In the highland of northern Thailand, there are diverse groups of non-Tai ethnic minorities, the most well known of which are the mountain dwelling peoples or the so-called 'hill tribes'. Most of Thailand's hill tribe communities are scattered over a vast mountainous area of northern provinces as well as some other provinces in the central region, 20 provinces altogether. The six major hill tribes are as follows:
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The Akha :
The Akha are fun loving people, who worship their ancestors and follow their traditional customs and practices. |
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The Hmong :
The Hmong love freedom. They are also known for their hardworking, fast-learning, smart, and open-minded attitudes. |
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The Karen :
Among the hill tribes of Thailand, the Karen form the largest group. They are peace-loving people, who lead a simple way of life and strongly adhere to their traditional beliefs and practices. |
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The Mien :
Known for their self-esteem and dignity, the Mien feel uncomfortable, it not unwilling, to lose face. Strangely enough however, when conflict arises, a peaceful solution will be sought to deal with the problem and settle the dispute |
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The Lahu :
The Lahu are strict religious practitioners, who believe in spirits of all kinds. They are not only good at hunting but well-known for being great warriors as well. |
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The Lisu :
As a famous Lisu's saying, "All men have equally long knees" suggests, the Lisu believe in the principle of equality of man-contending that all men are born equal. |
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Padong Long Neck :
The Padong people (also known as the Longneck people or the Giraffe women) are now thought to only number about 7000. Of these, about 300 have fled to Thailand and live along the Thai/Myanmar border in three villages in Mae Hon Song province. |
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Each tribal group has its own unique characteristics and identity, which are expressed through and reflected in its diverse cultures, distinctive costumes, and ornaments, musical instruments, weaving products, weapons, and its selection of location for setting up a village, etc.
Perhaps, the easiest way to distinguish and identify these various hill tribe groups is to study their distinctive costumes.
As many hill tribe communities have become much more accessible, they have been increasingly and perhaps unavoidably exposed to external influence i.e. urban culture. This can be clearly see in the way the hill tribes particularly the young dress themselves in modern clothing such as jeans and T-shirts. Despite this. They would not be reluctant to wear their traditional costumes on any special occasion especially when they are involved in ritual ceremonies or tribal festivals. However, the way they put on the traditional clothes might be changed or adapted, for example a modern T-shirt might go with a pair of traditional trousers or, interestingly still, a headdress could be made from a towel instead of a piece of hand-woven cloth. As for the ornaments particularly beads and silver, which are the hill tribes' trademarks, aluminum, brass and copper are sometimes used. |
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