Ethnic Groups in South East Asia

Karen

The Karen are a very large hilltribe ethnic group generally found in Northern Thailand and list for roughly half of the entire hilltribe population. They live in many provinces along the Western border of Thailand and also further into Thailand. The Karen tribe create from Burma and the Thai-Burmese border area. Over the past century they have moved further into Thailand to avoid political unrest. The Karen groups contain the Padong and the paramount "longneck" ethnic group symbolised by the tight bronze rings they wear nearby their necks. Karen settlements are usually at a lower altitude than other hilltribes - roughly 500m above sea level and often reside in valley areas. They don't often move location and many villages have been in the same place for hundreds of years. They are skilled at weaving, with the women weaving sarongs and dresses while the men weave large baskets for rice or cloths storage.

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Akha

The Akha are believed to create from Southern China or Tibet. Linguistically they belong to the Tibeto-Burman group and they are connected to the Lolo tribes of Yunnan (Southern China). The Hani tribe in Yunnan province is very similar to the Akha. Most Akha are to be found in Northern Burma, North Western Laos and Northern Thailand; which would preserve the view that they migrated southwards from Tibet and China. Dissimilar Akha groups can be distinguished by their costumes and headdress with Dissimilar tribes having Dissimilar patterns on their coats and Dissimilar shaped headdresses.
The Akha prefer to live at an elevation of over 1,000m. They convention shifting cultivation growing dry rice, corn, vegetables, peppers and beans and also rearing of livestock. They believe in all kinds of spirits and hamlet gates can be found at the entry to every Akha hamlet at both ends which is said to safe the hamlet from the many spirits outside. In one house you will find the whole extended family with a divide separating the men and women. The husband is monogamous and married couples with also have a smaller house apart from the large family house.

Hmong

The Hmong groups are found scattered throughout many countries, including China, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand and can also be divided into sub groups, which can be defined by their Dissimilar styles and colours of clothing. Hmong families are male dominated and after marriage the bride moves into the husband's house, the Hmong are also known to have some wives. They prefer to set their villages at high altitudes of 1000-1200m and convention shifting cultivation, intriguing great distances finding for good land. They grow generally dry rice and corn and vegetables and they worship their ancestors and many other spirits. The hamlet minister and shaman are very prominent in the hamlet and their ceremonies bare some resemblance to the Chinese culture.

Lisu

The Lisu are opinion to create from Southern China (and probably from Tibet before that), they first came to Thailand and Myanmar roughly 80 years ago and can further be divided into two smaller groups. They are part of the Tibeto-Burman linguistic group and their culture is intimately connected to that of the Chinese. At Chinese New Year they also celebrate their New Year making offerings to ancestor spirits and their hamlet guardian spirit. The women dress in striking costumes such as coloured robes with thin coloured stripes nearby the neck and upper arms.
When a Lisu man marries there is all the time a dowry to be paid for the bride, marriage are usually allowed only outside the clan and they practise monogamy.

Lahu

The Lahu are believed to have originated in Tibet and then migrated down to China, Laos, Burma and Thailand. They can be further sub-divided into many groups and belong to the Tibeto-Burman linguistic group, amongst them the dialect of the Lahu Na is recognised as standard. Lahu when translated means hunter and admittedly they are great hunters, with the men going off into the forest sometimes for many days at a time to hunt. Clan doesn't play a large part in Lahu villages and the headman has the most power with rules of the hamlet being decided through a consensus. The Lahu like to stay movable and if one doesn't like the rules of one hamlet they would admittedly move and find another, this isn't seen as a question as the villages are all determined as one extended family.

Yao

The Yao (Mien) are very similar to the Hmong and form part of the Austro-Thai linguistic group. Their culture is similar to the Chinese celebrating the same New Year and they use Chinese characters to narrative primary songs and legends. Many Yao can also speak Yunnanese or Mandarin, they are found in Guangxi, Yunnan and Guangdong provinces of China, as well as Vietnam, Laos, Burma and Thailand.
Yao households usually consist of an extended family and like the Hmong; Yao men are allowed to take more than one wife. In the past, the Yao were very mobile, all the time on the surveillance for good land. The Yao set their villages at a high altitude and will not be situated below an additional one tribe. The women are skilled at needlework and embroidery, with the men being great silversmiths again like the Hmong.

Katu

The Katu group is found generally in Vietnam but also over the Laos border in the Provinces of Sekong and Savanakhet, they live in gigantic areas and belong to the Mon-Khmer agency of the Austro-Asiatic family. Women bear accountability for the household and the upbringing of the children, and for much of the agrarian work. Men are the decision-makers and have the authority in the house hold.

Alak and Laven

Again part of the Mon-Khmer subject of the Austro-Asiatic family. They live on the mountain slopes at an altitude of nearby 600m. They convention slash and burn agriculture, and the Alak group can be found in the south of Laos nearby the Bolaven plateau which straddles straddling the provinces of Attapeu, Champasak, Sekong and Salavan.

Ethnic Groups in South East Asia

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