Akha Hilltribe
The Akha are a hilltribe numbering some 80,000 located mainly around the mountainous areas near the Thai - Myanmar border in northern Chiang Mai, and Chiang Rai, and are traditionally subsistence farmers, growing a variety of crops including corn, coffee, and rice, some of it sold in local markets.
Akha Zang is a total lifestyle prescribed in the oral tradition of the Akha. While it still runs strong among older generations, many worry that christian missionaries and state schooling are endangering it. Akha Zang combines animism, ancestor worship and a strong spiritual relationship with the land. It is a way of life which extends beyond simple religious practise, and comes into aspect of their existence, and stresses strong family ties. All Akha males can recite his geneology back over fifty generations to the first Akha, Sm Mi O.
Most Akha practise a form of Buddhism which differers often from the Thai variety, usually incorporating a good measure of the above mentioned Akha Zang traditions.
The Akha speak a language in the Lolo/Yi branch of the Tibeto-Burman language group, but have no traditional written language. There have been some attempts at scripting the Akha language into the Thai and Roman alphabets, but the use of such is not widespread. While literacy levels have been low, more Akha are becoming fluent in Thai and are pursuing higher education. Royal patronage has led to many new schools being built. Around the villages more modern homes have begun to appear, as well as more motorized transport. Increasing amounts of local produce is being sold in surrounding towns and villages, bringing a gradually increasing standard of living to the communities. The influx of missionaries, and tourists in some areas has actually led to the levels of English proficiency in some villages to be far superior to the levels found in the “educated” cities nearby.
This article was made with much information obtained from The Virtual Hilltribe Museum