Pat was our incredible guide for our private 9-day tour of northern Thailand hill tribes. He specializes in authentic and ethical expeditions to these tribal villages.
Although English is not his native language, Pat is self-taught and spoke very good English. His driver, Sam, shown below, spoke Thai and just a few English words.
Throughout our time together, we will be observing and interacting with local tribe members, delving deeper into their culture and way of life. Pat told us we'll have a homestay so the hill tribe can share the beauty of their homeland with us.
As we drove away from Chiang Mai for the start of our 9 day hill tribe adventure, little did we know what an amazing and life-altering experience awaited. Soon enough we would visit authentic hill tribe villages, farming areas, and local markets.
All totaled, we traveled over 1,000 miles. Each day as we were driven up and down the seemingly never-ending northern Thailand mountains, Sam kept us alive with his expert driving skills as he negotiated the narrow mountain roads, some with 1,864 curves, 2,070 curves, and even 4,088 curves. We traveled them all. They even sell these decals at coffee shops for those who survive the routes.
I must admit that one day I felt every sharp switchback curve on those narrow, serpentine mountain roads. But, it was well worth the long rides each day for they brought us closer to our hill tribe destinations.
It is important to know a bit about the history of these fine people. They live in such remote, small villages that many are unmarked on the map. Some villages have as few as 20 people.
The hill tribes of northern Thailand are ethnic minority groups. Years ago they fled oppression from Laos, Myanmar, China, and Tibet to settle in northern Thailand's highlands or hilly areas, hence the term, "hill tribes".
Traditionally, hill tribes are subsistence farmers who grow rice and corn crops. They live in poverty and use "swidden", a slash and burn farming method,
Swiddening is actually a sustainable form of horticultural in low-density populations. Unfortunately, with the addition of roads and logging by Thai companies and the influx of immigrants, there is little area to farm. Consequently, the land has not responded well to swiddening.
Up until it was outlawed in 1960, the major source of the hill tribes' meager income was growing opium. During the decade of the 1960's, the Royal King's Agricultural Project taught the hill tribes how to switch from growing opium to cultivating strawberries
and coffee
as their source of income. We read how Thailand's eco-method has become a "global community showcase of success for eradicating opium growth and replacing it with sustainable crops."
These northern hill tribes are known for spending long hours working in the hot sun in the fields and consequently, their skin is a darker hue than the majority of Thai people. Unfortunately, there is discrimination against the northern hill tribes, most especially by Thai city dwellers who want to make their skin lighter which they consider as a sign of higher status. Numerous skin creams and lotions sold in the cities contain bleach to help the Thai women and men lighten their skin color.
The government also discriminates against hill tribe families for their children are not permitted to attend government schools. While having lived and worked in Thailand for years, the government does not recognize the hill tribes as citizens. Because money is scarce, many of the hill tribe children and adults wear clothing that has been donated by various regional charities. It is not uncommon to see, for instance, an Addis jersey underneath tribal clothing, or a Disney character t-shirt on a hill tribe child.
Throughout our Northern Thailand journey, as we visited the various hill tribes, we felt as though we had been transported back in time. It was a unique and thought-provoking experience.
Pat has lived in these rural areas of northern Thailand and has close ties with the northern hill tribes. He speaks their dialect and has many friends in each village. With Pat acting as our interpreter, we were invited into tribal member's homes and were fortunate to share a part of the respective hill tribe's lives. We were given the privilege to learn from them and experience their life.
At first glance, one might consider all of these northern Thailand hill tribes to be impoverished; but we found them all to be very rich in relationships, and to be, without exception, happy, gentle and generous. Regardless of which hill tribe we visited, we found each of them to be a proud cohesive group that strives to maintain, and continue through generations, the integrity of their respective cultures, customs, and language.
There are 7 different northern Thailand hill tribes: Karen, Akha, Hmong, Mien, Lahu, Lisu, and Palaung.
Lahu hill tribe
The Lahu hill tribe villagers fled oppression in south China and Myanmar years ago.
At the end of a very narrow, dirt, mountain road, we were met by these two adorable little girls.
Their dad was busily weaving a basket.
Houses in this hill tribe village are built of bamboo, wood, and grass.
The houses typically stand on posts.
Here they are drying beans.
and working hard to sort them. The monsoon season will begin in a few months.
Hand sorting the dried beans is laborious, hard work.
Nearby there were lovely, loving moms with their happy babies.
An old hog walks down the path.
The New Year celebrations have recently passed and the village women are hand-sewing and embroidering new clothes to wear in the coming year. It takes them a full year to create their clothes for the following year.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The following day we drove to another remote location in the mountains to visit the
Akha hill tribe of Ban Lorcha:
Akha believe that humans and spirits dwell in the same world: the Akha live in the village and the spirits in the jungle. The village spirit gate was erected to create a clear demarcation between the humans' village and the powerful, malicious spirit world. One must always pass through the spirit gate each time one enters the village. This way one is decontaminated from the powers of the evil jungle spirits. It is taboo to touch the gate as one is walking through it. One must never strike it with a blade. Those who violate this sacred structure in any way must donate a pig for slaughter.
A large male wooden figure is placed on the upper side of the path to the spirit gate because the Akha believe men should not live under women. The primary purpose of these figures is to indicate that beyond the spirit gate is the realm of human beings.
Traditionally, the Akha are known as excellent hunters. In the past, they used every means available to survive in the jungle and devised various techniques to catch different types of animals such as birds, small animals and long ago, they even caught tigers. We saw demonstrations of their wooden traps (sans animals) that were quite amazing and very ingenious.
The swing festival takes place sometime between August and early September. The actual date is determined by the village shaman. The swing festival coincides with the rice harvest and is performed to give thanks to the spirits.
When an Akha couple is married, a new house must be built within 13 days after the wedding. The couple is not allowed to build their house in advance and construction much be completed within one day only. This house is small and is built near the parents' homes. If the house is not completed in one day, then the Akha believe that evil will befall the married couple and their children will be born with deformities.
Akha houses traditionally have no windows and the roof is constructed such that the eves come down low on both sides. The interior is quite dark but it is protected from the wind and rain. It gets very cold in the winters of northern Thailand so wind protection is extremely important.
The Akha home is divided into a male section and a female section with a shoulder-high partition separating the two areas. Males and females sleep in separate rooms. Even husband and wife sleep in separate sections.
The men and women's sections each have their own fireplaces. Food is prepared in the woman's section of the house and water is boiled for making tea at the men's section.
Because these wood and/or charcoal-burning fires are used for cooking within the house, smoke coats the thatch roof shingles with soot. The thick oily coating blackens the roofing material and protects it from moisture and decay.
Much can be said about the Akha's beautiful, colorful tribal clothing. It is the result of multiple months of painstaking embroidery.
The headdresses have antique silver rupees.
All their clothing starts with weaving the base cloth. The weaving is an extensive process.
Once the cloth has been woven, it will be dyed using natural dyes and then embroidered to create their beautiful headdresses and clothing. It is quite an elaborate process but the result is stunning!
