opium production.
Akha
Population: approx 50,000 Origin: Tibet / Myanmar
The Akha are among the most down-trodden and often most impoverished of the hill tribes, resisting assimilation into mainstream Thai culture. They are, however, the most fascinating and colourful of the hill tribes and can easily be visited, particularly in Chiang Rai province where many reside. Many villages have been converted to Christianity, though some observers decry this as a dilution of their culture.
The Akha have a very unique and rich oral literature tradition, in which they can recite their ancestors back numerous generations. The Akha came to Thailand in the early 20th century, mainly due to their persecution in Burma. The women wear very plain indigo died shirts, which are in turn adorned with all kinds of eye-catching paraphernalia, such as coins, beads, shells, etc. The women are also very visible by their ornate headdress adorned with silver, and many can be seen at the Night Bazaar hawking their intricate silver jewellery. Every year the Akha have a unique swing festival. Opium is still used among this tribe.
The sad reality is that many of the tribes peoples remain discriminated minorities living in abject poverty...more
Mien
Population: approx 40,000 Origin: Central China
Also known as the Yao, they are distant linguistic relatives of the Hmong and originated from China. Because of this, many of the older Mien can still write Chinese, and many display distinctive Chinese facial features. Being the smallest group, the Mien live in isolated villages, mostly in and around Chiang Rai and Nan. The Mien women are known for the long black jackets that are adorned with pom-pom like red trim. They are skilled embroiderers and silversmiths.
Lisu
Population: approx 28,000 Origin: Tibet / Yunnan
The Lisu women are distinguished by their brightly coloured tunics, worn over long pants; some of the older generation continue to wear tasselled turbans on their heads. Occupying villages above 1,000m, they keep livestock and cultivate corn and vegetables. Unlike other hill tribes, they don't usually live in stilted houses. The Lisu men and women are also recognised as some of the most physically attractive of the hill tribes and marriage outside of their tribe is not uncommon.
Padaung
Population: marginal Origin: Thailand
The Padaung are a sub-group of the Shan, who aren't entirely considered minorities as they have always occupied the areas of Northwest Thailand and the Shan states of Myanmar. The Shan speak a dialect similar to Thai and are even known as Thai Yai, having been assimilated into Thai culture.
There are pockets of Padaung around Mae Hong Son. The Padaung attract many curious visitors on account of their long-necked women. A tradition of beautifying women by adding brass rings to their necks has been preserved largely for generating tourism. Although the neck appears cruelly elongated, it is the collarbone which has been displaced rather than the stretching and weakening of the neck.
There are some lesser tribes which you are unlikely to see on mainstream tours, however, they historically play a significant role in the area. The Lua were original inhabitants of Northern Thailand. They speak a Mon-Khmer language, which differentiates them from the other hill tribes, which mainly speak Tibeto-Burman languages. Their villages are much more isolated in comparison to other hill tribes and there is less of a chance seeing them. However, along the Chiang Mai-Mae Hong Son border, you may see women with many tiny orange bead necklaces walking to market.
The real story of Thailand’s Akha tribe
By Paul Horstermans (16 Mar 2006)
The colourful and interesting traditional hill tribe attire
One of the most intriguing and colourful items on any Northern Thailand tourist brochure is the attraction of the region’s hill tribes. Their distinctive traditional dress and bizarre headdress can be seen splashed all over postcards, and tour buses and trekking groups routinely troop through their villages. Photos are taken, a few pieces of their unique silver jewellery and handicrafts are purchases and then they are once again left to their poverty and isolation.
The truth is, many of the hill tribes remain marginalised minority groups who live in abject poverty as subsistence farmers in the hills of the North. Many are ‘citizens in limbo’, without IDs or rights and prefer to quietly get on with their peasant-like existence undisturbed. For tourists it’s a quaint chance into the lifestyles of rural Asian tribes unchanged in a hundred years but for these people life is a question of harsh survival on the edge of society.
There are more than half a dozen tribes, each with their own customs, languages, dress and standing, but the most downtrodden and poorest of the lot are arguably the Akha. However, they also have one of the most distinct characters and their powerlessness has brought them particular attention among charity workers, missionaries, anthropologists and the general public who find them desperately hawking their goods at night markets or escaping their village as young adults to seek work in the city.
The Akhas, often by the Thais called ‘Egor’ (a derogatory name) have one of the lowest status levels in Thailand. There are even other hill tribes who look down on them. Originating from Tibet, the Akha migrated south into Burma, Laos and Thailand more than a century ago, along with the other hill tribes. Persecution under the military regime in Burma caused many more to arrive in Northern Thailand as refugees over the past few decades, and though many have lived here since childhood they remain stateless and subject to exploitation from drug lords, abuse by corrupt and immoral police, as well as being considered worthless peasants by many Thai people.
The Akhas speak a Lolo-Burmese language and some people think they originally came from Yunnan in China, for there are many communities living there too. The Akha language was never written and this resulted in not having any writing of their history. The history known of them was passed on mouth by mouth from generation to generation. Nowadays civil rights activists who try to improve the miserable living standards of the Akha people, have created a system making it possible to write the Akha language.
The majority of the Akha villages are to be found in the mountains of Chiang Rai province and there are about 300,000 Akhas living in Thailand, but they seldom leave their immediate district. Typically they are subsistence farmers who cultivate mountainside vegetables, a little rice and raise animals such as pigs and chickens. Some villages have been lucky enough to be electrified, but some don’t even have running water and can only be reached by a treacherous motorbike journey. Their houses are simple bamboo and grass structures accommodating an entire family. One of the main features of Akha villages is the giant swing, constructed from three long poles, and used for their memorable swing festival each year.
There are still some Akha villages to be found in the north which are not transformed into tourist attractions. One of those villages is in Chiang Rai’s Mae Yao district. Visiting this village really was an unforgettable experience as I could see how these people really lived, undisturbed by crowds of tourists invading their village. The village is perched on the top of a mountain and there was no electricity and tap water. For water the women went down to the only well and filled big buckets. Daily the women went down four or five times to get water this way. Most of the men worked on the surrounding rice and tobacco plant fields, starting at seven in the morning until seven in the evening for as little as 100 baht per day - well under the minimum wage.
It was an honour to me being invited to the party of an Akha child’s first birthday. A big black pig was slaughtered and its liver studied by two elderly Akha men believing they can predict the future this way. Fortunately it seemed my future was going to be prosperous. The women prepared the food. Akha food mainly consists of plain rice, cooked vegetables with salt and roasted fish and pork. It is not spicy like Thai food. Really delicious is the ’Sabier’ which is minced pork with lots of herbs added, packed in banana tree leaves and heated in glowing charcoal. During the meal the people had lively conversations and after smoked cheap Burmese cigars. The children played football on the little square in front of the church and the women kept on bringing more food and fruit. One thing I didn’t know was that they prepared dog meat early in the morning. They offered me some while telling me it was beef, so politely I took some and ate it.
There were only two buildings made out of bricks, the Catholic Church and the house of the Akha priest! Many of the Akhas have been converted to Christianity, but this is somewhat controversial and many have questioned the aggressive erosion of their culture and over intrusion of missionaries, who sometimes even take the children out of homes in the belief they are offering them a more civilised upbringing. Somehow it was strange to see how the villagers practiced their original beliefs while on Sunday going to the church. Originally the Akhas believe in many spirits, good and bad ones. In this village it was clear that their own culture could exist next to Catholicism. This is not always the case as often the Akhas seem to abandon their own unique and fascinating culture due to the pressure put on them by the Christian religions.
The erosion of their culture is unfortunately a reality of poor meeting rich, and many young Akha girls have abandoned their village obligations to seek work in the cities, but without ID cards some resort to prostitution or under-paid massage jobs. Even more devastating was the tendency for young men to be recruited as drug runners for the drug lords across the border in Myanmar. The ill-conceived War on Drugs initiated by Prime Minister Taksin Shinawatra in 2003 left more than 3000 people dead, summarily executed (by both sides) without any legal protection. Many of them were Akha.
The future of the Akha is uncertain as the modern world creeps further into rural Southeast Asia. Many prefer to be left alone on their hilltops to get on with their subsistence lives. Some government projects, such as the King’s Royal Project, have been successful in creating agricultural opportunities for the hill tribes and eradicate the practice of opium production, but the Akha are an maverick tribe who have found themselves last in line for these benefits. The missionaries have had the largest impact on changing their lives but it’s difficult to see how they can retain parts of their peasant culture with the outside world constantly knocking on their village entrance doors.
Hill tribe children at play