This tribes lives in the Northern Thailand, characterized by mountains, rivers, and fertile valleys stretching out into Myanmar and Laos. The country Thailand is made up of about 65 million people which includes a minority of 23 ethnic group referred to as hill tribes. Most hill tribes settlers arrived there within the past 200 years. The karen, the largest of the six major tribes, came from Myanmar. The Lahu, Lisu, and Akha arrived from Yunnan, in China's southwest highlands. And the Hmong and Mien came from central China. The tribe migrated largely due to wars, social pressure, and competition for fertile land, the area prove to be a refuge as it was remote, mountainous and mostly uninhibited, and Thailand allowed the immigrant to stay. Soon hill tribe villages dotted the landscape, with different tribes settling side by side and forming a mosaic of cultures and languages.

#Distinctive Dress and Colorful Customs #
Each tribe can be easily identified by there way of dressing. Akha women, for example wear elaborate silver head dresses, which resemble elegant towers draped with tassels embroidery, and coins. Some of their other head covering look like helmet made of mail, of metal pieces, decorated with gleaming buttons, beads, and balls. Mien women look striking in their ornately embroidered trousers, which may take up to five years to make. Stylish turbans, ankle length tunics with red ruff collars and indigo sashes complete their glamorous outfits.

In their full regalia, hill tribe women wear an array of silver ornaments that jingle and sparkle, announcing their status and wealth to admiring onlookers and potential suitors. Other fashion accessories may feature glass, wood and tarn.
Karen teenagers, for example dress up more for funerals than for any other events, because scores of teens turn out for these events, hoping to meet their future spouse. After sunset, the male and female join hands slowly circle the deceased, and sing traditional love songs throughout the night.
Hmong teens court while playing a special game at the new year festival. Boys and girls may be romantically attracted pair off, facing each other in lines several paces apart. Then a boy and a girl toss a soft cloth ball back and forth to each other. When one drops the ball deliberately or by accident he or she forfeit a small ornaments to the other person.

Coping With Change

Long before now hill tribes settlers practiced slash and burn farming, felling virgin forest to plant crops and raise livestock, this however caused serious environmental hazards. Now the land is managed responsibly with beneficial result. Living as they do in the Golden Triangle, many hill tribes used to grow opium, nowadays, though they grow coffee , vegetables, fruits, and flowers thanks to crop substitution programs sponsored by the Thai royal family and international aid agencies. Many highlanders also sell goods, services, and traditional handicrafts to growing tourists trade. Nevertheless, poverty, poor sanitation, and illiteracy make life a struggle for many. Other negatives include declining natural resources, cultural change, racial prejudice, and drug and alcohol abuse. The ancestors of the hill tribes fled to Thailand to escape similar problems.But where can refuge be found?