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Hill Tribes of the Golden Triangle
The Lisu Hill Tribe in Thailand |  Lisu hill tribe beauty - Thailand The most colorful of all the Thai hill tribes in Thailand has to be the Lisu hill tribe, whose women wear brightly colored blue or green colored striped tunics, split up the sides to the waist, a wide black belt and blue or green pants. Less is known about the Lisu hill tribe than the other hill tribes in Thailand, but the Lisu people believe they are the origin of all the hill tribes. The legend goes that a Great Flood killed everyone except a Lisu boy and his sister. Since incest was taboo, they had to undergo a series of tests to prove that they could marry, the tests, of course, proved they should marry. The many children that came from this Lisu marriage went on to produce all the other hill tribes in South East Asia. In reality, the Lisu Hilltribe also has its origins in Tibet, migrating from there to Southern China and then to Burma to escape the Chinese wars. The people of the Lisu hill tribe most likely migrated into Thailand from Burma sometime in the late 1800s. The Lisu hill tribe people live at moderate to high altitudes between Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son, but also in western Chiang Rai and Phayao provinces of the Golden Triangle area in Thailand. Their villages consist out of 30 a 100 houses, built using easy techniques, directly on the ground as opposed to the other Thai Hill Tribes which build their houses on stilts. |  Lisu hill tribe girls - Golden Triangle Thailand The houses of the Lisu hill tribes have dirt floors and bamboo walls around a central ridge. Within the house there are normally at least four rooms, for the parents, daughters, sons and eventual guests. Every Lisu home has an ancestral alter, the "Da Bia" at the back of the living area, honoring their Lisu ancestors. Each Lisu village has a village leader, a spiritual leader (Mor Muu Pah), a spirit doctor (Nee Pah) and a council of village elders. This group plays a key role in managing the Lisu village and resolving disputes. Until recently, Lisu hill tribes were heavily involved in the opium trade, and were reputed as to produce the best quality opium available in Thailand. |  Lisu girl working in the Opium Fields In Thailand opium and heroin addiction along the Lisu hill tribe people is declining, and the Lisu are responding well to alternative cash crop production scheme of the Thai government. But the attraction to the wealth from opium cultivation is still very strong along the members of the Lisu hill tribes in Thailand. Lisu hill tribe people are known as excellent silversmiths and make silver jewelry for the Akha and Lahu hill tribes in Thailand. Courtship and marriage in-between Lisu hill tribe members is highly organized, involving a very high "Bride Price". Marriage should only be between members of the twelve different Lisu clans. The religion of the Lisu is a combination of ancestor worship and animism. The Lisu hill tribe people believe strongly in the spirit world, and their shamans are used to divine the causes and cures of all problems and sicknesses. The Lisu are a very handsome people, perhaps the best-looking of all the hill tribes, and they like to think of themselves as being above their other Hill tribe neighbors. Consequently, they are among the least reserved of the hill tribes in Thailand. |
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Hill tribes in Thailand, the Lisu hill tribe
Lisu hill tribe in Thailand, reknown opium growers in The Golden triangle, hill tribes animist religion
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