Thailand - Understand & Survival (Chapter)

THE PEOPLE & CULTURE

ETHNIC MAKEUP

and a variety of hill tribes. A small number of Europeans and other non-
Asians reside in Bangkok and the provinces.

Hill Tribes
Ethnic minorities in the mountainous regions of northern Thailand are
often called ‘hill tribes’, or in Thai vernacular, chow kŏw (mountain peo-
ple). Each hill tribe has its own language, customs, mode of dress and
spiritual beliefs.
Most are of seminomadic origin, having come from Tibet, Myanmar,
China and Laos during the past 200 years or so. They are ‘fourth-world’
people in that they belong neither to the main aligned powers nor to the
developing nations. Rather, they have crossed and continue to cross na-
tional borders, often fl eeing oppression by other cultures, without regard
for recent nationhood.
Language and culture constitute the borders of their world. Some
groups are caught between the 6th and 21st centuries, while others are
gradually being assimilated into modern life. Many tribespeople are also
moving into lowland areas as montane lands become deforested.

Akha (I-kaw)

Population: 7 0,000
Origin:Tibet
Present locations: Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Yunnan
Economy: dry rice, corn, beans, peppers
Belief system: animism with an emphasis on ancestor worship; some
groups are Christian
Cultural characteristics: TheAkha are among the poorest of Thai-
land’s ethnic minorities and reside mainly in Chiang Mai and Chiang
Rai provinces, along mountain ridges or steep slopes 1000m to 1400m
in altitude. They’re regarded as skilled farmers but are often displaced
from arable land because of government intervention. The well-known
Akha Swing Ceremony takes place from mid-August to mid-September,
between rice planting and harvest time. Akha houses are constructed
of wood and bamboo, usually atop short wooden stilts and roofed with
thick grass. At the entrance of every traditional Akha village stands a
simple wooden gateway consist-
ing of two vertical struts joined by
a lintel. Akha shamans affi x vari-
ous charms made from bamboo
strips to the gateway to prevent
malevolent spirits from enter-
ing. Standing next to each village
gateway are the crude wooden
fi gures of a man and a woman,
each bearing exaggerated sexual
organs, in the belief that human
sexuality is abhorrent to the spirit
world.
Akha are focused on family ties
and will recite their personal ge-
nealogies upon fi rst meetings to
determine a shared ancestor.
Their traditional clothing con-
sists of a headdress of beads, feath-
ers and dangling silver ornaments.

The Tribal Re-

search Institute

in Chiang Mai

recognises 10

different hill

tribes but there

may be up to 20.

Hill tribes are

increasingly inte-

grating into the

Thai mainstream

and many of

the old ways are

disappearing.