Information and Pictures about the Hill Tribes

Thai people refer to them as Gaw, E-gaw, which means “slave”
The Akha originally came from southwest China, Yunnan, moving into Burma in the mid-l9th century, and are closely related with the Hani of Yunnan province, China. Villages of these colorful people are to be found in the mountains of China, Yunnan province, Laos, Burma, Vietnam and northern Thailand. Early 20th century, due to persecution and instability in Burma, they came to Thailand and settled down at the upper part of Mae Kok River.
The Akha people of Southeast Asia encompass at least fourteen distinct sub-groups, each group differs from each other in terms of geographic location, language, and dialect. The Akha living in China prefer to be called "Hani", while the Akha people in Burma and Thailand prefer to be called "Akha". In Thailand there are four main Akha groups: the U Law, the Law Mi, the Pa Mi and the A Keu.
Akha villages can be found in the northern part of Chiang Mai province, mainly in Chiang Rai province , at high altitudes (mostly at approx. 1000 meters above sea level). At present, they are also found in some other provinces such as Tak, Kampaeng Phet, Lampang and Phrae. Each Akha village is distinguished by an elaborate gateway or "Pratu-Phi", demarcating the realm between humans and good spirits and that of the jungle spirits. They live in raised bamboo houses on low stilts, with a steeply pitched grass-roof, and a large porch leading into a square living area with a stove at the back. Rice is the staple food. It is often eaten with salt and chilly paste.
The Akha were formerly slashed and burn cultivators who grew their cotton cropsand opium poppies on the mountain sides where they lived. Today, the Akha are still primarily agriculturally based; however, they are no longer as transient. The typical crop in today's Akha village may be chilies, soybean, cabbage, or tomatoes, however pigs, chickens, ducks, goats, and cattle are also raised. In order to supplement their income, many Akha are now selling handicrafts, employing the traditional skills used in making their own clothing and cultural items. Akha men and women produce decorative items of bamboo and seeds, and the men make crossbows, musical instruments, baskets, and other items of wood, bamboo and rattan.
Each village has an elected Headman who is responsible for the welfare of the village, he usually has one or two assistants who work with him. There are two priests in the village; One is responsible for the religious rites and sacrificial functions, the other for dealing with the evil spirits, as a kind of village "doctor". Also the blacksmith is an important person in the village because he is responsible for making a new knife for each village person when they die. Akha religion is a combination of animism and ancestor worship. Their worldview is completely colored by their animistic beliefs, thus even the cultivation of rice is bound up with myths and rituals and must be done in the "Akha Way." All sicknesses are under the control of this spirit; therefore, sacrifices must be made continually in an attempt to gain its favor. Every village has two spirit-gates, situated at the entrance and exit to mark the kingdom area of the spirit and its people, and the villagers build new gates every year. Veneration of the ancestors is important because it is believed that the ancestors can bestow blessings on those still living. The ancestral altar kept in each home is well maintained. Akha Zang (“Akha Way”), a total lifestyle prescribed in the oral literature of the Akhas, still runs deep in the consciousness of older generations, most Akha men recite over 60 names of their male ancestors. Akha are monogamous.
The Akha language belongs to the Lolo branch of the Tibeto-Burman family and all four groups in Thailand speak the Akha language as well as their own dialects. The dialect spoken by the U Law, the Law Mi and the Pa Mi is very similar; however, the A Keu speaks a very distinctive dialect of their own.
Each sub-group of the Thai Akha dresses very differently and the headdresses of the ladies are particularly noticeable markers of the sub-group identity. Akha clothing is made of a homespun cotton cloth dyed to near black with indigo. When fully dressed up, an Akha woman looks breathtakingly beautiful from head to toe. To begin with the upper garment, an eye- catching embroidered hat decorated with silver coins and silver accessories is worn. A short blouse of which the back part is a colorful patchwork is put on top of a short skirt. Down to the lower part of the body, there are leg pads patched together from small pieces of clothes similar to the back part of the blouse.
An Akha man wears a long-sleeved, round neck and open-drone shirt, of which the patterns and decorations vary. Overall, the designs and colors of Akha men's upper garment are not very much dissimilar to women's blouses. As for the lower part, a pair of plain Chinese-style trousers with loose legs is worn. On some occasions, a black headdress made of a piece of cloth tied and wrapped together so tightly that it can be put on and taken off just like a hat.
In most cases, the ornaments are stitched onto the clothes. Silver necklaces and bangles are worn in addition to the headdress decorated with silver accessories.