Short Note: In Thailand, it's the Songkran Festival (泼水节) again, which is considered as their new year, and is celebrated on 13-15 April annually. Let's get back to Thai :)
...previous (Padaung Hill Tribe)
Akha is the most down-trodden, improverished or poorest hill tribe in Northern Thailand. However, they are the most fascinating and colourful hill tribe, with extraordinary costumes and exotic appearance.
Akha resists assimilation into the mainstream Thai culture. Their religion, called the Akha Way, consists mainly of ancestral worship and a belief in spirits. Today, almost a quarter of them converts to Christianity. Such conversion is sometimes decried as a dilution of their culture.
After leaving their homeland in Tibet to Yunnan in China, North Burma and Loas, the Akha tribe migrated from Burma to Thailand in the early 20th century, mainly due to their persecution in Burma. They usually live along mountain ridges at high altitudes.
Opium (generally not of high quality) is still grown and used among this tribe. Opium addiction, especially amongst the older men, is a serious problem. After a ban on opium, most of them turned to other crops, with government support.
Akha are shifting cultivators. Dry rice is cultivated for consumption. They also grow corn, millet, peppers, beans, garlic, sesame and other varieties of vegetables as additional subsistence crops. Apart from crop production, Akha also raise domestic animals, such as fowl, pigs and water buffaloes for special feasts and sacrifices.
In order to supplement their income, Akha employs the traditional skills used in making their own clothing and cultural items, to make and sell handicrafts. Akha men and women produce various decorative items of bamboo, wood, rattan, seeds etc.
Men usually wear plain black pants and a lightly embroidered loose jacket. Women, on the other hand, wear very plain indigo died shirts that are adorned with all kinds of eye-catching paraphernalia, such as coins, beads, shells etc.
Many of the hill tribes have black teeth. This is resulted from dietary berries, smoking, chewing tobacco and other leaves, as well as poor hygiene and dentistry. This happens to hill tribes in general, not specific to any tribal group.
Headgear is a conical wedge of white beads interspersed with silver coins, and topped with plumes of red taffeta, dressed with a loosed fitting black jacket with heavily embroidered cuffs and lapels.
The little girls at early age wear a colourful bonnet with ornaments such as silver coins, coloured fur, shells and beads. These ornaments are added until they reach adulthood. After undergoing several important rites, they will eventually be given a helmet type headdress for adult women after undergoing several important rites.
...previous (Padaung Hill Tribe)
Akha is the most down-trodden, improverished or poorest hill tribe in Northern Thailand. However, they are the most fascinating and colourful hill tribe, with extraordinary costumes and exotic appearance.
Akha resists assimilation into the mainstream Thai culture. Their religion, called the Akha Way, consists mainly of ancestral worship and a belief in spirits. Today, almost a quarter of them converts to Christianity. Such conversion is sometimes decried as a dilution of their culture.
After leaving their homeland in Tibet to Yunnan in China, North Burma and Loas, the Akha tribe migrated from Burma to Thailand in the early 20th century, mainly due to their persecution in Burma. They usually live along mountain ridges at high altitudes.
I like this photo the most.
Opium (generally not of high quality) is still grown and used among this tribe. Opium addiction, especially amongst the older men, is a serious problem. After a ban on opium, most of them turned to other crops, with government support.
Akha lady and her baby boy.
Zooming in...
Akha are shifting cultivators. Dry rice is cultivated for consumption. They also grow corn, millet, peppers, beans, garlic, sesame and other varieties of vegetables as additional subsistence crops. Apart from crop production, Akha also raise domestic animals, such as fowl, pigs and water buffaloes for special feasts and sacrifices.
He looked at his mum.
Then his mum looked back at him.
Then he smiled at me :)
In order to supplement their income, Akha employs the traditional skills used in making their own clothing and cultural items, to make and sell handicrafts. Akha men and women produce various decorative items of bamboo, wood, rattan, seeds etc.
They kept asking me to buy something...
However I did not wish to buy and carry too many things to Phayao, then back to Chiang Mai.
Men usually wear plain black pants and a lightly embroidered loose jacket. Women, on the other hand, wear very plain indigo died shirts that are adorned with all kinds of eye-catching paraphernalia, such as coins, beads, shells etc.
My 2nd favourite shot of Akha.
Many of the hill tribes have black teeth. This is resulted from dietary berries, smoking, chewing tobacco and other leaves, as well as poor hygiene and dentistry. This happens to hill tribes in general, not specific to any tribal group.
Headgear is a conical wedge of white beads interspersed with silver coins, and topped with plumes of red taffeta, dressed with a loosed fitting black jacket with heavily embroidered cuffs and lapels.
An Akha young gal.
The little girls at early age wear a colourful bonnet with ornaments such as silver coins, coloured fur, shells and beads. These ornaments are added until they reach adulthood. After undergoing several important rites, they will eventually be given a helmet type headdress for adult women after undergoing several important rites.
Is this a boy or a girl?
4 comments:
Boy perhaps. Anyway, boy and girl look alike at young age.
I like the photo of 'An Akha young gal'. So natural, especially the cute eyes of her. :)
Your 2nd favourite is my 1st favourite, hehehe, eh, invite us next time if you organizing any trip like this k? Not keen on joining those city or shopping trip :)
i like to shoot smiles of people. actually, the trip was also quite touristy, but in order to really get to the real hill tribe villages, need to have "special jalan". someone told me she used to stay with real hill tribe, but she was stuck in CM with her teaching while I left for CR. that's why...
jam, you are absolutely right :)
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