High on some of the most pristine and remote mountains in Northern Thailand live the Akha, a little-known, self-sufficient and culturally unique people who prefer to avoid city life in favour of a distinctly ruralidyll.
The Akha are a relatively poor tribal people living on the very top of the most inaccessible peaks. Of Tibetan origin, they are the most recent hill people to have migrated to Thailand, and they are perhaps the least conversant with Thai as a language. They are immediately distinguishable by the elaborate and beautiful headgear of the women — perhaps the most remarkable single feature of Thai hill tribes.
Today there are more than 55,000 Akha living in Thailand, practising shifting cultivation of various crops including maize, dry rice and temperate vegetables. Until quite recently the Akha were often involved in opium cultivation, though today this has been replaced by lamyai (longan) fruit, coffee and tea as the crops of choice.
Akha women are most easily distinguished by their elaborate, helmet-like head-dress, made up of silver coins, beads, feathers and fur. Clothing — characteristically a long-sleeved jacket over short skirt ending just above the knees — is of indigo-dyed cloth, often made with home-grown cotton, decorated with embroidery, buttons, cowry shells and seeds. Pendant earrings and broad neck bands of silver are highly prized, the latter worn with multiple strings of brightly coloured beads.
Few outsiders visit them in their mountain fastnesses, and when Akha visit local towns on business, they generally hurry back to their hills just as soon as time allows. But in rustic Chiang Rai it is now possible for tourists to visit an Akha village, enjoy an authentic Akha homestay, learn first-hand about Akha culture and traditions, and experience the Akha’s unique relationship with nature and the environment.
BAAN HUAI KEE LEK AKHA VILLAGE
COMMUNITY-BASED TOURISM
The small, community-based Akha village of Huai Kee Lek (also spelled Huay Kee Lek) nestles atop a forested peak high above the rushing Huai Masang river some 30 kilometres north of Mae Suai in Thailand’s northernmost province of Chiang Rai. The valley below is defined by verdant rice terraces and mixed Thai and Lahu villages, but Huai Kee Lek is richly and distinctively Akha in nature and appearance.
The village was established more than forty years ago in 1965, in an auspicious spot selected by the community elders. Today Huai Kee Lek tourism is managed by a village committee while profits are used to sponsor both Akha cultural activities and local forest conservation projects.
Akha Traditions at Baan Huai Kee Lek
Baan Huai Kee Lek is a rather forward-looking ‘traditional Akha village’. Some of the villagers observe the old Akha religious customs, while others are Buddhist, and still others Christian. But the village as a whole recognizes the importance of preserving Akha cultural traditions, and great care is taken to mark off and protect spiritual sites of importance, including the spirit gate and surrounding copse, the cultural grounds used for the annual swing festival, the sacred well and the dwelling places of local tutelary spirits.
The concept of community-based tourism has also certainly helped to foster and protect traditional Akha music and cultural performances. The villagers at Huai Kee Lek are encouraged to be proud of and preserve their cultural identity, while at the same time profiting materially from the additional funds such activities bring into the community coffers.
Akha also observe at least nine formal cultural festivals year-round, the most important of which are Chon Khai Daeng in April, the Lo Ching Cha or Akha Swing ceremony held in mid-August and September, and the Top-Spinning Festival in December. Visitors to Huai Kee Lek at these times are especially welcome.
KEEPING AKHA TRADITIONS ALIVE
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