The Hill Tribes of Thailand

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The first so-called Hill tribes down in northern Thailand. Almost every visitor to Thailand has seen the handicrafts of these ethnic groups or met the mountain people dressed in colorful traditional clothing.

Originally, these population groups mostly come from China and over the years they have settled in Thailand via Laos and Burma. Meo, Akha, Lahu, Lisu, Karen and hmong are the best-known groups.

The collective tribes now represent about 350 people and it is impossible to imagine Thailand without them. The contacts between hill tribes and the Thai population has been very low for years, partly due to the fact that the hill tribes lived in remote areas.

Meo kids

Hill tribes

It is not so long ago that a place, for example Mae Hong Son, was hardly accessible. The hilltribes lived in a closed community for a long time and have only really come into contact with the outside world in the last 20 years. Tourism has also contributed to this, although this has also been at the expense of the loss of old customs.

The Thai king has worked to encourage the hill tribes to commercialize their handicraft products. Yet things are still not going smoothly with these groups and the Thai population. On December 28, 2009, the Thai army started repatriating 4400 Hmong to Laos. There is international concern about this because it is believed that this group can be persecuted in communist Laos.

During the Vietnam War, many Hmong sided with the Americans as the war spread to Laos. They became known as "America's Forgotten Allies." In 1975 the communists came to power in Laos and many fled to Thailand. However, this country now considers them economic migrants with no rights to refugee status.

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Kuomintan

A completely different group with a political past is the Kwo Min Tan, the youngest hill tribes in Thailand. This group fought under the leadership of the Chinese general Tsjang Kai Chek against the later ruler of China and leader of the communist party Mao tse Tung. After he had lost the battle, Chiang Kai Chek fled to Taiwan in 1949 and a number of his fellow fighters to Thailand, where they settled in the town of Doi Mae Salong.

The road there is breathtakingly beautiful. From Chiang Rai you drive towards Mae Sai (the border post with Burma) and after about 30 kilometers just after Mae Chan to Mae Salong. Every day there is a small market where you can buy the coffee and tea grown there. When you have left the town in the direction of Mae Sai, you will see a beautiful resort on the left with a beautifully landscaped garden against the hills. Driving further you will pass many small Akha settlements.

Mae Salong is well worth the small detour. Of course you must have your own transport.