Hilltribe People story
Who are the hill tribes of Thailand? They are ethnic minority groups who migrated from Laos, China, Myanmar and came to settle in northern Thailand, several hundred years ago. They settled in the highlands and hilly areas, hence the term ‘hill tribes’.
​
Traditionally the hill tribes are subsistence farmers who grow rice and crops. Their major source of income was growing opium, until it was outlawed in the 1960’s. With the help of the royal project which helped the hill tribes switch from Opium cultivation to growing cash crops such as coffee and strawberries.
The hill tribes traditionally practiced subsistence agriculture, using slash and burn farming methods to grow rice and crops. They were largely left to their own, living in the highlands of Northern Thailand until the 1950’s when depleted forest reserves together with poverty, opium growth and increased risk of insurgency and led the Thai government to exert more control and management over them. The National Committee for Hill tribes was founded in 1959 with the aim to integrate the hill people into Thai society, while allowing them to preserve their culture. Until today this remains their policy towards the hill tribes.
Growing opium was a major source of income for them until it was outlawed in the 1960’s. This led to the creation of the Royal King’s Agricultural project which helped the hill tribes switch from Opium cultivation to growing cash crops such as coffee and strawberries. It also taught them organic farming methods, irrigation and efficient land use techniques. Today it is considered by the global community as a showcase of success for eradicating opium growth, and replacing it with more sustainable crops.
Hill Tribe Groups of Northern Thailand
Text by J.C. Shaw
There are around 7 major hill tribes of Thailand, the different groups are; Karen (Kariang or Yang), Akha (Igor), Hmong (Meo), Yao (Mien), Mussur (Lahu), Lisu (Lisaw) and Lawa (Lua). Each has their own unique culture, customs and language and each has their own subgroups.
Karen (Kariang or Yang)
It is not known where the Karen originated but they have beeen living in Burma for hundred of years and are thought to have started moving into Thailand in the eighteenth century if not before.
There are today some four million Karen in Burma and they constitue one of the main opposition groups to the Rangoon Goverment. Some 280,000 Karen (51%of all hilltribe people) are spread out in the mountains all along the Thai side of the Burmese border, and refuges come and go
Karen (Kariang or Yang)
A Karen myth tells how "white" younger brother of their people will come from over the waters bringing with him knowledge of writing that had been carelessly lost. Missionaries were able to use this story to good effect.
Karen live at low attitudes , are sophisticated farmers, and their villages are well laid-out and permanent.
They are unfortunately under much pressure as a result of land shortage and competition from Thais and much of their traditional life is being eroded.
Akha (Igor)
There are just over 30,000 Akha inThailand, mostly in the Province of Chian Rai. They began to arrive at the beginnning of the twentieth century from Burma where some 180,000 still live, and many more than that remain in the south of China.
Respect for ancestors is the most important factor in their lives. An Akha thinks of himself as link in the chain of his ancestors - he wil be able to recite the names of at least sixty of them.
Akha (Igor)
In due course he will become one with himself and be reverered by his own decendants.
The 'Akha way' embdies the whole corpus of handed down traditions - the gate, the swing and the house with its ancestral altar. The spirits, too, impinge oneveryday life.
It is increasingly difficult for some young people of to follow 'Akha way' - some leavve the poverty of their villages, others turn to solace to opium and other drugs.
Hmong (Meo)
The Hmong have an ancient history in China and for long periods in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries they were an independant people. Recently they were again caught up in the war against the communists in Laos and after that some, in response to a mesmeric call, joined the communist party in Thailand in protest against what they felt was government injustics and interference. there are over four million Hmong in China and some 80,0000 thousand in Thailand.
Hmong (Meo)
The family is the nucleus of their life and their home contains many household spirits which can bring ill or good.
In their search for wealtha and the freedom they expect to go with it, they have pushed aggressively into growing of cash crops (not just opium) and other businesses - often at the expense of their neighbours. Many own pick-up trucks and send their children to learn Thai ways at school and college, yet it is very unnlikely that they will lose their pride in being Hmong.
Yao (Mien)
There are over one and a half million Yao in China and Vietnam and some 30.000 in Thailand who began to cross the border from Laos at the end of the nineteenth century.
The Yao are literate and in many ways the most sophisticated of the hilltribe people,their recorded history stretches back to the thirteenth century when they fled persecution by sea with great loss of life.
Yao (Mien)
The Yao still use Chinese characters for writing their ancestor and medical books and much of their Taoist ritual dates back to the thirteenth century.Tthey also believe that people have several souls and ancestors especially those of that male line are deeply revered.
Mussur (Lahu)
There are nearly half a million Mussur, mostly in China and Burma. In Thailand there are 60,000 the first of whom began to arrive about a hundred years ago. There are several different clans distinguished by their dress.
Although many Mussur have now adopted bits of Christianity, their own beliefs in a Supreme Being, in a soul and in the many spirits remain strong.
The Mussur long for the blessing of his life and the next, for the things that are good and pleasant and, in accordance with message of an old legend, men are particularly caring of their women folk.
Lisu (Lisaw)
Nearly one million Lisu live in China, Burma and northeast India. In Thailand there are 25,000 scattered in small villages throughout the north where they began to arrive early in the twentieth century.
Lisu are individualist and extended family is very important to them. They believe in a Supreme God but the Guardian of the village and the ever-present spirits, both good and bad, are of more importance in their daily lives.
The Lisu of Thailand have been much influenced by the Yunnanese and many have intermarried with them. Maybe this accounts for their industriousness and zest for life. They also known as musicians of the hills.
Lawa (Lua)
In the 5th to 10th century the Lawa people lived in Cental Thailand, and, together with the Mon, were the inhabitants of present-day Lopburi. The name "Lopburi" is said to have been derived from "Lawaburi", and the city formed the core of an early kingdom in what is now Thailand, the Lavo Kingdom, which existed from the 7th century CE until it was incorporated into the Ayutthaya Kingdom in 1388 CE. Other sources place the Lawa as the original inhabitants of Northern Thailand, pre-dating the Tai migration into these lands.
There is evidence that the Lawa inhabited cities before the arrival of the Tai peoples. Chiang Mai, Thailand, was founded on the location of a 5th-century CE Lawa walled city, and legends state that Kentung in Myanmar was taken from the Lawa in the 13th century CE through cunning and deceit by King Mangrai, the founder of the northern Thai Lanna Kingdom.
​Today, those Lawa who have not been integrated in mainstream Thai society, still live a traditional way of life, often professing animism. As with the other mountain ethnic groups of Thailand, they are known for extraordinary craft skills, especially for being ironsmiths.