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Hill Tribes of the Golden Triangle
The Yao Hill Tribe or Mien Hilltribe in Thailand |  Yao hill tribe dress with heavy embroidery ThailandAbout 48,000 Yao (or Mien) hill tribe people live in the Golden Triangle of Thailand, they migrated from Southern China, where at one time they had considerable power in the Chinese empire as a Yao princess was married to the emperor of China. The language of the Yao hill tribe is from the Meo-Yao branch of the Sino-Tibetan family, but has extensively been influenced by the Chinese of Yunnan. The Yao are one of the few Thailand Hill Tribes who have a written language, mostly based on ancient Chinese characters. Because of this, more is known about the Yao hill tribe history in Thailand than any other of the other Thai hill tribes. Religion of the Yao hill tribe is based on medieval Chinese Taoism and ancestor worship, although in recent years, in Thailand, there have been many converts to Christianity and Buddhism under the members of the Yao or Mien hill tribes. Villages of the Yao hill tribes are widely scattered, at high altitude, throughout the far north and northeast of Thailand, with concentrations around Nan, Phayao and Chiang Rai. The Mien hill tribe people mostly dwell the highlands of the Golden Triangle in Thailand around an elevation of 1,000m. |  Typical Mien hill tribe turbandThe Yao or Mien, live in extended family groups, where polygamy, in the older days, was common and accepted. The Mien people from the Yao hill tribes trace their family lineage through their fathers. The houses of the Mien hill tribe are built of wooden planks on a dirt floor. There is a guest platform made out of bamboo in the communal living area plus two or more bedrooms. Girls of marriageable age have a private bedroom in which they can entertain their admirers. Yao hill tribes used to grow opium, although in Thailand this is declining and nowadays they plant rice, corn, vegetables and cash crops such as cabbages or fruits. Their ancient agricultural practices, adapted from the Chinese, require considerable labor and young children are often used to increase the labor force within the Yao family. The Yao hill tribe is known for their fondness of peacefully resolving conflict and have therefore assimilated themselves faster into the society of Thailand than the other hill tribes. |  Yao hilltribe woman with Opium PipeThe Mien or Yao hilltribe people are a very friendly people, who pride themselves on cleanliness and honor. The costumes of the Mien hill tribe women are very distinctive. Traditionally Yao women wear heavy black jackets with red fur collars, black embroidered loose trousers and large black or dark blue turbans, decorated with silver coins and colored beads. It was traditionally very common for Yao hilltribe women to shave their eyebrows and sometimes their whole body. But these days, Yao youngsters, wear jeans, sarongs and T-shirts similar to the ethnic Thais.. Woman of the Mien hill tribes in Thailand are renown for their art of embroidery cross stitching, which they apply from the back of the cloths, allowing either side of the embroidery to be seen and used. Unfortunately young Yao women do no more spent time learning these techniques, and the embroidery art of the Yao hill tribe is slowly disappearing. |
Design & Templates © Nilloc James
Hill tribes in Thailand, Yao hill tribe or Mien hilltribe
The Yao hill tribe or Mien hill tribes in Thailand near Phayao, Nan, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai in the Thai Golden Triangle
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