Introduction to the Hill Tribes of Northern Thailand areas of Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Mae Hong Son.

Northern Thailand, hundreds of miles away from the busy streets of Bangkok is an area of scenic beauty and is well known for its tribes. Better known as the hill tribes, the tribal people with their interesting customs are mainly immigrants from neighbouring Burma.

There are seven well known tribes that can be found in Northern Thailand. These people living in close communities in villages, with customs that go back many years, are one of the biggest tourist attractions in the area.

The article presents an introduction to the Karens, Lahu, Lisu, Hmong, Akha, Lawa and Yao, the seven tribes in Northern Thailand.

Karen

With around 300,000 people in Thailand alone, Karen is the largest hill tribe population is Northern Thailand. They originate from Burma with around three million of the tribe still resident in the country.

There are subdivisions of Karens, with the most popular being the long necks, who are known for the extra ordinary long necks they have, lengthened by adding brass rings on a yearly basis.

In additions to the long necks, the other sub groups of Karens include, Red Karen, White Karen, Pwo Karen, S'gaw Karen and Paku Karen.

Lahu

Out of a total population of around 700,000, approximately 25,000 Lahu people can be found in Northern Thailand. They also find residence in the mountain regions of China, Burma, and Laos. Similar to Karen’s the tribe is subdivided by colour into, Black, Red, Yellow, White and SheLeh.

The Black Lahu is the largest sub group accounting for around 80% of the Lahu population. They also wear very distinctive black and red clothing and skirts. The Lahu tribe originates from Yunnan province in China and Burma.

Lisu

With a population of around 25,000 in Northern Thailand the Lisu tribe originates from Tibet and Yunnan. The tribe is known to contain the prettiest women distinguished by their bright coloured tunics. The tribe is more adaptable to change than the other hill tribes and therefore it is not unusual to find Lisu women who are married out of tribe.

For generations the tribe would grow the opium poppy, but most people in the tribe now earn their living through hand crafts which the Lisu’s are talented at. The Lisu tribe are strong believers in the spiritual world.

Hmong

Originally from Yunnan, this is the second largest tribe in Northern Thailand with a population of around 125,000 people. The tribe is also commonly referred to as Meo. The group consists of two sub groups, White Hmong and Blue Hmong, with the Blue being the largest population in Thailand.

The tribe is also known for working with the American Military during the Vietnam War. They also marry before the age of 18 and it is common for the sons and their family to continue living with their father even after marriage.

Akha

Originally from Tibet and Burma, the Akha population is around 400,000 with around 30,000 of them in Northern Thailand. They can be easily distinguished by their unique black head dress with lots of silver jewelry and coins.

Carved wooden gates can be found at every Akha village entrance. It is believed that the guardian spirits live in these gates to protect them from enemies. These deeply superstitious people are the poorest tribe in Northern Thailand.

Lawa

One of the oldest tribes in Thailand believed to be living there since the 8^th century. The tribe is originally from Cambodia. Lawa villages are difficult to distinguish from Thai villages and also Lawa people speak fluent Thai. Some people do not necessarily recognize Lawa as a hill tribe due to their long presence in Thailand.

Yao

Yao tribe is believed to have originated in China with a population of around 25,000 in Northern Thailand. The Yao are the only hill tribe to have a written language. The Yao language has some similarities with the Hmong. The women can be easily distinguished because of their long black jackets with the red pom-pom scarves.