Indigenous People In Thailand

Thailand has a population of approximately 62million people, and almost 926,000 of those are the officially recognised indigenous people or hill tribes who are also known as “Chao Khao”. The six major tribal groups in Thailand are the Karen, Hmong, Lahu, Akha, Yao, and Lisu. (Leming, 2000)

The social category of chao khao is defined as being “non-Thai ,” underdeveloped and environmentally destructive as they are believed to destroy forests and cultivate opium. Until today, the indigenous peoples of Thailand continue to suffer from the historical stereotyping and discrimination like other indigenous peoples in the world. (Indigenous People of Thailand, 2011)

Karen, being the largest indigenous group in Thailand has the same number of people as all other tribal groups combined The Karen is known for their weaving skills and is also the only minority group in Thailand who work with elephants thus famous for their relationships with these animals. (Karen, 2004)

There are two main subgroups of Karen which are Paganyaw Sgaw and Pwo. Paduang is the third Karen group and is also known as “long neck” Karen. It is very small consisting of less than 40, 000 people in total. They are very famous in tourism because of its women wearing brass rings around their necks. This distorts the growth of their collarbones and creates a visual illusion that they have long necks. A Padaung woman began her ring adornment at 5 or 6 years old and generally has about twenty or more rings around her neck. (Karen Long Neck Hilltribe - Padaung)

Although all Karen speak related languages, individual Karen sub-groups speak languages which are sometimes unintelligible to other groups. (Leming, 2000) Each group is distinguished not only by the language spoken but also by its women clothing design. (The Karen People In Thailand, 2011)

Before the introduction of Christianity in the 1800s, many Karen believed in animism whereby the key principle is to gain favour of the spirits that surround them. In traditional animism, the Karen believes that the body has 33 spirits called k’la. Wrist tying is a ritual performed in the home at least twice a year where the k’la are called back to the person and the family is unified. This ritual is only performed when all the members of the family are present. Since one has relationships with many households, one will attend many of these ceremonies thus developing strong village solidarity. 

A Family of White Karen

The second ritual, house rite of ‘au xae, is performed in the home in attempt to appease the spirit of the house and this is traditionally practiced when someone is ill. Sxacrifices of chicken and pigs have to be made so that the k’la can be reunited with the body of the sick person in order for the person to be well again. (Sgaw Karen, 2011)