After such classical opulence, the Old Chiangmai Cultural Center offers a refreshing change of pace. Donning one’s shoes, one can stroll casually to another part of the Center for the hilltribe show. The handicrafts, garments and musical instruments of the various tribes are displayed on stalls along the way should you wish to buy a memento of your visit.

The show features authentic dances from the Lahu (Musur), Hmong (Meo), Mien (Yao), Lisu (Leesaw) and Akha (Igor) tribes that are performed by the tribepeople themselves wearing their own distinctive costumes. The haunting sound of the pipes and the charming simplicity of many of the dances provides a strong contrast to the sophistication you have just left. But there is drama too in the Kinggala Dance from Shan State, performed by a Chiang Mai dancer, and in the Fire-Sword Dance.

Lahu Tribe

There are four main groups of Lahu in Thailand: Lahu Na (black Lahu), Lahu Nyi (Red Lahu, an offshoot of Lahu Na), Lahu Sheh Leh, and Lahu Shi (Yellow Lahu). According to Paul and Elaine Lewis, who proposed a cultural theme for each tribe of the hilltribe people, the Lahu culture’s dominant theme is a desire for blessing which accounts for the almost complete conversion to Christianity of the Lahu Na, to which these dancers belong.

Hmong Tribe

The Hmong are a sub-group of the Miao. The others are Hmu, Mong, and Hmao. Only the Hmong migrated to Thailand. The others still live in China. The Hmong themselves, have two sub-groups: Green Hmong, their women wearing hair in big puffy buns and wearing pleated skirts’ and white Hmong their women pants and turbans. The Hmong and their sister groups may have preceded the Chinese in China and resisted Chinese encroachment and comination for so long that their cultures’ driving theme is independence fromoutside pressure.

Mien Tribe

The Mien of Thailand are a homogeneous group, being the only sub-group of the Yao to migrate to Southeast Asia. Some of the Mien still remain in south China along with the other sub-groups: the Pu Nu, the Iu Ngien, and the Lak Kja. They are also unique among the hilltribe people, having been able to use Chinese characters to write in Mien language for several centuries. They used it to record the Taoist ritrals that were practiced in China in the 13th Centuries to deep family record, and to write contracts and letters. They also like to adopt children from own tribe, other tribes. The Shan, the Laotian, and the Thai. These children will grow up to bu Mien culturally and socially. Over 10% of their population are adoptees, their culture is mainly concerned with propriety. Dignified manners and decorum are valued highly, which is probably why they have a predilection for falking and telling folk tales in a social gathering more than doing song and dance.

Lisu Tribe

There are two main groups of Lisu. The black Lisu live in China and Burma, and dress in dark and subdued colors. Flowery Lisu live mainly in Thailand and dress in bright colors. Thier culture's driving theme is primasy, or to each Lisu "I am, or mine is, and always will be number one", which acounts for thier women's dresses being increasingly more elabolate and thier jewelry more ornate, When they dress up for thier New Year celebation, the jewelry can wiegh up to two kilograms .

Akha Tribe

The Akha culture’s theme is continuity. Each Akha sees himself as a link in a chain of life: to be born and be and insurance for the next generation, to be and adult, a keeper of the “Akha Way” and a procreator for the race; and finally, to die and to join ancestors and be worshipped one. The Akha Way is over 10,000 poetic lines of codes of conduct governing all aspects of life from waking to sleeping and from birth to death. It covers laws, costoms, relegion, medicines, agriculture, blacksmithing, and handicrafts. Each village priest has to memorize all the codes, for they are illiterate. There are three styles of clothing for Akha women in Thailand: Ulo, worn by long-time residents of Thailand; Loimi, worn by recent immigrants from a mountain district in Burma; anc Phami, worn by women of the Mawn Po clan. Our dancers wear the Ulo style of dress. Married women wear tall hats (u-cher). Single women wear bonners (u-coe).