Do You Know The Aka People?

[balo]

I have a friend , he met a nice girl after his vacation in Chiang Mai and she was different from the thai people , she came from a small village north of Chiang Rai. She belongs to the Aka people. They have a different language, not using the thai alphabet.

Are there any special differences between the Aka and the Thai ?

I think her family is very poor. I just hope that my friend will have a happy relationship with her.

[toybits]

Akha people are considered as tribal people. They have their own language which is different from Thai. Up to about 10 years ago, many Akha people did not have Thai citizenship. Traditional Akha people practiced ancestor worship and believed that spirits and humans could not co-exist. They have many taboos and strive to maintain a peace with the spirits but live separately - in that spirits roam in the forest and human dwell in the village.

Akha people that I know are wonderful people.

I have a friend , he met a nice girl after his vacation in Chiang Mai and she was different from the thai people , she came from a small village north of Chiang Rai. She belongs to the Aka people. They have a different language, not using the thai alphabet.

Are there any special differences between the Aka and the Thai ?

I think her family is very poor. I just hope that my friend will have a happy relationship with her.

[sweetchariot]

My girlfriend of over 18 months is Aka, from up north of Chiang Rai, about 10k outside Mae Jong.

The main difference as you have said is the language. Her parents, 3 brothers and a sister live in the village, and speak very little Thai (parents speak none), so it's impossible to communicate even in Thai.

They have different customs, including a 'swing festival' in August which you should really get him to go up for a visit for. Everyone builds swings in their gardens, and they have a big swing in the middle of the village - theirs was about 50ft high. I became known as 'the flying farang' for my escapades on this. They also have a festival with traditional dancing in traditional dress, which is all very different to Thailand.

They are generally very poor, but are wonderful people, and the whole village welcomed me with open arms.

I also give the younger generation kudos for their language skills, they learn a little Thai at school, but most of their family will not speak Thai, so when they leave the village to find work they have to master Thai before they can learn another language like English, can't be easy.

[sceadugenga]

There's plenty of Akha (the more common spelling) in our village near Mae Lao and unless they get dressed up it would be difficult to tell them from the Thais physically. Their children all attend the local school and many of the young people are Christian.

The women don't seem to be as keen on wearing the traditional dress as the other local tribal groups like the Lisu and the Lahu are.

Chiang Rai Guide by Joel Barlow.

[balo]

Thanks , I think my friend is very lucky to meet someone from the Akha village.

I hope some day to join him on a trip up north , never been there.

I also heard good things about Chiang Rai.

Maybe my friend will settle down there in the near future.

There's plenty of Akha (the more common spelling) in our village near Mae Lao and unless they get dressed up it would be difficult to tell them from the Thais physically. Their children all attend the local school and many of the young people are Christian.

The women don't seem to be as keen on wearing the traditional dress as the other local tribal groups like the Lisu and the Lahu are.

Chiang Rai Guide by Joel Barlow.

[wdrk7]

Akha is very common in CR . Most of the people here where i am in measalong is akha . Treat them well and they will treat you better . Cheers .

[Crow Boy]

my ex girlfriend is Akha and there are many of them living in the northern regions. For the most part they are hard working and easy to get along with. Many Thais have prejudices against hill tribe people including Akha but still manage to get allow with each other ok. My current girlfriend is Lisu - I am working my way through the set

Like all things in life, what you get out of it (relationship) is dependent on the effort put into it

CB

[wdrk7]

my ex girlfriend is Akha and there are many of them living in the northern regions. For the most part they are hard working and easy to get along with. Many Thais have prejudices against hill tribe people including Akha but still manage to get allow with each other ok. My current girlfriend is Lisu - I am working my way through the set

Like all things in life, what you get out of it (relationship) is dependent on the effort put into it

CB

Totally agree with that . Good luck .

[flupke]

good and bad experience , same like with thai people , good & bad

interesting info ; the virtual hilltribe museum

www.hilltribe.org/akha/

[monkeytunes]

Met some very nice akha people, its interesting to see how they live, a very simple life, but from what Ive seen very happy and smiley. Aslo I had a maid that was akha, ufortunatley she turned out to be unrealiable and lazy, but have had similair experiences with thai maids.

[wdrk7]

Met some very nice akha people, its interesting to see how they live, a very simple life, but from what Ive seen very happy and smiley. Aslo I had a maid that was akha, ufortunatley she turned out to be unrealiable and lazy, but have had similair experiences with thai maids.

People are people , you will meet all sorts . Cheers .